Celebrity or Holland America

[albingirl]

5 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

Celebrity has no formal dress code except slacks & colored shirt for dinners  .Shorts  can be worn for dinner if eaten in the Ocean view Cafe .For breakfast &  lunch shorts good any where in any restaurant .Can wear shorts in casino as well 

 

 If you are into reading Celebrity has a large library

For most of Holland America's cruisers, shorts at any meal are not a deal breaker, whether or not you can wear them. Trust me, they don't care. 

[OlsSalt]

I liked the days when passengers  themselves cared about dressing more formally for the main dining room; not whether it falls on the cruise line to care.  Passengers today don't  really care about dressing up any longer. That is that.  

 

Doesn't stop us, because we still like to dress up - cruise time is always very special time for us. We love the old formalities. Probably because we are old. 

 

No point for HAL to create  grief, trying to enforce something passengers do not enforce for themselves. I am just glad they keep the look of their main dining room more formal than  a butcher paper table cloths,  with sawdust on the floor. HAL main dining rooms let you not feel out of place if you still like to dress up with white linens and silver; nor do you necessarily feel uncomfortable if you do not.

 

We have choices of cruise lines - so there is always Cunard which  still attracts passengers who do like to dress up more formally for dinner.  But today, even the expensive premium deluxe cruise brands now have gone "all casual", and leave it up to passengers to dress for  their own comfort level.

[rljan]

I can’t comment on Celebrity since I haven’t sailed on their ships in several years.  However, I am currently on the Westerdam in Japan.  There is no classical music. What used to be the Lincoln Center Stage is abandoned. There is now a 3 piece “jazz” group who is on par with a high school combo.  The dueling piano duet is mediocre. The only other live music is the Rolling Stone rock group, formerly BB King, who is good.  There are daily shortages in food and wine.  Using the posted wine list is useless as they are out of stock of most.  Hopefully these conditions will improve in the future as HAL recovers from the pandemic losses or their 150th year may be their last.  On a positive note, the service has been good and the food is good as well.

[mcrcruiser]

All  the problems that Holland America   is casting on it's customers because of their top & bottom lines imo is disgraceful ,period!

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

My vote is neither. If you're able, spend some more & splurge on Viking. Seven cruises in with them & I'm hooked.

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

My vote is neither. If you're able, spend some more & splurge on Viking. Seven cruises in with them & I'm hooked.

 

Approx similar 30 day+ cruise: Japan to Vancouver/Seattle:

---Viking Orion (900 passenger) -$17K

---HAL Westerdam (balcony) -$7K

[cruisemom42]

Celebrity and HAL are the two lines I sail most often at the moment. I would say Millenium class and Vista class ships are very comparable in terms of size and number of passengers.

 

I looked carefully at itineraries of those two lines (and others), with the goal of finding what I thought was the best Japan itinerary that was affordable. HAL won hands down. I am currently on Westerdam’s 28-day circumnavigation of Japan and you really do get a good (if broad) picture of all of Japan, from south to north. I would not recommend the Tokyo to Alaska cruise by itself if your goal is to see Japan. You’ll see very little of it on that leg. Look for the earlier ones, which have the added advantage of cherry blossom season in spring from late March (southern) to mid April ( northern).

 

There are some things I definitely prefer on Celebrity. The ship seems brighter in all senses — more light inside and more going on. The future of classical/chamber music on HAL is very much up in the air right now, so I wouldn’t count on it. Celebrity food and presentation I prefer to HAL in both the dining room and specialty restaurants. In many areas, though, they are fairly equal. Do note that HAL has almost no late night activity.

 

Were I to do it again, I would probably still pick HAL over Celebrity, but on reflection, I might just do two weeks on a land tour and then a two week ( or if I could swing it four week) cruise. On a ship you are very much at the mercy of the weather on a given day. It may very well be teeming rain on the only two days you have to see Kyoto (it was for us, luckily I’ve been to Kyoto twice). Other ports we had rain and even gale force winds. It’s hard to get a sense of a place in one day under those conditions. Japan is easy to get around via train and you’d have more flexibility to change plans on the fly on a land trip.

Just my two cents. It’s been a lovely cruise despite the weather and a few onboard irritations.

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

22 hours ago, peajay said:

I am looking at cruise packages visiting Japan and have found a few, Celebrity and Holland America cruises that look like good candidates. I have cruised on seven different lines but not these two, and would be interested to have opinions on comparisons as they are currently.

 

Do you cruise in suites?  If you are a suite passenger, Celebrity would be a better choice.  

[cruisemom42]

19 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Do you cruise in suites?  If you are a suite passenger, Celebrity would be a better choice.  

I guess it boils down to whether you travel to Japan to experience the better itinerary or to travel in a suite?

 

If the latter, you can do it a lot cheaper on a Caribbean cruise….

[peajay]

It looks like with all the issues with Celebrity cruises in Japan in 2024 our choice is limited to HA or possibly, but less likely Princess.

[Ipeeinthepools]

14 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I guess it boils down to whether you travel to Japan to experience the better itinerary or to travel in a suite?

 

If the latter, you can do it a lot cheaper on a Caribbean cruise….

 

I'm not passing judgment, but I think it would be good to know the OP's preferences to provide the best guidance.

[bennybear]

After reading about celebrity yesterday, I think you should make a decision relatively quickly while space is still available with a refundable deposit.  
 

Most of HAL’s itineraries are 14 days, so something else to consider.   But I too think you need to plan to spend a couple of weeks pre or post cruise to really experience Japan.   It is very easy to travel in Japan, so don’t be overly concerned about the language barrier.  
 

One other option is Cunard, but most of their itineraries are shorter with less ports.   They are also  more formal with IMO not as good food in the MDR.  
 

Perhaps get some travel guides to see what you are interested in.  We highly recommend Hiroshima,  Kyoto and some time in the countryside at a ryokan and onsen.  We worked up to Tokyo which can be very overwhelming with over 37 million people.  The rest will depend on your interests, we loved visiting the amazing gardens.  

[C 2 C]

21 hours ago, C 2 C said:

You will not find a library worth it's name on any Celebrity ship.

I'm sorry about this comment.  The Solstice class has an amazing looking library.  However many of the books are volume two or three of some obscure Sci Fi series.  Half the books can't be reached without a ladder.

M-class ships have a small nook that might have a few books.  The new Edge class had a cart with pax swaps.

[albingirl]

2 hours ago, C 2 C said:

I'm sorry about this comment.  The Solstice class has an amazing looking library.  However many of the books are volume two or three of some obscure Sci Fi series.  Half the books can't be reached without a ladder.

M-class ships have a small nook that might have a few books.  The new Edge class had a cart with pax swaps.

Libraries are a tough subject on this forum.  I know that the Rotterdam now has a library, but from the sounds of it, there are mostly bestsellers there. I know, a crowd pleaser, but most of the bestsellers out there are a giant yawn for me. Combatting it with a fully loaded kindle is my only choice now and I miss the days when the Maasdam and Veendam had pretty comprehensive libraries.  And librarians! And book clubs for the transatlantic crossings.  Sadly, those days are long gone.  

[oceanbeau10]

We are 4 star mariners on Holland, and just went on the Beyond and were amazed.  In most areas (entertainment, food, service) Celebrity was much better.  The only thing we missed on Holland was the Rolling Stones Rock Room.  Of 38 cruises, our best was on Celebrity Beyond!

[gizmodog]

I am elite plus on celebrity and I can tell you honestly that their cruise line is in decline, I take a cruise with them once or twice a year. It’s true their ships are beautiful and upkeep is very good on the ship. However, the food has declined immensely they too run out of things. On our last cruise in January and again in February of this year no salt or pepper shakers, service is not what it once was and trying to get butter was next to impossible. Drinks were hit and miss. The prices for their specialty restaurants continue to climb and now room service other than continental breakfast is no longer a perk, you pay for it.  They were almost out of bottled water on our last day. It is not exclusive to Holland, the grass is not always greener. On both our cruises one a 10 day, the other a two week, we were not served a steak one time in the main dining room other than their everyday sirloin. There was no prime rib. I heard on the next cruise after ours, prime rib was back. I hope so.

anyway, I am cruising on the Westerdam to Alaska in June and I will not be expecting much, but at least their specialty dinners are still priced reasonable and their room service is still a free perk. Also, celebrity’s  European crew is no longer. Very few and far between, not that that should decide your cruise I say that because someone mentioned that celebrity has a mostly Eastern European crew, not true since Covid things are not what it use to be on their cruise line.

just saying…….

Edited April 21, 2023 by gizmodog

[aardvark2300]

The almost totally self serve aspect of the Lido offerings on Celebrity are a big difference for us - we by far feel the HAL approach is much safer than some of nasty shared utensil behavior exhibited by many of the Celebrity patrons. Both lines have their advantages and disadvantages (no smoking casinos on Celebrity are a plus for them), but we really feel much safer dining on a HAL ship if we do wind up eating at the Lido. 

[bluesplayer]

We cruised to Alaska then from Quebec City to Ft. Lauderdale in 2022.   In 2023 we cruised to Antartica,  all 3 cruises had Lincoln Center with classical music.  The musicians were very good!!  We have also cruised Celebrity and found their live music options disappointing.  Most of the bands were sub par.  HA was much better in the live music.  Celebrity did have better big evening shows.  

  The food on HA seems to be a bit more ethnic than Celebrity.  Many European recipes served.  Not so much on Celebrity.  I liked the food better on HA.  I believe that is very subjective.  The HA crew is wonderful.

[C 2 C]

On 4/21/2023 at 6:38 PM, oceanbeau10 said:

We are 4 star mariners on Holland, and just went on the Beyond and were amazed.  In most areas (entertainment, food, service) Celebrity was much better.  The only thing we missed on Holland was the Rolling Stones Rock Room.  Of 38 cruises, our best was on Celebrity Beyond!

What type of cabin did you have on the Beyond?

We have cruised several times on the Edge and really disliked the cabin with an opening window.

I also disliked the lack of a forward lounge.

HAL is much more practical in the ship design of the Pinnacle class.

We found the food on HAL to be better but the service was great on both lines.

And the major question: what was the price differential?

[cruzer0007]

Agree with most of the posts here, both cruise lines are comparable quality, and there are differences, but it all comes down to what each of us puts as high importance vs low importance and I suggest only you can make that call.  For perspective, I have 3 recent HAL cruises, one celebrity (Apex), but overall more cruises on celebrity.  I agree the celebrity main theatre is hands down better in every way than HAL, but if main theatre is not important then that’s probably not a factor.  On the newest Edge class celebrity ships, there is NO forward view unless you are a suite class traveler (I am not …) and I really dislike that aspect. I also dislike the “infinite veranda” cabin, much prefer an actual balcony. Also enjoy walking laps around the lifeboat deck (on all cruises), HAL enables that, and celebrity does NOT.  I am a huge fan of live music, both lines have been good in that regard, but I do prefer celebrity for a couple reasons.  I like to listen to the individual/small groups, and HAL is more of a stage show, and the music is quite loud. Slightly more relaxed feel to that music experience (for me) on celebrity, but this is very much an individual preference issue *not* a quality issue (for me).  Am also a big fan of the Lincoln Center on HAL but that is going away, and lack of that offering will be a factor in my future cruise planning and decisions (again an individual preference item). I felt celebrity had slightly more noticeable flavor (more seasoning) in food, HAL more mild/neutral, but I felt food quality was comparable (very good on each).  Older celebrity ships do still offer forward views, and real balcony cabins, so we will probably seek those when we can in the future. Hope that info is helpful.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by cruzer0007

[oceanbeau10]

On 4/23/2023 at 1:47 PM, C 2 C said:

What type of cabin did you have on the Beyond?

We have cruised several times on the Edge and really disliked the cabin with an opening window.

I also disliked the lack of a forward lounge.

HAL is much more practical in the ship design of the Pinnacle class.

We found the food on HAL to be better but the service was great on both lines.

And the major question: what was the price differential?

We had the infinite veranda on the Beyond, and liked it!  There was a big price difference.  Holland was a casino offer, but Celebrity's price was great for an IV.  The entertainment was amazing!

[MISTER 67]

On 4/20/2023 at 2:39 PM, dawnvip said:

Celebrity tends to have larger ships and more entertainment options.

HAL is smaller, more "enrichment" opportunities and generally speaking an older crowd - especially on the longer voyages.

 

Both are comparable food and service-wise.

Service is comparable but Celebrity wins hands down when it comes to food and entertainment.

[ExArkie]

On 4/21/2023 at 9:55 AM, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Do you cruise in suites?  If you are a suite passenger, Celebrity would be a better choice.  

Agreed. We now generally do only transoceanic cruises and were hoping to rebook the pandemic-cancelled transpacific from Yokohama to Vancouver. We had booked a suite on Celebrity for the one that was cancelled, but when cruising started back up, the same voyage was priced at about twice what we paid for it. Now, of course, Celebrity isn’t even showing that they will ever sail from Japan to North America.

 

We ended up booking the replacement transpacific on HAL (Noordam, Signature Suite). The suite is nicely sized - somewhat more time in the cabin on a fifteen day crossing - but there are essentially no other perks that come with it, particularly as compared to Celebrity’s introductory level Sky Suites. However, since the price for two of us is not much more than the last per-person price I saw on Celebrity, I can definitely live with that.

[dog]

On 4/20/2023 at 11:19 AM, peajay said:

I am looking at cruise packages visiting Japan and have found a few, Celebrity and Holland America cruises that look like good candidates. I have cruised on seven different lines but not these two, and would be interested to have opinions on comparisons as they are currently.

I’ve cruised on both.

Oosterdam twice- never again- had a lot of little issues.This would not likely do your itinerary.

Celebrity , a few more times and thoroughly enjoyed my around Japan- to Busan cruise out of Yokohama. Nothing to criticize about it.

 

[montythecat]

If the OP isn’t too keen on theatre shows and wants a variety of

music I would strongly recommend HAL with a rock band, two

pianists playing together and a classical quartet on the Vista

Class ships and an additional blues/soul band on the newer

Pinnacle Class vessels. We also consider the menus on HAL

to be more imaginative than Celebrity.