4* Mariners Try Celebrity

[Sea42]

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 Second, all Celebrity ships have a Solarium, an indoor, adults only pool area.  This area is always quiet and is a great place to read, relax or take a nap.  HAL doesn’t have anything even close.

Aside from the Caribbean and Alaska 7 day cruises, most of the areas on HAL ships are a nice quiet place to relax.

[jabcruiser]

Agree with original poster on all accounts.  Not nearly as many cruises as they have, but over a dozen on HAL and few on Carnival and one each Celebrity and NCL.  Decided to try Celebrity just pre-Covid because of people on CC posting favorable comparisons to HAL and found a great price for 7 day Caribbean cruise.  So took the bait.  So disappointed in food, service, etc.  Yes, the Solarium was nice agree with that.  And MDR food was pretty good but buffet was literally inedible in my opinion.  Example - "taco" bar had no salsa, no jalapenos, no pico, no nothing spicy.  What??? Deserts all fancy and looked fantastic and had absolutely no taste except excess sugary. No I way prefer HAL food.  Unable to even get drinks generally.  Little if any bar service.  Had to go stand in sun 20 minutes for a drink. And bar tables NEVER cleaned and overflowing with trash until I took upon myself to clean. What???? Definitely never greeted or called by name by any of service staff. I have no interest in Celebrity again no matter if new or old ship.

Jane

[bluesplayer]

Have taken 2 cruises with X pre Covid.  Both were 14 days or longer.  Agree the HA food is better.  Seems HA has more ethnic entrees available and better fish options.  The room service breakfast menu on X was a major disappointment.  The HA crew always makes me feel welcomed and wanted.  Did not get that feeling on X.  Think I would not like the new Juliet balconies.  I rarely look at their offerings now.

[AliceS]

On 3/25/2024 at 6:23 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask as we are booked on the Eurodam next year. What exactly did you do for entertainment in the evenings?

Listened to Rollingstone a bit….casino….tried the theater?   There were folks who liked Billboard.   I really enjoy the production shows or a good comedian.   
 

I feel that the service and food are wonderful on both Celebrity and Holland.   Celebrity is my favorite for entertainment.   

[PROCRUISE]

Actually, the thing that had me book again with HAL for 12/24 and 3/25 was price! I'm elite with X but their prices have gone "out the window." So, rebooked on the Statendam and Rotterdam and particularly like the Orange Club dining area. One huge disappointment will be the lack of Lincoln Center. I was one of MANY to let HAL know I was displeased when they announced this, to no avail.

[LabMom57]

I agree. We recently sailed on the Edge. We upgraded to a Retreat class suite and that made the entire journey for us. The Retreat areas were the only place we felt welcome and were treated well. I will not sail on Celebrity again without a suite with Retreat access. Unfortunately for them, that prices them way beyond HAL. We are sailing on HAL in 10 days. It's only our second HAL cruise but I anticipate many more. Far superior crew.

[SSFrance69]

On 3/25/2024 at 10:58 AM, visagrunt said:

I did 10 days on Edge last year.

 

Entertainment was excellent and there is nothing on HAL that comes close.  But this is the only category where X wins in a head to head comparison.

I found the food generally good to very good. However, only Eden was on or above a HAL standard.

Service was poor (bars and one of the MDRs) to good (housekeeping and specialty restaurants) to excellent (Blu). HAL may be struggling in some bars at some hours--but nothing like the fiasco of Eden or the Martini Bar.  Housekeeping was a team of one person who had many cabins to attend to.
 

The cabin was fine (I don't hate infinite verandahs), but storage was a challenge.

But I really disliked the ship.  The best real estate was handed over to the Retreat, leaving no forward facing public space with general access.  There's no sheltered promenade (even Pinnacle class makes an attempt at this).  The atrium over the Martini Bar was an acoustic nightmare which invaded all the public areas surrounding it.  Public spaces were woefully inadequate for the passenger numbers.

And finally the value for money proposition was non-existent.  Celebrity was vastly more expensive than comparable accommodations and perks on HAL without providing a corresponding step up for that money.  

The same group are doing 10 days on Eurodam in February next year and I hope that she show off what HAL is capable of.  🙂

 

You mentioned that on Celebrity only Eden was at or above a HAL standard. You also mentioned the service in Blu. Are you saying the food in HALs MDR is better than the food in Blu? If that's the case, I'm really looking forward to our cruise on HAL next year. Dined in Blu on Summit last July and the food was excellent. I thought it was almost as good as Oceania. Good to know that HAL has high standards.