celebrity fans chosing another cruiseline HELP?

[melika091900]

we just went on our 2nd celebrity cruise and all I can say is nothing compares to the service and the food,

so we are looking at booking another cruise to mexico and since celebrity has dropped mexico im wondering is there any cruiseline that compares?

weve been on carnival and NCL , we really dont want to do the freestyle again,

any suggestions ????

[dforeigner]

HAL visits some awesome ports but, although they are working on it, I am not sure how good their children's program is.

 

Princess has an awesome children's program. They are not going as far south as Acapulco since they stopped sailing from San Francisco (unless you are in a repo cruises). Princess has traditional and anytime dinning. Please do not confuse the anytime dinning to the freestyle of NCL. I believe HAL may have this program (they are testing it) on a few of their ships.

 

Since you have been with CCL, when applicable, you can get past guest pricing/discount with these two lines as they are owned by CCL Corp.

[janetz]

We really enjoy Princess. You can do the traditional or not. On formal night people do dress. We found the food very good. Celebrity presents better. The sevice that we had was inpeccable and everyone was very friendly. We enjoyed the fresh water pools and hot tubbs and loved an all adult pool. Celebrity offers a more upscale product but we feel Princess is close in the running. :)

[qorc]

We've taken Celebrity. Great line. We moved to RCI because it was cheaper. It has better ratings than Princess or Carnival or Norwegian. Great kids programs. Great decor. Food is great. Service is great. Love the ships and we've had some great bargains. Just remember, Celebrity IS a cut above. None of these cruise lines will be as good. But, for the money, I think RCI is the best value.

 

We'll never go to another now. Maybe this link helps

 

http://www.cruisedirectonline.com/cruiseshipratings.htm

[caviargal]

I loved my HAL Oosterdam sailing last month to the Mex Rivieria. I enjoy Celebrity but HAL does things better IMO that make it more enjoyable for me.

 

Food and service are very good and cabins are well appointed. Ships are well maintained which IMO is not X's strong point.

 

Personally, I think RCI is a step down in most areas and only excels in entertainement and kids programs.

[isujim]

Not familiar with HAL and haven't done any research on their cruises......but Princess has some great itineraries for the Mexican Riviera.....they used to have some 10 days and West Coast itineraries that just looked wonderful.........I have always complimented Princess for their itieneraries.......as a whole they can't be beat.......although they aren't my cruiseline of choice.........

[melika091900]

HAL visits some awesome ports but, although they are working on it, I am not sure how good their children's program is.

 

Princess has an awesome children's program. They are not going as far south as Acapulco since they stopped sailing from San Francisco (unless you are in a repo cruises). Princess has traditional and anytime dinning. Please do not confuse the anytime dinning to the freestyle of NCL. I believe HAL may have this program (they are testing it) on a few of their ships.

 

Since you have been with CCL, when applicable, you can get past guest pricing/discount with these two lines as they are owned by CCL Corp.

 

for HAl and Princess ??????? I didnt know that...... wow thanks for the info ..

[LHARTWICK]

RCCL is our next favorite after Celebrity. I also would recommend Princess. Having said that we are sailing with Carnival for a third time in December. It really depends on what you're looking for in a cruise. RCCL is more upscale for the most part than Carnival. I'm not loyal to any one line - for us, it all boils down to who will give me the best deal. We have a blast on any of them!

[cwc]

If you "really" enjoy Celebrity, why don't you "STEP UP" to the luxury line.

Crystal, Regent, Silverseas and Seabourn do Mexico/Caribbean a couple of times a year. ;)

[ce2000]

If you are taking some kids with you, I would recomment Princess. I agree with you, NCL Freestyle did not work for us either.

[flamomo]

If you are considering sailing to Mexico this fall, Princess has a price of $799 pp for any category of balcony on the 11/3/07 sailing on the Golden Princess. It's only 7 days, but it will be a nice get-away before the Holidays. We had booked at a higher fare, and I called Princess and got the reduction as well as an upgrade to the best balcony category.

We've only sailed with Princess, so have no basis for comparison with other lines, but we have found the ships to be lovely, the food and service are very good, and the crew very pleasant and helpful. We also have enjoyed the entertainment offerings on all of our cruises.

[karen sharpe]

Princess is comparable!!:)

[Shifra]

I loved my HAL Oosterdam sailing last month to the Mex Rivieria. I enjoy Celebrity but HAL does things better IMO that make it more enjoyable for me.

 

Food and service are very good and cabins are well appointed. Ships are well maintained which IMO is not X's strong point.

 

Personally, I think RCI is a step down in most areas and only excels in entertainement and kids programs.

 

Totally Agree!!!! Holland America is more like Celebrity than Princess. I think HAL has the best service at sea. I also like Princess for other reasons. These are my two favorite lines.

 

So my advice would be if you are looking for something similar to Celebrity (but better :) ) go with HAL. If you want slightly less formal and more things to do later in the evenings, I would choose Princess. You can't go wrong with either of these lines.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

With children, I would go with Princess. HAL is a very fine cruise line, with very interesting itineraries, competitive prices, very good food and excellent service. HAL does cater to an older, retired clientele (at least this is what I saw and experienced on our HAL cruise to Mexico in March of 2007).

 

The Indonesians and Filipinos who are HAL's waiters, cabin stewards, bar staff and so on, work very hard. And sadly far too many passengers looked down upon these very nice people, and acted as if they were their servants. People should be treated with respect without regard to color, age, country, religion and so on.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[dforeigner]

for HAl and Princess ??????? I didnt know that...... wow thanks for the info ..

 

You are more than welcomed. Here is a link that provides further information.

 

http://www.worldsleadingcruiselines.com/home.asp

[BJAMINGIRL]

The demographics are totally different on the ships sailing out of California than out of Florida. Even HAL will have more families because anyone west of the Rockies is sailing out of California.

 

That said, yes people have the mind set that HAL is older people which keeps some from booking, but having sailed on all of the lines, I would probably choose the Golden Princess because of the size. I hate going around the Baja in those 75,000 ton and smaller ships.:eek:

 

I think you will find the service and entertainment on the same level as Celebrity.