Celebrity constellation vs hal vs princess review

[Pilot70D]

 

Here is a somewhat long winded review of our most recent Celebrity cruise on the Constellation. What I have tried to do is to compare this cruise with our experiences on comparable cruises when on HAL & Princess ships.

 

This thread is not meant to be a bashing of HAL & Princess. It is simply our experiences and observations.

CONSTELLATION Caribbean Cruise

 

 

OVERALL RATING

 

This was an excellent cruise – far and away the BEST cruise we have had. The food was consistently excellent. The service was superb throughout the ship. The entertainment was the best we’ve seen afloat although I am not a show person. Embarkation and debarkation were painless and well organized. Yes, there were a couple of blemishes (will cover in more detail later) but overall I would be hard pressed to describe this cruise as the perfect cruise and a great value for the price.

BACKGROUND

This was our first Celebrity cruise. Prior to this we had cruised with Princess on the Grand Princess and twice on the Golden Princess. We have cruised with HAL four times, once on the Veendam, twice on the Volendam and once on the Geritolendam.

Our last cruise was on the Volendam and it was a bad enough experience that it had the War Department (aka Mrs. B) wondering if cruising wasn’t for us any more. We decided to give Celebrity a try and had a marvelous cruise. We had a CC class cabin and yes, we were the ones that had a fire in our cabin. After the fire they moved us to a vacant CC cabin so we had two cabins on the same cruise.

What I’m going to write next will be a more detailed review of the various parts of our cruise experience and where possible I’ll give a ranking for Celebrity vs. HAL vs. Princess. This isn’t a scientific rating it’s a subjective one and I’ll rank the cruise lines 1, 2 and 3 for each category.

As a starter I’ll rank the websites for the three lines. They are ALL AWFUL, just plain awful. If you ever wanted to see a textbook picture of how not to do website design you’d be hard pressed to find any worse example than these three. My ranking is Princess 1, HAL 2 and Celebrity 3. Thank God Celebrity runs great ships because their website and their operation ashore need lots of improvement.

EMBARKATION – Celebrity 1, Princess 2, HAL 3

Embarkation was smooth as silk and was completely painless. Total time from curb to cabin was under fifteen minutes. Porters were friendly and enough of them were present to assist with luggage without undue delay. Check in personnel were uniformly cheerful and helpful.

Our last cruise’s embarkation (with HAL) was the embarkation from hell. For both of these cruises we arrived at the port at approximately 2:00 P.M. With HAL the line extended out the terminal doors and along the length of the building. It took us an hour and a half to get aboard. There was no line at 2:00 for this cruise. With HAL the lines for passengers that hadn’t preregistered moved more quickly than the lines for those who had preregistered by computer. With Princess we never had a bad embarkation or debarkation but Celebrity simply does it better – more efficiently.

CABIN LAYOUT & COMFORT – HAL 1, Celebrity 2, Princess 3

On all of our cruises we have had minisuites (CC class equivalent) or a CC class cabin.

Our cabin was excellent and it was very comfortable. The air conditioning worked flawlessly either at sea or in port. Our HAL cabins were all a little bigger and their layout was a little better. There was more closet space on HAL and the closets were reconfigurable with fold down shelves for space not needed to accommodate hanging clothes.

On both HAL & Princess there is a curtain that can be drawn to separate the sitting area from the bed. Neither cabin we occupied had this on Celebrity. The TV is located between the sitting area and the bedroom on the other two lines. With Celebrity the TV is between the closets and the bed. If one person sleeps late and the other wants to watch TV it is difficult. On Celebrity the TV is a small conventional CRT type TV. HAL has gone to flat panel TV’s.

CABIN ATTENDANT(s) – HAL 1, Celebrity 2, Princess 3

This is a tough category for me to rate. As I said earlier we had a fire in our original cabin. An electrical outlet shorted while we weren’t there. The fire was quickly dealt with and no harm came to anything of ours but they did have to move us to another cabin. Our first cabin attendant was great. He did everything asked of him cheerfully and quickly. The cabin attendant for our second cabin did whatever was asked but not nearly as cheerfully or as quickly. We had the envelopes for tipping the various people but had not finished with them. The envelopes were in the middle of a stack of papers when we left our cabin. Our cabin attendant went through these papers and grabbed his. We intended to tip him more than the standard amount (which had already been charged to our shipboard account) but not after he grabbed his envelope prematurely.

On HAL the cabin attendants make various animals by folding and rolling towels. It was kind of fun to see what critter awaited us when we returned to our cabin in the evening. No towel animals on Celebrity. Not a big thing but I thought I would mention it in passing.

SHIP CLEANLINESS – Celebrity 1, HAL 2, Princess 3

As our cruise began the ship was under Celebrity’s OPP (Outbreak Prevention Program) procedures. There had been an outbreak of the Noro-Virus involving two, yep count ‘em two passengers, on the last two days of the previous cruise. The OPP measures are very impressive and very effective. It involves a massive effort on the crew’s part.

Once instituted OPP lasts for four consecutive days if there is no further outbreak. During these four days all handrails, stainless steel areas and so forth are continuously wiped down with a disinfectant solution of bleach and water. Hand sanitizers are mandatory for all guests before they enter any dining area. Guests touch nothing but their food. If a guest wants salt or pepper they are brought to the table and applied by the wait staff. All drink stations are manned by food service personnel. You tell that person what you want to drink and they fill the glass or cup then hand it to you. Food service personnel place everything on plates or in bowls for the guests in the buffets. As I said guests touch nothing but their food.

At the end of the cruise with the outbreak all board games are discarded and replaced with new ones, as are all decks of playing cards. All library books are wiped down. Every poker chip in the casino is wiped down every night. Ship personnel are trained not to shake hands with guests during OPP. The effort involved is truly amazing and expensive but effective. Once the OPP ended the staff still kept the ship spotlessly clean. They were everywhere cleaning everything all the time.

FOOD & SERVICE MAIN DINING ROOM – Celebrity 1, Princess 2, HAL 3

Service in the main dining room was top notch during the entire cruise with nary a bobble. Our waiter, the assistant maitre‘d and the sommelier for our table were all from middle Europe. The service had a strong European flavor. That means that unless you break the ice the service will be efficient but somewhat distant, almost aloof. Once the ice was broken there was nothing our waiter and his assistant wouldn’t do to enhance our dining experience. They also shared many tips about ports, shopping and so forth. They made dining in the main dining room a distinct pleasure. Our sommelier was the same way. He always inquired about what we would be doing the following day. When we told him about one of our diving excursions through the ship being cancelled he pointed out that we could possibly use the internet and make private arrangements with another dive operator. We already knew this but it is a good example of the many small kindnesses that everyone went out of their way to render.

The food in the main dining room throughout the cruise was dangerous, dangerously good that is. The quality of the food was excellent and all meals came prepared the way we ordered them. I had three steaks during the cruise and all were very tender, very tasty and cooked exactly the way I ordered them. All of the other entrees in the main dining room were as consistently excellent. Our food was better than that on Princess and much better than on our last HAL cruise. On our last cruise the dining room food on HAL was mediocre at best and often less than mediocre. Dining room service matched the food quality unfortunately. The poor service is more the fault of management than anything else. Upper cruise line management has made so many dining room staff cutbacks on HAL that the overworked wait staff simply can’t do a good job. My opinion in this area was confirmed when six to eight other Cruise Critic members overheard two of us discussing the HAL dining situation during our CC get together. They joined our conversation and all said much the same thing – that the food and service on HAL have both declined fairly dramatically over the last year.

BUFFET SERVICE & FOOD

SERVICE – Celebrity 1, HAL 2, Princess 3

FOOD QUALITY – HAL 1, Princess 2, Celebrity 3

This is THE most difficult area to judge because so little separates each cruise line. All three offer a tremendous variety of foods most of which are well prepared. We found the service in the buffet area to be very good during the entire cruise but HAL runs a very close second in my opinion and from our experience. Princess does a good job but is a notch or two below Celebrity and HAL in this area.

I gave HAL the nod in buffet food quality. We have always experienced good food quality in their Lido buffets. Almost everything available in the main dining room is also available in the Lido on HAL. If it something isn’t on the Lido buffet but is being served in the main dining room all one has to do is request that item and they will bring it to you. That isn’t always the case on Celebrity. I know because I tried a couple of times. Also during breakfast it seemed impossible for Celebrity to produce omelets that were done without them being over done. The War Department (aka Mrs. B.) hates brown eggs. Sure enough the first two days her omelet was overdone with brown eggs. Some omelets came out black. Now I like a lot of blackened foods but omelets aren’t one of them. On HAL they were done just right every time.

When it comes to the layout of the buffets themselves we liked Princess best. The Horizon Court buffet is larger and there are more ways to get to whatever it is that you want. The layout on Celebrity and HAL is very similar and is straightforward. This is both good and bad. The bad is the location of the waffle station, which is all the way toward the back of the buffet area. The waffles on Celebrity are superstars consequently I would put them right up front not all the way in the back.

More later maybe. The War Department is on the warpath so I need to run before she catches me.

[junglejane]

Your review is off to a very entertaining start. I'm anxious to read more. We've been on Princess 4 times and Celebrity twice. Also HAL once but a long time ago. So far I basically agree with your Celebrity vs. Princess comparisons. Only exception is I like the cabin layout better on Princess -- but we always book standard balcony cabins, not CC or minisuite.

 

--Junglejane

[tompeter]

I'm sorry, I read through your whole review, but all I could think about was the "Geritolendam" ...Soooo Funny!:D

 

When and where was your cruise?

 

Thanks

[tequilasunrise]

Hi, I'm a longtime Princess cruiser looking to switch lines as Princess voluntarily becomes the ashtray of the seas. Debating between Celebrity, and RCCL.

 

How is celebrity for smoke free entertainment venues? And I understand no smoking on balconies, is this right?

[Pilot70D]

How is celebrity for smoke free entertainment venues? And I understand no smoking on balconies, is this right?

 

Celebrity's new official policy is that smoking is not permitted on the balconies. If you go to Celebrity's website the policy is stated in full there.

 

Now let's separate policy from reality. There are still some people who smoke on their balcony - not nearly as many as there were before but still there are those that smoke on their balcony. I wouldn't say that the no smoking policy is completely ignored nor is it completely enforced.

 

It seems to be more a matter of circumstance than anything else as to whether or not the policy is enforced. If passengers in adjacent cabins complained about the smoking on a balcony then I saw prompt action taken. I also observe instances when someone was smoking on a balcony and the smoking was observed by crew members who ignored it. Overall though the number of people smoking on balconies has gone way done compared to before the ban.

 

So come on over to Celebrity and enjoy that next cruise.:)

[Tatka]

Hi, I'm a longtime Princess cruiser looking to switch lines as Princess voluntarily becomes the ashtray of the seas. Debating between Celebrity, and RCCL.

 

How is celebrity for smoke free entertainment venues? And I understand no smoking on balconies, is this right?

 

Just returned from Ruby Princess. There was no smoke inside of the ship except for casino.

 

I don't believe smoking on X is less. :rolleyes:

[ccletzgo]

LOL @ "the War Department"

and LOL @ "the ashtray of the Seas"

 

both made me laugh:p

[Veronica13]

Yes, intolerant people ARE funny.:D That's why I copied and pasted all her comments. She makes a donkey of herself. I also just got off Ruby and agree the only place smoke was an issue was the casino. I smoke, and was able to do so in every lounge, as well as my cabin and veranda. Only in the casino, was I gagging and left. How is it that a BRAND NEW SHIP didn't have a state of the art ventilation system installed in the smoke heavy casino? It was really bad in there, and again, remember I smoke!

:eek:

Despite smoking being permitted in designated areas of all lounges, cabins and verandas, there was no problems that a normal non-smoking person would take issue with.:rolleyes:

 

There was no reason for X to BAN veranda and lounge smoking....bad bad move.

[Veronica13]

Your review is off to a very entertaining start. I'm anxious to read more. We've been on Princess 4 times and Celebrity twice. Also HAL once but a long time ago. So far I basically agree with your Celebrity vs. Princess comparisons. Only exception is I like the cabin layout better on Princess -- but we always book standard balcony cabins, not CC or minisuite.

 

--Junglejane

 

I also agree with the review - only I REALLY disliked the Princess Ruby layout and love the Celeb one. The "tv" was an 18" pc monitor, not a flat panel television. Very small, few channels, no music, no ability to monitor your on board account as you can with Celebrity. My standard veranda was definitely smaller than Celeb M Class standard veranda, and the bathroom on Princess KILLED me...the toilet was "floating" off a wall an inch from the 20" circle shower with a floppy curtain (Celeb now has the curtain permanently affixed on one side) that bathroom was so insanely small and the bed nearly touched the wall. I am only 5'4" and my feet were on the edge of the bed. Balcony "flooring" was for shoes only. Bare feet could not touch the rock hard cut outs they used.

 

Biggests points I agree on are Celeb has HORRIBLE buffets, yet excellent dining room - Princess HORRIBLE dining room food, GOOD buffets. And secondly the mixed European staff on X is far preferable to me than the buttoned up UK staff on Princess. All in all, the review is quite accurate.

 

I've done (a guess - 30 years worth) 10+ HALS, 18+ Celeb (one Century and the rest M Class) and just the last one, the Princess Ruby a week ago. I wasn't expecting much, so I wasn't disappointed. I only booked Princess because I just wanted to have a d*amn cigarette in peace....LOL

[usha]

There was no reason for X to BAN veranda and lounge smoking....bad bad move.

I disagree. I think it was an EXCELLENT move on X's part.:cool:

I think it makes as much sense for them to ban smoking on verandas for the same reason it makes sense to ban crapping on verandas;

it stinks, and most cruisers don't want to smell it.:p

(There are just some things we shouldn't be expected to tolerate.)

[Tatka]

Wow.. we did expect much after our cruise on Caribbean Princess.. and we got a lot from Ruby. :)

 

We honestly were trying to identify why exactly X is considered more premium, and in which areas X beats Princess, because my first cruise was with X, and I am somewhat sympathetic to X, but we could not.

 

Great service, good food (some great), nice entertainment, beautiful interiors, nice pools (especially 2 which adult only).

 

HAL has largest rooms, but even Princess's (inside) was ok for 3 of us.

[RealDeal]

LOLOLOL...Hilarious that this has also turned into a smoking thread.

 

Smokers: Really, haven't you learned? How many times are you going to subject yourselves to the flaming? (Hang on...I'm one of you.) It's very simple...X has made its rules...we have to either play by them or find another cruise line.

 

I, personally, think they've made a bad move because I already know a number of people who WILL NOT cruise on X again b/c of the smoking policy, and I really think the number of passengers departing will outweigh the number switching to X SOLELY because of the policy. That will result in fewer passengers, less revenue and, in turn, higher costs for passengers.

 

I'm not happy about this b/c I happen to like X very much. However, I want to be able to enjoy my cigarette on my balcony. Period. Not going to argue about it with anyone...Will just sail on a line that doesn't prohibit this.

[Host Walt]

LOLOLOL...Hilarious that this has also turned into a smoking thread....

The thread is a comparison of three cruise lines, not about smoking apart from the smoking rules among the three lines.

 

Please stay on topic.

 

Thanks.