Holland America vs Cunard vs Celebrity

[kelmac]

My wife and I are loyal Celebrity fans and have been alternating between Holland America and Celebirty. We are looking at the Queen Mary II next year and would like to get some feedback concerning the switch to Cunard.
Food is very important to us and we would like to know how the QE II stacks up compared to HAL and Celebrity.

Thanks for the info!!

Kel:)

[bepsf]

My wife and I are loyal Celebrity fans and have been alternating between Holland America and Celebirty. We are looking at the Queen Mary II next year and would like to get some feedback concerning the switch to Cunard.
Food is very important to us and we would like to know how the QE II stacks up compared to HAL and Celebrity.

Thanks for the info!!

Kel:)

Are you contemplating Britannia Class or Grill Class?
I understand there's a significant difference...

[CDRMark]

Are you contemplating Britannia Class or Grill Class?
I understand there's a significant difference...
"Significant" is an understatement.
Makes a huge difference.
Cheers
Mark

[kelmac]

Are you contemplating Britannia Class or Grill Class?
I understand there's a significant difference...

I'm sure we would end up in Britannia Class -- so how would the cuisine in this steerage class compare to HAL/Celebrity? Not sure I'm ready for a classed ship??

Kel:rolleyes::)

[scottjeanne]

You made a tactical error. You asked about food on the QE II not the QM II. I loved the QEII, but the Queen Mary is a different animal. The food is comparable to HAL's. The service is better. It may depend on when you go. During the summer and school breaks or their short (President's day or 4th of July) cruises, the PAX are first time cruisers who like to party and can be seen in the dining room in shorts or (gasp) bathrobe.

Other times, the Cunard line is more formal than HAL. You will not notice the class system except for the dining rooms. And since steerage is not allowed anywhere near the Grilles, you will not know you are missing anything.

[Frankie Sue]

I am really looking forward to read what cruisecritic friends have to say because so far we have only sailed on Holland America and we are also now debating between Celebrity and QM2 for next year.

I have received A LOT of negative feedback regarding the Celebrity Mercury but from the Celebrity website, it would appear that it is going for a refit next year because when you check the deck plan, it specify before or after a certain date in 2010 which I take for changes to be made. That could make the ship more appealing.

I have received good reviews about the QM2 but I am not sure that we are comfortable with the "class system" that seems to come through on Cunard ships....... and we would also go Brittania, probably B2 cabin.

So thanks for asking the question, and I too will read all comments with great interest

[baggal]

We were on the Eurodam in the Carribbean in December 2008. Docked at the same pier was the QMII. HAL sets up chilled towels, cold water and lemonade for returning pax as well as carpeting leading to the gangway. The QMII had nothing -- although it might be possible these amenities are available once on board.

We stopped a couple (early 60's?) and asked how they liked the QMII. They looked longingly toward the Eurodam and said they preferred HAL - Cunard was nothing special. I didn't ask which class they were on because I didn't know there were different classes:)

[durangoscots]

You don't notice and any "class" system on Cunard ... it only applies to the dining rooms which are assigned by the amount you pay for your room. The food in the "steerage" dining room is very good, but I found the meals a bit heavier and richer than on HAL.

Susan

[Halfmoonfan]

I would agree with the others that one will find a vast difference between Britannia class and Queen / Princess class dining. The dining is linked to the cabin you select. For a point of reference the smallest Queens Grill class cabin is close to 500 ft (with three or four cabin categories above that) which I would say is close in size to a HAL SA-SC cabin on a vista ship.

The Britannia class cabins on QM2 are very nice and in my opinion the Britannia dinning room is the most impressive room at sea, even better than the Grills. I would place the food maybe a notch better then the main dining room on a HAL ship. The Queens Grill food and service are much better than anything I ever had on HAL, with the plus of one seating and your own table for the voyage, etc. Both classes I found to have a more sophisticated and formal feel that on HAL, but I have only sailed on QM2 on a crossing and HAL on a Caribbean cruise, so not sure that is a fair comparison.

Also I very much liked the Todd English on the QM2. It is hard to compare to HAL because it is different (not a steak house with huge slabs of beef). I like both the Pinnacle and Todd English and you can not go wrong in either. The think the Kings Court on QM2 and HAL’s lido compare equally.

I have never sailed Celebrity, so I can not compare.

[llhlam]

"Significant" is an understatement.
Makes a huge difference.
Cheers
Mark

I completely agreed, the grill class dining is comparable to Celebrity's specialty resturant.:)

[flag fan]

Comparing Celebrity and Cunard/QM2:

Celebrity (Summit was the one I was on for a Caribbean cruise) had great food in the specialty restaurant, a modern feel with friendly passengers, good shows, better pool area

QM2 (Transatlantic) had more variety in restaurants (counting the 4 venues the buffet turns into each night, including one that stays a buffet and 3 that are sit-down (Asian, Italian, Carvery (open-kitchen) and one other)), more formal dress, more British cruisers so a decided Anglo-Saxon feel, food about comparable in quality to Celebrity in the main dining room, much better shows (although Celebrity's were good), better lectures, a great spa (although Celebrity's was good, QM2 was better), better library (largest at sea), and a planetarium (unique among cruise ships).

I would give the edge to QM2, but it depends what you are looking for; QM2's formality (3 formal nights and people did dress the part) might be a significant negative for some people; good lectures may not be important to someone whereas a good pool might be a major factor. They are about comparable--both have great service, great food, a lots of options--just with a different feel and some different amenities.

[kelmac]

Thanks Everyone!

We are looking at doing the 15 night Holiday Caribbean cruise out of NYC on the QMII vs a BtoB combining the Nieuw Amsterdam with the Eclipse.
I have no problem with the formal atmosphere of Cunard and would look forward to a change of pace. Both options would be about the price in the lower categories, so that's not an issue.
I recently did the Solstice and loved this new class of Celebrity ship! My last two HAL experiences were not all that great, but we are willing to give Holland America another chance. The new smoking policy on Celebrity is a huge improvement, with no smoking in 95% of the ship, including cabins/verandas.
Some people mentioned that smoking was a problem on Cunard? Not sure this is a deal breaker, but it is a concern.

Thanks again!
Kel:)

[durangoscots]

Don't know about smoking on the QM2 ... it was a minor problem for me on the QE2 but that was because of the location of the Pub and the fact that on the WC there were alot of smokers. - but I found ways to avoid the worst of it ... and it would certainly not have kept me off QE2 if she were still sailing - I miss that old girl.

susan

[wcudmore]

I'm sure we would end up in Britannia Class -- so how would the cuisine in this steerage class compare to HAL/Celebrity? Not sure I'm ready for a classed ship??

Kel:rolleyes::)

I've sailed on the QM2, and found the food in the Brittania room to be excellent. However, they do cook for the English Widow's palette, so don't expect anything adventurous. Expect some English and French standards done to perfection, but there won't be much California-Fusion influenced cuisine.

On casual nights, try a booking at the Chef's Grill, which seats about 25 people. The chef has a mirror over the prep area, and will talk you through the entire preparation of the meal before nipping out back to assemble it for the masses. The only way it could have been more enjoyable would be to have a supervised cook-your-own option.

There are 3 other buffets, The Carvery - English/American, An Italian buffet and an Asian buffet. There's also Todd English, which costs $20, and is supposed to be good, but I never found the time to try it out.

[wcudmore]

Don't know about smoking on the QM2 ... it was a minor problem for me on the QE2 but that was because of the location of the Pub and the fact that on the WC there were alot of smokers. - but I found ways to avoid the worst of it ... and it would certainly not have kept me off QE2 if she were still sailing - I miss that old girl.

susan

Smoking was permitted in the Casino (there was a smoke free night), and in the Golden Lion Pub (a few tables)

You could occasionally catch a waft of smoke outside the Brittania near the casino, but not enough to be annoying.

Smoking was also permitted in Churchill's (the cigar lounge off the Commodore club) but it was extremely well ventilated. My non-smoking wife didn't mind sitting in there with me when I had my occasional cigar.

Smoking was restricted to a few small areas on deck, and not allowed on balconies. These rules were more for fire safety than anything else.

[JWJs]

Hi Kel. Good to see you. Interesting question you posed. You know Lois and I will be looking for your review if you do the QMII. BTW...Jim and I will be joining the HAL ranks on 12/21/09. We will finally get to see how HAL stacks up against Celebrity and Princess.:)

[kelmac]

Hi Kel. Good to see you. Interesting question you posed. You know Lois and I will be looking for your review if you do the QMII. BTW...Jim and I will be joining the HAL ranks on 12/21/09. We will finally get to see how HAL stacks up against Celebrity and Princess.:)

Hi Jeanie!

Not sure I want to fly to the northeast in December, but this might be one of the few times we could catch a ride on the QMII.:rolleyes::) We are doing Oceania for the Holidays this year and I'm sure you and Jim will have a great time on HAL.

Talk to you soon,
Kel:D

[willy paul]

We went on a ten day cruise on the QM2 out of Ft. Lauderdale this past January.

Our intention was to go on a very formal cruise and the QM2 delivered that request. We do have to admit that getting dressed every night after the first week began to to get tedious.

We were in the Britania and we found the food to be good but not outstanding. It was better than the Celebrity ship we were on in 08 and about the same as the HA ship also in 08. My understanding is that the food service company for Celebrity has changes since we were on the ship. We felt that the wait staff was very rushed on the QM2, many times the meals for five of the six of us at the table were served and the sixth person just sat there with nothing for a few minutes.

The buffets were just the same as we have had on other ships except they were smaller venues with different specialties.

Of the general restaurants we thought the Pub at lunch was very good and entertaining.

We also thought that the Todd English restaurant was the best restaurant we have been to at sea. Food, food presentation and service were the best ever. We were booked for one night and booked two more nights after our fist night at the restaurant.

To sum it up in a few words:

- Food on the three lines is good
- General service is fine, each line has something they do better than the others.
- If formality is important to you then it is QM2, otherwise it is a toss up
- The entertainment on the QM2 was by far the best of the three and Celebrity the least of the three.
- The specialty restaurant was far and away the best on the QM2.

Two other things we enjoyed were:
- the library on the QM2 is huge and there is a fulltime librarians
- the dance floor on the QM2 in the Queen's room is gigantic for a cruise ship with a live orchestra in addition to the show band.
- the daily high tea was superb.

I guess it depends on the itinerary you want or the type of service.

Good luck in your selection.

[INSIDERS CABIN]

btw, to try a Todd English venue without booking passage on Cunard, visit his restaurant, Da Campo Osteria,at the IL Lugano Hotel in FLL. We were there just after its opening last DEC before a cruise and altho the service was soooo slow, food was interesting and good. It is fairly small and we made reservations far in advance. We'll go again this year when back in town.

[rkacruiser]

I would agree with most of the comments of the previous posters comparing Queen Mary 2 and HAL. I did find in the Brittannia Restaurant that menu choices were not as extensive as on a HAL ship. Food was well prepared, however, and service was excellent.

With regard to specialty dining, and this will come as a surprise to some, I found the Sun King Supper Club on Carnival Freedom to be superior to either Todd English or the Pinnacle Grill.

When booking Queen Mary 2, be careful that you know what you will be experiencing if you book an in-hull veranda stateroom. Sitting on your veranda, one sees only sky, not the ocean.

[kelmac]

Thanks everyone!

After reading this older review by greydog, I went ahead and booked the QMII.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=460122&highlight=queen


My online TA came through with a great rate and shipboard credit as well. The per person/ per day rate was actually lower than the Nieuw Amserdam/Eclipse BtoB we were planning.

Once again, thanks!
Kel:)

[usha]

Thanks everyone!

After reading this older review by greydog, I went ahead and booked the QMII.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=460122&highlight=queen


My online TA came through with a great rate and shipboard credit as well. The per person/ per day rate was actually lower than the Nieuw Amserdam/Eclipse BtoB we were planning.

Once again, thanks!
Kel:)
AHAHAHAHAHA! I love greydog's review too!
Conga-rats on the QMII booking, kelmac.:D

http://crolack.com/pics/congarats.gif

[Dr. Cocktail]

Hi Kelmac:

I'm sorry I'm so late to this threat but thought I would throw in my two-cents worth. If you loved Solstice, you will likely not particularly like QM2.

I found the buffet on QM2 disorganized and unwieldy - the exact opposite of Solstice's casual dining area.

The main dining room food in Brittania was probably the best I have had in the last few years on Celebrity, Princess, NCL, RCI and Star Clippers. There are, however, a lot of "dog" tables as the restaurant is ginormous on numerous levels. Our first table felt like we were in the last row of a hit Broadway show - persistance and a healthy palm greasing ensured a good table.

While the Queen's lounge is delightful, the average fit and finish on QM2 are appalling - carpeting laid directly on steel, cheap wall coverings and the largest amount of formica in captivity in the main theatre. I'm not sure if you will laugh or cry after Solstice.

I can't think of a ship more unsuited to Caribbean cruising than QM2 - her outside decks consist of football field sized areas of teak with no shade, minimal pools and no areas of visual interest.

I think that everyone should probably once do a Transatlantic crossing and QM2 is still probably your best choice but I would avoid her like the plaque (or H1N1) in the caribbean.

Alert the flamers!!!

[QM2 Cruiser]

The Queen Mary 2 is a truly amazing liner. She is so beautiful, and her standards for luxury and opulence are high. I am sure that you will enjoy the Queen Mary 2, no matter which stateroom or suite category you prefer.

I do not understand why some people continue to call the Britannia Restaurant Class "steerage;" a rather derogatory term. The Britannia Restaurant Class may be the least expensive aboard, but the accommodations and amenities are comparable, if not better, than those onboard HAL and Celebrity. As for the Grills, they are comparable with the ultra luxury lines.

As long as you retain an open mind, long for adventure and appreciate the traditional style of cruising on a large, grand ocean liner, you will love the QM2. The food is exceptional; British and French dishes; sometimes with an international flare. Todd English is the best specialty restaurant at sea; well worth the $30 fee.

If you did not know that a "class system" existed aboard prior to your cruise, you would have to try hard to notice the reality onboard. Good luck deciding!

[JWJs]

Hey again and congrats Kel!:D Love it that you booked the QMII. Last December, I saw either the QMII or the QEII from the Port Everglades 17th Street Bridge area. Whatever queen ship we saw she looked absolutely beautiful all lit up and like a MAJOR HUGE hotel. I was amazed.

[flag fan]

I do not understand why some people continue to call the Britannia Restaurant Class "steerage;" a rather derogatory term. The Britannia Restaurant Class may be the least expensive aboard, but the accommodations and amenities are comparable, if not better, than those onboard HAL and Celebrity. As for the Grills, they are comparable with the ultra luxury lines.
. . .
If you did not know that a "class system" existed aboard prior to your cruise, you would have to try hard to notice the reality onboard. Good luck deciding!

I have always considered use of the term "steerage" for Brittania passengers as meant tongue-in-cheek; a light-hearted way of mocking those who refer to Cunard as having a class system.

My grandparents came to America in real steerage and I'm glad they did. It would be an insult to them if I considered the incredible cruise in the Brittania "class" as equivalent to what they, and millions of other immigrants, went through to build a better life for themselves in America (and Canada).

[janandjon]

We have sailed the following in order:

QE2
Constellation(won as a prize at a travel show-while looking for a cruise)
Westerdam
Crown Princess
Constellation (this one we paid for)
QM2 (make up for a cancelled booking--Quad by-pass got in the way)

Westerdam(10/18/09)
Soltsice (01/31/10)

Our 'Scientific Study' (our rules : like or dislike-- if you can't deside--do it over)

In order (drum roll):

1. Cunard QM2 hands down food,cabin,entertainment)
2. Celebrity
3. Holland America (really a tie for second-but the desiding factor was
'Who made the best turkey club sandwich')
4. Princess (they get 4th only because we could not put RCL-Costa-P&O
in as we have not sailed them--Princess came in below last in
every cat.)We would never book a cruise with them again.(maybe as a door prize):p

We plan on sailing the Queen Victoria and the new Queen Elz. when ever the rich and famous get tired of them and the booking cost matches our
'STEERAGE' pocketbook.:)

As my father use to say "see you in the funny papers"

[Vic The Parrot]

Sorry to barge in, but couldn't help notice the error in a few posts regarding the names of the aforementioned Cunarders.


The Roman numeral is usually reserved for vessels of the Royal Navy, thus "QMII" would probably be a battleship, or destroyer.

And QE II is actually Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

That's it for todays lesson ... there will be a quiz tomorrow morning before lunch. ;)