Long time Celebrity cruiser prefers Holland

[Heaven2]

We took our second Holland cruise on the Osterdam December 2nd. We have sailed on Celebrity since before RCL bought them and on all size of their ships.

This cruise confirmed that we like the Holland product better. Our cabin was a A6154 with a big balcony on the back of the ship. It was just wonderful.
The new bedding is great, towels big, lighted makeup mirror was very nice and helped to keep the bathroom free. The hairdryer is in a good location and gives out plenty of heat. I have long hair and had no problems. The ice bucket doesn't keep the ice from melting as well as the Celebrity buckets.
The only problem with our cabin stewart was forgetting to fill the ice bucket.
However, he had eight cabins to clean ( four large suites ). I talked one other stewart working near our cabin and he had twelve cabins to clean. In their defense some of the people leave clothes on the floor, etc. They expect the clothes picked up, folded or hung on hangers. Personally, I don't think anyone should expect that type of service. A hotel maid does not do that for you. The cabins that were left like pig pens make the stewarts get behind cleaning the other cabins.

The food is much better than Celebrity ! We ate in the Pinnacle three times and it represents what the Celebrity dining room used to serve on a daily basis. The Lido has great food stations and it serves a nice dinner. We found that not just snacks were available outside of meal hours. The salad bar, deli, pasta bar are open for those times that you miss a main meal ( like being on shore ). The Lido servers carried my tray and found a table. The tables were cleaned on time.

The production singers and dancers gave two of the best shows we have ever seen. The singer Bobby Black was just okay. The magician was very good and his wife had routines based on Circe d Soeil ( sp ) . A karoke talent show based on American Idol was really fun and well attended. The television had a good selection of current movies, TNT and CNN International...ESPN.
The Queens Lounge is a poorly designed room for just about any type of show. The seats are all designs but some are so low that you are almost seating on the floor. I watched many people come in, sit down and leave because they could not see.

Lots of dancing, music around the ship but we were not in those venues late at night. Eric Dowis is the Cruise Director and he is just great! Very relaxed and funny,never at a lack for words.

We used room service for breakfast three times, good selection, on time and hot. Did not have any problems. The $12 laundry bag is wonderful, I used it twice and came home to less laundry. It or the larger package will certainly allow me to pack less next cruise. ( April on the Zui ).

We did some sight seeing in Ft. Lauderdale and arrived to embark at 2 p.m. We did not wait at all. Then to dis-embark we had no. 19 ( staying in Ft. Lauderdale for one day ) and were off the ship by 9:30. We had a full breakfast on board and did not feel rushed to leave.

Celebrity is still a good line but they have really slipped. We really believe that the food on Holland was much better. The variety is larger and the salad bar is great.

We have missed the private island on both Holland cruises and are in hopes this April we will finally land.

Any questions, please ask.

[iowacruiser]

Heaven2,
Thanks for the review!!!
We sail Oosterdam Jan 2nd and can't wait..
We have one of the aft suites (5187,down and to your left) our friends have 5186 on the opposite corner.. Weve heard alot about the aft balconies, sounds like a good way to catch rays without scrambling for a lounge chair by the pool.
I'm curious about the food you were served in the main dining room and whether it was better than Celebrity.
Also you mentioned the television had ESPN.. Was it ESPN international? That is usually the case but I've heard HAL is trying to buy the rights for ESPN America..Got a couple of big bowl games being played while were gone.
We love Holland America and I'm encouraged by your comments..
Thanks again

[HeatherInFlorida]

Many thanks for this comparison review! I certainly appreciate it because I admit I'm torn between the 2 lines. We were on the Oosterdam 11/7 and I don't share your opinion on everything, but certainly on some things.

I'm curious about your observations on the food. I agree totally about the Pinnacle ... out of this world. And I agree the food in the Lido is great. But you made no mention of the food in the main dining room. Did you eat there at all and what did you think? I'm curious because that is where I felt HAL falls sadly short of Celebrity.

Our last Celebrity cruise was on the Millie in Dec. '03 and the food was amazing. I feel Celebrity beats out HAL on food and service. But in most other ways we prefer HAL. So it's a tough choice:) .

We'll be on the Summit in Oct. 2005 so we'll see how we feel after that.

Thanks again for telling us about your cruise.

[Pilot70D]

We took our second Holland cruise on the Osterdam December 2nd. We have sailed on Celebrity since before RCL bought them and on all size of their ships.


You might want to look at thread I started titled "Live From The Volendam Dialy Report" (yes, it is titled that complete with the misspelling - sorry). In this thread I gave a daily report on our ten day cruise aboard the Volendam and compared several aspects of the HAL experience to that which we experienced with Princess.

In retrospect we like the smaller and more intimate setting that the Volendam provided. We got to know more people and a lot more of the staff on somewhat of a personal level. In many cases that isn't possible on the megaliners. The last three years we had sailed on the Grand class ships of Princess. We found that we liked our HAL experience better in almost every way. Now if HAL ever went to personal choice dining it would be almost perfect.

Being as we got back from our cruise Thursday withdrawal symptoms are raging consequently we are already shopping for our next cruise and it will be on HAL. Hope that you enjoy your next cruise as much as we did this one.

Don B.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Don, glad you brought that up. Because it's a whole other story on HAL's S class ships. I should have said I was referring to the Vista class ships.

[Heaven2]

We were on the Summit in April. You will find the food changed since 2003.
We have sailed with them then and noticed the decline.

Do you like the extra touches ..potato basket, vegtables tied and wrapped, variety of vegs besides carrots, brocoli ? Do you like the lemon half with cloth over it for your fish ? Do you like more than three very small finger potatoes on your plate ? Do you like the veal moist ? Did you enjoy the deserts like Swan Puff, Cigar pastry with creme inside, real cherries jublee, creme brulee of various flavors more than once during cruise, salads that were not just iceberg lettuce. Would you like the waiter asking for your plate to be passed to him instead of him coming up behind you to pick it up ? Yes, our waiter on the Summit did do that. Soups that are very watered down and not as many choices ? Cream Carolyn has been on the menu for ages. Would you like the crumbs swept off the table by the waiter ? Would you like a table side presentation of some dishes ?

This was the Celebrity dining room at one time. It is the Pinnacle on Holland.
We did not eat in the dining room. We wanted the flexibility in the evening and really do not care for the new times. The food in the Lido was the same as the dining room. I checked the menus each day. Our entree was brought to the table in the Lido, also the desert. We only were in the buffet line for appetizers, bread, soup and salad. By the way they have the best bread. One is a raisin bread that is just heavenly, very moist and full of raisins.

Celebrity needs to change their menus. They have been the same for years except for the items that they keep eliminating. Believe me, while their service is still good, the food is living on it's reputation of past times. In April the head of the dining room and I had a long talk about the old days and the good food. He is from Turkey and has been with Celebrity for many years.

The Espn was international but they were showing Monday night football in one of the rooms, complete with hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn and drinks.
We were on the Vollendam during Super Bowl week and they did the same thing.

The back balconies are the greatest. We had a lounge chair, wicker padded arm chair with ottoman and two additonal chairs, plus small table. There was still plenty of room. There is a small overhang by the door that allows you to seat out of the sun if you want. It is just wonderful at night to see the view of the stars or watch in the morning coming into ports. You will find it very much worth the money. Contrary to belief, people do not stand at the upper deck and stare at you constantly. Most have better things to do. Other passengers on decks below and above will say hello but not disturb you unless you want to carry on a conversation. Oh, and the robes in the room are very nice. Ours were clean and fresh. Also the new shower head if set on massage can blast you out of the bathroom !

We also loved the Vollendam. She is a beautiful ship. I don't know much about personal dining but I think in a way..we did that on the O. We ate in the Pinnacle at the hour of our chosing, we are in the Lido at the hour of our chosing, we had room service at the hour of our chosing and we had pasta,
pizza, salad bar, panini sandwiches, tacos and desserts at various times through out the day. We just did not do the dining room. We did not want to be locked into a daily dinner time. Also, to be frank, in the past we have had some unusual dinner mates. Also, we tend to eat slowly and seems everyone else was finished with each course sooner than we were.We have our teeth and all but just like to talk and savory the food !

It took my husband and I a long time to reach our conclusion that we prefer Holland. We did not do it lightly for it is expensive not to match yourself with the right cruiseline. We are 64 and 69 and the passengers were all the way from babies, young couples to gently aged senior citizens. A lively group.

By the way, the new tipping is not disliked by the crew. They can now get a letter from the cruiseline stating their yearly income. This allows them to take out car, home loans, etc. Before they had to pay in cash ...try that for a home purchase ! We liked it for we moved our food venue around and were assured that we had tipped. Then if you want you can tip extra. We did tip room service and stewarts that handled our luggage. Then you can decide on your room stewart and /or waiter.

In April we are on the Zui and ended up with the same cabin number as we had on the "O"..must be destiny.

[HeatherInFlorida]

First, you are going to find a lot of discrepancy about whether or not the crew "like" the new tipping policy on HAL:o .

Since you didn't eat in the DR, you really can't address that issue, but I can tell you the food in the DR is not the same as the Lido. There were huge differences in the pasta alone. Night and day. But you weren't there, so you can't comment on that.

I agree, the aft cabins are wonderful! But there are relatively few of those. Lucky you for being able to get one. But I'd never quibble about that anyway because I love HAL's accommodations ... especially on the S class where they are much larger than other similar ships in the same price range. No question, as I said before HAL has it over Celebrity in a ton of areas. I was only addressing food and service.

I doubt the 4 months that separate your cruise and mine could possibly result in a total decline of the food preparation and service in the Summit DR. But of course, I was on the Millie and it could be different. But a very dear friend was on the Summit in April (and is in fact going back on her this April) and she raved about the food and we have similar tastes.

But I heartily agree with most of your praise of HAL and I'm really glad you had such an amazing cruise. It's wonderful when you can find one cruiseline that lives up to all your possible expectations.

[Heaven2]

Heather,

I don't go on these message boards to pick a fight with anyone. We all have our opinions. I comment on the dining room food because the menus read the same for the Lido. I assumed that the recipes and cooking methods would be the same.

Yes, we were lucky to have the cabin we did this trip. But we have also been in inside cabins, etc. It all depends on the bargain we can get. This time it was to celebrate our 43 wedding anniversary.

I sense some anger in your reply and for that I am sorry. We should be able to express an opinion and keep personalities out of it. We had a great cruise, prefer Holland and just wanted to share our experiences with others. Life is just too short to get upset over a difference of opinion.

Happy cruising to everyone.

[dakrewser]

I sense some anger in your reply and for that I am sorry. We should be able to express an opinion and keep personalities out of it. We had a great cruise, prefer Holland and just wanted to share our experiences with others. Life is just too short to get upset over a difference of opinion.

Happy cruising to everyone.
I think you may have mis-interpreted Heather's reply. She was, after all, simply stating her opinion - just a you were. Still, message boards don't allow for "tone" or "expression" so it is sometimes difficult to read a person's intetion.

You wrote a nice review with well set out opinion and factual data to back it. Comendible!

[divinggirl]

I like this thread re: Oosterdam much better than the other 37 or so on this page... :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Heaven2

Thank you posting your review and comparing the 2 cruise lines.

Enjoyed reading everything.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather,

I sense some anger in your reply and for that I am sorry. We should be able to express an opinion and keep personalities out of it. We had a great cruise, prefer Holland and just wanted to share our experiences with others. Life is just too short to get upset over a difference of opinion.

Happy cruising to everyone.Dave is right ... no anger at all. I don't even know why you imagine it there. I simply said since you didn't eat in the DR you really couldn't form an opinion about the food there. But I thought I agreed with you on most points, so where's the anger?:confused:

You were very critical of the food on Celebrity and I was critical of the food on HAL....just a difference of opinion and I'm not angry at all. I think I even said how great it is when you find a cruiseline that meets all your expectations. Unfortunately, I'm still torn between Celebrity and HAL and my next cruise on Celebrity will tell a lot about which is better for us. But heavens! No cruiseline is all things for all people or there would only be one!!!:D

[twoatsea]

Heaven2, I understand the manner in which you perceived Heather's response. When I read it, I also wondered why she came across so negatively regarding your post. I'm glad to see that she has since posted that her words did not come across as intended. The info you provided was very useful, so I hope this misunderstanding does not discourage you from future postings.

My DH & I have eaten in the HAL dining room for many cruises. However, for the last four cruises on HAL, my DH & I have not eaten in the dining room. Like you, our opinion is that the Lido dinner food is the same as the dining room (but for us, without the hassle, the poor service, & the inflexible time). The Lido for dinner is the major reason we choose HAL over Celebrity (cruised Celebrity several times before HAL). Celebrity's alternative dinner dining is not to our liking. We much prefer the HAL Lido & room service dinner menu (also same as dining room).

Thanks for your post.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heaven2, I understand the manner in which you perceived Heather's response. When I read it, I also wondered why she came across so negatively regarding your post. I'm glad to see that she has since posted that her words did not come across as intended. The info you provided was very useful, so I hope this misunderstanding does not discourage you from future postings.


Two at Sea, now you'll see negative. Please don't apologize for me. I fear you perhaps "scanned" my few posts instead of reading them. I agreed with Heaven several times. But I will ask you this: How can anyone comment on food in the DR when they did not eat there?

And if you read Heaven's post further down the thread, you'll see negativity about the food on the Summit. How is that different than mine? I merely defended food on Celebrity because, in my opinion, it is better than on HAL based on 2 cruises on each line.

It's called opinion. If one person voices an opinion, they are normally prepared to accept another's opinion. I qualified my post for Heaven because it was misunderstood, not because it was negative.

[ekerr19]

Thank you for posting your comparison. I must comment that I did see anything negative or "angry" in Heather's comments at all! I think Heather just pointed out that it is hard for you to compare the two since you did not eat in the diningroom...

The D/R food on our Zui cruise was awful, yet on the next one (Maasdam) it was really good - on the most recent (Noordam) it was wonderful - not all ships will have the same quality of food and not all voyages will have the same chefs. Additionally, not all people have the same tastes... ;)

On our last voyage, we found the crew to be pretty disappointed with the auto-tip, and I guess I don't understand your comment about having a car or mortgage... we know several crew members with their own homes... can you elaborate a bit more?

[twoatsea]

Heather, I did not and never would take on the heavy burden of apologizing for you. Since your post advised me that you intend to be negative towards me, I will graciously refrain from responding to your question.

[OCruisers]

Heaven2 ... Very much enjoyed your review! THANK YOU!

Especially encouraged by your comments on the Lido for an evening meal. We love the "social aspect" of traditional dining in the main dining room with new friends BUT are happy to know that the Lido is available if we have a problem of some sort.

We need some opinions please from Heaven2, Heather, and All-Other-Past-Pinnacle Diners: (We've only eaten in speciality restaurants on Celebrity, never on HAL.) On the nights you had dinner in the Pinnacle ... how far in advance did you make reservations? Can you make them the same day? Does Pinnacle book quickly? (We'll be on the ship for 14 days and planning to do this twice BUT don't want to have to decide which days until we're on the ship for a couple of days.) Really need help! :confused:

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hi OCruisers! We did make our reservation for the Pinnacle a few weeks before we sailed, but on our cruise it wasn't crowded and you could have gotten reservations on the ship. Do it, though, because I thought it was absolutely amazing. My petit filet mignon was amazing and I can't even begin to talk about the Volcano Cake:D

Is it soon? Are you excited?

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather, I did not and never would take on the heavy burden of apologizing for you. Since your post advised me that you intend to be negative towards me, I will graciously refrain from responding to your question.I'm not sure what you're upset about, but I'm going to try to explain my postion where you're concerned. I was never negative in my original posts on this thread. I merely voiced my opinion in response to Heaven's opinion. That's what we do here.

Heaven felt that I was angry in my response so I wanted to take the time to explain that I was not. Clearly at least 2 other people posting here did not read any anger in my response.

Yet you decided for some reason to "apologize" for my supposed negativity which never existed and then expressed your concern that Heaven would not be "discouraged from further posting". I just don't see your logic. Why would anyone be discouraged from a simple misunderstanding? You cannot post on these boards and be thin skinned. I found that out a long time ago.

[~Nereus~]

Just got off the Infinty after 15 days of pampering.... Food in the main dining room was outstanding and beef done to perfection.... the service was excellent... every employee was cheerful and greeted us wherever we went... ate in the specialty restaurant once..... great entertainment and activities throughout the day.... loved it ... only complaint.. 15 days is just not enough on this ship...

Sailing HAL again for the first time in three years next Jan 15..... we have sailed 153 days Celebrity, 150 HAL...

by the way we did 21 days on the Summit a year ago and loved every day... Celebrity has been so positive for us that we found no reason to go back to HAL.... until the 14 day Tampa was available...

[~Nereus~]

Heather:

"Be yourself, those who matter seldom mind; those who mind seldom matter"

Anonymous quotes ;)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Heather:

"Be yourself, those who matter seldom mind; those who mind seldom matter"

Anonymous quotes ;)
What a wonderful post. Thank you so so much!:o

[JDee]

We need some opinions please from Heaven2, Heather, and All-Other-Past-Pinnacle Diners: (We've only eaten in speciality restaurants on Celebrity, never on HAL.) On the nights you had dinner in the Pinnacle ... how far in advance did you make reservations? Can you make them the same day? Does Pinnacle book quickly? (We'll be on the ship for 14 days and planning to do this twice BUT don't want to have to decide which days until we're on the ship for a couple of days.) Really need help! :confused:

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :) There is a special $10.00 pp for first night dining & you can call the HAL special services for reservations, 1-800-541-1576. It will be charged to your credit card.

As for same day & Pinnacle booking quickly, I guess that would depend on the cruise dates & ship. On Zaandam 3/04 sailing, reservations were never a problem. Place always seemed only half full on almost all nights.

Happy holidays.....

[bepsf]

As for same day & Pinnacle booking quickly, I guess that would depend on the cruise dates & ship. On Zaandam 3/04 sailing, reservations were never a problem. Place always seemed only half full on almost all nights.

Happy holidays.....
I agree - Pinnacle availability depends entirely on the sailing.

If there are certain nights that you would prefer to dine in the Pinnacle - particularly first night or the evening of a special event- I'd certainly suggest making (and paying for) that reservation w/ HAL Shipservices in advance of leaving for the ship.

If you discover while onboard that there is an evening that you might prefer to dine there or if you have a prior reservation and wish to add guests to your dinner party, the staff is reasonably flexible and unless the place is booked SOLID they can usually negotiate a table for you - particularly if you can be flexible w/ your time.

On our Feb Oosterdam cruise - we stood in a looong line at the Odyssey shortly after we dumped our luggage in the suite. (thank goodness for gift-champagne and friendly folks in line to chat with!) When we finally made it to the Maitre'd stand, we could only get in for first and last evenings. As it turned out, we felt that they were the perfect evenings to dine there.

[Himself]

Thanks for the rieview and I am glad you prefer Holland to "X". I found nothing offensive in anything you said. I enjoyed the review and thanks for sharing it.

Himself

[DFD1]

Heaven2: I think your review and your comparisons were just great. It was one of the best comparison reviews I have read here in ages.

Your reasoning about eating in the Pinnacle and the Lido and still feeling like your tips were covered makes good sense to me. Many passengers don't always go to the dining room for any number of reasons, bad table mates, inconvenient times, not wanting to dress, etc. The Lido is a great alternative and we agree the food is fine.

Thanks again for a really good review.

[lissa6626]

I made reservations for the Pinnacle on the Veendam the first night once I boarded. Most nights were dead in there. I found the food to be comparable to Celebrity's Specialty Restaurant quality, but the service no better than Carnival's main dining room. I am told that our service was not the norm. The Pinnacle's food quality was outstanding, though. The service left a lot to be desired. I was very disappointed and they were only three tables to serve while we were in there....
I still prefer Celebrity to HAL any day of the week for food and service, which are the things that matter most to me.
Enjoy your cruise and the Pinnacle.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Melissa, I agree with you that food and service on Celebrity surpasses HAL for sure.

But you did get a raw deal in service in the Pinnacle. Because I have to say the service in the Pinnacle on the Oosterdam was awesome and could not have been improved on any ship or restaurant anywhere. It was amazing and we loved it.

[JohnR49er]

There was quite a difference in the food and service on the Summit last year and the Maasdam this year. I think the Summit was way ahead in both areas. I would have to say that the Galaxy also was top notch.