Celebrity versus HAL

[RuffinReady]

I have seen a lot of these discussions where opinions are given about differences between HAL and Princess. I have not seen many which compare Celebrity with HAL. I have sailed on the Galaxy last June (11 days Caribbean out of Baltimore) and am booked for my first HAL cruise on Prinsendam this May. In advance of forming my own opinion, I would like to hear what you veteran cruisers have to say. Thanks in advance.

Ruffin

Bahama Star (long time ago!)
S.S. France (Transatlantic -1965)
S.S Atlantic (Transatlantic, Mediterranean - American Export Lines - 1966)
Europa (Caribbean - 1969 - North German Lloyd)
Statendam (Caribbean - 1975)
Sunward (Bahamas - c. 1980)
Song of America (Caribbean - 1988)
Crown Princess (Alaska - 1999)
Crown Princess (Baltic - 2001)
Royal Princess (B2B to South America - 2001)
Royal Princess (B2B2B; Transatlantic, France, Belgium, Holland; Gt.Britain-2002)
Galaxy (Caribbean - 2003)

Prinsendam (B2B; Transatlantic NYC to Athens – May/June 2005)

[iluvcruzin]

I'm sorry I can't answer this question and apologize for change of subject, but I noticed you have the S.S. France listed in your cruise history. Is this the ship that became the Norway? If so, it would be interesting to hear about your experience back in the 1960's (maybe on the NCL board?). Sorry everyone but it just sparked an interest.

[mjmagee]

I have sailed Celebrity twice, at two extremes. The fairly old Horizon (no balconies) and the fairly new Summit. We will be on the Zuiderdam Feb.12 so on return I will post a review and try to make some gentle comparisons.

My husband and I have sailed on the SS Norway twice, the first time for our honeymoon. We mourn her passing as a viable cruise ship. Would also love to hear about your experiences on the SS France. I also have a cookbook from the chef of the SS France. Marilyn

[Cauvet]

I sailed on the SS France in 1972. My sister and I took a cruise from NY to the Caribbean. I had heard it had the best restaurant in the world on the ship and that enticed me. I remember we had a small cabin but it was very nice. The cabins in the older ships came in different configurations--not all the same like today. My husband and I often stay on the Queen Mary in Long Beach because we just love the surprise of what our next cabin will be like. The cabins had lots of brown wood paneling.

I recall that just about every night we dressed. The food was fabulous and of course the presentation was wonderful. Every night there was a bottle of white and red wine on the table for everyone. How civilized! The entertainment was also very good. You reserved a deck chair on deck which was yours for the trip. There were deck stewards to help you with your chairs. The pool was inside. I recall the midnight buffet being set up on the promenade deck and was very long. I remember things like lobster and shrimp and just luscious delicacies. I love to cruise today, but I sure miss those grand old ships! If anyone is ever in the LA area, it is worth staying in the Queen Mary for a night or two. It really brings you back to another time! No balconies on these ships though!

[cruisinjudy]

We have sailed both Celebrity and HAL and have been on the SS Norway also.

As you can see by my signature we switch back and forth between Celebrity and HAL and enjoy both of them. We like the fresh flowers on HAL. They are just beautiful. Then there is the fresh squeezed orange juice every morning.

On Celebrity we always meet a lot of people on line before the cruises, not as many on HAL. But the HAL passengers we have met on the ship have been really nice.

I prefer HAL's six people trivia teams to Celebrity's four man teams.
The crew seem to be very friendly on both, but HAL has the special crew members who remember names.

As for food. We like both. Fish dishes seemed better on HAL. Whenever I have ordered fish on Celebrity it has been very bland. Celebrity has had excellent beef on my cruises, but then I have never had a complaint about HAL's beef either.

Our experiences at the specialty restaurant have been better on HAL, but we may have just had an off night on Celebrity.

I prefer the art work on HAL. We do not like Celebrity's art work.

Other than these points they are very similar.

However, on Prinsendam you will find a somewhat different experience since it is a small intimate ship.

I hope this has been at least a little helpful.

[Heaven2]

At the risk of being flamed, I will just state that we prefer Holland over Celebrity.
We have sailed many times on Celebrity going back to the early 1990's. This April will be our third cruise on Holland. We believe that Holland has much better food than Celebrity. The food stations in the Lido are great. We also found that food was available more often. We were able to come back from an afternoon shore excurison and find pizza, pasta, sandwiches and the salad bar. That was not the case on our last Celebrity cruise.

We also like the quiet elegance of Holland. We also like to relax with an in cabin movie or show. Holland has a better variety of television offerings and movies in their theaters. Love the aft pool.

This is just our opinion. It really is not necessary for anyone to post a rebutal in support of Celebrity. I find it odd that people seem to take it so personally when you post about your own experience. It certainly cuts down on the amount of posts that I would post when people respond so rudely.

[RuffinReady]

I'm sorry I can't answer this question and apologize for change of subject, but I noticed you have the S.S. France listed in your cruise history. Is this the ship that became the Norway? If so, it would be interesting to hear about your experience back in the 1960's (maybe on the NCL board?). Sorry everyone but it just sparked an interest.

Yes, she was only a couple of years old then. A really beautiful ship and very fast, cruised at over 30 knots. The only faster ship was the United States. The France was a transatlantic steamer, from Le Harve and Southampton to New York if my memory is correct. I am having cataract surgery on Thursday, but I will write something on the NCL board on Friday or Saturday, as the Paquet (sp?) Lines are no longer in business. I would post it here also, but I don't want to violate the rules of this board.

Ruffin

[RuffinReady]

Interesting to note that there are often a lot of comments on comparisons between Princess and HAL, but few between Celebrity and HAL. Hmmm. I wonder what that means?


Ruffin

[RobbieCruises]

I'm always reading in guidebooks that Celebrity is so much better than HAL and it makes me feel crazy. So glad to read that others see it more as I do! I've only done one cruise on each, but am doing two more on HAL in the next two months!

[cruisinjudy]

Heaven2, was there a rude response in here?