Thinking of Trying RCL, How Would You Compare to HAL?

[drush]

Our last three cruises have been on HAL, Princess and Celebrity. Because we want to try a 7 day southern caribbean cruise in October we wanted some input from HAL cruises as to how they would compare to the Royal Caribbean
Voyager class ships.

Thanks,
drush

[CCCM]

I have only been on the RCI Vision Class and Sovereign Class and on HAL the Vista Class. The Voyager Class is much, much larger than HAL and much larger than the RCI classes I have been on. So you will definitely want to think about that (around 3,000 guests on Voyager Class vs. around 1800 guests on Vista Class).

Little things I would check on if I were to look at a Voyager Class:

1. Is there a tub in the room? RCI to my experience so far (we have only booked outside cabins) only has showers, which you can not really navigate that well in, they are very small.

2. The size of the room. The outside room was much smaller on RCI. Even our inside for the next cruise is larger than our outside on RCI.

We enjoyed our short cruise this past winter. The staff was very nice and we didn't have any problems. I didn't feel that it was too large at any time. The lines to get on and off were about the same. The southern itineraries are what DH wants to do (he wants to go to Curacao??). It is the little touches on HAL that make me want to go back.

Don't know if this helped but it is my 2 cents......

[Valentine's Mom]

I haven't cruised with HAL yet but have done a few on RCCL. They are nice ships and the cruises can be fun but you really have to watch out for summer, spring break and holidays. There are a LOT of children on board and to put it as nice as I can, some of the parents just don't seem to care what their child is doing or where they are. I have even seen them in the adult shows and I guess I'm old fashion but it really makes me uncomfortable. The ships are wonderful and the staff treat you very well. You have probably seen the comercials with all the activities onboard such as ice skating, rollerblading, rock climbing, & basketball. It is a very activity intensive line so if you are a person who likes to be doing someting active all of the time RCCL just might be for you. If you have any specific questions about the Voyager Class ships please ask. I have been on the Voyager, the Exployer twice, and the Mariner. I am scheduled for the Maasdam in Novemer!! Talk about a change! A good one I'm sure.:D

[Tricia724]

I have been on HAL and Celebrity, and this past February we went with a group on the Explorer of the Seas. The largest ship I had sailed prior to the Explorer was the Celebrity Summit, which is about 2/3 the size of EOS.

We had a D2 cabin which is about the same size as a Celebrity CC cabin or a large outside cabin on HAL's R and S class ships. The cabin was very nice except for the uncomfortable bed. We asked our cabin steward to bring us an egg crate which helped a little.

EOS had more shipboard activities, more shops, and waaaaaaay more people. It was often crowded at the pool and in the Windjammer Buffet. I really enjoyed the ice show, but didn't participate in too many other activities. I expected more late night activity but a couple of nights when we stopped for a drink after 11:00 p.m., I was surprised that there weren't many people in the lounges.

For me the main negatives were tendering and the dining room service. With over 3,200 people onboard, it took much more time to get on a tender than I was used to. I was not impressed with the wait staff we had in the dining room either. Our waiter seemed to think his job was to get us out of there as quickly as he could. In addition, there was always something going on in the dining room....waiters singing, children putting on a program, etc. Almost every night there was some activity while we were eating dinner. I found it distracting and less enjoyable than on HAL or Celebrity.

I did enjoy the cruise, though, and I'm glad I tried it, but those ships are just too large for me. I can understand why families like them because there are a lot of activities for the kids. If I ever sail RCCL again, I'll try one of the Radiance class ships.

[Copper10-8]

Our last three cruises have been on HAL, Princess and Celebrity. Because we want to try a 7 day southern caribbean cruise in October we wanted some input from HAL cruises as to how they would compare to the Royal Caribbean
Voyager class ships.

Thanks,
drush

We've done a total of fourteen RCI cruises but have not been on a Voyager-class ship. Besides the obvious differences in the size of the ship, the amount and makeup of passengers (more younger families with younger kids), one of the biggest differences IMO is the makeup of the crew. HAL's Indonesian and Filipino guys (and gals) are very service-oriented, most are somewhat reserved, quieter (although HAL has jokesters in their own way also) and aim to please. RCI's crew is multi-national with a lot of Europeans (both Western and Eastern) who can be loud and boisterous (but in a fun-kind of way), have no problems engaging you in conversation about whatever topic is on their mind and "serve" in a somewhat different kind of way (part of where they are from). We have absolutely no problems with RCI, as a matter of fact, are thinking about giving the the new Freedom of the Seas a try next year just to have been on her.

[cruisequeen10]

I have been on the NCL Sun and Star. Both are beautiful ships. The food in the buffet is better on the Sun, but the food and ambiance in the dining room is better on the Star.

[RockinDBoat]

I did a Panama Canal transit on Vision of the Seas, and later another transit on the Oosterdam.

RCI had a beautiful ship, attentive and helpful cabin steward, great dining room waiter and assistant, friendly staff, lots to do, good experience overall.

The Oosterdam was a nicer ship. Crew, staff, steward, waiters etc were equally friendly and helpful.

Big difference: after 12 days of RCI food I was ready for the cruise to be over. After 14 days I wanted the HAL cruise to keep going. I thought HAL's food was way, way better.

To RCI's credit, however, their food was way better than Carnival. But then, I'm not much of a fan of the Country Buffet or Shoney's.

[the2ofus]

My sister and I cruised on RCCL's Adventure of the Seas May 7 - 14 of this year. My review Two VERY Different Products is a few pages back here on the HAL board. It was an enjoyable week, but I'd choose HAL unless the RCCL price was really ridiculously low and the itinerary was very special. HAL's food and bedding are way, way better than RCCL.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I agree with most of what has been said above. Definitely, RCI will have smaller cabins for the same price. The service is different on RCI - not better or worse, just a different style. The entertainment... Again, just a different style, but keep in mind that with 3,000 passengers you can afford to spend more on a production show than with 1,200. I don't really care for production shows so it makes little difference to me. I think RCI's production shows are better (but then, I don't care much for them, so what do I know?) but the individual performers on HAL are probably just as good as RCI's... It's hit or miss in either case, depending your personal taste in music or sense of humor or whatever.

Then we come to food. This is the one area where I think there is a clear advantage... And that's HAL's. I've never really cared for RCI's food... I've been on four RCI cruises and honestly I can't remember any one meal that I really, really enjoyed. In fact, I don't remember much of it at all. I guess that sums up my impression of RCI's food: it was there. I ate it. It was neither good nor bad enough for me to remember much about it afterwards.

But really, the difference is mostly in "feel". An HAL ship feels like a ship. An RCI ship - or at least, a VOYAGER-class one - feels like a cross between a ship, a resort, an amusement park and a shopping mall, with heavy emphasis on "resort". I like "shippy" ships so naturally I prefer HAL. If you are a bit bored with ships that look and feel like ships, RCI could be just the ticket!

And of course, if HAL does not go where you want to go, you've got to choose something else. My next cruise will almost certainly be on either Celebrity or NCL. Why? Well, those are the two lines that go where I want, when I want. Comparing them to HAL is irrelevant, since I can't take HAL anyway. (Pity...)

[drush]

Thanks to everyone for all your input. As I said in my initial posting it has been a long time since we sailed on RCCL and I think we may have moved on to a better product like HAL. Our experience on the Oosterdam last year was great, probably the best except for Seabourn, which is not a fair comparison.

I think we will stick with Hal, Celebrity and Princess.

Thanks again,
drush

[MBeamTX]

Our experience on RCI has been confined to Serenade of the Seas (a Radiance class ship) on two longer cruises - 14 and 10 days, respectively. On that basis, I'd say RCI compares very favorably to HAL. The food was quite good on RCI, especially the cold fruit soups and lobster tail (MUCH better than any Ilobster 've had on HAL, curiously). I also loved having the fact that the Solarium pool and hot tub area are adults-only and open nearly 24 hours a day.

All that being said, I doubt I would do a 7-day Caribbean on RCI because of the demographics. We had virtually no children on our two RCI cruises and I believe that's what made the atmosphere as quiet and relaxed as HAL's. I might try a Voyager class ship one day, but would probably opt for the 9-day Caribbean itinerary out of Bayonne.

Hope you enjoy whatever cruise you choose.
Susan

[dougnewmanatsea]

I think we will stick with Hal, Celebrity and Princess.
If you are looking for a 7-day Southern Caribbean, I think CROWN PRINCESS does them.

I like Princess, but the GRAND-class ships are not favorites of mine. Princess' food and service is usually quite good, though.

[TJH]

We had only one sailing on rccl,they had air sooo SCREWED up (10 hours from Reno,nv. to San Juan P.R.) we ended up missing cruise.Had purchased their insurance which was not really any good until the attnys got involved,we eventually did sail on majesty of the seas,all remaing cruises on HAL,personally I would rather pay full fare on HAL,then accept a free cruise on rccl:mad:

[hammybee]

We cruised the Norwegian Fjords with RCL. It was and remains the only cruise that I lost weight on. I think this just about sums up my opinion of their food.

Conversely, we had a surprisingly good experience with NCL in Hawaii and the resort causal thing was very easy on the packing.

HAL will always be my favorite.

[CruisinGrams]

Having cruised HAL and RCL I would say the service, food, entertainment, and overall elegance on HAL will far surpass RCL. We found the balcony cabin on Brilliance to be very small compared to the Westerdam. Also, the beds on RCL ships are horrendous and after our recent cruise on HAL we doubt we will try any other. If you are looking for loads of fun activities and having a constant chatter on the loud speak system for Bingo Bob or whatever is going on, then RCL is for you. HAL has an elegance and level of service that RCL can't compare to - IMHO.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Just a note about beds. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are now rolling out luxury bedding fleet-wide.

I can't compare it with HAL's but it must be an improvement over the old RCI/Celebrity bedding (it was terrible).

As far as I know, the only major US-market line not to have jumped on the bedding bandwagon is Princess. HAL and Carnival have had it for some time (though I'm not sure if Carnival finished their roll-out yet), Royal Caribbean and Celebrity have just introduced their first ships with it (FREEDOM OF THE SEAS and the "New" CENTURY) and NCL have it on one ship too (I forget which one).

Of course there must be variations between the different lines, but I imagine all these "luxury" beds are probably pretty nice. This is a nice change from cruise ship bedding which has traditionally been quite poor, though the soon-to-be-gone RCI/Celebrity foam (!) mattresses win my award for least comfortable of all.

[GMoney]

I just returned from Freedom's maiden voyage. The new beds & bedding is outstanding, but falls just a shade short of what the Noordam had to offer. Overall though, they are very comparable.

[dougnewmanatsea]

The new beds & bedding is outstanding, but falls just a shade short of what the Noordam had to offer.
Well, if it is even in the same league as the new (well, not so new any more) HAL beds, then it is a quantum leap ahead of RCI's old bedding which was, quite frankly, pathetic.

The previous HAL bedding was not bad... Not good, but not as bad as RCI's, anyway. On the other hand, the new "Mariner's Dream" beds are indeed dreamy, on par with any beds I've slept in anywhere.

I'm glad to hear that the new RCI bedding, if not as great as HAL's, is at least good. Now if they could work on the food the might win me over yet ;) !