Compasrison of HAL, RCI and Celebrity

[pastark1114]

Everyone,

My wife and I are planning to take a cruise for our anniversary to the eastern Carribean. We took our one and only cruise on HAL in 1994, on the MS-Noordam for our Honeymoon. We loved HAL's service and really enjoyed ourselves!! That said, we know a lot has changed in the past 10+ years and are looking for some advice.

We are in our mid-30's with small children, however, they will not be coming with us on the cruise. This is mom and dad's “break” and we look forward to the relaxation. Being our anniversary, we are looking for a romantic environment and some pampering. :D It is also important to note that we enjoy many activities and my wife loves to dance. Given our previous positive experience with HAL, we are leaning that way... but I would like to gather some other feedback on Royal Carribean and Celebrity lines as those have been recommended by friends. (None of them have been on HAL.) Any feedback is appreciated
Thanks!!




Patrick

[Windrunner I]

Patrick, as you've sailed HAL before and loved the service and atmosphere, I think you would find RCCL a bit of a culture shock. The ships are 3 to 4 times the size of the Noordam, very glitizy and much more casual or resort-like in feel.

Yes, HAL has changed a lot. The Vista class ships have arrived and while they are quite visually stunning (some might say jarring) and offer scads of amenities and activities, I much prefer the more intimate S-Class ships (Maasdam, Veendam, Ryndam, Statendam).

I think you'd be equally happy on Celebrity as both are fairly equal although each succeeds and outshines each other in respect to different nuiances and details.

And considering the deals out there, you may also wish to check out Oceania and Crystal in the Caribbean. Not much more money but well worth it in every respect as both of these lines have not homogenized or watered down their products.

Good Luck and Happy Anniversary

[kelmac]

After 18 cruises, here is my take on this: For food--Celebrity is a 9.5; HAL is a 8.8; and RCI is a 6.5. If food is very important to you, stay away from RCI.
The ship layout/decor--Celebrity 9.0; RCI 8.3; and HAL 8.0. Sorry HAL fans, I don't like the "old school" feel. The Vista class ships of HAL are trying to change this image.
Entertainment--RCI 8.0; Celebrity 7.8; HAL 6.5. This could all change with Celebrity's new Cirque de soleil partnership.
Service--Celebrity is a 9.5; HAL is a 9.1; and RCI is a 7.0. The staff of Royal Caribbean have too many people to take care of.
All in all, my wife and I are starting to limit our cruising to Celebity and HAL. RCI, Princess and NCL are all into this "large amounts of low quality food" style.
Remember, there is no such thing as a bad cruise!!:D So, you really can't make a mistake here.

Enjoy!
Kel

[stanjj111]

Try each one this year and then send us a report.

[Tom99]

Having cruised on HAL Zuiderdam and Celebrity Constellation, I would have to give the edge to Celebrity. Both ships are newer, both are very well designed to minimize the crowd feeling, and both were very enjoyable cruises. However, we felt the service (especially in the dining room) was not as good on the Zuiderdam as on the Constellation. Entertainment on both was excellent.

[soulcruiser]

Did not care for celebrity mercury. It is wonderful to be on a ship and sailing however my dh and I much prefer HAl ....entirely different experiences. celebrity to phony.