sciteach603

I don't see the Beverage Package listed for the 2025 WC.  Will that come in later emails?

We also docked in Puerto Quetzal with Celebrity a year ago.  We took the Antigua On Your Own through the cruise line.  Had a guide on the bus driving to Antigua who was very informative.  Once we got very near Antigua we did have to change to a smaller bus to go into the old town.  It was just a short ride.  Once in Antigua, my husband and I wandered on our own,  and had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant.  While we were sitting in the park in the center of the city, a very sweet young lady with her mother came up and asked if she could speak to us to practice her English.  We enjoyed the exchange.  We saw some police around as in most cities, but felt very safe. At no time did we feel threatened or wary of anyone. Everyone we spoke to was extremely friendly.

It is a beautiful little city and was one of our favorite stops on that cruise.  The volcanoes are visible from Antigua and at that time would spout every so often with steam which was kind of neat see.  

I wouldn’t miss Antigua if it is safe to go from the volcano standpoint.

We have been in the Inside cabins on the Observation Deck several times on various HAL ships. We love them for the access to the Crow’s Nest and there are stairs by the Crow’s Nest to go up to an outside area with loungers. Very few people know about and use this area. The proximity to the Crow’s Nest made it feel like it was your living room. When I got up earlier than my husband, I would go to the Crow’s Nest and had the place to myself. Very nice.

The cabins are large but there is no couch. There is a table and an extra chair. At first I was disappointed not to have a couch, but quickly appreciated the roominess we had without the couch.

We were never bothered by noise from elevators or the Crow’s Nest. Because the hallways are short, it is quick to get to the elevators around the corner and a quick one flight down to the spa and Lido Deck. THese are our cabins of choice.

Hope this helps with your decision. Deb

Thanks very much for the detailed review and comparison. We have never tried HAL but most people say good things about them. We are booked on Constellation next year for Italy & Croatia. How were the ports on your cruise?

Loved this itinerary! The ports were wonderful and this area is so pretty! Would highly recommend going to Lake Bled and Ljubljana in Slovenia. We arranged a private tour of 6 and had a wonderful day! You might look at our Roll Call for Celebrity Constellation May 9 Croatia/Italy cruise. A very active roll call and many ideas for excursions.

My husband and I just returned from a very enjoyable 11 day Italy and Croatia cruise on the Celebrity Constellation. We are 3 Star Mariners on Holland America but chose Celebrity because we had heard many good things about Celebrity and really liked this itinerary. There are many similarities between the two cruise lines and in short, we now have two cruise lines from which to choose from. I will give you my perspective of HAL versus Celebrity.

Embark/Disembark – Organized and fairly quick on both lines. Upon entry to the Celebrity ship we were greeted by loud rock music that surprised us, but we found a quiet venue to wait for the cabins to be ready. On HAL we could have gone directly to our cabin.

Ship – The Constellation has a nice decor and well cared for. Very inviting as are the HAL ships we have been on. The ships are laid out very similarly.

Staterooms - We had an Oceanview cabin on Deck 2 on this cruise. Size and Layout of the cabin was much like similar rooms on HAL. Oceanview cabins on HAL have a smallish window above the bed. I preferred the large round window we had on Celebrity. The small settee was next to the window, so you could enjoy the view sitting on the bed or the settee. Bathroom size essentially the same and room stewards excellent on both lines. HAL beds are more comfortable than Celebrity.

Buffet – Food good on both lines, though I would give an edge to HAL for variety, fresh orange juice (had to use your beverage card for fresh squeezed on Celebrity), and number of servers around to clean tables and replenish coffee, water, etc. Overall we noticed a lack of servers in all venues on Celebrity. On HAL ships, there is always someone nearby to take an order or assist you without hovering. Pop music played rather loudly all the time in the Celebrity buffet. I would have preferred quieter, mellower music. Celebrity seating seemed less crowded than HAL, maybe due to the fact that there are other dining rooms for Aqua staterooms. I ate Eggs Benedict most every morning and on Celebrity there was just one guy prepping, cooking and serving which made for long lines. HAL generally has several servers at this station.

Dining Room – Dining Rooms nice on both lines. Food choices on Celebrity are not as varied as HAL and I believe the food on HAL is a little better. Servers are attentive on both lines.

Specialty Restaurants – Ate at both Tuscan Grille and Ocean Liners on Constellation. Food was good but price was higher on Celebrity and I don’t think the quality was any better than Pinnacle Grill or Canelletto. Odd that Tuscan Grille windows look out at a deck and railings rather than nice floor to ceiling ocean view you have at the Pinnacle.

Poolside Grill – HAL’s is much better, especially with the newer menu. HAL also has the taco bar with salads that are available throughout the day. Again, we were frustrated by lack of help at Poolside grill on Celebrity. There was just one guy taking orders and cooking, whereas HAL has a group of folks and gets the orders out quickly.

Café Bacio – (Specialty coffees) – Celebrity has the pastries/desserts and coffee options like at Explorers Lounge on HAL. However on Celebrity you can actually sit down and be waited on and coffee is served with biscotti. Very relaxing for a late morning or afternoon snack. Both lines charge for coffees but not pastries or desserts there. You can use your beverage card to pay for the specialty coffees.

Bars – In almost every bar, we had to look for a server or go place the order at the bar. Celebrity had no real drink menus to tell you what was in any of the drinks. The menus on the table listed what drinks were available for each beverage plan, but didn’t explain the drinks. We never saw a drink of the day advertised like on HAL, nor did Celebrity have any bar snacks in any of the bars we were in. The Reflections lounge (similar to HAL Crow’s Nest) was a nice place to relax during the day. There was a bar there, but only open at night, so you couldn’t get a soft drink or glass of wine while relaxing.

Activities – This is where HAL could take note of the way Celebrity does things. When you won one of the various trivia or other games, you got a signature (or maybe 2!) on a signature card that you kept throughout the cruise. At the end of the cruise you “cashed” your signatures in for Celebrity merchandise – a pen for 1 signature, caps, tote bags, lanyards, tshirts, etc for more signatures. Was so much better than playing for a silly HAL pin!! Some of the evening games were Port vs Starboard games that encouraged you to get to know some other people in order to win for your side.

Entertainment – No piano bar or Adagio Strings on Celebrity, but did have many good entertainers scattered around the ship. The guest entertainers in the Showroom were good, as are HAL’s usually. The Celebrity cast productions – singers and dancers – were, in my opinion, better on Celebrity than on HAL.

Overall – We thoroughly enjoyed our Celebrity cruise. My husband and I preferred the diversity of age groups on the Celebrity cruise – seemed to have more active seniors than “older” seniors. We also enjoyed the mix of nationalities – I don’t know whether that is due to the European cruise or the cruise line. We booked another Celebrity cruise on board and will now compare Celebrity and HAL for itinerary and price before booking.

My husband and I just returned from an 11 day Italy and Croatia cruise on the Celebrity Constellation. We are 3 Star Mariners on Holland America but chose Celebrity because we had heard many good things about Celebrity and really liked this itinerary. There are many similarities between the two cruise lines and in short, we now have two cruise lines from which to choose from. I will give you my perspective of HAL versus Celebrity.

Embark/Disembark – Organized and fairly quick on both lines. Upon entry to the Celebrity ship we were greeted by loud rock music that surprised us, but we found a quiet venue to wait for the cabins to be ready. On HAL we could have gone directly to our cabin.

Ship – The Constellation has a nice decor and well cared for. Very inviting as are the HAL ships we have been on. The ships are laid out very similarly.

Staterooms - We had an Oceanview cabin on Deck 2 on this cruise. Size and Layout of the cabin was much like similar rooms on HAL. Oceanview cabins on HAL have a smallish window above the bed. I preferred the large round window we had on Celebrity. The small settee was next to the window, so you could enjoy the view sitting on the bed or the settee. Bathroom size essentially the same and room stewards excellent on both lines. HAL beds are more comfortable than Celebrity.

Buffet – Food good on both lines, though I would give an edge to HAL for variety, fresh orange juice (had to use your beverage card for fresh squeezed on Celebrity), and number of servers around to clean tables and replenish coffee, water, etc. Overall we noticed a lack of servers in all venues on Celebrity. On HAL ships, there is always someone nearby to take an order or assist you without hovering. Pop music played rather loudly all the time in the Celebrity buffet. I would have preferred quieter, mellower music. Celebrity seating seemed less crowded than HAL, maybe due to the fact that there are other dining rooms for Aqua staterooms. I ate Eggs Benedict most every morning and on Celebrity there was just one guy prepping, cooking and serving which made for long lines. HAL generally has several servers at this station.

Dining Room – Dining Rooms nice on both lines. Food choices on Celebrity are not as varied as HAL and I believe the food on HAL is a little better. Servers are attentive on both lines.

Specialty Restaurants – Ate at both Tuscan Grille and Ocean Liners on Constellation. Food was good but price was higher on Celebrity and I don’t think the quality was any better than Pinnacle Grill or Canelletto. Odd that Tuscan Grille windows look out at a deck and railings rather than nice floor to ceiling ocean view you have at the Pinnacle.

Poolside Grill – HAL’s is much better, especially with the newer menu. HAL also has the taco bar with salads that are available throughout the day. Again, we were frustrated by lack of help at Poolside grill on Celebrity. There was just one guy taking orders and cooking, whereas HAL has a group of folks and gets the orders out quickly.

Café Bacio – (Specialty coffees) – Celebrity has the pastries/desserts and coffee options like at Explorers Lounge on HAL. However on Celebrity you can actually sit down and be waited on and coffee is served with biscotti. Very relaxing for a late morning or afternoon snack. Both lines charge for coffees but not pastries or desserts there. You can use your beverage card to pay for the specialty coffees.

Bars – In almost every bar, we had to look for a server or go place the order at the bar. Celebrity had no real drink menus to tell you what was in any of the drinks. The menus on the table listed what drinks were available for each beverage plan, but didn’t explain the drinks. We never saw a drink of the day advertised like on HAL, nor did Celebrity have any bar snacks in any of the bars we were in. The Reflections lounge (similar to HAL Crow’s Nest) was a nice place to relax during the day. There was a bar there, but only open at night, so you couldn’t get a soft drink or glass of wine while relaxing.

Activities – This is where HAL could take note of the way Celebrity does things. When you won one of the various trivia or other games, you got a signature (or maybe 2!) on a signature card that you kept throughout the cruise. At the end of the cruise you “cashed” your signatures in for Celebrity merchandise – a pen for 1 signature, caps, tote bags, lanyards, tshirts, etc for more signatures. Was so much better than playing for a silly HAL pin!! Some of the evening games were Port vs Starboard games that encouraged you to get to know some other people in order to win for your side.

Entertainment – No piano bar or Adagio Strings on Celebrity, but did have many good entertainers scattered around the ship. The guest entertainers in the Showroom were good, as are HAL’s usually. The Celebrity cast productions – singers and dancers – were, in my opinion, better on Celebrity than on HAL.

Overall – We thoroughly enjoyed our Celebrity cruise. My husband and I preferred the diversity of age groups on the Celebrity cruise – seemed to have more active seniors than “older” seniors. We also enjoyed the mix of nationalities – I don’t know whether that is due to the European cruise or the cruise line. We booked another Celebrity cruise on board and will now compare Celebrity and HAL for itinerary and price before booking.

SciTech, did you feel much motion with the forward inside? Hubby and I are not really bothered by motion but we have another couple going that have never cruised before & don't know if it would bother them. I'm just really torn between keeping the balcony or being close to the Crow's Nest and steps away from an outside observation deck. I believe there are a few balconies still open on the observation deck (port side and we are going Northbound) so if we could move there without paying extra that could be another option.

No, we did not feel more motion than usual. We did have 2 rough days where people were feeling ill and the ginger was set out. Obviously there was motion, but no more than on other cruises where we were on lower decks mid-ship.

There are balcony rooms on the Observation deck. Balconies are a bit smaller than on other decks, but otherwise, the same configuration.

My husband and just spent 26 days in an inside cabin on the Observation Deck near the Crow's Nest. We were on the Zuiderdam but I understand the configuration is the same. We loved it and have booked the same cabin on the Noordam for a July Alaska cruise - 10016.

The room is large. There is no love seat but you have a table and extra chair plus the chair from the desk if you want to eat at the table. This actually opens up the room and several people that came to look at the room said it was "huge". Loved the convenience to an outside door at the end of a short corridor and the convenience to the Crows Nest, especially in the morning as I am an early riser.

Never heard any noise from the Crows Nest or elevators.

Hope that helps.

This may be a dumb question, but where do you look to find out when and how many formal nights there are on a cruise?

Thanks.

Any idea when the 2017 World Cruise itinerary will come out?

We did Antarctica over Christmas and New Years several years ago. HAL made the holidays very festive and special.

Would agree with others that the side of the ship doesn't matter. Cruising the waters in Antarctica there was much to see on both sides of the ship.