Holland or Cunard: 14 day Transatlantic?

Or HAL Neptune suites.

 

Roy

 

We don't disagree often, but the HAL Neptune suites are not "a ship within a ship". Other than the Neptune Lounge and breakfast in the Pinnacle, there are no areas off limits to people on HAL ships that are not in Neptunes.

 

Moreover, basically, the Neptune Suites get the same breakfast, lunch and dinner as everyone else on board. No special dining, no off limit decks, etc.

 

To me, HAL does not really have a huge division in class of booking compared to some of the others (NCL Haven, Cunard, etc.)

 

You could easily be sitting at a table in the MDR with someone in an inside, OV, Verandah & NS and it's no biggie ;)

Here's my take on "Cunard vs. Holland America," from a primarily Cunard passenger.

 

Cunard is much more formal in the evenings, which may or may not appeal. Daytime dress is essentially the same with no real difference in formality during the day on Cunard compared to other lines we've sailed.

 

Cunard has more live musicians, primarily classical musicians such as harpists or string quartets.

 

Most stage shows (particularly with guest performer vs the performance ensemble) on Cunard use a live band. The performance ensemble mostly uses live musicians although some shows may have recorded music. HAL possibly has more piano or small combos throughout the ship.

 

The singing and dancing group on QM2 is larger than on ms Amsterdam (my most recent experience with either line).Cunard generally has four singers and 12 dancers performing, while I saw fewer of each on ms Amsterdam. Not arguing that more is necessarily better, but more helps fill the stage.

 

Cunard is much better at keeping you busy on a sea day. On our third sea day out of 14 on HAL I was feeling bored while six sea days out of 12 (or even 7 in a row on a transatlantic) has much more of interest. Primarily the enrichment lecturers, although Queen Mary 2 also has planetarium shows. Cunard currently doesn't offer cooking demos at the level of depth offered by the Cook's Illustrated series. Cunard also has watercolor painting lessons, bridge lessons (fencing lessons depending on the ship & itinerary), etc on a sea day. I'm not sure about HAL offhand.

 

Service on HAL is better outside of the dining room, and comparable in the dining room. The HAL bar waiters were pleasant and welcoming and quickly knew our names and drink preferences. Cunard servers are more aloof.

 

(Possibly we don't spend as much time in the bars on Cunard which limits waiters' ability to become familiar with us. I know other Cunard passengers who have happy reunions with their servers when they next sail on the ship - but personally we haven't had that.)

 

In our experience table service (coffee/juice, help with plates, etc.) in the buffet is better on HAL than Cunard.

 

HAL seems to have small dance floors in many venues on the ship. On Cunard the primary, perhaps only, dance area is in the Queens Room. People generally don't dance in the Golden Lion pub or the Chart Room even when there's live music being played.

 

On our HAL cruise 1100+ of 1300 passengers were from the US. On Cunard fewer than half of the passengers usually are from the US (but they might be the largest nationality on US departures).

 

No anytime dining on Cunard other than in Britannia Club and suites. Other speciality dining options are available.

 

Much more relaxed wine and alcohol policy on Cunard. Carry on what you like for in-room consumption; bottles of wine carried into a restaurant incur a $20 corkage.

 

People seem to assume there's an overbearing Class system on Cunard; as a regular stateroom ("Britannia") passenger on Cunard my perception is, yeah there's a couple of restaurants, one lounge and a small section of upper deck reserved for the suite passengers, but otherwise no, there's no real difference in what I can do.

 

Not pertinent to this thread, but Cunard doesn't have as much to choose from for a US embarkation. Mostly transatlantic or New England-Canada and Caribbean trips out of New York on QM2. Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth generally cruise other parts of the world (an forthcoming exception is Queen Elizabeth's series of 10-day Alaska cruises out Vancouver in May-June 2019, but HAL knows Alaska better, IMO).

 

Anyway, just my observation from several Cunard cruises and one HAL cruise.

I don't usually quote long posts, but I am this time because as one who has been on both lines several times, I find this to be an excellent comparison. Just a few comments embedded below.

 

Here's my take on "Cunard vs. Holland America," from a primarily Cunard passenger.

 

Cunard is much more formal in the evenings, which may or may not appeal. Daytime dress is essentially the same with no real difference in formality during the day on Cunard compared to other lines we've sailed.

 

Cunard has more live musicians, primarily classical musicians such as harpists or string quartets.

 

HAL is trying to up its game, especially with Lincoln Center Stage, but Cunard definitely has a wider variety.

 

Most stage shows (particularly with guest performer vs the performance ensemble) on Cunard use a live band. The performance ensemble mostly uses live musicians although some shows may have recorded music. HAL possibly has more piano or small combos throughout the ship.

Cunard has more.

 

The singing and dancing group on QM2 is larger than on ms Amsterdam (my most recent experience with either line).Cunard generally has four singers and 12 dancers performing, while I saw fewer of each on ms Amsterdam. Not arguing that more is necessarily better, but more helps fill the stage.

 

Cunard is much better at keeping you busy on a sea day. On our third sea day out of 14 on HAL I was feeling bored while six sea days out of 12 (or even 7 in a row on a transatlantic) has much more of interest. Primarily the enrichment lecturers, although Queen Mary 2 also has planetarium shows. Cunard currently doesn't offer cooking demos at the level of depth offered by the Cook's Illustrated series. Cunard also has watercolor painting lessons, bridge lessons (fencing lessons depending on the ship & itinerary), etc on a sea day. I'm not sure about HAL offhand.

I haven't done a HAL TA, but when we've had sea days on a HAL cruise, there doesn't seem to be much going on. Computer workshops and cooking are about it. (Of course, there are port shopping lectures and presentations about tours, plus all manner of "health" talks meant to sell you spa treatments) HAL's cooking demo program is something Cunard doesn't have. Cunard typically does a demo by chefs in the theater once per cruise.

 

Service on HAL is better outside of the dining room, and comparable in the dining room. The HAL bar waiters were pleasant and welcoming and quickly knew our names and drink preferences. Cunard servers are more aloof.

 

(Possibly we don't spend as much time in the bars on Cunard which limits waiters' ability to become familiar with us. I know other Cunard passengers who have happy reunions with their servers when they next sail on the ship - but personally we haven't had that.)

 

In our experience table service (coffee/juice, help with plates, etc.) in the buffet is better on HAL than Cunard.

 

HAL seems to have small dance floors in many venues on the ship. On Cunard the primary, perhaps only, dance area is in the Queens Room. People generally don't dance in the Golden Lion pub or the Chart Room even when there's live music being played.

 

On our HAL cruise 1100+ of 1300 passengers were from the US. On Cunard fewer than half of the passengers usually are from the US (but they might be the largest nationality on US departures).

 

No anytime dining on Cunard other than in Britannia Club and suites. Other speciality dining options are available.

 

Much more relaxed wine and alcohol policy on Cunard. Carry on what you like for in-room consumption; bottles of wine carried into a restaurant incur a $20 corkage.

 

People seem to assume there's an overbearing Class system on Cunard; as a regular stateroom ("Britannia") passenger on Cunard my perception is, yeah there's a couple of restaurants, one lounge and a small section of upper deck reserved for the suite passengers, but otherwise no, there's no real difference in what I can do.

SO TRUE! This class system reputation is a pet peeve of mine. So many people say they would NEVER sail Cunard because of the class system. I've heard people say that only snobs sail on Cunard. Yet some of these same people love the Haven on NLC or swear they would never book anything but Aqua Class because they get to eat in Blu. On Cunard, Grills passengers don't hide out in their private areas. They mingle with everyone else. I haven't encountered snobbery. Chat with other passengers in a lounge or on a tour or waiting for a lecture, and you have no idea if they have an inside cabin on the lowest deck (affectionately called steerage) or they're in the grandest of the Queens Grill suites.

 

Not pertinent to this thread, but Cunard doesn't have as much to choose from for a US embarkation. Mostly transatlantic or New England-Canada and Caribbean trips out of New York on QM2. Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth generally cruise other parts of the world (an forthcoming exception is Queen Elizabeth's series of 10-day Alaska cruises out Vancouver in May-June 2019, but HAL knows Alaska better, IMO).

 

Anyway, just my observation from several Cunard cruises and one HAL cruise.