Just off of NA--Comparison to Celebrity

We just returned from our cruise on the NA (Dec. 30) sailing. We had a very good cruise and great weather. Holland America was our favorite line for many years, but we left for Celebrity due to the smoking issues at the time. We decided to give Holland a try again.

1. We upgraded and had a lovely Neptune Suite. It is by far the nicest cabin we have ever had and was a nice splurge. The Neptune Lounge was a nice stop for a cappuccino or a quick breakfast on a port day. The concierges were very helpful. 2. The entertainment was OK, not great. We enjoyed the one production show and the comedian. The juggler was horrible. We also enjoyed the Billboard piano duo and always caught one of their shows. There literally is nothing much to do on sea days, but as I recall this is true on other lines as well.

3. We ate 2 dinners in the Pinnacle Grill and they were both excellent. With the Mariner discount, they were well worth the uncharge. As much as we wanted to like the Pinnacle breakfast, it was still somewhat disappointing. Waffles, pancakes, etc. were all very dry and not great. It was still super not to have to go to the Lido for breakfast though. Food in the MDR was good, not great. New Years Eve was disappointing in menu choices and service. They seemed unprepared for so many people. We liked the pizzeria and the Dive In--again avoiding the Lido.

4. We liked having four port days and only two sea days . We think HA does a better job with itineraries .

5. The ship was very cold in many areas and by the end of the week, many passengers were sneezing, coughing, etc. I don't understand why it has to be so cold.

6. Both Celebrity and HA have good points. We prefer the Lido and the MDR on Celebrity as they seem more open and not as claustrophobic. We would give a slight nod to the food on Celebrity also, but it is very close. I prefer the itineraries on HA as Celebrity always has more sea days. Not a lot of difference in entertainment. We wish there was a place to dance on both lines.

We would not hesitate to cruise with either line in the future.

Thanks for posting your comparison. HAL is our second choice of cruise lines, but Princess is our first. Celebrity comes in third for us. Lately, we haven't found a bargain on X compared to the other two lines.

We sailed in our first suite last month. It was on a Princess ship. I have to say that breakfast in Sabatini's was one of the highlights of our suite benefits. The food there was wonderful. The other thing we like about Princess is that they still have lots of activities both during the day and in the evening. The only downside is that many times we'd like to do two activities that are taking place at the same time. Too bad they don't let me rearrange the schedule so I could avoid those conflicts.

Thank you for your review and comparing the 2 cruise lines.

We also cruise with HAL and Celebrity, primarily. I would agree with most of your comments. I think if you sailed on HAL's newest ships, Pinnacle Class, Koningsdam and soon to come Nieuw Statendam, you would find them much closer to Celebrity's S Class ships. We found even the decor on Koningsdam was very similar to Celebrity. I, too, would sail with either HAL or Celebrity depending on itinerary and price. Thank you for sharing your NA cruise experience with us.

Thanks for your review.

Any photos of the ship or your cabin that you would be willing to share would be greatly appreciated!

We have taken several Celebrity and Princess cruises and are attempting HAL for our next one for the first time. Your subject line jumped right off the page! Excited to try something new!

Our only concern is the night life on HAL. We can always find some fun on a Celebrity ship at ten o'clock! Bands by the pool at sailaway are a highlight for us also, especially that first one! Thoughts?

Thanks for your review/report.

Keith

Thanks for your review and comparison.

Thanks for providing the review. We have also sailed on HAL and X and agree with many of your comments. HAL tends to have more port days and we also enjoy that. We do find sea days somewhat boring.

We divide our cruising days between HAL, Celebrity, and Princess and find certain nuances on each to our liking.

Generally more similar than different and nothing so good or so bad as to make us sail only one to the exclusion of the others.