Have I made a big mistake?

[happygran]

I have to say that we love Celebrity..........but HAL has a great itinerary in the Southern Caribbean........the ABC islands.

 

We've cruised quite a few lines and Celebrity has been our favourite BUT they don't offer the itinerary...........

 

We cruise, first & foremost, for the itinerary, and HAL offers us new ports of call.

 

We are in our 60's (young..........or I think so)......but we're easily pleased. Nice food, a few lounges with a variety of music (sometimes we fancy jazz, or other times a string quartet or a piano bar, and sometimes we want to put on our dancing shoes..60's, 70's or whatever)...whatever takes our fancy.....We're happy.

 

Will we fit with HAL?

[Alberta Quilter]

Yes, I think you will like HAL. HAL has all that you described.

[1of4]

We cruise for the same reason, DH in his late 40s and me in my (very) early 50s and we love HAL. We haven't cruised Celebrity but have cruised with Princess and Disney. All the activities you mentioned are readily available on HAL.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[the2ofus]

I sailed on the Noordam on that itinerary in November and loved it. You sound like the kind of people who will find the Noordam a perfect fit. Enjoy your cruise.

[NMLady]

I have to say that we love Celebrity..........but HAL has a great itinerary in the Southern Caribbean........the ABC islands.

 

We've cruised quite a few lines and Celebrity has been our favourite BUT they don't offer the itinerary...........

 

We cruise, first & foremost, for the itinerary, and HAL offers us new ports of call.

 

We are in our 60's (young..........or I think so)......but we're easily pleased. Nice food, a few lounges with a variety of music (sometimes we fancy jazz, or other times a string quartet or a piano bar, and sometimes we want to put on our dancing shoes..60's, 70's or whatever)...whatever takes our fancy.....We're happy.

 

Will we fit with HAL?

 

I have cruised both Celebrity and HAL. They are very similar. You will fit right in.

[happygran]

Thanks so much for the replies.

 

We've looked at HAL a few times but have always been happy with Celebrity......As long as there's a variety of music to listen to........we're happy.

 

Thanks again.

[cruisingxpert]

I have cruised with Celebrity (3 times) and HAL (7 times). The Celebrity Solstice is more beautiful in its decor but I prefer HAL to Celebrity. It's like food,houses etc - you can't always say exactly why but you just feel good about it.

 

That said, my last 2 cruises have been on Oceania Riviera. The last 2 cruises on HAL were good but the food was becoming very mundane - very subjective, I know. Interesting food is my passion more than the itineraries.

I haven't been on the Nieuw Amsterdam but all this talk about the Tamarind has me salivating for the "pho soup"

 

CJ

[Krazy Kruizers]

Are you sailing on the Noordam in 2015?

She is a wonderful ship.

Music right now (it could change by 2015):

Ocean Bar -- HAL cats -- dancing floor.

Explorers Lounge -- a piano player and a violinist -- no dancing.

Sometime music in the Queen's Lounge by a special group -- way too soon to know what will be going on there.

Northern Lights -- disco music and dancing.

Piano Bar -- more sign-a-long -- no dancing.

The ABC islands are wonderful -- have done them quite a few times.

[Hlitner]

You will fit-in fine and will find quite a few things you miss from Celebrity and some things you like about HAL. Personally, we do prefer Celebrity because we find their food somewhat better then on HAL, love their S-Class ships, and really appreciate their restrictive smoking policy. On HAL you will also find decent food, but a crappy smoking policy that might have you breathing-in cigar or cigarette smoke if you have a balcony cabin and try to use it. HAL also allows some smoking in the casino and, although they do now limit it to only those gambling, we think most HAL casinos smell like the inside of a dirty ashtray.

 

But if you can live with the smokers, HAL does have a darn good product and great itineraries.

 

Hank

[Typhoon1]

If you enjoy Celebrity, you'll find yourself right at home on HAL. Some friends have sailed both and actually like HAL better.

[pris993]

We are elite on Princess, elite on Celebrity, 2 Star on HAL, cruise Cunard and many other lines as well. We actually prefer HAL to Celebrity.

 

We are booked on the New Amsterdam for the TA to Barcelona in April and the Celebrity Silhouette out of Rome for the October cruise to the eastern Mediterranean.

 

HAL has a nice lounge at the bow of the ship, much like X. We love the promenade deck on HAL which is missing on the Silhoutte.

 

We think the MDR on HAL is better than X.

 

Cabin on HAL all have bath tubs, hot breakfast is available from room service on HAL as well.

 

There is not a lot of difference between the main lines, Princess, Celebrity, and HAL that we cruise on regularly. Cunard is more formal, very nice cruise experience if you enjoy dressing more formally.

[RuthC]

Cabin on HAL all have bath tubs, ....

With a couple of exceptions:

Inside cabins have a large shower only.

The Prinsendam alternates tub and shower only cabins in many (if not most) categories.

[mamaofami]

The ABC islands are great and I've sailed that itinerary on HAl's Maasdam several times. Great itinerary.

[Glacier Park]

Don't think you've made a mistake. We have cruised both Celebrity and HAL and find them pretty much comparable. We prefer HAL because:

Cabins, in general, are a bit larger;

The sofa in verandah rooms are large enough for 2 large people to sit side-by-side comfortably, not so in the Celebrity verandah cabin we had;

The Lido deck on HAL offers casual dining for dinner, with most of the same choices that are available on the main dining room menu;

Room service far superior - many choices to tailor what you like for breakfast and the ability to get anything that is on the dining room menu for dinner, and served by a dedicated room service staff, rather than, your cabin stewards, who already have enough to do.

Some of things may have changed since we sailed on Celebrity three years ago, but we have been sailing HAL ever since.

[jtl513]

Cabin on HAL all have bath tubs,

 

With a couple of exceptions:

Inside cabins have a large shower only.

The Prinsendam alternates tub and shower only cabins in many (if not most) categories.

And HC cabins, and about 25 cabins in the aft section of decks 4, 5, and 6 on Vista and Signature ships, and 8 cabins at the forward end of deck 4 of those two classes. 'Never', 'always', and 'all' should be used carefully! :) Edited January 26, 2014 by jtl513

[startwin]

I have to say that we love Celebrity..........but HAL has a great itinerary in the Southern Caribbean........the ABC islands.

 

We've cruised quite a few lines and Celebrity has been our favourite BUT they don't offer the itinerary...........

 

We cruise, first & foremost, for the itinerary, and HAL offers us new ports of call.

 

We are in our 60's (young..........or I think so)......but we're easily pleased. Nice food, a few lounges with a variety of music (sometimes we fancy jazz, or other times a string quartet or a piano bar, and sometimes we want to put on our dancing shoes..60's, 70's or whatever)...whatever takes our fancy.....We're happy.

 

Will we fit with HAL?

 

No you have not made a mistake. You will have a wonderful cruise. Stop worrying.:)

[Thebes]

Are you sailing on the Noordam in 2015?

She is a wonderful ship.

Music right now (it could change by 2015):

Ocean Bar -- HAL cats -- dancing floor.

Explorers Lounge -- a piano player and a violinist -- no dancing.

Sometime music in the Queen's Lounge by a special group -- way too soon to know what will be going on there.

Northern Lights -- disco music and dancing.

Piano Bar -- more sign-a-long -- no dancing.

The ABC islands are wonderful -- have done them quite a few times.

 

Sorry but I don't know what those abc islands ? Please explain

[Hlitner]

Sorry but I don't know what those abc islands ? Please explain

 

The so-called ABC Islands simply refer to Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. The ABC term has been used for many years by travelers to this part of the Caribbean/Atlantic.

 

Hank

[cruisetrail]

Aruba

Bonaire

Curacao

[Thebes]

Thank you H&C.

[MVPinBoynton]

Happygran,

I am in your same boat. We are Elite+ with Celebrity and taking our first HAL cruise in 5 weeks. I have always wanted to try HAL and am finally able to now that I am retired. I will report back on my thoughts.

[cbr663]

We keep looking at Celebrity for possible options. My SIL is loyal to the X and swears by them. We have come close to booking a couple of X cruises, but always change our minds due primarily to the smaller sizes of X's cabins. It always seems that we would have to select a Sky Suite on X to receive the comparable veranda cabin on HAL.

[happygran]

Wow! Many thanks for all the replies.

 

Yes, we're booked on the Noordam in an aft balcony cabin. The more I hear about HAL, the more I'm looking forward to this cruise.

 

Thanks for the warning about the smoking policy........we'll make sure we avoid the casino.

 

I've just ordered a bar set-up and couldn't believe the price.......so much cheaper than Celebrity.

 

Thanks again

[Blondebomb]

I have to say that we love Celebrity..........but HAL has a great itinerary in the Southern Caribbean........the ABC islands.

 

We've cruised quite a few lines and Celebrity has been our favourite BUT they don't offer the itinerary...........

 

We cruise, first & foremost, for the itinerary, and HAL offers us new ports of call.

 

We are in our 60's (young..........or I think so)......but we're easily pleased. Nice food, a few lounges with a variety of music (sometimes we fancy jazz, or other times a string quartet or a piano bar, and sometimes we want to put on our dancing shoes..60's, 70's or whatever)...whatever takes our fancy.....We're happy.

 

Will we fit with HAL?

 

I could have written your post. My husband and I just got off Zuiderdam, did the Panama Canal 3 days ago. Same age as you and young at heart. We have done many Celebrity and Holland cruises. You will fit in just fine. B B King was on board with us!

 

Susan from Indiana where it is snowy and COLD. ( wish I was back in Aruba)

[jrgles]

I might have you all beat :-) my husband and I are in our 30s, and have done two cruises with Holland America and one on the Celebrity Equinox... and hands down, we prefer HAL! the food was much, much better, and we liked the feel of the ship more. (and the movies were better)