Change - From HAL to Celebrity

[GlennG]

My wife and I have cruised with Holland America Line on 8 different occasions. For the most part, we have been quite pleased with our HAL experiences. We have particularly appreciated the good service on five of their ships. We have noticed, however, that many of their ships (e.g Maasdam) have been showing signs of age. We are interested in Caribbean cruising and are quite interested in the Celebrity Equinox. Are there any CC members who have cruised with both HAL and Celebrity? What main differences have you noted in these two cruise lines? Specifically, we enjoy staying in Verandah staterooms? Are the staterooms on the Equinox comparable to those staterooms found on Holland America Line?

[Iamthesea]

While we have not sailed on the smaller HAL ships, we have cruised on the Westerdam, Oosterdam and the Eurodam. Loved the balcony staterooms and baths, especially the SS bathrooms.

 

The balcony staterooms on the Equinox (Solstice class) are very unique and we love the bathrooms. I suggest choosing a stateroom that has the bed by the balcony. It opens up the stateroom. Others prefer the bed by the bathroom. We don't like this as we have to walk around the bed to get to either side of the stateroom. ;)

 

We think that the food and service are better than Celebrity (at least with our experience). However, the Celebrity ships are much prettier than HAL's. Entertainment is a bit better, as well.

 

Come give Celebrity a try! :)

Edited February 17, 2014 by Iamthesea

[GlennG]

Thanks for sharing your observations and your recommendation. I think we will try Celebrity. My wife appreciate the tub and shower combinations found in most HAL bathrooms. Do you know if Celebrity has similar bathing combinations in their staterooms?

[helen haywood]

Celebrity only has tubs in their suite category cabins.

[hulamoon]

You would need a sky suite for the combo bath. Sky suites are nice on celebrity. I like them better than S on HA. You would also get a butler to assist you.

Edited February 17, 2014 by hulamoon

[fleckle]

.....Are there any CC members who have cruised with both HAL and Celebrity? What main differences have you noted in these two cruise lines? Specifically, we enjoy staying in Verandah staterooms? Are the staterooms on the Equinox comparable to those staterooms found on Holland America Line?

You need to go up to a suite on Celebrity to get a bathtub.

 

For regular verandah cabins, the storage areas are better on HAL, especially for short people.

For some reason Celebrity put storage shelves in the S-class cabins high above the beds and greatly reduced the size of the nightstands, eliminating the nice nightstand drawers and the convenient drawers in the closet area that Celebrity provides on their older M-class ships.

 

We prefer the food and the entertainment on Celebrity.

We found the service good on both lines.

The libraries on HAL ships are greatly superior to those on Celebrity ships.

The Equinox does not have a nice promenade deck like HAL ships do.

 

As for decor and appearance, I think you will find the Equinox to be very modern, light and bright with more of a "wow" factor compared to HAL's darker, traditional look.

 

If you smoke, you may not care for Celebrity, which has a much more restrictive smoking policy than HAL.

If you are non-smokers you should be very pleased with Celebrity's lack of smoke in all indoor areas and on the verandahs.

 

If the shipboard computer lab matters to you, Celebrity has Apple computers while HAL has Microsoft.

 

 

Edited February 17, 2014 by fleckle

[grandgeezer]

When we first started cruising, we were HAL fanatics, with 9 of our first 11 cruises with them. Then the cost cutting measures started coming so we tried other lines, including Celebrity. We were hooked. Of our last 9 cruises, we have 5 with Celebrity, 3 on RCL's Allure, and 1 on HAL. We have three more cruises booked with Celebrity this year.

We agree with the comments about the older ships. The Oosterdam and Amsterdam were nice though.

The two areas where we feel HAL has the edge is the beds,the best at sea, and the food is a little better. Everything else is either even or an edge to Celebrity. Celebrity has the biggest edge is in the Loyalty Club department. We are 3Star mariners with HAL (101 days at sea), and get nothing but a lousy tile for free. We were Elite on Celebrity after four cruises (42 days at sea), and we get free bags of laundry, free internet minutes, two hours of free drinks everyday, and much more. We are now Elite Plus with no hope of getting to the top tier, but that's ok.

Our favorite ship, before they sold it, was the Mercury. Now we love the Solstice ships, doing 3 cruises on the Solstice, and have 2 cruises booked on the Equinox, and one on the Silohuette. We have also been on the Constellation, Infinity, and Millenium and would go back on them in a minute.

We are open to cruising with other lines determined by itenerary and pricing, but it's real tough to beat "X", in our eyes.

[cruisetimeforme]

another 3*mariner and elite w/celebrity here, second that you can't beat the bennies given compared to HAL Loved them yrs back and still use once in awhile in certain destinations like Alaska or CAN/NE Panama You''ll need to try out for yourself great to have alternatives

[Pilot70D]

The passage ways are clear by and large on =X=. On HAL there is a solid row of those electric scooters recharging.

 

On =X= the bars are open past 9:00 P.M.

 

=X= has never considered naming one of their new constructions the M.S. Geritolendam.

 

Seriously, we enjoyed our three cruises on HAL. We still consider the Volendam to be the most beautiful ship on which we have sailed.

 

Give =X= a try. You'll like it. Welcome to Celebrity!!!

:D:D:D

[ChiGal1962]

1 cruise on HAL, 2 on Celebrity, so I'm by no means an expert. But ...

 

Loved all the cruises. Balconies on both, traveled with my aunt on HAL and solo on Celebrity. All trips were between 11-16 nights. None were in the Caribbean, which might change things. But here's my take:

 

Demographics - Celebrity was a significantly younger demographic -- not *young* by any means, probably 15 years younger than HAL on average.

Food - great on both. Maybe a touch more creative on HAL, but really enjoyed both (and that's important to me!)

Service - great on both.

Staterooms - comparable in total, but the bed on HAL was maybe the most comfortable in my life. Seriously. Like a cloud. Celebrity had very firm beds (not a fan).

Activities - hands down, advantage Celebrity. HAL had very little to do during the day, and much of that limited scale was not interesting (to me).

 

Bottom line, for the right price/itinerary, I'd sail either again. But I look primarily on Celebrity.

[junetraveler2014]

You need to go up to a suite on Celebrity to get a bathtub.

 

For regular verandah cabins, the storage areas are better on HAL, especially for short people.

For some reason Celebrity put storage shelves in the S-class cabins high above the beds and greatly reduced the size of the nightstands, eliminating the nice nightstand drawers and the convenient drawers in the closet area that Celebrity provides on their older M-class ships.

 

We prefer the food and the entertainment on Celebrity.

We found the service good on both lines.

The libraries on HAL ships are greatly superior to those on Celebrity ships.

The Equinox does not have a nice promenade deck like HAL ships do.

 

As for decor and appearance, I think you will find the Equinox to be very modern, light and bright with more of a "wow" factor compared to HAL's darker, traditional look.

 

If you smoke, you may not care for Celebrity, which has a much more restrictive smoking policy than HAL.

If you are non-smokers you should be very pleased with Celebrity's lack of smoke in all indoor areas and on the verandahs.

 

If the shipboard computer lab matters to you, Celebrity has Apple computers while HAL has Microsoft.

 

 

Everything Freckle has to say is correct but I would like to add if want to be treated like royalty a suite can be worth it . Celebrity has the better perks. Whatever your choice :cool:ENJOY!

[floralscent]

We have sailed on HAL and Celebrity 3 times each, all verandahs. We are in our late 40's and enjoy both lines so price and itinerary help us decide which is best for us at that time.

 

Both lines have their pluses and minuses. We think HAL has a much more cozy MDR and far better food in the MDR, buffet and much better desserts. We like how HAL serves you at the buffet to help reduce the spreading of germs but think Celebrity has an overall better selection and much roomier dining area.

 

Celebrity has far better specialty restaurants in our opinion.

 

IMO HAL has a lot more to do on sea days. They have a dedicated area for cooking demos and provide hands on cooking classes, while Celebrity has most of these events either in the theater where it is difficult to see or in the atrium and they do not have these hands on classes.

 

Cabin bathrooms on Celebrity are much nicer and modern than HAL.

 

Having said all that, give Celebrity a try. You won't be disappointed.

[kelmac]

My wife and I have cruised with Holland America Line on 8 different occasions. For the most part, we have been quite pleased with our HAL experiences. We have particularly appreciated the good service on five of their ships. We have noticed, however, that many of their ships (e.g Maasdam) have been showing signs of age. We are interested in Caribbean cruising and are quite interested in the Celebrity Equinox. Are there any CC members who have cruised with both HAL and Celebrity? What main differences have you noted in these two cruise lines? Specifically, we enjoy staying in Verandah staterooms? Are the staterooms on the Equinox comparable to those staterooms found on Holland America Line?

 

Hi Glenn,

 

My wife and I used to alternate between HAL(9 cruises) and Celebrity(24 cruises). About five years ago Holland America started a slow decline in every area, at the same time, Celebrity introduced their S Class of ships, and everything Celebrity was on an up-swing! Here is my take on the two:

 

HAL:

--great wrap around promenade deck

--pretty good MDR food

--Lido is better than most, but in decline

--ships are getting older and they are dark/traditional

--poor A/C systems on many of their older ships

--beds are good, but too soft for my taste

--nothing is FUN about a HAL cruise; just going through the motions

--asian feel, with great service

 

Celebrity:

--ships are modern and bright

--S-class ships are the best large ships at sea

--food is excellent in all venues

--Captain's Club is excellent/with great benefits

--great alternative restaurants

--Celebrity has a way to make us feel special every single cruise

--lacks a wrap around promenade deck:(

--nice decor and great showers in cabins

--excellent service and a visible officer corps

 

Our last HAL cruise was in 2011 and we will not return anytime soon.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[hulamoon]

People love the wrap around promenade, except for the part you must hold your breath as it is also a smoking section.

[OCruisers]

Don't think you'll have a massive "culture shock" going from HAL to Celebrity!

To us Celebrity is more like HAL than any other mass market cruise line is.

 

It's fun to "sleep around"! Look forward to giving Celebrity a try.

 

LuLu

~~~

[jocelysue]

Differences: HAL

wrap around promenade deck

afternoon tea

bathtub in almost ever cabin

dedicated Filipino & Indonesian staff

still has midnight buffets

DVD player in every cabin

deck above crow's nest for better star viewing late ar night

main pool can be covered in cold or inclement weather

hands on cooking shows

dedicated movie theater with popcorn

priest on board at every sailing

still has string quartets or trios

cloth hand towels in bathroom

fresh flowers on tablesi in MDR & Lido

full menu can be served in cabin at every meal, no restrictions

latger library

 

 

 

Celebrity

no smoking anywhere policy (one small caveat)

more specialty eating venues

staff , especially officers, more interactive with passengers

more modern music choice

trivia better adaptrd to different specialties

better welcome aboard

more affordable verandah cabins

[jimmy2x]

People love the wrap around promenade, except for the part you must hold your breath as it is also a smoking section.

 

Not anymore.

[Jayandar]

Glenn, I haven't been on HAL but love Celebrity particularly Aqua Class. Will be on Equinox in a month. Choose one of the Solstice-class ships and go Aqua Class with Blu Restaurant. Try it - you will love it!

[kelmac]

Differences: HAL

wrap around promenade deck

afternoon tea

bathtub in almost ever cabin

dedicated Filipino & Indonesian staff

still has midnight buffets

DVD player in every cabin

deck above crow's nest for better star viewing late ar night

main pool can be covered in cold or inclement weather

hands on cooking shows

dedicated movie theater with popcorn

priest on board at every sailing

still has string quartets or trios

cloth hand towels in bathroom

fresh flowers on tablesi in MDR & Lido

full menu can be served in cabin at every meal, no restrictions

latger library

 

 

 

Celebrity

no smoking anywhere policy (one small caveat)

more specialty eating venues

staff , especially officers, more interactive with passengers

more modern music choice

trivia better adaptrd to different specialties

better welcome aboard

more affordable verandah cabins

 

Hi js,

 

You might want to wait until you've cruised Celebrity before making the comparison. Some of the things on your HAL list also occur on Celebrity, like cloth towels in the restrooms.:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[hulamoon]

Does HAL have midnight buffets?

[bar_20]

I was on two HAL cruises this past year and my sister was on a different HAL cruise in 2013 as well. We both said they have gone down hill since previous cruises with them. Now it's all about how much money they can extract from you with their seminars. Same older crowd, same ghost town after 11PM. My wife and I are sailing with X in a month and I will get a comparison then.