Comparing Celebrity to HAL

[Jeanneb81]

I've always thought that a lack of a wrap around promenade deck on Celebrity ships was it's one BIG epic failure! Having said that, after 29 cruises on Celebrity and nine on HAL, Celebrity wins in 85% of the categories.

 

 

 

We've taken a five year break from HAL, but are going to give them another try in December. We booked an inside cabin, because a balcony is worthless, many times, as you can have smokers all around you. I think Holland America is the only cruise line left that allows smoking on balconies.

 

 

 

Give the new Edge Class ships of Celebrity a promenade deck like the one on the Queen Mary 2, coupled with the best features of the M and S class, and you may have the perfect ship!?

 

 

 

Enjoy!~

 

Kel:)

 

 

 

Starting Jan. 2017 no smoking on balconies

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Hlitner]

Hank, to address you thoughts about cabins and ships and mass market lines versus premium lines. We like the space- my SO likes to read on the balcony where it is quiet and he can nap on and off. He is not a fan of crowds and noise. (I know, why cruise?) The suite balconies are larger and can accommodate a lounge chair, which is his preference. I am out and about all day, both at sea and in port. We meet for meals.

 

We like Michael's Club and enjoy it's low key atmosphere. Unlike the Neptune suite lounge, they serve alcohol to the suite passengers. You do get to know other passengers well, as the same folks tend to be there every night. We have never found it overly crowded, dispite the number of suite passengers. Not all of them come into Michael's. Some don't because they prefer the Martini Bar, or the Suset Bar, etc. The reasons we like Michael's are the reasons they don't. Different strokes for different folks.

 

Secondly, in a suite, we have access to Luminae, the suite restaurant. Noise level is generally low, it is easy to converse, the service is far superior to the MDR. They serve breakfast every day and lunch on sea days. If we wish to dine with new friends, we can. If we want a table for two, no problem.

 

We rarely use the special services of our butler or our Concierge. On the few times we have, they have taken very good care of us.

 

I realize that the premium lines offer all of this and more. For whatever reason, we prefer the known quantity that is Celebrity. Yes, it falls into the mass market category of cruise lines, but having sailed on others, we feel that the bang for buck there is better than RCCL, HAL, NCL. I don't feel like Celebrity is the Holiday Inn of cruising. I would give that distinction to NCL. The cost to get a comparably sized suite on the premium lines is much more expensive. We prefer to spend our $$ in a suite and cruise, at most, twice a year. Others prefer lower category cabins with the ability to cruise more frequently. Again, different stokes for different folks.

 

Truly appreciate you sharing your thoughts. DW and I constantly debate whether to book a suite or regular balcony on our many cruises. For the most part we are fine with regular balconies...which saves us a small fortune every year since we often cruise over 100 days. We have always been underwhelmed by the Neptune Lounge on HAL, and find it amusing that folks would pay big bucks (often over $1000 per person/day) for a beautiful suite...and then leave that cabin for an inside lounge (no view) that does not even give them a free drink! Ridiculous.

 

We do see some merit to the ship within a ship trend that gives suite passengers access to many options. It seems fair that those paying big bucks get something for their money. I can see us booking a Celebrity Suite because of Luninae and Michaels....but we would need to be convinced that Luminae is better then places like Murano. Otherwise, booking a regular balcony and often dining in Murano and perhaps Qsine...might make more sense.

 

The large suite cabins are another issued debated by DW and moi. Yes, we like the extra space (and love the bathrooms) in suites. But we once calculated that we spend no more then 3 waking hours a day in our cabin on most cruises and the suite amenities are worthless to us while sleeping or not in our cabin. In a financial sense this can mean paying $300+ per person/hour for our awake time in a suite. For us its not a matter of being able to pay the cost...but more a question of is it worth it. When we want to pay the big bucks it is hard to resist the lure of the more upscale luxury lines where we get the benefits of the higher cost wherever we happen to be or eat on the ship.

 

Hank