Hal cruise after several Celebrity cruises

[bebe08]

We’ve just returned from an enjoyable 10 day New England cruise aboard the HAL Zaandam.  The last time we cruised HAL was 2012 (was actually our first cruise ever).  After doing several Celebrity cruises we returned to HAL because of a unique itinerary…not because of any issues with X.  All cruises have been in a balcony cabin.

 

Both lines have their pros and cons.  Below is what we felt were some of the key differences/highlights of each:

 

HAL

-        Love that bathroom has a full size tub – don’t need to turn into a pretzel to shave your legs

-        Really enjoyed having the navigator app – I understand X is rolling out something similar but haven’t experienced it yet

-        Piano Bars – there were 2 Piano bars on the ship and we really enjoyed them both

-        Main dining room – feels much less crowded, tables for 2 are not as close together.  The room itself is beautifully decorated

-        Loved the dive-in restaurant for lunch by the pool

-        Lido pool has retractable roof

 

Celebrity

-        Staterooms are brighter and have more outlets

-        Unlimited internet can be shared between users (as long as not logged on at the same time)

-        More variety of food and slightly better quality (based on buffet and main dining room experiences)

-        Café El Baccio – one of our favour venues.  Explorations Café on HAL is similar but doesn’t have the desserts (they do have a few selections of biscotti), or table service

 

Trying HAL again made us realize we won’t book exclusively with Celebrity in future, and will do our homework to compare before booking.  Bottom line is we like both lines, and would sail on either given the right price and itinerary.  We did book another HAL cruise while on board…a 14 night South America cruise which has better pricing than a comparable X cruise, and a slightly better itinerary.

 

I am posting this on both HAL and Celebrity boards and happy to answer any questions about our experience.

[canadianbear]

Thanks for your comparisons.  We tried Celebrity for the first time in March and really enjoyed it.  We were in a suite though and found Celebrity suite life much much better than HAL suite life.  

 

Glad you enjoyed HAL enough to book another cruise! 

 

 

[richwmn]

29 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

Unlimited internet can be shared between users (as long as not logged on at the same time)

Just wanted to point out that this is true on HAL as well

 

[fatcat04]

1 minute ago, richwmn said:

Just wanted to point out that this is true on HAL as well

 

Yes, and if using a travel router (thank you POA1) two+ can use it at the same time. Was very easy when our family did it in February. 

[fatcat04]

Would love to do that cruise sometime. Have done Boston to Montreal twice. Thanks for your mini review and comparison. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your comparisons between HAL and Celebrity.

 

Glad you enjoyed your HAL cruise so much that you have booked another one.

[bebe08]

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

Just wanted to point out that this is true on HAL as well

 

Ah too bad we didnt know that.  We accessed the internet through navigator and there were 3 plans to pick from...200, 300, or 500 mb per day.  I chose the 300.  I couldnt see a way for DH to access this as navigator is tied to each individual user.  DH ended up buying his own internet also the 300 surf package. 

 

Would love to know how to share a plan for next time.  

[MisterBill99]

40 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

Ah too bad we didnt know that.  We accessed the internet through navigator and there were 3 plans to pick from...200, 300, or 500 mb per day.  I chose the 300.  I couldnt see a way for DH to access this as navigator is tied to each individual user.  DH ended up buying his own internet also the 300 surf package. 

 

Would love to know how to share a plan for next time.  

 

Just have him login with your id. Same as it would work on Celebrity.

[MisterBill99]

4 hours ago, bebe08 said:

 

-        Café al Bacio – one of our favour venues.  Explorations Café on HAL is similar but doesn’t have the desserts (they do have a few selections of biscotti), or table service

 

I agree about this. Since we usually have the drink package on Celebrity, Cafe al Bacio is one of our favorite places. Plus it's right in the middle of the ship so you often pass when walking around the ship and when I organize tours I have everyone meet there before leaving the ship. Plus it's open straight thru from breakfast to after midnight.

 

Explorations Cafe isn't as centrally located (on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam it's up on deck 11) and the hours aren't nearly as long.

 

We were on Koningsdam last year and recently booked another cruise for next month, so we obviously enjoyed it.  And I found HAL's food to be as good as Celebrity (obviously taste in food is subjective). We also sail primarily on Celebrity but like HAL enough that we'll sail them with the right itinerary/price (both of which were true of our upcoming cruise). I'll miss the drink package and my Elite perks, however.

Edited May 7, 2019 by MisterBill99

[bebe08]

5 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Just have him login with your id. Same as it would work on Celebrity.

we were logging in thru navigator...

 

6 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

 

Just have him login with your id. Same as it would work on Celebrity.

We did try this...seemed that if he logged in with my ID then I couldn't use navigator...even the free stuff.  Seemed like internet was tied to navigator and we each had our own login ID and password.

So for example if DH has his own navigator app on his phone and buys an internet package thru navigator, can he then also use his internet package on his tablet?  If so does he also set up navigator on his tablet or is there some other way to access the internet?  Poor thing missed his Boom Beach on his tablet lol.  

 

 

[richwmn]

1 minute ago, bebe08 said:

we were logging in thru navigator...

 

We did try this...seemed that if he logged in with my ID then I couldn't use navigator...even the free stuff.  Seemed like internet was tied to navigator and we each had our own login ID and password.

So for example if DH has his own navigator app on his phone and buys an internet package thru navigator, can he then also use his internet package on his tablet?  If so does he also set up navigator on his tablet or is there some other way to access the internet?  Poor thing missed his Boom Beach on his tablet lol.  

 

 

I don't know about the navigator app, but using the webpage version it was easy for me to have multiple devices logged into Navigator but not internet. When I tried to access internet I got a message that another device was logged on and would I like to bump it off.

 

[MisterBill99]

2 hours ago, richwmn said:

I don't know about the navigator app, but using the webpage version it was easy for me to have multiple devices logged into Navigator but not internet. When I tried to access internet I got a message that another device was logged on and would I like to bump it off.

 

 

Presumably you all signed on with the same user name.

[richwmn]

10 minutes ago, MisterBill99 said:

Presumably you all signed on with the same user name.

Since I said "me" not "us" there was only one user name available. So yes, phone, tablet, and laptop were all signed in with the same user name.

 

Edited May 7, 2019 by richwmn

[*Miss G*]

Thank you for your comparison.  I do have to mention that the comparison was more ship than cruiseline focused.  (i.e., staterooms being brighter and having more outlets on Celebrity) The newer ships are much different than the Zaandam.  I am glad you enjoyed your experience.  Welcome back to HAL!

[SempreMare]

6 hours ago, canadianbear said:

We tried Celebrity for the first time in March and really enjoyed it.  We were in a suite though and found Celebrity suite life much much better than HAL suite life.  

@bebe08 thanks for your post! 

 

@canadianbear could you describe more about your comment above re: how suites on the 2 ships compared?   When I tried to price out X vs Hal for a Neptune equivalent suite, X seemed much higher.

[MisterBill99]

6 minutes ago, richwmn said:

Since I said "me" not "us" there was only one user name available. So yes, phone, tablet, and laptop were all signed in with the same user name.

 

 

Good point. But for the OP's situation, she and her husband would have had to use the same Navigator login to share the Internet access. But that's no different than Celebrity, where you have to login with the same ID.

 

Free Internet minutes, another thing I miss when going from Celebrity to HAL. But that's a matter of status level.

[canadianbear]

26 minutes ago, SempreMare said:

 

 

Quote

 

@canadianbear could you describe more about your comment above re: how suites on the 2 ships compared?   When I tried to price out X vs Hal for a Neptune equivalent suite, X seemed much higher.

 

We were on Celebrity Infinity in a Sky suite.    We have done many, many Neptune suites on HAL.  When we checked in at the counter for Celebrity we were escorted upstairs to the suite waiting area at 10:20 am.  At 10:30 the concierge escorted all suite guests to the private lounge called Michael's.  Here all alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages are included.  An hour later we were escorted to the suite private dining room called Luminae.   After lunch we went to our cabin where the butler introduced himself and what he could provide for us.  (morning coffee, breakfast, snacks, etc).  In the private dining room where we ate every night it was a limited menu, however, you can also order from the MDR menu.  When it was time to leave on the last day we could wait in Michael's (this has a concierge) and he personally would escort you at any time you wanted to depart. (and pass the lineup.  We did not use this as we left at the very end).    I'm not sure if you have been in a Neptune but it doesn't come close to this type of service.  (we also didn't use the butler except one day he surprised us after an excursion with snacks as we were late getting back-he left a note saying hope we weren't mad!)  Also, on "gala" nights on Celebrity there is a roped off area for suite guests only which means you don't have to show up 30 minutes early to get a seat.

 

We paid the same amount for our 7 day cruise on Celebrity (that included wifi, beverage package, OBC, and gratuities) as we did for our 6 day cruise in a Neptune suite.   (we did watch for a deal on Celebrity and luckily got it as I do know the suites, even Sky suites, can be expensive)

 

Hope this helps.

Edited May 7, 2019 by canadianbear

[SempreMare]

Definitely.  thanks so much for the additional detail @canadianbear

[Catlover54]

I am glad to see this thread as I have been considering experimenting with Celebrity, after just trying HAL again on Zaandam and enjoyed  a lot of things, but had a variety of service issues  ( was in a Neptune Suite on HAL in 2015, liked it a lot,  but have been only on luxury lines and one Oceania cruise since).

Berlitz ranks HAL 3 star and Celebrity 4 star, though of course YMMV depending on what kind of things you value

, where the cruise is, how long, and what kind of cabin you pay for.

 

Is there an upcharge for the separate dining area on Celebrity, like there is in Pinnacle Grill, or is that included in the Sky suite fare?  I also understand from a friend who does Celebrity a lot that solo supplements run an extra 75% of per person fare.

 

How were the shows on Celebrity compared with HAL? Or maybe that also varies by ship.

[Tampa Girl]

Never having sailed on Celebrity, I am nonetheless envious at the additional perks provided by the Sky Suites.  HAL's Neptune/Pinnacle suites do not, I agree, compare.  And the Neptune Suites are frequently double the price of a balcony or Vista cabin.  But - how do they compare in size with the Sky suites?

 

Also, I have heard that one can frequently get the Sky Suites at substantial discounts.  Is this correct?  I don't find that to be the case in booking Neptune Suites, apart from the discount we have been able to get by using a TA.  And those discounts seem to be shrinking lately, and they have never been what I consider to be "substantial."  That having been said, I will stick with HAL for the smaller ships and itinerary - as long as they still have the S and R class ships.

[cruise47]

We primarily have sailed on Celebrity, but HAL, looks very interesting,  HAL looks to have an edge in more ports to travel in the Caribbean and Alaska.  We have three pet peeves. We enjoy having a nice stateroom, excellent service by our stateroom attendance and excellent food in the restaurants.

 

[canadianbear]

4 hours ago, Catlover54 said:

I am glad to see this thread as I have been considering experimenting with Celebrity, after just trying HAL again on Zaandam and enjoyed  a lot of things, but had a variety of service issues  ( was in a Neptune Suite on HAL in 2015, liked it a lot,  but have been only on luxury lines and one Oceania cruise since).

Berlitz ranks HAL 3 star and Celebrity 4 star, though of course YMMV depending on what kind of things you value

, where the cruise is, how long, and what kind of cabin you pay for.

 

Is there an upcharge for the separate dining area on Celebrity, like there is in Pinnacle Grill, or is that included in the Sky suite fare?  I also understand from a friend who does Celebrity a lot that solo supplements run an extra 75% of per person fare.

 

How were the shows on Celebrity compared with HAL? Or maybe that also varies by ship.

The suite dining room Luminae is included-no upcharge.   The shows were very good and we also commented on how there were more entertainment venues on Celebrity.  Just a few days prior to our Celebrity cruise we had been on the Koningsdam and no escargot available.  On Celebrity we could get it every day!  Different suppliers I guess but we were happy escargot was again available on our recent NA cruise. 

 

A friend was just on the Edge and loved it. (not in a suite)   I think we’d like to try Celebrity again but not in a suite just to see unless another “sweet” deal happens.  

[MisterBill99]

3 hours ago, canadianbear said:

The shows were very good and we also commented on how there were more entertainment venues on Celebrity.

 

 

Celebrity has a lot of music around the ship at different times of the day (some really good, depending on the performer). HAL has their Music Walk with the 4 venues but those are almost always at night (I seem to recall that Lincoln Center Stage did a matinee one sea day). I really enjoyed the dueling piano players/singers at Billboard Onboard on both of my recent HAL cruises -- Celebrity doesn't have anything like that.

 

The shows are likely better on Celebrity, especially now that HAL got rid of their production casts.

[edgee]

Important to point out that the majority of HAL ships allow smoking in the Casino which means (obviously) smoke filled casinos and adjacent hallways. Celebrity has no such indoor smoking anywhere on any of its ships. For us that is a huge disadvantage for HAL. When we want to sail HAL we stick with the five Vista Class ships which have no casino or similar indoor area smoking. Other than this issue we enjoy both lines...with each's pros and cons.

[bebe08]

14 hours ago, edgee said:

Important to point out that the majority of HAL ships allow smoking in the Casino which means (obviously) smoke filled casinos and adjacent hallways. Celebrity has no such indoor smoking anywhere on any of its ships. For us that is a huge disadvantage for HAL. When we want to sail HAL we stick with the five Vista Class ships which have no casino or similar indoor area smoking. Other than this issue we enjoy both lines...with each's pros and cons.

Zaandam did allow smoking in the casino, but did have a few "smoke-free" days which were noted in the When and Where.