Holland vs Royal Caribbean

[retdon]

Just off the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas and NEVER AGAIN. 5,700 passengers with about 1,000 of them children. We went because of my high school reunion cruise and we did want to try a large ship but we could not wait to get off this monster. There are so many things we did not like it is easier to note the things we did like, our cabin steward was excellent, service in the Main Dinning room was very good as was the food, food over all was OK, only excellent items was the onion soup, escargot, prime rib and lamb chops. 

 

We like to come back to our cabin in the afternoons and sometimes watch a movie, not here, they charge $11.99 for a in cabin movie, ridiculous. Royal will nickel and dime you to death. Cocktail are from $10 up and usually half full. The noise level would deafen anyone, we needed ear plugs. Their buffet was terrible, no lines just pushing and shoving and it was serve your self which is a real health hazard. The worst was smoking in the casino, terrible. Cheap small paper napkins, no drink service, had to get it your self and screaming children everywhere. They had 12 elevators at the front and back of the ship and it was always wait and wait to get on. There was so much more with many in our group saying NEVER again on a ship this size. We had to drag our carry on luggage to lunch and try to find a place to eat, what a joke. The very first day is was pouring rain and will more than half the ship open to the out doors trying to get somewhere was difficult. 

 

This is just a brief review but I caution anyone who is thinking about going on a ship this size to read all the review on the Royal site and be prepared for a ship shock. We are back to Holland and really appreciate all they do for their passengers, THANK YOU HAL.....  

[kucherov]

13 minutes ago, retdon said:

Just off the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas and NEVER AGAIN. 5,700 passengers with about 1,000 of them children. We went because of my high school reunion cruise and we did want to try a large ship but we could not wait to get off this monster. There are so many things we did not like it is easier to note the things we did like, our cabin steward was excellent, service in the Main Dinning room was very good as was the food, food over all was OK, only excellent items was the onion soup, escargot, prime rib and lamb chops. 

 

We like to come back to our cabin in the afternoons and sometimes watch a movie, not here, they charge $11.99 for a in cabin movie, ridiculous. Royal will nickel and dime you to death. Cocktail are from $10 up and usually half full. The noise level would deafen anyone, we needed ear plugs. Their buffet was terrible, no lines just pushing and shoving and it was serve your self which is a real health hazard. The worst was smoking in the casino, terrible. Cheap small paper napkins, no drink service, had to get it your self and screaming children everywhere. They had 12 elevators at the front and back of the ship and it was always wait and wait to get on. There was so much more with many in our group saying NEVER again on a ship this size. We had to drag our carry on luggage to lunch and try to find a place to eat, what a joke. The very first day is was pouring rain and will more than half the ship open to the out doors trying to get somewhere was difficult. 

 

This is just a brief review but I caution anyone who is thinking about going on a ship this size to read all the review on the Royal site and be prepared for a ship shock. We are back to Holland and really appreciate all they do for their passengers, THANK YOU HAL.....  

amen!

[Aquahound]

It should be noted that your thread title is not entirely accurate.  You're comparing Harmony to HAL, not RCI.  RCI has 8 ship classes and the smaller ships (Empress, Majesty, Vision and Radiance Classes) are far different than the mega ships.

 

I've cruised Oasis Class 4 times and loved it every time.  They do many things far better than HAL.  

 

But it's not for everyone.  Good thing there are many choices out there to satisfy all of us.  😊

[retdon]

I agree that smaller ships are totally different than the mega ships. Sorry we could not find anything better than HAL and as I said there is something for everyone. 

[Samanthac25]

We had a terrible experience on Independence of the Seas in April. The ship was so unpleasantly crowded that we didn't get to do much and couldn't even get chairs at the pool or on the sundeck. I travel with my 13 year old daughter and she didn't even enjoy it. We are going on our first HAL cruise over Christmas this year and are excited for a more laid back experience (from what we've heard). 

 

On a side note, we like to watch movies in our room too, especially since we go to bed fairly early. We have always brought our Amazon Firestick on RCI ships to hookup to the stateroom TV and streamed Netflix from it. 

[Qcruise]

I have to say that we really enjoyed our experience on board the Oasis of the Seas,  however it was five years ago during November.  Not so many kids aboard then,  and it was the only cruise we ever took where we NEVER HAD TO EAT AT THE BUFFET.  There were so many other food venues to eat at we never went there,  and it was a good thing because you got in line before you could even go inside.  We had a central park balcony which was different and we enjoyed it.  Agreed it's a different type of cruise,  that class of ship looses much of your connection with the ocean as all inside areas have no windows out to the sea......it was like a giant shopping mall.  Had to get up on deck to see the sea.  But the adult solarium up front was fantastic.

[Samanthac25]

22 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

Sorry to hear that.

It sounds to me like half of the ship was not explored and enjoyed.

The Independence of the Seas is the best ship ever built for RCI, and one of a few best mega ships at sea overall. By its original design, this was a magnificent ship with amazing open spaces and fantastic bow to stern full circle promenade deck. I can continue, but in one word: that was a wow ship. The ship has suffered some improvements recently, such as adding cabins and exterminating "nooks and crannies" this wonderful ship had.

Even wounded and covered with scars, the ship is still one of the best and most spacious at sea. 

 

 

 

Don't assume we didn't enjoy ourselves because we didn't explore the ship. We did explore it for 7 days - and hated it the crowds. It's a nice ship but very difficult to enjoy when there are so many people on it that you can hardly walk through the promenade without people bumping into you, lines for attractions that are longer than the attractions are even open for (i.e. Flow Rider was open for 2 hours at a time and they cut the line off because the wait exceeded that time frame), and there's not one pool chair available on any deck. We don't love the mega ships for these reasons. To each their own, not everyone is going to share your opinion. We don't love the mega ships for these reasons.

[Mary229]

I sailed RCL once and it was a pleasant experience but it was not a mega ship.  They do have some monsters but some people love those as they have lots of amusement venues.  Not for me. 

[rafinmd]

Both Royal Caribbean and Holland America include a wide variety of ships, but there are also differences in the corporate cultures.  The mega ships and the Vision and Radiance as well as Empress are very different but so is the Maasdam very different from the Koningsdam.  The corporate culture is more refined, laid back, and sophisticated on HAL vs nonstop action and entertainment on Royal Caribbean.  I much prefer the HAL signature atmosphere but there is some overlap based on the classes of ships.

 

I've sailed Royal mostly for their itineraries out of Baltimore but have recently become smitten with the much smaller and older Empress.  Of course my favorite HAL ship was the Prinsendam and sadly it's in the past now (many lasting memories) while the Empress is almost as much an exception with Royal.  It is clearly not their future but I will be enjoying it while it's around (next trip Hamilton and St. George). 

 

There are many factors in what makes a great cruise and while Holland America has more pluses for me there's an overlap.

 

Roy

[sevenseasnomad]

It's great that there are so many cruising choices in the marketplace now.  Each cruise line has its niche and devotees (as well as detractors).  But isn't it wonderful that that each of us can select a cruise line (and sometimes a specific ship) that meets or exceeds our expectations?  My 37 year-old nephew won't sail any ship unless it's RCCL while we are loyal to HAL.  Each of us tries to convince the other that our "ships" are the best to no avail.  Neither of us are willing to switch for even one cruise.  LOL.

 

We discovered HAL in 2008 after cruising Carnival, RCCI, and Celebrity.  We've never looked back, although in 2014, we did take a cruise on Celebrity Reflection.  While a lovely ship, with good service and food, we still missed HAL.  We've been happy to stay with HAL, having sailed every ship in the fleet, except for Zaandam and Volendam.  Happy to say, we'll enjoy those two ships within the next 16 months.  

 

[knittinggirl]

We're diamond plus on Royal Caribbean.  The last few times, we hated how crowded it was in the main dining room.  In fact, they oversold our high season Alaska cruise.   We finally gave up on the main dining room, and ate in the specialty dining all but two nights.   Our fare was 30% higher than low season Alaska, and it was not 30% better.

 

Crew also ambushed us regularly with promotions.

 

They do have the best Junior Suites in the industry.  You'll need a JS, to avoid the crowds.

Edited October 14, 2019 by knittinggirl

[Judyrem]

I like Royal for a cruise with my 10 year old granddaughter, she LOVED Harmony of the Seas.  We are going again on Oasis of the Seas in April spring break.

 

I went on a ladies trip on Oasis class and it had a different feel for me at least.

 

I am going on Nieuw Statendam in  November, we will see.

 

The entertainment on RCI is superb!

 

I have recently started cruising again and primarily do land based trips, so I am not an expert cruiser.

[Friend100]

We like Royal Caribbean and Holland America for different reasons: entertainment and onboard activities on RCI mega ships; itinerary, service, relaxation and value for money on HAL ships.

Edited October 15, 2019 by Friend100

[Samanthac25]

1 hour ago, Friend100 said:

We like Royal Caribbean and Holland America for different reasons: entertainment and onboard activities on RCI mega ships; itinerary, service, relaxation and value for money on HAL ships.

Couldn’t agree more. We’ve only ever sailed on Royal Caribbean so far. We’ve loved some cruises with them and hates others (mostly the mega ships). But, the entertainment on every RCI Cruise has been amazing.  We opted for HAL over Christmas this year for so many reasons but the top of the list includes the more laid back experience, less bells & whistles, value, and smaller ship. We have RCI booked for spring break again next April but if we love HAL this December, we’ll look to book exclusively with them going forward. 

[iancal]

We have cruised on both cruise lines.  We very much enjoyed both..but for different reasons.

 

We find RCI to be similar to HAL inasmuch as It pays to select your ship carefully to match your personal preferences.  Both cruise lines have several different types of ships.  Oasis, Radiance, Veendam, and Kdam are all very different from each other.  As are the other ships in both fleets.

 

We found the service and the food to be on par.  The only difference for us was the perks...RCI was far more generous in providing perks that had value to us.

Edited October 15, 2019 by iancal

[Cruzaholic41]

2 hours ago, iancal said:

The only difference for us was the perks...RCI was far more generous in providing perks that had value to us.

RCI and HAL are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to perks, both suite and loyalty perks, just like they are with entertainment. 

[Judyrem]

3 hours ago, ronbe65 said:

The Oasis in 2020 will be a pale shadow of what it was originally. The ship will retain the entertainment vibe, but what once made this monster ship a real ship will be gone. The "improvements" started from the rear open decks (aka "secret balconies"). They were too good to be used for free. These areas are suites now. 

Then the iconic "Crown and Anchor" lounge was transformed into a "suites only" venue. The latest "update" is scrapping the forward viewing deck in favor of added cabins.

For those never cruised on RCI, the changes can be explained this way: imagine the Crow's Nest converted into cabins, the Tamarind & Lounge converted into Neptune lounge, and the aft end of the pool deck closed off (suites only). 

RCI greediness has no boundaries (as seen both in RCI and Celebrity changes).

I always keep this in mind while reading about "HAL cutbacks".

Happy cruising!

 

I just want my granddaughter to have a fun cruise, I am along for the ride.

[retdon]

15 hours ago, knittinggirl said:

We're diamond plus on Royal Caribbean.  The last few times, we hated how crowded it was in the main dining room.  In fact, they oversold our high season Alaska cruise.   We finally gave up on the main dining room, and ate in the specialty dining all but two nights.   Our fare was 30% higher than low season Alaska, and it was not 30% better.

 

Crew also ambushed us regularly with promotions.

 

They do have the best Junior Suites in the industry.  You'll need a JS, to avoid the crowds.

We were in a JS and liked it except for the mini-tub half glass shower curtain, floor was wet every time we used it.