How does Celebrity compare to Holland America?

[elmac40]

Hello from Scotland!

 

We usually sail with Holland America (8 cruises and counting) and have always enjoyed it. We were looking at an Antarctica cruise with them but the duration is 22 days which is too much time off work. We saw a cruise with Celebrity on the Silhouette which has a good itinerary and isn’t a bad price.
 

My question is would we enjoy a Celebrity cruise? We’re not looking for “party” cruise just a relaxing cruise. I appreciate that everyone has their own opinions but any advice would be appreciated especially if anyone has traveled on both cruise lines.
 

Many thanks

 

[Fouremco]

Yes, you should definitely enjoy it. We more or less alternate between HAL and Celebrity and have never been able to decide which one is our favourite. We tend to book based on itinerary and look at what each is offering, as you have for Antartica.

[TeaBag]

Hello from Vancouver!  There will be more qualified people to answer your question than I because we have never sailed on HA.  However, we have sailed many times on Celebrity since our first cruise in 1994 and we really do love their service, ships crew and food.  Silhouette is our favorite ship and we are booked on her again in Aug/Sept 2021.  I think you will find Celebrity ships have a lot of class and generally the passengers are well traveled.  I agree with Fouremco that you will enjoy it.

 

[Oren]

We have done several HAL cruises and Elite on Celebrity.  I have to say that I am done with HAL.  Their smoking casinos on various ships makes it unplayable as a smoke sensitive person.  Celebrity casinos are all 100% non smoking.  Also the budget cuts on the entertainment (stage shows) on HAL make them less entertaining then Celebrity's line up.  I am not a big music person so my bias against a intense music theme on many HAL ships makes them less desirable. 

[Snit13]

Hello from Florida, USA.

 

I have never sailed HAL but have actually sailed to Antarctica on Celebrity Infinity.  Silhouette is my favorite Celebrity ship.  I find Celebrity to be a class above Royal and love their service, food, cleanliness and overall attitude.  You can't go wrong with a cruise on Celebrity.  I have sailed with Celebrity 15 times and all were great.  I am booked on Celebrity Connie in April 2021 and Reflection May 2021 and hope all is well and the virus is long gone.

[cl.klink]

I have sailed both lines and have liked both, prefer Celebrity but liked HAL too.  On my first HAL cruise, I wrote a live trip report, and ended with these comments to explicitly compare and contrast HAL and Celebrity:

- Joel

[cruisehome]

I have d one many any celebrity cruises and one hal cruise last year    I much prefer celebrity   the food is better  the entertainment is better the ship is better  however the staff on both are great and do we like music so enjoyed the one band every night  that i wished celebrity would have otherwise hal  was  quite boring  whereas celebrity has much much more entertainment and music at various bars

 

loved though that hal's ship area was not crowded  and liked that in the buffet the food was served to you and the elevators were never ever crowded  don't know how that happened      I would not go on another hal cruise

 

so all in all you will love celebrity

[rcixfan5]

Never done Holland but have done about 10 Celebrity cruises, including a 14 night Antarctica on Eclipse round trip from Buenos Aires in 2019. Eclipse and Silhouette are sister ships and nearly identical, we have been on both.

This sailing is a little different than most because it is so special going to Antartica, and there is a different vibe on the ship. Kind of a combination of wanting to learn and “how luck are we” to be going there.

The experience for us was wonderful, we had been on Eclipse several times the food and entertainment was similar but there was more guest speakers and learning opportunities during that cruise.

[bigbenboys]

We have done about 7 HAL, the last was Eurodam about 2008. We have close to 30 cruises with Celebrity. If you enjoy HAL you should enjoy Celebrity maybe a little more. I know we sure did.

[pixiedust777]

Have sailed on both lines. Enjoy both Holland America and Celebrity. We cruise for rest and relaxation with ports being a bonus most times. 
Find the MDR food  to be better on Celebrity however the Specialty Restaurants on both lines are good.

Prefer the solarium pool area on Celebrity especially on cooler days.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

We're in our mid 60s and HAL used to be our go to cruise line (see my signature area below) until a few years ago when their entertainment offerings, specially on sea days, started disappearing. Now we mostly cruise with Celebrity and Princess. One nice thing about these two lines is that they have plenty of assistant CDs to support their wide variety of entertainment offerings. One thing is for sure, they will keep you laughing if you like that sort of thing.

 

With regards to Antarctica, Princess offers more days actually cruising around Antarctica Peninsula than Celebrity, but their cruise is a few days longer. If your budget will allow and you decide to sail on the Silhouette, try to book an Aqua Class cabin so you can dine during breakfast and dinner in their private Blu restaurant. Definitely worth the few extra $$$ in our opinion.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Ken the cruiser

[bEwAbG]

Keep in mind that we're comparing the "before pandemic" experiences and who knows what it will be like when either start sailing again.  They're more similar than different.  HAL/Celebrity/Princess are all considered to be in the same tier. 

 

HAL has a wider variety of ship classes so it's sometimes hard to compare like for like.  Silhouette is going to be most similar to HAL's two newest ships.  HAL has a more traditional vibe and Celebrity definitely has a more modern feel to it.  Biggest difference is going to be the smoking policy (no inside smoking on any Celebrity ship whereas it depends on the HAL ship).  I think HAL's Music Walk programming is much better than the lame production shows Celebrity does.  I'm always suspicious when anyone says Celebrity is better in that department because it is like night and day to me, unless Celebrity has really upped their offerings in the past few months.  Even though HAL has gotten rid of their production shows, they had a much better quality of performer when they had them.  I find that to be the case with the musicians as well.  Food is similar with an edge to HAL in the buffet.  Number of specialty restaurants again is going to be similar to HAL's two newest ships.  Suite class on Celebrity is a lot better, though also usually a lot more expensive.  Staff on both are more or less comparable, but I've found HAL's room stewards to be better at their job.  The HAL staff overall seem to always actually enjoy their job, but I've seen some grumpy ones on Celebrity.  I agree with those who say if you like HAL you should like Celebrity unless you really want to smoke inside.

[Tipsy1]

Hi Coolcruiser, you will definitely love Celebrity ships, the are just beautiful, with fabulous food & cabins, there is nothing to dislike, so go for it.  

[Reel Love]

Hi elmac 40.  Although I have not sailed on HAL, I can share that we recently sailed the Silhouette and just loved her!  She is a gorgeous ship (we were the first post-revolution cruise so she was nice and fresh out of refurbishment), great service, great food, and of course Celebrity's welcome aboard glass of champagne is a lovely way to start a cruise.  I don't think you can go wrong by choosing Celebrity.

[Miaminice]

I can conribute a view from the other side... As loyal Celebrity cruisers we cruised with HAL Westerdam for the first time in April last year - because of a more attractive itinerary and better price.
Here´s what I wrote in our travelogue:

 

"We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and we would book HAL again for the right itinerary. However, we did notice some differences to what we are used to from Celebrity. Maybe we took things for granted on Celebrity which we now get to appreciate even more after seeing the difference.

The Westerdam is a fine ship. Clean and in good shape, and about the size of a Celebrity Millennium class (Millennium, Constellation, Summit, Infinity). We found that the interior design is a bit darker and more traditional, but nice nonetheless.

Celebrity is more loungy in a modern sense. On Westerdam we missed the many open spaces we are used to from Celebrity ships - even the ones of the same size. All the spaces here seemed small and confined to us. The layout is not as intuitive as we found it on other ships of other cruise lines.

Breakfast and lunch at the Lido were of good quality. However, although all we needed was there, the choice was limited in comparison to Celebrity. There is no self-service at the buffet.

The seating in Lido is very comfortable and when it comes to the service at the buffet restaurant HAL beats Celebrity by far. An empty plate didn’t last more than a few seconds on the table. There was also a constant offer of coffee, water or lemonade by very attentive waiters. Tables are set when you get there. Cutlery, cups and glasses are on the table. That’s definitely something that could be improved on Celebrity.

We found the service in the Main Dining Room good and the food very tasty - so on par with Celebrity. The menus seemed a bit limited and repetitive though.

We can’t and won’t comment much on entertainment since we generally don’t care for shows on any cruise. However, we liked that there was an offer of classical music performances at the “Lincoln Center Stage” and we enjoyed the live music at “Billboard Onboard” and the “BB King´s Blues Club”.

Bars were pretty empty in the evenings, and once we were even asked for our last orders at around 10pm (!). That would never happen on Celebrity. We were surprised by the short opening hours in general. Even the regular buffet closed at 8pm. After that it was just snacks, which we find very unusual.

Westerdam features nothing like Celebrity’s fabulous Sunset Bar, where you can end a beautiful day on a drink outside while enjoying the sea breeze as you sail away. Westerdam doesn’t provide much open deck space in general, which is something we really missed.

I am 47 and I certainly helped bring down the average age on this cruise... Hey, here I am: the young guy!

I don’t know if that is good or bad.

We also noticed that ship‘s officers weren’t as present and engaging as they are on Celebrity. Not that we personally care, but it was really noticeable.

Again, we really enjoyed our cruise and we are definitely NOT complaining! Celebrity and HAL are both good cruise lines and HAL will remain an option for us, especially with lower prices and different itineraries. However, when it comes to our personal preferences, Celebrity still remains our preferred cruise line and the better fit."

 

If you are interested in the full review, here´s a link:
http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/HAL-Westerdam-Japan-01/hal-westerdam-japan-01.html

Edited June 8, 2020 by Miaminice

[elmac40]

Thanks so much to everyone who replied. It is very much appreciated and has eliminated any misgivings that I have in sailing with another cruise line. 
 

Stay safe everyone!

[puppycanducruise]

Interesting comments.

Thanks to the OP for asking and for all the responses.

[BP99]

13 hours ago, elmac40 said:

Hello from Scotland!

 

We usually sail with Holland America (8 cruises and counting) and have always enjoyed it. We were looking at an Antarctica cruise with them but the duration is 22 days which is too much time off work. We saw a cruise with Celebrity on the Silhouette which has a good itinerary and isn’t a bad price.
 

My question is would we enjoy a Celebrity cruise? We’re not looking for “party” cruise just a relaxing cruise. I appreciate that everyone has their own opinions but any advice would be appreciated especially if anyone has traveled on both cruise lines.
 

Many thanks

 

Hi,

We have sailed on both. Elite on Celebrity.

Food was a bit better on Holland America.

Service was outstanding Holland America.

Prices are a bit higher on Holland America

Better shows on Celebrity.

More elderly cruisers on Holland America. Definitely not

a "party" cruise.

We liked both and would not have issues with either

We sail based on where they go. 

 

 

 

[Moby Jones]

13 hours ago, elmac40 said:

Hello from Scotland!

 

We usually sail with Holland America (8 cruises and counting) and have always enjoyed it. We were looking at an Antarctica cruise with them but the duration is 22 days which is too much time off work. We saw a cruise with Celebrity on the Silhouette which has a good itinerary and isn’t a bad price.
 

My question is would we enjoy a Celebrity cruise? We’re not looking for “party” cruise just a relaxing cruise. I appreciate that everyone has their own opinions but any advice would be appreciated especially if anyone has traveled on both cruise lines.
 

Many thanks

 

 

The first ship I ever sailed on was Noordam. The second was Silhouette. We stayed in Aqua Class and although I since sailed in aqua class many times since I do clearly remember thinking that the food was better on HAL when compared to Blu and the MDR. 

The average passenger age will be younger on Celebrity possibly by ten years or more. 

But if you're new to Celebrity and are looking for reviews you absolutely have to understand that Celebrity is now very much a two tired line. You have Suite Class and everything else. With Suite Class food, service and accommodations are unsurprisingly a big step up compared to other classes of accommodation.  So I'd advise that you pay particular attention to the restaurants and amenities available to you depending upon your cabin choice before reading the reviews. 

Non suite class travel will be a comparable fit to other mainstream lines such as Princess and HAL. Celebrity is a good line. The Silhouette is a very nice ship so I'm sure you will enjoy your trip regardless. 

[4774Papa]

12 hours ago, Oren said:

We have done several HAL cruises and Elite on Celebrity.  I have to say that I am done with HAL.  Their smoking casinos on various ships makes it unplayable as a smoke sensitive person.  Celebrity casinos are all 100% non smoking.  Also the budget cuts on the entertainment (stage shows) on HAL make them less entertaining then Celebrity's line up.  I am not a big music person so my bias against a intense music theme on many HAL ships makes them less desirable. 

Celebrity has the best non-smoking policy of all the cruise lines.

We always avoided HAL because until the last few years they allowed smoking on balconies.

NCL also has smoking in casinos and we go out of our way to avoid going near the casinos.  Prefer Celebrity.

[MarkWiltonM]

We mostly sail Solstice-class ships on Celebrity, but we also like the new HAL Pinnacle-class ships, in particular because of the food in the buffet, which is better than on Celebrity, and because of the Crow's Nest, which is a favorite of most HAL cruisers. It's equivalent to the Sky Observation Lounge on Celebrity, but the lounge on Celebrity is routinely off limits in the evenings because of special events (such as Happy Hour for Captain's Club members; we don't drink alcohol so this is of no benefit to us). The Crow's Nest, which has a nice coffee bar that Sky Observation Lounge lacks, is always open as far as I know.  When they have private parties or events they tend to restrict them to a portion of the Crow's Nest but don't close it entirely. HAL was ahead of the pandemic in eliminating self-service in the buffet, which works great. I can't speak to entertainment in the theaters because we find shows lacking on all cruise ships and rarely go, but in general the rotating musicians on Celebrity in the atrium and pool, etc., tend to be better than the musicians on HAL, except that we like the classical quintet that performs on Lincoln Center Stage. We don't go to the casino but we do have to pass by it and the smoke is the grossest thing about HAL. The staterooms and the service are comparable on both lines, but the new HAL ships have notably excellent water pressure in the large showers. I have recently looked at HAL pricing and the Pinnacle-class ships are a bit more expensive than Celebrity's Solstice-class ships, and HAL is not as generous with perks. HAL's new Pinnacle class ships may be comparable in price to Celebrity's new Edge class ships, but I'm not sure. 

[twentyknots]

We're cruised with both several times.  Both are premium lines and do a great job overall.  You cant go wrong with either.  Someone posted a comment about smoking in the casino on HAL and I agree.   Celebrity ships are beautifully decorated and sparkling clean.  We especially like the Vista ships on HAL in the aft Neptune suites.  I dont think Celebrity has anything to compare.

If Celebrity doesnt refund our cancelled cruise in full by June 23, it will only be HAL for us in the future.

[K&RCurt]

We started cruising on HAL and have cruised on Celebrity and Carnival.

 

HAL and Cenebrity are more similar than different but there are things that seperate the two lines.  I will run down the various aspects I consider and how each line compares.

 

Food: I think Celebrity wins on food hands down.  MDR, Buffet and Specialty Dining we found the food better on Celebrity.  One exception is the Tammarind Restaraunt on some HAL ships, we found that awesome.

 

Service / Crew:  While we had no complaints or issues on Celebrity, HAL was above and beyond.  The crew on HAL go out of their way to remember your name and learn your likes and attend to your needs.  As someone mentioned above even in the Lido Buffet area once you are done with a plate it will be gone.  Waiters adn bartenders know your dinks.  If you have a soda package your glass won't be empty, even though there is no extra tip potential.  The HAL crew is just fabulous.

 

Entertainement:  Celebrity wins on this account.  With the exception of the BB King Blues group every aspect of entertainment was better on Celebrity.

 

Decor: This is a toss up for us and super subjective.  HAL I would consider "Traditionally Elegant"  While Celebity more "Chic."  Same level of elegance in each line's decor, but a more cotemporary take on Celebrity.

 

Nightlife:  Celebrity.  It will be hard to find many people out and about on HAL after 11:00pm or so.

 

I would say if you like a cruise on one, you will like a cruise on the other.  The various differences may sway you for one or the other to be your preferred line over the other.

 

At this point we prefer Celebrity, but if itinreary and price were right wouldn't hesitate to sail on HAL.

 

 

[Lady Chew]

We have cruised many times on both lines, but have many more days on HAL because we like their longer itineraries.  We cruise in balcony cabins, occasionally suites.  On some HAL ships balcony cabins are called "suites"  They are not.

 

So much of cruising is subjective, there is no such thing as a "right" opinion.

 

Having said that, in OUR opinion:

 

There is more storage in cabins/bathrooms on HAL.

 

Service on HAL is better & more consistent all around the ship.

 

We find the food on HAL to be slightly better.  In all venues.

 

Celebrity has a more active, modern vibe.  The public areas are much nicer than HAL.  

 

HAL definitely skews older.  It can be very noticeable at times.

 

The smoking in the casino is horrible on HAL.  

 

We find that HAL has slightly better (and longer) itineraries.  When we feel like exploring, we pick HAL.  When we just want to relax in the Caribbean we love Celebrity.

[George C]

I find the two lines similar in many ways, food is good on both prefer buffet on celebrity also non smoking in all indoor areas is great. I would give Hal the edge in entertainment. We normally do suites and celebrity suite perks are great , Hal has very few perks for suites.