Comparing HAL and Cunard Cruise Experiences

[Ready2go11]

I recently took my first Cunard cruise (June, Alaska, 12 night on QE) after many consecutive HAL cruises. Based on that experience, here are the things I liked best about HAL and about Cunard when comparing the two.  I am only comparing a standard balcony stateroom on each line and if something is listed as a strength in one column it is mostly because the other line was lacking in that area.  If a specific attribute is not mentioned, I rated them as equals.  Cruising is subjective and I am only comparing one Cunard cruise so I understand the limitations of my comments.  I can only relate my personal experiences.  Given perks I enjoy as a 4* on HAL, and generally better pricing and variety of itineraries on HAL, they remain my preferred line.  However, I would definitely cruise Cunard again if the right opportunity arises.  

 

Things I liked about HAL better

·        On demand movies in room

·        Dining room bread quality

·        Lido buffet choice and quality

·        Mariner loyalty program

·        On Pinnacle class ships there are more specialty restaurant choices (although Cunard does offer pop up specialty eating venues)

·        Variety of Itineraries and port options (HAL has more than double the ships so this makes sense)

·        Larger casino area

·        Larger stateroom interiors including larger bathrooms and shower areas

·        Larger stateroom balcony area

·        More storage space in cabin

·        Better standard toiletries

·        HIA package availability and value

·        Better technology overall (website, in room tv)

·        Room service menu availability and always something available (cannot get in room breakfast on Cunard before 10am unless you order the night before)

·        Paid laundry service reasonably priced (by voyage or by the bag)

·        General Internet quality at sea

·        Grand Dutch cafes on Pinnacle Class

 

Things I liked better about Cunard

·        Slightly better old world cruise décor

·        Dining room lunch menu variety

·        Afternoon tea quality (including being able to self-serve in the Lido)

·        Variety of dinner choices (HAL’s menu repeats ship to ship)  This may be true of Cunard but I have only done one voyage with them)

·        Better room service menu choices

·        Better ship maintenance

·        Slightly better service

·        Variety of vegetables on lunch and dinner menu (and cooked perfectly!)

·        After dinner dining room treats to include chocolates and candied ginger

·        Less salesy approach and variety of activities on the daily program (games, chair aerobics, music etc. vs half of program on HAL being paid or sales talks)

·        Music variety around the ship

·        Quality of performances and fewer repeats (again HAL repeats a lot ship to ship and Cunard may too but I have not done a second voyage to compare). Cunard had a Broadway style musical that was superb.

·        Self-service laundry availability

·        More enrichment talks

·        Beds are more comfortable

·        Ability to make regular dining room reservations on the app (all meals)

·        Golden Lion Pub.  We ate there for lunch at least 5 times because I love meat pies!

·        Pop up specialty restaurants were a nice way to sample different menus, and although these were technically in the Lido area, doors were closed so it was  more private and more restaurant like and less buffet noise than HAL.

·        Conservatory area.  Both lines have top deck look outs at the front of the ship but the  conservatory provides a nice indoor area to look out on both sides of  the ship.

·        Steakhouse at the Verandah specialty restaurant blows away Pinnacle Grill in terms of service, quality and menu.

Edited September 2, 2023 by Ready2go11

[Mary229]

You make me want to try Cunard.   It sounds much like HAL of old.  Like Celebrity, the other line I would love to try, they do not have the unique 30+ day itineraries.   I am glad you found value in both. 

[Mary229]

One small question - did you find it “too British” or was the crew and experience international. 

[Marion B]

Ready2go11,

   By chance, were you on the June 8th sailing?  If so, I was onboard too.

   Your assessment looks fair to me, but some items are hard for me to compare because this sailing was my first time in the Cunard Grills (Princess Grill).  I am four star with Holland America, so I obviously have a fondness for them, but my Grills experience blew away many Neptune Suite sailings - and they were all good ones.

   Did you attend the Bear Grylls lectures?  Talk about a first class enrichment speaker!  I have never seen a person of that caliber as a cruise ship lecturer before (except for other Cunard speakers).

   Happy future sailings and I hope there will be more Cunard sailings in your future.

Marion

[Thetideishigh2021]

I’ve sailed on the QM2 three times,  one transatlantic and 2 Canada New England.

the transatlantic was far more formal and especially so on the two Formal attire nights,  tuxedos or dark suits and long gowns abound. I would imagine that this is partly due to no ports so passengers look forward to the evening events. I would think it’s a bit tricky packing formal wear if the TA is the first part of a longer European trip where the tux and gown will just take up space in baggage.  Yes the menus are rotated,  on the 12 night eastern seaboard cruise I didn’t see the same menu twice,  we were in the Britannia club restaurant but I heard the MDR menu didn’t repeat either.   Wonderful food.  The onboard speakers were excellent as well as the production shows and yes it’s quite British however being Canadian with British heritage I found the conversations pleasant and familiar .  I  there are similarities between HAL and Cunard,  traditions primarily, understated elegance and excellent service. 
hope this helps

 

[Ready2go11]

39 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

One small question - did you find it “too British” or was the crew and experience international. 

 

I would not say it was too British.  There were far fewer Americans on board than in my experience on HAL.  I would guess there were more British and Germans on board than anything.  We did hear a passing comment or two about what Americans expect or how they behave or our politics but not in a mean spirited way.  These comments usually made us laugh. 

 

Many of the things I note that I liked better in my comments were "British" in nature (tea, the pub). However, service was great and other passengers were friendly.  We commented several times that this is what it must have felt like to cruise when steamer trunks were used!  It was a small ship feel like HAL, with elegance and class and we will choose that any day over water slides and climbing walls.  We have sailed Celebrity and also enjoy that experience, and it has its pluses and minuses too. 

 

I did not mention dress code.  HAL has definitely gone more casual, and before boarding we read a lot about Cunard's evening dress standard and gala nights.  We were ready and dressed appropriately including masks on masquerade night. However, we found that although there were those that dressed up, there were many others who were more casual, including men in polo shirts or patterned button down shirts (like those worn in the Caribbean).  Thus, dress code and adherence to it ended up in the "it's a draw" category.

[Ready2go11]

33 minutes ago, Marion B said:

Ready2go11,

   By chance, were you on the June 8th sailing?  If so, I was onboard too.

   Your assessment looks fair to me, but some items are hard for me to compare because this sailing was my first time in the Cunard Grills (Princess Grill).  I am four star with Holland America, so I obviously have a fondness for them, but my Grills experience blew away many Neptune Suite sailings - and they were all good ones.

   Did you attend the Bear Grylls lectures?  Talk about a first class enrichment speaker!  I have never seen a person of that caliber as a cruise ship lecturer before (except for other Cunard speakers).

   Happy future sailings and I hope there will be more Cunard sailings in your future.

Marion

 

We were on the same voyage as you!  We booked only 3 weeks before sailing and had limited cabin options.  I have enjoyed Neptune Suites on past cruises but can't compare the Grills experience as you could.

 

We did go to the Bear Grylls lectures and thought they were fabulous.  His stories and experiences were so interesting.  We also enjoyed the Alaska naturalist, Raechel I think, and Cruise Director Sally and her two assistants.  They were people I would want to hang out with in real life. 

[ski ww]

Thanks for sharing and your experience comparing the difference between the two.

[Ipeeinthepools]

11 hours ago, Ready2go11 said:

I recently took my first Cunard cruise (June, Alaska, 12 night on QE) after many consecutive HAL cruises. Based on that experience, here are the things I liked best about HAL and about Cunard when comparing the two.  I am only comparing a standard balcony stateroom on each line and if something is listed as a strength in one column it is mostly because the other line was lacking in that area.  If a specific attribute is not mentioned, I rated them as equals.  Cruising is subjective and I am only comparing one Cunard cruise so I understand the limitations of my comments.  I can only relate my personal experiences.  Given perks I enjoy as a 4* on HAL, and generally better pricing and variety of itineraries on HAL, they remain my preferred line.  However, I would definitely cruise Cunard again if the right opportunity arises.  

 

Things I liked about HAL better

·        On demand movies in room

·        Dining room bread quality

·        Lido buffet choice and quality

·        Mariner loyalty program

·        On Pinnacle class ships there are more specialty restaurant choices (although Cunard does offer pop up specialty eating venues)

·        Variety of Itineraries and port options (HAL has more than double the ships so this makes sense)

·        Larger casino area

·        Larger stateroom interiors including larger bathrooms and shower areas

·        Larger stateroom balcony area

·        More storage space in cabin

·        Better standard toiletries

·        HIA package availability and value

·        Better technology overall (website, in room tv)

·        Room service menu availability and always something available (cannot get in room breakfast on Cunard before 10am unless you order the night before)

·        Paid laundry service reasonably priced (by voyage or by the bag)

·        General Internet quality at sea

·        Grand Dutch cafes on Pinnacle Class

 

Things I liked better about Cunard

·        Slightly better old world cruise décor

·        Dining room lunch menu variety

·        Afternoon tea quality (including being able to self-serve in the Lido)

·        Variety of dinner choices (HAL’s menu repeats ship to ship)  This may be true of Cunard but I have only done one voyage with them)

·        Better room service menu choices

·        Better ship maintenance

·        Slightly better service

·        Variety of vegetables on lunch and dinner menu (and cooked perfectly!)

·        After dinner dining room treats to include chocolates and candied ginger

·        Less salesy approach and variety of activities on the daily program (games, chair aerobics, music etc. vs half of program on HAL being paid or sales talks)

·        Music variety around the ship

·        Quality of performances and fewer repeats (again HAL repeats a lot ship to ship and Cunard may too but I have not done a second voyage to compare). Cunard had a Broadway style musical that was superb.

·        Self-service laundry availability

·        More enrichment talks

·        Beds are more comfortable

·        Ability to make regular dining room reservations on the app (all meals)

·        Golden Lion Pub.  We ate there for lunch at least 5 times because I love meat pies!

·        Pop up specialty restaurants were a nice way to sample different menus, and although these were technically in the Lido area, doors were closed so it was  more private and more restaurant like and less buffet noise than HAL.

·        Conservatory area.  Both lines have top deck look outs at the front of the ship but the  conservatory provides a nice indoor area to look out on both sides of  the ship.

·        Steakhouse at the Verandah specialty restaurant blows away Pinnacle Grill in terms of service, quality and menu.

 

Thanks for sharing.  About the only thing that really would appeal to me on Cunard would be more comfortable beds.  I think I'll stick with HAL.

[Hlitner]

Just wanted to shout out my admiration of the OP's post.  Having been on more than a few HAL cruises and also Cunard, I can agree with nearly everything posted by the OP.   One other issue (not mentioned by the OP) that applies to Cunard is that the line does offer something akin to a "ship within a ship" experience for those in the expensive suites (compare to Neptune or Pinnacle Suites).  At that level, Cunard blows away HAL in terms of what is offered...but at a very steep price.

 

One other small thing that "made my day" when on the QM2.  We spent many mornings in their all-weather pool area (relaxing and reading) where they had a fantastic "Bloody Mary Cart."  They would come around to the chairs/loungers and make amazing bloody marys (or Caesar's) that were among the best I have ever had...anywhere!  They were made from scratch (no mixes) and adorned with items like jumbo shrimp, large stalks of celery, etc.  It was a nice touch.  DW tells me she also thought their mimosas were top quality.

 

Hank

[Marion B]

Ready2go11,

   I agree 100% with your comments regarding the dress code.  It was definitely quite different than our past sailings on QM2.  I'll leave it there.  On the plus side, I saw incredible gowns, jewels and tuxes.  Did you see the gentleman who could've passed for James Bond?  We saw him several times in the Queens Room.

   Our experience with the people we met echoes yours.  In fact, we are talking about a future cruise with some new friends we met.

Marion

[3rdGenCunarder]

15 hours ago, Mary229 said:

One small question - did you find it “too British” or was the crew and experience international. 

 

My British friends say they don't find it very "British," but more "American." I suppose, as a company with transatlantic roots, it's somewhere in the middle. 

 

I agree with the various comments here. Cunard is way ahead of HAL on entertainment and enrichment. I used to think of HAL as "Cunard lite," but HAL has reduced so many aspects of the product, that I can't say that. It's just HAL. Fine for what it is, but nothing close to Cunard. The only thing HAL does better is variety of itineraries, but as was said already, they have more ships to do that. 

 

@Thetideishigh2021, whether the TA is at the start or end of a longer cruise, there are options for storing and/or shipping luggage. If I'm combining touring with a TA, it's usually a westbound at the end of the trop, so I ship the posh frocks to the ship to make the touring easier. Yes, it adds to the cost, but the older I get, the more I'm willing to pay for convenience.

Edited September 3, 2023 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Mary229]

28 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

The only thing HAL does better is variety of itineraries,

And that is my only reason for staying with them.  Both Cunard and Celebrity seems a better fit for an experience of ship level but alas no great itineraries.  I may try Cunard for my 2025 crossing. 

[OlsSalt]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

And that is my only reason for staying with them.  Both Cunard and Celebrity seems a better fit for an experience of ship level but alas no great itineraries.  I may try Cunard for my 2025 crossing. 

 

Cunard appears to be more of a point to point transit transportation line, than a cruise line. If one still wants to travel to various fairly fixed places around the world by sea, that is what they best offer. Not unlike most of the historic maritime lines before "cruising" took over the industry after the 1970's. Sea travel was how you got from point to point.  

 

And a very fine offering at that. Between a long cramped TA flight and jet lag, if one has the time and resources then a Cunard slower passage between continents is really a very nice option to have. Connecting the former global "British Empire" and still robust Commonwealth connections is still big business.

 

My friends out  there in the far flung "former British colonies" often still keep nostalgic ties to the Mother Country, even though long independent. Family members generations removed still keep those ties alive too.

[Cruise NH]

We're 4* on HAL and Diamond on Cunard so we've been on both a lot.  

 

We like the more international nature of the passengers, I mean we can talk to Americans anytime right?  There's no comparison in speakers (enrichment talks), Cunard wins that one and that's important to us, but not to all I understand.  We've been on Cunard with John Cleese as a speaker and the just recently retired Governor General of Australia...when we were going around Australia!

 

That Australia trip was part of the 2020 world cruise that ended (like HALs) in Fremantle.  The difference being Cunard took care of everyone's plane reservations (whether you flew with them or not) among other things.  They really shined during that crisis.

 

Obviously we love both lines and really I don't think you can go wrong if the ship is going where you want to go.

[Marion B]

Hank (Hlitner),

   Three months before sailing, we compared our QE 12 day Alaska to HAL's 7 day - Princess Grill vs. Neptune Suite.  I went into reverse sticker shock when our ta quoted a per diem much lower than HAL's.  When she factored in the beverage package, gratuities and $1200 OBC, we were pretty much getting the Grills experience for little more than Brittania.

   If I recall correctly, you, like my husband and I, are not bound to one cruise line and value in cruising is out there.  (Neither line offered decent international airfare to Vancouver, so we booked independently.  Good flights with mileage guaranteed to be counted in our frequent flyer accounts).

   I'm not sure how rare these Cunard Grills deals are, but  I just found one for good friends to do their first crossing on QM2.

   Happy deal-hunting.

Marion

PS - I enjoy your postings and have learned a lot from you.

[bennybear]

Sounds like great speakers.   Sadly that’s lacking on Hal.    I can’t speak for the grills but we found the MDR not nearly as good as HAL.   We wondered if that was because of the grills and the ship within a ship.  We loved the buffet,  tea and library.  
 

We also disliked being asked by passengers if we were in the grills. Prefer the egalitarian approach on HAL.  Doesn’t matter if you’re in a Neptune or whatever.  I realize others may disagree. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, bennybear said:

Sounds like great speakers.   Sadly that’s lacking on Hal.    I can’t speak for the grills but we found the MDR not nearly as good as HAL.   We wondered if that was because of the grills and the ship within a ship.  We loved the buffet,  tea and library.  
 

We also disliked being asked by passengers if we were in the grills. Prefer the egalitarian approach on HAL.  Doesn’t matter if you’re in a Neptune or whatever.  I realize others may disagree. 

 

How often were you asked if you were in the grills? That usually doesn't happen. Honestly, I can't recall that happening, whether I was in the grills or not, and I have almost a year's worth of day's on Cunard. Most of the people who sail in the grills don't feel a need to show off about it. 

 

The "ship within a ship" thing on Cunard is overstated. Yes, the grills have their own restaurants (but so does CO on HAL). There's one lounge that's for the grills (but Neptune suites have their own lounge). The one "separate" area on Cunard not HAL is the deck space, the Grills Terrace. 

[bennybear]

It happened a few times.  Just enough to really surprise me as did the off limit deck. Also was asked about where I read.  The Canadian universities don’t quite fit.  I have a few friends who have emigrated to the UK and they have shared similar experiences.  Nothing bad  but one is aware of class differences. 
 

I felt a little uncomfortable and although we enjoyed our cruise we felt it was a lesser experience in just a  balcony.  We have just not encountered that on HAL whether in a Neptune or oceanview.  

Edited September 3, 2023 by bennybear

[Mary229]

8 minutes ago, bennybear said:

It happened a few times.  Just enough to really surprise me as did the off limit deck. Also was asked about where I read.  The Canadian universities don’t quite fit.  I have a few friends who have emigrated to the UK and they have shared similar experiences.  Nothing bad  but one is aware of class differences. 
 

I felt a little uncomfortable and although we enjoyed our cruise we felt it was a lesser experience in just a  balcony.  We have just not encountered that on HAL whether in a Neptune or oceanview.  

That is a discouraging report.  

[Hlitner]

I find it curious when some long time HAL cruisers simply accept the line's decline out of some kind of "loyalty" or because of itineraries.  When it comes to itineraries, there actually is a lot of competition to HAL, and that often includes a better cruise line and better value.  Consider lines like Oceania, Azamara, and Seabourn which are a great value for anyone who books HAL suites...and unfortunately not as good a value for singles or those looking for the lowest cost voyage (i.e. HAL inside cabins).  But even with those issues, one can usually find some good value cruises by shopping around and taking advantage of promotions.  

 

I will be honest in that I never expected DW to rule out any cruise line (she now rules out HAL).  She is not a confrontational person and is terrific when it comes to adapting/adjusting to any cruise line.  She and I are both comfortable on anything from budget lines to ultra luxury lines and understand that we must modify our expectations to fit the product.  But, in our opinion, HAL does barely make it as a budget mass market line...due to all the relatively recent cut-backs, change in attitude of senior staff, etc.  As 5* Mariners we expect loyalty from HAL...which means providing the quality product we had grown to embrace over many years.  What we see today is not even close to what used to be, and we got the feeling (on the Westerdam) that the senior staff were aware of the situation and chose to "hide" rather than deal with many unhappy cruisers.  At one point I started to think it was me, and not HAL, which is about the time we met a wonderful lady (also 5*) right after she cancelled a full World Cruise because of her experience on the cruise.   Don't get me wrong...because overall we did enjoy our 6 week cruise, met many wonderful passengers and crew.  But we thought it a terrible "value" when compared to other lines. 

 

Just came back from a month on Seabourn.  No visible shortages, quality was generally up to their standards (some hiccups with new staff), entertainment was the best we have ever seen on Seabourn (on some nights they actually has two shows with different Guest Entertainers) and we discovered that Canada produces some fantastic comedians (we had two on our cruise). 

 

As to comparison with Cunard (I am thinking about the QM2) on a typical sea day Cunard would have some planetarium shows, a truncated Shakespeare production, perhaps a piano concert, etc.  On HAL you might get a so-so speaker and always the usual trivia!  On the other hand, perhaps many HAL fans get what they want...an early dinner, a slide show about HAL, and early bedtime.

As to food, each line (HAL and Cunard) has their ups and downs.

 

Hank

[Ipeeinthepools]

7 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

....  As 5* Mariners we expect loyalty from HAL...

 

This was you first mistake.  I think we have both been around long enough not to expect loyalty from any company.

[Mary229]

@Hlitner Try to find a 22 to 50 day itinerary on other lines that are not B2Bs or the same old round and rounds. We are not interested in world cruises.    We just don’t find them except HAL.   I don’t like Oceana, never going back. I would dearly love to try Celebrity, Azamara and Cunard but none of these offer the itineraries we are looking for and no, we are not going to sail on a behemoth. I have also looked at Windstar, Seabourn, Regent etc… and again, they don’t have the itineraries. Viking does look like an option for me but not my two travel companions.  A HAL cruiser can sail 4 times a year for 30 to 40 days at a time and be on completely different itineraries each time. We have complaints but we trade a few minor inconveniences for the varied itineraries.  
 

Our early years cruising were on Carnival, Norwegian and Princess but that was long before the days of the Behemoth and were indeed big fans of Norwegian and Princess.  And yes I do think DH should consider Princess’ smaller ships again but our family trip in 2016 burnt him out with their larger ships (3200)
 

 Of course our needs are far different than many as we are traveling not cruising.  I probably could be just as happy on a freight ship if it was taking me where I wanted to go.  Having finally convinced DH of the benefits of Business Class I think our days of cruising will likely end in 2025 except the occasional crossing  

[RuthC]

5 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

tner Try to find a 22 to 50 day itinerary on other lines that are not B2Bs or the same old round and rounds. We are not interested in world cruises.    We just don’t find them except HAL.   I don’t like Oceana, never going back. I would dearly love to try Celebrity, Azamara and Cunard but none of these offer the itineraries we are looking for and no, we are not going to sail on a behemoth. I have also looked at Windstar, Seabourn, Regent etc… and again, they don’t have the itineraries. Viking does look like an option for me but not my two travel companions.  A HAL cruiser can sail 4 times a year for 30 to 40 days at a time and be on completely different itineraries each time. We have complaints but we trade a few minor inconveniences for the varied itineraries.

Well said. 

[ExArkie]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

How often were you asked if you were in the grills? That usually doesn't happen. Honestly, I can't recall that happening, whether I was in the grills or not, and I have almost a year's worth of day's on Cunard. Most of the people who sail in the grills don't feel a need to show off about it. 

 

The "ship within a ship" thing on Cunard is overstated. Yes, the grills have their own restaurants (but so does CO on HAL). There's one lounge that's for the grills (but Neptune suites have their own lounge). The one "separate" area on Cunard not HAL is the deck space, the Grills Terrace. 

It is also worth pointing out that on Queen Mary 2, the spaces set aside for Grills passengers are not all in the same part of the ship. The restaurants and lounge (comparable to the Neptune Lounge on HAL) are at the rear of deck 7, aft of the buffet restaurant, and the Grills deck is a small area aft on deck 11. The "ship-within-a-ship" seems to be even less relevant there than on the Vista class ships where the restaurants, lounge, and deck space are actually all together.

 

Back to the original post, thank you @Ready2go11 for your mini-review. I think your observations on Cunard are pretty accurate (ten sailings with them, nine of which were transatlantic) and it gives me a good idea of what to expect on HAL for our booked transpacific. Our one previous HAL trip was very disappointing in terms of food quality and service, so we are hoping (expecting) vast improvements, based on these boards.