Celebrity or Holland America

[pudzplace]

Hi all. We're newer cruisers trying to decide b/w two cruises for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It's either going to be on Celebrity's Mercury or Holland America's Amsterdam. We'll have a group of 8, two of which are children (age 10 &15). I have a sense that Celebrity's cruises are little more children friendly that HAL, but both seem comparable in food quality, service, etc. from what we've been able to discover. I've seen some posts suggesting that HAL's cruise really isn't an inside passage cruise, which I don't really understand. Does anyone here have experience on the Mercury to Alaska that you'd be willing to share? Thanks! :)

[uromac]

Hi!

 

We chose Celebrity (Infinity - inside passage 8/7/05) for our parents' 45th anniversary cruise with our family cruise unit of 9 ( My parents, dh and myself with our kids - 12 yo girl & boy -16, and sister and her husband and young son, 3). We picked celebrity inside passage - staterooms scattered on same deck (length of cruise 7 days -how long can we stand each other ;) - LOL!!) because it offered some degree of sophistication yet is relaxed enough for kids. Food is great, entertainment is OK, and kids seem to like the activities. Although I have heard wonderful things about HAL (we have never been on one of their ships) and RCCL which seems to be more fun, we picked Celebrity because it seemed to be a combination of the two. Also our kids are not really into the kids club scene and Celebrity has just enough for them to do. So for us, we love the Millenium class ships. BTW, we were on the Galaxy in Europe and loved that, so if you are thinking of the Mercury (sister ship) it is a beautiful ship that has everything you would need just on a smaller scale and more intimate.

 

This is my parents first cruise in over 30 years and our first family reunion type cruise, so I thought this would be a great fun yet elegant anniversary/vacation experience.

 

Good luck whichever one you choose!

 

Melissa

[pudzplace]

thanks for the endorsement, Melissa! Not being a seasoned cruiser, it's difficult to evaluate the differences b/w the two ... I'll bet we just can't go wrong with either! :)

[Host Caroline]

I would give the edge to HAL for cruising Glacier Bay and their excellent onboard programs for adults and children in Alaska.

[kennicott]

We have taken mostly long cruises, about a month each. 2 on HAL and 7 on Princess. Not many children on these, but I find that I agree with the Berlitz assessment for objectivity. As far as family friendly lines they give 10 high ratings, out of the big eight,they give credit to only, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean. HAL does not even get a mention. Berlitz has a comprehensive review procedure. Their combined Food and Service score gives Celebrity the big edge at 8.07 followed by Princess 6.84, Star Cruises 6.79 Holland 6.62, RCI 6.59, NCL 6.16, Carnival 5.96, Costa 5.94. Then they grade each ship individually. HAL and Princess ships seem to be almost equal.

[JohnQ]

Well, we aren't Berlitz, and I don't know what they were basing their review on, BUT, we have taken Alaska cruise on both HAL and Celebrity, and found both to be good. We had no kids with us and can't talk to that, but there are usually less kids on Alaska cruises. We would give the edge to HAL for their food and service and friendly crew. On the Summit, it was ok but didn't blow us a way. Since we had mechanical problems all cruise and port time changes, this may have been an influence and many of the officers were hiding out so they didn't have to answer questions or take complaints from passengers. I think you will be happy with both. Where are the ships leaving from and to and which ports do they include. This makes a big difference.

[pudzplace]

Thanks JohnQ, we're leaving out of Seattle, and the biggest difference in ports or itinerary is that HAL goes to Glacier Bay but omits the inside passage. Celebrity goes to Hubbard Glacier (vice Glacier Bay) and includes the inside passage. Does that change your vote? Thanks!

[speedbump1999]

Did you find out which cruise is more suitable for children? I am trying to decide between Princess or Holland America. They both are 10 day carribean cruises but I am favoring Holland ony because it leaves out of Norfolk, Virginia which is only 5 hours away from where I live. I really need to know about childrens programs because I will have 3 miserable kids with me if they are not happy.

[pudzplace]

Colleen, I've never been on HAL or Princess, but from my research, HAL guests are typically 60+ years of age. In the past, it seems that HAL had a reputation for not doing such a great job with kids activities, but has put a lot of money into updating and improving kid-friendly activities on board. The research I did on Princess tells me that it is a much more kid-friendly cruise line, and is more likely to have many more kids on board for your 3 to play/interact with. For example, one review I read on the Princess Diamond (or maybe it was the Diamond's sister ship the Sapphire) said that the ship's children's area was second only to a Disney park with water slides, tunnels, PlayStations, etc. Again, I've never cruised either, but the sense I picked up from critic reviews, other posts on this forum, and Princess' own materials indicates that kids would be happier on Princess.

 

 

Sharon

[Budget Queen]

The above is not true in my experience. Passenger ages have evened out on Alaska cruises with all ages going with middle aged and above usually the majority. HAL does an EXCELLENT job on the kids programs in Alaska, nice native activites, giveaways, naturalist link.