HAL vs Carnival

[2 cruzen]

We just returned from a fabulous 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise. After 3 years, 4 cruises on Carnival, we decided to give HAL a try. Here are some of my observations:

Things I liked about HAL: you can go to your cabin right away – very nice to be able to drop things off and take a breath before lunch/discovering the ship. Safe in the cabin was locked with a 4-digit code; no credit card required. Less closet space, but this was due to our having a handicapped room, which was larger and had a nice slanted balcony. Highly recommend cabin 5051. Lido lunch – HAL Westerdam serves you the first 48 hours so decrease the chance of norovirus. However, the choices seemed limited to me. Only ate there 2x. Room service – took around 45 minutes for meals/served on nice china. Morning breakfast usually arrived right on time. Trays left in the hallways were picked up promptly. Not the case on the Carnival Glory last year. There are two “Happy Hour” times, where the 2nd drink is just $1.00. Also, you can bring as much wine on board as you like. One of our c/c members brought on 26 bottles! Less crowded/children were well behaved. Nice enrichment programs – took a computer class. And the thing I liked most about the HAL ship – the Promenade deck – where you can walk completely around the ship. They also have nice teak loungers to relax on and watch the sea go by.

Things I missed about Carnival: Upon arrival you are greeted by helpful people with the “ask me” button and each person is given a map (only got 1 map upon arrival on HAL). Can check you folio at any time on the TV/plus see the menus. More closet storage. The Comedy Club – love having extra options for entertainment. Also, we missed the steel drum music and deck party on Lido, although HAL did pool games. Did NOT miss the hairy chest contest! At last, but not least, missed the “ding” as you leave the ship – HAL scans your sail/sign card – again, probably a precaution against handling everyone’s card.

Both lines have their strengths. Look forward to cruising on both again. For now, we may go back to Carnival – until we are ready for relaxation and enrichment.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your opinion about the differences you found on Holland versa Carnival. Glad you think you might return to Hal down the road.:)

[DFD1]

That's a good review and a good comparison, IMO. I agree about the entertainment, especially the steel drum music.

 

We took some friends on HAL's Eurodam this year who had never cruised HAL. The first thing they said when they were on board was...."Where is the steel band?" There was not one.

 

I think HAL is missing the boat by not having more good steel band music on the Caribbean cruises.

[Jackiealu]

Thank you for the comparison. We have never sailed on Carnival, but are thinking about trying it next year, just to see the difference. Some posters have me scared to try this, but your post sounds promising. Thanks again!

[Cindy]

We just returned from a fabulous 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise. After 3 years, 4 cruises on Carnival, we decided to give HAL a try. Here are some of my observations:

 

Things I liked about HAL: you can go to your cabin right away – very nice to be able to drop things off and take a breath before lunch/discovering the ship. Safe in the cabin was locked with a 4-digit code; no credit card required. Less closet space, but this was due to our having a handicapped room, which was larger and had a nice slanted balcony. Highly recommend cabin 5051. Lido lunch – HAL Westerdam serves you the first 48 hours so decrease the chance of norovirus. However, the choices seemed limited to me. Only ate there 2x. Room service – took around 45 minutes for meals/served on nice china. Morning breakfast usually arrived right on time. Trays left in the hallways were picked up promptly. Not the case on the Carnival Glory last year. There are two “Happy Hour” times, where the 2nd drink is just $1.00. Also, you can bring as much wine on board as you like. One of our c/c members brought on 26 bottles! Less crowded/children were well behaved. Nice enrichment programs – took a computer class. And the thing I liked most about the HAL ship – the Promenade deck – where you can walk completely around the ship. They also have nice teak loungers to relax on and watch the sea go by.

 

Things I missed about Carnival: Upon arrival you are greeted by helpful people with the “ask me” button and each person is given a map (only got 1 map upon arrival on HAL). Can check you folio at any time on the TV/plus see the menus. More closet storage. The Comedy Club – love having extra options for entertainment. Also, we missed the steel drum music and deck party on Lido, although HAL did pool games. Did NOT miss the hairy chest contest! At last, but not least, missed the “ding” as you leave the ship – HAL scans your sail/sign card – again, probably a precaution against handling everyone’s card.

 

Both lines have their strengths. Look forward to cruising on both again. For now, we may go back to Carnival – until we are ready for relaxation and enrichment.

 

Glad to hear your positive comments. We're very excited about our first Holland America cruise in November!

 

Thank you for the comparison. We have never sailed on Carnival, but are thinking about trying it next year, just to see the difference. Some posters have me scared to try this, but your post sounds promising. Thanks again!

 

We've cruised on three different lines, and are adding HAL and Celebrity to the list in the next 18 months. As with anything else, there are some things I think Carnival does well, and some things I don't care for. We're at the point in our lives where longer and more varied itineraries are what we're looking for, hence why we're trying two new lines. Carnival wouldn't be my first choice, but I would cruise on Carnival again if the circumstances were right.

[2 cruzen]

Thank you for the comparison. We have never sailed on Carnival, but are thinking about trying it next year, just to see the difference. Some posters have me scared to try this, but your post sounds promising. Thanks again!

 

My advice to you, if possible, just book on a less popular week - NOT Easter week. We always cruise the first week of April, which tends to be around Easter. Our October cruise was much less crowded with kids/young adults.

[catl331]

On our recent Maasdam Carib cruise, we had steel drum lessons! and the percussion player from the HAL band played the steel drums for us.

[snyderc635]

After several HAL cruises, I cruised on Carnival last June. I kept my expectations low due to comments I had read on Cruise Critic. However, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the Carnival cruise. The food was just as good as HAL's, the service was good, and the ship was clean! The ship decor was a little tacky (Carnival Glory) but I had prepared for that after seeing pictures on the internet. All in all, though I still prefer HAL, Carnival was a nice cruise ( I actually enjoyed it more than a Celebrity cruise I had taken in 2009). And Carnival is much cheaper!

[iancal]

We have had one very good cruise on Carnival. We selected the ship and the time carefully and it worked out very well. MDR food was excellent, as was the service. Buffet was not as good as HAL but the entertainment was much better. Typical trade-offs between vendors. We would not hesitate to take another Carnival cruise...if the ship, time, and itenerary were right for us.

[luv2travel06]

On our recent Maasdam Carib cruise, we had steel drum lessons! and the percussion player from the HAL band played the steel drums for us.

Yes, there was a steel drum player as part of the HALCats on the Maasdam cruise we were on in March.

 

The lessons were offered several times, if I remember correctly.

 

The steel drum band Island Magic on the Zuiderdam put on several shows, but did not regularly perform on deck like the HALCats do.

[Roz]

I sail both Carnival and HAL, and enjoy both lines. The pricing structure is different, and so are my expectations. Both lines have their strengths and weaknesses. This November I'm going to try Princess.

 

I think Carnival gives you a lot of bang for your buck.

 

Roz

[Hawaiidan]

Comparing Carnival to Holland America is very important to me is size.

A Carnivall ship will be 2 to 3 times more people Celeb, Royal Carib. NCL Cunard,Costsa, Disney all operate mega monsters with 3000 to6000 people... Holland still has the under 1500 market which for me is the perfect cruise ratio and their ships look and feel like ships

Going on a floating shopping mall and and with carnival rides..just misses the boat.:rolleyes:

[CJcruzer]

Just cruised Carnival again after approx 15-20 hrs - it was a family cruise with sons, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren and another set of in-laws : 6 day Cribbean cruise aboard the Liberty, aprrox the size of a HAL Vista class ship.

 

Surprisingly, it was a very good cruise! First week of February so not many children or rowdy crowd, as it was before school/winter breaks and Presidents' week.

 

The service was amazing, food in MDR very good, on par with HAL, our waiter was incredible - the 3 big stage shows were fantastic, the best I've probably ever seen for extravaganza type shows - tribute to the Beatles, New Orleans theme show and last was JUMP and JIVE - Cabins were spacious - although smaller than HAL - beds super comfortable. I like HAL's lido buffet for lunch better, but still enjoyed Carnival's offerings...My sons said the Indian food section was fantastic.

 

We tended to go to the aft pool area, as it was quiet - more or less set up like HAL's main pool area. the other section had the big screen playing, loud music, and tiered arrangement of lounge chairs - made me feel like I was in a stadium. Surprisingly, there was a large number of people in the over 60 range - contrary to Carnival's image of being the fun ship for the young and the restless! LOL

 

the downside was I missed the Explorations Cafe/library combo - most ships other than HAL seem to tuck a small room in the corner of the ship - windowless - to refer to as library. Hubby and I enjoy relaxing In HAL's spacious and relaxing libraries, looking up from our book or Sudoku to gaze out at the scenery.

 

another poster mentioned this, and I must agree with them regarding our experience, I enjoyed being on the Carnival ship - overall experience - more than my last Celebrity cruise.

 

did I miss some of the HAL touches? You bet I did - but Carnival doesn't advertise to be HAL, so I went with that outlook and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and the touches that Carnival does provide.

[2 cruzen]

I do like the smaller ships - even with Carnival, I will take whatever category Miracle is over Glory - except we like the bigscreen movies outside at night. Looking at the Liberty for next year - amazing overhaul with the waterslides/Cloud 9 spa. Have to admit, got a little spoiled by HAL's Greenhouse Spa.

 

I forgot to mention in my original post - if you like the Captain to blow his horn - NEED to book Westerdam - voted winner of the Super Bowl of horn blowing!

 

I LOVE CRUISING! :D:D:D

[iancal]

The Carnival ship that we sailed on was the same size as some of the HAL ships...in fact it is the same hull and design.

 

Carnival's Spirit class ships are the basis for HAL's Vista class ships. So the Carnival Spriit and the HAL Westerdam are the same size.

[our turn]

We have sailed on HAL (Westerdam, Eurodam, Amsterdam), Celebrity (Millennium, Century) and the Carnival Fascination. I have to say that we would probably not sail Carnival again. We just did not find the service, food and overall ambiance to be on par with HAL and Celebrity.

 

That is not to say that we did not enjoy our Carnival cruise, anytime we can get away just the two of us on a cruise is wonderful! There were just a lot of little things we missed and that could be due to the limitations of the Fascination. We really missed the specialty restaurants and felt the main dining room on Carnival was way below the standards of both the other lines. Our room service experience on Carnival was horrible and out room steward was just adequate - nothing special like we are used to.

 

We are the type cruisers that enjoy a lot of time in our stateroom and on our balcony, dine alone and do not participate in poolside activities so take that into account. We just found the Carnival experience lacking from beginning to end.

[CJcruzer]

I do like the smaller ships - even with Carnival, I will take whatever category Miracle is over Glory - except we like the bigscreen movies outside at night. Looking at the Liberty for next year - amazing overhaul with the waterslides/Cloud 9 spa. Have to admit, got a little spoiled by HAL's Greenhouse Spa.

 

I forgot to mention in my original post - if you like the Captain to blow his horn - NEED to book Westerdam - voted winner of the Super Bowl of horn blowing!

 

I LOVE CRUISING! :D:D:D

 

Yup, on our Carnival Liberty cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale, the Nieuw Amsterdam was in port, and the Westerdam was first to leave FLL and full blast blowing the horn! Our 2 previous Caribbean sailings had both been on the Westerdam, so it was very nostalgic. Carnival was right on the Westerdam's heels.

[Cindy]

We have sailed on HAL (Westerdam, Eurodam, Amsterdam), Celebrity (Millennium, Century) and the Carnival Fascination. I have to say that we would probably not sail Carnival again. We just did not find the service, food and overall ambiance to be on par with HAL and Celebrity.

 

That is not to say that we did not enjoy our Carnival cruise, anytime we can get away just the two of us on a cruise is wonderful! There were just a lot of little things we missed and that could be due to the limitations of the Fascination. We really missed the specialty restaurants and felt the main dining room on Carnival was way below the standards of both the other lines. Our room service experience on Carnival was horrible and out room steward was just adequate - nothing special like we are used to.

 

We are the type cruisers that enjoy a lot of time in our stateroom and on our balcony, dine alone and do not participate in poolside activities so take that into account. We just found the Carnival experience lacking from beginning to end.

 

We enjoyed our Carnival cruises, however I would probably only choose another one if it was a family cruise and I didn't have the deciding vote for the ship/cruise line!:rolleyes:

We had decent food and service with Carnival, but I find the ships very crowded compared to similar sized ships on other cruise lines. We've also found there is a lack of the types of entertainment/activities that interest us both during the day and in the evening.

[Himself]

We just returned from a fabulous 7-day Southern Caribbean cruise. After 3 years, 4 cruises on Carnival, we decided to give HAL a try. Here are some of my observations:

Things I liked about HAL: you can go to your cabin right away – very nice to be able to drop things off and take a breath before lunch/discovering the ship. Safe in the cabin was locked with a 4-digit code; no credit card required. Less closet space, but this was due to our having a handicapped room, which was larger and had a nice slanted balcony. Highly recommend cabin 5051. Lido lunch – HAL Westerdam serves you the first 48 hours so decrease the chance of norovirus. However, the choices seemed limited to me. Only ate there 2x. Room service – took around 45 minutes for meals/served on nice china. Morning breakfast usually arrived right on time. Trays left in the hallways were picked up promptly. Not the case on the Carnival Glory last year. There are two “Happy Hour” times, where the 2nd drink is just $1.00. Also, you can bring as much wine on board as you like. One of our c/c members brought on 26 bottles! Less crowded/children were well behaved. Nice enrichment programs – took a computer class. And the thing I liked most about the HAL ship – the Promenade deck – where you can walk completely around the ship. They also have nice teak loungers to relax on and watch the sea go by.

Things I missed about Carnival: Upon arrival you are greeted by helpful people with the “ask me” button and each person is given a map (only got 1 map upon arrival on HAL). Can check you folio at any time on the TV/plus see the menus. More closet storage. The Comedy Club – love having extra options for entertainment. Also, we missed the steel drum music and deck party on Lido, although HAL did pool games. Did NOT miss the hairy chest contest! At last, but not least, missed the “ding” as you leave the ship – HAL scans your sail/sign card – again, probably a precaution against handling everyone’s card.

Both lines have their strengths. Look forward to cruising on both again. For now, we may go back to Carnival – until we are ready for relaxation and enrichment.

 

A seasoned cruiser once told me that Carnival was a "good training ship" for the new cruiser.

[sppunk]

Carnival's MDR food IMO is very good, often better than HAL. Their lido area is vastly inferior, though. Granted, haven't sailed Carnival since 2009.

 

Everything else isn't to our preference (activities, announcements, sales, etc), but that can be overlooked if time/price/itinerary is good enough.

 

My biggest complaint about Carnival is their ships are very hard to navigate. They place their dining rooms midship so you can't walk bow to aft without going up/down at least a deck each way. At least their older ships (before say 2009) are like this.

[bishop84]

The Carnival ship that we sailed on was the same size as some of the HAL ships...in fact it is the same hull and design.

 

Carnival's Spirit class ships are the basis for HAL's Vista class ships. So the Carnival Spriit and the HAL Westerdam are the same size.

 

Although similar to the Vista class the Spirit class is about 30 feet longer but they squeeze nearly 700 more guests into as her lower berth capacity is 2680 compared to 1850 on the Westie!

[andyandsue]

Thank you for that comparison, I have been looking for something like that. We consider Carnival to be very similar to NCL. When we cruised on NCL they had "Miss Biceps" and "Mr Sexy Legs" contests on the pool deck. We watched from the deck (my kids included here) like it was a train wreck. We could not look away, it was like a drunk freak show and we will NOT miss that.

 

That said, I know I am going to miss the steel drums and the BBQ party on the pool deck that NCL had. Now that said, there was no place to sit for said BBQ and the line was at least 50 people deep and took forever. That we will not miss.

 

The Veendam is only 200 feet shorter than the NCL Gem, but holds about 1,000 less passengers. That is a HUGE difference when it comes to finding some personal space, which we did not get with NCL. Lines were everywhere for everything.

 

So bottom line there are pros and cons to everything. Let's see if HAL gets us hooked or if it's just the lure of the 4 days in Bermuda that does it!

[mmr923]

We had a steel drum player on our Ryndam Caribbean cruise last year and she was great! Lessons were offered as well. Our one experience with Carnival had terrible food (we ended up eating the staff Indian food - they would set aside some for us and serve it when we came for dinner) - rubber chicken, tasteless pasta, bland over cooked veggies, etc. We also didn't find our bed comfy.

[Typhoon1]

They don't call Carnival the Kmart cruise line for no reason.

 

We did it once, never again.

[fatcat04]

Can check you folio at any time on the TV/plus see the menus.

 

Thank you for the review.

 

Agree that the ability to check your folio and the menus on the TV is a very nice perk. Wish HAL would implement that. Very convenient. Wouldn't think it would be to difficult. :)