Celebrity or HAL

[BIGJAN]

We have previously cruised RC. Cruising thus year without children. Looking at Celebrity Reflection, Constellation and HAL.. Any recommendations? We like the ship to have a good lively atmosphere at night.

[Pennstatedj]

We have done several HAL and many, many with Celebrity. Food similar, ship styles are HAL has smaller tuscan look inside, where X has brighter larger ships. Entertainment choices at night - many more on X and that is why we sail with X. Rewards for frequent travelers are many for X, non existent for HAL. HAL does have many different itinarys and can get to smaller ports due to smaller ships. For me X is way ahead. Our parents love HAL. So when we travel with them we go with HAL.

[Iamthesea]

It really depends on what itinerary you are thinking of taking and what time of year, but I do think that Celebrity will have the better chance of nightlife that you are looking for.

 

It's been a few years since we have been on HAL (in their newest fleet) and while the service and food were outstanding, I remember little of the night life. The shops were once filled with older cliental, but I believe that is slowly changing. Just as Celebrity's image is changing.

 

If you are used to RCCL cruises, then I think that Celebrity will be the right fit for you.

 

Our last cruise on Celebrity was an 11 nighter (Equinox) to the Caribbean, Central and South America. There were not many younger passengers, but the ship was still partying when DH and I (57 and 62) went to bed each night.

 

We love both the Solstice class (Reflection) and the Millennium class (Constellation.) I will be sailing on the Reflection in 5 weeks. It will have a younger crowd because it will be Spring Break time.

 

The Constellation is one of our most traveled and favorite ship. Again, if you could give a little insight into the type trip you are taking, we can help determine the correct ship. :)

[BIGJAN]

Thank you for your help. You have confirmed that Celebrity would be better for us. The Constellation and Reflection both have good itineraries for July in the Med.Reflection leaving from Rome, with no direct flights from Scotland apart from doing it on your own, where direct flight with Celebrity to Venice.

 

Looking for good ports, great food and some good entertainment ie we like good live bands. We are early 50's and there is still life in us.

 

Will concentrate on Celebrity, thanks again

[BIGJAN]

Sorry Constellation leaving from Venice with direct flights from Edinburgh.

[Cruise a holic]

Sorry Constellation leaving from Venice with direct flights from Edinburgh.

 

Having sailed on both multiple times, hands down the Solstice class is a much more comfortable ship. The reflection is the newest, so it dosen't show it's age as the Constellation. I would highly recommend the Reflection. When on board, you have more options for dining and entertainment. The cabins are also more comfortable and updated.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[miched]

Don't know if the Constellation changed since we were on it in 2103, at that time the music for the shows was pre recorded, and all the clubs and bars had no talent DJ's banging on electronic drums. There were no real live musicians.

 

Choice between the 2 ships would be the Reflection. It is their newest ship and and all cabins categories from inside to AQ are the same size.

 

Both are nice ships but the Reflection has a little more to offer.

 

Big plus is Celebrity is basically a non smoking cruise line, there are very few areas where smoking is allowed and they are all outside. if you are a smoker you may not enjoy it.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[BIGJAN]

Thanks again, will concentrate on Reflection, although it isn't the easiest to get to.

 

We don't smoke so that is a big plus for us.

[kelmac]

We have previously cruised RC. Cruising thus year without children. Looking at Celebrity Reflection, Constellation and HAL.. Any recommendations? We like the ship to have a good lively atmosphere at night.

 

 

My wife and I have cruised HAL nine times (including the Nieuw Amsterdam) and Celebrity 26 times. We are scheduled to cruise the Reflection early this June (same itinerary out of Rome).

 

(Mac-O-Meter is on)

 

Ship quality -- HAL 8.8; Solstice Class 9.2; Millennium Class 9.0

Decor -- HAL dark traditional 8.3 Solstice Class Modern bright 9.2 Millennium class Modern open 9.0

Food -- HAL very good 9.0 Solstice Class excellent 9.4 Millennium Class 9.3

Service -- HAL warm and efficient 9.2 All Celebrity ships Professional and cheerful 9.2

Itineraries -- HAL creative 9.3 All Celebrity ships Getting better 8.8

Officers -- HAL Dutch, Professional 9.5 All Celebrity, Greek, fun, approachable 9.5

Passengers -- HAL Older, passive 9.1 All Celebrity mature, well traveled, happy 9.3

Cabins -- HAL dark, tubs, great beds 9.0 All Celebrity modern, bright, better showers, interactive TV's 9.4

Entertainment -- HAL standard 8.5 All Celebrity improving, professional 8.9

The smoking policy alone could be a major factor -- Celebrity's is very restrictive, with no inside smoking; and HAL's allows smoking in many areas of the ship.

 

I'm not a huge fan of the direction that HAL is heading since 2007; seems more and more like a Carnival step child product. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are on a significant upswing.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

Edited February 22, 2015 by kelmac

[Cindy]

We have previously cruised RC. Cruising thus year without children. Looking at Celebrity Reflection, Constellation and HAL.. Any recommendations? We like the ship to have a good lively atmosphere at night.

 

We have limited experience on the two lines, but my vote would be for Celebrity without question.

 

We have taken two HAL cruises. The first, on the Noordam was a lot of fun. We had an active roll call, and saw many people we'd gotten to know out and about in the evenings. Our favorite thing, though, was our aft suite with a "ginormous" wrap-around balcony! Our second HAL cruise was on the Westerdam, and it couldn't have been more different. The ship décor seemed bare and non-descript, and it was a ghost town in the evenings. Even my 80+ year old mother complained that the ship was boring!:eek:

 

Our one Celebrity cruise so far was on the Constellation, and we thought the experience provided us with the perfect combination of relaxation and activity. We had an Aqua Class cabin and loved BLU, we thought the Martini Bar was great, and there was always something interesting to do. Even my 19 year old niece managed to find the few people her age and have fun well into the night! I thought the shows were "OK" -- certainly not the caliber of RC's shows, but they were acceptable and there were plenty of other things to do.

 

We thought Celebrity was the perfect fit for us. If we had the same easy access to Celebrity ships that we have to others, it might just become our exclusive cruise line. I hope out next one is just as good!

 

One other thing in Celebrity's favor in my opinion is the reciprocity between the loyalty programs. Since we're Diamond on RC, we get Elite perks on Celebrity. In addition, we can use points from our Royal Caribbean VISA to purchase OBC and other benefits from any line under the RCCL corporate umbrella. Those things make a big difference to me, and the lines under the Carnival umbrella don't have the same policy.

 

This link is ship pictures of the Noordam. The Westerdam is almost identical, but without the Christmas decorations I thought it was very blah and depressing...so much so that I didn't take ship pictures on the Westerdam, which is almost unheard of for me.

 

This link has a bunch of pictures of the Constellation. Even though it's an older ship, I thought it was very pretty and well-maintained.

 

 

Our last cruise on Celebrity was an 11 nighter (Equinox) to the Caribbean, Central and South America. There were not many younger passengers, but the ship was still partying when DH and I (57 and 62) went to bed each night.

 

The Constellation is one of our most traveled and favorite ship. Again, if you could give a little insight into the type trip you are taking, we can help determine the correct ship. :)

 

The Equinox 11-Nighter is our next Celebrity! Unfortunately it's not until next March, but we're looking forward to trying a Solstice class ship!

Edited February 22, 2015 by Cindy

[Hapytocruise]

I would not discount the Constellation if the itinerary is more convenient and if less cost. The M class ships of which Constellation is one, are smaller and older but for the most part well maintained. I would highly suggest Aqua class on either M class or S class ships. We love dining in Blu and the few extra perks which go along with Aqua.

While we would never have tried it because we could not understand the big deal of Blu...we were booked on Infinity just prior to their announcing drydock to renovate to convert some cabins to Aqua class - one of which was the one we were booked in. So we were technically upgraded. We absolutely loved it and have always sailed Aqua ever since.

[drarill]

We have previously cruised RC. Cruising thus year without children. Looking at Celebrity Reflection, Constellation and HAL.. Any recommendations? We like the ship to have a good lively atmosphere at night.

 

Another vote for the Reflection. We moved from RCCL to Celebrity looking for a better smoking policy and now we are having a hard time going back to Royal. Keep in mind that Celebrity and Royal have reciprocity on their loyalty programs. I don't know how much you have cruised with Royal but for us as D+ in Royal we made our first cruise with Celebrity as Elites, which was really good.

Enjoy the planning and happy cruising!!:)

[DavyJoneses]

Sailed both lines and enjoyed each one. Hard to pick one over the other. As someone else mentioned, for us it really comes down to itinerary.

[sprockie]

I can comment on everything but the nightlife. We travel with our kids, so we're up early and back in our cabin after the show.

However, we just got off the Constellation after taking several cruises on HAL. We are late 40's early 50's. We really gave this comparison some serious thought.

 

HAL

 

• better food - especially in the Lido Cafe. The dining room food on the Constellation was good, but we found ourselves eating in the dining room every night (which we didn't necessarily want to do) because we were disappointed with the food in the buffet. The "deli" station was particularly disappointing on Celebrity.
  
• Better beds and pillows
  
• More attractive/refined decor with a variety of interesting artwork and fresh flowers throughout the ship
  
• Better disembarkation system
  

Celebrity

 

• Nicer cabin (we had an aft family verandah - unbelievably wonderful)
  
• Loved the beverage package (haven't tried HAL's)
  
• Fewer announcement
  
• Friendlier, fun, more approachable officers
  
• Better coffee both in the buffet and Cafe Bacio
  

We like both cruiselines and would sail again on either depending on the itinerary. These are just the major things we observed in our opinion. Next year's we've booked another HAL because of a great itinerary in February 2016.

Edited February 22, 2015 by sprockie

[Macadian]

We enjoyed HAL on out Panama cruise and if they fall into line with the other cruise lines re smoking policy we would most certainly sail with them again. However until (and if) that happens we would not consider them at all. Having said that, many cruisers I am sure choose HAL due to their very liberal smoking policy.

[shipshape sam]

We have sailed Celebrity many times with the intent to continue to sail Celebrity because of our Captain's Club status, but if it was a 7 day Caribbean cruise, I might opt for HAL if they were going to Half Moon Cay.

 

Beautiful private island, my favorite. MY idea of a great beach is the view from a shaded bar with a light breeze and friends and good beer. Half Moon Cay has it. The bar is shaded, sits of a bluff overlooking the "half moon" beach.

 

Personally, hard IMHO, to not have a great cruise. I don't think I have ever been on a bad cruise. Interesting ones with stories to tell and laugh about later, but not bad.

[sprockie]

We have sailed Celebrity many times with the intent to continue to sail Celebrity because of our Captain's Club status, but if it was a 7 day Caribbean cruise, I might opt for HAL if they were going to Half Moon Cay.

 

Beautiful private island, my favorite. MY idea of a great beach is the view from a shaded bar with a light breeze and friends and good beer. Half Moon Cay has it. The bar is shaded, sits of a bluff overlooking the "half moon" beach.

 

Personally, hard IMHO, to not have a great cruise. I don't think I have ever been on a bad cruise. Interesting ones with stories to tell and laugh about later, but not bad.

 

OMG I can't believe I forgot Half Moon Cay in my HAL Pro's - that should be at the top of the list. What an unbelievable place. We always have a wonderful day there.

[shipshape sam]

OMG I can't believe I forgot Half Moon Cay in my HAL Pro's - that should be at the top of the list. What an unbelievable place. We always have a wonderful day there.

 

I do want to go to Half Moon Cay again....soon.

 

You mentioned better beds and pillows for HAL. Funny story was my wife sailed with her girlfriends on Westerdam to Alaska. They had new mattresses and she raved about them. So......we booked Zuiderdam for a Caribbean cruise and they had not upgraded yet. She wanted to buy one and obviously we didn't. Did go to Half Moon Cay!

[bar_20]

We enjoyed HAL on out Panama cruise and if they fall into line with the other cruise lines re smoking policy we would most certainly sail with them again. However until (and if) that happens we would not consider them at all. Having said that, many cruisers I am sure choose HAL due to their very liberal smoking policy.

 

With all the passengers on HAL with oxygen tanks, walkers, wheel chairs and mobility carts I can see why they have a such a liberal smoking policy. In my opinion HAL has made more than it's share of cutbacks. Many people love HAL, me not so much. Celebrity is not perfect by any means but I would rank it head and shoulders above HAL at this time.

[shipshape sam]

With all the passengers on HAL with oxygen tanks, walkers, wheel chairs and mobility carts I can see why they have a such a liberal smoking policy. In my opinion HAL has made more than it's share of cutbacks. Many people love HAL, me not so much. Celebrity is not perfect by any means but I would rank it head and shoulders above HAL at this time.

 

Do not like smoke.

[Aquahound]

I would not discount the Constellation if the itinerary is more convenient and if less cost.

 

My thoughts exactly....especially if Constellation sails out of Venice!!!

[I_r_a]

Hey BJ,

 

>Looking for good ports, great food and some good entertainment ie we like good live bands.

 

HAL has the BB King Blues Club

 

Ira