Royal Caribbean VS Holland?

[jb456]

Are there any significant differences between these two lines?

 

We are looking into a last minute cruise in April out of Florida and a 14 night on Holland is roughly $800 cheaper then a 7 night on Royal Caribbean.

 

Seems strange that a 14 night is that much cheaper? Maybe Holland ships are not as good?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

If you are comparing Oasis or Allure vs HAL, you are seeing the ability for RCI to charge more for the glitz, bells and whistles on their huge fashion plates. HAL is not into glitz. HAL is subtle, classy, not Vegas flashy. HAL doesn't have wall climbing, ice skating, etc.

 

When it comes down to food and cabins, they are more alike than different.

[cb at sea]

HAL is a bit more "low key" than RCI...the overall "cruise" experience will be similar, but you don't have that "over the top" feel that the larger RCI ships have.

[jb456]

Thank you!

 

It was the Oasis ship.

 

Whats the atmosphere like on HAL? Late night bars? We been on Princess and our son and his friend in late 20s were a bit disappointed with the bars closing kind of early and not enough music / band at any of the pools..

 

Is HAL like that as well?

Edited March 14, 2015 by jb456

[CruiserBruce]

Thank you!

 

It was the Oasis ship.

 

Whats the atmosphere like on HAL? Late night bars? We been on Princess and our son and his friend in late 20s were a bit disappointed with the bars closing kind of early and not enough music / band at any of the pools..

 

Is HAL like that as well?

 

It varies. Some of the shorter cruises (7-10 days) seem to have a little more nightlife. Longer cruises it seems to be less.

[jb456]

Thanks Bruce

[cruisead]

From our experiences on HAL, it will be more sedate than most other cruise lines. We were recently on Eurodam, on a seven night cruise, and the average age was above 70. No nightlife at all after 11pm.

[PaintedBird]

Holland is my grandmother's favourite cruiseline. She and my mother went on an Alaska cruise in 2013. During the game show night the host asked: What does the MS standard for (it stands for motor ship), and one of the audience members replied: Mostly Senior.

 

According to Mom, that's basically accurate.

[CruiserBruce]

Holland is my grandmother's favourite cruiseline. She and my mother went on an Alaska cruise in 2013. During the game show night the host asked: What does the MS standard for (it stands for motor ship), and one of the audience members replied: Mostly Senior.

 

According to Mom, that's basically accurate.

 

And that would be the problem with stereotypes...we have been on 9 HAL cruises, all 10 days or longer, 3 over 20 days. Yes, some the age has been older, but on the other hand, we have also had a 10 day Med cruise with 200 kids on it, and the following 10 day cruise with over 100 kids on it.

Edited March 15, 2015 by CruiserBruce

[navybankerteacher]

It all comes down to personal taste. HAL is more sedate and, in my opinion has better service, comfort and food. Oasis has a whole lot more activity, livelier shows and general glitz. I prefer HAL - yes an older demographic - perhaps it takes the wisdom which comes with age to recognize and appreciate quality.

 

I personally would pay a premium to avoid any ship with the number of passengers Oasis carries.

[PaintedBird]

And that would be the problem with stereotypes...we have been on 9 HAL cruises, all 10 days or longer, 3 over 20 days. Yes, some the age has been older, but on the other hand, we have also had a 10 day Med cruise with 200 kids on it, and the following 10 day cruise with over 100 kids on it.

 

It was likely the timing as much as anything for Mom and Grandma's cruise, they saw only a handful of kids/teens, and not all too many people in their 30yrs or younger.

 

I was actually going to book Holland America for our summer cruise, because I don't care for night life, etc but we got a far better deal with RCI when booking through our agent. No choice but to go through an agent since I had a voucher.

[jb456]

From our experiences on HAL, it will be more sedate than most other cruise lines. We were recently on Eurodam, on a seven night cruise, and the average age was above 70. No nightlife at all after 11pm.

 

Does everything close at 11pm? or are there still places to at least buy a drink?

 

The downside our younger ones had on the Princess cruise was not so much the nightlife part it was just being able to buy a drink later in the evening. After 10pm there were select places to get drinks. They would go to the nightclub which tend to close around 1:30/2am and then there was nothing open to buy a drink. Many, including other guests of older ages had the same disappointed feelings when everything shut down. By the 2nd night everyone ended up just buying a couple extra drinks just before they closed so they could all sit down in the lobby and chat.

 

We also felt this was somewhat of an issue on casino night when the casino was open 24 hours. There was a good amount of people in the casino the entire night yet the bar was closed. Could not even order a tea or water if you wanted that. It would have made sense to keep the bar open since the casino was open but that was not the case.

 

During the day was also kind of a downer. Even though the ship had 4 or 5 pools not one really had music playing. Sometimes an hour or two when it was on the itinerary other then that nothing. Even the most lively pool / bar deck area did not have much. Beside 1 or 2 game type events at the pool it was only the last day of the trip that it was actually lively with a band playing for a few hours. Many said they wished it was that way the entire trip instead of just the last day. You would figure with 4 or 5 pools and one of them being adults only they could have at least had one of the pools / bar with music and bands each day but they did not.

 

Is HAL like that?

[Lady Chew]

Yes, HAL is like that

[Lady Chew]

We have just gotten off three Caribbean cruises ... one on Celebrity, one on HAL, and one on Royal.

 

We like HAL for the longer itineraries; we have taken several and have several more planned. The night life is not as important to us as are those itineraries. We have always been among the younger cruises on those trips, and we have met some wonderful older folks, learned a lot from them about their experiences, and we have enjoyed those cruises immensely.

 

BUT ... after this last HAL cruise, we have decided we will not longer sail on HAL in the Caribbean. It's just too ... old, I guess, for lack of a better word. We are not into the rock walls, flow riders, late-night clubs, etc, of the Royal ships, but the HAL ships are just too sedate for us ... I won't go into details, but this is the first time on any of our HAL cruises that we have felt that HAL was living up to its reputation as a floating community for older adults.

 

We are in our early 60s, and hope to become old people ourselves one day, and hope to be sailing for many more years ... but I hope we do not inflict the same frustration on our younger cohorts as we experienced on this particular HAL cruise!

Edited March 15, 2015 by Lady Chew

[JimAOk1945]

We are in our early 60s, and hope to become old people ourselves one day, and hope to be sailing for many more years ... but I hope we do not inflict the same frustration on our younger cohorts as we experienced on this particular HAL cruise!

Wow! Would you care to elaborate on why you feel it was a frustrating experience? I don't mean to sound nosy, but it would be beneficial to potential cruisers like me who are contemplating a first HAL cruise.

 

Thanks

Edited March 15, 2015 by JimAOk1945

[GUT2407]

Thank you!

 

It was the Oasis ship.

 

Whats the atmosphere like on HAL? Late night bars? We been on Princess and our son and his friend in late 20s were a bit disappointed with the bars closing kind of early and not enough music / band at any of the pools..

 

Is HAL like that as well?

 

 

HAL makes Princess look like a rave party.

[Aquahound]

Are there any significant differences between these two lines?

 

We are looking into a last minute cruise in April out of Florida and a 14 night on Holland is roughly $800 cheaper then a 7 night on Royal Caribbean.

 

Seems strange that a 14 night is that much cheaper? Maybe Holland ships are not as good?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

I've sailed both lines more than once and to answer your question in post #12, yes, HAL is like that. And also having sailed Princess, I can tell you even Princess is more active than HAL.

 

Nothing compares to a cruise on Oasis when it comes to entertainment. Some come close, but none of those are any ship in the HAL fleet.

[Friend100]

Yes that's HAL.

 

Some people pay a premium to specifically don't want a band at the pool. And for those who got a great deal on the same HAL ship, they pay much less and they get "less", which is fair and makes sense.

[GUT2407]

Yes that's HAL.

 

Some people pay a premium to specifically don't want a band at the pool. And for those who got a great deal on the same HAL ship, they pay much less and they get "less", which is fair and makes sense.

 

 

That us.

 

We have little if any interest in floor shows and bands blaring by the pool let alone rock walls, and flowriders and water slides.

 

That's why so many different lines exist because what suits me may well not suit you.

[Friend100]

Thank you!

 

It was the Oasis ship.

 

Whats the atmosphere like on HAL? Late night bars? We been on Princess and our son and his friend in late 20s were a bit disappointed with the bars closing kind of early and not enough music / band at any of the pools..

 

Is HAL like that as well?

 

One line they want to WOW you 24*7*365 and is always in some kind of actions. They want to be on the front page and they want you to know it big time.

 

The other line .. it almost feels like they try hard to stay off the spotlight. They want to be subtle. They don't care if you know it or not. They continue to do what they have been doing for many years.

 

We like HAL. It matches our preference of a relaxing cruise. Our kids enjoy it too, but they admit they much prefer the actions on the Oasis or Breakaway.

[jb456]

Thank you everyone you all have been fantastic:)

 

Decisions Decisions lol Really like some of the stops on that HAL cruise that normally I don't see on the 7/10 day trips. Maybe we'll send the younger ones on Carnival and do the HAL ourselves.

 

Thanks again!

[GUT2407]

Maybe we'll send the younger ones on Carnival and do the HAL ourselves.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

Now that sounds like a good idea.

[big al]

Are there any significant differences between these two lines?

 

We are looking into a last minute cruise in April out of Florida and a 14 night on Holland is roughly $800 cheaper then a 7 night on Royal Caribbean.

 

Seems strange that a 14 night is that much cheaper? Maybe Holland ships are not as good?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Thank you!

 

It was the Oasis ship.

 

Whats the atmosphere like on HAL? Late night bars? We been on Princess and our son and his friend in late 20s were a bit disappointed with the bars closing kind of early and not enough music / band at any of the pools..

 

Is HAL like that as well?

 

Cruise agent here... Average passenger age on HAL is 56..RCI 43..IMO, people in their 20's would not be happy with HAL..nice ships, but let's put it this way: my wife & I were on the HAL Westerdam in 2006 ..we were 54 & 52 and we were at least 20 years younger than the average passenger on there...we had a good time, but HAL is geared towards the "mature" passenger..every agent knows this..so is Princess & Celebrity, both upscale, great lines...when people under 45 who like bars, drinking, music, dancing, etc., ask me what cruise lines I would recommend for people under 45-50, I like RCI, NCL, Carnival & MSC ( Divina- great ship)..BTW, the reason that HAL cruise is much cheaper is because of the difference in the 2 ships- the Oasis ships have zip-lines, ice skating shows, diving & water shows, Flowrider surfing pools, 10 pools & 18 hot tubs ( HAL has maybe 2 pools & 6 hot tubs), adult pools, Central Park ( fantastic!), and is almost 3 times the size of the HAL ships...don't get me wrong- HAL, Princess ( which we are going on next month , the new Regal..) & Celebrity are fine, but I wouldn't send young families or couples on ships made for passengers who prefer a more quiet, more mature cruise experience...hope this clarifies the difference between the 2 lines...I would recommend the NCL Getaway also if you like shows, dancing, lots of dining options ( 25+) , slides, ropes course , magic dinner shows, The Waterfront area ( outside dining & drinking area over- looking the sea, very cool!!)...those are my choices...

 

Big Al

[jb456]

Cruise agent here... Average passenger age on HAL is 56..RCI 43..IMO, people in their 20's would not be happy with HAL..nice ships, but let's put it this way: my wife & I were on the HAL Westerdam in 2006 ..we were 54 & 52 and we were at least 20 years younger than the average passenger on there...we had a good time, but HAL is geared towards the "mature" passenger..every agent knows this..so is Princess & Celebrity, both upscale, great lines...when people under 45 who like bars, drinking, music, dancing, etc., ask me what cruise lines I would recommend for people under 45-50, I like RCI, NCL, Carnival & MSC ( Divina- great ship)..BTW, the reason that HAL cruise is much cheaper is because of the difference in the 2 ships- the Oasis ships have zip-lines, ice skating shows, diving & water shows, Flowrider surfing pools, 10 pools & 18 hot tubs ( HAL has maybe 2 pools & 6 hot tubs), adult pools, Central Park ( fantastic!), and is almost 3 times the size of the HAL ships...don't get me wrong- HAL, Princess ( which we are going on next month , the new Regal..) & Celebrity are fine, but I wouldn't send young families or couples on ships made for passengers who prefer a more quiet, more mature cruise experience...hope this clarifies the difference between the 2 lines...I would recommend the NCL Getaway also if you like shows, dancing, lots of dining options ( 25+) , slides, ropes course , magic dinner shows, The Waterfront area ( outside dining & drinking area over- looking the sea, very cool!!)...those are my choices...

 

Big Al

 

Very helpful Big Al - Thank you!

[Cruzaholic41]

Are there any significant differences between these two lines?

 

We are looking into a last minute cruise in April out of Florida and a 14 night on Holland is roughly $800 cheaper then a 7 night on Royal Caribbean.

 

Seems strange that a 14 night is that much cheaper? Maybe Holland ships are not as good?

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

I'm curious - these 2 cruises are so different, what in the world made you narrow it down to these?:confused:

 

By the way, Oasis is AMAZING! Let me expand on what big al said. Oasis doesn't cost more simply because it has more stuff. Oasis has higher recurring costs because they have one of the biggest entertainment staffs at sea. They run a full Broadway production of Cats complete with intermission. They also have an ice cast of former olympians, world games, etc, who put on an amazing ice show. Then there's the Aqua Theater with a cast of high dive experts and syncronized swimmers. Then there's the comedy club.

 

HAL is totally different and in my opinion, antiquated. HAL has a tendency to always be playing catch up to other cruise lines. One huge example is the smoking policy. They are one of the very few remaining cruise lines that still allow people to smoke on verandas, which is a big annoyance to others. That's a big no-no on Royal Caribbean. Also, HAL is one of the only lines remaining that doesn't have interactive TVs for ordering room service, viewing your on-board account, etc.