Give Holland America a try??

[bEwAbG]

Neptune lounge is not as nice as Michael's Club but when the price differential is 1,000s of dollars, I'm ok with going to a regular bar. Same with the suites-only restaurant on Celebrity versus HAL. Love Luminae but not past a certain dollar amount when you can buy specialty dining to scratch that itch for a fraction of the cost.

 

I love Celebrity and it's still my preferred line but I was more impressed with HAL on Nieuw Amsterdam last month than I thought I would be. They had zero indoor smoking, too, though that's not the case on all of their ships. Staff and service were on par. Pinnacle Grill was excellent. MDR was similar. Same atmosphere & demographics on the ship. HAL had more varied live music options in the evenings.

[bebe08]

We've sailed multiple times on HAL and X. We would absolutely sail again in HAL except that, for us, they are MORE expensive.

 

I'm pretty sure this is because of certain factors:

 

a). We always sail with an all inclusive alcohol package.

b) We buy the cheapest cabin required to get the perks (on X, that's usually an OV GTY). On HAL, we do insides (but have often been upgraded).

c) The incentives offered by our TA are ALWAYS better on X. Plus, the TA frequently has 'group' pricing on X, making it even cheaper.

 

I'm an ex-accountant and assure you that I CAN do the math. I've tried to return to HAL - in many ways, we preferred it. The significant price difference keeps us on X. And we're happy about that but, Unfortunately, the itineraries are becoming an issue.

 

(We agree with others about NCL. Overall, we enjoyed it very much. But never again without a dining package - and that statement comes from two people who are very happy in Celebrity MDR. On X, We only go to specialities when we have OBC to burn )

 

I agree with HAL being more expensive re the alcohol factor. When we got our bill at the end of cruise with HAL we were shocked at how much we drank/spent!!! We would need to be very disciplined in order for HAL to be a better deal for us. We like the freedom and flexibility having the drink package with Celebrity provides.

 

That said our cruise on HAL was great....just need to be sure you aren't comparing apples and oranges when it comes to prices.

[jkgourmet]

I agree with HAL being more expensive re the alcohol factor. When we got our bill at the end of cruise with HAL we were shocked at how much we drank/spent!!! We would need to be very disciplined in order for HAL to be a better deal for us. We like the freedom and flexibility having the drink package with Celebrity provides.

 

That said our cruise on HAL was great....just need to be sure you aren't comparing apples and oranges when it comes to prices.

 

HAL has drink packages too. Last time I looked it was $45 per day per person, up to 15 drinks per day per person. Then we add in the daily gratuities for two. . . Yeah, I'm staying on Celebrity where I get both covered with my booking with our OV GTY cabin in the bowels of the ship. Fine by me.

[bEwAbG]

You have to do the math. The cost of "free" stuff is figured into the room rate when they're offering extras. A-la-carte pricing on drinks on HAL is lower across-the-board. You can also get bottles in your cabin for much less than what Celebrity charges.

 

For the recent trips I've looked at (Alaska and Caribbean), HAL is charging prices that I paid on Celebrity three years ago, and Celebrity is charging so much in some cases that I don't have anything booked with them after my next trip.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

You have to do the math. The cost of "free" stuff is figured into the room rate when they're offering extras. A-la-carte pricing on drinks on HAL is lower across-the-board. You can also get bottles in your cabin for much less than what Celebrity charges.

 

For the recent trips I've looked at (Alaska and Caribbean), HAL is charging prices that I paid on Celebrity three years ago, and Celebrity is charging so much in some cases that I don't have anything booked with them after my next trip.

 

It also depends on how much you drink as well. We tend to get one cafe drink per day, and a couple glasses of wine per week, A-la-Cart. Max usage with a drink package: 3 beverages per day (spiked coffee, tea, wine). When comparing prices, it is worth about $12 per day pp. If we drank $50 per day, I would almost have to stick with X or NCL.

 

What's crazy is that we got a concierge balcony during Halloween, 4 nights for $450 on the Infinity, with $300 OBC and Beverage Package. Also a $100 OBC from our previous cruise, and $70 from our TA. No one can compete with that price or package, not Carnival, or even Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line for that matter!

[bigbenboys]

Neptune lounge is not as nice as Michael's Club but when the price differential is 1,000s of dollars, I'm ok with going to a regular bar. Same with the suites-only restaurant on Celebrity versus HAL. Love Luminae but not past a certain dollar amount when you can buy specialty dining to scratch that itch for a fraction of the cost.

 

I love Celebrity and it's still my preferred line but I was more impressed with HAL on Nieuw Amsterdam last month than I thought I would be. They had zero indoor smoking, too, though that's not the case on all of their ships. Staff and service were on par. Pinnacle Grill was excellent. MDR was similar. Same atmosphere & demographics on the ship. HAL had more varied live music options in the evenings.

 

I did do some looking when HAL changed their smoking policy starting Jan 2017. I did read that "Electronic cigarettes and vaping devices are permitted in staterooms but are not permitted on stateroom verandahs." We really did enjoy the Ryndam back in the day. My eyes are open, but my nose closed at this time. It is great that HAL is making some changes.

[MVPinBoynton]

We normally cruise Celebrity; but have cruised on HAL 3 times, 2 in the last year. We thoroughly enjoyed them; but it is a bit different; which can be nice for a change. We preferred the Nieuw Amsterdam, which is the same as the Eurodam, over the other 2 HAL ships we were on. You should try HAL for a change. You can see a full review of the Nieuw Amsterdam on our website that is linked to in my signature.

[woody14h]

FYI

Smoking is allowed int the casino on the Koningsdam and the New Statendam. Don't know about the others. Also, re. alcohol prices. We always have a bottle of Stoli in the cabin . HAL price $40 Celebrity $80. Just saying.

[BSinPNS]

In March we returned from an Indonesian cruise on Volendam terminating in Singapore. A year ago, we traveled from Singapore to Hong Kong on the Celebrity Millennium. We concur with many others who state there are only marginal differences between the two lines and these ships. The ships entered into service in late 1999 and mid-2000. Volendam carries 1432 passengers while Millennium carries 2138. We are somewhat frequent cruisers with 15 on Celebrity, 4 on HAL, 2 on RCCL and 1 on Paul Gauguin. Here are our thoughts on the differences. In other categories, the lines are so similar we did not discern a significant difference.

 

- Dining. Delicious food on both, but since food is so dependent on individual tastes, I will only compare related areas. HAL had several SE Asian inspired options while Celebrity stuck to their standard menu. Lots of waiters in Volendam’s Lido to clean tables quickly and deliver drinks as needed.

- Internet. Celebrity’s is far faster almost approaching speeds at home for browsing and email. HAL’s has not been upgraded and is similar to dial-up.

- Staterooms. HAL and Celebrity have both upgraded much of their product to match their newer ships. However, HAL has paid particular attention to the bathrooms which have all been renovated. On HAL you need to climb into the bathtub to take a shower while on Celebrity you are out of luck if you want a bath (except in high end suites). Storage space is excellent on HAL.

- Guest Speakers. On Millennium, there were two excellent guest speakers, one providing area history and information and the other retracing the route of Marco Polo in addition to ship’s staff doing port presentations. Volendam had none.

- Entertainment. Both had visiting entertainers who were good with those on the Millennium being a bit better. There was a world of difference in the cast shows with those on Volendam being sophomoric, dancers doing a few basic moves and singers who were marginal performers. Recent posts indicate that HAL is doing away with the singers and dancers. Those on Millennium were true professionals backed by a seven piece orchestra. The Indonesian crew show was probably better than the cast show and it was certainly better attended.

- Flowers. This is one of HAL’s points of distinction and the Volendam was no exception with orchid and flower arrangements throughout the ship.

- Frequent Guest Program. Celebrity has significant rewards even at the lower levels, e.g., happy hour with complimentary drinks. After six or so cruises, one gets limited free laundry and a specified number of faster free internet minutes. Top tiers gain much more. Levels transfer to RCI and Azamara. HAL’s provides you very little with no transferability in Carnival’s various lines.

- Evening Activities. It was pretty dead after people left for the late dining seating. With the more impressive shows, there is activity later in the evening on Celebrity.

 

As mentioned previously, the two lines are more alike than different. In the future, we have two cruises booked with HAL (Koningsdam and Niuew Statendam) and one with Celebrity (Constellation). These cruises were chosen based on itineraries, not cruise lines or ships. While we prefer the Celebrity vibe, HAL offers more unique itineraries at a lower list price.

[cruise kitty]

We cruised on Hal's mexican riviera itinerary a few years back over the Thansgiving Holidays. Since then, they've thankfully tightened their smoking policy. We looked at it as a "vacation" cruise, rather than a journey cruise, it was actually pretty great, the ships decor was a little stuffy, but service was great, & they have an unlimited laundry package that I wish Celebrity would copy. They don't have as much diversity in their crew as celebrity does, but we still had great service. Food in MDR was far, far better than Celebrity (my opinion only) I would liken going on HAL to staying with your elderly maiden aunt & Celebrity to staying with your cool cousin. ;) It was still a great vacation

[Iamthesea]

DH and I have just booked the Nieuw Amsterdam for a December Caribbean cruise. It will be the week before we board the Edge for it's Inaugural cruise.

 

We snagged a fantastic deal for a Signature Suite on HAL. Paid gratuities, plus $550 OBC to offset the cost of beverages and Internet. The Suite is costing half of what our AQ stateroom is the following week (and we got the early bird pricing for the Edge.) The Suite has a much better bathroom than the Sky Suite on Celebrity. And no Butler...which we are more than fine with. Specialty restaurant pricing is less, as well as individual beverages. We have read that the food and classic entertainment is still very good.

 

Looking forward to comparing HAL to our recent Celebrity cruises. And we are also looking forward to our cruise on the new Edge. ;)

[George C]

Buffet on celebrity is way better than hal

[Iamthesea]

Buffet on celebrity is way better than hal

 

We are not buffet fans. I am happy with a salad for lunch and DH with chicken salad. Breakfast is good as long as there is salmon, eggs and bacon. ;)

[Chrisfromco]

Thank you all for the great information! The more I research this, the more I think it might be right up our alley. Hal's current promo just ended, so we'll see if they extend it or change it up. We have always had drink packages on Celebrity, so that may be the one thing that bumps the cost. We enjoyed our NCL Escape trip, but missed the specialty coffees that are part of Celebrity's package. I'm not sure how inclusive of those the HAL package is?

 

 

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