Jumping ship to HAL

[helenp2]

I read the HAL secrets thread and had to laugh. One thing that seems to be universally appreciated on HAL is the towel animals. I've never seen a towel animal on Celebrity and am not interested in receiving one, either. I think I'd feel violated. The good steward just leaves a clean cabin and you don't h ave to think about it. But if I saw an elephant greeting me in my eyeglasses, as well, I know I'd feel invaded, just as I would if I saw this in my home.. it means there's been an intruder!

 

Well, as someone who has sailed over 200 nts with HAL I can tell you we have never had a towel animal in our cabin. We have also sailed X many times and enjoyed ourselves. HAL actually is a much quieter experience with no loud announcements by either the cruise personnel or especially the passengers. I think you will find HAL to be very different in many respects. Happy cruising.

[canderson]

Well, as someone who has sailed over 200 nts with HAL I can tell you we have never had a towel animal in our cabin. We have also sailed X many times and enjoyed ourselves. HAL actually is a much quieter experience with no loud announcements by either the cruise personnel or especially the passengers. I think you will find HAL to be very different in many respects. Happy cruising.

Loud annoucements by cruise personnel??? Are we talking about Celebrity? The only "loud" things I've heard were the instructions during the muster drill. They wouldn't have to use a PA for that if the pax would just shut up for a couple of minutes!:p What was it that you were hearing, and on which ships & itineraries? X is about as low key as they could possibly be in this regard.

 

I'd be interested in what you heard in the way of loud announcements by passengers. Or did you mean something other than "announcements"?

[Tricia724]

I've sailed HAL more often than any other line, but after five cruises in a row, I was also ready for a change. So, when we planned our Alaska trip in 2004, Celebrity was IMO the best value for a balcony cabin, so we sailed Summit. We also returned to Summit last year for a 14-day cruise. We enjoyed both of those cruises and would gladly sail on Celebrity again if the itinerary and price were right.

 

We currently have two HAL cruises booked and a group cruise on RCI next month (group cruise), and I suspect I'll enjoy all of them. I think HAL and Celebrity have more in common than they are different. Both are traditional cruise lines, with the focus more on the cruise than on fun and games. Both have much to offer....and if there is something you like better on one, the other has something to counterbalance it.

 

I believe that each cruise is a different experience with many variables....passengers, crew, weather, and so many different personal tastes that one cannot be compared with another. If I am in a cabin with a poor steward, noisy neighbors, air conditioning or plumbing problems, etc. I will have a totally different experience than you may have. If I order the steak and it's tough, I'll feel different about the food than you who ordered the fish. It's a "you pays your money and you takes your chances" world. So far, I never met a cruise I didn't like....some more than others....but I've never regretted any of them.

 

There are diehards on both X and HAL boards who would never sail another line, and if they are happy, good for them. For myself, I like a little variety, and I hope to try a couple of more lines before I hang up my life preserver.

[Kathie44]

Towel animals make you feel invaded?? Puleeze! They are so funny and creative! I actually miss them when I sail Celebrity. We had never heard of them until our first cruise 4 yrs. ago. What a surprise to return to our room after dinner on the third day to find a snake on the bed with my husband's post-eye surg. oversized dark glasses on its face. We cracked up!! We've also had the elephant, sting ray, bunny and many others. The monkey clipped to a pants hanger hanging from the vent in the ceiling is the best. Lighten up!! Life's too short to be a curmudgeon. :D

 

1/02 Explorer E. Crib.

1/03 Explorer W. Carib.

8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib.

2/05 Galaxy Panama Canal

6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords

[asmitty]

I agree with Kathie44 - what is wrong with towel animals? That is something I definitely miss about certain lines. That would probably be the highlight of my daughter's cruise if we were going to have them on celebrity. I found myself looking forward to "what animal do you think we'll have tonight?" on RC! Sad, but true!

[npb]

We "won" a HAL cruuise at a silent auction last year and went on the new Zyderdam (spell). We wouldn't do HAL again if it was free. As some of you said, it really made us appreciate Celebrity.

Bill and Karen

[kelmac]

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line, however, HAL is a good second choice.

 

We have cruised Celebrity 9 times and HAL 3 times; here is a short list of my impressions:

 

Holland America:..............Celebrity:

1) old school feel..............Modern feel

2) Indonesian crew...........European/International crew

3) All ships have altn Rest..Only the Millennium class ships have altn rest

4) Great food...................Excellent food

5) Lido buffet excellent......buffet great

6) Super beds/bedding.......average beds/bedding

7) large cabins.................better than average size cabins

8) bath tubs....................usually shower only

9) darker decor................brighter decor

10 Covered main pool........very open main pool

11 poor sun deck area.......plenty and varied sun deck areas

12 clumsy threater design..open, nice threater design

13 good entertainment......good entertainment

14 some shops.................many shops

15 wrap around prom deck. wide, but dead end prom deck

16 2 level dining room........2 level dining room (except Zeinth)

17 intimate dining room......open, airy dining room

18 great service (warm).....excellent service (formal)

19 aft pool open (nice)......aft pool Cent class (poor) Thlo pool excellent

20 aft deck areas great......aft deck areas small

 

We love both HAL and Celebrity!

Enjoy!

Kel

[Nanner]

After 3 cruises with HAL (and I"m only 52, people!), we are trying X this year for a cruise. I have never had a towel animal in our cabin, and don't miss them. OTOH, it wouldn't make my cruise experience worse to have them, but I really just feel it's a cutesy thing and I'd rather the steward spent the time keeping my fruit bowl full.

 

I am anxious to compare the food. I have found HALs food not very spicy, but that is fine for me. It is still flavorful, just no spices that irritate one's plumbing. The specialty restaurants are great, and the cookies at the coffee shop are a definite afternoon stop daily.

 

I hope the lack of a covered pool doesn't feel like too much of a minus, but we'll see. I know I will miss the wraparound promenade on HAL, since my morning always (weather and seas permitting) starts with an hour of brisk walking around the deck. Is the X promenade amenable to that activity, even if I do have to turn around when I reach the end of the ship?

[canderson]

I hope the lack of a covered pool doesn't feel like too much of a minus, but we'll see. I know I will miss the wraparound promenade on HAL, since my morning always (weather and seas permitting) starts with an hour of brisk walking around the deck. Is the X promenade amenable to that activity, even if I do have to turn around when I reach the end of the ship?

There's plenty of room outside for your brisk walk -- in fact, the deck immediately above the pool deck is used for this quite frequently. If you want to extend the distance, you can do one flight of stairs up when you reach the forward end, cross over on the deck above, and down again on the other side. You'll probably have some company each morning.

[dmarch@islc.net]

I have to go with Danno on this one. Our Dam cruise was about eight years ago. The food was scary. Being from the South in reminded me a lot of our cafeterias down here. I love Morrison's but it's not what I what on Holiday. Other than that (which is a lot in my book) the cruise was great. I wish they would improve the food for it's a wonderful line. Hey does anyone have any HAL food pictures they can post?