HAL vs Celebrity?

[nunuc2000]

On 3/9/2019 at 4:37 AM, jkgourmet said:

We are seniors who have cruised 25+ times.  We always HAPPILY sail in the cheapest cabins that get us the perks we want On the itineraries we want (on Celebrity, that means an OV cabin).  We booked insides in The pre-perk days.  We aren't loyal to any cruise lines.  In fact, we've sailed on 7 different cruise lines.  Celebrity, HAL, MSC, RCCL, NCL, Princess, and Carnival.  We would sail on any of them again except RCCL and Carnival.  

 

Our last 4 and next one have been on Celebrity primarily because the perks make the pricing pretty much unbeatable for our preferences.  But HAL is offering some deals with similar perks that make the pricing in an OV cabin very competitive.

 

it's been years since we sailed HAL.  for those who have sailed both recently-ish, Can you give me your thoughts, please?  I'm not interested in what suites offer - it's not the way we travel.  

 

 

 

Is HAL offering beverage packages and/or included gratuities as perks when booking?

[FlorenceItaly]

58 minutes ago, nunuc2000 said:

 

Is HAL offering beverage packages and/or included gratuities as perks when booking?

Yes, on some itineraries, beverage package only as well as a few other things.  The promotion is called Early Booking Bonus.  

[mafig]

12 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Yes, on some itineraries, beverage package only as well as a few other things.  The promotion is called Early Booking Bonus.  

I'll have to look for this.  Thanks!

[jkgourmet]

1 hour ago, nunuc2000 said:

 

Is HAL offering beverage packages and/or included gratuities as perks when booking?

 

Yes.  BUT that alcohol package has some unfortunate limitations.  The under $9 wine list is VERY short.  I've learned on the HAL forum that It includes only 2 white wines, neither of which is Pinot Grigio (which seems nuts to me considering it's wide appeal).  Additionally, if you order a drink or wine above that $9 limit, you're going to pay the full price, NOT just the difference between the $9 and the full price of the drink.

 

That kind of nickle and dining annoys the crap out of me.  Although HAL currently has 5 ships that are nonsmoking in all inside areas, the majority still allow smoking in the casino.  That didn't thrill me either.  Then there's the $10 charge for a 2nd entree, which we don't order, but it sends a message. 

[mafig]

18 hours ago, jkgourmet said:

 

 

 

.  Then there's the $10 charge for a 2nd entree, which we don't order, but it sends a message. 

 

Wait.  What????  Is this in the MDR?

 

On our recent Reflection cruise my dh ordered an extra Prime Rib because it was good but the serving/slice was quite thin.  We both ordered two lobster tails on "formal" night.

• Is this what you mean by ordering a 2nd entrée?????

Edited March 12, 2019 by mafig

[jkgourmet]

50 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

Wait.  What????  Is this in the MDR?

 

On our recent Reflection cruise my dh ordered an extra Prime Rib because it was good but the serving/slice was quite thin.  We both ordered two lobster tails on "formal" night.

• Is this what you mean by ordering a 2nd entrée?????

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/3803/

 

[mafig]

Thanks.

I went on the HAL board to read their remarks.  Very surprised that Holland America would do this.

[jkgourmet]

39 minutes ago, mafig said:

Thanks.

I went on the HAL board to read their remarks.  Very surprised that Holland America would do this.

 

Yeah, well, check out the limitations and cost of their alcohol package perk. . .  that and free gratuities keep me on X. 

[mafig]

Based on that I won't be wasting time researching them.

 

I only have two cruises on Hal and both were good but I had some interaction with the staff that I still remember.

 

The first was when we received a notice in our stateroom that since it was a port day they would like to clean our carpet and to let them know if this was inconvenient.  It wasn't.  However, I wrote them a note saying since they were in the cabin could they please rinse off our balcony since there was glass chards and toenail clippings on it from the previous guest. (I know, gross).  When we got back our room steward really scolded us …."If you have any problem with your room, at least let me know first.  You got me in trouble!"

I really didn't even think this was his responsibility.  Toward the end of the cruise when they still gave out surveys he said "don't go getting me in trouble again."  Then he offered to take our survey down to Guest Relations himself.

 

The other HAL cruise our waiter was always smiling.  One time for some reason as I was leaving I turned around.  This was maybe a half a second.  That smile was completely gone.  It just struck me as so phony.  

 

Anyways, these thoughts don't really mean anything....I guess I'm in a sharing mood today.

[motherchic]

About four years ago we sailed on HAL, on the Nieu. It was a two week Caribbean cruise. We normally sail Celebrity. We sailed Carnival once and RCCL several times. I dont need allot of glitter and glam but I found the Nieu to be sort of "sad". The pool area, and the adult area were just ok. It wasnt spa like at all.

We are not late night partiers but honest to God, we saw more people asleep in their chairs at 7pm and on....

We enjoyed the food and I enjoyed the cooking classes but after our last and only experience I dont see us going back. Maybe in ten years....

[Roz]

On ‎3‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 1:24 PM, mac66 said:

It's been said that while X caters to the baby boomers, HAL caters to the greatest generation (i.e, their parents)

I'm 66 and have sailing with HAL since I was 48.  My parents, if they were alive, would be 92 and 93 this year.  On any HAL sailing, I've only encountered a handful of people in that age group.

 

Roz

[Lovecelebritycruises]

Think HAL has a nice product and they speciality restaurants are really great too.  Service has always been nice.  But in comparing Celebrity just feel the product in every area is a little bit better.  There is also more life to the ship on Celebrity. Don’t want a party ship but if you pass by a bar it is nice to see people there having fun and enjoying themselves.  But in each area from staff,rooms, food, activities and everything they are just a winner to us.  

[mac66]

2 hours ago, Roz said:

I'm 66 and have sailing with HAL since I was 48.  My parents, if they were alive, would be 92 and 93 this year.  On any HAL sailing, I've only encountered a handful of people in that age group.

 

Roz

My parents, when in their 70s' and 80s sailed exclusively on HAL. They were 87 & 88 the last time they sailed.   They had over 200 days at sea with them.  They are in their 90s now and no longer sail.

Edited March 12, 2019 by mac66

[BEAV]

Really tough call to compare. Both lines have strengths and weaknesses as far as we're concerned. While my signature indicates many more days sailed on =X= than HAL, we've just come off 17 days aboard Eurodam (Hawaii). 

 

Our greatest disappointments with HAL were:

1. Mediocre food in the MDR. I loved the menus - there was a lot of variety and selections that appealed. Everything sounded good, but taste and execution were a different story.

2. Their policy that both people in a stateroom have to purchase the identical beverage package. I wanted to buy their Elite Beverage package, but my spouse doesn't drink alcohol. He wanted to purchase the non-alcoholic package. Couldn't do it. Major disappointment and revenue loss for HAL.

3. Age demographics. We're looking to cruise with active, vibrant seniors. They were difficult to find on this cruise, and I assume it only gets worse on longer voyages? 

 

Our greatest disappointments with =X= are:

1. Lack of longer and more varied itineraries when compared to HAL. 

2. Referring back to #1 is because we believe =X= isn't interested in or targeting our age demographic. I am 60 and newly-retired with hopefully still a good number of cruising days ahead of me. Baby boomers are retiring in droves with $$$ to burn. My greatest disappointment was when they sold off Century. IMO she would have been a great ship for more global itineraries that cater to active and "young" retirees. 

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

4 hours ago, mafig said:

Based on that I won't be wasting time researching them.

 

I only have two cruises on Hal and both were good but I had some interaction with the staff that I still remember.

 

The first was when we received a notice in our stateroom that since it was a port day they would like to clean our carpet and to let them know if this was inconvenient.  It wasn't.  However, I wrote them a note saying since they were in the cabin could they please rinse off our balcony since there was glass chards and toenail clippings on it from the previous guest. (I know, gross).  When we got back our room steward really scolded us …."If you have any problem with your room, at least let me know first.  You got me in trouble!"

I really didn't even think this was his responsibility.  Toward the end of the cruise when they still gave out surveys he said "don't go getting me in trouble again."  Then he offered to take our survey down to Guest Relations himself.

 

The other HAL cruise our waiter was always smiling.  One time for some reason as I was leaving I turned around.  This was maybe a half a second.  That smile was completely gone.  It just struck me as so phony.  

 

Anyways, these thoughts don't really mean anything....I guess I'm in a sharing mood today.

 

I've done one HAL cruise - it was a group running cruise to Alaska. I was not overly impressed at all, but there was one thing was hysterical (and said a lot to me)...

 

I had a Disney Cruise Line hoodie on the hook, mini-bottles of Disney Cruise Line's shampoo and conditioner (I love it, and H20+ works much better with my hair than Elemis) in the bathroom, and a couple of Disney plush critters (one I had, the other I had bought in Seattle before departure).

 

Well, the next morning I ran back to my cabin after our deck 5K and before our stretching clinic and found not only my cabin steward but an assistant AND the deck manager in the cabin with a checklist! And I know that there was stuff done with more detail in there than in the cabin a friend was in on the same deck and in the same cabin block for service - just little extra details.

 

I couldn't figure out if they thought I was a spy or if they just felt like they needed to step up the game because of expectations. They were the only ones who got compliments on the post-cruise survey though - even if it was fake, they were the best crew interactions I had.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

I've done one HAL cruise - it was a group running cruise to Alaska. I was not overly impressed at all, but there was one thing was hysterical (and said a lot to me)...

 

I had a Disney Cruise Line hoodie on the hook, mini-bottles of Disney Cruise Line's shampoo and conditioner (I love it, and H20+ works much better with my hair than Elemis) in the bathroom, and a couple of Disney plush critters (one I had, the other I had bought in Seattle before departure).

 

Well, the next morning I ran back to my cabin after our deck 5K and before our stretching clinic and found not only my cabin steward but an assistant AND the deck manager in the cabin with a checklist! And I know that there was stuff done with more detail in there than in the cabin a friend was in on the same deck and in the same cabin block for service - just little extra details.

 

I couldn't figure out if they thought I was a spy or if they just felt like they needed to step up the game because of expectations. They were the only ones who got compliments on the post-cruise survey though - even if it was fake, they were the best crew interactions I had.

 

Brilliant way to manipulate the crew.  Of course had you brought Dreamworks or Peanuts memorabilia, they would have had it out for you.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Brilliant way to manipulate the crew.  Of course had you brought Dreamworks or Peanuts memorabilia, they would have had it out for you.

 

Oh I assure you it was not intentional. The hoodie was the warmest I owned, Elemis products do not work well for me, and a plush always travels with me for pictures (like a fuzzy Stanley). It did not even occur to me how much DCL/Disney stuff I had until I saw them in that clipboard session.