Review of HAL Cruise by Celebrity Elite Cruisers

[Virgo61]

My husband and I and our two traveling buddies booked our first Hal cruise for February 2022. Based on these comments and some I have seen on the Hal boards and Facebook page, it will likely be our last.

[terrydtx]

6 minutes ago, Virgo61 said:

My husband and I and our two traveling buddies booked our first Hal cruise for February 2022. Based on these comments and some I have seen on the Hal boards and Facebook page, it will likely be our last.

Good decision, our last is next year, only Celebrity and Oceania for us going forward.

[Bo1953]

19 minutes ago, Virgo61 said:

My husband and I and our two traveling buddies booked our first Hal cruise for February 2022. Based on these comments and some I have seen on the Hal boards and Facebook page, it will likely be our last.

Maybe not, you must know that some of us are snobs and will only sail X or similar line... LOL

 

Maybe not me, but I have no desire to sail Hal regardless and equally so RCCL after my first sailing with them... LOL

 

All this to say, you may go have fun and decide it is not all that bad for your desires in a sailing and then again you may come back and say 'everyone was right..) LOL

 

bon voyage

[Denny01]

I'd considered HAL for a very specific itinerary but after reading this and the responses, I've reconsidered.

 

Thank you for your review. Much of what you had issues with is important to us and I'd not be happy at all. Not worth the reduced price so I'll find another similar itinerary on another Line that cost more.....and is worth it.

 

Nothing worse than saving a few bucks and not enjoying the 'savings'.

 

den

Edited November 3, 2021 by Denny01

[MarkWiltonM]

1 hour ago, Virgo61 said:

My husband and I and our two traveling buddies booked our first Hal cruise for February 2022. Based on these comments and some I have seen on the Hal boards and Facebook page, it will likely be our last.

 

Well, it's not surprising that on a Celebrity forum you're going to find a lot of support for Celebrity. If you pose the same "HAL vs Celebrity" question on the HAL forum, you're likely to find those posters coming out in favor of HAL. To each his/her own.

 

If your 2022 cruise on HAL is on one of the new Pinnacle-class ships, you may be pleasantly surprised. At least I suspect you'll find the food comparable to Celebrity if not better in some respects. It's true that there are not a lot of activities on HAL so if you're looking for that, other lines may be better for you. 

 

We prefer the Celebrity Solstice-class ships over the HAL Pinnacle-class ships, but not by a lot. Each has its pluses and minuses. Which we would choose comes down to price and itinerary.

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by MarkWiltonM

[Denny01]

7 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

 

Well, it's not surprising that on a Celebrity forum you're going to find a lot of support for Celebrity. If you pose the same "HAL vs Celebrity" question on the HAL forum, you're likely to find those posters coming out in favor of HAL. To each his/her own………

 

 

I understand, but many of the OP’s comments weren’t comparing HAL vs X, but reviewing HAL on it’s merits as they saw them. Did use X as a comparison a bit but that helps on this forum so we have some level of criteria to judge the review. I’ve seen many reviews of other Lines on this forum that compare and that helps, and many are positive towards the ‘other Line’. 

 

As the OP said, their opinion, especially on dining comments, is subjective. But when I see more than a few with the same statements, it gives me a legit concern.

 

Up to now, I’ve not been on any bad cruise: well a 2N Carnival with my kids was an ‘experience’ I’ll not do again! Each has a positive and I go on them for a reason such as Carnival with a larger party group, or RCL with grandkids. But when picking for my wife and I, the ship and Line are very important, no matter the itinerary. And a lower price isn’t a decider. 

 

Den