HAL ships vs Celebrity

[Ipeeinthepools]

2 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

I had prime rib from the MDR on Solstice last month. I was dining in Luminae and my prime rib was about a 1-1/2" thick. It was great and I ate the whole thing. If I would get a thin PR when served to me, I would request a 2nd PR.

 

The prime rib is probably like a lot of food, it's a lot nicer in Luminae than the MDR.  You would need to stack at least 3 portions of prime rib from the MDR to get to 1 1/2 in.

[Damcruiser]

On 10/23/2022 at 5:05 PM, Nashna said:

There was a huge difference between Holland America and Celebrity as far as I am concerned.  We were so disappointed in Holland America.  The dining room was crowded, noisy and disorganized.  In spite of having dining reservations each night, we had to wait ten to fifteen minutes in line to be assigned to our table.  The food was not up to par and the dining room staff was the worst we have experienced at sea.  Our main entre was served before a wine steward came to our table.   Dining poolside was almost impossible as groups of people played cards in the dining area at noontime.  Our grilled hamburgers were cold before we found a spot to sit.  We missed several shows as most cruisers got to the theatre 45 minutes before the show to get a seat.  The only bright spot was amazing night club type shows for rock and jazz.  

We spent 17 days on the Nieuw Statendam in September and we enjoyed it so much we are going back for 7 weeks starting next month.  We are early eaters and never saw a crowded dining room.  There was none of the horrible Celebrity two tops inches away from one's neighbor.  Our waiters would get our wine minutes after we sat down.  The meat was better than Celebrity with filet mignon still available in the mdr.  We only went to the main theater twice.  A mediocre comedian and the same dancers did not impress us at all.   However, we enjoyed live music every night, from classical strings, to the BB Kings, twin pianos in Billboard, to a Rolling Stones Band.  The music beats anything Celebrity has to offer  (sorry but it's been two years).  Celebrity nighttime entertainment centers around the theatre but with HAL, around real dance floors.

We don't eat around the pool, but the main pool has a retractable roof that closes in inclement weather.

The main attraction for us is the Crow's Nest, the forward observation lounge that Celebrity has removed from the new ships. The area is always full as opposed to the empty areas on Solstice class.  The area also has power outlets for charging phones and computers.  The crew is outstanding but senior officers are almost invisible.

I like the exterior appearance of Celebrity ships better but HAL's newest are much more practical.  Anyone looking for a washroom on Celebrity's Solstice class ships while in the observation lounge will find HAL's location more convenient.

 

[NMTraveller]

36 minutes ago, Damcruiser said:

The main attraction for us is the Crow's Nest, the forward observation lounge that Celebrity has removed from the new ships. The area is always full as opposed to the empty areas on Solstice class.  The area also has power outlets for charging phones and computers.  The crew is outstanding but senior officers are almost invisible.

I like the exterior appearance of Celebrity ships better but HAL's newest are much more practical.  Anyone looking for a washroom on Celebrity's Solstice class ships while in the observation lounge will find HAL's location more convenient.

 

There are numerous other items that Celebrity has removed in E class.  With E-class do I go to the martini bar or to the Eden bar both of which are full full.   Hmmm.  Choices?  Not many...

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by NMTraveller

[Ipeeinthepools]

8 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

There are numerous other items that Celebrity has removed in E class.  With E-class do I go to the martini bar or to the Eden bar both of which are full full.   Hmmm.  Choices?  Not many...

 

 

 

Maybe you should just take the drinks back to your cabin and have a drink on the balcony.   Oh wait,  they took the balconies from the E-class too.

[davekathy]

Just now, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Maybe you should just take the drinks back to your cabin and have a drink on the balcony.   Oh wait,  they took the balconies from the E-class too.

Not all. 

[Ipeeinthepools]

2 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Not all. 

 

I'm not a suite person and I don't like the Sunset balconies at the rear.  So yes, as far as I'm concerned they took all of the balconies.  Celebrity chose to eliminate the most common type of cabin on it's ships.

[davekathy]

9 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I'm not a suite person and I don't like the Sunset balconies at the rear.  So yes, as far as I'm concerned they took all of the balconies.  Celebrity chose to eliminate the most common type of cabin on it's ships.

Nope. We have a balcony stateroom on deck 7, starboard side on the Apex.  P1 category. Not infinite, suite, sunset, aqua or concierge class.

[NMTraveller]

8 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Nope. We have a balcony stateroom on deck 7, starboard side on the Apex.  P1 category. Not infinite, suite, sunset, aqua or concierge class.

Is that not a porthole obstructed view?

[davekathy]

4 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Is that not a porthole obstructed view?

Celebrity calls it deluxe porthole view with veranda. 

 

Found this on the internet . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilWKFRzJjOU

 

 

[Ipeeinthepools]

17 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Nope. We have a balcony stateroom on deck 7, starboard side on the Apex.  P1 category. Not infinite, suite, sunset, aqua or concierge class.

 

LOL.  Not exactly a balcony.

[NMTraveller]

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Celebrity calls it deluxe porthole view with veranda. 

 

Found this on the internet . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilWKFRzJjOU

 

 

Yep definitely obstructed.  Take out the porthole and then you have a balcony.

[Ipeeinthepools]

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Celebrity calls it deluxe porthole view with veranda. 

 

Found this on the internet . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilWKFRzJjOU

 

 

 

The video also shows an Infinite Veranda and that's not a Veranda either.

[CruisingGrandmaW]

On 10/23/2022 at 7:20 PM, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Part of the reason many never sailed HAL was the smoking policy.  Now that HAL has improved their smoking policy, it's probably time to give HAL a try.

@Ipeeinthepools HAL only allows smoking on one side of the AFT Seaview Pool Deck.  No smoking in cabins or on balconies.  While they used have a smoking section in their Casinos - I don't know if they still do.

I don't remember smelling smoke walking through the Casinos on my last HAL cruises of 2016 - 2019.

[julia]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Nope. We have a balcony stateroom on deck 7, starboard side on the Apex.  P1 category. Not infinite, suite, sunset, aqua or concierge class.

Sorry...  but that is a just barely a "balcony" by most standards.  I'd rather have the view of an Infinite than sit in a port hole.

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I'm not a suite person and I don't like the Sunset balconies at the rear.  So yes, as far as I'm concerned they took all of the balconies.  Celebrity chose to eliminate the most common type of cabin on it's ships.

The sunset balconies remind me of the station wagon that my parents had with the wood trim.  The station wagon had the rear facing seats in the car.

[davekathy]

Based only on what I've seen on the internet this and infinite style balcony isn't as appealing (IMO) as the traditional balconies of the M&S class ships, but IMO (no experience) far better than the infinite style balconies. The videos showing the infinite balconies we watched on the internet didn't interest us. 

We have no issues with our selection. We had a similar style balcony on the Explorer Of The Seas this past March. We called it the  cave balcony and worked for us and that's all that matters. Others opinions don't count. We didn't pick this cruise for the ship, but for the itinerary. This will be our first time on an E class ship. Jury will be out on the ship and balcony until we complete the cruise. 

[zgscl]

On 10/24/2022 at 3:33 PM, morpheusofthesea said:

I recall you have had other experiences with MSC as well. If we were to book the top suite on a Hal ship can we get reserved seat in the theatre? Do they have butlers for these suites that we can use to get reserved seats like MSC?

No, HAL does not have butlers nor do they do reserved seating in the theater. The Neptune Concierge can arrange for evening canapés or tea, and take care of anything guest services or shore excursions do. If you book the Pinnacle suite officially you get escorted on and off the ship for embarkation/disembarkation & possibly a behind the scenes tour. All suites get priority tender embarkation. Any other perks are basically at the discretion of the hotel GM and vary from ship to ship. 

There are absolutely no butlers or equivalent of this service (though I believe in the Pinnacle Suite you can have a meal served in your room course by course). 

HAL does not follow the ship within a ship model at all that X/NCL/MSC are moving towards. Other than a small lounge there are no suite only areas. On the three newest ships, suite guests can go to the Club Orange dining room for breakfast & dinner, but anyone can buy access for $35/person/day & it follows the MDR menu with one special main dish added to it. Nothing like Blu or Luminae. 

 

On 10/24/2022 at 8:32 AM, bigbenboys said:

We have sailed 7 times with HAL. The last time was 2008 on Eurodam. I remember having a nice suite on HAL. I dont remember a assigned dining restaurant. Has HAL improved things for their guest in Suites. As Celebrity has over the years. The last time I cruised with HAL you could still smoke in your cabin and I had a wine card that they punched holes in.

Basically no. There is no more smoking and the beverage packages are now linked to your room card. I think HAL has really missed the boat on suites. We have been long time Neptune suite customers and enjoy them, but they definitely fall behind X's Retreat, NCL Haven, etc. in terms of perks. No butler service, no private dining room (other than breakfast), etc. HAL also doesn't have a big range of suites - they have only two types of suite. Neptune suites are about 500 sq feet and one big room with a sitting area on one side and the bed/desk on the other & no dining area. Pinnacle Suites are around 1,300 sq ft on most ships & have the a separate dining room, living room & bedroom. 

 

All that being said the Neptune Suite is larger than a Sky Suite on X & usually costs less (sometimes a lot less) on comprable cruises. HAL has a nice suite product, but if one goes in expecting something in line with The Retreat or The Haven they will be very much disappointed. 

 

21 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I'm really scratching my head about all of the comments about the inferior food on HAL.   I've been on a couple of post-Covid cruises on Celebrity and for me the food quality on Celebrity has dropped dramatically.  The food on Celebrity isn't anything special.  I'm not sure Celebrity can cut the steaks and the prime rib any thinner.  Portions sizes seem much smaller and there is less variety.  The food in the Ocean View Cafe is always cold, so if HAL can at least serve the food hot it would be an improvement.

 

I don't see how there can be a large dfference.

 

The food on HAL has been good, however post-restart the menus are smaller than they were before.They redesigned the menus and mixed in the always available items with everything else so it looks like more choices. Also, I will also add that there is no longer any free lobster anywhere on the ship (even specialty dining venues) unless you are on a long voyage (14+ days or so where you will get it on only one formal night). Otherwise you can buy the surf and turf off the indulge menu for $35 or add a small lobster tail to your meal in a specialty restaurant for anywhere from $10 or have it in a specialty restaurant as a main dish for $20. If you want the jumbo shrimp cocktail in the MDR you also have to pay for it. 

 

The buffet is always hot, and there is no self service. Everything is behind glass and served by a crew member. You can get as much as you want, but no sharing of utensils or people touching the food, etc. 

 

HAL does some things really well - the music walk is fantastic. Also, when you board the ship at 11 or 1130, your cabin is ready. Every time. They have done this for many years. No waiting for an announcement, no putting luggage in a dirty cabin and coming back later. It is clean and ready when you walk on the ship. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

7 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

LOL.  Not exactly a balcony.

My daughter had a port hole balcony it was fine , no different than Voyager class ship on RCL 

my wife had IV on the Apex TA while in  quarantine ,she though it was a great place to be stuck in 

A lot when she couldn’t keep the window open due to weather

There is Problems with E-class but IV is not one of them 

[zgscl]

22 hours ago, Mimiya11 said:

Service -  while staff were all friendly, it always appeared they were not happy, feigned friendliness and never went that extra mile.  Celebrity wins

 

Entertainment - we loved it!  So many options each night, we were never bored.  From the blues/motown venue (which was always packed), to the Lincoln Centre performances (which were always packed) to the dueling pianists.   For us, Celebrity could learn from HA in this regard.  HA wins 

Sorry to hear the service was not great on your cruise! I have always found the HAL crew to be fantastic. Have not yet done X though so will have to report back in a few weeks if my opinion changes. 

 

Totally agree the music walk is great, this is one of the best things HAL has done/changed over the past few years. I will say that the main stage entertainment on HAL is lacking (particularly for frequent HAL cruisers). They have 4 shows which are the same on every single ship. They have been the same since 2018/2019 when they rolled them out. They are also very heavily reliant on canned music (two of the shows have performers from music walk venues come in and sing for part of it). 

You also may not get to see all 4 shows on a week sailing. Some nights the main stage entertainment is a nature documentary with the Lincoln Center Stage people playing classical music over it. 

One other thing that they have added recently are EXC talks which are done by the cruise director and integrated with video. These are heavily produced and scripted, but really well done. That being said they are replacing a lot of the guest lecturers that you used to get with this. 

Day time activities have been scaled  back a lot recently. I don't see the cooking classes really at all, and there is still an occasional flower arranging. A lot more sponsored activities by the shops, casino & spa to try and get you to spend money on stuff. 

 

On 10/24/2022 at 5:59 AM, Nashna said:

HAL seemed very dated.

HAL is very much a traditional line in terms of ship design. The newest ships have some modern elements, sculptures, etc. but it is more of a taste mixed in with the traditional design. 

On 10/24/2022 at 5:59 AM, Nashna said:

We have sailed on everything from Seabourn to Carnival.  HAL is just not for us.  

Totally agree! Thank goodness there are so many different lines to choose from and we can all find what works for us. I frequently am grateful that Carnival, NCL & Royal Caribbean exist and all the people who sail on them do so leaving HAL with a much older crowd and very laid back/relaxed atmosphere. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

When people say the music is great on HAL , 

What great about it ? 
For eg , we did a arctic TA on RCL , in September the music was awful, the genre was ok , basically 70’s and newer but the musicians were bad , but passengers loved them 

the theatre had show tunes from the 30-40’s , much before my time lol 

I do like them serving you at the buffet, RCL does not , 🤢

Celebrity did in April , but food was cold 

will look at HAL for 2024 as we are booked with 2 TAs for 2023 on Celebrity 

[caviargal]

27 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

When people say the music is great on HAL , 

What great about it ? 

Music Walk has dueling pianos and a BB King Blues Club.  I rarely go out after dinner as I don't like ton sit in a show.  On HAL, we were dancing every night in BB King and the band was just awesome! It was packed every night, pretty much until closing.  The best live music I have ever seen on a ship.

[Mimiya11]

22 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

When people say the music is great on HAL , 

What great about it ? 
For eg , we did a arctic TA on RCL , in September the music was awful, the genre was ok , basically 70’s and newer but the musicians were bad , but passengers loved them 

the theatre had show tunes from the 30-40’s , much before my time lol 

I do like them serving you at the buffet, RCL does not , 🤢

Celebrity did in April , but food was cold 

will look at HAL for 2024 as we are booked with 2 TAs for 2023 on Celebrity 

IMHO what was great (been a few years) about the entertainment was the various options on HAL

- the dedicated blues/jazz venue where there is music and dancing all evening.  We went nightly. 

- the Lincoln Center where there is first rate classical string performance We went whenever there was a performance 

- pianists where there were 2 pianists singing and entertaining.  We were one and done but they had a big draw

While we love Celebrity, we find evenings are pretty dull (although we are suckers for the silent discos).  We find most Celebrity productions poorly done (not the quality of the entertainers but the productions themselves)

   

And I agree with you 100%, HAL serving from the buffet before COVID was very impressive.     

 

[Mimiya11]

4 minutes ago, caviargal said:

Music Walk has dueling pianos and a BB King Blues Club.  I rarely go out after dinner as I don't like ton sit in a show.  On HAL, we were dancing every night in BB King and the band was just awesome! It was packed every night, pretty much until closing.  The best live music I have ever seen on a ship.

Agree 100%  

BB King Blues Club was fantastic 

[NMTraveller]

2 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

My daughter had a port hole balcony it was fine , no different than Voyager class ship on RCL 

my wife had IV on the Apex TA while in  quarantine ,she though it was a great place to be stuck in 

A lot when she couldn’t keep the window open due to weather

There is Problems with E-class but IV is not one of them 

The IV is the most complained about item on E class.  You will even hear complaints on the cruise as people have some expectations about it being similiar to a balcony and not an open/close window.

[morpheusofthesea]

4 hours ago, zgscl said:

No, HAL does not have butlers nor do they do reserved seating in the theater.

Thank you so much for your expertise. What time do the theatre shows begin and how early can one dine in the MDR ?  Thinking if we dine early we can get to the shows without a problem finding seats together? How late is the buffet open after the show ? Do not go to self-serve buffets, so this would be new option for us. Trying to 'work around' certain 'deficiencies' found only in the Retreat and Yacht Club.

Edited October 26, 2022 by morpheusofthesea