Celebrity Vs Holland America

[mcrcruiser]

 We are Eliite Plus with X & 3 Star Mariners with Holland America  . We are finding that both food & service quality is about the same ;however  Holland America cruise prices are lower  for similar itineraries . In fact Holland just announced that they plan longer type cruises not that are discontinuing the short cruises  . The only  edge I would give Celebrity is in the main showroom entertainment venues which are far better because HAL is doing less & less show type they have dancers only & some BBC films ,occasionally  guest speakers  on Pinnacle class ,their newer ships   . 

We rarely sail now with RCL & we are Diamond  there because they do not offer what X or HAL offers us ;as senior citizens 

[NutsAboutGolf]

Book HAL unless you see the value in paying the extra costs for X's entertainment

[mcrcruiser]

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Book HAL unless you see the value in paying the extra costs for X's entertainment

From time to time we sail X when they are available to the LA area cruise terminal .We no longer fly las we are in our 80s  .If we ca';t cruise from the San Pedro terminal or San Diego terminal ,we don't cruise 

 Celebrity has much better shows & individual performers , holland on it;s pinnacle ships has music walk with a Rolling Rock band & VV Kings blues music & they have dueling pianos in billboard onboard which are really good ,HAL also brings on comedians who are mostly funny

what we like more about HAL now is the convenience of sailing with them from our local SD port . If X is sailing from Sam Pedro we will drive up to take their cruises 

[George C]

We book suites and you can’t compare Hal with Celebrity, celebrity is far far superior, Hal gives you almost nothing but a nice cabin.

[Tudy]

I will agree that Celebrity is very similar to HAL up to the suite experience. HAL is NOTHING like Celebrity's suites.

 

I was very disappointed on our last (2nd) HAL cruise. I thought the crew was very condescending to the passengers, treating them as if they suffered from (at least) mild dementia. When passengers had a legitimate complaint, instead of addressing the complaint they "explained" the the passenger that their concern wasn't really valid. They just didn't understand.

 

All this was before the sprinkler head over the bed started leaking during the night between 1AM and 3AM. Just a bit every night. When I called Guest services they were always happy to send someone to change the sheets, but never addressed the issue of the leaking sprinkler head. They also would not compensate me for the inconvenience. I told my husband it's almost as if they thought I was wetting the bed and blaming it on the sprinkler system.

 

I decided no more HAL for me, at least not for a long time.

[eroller]

I sailed on NEIUW AMSTERDAM not long ago.  Very disappointing experience.  From service and food to the lousy entertainment.  Not even a soloist or trio for pre-dinner cocktail music.  The shows were an utter joke.  The cost cutting on Celebrity was taken to new heights on HAL.  Our cabin steward greeted us fairly quickly after boarding and the first thing he told us is that once a day cabin service is the new standard.  Pretty much set the tone for the entire cruise.  Not one thing stood out as exceptional.  Meh all around.  Thankfully we paid very little and I suppose we got exactly what we paid for.  Not a cent more.  

[MarkWiltonM]

Everyone is so different. 

 

We have sailed recently on Celebrity, HAL, and Oceania. We only care about four things when we cruise: (1) being on the water; (2) food; (3) the stateroom; (4) itineraries. We are not interested in entertainment on cruise ships so can't comment on that.

 

We always take a veranda; haven't been in a suite in years. But I can tell that the suite life on Celebrity would be preferable to HAL in what is offered.

 

As for food, we like the buffet on the Pinnacle-class ships on HAL. IMO it's far superior to Celebrity's buffet. On the other hand, on our last cruises on HAL and Celebrity, the food and service in the main dining room was better on Celebrity. HAL also has a nice afternoon tea if you care. 

 

In the main dining room, Oceania has better food overall, and it's more consistently good (with a couple of misses, always) than Celebrity or HAL. The food in HAL's main dining room is very inconsistent. There's usually one great meal per cruise (it's called the Culinary Council Dinner), a few that are fine but not great, and some that are terrible. On Oceania, some cruisers prefer the buffet to the MDR, but it's fairly small (because they are small ships) with limited variety so we tend to eat in the dining room for all three meals on Oceania. Oddly, on Celebrity and HAL we tend to eat more in the buffet than anywhere else. 

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by MarkWiltonM

[CruiseRQA]

We were confirmed HAL cruisers but our last HAL cruise was such a disappointed that we switched to Celebrity and haven't looked back.   Our last HAL cruise had no evening entertainment other than their "music walk" which is fine for a night or two.   My wife wanted to add a lobster tail to her steak (or was it a steak to her lobster?) and was charged $10 for it.   The promenade deck (a major plus for HAL) was closed half of the time (and not for weather).

 

Reading about HAL now, I wouldn't know what to expect.  Club Orange???

 

Loved them back in the day, when you could enjoy a dance combo with hot appetizers before dinner or afternoon tea while reclining on the promenade deck.   One of my best meals ever was Dover Sole in the MDR.   Squeeze your own fresh orange juice in the morning.    All gone.   

 

 

 

We next were in Aqua Class on Edge and found it far superior to our last HAL cruise.  Better food, better entertainment.  Equal service, nicer cabin.   We followed with an Apex cruise last year and in a few weeks will be on Beyond.   A little concerned about all the complaints on the board but we shall see. 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

For us, I am 70 and my DW is a few years younger. We are 4 star Mariners and once cruised with HAL quite a bit until they switched to their Music Walk entertainment strategy back in 2017, and it just got too boring for us. We then switched to Oceania and became Silver, but their ships were just too cramped for us with really not a lot of variety of things to do on sea days.

 

So, we now cruise mostly with Princess, Celebrity and occasionally with NCL, depending on itinerary and are having a great time! We like to laugh and have optional things to do in the evenings and on sea days and all 3 of those provide that. We also like cruises that are between 3-5 weeks in length as we are fully retired. Princess offers some very unique extended itineraries, especially from the west coast where you live. Celebrity and NCL also offer some unique combinations as well. You can check out some of my recent Live From threads in my signature if you're interested.

 

On Princess we usually book cabins that include Club Class dining, on Celebrity we book Aqua cabins to eat in Blu, and Club Balcony cabins on NCL so we can get the larger mini-suites which also includes a free bag of laundry on their smaller Jewel-class and similar ships.

[mcrcruiser]

36 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

We were confirmed HAL cruisers but our last HAL cruise was such a disappointed that we switched to Celebrity and haven't looked back.   Our last HAL cruise had no evening entertainment other than their "music walk" which is fine for a night or two.   My wife wanted to add a lobster tail to her steak (or was it a steak to her lobster?) and was charged $10 for it.   The promenade deck (a major plus for HAL) was closed half of the time (and not for weather).

 

Reading about HAL now, I wouldn't know what to expect.  Club Orange???

 

Loved them back in the day, when you could enjoy a dance combo with hot appetizers before dinner or afternoon tea while reclining on the promenade deck.   One of my best meals ever was Dover Sole in the MDR.   Squeeze your own fresh orange juice in the morning.    All gone.   

 

 

 

We next were in Aqua Class on Edge and found it far superior to our last HAL cruise.  Better food, better entertainment.  Equal service, nicer cabin.   We followed with an Apex cruise last year and in a few weeks will be on Beyond.   A little concerned about all the complaints on the board but we shall see. 

 

Club Orange is great includes cabin upgrade ,priority tender ,priority boarding  ,a added entre over the MDR menu for dinner in a smaller   restaurant & their own chef .Fresh squeezed OJ in the  morning   ij the special restaurant ,special line for customer relations , priority boarding & disembarkment   .cost is  $15 per day per pax 

[newtocruiseinblue]

We cruised both last year and I enjoyed celebrity more. They are very close but I give Celebrity the edge over HAL as others have said, celebrity is usually a little bit more expensive. 

 

We did 10-day Reflection in the Mediterranean and 7-day Caribbean on Nieuw Statendam. Even though the  Statendam was much newer than the reflection I felt that the ships were comparable. I actually liked Reflection better than the Statendam. The service was better on Celebrity. It was just a more electric vibe on Celebrity. Both cruises were great. 
 

HAL seems to have better itineraries and celebrity seems to have higher prices. Celebrity has more entertainment around the ship and Hal used to have great port lectures. I was bored with all of the up-selling in HAL that I encountered. 

 

I felt that celebrity handled the pandemic better than Holland America did as far as communicating with guests and keeping them engaged. I feel, overall, Celebrity is a stronger company than HAL and will outlive the downturn the industry is experiencing now climbing out of the losses from the pandemic. It still seems questionable to me if Carnival will keep HAL forever or maybe merge it with princess.

[mcrcruiser]

18 minutes ago, newtocruiseinblue said:

We cruised both last year and I enjoyed celebrity more. They are very close but I give Celebrity the edge over HAL as others have said, celebrity is usually a little bit more expensive. 

 

We did 10-day Reflection in the Mediterranean and 7-day Caribbean on Nieuw Statendam. Even though the  Statendam was much newer than the reflection I felt that the ships were comparable. I actually liked Reflection better than the Statendam. The service was better on Celebrity. It was just a more electric vibe on Celebrity. Both cruises were great. 
 

HAL seems to have better itineraries and celebrity seems to have higher prices. Celebrity has more entertainment around the ship and Hal used to have great port lectures. I was bored with all of the up-selling in HAL that I encountered. 

 

I felt that celebrity handled the pandemic better than Holland America did as far as communicating with guests and keeping them engaged. I feel, overall, Celebrity is a stronger company than HAL and will outlive the downturn the industry is experiencing now climbing out of the losses from the pandemic. It still seems questionable to me if Carnival will keep HAL forever or maybe merge it with princess.

HAL just announced longer cruises as their itineraries are known for those .There will still be the 7 to 10 night cruises but more longer cruise itineraries . Celebrity is a good line however for us they rarely sail west coast waters where HAL is in our local SD port often  ,so we tend to sail them more  often 

[newtocruiseinblue]

40 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

HAL just announced longer cruises as their itineraries are known for those .There will still be the 7 to 10 night cruises but more longer cruise itineraries . Celebrity is a good line however for us they rarely sail west coast waters where HAL is in our local SD port often  ,so we tend to sail them more  often 

I do love HAL itineraries. They tend to have a better selection of interesting ports. 

[drowelf]

After cruising pretty much only HAL until the pandemic, we are starting to branch out. We did a Princess last August, which was enjoyed and have a Celebrity later this month. I keep reading a lot about dissatisfaction with HAL over a variety of items. We started to notice the down grading of entertainment (shows) prior to the pandemic on our last cruise in 2019, but have not been back to HAL since, as the pandemic shutdown our cruising until 2022. We started with HAL and stuck with them for over 20 years, because we liked their unique itineraries and the ship board experience. Now it seems to have changed quite a bit. I suppose we are going to have to give them a go, probably in 2024, as our 2023 is full up. 

[Oceansaway17]

43 minutes ago, drowelf said:

After cruising pretty much only HAL until the pandemic, we are starting to branch out. We did a Princess last August, which was enjoyed and have a Celebrity later this month. I keep reading a lot about dissatisfaction with HAL over a variety of items. We started to notice the down grading of entertainment (shows) prior to the pandemic on our last cruise in 2019, but have not been back to HAL since, as the pandemic shutdown our cruising until 2022. We started with HAL and stuck with them for over 20 years, because we liked their unique itineraries and the ship board experience. Now it seems to have changed quite a bit. I suppose we are going to have to give them a go, probably in 2024, as our 2023 is full up. 

I am hearing this story a lot more with anyone who chooses a particular cruise line to give all their money to.

It is always best to sail on various lines and to not have loyalty to any one company.  I even tell adults to try Disney as they are good if you do not want smoke from casino as no casinos on board.  Food is good and they rotate dining rooms.  Disney does not have a buffet at all at night.

I know folks who love RCI for entertainment but then find other things to dislike.  Some ships are gorgeous but lack in activities.   There is NO perfect ship so move around.

[rmalbers]

I agree with trying other lines,  I did a Viking Exp. ship on the Great Lakes last summer and it was an eye opener.  The ship had so many places to sit and relax.  The food was great, everything was great actually but you pay a LOT more for it.  I have one X and one Viking booked, I'm dollar cost averaging, lol! 

[MISTER 67]

4 hours ago, eroller said:

I sailed on NEIUW AMSTERDAM not long ago.  Very disappointing experience.  From service and food to the lousy entertainment.  Not even a soloist or trio for pre-dinner cocktail music.  The shows were an utter joke.  The cost cutting on Celebrity was taken to new heights on HAL.  Our cabin steward greeted us fairly quickly after boarding and the first thing he told us is that once a day cabin service is the new standard.  Pretty much set the tone for the entire cruise.  Not one thing stood out as exceptional.  Meh all around.  Thankfully we paid very little and I suppose we got exactly what we paid for.  Not a cent more.  

We had the same exact experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month, out of 24 cruises with HAL it was by far the worst.

[CruiseRQA]

17 minutes ago, rmalbers said:

I agree with trying other lines,  I did a Viking Exp. ship on the Great Lakes last summer and it was an eye opener.  The ship had so many places to sit and relax.  The food was great, everything was great actually but you pay a LOT more for it.  I have one X and one Viking booked, I'm dollar cost averaging, lol! 

Don't want to get off topic but as a native Michigander I wondering how this cruise received by the guests?   Did they enjoy the ports?   The Great Lakes cruise got quite a bit of press around Michigan. 

[eroller]

13 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

We had the same exact experience on the Nieuw Amsterdam last month, out of 24 cruises with HAL it was by far the worst.

 

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.  I’ll say the ship was in good shape and it was very relaxing (to the point of boredom) but those were really the only positives.   When they remove the unlimited towels by the pool then I know it’s purely mass-market. I sailed on NIEUW STATENDAM pre-Covid and a completely different experience.  Really enjoyed it.  
 

Everything that is happening right now in the cruise industry is so sad to me.  I love cruising and all those wonderful little things that make the experience so unique and special.  They are slowly dwindling away at so many of them, and I fear this will become the new normal.  

[MISTER 67]

12 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

I’m glad I wasn’t the only one.  I’ll say the ship was in good shape and it was very relaxing (to the point of boredom) but those were really the only positives.   When they remove the unlimited towels by the pool then I know it’s purely mass-market. I sailed on NIEUW STATENDAM pre-Covid and a completely different experience.  Really enjoyed it.  
 

Everything that is happening right now in the cruise industry is so sad to me.  I love cruising and all those wonderful little things that make the experience so unique and special.  They are slowly dwindling away at so many of them, and I fear this will become the new normal.  

We've been cruising since 1982 and the changes in the industry down through the years when you think about have been quite startling. If this keeps up with cuts along with nickle and diming, we will find somewhere else to spend our vacation money.

[lexmiller]

1 hour ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I am hearing this story a lot more with anyone who chooses a particular cruise line to give all their money to.

It is always best to sail on various lines and to not have loyalty to any one company.  I even tell adults to try Disney as they are good if you do not want smoke from casino as no casinos on board.  Food is good and they rotate dining rooms.  Disney does not have a buffet at all at night.

I know folks who love RCI for entertainment but then find other things to dislike.  Some ships are gorgeous but lack in activities.   There is NO perfect ship so move around.

Just want to correct something you mentioned - absolutely NO SMOKING is allowed onboard any Celebrity ship in the casino - no smoking inside anywhere at all.  Smoking is only allowed OUTSIDE in a strictly designated small area.  

[rmalbers]

42 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Don't want to get off topic but as a native Michigander I wondering how this cruise received by the guests?   Did they enjoy the ports?   The Great Lakes cruise got quite a bit of press around Michigan. 

I think everyone seemed to have a great time.  The stops were mainly for hiking, boating, etc.  It was great.  I'm not big on tourist towns so I didn't miss those (Mackinac Island was the exception but it was neat to see, I wouldn't want to stay there at the prices they command but it sure was pretty).  The small ship experience was beyond great.  Having cooked to order, great quality, steaks at the buffet was a game changer, at least for me.  Another thing that was unique, (I think) is that a majority of the crew was a little older than typical.   The bartender I chatted up said it was because the majority of them had done their time on mass market cruise ships and were tired of that, the work and the people and the drinking, they wanted a slower work pace.  

[Mimiya11]

One and done for us on HAL.  We were on the Eurodam Mexican Riviera cruise a few years ago, before Covid.   

We found the food in the main dining room below average so ended up paying for a specialty restaurant which was better.   

Any staff we encountered seemed bored, not committed to customer service and just lacked the Celebrity quality.   

For us, contrary to some other posters, we did enjoy the entertainment as it was more unique than Celebrity offers.   We loved the Blues club, the Lincoln Centre performances (which we have heard are now being eliminated) and at times, we even liked the two pianists.   Found the ship though, dark and strangely laid out.  

We did splurge for a cabana for the week, which was terrific.  Well, except for the Cabana server, who didn't seem to have his act together.  And we missed Cafe Bacio a lot!! 

 

 

[drowelf]

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

  I even tell adults to try Disney as they are good if you do not want smoke from casino as no casinos on board.  Food is good and they rotate dining rooms.  Disney does not have a buffet at all at night.

Don't get me started on Disney. We had a horrible experience about a decade ago. The most glaring fails were: 

 

1. DW's baked potato was cold when served. Replacement showed up with desert. 
2. The Belgian Waffle I ordered one day turned out to be a cold Eggo Waffle. You can easily tell the difference between a waffle cooked in a waffle iron, versus something that started out frozen and was just warmed up, which this one was not even warmed. 

 

There were quite a few more, but even trying to think about them again gets me upset.

Edited January 9, 2023 by drowelf

[eroller]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

We've been cruising since 1982 and the changes in the industry down through the years when you think about have been quite startling. If this keeps up with cuts along with nickle and diming, we will find somewhere else to spend our vacation money.

 

 

Agree 100%.  I started cruising in 1977 when I was just a young teen.   I've been hooked ever since. 

 

For me ships are a hobby, kind of like cars, trains, and planes to other people.  It's a big part of why I keep returning.  I love trying out new prototype ships and I'm into all the technical and design attributes. 

 

Were it not for ships being a hobby, I think my cruising addiction would have been curtailed long ago.  Not eliminated but certainly scaled down.  With this current culture of less being more, while paying more ... I'm being pushed to alternative vacation options.  Maybe not such a bad thing at least for now.  As you know the cruise industry is constantly evolving, sometimes for the better and sometimes not.  The direction we are seeing now is not a good one.  They are eliminating many of the very things that make cruising special to begin with.  That is unfortunate and could bite them in the rear long term. 

Edited January 9, 2023 by eroller