Celebrity or Holland America

[peajay]

I am looking at cruise packages visiting Japan and have found a few, Celebrity and Holland America cruises that look like good candidates. I have cruised on seven different lines but not these two, and would be interested to have opinions on comparisons as they are currently.

[mcrcruiser]

19 minutes ago, peajay said:

I am looking at cruise packages visiting Japan and have found a few, Celebrity and Holland America cruises that look like good candidates. I have cruised on seven different lines but not these two, and would be interested to have opinions on comparisons as they are currently.

 If you are into broadway style shows then it is Celebrity for entertainment of all kinds  .Holland America   lacks the main shows  on their World Stage 

 Imo the food on Celebrity is better as well as service . 

 Over all I would go with Celebrity

[C 2 C]

I've cruised on both lines extensively, to Japan on Celebrity.

The quality of the cruises is very close and I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

You may have to compare the ships to make a decision.

As MrCruiser stated, the theatre production shows on Celebrity are much better.

The crew on both ships come from Indonesia and Philippines but beyond that, Celebrity has many eastern Europeans mixed in.

Celebrity has many Greek Officers whereas HAL has many from the Netherlands.

We liked the food better on HAL than on Celebrity and the service is exceptional on both lines.

We have cruised on HAL 10x since September of last year and loved the HAL entertainment other than the shows.

Compare the ship layout, the ports to be visited and the roll calls of the ships that you are comparing.

Japan is an amazing experience.

 

 

[albingirl]

23 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

 If you are into broadway style shows then it is Celebrity for entertainment of all kinds  .Holland America   lacks the main shows  on their World Stage 

 Imo the food on Celebrity is better as well as service . 

 Over all I would go with Celebrity

Got it. Again.

[mcrcruiser]

Recomend that you read Hanks Japan & Korea cruise  on this board  sailing Westerdam  ;which is the ship  most likely  you would be sailing  .This will give you a even better idea of what to expect on HAL 

[CruiserBruce]

10 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Recomend that you read Hanks Japan & Korea cruise  on this board  sailing Westerdam  ;which is the ship  most likely  you would be sailing  .This will give you a even better idea of what to expect on HAL 

Depends when the OP sails. It will be Westerdam 2023-24, but Noordam 2024-25.

[mcrcruiser]

17 minutes ago, CruiserBruce said:

Depends when the OP sails. It will be Westerdam 2023-24, but Noordam 2024-25.

That is true .just that the op would get a pretty comprehensive picture from Hank's report .Especially since Hanks is a 5 star mariner . 

[peajay]

I am not particularly interested in the usual singing and dancing shows, I feel like I have seen that sort of thing hundreds of times already. I would appreciate some classical music, or light classical, which I have seen virtually none of in about 20 cruises on other lines.  

I am guessing HA will be similar to P&O and  Celebrity similar to RCCL, both of which I have cruised on. I don't do formal dress up, so I am guessing that is still Old School on HA and not so much on Celebrity maybe ? That is where Azamara wins for me, absolutely none of that formal stuff, but expensive for what it is.

[CruiserBruce]

4 minutes ago, peajay said:

I am not particularly interested in the usual singing and dancing shows, I feel like I have seen that sort of thing hundreds of times already. I would appreciate some classical music, or light classical, which I have seen virtually none of in about 20 cruises on other lines.  

I am guessing HA will be similar to P&O and  Celebrity similar to RCCL, both of which I have cruised on. I don't do formal dress up, so I am guessing that is still Old School on HA and not so much on Celebrity maybe ? That is where Azamara wins for me, absolutely none of that formal stuff, but expensive for what it is.

Can't speak for Celebrity, but HAL doesn't push "formal" any more. Many discussions around here on "Gala", or now "dressy" nights.

[Cruise Suzy]

1 minute ago, peajay said:

I don't do formal dress up, so I am guessing that is still Old School on HA

 

On "Dressy" (formerly Gala) Nights, a collared shirt and no jeans are the dress code for men in the served restaurants. Women are encouraged to be a bit more dressy than usual. Other venues, including the buffet, do not have any special requirements. You can even order from the Main Dining Room menu for room service if you wish. Be as casual as you wish. 

[OlsSalt]

How big is the Celebrity ship - I personally would go for the smallest ship if you end up thinking all things are equal, since they are easier to get to know and get around. Just feels more homey, since this will be a longer cruise and nice to have that feeling built in.

 

Maybe others have different experiences, but we found the addition of middle European crew members to be a negative - just not the same hospitality and warmth we get from the more traditional HAL crew members, and even HAL is mixing it up now too.  Learned to avoid the Pinnacle on the Konigsdam due to that very factor - brusque, pushy and rushed..

[bennybear]

I can’t speak to celebrity but we loved our circumnavigation of Japan on HAL.  Now we did this in 2019, so I’m sure some things have changed.   But we found it was one of the best cruises we have ever done.  
 

I think you always have to take opinions with a grain of salt.  For us, we were very busy touring Japan, and we really enjoyed the food onshore and onboard.   Most nights we were too tired to worry about the entertainment but did enjoy the extensive films available on Japan.  

 

For me, I would decide based on itinerary.  HAL usually has a series of 14 day cruises that you can combine if you so wish.   Highly recommend that you also spend a few weeks in Japan pre or post cruise.  Kyoto truly needs several days to best enjoy. 
 

 

[mcrcruiser]

Celebrity has no formal dress code except slacks & colored shirt for dinners  .Shorts  can be worn for dinner if eaten in the Ocean view Cafe .For breakfast &  lunch shorts good any where in any restaurant .Can wear shorts in casino as well 

 

 If you are into reading Celebrity has a large library

Edited April 20, 2023 by mcrcruiser

[dawnvip]

Celebrity tends to have larger ships and more entertainment options.

HAL is smaller, more "enrichment" opportunities and generally speaking an older crowd - especially on the longer voyages.

 

Both are comparable food and service-wise.

[Grandma7]

I seem to keep alternating between them. I love  Celebrity for the smoke free casino and the Cafe al Bacio which is overlooking the atrium and great for coffee,tea, and socializing. I love Holland for the music,especially BB King's and the chamber music they offer. As far as food, I love Murano's on Celebrity and Tamarind on Holland. Otherwise,in my opinion the food is fairly equal. People dress the same on both. Oh, and I love the Solarium on Celebrity, a peaceful adults only place to relax and swim! Really can't go wrong with either.

[C 2 C]

Most likely the Celebrity ship will be Millennium (the one we sailed on); HAL might be Westerdam or similar.

Millennium built 2000, 91,000 tonnes, 2170 pax

Westerdam built 2004, 82,000 tonnes, 1964 pax.

 

Very similar.

 

Millennium Class is our favourite Celebrity ship design.

Westerdam seemed a bit more cramped.

 

Dress code or lack thereof is the same for both companies.

You will not find a library worth it's name on any Celebrity ship.

[tupper10]

We switched from Celebrity to HAL for 2 reasons: 1. the lack of outside promenade decks and the fact that Celebrity now restricts access to portions of the ship 2. the cost of cruises with non refundable deposit on Celebrity is well more than HAL advantage fare.   

 

 

 

 

[C 2 C]

I just started to read the Celebrity board:

 

"

• •  487
• April 7, 2017
• Eagle, ID

• #1  

Posted Monday at 06:30 PM

just got a phone call from Celebrity….  Japan next spring has been canceled on Millenium.  Rep told us Millennium won’t be in Japan at all??  So I guess that means a lot of cruises will be canceled.  "

[Fivelinks]

Definitely watch videos for both ships and see which vibe you like. We sail both HAL and Celebrity equally and make decisions based on how we feel about the ship for the region/destination we want to sail to. You can't go wrong with either, but each have their merits.  I find food, entertainment, and staff to be quite good on both however, overall service on HAL we have found to be a little better. I also prefer the music on HAL's Pinnacle class ships due to the diversity. Celebrity Edge series has more dining options which I enjoy, and the Solstice class has nice specialty restaurants like Murano. Neither are too fussy about their dressier nights, and there will be extremes both ways with everything in between. Good luck choosing between the two but either way you're going to have a wonderful trip!

[cruising sister]

There is a real mess going on the Celebrity boards about people being cancelled on their Millennium Japan cruises. I would hop over there and read the posts. I have been on both Holland and Celebrity. I am like you that I don’t care about the production shows but like to listen to music. My recent Edge cruise was disappointing for their music offerings. I do like the non smoking policy on Celebrity but it must not bother me much as I have over 100 days scheduled on Holland in the next year (taking a grand voyage). 

[Mary229]

It was said earlier and I will reiterate, examine the itineraries carefully, noting details of time in port and possible overland experiences.   Though I have never sailed on celebrity the reviews from this board and elsewhere convince me I would be equally comfortable on either as long as the ship size is similar.   Even though I like the HAL larger, newer ships I wish they were not quite so big. 

[peajay]

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful comments. I think I may go for the April Westerdam voyage from Tokyo to Seattle. This cruise satisfies three of our bucket list of Japan, transpacific (done transatlantic a few times) and Alaska. We would add a stay in Japan.

[Bostonjetset]

9 minutes ago, peajay said:

Thanks to everyone for the very helpful comments. I think I may go for the April Westerdam voyage from Tokyo to Seattle. This cruise satisfies three of our bucket list of Japan, transpacific (done transatlantic a few times) and Alaska. We would add a stay in Japan.

That cruise is on my “eventually” list. Enjoy!!  Do realize though that there is very little Japan. I think only one stop in Hokkaido is all other than leaving from Yokohama. Japan really deserves a dedicated trip. If you have time try to spend at least a week before the cruise to explore Tokyo and maybe Kyoto/Nara.  

[Cruise Junky]

I love celebrity but stay away from Japan itineraries until the dust settles on their overbooking fiasco.  Thread found on the celebrity board.  

[OlsSalt]

2 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

That cruise is on my “eventually” list. Enjoy!!  Do realize though that there is very little Japan. I think only one stop in Hokkaido is all other than leaving from Yokohama. Japan really deserves a dedicated trip. If you have time try to spend at least a week before the cruise to explore Tokyo and maybe Kyoto/Nara.  

 

I  see two Japan-transPacific cruise options for the Westerdam - one is 30 days and has many stops in Japan before heading over to Alaska. And then the shorter portion of this same cruise,  when the ship leaves Yohohama when it continues with only a few Japan stops before heading across  the Pacific.

 

The 30 day cruise is a very good survey of also the smaller ports, with a variety of offerings around much of Japan. Plus the chance to return to a US port - no jet lag getting home.