vibe on HA Caribbean cruises compared to RCI, Celebrity, Princess?

[elaine5]

what is the "vibe" and demographics on HA Caribbean cruises compared to RCI, Celebrity, and Princess? 

[leerathje]

Each line (and ship, for that matter) is completely different from each other.  However, if you are looking for pool games, climbing walls and dance parties at night by the pool, HAL is not really the line for that.

 

L.

 

[Lady Arwen]

RCI attracts a younger crowd who enjoy all the bells and whistles in the outdoor areas found on their ships.  Celebrity is somewhat younger, but no “stuff” like RCI. Princess and HAL have an older crowd and still no “stuff”.  Carnival and NCL also attract younger people and they have lots of “stuff” around the pools and outdoor areas.

[Mosaic]

Vibe?  Sedate.

[rj59]

It depends on cruise length, too, and time of year, so school breaks will draw more families, and longer cruises will draw more older people. It depends on the class of ship, too--I went on Celebrity Apex, and it felt very upscale, with a lot of obvious wealth on board, and they have two production casts doing shows every night in three different venues. I just got off a HAL cruise with no more classical quartet or even a contracted dance company, just 4 singers singing "Mmm-bop" songs and a Billboard piano duo who sang like a bad karaoke duo, The newer ships have a Rolling Stone lounge, which livens things up a bit, and a fancier show room, but to me the dropping of production shows and nothing but corporatized music shows makes the evening vibe on HAL dismal, especially on formal nights, when people have a "I got dressed up for this?" attitude towards the shows. The daytime vibe is mostly older people staring at Kindles and younger people in the pool, and a lot of people I wish would keep a shirt or robe on. If it's not school break, I think NCL and Celebrity and RC have the most youthful vibe, whereas Princess has women who really love bingo and their yappy dogs and HAL seems to have the world's largest concentration of bickering old couples and seniors who manage to stay upright with canes and sticks and walkers even in the roughest of seas. And I've noticed the last month that HAL and Princess are back to having a lot of mask-wearers, even outside, but of course they take them off in crowded buffets, restaurants, and bars, because um, chairs provide immunity?

[horseymike]

Don’ t be too hard on old people. Most of us get there at some point, and it sure beats the alternative.

[pirate cruiser]

At least we won't have to worry about running into a previous poster on our next HA cruise-lol !

[albingirl]

1 hour ago, rj59 said:

It depends on cruise length, too, and time of year, so school breaks will draw more families, and longer cruises will draw more older people. It depends on the class of ship, too--I went on Celebrity Apex, and it felt very upscale, with a lot of obvious wealth on board, and they have two production casts doing shows every night in three different venues. I just got off a HAL cruise with no more classical quartet or even a contracted dance company, just 4 singers singing "Mmm-bop" songs and a Billboard piano duo who sang like a bad karaoke duo, The newer ships have a Rolling Stone lounge, which livens things up a bit, and a fancier show room, but to me the dropping of production shows and nothing but corporatized music shows makes the evening vibe on HAL dismal, especially on formal nights, when people have a "I got dressed up for this?" attitude towards the shows. The daytime vibe is mostly older people staring at Kindles and younger people in the pool, and a lot of people I wish would keep a shirt or robe on. If it's not school break, I think NCL and Celebrity and RC have the most youthful vibe, whereas Princess has women who really love bingo and their yappy dogs and HAL seems to have the world's largest concentration of bickering old couples and seniors who manage to stay upright with canes and sticks and walkers even in the roughest of seas. And I've noticed the last month that HAL and Princess are back to having a lot of mask-wearers, even outside, but of course they take them off in crowded buffets, restaurants, and bars, because um, chairs provide immunity?

Bickering old couples and seniors who manage to stay upright with canes and sticks and walkers.  Oh man, you are way too rough.  Someday, you too, will be old, so be kind.

[retird]

People complaining about “Well Seasoned” adult cruisers on HAL is a bit ridiculous.   It is like complaining that you went to a football game and everyone there were football fans.   Complainers should pick a cruise line that fits their age IF they don't enjoy a mixture of age groups.  It would leave so much more room for the rest of us on HAL.   End of rant.

[Mary229]

Some of us have been mellow since we hit adulthood and HAL suits us well. It is calm, unpretentious and never stuffy or overbearing.  If you want to travel in a serene, pleasant environment it is great.  It is even great for families who are trying to seek an enriching travel experience.  It is not a party ship 

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, rj59 said:

and it felt very upscale, with a lot of obvious wealth on board,

Yeah, you won’t see a lot of that onboard HAL - just a lot of people who can afford to cruise year round. I guess we all know how to stretch our social security and long term health insurance benefits 😂

[RD64]

A lot of obvious wealth - what does that mean exactly? People flashing $100 bills at every turn? Designer bags which may or may not be fake? Flashy jewellery which again may or may not be fake? Racing Jaguars on the upper decks? People running around showing their bank balances and stock portfolios?  What are the indicators of obvious wealth? 
 

True wealth is never displayed in a pretentious way

[BigMattT]

10 hours ago, elaine5 said:

what is the "vibe" and demographics on HA Caribbean cruises compared to RCI, Celebrity, and Princess? 

We travel HAL when we want a quieter, relaxing getaway enjoying maritime sightseeing. There is a little more drinking/party happening on Caribbean voyages, but not a ton.

 

The other lines never seem like they want you to enjoy the actual sea while onboard: distractions everywhere between you and the view.

 

RCI is like a floating theme park— if you’ve never driven a bumper car up a rock wall that is suspended 200 feet in the air… there’s your chance. There are 10,000 other passengers on board with you who also think right now is the perfect time to do that activity on the brochure that can handle a crowd of 5 people per hour.

 

Princess is HAL + honeymooners, Karaoke, and the cruise director Julie is so fun. I hope they play the theme song. They’re expecting youuuuuuu! Doesn't everyone just LOVE it when the waitstaff sing on the last night of the cruise? I hope you’re hungry for baked Alaska!

Celebrity hopes you brought your wallet.

(You didn’t ask about Carnival and NCL, so I assume you’ve already been to Las Vegas.)

[Lakesregion]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

A lot of obvious wealth - what does that mean exactly? People flashing $100 bills at every turn? Designer bags which may or may not be fake? Flashy jewellery which again may or may not be fake? Racing Jaguars on the upper decks? People running around showing their bank balances and stock portfolios?  What are the indicators of obvious wealth? 
 

True wealth is never displayed in a pretentious way

Generally it means for men $5 $100 haircuts vs the local guy on the corner, Dress and sports clothing that is several grades above Land's End, LL Bean etc even above the $150 - $200 shirts and $250 for slacks. It is not ostentatious, it just shows. Same for footwear, jackets etc. That and a decent tailor so everything fits properly. Same goes for the ladies. Plus, while not having cruised on the hgher end lines, I woud guess that most of their clothing for the trip is new.

[elaine5]

Thanks. We’re going to give HA Rotterdam a try this winter. We sailed Cunard this summer, and though a bit subdued for us, loved it. 

[OlsSalt]

HAL passengers cheered,  when they re-installed the onboard libraries.

[Mary229]

10 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

HAL passengers cheered,  when they re-installed the onboard libraries.

People say that but I am not a fan.  Gone are the sitting areas to cozy up with a good book.  Row of books seem silly to me, I can browse on my iPad.  Libraries are, historically, meeting areas, not simply rows of books. 

[Lady Arwen]

17 hours ago, rj59 said:

It depends on cruise length, too, and time of year, so school breaks will draw more families, and longer cruises will draw more older people. It depends on the class of ship, too--I went on Celebrity Apex, and it felt very upscale, with a lot of obvious wealth on board, and they have two production casts doing shows every night in three different venues. I just got off a HAL cruise with no more classical quartet or even a contracted dance company, just 4 singers singing "Mmm-bop" songs and a Billboard piano duo who sang like a bad karaoke duo, The newer ships have a Rolling Stone lounge, which livens things up a bit, and a fancier show room, but to me the dropping of production shows and nothing but corporatized music shows makes the evening vibe on HAL dismal, especially on formal nights, when people have a "I got dressed up for this?" attitude towards the shows. The daytime vibe is mostly older people staring at Kindles and younger people in the pool, and a lot of people I wish would keep a shirt or robe on. If it's not school break, I think NCL and Celebrity and RC have the most youthful vibe, whereas Princess has women who really love bingo and their yappy dogs and HAL seems to have the world's largest concentration of bickering old couples and seniors who manage to stay upright with canes and sticks and walkers even in the roughest of seas. And I've noticed the last month that HAL and Princess are back to having a lot of mask-wearers, even outside, but of course they take them off in crowded buffets, restaurants, and bars, because um, chairs provide immunity?

I’m always surprised that someone would actually post such a ridiculous and biased opinion.  It’s also just plain rude.  
 

My question to you is how do you know so much about HAL and Princess?  Clearly you’ve chosen to cruise with them.  If “the vibe” is so awful why aren’t you sailing on  Carnival?  Perhaps you have embellished your story to suit your narrative.  I think you just enjoy stirring the pot.  Sorry, fail.  We don’t care.

 

[rodndonna]

23 hours ago, elaine5 said:

what is the "vibe" and demographics on HA Caribbean cruises compared to RCI, Celebrity, and Princess? 

 

On your list we have just 2 HAL and 1 Celebrity Caribbean cruise to compare - post Covid. Our HAL Caribbean cruises were from Florida and our Celebrity cruise was from San Juan. 

 

Like others have mentioned and in our limited experience, Celebrity was a younger clientele with more (though still not a lot) of children and the cruise itself was a little more upbeat and active.

 

The Caribbean cruises we did on HAL were older demographic than our HAL Alaska, NE/Can, and Euro HAL cruises. I attribute some of that demo shift to embarking in Florida ,where geographically there is a very large population that can drive to the cruise port. Understandably, those cruises might be more attractive to those with mobility issues. 

 

I've enjoyed both our HAL and Celebrity Caribbean cruises, and have one of each booked, and looking forward to them both! 

[OlsSalt]

My idea of HAL  cruising: grabbed a book from the newly installed but abbreviated Noordam library,  among several interesting hard copy choices, and perched on the very comfortable teak loungers on the 360 degree newly refinished Promenade teak deck.

 

This remains my own favorite HAL vibe. Quiet, at sea that you can see and feel, and curling up with multiple hard copy books that can be read even in the sunlight.  Now if they can add downloading audio books on the Navigator, I would find HAL had exceeded my expectations.

 

In other words, plenty of quiet spaces will still offering a reasonable selection of indoor activities for those looking for more direct engagement.

[REOVA]

6 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

My idea of HAL  cruising:  perched on the very comfortable teak loungers on the 360 degree newly refinished Promenade teak deck.

 

Yes. Sadly not so on the Pinnacle ships. 

11 hours ago, Mary229 said:

People say that but I am not a fan.  Gone are the sitting areas to cozy up with a good book.  Row of books seem silly to me, I can browse on my iPad.  Libraries are, historically, meeting areas, not simply rows of books. 

I agree that they look more like a bookstore than library with just a few chairs to sit in and not a place that lends itself to stay long. 

[elaine5]

For Rotterdam, are there bars/venues with music in the evenings before dinner? For Ex. at the back deck bar on both Celebrity and Cunard there was music (band, guitarist, and/or singer) from late afternoon/evening--or something in the lounges before dinner--Irish music, vocalist, etc.?

We're not crazy party people, but also don't really want solitude on a cruise. We are active, early 60s. Newly retired--so lots of quiet times to read at home. Celebrity is perfect for us--but Rotterdam schedule/ports looks really good. 

[Hlitner]

Vibe?  We have cruised all the lines the OP mentions, and never considered HAL for a 2nd Caribbean cruise (after our first experience).  Imagine being in the Caribbean and enjoying Glenn Miller music.  HAL has moved on from that music and are now in the 70s or perhaps 80s (with some of their entertainment).  But they have eliminated Production shows and continue to be a line that tends to attract seniors (and their parents).  And yes, I fall into that category.  You will not find steel drums on HAL nor will you even find a horn!   You will seldom never hear Bob Marley music on HAL and will seldom hear live music on deck during a nice cruise day.  MUTS,  not on HAL.  If you want relative quiet, knitting groups, fellow passengers who think playing canasta in the Lido (all day long) is the best use of a table meant for eating, then HAL is for you.  If queuing up for dinner at 5:30 (when the sun sets at 😎 is your kind of style then you will be in good company on HAL.

 

When we cruise in the Caribbean (once or twice a year) it is on Princess, MSC (Yacht Club) and sometimes on Seabourn (experiencing Caviar in the Surf is special).  Until recently we reserved HAL for more exotic (and long) itineraries.  Now, we no longer reserve HAL at all, since we no longer find the line up to the standards we can find elsewhere.  I will add (as an afterthought) that we do hope that HAL will someday return to the line we used to adore...and then we will be among the first to return.  We have not left HAL....HAL has left us.

 

Hank

[elaine5]

No steel band in the Caribbean? No live music on deck? And, what exactly is there to do after dinner? From 8-11pm? I thought Rotterdam had “stepped up its game?” I really wanted to give HA a try…

Edited October 17, 2023 by elaine5

[OlsSalt]

1 hour ago, elaine5 said:

No steel band in the Caribbean? No live music on deck? And, what exactly is there to do after dinner? From 8-11pm? I thought Rotterdam had “stepped up its game?” I really wanted to give HA a try…

 

HAL will not work for you. You did your homework and the answers have been pretty consistent. I think you saved yourself a huge disappointment.  Just let it be what it is, because there are plenty of passengers who do love HAL's quieter atmosphere. All cruise lines do not need to deliver the exact same product. Thank goodness. We would hate Celebrity,  so it is good we can both go our own separate ways.