RCI vs. HAL Is HAL ok for Canada?

[plane2port]

We were considering the RCI cruise out of Venice but are getting scared away by the airfare. Thought a cruise somewhere in Canada or New England might be interesting, but RCI doesn't cruise there. Noticed an itinerary I liked on Holland America. If we like RCI, will we like HAL?

[emilygrace]

If you're looking at 2006, RCL is doing some Canada/NE cruises on the Jewel in October. If you're thinking 2007, wait until about May or June. Hopefully they will have their fall 2007 schedule worked out by then. They usually do that itinerary in the fall.

[TxRose]

We did the HAL trip from Montreal to Boston a couple of years ago. Had a great time. Was a bit hesitant like you, but we still enjoyed it just the same.

[plane2port]

We were thinking of going this June. Are there any glaring differences between RCI and HAL? The only other cruiseline we've been on is Carnival. We like RCI much better.

[TxRose]

We found HAL to be a bit more sedate than RCI. Not the party, party atmosphere late into the night, but there were still plenty of late night options. It was perfect for the Canada/NE cruise IMO.

[GMoney]

I've done both lines (RCI a lot more though). Though most don't really compare them directly, there are very few differences between the 2 lines. RCI generally has bigger ships, with more features, following the "ship as destination" principle. The HAL crowd tends to skew a bit older. I personally think the RCI specialty restuarants are better than HAL's. It might be a good idea for you to directly compare specific ships. I'm sure you'll have a good time.

[heartofamerica]

I've been on HAL twice and RCL once. Both times on HAL was the Zuiderdam, which is geared more towards a "younger" clientel than the traditional HAL cruises. IMHO, HAL was a fine line...service that is comparable, if not a touch better than RCL, but RCL had more things to do on board. As long as you are not an all night partier, I think you'll find HAL to be a very enjoyable cruise.

[skandls]

We did the Montreal to New York on the Rotterdam late Sep 2004. It was a very port intensive cruise. The food was better on HAL. But the after dinner entertainment was practically non-existant. The average age of the passengers was (for that cruise) quite a bit older than RCCL. The casino and disco both closed up around midnite. The cabins (standard outside) were larger and we had a tub/shower combo - no fighting the shower curtain. I enjoyed most of the ports. Since we docked almost daily the lack of late night entertainment was ok. We were up and out around nine am every day. I enjoyed the trip and we are considering HAL for a Northern Europe cruise - They have added culinary centers to their ships and more cooking classes. We plan to take either HAL or X so we can see St. Petersburg.