Celebrity cruiser jumps ship to HAL-comparisons

[seadancer]

Thanks for the honest review. My wife and i are looking to something else after our next Rccl cruise. Especially if the there food quality doesn't come up (Taste).Looking forward to trying HAL real soon.

 

 

Seeeeuuuu

Jeff

[eroller]

Thanks to Heather for her comments. Well taken. If my displeasure with Celebrity was confined to shipboard issues, I would agree that judgement could be moderated. In my case, Celebrity's :( unresponsive management in Miami was a large part of the problem (which began well in advance of my cruise and continued well beyond). The fact that the Horizon :( was anything but pleasant just exacerbated my issues with Celebrity :( (and RCCL by extension). My experience with Celebrity :( was the worst of my considerable cruising life. A very expensive mistake!!! My voice is my only weapon against poor product and management performance as delivered by Celebrity. And I'm not shy about using it. :)

 

 

Personally I find your statements puzzling. I have taken over 60 cruises, several on Celebrity (all excellent I might add), and rarely if ever have I had to deal with the cruise line's management prior to the cruise. If for some reason I did, I simply advised my travel agent who took care of everything.

 

If I judged every cruise line I've sailed on (and I've sailed on a good majority of them) by a single experience, chances are I would not be cruising today. I've had mediocre experiences on HAL, Carnival, Princess, NCL, and Cunard. I've returned to all these cruise lines and frankly they all redeemed themselves. One thing I discovered is that no major cruise line is consistent across the board. They all have the potential to be very, very good, but also mediocre as well. Much of it comes down to changing variables such as the crew, entertainment, fellow passengers, the chef, the destinations, the time of year, the weather, your traveling companion, your personal state of mind, and even the ship itself. We have all heard of different passengers sailing on the exact same itinerary and ship who come away with very different experiences. This can absolutely happen based on their individual circumstances and who they came in contact with onboard.

 

At the end of the day I don't write off an entire cruise company based on one experience. If I go back a year or so later and things haven't improved, that is probably the end of that cruise line for me at least for several years. Thankfully this hasn't happened yet, and I continue to enjoy cruising on a variety of lines and ships. None are perfect (although Silversea is darn close), but each has something unique that I enjoy.

 

Ernie

[frbob]

Thanks to eroller for a very reasoned (and seasoned) reply to my diatrab about awful Celebrity. I don't disagree with anything he writes. He wasn't in my shoes so he can't see the issues I had with Celebrity from my perspective. Thankfully, there are lots of excellent cruising choices aside from Celebrity/RCCL. So long as that's the case, I can afford to stand my ground. If Celebrity were the only choice, I might have to review my rational. I'm a practical fish afterall! I've got to be at sea. :):):)

[Jim Gallup]

Flashdog 1 and frbob have both fallen into the same trap. They both had a one week experience on a ship and logically assumed that particular ship is like that every week - and that every other ship in that company's fleet is like that all the time as well.

 

They couldn't be more wrong.

 

If I took a Volkswagen Jetta for a test drive on an icy road in January and then told everyone that all German Automobiles (BMW, Mercedes)are like that one all year round, what would you think?

 

No need to answer.

[HeatherInFlorida]

frbob, so you're saying you don't like Celebrity???;)

[Chade5772]

We did the same thing you are doing. We have cruised with Celebrity several times and have family members that have cruised HAL and been very impressed (although they have not cruised Celebrity before). I am Live from Zuiderdam and will post more next week concerning our cruise. However, I know I may be hated on the HAL board--I found comparing the two lines is like comparing Outback to Ruth's Chris. I found HAL has the attitude (You paid for a good cruise and we want to give you one). However Celebrity has the attitude of (We are honored you have chosen us and would love for you to come back again). We met two people today that had sailed with Celebrity previously and this was their first time on HAL and they had the EXACT complaints that we have had. My gripe wasn't the difference in food as some have said (although I find Celebrity to be a little better in dining room and much better in alternative) the biggest difference is in customer service. My opinion is because it is the fact that HAL employees have their tip automatically taken out and whatever else you give is bonus. Celebrity works for your tips.

 

When I was researching things the way you are, my problem was that when people complained about HAL they never gave specifics. I will give you specifics by Monday. I won't now because I have 2 more days of my cruise, and I will tell you--even a VERY average cruise is still a good vacation. I will leave you with this. The problem I have with HAL starts with me. I expected something to rival Celebrity in service---imo my expectations were waaaaay too high. After day 3 when I lowered my expectation from Celebrity to...well lower, I could still enjoy it. But understand they are worlds apart. Honestly we had much better customer service on Disney and even our Carnival cruise than we had with HAL. I promise specifics will come by Monday.

[Chade5772]

We did the same thing you are doing. We have cruised with Celebrity several times and have family members that have cruised HAL and been very impressed (although they have not cruised Celebrity before). I am Live from Zuiderdam and will post more next week concerning our cruise. However, I know I may be hated on the HAL board--I found comparing the two lines is like comparing Outback to Ruth's Chris. I found HAL has the attitude (You paid for a good cruise and we want to give you one). However Celebrity has the attitude of (We are honored you have chosen us and would love for you to come back again). We met two people today that had sailed with Celebrity previously and this was their first time on HAL and they had the EXACT complaints that we have had. My gripe wasn't the difference in food as some have said (although I find Celebrity to be a little better in dining room and much better in alternative) the biggest difference is in customer service. My opinion is because it is the fact that HAL employees have their tip automatically taken out and whatever else you give is bonus. Celebrity works for your tips.

 

When I was researching things the way you are, my problem was that when people complained about HAL they never gave specifics. I will give you specifics by Monday. I won't now because I have 2 more days of my cruise, and I will tell you--even a VERY average cruise is still a good vacation. I will leave you with this. The problem I have with HAL starts with me. I expected something to rival Celebrity in service---imo my expectations were waaaaay too high. After day 3 when I lowered my expectation from Celebrity to...well lower, I could still enjoy it. But understand they are worlds apart. Honestly we had much better customer service on Disney and even our Carnival cruise than we had with HAL. I promise specifics will come by Monday.

[frbob]

Note to Heather: Well dear, you made me smile with your little jab. :)

 

I will have to say this...Celebrity has handled (is handling) the accident situation in Chile in an excellent manner. My prayers go out to all involved. Their new president, who looks all of about 18 years old, has demonstrated excellent people skills. I may have to reconsider my position on Celebrity. Now, if the Chairman of RCCL retires...I'M BACK BABY !!!

 

Thanks Heather.

[Guest Celestia]

 

If I took a Volkswagen Jetta for a test drive on an icy road in January and then told everyone that all German Automobiles (BMW, Mercedes)are like that one all year round, what would you think?

 

 

 

I'd think you hadn't actually driven *either* vehicle under icy conditions, because we have both a VW Jetta and a BMW and in January on an icy road, you can safely bet your bottom dollar I'll be in the Jetta, not the Beemer.

 

There ya go.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Note to Heather: Well dear, you made me smile with your little jab. :)

 

I will have to say this...Celebrity has handled (is handling) the accident situation in Chile in an excellent manner. My prayers go out to all involved. Their new president, who looks all of about 18 years old, has demonstrated excellent people skills. I may have to reconsider my position on Celebrity. Now, if the Chairman of RCCL retires...I'M BACK BABY !!!

 

Thanks Heather.

 

You know what? I really like you!!!:D I agree Celebrity has handled this horrible situation beautifully. And I'm glad you're trying to keep an open mind about maybe giving Celebrity another chance. You might be surprised. Just put RCI out of you mind ... I do.

 

Chade, I've cruised HAL twice (3 counting Windstar) and Celebrity 3 times. I still give the edge to Celebrity, but we'll be on Prinsendam this December. I think both lines are excellent, but I agree with you that the customer service on Celebrity is just better. It's nothing to do with the tipping, though ...HAL's service (IMO) was not at Celebrity's level even before the auto-tipping.

[barbon2]

Hi, have just complete our fifth Celebrity cruise in December and are doing our 3rd HAL cruise this coming Dec. Celebrity happens to be our favorite line, but HAL comes pretty close in comparison. We first tried HAL because they seemed to do certain routes that were of interest to us and seemed to have routes that we liked for a one week cruise. Our first two HAL cruises were on the Amsterdam to Alaska and the Maasdam to Canada. Our Celebrity cruises were all in the Caribbean. In all fairness, we have always done the newest Celebrity ships and on HAL we selected the ships due to itinerary, more touring and less time on board. I really have no complaints in regard to HAL. The cabins are very large on HAL, we have done S-suites which are much larger than the suites we have had on Celebrity and I find the pricing similar. HAL has the Neptune Lounge and Celebrity has butler service which we don't find ourself taking much advantage of anyway. At one time I would say that the food was superior on Celebrity but did not find this on our last Celebrity cruise. I would say that the food was equal, both lines having excellent speciality restaurants. I guess I really do not pay much attention to little things such as ice buckets, etc., so I cannot comment on that. Being on larger, newer Celebrity ships, of course I would have to say that the overall appearance of the ships were better, but again, I did not go on the newest HAL ships. I do find the two very equal in service, so I really don't think you should worry at all about doing HAL. I think the gym/spa areas are nicer on Celebrity and some of the amentities are a little more upscale. Our upcoming cruise this December on the Oosterdam has more sea days then our previous HAL cruises (more like a Caribbean cruise doing the Mexico route out of the West Coast) so I will be able to do a better comparison. The Oosterdam is also a newer ship so I will get a better feel as to spending more time on a HAL ship. With Celebrity cutting back on 7 day cruises (which happen to better fit our schedules), I think we will be spending more time with HAL in the future.

Barbara

[caviargal]

I give the edge to X on service and food in the dining room and Lido; also love the Seaview Cafe. Soups on HAL were a big disappointment.

 

I found the rest of the HAL staff to be excellent, much better than my most recent X cruise.

 

Much better fitness facilities on X; HAL was minimal.

 

Better nightlife on X.

 

I prefer the looks of the M class on X to Vista on HAL. The bedding and bathrooms were much nicer on HAL.

 

The Pinnacle Grille was outstanding and we had breakfast there most mornings and dinner there 6 of 7 nights. Have not experienced alternative dining on X but would likely not have had to dine in Pinnacle as often if we enjoyed the main dining room, which we simply did not care for.

[lougee1043]

we did a cruise on galaxy last march to the pan canal out of galv--thought all aspects of the ship was comprable to hal but there is something about hal that keeps me coming back-- i was amazed at the royal suites on the galaxy -- it was like a one bedroom apt compared to the studio type apartment on hal ships in the s class cabin

 

question --did you ask your room steward for a water pitcher

[Richard Stein]

I have elite status on Celebrity and am back on HAL for the 5/13 Osterdam sailing to Alaska. This trip will put us over 50 days on HAL. I am not going back to Celebrity unless I get a good happy hour deal. On my last two cruises with Celebrity in a CC cabin they had happy hour sales after I paid my money and were selling suites for what I paid. I was pissed, complained to no avail. On the current HAL sailing the same thing happened as they were selling suites for what I paid, I complained and got my suite. I will be staying with HAL. The dining room food on Celebrity may be slightly better, but HAL does well in all other areas.

[Scrumpy]

Phyllis,

Thank you for this! I have thought of trying someone other than HAL, but we enjoyed ourselves so much on our HAL cruises that I was afraid of being disappointed elsewhere. I must admit that I am a creature of habit. I like consistency and I like to know what to expect. Still, it looks like we should consider Celebrity sometime.

 

It's unfortunate, but I think people get used to certain things on a line and when it isn't available on another line or if it's somehow "different", they are *sometimes* unable to overcome those small disappointments. I have friends who love RCI and Princess, but I wouldn't even attempt to get them on a HAL ship. If they didn't like it, I'd feel responsible for it. And, I'd sure hate it if the onboard experience on another line was so vastly different that I regretted the choice to try something new. (I do often think to myself: how different could it possibly be?) One of my priorities, more and more, is the cabin/balcony itself. I have looked at some photos or renderings and thought - wow, that is small. Other people are out and about all over the ship, so they aren't calculating every square inch - lucky them! We all have to go with what works for us.

 

Thanks again for one of the more balanced comparisons that I've read.

Scrumpy

[workerbees]

[quote name='flashdog_1']The Veendam is a smaller, older ship, probably inbetween the sizes of Century and Zenith. It was easy to negotiate the ship and it was a smooth ride throughout the cruise.

The dining room service was superb. The menu choices were more varied than those of Celebrity, offering some "peasant" food which was interesting. And for those who have reported the overcooked, under seasoned food on HAL, they must have been on a different ship. Vegetables were crisp, lobster perfect. Entrees were tasty, not bland!

Like Celebrity, the evening lido choices were fewer than in the dining room, but we never used it since we enjoy the formal dining room very much.

There were perhaps fewer ice cream choices on HAL. There were no Qtips or cotton balls in the bathrooms, but the bedding, even in an inside or ocean view cabin were superior to Celebrity's, comparable to either a suite or Concierge Class bedding.

There was no water pitcher in the room, but a stainless steel ice bucket that was showing some rust on the outside, so I think HAL got ripped off paying for stainless steel! There was no fridge offered except in the highest categories, so we reserved one aheåd of time so we had cold cokes we'd brought on board.


May I ask how you went about arranging the fridge? I noticed our room did not have one but did not know you could reserve one. Thanks for all the info because we were considering a Celebrity cruise as well but chose HAL.