We went HAL...good or bad? Here is the long truth

[Chade5772]

We booked our first cruise with HAL after reading the reviews and comparisons between Celebrity and HAL on these message boards…we went to Caribbean on the Zuiderdam and returned this morning. We don’t want to give you a blow by blow of our entire cruise, but instead want to point out some comparisons we noticed and some that we would have liked to have known before we booked.

 

To begin with, it is important to realize that we were booked in a Superior Suite. HAL has 3 classifications of suites, Superior Suite, Deluxe Verandah Suite and then the Penthouse Suites (in order with superior being the lowest). According to the website and the HAL reservationists, there is not much difference between the Superior and the Deluxe outside of use of Neptune’s Lounge and size of the rooms: you will realize later that there are more differences. Also, you need to realize that we were booked on the Zuiderdam which is one of HAL most recent ships. When discussing Celebrity later, we also sailed their Millennium ships, their most recent ships. We say this because the comparisons we have read prior to sailing were of HALs more recent ships compared to Celebrity’s older ships such as the Mercury and the Century – not a fair comparison in our opinion. You will see that we are also comparing apples to apples in terms of level of suite for both cruise lines.

 

Beginning with the positives, HAL far exceeds Celebrity in room size, bed quality and wonderful bathrooms! Again, we were booked in a Superior Suite on the Zuiderdam and we found that the room was very nice and clean. We have stayed in the sky suite as well as the aft cabins on Celebrity on the Infinity and while the aft cabin was good size, the Zuiderdam was nicer and still roomier. The bathroom was by far the most surprising – double vanities, whirlpool bathtub and separate shower, and again – clean! The bed was incredibly comfortable and we thought this was going to be a wonderful cruise!

 

HAL also boasts of wonderful talent in entertainment….which is true. Joel Mason, the Elton John entertainer, is by far one of the best entertainers we have ever seen anywhere – and we don’t particularly love Elton John. The dancers and singers were great and they didn’t do the “traditional shows” that so many cruises do – the phantom, the broadway stuff, etc. The talent was there and the shows were much more entertaining. They did a show of “Under the Boardwalk” with all the fun classic songs, and a screen/stage show that included a better variety and very different selections than you would have expected. We were generally pleased with each show and looked forward to coming each night. (ok, the one night we did not go was the ship’s crew show where the Indonesian crew were doing a cultural show – not really our cup of tea). While we did not find the comedian funny, there were others that did and we simply chalked it up to our personal choice. The magician/illusionist was very good and all shows were tasteful. The Zuiderdam superstar (their version of American Idol/karaoke) was always good for clean fun.

 

The comparison between the lines continues to the dining room in terms of service and quality of food, after all – most of what cruises are known for it the food! We dined in the main dining room several nights with each cruise line and also sampled the alternative dining on each line, more than one night. While it may be said that it was simply “our dining staff” and not a true representation of the whole dining room on the Zuiderdam (since we have only sailed them this one time), we have sailed Celebrity numerous times and found that they are always consistent. Now, having said that, our dining staff on the Zuiderdam was incredibly attentive and provided us phenomenal service - from the smiles we received when we arrived each evening to the coca cola waiting for me on the table when I sat down. The “section manager” knew our name from the first night and made a point to check on us throughout dinner each evening. The staff was personable and cheerfully gave us anything we asked for – right down to the two entrée’s and desserts my husband asked for almost every evening. While Celebrity provides wonderful dining room service and we have never had a complaint, this particular table crew was hard to beat. While Celebrity would never tell my husband no about ordering two entrée’s or wanting to try a new dessert, there was always that undertone where you felt bad for asking – there was never a hesitation with HAL – the crew simply said “ah…good choice, you will like both of those!” Now, beyond this particular dining crew – we have no idea. We tried the dining room at breakfast and lunch on different days and received terrible service. When dining for breakfast, we were left at our table for quite a while before anyone even came to take our order. At lunch, similarly we were there for a long time. Our LONG leisurely lunch also included our coke being delivered after we had eaten our meal and we were leaving. At both of these seatings, no one smiled or spoke other than the necessary “what do you want” talk.

 

Now, in terms of the food on both ships, the comparison has been made that Celebrity cannot be beaten for food quality….we would have to agree with that comparison. However, it is worth noting that HAL was not far behind Celebrity in taste. Celebrity has a much better variety of choices on each evening’s menu (there were always 2-3 things each night we wanted to try whereas on HAL, there were nights when nothing really looked good to us). The Lido Deck buffets on Celebrity were also much tastier than HAL although we do like the way HAL breaks down the buffets between the different types of food offered (i.e. Deli, Bistro, Sweets, etc.). The HAL buffets simply lacked anything to be excited about. We tried one midnight buffet offering (usually something we love on cruises) and we didn’t even bother to go back. We missed the “mini-bites” as we relaxed in Celebrity’s many music lounges in the evening.

 

The alternative restaurants were really difficult to compare between Celebrity and HAL. Where Celebrity’s alternative restaurant is trained to be a 5 course, white glove, fine dining experience, HAL’s Pinnacle Grill is little more than a more intimate setting to enjoy a meal. The Pinnacle Grill does have a higher level of food quality than the dining room (good steaks), but the menu never changes and even the chef’s compliments are the same each evening. Celebrity’s alternative restaurant provided us with a 2+ hour relaxing meal including cheese selection, soup, appetizer, entrée, chef’s compliments, palate cleanser and dessert/coffee in a fine dining atmosphere (right down to everyone at the table being served each plate at the same time, table side cooking in some cases and beautiful presentations). The staff truly loved what they are doing and prided themselves on return diners. After our first experience in the alternative restaurant with Celebrity we booked for several more nights and enjoyed going. It was in anticipation of that type of service that we booked the Pinnacle Grill 4 times for our HAL cruise. Upon dining in the PG we realized that the experience was not designed to be the same. The PG, while a nice and intimate setting, is not designed to be the fine dining experience we were expecting. The PG simply gives you a choice of 4-5 appetizers (choose between the one soup, the one salad choice or the other three selections), 5-6 entrée’s and 4-5 desserts. Where the PG experience would compare to a nice three star restaurant, the Celebrity alternative restaurant is a unique dining experience that you would not want to miss.

 

 

Having covered the basic positives of HAL and the all important dining questions, it is now time to say the thing that all HAL loyal sailors will be enraged at – outside of the positive experience with our 1 set of dining crew and the nice rooms, the entire HAL experience pales in comparison to the luxury and quality one experiences with Celebrity time after time. Now, before you stop reading and/or become defensive, please read on and find that we have truly attempted to be objective and fair in our comparison of the two lines. Remember, we are comparing recent ships with both lines and similar suite levels on both lines – something we have yet to see compared on the boards.

 

The HAL Zuiderdam Experience:

The first thing that is glaringly obvious as we entered the ship is that the crew is simply not very friendly or inviting. The “welcome aboard” as you walk onto the ship is noticeable absent and the welcome lackluster at best. Upon entering the ship, the only thing we were told is that “cabins are not ready – you can go to the Lido Deck”…would have been nice to get a “Welcome Aboard!” first! We took that in stride and went to the Lido Deck to begin eating – something we were definitely looking forward to! When we did go to our cabin, we were pleased with the room, again for size and cleanliness. We understood from the website and reservationists that we were in a suite and therefore we were looking forward to meeting our “concierge” and finding out all the amenities that go along with a suite on HAL. We telephoned our concierge (the only contact that you have with the concierge for our suite on HAL is through the phone) to introduce ourselves and simply to let her know that we were fairly easily to please – just to say that our cruise experience would be complete if we could enjoy eggs benedict and French toast on our balcony each morning. She eagerly agreed that we could have this request met and warmly welcomed us to the ship – she would send up a breakfast request card and a list of suite amenities to our room immediately. We met our smiling room steward and told him that we looked forward to the cruise. We signed in at the internet center, checked our table assignment in the dining room and confirmed our reservations with the Pinnacle Grill – all was in order and we were looking forward to a wonderful cruise! Then, it happened….we returned to our cabin to look through our suite amenities and it had not arrived. We called our concierge to inquire about it and got our “other concierge” – Romel. He had quite a different story to tell us. Apparently, on HAL the suite categories and amenities are not always consistent from ship to ship. He told us that there was no list of amenities that we would be receiving – that our larger cabin and bathroom, the fruit bowl (which was not in the room) and the ability to reserve DVDs at the front desk were the only amenities we had. We asked about the hors d'oeuvres in our room and the laundry service mentioned specifically on the website for suite guests….he simply told us that those were only available to the next level of suite, the Deluxe Verandah suites. The HAL website does not make this distinction between suites (the only difference listed between these two categories was the use of the Neptune Lounge and the size of the rooms – neither of which were too important to us, so we chose the lesser of the two suites, still counting on great suite service) and therefore we went to the front desk to make an appointment with the Hotel Manager. We were told that he would contact us sometime that night and we could talk with him then. We were fine with that – understanding that embarkation was more than likely a busy time for him. Throughout the entire cruise, we never heard from the Hotel Manager. We decided to make the best of the situation – after all, a cruise is still a wonderful vacation! Then, the next morning, we were awakened at 6:30 to be told by room service that our special breakfast order could not be filled – the dining room was not open and therefore they could not get the special dishes we requested. We were told however that if we were to request it the following morning when the dining room was open, they would be happy to get it for us. We were ok with that (although a bit tired now). Then, the next morning we received a phone call at 9:28 (dining room closes at 9:30) saying that they would not be able to complete our order because we could not do special orders. We called our concierge and he insisted that yes we could have the order and that he would take care of it. A few minutes later we received a phone call from Romel, the concierge who then apologized for the confusion and told us that we were not in the right level of suite to receive special services like this – if we had only booked a Deluxe Verandah suite we could have the order. Now upset because it was too late to go to the dining room for breakfast and being told “NO” yet again for services, we asked Romel why were told a different story on other days and explained that we felt like we were getting the “run around” – he simply said that he was sorry but that the crew sometimes has some confusion over the services provided to different suites because it is “different for different ships”. We reminded him that if we had known these differences prior to booking we would have gladly paid more to get the quality we desired – this was not acceptable. Still, we have not talked to the Hotel Manager. No attempt was made by the service staff to rectify the situation. To make the story funny, we went to the dining room for breakfast the next morning for eggs benedict and they were not serving it that morning! Finally, on the 4th night of the cruise, the Room Service Manager came to find us at dinner – he brought with him a plate of strawberries and explained that he was sorry that our service had been unacceptable and that if we wished the special order in our room the next morning, he would make sure it would happen. We thought it odd that he would come and find us at dinner to do this and wondered why he had waited until that night to rectify the situation. When we returned to our room that night it all became clear – the customer service surveys were waiting for us in the room.

 

You see, on HAL the crew’s tips are automatically charged to your shipboard account $10 per person, per day. This, in our opinion is a great deal of what is wrong with the general unfriendliness and lackluster attitude of the crew – they are not working to please you because they already have a set amount of tips no matter what service you receive. The surveys however, mean a great deal to all the crew - promotions and performance evaluations are given based on these surveys we have found out. The surveys became a humorous point of the trip. The cruise director, Que, had no trouble asking everyone to give them a “9” (highest rating) for the cruise and the Room Service Manager made a trip to our room on our last day, eggs benedict in hand, to remind us that the surveys were important to the crew, to see if we had forgiven them for the problems earlier in the trip and to ask us for a “9” on the survey. Too little, too late in our opinion.

 

The problem with the room service order may be trivial to some…but it simply is an example of the attitude of the ship. My husband said more than once that he felt like he was trapped in the Capital One commercial with David Spade finding many ways to say “NO” to our simple requests! If you think that the room service was the only request that was refused – oh…. “NO”! We had a reservation at the Pinnacle Grill that we had made prior to sailing – after eating there the first time, we decided that we would not attend it all the times we had originally booked and we cancelled one evening. We went to the PG to cancel and when we asked about crediting it to our shipboard account, they told me that I would need to go to the front desk to handle it. When I walked to the front desk, they told me in no uncertain terms that it was a matter for the grill and that I would need to go back there. I told them that the PG had sent me to them and finally a manager stepped in and said that they would handle it and credit it to my account. On the day of disembarkation this was still not corrected and the front desk tried to tell me that I had never booked it nor was there ever a charge for it. After a 45 minute battle to get to the facts, the credit was finally processed and we were ready to be done with it.

 

While Half Moon Cay was a beautiful island and the set up was nice, don’t eat the BBQ…HAL planned their BBQ away from common traffic of the island – behind most of the walkways. We went to get in line following our excursion – a little before the BBQ opened. While we were standing in the general area we heard a rustling behind us and when we looked around the bushes, there was a live chicken on top of the food! The chicken was walking along the top of the buns and condiments left out for the BBQ toppings. Needless to say, lunch on the Lido Deck won out that day. I mentioned the location of the BBQ because I think that is key…on Celebrity and even Disney’s island BBQ, the location is next to major beach traffic and out in the middle of attention – the animals (if there were any) were no where nearby and the food was closely watched. Not far behind was the hair in the butter dish at lunch in the dining room….probably something that could happen to any restaurant or cruise ship at some time but, after the chicken incident, it seemed a little more noticeable for some reason.

 

On our last “at sea” day, I was standing by the pool with a couple of other people waiting for towels (yes, they had run out again)…after 25 minutes we began chatting about how unrealistic it is to run out of towels on an “at sea” day. One of the ladies standing with me mentioned that you would “never have this problem on Celebrity” and my ears perked up – that was exactly what I was standing there thinking. I asked her what she meant and she proceeded to tell me her cruise ship story which sounded surprisingly similar to my own! Hers had one key difference however – she and her husband were in a Deluxe Verandah Suite (remember – that’s the one above ours that “if only we were in it we could have so much more!”). She told me that she and her husband had only wanted French Toast on their verandah each morning to make it a wonderful cruise (guess she never tried eggs benedict) and that they had been told that if only they had a Superior Suite that they could get it. If only….. story of HAL. Only after listening to her echo our same thoughts about the Pinnacle Grill and the poor service of the staff did I pipe up and mention that we too had sailed with Celebrity and found this cruise disappointing! I questioned her further about her suite and found that all of the things we were told about our Superior Suite, she had been told about her Deluxe Verandah Suite (although they did have a separate check in site at embarkation that was really nice – no long lines). Basically, we both agreed – pay the little bit of extra money, deal with whatever itineraries are being offered and stay with Celebrity.

 

 

The Celebrity Difference:

The difference between the two ships is summed up by saying that the HAL attitude is “you paid for a cruise – we will give you a good cruise” versus Celebrity’s attitude of “we want you to have the best cruise possible so you will always want to come back”. We chose this HAL cruise for a couple of reasons – 1) we have always been curious to see if other cruise lines compared to Celebrity on the message boards were really as good as Celebrity and 2) Celebrity’s itineraries sometimes lack variety and the timing of this cruise worked well for us (kid’s spring break).

 

Celebrity is known for the level of service they provide – and they are without question the best at it between these lines. We have sailed Disney, Carnival and Celebrity and found that really, all 3 had better service than what we found on HAL. Again, we believe that the major difference lies in HALs automatic tipping policy – in the past we actually look forward to tipping on Celebrity in order to say thank you for such a great time. We made the statement earlier, on another post that the difference is really like comparing an Outback Steakhouse and a Ruth Chris…you get a steak and leave full…but the experience and quality is completely different. On Celebrity we have sailed in an aft cabin (not a suite) and a sky suite (lowest level suite – comparable to Superior Suite we had with HAL) and we have always found the service to be consistently friendly and helpful. In contrast to the “no” attitude we have found with HAL, it seemed like no matter what our request with Celebrity – there was always a way to make it happen. I remember a time when I tried something in the dining room and made a face (not liking it) – I had no idea the wait staff was anywhere nearby and he immediately came and asked if I would like something different – insisting that I should be pleased with the meal. The front desk episode on HAL would never have been an issue with Celebrity – any questions or concerns we have ever had with Celebrity have simply been listened to and a “we will take care of it” is all we have ever heard (and it has always been handled appropriately). For those who would insist that it was simply our experience with HAL or that it was just one cruise or that we were biased walking into the ship, please remember that we are comparing apples to apples in terms of newness of ships, level of suite and services, alternative restaurants, and we did our best to look for the positives of HAL (which we clearly noted earlier). Also, there were at least 3 others on board who had sailed Celebrity who echoed the sentiments stated here and at least 3 others that were dissatisfied with service of HAL who had not sailed Celebrity (we were not soliciting these complaints – they were widely heard on the ship – but when your experience is not what you would have liked you tend to listen more closely for what others are thinking).

 

In short (because nothing else about this post is short), an average cruise is still a great vacation and, once we lowered our expectations and decided to take disappointments in stride – we still had fun. But, it would be safe to assume that we will be going with Celebrity in the future. We may try another cruise line again in the future (not HAL)– but not in the near future!

[thomasale]

Thanks for your review I found it informative.

[cjmayes51]

Very informative review, my decision to possibly cruise on HAL in the future is a lot clearer now . I'll stick with Celebrity and Princess in the future

[Longboysfan]

Thanks for the information.

We sailed on the Zaandam in one of the Delux Veranda Suites S7031 I think.

I found it to be lovley with the outside deck.

We ordered hours'drvs every night before dinner for 10.

Delivered prmoptly when requested.

We had a small group with us.

I think they gave us a comp invite to the pinnacle grill - which was fine but not quite the specialty resturant level on Celebrity.

Food was fine - but never changed in the buffet area for breakfast or lunch the whole week.

We never tried for the breakfast order as I would just walk upstairs and get anything we wanted.

Service was fine.

 

But I think they miss in the English language understanding skills.

 

The cruise was great. But for my $$$$ I'm going on Celebrity.

Yes. You seem to get that we will do whatever we can attitude from all people on Celebrity.

[JEDMELK]

This is actually pretty interesting. After having been on 24 cruises and my wife having been on 30+, it is always good to hear another opinion.

In the distant past we had always booked HAL without a second thought although over the years many things have changed. We have cruised on HAL, Princess, Carnival, NCL and Celebrity and of course there is always a favorite. In the past, HAL was just that, however we have noticed many changes that have come over time.

Our most recent cruise was on the Veendam in December (I'm not sure if it is important or has any real bearing but we do go the exact same time each year, to celebrate our anniversary) and at this time, will probably be the last HAL cruise for quite a long time. We are booked on the Constellation for this year. Good or bad, since we have been cruising for so many years, itinerary is not the most important thing to us because we have been to so many of these ports. Service and quality is what makes the difference for us now. Keep in mind that when we started cruising we booked inside and have since moved to outside and the past 10 cruises have been verandah cabins.

Our most recent experience on HAL was so disappointing that when we were making our decision for this year, we did not even look at any of the HAL offerings. We spent 8 of our 10 days in a cabin with air conditioning that was marginal at best. It took repeated visits and phone call to the front desk to get this fixed. On another HAL cruise, they had to give us a fan to use in the cabin because it got so hot.

Of course the dining room was just as bad. Food arrived cold, if it arrived at all. There are many more instances but it would be just too long to read if I went on.

The bottom line (at least for us) is that unfortunately, over the past several years it seems that the standards that used to draw passengers to HAL, have just gone down and that is why we now look at Celebrity and Princess offerings when we make our cruise choices.

[herb]

Chade5772 - Have you posted your review and thoughts on the HAL board? Would be interesting to read their comments

[Andy]

Hi Chade !

 

Thanks for the OUTSTANDING Review and comparison. I have not been very thrilled with Celebrity's Caribbean itineraries of late, and I was "remotely" considering Westerdam or Zuiderdam. I had such a wonderful time on Century (AGAIN) 2 weeks ago, that any such idea of trying HAL, is long gone.

 

I have been on many other lines, and what you described is very common on ALL the lines I have been on, other than Celebrity. Their service is always top notch, and the staff always tries to do whatever they can to make you happy. The Celebrity singers and dancers are wonderful as well. Top it off with great ships and wonderful food.... and I know Celebrity is the line for me.

 

Sorry your trip was less than perfect, but it seems that overall, you had a good time. I suppose it is always a good idea to try new things. The good news is, you now know that Celebrity works best for you.

[gizmo]

Thanks for the review and comparison. I am a Hal fan and always like to read comparisons.

 

Sorry about the "suite" thing. I just took a look at Hal's site and sure enough there is NO explaination as to what category gets what. This is very annoying and wrong for Hal to publish things that lead one to believe

that a suite is a suite and you get all the goodies. IMO, there is no excuse for this.

 

I don't know who you booked with but if it was with Hal, the person was a moron.

 

I have to agree about the "Welcome Aboard". Things change. At one time you were greeted by crew in white gloves, got a nice Welcome Aboard" and were escorted to your cabin. The current trend of boarding ships early changed all of that. Now you get, "Go to the Lido".

 

The first concierge did not handle anything correctly. You were led to believe you had all the amentities when you did not.

 

Apparently, on HAL the suite categories and amenities are not always consistent from ship to ship

This is not correct. All ships are the same as far as who gets what. Only PS and S (Deluxe) get the "goodies". It does not vary by ship.

 

I have no idea why you could not get French Toast in your cabin. ANYONE can get it, including an inside cabin at the bottom of the ship. You write it on the card or call it in. The only way you would not get it is if they were not serving it in the dining that morning. I noticed that you spoke with another couple who said the same thing. I am puzzled. Maybe something changed recently. :confused:

 

Eggs Bene is another story. I have seen complaints on the Hal board that on the Zuiderdam they will not deliever EB to your cabin even if you are in a suite. On other ships, anyone can order EB, but if they are not doing EB that morning in the dining room you might not be able to order it through room service. On the last morning of the cruise EB is not available anywhere.

 

I had to LOL at the "chicken". I just kept picturing a chicken running down the table on top of all the food. :D I only got a hamburger there once, all other times I went back to the ship to eat. Thanks for the warning I will keep the chicken in mind on future cruises.

 

Now a couple of words on the Zuiderdam. This is the 1st of the Vista class ships. Some hate this ship others love it. It gets both good and bad reviews. For many, this ship would be on the bottom of the list for any recommendations. (The Hal fans might bash me for this but this is how I see it.)

 

I want to thank you again for the review. I enjoyed every word. :)

[Coolcruise02]

I have to disagree on a couple points. IMHO

 

The food on the Zuiderdam was 100% better than Century.

 

The presentation of every food plate on the Zuiderdam was a beautiful work of art.

 

HAL beds are to die for and our bathroom and shower were large. Our bathroom on the Century was small and moldy with broken tiles.

 

The production shows on HAL were great and the Elton John performer was so good I went to the early and late show! We also loved the Ladder Guy on Century and the Violinst but the production shows were sad.

 

Yes... Both cruises were great and each has good and bad points but for us the Zuiderdam experience was far better than the Century. IMHO

[dmarch@islc.net]

Fair, balanced. I was almost sold until you got into the food category. Sounds better that I remember. They will have a fine line if they ever get that straightened out.

 

BTW

I'm not huge Elton fan either. I got dragged to a concert once. Best show I ever saw!

[Lois R]

Hi, thanks for your review.

 

I have never stayed in a suite....but I did sail Zuiderdam back

in 2004.

 

I had a fair time...met a wonderful family from Arizona who I still

keep in touch with:) and I agree, Joel Mason was outstanding:)

 

But overall, in my opinion, (after all it is all opinions).....for me,

the service and food were not nearly as good as on my Celebrity

cruises.

To be honest, before I disembarked I knew I would be back

on X again.

 

Coolcrusie, seems we had a totally opposite experience.

For me, Celebrity far exceeded my Zuiderdam sailing.

 

Oh well, that is why we all have choices!!!

[lambcom]

Our experience last April with HAL is similar to Chade's. After 4 consecutive cruises with Celebrity, it was getting to be "same old, same old" -- especially the menus, so we decided to HAL for our 40th anniversary -- trans-Canal from Tampa to San Diego on the Veendam. We'd been HAL loyalists before our first experience with Celebrity and we were curious to see what, if anything had changed.

 

First let us say that our comparisons are based on CC veranda vs B veranda on HAL -- the suites were beyond our reach.

 

The cabins are larger on HAL, but the bathtub is so small that only a person under 5 ft could even begin to stretch out in it. Maybe they should bill it as a Jacuzzi foot bath! And yes, the HAL mattress is a far superior product. But I read on this board that X is in the process of replacing mattresses over the next year or so, leveling the playing field in that area.

 

I guess my big complaint with HAL was the major drop off in the quality of service both in cabins and in the dining room. This appears to be due to staff cutbacks in both of these areas. It's much later in the day before rooms are made up, and each day something was forgotten -- face clothes, for example and you had to ask for it.

 

In the main dining room the wait staff was run ragged to the point that, at least at our table, there was no time for the friendly banter that used to be a part of the HAL Indonesian experience. One thing that Chade didn't mention is that the Philipino bar staff seemed to be much more aggressive in pushing drinks, especially in the pool areas. They seemed genuinely embarrassed at having to ask you repeatedly if you wanted a bar drink.

 

And yes, the Celebrity food was better and more creative than HAL. I didn't pay all those $$$ to have meat loaf as one of my main dinner choices! Or have the PA blaring announcements for the bingo games. Or the general indifference from the front desk staff when asked to iron out a problem.

 

I guess all this to say that when we recover economically from our Panama Canal excesses, we'll be back to Celebrity.

 

George+

[SANDY BEACH]

We travel mainly Celebrity and Holland. I have sailed the Zuiderdam 3x's in a S Deluxe suite (the one with all the amenities). Absolutely great service provided by the concierge. This suite and all it's amenities is the reason we keep sailing Holland. Without the suite, I don't believe the experience would be at all similar to my CC category cabin on Celebrity. We are booked on the Volendam in November and the Celebrity Constellation next March. I still love both lines and look forward to each cruise for different reasons. I do agree, that overall service is a notch above on Celebrity but oh those Holland beds, so, so comfortable.

[Eleris]

I have never sailed HAL and probably won't. Not because of your review but because I am extremely happy with Celebrity and whenever I try a different line I spend the week wishing I had gone with Celebrity. I guess if it ain't broke don't fix it!:D

[stebul]

I am a relative newbie - one cruise on Oceania Regatta, one on HAL Oosterdam, one on HAL Statendam, and an upcoming cruise in November on Summit.

 

We loved Oceania's small ships, outstanding food, and personable service. We had a Penthouse Suite which includes the butler service. We took the 7 day Oosterdam cruise about two months later, knowing we would get something less. We did -- the food looked and tasted overcooked as if it had been sitting on a steam table for an hour to be kept warm. We were in an SS (the suite that is NOT a suite) category, but knew going in that we would just get more space. We liked the beds and bathroom in the SS. We had excellent bar and steward service, but the combination of stilted dining room staff with night-after-night inedible food made us think we'd have to pay Oceania's small ship premium for every future cruise.

 

Based on CC comments in the HAL board (and being fundamentally cheapskates), we decided to give HAL another try and took one of their mid-size ships -- Statendam -- for a 14 day cruise to Australia and New Zealand. Our travel agent offered us a reduced price upgrade to a S (the suite that is a suite) category which we took after some deliberation. Wow! The food was excellent on the smaller ship (as good or better than Oceania). I was most impressed with the local specials the chef added to the menu, such as perfectly prepared Barramundi, Kangaroo, and Scallops. The suite perks were never ending, and on the longer cruise with sea days you have time to take advantage of them. We used the concierge several times a day for currency conversion, shore excursions, coffee drinks, and anything else that came up. We put out laundry and dry cleaning almost every day, which kept us at two suitcases for a 3 week vacation. I am very glad I gave HAL another chance. We are younger than the average HAL passenger, but we have met many active and interesting fellow travellers.

 

We decide which cruise to take based of itinerary. We often like to travel during off times like the first two weeks of December. That led us to a Summit cruise this fall through the Panama Canal. We are in a Sky Suite, which I know falls somewhere between the SS and S on HAL. I am eager to try the Specialty restaurant on Celebrity, as the PG menu on HAL has grown old after just two cruises. I am hoping Celebrity puts the Revelations Lounge ALL THE WAY back how it should be before we board in November to recoup from the failed Cirque du Soleil experiment. That is our favorite space on any ship, and we spend more time there than on our balcony. This alone may keep us from returning to Summit.

 

Its good that we have so many choices to accomodate our personal preferences, although I don't see us taking another 7 day cruise on a HAL Vista class anytime soon. Before writing off HAL, I would try an S category on a mid size ship with a longer itinerary. HAL does not have anything like Celebrity's Concierge Class where you can get the with extra services without more space, but we feel they do have more exotic, interesting itineraries than Celebrity.

 

P.S. Everyone is spot on about HAL's S/SS marketing. The Vista SS categories have been around for years now. If consumers, travel agents, and HAL salespeople are still confused, they really need to rethink how the SS product is being marketed. You shouldn't have to read CC to know that "superior" is in fact inferior to "deluxe".

[joeinsb]

Thanks for the very informative reviews. Like many of you, we have sailed on both HAL (Veendam, Westerdam) and Celebrity (Infinity). Our experience with X was so positive that we've booked on Summit in November and the new Century booked in early 2007.

 

I'll cut to the chase--food and service.

 

We've found that dinners in the main dining room on almost all ships seem to vary with the chef, hotel manager, staff, etc. In other words we have had both good and so-so meals on X and HAL. Sometimes the meals were good one night and lackluster the next. Guess it all depends on which side of the bed the folks in the kitchen got up on that day.

 

The exceptions in all cases have to do with the specialty resturants. We had great meals in both. My filet mignon in the Pinnacle Grill aboard Westerdam was one of the tastiest pieces of meat I'd eaten anywhere, even on land! That said, the chicken dish I had one evening was great when I had it, but not so tasty when my wife ordered it a few days later.

 

On Infinity, our dinner in the S.S. United States was fantastic. And the cheese tray--some two dozen, freshly delivered--was to die for. Talk about cholesterol!:)

 

Now on to service--pretty pathetic on Westerdam. Our waiter and his asst were terribly overworked and mostly went through the motions of waiting on us. Not their fault, but the line's. But the guy who was really overwhelmed was the wine steward who was so busy delivering soft drinks and such, that our wine often arrived when we were half finished with our dinner.

 

One exception was the waiter we had in the piano bar. He was the best. After seeing my wife bring in some chocolate dessert to enjoy with her champagne, he told her never to do that again. In the future, he would do it for her. And he did. In fact, we would encounter him thoughout the day working throughout the ship (Captain's cocktail party, etc) and each time he would come running up to us and see that we were taken care of.

 

On Infinity, our dining room staff was excellent. In fact they were the best we've had on any big ship--every bit as good as our staff on Radisson, which costs a lot more than X or HAL. And our room steward on Celebrity, Marcello, was the best anywhere, even though we were not in a suite but a Concierge Class balcony stateroom.

 

When it comes to piano bars we had the best time on Westerdam. The pianist, Steve Lowenthal, who played all of our favorites (Gershwin, Porter, etc) would start at 9-ish and perform non-stop until 1 a.m. Talk about bladder control! On Infinity, we never found a lounge act that appealed to us.

 

We'll get a chance to compare them with our Spring 2007 Century cruise when we revisit HAL in October 2007 Zaandam junket.

[poetic license]

Chade, thank you for making a sincere effort to be objective. Like you, we really like Celebrity, but sometimes the itineraries seem a little stale. And like you, we try something else, and always come back to Celebrity grateful for the graciousness and the small touches that make each cruise

(so far) an experience we are fond of looking back on once we return home.

 

We tried HAL on the Oosterdam a couple of years ago when it was brand new, and found many parrallels to your experience. The pricing for HAL and Celebrity were similar then, therefore I was expecting something a little bit beyond an average experience. We were on one of the first sailings after HAL instituted adding automatic gratuiities to your shipboard account.

 

What really surprised us the most (beyond the so-so food and and polite though not warm service) was the continued barrage of PA announcements for all manner of revenue generating events, most notably bingo and art auctions. It was almost as if the cruise director thought people were incapable of reading the ship's daily, or remembering the times and places for these events beyond a thirty minute attention span. This is one area where Celebrity shines: the complete lack of intrusive announcements beyond a noon message from the Captain and a BRIEF recap of the afternoon's events from the cruise director. The frequent PA hawking of services and revenue generating events on Oosterdam seemed tacky at best, and a sleazy, oily grab for our wallets at worst.

 

Your comparison came at a good time for me, since we are looking ahead to book 2007 cruises soon. Just when I was beginning to waver, your analysis provided me with a reality check for quality and value. I'll be looking once again to Celebrity.

 

Cheers~

[zaandam_2]

Thanks for the wonderful review/comparison.

[duckman715]

Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderfully balanced & extensive review.

My own experience is that there may be certain differences between the cruise lines but the real differences is between the ships. I have had quite mediocre trips on both lines (as well as others) and also some fantastic ones (as well as on others). Service & attention to detail seems to be the demarkation lines for most in distinguishing between a memorable and an also ran experience and I have found significant variations in these areas between ships of the same line. I enjoy trying different ships whenever possible. For us, the experience is always new that way, even if the ports are a repeat.

bill

[Coolcruise02]

Lois R....... Okay, we agree to disagree. :)

 

I only have one cruise on X and HAL to compare so that is all I can go on, and we will sail on both lines again someday.

 

I know food and presentation is soooooo subjective but all I have to compare X on food is our cruise on the Century. We are easy to please with food so I don't think we were too harsh. On our final Cruise Critic meeting on the last day the subject of food was pretty much a disappointment. Our group was told by seasoned LOYAL Celebrity cruisers not to judge X by the food we had on the Century. Well, I'm sorry but that is all we have to go on. I would think even if the food was off the presentation would be standard ship wide. If I knew how to do it, I would show you the pictures of our plates comparing X to HAL or even Carnival. There is no comparison! NO, this did not ruin our cruise! :)

[flashdog_1]

Gosh, there are so many factors that influence our feelings of "good cruise" vs. "superior cruise."

 

I recently sailed Veendam for its itinerary on Exotic Western Caribbean. To get to go to Guatemala's Caribbean side was the clincher (Santo Tomas de Castillo near Puerto Barrios). When there is a port almost nobody has been to, it is exciting. The excursion there to Rio Dulce and Livingston more than met our expectations, so colors my comparison of the two lines. The experience in Guatemala really has NOTHING to do with the ship, except that they went there and X did not.

 

We also visited friends who live in Belize, so that colors my experience as a positive, even with a 20 minute tender to town. For divers, Belize is a biggie.

 

Both of those ports now have good facilities, so it's not like going to nowheresville, but apparently many people did think they were nowheresville and stayed on the ship!

 

But to get to the real ships, Veendam is not at all as pretty as any of X'

s ships I've sailed, but was adequate to get me to the exotic ports.

 

They did not serve meatloaf at dinner, but I did try it at lunch one day to see what all the fuss was about. Meatloaf and bread pudding are interesting items to have on a cruise, but nothing that would make me return to that cruiseline.

 

As everyone else has said, the HAL beds are wonderful. We liked them so much that my daughter said to me one day, "I wonder what the steward thinks when he has to make up our beds twice a day because we get in them to watch a movie on tv or read the daily in the afternoon." I've had CC and suite beds on X which were wonderful, also, both far superior to the 2C and inside cabin beds I've had which were hard.

 

There were no balcony cabins available on this sailing, and we had an outside (buy an inside, get an outside sale). This was my first window cabin. I think from now on if I can't get a balcony I'll buy an inside. The window did nothing for me except brighten the cabin. I am booked in a verada-less ship in a CC with a window for this Thanksgiving, but if I have to do it again, I may take an inside instead. I learned that I like being near an elevator to get to an open deck, like promenade or lido. If I have a balcony I'm probably less sociable and spend time there instead of in public areas.

 

HAL also does a good job in matching table mates, so that added to our dining experience. We sat with another mother/daughter combo ten years our junior, which was fun. The mother had been a nurse on Veendam and other ships for very short stints, so she was able to compare the current, refurbished Veendam with the old one.

 

Our dining room service was as good as X's and the food presentation was as good, and more flavorful than Xs. We did not encounter any overcooked food. Veggies were crisp, steaks were as ordered etc. But they did not have bread sticks. X's bread beat Hal's. There were more "ordinary food" choices on HAL, plus the Indonesian and Dutch items on Dutch night.

 

When I entered the dining room on Dutch night, not knowing it was Dutch night, or that that entailed wearing hats, on the way to our table I saw old men wearing what I thought were baseball caps and I was aghast! Didn't they know any better? then I had to put on a Dutch bonnet and understood that the men were wearing Dutch hats!

 

I found the passengers on Veendam to be very approachable, and made many friends. Was this different than on X? I think so. Daughter and I sleep until different times in the a.m. and I met many people while alone that I don't think I'd have gotten to meet on X. I guess it all depends on the particular cruise. I have met good people on X, too!

 

The HAL room steward was almost invisible which has its pros and cons. Seems that on X there was always a steward or assistant around greeting me.

 

I was very pleased with the HAL cruise, but still look to X if the itinerary matches my need.

[Krewzz]

I did not see this mentioned in any response to the OP, but from my recollection, the differences between the tipping on HAL and Celebrity are not that different except with HAL you opt out of automatic tipping and on Celebrity you opt in. Either way, it is just a matter of filling out the form - not a big deal.

[babysuzy]

I too have been on both, and the Ziuderdam (sp) ship was probably the most unpleasant ship we've been on (including carnival). The ship itself is odd. Low ceilings, photo gallery in a narrow hallway that leads to the dining room (almost impossible to get through at dinner hours). Did you notice the "dents" in the floor as you were walking the halls? And a crew member was polishing some brass, but didn't completely wipe it off, and my DH found it all over his shorts. Never did wash out. But, on the plus side, I cruise for the itinerary and the Ziederdam had a great itinerary that I would do again (eastern). And, when the price is right, I sail any ship!!

 

Heading on the Millie on 4/9, can't wait!!

 

BabySuzy

[jodisue]

Thank you for the comparison! DH and I did our first Cruise in 2003 on the Volendam (Alaska Inside Passage) and we absolutely loved it. Part of that was probably the oooh ahhh of being first time cruisers, and it was our honeymoon. BUT, I'd never been on a nicer vacation. I was impressed with our room steward (how'd he clean up in the morning when we only went out for 30 minutes?!), our waiter (so friendly and responsive!), our wine steward, and all of the staff. The food was incredible! There were never any embarkation/debarkation problems.

 

I was so impressed with HAL, when we booked Celebrity for this cruise, I got nervous immediately after our payment...will it be as good? Will the ship be as nice? Will the food be as great?!

 

All that to say, I was glad to read your review, and hopefully I will enjoy my X cruise at least as much as my HAL cruise a few years ago!

 

--Jodi

<center><p style="background:white;"><font face="verdana,arial,sans-serif" size="1" color="black">Galaxy Transatlantic - May 2006</font><br /><a href="<A href="http://daisyPath.com"><img">http://daisyPath.com"><img src="http://daisyPath.com/ani/060506/1/0/-6/0.png" alt="Daisypath Ticker" border="0" /></a></p></center>

[Chade5772]

Chade5772 - Have you posted your review and thoughts on the HAL board? Would be interesting to read their comments

 

 

Yes I have, the title is different though.