I'm Sticking With HAL!!!

[venicecruiser]

Got back yesterday from a btb sailing on Celebrity Century.

 

Up until a couple years ago, I was a Celebrity diehard. Then I tried HAL again and loved the changes that had been made.

 

I normally do a cruise with friends in Feb. and they are all Celebrity fans so thats the line we do. I had decided before leaving for the cruise this year that it would most likely be the last on Celebrity for me.

 

Although it was great to see my friends and we hads lots of laughs and fun, the cruise experience confirmed my decision for me. NO MORE CELEBRITY!

 

I have grown to love HAL and the experience one has onboard a HAL ship. Where HAL has improved, Celebrity has gone downhill.

 

I have three future bookings, all on HAL. No more "straying" for me!

 

Claudia

[caviargal]

Claudia, I could have written that post myself.:)

 

My last two Celebrity cruises were very disappointing (Mercury and Century) and I have no plans to return. The line's cheerleaders rave about the food and service but HAL IMO has them beat on all counts. Now if HAL would add an Aqua Spa Cafe they would be just about perfect.;)

 

HAL's wine policy is also much appreciated.

 

X does a lousy job of ship maintenance IMO and that really detracts from the experience. And Solstice looks to be another RCI with a dash of sophistication thrown in.

 

We, too, are sticking with HAL.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome home from your cruises and Welcome back to HAL.

[btobey]

I'm interested in hearing more about why you prefer HAL over Celebrity. Our last cruise was on Celebrity's Galaxy, and we definitely would've sailed Celebrity again--wanted to, but the times didn't work out. So now we're booked on our first HAL cruise in April, and I'm excited by the idea that it might be even better than our Celebrity experience, so do tell! :D

[venicecruiser]

btobey - Food is better on HAL, beds are MUCH better on HAL, standard cabins are larger on HAL, drinks are priced more reasonably on HAL, service is now better on HAL.....I used to sail only Celebrity, but returned to HAL about 2 years ago and I am now very happy with the HAL experience.

 

Claudia

[sail7seas]

Welcome Home!!! It's only HAL for us. We have been to others as much as we need to in order to know we only wish to sail with HAL. Hope all your future cruises are great. :)

 

[Sea Island Lady]

btobey - Food is better on HAL, beds are MUCH better on HAL, standard cabins are larger on HAL, drinks are priced more reasonably on HAL, service is now better on HAL.....I used to sail only Celebrity, but returned to HAL about 2 years ago and I am now very happy with the HAL experience.

 

Claudia

Claudia,

 

Now I can't wait to try HAL again! :)

 

I was on the Century the week before you and we had a great time. I had mixed feelings about the ship. Here is my review, where's yours?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=712752

 

We liked the cruise OK, that we are going to give Celebrity another try on the new Solstice (the sophisticated RCCL :D ) next year. We had previously sailed on the Celebrity Millennium and to date, that has been our favorite cruise overall.

 

I have only been on one HAL cruise and it was not on the top of my favorites, but not bad either. We thought the service and food were just so, so. The cabins, however were the best! ;) So, I am really looking forward to my new HAL experience and hope things have improved as you and Caviargal seem to think.

 

Caviargal - What is the difference in wine policy between Celebrity and HAL? We were able to take four bottles of wine on the the Century.:confused:

[caviargal]

Claudia,

 

Now I can't wait to try HAL again! :)

 

I was on the Century the week before you and we had a great time. I had mixed feelings about the ship. Here is my review, where's yours?

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=712752

 

We liked the cruise OK, that we are going to give Celebrity another try on the new Solstice (the sophisticated RCCL :D ) next year. We had previously sailed on the Celebrity Millennium and to date, that has been our favorite cruise overall.

 

I have only been on one HAL cruise and it was not on the top of my favorites, but not bad either. We thought the service and food were just so, so. The cabins, however were the best! ;) So, I am really looking forward to my new HAL experience and hope things have improved as you and Caviargal seem to think.

 

Caviargal - What is the difference in wine policy between Celebrity and HAL? We were able to take four bottles of wine on the the Century.:confused:

 

Celebrity's policy is two bottles per stateroom and a corkage of $25 per bottle. When I was on Century this was enforced.

 

On HAL one can bring on unlimited wine and pay a $15 corkage. We find this very reasonable and it is important to us as we collect wines and like to bring special bottles to drink on vacation.

 

I also did a review on Century when we sailed in November of 2006. We found the experience disappointing, food in the dining room mediocre, the pool deck packed, dress code a joke and CC cabin "amenities" and size unimpressive. The bathroom was tiny. Staff was a mixed bag.

 

That said, she is a better ship than the others in the short cruise market. But for a week or more, HAL is our choice when we cannot find a Regent cruise that works for our time and budget.

[fcorey]

On HAL one can bring on unlimited wine and pay a $15 corkage. We find this very reasonable and it is important to us as we collect wines and like to bring special bottles to drink on vacation.

 

 

I have to agree. I do not frequently bring aboard wine, but we have and there has never been a problem. Some people bring their own aboard for their room and then there isnt a corkage fee at all. I think HAL's corkage fee is more than fare, particularly when you look at the prices on the wine list :)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Claudia, what a shame that Celebrity was a disappointment for you! I remember how you used to love it. Of course, I strictly know the M class ships which I still love. I was never a fan of their smaller ships ... there is a difference ship to ship.

 

Hope you're wrong about Celebrity as a line going downhill ... still a lot of people don't think so!!! :)

 

I feel cruising in general has gone downhill and just doesn't live up to my hopes and expectations any longer. I find I have to pick and choose the actual ships more carefully, rather than the cruise line. There does seem to be a huge difference between ships.

[Sea Island Lady]

Celebrity's policy is two bottles per stateroom and a corkage of $25 per bottle. When I was on Century this was enforced.

 

On HAL one can bring on unlimited wine and pay a $15 corkage. We find this very reasonable and it is important to us as we collect wines and like to bring special bottles to drink on vacation.

 

I also did a review on Century when we sailed in November of 2006. We found the experience disappointing, food in the dining room mediocre, the pool deck packed, dress code a joke and CC cabin "amenities" and size unimpressive. The bathroom was tiny. Staff was a mixed bag.

 

That said, she is a better ship than the others in the short cruise market. But for a week or more, HAL is our choice when we cannot find a Regent cruise that works for our time and budget.

Somehow, we got by with the 2 per stateroom rule. Thought it was 2 per person. :D We didn't take any to dinner (it was for in-room) and ended up bringing wine home. I had trouble drinking on the cruise. :( That $15 corkage is a good deal!

 

As I said in my review. The service was outstanding and I didn't see many violating the dress code. Saw one couple kicked out for wearing jeans on Formal night, though.

 

Heather - I agree with you wholeheartedly! ;)

[Richard in Panama]

Caviargal - I was on MILLENNIUM and ROTTERDAM back-to-back last October and I jotted down the best of both . . . decided if I could put together what Celebrity does well and what Holland America does well I would have the dream cruise line! The Aqua Spa Cafe would definitely be included!!! It is some of the best food I've had on any ship: light, nouvelle, innovative, as fresh as fresh can be on a ship, and healthy to boot!

[kryos]

btobey - Food is better on HAL, beds are MUCH better on HAL, standard cabins are larger on HAL, drinks are priced more reasonably on HAL, service is now better on HAL.....I used to sail only Celebrity, but returned to HAL about 2 years ago and I am now very happy with the HAL experience.

I was fortunate with my one Celebrity experience. It was pretty good. But I agree with you on the cabin size and the beds. On Celebrity they were the pits.

 

Welcome home ... both from your cruise and back to HAL ...

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Sea Island Lady]

Caviargal - I was on MILLENNIUM and ROTTERDAM back-to-back last October and I jotted down the best of both . . . decided if I could put together what Celebrity does well and what Holland America does well I would have the dream cruise line! The Aqua Spa Cafe would definitely be included!!! It is some of the best food I've had on any ship: light, nouvelle, innovative, as fresh as fresh can be on a ship, and healthy to boot!

The Aqua Spa cafe is run by the folks that run Murano's, the specialty restaurant. My DH thought the tuna at the cafe was the best of anything he had all week. I wouldn't be surprised if Celebrity starts charging for the use of the cafe, when their new ship comes out. :rolleyes:

[Golfette]

I've not sailed Celebrity & frankly have no intention of doing so. However we took our 1st HAL cruise on Oosterdam in December. Loved everything about it, the ship, the service (oh the service!) and our wonderful cabin.

 

The only thing we thought was truly mediocre was the food. I know different strokes for different folks, but I have a reasonable knowledge of food having been a restaurant writer for 2-1/2 years in L.A. I didn't expect anything other than banquet food from HAL -but decent banquet food. Which wasn't necessarily so. Dry chewy "steaks," lamb that was unidentifiable as lamb, and oxtail soup that actually made me laugh. The herring salad had one (1) tiny piece of herring in it. Occasionally (twice), we got good large shrimp in shrimp cocktails, otherwise it was the little bitty bay shrimp lost in cocktail sauce. Room service food was better than the dining room. Had a very nice salmon served there. Also the cheese platters served as appetizers were very good too.

 

I would sail on HAL again because of everything else, but the food means too much to my poor husband who has to eat my cooking year round.:eek:

[ILoveScotland]

We've sailed NCL and Celebrity, and I've sailed Royal Caribbean. But for reasons that I can't completely articulate we found our cruise line home when we sailed on the Westerdam a few weeks ago.

 

If the itinerary is appealing I might sail RCCL or NCL again but not Celebrity. For the most part though we'll always look at HAL first and have already booked for next January.

[Jsipes]

Amen Claudia, Me Too...:o

[Jade13]

The line's cheerleaders rave about the food and service but HAL IMO has them beat on all counts. Now if HAL would add an Aqua Spa Cafe they would be just about perfect.;)

quote]

 

Aqua Spa Cafe and Sushi Bar.

 

Our experiance was the same. HAL's beds can not be beat. Celebrity had the crack in the middle when the twins were put together and the overall food experiance was very average. Celebrity had overall better food presentation but the taste did not match.

 

Dh wants to stick with HAL. I would consider the short Century cruise again as HAL does not offer that product (or not on the East Coast) and the prices can not be beat. We had DD and her friend in their own cabin on the 5 night (an inside) for $309.00 each plus tax and gratuity.

[Jade13]

We've sailed NCL and Celebrity, and I've sailed Royal Caribbean. But for reasons that I can't completely articulate we found our cruise line home when we sailed on the Westerdam a few weeks ago.

.

 

 

The "it" factor.

[kenevenpar]

As I said in my review. The service was outstanding and I didn't see many violating the dress code. Saw one couple kicked out for wearing jeans on Formal night, though.

 

If this happened on our recent RCI cruise, DW & I would have had a private dining room!;) One young man even made it in to the formal night meal wearing the same swimsuit we saw earlier in the day poolside.:eek: (It was a nice T-Shirt though:D )

[btobey]

Aqua Spa Cafe and Sushi Bar.

Yes, we definitely enjoyed the Sushi Bar on Galaxy!!!

[caviargal]

As I said in my review. The service was outstanding and I didn't see many violating the dress code. Saw one couple kicked out for wearing jeans on Formal night, though.

 

If this happened on our recent RCI cruise, DW & I would have had a private dining room!;) One young man even made it in to the formal night meal wearing the same swimsuit we saw earlier in the day poolside.:eek: (It was a nice T-Shirt though:D )

 

I always thank the maitre'd when they have the class to enforce the dress code.

 

As for RCI, I agree. There have been some real slobs at dinner on my last few RCI cruises coming to dinner in baggy swim trunks, ratty t shirts and worn flip flops - and groomed to match.

[lvz2cruz]

We love everything about X and have booked a HAL cruise because of the itinerary. I am concerned because AYW dining is all that is available--no traditional, no waitlist and we booked 10 months out. Sometimes I feel like canceling and staying with the known and loved X, but I am so tired of St. Thomas, Cozumel, etc.

What is it the OP likes about HAL over X? I cannot imagine how food or service can be better than what we have experienced.

[Jade13]

We love everything about X and have booked a HAL cruise because of the itinerary. I am concerned because AYW dining is all that is available--no traditional, no waitlist and we booked 10 months out. Sometimes I feel like canceling and staying with the known and loved X, but I am so tired of St. Thomas, Cozumel, etc.

What is it the OP likes about HAL over X? I cannot imagine how food or service can be better than what we have experienced.

 

We just got off of the X Century and the food was average at best. I still will recommend this short cruise because HAL does not offer that product and X is a really good value for 4 and 5 night cruises. The food on HAL is overall better in our opinion (DH is a Chef), but Celebrity overall had better food presentation and better salads and variations of salad dressings. One thing that X did better was the music played throughout the ship which you don't see as much on HAL (although I have not been on HAL in the Carribean). Someone who likes music and dancing may be disappointed in this aspect of HAL. Our last HAL cruise (and next) was port intensive Med and by the time we had dinner, went to the show, went to whatever Dessert Extravaganza or late night buffet we weren't interested in a party as we planned to be up by 6:00am. Just a heads up.

 

I do not know what cabin type you booked but on HAL you can be in an inside and get Elemis bath products (X was generic even in CC class) including shampoo, conditioner, moisterizer, sharp shower gel (my favoritte), shower cap, soap, bath soap, facial soap...fruit basket, free shoe shine, same menu as everyone else, tote bag (better than the one x gives everyone).

 

Best of all is a great bed (HAL has X beat), tub in most inside cabins. You don't need to be "Select" (on your 6th cruise) or "Elite" (over 10) to go to the Galley Tour, High Tea "Dutch Tea" and you don't need a special disembarkation lounge as you can stay in you cabin until you are called. Btw, if you have you own plans HAL asks you what time you want to disembark such as 7:00-7:30, 7:70-8:00 and so on. HAL has the stuff all you can laundry in a bag (currently $12.00 on North America and $20.00 in europe) available to all guests whereas X makes it a perk price at $20.00 for past passengers.

[Jade13]

We love everything about X and have booked a HAL cruise because of the itinerary. I am concerned because AYW dining is all that is available--no traditional, no waitlist and we booked 10 months out. quote]

 

Call Guest Services and ask to speak to the Ship Coordinator for the ship you will be on. They may have tables that have not been released yet. You will be surprised that you actually get to talk to someone who will give you their full name , e-mail and/or phone number. Decisions on table assignments are made by the dining room on the ship.