Holland America comparison to RCCL and Celebrity

[wagmart]

I have sailed on RCCL and Celebrity several times and am looking for a change. What can I expect on HAL that I am used to on the other two cruise lines. To me it appears the cabins are roomier than I am used to. We are thinking on going on a back to back Caribbean cruise the last Sunday in November on the Westerdam. I have always wanted to do the back to back cruise. Since I am now retired and tired the time is right to try it. Any info on a comparison would be appreciated. I actually didn't think I would ever consider going on a Dam ship:)

[woody14h]

I have sailed on RCCL and Celebrity several times and am looking for a change. What can I expect on HAL that I am used to on the other two cruise lines. To me it appears the cabins are roomier than I am used to. We are thinking on going on a back to back Caribbean cruise the last Sunday in November on the Westerdam. I have always wanted to do the back to back cruise. Since I am now retired and tired the time is right to try it. Any info on a comparison would be appreciated. I actually didn't think I would ever consider going on a Dam ship:)

 

Celebrity and HAL are our two favorites. 10 and 11 cruises. We are booked on the Westerdam in November (1st) and the Century end of Nov. Both lines are very professional, clean with good food and service. We liked X slightly better because the food was a tad tastier but now with the cutback in costs I'm not sure that is the case anymore. Both Specialty restaurants are a most do. As fine an experience as in any large city. BTW, HAL's rooms are slightly larger but not significantly. You will really enjoy this line. Happy sailing.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

We can only compare the Mercury and the Zuiderdam (sister ship of the Westerdam) since we sailed on both this year.

 

We enjoyed both ships. We found the food better on the Zuiderdam, but that is very individual. It was consistently better than on the Mercury.

 

We liked the smoking policy on the Mercury better than on HAL. On the Zuiderdam there was and ID10T in the balcony above us that used our balcony as an ashtray, HAL talked to him and it barely slowed him down. We also couldn't enjoy the Crow's Nest since it was too smokey for us to stay there. That was a definite disappointment for us. But it isn't a deal breaker by any means.

 

Service was excellent on both ships.

 

The Zuiderdam was better maintained than the Mercury, although the Mercury was not bad either.

 

We loved having a full promenade deck on the Zuiderdam whereas on the Mercury you had to go inside or up and down stairs to walk around the ship.

 

Prior to our cruise on the Zuiderdam, we had booked a full transit of the Panama Canal on the Celebrity Infinity. When we got home, we canceled that cruise and booked a full transit on the Zuiderdam instead.

 

So for us, we preferred the Zuiderdam to the Mercury which was a bit of a surprise to us as we didn't know if we would enjoy sailing on HAL or not.

 

Right now, I would say it is our favorite line.

 

You can check out our daily blogs for each cruise below. The links are in our signature line below.

 

I think you will enjoy HAL and be pleasantly surprised as your preconceived ideas about what HAL is may change after cruising her.

 

Enjoy!

 

Vince

[Jade13]

The only Celebrity ship we have been on was Century, and while we liked it, the staff was superior on HAL, on every HAL ship. The HAL ships are superior as well with a wrap around teak deck and better entertainment, cooking demos....

 

Food had been much better on HAL although Century had the better Sushi at 5:00pm each day. HAL's beds were more comfortable.

[mrsltg]

I have not sailed on either RCCL or X. My only comment is not to worry about stateroom size. We sailed DCL a few years back and all we heard was how much bigger their rooms were compared to other lines. At the time we had sailed several other lines. At any rate, everything is relative! We walked into our DCL cabin and were really surprised by how little difference 10-20 sq feet really is!!! It was the same on HAL in March. While they may be bigger, the difference is barely noticeable. I did have a wonderful time on my Dam ship in March. So much so I am going again in November! Good luck with your decision, and Bon Voyage!

[YeaYeaYea]

We like Hal better then RCCL............ Zuiderdam is one of the nicest ships I have ever been on. Now we are going to see her sister ship.

[mommyto2girls]

We have sailed RCCL and last November we sailed the HAL Eurodam. The room was very spacious (we had a suite on both RCCL and HAL) The big difference for us was the crowd. Hal is more sedate, more refined and certainly a bit more upscale. We booked the Westerdam for January 2010. I never thought I would consider HAL but it was a bit more luxurious that RCCL. I can not speak for Celebrity. I will cruise RCCL again when I am ready to have a bit more nightlife. Hope this helps a little.

[SeaBlue1978]

We can only compare the Mercury and the Zuiderdam (sister ship of the Westerdam) since we sailed on both this year.

 

We enjoyed both ships. We found the food better on the Zuiderdam, but that is very individual. It was consistently better than on the Mercury.

 

We liked the smoking policy on the Mercury better than on HAL. On the Zuiderdam there was and IDIOT in the balcony above us that used our balcony as an ashtray, HAL talked to him and it barely slowed him down. We also couldn't enjoy the Crow's Nest since it was too smokey for us to stay there. That was a definite disappointment for us. But it isn't a deal breaker by any means.

 

Service was excellent on both ships.

 

The Zuiderdam was better maintained than the Mercury, although the Mercury was not bad either.

 

We loved having a full promenade deck on the Zuiderdam whereas on the Mercury you had to go inside or up and down stairs to walk around the ship.

 

Prior to our cruise on the Zuiderdam, we had booked a full transit of the Panama Canal on the Celebrity Infinity. When we got home, we canceled that cruise and booked a full transit on the Zuiderdam instead.

 

So for us, we preferred the Zuiderdam to the Mercury which was a bit of a surprise to us as we didn't know if we would enjoy sailing on HAL or not.

 

Right now, I would say it is our favorite line.

 

You can check out our daily blogs for each cruise below. The links are in our signature line below.

 

I think you will enjoy HAL and be pleasantly surprised as your preconceived ideas about what HAL is may change after cruising her.

 

Enjoy!

 

Vince

 

 

Well, I guess this answers my question! DH and I have some friends that would like to cruise with us and we are considering HAL, our friends wanted to know if they can smoke in their room and/or their veranda. I was hoping the answer was NO, but it appears that the answer is yes. :(

[MISSYLOU]

We have been on all three lines. I would rate RCCL at the bottom and perhaps a tie between HAL and X. X is a little more sophisticated and very good food. But when I board a HAL ship I feel I have come home. Food on HAL is also very good and the crew are so accommodating.

 

We are booked on RCCL for a Nov transatlantic. Just wish it was HAL.

[bcirish]

Love HAL and liked Celebrity but have not been on the other. We have learned that the personality of the ship changes according to where it is sailing. We have been on Westerdam in the Caribbean and really like the ship - it is one of our favorites and think the back to back would be fun. We usually stay in a veranda and found that the suite on Celebrity was similar to the veranda on the Westerdam. I think you will enjoy your time. i think that the food is well prepared but we haev also discovered that the food depends on the head chef- evidently the fellow on the Eurodam has an excellent reputation - best shipboard food that we ever had there.

[sanibel]

We've not yet tried Celebrity but will definitely consider it. We've enjoyed RCCL and just decided to try something different so we sailed on the Zuiderdamm in January.

Boarding the ships was equal in time and ease of effort.

We found friendly crews on both lines very comparable but the service in the specialty restaurant was head and shoulders better with RCCL. Food options on both lines were equal. Execution was better with RCCL- both in the main dining room and in the specialty restaurant.

Suite rooms were comparable, linens were much nicer on RCCL. On HAL our sheets had worn out holes and we requested replacements.

Entertainment options were more plentiful on RCCL.

We met nice people on both lines. Sailing from San Juan with RCCL was not as pleasant as we'd have wished.

We're retired but we felt much younger than the majority of HAL passengers.

HAL hosted a much nicer Cruise Critic meet than does RCCL.

HAL had beautiful fresh flower arrangements throughout the ship and lovely orchids in the buffet restaurant.

Ship excursions in ports from both lines was comparable.

HAL welcomes you back to the ship in port with lemonade and fresh wash clothes.

Good luck with your decision. Each ship is a new adventure!

[kelmac]

Here is a quick "Mac-O-Meter" comparing the three:

(by the way, I've cruised RCI 5 times, Celebirty 14 times and HAL 8 times)

 

Dining room food:

--Celebirty 9.4

--HAL 9.1

--Royal Caribbean 7.6

 

Buffet:

--HAL 9.2

--Celebirty 9.0

--Royal Caribbean 6.8

 

Alternative Restaurants:

--Celebrity 9.6

--HAL 8.8

--Royal Caribbean 8.1

 

Ships Entertainment:

--Royal Caribbean 8.9

--Celebrity 8.2

--HAL 7.6

 

Space Ratio and Crowded Feel:

--Celebrity 9.2

--HAL 9.0

--Royal Caribbean 7.5

 

Service:

--Celebrity 9.3

--HAL 9.2

--Royal Caribbean 8.6

 

Pools and Deck space:

--Celebrity 9.4

--Royal Caribbean 9.2

--HAL 8.8

 

Itineraries:

--HAL 9.6

--Celebrity 8.7

--Royal Caribbean 7.9

 

Cabin Size:

--HAL 9.0

--Celebrity 8.6

--Royal Caribbean 7.9

 

Bang for the Buck:

--HAL 9.4

--Celebirty 9.4

--Royal Caribbean 8.6

 

Over-all Rating:

--Celebrity 9.1

--HAL 9.0

--Royal Caribbean 8.3

 

Royal Caribbean has spectacular open ships, but lack in the food department (I will retest this in October). Holland American ships have a traditional feel and a warm caring crew. Their cuisine is consistant and very good. Celebirty has modern bright ships and their food is excellent, with polished and professional service. Their new Solstice class ships are our new favorite ships afloat!

 

Remember, the "Mac-O-Meter" is accurate to + or - a Billion points and changes from day to day.:rolleyes::)

 

Kel

[TomTN]

Here is a quick "Mac-O-Meter" comparing the three:

(by the way, I've cruised RCI 5 times, Celebirty 14 times and HAL 8 times)

 

Dining room food:

--Celebirty 9.4

--HAL 9.1

--Royal Caribbean 7.6

 

Buffet:

--HAL 9.2

--Celebirty 9.0

--Royal Caribbean 6.8

 

Alternative Restaurants:

--Celebrity 9.6

--HAL 8.8

--Royal Caribbean 8.1

 

Ships Entertainment:

--Royal Caribbean 8.9

--Celebrity 8.2

--HAL 7.6

 

Space Ratio and Crowded Feel:

--Celebrity 9.2

--HAL 9.0

--Royal Caribbean 7.5

 

Service:

--Celebrity 9.3

--HAL 9.2

--Royal Caribbean 8.6

 

Pools and Deck space:

--Celebrity 9.4

--Royal Caribbean 9.2

--HAL 8.8

 

Itineraries:

--HAL 9.6

--Celebrity 8.7

--Royal Caribbean 7.9

 

Cabin Size:

--HAL 9.0

--Celebrity 8.6

--Royal Caribbean 7.9

 

Bang for the Buck:

--HAL 9.4

--Celebirty 9.4

--Royal Caribbean 8.6

 

Over-all Rating:

--Celebrity 9.1

--HAL 9.0

--Royal Caribbean 8.3

 

Royal Caribbean has spectacular open ships, but lack in the food department (I will retest this in October). Holland American ships have a traditional feel and a warm caring crew. Their cuisine is consistant and very good. Celebirty has modern bright ships and their food is excellent, with polished and professional service. Their new Solstice class ships are our new favorite ships afloat!

 

Remember, the "Mac-O-Meter" is accurate to + or - a Billion points and changes from day to day.:rolleyes::)

 

Kel

 

Great numbers. I'd give similar grades to each line. I like both lines. The big edge at the moment is the smoking policy on X. Surely HAL will see the light soon.:)

 

I guess the smoking policy on HAL might be the deciding factor for the OP.

[kazu]

Great numbers. I'd give similar grades to each line. I like both lines. The big edge at the moment is the smoking policy on X. Surely HAL will see the light soon.:)

 

I guess the smoking policy on HAL might be the deciding factor for the OP.

 

Sorry but I have to disagree with Kel, I have been on X and I will never go again. We booked a suite (what a joke - like a verandah on HAL). The food was tolerable but there were two nights where I had to find alternate dining so I could eat. I do not find their food anywhere comparable to HAL's.

 

As to Hal's smoking policy? Same as celebrity's actually. You can smoke in your cabin and your verandah. Remainder is in specialty bars/ etc. So there is no difference. Unfortunately someone was a total dork about it for this couple. Both cruise lines clean their cabins with air filtration, etc. and you really don't smell it when you go in.

 

I have about 15 cruises under my belt (I know not as many as a lot of you), but my biggest dissapointments have been on Celebrity and Princess in the last 4 years. On HAL I have not been dissapointed yet. Let's hope it holds true as I am off to Europe in October.

 

Just my thoughts, so you can see, it all depends on individual choices. If you can cook and like good food, then I would choose HAL. If you want class, i would choose HAL, but if you want flashy entertainment, I would not choose HAL. I would go to X or princess, but at a price.

 

So it all depends upon what we want and what appeals to us. So you have to make a choice based on what's good for you. For me, HAL is good. In fact on the cruise after the next one, I am taking 4 new HAL cruisers with me, yes everyone has had to cut back, but there is a good way to do it and for me, X and Princess did not. I even sent a letter to both - one didn't bother to reply and the other basically said 'we don't care',.

 

There is no right answer as to what cruise line is best. It depends upon you and what you like, Enjoy your cruise

[onapea]

Go back to the RCCL board, Holland rules.

[dam1050]

We're diamond on RCI, Elite on Celebrity, plus have sailed on HAL many times. I'd basically have to agree with Kelmac's assessments and give highest marks to Celebrity, next to HAL, and then to Royal Caribbean.

 

Celebrity tops in our lists with their latest no smoking in rooms or balconies policy, as we've had many trips less than comfortable due to chain-smoking neighbours on patios -- and the smoke-free casino is a joy as well. The food and service on X is also a notch above the others IMO.

 

The size of the rooms and the comfort of the beds is far superior on HAL I believe, and they have the best libraries of the 3 lines.

 

That said -- we like all 3 lines, and would and do sail on all 3 at any time the itineraries / prices strike us right. ;)

[JWJs]

I actually didn't think I would ever consider going on a Dam ship:)

 

 

wagmart ~ I'm right there with you. I too didn't think I would ever consider going on a Dam ship.:) As of earlier this week, we are now booked on the 12/21 Statendam with final payment paid. No turning back now. We have previously sailed exclusively on Princess and Celebrity.

[The_Big_M]

As to Hal's smoking policy? Same as celebrity's actually. You can smoke in your cabin and your verandah. Remainder is in specialty bars/ etc. So there is no difference.

 

Actually, that's incorrect. No smoking is permitted in the cabins, nor on verandahs of Celebrity ships. It is only permitted in around a few designated areas.

[Signor John]

Actually, that's incorrect. No smoking is permitted in the cabins, nor on verandahs of Celebrity ships. It is only permitted in around a few designated areas.

 

What about the lifeboats? Surely they have smoking sections to accommodate those who feel the need for a last cigarette "just in case"?