Celebrity vs Holland - Cruise Line Fans: Cruise Forum, Reviews and Chat From Real Cruisers

Laurenb · 08-12-2008, 05:10 AM

I am trying to plan a 7 day cruise for this winter. I am trying to decide between Celebrity and Holland and haven't been on either line since 2005.
To let you know about my general preferences, I have little interest in onboard activities (casino, bingo, trivia, fun by the pool, children's programs, spa etc) since I will be off the boat when in port and spending a lot of time reading on my balcony when at sea. Instead, I care deeply about the quality of the food in the dining room (I'm not big into buffets), condition of the ship itself and service. For whatever it's worth, I couldn't care less about the age of the other passengers, though I could do without bucket of beer thing.

So... for food, service and ship decor and upkeep which do you think is the better line these days? I would love a lot of input.

Thanks in advance.

Cruise Planner · 08-12-2008, 06:47 AM

Check out the responses on your other thread:

http://www.cruiselinefans.com/ask-cr...y-holland.html

Pete

Cruise Novice · 08-28-2008, 06:08 PM

We had a 30 day HAL cruise this past winter on the Ryndam and certainly enjoyed the service. They appeared to be still working out the glitches in their version of freestyle dining. We found their dinner portions huge but usually quite tasty. Their soups both cold and hot are delicious. Overall we preferred the food and diningroom service on Celebrity but we has an assigned seat and so got to know our server.

If you're a reader you'd enjoy their daily news flyers. As Canadians we apprecitate the Canadian one.

We thought that the Infinity on Celebrity was a fancier ship but the library on HAL seems to have a better selection of books that interested us. We did around the Horn in '07 on Celebrity.

The fresh flowers on HAL were a special treat for us.

All things being equal we'd choose Celebrity of HAL BUT our next cruise is on NCL so we're not loyal to any one line or any one style of cruising...... yet.

MD11F · 08-28-2008, 10:18 PM

I'd go either way.

Cruise with Lorri · 09-19-2008, 01:03 AM

First let me say, that you can't go wrong either way. Both HAl and Celebrity are premium lines. Both will offer the atmosphere you are looking for, and excellent food. However, I think Celebrity might have a slight edge in your case, because you mentioned the buffet aspect. While Holland takes a great deal of pride in their food and their service, there is extra effort put in to their bountiful buffets, which passengers rave about. Celebrity, on the other hand, takes a more healthy, innovative and personal approach. In addition, on the Millennium class ships, Celebrity has elegant supper clubs ( for a fee).

Just my opinion, but I hope it helps.

Tacitus · 07-08-2009, 07:36 PM

sounds like the one that offers the best price might be your best choice. itinerary matters also.The food was great on HAL but I've never sailed on Celebrity since they wanted too much for a solo stateroom....at least when I last shopped their way.

LuLu · 07-11-2009, 08:50 PM

For what you want either Celebrity or HAL should work great for you!

Now, you might want consider the SHIPS. As you probably know, the ships within any cruise lines can differ. Picking the better of the two ships might be the big difference at this point .

nealberk · 07-12-2009, 03:25 PM

I would have said it was a toss up with both being excellent choices until my last cruise on HAL where I ran into complacent staff, the Noro virus, the ship supplied exploding hair dryer and a less than cooperative main office.

With that said (and it definitely colors my opinions) let me give you a rundown. Food - both are excellent with Celebrity getting a slight bonus. The HAL anytime dining is a definite minus for us but if you are in to very casual dining, all of the menu items in the main dining room are available in the buffet area at night. We were with one couple that loved the relaxed atmosphere where they could go and get first class food in their jeans. HAL lobsters - while small- are better than the lobsters served on Celebrity (I hate their spice selection). HAL has their cooking at sea lectures which I found very interesting.

Entertainment- The ship really affects this more than anything else. I love the intimacy of the Veendam's main theater but the HAL singers and dancers are only on par with those at the regional amusement parks. Good but not great. Celebrity is a bit better but still not up to Vegas (or RCL or Carnival standards)

Lectures- Celebrity wins this one hands down. While not something that everyone enjoys we had two great speakers on our TA. Meanwhile on the Noordam the speaker was a joke. It could have been an interesting series of lectures but the speaker did not know her topics at all.

Ships in general - The vista class ships of HAL are comparable to most of the Celebrity ships short of the new monsters that Celebrity is cranking out right now. I have not been on the new ships but everything I hear is impressive I still like the smaller, older HAL ships. As I inferred, they are very intimate but are lacking many of the newer amenities on a lot of ships.

Feel free to ask more questions! I hope this gives you at least some of the pros and cons to both.