NativeNewYorker86

Some background. 2 travelers - one is 24 the other is 29. I'm the 24 yr old and have been on close to 10 cruises but never on HAL (2 on Celebrity, 3 on Carnival, 1 Costa, 1 Cunard, 1 Princess).

My companion has never done a cruise before. I'm trying to choose between one of 2 cruises to Bermuda from NYC. The first is the Celebrity Summit and the other is the Veendam. Which would be better for my friend who has never cruised before? We are both young professionals and are very clean cut and have friends of all ages. My concern is that the crowd will be very old on HAL. I can vouch for Celebrity having been on the line twice.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated. THANKS!

ParrotMom

If I had a choice I would pick Celebrity on recommedation of my friends who did it last fall. The problem with Holland America is that they talk about visiting St. George...The passengers are tendered in....IF THE SEAS ARE RIGHT.. and that hasn't been happening... I love St. George myself and sad that the new and bigger ships are too big for entering the slot between the rocks.. See if you can find the review by Merman on Cruise Mates..

qwovadis

HAL sort of an AARP boat silverhairs mostly...

RCL NCL Celebrity best for younger folks usually

www.cruisecritic.com best ship reviews...

doug_stallings

You know, the age thing just isn't true anymore. I saw all ages on my most recent HAL cruise, including many families. I think the real question is the timing and destination. If you go when kids can go, then you'll find them on both Celebrity and HAL. Choose the ship and Bermuda itinerary you'd prefer rather than choosing by cruise line.

Aristotle

I've been on HAL and Celebrity and frankly, saw little difference. The age thing on HAL is somewhat of an urban legend, unless a few seniors is intolerable. I think too that a lot depends on the ship itself. I found that HAL had friendlier crews, while Celebrity's food was marginally better, but as food quality diminishes that may no longer be true. I too would consider other factors, such as iterary, timing, etc. when choosing. And don't sety your expectations too high on any line.

joecher

If you are particular about the quality of food. Between HAL and Celebrity, which I have gone on both. HAL food is awesome, each night there is the WOW factor is the dishes. Celebrity's food is no comparison and no WOW factor, and you cannot subsitute or nor change the dish itself. At Celebrity, we wanted no carbohydrate on the entree and they could not accomodate that request. So, we had to waste it.

Eschew

I have always pick cruises by itenary first. There really isn't all that much differences from one ship to the next, with some exceptions: mainly on the type of decor, (example: bright color vs wood, Vegas vs ??) or the type of entertainment (example: music from 60's vs 80's)

Since you have 10 cruises under you belt, you should know that the differences in food is minor between the cruise lines, inclduing the level of services. Other than one cruise line who is known for their inconsistentcy, everyoen offers pretty much the same stuff, has the ability to wow you, and offer up a crappy experience, on the same voyage, by the same staff.

Taking away the "abnormality", all the mass market ships are the same. My DW has a comfort zone with Princess, Celebrity and HAL, okay with RCL but not so muuch with NCL or Carnival.
That's based on her own personal perferences. For your age group, you would probably enjoy RCL and Carnival more, based on what the venue offers.

The age of the cruisers on ships are affected by the destinations, length of the cruise, more so than the cruise line itself. World cruise, Panama Canal, River Cruises, Mediterrian / Holyland etc would have older passenegers than Mexican Riveria and Caribbean. Time of year would make a difference as well. Anything less than 7 days, you will see a much younger crowd.

Have you look at RCLor Carniva;'s offering from NYC?

Lifeman

We did HAL round the Caribbean in November. The first week was an older crowd and the second was Thanksgiving week and was much younger with a lot of kids.

The food on HAL was not WOW at all. It was very ordinary and we were disappointed that their reputation seems to have gone by the board. They also had great difficulty in accommodating a Gluten free diet for one of our party.

boom_boom

DW and I 3 cruises on HAL and 2 on Celebrity. The first HAL cruise in the early 1990s, Alaska Inside Passage, was truly dominated by silverhairs. The last, Alaska again in 2009 was a much younger mix, many famlies, young professionals. Felt service/food was better on HAL.
Celebrity, last on in 2010 a TA on Century was a older crowd than the HAL to Alaska, but thay may have been more a factor of timing and that is was a TA- Barcelona to Miami in November.
All other things being equal, I'd take HAL.