I’m afraid I’m going to be a naysayer here. Please don’t blast me, as I am going to state our personal experiences with the two lines. We have sailed Holland America twice in the past, a few years ago. We also have cruised Regent a number of times. To our minds, there is absolutely no comparison. The main issues are personalized service, flexibility and size.

We cruised both the Oosterdam, a large Vista ship for 7 days to Mexico, as you are considering, and the Rotterdam, one of HAL’s “smaller flagships,” for 12 days. We did both in a Deluxe Verandah Suite with Neptune Lounge Privileges.

The sailing to Mexico was fine. We had an aft corner suite with the large wraparound balcony which was lovely. The ship was absolutely full so it’s necessary to be able to deal with crowds at buffets and on the pool deck. The Oosterdam was fairly new at that time and well maintained.

On HAL, the suites themselves are very large and with very comfortable beds and nice bathrooms. We decided to give them another try a year later with some family members who had their own cabin, on the Rotterdam, one of their smaller ships. The size of that class of ship is better.
However, we found that the maintenance and upkeep on the ships is not close to Regent’s. Our family members had toilets that backed up and a constant noise problem in their cabin. Their toilets were fixed by the next day.
But, in our suite, we had a major problem on the Rotterdam with water leaking through a light and tile in the ceiling into our dressing area, right outside the bathroom. We immediately reported this problem and were told by the Concierge that the problem did not exist. Meanwhile our cabin steward was doing his best to dry the carpeting and put huge round fans in the room to attempt to dry the area. The leak and corresponding smell got worse. We immediately and consistently contacted everyone we could think of on the ship (including the Hotel Manager who was “unavailable’ for 4 days), and Head of Engineering. Because the ship was full, we could not switch to another cabin. The leak got so bad that the entire hallway outside our cabin was wet. I had to take all of our clothing out of the closet in order to prevent them being drenched. When Maintenance finally was dispatched to fix the problem, they pulled down the entire ceiling area, leaving moldy insulation, light fixtures and dirt throughout the area. They said they could not fix it and simply walked away. They said it happened all the time. It was necessary to call the Hotel Manager to the room to show him the mess that was left. The ceiling tiles and lights were put back up and left for the next passengers to deal with.
As it turns out, the maintenance people told us there is a problem with leaks on this and the other ships of this type that HAL uses. I have spoken with other cruisers who have had the same cabin and those adjacent in the past, and they too have had leaking ceilings. The problem continued to be more extensive than just our suite.
We did contact Stein Kruse of HAL and, after four months of negotiating, received a substantial credit for a future cruise (basically free, which we are extremely reluctant to use).
The main problem was the lack of empowerment by anyone on the ship to deal with an issue. The Concierge, while very nice, has absolutely no authority to solve problems.
We believe that the issue lay in large part with that particular Hotel Manager, who was, in our opinion, completely detached from the experience his customers were having. His lack of presence on the ship spoke volumes.
However, another major issue on that trip was the fact that Park West brought in a group of “High purchasers” and completely took over the Crow’s Nest, the large front observation lounge on the ship, which is one of the most popular areas on their ships. No passenger who was not part of the Park West group was allowed in the Crow’s Nest for the entire voyage. That means that when we sailed through the Greek Isles, into Istanbul, through the Dardanelles, etc., there was no forward observation lounge available. Instead, the lounge was full of Park West’s so called “art.” When many long-time HAL cruisers complained to the Hotel manager and home office during the cruise, the home office denied that it was happening. It caused a huge uproar among HAL cruisers and resulted in additional cruise credits. The passengers had paid for the use of the entire ship, and were allowed only in a portion (the smaller theater also was taken over at times). There is a very long thread on CC about this. They have not done that again to my knowledge, although Park West continues to have a large presence on their ships (and, to be fair, is also on Regent). I would definitely check to see if HAL has a large group on any ship I was considering sailing.

While the Neptune Lounge is very nice, it is only open certain hours, and not early enough for early risers who want decent coffee. You pay for bottled water in the Neptune Lounge as well. (By the way, HAL allowed Park West to put its art on easels in the Neptune Lounge during that cruise as well). On our 7 day cruise, we found that children occupied the lounge while their parents went elsewhere. It does not replace the room service and amenities available to ALL Regent passengers, not just those in the higher suites.

Food on HAL can be good in the Pinnacle Grill (a fee restaurant). The food in the dining room is pre-plated and special requests are almost never accommodated. We had a family member with an allergy who had contacted HAL prior to the cruise. Despite this, their plate consistently had foods that could have caused a problem. We’ve found that much of the dining experience depends on the waiters you have. Because of the set dining times, waiters are very conscious of the need to “move” diners out of the dining room for the second seating. While HAL has recently instituted As You Wish dining in one area of the main dining room, it has met with mixed reviews. We have found Regent food to be consistently excellent and special orders to be met with enthusiasm.

There are many fine employees on HAL ships as there are on Regent. Our suite steward on the Rotterdam worked diligently to try to solve a problem that was totally beyond his control. However, the ingrained very personalized service is much more consistent on Regent.

Shore excursions on HAL were fine. Shows were ok. There are a large number of “sales” like “inch of gold” and promotions that are constantly pushed. Daily activities mostly involve a fee, such as a cooking class, wine tasting or needlepoint. You pay for most anything they do. The libraries are nice. Internet is much more expensive on HAL than on Regent (although we now have free internet on Regent). On a port intensive cruise, HAL activities are fine. I would hesitate to take a crossing on HAL with a lot of sea days as the activities and special events are not interesting enough. Regent really shines in this area, I believe and has some of the best crossings ever!

In the end, the suites are nice, but, when you come out of them, you are in a very large ship, with a large number of passengers. Tendering and queuing occur more consistently. The additional charges on HAL also do add up, and we have found that HAL often is more expensive than Regent for the same itinerary. There are also many more children on HAL, so, for a family experience, I think it would be given the nod on HAL over Regent.

I do not mean this post to be HAL bashing. Many people have had wonderful experiences on HAL. It meets a need in the mid market sector. However, consistency of problems we have experienced over a number of cruises, specifically in the service area, shows that, to us, it just doesn’t meet the luxury ship criteria despite some luxury ship pricing.