How is HAL different from Princess?

Just back from Westerdam. We cruised Princess in Alaska just under a year ago. We have two teenage boys. All four of us commented how much better the food was on the Westerdam. The presentation was better, the quality was better-- in MDR and Lido buffet. My boys raved about the food to the point that it became apparent that they were SERIOUS and meant it. Last year on Princess they complained about the food and I kind of brushed them off at first, but noticed during the course of our cruise that we were all eating "more," in an effort to find something that satisfied us. This year we ate less because it seemed whatever we had, hit the spot and we didn't have to keep tasting food to find something that we truly enjoyed. By the way, in the past, HAL pizza was the absolute worst-- any cheap frozen pizza was better. But the pizza on the Westerdam was a GIANT improvement.

We are 4-Star with HAL and Platinum with Princess. Generally speaking, we prefer HAL. While it might vary by class of ship, we have found lately that on Princess ships the tables are way too close together in the MDR, so it's kind of loud and feels "cramped." Not enjoyable. Also the food is somewhat better on HAL in the MDR. Again, ships differ, but we've found the buffet to be somewhat better on Princess ships. I'm a MDR gal, so HAL wins it there for us.

As far as staterooms, we, too, find that we need to book a Princess mini-suite to be comfortable. That's not the case on HAL.

And...we really love the Indonesian crew on HAL. They are very well-trained and professional.

I'd also comment on the wonderful HAL libraries, but I guess they are in transition. Boo-hoo.

I have not seen it mentioned, but a big difference for us is the fact that HAL ships are obviously built for scenic cruising. There are plenty of venues from which you can view the world as you pass by. We have done many HAL cruises where we freely moved around the many outdoor decks and had many different great views.

No such luck on Princess. We did a Panama Canal cruise on Princess last year on a lark and the scenic part was terrible. Never Again On Princess where a big component of the cruise is scenery. The ship has this blue glass completely surrounding most decks - particularly facing the bow. If you want unobstructed views, or are taking pictures, you are constantly jockeying for position against other passengers for the few areas without glass or trying to shoot between glass panes. I observed fighting over placing deck chairs for good views of the Canal. Possibly most Princess passengers are not as interested in the scenery, good food, brewed coffee, unhurried adult cruising, etc.......

I do get that demographics wise, longer cruises = older passengers, regardless of cruise line. I actually feel that Princess (and maybe HAL too?) are doing a good job of attracting families on their 7 day Caribbean sailings.

 

My question is more about the meat and potatoes, the culture and feel of both lines. I've heard people say they are very similar ... are there any major differences?

HAL has more folks in wheelchairs and with walkers. HAL has great food and just okay entertainment. HAL has wider range of cruises to pick from but Princess is catching up. I think a lot of folks are disappointed with the new REGAL and ROYAL Princess in that the put in small pools. I was on one Princess cruise and I had a balcony with the oddest and creepiest blue carpeting that was horrible after it rained. I did like the staff on Princess slightly better. And really the best thing about HAL is they all have wraparound wooden promenade that allows you to get closer to the water. Princess has take away a lot of deck space.

The staff is out of the world on Holland America

Agree! It is the crew that sets HAL apart.

But, the Fettuccine Alfredo on Princess sets it apart from either Celebrity or HAL.

We have been on 5 princess and 2 Holland (soon to be 3)......as noted, more alike than different. With that being said we always choose according to itinerary and then cost. Overall we like princess the most as her ships are very beautiful but Holland is certainly very nice. You have to buy a mini suite on princess to get the space and small couch like you get on Holland which means Holland is slightly better money wise. But with Holland's drydock changes on some of the ships (particularly the small suites) you don't get advantage of the couch as it is placed in an odd place in room on wall directly below the tv?? Holland updated ships and newer ships have a huge volumn of movies on demand on TV. We like princess show rooms and shows better. We like Holland having a deck that we can walk all the way around the ship. Service is great on both. Food is subjective but we have had pros and cons on both and never ever were we hungry!! Either will be good if the itinerary and price is what you want

Another thing to compare is the time in port. For our upcoming cruise on a Princess ship, we're getting considerably more time in the ports than a similar itinerary on HAL. It's a cruise around Great Britain. The HAL cruise also cost $800 more per person for the same type of cabin (but it was two days longer), and that figured in to our decision--plus the fact that airfare to Amsterdam was $650 more per person. I couldn't justify spending nearly $3,000 more.

I have not seen it mentioned, but a big difference for us is the fact that HAL ships are obviously built for scenic cruising. There are plenty of venues from which you can view the world as you pass by. We have done many HAL cruises where we freely moved around the many outdoor decks and had many different great views.

 

No such luck on Princess. We did a Panama Canal cruise on Princess last year on a lark and the scenic part was terrible. Never Again On Princess where a big component of the cruise is scenery. The ship has this blue glass completely surrounding most decks - particularly facing the bow. If you want unobstructed views, or are taking pictures, you are constantly jockeying for position against other passengers for the few areas without glass or trying to shoot between glass panes. I observed fighting over placing deck chairs for good views of the Canal. Possibly most Princess passengers are not as interested in the scenery, good food, brewed coffee, unhurried adult cruising, etc.......

I'm considering a cruise on Crown , which would be my first Princess Cruise. I heard that it, and most Princess ships, had an outdoor promenade deck, which I would​ expect to use extensively, for walking and relaxing. I was not aware of the glass that you speak of, which is discouraging. Which ship was it?

We are 4-Star with HAL and Platinum with Princess. Generally speaking, we prefer HAL. While it might vary by class of ship, we have found lately that on Princess ships the tables are way too close together in the MDR, so it's kind of loud and feels "cramped." Not enjoyable. Also the food is somewhat better on HAL in the MDR. Again, ships differ, but we've found the buffet to be somewhat better on Princess ships. I'm a MDR gal, so HAL wins it there for us.

 

As far as staterooms, we, too, find that we need to book a Princess mini-suite to be comfortable. That's not the case on HAL.

And...we really love the Indonesian crew on HAL. They are very well-trained and professional.

 

I'd also comment on the wonderful HAL libraries, but I guess they are in transition. Boo-hoo.

Don't forget the Filipino crew on HAL, also excellent.

I just got off my first cruise on HAL's Westerdam on June 9, and wrote a comparative review on the Princess Board. I've been on 24 Princess cruises.

[thread]

Dedicated Princess Cruiser Travels on Holland-America's Westerdam

[/thread]

I'm considering a cruise on Crown , which would be my first Princess Cruise. I heard that it, and most Princess ships, had an outdoor promenade deck, which I would​ expect to use extensively, for walking and relaxing. I was not aware of the glass that you speak of, which is discouraging. Which ship was it?

It was the Island Princess. If you take a look at pictures of the ship on the Princess website you will see that the upper decks of first half of the ship are surrounded by pale blue glass. It was very annoying for a Panama Canal cruise. Other ships may not be quite as bad. Also, if you are interested in promenade decks be aware that the Princess ships I have been on - about 5 - have stairs at the bow because the promenade goes up one deck and back down as you walk around. On HAL there are many more walkers as the promenade decks go around the circumference of the ship on the same level deck.

There are many good reasons to travel Princess. Views from outside decks just are not that great, IMHO.

We are happy to cruise on HAL, Princess, or Celebrity. We too find the largest difference to be the ships. Cruise line in not a big consideration for us. We don't have a cruise home. We select on the basis of ship, itinerary, and price. Frequently inside the final payment window.

We mostly do RCL when we have the younger family members with us, because they like all the action and activities on the mega-ships.

Have not tried Princess, but would like to at some point (hence the interest in this thread).

Princess is good. We prefer HAL. Why?

Passenger density is higher on Princess. More difficult to get a seat when and where you want it on Princess.

Balcony cabins are smaller on Princess.

Tiered balconies on Princess. We paid for a better balcony cabin, it was bigger, but it was not undercover and was overlooked by many levels of balconies above.

Room service is complimentary on HAL and you can choose from the full menu.

Food everywhere is better on HAL.

Shopping on the ship not value on Princess, can do better on land at department stores.

Drinks are dearer on Princess

Someone asked about compensation for stuff ups with HAL.

We had a problem with our toilet for a couple days, we got an on-board credit as compensation.

A tour got delayed when a HAL member on the tour had incorrect documentation. We got a 50% refund, we had not complained.

We love HAL. We will go with Princess when the itinerary suits us, as the items mentioned are not show stoppers.

It was the Island Princess. If you take a look at pictures of the ship on the Princess website you will see that the upper decks of first half of the ship are surrounded by pale blue glass. It was very annoying for a Panama Canal cruise. Other ships may not be quite as bad. Also, if you are interested in promenade decks be aware that the Princess ships I have been on - about 5 - have stairs at the bow because the promenade goes up one deck and back down as you walk around. On HAL there are many more walkers as the promenade decks go around the circumference of the ship on the same level deck.

 

There are many good reasons to travel Princess. Views from outside decks just are not that great, IMHO.

Thank you. The stairs are ok. I'll make sure there are some lounge chairs on the promenade before booking. I spend a few hours every day of the cruise on the promenade deck, which includes some reading time or taking a little snooze.

We've cruised on several ships with Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and just sailed on the Eurodam for a week in the Caribbean. Let me just say the crew on Eurodam was impeccable. We we're very impressed with the extremely hardworking room stewards (ours was Hendry) and the attentive waiters in the Lido restaurant. The whole eating area, from the tables to the buffet line, were kept incredibly clean, it was just outstanding! We didn't feel like getting dressed up for gala night so we ordered the main dining hall meals (including lobster and fillets) and ate them in our stateroom on the balcony, which was awesome. Something I was impressed by (and didn’t expect) was that whenever my wife or I passed a member of the crew on the ship we we're acknowledged with a polite "hello" and a genuine smile. This simple gesture wasn't something I've ever looked for, but it was amazing how they always did it. I was concerned after reading some posts about boring entertainment, the "sidewalks" roll up at 9pm, and the average age of HAL passengers was over 60.... The BB King Blues Club had outstanding live music with the club packed until midnight. One night we did the pub crawl which was a blast. My wife and I are in our forties and we we're happy to see the average age to be about the same – not 60’s – or even 50’s. We've been on Princesses cruises that felt like a floating old folk’s home and Carnival cruises that felt like you we're in a middle school - not like our experience on HAL whatsoever. The comedian was great and the shows were great. We liked the fact we didn’t have to make reservations for any of the shows like we had to on the Norwegian Escape. I think my wife and I are now HAL converts.

We sail HAL, Princess, and Celebrity because we find them more similar than different, therefore we select any of the three based on itinerary and price.

We find certain things more to our liking on any of them, but not so much as to exclude the others and sail one exclusively.

Same here. We have sailed on all three and have found that the lines are so similar that it is the itinerary and price that drive our selection.

Have only been on HAL and Princess(but won't rule out other lines).

My .02: Princess is nice but(as I've said several times) their coffee is AWFUL.)

The blue glass may be pretty,etc. but I'm glad my Panama Canal cruise next year is on HAL. #shallow

[quote=ttrav35;54648301

...

My wife and I are in our forties and we we're happy to see the average age to be about the same – not 60’s – or even 50’s. We've been on Princesses cruises that felt like a floating old folk’s home and Carnival cruises that felt like you we're in a middle school - not like our experience on HAL whatsoever. The comedian was great and the shows were great. We liked the fact we didn’t have to make reservations for any of the shows like we had to on the Norwegian Escape. I think my wife and I are now HAL converts.

Good to see others noting that the HAL "old age home" myth is just that. I have often thought that either there must be one HAL ship out there that is always crowded with 80 year-olds, or else a lot of posters are repeating things they've heard but not experienced.

I'm in my 40's but tend to cruise during the winter,therefore seem to be on the cruises with lots of kids(not that I mind)

HAL passengers are an interesting bunch and it's always fun to talk to people and find out where they're from, etc.

My wife and I are in our forties and we we're happy to see the average age to be about the same – not 60’s – or even 50’s.

Good to see others noting that the HAL "old age home" myth is just that. I have often thought that either there must be one HAL ship out there that is always crowded with 80 year-olds, or else a lot of posters are repeating things they've heard but not experienced.

My HAL experience is somewhat limited compared to others on this board. I only have 4 cruises with them. But in that limited experience, I can confidently say that it is most certainly is not a myth. 40s being the average age? I've certainly never seen that on HAL. In my experience, I'd say the average age was in the 60s and 70s.

Be that as it may, I'm not sure why people get so offended by this. It's the older demographic on HAL that makes this cruise line who they are....a nice experience without the crazy drunken antics you see on lines like Carnival. Just embrace it. :)

Good to see others noting that the HAL "old age home" myth is just that. I have often thought that either there must be one HAL ship out there that is always crowded with 80 year-olds, or else a lot of posters are repeating things they've heard but not experienced.

Been on many Princess cruises. Never witnessed any "old age home" feel (just the opposite). I'm in my early 50s with a young daughter.

Biggest difference for us is HAL's ships are older. You have a much higher chance of having a cabin iwith plumbing or A/C challenges. HAL's interiors tend to be darker.

HAL sometimes has a slighter older demographic. HAL ships tend to be much quieter after 10PM.

Princess entertainment can be better depending on your preferences.

Food, food service and cabin service are about the same.

Princess web site is far better than HAL's in terms of both navigation and performance.

Princess EZ air is far better inasmuch as you can see multiple flight choices/routings on line prior to booking your cruise.

People should find some term other than "average" age. You have no numbers other than the age of your traveling companions and yourself. What you have is your impression, which may be predisposed to make a high guess or a low guess. Go ahead and take a guess. It may be a good guess, or it may be a poor one.

The crew on Holland American is the major difference.

The crew on Holland American is the major difference.

I agree 100%. Normally I don't pay much attention to the crew, but the HAL employees did their job so well it was hard not to notice. And as far as the younger age on our cruise - we sailed over Thanksgiving day week so maybe that's why the passengers may have been younger?