Why I am Switching to HAL from Princess

After cruising with Princess for several years, we are switching to HAL for our next and hopefully future cruises. I thought I would share our reasons for doing this.

We cruised just once before on HAL, back in 2007, and really enjoyed it. But we stayed loyal to Princess after that.

We found Princess and HAL to be about the same in food and service. I have read here on this board that HAL food quality has declined in recent years, but I think this is true on most cruise lines, as they try to have competitive pricing, and encourage passengers to pay extra for specialty restaurants.

The reason for switching is that we prefer HAL's ships over Princess.

There are two problems with Princess ships:

1. Most Princess ships have a unique pyramid style shape. If you are looking at the ship from the front or back you can see this. Several decks are narrower than the deck below.This results in most balconies being not private. On most balconies you either have someone above you, who can see everything you do, or someone below you that you have to watch, or both.

There are some balconies that are private, but not many. We always wanted privacy, so we would need to be very careful which room we booked. We would never let Princess choose a room for us. Princess tries to keep this situation quiet, so they would not make public which balconies lack privacy. Also most TAs don't have this information (many are not even aware of it). It would require extensive research on our own to find the right cabin.

With HAL, we do not have to deal with this issue and can choose a room based on other criteria.

2.Ship size. Princess ships are getting bigger and bigger. I know that this is true for all cruise lines, but all current HAL ships are what I would call moderate size or smaller. We have discovered that we don't like ships that take more than 2,100 passengers. It is not that bigger ships are more crowded - there seems to be about the same ratio of public space per passenger as smaller ships. The problem occurs while in port. Suddenly there are thousands of people trying to use a small terminal. It is even worse if tenders are necessary - long lines to get off and back on the ship. And as ships get bigger, there will me more ports that require tenders, because the ship is too big to tie up to the pier.

Princess has 18 ships in its current fleet, 11 of these ships have more than 2100 passengers. Some of them much more.

All current HAL ships have 2100 or less passengers. I think the Vista class ships are just about the perfect size. I am currently booked on the Signature Class Nieuw Amsterdam, which is a little larger but still ok. I will not cruise on the Koningsdam when it is launched, it is too big (2600 passengers).

Other people have their own reasons for picking one cruise line over another. But these are our current thoughts.

We all have our own preference for preferring one cruise line over another. But I noticed that in your avatar you are wearing Black Tie formal wear. Are you aware that HAL recently ended formal nights and replaced them with "gala nights" where a collared shirt will suffice? That may be a plus or minus depending on how you feel about this change.

I understand your privacy concerns. We have friends that recently sailed in one of the sunset cabins on the X Solstice class ships. These cabins are arranged in a stepped fashion with very little privacy from above. They told us that they spent most of their time back at the pool, rather than on their balcony that they paid the premium for.

Thanks for your interesting comments.

We have friends who love Princess. They book insides or outsides, so they do not have your problem with the lack of privacy, which would be a total deal breaker for us. Have noticed this odd balcony set-up while in port with Princess ships, but did not realize so many of the balconies are like this!

I do think that as the ships get larger and larger, those will only go to ports that can accommodate them, with no tendering ports. I would hope so, at least.

Would like to hear more about the food on Princess and the specialty restaurants (quality and pricing).

How do you like the repeat pax benefits on Princess?

Thanks again: enjoyed your post.

We all have our own preference for preferring one cruise line over another. But I noticed that in your avatar you are wearing Black Tie formal wear. Are you aware that HAL recently ended formal nights and replaced them with "gala nights" where a collared shirt will suffice? That may be a plus or minus depending on how you feel about this change.

Yes I am aware of that change. That picture was taken a few years ago, when I bothered with the tux. I have since gone to a black business suit. I enjoy seeing everyone dressed up (most everyone I should say), but I also understand, the hassle of packing special clothes for a formal night. Although HAL has dropped the required suit, there is nothing stopping me from wearing it if I want to. But I may just forget about it, so that I don't have to worry about it getting wrinkled in a suit case.

Thanks for sharing your reasons, interesting to read. We've never sailed Princess (probably would sample it sometime if Carnival Corp had reciprocal loyalty status benefits between sister companies as Celebrity/Azamara/RCCL does.)

We invited two "Princess-loyalist" friends to sail with us on HAL's Noordam in 2009, and the wife constantly compared HAL unfavorably to the point of discouraging all conversation at the dinner table. The cruise was lovely but it was as if she had to win some faux competition.

But I can understand feeling a comfort level with one or the other line, and having that affect future trips. I feel like I'm "at home" on HAL more than other lines.

Hope your HAL cruise us great!

After cruising with Princess for several years, we are switching to HAL for our next and hopefully future cruises. I thought I would share our reasons for doing this.

We cruised just once before on HAL, back in 2007, and really enjoyed it. But we stayed loyal to Princess after that.

We found Princess and HAL to be about the same in food and service. I have read here on this board that HAL food quality has declined in recent years, but I think this is true on most cruise lines, as they try to have competitive pricing, and encourage passengers to pay extra for specialty restaurants.

The reason for switching is that we prefer HAL's ships over Princess.

There are two problems with Princess ships:

1. Most Princess ships have a unique pyramid style shape. If you are looking at the ship from the front or back you can see this. Several decks are narrower than the deck below.This results in most balconies being not private. On most balconies you either have someone above you, who can see everything you do, or someone below you that you have to watch, or both.

There are some balconies that are private, but not many. We always wanted privacy, so we would need to be very careful which room we booked. We would never let Princess choose a room for us. Princess tries to keep this situation quiet, so they would not make public which balconies lack privacy. Also most TAs don't have this information (many are not even aware of it). It would require extensive research on our own to find the right cabin.

With HAL, we do not have to deal with this issue and can choose a room based on other criteria.

2.Ship size. Princess ships are getting bigger and bigger. I know that this is true for all cruise lines, but all current HAL ships are what I would call moderate size or smaller. We have discovered that we don't like ships that take more than 2,100 passengers. It is not that bigger ships are more crowded - there seems to be about the same ratio of public space per passenger as smaller ships. The problem occurs while in port. Suddenly there are thousands of people trying to use a small terminal. It is even worse if tenders are necessary - long lines to get off and back on the ship. And as ships get bigger, there will me more ports that require tenders, because the ship is too big to tie up to the pier.

Princess has 18 ships in its current fleet, 11 of these ships have more than 2100 passengers. Some of them much more.

All current HAL ships have 2100 or less passengers. I think the Vista class ships are just about the perfect size. I am currently booked on the Signature Class Nieuw Amsterdam, which is a little larger but still ok. I will not cruise on the Koningsdam when it is launched, it is too big (2600 passengers).

Other people have their own reasons for picking one cruise line over another. But these are our current thoughts.

You pointed out two issues which are important to many others. Other than smoking on balconies permitted by HAL, there are some things some like better about HAL like we did. Other than not having an internet loyalty perk, overall the loyalty perks are better on HAL 3 star and above. Depending on your sailing profile (short vs long cruise, suite vs non suite, spending onboard, etc.) the lower levels at HAL may come sooner but the higher levels longer than they did on Princess; this really varies by person.

Regarding privacy issues we always choose a Princess mini suite on the Emerald deck which is fully covered. The Princess ships we choose to sail are 1,000-1,200 more passengers than the HAL ships we choose to sail and that certainly does impact embarkation and disembarkation issues. Most times we wait to embark or disembark until after the rush.

Thanks for your interesting comments.

 

We have friends who love Princess. They book insides or outsides, so they do not have your problem with the lack of privacy, which would be a total deal breaker for us. Have noticed this odd balcony set-up while in port with Princess ships, but did not realize so many of the balconies are like this!

 

I do think that as the ships get larger and larger, those will only go to ports that can accommodate them, with no tendering ports. I would hope so, at least.

 

Would like to hear more about the food on Princess and the specialty restaurants (quality and pricing).

 

How do you like the repeat pax benefits on Princess?

 

Thanks again: enjoyed your post.

If someone doesn't have a balcony, then the balcony situation is a moot point.

Oddly, very few of the mini-suites have private balconies. You have a better chance of a private balcony if you just get a regular balcony stateroom. I think Princess tries to make up for the lack of privacy by making the least private ones larger. So, for people who don't care about privacy, they can get a much larger balcony out of the deal.

I can't tell you about specialty restaurants, because I never eat at them. It has been a matter of principal for me, to not have to pay extra for food on a cruise. However on my next cruise I am going to try to eat at the Pinnacle Grill at least once. I can tell you on most Princess ships there is a steakhouse type place similar to the Pinnacle Grill.

Princess loyalty rewards are very similar to HAL, after all, the two cruise lines

are both owned by Carnival. IMO loyalty rewards are not worth much if you actually figure the dollars they save you. I wish we could combine the Princess rewards with HAL awards - we now have to go back to just one star on HAL.

Regarding privacy issues we always choose a Princess mini suite on the Emerald deck which is fully covered.

We too, would always try for the Emerald Deck for a private balcony. But since we always took a regular balcony room (not a mini-suite) they were hard to get. The Emerald deck rooms would always sell first (except for ones with the life boat view).

On the last few cruises on Princess, we discovered the aft balconies. Although most of the aft rooms are full suites, there are always some regular balcony rooms there. And there are no privacy issues there. But these rooms are really hard to get, you must reserve at least one year in advance.

If someone doesn't have a balcony, then the balcony situation is a moot point.

Oddly, very few of the mini-suites have private balconies. You have a better chance of a private balcony if you just get a regular balcony stateroom. I think Princess tries to make up for the lack of privacy by making the least private ones larger. So, for people who don't care about privacy, they can get a much larger balcony out of the deal.

I can't tell you about specialty restaurants, because I never eat at them. It has been a matter of principal for me, to not have to pay extra for food on a cruise. However on my next cruise I am going to try to eat at the Pinnacle Grill at least once. I can tell you on most Princess ships there is a steakhouse type place similar to the Pinnacle Grill.

Princess loyalty rewards are very similar to HAL, after all, the two cruise lines

are both owned by Carnival. IMO loyalty rewards are not worth much if you actually figure the dollars they save you. I wish we could combine the Princess rewards with HAL awards - we now have to go back to just one star on HAL.

I agree that it would be a boon to have the loyalty rewards combined. Would encourage us to try Princess.

For five stars on HAL the rewards are quite good and we save hundreds$$ on every cruise. Not sure at that level how good Princess is.

Very useful information you are writing.

Hope you HAL cruise is everything you expect and then some!

I agree that it would be a boon to have the loyalty rewards combined. Would encourage us to try Princess.

 

For five stars on HAL the rewards are quite good and we save hundreds$$ on every cruise. Not sure at that level how good Princess is.

 

Very useful information you are writing.

 

Hope you HAL cruise is everything you expect and then some!

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Princess Speciality Restaurants We Have Tried

Sabatini's: Signature pastas and seafood specialties, as well as the authentic touches that evoke the home-cooked charm of a Tuscan villa. Some like this restaurant better than the steak restaurants and some don't. At least one step above Canaletto.

Crown Grill: A refined steakhouse that serves aged and hand cut, cooked-to-order steaks and premium seafood, including grilled shrimp and lobster. With a rich wood décor and a theater-style open kitchen, no wonder this specialty restaurant was named among the "Best Cruise Ship Steakhouses" by USA TODAY. Some ships have the Crown Grill and some have the Sterling Steakhouse. Food comparable to the Pinnacle Grill but ambience better in the PG.

Sterling Steakhouse: Traditional steakhouse serving the finest quality cuts of beef, including New York strip steak, Porterhouse and Filet Mignon. Voted among the "Best Cruise Ship Steakhouses" by USA TODAY. Food comparable to the Pinnacle Grill but ambience better in the PG.

We have not tried Chef's Table nor the Ultimate Balcony Dining available I think on all Princess ships.

Some new restaurants (varies by ship) added or being added which we have not tried are Curtis Stone SHARE, Salty Dog Gastropub, Kai Sushi, Bayou Cafe.

We have gotten free speciality dining on the last 2 cruises but I think prices are about $25 per person for the steak restaurants and $20 per person for Sabatini's.

I'll add to this thread what my biggest dislike of Princess is: No couches in the room until you get to the mini-suite categories... at least on the ships we used, Diamond, Ruby and Star. Now, to be fair, we did have a couch on Ocean Princess which is a small vessel of 800 passengers, a hand me down from the old Renaissance(?) fleet, not a ship built for Princess.

Otherwise we've enjoyed our time with Princess and find then on par with HAL. With our 80 days of Princess cruising we now get 250 free internet minutes each as Platinum level - may depend on length of cruise. I like the larger ships because they have more venues for entertainment.

But the last few years our trips have been complex, long trips including land tours so we go with what works with our itinerary and price range. m--

Thanks for this great information.

You make a good point about the size of the ship - while the passenger space ratio may be the same, there are still some things that dont scale well. I'm reminded of a stop we had years ago in Grand Cayman, on the Ryndam. It was a tender port, and we were there with one of the mega-Carnival ships. When my husband and I were ready to tender back, we noticed that the HAL tender had no line. We had a quick stop to show our room key, and then we had an attendant with the big orange jug handing out cups of ice water while we waited only a few minutes for the tender. My contrast, the Carnival line wrapped around and was full of people that were grumbling about how hot they were and how long the wait.

I can also remember (now this will be going way back!) being on the old Norway for well over an hour in a tender line to get off the ship. Granted, lets hope NCL has newer technology and tendering than they did in say 1992 or whenver this was.....but the point being that some things, like passenger space, scale very well on the large ships, but some things just aren't as scalable.

We all have our own preference for preferring one cruise line over another. But I noticed that in your avatar you are wearing Black Tie formal wear. Are you aware that HAL recently ended formal nights and replaced them with "gala nights" where a collared shirt will suffice? That may be a plus or minus depending on how you feel about this change.

Tom's Avatar has a much stricter dress code that the average cruise line. :D Also, it's one of the more dashing avatars you'll come across.

Princess Speciality Restaurants We Have Tried

 

Sabatini's: Signature pastas and seafood specialties, as well as the authentic touches that evoke the home-cooked charm of a Tuscan villa. Some like this restaurant better than the steak restaurants and some don't. At least one step above Canaletto.

 

Crown Grill: A refined steakhouse that serves aged and hand cut, cooked-to-order steaks and premium seafood, including grilled shrimp and lobster. With a rich wood décor and a theater-style open kitchen, no wonder this specialty restaurant was named among the "Best Cruise Ship Steakhouses" by USA TODAY. Some ships have the Crown Grill and some have the Sterling Steakhouse. Food comparable to the Pinnacle Grill but ambience better in the PG.

 

Sterling Steakhouse: Traditional steakhouse serving the finest quality cuts of beef, including New York strip steak, Porterhouse and Filet Mignon. Voted among the "Best Cruise Ship Steakhouses" by USA TODAY. Food comparable to the Pinnacle Grill but ambience better in the PG.

 

We have not tried Chef's Table nor the Ultimate Balcony Dining available I think on all Princess ships.

 

Some new restaurants (varies by ship) added or being added which we have not tried are Curtis Stone SHARE, Salty Dog Gastropub, Kai Sushi, Bayou Cafe.

 

We have gotten free speciality dining on the last 2 cruises but I think prices are about $25 per person for the steak restaurants and $20 per person for Sabatini's.

While I haven't been to sabatinis for a few years it was delish when I tried it. I think it's about 20 steps above Canaletto:D.

Yes I am aware of that change. That picture was taken a few years ago, when I bothered with the tux. I have since gone to a black business suit. I enjoy seeing everyone dressed up (most everyone I should say), but I also understand, the hassle of packing special clothes for a formal night. Although HAL has dropped the required suit, there is nothing stopping me from wearing it if I want to. But I may just forget about it, so that I don't have to worry about it getting wrinkled in a suit case.

Tom, depending on the Itinerary you will still see Tuxes and especially Suits & Jackets, etc. Our last two Cruises after"Gala Night" and threads about it were posted there was no noticeable change at all. It was the odd man out that didn't have a Jacket on for "Gala Nights" and it seemed the majority still do enjoy dressing up, etc.

These were not Carib Cruises and were 14 Nights and longer. Maybe I'll see more "Dress Down" on my January Eastern Carib one.

Maybe in time the Internet Social Media sites will catch up with some and more will not be wearing a Suit or Jacket but from what I've experienced in the last couple of months the Ships and majority cruising on them haven't received "the Memo" of this big change! If they have, they have ignored it!

As far as balconies, it's not that hard to determine which decks are covered, uncovered, or half covered. We generally book a balcony room on the Caribe deck, which has very large and half-covered balconies. Yes, we can see the people on the balconies on the Dolphin deck, but we don't spend a lot of time standing at the rail. Also, we're not doing anything other than reading, napping, or possibly eating on the balcony, and couldn't care less if someone is watching us.

We have been on the Ruby and/or the Emerald several times, and I have been on the Regal. We were worried that we'd be overwhelmed by too many people both on the ship and in port, but except for a couple of times when the buffet was crowded (usually when people were returning from short excursions), we didn't notice that more people made the ship less pleasant. We're headed out on the Emerald in 3 weeks and can't wait.

Welcome back to HAL, Tom O!

Earlier this month we tried princess again after many loyal years with HAL. We did two 7 day caribbean cruises back to back, one on each line. We enjoyed many things about PCL, especially Sabatini's, but in the end we will be sticking with HAL.

While on board I made a pros/cons list for the two lines. HAL had about 5 pros for every 1 pro on Princess. Many of them were "little things" but all those little things can really make a difference. In the Caribbean, HAL's private island was a huge pro over PCL's island/port. Especially when the tendering issues come in to play, as you mentioned. Their ships are just too big for us!

I'm sure all friendly folks here on the HAL board will help make your preparations for your next cruise terrific!

While I haven't been to sabatinis for a few years it was delish when I tried it. I think it's about 20 steps above Canaletto:D.

So glad you chimed in. Okay how about one huge step above the Canaletto?:D

PRINCESS CAPTAIN'S CIRCLE MEMBERSHIP LEVELS

Benefits All Levels

Early Savings/Reduced Deposit $100 PP, 50% deposit

Preferential Pricing Offers Throughout Year

Members Only Onboard Events

Access to a Circle Host/Center Onboard

Princess Port & Collectible Destination Stamps

Captain Circle Quarterly Magazine

Captain Circle Newsletters, 8 yearly

Recognition PIN

Photo Competition/Story Winner Tier Upgrade etc.

Ruby and All Levels Above Ruby

Princess Platinum Vacation Protection Upgrade

Shoreside Access Captains Circle Help Desk Phone Line

10% Discount Reflections DVD Onboard

Platinum and Elite

Cruise Atlas

Preferred Check-In

Platinum Disembarkation Lounge

Internet Credit Minutes: 7 days 150, 8-20 days 250, 21+days 500

Elite Level

Priority Ship to Shore Tender Embarkation

Priority Disembarkation

Shoe Polishing

Laundry & Professional Cleaning Service

Complimentary Mini Bar Set up - One Set Up

Deluxe Canapes Selection on Formal Nights

Afternoon Tea

Upgraded Bathroom Amenities

10% Boutique Discount

Grapevine Wine Tasting One Per Cruise

Thanks for reminding me of those benefits. I said earlier that loyalty rewards didn't add up to much. I should have said that they don't mean much to us.

There are a couple of items we could use, but we could also just pay a little to get those items. We feel the same about the HAL loyalty program. Example: free internet means nothing to us since we don't use the internet while cruising. But to someone else, it may be very important.

I understand your privacy concerns. We have friends that recently sailed in one of the sunset cabins on the X Solstice class ships. These cabins are arranged in a stepped fashion with very little privacy from above. They told us that they spent most of their time back at the pool, rather than on their balcony that they paid the premium for.

How much privacy do they have at the pool? In most cases to view the people in the balcony below yours you have to stand at the rail. Most of the time the balconies are unoccupied and besides how much privacy do you need anyway.

Thanks for reminding me of those benefits. I said earlier that loyalty rewards didn't add up to much. I should have said that they don't mean much to us.

There are a couple of items we could use, but we could also just pay a little to get those items. We feel the same about the HAL loyalty program. Example: free internet means nothing to us since we don't use the internet while cruising. But to someone else, it may be very important.

Exactly, it's only a meaningful perk if you can/will use it. We fully use our internet perk on Princess. The HAL Westerdam had unlimited internet for $60 (7 day cruise). Internet is more expensive on some HAL ships. It is realistic that we will at some point be eligible for/use the 3 and 4 star HAL speciality dining, wine, and logo clothing discounts.

How much privacy do they have at the pool? In most cases to view the people in the balcony below yours you have to stand at the rail. Most of the time the balconies are unoccupied and besides how much privacy do you need anyway.

If you have to lean over the rail to see the balcony below, that is acceptable. But that is not what I am talking about. There are many balconies on Princess ships where the back wall of the balcony below you is directly below your rail. You can see the people on the balcony below you even when you are in your room. And the people above you can see you too, no matter where you sit on the balcony.

I believe this is one of the main reasons that Princess was quick to ban smoking on balconies. One person smoking on one of the lower balconies will cause smoke to travel unimpeded up several decks of balconies. Before smoking was banned, there were lots of complaints of smoke on the balconies.

I was on a cruise where people on the balcony below us yelled at us for complaining about smoke. But it wasn't us who complained, it was the people above us.

Now the smoking is a non-issue, but it shows just what a poor design Princess chose for its ships.

I would never book a mini-suite on a Grand-Class Princess ship (not sure about the two new vessels) because of the "no deck covering" over the veranda. (Unless I could book one of the few mini-suites towards the stern that are covered.) Certainly agree with Tom O's opinion on this point. But, not sure about Signature Class vessels, but on the Vista Class vessels, the aft, overlooking the stern staterooms are arranged in a tiered fashion. I had a stern SC suite on the Westerdam. The folks in the stateroom above me could/did observe me on my veranda and I could/did observe the folks on the decks below me. Buyer beware.

Also agree with the comment by one poster that the Princess standard veranda cabins have only a chair and a stool, not a sofa. Plus, I really do not care for the "closet" situation in those staterooms. I don't like my clothes hanging out "in the open" as they are in those Princess staterooms.