P&O v Holland America

We were hoping to go on the 12 night Fjords 28th May cruise on Arcadia but the saver price of £1,999 is ridiculous and at least double what I'm prepared to pay.

We do like not having to fly and also the tea/coffee making facilities. We don't like having formal nights and would be quite happy to use the buffet for the evening meal were it not for the fact that the P&O buffet is so poor compared to RCI/Celebrity/NCL.

So looking elsewhere I've just booked our first cruise with HAL on the Zuiderdam sailing from Copenhagen. Most reviewers seem to rate them higher than P&O and more comparable to Celebrity.

They would appear to have a good buffet selection WITH ICE CREAM BAR (important to me and sadly lacking in the buffet area on the P&O ships we've been on).

More importantly, the price for a balcony guarantee cabin for the 24 night b2b 17th May sailing on the Zuiderdam British Isles/Baltics itinerary is €1,999 (booking through a European TA... far cheaper than through a UK one). This works out at less than £1,600 pp! When flights, 2 nights pre-cruise hotel, airport car parking, taxis to/from cruise terminal, etc. are all added in its still about £200 pp cheaper for this 26 night holiday than the P&O 12 night one!!!

And you get a choice of dining time.

And the shareholder benefit is more ($250 OBC compared to £150).

And they have fruit baskets in the cabins (refilled daily).

AND THEY HAVE ICE CREAM IN THE BUFFET.

Flying Manchester to Copenhagen is a chore but only takes about the same time for us as driving to Southampton. It also has the benefit of fewer sea days... there are only 4 of them in total giving us 19 days in port.

I hope you enjoy your cruise on HAL, it sounds a great cruise

I read through your post twice, and I confess to not being quite sure of the point of it....other than you are getting a better deal, and free ice cream. The itinerary is not the same and is obviously a popular one on P &O otherwise the saver price would be lower.

Sorry, just a bit confused.....:confused:

I really enjoyed my HAL cruise on Zaandam but would say they are different from P&O rather than better. They still have formal nights, albeit fewer, and I enjoyed the international mix of passengers. But like Mysticalmother I'm not really sure why you posted??

I think it's interesting to know what's out there, what other lines offer and specifically how they compare to P&O. I hope you have a great cruise, please let us know how you get on [emoji106]🏼

I'd also be interested to know how you got on

Ideally I'd prefer to cruise from the UK but currently I don't think the P&O offering is value for money when one looks at the poor food, day time entertainment and embarkation process. So if one has to fly for a good cruise then HAL may be worth a look

For what it's worth to me the international mix of passengers is one of the plus points on Celebrity so that would be fine on HAL

And as a non tea and coffee drinker I get the steward on P&O to take the kettle and tea tray away to give me more room so I might get on well on HAL!

Why all these comparison threads, are the posters starting comparison threads on the other lines pages or is this an anti P&O exercise !!!

We have sailed with HAL twice (when they left from Dover) and thought they were excellent. We preferred HAL to pando and would prefer to sail with them again other than the annoyance of the flight in particular for shorter cruises.

I'm sure you have made a good choice.

Why would you expect all us p & o cheerleaders to advise you to go on HAL cruise if it sounds better than an p & o If you fancy it go for it. You don't need our approval. Hope you enjoy

After reading the OP post I decided to have a quick peek at the HAL forum board. Talk about problems, they looked twice as bad as P&O.

Looking at HAL cruises and wondering what the great alternative is as I might like to book . Can you advise

More importantly, the price for a balcony guarantee cabin for the 24 night b2b 17th May sailing on the Zuiderdam British Isles/Baltics itinerary is €1,999 (booking through a European TA... far cheaper than through a UK one). This works out at less than £1,600 pp! When flights, 2 nights pre-cruise hotel, airport car parking, taxis to/from cruise terminal, etc. are all added in its still about £200 pp cheaper for this 26 night holiday than the P&O 12 night one!!!

Hi

You mentioned that cruise fares are cheaper if we book through a European TA. Can you recommend some we can contact online ? I tried to "Google" for them but all I got were just British and American ones.

Thanks in advance.

Hi

 

You mentioned that cruise fares are cheaper if we book through a European TA. Can you recommend some we can contact online ? I tried to "Google" for them but all I got were just British and American ones.

 

Thanks in advance.

Please do not ask for travel agent information - it is contrary to Cruise Critic Guidelines. http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/faq.php?faq=guidelines

Thanks

Looking at HAL cruises and wondering what the great alternative is as I might like to book . Can you advise

If you are a smoker, HAL is the cruiseline for you. They are almost unique these days and allow smoking on the balconies and has attracted hoards of smokers.

You emphasis Ice Cream in the buffet, it is the cheap nasty stuff with more ICE than cream, not that enjoyable. We are 4star Mariners but even with the added benefits we now stay well clear of HAL.

You can even smoke in the Casino - advise is take a mask as you will need it. Best of luck and tell everyone of your experience when you return if you survive.

Hi

 

You mentioned that cruise fares are cheaper if we book through a European TA. Can you recommend some we can contact online ? I tried to "Google" for them but all I got were just British and American ones.

 

Thanks in advance.

As host Sharon has pointed out, it's against CC rules to post names of travel agents.

I find it frustrating that trying to find the $ and € pricing direct from the cruise lines is usually impossible as you are automatically redirected to the .co.uk site or the site automatically only shows the pricing in £.

As you say, if you do a Google search then only UK and US sites come up. I eventually thought of a way around this... if you do a Google translation of 'cruises' and use this in a Google search then you get listings that include appropriate travel agents. e.g. The German for cruises is kreuzfahrten so a Google search for Holland America kreuzfahrten' showed me some German travel agents.

If you are a smoker, HAL is the cruiseline for you. They are almost unique these days and allow smoking on the balconies and has attracted hoards of smokers.

You emphasis Ice Cream in the buffet, it is the cheap nasty stuff with more ICE than cream, not that enjoyable. We are 4star Mariners but even with the added benefits we now stay well clear of HAL.

 

You can even smoke in the Casino - advise is take a mask as you will need it. Best of luck and tell everyone of your experience when you return if you survive.

I guess you don't like HAL much, but maybe some other P&O CCers will benefit from seeing this post, especially the price comparison, and Zuiderdam is a virtual twin of Arcadia.

Totally agree P&O pricing is very questionable. I compared an identical cruise on Britannia for December and was amazed at the price difference between the UK TA and a European TA for 2 people sharing a GD grade Cabin.

UK price at Select fare - £4178 with £275 obc i.e. £3903 (that included charter flight Gatwick to Barbados)

European Price /Select fare - £2170 without any credit excluding airfare. If you add the Gatwick to Barbados return BA flights £986 (2 people) - total cost £3156

That is a price deduction of £750 over the UK price and we are free to book via the European TA without any restrictions imposed by P&O (Carnival Corp.)

I guess you don't like HAL much, but maybe some other P&O CCers will benefit from seeing this post, especially the price comparison, and Zuiderdam is a virtual twin of Arcadia.

HAL was great, maybe if they change their policy to smoking they will become great again. Wishfull thinking I believe as they chase the dollar too hard !

As host Sharon has pointed out, it's against CC rules to post names of travel agents.

 

I find it frustrating that trying to find the $ and € pricing direct from the cruise lines is usually impossible as you are automatically redirected to the .co.uk site or the site automatically only shows the pricing in £.

 

As you say, if you do a Google search then only UK and US sites come up. I eventually thought of a way around this... if you do a Google translation of 'cruises' and use this in a Google search then you get listings that include appropriate travel agents. e.g. The German for cruises is kreuzfahrten so a Google search for Holland America kreuzfahrten' showed me some German travel agents.

Thanks for the tip! You are really so resourceful ....guess it shows what a "seasoned" world traveller you are!