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Holland America VS Princess


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Hey everybody!

Okay, so my boyfriend and I are planning our first cruise together, my first cruise ever. And I am having the hardest time trying to decide between the two. Celebrity and Norwegian aren't a huge option because we need something roundtrip out of the US. And we aren't really interested in cruising Carnival at this time.

I have read mixed reviews that Holland caters to an older crowd and Princess to a younger one. Is this true and should we take this into consideration since he is 28 and I'm 21?

Any tips and knowledge on the lines/ships would be greatly appreciated!

(We are thinking of sailing to Hawaii for our first cruise and want it to be 10+ days!) We are planning in advance so money isn't a huge concern either.

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At your age, Princess is the better choice. Both Holland America and Princess cater to older crowds but the entertainment and activities on Princess are far better than HAL.

 

I think HAL is better regarding spacious accommodations, décor and crowding, but that's about it. It's a ghost ship come 10:00.

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At your age, Princess is the better choice. Both Holland America and Princess cater to older crowds but the entertainment and activities on Princess are far better than HAL.

 

I think HAL is better regarding spacious accommodations, décor and crowding, but that's about it. It's a ghost ship come 10:00.

Ok that's something I was definelty worried about. Thank you!

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At your age, Princess is the better choice. Both Holland America and Princess cater to older crowds but the entertainment and activities on Princess are far better than HAL.

 

I think HAL is better regarding spacious accommodations, décor and crowding, but that's about it. It's a ghost ship come 10:00.

 

Hey Paul! Diana and I are going to be in Key West on August 14th. We're Sailing on Equinox. It will be our first time on anyone other than Royal. Will you be in town?

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We have sailed three times on HAL and 15+ cruises on Princess. We do find the crowd to be a bit older on HAL which is why we have cruised more with Princess. I believe that the activities and entertainment are better on Princess while HAL has great food. We have cruised with Princess to Hawaii and with that many sea days you want activities to keep you busy while at sea. Princess may have that edge. My DH and I are in our late 60's and already have two b2b cruises booked for Feb. 2018 on Princess to Tasmania and New Zealand.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise!

 

Barb

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Hey everybody!

Okay, so my boyfriend and I are planning our first cruise together, my first cruise ever. And I am having the hardest time trying to decide between the two. Celebrity and Norwegian aren't a huge option because we need something roundtrip out of the US. And we aren't really interested in cruising Carnival at this time.

I have read mixed reviews that Holland caters to an older crowd and Princess to a younger one. Is this true and should we take this into consideration since he is 28 and I'm 21?

Any tips and knowledge on the lines/ships would be greatly appreciated!

(We are thinking of sailing to Hawaii for our first cruise and want it to be 10+ days!) We are planning in advance so money isn't a huge concern either.

 

 

Hi there

 

I see you are saying you " aren't really interested in cruising Carnival at this time". I would ask, why not?

 

It just narrows your choice. It is your first cruise after all, you can't have any pre conceived expectations. We happened to have sailed with Carnival to Hawaii two years ago and had a great time. It was 15 day from Long Beach, with 5 port stops in Hawaii and a stop on the next to last day in Ensenada. We chose it mainly for the price but also for the itinerary and timing.

 

All I'm saying is don't restrict your choices unless you have a good reason. By the way, longer cruises like this just normally attract an older crowd, when you select a cruise line that "normally" attracts an older crowd on top of that...just saying...don't be surprised if you find yourself the youngest people on the ship. :D Just kidding, there are always some younger families with children, but some cruise lines are less likely to attract them because of onboard amenities.

 

Since you are new to cruise critic, take the time to check out the threads dedicated to each of the cruise lines you are considering and make sure to spend some time looking at the "port of call" threads there is a thread for Hawaii that will give you much valuable information. When you are doing this be sure to look at the time of year you might be travelling in regards to what you would like to do while in Hawaii (you didn't mention if you have already narrowed down when you wanted to travel)

 

happy hunting and

have a great cruise

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Hi there

 

I see you are saying you " aren't really interested in cruising Carnival at this time". I would ask, why not?

 

It just narrows your choice. It is your first cruise after all, you can't have any pre conceived expectations. We happened to have sailed with Carnival to Hawaii two years ago and had a great time. It was 15 day from Long Beach, with 5 port stops in Hawaii and a stop on the next to last day in Ensenada. We chose it mainly for the price but also for the itinerary and timing.

 

All I'm saying is don't restrict your choices unless you have a good reason. By the way, longer cruises like this just normally attract an older crowd, when you select a cruise line that "normally" attracts an older crowd on top of that...just saying...don't be surprised if you find yourself the youngest people on the ship. :D Just kidding, there are always some younger families with children, but some cruise lines are less likely to attract them because of onboard amenities.

 

Since you are new to cruise critic, take the time to check out the threads dedicated to each of the cruise lines you are considering and make sure to spend some time looking at the "port of call" threads there is a thread for Hawaii that will give you much valuable information. When you are doing this be sure to look at the time of year you might be travelling in regards to what you would like to do while in Hawaii (you didn't mention if you have already narrowed down when you wanted to travel)

 

happy hunting and

have a great cruise

I say I'm not really interested in Carnival because most of the reviews or videos I see of Carnival cruises have a lot of kids and it's chaos. I didn't want that for a first cruise experience. But I will look into it again, and I will thank you!

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We're 3-Star Mariner on HAL and Elite on Princess. We love 'em both. On either line, you'll find a younger crowd on a 7 dayer compared to a longer cruise. And someone posted awhile back that the overall age demographic difference of the 2 lines is something like 3 years. On HAL there's always folks (albeit a smaller crowd) that will party all night up in the disco, which we actually prefer rather than throngs of people. I'd choose by price and itinerary.

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Princess's fleet overall are larger ships with more passengers than HAL's. I think larger ships tend to have more active, nightlife onboard activities. HAL has better enrichment programs IMHO. I do find the food better on HAL but for me that is not a big issue.

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We've sailed 11 times on Princess (also several other lines, including Carnival) and only once on HAL. We just didn't care for Holland America as much, and even at 70 we felt a little young! This was a 14 day cruise, though. They are at the lower end of cruise lines we will sail with again.

 

Longer cruises on almost any line will have an older demographic, it's just the way it is, but HAL is especially known for an older crowd and less activities.

 

We've never had a cruise we didn't like, including Carnival and NC, and a cruise is often what you make it.. We also like Celebrity a lot.

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We have about 500 days on HAL and over 200 days on Princess. We would never suggest a younger couple (such as the OP) cruise on HAL! If I were to say that a large majority of HAL passengers will be in bed by 10....this would not be an exaggeration. While HAL does get some younger passengers on their shorter cruises (such as a 7 day Caribbean or Alaskan cruise)...this is the exception rather then the rule. Princess would be a better fit.

 

Hank

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Definitely agree with the other posters. Princess would be the better fit for you. We love HAL and have met great people of all ages. Sailed Regal Princess last year and booked again for September 23.

 

But, after the last production show at night the ship is fast asleep save for the few die-hards at the disco.

 

Princess would be much more up your alley, more activities. A Hawaiian cruise is a wonderful choice.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Jonathan

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I say I'm not really interested in Carnival because most of the reviews or videos I see of Carnival cruises have a lot of kids and it's chaos. I didn't want that for a first cruise experience. But I will look into it again, and I will thank you!

 

If you're not interested in Carnival, then don't be. Don't let others talk you into something you don't want to do. Besides, there is some truth to your pre-conceived notions of Carnival.

 

Hey Paul! Diana and I are going to be in Key West on August 14th. We're Sailing on Equinox. It will be our first time on anyone other than Royal. Will you be in town?

 

Hey Sam! I don't want to hijack the thread too much so shoot me an email. My screen name @ aol. I look forward to catching up! :)

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I say I'm not really interested in Carnival because most of the reviews or videos I see of Carnival cruises have a lot of kids and it's chaos. I didn't want that for a first cruise experience. But I will look into it again, and I will thank you!

 

Bravo for you. You deserve kudos....for spending the time to perform your own due diligence. You are correct that Carnival (and RCI) does attract an awful lot of kids/teens for their shorter (less then 10 days) cruises. But you are going to need to weigh more kids versus more "half in the grave" passengers when making your decision :).

 

Hank

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We've enjoyed our Carnival cruises, but we have never been on one during holidays or spring break, prime times for families and lots of kids, so there weren't all that many kids on board. You are going on a longer cruise, which will have fewer kids too. I'm not sure of the time of year you are cruising, but that makes a difference; but, on a Hawaii cruise the number of kids will probably not be great, even on Carnival.

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