Review msWesterdam - HAL vs Princess

A little back ground information first. DH and I are in our mid 60’s and this was our 1st HAL cruise. We have been fortunate enough that we have sailed before, over 22 cruises, but they have, with one exception, all been on Princess. We sailed with good friends whom we have traveled with on Princess for the last 5 years. The 4 of us cruise to relax in the sun and get away from the daily routines and stress. As you will discover cruising is a very casual event for all of us and none of us needs to be entertained or stimulated all day/evening long.

This year we decided for reasons not relevant to this review to take a B2B on the msWesterdam instead of the Princess cruise we booked last year. We were well aware going into this that it could be either the best or worst decision we might ever make. You can decide after you read this comparison which one it turned out to be. The following comparisons are a collaboration between ourselves and our traveling buddies and are strictly our opinions so please don’t be upset if you disagree. I’m going to grade the sections using a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest score.

PRICING: We had originally booked a 10 day partial Panama Cruise with Princess at a good repeat passenger rate and when we changed over to the 14 day B2B on HAL it was actually cheaper for the same type stateroom accommodations.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 4

ON-LINE CHECK IN: Princess’s on-line check-in makes you wade through several pages of information used solely for marketing purposes (and yes, I’m aware you can just skip them) while HAL’s simply dealt with required Immigration and emergency contact data. Additionally, some of the data gathered by Princess that appears to be meaningful such as Beverage Choice for Elite passengers is never utilized. I find it just a tad bit annoying that they ask and then totally disregard the information.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 3

EMBARKATION: We arrived at the Pier at 1140am and after filling out the Medical Questionnaire proceeded directly to the check in desk and were in our staterooms by 12n. Since we have been Elite on Princess for several years and have been given priority boarding I’ve scored this one a tie. Someone else’s experience on Princes might be different.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 5

THE SHIP: In the past we just loved sailing on the smaller Princess ships (Sun, Dawn, Coral) but for the past several years we have found that we have had to sail on much larger ships in order to cruise the Caribbean in the spring. While cruising with 3000 of one’s nearest and dearest friends isn’t so terribly bad we were thrilled that the Westerdam only carried 1916 passengers. We loved the smaller feel of the ship where it seemed, to steal a line out of a familiar TV theme song, “where everybody knows your name”. We found the Westerdam to be free of “glitz” but full of understated elegance. There were a few areas that needed to be spruced up to remove bits of rust and wear but over all she was in very good shape. The one slight negative on the Westerdam was the veranda glass. While some deck hand did hose them down several times during our 14 days they really need a good cleaning and must be hand wiped to look their best. NOTE: the Westerdam is due to go into dry dock within a few months and that should put her back into tip top shape. Certain areas, such as the shops & casino, on her were definitely smaller in scope than we experience on Princess but who boards a cruise ship solely to shop or gamble. The Vista lounge had a much better ratio of seats to passenger load than the Princess Theater on Princess Gem class ships. The same holds true with seating in the Lido restaurant vice Princess’s Horizon Court. On the Westerdam we never had difficulty finding an open table regardless of time. The Lido itself is laid out much better than the Horizon on Princess. The different stations are clearly marked, there are rarely lines and filling one’s plate is far easier and quicker. And speaking of seats, no where on the Westerdam were there the typical white plastic Princess tables and chairs (think Wal-Mart patio furniture). Instead all furniture on the open decks and verandas were comfortable woven vinyl wicker usually with cushions. HAL has taken on the issue of NORO very seriously and smartly. There are hand sanitizers everywhere and for the most part they were used by all. Additionally, for the first 48 hours of each sailing HAL observes a code “orange” where staff does all the serving.

SCORE: HAL 4 ½ Princess 3

FELLOW PASSENGERS: Okay I’ve added this since we had been a bit fearful we were going to be sailing with escapes of some Nursing Home (NOTE to self, don’t believe everything you read) and while we aren’t spring chickens we aren’t that old. How pleasantly surprised we were to find the demographics of the passenger load to be almost identical to that of Princess. In fact we encountered far fewer walkers, wheelchairs and scooters than on any recent Princess ship. There were kids on board, probably a bit smaller ratio than on Princess, and most of them actually seemed to be accompanied by their parents. There were the typical rude, crabby and surly passengers but since the total passenger load was smaller they were even more so in the minority.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 5

THE CREW AND STAFF: I’m not certain I have enough words of praise for all we encountered onboard the Westerdam. Captain Henk Keijer, Future Cruise Consultant Alexis Keijer (yep, she’s lucky enough to be married to the Captain or vice-versa ), Cruise Director Jason Venner and his staff including DJ Greg and others, Purser desk personnel, deck bar servers, Lido staff, our Stateroom Steward Diding and all the Room Service personnel were simply very professional, personal and provided marvelous service. Once you encountered a staff member who read your name they remembered it and always used it. Talk about making you feel special, it seemed they went out of their way to do so. I would remiss if I didn’t speak to the announcements made by both Captain Heijer and CD Jason. First off it was wonderful to sail with a captain who spoke such understandable English. On Princess one usually just tuned out the captain’s announcements as they were totally incomprehensible. Secondly, he was a fantastic educator telling us interesting fact such as the difference between a “cay” and an “island” and where the term “crow’s nest” originated. Finally what a marvelous sense of humor the gentleman had in ways like “backing up the ship without the benefit of a rear view mirror”. CD Jason also impressed us when he announced he was not going to talk to us about all the activities going on as “we all knew how to read”. How refreshing not to have someone read the daily Explorer (HAL) / Patter (Princess) to us! While we usually sail with some excellent Princess personnel I’m knocking 1 point off their score for the constant reading of the Patter from the Morning Show to all day over the loud speaker and the illegible English spoken by their captains. NOTE TO Princess, please either make your Captains learn to speak legible English or keep them off the darn intercom.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 4

STATEROOM: We had a category VD on Deck 4 (thank you Joanie) and loved it. It was a bit larger than the regular balcony staterooms on Princess and even contained a love seat size sofa and coffee table. The bathroom was HUGE compared to Princess; no having to step out of the room to change one’s mind. There was a tub (not quite full size) / shower combination and more storage space than Princess in the bathroom. There were full size wall hung containers of shampoo, rinse and body wash rather than the small un-squeezable bottles Princess provides. Storage space was abundant with 3 closets with adjustable shelves, two large storage drawers under the end of the bed and 2 more drawers under the sofa. The night stands were a bit smaller than on Princess and lacked the one open shelf. The veranda door was a swing type rather than a slider and took a bit of getting used to but in retrospect I figure it kept people from “air-conditioning” their verandas. The veranda had two very comfortable chairs with cushions, a large ottoman and a small side table. Our stateroom, while not quite as large as a Mini-Suite on Princess and lacking the 2nd TV, was a much better value for the money than a Mini on Princess. And, has anyone ever mentioned how WONDERFUL the HAL beds are? If not let me, they are WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL!!!

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 3

FOOD: While I sincerely understand that food likes and dislikes are strictly unique preferences the 4 of us unanimously agreed that the food was better, in some case much better, on HAL. We stopped eating in the ship’s dining years ago (remember I said a cruise is a casual event for us) so we ate all our meals in the Lido whereas on Princess we ate in the Caribe Cafe. My DH claims HAL makes the best Omelets to order he has ever had. The Terrace Grill makes a much better hamburger to order than Princess and we even found the pizza to be pretty good. At lunch the Lido makes sandwiches to order and they always have freshly made tuna, chicken and egg salad. Additionally there is a Taco bar out by the Terrace Grill daily. And then there is the Lido’s Pasta station. DH had a serving of “made to order” pasta with every dinner and it really was good. The Westerdam had delicious bread pudding at lunch and at least 4 flavors of homemade ice cream daily. The only negative’s we could find were the salad dressings were served out of tall plastic bottles that always seemed to lack labels and were messy. Plus it’s pretty near on to impossible to get Blue Cheese dressing out of a ¼ inch hole. Secondly the selection of non-starchy vegetables at dinner in the Lido seemed to be quite limited. There always seemed to be a mixture of squash and carrots available but it would have been nice to see an occasional green bean or stalk of broccoli. And finally, YES the coffee is MUCH BETTER on HAL.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 4

ODDS AND ENDS: The bath towels on HAL are superior to those on Princess. They are enormous and very absorbent. The bathrobes on HAL are better than the waffle weave ones that Princess uses. They are soft and a comfortable weight without being heavy. The bed was made up with a top sheet; I didn’t have to request one. The soda card on HAL is a much better purchase than the soda sticker on Princess. On HAL the soda card gets you canned soda, not watery fountain soda, and for $25 you get $50 worth of soda. DH has advised that the beer selection is greater on HAL and that the cost of a “bucket of beer” is less than on Princess.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 3

I’m sure there are many more areas that I could cover but I’m tired of typing and I’m darn sure you’re tired of reading. I’m not going to bother to add up my scores but if it helps you determine which cruise like we now like better---- we have already booked a cruise on the msOosterdam for next spring and are considering taking a HAL cruise in the fall.

If anyone has any specific questions about things I didn’t cover just ask, I’ll answer if I can.

Thank you so much for your succint and well written review. As we will be on the Westerdam for 30 days in the fall I am very interested in everything about her.

Did you try the thermal suites at all?

Larsen, I am sure we passed in the hall, as we were on Deck 4 with Diding as our steward! He knew my name before meeting me! He had met my OH in the room and deduced it was me as I walked down the hall towards the room on day one. Gold star!

We bought the week-long thermal suite package. Don't try to use it night one. I think they shut it down for the cleaning/switch and it just wasn't warm by that evening. They said a mechanic was going to look at it, but I think that was just to soothe things over. either way, by next day, all was hot and lovely. This was an excellent investment for us. We each spent about 10 hours total, so it averaged $10 an hour. In the fall or on an Alaskan cruise, I imagine it may be more crowded.

Please note, to several irritated customers' dismay, the thermal suite is not included in other services, unless they are running a special that says so. They never did while we were aboard, that I saw.

There were busy times but never were there more than 6 others in the water/lunge area. Occ. the ceramic loungers were full, but by the time I used the eucalyptus steam and cold water mist, one would open up. The place is quiet and comfortable. There is ice water to the side and lovely plants around the warm water.

We loved getting a locker key with our access key, where we picked up our sandals and robe to use there. I never saw anyone else in the sauna with me, where I went to dry off when I was ready to end. The shower room is comfortable for women, with 2 private changing rooms, 2 bathrooms and I think there were 3 showers there with Elemis products, as in the staterooms. There are many extra towels around, including the equivalent of bath sheets.

The thermal suite was open from 8 AM to 10 PM. Stay as long or return as many times as you wish. If you book ahead by calling Spa Services, and pay more than the price on day one of embarkation, do not worry. They credit you your price then only charge you the cheaper price. It was $199 for two people for the whole week.

So glad to hear that all 4 of you really liked the ship:)

Awesome review!!

Oh yeah, You are quite welcome:)

Joanie

Wow! Surprised to see HAL stack up so well against Princess. Love HAL but also loved my CB cruise. I have been pricing Princess right along with HAL for a year now. I liked the fact that there were so many British people on Princess, tho that may have been just my sailing.

Glad you had a great cruise. We were on Westerdam earlier this much- loved the ship, the cruise, the crew, the captain, and the wife ;).

Thank you for comparing the 2 cruise lines.

Thank you for your very thoughtful review, seems like to me that your Hal cruise was a success.

thanks for the review, we sail both and also give the edge to Hal on most things.

Really loved your review.

Thanks so much for your insightful review and comparisons. It's always interesting to see comparisons and how different people view things.

I'm with you - I prefer HAL too but the main thing is YOU had a good time and a GREAT cruise. Welcome home and thanks for sharing:D

Thank you for your review. Since I sail this Sunday with my mother & best friend, it's nice to read about someone else's experiences. I've sailed with HAL 4 times, but Mom has sailed with Princess twice. And my friend has never sailed before. Is she in for a treat!

Your review was balanced and postive and very well written. Thank you for sharing with us.

Himself

Happy to read your review. We also love Princess but are trying out HAL next January. I hope our comparisons are as good as yours! The only thing I know I am going to miss for sure is MUTS. I love to sit out on deck and watch the movies!

What a great review.

Interesting to read the comparisions.

Thank you.

I liked the way you compared with HAL and Princess and as I believe we spoke on the ship ;) I totally agree :D

I do not disagree that Princess is a good cruise product but for us HAL just rates higher.

I agree that the crew and officers on the Westerdam were great. I think we were lucky to have the combination of CD and Officers on this sailing.

Did your large VD balcony (4164) have loungers in addition to the two chairs???

Thanks

BG

Thanks for your review.

Thank you. Appreciated the comparison. It will be our first time with HAL. We have cruised twice before on Princess.

One of my gripes with Princess was in the fact that the cabin had a chair and no sofa. If we wanted a sofa on Princess, we needed to upgrade to at least a mini-suite. Carnival, RCCL all have the sofa. We were thrilled that HAL does too.

Did your large VD balcony (4164) have loungers in addition to the two chairs???

Thanks

BG

We were not in 4164 so I'm not certain but I believe I've seen pictures on Joanie's site showing a lounger on that balcony on either the Westy or one of her sisters. Have you looked at her wonderful site?

The one additional item I failed to mention above was the way in which HAL distributes pool towels. How refreshing it was to be treated like a responsible adult sans threats of imprisonment for not returning the towel. Plus being able to leave them at the pool area meant less mess to deal with in the stateroom.

 

The one additional item I failed to mention above was the way in which HAL distributes pool towels. How refreshing it was to be treated like a responsible adult sans threats of imprisonment for not returning the towel. Plus being able to leave them at the pool area meant less mess to deal with in the stateroom.

Absolutely! On NCL you need to sign for them- can you imagine your wet, crumpled up receipt- and then sign them back in- can you imagine the line by the end of the day? This is during a SEA DAY. Also, when you go ashore, there is a line leaving the ship to sign them out. And you can't leave them in your cabin- no way.

Very interesting review with the detailed comparisons. Thanks.

Enjoyed your detailed comparisons. Glad you had a great cruise and thank you for taking the time and sharing your thoughts with us.

Thanks for the comprehensive review and comparison to Princess. Having cruised multiple times on both lines, I am very much in agreement with your comparisons, especially the one about the CD on the intercom all the time. I find your observations to be "spot on". HAL has become my favorite line, by far, with Princess coming in a far second place. Now, I would really be interested in reading a similar comparison to Celebrity as I am considering booking a cruise with them in the future.

Thanks again!

Thanks so very much for the comparison. I was so confused, being I'm a RCCL cruiser and couldn't decide on which line to go to Alaska. We wanted to try something different and couldn't decide on the Golden Princess vs. Westerdam.

You made up my mind.

Well, all I can say is after reading your review we are very excited to sail on HAL for the first time May 8! We have been loyal to Royal and Celebrity so it will be fun to compare the Westerdam with what we've been used to. It will only be a 3 night cruise for us as we will be sailing on Rhapsody to Alaska after we arrive in Vancouver.Thanks so much for the info!