Crown Princess v. Zaandam/Volendam

[BlackJack2]

We have only cruised on HAL. We are considering the Crown Princess (itinerary) for their British Isles Cruise. My question – how do the Volendam/Zaandam compare to the Crown Princess? How does the service on Princess compare to HAL? We always book the ocean view cabins. How do these compare to the Princess cabins? I have to tell you, we are feeling very disloyal to HAL by considering this cruise!!

[Guest LoveMyBoxer]

We have only cruised on HAL. We are considering the Crown Princess (itinerary) for their British Isles Cruise. My question – how do the Volendam/Zaandam compare to the Crown Princess? How does the service on Princess compare to HAL? We always book the ocean view cabins. How do these compare to the Princess cabins? I have to tell you, we are feeling very disloyal to HAL by considering this cruise!!

 

We have not sailed on the Volendam/Zaandam, but here are two posts I did about 2 years ago:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=602228&highlight=

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=604990&highlight=

 

Just felt really, really crowded on the Crown.

[CJcruzer]

Having just cruised on the Crown Princess this past summer, I don't think I will ever sail with them again....I chose the Crown for its British isles itinerary which was "the best fit" for what I wanted....I found the service lacking, the morning buffets barely passable with lukewarm offerings....elevators not working to capacity - and very little "quiet nooks" which I enjoy on HAL....our balcony stateroom was not as nice as on HAL - but was fine.....our room ssteward seemed to "throw" the late night choclates like they were a pair of dice - always wedged on the nighttable between the lamp and edge of table/desk......Main Dining Room food was good.....

 

You cannot compare Volendam/Zaandam to the Crown as they ar entirely different sized ship - the Crown I believe carries a max of 3200 ..... and I found out quickly I am not a fan of "large" ships....

 

However, all this did not interfere with our enjoyment of being in the British isles....so if you are booking on the basis of itinerary or price, then go with the Crown.....with identical itineraries I would choose HAL (unless the pricing was exorbitant compared to Princess....

 

Carol

[TraelorMex]

We have sailed both HAL and Princess. For comparison, here's the lowdown (IMHO): (Since the ships cannot be compared; differing sizes etc. I will compare the 'general'cruise experience between the two).

The staff on princess was courteous, efficient and professional. The staff on HAL was all the above, AND, very friendly, personable, warm/welcoming. On princess, we felt as though we had contracted and received a commodity, i.e., a cruise. On Hal we felt as though in addition to receiving our contractual cruise, we received the warmth of friendship and kindness. The peopl on HAL really do go over and above to make the cruise experience a memorable experience. Hope this helps...

[Love the beach]

We have only cruised on HAL. We are considering the Crown Princess (itinerary) for their British Isles Cruise. My question – how do the Volendam/Zaandam compare to the Crown Princess? How does the service on Princess compare to HAL? We always book the ocean view cabins. How do these compare to the Princess cabins? I have to tell you, we are feeling very disloyal to HAL by considering this cruise!!

We, too are feeling "disloyal" to HAL, however Princess had the itinerary we wanted and we booked the Aug. 22,2010 British Isles cruise. It is very port intensive and we have a great roll call going on with a lot of private tours so we really won't be spending much time onboard. It will be our first time on Princess.

Marge

[RlrCstr]

I have sailed on all three.

Looking at my list and my avatar, I bet you can guess that I will say

HAL, but perhaps for not the reasons you might suspect.

The crew on the Crown was ok at best. The front desk not even that

good. To be fair, I should explain my unhappy experience in brief. I had my docs and had booked a specific cabin, but upon arrival at the ship found that I had been assigned a different cabin, on a different deck,

at the very front of the ship. The design and flow of the decks was so lacking that it seemed easier to "pack for the day" since a quick trip back

to the cabin took a long time. I will grant that with a large ship that can

be a problem, but the Royal Caribbean ships I sail are larger and much

easier to maneuver, and all of the elevators work and are fast. Not so with the Crown.

I gave Princess one last chance after that, since the outcome of the cabin switch was a "generous" credit to try them again. The next

Princess cruise was fine, on a different ship, but it will be my last with them.

The crew is so genuine on HAL. They are mostly the same on RCI.

I am going on Celebrity in a few weeks and will see about them.

I book by itinerary, and if there is no way to do the cruise you want without trying the Crown, then go for it.

Some pluses--the gelato in the international cafe is the best I have had on any ship. The entertainment in the atrium was always changing, and

of good quality. My mini-suite cabin had a really nice closet.

Can't think of any more pluses.

 

No chance to go on HAL in that part of the world?

[Atomica]

I have a different take on the Crown.

 

We've sailed on her twice now, and our Iceland, Norway and British Isles cruise this past July was one of the best cruises I have ever taken.

 

The crew was fantastic and friendly - if you are nice and friendly to them. The buffets are more European/UK themed, and tend to have more international food offerings. For us, that was fantastic - we like a variety.

 

The Crown is a beautiful ship - different in theme from those of HAL, but no less enjoyable. For a ship that carries 3,000 plus passengers, you really don't notice it all that much. Public areas are spaced intimately, and several (such as Adagio) I doubt many passengers found at all.

 

Surely the best feature though is the itnerary - I've found HAL's offerings in this area struggle to match those of Princess. The Crown offers convenient R/T departures from Southampton, roughly a 1.5 hour drive from London Heathrow.

 

We looked very seriously at HAL for our trip last year, as well as Celebrity. For us, Princess was the right choice. But we're not married to one particular line. I love HAL, and I'd love to sail them again - but when the itinerary and time are right.