XP: HAL vs. Princess

[klsinga]

We are a family group of 5 (65, 63, 35, 37, 3) trying to decide on a Princess cruise or HAL Eurodam. I have been on the fence about this for literally weeks and we need to book. HELP!

 

We've all sailed Princess and been pleased, but HAL seems to have reviews about more comfortable rooms, nicer staff and marginally better food. HAL is also cheaper for us. On the other hand, I have heard a few references to HAL not having quite as much in the way of entertainment and onboard activities as Princess. The Ruby Princess also has more bells and whistles (kiddie pool, golf simulator, etc.).

 

None of us are after hours partiers, but my dad usually goes to all of the things during the day on at sea days (talks, bingo, game shows, etc.). If you have personal experience or opinions about the following areas on either Ruby Princess or Eurodam (or just Princess vs. HAL), please share.

 

For the husband: dessert (quality and selection)

For the kid: kids program (esp. staff)

For the old man: daytime and early evening on-board activities

For me: room organization/size/comfort and cleanliness of ships

 

Many thanks!!

 

PS - I am also posting this on the Princess board to get their perspective.

[CruiserBruce]

Xp???

[LAFFNVEGAS]

In this past year I have been checking out different cruise lines after several years of being a HAL Fan. In January we cruised on the Crown Princess, then this past April we sailed on the NCL Pearl. Truthfully we liked NCL far better. Over all HAL is truly a Premium Cruise Line and Princess is just a Mass Market Cruise line.

I did a live report from the Crown and to me at first I was impressed but as the week continued we became less impressed.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1121708

[babyorca]

In this past year I have been checking out different cruise lines after several years of being a HAL Fan. In January we cruised on the Crown Princess, then this past April we sailed on the NCL Pearl. Truthfully we liked NCL far better. Over all HAL is truly a Premium Cruise Line and Princess is just a Mass Market Cruise line.

 

I did a live report from the Crown and to me at first I was impressed but as the week continued we became less impressed.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1121708

 

Do you also have a review about NCL?

I'd love to know your thoughts as I hear it's lower on the rung of good cruise lines and also much less formal/refined, etc. I have only cruised X and HAL and come to enjoy the great service and also really appreciate the MDR traditional style dining.

 

would love you input. thanks!

[GeriatricNurse]

In this past year I have been checking out different cruise lines after several years of being a HAL Fan. In January we cruised on the Crown Princess, then this past April we sailed on the NCL Pearl. Truthfully we liked NCL far better. Over all HAL is truly a Premium Cruise Line and Princess is just a Mass Market Cruise line.

 

I did a live report from the Crown and to me at first I was impressed but as the week continued we became less impressed.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1121708

 

Gosh, you must have cruised with NCL on one of their good weeks!:)

[klsinga]

XP means cross post (at least on some other chat boards of which I'm a member). I posted on several different boards to get more opinions and different perspectives.

[CruiserBruce]

XP means cross post (at least on some other chat boards of which I'm a member). I posted on several different boards to get more opinions and different perspectives.

 

Thank you. Never heard that before, and I am a member of 4 different boards. Learn something new every day!

[RuthC]

For me: room organization/size/comfort and cleanliness of ships.

I can highly recommend the inside cabins on Main Deck for family comfort. The cabins are huge, nicely layed out, neat and clean.

There are some that connect to the next cabin, if family togetherness is desired.

[VioletHorse]

I've taken 8 HAL cruises, including a total of 10 days on the Eurodam. My DD and I took our first Princess cruise last month on the Caribbean Princess (9 day Caribbean out of NYC).

 

To address some of your questions, here goes.

 

Desserts

 

Princess wins this one - HAL has great looking desserts, but they are lacking in flavor. The only exception to this is creme brulee. I had creme brulee 2x on the CB, once in the DR and once in Sabitinis. The one in the DR was not good, and the one in Sabatinis was beyond bad - it had the consistency of the old rubber ball that you give your dog to play with, a taste that was indescribably bad. I've never had a bad creme brulee on HAL - they've always been very good.

 

Kids Program

 

I don't have personal experience with this, but generally speaking, I've read mainly good things about Club HAL. There is no kiddie pool on HAL, although the Lido pool is where kids can go.

 

Daily Activities

 

There are always plenty of things to do on HAL - yes there is bingo, trivia, lectures/talks, cooking demos, computer workshops etc.

 

Rooms

 

HAL wins here. My DD and I were shocked by the small size of our Obstructed Oceanview room on the CB. We've had the same category room on HAL, and it was much larger. Most of the rooms on HAL ships have a seating area with loveseat or sofa, and an adjustable height table. And the bathrooms are much larger on HAL, with most rooms having a bathtub, which might be beneficial for your 3 yo. The beds on HAL are wonderful, unlike those hard slabs on Princess which require an eggcrate. Stateroom decor is much nicer on the Eurodam than the CB.

 

Additional Observations

 

- HAL coffee is great compared to the brown liquid served on Princess.

- Capppucino and espresso is free in the HAL MDR, unlike Princess.

- Staff on both the Eurodam and the CB were outstanding.

- Princess had more of a variety of public venues, like the International Cafe, Vines, the Piazza. Princess makes its' Atriums work - HAL not so much.

- Third person fares are ridiculously high on Princess. We priced a Canada/NE cruise with the FCC on the CB, and the third person rate was only about $150 less than the 1st and 2nd person fare!

- The Eurodam has about 1000 fewer pax, so the ship is much easier to navigate than the 3000+ pax Princess ships.

 

That being said, these two cruiselines are much more alike than different. We have Future Cruise Deposits for both HAL and Princess, so we'll be sailing both again.

[E-500]

We are a family group of 5 (65, 63, 35, 37, 3) trying to decide on a Princess cruise or HAL Eurodam. I have been on the fence about this for literally weeks and we need to book. HELP!

 

We've all sailed Princess and been pleased, but HAL seems to have reviews about more comfortable rooms, nicer staff and marginally better food. HAL is also cheaper for us. On the other hand, I have heard a few references to HAL not having quite as much in the way of entertainment and onboard activities as Princess. The Ruby Princess also has more bells and whistles (kiddie pool, golf simulator, etc.).

 

None of us are after hours partiers, but my dad usually goes to all of the things during the day on at sea days (talks, bingo, game shows, etc.). If you have personal experience or opinions about the following areas on either Ruby Princess or Eurodam (or just Princess vs. HAL), please share.

 

For the husband: dessert (quality and selection)

For the kid: kids program (esp. staff)

For the old man: daytime and early evening on-board activities

For me: room organization/size/comfort and cleanliness of ships

 

Many thanks!!

 

PS - I am also posting this on the Princess board to get their perspective.

 

As of 11:35 A.M. nobody has responded to your direct questions.

Here is my 2 cents worth.

 

1. Both lines do an excellent job on desserts. No edge

2. Princess probably does a better job with kids, HAL is improving and is solid. Edge to Princess

3. Princess has more going on during the day, but HAL has the Culinary Center and Microsoft at Sea which are both excellent programs. Both lines do excellent early evening/pre-dinner activities. Princess is more active late at night. No edge.

4. I give the edge to HAL on room comfort/size and organization. Both lines run very clean ships.

 

End of the day, look at ship size, price and ports of call to make a final decision. You will have a great time on both lines.

[cruz chic]

As of 11:35 A.M. nobody has responded to your direct questions.

Here is my 2 cents worth.

 

1. Both lines do an excellent job on desserts. No edge

2. Princess probably does a better job with kids, HAL is improving and is solid. Edge to Princess

3. Princess has more going on during the day, but HAL has the Culinary Center and Microsoft at Sea which are both excellent programs. Both lines do excellent early evening/pre-dinner activities. Princess is more active late at night. No edge.

4. I give the edge to HAL on room comfort/size and organization. Both lines run very clean ships.

 

End of the day, look at ship size and ports of call to make a final decision. You will have a great time on both lines.

Have you ever tasted the desserts on HAL:confused:. I think Princess is much better.

[NancyIL]

I just returned from the Crown Princess (sister to the Ruby Princess), and I love Princess's ships. Our inside cabin on Princess was 160 sq. ft., but well laid out. HAL wins for cabin size on their older ships, but on the newer ships - the inside cabins are smaller than Princess/RCI. I think Princess's ships are prettier than HAL's - but I don't cruise just because of the looks of the ship! I loved the International Cafe on the Crown.

 

I disliked my first HAL cruise on the Zaandam in 2004, and swore I wouldn't cruise with HAL again. I broke down in 2008 and cruised to Alaska on the Veendam, and had a great cruise. I have another Alaska cruise booked on the Amsterdam for 2011. I haven't sailed on a Vista-class ship or newer, and I'm not sure I'd want to unless it had an itinerary I couldn't get elsewhere.

 

I would choose the ship with the best itinerary.

[E-500]

Have you ever tasted the desserts on HAL:confused:. I think Princess is much better.

 

Short answer to your question is, yes. We all have opinions, and at times we might disagree. I respect your opinion, but will allow my 35 years in the restaurant industry to support my comments.

 

Now let's get back on track and respond to the OP's questions.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Do you also have a review about NCL?

I'd love to know your thoughts as I hear it's lower on the rung of good cruise lines and also much less formal/refined, etc. I have only cruised X and HAL and come to enjoy the great service and also really appreciate the MDR traditional style dining.

 

would love you input. thanks!

 

Here is the link to my live posts for NCL Pearl

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1188291

 

Gosh, you must have cruised with NCL on one of their good weeks!:)

NCL is really two cruise lines in one. If you book a Suite for the most part it is above HAL for amenites and service. If you dine in the different speciality restaurants each night you will get a premium product. The crew and officers are more like HAL than any other cruise line I have been on and they actually do more things that HAL use to do that I miss as in Past passenger parties and Officers actually out and about with the passengers. I can see where some people find when you book an OV or Inside cabin that it is much lower quality than HAL. NCL is kind of an ala carte cruise line. You pay for the items you want and if you don't want it you do not have to pay for it.

I am a Spa person and NCL Pearl had by far the BEST Spa on land (with the exception of the Grand Wailea in Maui ;)) or sea I have been to.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

As of 11:35 A.M. nobody has responded to your direct questions.

Here is my 2 cents worth.

 

1. Both lines do an excellent job on desserts. No edge

2. Princess probably does a better job with kids, HAL is improving and is solid. Edge to Princess

3. Princess has more going on during the day, but HAL has the Culinary Center and Microsoft at Sea which are both excellent programs. Both lines do excellent early evening/pre-dinner activities. Princess is more active late at night. No edge.

4. I give the edge to HAL on room comfort/size and organization. Both lines run very clean ships.

 

End of the day, look at ship size, price and ports of call to make a final decision. You will have a great time on both lines.

 

 

I think you made some good observations but this would be mine :)

1. I would give the edge to Princess their desserts, pizza, breads and pasta was definitely far better than HAL but that was it. The meat and veggie quality were so far below HAL. The main entrees on Princess were really bad. Meat was chewy and tasteless and one night Tom ordered their Fried CHicken and I am not kidding we all swore at the table it was a Swanson Chicken dinner just taken out of the package and placed on a plate.

2. I do not have children but from what I can tell yes Princess might be slightly better but that is only because of the mass of children they get on their ships.

3. I found the day time activities to be absolutely identical for both lines and I did not find that Princess was a whole lot better in the nights. I had honestly hoped there would be more going on but while there was most things were extremely boring and everything repeated itself over and over. I actually felt that the Vista and Signature Class ships had a little bit more going on in the evening than even Princess. (NCL beats them both their entertainment and lounge acts are far superior)

 

4. YES over all HAL wins for your basic Inside and Ocean View and regular balcony cabins but when you jump up to the next level things change because Princess Mini Suite in most cases is slightly cheaper than a HAL SY/SS Superior Vernadah but the lay out of Princess Mini Suite is very nice if you can get it cheap. If it is about the same price as HAL's SY/SS then HAL is clearly the winner again those cabins are far superior. Full Suite I have to give the edge to HAL because they have the Neptune Lounge. But the Full Suite on Princess are very nicely appointed with much larger bathrooms like that of a Hotel Suite. Overall amenities are basically the same as HAL's But HAL has by far the best beds and linens :D

[klsinga]

Thanks for all of the feedback everyone. I really appreciate it. The itineraries for both cruises we are considering are almost identical, so that isn't too much of a factor. Since we have 3 people for our cabin, HAL actually makes more sense money-wise.

 

Again, I appreciate ALL of the feedback!

[Pam in CA]

I think the two cruiselines are more similar than not. I've been in all types of cabins on a variety of Princess ships and in several different cabins on HAL. They're laid out completely differently. Some think one is better than the other but in reality, they're just different. On the Princess Grand-class ships, the "living" area is smaller but you have a sizeable dressing area outside the entrance to the bathroom which means that the closet is a very large, open one the width of the cabin (minus the hallway) with a full cabinet of shelves at the end. The bathrooms in the standard Princess cabin are smaller than those I've had on HAL but for me, that's not a biggie.

 

To the OP, I don't think you can go wrong either way. The most important thing is to be with your family.

[cruz chic]

Short answer to your question is, yes. We all have opinions, and at times we might disagree. I respect your opinion, but will allow my 35 years in the restaurant industry to support my comments.

 

Now let's get back on track and respond to the OP's questions.

If you care to look at the OP they did ask about the dessert:confused:. You're one of the few people I've seen saying that HAL's desserts are good. Clearly we all have differing opinions. I'm sorry you were so offended by my answer to you felt you needed to put me back in my place:rolleyes:.

[mamoune]

And what about HAL vs Carnival?? We have sailed Carnival and Celebrity once each and we loved both. We are considering a europe cruise next spring and Carnival is way cheaper than HAL... same itinerary btw, however, Carnival has 1000 more px on board and an I concerned about this when time to disembark on port days...

 

Thanks !