Oz & NZ - Princess vs HAL - any thoughts?

[smalldog]

Hi all, I've done a NZ cruise on HAL, and was looking at Princess because they now sail out of Brisbane, which would save me the hassle of getting to Sydney first.

 

Any thoughts about a comparison between the two lines, particularly in the way they operate in Australia and NZ?

 

I saw something about Princess working on Aussie dollars while here, and including tipping in the upfront price, is that true? Are the powerpoints Australian too, or US configuration?

 

And on HAL you could rock up to the MDR any time on all but the last night. Different lines call this different things, but do they have that on Princess or not?

 

Many thanks for any tips and ideas. :)

[rkmw]

Hi all, I've done a NZ cruise on HAL, and was looking at Princess because they now sail out of Brisbane, which would save me the hassle of getting to Sydney first.

 

Any thoughts about a comparison between the two lines, particularly in the way they operate in Australia and NZ?

 

I saw something about Princess working on Aussie dollars while here, and including tipping in the upfront price, is that true? Are the powerpoints Australian too, or US configuration?

 

And on HAL you could rock up to the MDR any time on all but the last night. Different lines call this different things, but do they have that on Princess or not?

 

Many thanks for any tips and ideas. :)

 

hi, we have never cruised Hal but being from Brisbane you can sail with the Sun Princess and you are going to save a heap of money as you wont be paying for airfares to & from Sydney plus Hal only does one way Syd/Auck so you would need another airfare plus Princess you dont have to pay any tips and all the fare is in AUD....the power points on Princess are Australian

[Aus Traveller]

Differences between Princess and HAL (We have been on both) -

1. Princess operate in AUD when they are based in Aust.

2. No auto tipping on Princess Australia.

3. In my opinion HAL attracts a slightly older age group and is more 'staid' than Princess.

4. When operating out of Aust Princess only has traditional dining in early sitting (5.45pm) or late (8.00).

5. The buffet has been open 24 hrs but I hear that it will be closed for a few hours in the very early morning.

6. you can take a bottle of wine each on to Princess ship at every port. I do not know the present situation with HAL.

7. With Sun Princess and Dawn Princess every cabin has one Aussie power point.

[bobhsv]

We have sailed with Princess, and highly recommend them. I would do the Princess one, for two reasons. 1st Princess is great. 2nd makes your luggage issues easy, as you will need warmer clothing for NZ, you can pack as much as you wish!

Jen

[smalldog]

hi, we have never cruised Hal but being from Brisbane you can sail with the Sun Princess and you are going to save a heap of money as you wont be paying for airfares to & from Sydney plus Hal only does one way Syd/Auck so you would need another airfare plus Princess you dont have to pay any tips and all the fare is in AUD....the power points on Princess are Australian

 

Thanks. Glad you like Princess. Not paying tips on top of the rest would be handy. I imagine they factor it in beforehand rather than excusing us from paying them at all, but that's much more civilised if you're going to have to pay it anyway.

 

HAL actually does a number of roundtrip cruises out of Sydney though. Did one myself last Christmas. But getting to Sydney with a 70-something mother is a pain. How impatient I become in my old age!! :)

[smalldog]

Differences between Princess and HAL (We have been on both) -

1. Princess operate in AUD when they are based in Aust.

2. No auto tipping on Princess Australia.

3. In my opinion HAL attracts a slightly older age group and is more 'staid' than Princess.

4. When operating out of Aust Princess only has traditional dining in early sitting (5.45pm) or late (8.00).

5. The buffet has been open 24 hrs but I hear that it will be closed for a few hours in the very early morning.

6. you can take a bottle of wine each on to Princess ship at every port. I do not know the present situation with HAL.

7. With Sun Princess and Dawn Princess every cabin has one Aussie power point.

Thanks for this great list. I've been on two HAL cruises and brought the average age down a fair bit on each. ;) I don't mind it too much, because I'm not a party animal - a nice view and a good book and someone else doing the cooking is my idea of a splendid holiday.

 

But to be honest I don't much like what I call the "nursing home" approach they take to the daily activities on HAL. Like they were just keeping us distracted until the next meal - no real opportunity to learn anything useful, even the dancing lessons were never followed up, just half an hour of one dance, never to be seen again. But I'm probably not your average cruiser so maybe no one else minded.

 

I find HAL to be quite good quality generally though. Would you say the same for Princess?

[smalldog]

We have sailed with Princess, and highly recommend them. I would do the Princess one, for two reasons. 1st Princess is great. 2nd makes your luggage issues easy, as you will need warmer clothing for NZ, you can pack as much as you wish!

Jen

 

I have to say the idea of just calling a cab to get to the ship is very, very tempting... ;)

[smalldog]

Two weird food questions:

 

1. Do they have porridge aka oatmeal on Princess?

 

2. Do they have steamed veges on Princess?

[Aus Traveller]

Two weird food questions:

 

1. Do they have porridge aka oatmeal on Princess?

 

2. Do they have steamed veges on Princess?

Steamed veges - most definitely yes. I am pretty sure I have seen people having oatmeal at breakfast but I am not 100% sure.

 

I agree with you that departure from your home port is great - without the bother and loss of time waiting at the airport and flying, then getting a bus or taxi at the other end. Then there is the weight limit when flying .....

 

We like Princess and find that the activities are good. In my opinion P & O have had more deck games/activities than Princess, but Princess seems to be doing more (even water polo & make-a-boat-from-scrap challenge). Princess usually has 'Enrichment Lecturers' who give a talk in the theatre in the mornings on sea days. These can be on history, ships, astronomy or whatever. There should also be a port lecturer giving information on the ports and what you can do on your own. There are often bridge classes & games for those interested. All these activities are at no extra cost. Craft classes usually attract a small fee to cover materials.

[smalldog]

Steamed veges - most definitely yes. I am pretty sure I have seen people having oatmeal at breakfast but I am not 100% sure.

 

I agree with you that departure from your home port is great - without the bother and loss of time waiting at the airport and flying, then getting a bus or taxi at the other end. Then there is the weight limit when flying .....

 

We like Princess and find that the activities are good. In my opinion P & O have had more deck games/activities than Princess, but Princess seems to be doing more (even water polo & make-a-boat-from-scrap challenge). Princess usually has 'Enrichment Lecturers' who give a talk in the theatre in the mornings on sea days. These can be on history, ships, astronomy or whatever. There should also be a port lecturer giving information on the ports and what you can do on your own. There are often bridge classes & games for those interested. All these activities are at no extra cost. Craft classes usually attract a small fee to cover materials.

 

That's good news about the steamed veg.

 

As for activities, I'd love something like learn to paint or learn to draw, or a dance class that continued and built on what you learnt earlier, but I haven't seen any cruise lines having that sort of activity, so it may well be I'm the only one in the world who wants them. ;) The lectures might interest me though. Or craft, depending on the craft. Thanks for the info! :)

[Aus Traveller]

That's good news about the steamed veg.

 

As for activities, I'd love something like learn to paint or learn to draw, or a dance class that continued and built on what you learnt earlier, but I haven't seen any cruise lines having that sort of activity, so it may well be I'm the only one in the world who wants them. ;) The lectures might interest me though. Or craft, depending on the craft. Thanks for the info! :)

Princess often have an art teacher as one of the lecturers. On all the cruises we have been on there has been someone teaching dancing - sometimes it is members of the Cruise Staff and other times special dance teachers. The classes definitely build on each other in skill level.

 

The type of craft is dependent on who is teaching - Cruise staff or a craft teacher brought on specially. It depends on the cruise.

 

It is more likely that there will be specialist dance teachers and craft teachers brought on for the longer cruises.

[rugbypopsie]

The Volendam is more comparable to the US based Princess ships like Diamond Princess...there is a big difference between Sun/Dawn Princess and a ship like the Diamond in my opnion.

My preference is the Diamond having sailed on Volendam 2 weeks/Dawn Princess (6 weeks) and Diamond Princess x 3 about 60 days.

The best news is NZ is a fabulous destination and you will have a lovely cruise no matter which ship you choose.:)

[smalldog]

Princess often have an art teacher as one of the lecturers. On all the cruises we have been on there has been someone teaching dancing - sometimes it is members of the Cruise Staff and other times special dance teachers. The classes definitely build on each other in skill level.

 

The type of craft is dependent on who is teaching - Cruise staff or a craft teacher brought on specially. It depends on the cruise.

 

It is more likely that there will be specialist dance teachers and craft teachers brought on for the longer cruises.

 

Those sound quite good. Thanks for taking the trouble. :)

[smalldog]

The Volendam is more comparable to the US based Princess ships like Diamond Princess...there is a big difference between Sun/Dawn Princess and a ship like the Diamond in my opnion.

 

What are the differences, would you say?

 

And are they big enough that you'd choose HAL over Princess for an Australian based cruise?

[Kiwi Kruzer]

My thoughts , for what they are worth , are that HAL and Princess are very similar in terms of service, food and facilities.

The main difference I have observed , is that the HAL ships are a bit more luxuriously appointed......ie the decor is a bit more "up market" and they have lots of art works decorating the ship.

I have cruised with both, enjoyed both , and would happily cruise with either line.

 

 

[erewhon]

Two weird food questions:

 

1. Do they have porridge aka oatmeal on Princess?

?

 

Were you able to have porridge on HAL?

[ozififer]

I can't remember having oatmeal a la porridge with HAL but I very much remember having an unusual dish one morning for breakfast. Thick slices of corned beef topped with poached eggs and beef gravy. Absolutely beautiful. What a change from bacon and eggs!!!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Were you able to have porridge on HAL?

 

No porridge sweety .... they serve "grits":D

 

[smalldog]

Were you able to have porridge on HAL?

Absolutely! They called it "oatmeal", though. And they served it with brown sugar and sultanas. Although they called the sultanas "raisins".

 

Ain't the English language grand? ;)

[smalldog]

My thoughts , for what they are worth , are that HAL and Princess are very similar in terms of service, food and facilities.

The main difference I have observed , is that the HAL ships are a bit more luxuriously appointed......ie the decor is a bit more "up market" and they have lots of art works decorating the ship.

I have cruised with both, enjoyed both , and would happily cruise with either line.

 

 

 

Thanks David :)