HAL Compared with Princess

[Drews_Cruise]

We are considering a cruise to Alaska in 2015 and we are huge Princess fans. We like the consistency of the product and things like Movies under the Stars, the wine policy etc. We would like to try HAL for this one though. What is it that you like most about HAL?

[Kamloops50]

We are considering a cruise to Alaska in 2015 and we are huge Princess fans. We like the consistency of the product and things like Movies under the Stars, the wine policy etc. We would like to try HAL for this one though. What is it that you like most about HAL?

 

You'll find HAL very similar except for MUTS and the wine policy. Hal has a tendency to be slightly older demographic but that's relative.

[cruz chic]

I like princess too. They do a much better job in the mdr. Hal struggles big time with that based on eating at a large lable in open dining. I find hal is much better in food variety, size of room and their accomidations.

[Tarpeian Rock]

Agree with prior poster. Having done 4 HALs and 1 Princess, we thought Princess did a far better job in the MDR, with respect to level of service, quality and presentation of the food. On the other hand, we thought Princess' lido in Horizon Court was inferior to HAL's, HAL's layout, variety, and freshness being better. We found Princess' staff generally more friendly and helpful than our last couple of HAL cruises, but then things like that can vary so much ship-to-ship and with crew turnover. As it happens, we will be doing Alaska next year, and have chosen HAL because they seem to be the most experienced in Alaska, they have the lengthy itinerary, including an intensive land portion, we want, and because they're holding a significant amount of our money in the form of future cruise credit. If Princess had the same itinerary and if HAL wasn't holding advance monies we'd already paid, we'd probably have chosen Princess.

[pmd98052]

We sailed Princess 3 times (Hawaii and twice to Mexico) and HAL twice (41 night LA to New Zealand) and once to Mexico.

 

We just returned from Princess (Houston/Caribbean) two weeks ago.

 

Overall we would travel with either. They are more alike than different. We're 43 and 42 with two young kids (8 and 6). I wasn't expecting to say this but I'd give a very minor edge to HAL. Very minor.

 

We felt the MDR food was much better on HAL - better quality, more variety, however deserts are much better on Princess so win some, lose some. Buffet we thought HAL was better/fresher/more variety though not open as long - However since HAL's reopens at 10.30pm for the themed snacks we also found that was better - variety again. Pizza much better on Princess if you eat Pizza on cruises. Being able to order any MDR item in your room is big HAL advantage though on Formal nights with young kids. Also the unlimited laundry deal is nice to have - of course you need it since no laundry rooms unlike Princess...

 

I like the HAL New York Times print outs and free access to the site online onboard. We found the HAL Staff friendlier and HAL have happy hours which were great deals.

 

Princess had the edge if you wanted to watch movies (MUT's) but we never find we have time for that on a cruise! Love the concept of it thought - just need to find time! Our kids preferred the HAL kids club - staff on the latest Princess cruise were no where near as good but that just varies per cruise I'm sure....

 

Stateroom stewards slightly faster on Princess - on HAL we sometimes found cabin took longer to get turned down etc - little things - HAL also doesn't allow the carts in the corridors which I'm sure slows things down but must make things easier for those in scooters etc.

 

Liked the crows nest area on HAL ships and the theatre layout better.

 

Entertainment very similar - perhaps a slight edge to Princess.

 

Overall not much in it! We'd happily cruise on either again.

[Itasca]

A slight edge to HAL, mdr food somewhat better, missed the Crow's Nest on Princess,

rooms better on HAL, PG, Neptune Lounge. I can't compare kids programs but Princess was outstanding.

[Hlitner]

Another major difference is the Smoking Policy (and you can look at the nearby thread) on HAL which allows all passengers to smoke both cigars and cigarettes on all passenger verandas...as well as many outside places around the ship. So if you are bothered by smoke you might want to stick with Princess or Celebrity.

 

Hank

[HALrunner]

I have only sailed Princess once (and overall had a very good experience), but a few things have kept us loyal to HAL.

 

First of all, how can we forget the AMAZING beds on HAL?!? Someone else noted that the cabins are slightly larger, as well. All HAL ships have the wraparound promenade which is also a plus.

 

Although our service on Princess was good to very good, our service on HAL has been outstanding!

 

We also prefer the culinary theme on HAL with the cooking classes/demos and have only had excellent experiences in the MDR.

 

On our Noordam cruise last month a solo guitarist performed at the sea view pool on some nights, dubbed "Guitar Under the Stars. Although not a movie, it might still give you your "under the stars" entertainment fix:)

 

They are both quality lines, IMO. I would certainly sail Princess again, but there is also something to be said for the comfort of familiarity. I have already figured out all the little things on HAL, and to switch to another line now would require me to go in very open minded and a lot of time on CC to figure out the nuances of the other line. You are off to a good start:)

[trvlcrzy]

There are more announcements on Princess for Bingo, shopping specials, etc. HAL uses announcements for arrivals in port, but on sea days you will hear the (approximately) 1:00 position report from the captain followed by a few announcements by the cruise director.

 

I would love to hear that Princess has upgraded their beds. In our experience, their beds are hard as boards, requiring the request of an eggcrate mattress pad to make them comfortable. HAL beds are fantastic.

 

I'm a big breakfast person, but DH is not. We, therefore, eat the Lido breakfast. HAL breakfast is fresher with made to order items, but Princess has the buffet with items sitting. Both offer omelets. The French toast is too dry on Princess (too thick for the batter to get good coverage). HAL offers eggs benedict... or Florentine... or Scottish... about 6 ways each day. Fried eggs are made to order instead of sitting under a heat lamp.

 

For the daily cruising experience, the two are very similar.

[agabbymama]

I've only sailed with Princess once on the Grand Princess. The ship was just too large for us. We had a difficult time navigating around the ship. Our cabin was toward the stern and we only made it to the Showroom at the Bow 1 time.

 

On HAL, if you get to the Promenade Deck, you can circle the ship, thus getting anywhere you want to get without having to go up a deck or down a deck. On the Grand we were always being told you can't get there from here, you have to go up or down and continue on your way.

 

HAL has FRESH flowers everywhere (not plastic or silk), teak wood Promenade deck with wooden deck chairs, real washclothes in the public restrooms, FULL HOT BREAKFASTS from Room Service, a little bigger balcony cabins and great beds.

 

If you are HUGE Princess fans, I'm not sure HAL is for you. The atmosphere onboard is totally different (JMHO).

 

We made do and still had a good cruise, but I won't sail a behemoth ship again. HAL is even getting larger ships now that I'm not interested in sailing.

 

I'd start a graph chart with the cruiselines/ships across the top, and the things of importance to you down the side (size of ship, itinerary, time in ports, excursions, cost, cabin type, etc). As you research put an "X" in the conjoining box. As you near the end of your research one should have more Xs than the others.

 

You can also take a look at the ports and excursions on the cruiseline websites to see what appeals to you most.

 

Have a great cruise whatever you decide. Alaska is AWESOME!

[iancal]

For us it would very much depend on the ship. HAL ships can be quite different from each other in size, condition, MDR experience, etc. Have not been on the smaller Princess ships but I suspect that there would be variations in their fleet as well. We typically avoid older ships.

[FredT]

The full wrap around promenade deck.

 

Fresh Flowers everywhere.

 

Smaller ship (in general)

 

Better itineraries. (Otherwise I would have sailed on other lines!)

 

Better library

 

Self service laundries

 

Better tech center

 

Better "attitude". IMHO it seems HAL KNOWS "what" it wants to be. Princess is trying to be everything to everyone...

 

But in the end, if Princess has a better itinerary for a particular route... I'm on Princess.....

Edited March 4, 2014 by FredT

[mcmarya]

I agree with what other posters have said. We have done 4 HAL and 1 Princess cruise and like both.

 

The things I like about Princess:

Cabin (at least on Sapphire): really like the closet being moved away from the hallway, an additional outlet, a refrigerator. The shower is a negative--very, very small.

Pools: we were in Alaska so it didn't much matter, but all the Princess ships seems to have lovely and numerous pool areas. Pools and hot tubs are all fresh water and stay open longer hours. Some HAL ships only have 1 pool, a negative for hot weather cruises if there are any kids on board.

Postcards: You can go to the computer lab and send free e-postcards which are essentially e-mails.

Laundry: Self service on all ships instead of just on the older ones.

Pizza: better than HAL's.

 

Things I like about HAL:

Food: steaks and shrimp were higher quality. You could get shrimp cocktail every night on Princess but the shrimp were much smaller. Princess food is good but I give a slight edge to HAL.

Library: No one has better libraries than HAL. No need to bring as many books or buy a bunch of e-books.

Enrichment: Princess does well at this, as well, but I give the edge to HAL.

Wrap around deck: I think all HAL ships have them and they are wood. Our Princess ship required going up and down stairs to circle the ship.

Bow of ship: Some Princess ships don't have one so Alaska and Panama Canal cruises (maybe others) where the bow is open, it is great to be able to get closer to the action.

Ship Size: Overall, Princess ships are larger, several carrying over 3,000 passengers. For some that might be a plus but not for us.

 

Both lines are wonderful so price, itinerary, and which ship in the line are our deciding factors. The Sapphire Princess is larger than we usually sail, but the cruise fit our plans the best and we had a wonderful time anyway.

[gerryl12]

We have over 100 days on both HAL and Princess and it is a toss up.

 

I like Princess - better for the perks (free WIFI) platinum.

- food good

 

BH likes Hal - food presented bit better

- great library

- beds much better (pillow top)

 

Both are fantastic but with all the cut backs/ cost savings we will see.

Room steward service getting slower as they get more rooms to do etc.

[BumperII]

A slight edge to HAL for the bread pudding and sticky buns.

[Drews_Cruise]

Wow. So many answers, I'm amazed. thanks everyone for all the tips. I'll keep reading if there are more. I like the sound of HAL so it may be worth it to give it a try. :D

[msmoger]

Wow. So many answers, I'm amazed. thanks everyone for all the tips. I'll keep reading if there are more. I like the sound of HAL so it may be worth it to give it a try. :D

 

Did you ask the same question on the Princess Boards? ;)

[LindaM]

You'll find HAL very similar except for MUTS and the wine policy. Hal has a tendency to be slightly older demographic but that's relative.

 

You won't be using MUTS in Alaska!! The wine policy is now the same, except HAL's corkage is $3 more per bottle. Hope I'm not wrong about that! You probably won't be buying wine in Alaska, anyway. HAL offers a hot room service breakfast, which is great for early excursions. Princess is replacing mattresses. Once you sleep on a HAL mattress, there is no going back to Princess.

[kangarooer]

Booked on upcoming HAL cruise. Been on Princess previously where my wife buys a bottle of wine in MDR and has a glass or two a night. Waiter stores bottle in kitchen somewhere between dinners.

Is this done on HAL?

[RuthC]

Booked on upcoming HAL cruise. Been on Princess previously where my wife buys a bottle of wine in MDR and has a glass or two a night. Waiter stores bottle in kitchen somewhere between dinners.

Is this done on HAL?

 

Yes. If/when there is leftover wine, it is stored and brought back to you the next night. If you are in a specialty restaurant the next night, they can retrieve it for you, too.

[cruz chic]

You won't be using MUTS in Alaska!! The wine policy is now the same, except HAL's corkage is $3 more per bottle. Hope I'm not wrong about that! You probably won't be buying wine in Alaska, anyway. HAL offers a hot room service breakfast, which is great for early excursions. Princess is replacing mattresses. Once you sleep on a HAL mattress, there is no going back to Princess.

 

I've slept on a Hal mattress and I've done Princess many times too. Just got off the sapphire on Saturday and I think my mattress was every bit as comfortable as Hal's. In the past I would have agreed with you. My mattress at home is way more comfortable than Hal's and it's about 10 years old. Makes me wonder what people are sleeping on at home.

[geocruiser]

Princess has mini shows in the atrium, which I like. Princess also give a military OBC up to $100 to $250.

Edited March 5, 2014 by geocruiser

[pmd98052]

Forgot about the room sizes - We had a HAL "Large Interior" room for us (2 adults + 2 kids) for our 41 night trip last fall and would select that over the Princess balcony we just had out of Houston. So much more space, slightly larger shower and bathroom area too. Oh and the HAL TV's had DVD players which was handy a couple of times with the kids. Also the balconies on HAL have a sofa and a real bath (some exceptions) so more like a mini-suite on Princess.

 

Princess has been replacing the beds though and now they're just as good as HAL's imho. Our first Princess cruise a couple of years ago had literally rock solid beds - it was like lying down on a hard wood floor - We got a foam topper from the steward and that made it ok but looks like they've fixed this now. (and I happen to like firm beds but it was a little too firm!)

 

I shop on price and itinerary - While Princess perks might be better they are not in my view worth only sailing with one line for. Same for any loyalty program I've seen.

Edited March 5, 2014 by pmd98052

[Drews_Cruise]

Did you ask the same question on the Princess Boards? ;)

 

No Michael because I figured most people who really knew a lot about HAL would not be on the Princess boards that much. Appears I may have been wrong.

[travel09]

Both have advantages, Princess ships maybe slightly more impeccably kept, itinerary's on HAL are often more diverse. But there is just something about HAL,a traditional feeling on their ships, the Crows Nest is a huge plus, especially in cooler climates..MUTS...well its often very cool in the evening air at sea ,for sitting out for a movie..As others have said HAL beds are heaven...but you can have the "Egg Crate covers on Princess, I took my own last time, light and easy, and worthwhile on a long journey...The smoking policy on HAL is antiquated and is such an unfortunate mistake, as smokers...sorry... are a minority theses days. Either one will be wonderful...Enjoy.