HAL and Princess comparison?

[RuthC]

11 minutes ago, lstrong said:

 I'm an inside cabin cruiser and have always had at least a loveseat. Yikes, no chair or loveseat would be a deal breaker 

It was a deal breaker for me. I canceled the cruise I had planned on the Koningsdam, for several reasons, but have no intention of booking another on that ship.

[iancal]

It all comes down to ship and itinerary for us.

 

Both lines are equally attractive to us however there are some ships that we would never consider.

[Aquahound]

On 2/24/2019 at 2:00 PM, TriumphGuy said:

Hi, 

We have been Princess cruisers exclusively since we began cruising in 2016. Recently we have become a bit disenchanted with Princess due to their new short sighted policy of removing seating from balcony cabins, elimination of afternoon Happy Hour, and a few other things. So we are looking at other lines.

We are not party types, enjoy quiet sea days, good food, light to moderate drinkers, not real big on shipboard entertainment (although do enjoy a comedian or show at times). I love to read and could spend a lot of time on the balcony, in the cabin, or a quiet spot around the ship doing just that. 

Princess seems to want to get everybody out of their cabin to spend money. We have become a bit weary of Princess' hard sell for extras and removal of comfortable seating was the last straw. So much so that we have decided to cancel a cruise in Australia next year. 

So how does HAL compare? Are we on the right track?

 

My biggest beef about Princess is the size of their cabins.  Unless you book a mini suite, the cabins are very cramped and don't have a couch.  And now they're removing the chair?  Oy vey!  I don't know about HAL's oldest ships but every ship I've sailed (Vista, Signature and Pinnacle Class) had a couch in the cabin. 

 

From how you described your preferences, I think HAL will be a perfect fit for you.  

[terrydtx]

A close friend recently came back from a Princess cruise and told us about the one comfortable chair being removed in their standard Balcony cabin. She said they were told that it was to make more room in the cabin. Having never sailed with Princess I can not offer a fair comparison other than I believe most HAL veranda cabins must be larger than princess because they either have a love seat or two chairs to sit on  in the cabin. It must be really hard to enjoy room service on Princess if you have to sit and eat on your bed, maybe that is their reasoning on removing the sitting to discourage passengers from using room service.

[Aquahound]

This is a standard balcony room on Princess.  Notice the odd barrel chair.  That's what they're removing.  As you can see, it's the only seat other than the vanity chair.

 

 

And for the OP's benefit, this is a standard balcony on HAL

 

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

This is a standard balcony room on Princess.  Notice the odd barrel chair.  That's what they're removing.  As you can see, it's the only seat other than the vanity chair.

 

 

And for the OP's benefit, this is a standard balcony on HAL

 

Wow, what a difference between the two, another good reason to stay away from Princess.

[Aquahound]

And one more comparison, this is what Princess is doing now.  This is a standard balcony on Princess' newer ships.  You think the toilets are odd on K'dam?  Try sitting comfortably on this pathetic balcony.

 

 

Compared to a standard balcony on HAL's newest ships:

 

[TriumphGuy]

This was our Standard balcony cabin  (R743) on Crown Princess earlier this month on a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. The barrel chair is gone. All we had to sit on was the desk chair or a balcony chair if we dragged one inside. For me, this was unacceptable, which is why we are changing lines. It's a shame, we have enjoyed Princess for the most part but HAL appears to be more like what we have come to expect in cruising. 
Thank you to all for your posts.

[colonialinnkeeper]

We haven't sailed on Princess for a little more than a year and hadn't heard about the chair removal.  We enjoy the larger balcony cabins on HAL but put up with the smaller Princess ones when we choose Princess for one reason or another.   Smaller balconies on Princess newer ships and now only one desk chair will be a deal breaker for us too, since we often have room service breakfast on port days.  With no place to sit, it seems unlikely that we would ever use room service and therefore think twice before booking Princess.  What are they thinking??

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Aquahound said:

And one more comparison, this is what Princess is doing now.  This is a standard balcony on Princess' newer ships.  You think the toilets are odd on K'dam?  Try sitting comfortably on this pathetic balcony.

 

 

Compared to a standard balcony on HAL's newest ships:

 

You have brought up a pet peeve.  When Princess launched its Grand Class vessels, the balconies were some of the best at sea and the Caribe Deck balconies (in regular balcony cabins) were the largest on any ship.  We still love those old Grand Class ships.   But then Princess launched their first Royal Class ship and the balconies were among the smallest on any cruise ship..although Princess marketed these new vessels as in improvement.  We do like the Royal Class for many reasons, but truly dislike the postage stamp balconies.

 

Hank

[lcand1923]

I sail primarily on HAL, but have done one Princess cruise (Alaska) and on Celebrity cruise (Western Med).

I prefer HAL for:

1.  Priest on board for daily Mass

2.  Great LIDO buffet

3.  Wrap around Promenade Deck

4.  Great crew EVERYWHERE

 

I did have one the best meals anywhere in the Italian up-charge restaurant on Princess.  I do not remember the

name of the restaurant but the meal was excellent.  The Main Dining Room and Buffet were OK.  Bar service was

barely adequate.  (When you go back to the same bar every night, to the same bartender and you don't

get any sort of greeting, that is barely adequate.)

 

I found the shows on the Celebrity cruise to be very, very good.  They were much better than any on Princess or HAL.

The Main Dining Room, Buffet and up-charge restaurants were OK.  The bar service was excellent.

 

Would I sail Princess or Celebrity again?  I would have to think about it.  Will I sail HAL again?  YES 

[avian777]

5 minutes ago, lcand1923 said:

I sail primarily on HAL, but have done one Princess cruise (Alaska) and on Celebrity cruise (Western Med).

I prefer HAL for:

1.  Priest on board for daily Mass

2.  Great LIDO buffet

3.  Wrap around Promenade Deck

4.  Great crew EVERYWHERE

 

I did have one the best meals anywhere in the Italian up-charge restaurant on Princess.  I do not remember the

name of the restaurant but the meal was excellent.  The Main Dining Room and Buffet were OK.  Bar service was

barely adequate.  (When you go back to the same bar every night, to the same bartender and you don't

get any sort of greeting, that is barely adequate.)

 

I found the shows on the Celebrity cruise to be very, very good.  They were much better than any on Princess or HAL.

The Main Dining Room, Buffet and up-charge restaurants were OK.  The bar service was excellent.

 

Would I sail Princess or Celebrity again?  I would have to think about it.  Will I sail HAL again?  YES 

👍👍👍  Wholeheartedly agree!!!

[iancal]

The bottom line for us is that you can pick the ‘right ship’ for you based upon your personal preferences on either cruise line and have either a very mediocre cruise or a wonderful cruise.

 

So much depends on the crew and on the cutbacks in service, food, and maintenance on those ships.  It seems to be a crap shoot.  The best one can do is research to better the odds plus a bit of luck.  Lowest common denominator seems to be the rule.

[DrSea]

Seems like HAL is a perfect fit for you. I am kind of the opposite of you, so princess is more my style between the two. 

[Perkins52]

My wife and I have cruised with both lines--would say all in all prefer HA.  Would not say anything bad about Princess just are used to Holland.  We did put a future cruise deposit down on our last Princess cruise and will not have a problem with using it as they have a California cruise we like doing.

[AncientWanderer]

Great information that Princess removed chairs from the cabins. Thanks to the OP and others for the heads-up.  We've sailed with Princess many times -- prefer HAL, but with the right itinerary, will sail with Princess.  The absence of seating in the cabin is not okay with us.   We enjoy a drink in the room while dressing for the evening and an occasional room service -- both of which require a place to sit.  Do I want to book a mini-suite just to have a chair?  Nope.

 

Thanks once again to CC for so much great information.

[rkacruiser]

My experience on Star Princess:  the barrel chair did hinder a quick access to my veranda at times.  I have a standard veranda booked on Coral Princess for this Summer; maybe, if the chair has disappeared, my opinion will change and wish the chair was there.

 

My veranda on Royal Princess was perfectly adequate and enjoyable for this solo cruiser.  Smaller than HAL's?  Yes.  Such a veranda size would not prevent me from booking another veranda cabin on Royal Class ships.

 

The entertainment options on Royal Princess was the most significant difference between HAL and Princess.  Even with Music Walk on Nieuw Statendam, Royal Princess' options were varied and not all music oriented.  Their program began with a Sailaway show on a raised deck at the ship's mid-ship pool area.  90 minutes after we sailed, an entertainer performed in the Piazza.

 

MDR dinner presentations on both ships disappointed me more often than not.  Quality, menu choices:  not what I have experienced on either of my last Princess or HAL cruises.

 

Crown Grill on Princess is superior to PG.  Sabitini's on Princess is as good as, if not better, than Canaletto.  Pizza and specialty sandwiches at Nieuw Statendam's New York Deli were great!  Alfredo's on Princess was excellent as well.  The only optional dining option that really excelled was Sel de Mar on Nieuw Statendam.  Using my Mariner discount, my order of Escargots, whole Dover Sole, a side dish, and Crepes Suzette totaled $19.50!  

 

NO difference between the two companies:  friendliness, helpfulness of their crew!

[Nymich]

Have sailed on both but when they opened BB Kings it was all over for Princess and we headed for HAL even more.  Someone earlier in this thread said that Princess is more active at night.   I don't agree when it comes to the Pinnacle Ships.

[Bostonjetset]

I honestly like both lines for different reasons.  My last cruise was on the Ruby Princess and my next is on Nieuw Statendam [unless I can squeeze another one in sometime over coming year...]. 

 

• The crew is great on both but I do think the Indonesian/Pinoy crew on HAL is a bit warmer; that is one of HAL's selling points for sure. 
• The entertainment was light years better on this recent Princess trip than on my past HAL trips; high-quality production shows just about every night.  I've heard HAL is starting to step up the game on their newer ships so I'll see on NS next year but on their older ships there was a lot to be desired other than the classical musicians [who have always been good on HAL].
• I thought the food was better on Princess overall though both lines have good items.  SHARE by Curtis Stone was one of the most unique dining experience I've ever had on a cruise.  Princess is the only line other than Cunard that actually has a decent afternoon tea [HAL has gotten rid of the very cool and unique Royal Dutch tea and Indonesian tea].  I do think HAL's Dive-In is better than Princess's Salty Dog though.  One thing that has been discussed on this board recently is a new "trial" policy of HAL to start charging $10 extra to those who request more than one entree in the MDR...this is extremely tacky IMO and is not a good PR move for HAL.  In addition to being extremely "nickle and dime-y", it could be a logistical nightmare for the dining stewards and passengers at large tables; we'll see how this pans out.
• The cabins on HAL's older ships are larger than Princess with better seating options [though Princess has a better closet/dressing area].  I don't know how HAL's newest ships will compare though.  The Veendam had fabulous inside staterooms with sofas and loads of space...one doesn't get that on Princess.
• HALs ships are mid-sized, even their newest, which IMO is better.  The lower passenger count is noticeable, especially on sea days or when a port requires a tender. 

[TriumphGuy]

10 hours ago, Bostonjetset said:

I honestly like both lines for different reasons.  My last cruise was on the Ruby Princess and my next is on Nieuw Statendam [unless I can squeeze another one in sometime over coming year...]. 

 

• The crew is great on both but I do think the Indonesian/Pinoy crew on HAL is a bit warmer; that is one of HAL's selling points for sure. 
• The entertainment was light years better on this recent Princess trip than on my past HAL trips; high-quality production shows just about every night.  I've heard HAL is starting to step up the game on their newer ships so I'll see on NS next year but on their older ships there was a lot to be desired other than the classical musicians [who have always been good on HAL].
• I thought the food was better on Princess overall though both lines have good items.  SHARE by Curtis Stone was one of the most unique dining experience I've ever had on a cruise.  Princess is the only line other than Cunard that actually has a decent afternoon tea [HAL has gotten rid of the very cool and unique Royal Dutch tea and Indonesian tea].  I do think HAL's Dive-In is better than Princess's Salty Dog though.  One thing that has been discussed on this board recently is a new "trial" policy of HAL to start charging $10 extra to those who request more than one entree in the MDR...this is extremely tacky IMO and is not a good PR move for HAL.  In addition to being extremely "nickle and dime-y", it could be a logistical nightmare for the dining stewards and passengers at large tables; we'll see how this pans out.
• The cabins on HAL's older ships are larger than Princess with better seating options [though Princess has a better closet/dressing area].  I don't know how HAL's newest ships will compare though.  The Veendam had fabulous inside staterooms with sofas and loads of space...one doesn't get that on Princess.
• HALs ships are mid-sized, even their newest, which IMO is better.  The lower passenger count is noticeable, especially on sea days or when a port requires a tender. 

Nice and helpful comparison, thank you.

[Swice]

This has been interesting reading.    We've sailed both.    Our last cruise was a year ago in Alaska  on Princess (we had previously sailed Alaska on HAL).   

 

My youngest son, a 15-year old, mused the whole time about how Princess was not as nice as HAL.    EVERY night he complained that the butter on Princess was the foil wrapped rectangles instead of the cut-cubes of butter in a cold dish (with with ice in the bottom to keep it cool).      Everybody has their "thing."

 

Generally speaking, we do think the food is better on HAL.    In Alaska, the Princess Lodges are better.    

 

BTW, I'm concerned reading that HAL is now charging for an extra entree'???   There were a number of nights when we skipped an appetizer or salad and ordered the pasta entree for all of us to share and taste.    On other nights, I've ordered two or three appetizers and a salad and skipped the entree.      I can't imagine THAT many people order two entrees' and impact the cruise line's bottom line.    

 

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Swice said:

This has been interesting reading.    We've sailed both.    Our last cruise was a year ago in Alaska  on Princess (we had previously sailed Alaska on HAL).   

 

My youngest son, a 15-year old, mused the whole time about how Princess was not as nice as HAL.    EVERY night he complained that the butter on Princess was the foil wrapped rectangles instead of the cut-cubes of butter in a cold dish (with with ice in the bottom to keep it cool).      Everybody has their "thing."

 

Generally speaking, we do think the food is better on HAL.      

 

I think you have a discerning son for such an observation!

 

This Summer, I am sailing on Westerdam from Vancouver to Seward and Coral Princess from Whittier to Vancouver.  On two sailings within a couple of weeks of each other, I am looking forward to comparing the "Princess Alaska Experience" with the Holland America Alaska Experience".

[DAllenTCY]

Holland America offers your room available upon embarkation.  Princess did not on my last 2 cruises.....until the announcement was made close to 1 pm.

 

David 

[OCruisers]

On 2/25/2019 at 7:05 PM, RuthC said:

Most of them, anyway. The inside cabins on the newest ships (Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam) have neither the love seat nor even a chair for passengers to sit on.

 

Still wondering how people on these newest HAL ships are feeling about this.

 

Also, when comparing HAL to Princess, it needs to be which HAL ship to which Princess ship.  

 

[iancal]

The last two standard balcony cabins that we had on Princess BOTH had a love seat, not a tub chair.  Star and Caribbean.