Thoughts about my first Princess cruise

[nasa1974]

Don't remember much about HAL. We sailed twice, 2010 & 2013 with our daughter's and their husbands. The one thing that stands out was the late night all chocolate buffet they had one night.    Most of our sailings have been on Princess.

Ironically with all the ships mentioned above I am finally getting back on a cruise ship since covid and my wife's passing I'll be on the Oasis of the Seas in March and on the Crown for a 3/7-day b2b in October. I guess I'll have to pay a little more attention to the buffet. Not sure of I'm up to trying the MDR every night.

It's been an interesting thread. Thanks.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, BamaVol said:

I have made MDR reservations for 6:00 PM on our upcoming Caribbean Princess cruise.  It sounds like 6:00 PM may not be compatible with a 7:30 start time for a show.  I have requested a 2 top each night and in the Palm, which is the aft MDR. We will probably order a glass of wine to start and won’t order dessert or linger over a cup of “coffee”.  I’m a quick eater but Mrs BV doesn’t usually finish an entree and might not appear to be finished.  Should I change the reservations to an earlier time?

Here's a suggestion you may want to check out when you get onboard. We were on the Regal for 3 weeks last July and were always there when the MDR opened the doors at the "unofficial" time of 5:30, even though the Patter stated the open hours started at 6 pm. So, if that's still the case and you get there at say around 5:45, you may be able to beat the rush and have plenty of time to go to the early show like we did. But don't tell anybody. 🤫 

[PMGS247]

Just did my first HAL back in November due to the lack of Princess options that worked with our schedule.  Enjoyed it very much, found the two brands to be very comparable.  Sailed the Nieuw Statendam

 

I gave HAL the edge on food.  I gave Princess the edge on entertainment due to a wider variety....HAL was very good, but very one note in terms of focus on music.  There was a comedian but that was it...beyond that it was music, music, and more music.  High quality entertainment and I did enjoy myself, but it made me appreciate the slightly more varied entertainment on Princess.  I also found HAL massively under-utilized their outdoor movie screen, which was a feature from Princess we enjoy very much and one of the things that attracted us to that particular HAL ship.

[dmcfad2]

29 minutes ago, PMGS247 said:

Just did my first HAL back in November due to the lack of Princess options that worked with our schedule.  Enjoyed it very much, found the two brands to be very comparable.  Sailed the Nieuw Statendam

 

I gave HAL the edge on food.  I gave Princess the edge on entertainment due to a wider variety....HAL was very good, but very one note in terms of focus on music.  There was a comedian but that was it...beyond that it was music, music, and more music.  High quality entertainment and I did enjoy myself, but it made me appreciate the slightly more varied entertainment on Princess.  I also found HAL massively under-utilized their outdoor movie screen, which was a feature from Princess we enjoy very much and one of the things that attracted us to that particular HAL ship.

My thoughts, exactly. 
 

[PMGS247]

53 minutes ago, dmcfad2 said:

My thoughts, exactly. 
 

The only other notable thought that I excluded from my last post was I definitely gave HAL the edge on stateroom.  At least comparing balcony to balcony.  HAL wins with the couch and better bathroom/shower.  You have to go to Mini-Suite on Princess to do better but that's a fairly noticeable price jump. 

 

I've honestly never stayed in a princess standard balcony room, I've always opted for a mini-suite because I feel like I need the couch and most of my cruises have been on the grand class (like the crown) where deluxe balcony isn't an option (at least that I've seen?), but I've seen enough about standard balconies to safely say I'd prefer the HAL Balcony/veranda over a standard...the couch alone makes it a shoe-in. 

 

On my upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise on Discovery princess I am slated for a deluxe balcony so I'll have the couch but I'm sure I'll be wishing I had my bathroom back from my HAL cruise.

[Guest ldtr]

11 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Eating with others means you're meal time will only be a fast as the slowest person.

Unfortunately from what we have seen the speed of your meal is based upon how full your waiters area is, even if you are at a table for two. Also, In the bench 2 tops, close together, the tables tend to be served as if they were one large table

[dmcfad2]

5 hours ago, PMGS247 said:

The only other notable thought that I excluded from my last post was I definitely gave HAL the edge on stateroom.  At least comparing balcony to balcony.  HAL wins with the couch and better bathroom/shower.  You have to go to Mini-Suite on Princess to do better but that's a fairly noticeable price jump. 

 

I've honestly never stayed in a princess standard balcony room, I've always opted for a mini-suite because I feel like I need the couch and most of my cruises have been on the grand class (like the crown) where deluxe balcony isn't an option (at least that I've seen?), but I've seen enough about standard balconies to safely say I'd prefer the HAL Balcony/veranda over a standard...the couch alone makes it a shoe-in. 

 

On my upcoming Mexican Riviera cruise on Discovery princess I am slated for a deluxe balcony so I'll have the couch but I'm sure I'll be wishing I had my bathroom back from my HAL cruise.

Yes, I agree with you here, too. And don’t forget the shower on the Crown. It’s the smallest shower I’ve ever had. I don’t know what the newer Princess ships showers are like. 
 

I do love this ship, though. It’s so beautiful and elegant. 

[MissP22]

16 hours ago, ldtr said:

Unfortunately from what we have seen the speed of your meal is based upon how full your waiters area is, even if you are at a table for two. Also, In the bench 2 tops, close together, the tables tend to be served as if they were one large table

That's correct, but having a table for two eliminates all the gabbing that takes place at larger tables, thereby slowing down the whole dining process. If you request you meal to be speed up at a 2 top table it's sometimes possible, but not so much at a table for 6.

[jwattle]

We're in the minority; we like the two-tops that are close as we can talk to people and get to know them as much as they and we wish. We can also all keep to ourselves if it's that sort of evening. If you hit it off with your not-quite-tablemates, you can arrange to meet up for dinner again (or not😁).

[californiagirl]

Our experience is the same a jwattle regarding a table for two.  On my last solo cruise just as happenstance I was seated at a two top next to the same couple as a few nights prior.  We were both pleased to continue prior conversations and get caught up on excursions we had taken.  
 

To have an extended dining experience with strangers, like the OP experienced would be tiresome.  There is only so much small talk one can express at a first meeting.  Unless the wait is excessive we usually request a table for two.

[dmcfad2]

We went to the MDR again last night at our reserved time of 6 pm and were seated immediately with three other couples. The experience was a bit better this time, although it still took 2.5 hours for the complete meal. We waited about 2O minutes before our orders were taken. Things were moving right along until the main course. We waited for a long time between appetizers and the entree. At least this time we all got our meals at the same time. Again, our waiter apologized and told us it was due to trouble in the kitchen. Our table mates were very nice and we had good conversations, which made the time going by seem faster.
The food was very good. 

[MissP22]

11 minutes ago, dmcfad2 said:

We went to the MDR again last night at our reserved time of 6 pm and were seated immediately with three other couples. The experience was a bit better this time, although it still took 2.5 hours for the complete meal. We waited about 2O minutes before our orders were taken. Things were moving right along until the main course. We waited for a long time between appetizers and the entree. At least this time we all got our meals at the same time. Again, our waiter apologized and told us it was due to trouble in the kitchen. Our table mates were very nice and we had good conversations, which made the time going by seem faster.
The food was very good. 

No matter how good the food was, 2.5 hours to complete a meal is beyond reasonable.