HA vs. Princess : recent comparisons.

[elaine5]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:35 AM, disneyochem said:

 HAL did not show any games (no NFL, no World Cup) during the Thanksgiving week—not in a public venue or in our rooms!

On Rotterdam early January, college bowl games and pro play-offs were on large pool screen and also in rooms where one could chose which play-off game to watch.

[TriumphGuy]

We gave up on Princess after they removed the cabin barrel chair from standard balcony cabins. You have to upgrade to a higher balcony category to get seating in your stateroom.
I don't know about others but this 69 year old body needs a comfortable place to sit. Not dragging in a chair from the balcony.
HAL wins hands down in my opinion. They have sofas! And the food is better!

[Hlitner]

We cruised on the Westerdam (March-May) and on the Sky Princess (Dec). Put simply, we were quite happy with our Princess cruise (14 days) which was as expected (it was our 33rd Princess cruise) and we were very disappointed with our 42 days on the Westerdam.  

 

That being said, the two lines have quite a few differences and many folks who love one cruise line, or the other, do not adjust.  Many of our HAL cruising friends would likely hate Princess and vice versa.  As "equal opportunity cruisers" who go on many different lines we have noticed a tendency of many cruisers to be happy with their favorite line and not like other options.  Telling some folks that they need to adjust to each line (and even each ship within a line) is sometimes like spitting in the wind!  They either do not "get it" or cannot change their stripes.  There are things we love about HAL (we are 5* Mariners) and things we love about Princess (we have been Elite for decades).  

 

Funny thing is that our next 4 booked cruises are not on either of these two lines :).  Hence the "equal opportunity cruising" philosophy. After 50+ years of extensive cruising we never get bored since we are always changing our itineraries, ships, and cruise lines.

 

Hank

[maggiev]

On 2/25/2023 at 9:35 AM, disneyochem said:

We cruise both lines (7 Princess cruises this year, 4 on HAL) and are happy with both cruise lines.  For us, there are pluses and minuses on both lines.

 

What we like on Princess:  MDR, International Cafe, Alfredo’s/Gigi’s Pizza, more varied evening entertainment (shows, games, etc), MUTS, day activities, the Medallion app  (Yes, we love being able to order a drink and have it delivered to us anywhere on the ship), Princess Plus package includes crew gratuities.

 

What we like on Holland America:  the Dive In, the Crows Nest, the Music Walk, cabins with sofas, Tamarind and the Pinnacle Grill.

 

Misses on Princess:  the lack of back/front viewing areas (no Crows Nest!  Some ships do have a Skywalkers Lounge which is great), having to upgrade room type in order to get a sofa/seating in cabin.

 

Misses on HAL:  no Medallion (hate carrying the cruise card), lack of daytime activities, no production shows (how many times can one see the Origin Story?), no MUTS, MDR, poor choices for my dietary issues.

 

Most Princess ships do have a quiet pool where one can relax without blaring music—aft and Lotus Spa/Retreat pools.  Outside of Royal class, the ships do have full promenades.

 

I do have to say there was one thing that happened on our November 2022 Koningsdam cruise that made us never want to cruise HAL in the fall again.  We enjoy watching NFL games and other sporting events.  HAL did not show any games (no NFL, no World Cup) during the Thanksgiving week—not in a public venue or in our rooms!  Fortunately the WiFi was good enough to stream the games!  By contrast, Princess always shows major sporting events on the big screen and in staterooms.  

 

Unacceptable - the Bills played on Thanksgiving 2022. Great info to have, I’m booking a 2025 fall cruise & no football is not an option 

[fatcat04]

On 1/20/2024 at 7:01 PM, elaine5 said:

On Rotterdam early January, college bowl games and pro play-offs were on large pool screen and also in rooms where one could chose which play-off game to watch.

Same on N. Statendam. NFL games on the big screen and game snacks being offered around the pool too. It was quite nice to enjoy the jacuzzi and see the game as well. 

 

Also, it seems some Princess ships have fixed roofed in and also open pools. We are jumping ship to our first cruise on Princess on Diamond (close to the size of the N. Statendam) in Japan next year as part of a 23 day land and sea trip and that was something I specifically looked at on the ship as dd likes to swim and if the weather turns rainy, she will still have that option.

 

As someone above mentioned, the addition of laundry mats on Princess is nice, especially on a long trip. I know HAL had them way back. But Princess doesn't look to have an unlimited laundry package for purchase. Nice when you travel with kids which we always do. 

 

We picked this Diamond Princess cruise specifically for itinerary and timing of the voyage. That we found a ship that seems a good fit for us  (not too huge) and has some very unique features (the Japanese onsen style hot baths onboard look wonderful) along with some interesting cuisine choices being a very Japanese centric cruise ship are just perks to us. We are very easy going and have cruised Carnival (again itinerary made the choice) and Costa (our intro to cruising almost 20 years ago.) We have done the loud Lido parties and MDR parades with dress up nights on other cruise lines. We take everything as it comes and try to find the joy in the moment. I know we will have a great time. 

 

I am enjoying this thread while researching. Thank you all for sharing. 

[fatcat04]

On 1/20/2024 at 7:18 PM, Hlitner said:

We cruised on the Westerdam (March-May) and on the Sky Princess (Dec). Put simply, we were quite happy with our Princess cruise (14 days) which was as expected (it was our 33rd Princess cruise) and we were very disappointed with our 42 days on the Westerdam.  

 

Hank

I hate to hear that as Westie has a special place in our hearts being the ship we have spent the most days on with the now sold off Maasdam as a close second. We had some really great times on both of those ships. 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, fatcat04 said:

I hate to hear that as Westie has a special place in our hearts being the ship we have spent the most days on with the now sold off Maasdam as a close second. We had some really great times on both of those ships. 

No problem with the physical ship (we have cruised a lot on Vista Class).  2 weeks into our 6 week cruise, the Lincoln Center Stage group was gone, and that venue stayed dark for the next 4 weeks.  The Step One Dancers cancelled multiple performances (the ship actually had the nerve to be moving).  The BB King group, now renamed the Rolling Stone Lounge group was quite good.  The duel piano players were mediocre (at best) and the venue not well attended.   There were other issues which we posted on a day by day blog.   The best part of the voyage was the passengers (we met quite a few wonderful folks.

 

Hank

[fatcat04]

34 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

No problem with the physical ship (we have cruised a lot on Vista Class).  2 weeks into our 6 week cruise, the Lincoln Center Stage group was gone, and that venue stayed dark for the next 4 weeks.  The Step One Dancers cancelled multiple performances (the ship actually had the nerve to be moving).  The BB King group, now renamed the Rolling Stone Lounge group was quite good.  The duel piano players were mediocre (at best) and the venue not well attended.   There were other issues which we posted on a day by day blog.   The best part of the voyage was the passengers (we met quite a few wonderful folks.

 

Hank

Ugh. The one thing entertainment wise HAL really shines at is their small musical groups and to have so many issues is inexcusable. But glad to hear the BB King's group (that's what they will always be to us) were good is at least comforting. We have spent many a night there.. and maybe cut a rug on that dance floor well into the evening hours a few times too. Good memories.