Holland america vs Princess Cruise lines

[BermudaBound2014]

Oppsy: I posted this in the wrong thread.

 

When comparing Princess to HAL some of you might find this interesting. I think there will likely be a catch, but 120% is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to big ticket items like cruising.

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/06/princess-cruises-launches-best-price-guarantee/

[Kay S]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Oppsy: I posted this in the wrong thread.

 

When comparing Princess to HAL some of you might find this interesting. I think there will likely be a catch, but 120% is nothing to sneeze at when it comes to big ticket items like cruising.

 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2024/06/princess-cruises-launches-best-price-guarantee/

I guarantee there is a catch.

[Mary229]

4 minutes ago, Kay S said:

I guarantee there is a catch.

The catch is likely it is a time limited promo.  Bookings are excellent right now, industry wide. When and if things turn down expect that promo to disappear 

[BermudaBound2014]

29 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

The catch is likely it is a time limited promo.  Bookings are excellent right now, industry wide. When and if things turn down expect that promo to disappear 

It’s already time sensitive-

 

“The “Better than Best Price Guarantee” offer runs from July 1 through September 2, 2024.”

[RedIguana]

23 hours ago, Btimmer said:

For me, the two basic food groups are popcorn and watermelon.

I think you mispelled bacon and wine.

[jlawrence01]

On 6/27/2024 at 8:02 AM, Bobpell54 said:

Did 22 cruises on HAL starting in 2010

Jumped ship to Princess because we wanted a change and grew tired of the repetitive main stage entertainment, especially the BBC shows projected on the walls

Princess's main stage had much more production/live shows and we thoroughly enjoy them.

Does HAL still project shows on the walls?

Bob

They did last year on the Konigsdam.  BBC World.  It was fun the first couple of times 

[Kay S]

4 minutes ago, jlawrence01 said:

They did last year on the Konigsdam.  BBC World.  It was fun the first couple of times 

I got up and ran at the first glimpse of those horrible snakes!

[Bobpell54]

Me too, the second cruise I looked at the floor. Next year I didn't go when the daily news said a BBC show was going to be on. Then we heard through friends that Princess had production shows, tribute singers and vocalists. We jumped ship vowing not to return til the snakes and similar ilk are gone!!

Bob 

PS...we do enjoy the Princess main stage shows immensely

[jlawrence01]

21 hours ago, Bobpell54 said:

Me too, the second cruise I looked at the floor. Next year I didn't go when the daily news said a BBC show was going to be on. Then we heard through friends that Princess had production shows, tribute singers and vocalists. We jumped ship vowing not to return til the snakes and similar ilk are gone!!

Bob 

PS...we do enjoy the Princess main stage shows immensely

What I liked on the Regal Princess was that they had two experts giving lectures throughout the cruise.  The first was a lady familiar with all of the destinations of the cruise who talked about everything to do in port.  This included 3rd party excursions as well as "off the beaten track" things.  And excluded all of the usual ads that you usually hear about.

 

The second was a retired foreign service diplomat who worked throughout Central America during four administrations.

 

Both these speakers were available for questions afterwards.

 

This sure beat the HAL cruise director reading through PowerPoint presentations.

[jeh10641]

I am a HAL cruiser since 1959. I have tried Costa when it was still Costa (very nice Caribbean trip, not part of CCL) and Royal Caribbean (twice, 2008 and October 2023). I am going on Koningsdam in January 2025 to Hawaii.

 

Anthem OTS was a fine ship (2023, 15 nights) but too big for me. Lots of tempting things to do but missed many of them because what I did go to were fun.

 

I am a classical music fan so will miss Lincoln Center. I did like BB King, Rolling Stone  and Billboard as well.

 

I enjoyed the production shows on Anthem but preferred the Big Band music and the Calypso band so attended them both more than once. They also had a British group who sang 50s music. I saw them twice before they left the ship in the Canary Islands.

 

We had good food on Anthem including the buffets, the MDR and two specialty dining venues. No complaints. As a matter of fact our MDR dinner servers may have been the best I ever had since 1959 on HAL.

 

On Rotterdam in 2021, we ate at 4 pay to dine venues plus the buffet, NY Deli, Dive In and MDR. All were top notch except for NY Deli. We are ex-New Yorkers and were very disappointed in what was served there.

 

I have "a champagne" appetite for cruising but travel traa "soda pop" budget. I have been lucky to find good bargains in recent years for my cruises.

 

Happy cruising however you go!

 

Jim 

 

Edited June 30 by jeh10641

[dockman]

19 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

What I liked on the Regal Princess was that they had two experts giving lectures throughout the cruise.  The first was a lady familiar with all of the destinations of the cruise who talked about everything to do in port.  This included 3rd party excursions as well as "off the beaten track" things.  And excluded all of the usual ads that you usually hear about.

 

The second was a retired foreign service diplomat who worked throughout Central America during four administrations.

 

Both these speakers were available for questions afterwards.

 

This sure beat the HAL cruise director reading through PowerPoint presentations.

 

I absolutely detest going to any presentation by enrichment speakers or CD where they read a prepared text to me off of often poorly done power point presentations.  If I want to read it then just put in online and save us the trouble of going to the theatre.

 

I have seen way too many presentations done by experts who no doubt know their subject top to bottom but they have zero personality or presentation skills.  Does anyone vet these people before handing them a microphone?

 

[Roz]

I'm taking my 2nd Princess cruise in August after a 12 year hiatus.  A lot has changed since then.  Dining on Princess seems really complicated, and I'm a bit nervous.  I don't want fixed dining and I don't want to have to make a rez every night, so I'm not clear on my dinner options.  Princess also has for pay casual dining, which is something new to me.  When I think of casual dining, I think of the buffet, pizza, burger grill, ice cream, etc.  I've tried to figure out what/where these casual for pay eateries are on my ship, but haven't located that information.  I have the Plus Pkg. and apparently get 2 casual meals. 

 

In any event, I'll be doing a comparison between HAL and Princess when I return in September.  

[Hlitner]

49 minutes ago, Roz said:

I'm taking my 2nd Princess cruise in August after a 12 year hiatus.  A lot has changed since then.  Dining on Princess seems really complicated, and I'm a bit nervous.  I don't want fixed dining and I don't want to have to make a rez every night, so I'm not clear on my dinner options.  Princess also has for pay casual dining, which is something new to me.  When I think of casual dining, I think of the buffet, pizza, burger grill, ice cream, etc.  I've tried to figure out what/where these casual for pay eateries are on my ship, but haven't located that information.  I have the Plus Pkg. and apparently get 2 casual meals. 

 

In any event, I'll be doing a comparison between HAL and Princess when I return in September.  

We are 5* on HAL (with over 550 days) and Elite on Princess (33 cruises and nearly 400 days).  We are in the process of booking a future Enchanted Princess cruise, and at the moment, will not even waste our time looking at future HAL cruises, since our last two HAL cruises were not even close to our standards (or what used to be HAL standards).

 

As to the Princess dining issues, it is really not as complicated as it sounds.  You can make reservations (on the Princess app) for any the MDRs.  You can reserve the same time every night or change it every night.  You also do not need ot have a reservation and can simply walk-in at any of the open times (they have much more expansive hours than HAL).  As to the so-called "casual dining" this refers to a few venues, such as Alfredos/Gigis and the Salty Dog Cafe.  The expansive Lido has no charges (and is also opened for more hours than you get on HAL).  I do think the relatively new fees for some of the casual venues are ridiculous.

 

I will add that we have yet to cruise on the new Sun Princess, which is a completely different design than the other ships in the fleet.

 

Hank

P.S.  We remain hopeful that HAL will eventually return to something close to the line we have enjoyed for decades.

[stevenr597]

From time to time one sees a post comparing one line to another.  In the case of Holland vs Princess or Princess vs Holland, both are upscale cruise lines to be differentiated from mass market lines such as RCCL and Carnival.

They have their differences.  Princess is moving towards bigger ships with more amenities and of course more people.  Holland America is also moving towards bigger ships, but much smaller than Princess.  Holland America’s ships have less people and the suggestion of better food and more attentive service.

Is one better than the other?  Honestly, if one is “open minded” and goes with the flow, one can thoroughly enjoy both cruise lines.   

 

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, stevenr597 said:

From time to time one sees a post comparing one line to another.  In the case of Holland vs Princess or Princess vs Holland, both are upscale cruise lines to be differentiated from mass market lines such as RCCL and Carnival.

They have their differences.  Princess is moving towards bigger ships with more amenities and of course more people.  Holland America is also moving towards bigger ships, but much smaller than Princess.  Holland America’s ships have less people and the suggestion of better food and more attentive service.

Is one better than the other?  Honestly, if one is “open minded” and goes with the flow, one can thoroughly enjoy both cruise lines.   

 

Neither HAL or Princess are upscale lines. They are both mass market. The same as Celebrity m. The major difference is that HAL, Princess and Celebrity are primarily North American Adult focused lines. Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL are primarily NA family focused lines.

 

Major difference from the upscale premium and luxury lines.

[Bobpell54]

Two differences we noticed after 22 cruises on HAL and 4 cruises on Grand class ships of Princess were the main Stage shows and the length of cruises in the Caribbean.

HAL's shows deteriorated since 2010 into repetitive and projected on the wall episodes versus various live artists on Princess.

There were many cruises on HAL spent sitting in FLL on the seventh day of a 14 day cruise wishing we were at a Caribbean island instead watching more food, people and fuel being loaded. Princess does offer an occasional true 2 week sojourn around the warm seas south of Florida.

We started on ships of 1900 sobs and have no desire to sail on the new behemoths being launched now.

Bob

 

[terrydtx]

7 hours ago, TRLD said:

Neither HAL or Princess are upscale lines. They are both mass market. The same as Celebrity m. The major difference is that HAL, Princess and Celebrity are primarily North American Adult focused lines. Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL are primarily NA family focused lines.

 

Major difference from the upscale premium and luxury lines.

I agree 100%. If you want to go up a notch to real premium lines, you have sail on Viking Ocean and Oceania. We choose our cruises by itineraries, that no longer includes the Carribean or Mexico. Brand loyalty is second after we find an itinerary we want.

[stevenr597]

8 hours ago, TRLD said:

Neither HAL or Princess are upscale lines. They are both mass market. The same as Celebrity m. The major difference is that HAL, Princess and Celebrity are primarily North American Adult focused lines. Royal Caribbean, Carnival and NCL are primarily NA family focused lines.

 

Major difference from the upscale premium and luxury lines.

You do make a point, but I stand by my classification of these lines.

There are the mass market cruise lines such as NCL, Carnival and RCCL.  There are of course the premium or luxury cruise lines such as Crystal and Regent. 

But it was felt that there was a need for a classification of a cruise line that did not operate at the level of a true luxury line, but was more upscale than the mass market. 

There have  been a number of term that have been used to classify these line.  Upscale, is one of them. 

Lines such as Holland America, Princess, Cunard, and Celebrity fall into this category.  Certainly one can use another term, but generally these lines are thought to be better than mass market, but  not at the level of a true premium.

To make this more complicated, Azamara  and Oceania are trying to argue that they operate at a level above the lines I mentioned but less expensive than the pure Premium Lines. 

In addition, many lines are now offering a “luxury” class on their ships, the Ship within a Ship Concept. 

[Mary229]

19 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

To make this more complicated, Azamara  and Oceania are trying to argue that they operate at a level above the lines I mentioned but less expensive than the pure Premium Lines. 

I don’t know about Azamara but if you sail on Oceania’s larger ships they are no value and do not surpass your upscale category 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I think it's up to the individual. What is important to you, size, food, staff, entertainment, price, and how often you cruise, how many days at a time. Cabin size, and more.

Ps we use to sail Princess 10- 20 day cruises. We feel we have stepped up to Holland and found the type of travel/ Cruises we like. 

[Catlover54]

On 6/28/2024 at 3:52 PM, Kay S said:

I got up and ran at the first glimpse of those horrible snakes!

 

But the rest of the production was terrific.  I saw it on the Rotterdam last year when I was on with a friend and this year was on with DH and hoped they would show it even though I hated those snakes (he is heavily into his amateur photography).  Unfortunately, they did not, instead we had a cheesy NYC 30's style  "musical" , set more than a century ago, overly affected acting and behavior.  We did not come back for more of that style. 

 

 

[stevenr597]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I don’t know about Azamara but if you sail on Oceania’s larger ships they are no value and do not surpass your upscale category 

Some argue that since Oceania was acquired by NCL they went down in quality. 

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

Some argue that since Oceania was acquired by NCL they went down in quality. 

We have cruised with Oceania after the NCL Aquisition and IMO they overall are heads and Shoulders above any mass marketed cruise line including HAL and Celebrity in service and dining. 

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, stevenr597 said:

You do make a point, but I stand by my classification of these lines.

There are the mass market cruise lines such as NCL, Carnival and RCCL.  There are of course the premium or luxury cruise lines such as Crystal and Regent. 

But it was felt that there was a need for a classification of a cruise line that did not operate at the level of a true luxury line, but was more upscale than the mass market. 

There have  been a number of term that have been used to classify these line.  Upscale, is one of them. 

Lines such as Holland America, Princess, Cunard, and Celebrity fall into this category.  Certainly one can use another term, but generally these lines are thought to be better than mass market, but  not at the level of a true premium.

To make this more complicated, Azamara  and Oceania are trying to argue that they operate at a level above the lines I mentioned but less expensive than the pure Premium Lines. 

In addition, many lines are now offering a “luxury” class on their ships, the Ship within a Ship Concept. 

There are pretty clear lines by a number of factors such as %industry revenue/% industry passenger ratio, inclusions, ship size, crew passenger ratio,  that pretty clearly delineate the boundaries between mass market, premium, and luxury.

 

Just like there are variation in focus adult vs family, North America vs UK vs Germany  vs EU, etc.

 

There are lots of terms that cruise lines like to apply in their marketing.

Edited July 7 by TRLD

[TRLD]

Premium lines are those such as Azamara, Oceania and Viking.  Viking is becoming pretty dominate in that category.

 

Luxury are those such as Crystal, Regent.

 

Will be interesting to see how the new entries shake out though most of them are pricing and doing characteristics in line with luxury.