Holland america vs Princess Cruise lines

[LAFFNVEGAS]

22 hours ago, d9704011 said:

So, HAL recently posted a number of itineraries for 2026 and I thought I'd look into a 14 day cruise leaving UK or Netherlands for Norway and and a summer solstice crossing of the Arctic Circle.

 

A couple of months ago I booked a Sky Pricess cruise with verandah and Princess Plus package for a grand total of just over 8,000 CAD (currently running at 8,800 CAD).  A comparable HAL cruise and cabin and HIA package comes in at 12,400 CAD.

 

Any comments and/or suggestions why the rather substantial difference?  Certainly, the HIA provides some excursion and dining credits but not all that much.

Do you have booked with Princess a regular balcony Verandah or do you have a Deluxe non obstructed Balcony verandah?v Princess ships do not compare well with Holland America. Princess Interior staterooms are smaller to HAL,  same with regular obstructed and Non obstructed Ocean View.. HAL's balcony cabins are basically a Deluxe Balcony to Princess. Princess Mini Suites are nice but really nothing similar to compare to HAL, maybe a Vista Suite but Princess's is definitely better. And HAL's Signature Suite is better than a Princess Mini Suite. A full suite with Princess is nice as is HAL's but they are equally different, it is basically preference to how you want you Suite laid out. In comparing similair 2026 itinerary with Princess Plus and HAL's HIA you  need to compare with a Deluxe Balcony to HAL's regular balcony.

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Do you have booked with Princess a regular balcony Verandah or do you have a Deluxe non obstructed Balcony verandah?v Princess ships do not compare well with Holland America. Princess Interior staterooms are smaller to HAL,  same with regular obstructed and Non obstructed Ocean View.. HAL's balcony cabins are basically a Deluxe Balcony to Princess. Princess Mini Suites are nice but really nothing similar to compare to HAL, maybe a Vista Suite but Princess's is definitely better. And HAL's Signature Suite is better than a Princess Mini Suite. A full suite with Princess is nice as is HAL's but they are equally different, it is basically preference to how you want you Suite laid out. In comparing similair 2026 itinerary with Princess Plus and HAL's HIA you  need to compare with a Deluxe Balcony to HAL's regular balcony.

OK, I took your suggestion at face value to compare a Princess Deluxe Balcony to HAL regular balcony.  The Princess (with Princess Plus) is currently going for 9,280 CAD.  A few hundred dollars morenthan what I'm paying for a regular bacony but still substantially less than what HAL wants for a very similar itinerary.  I'm taking my first HAL cruise next February (Koningsdam) and shoule be able to judge for myself whether the additional cost of HAL is 'worth it' to me.

[miagirl]

On 7/9/2024 at 9:49 AM, Catlover54 said:

So I'd like to ask those who have sailed in suites on both HAL and Princess (I have friends doing Princess, but am just starting to explore booking it for myself), if you're in a balcony or above, and in particular if you were in a suite, *on a full ship*, on which cruise company, HAL or Princess, did you stand in line more, e.g., for tender returns, bar drinks, excursions, and other venues? Or were they pretty much the same, give or take?

 

Thanks in advance.

I haven't sailed in a full suite on Princess, but in their Reserve Collection mini suites.  With Reserve you never have to wait in line for a dining table.  (my very favorite perk!)  Full Suites get the Reserve perks of course.  On Princess I don't wait in line at bars, either a wait staff person appears or I order my drink of choice and it get delivered where I am on the ship, including of course the bar I'm sitting in.  I don't eat the the buffets so I can't say anything about the lines there.  Priority tender access comes with Elite status or most likely (but I am not sure) comes with a suite.  

[TRLD]

6 hours ago, d9704011 said:

Good luck!!

In a nut shell I am looking at splitting out cabin space from the total giving the traditional measure, avg cabin per passenger, and avg public space per passenger.  Just trying to find a way to automatically analyze public decks.

[BermudaBound2014]

7 minutes ago, TRLD said:

In a nut shell I am looking at splitting out cabin space from the total giving the traditional measure, avg cabin per passenger, and avg public space per passenger.  Just trying to find a way to automatically analyze public decks.

 

It would be easier (and more accurate) to just book one of the big gals back to back with a pinnacle ship and get first hand experience in space ratio 😄 

[d9704011]

19 minutes ago, TRLD said:

In a nut shell I am looking at splitting out cabin space from the total giving the traditional measure, avg cabin per passenger, and avg public space per passenger.  Just trying to find a way to automatically analyze public decks.

An ambitious project.  I'm with BermudaBound2014 on this one though; better and quicker to simply book, travel, compare and reach your own conclusions.  I don't think anybody could reasonably contradict anything you believe.

[Kay S]

44 minutes ago, TRLD said:

In a nut shell I am looking at splitting out cabin space from the total giving the traditional measure, avg cabin per passenger, and avg public space per passenger.  Just trying to find a way to automatically analyze public decks.

While you're doing that, I'll be on deck enjoying a beverage. 😄

[ChinaShrek]

13 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Thanks. That's exactly what I was getting at :). We just don't have a better way to calculate.

 

With that, I have sailed on numerous mega ships and believe it's a fallacy to suggest that just because a ship holds 6,000 passengers it will feel more crowded than the Pinnacle class on HAL. It doesn't.  Certainly some megas do, but those are the ones with poorer space ratio so you know that going in.

 

In theory you might be right about mega ships but I had a horrible experience in practice. I sailed the Ovation of the Sea (almost 5000 passengers) to Alaska last summer and we were delayed in arriving at Juneau by about two hours, When the ship finally arrived and allowed people to leave, passengers were lined up on Deck 5 and it took more than hour to get off of the ship in a slow, plodding line. This never happened at any port on any Holland ship that I have been on. I am usually off of HAL ships in 10 minutes from when the CD announces we can leave the ship. That's what I expect when I cruise. 

[d9704011]

1 hour ago, Kay S said:

While you're doing that, I'll be on deck enjoying a beverage. 😄

You'll have plenty of time for several daily maximums.

[TRLD]

6 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

It would be easier (and more accurate) to just book one of the big gals back to back with a pinnacle ship and get first hand experience in space ratio 😄 

Normally during a year I spend between 100 and 120 days on cruise ships. Last year I was on ships holding 50 passengers to 5000 on 7 different lines. Interested more in the analysis aspect of it. Seeing how one can slice and dice different ship characteristics.

 

More to analyze different design aspect and the different philosophies of companies when it comes to ship design. Large cabins vs small cabins.  more public areas vs more restricted areas, etc.

Edited August 2 by TRLD

[BermudaBound2014]

6 hours ago, TRLD said:

Normally during a year I spend between 100 and 120 days on cruise ships. Last year I was on ships holding 50 passengers to 5000 on 7 different lines.

 

You are the king of cruising! 

 

And here I thought I didn't have brand loyalty, 7 different lines in one year? What lines were they and I'm interested in what 5000 passenger ship you were on.

[BermudaBound2014]

11 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

In theory you might be right about mega ships but I had a horrible experience in practice. I sailed the Ovation of the Sea (almost 5000 passengers) to Alaska last summer and we were delayed in arriving at Juneau by about two hours, When the ship finally arrived and allowed people to leave, passengers were lined up on Deck 5 and it took more than hour to get off of the ship in a slow, plodding line. This never happened at any port on any Holland ship that I have been on. I am usually off of HAL ships in 10 minutes from when the CD announces we can leave the ship. That's what I expect when I cruise. 

 

I've sailed Anthem of the Seas a couple times (sister to Ovation) and for sure not all big ships are created equal in terms of space ratio. I do love 370, it's one of my favorite spots inside at sea. But I thought that ship had a serious choke point coming out of the theatre. I also agree that when things don't go exactly as planned (delayed arriving), it gets crowded fast! On K'dam the line to exit the ship in san diego wrapped entirely around deck two due to a bit of a snafu with customs so it does happen on HAL too.

 

I should mention that other than the Pinnacle class, HAL space ratios are very good comparatively (especially the volendam and zaandam!!).  With that, I wouldn't recommend moving from the Volendam to any of the OTS ships and expect more space. It's not happening.

 

IMO there are good and bad aspects of every cruise ship.  Mega or tiny, I love them all equally and am grateful to be able to sail both types.

[TRLD]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

You are the king of cruising! 

 

And here I thought I didn't have brand loyalty, 7 different lines in one year? What lines were they and I'm interested in what 5000 passenger ship you were on.

The 5000 passenger ship was the P&O Iona. We will be back aboard her this fall for a 14 day cruise to the Canary Islands. I think we were the only Americans on board.  Funny thing was that I was not familiar with school holidays in the UK and booked it during what turned out to be a school holiday at the end of October to Northern Europe.

 

The smallest was the 50 passenger Elixir Elysium which does 7 day cruises around Greece. Goes to a number of the smaller islands that the bigger ships do not. The other lines were HAL, Princess, Celebrity, Oceania and Windstar.

 

 

Edited August 2 by TRLD

[jeh10641]

Here is more pennies' worth of my thoughts. Never been on Princess so will not offer any comments other than this. I just spoke to a person at HAL viz-a-viz my upcoming cruise. She had worked for 25 years at Princess in Onboard Events for their corporate office in SoCal. The pandemic cost her her job. When cruising restarted, Princess did not take her back saying she did not have enough experience! Really? 25 years? On the other hand, she said HAL is a much better employer in that they are told that "Yes" is more important than "We cannot do that" (Princess philosophy). She sounded happy.

 

On our last cruise on Anthem OTS in October, our boarding time in Southampton (around 11 AM) was less than 10 minutes from baggage drop to on board.

 

Disembarkation in New Jersey took 2 hours with the line extending all around the ship. There was no reason given. My thought it was either a police or a medical issue. We experienced no lines for any activity onboard. 

 

There were over 4,000 passengers on board but because there was SO MUCH to do, I did not get to many of the activities I wanted even though we were onboard for 15 nights. Some activities we did more than once because we enjoyed them so much (mainly music shows).

 

Each to his or her or their own.

 

Jim

[TRLD]

2 hours ago, jeh10641 said:

Here is more pennies' worth of my thoughts. Never been on Princess so will not offer any comments other than this. I just spoke to a person at HAL viz-a-viz my upcoming cruise. She had worked for 25 years at Princess in Onboard Events for their corporate office in SoCal. The pandemic cost her her job. When cruising restarted, Princess did not take her back saying she did not have enough experience! Really? 25 years? On the other hand, she said HAL is a much better employer in that they are told that "Yes" is more important than "We cannot do that" (Princess philosophy). She sounded happy.

 

On our last cruise on Anthem OTS in October, our boarding time in Southampton (around 11 AM) was less than 10 minutes from baggage drop to on board.

 

Disembarkation in New Jersey took 2 hours with the line extending all around the ship. There was no reason given. My thought it was either a police or a medical issue. We experienced no lines for any activity onboard. 

 

There were over 4,000 passengers on board but because there was SO MUCH to do, I did not get to many of the activities I wanted even though we were onboard for 15 nights. Some activities we did more than once because we enjoyed them so much (mainly music shows).

 

Each to his or her or their own.

 

Jim

Considering that HAL and Princess share some shore based services her comments may be as much a bit of soir grapes as reality. I have gotten a similar number of yes and no responses from both lines.

 

During Covid both lines down sized their customer services departments. When they started back up they tended to hire more junior less expensive employees, instead of the more expensive long time employees. 

 

Several people I know either retired or had to change lines at a lower pay rate than they had before.

 

Now that Princess has contracted with ONE even less opportunity there.

Edited August 6 by TRLD

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Hands down Holland American crew are Sooper friendly.

[Hlitner]

I think, it again bears mentioning, that if you ask this question on the HAL board you will get mostly positive comments about HAL.  Ask the same question on the Prncess board, and you will get mostly positive comments about Princess.  As folks that have routinely cruised both lines (hundreds of days on each) we think there are pros/cons to each line and even the various class of ships operated by each line.   As to which line is better, for us that has been swinging back and forth over the years.  At the moment we favor Princess, but that could quickly change as both lines keep making changes to their product.

 

Just recently, a friend asked us which line has the best crew!  Our quick response was "Seabourn"  :).  The truth is that we have had mostly fantastic crew on both HAL and Princess, although the staff on both lines do not even come close to the crews we have had on Seabourn.  As to the best crew ever (in over 50 years of extensive cruising) it is a tie between Seabourn and MSC's Yacht Club.

 

Hank