How do Princess and HAL compare to Celebrity, Royal and Carnival?

[Skippy]

We just returned from an amazing Alaska cruise and thinking of going again next year with my parents. It will be me, hubby, two teens, and the parents. We’ve been on celebrity, royal and carnival and had good experiences on those.

What’s the entertainment on board like on Princess and HAL? How are the evening shows? 

How’s the food? Are dining times fixed or is there an anytime dining available? 

Are there other activities on board those ships, like trivia or other interactive games? This recent celebrity cruise had archery and curling competitions. We like to try and keep busy on the sea days. 
Thanks for the info!

[Honolulu Blue]

5 hours ago, Skippy said:

We just returned from an amazing Alaska cruise and thinking of going again next year with my parents. It will be me, hubby, two teens, and the parents. We’ve been on celebrity, royal and carnival and had good experiences on those.

What’s the entertainment on board like on Princess and HAL? How are the evening shows? 

How’s the food? Are dining times fixed or is there an anytime dining available? 

Are there other activities on board those ships, like trivia or other interactive games? This recent celebrity cruise had archery and curling competitions. We like to try and keep busy on the sea days. 
Thanks for the info!

I've done one cruise on HAL about 5 years ago on one of their oldest ships (which they no longer own).  It was all right, but for some reason I don't remember a lot of details about it.  I'm sure others here will have more constructive comments on them.

 

I've done three Princess cruises in the past three years, have another scheduled in 6 weeks, and two more in late 2025.  I'll go through your questions for my experiences on Princess.  Keep in mind that this is only one person's experience.

 

• The food in the buffet and room service were of good quality and there was usually a good selection.  I've never tried the MDR on Princess, so I'll defer to others for details on that.  
• The entertainment on the 80s themed Princess cruises was great!  I'm a child of the 80s and I thought they did a really good job of theming with background, trivia, entertainment, etc.  Alas, there are no cruises on the current schedule with that theme.  I hold out hope, but it's fading. ☹️
• The entertainment on the other Princess cruise I was on seemed to be aimed at people who are older than I am.  I think your parents will like it more than you or me, but YMMV.
• As for other activities, they have most of the standard stuff that other cruise lines feature.  Here's a newsletter from my non-themed cruise that seems representative, but YMMV.

 

 

All in all, Princess is a perfectly fine cruise line that should serve you well.  Enjoy your cruise!

[leaveitallbehind]

One major difference is with primary target demographics for their cruising style.  Here is a generalization:

 

Princess:  Families and adults

HAL: Older adults

Celebrity:  Adults 40+

RCCL: Families with children

Carnival: Young adults and families with children

 

[Sea42]

I think you would be very disappointed in the entertainment on HAL.

I love their focus on music but there are no production shows (which are definitely not our thing). I was a teen in the 80's and the music is geared towards my age and older IMO.

They do offer trivia and some game shows but in general I think it would be a bit sedate for you.

Their food is good though and so is their service.

[1025cruise]

Well, from a general standpoint, Royal and Celebrity are not at the top of my list for Alaska due to not going to Glacier Bay.

 

I also feel that generally speaking, Alaska cruises tend to not skew to the normal demographics of a cruise line due to so many families cruising during that period.

Edited June 23 by 1025cruise

[CruiserBruce]

How do those cruise lines compare? Extremely subjectively.

[George C]

4 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

One major difference is with primary target demographics for their cruising style.  Here is a generalization:

 

Princess:  Families and adults

HAL: Older adults

Celebrity:  Adults 40+

RCCL: Families with children

Carnival: Young adults and families with children

 

On celebrity E class seems to have a much younger passengers , way younger that M and S .

[Hlitner]

There are huge differences when you start to compare RCI and Carnival to HAL and Princess.  Consider that RCI, on most of their larger ships, offers an amazing array of activities and entertainment.  You might have water slides, water parks, bumper cars, ice skaing, wall climbing, surf riders, etc.  In the evening you might have Broadway style productions shows, live music until at least midnight, etc.  Now think about Princess and HAL that do not have the amusement park atmosphere or activities.  And HAL even stopped their major production shows (and replaced it with a so-so dance show).  On HAL, it is not unusual to have all the live music end before 11.  Princess is a little more lively, but not nearly in the same league as Carnival and RCI.

 

I do think think comparisons between HAL, Celebrity, and Princess have more meaning.  And when looking at those three lines (on which we have cruised many times) there are also lots of major differences between the various ships.  DW and I cruise on many different lines (#18 is coming up this year) and now look at the individual vessels as much (or more) than the lines.  So, for example, if looking at Oceania, there is a big difference between their older (and smaller) "R" ships vs their new Vista.  On Celebrity there are major differences between their Edge Class ships vs the old Millenium Class.  Even on RCI, when you compare the mega ships to the older Radiance Class vessels, it is like two different cruise lines.

 

Hank

[Skippy]

Thanks! We’ve sailed on the older Carnival ships (glory, splendor), oasis class and voyager class RCL and celebrity Edge class. Princess sounds like a good option. 

[thinfool]

No offense, but if you took an Alaska cruise for onboard games and other attractions, you missed a lot.

If you sail from Vancouver on a one way cruise there are virtually no sea days.

[KBS1607]

We saw all demographics on our Alaska cruise in 2018. Including people doing two excursions a day. I don’t have that kind of stamina. 
 

My husband had his first long bus trip ever so it was educational for him. He was still working then, so I was happy we took the two weeks to do the interior of Alaska also.  

[capriccio]

Given that this will be your second Alaska cruise, this may not be as important as it would be to a first time Alaska cruiser:  check out the enrichment programs offered by each cruise line.  I can attest (after 3 Alaska cruises) that Princess offers a very robust and varied Alaska program that includes a full time Naturalist who gives presentations and narrates wildlife sightings from the bridge, speakers and musicians brought on in each port, etc. 

 

If you didn't visit Glacier Bay on this year's cruise don't miss it on next year's!  IIRC only two ships are allowed to cruise the bay each day.  National Park Rangers board near the entrance of the bay and stay on until the ship returns giving narrations, presentations, etc.

[Gunner 66]

Just be aware that Princess has just come out this month with new regulations for booking any dining reservations. Including MDR. You now must be Elite or above, book a suite, or fully pay for the cruise. Otherwise you must wait until the 90 full payment is due. 

 

If you do not meet any of these you can't book dining until next spring for a summer 2025 Princess Cruise. I have one booked in January and since I only make deposits, don't qualify and can't book dining until October.

 

I booked this cruise last November with Dining Reservations and all of them were cancelled.  Won't be making anymore Princess cruises.

Edited July 7 by Gunner 66

[Skippy]

We booked the princess cruise for next year from Vancouver to Whittier. We do go to glacier bay. 

[capriccio]

1 hour ago, Skippy said:

We booked the princess cruise for next year from Vancouver to Whittier. We do go to glacier bay. 

We've done that itinerary twice on Princess.  If you've never been to Vancouver before and time allows, arrive a couple of days early.  It is a lovely city.  Have a great cruise.