Holland America vs. Princess

[montythecat]

We have sailed with Princess and are Elite Plus on Celebrity 

but tried HAL a couple of years ago and loved the whole

experience. We certainly won’t be going back to either X or

Princess. I agree with all of FlaMariner’s comments so don’t 

need to say much more other than to emphasise how much

we enjoy the entertainment on Holland America.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

On 7/21/2024 at 3:43 AM, sail2day said:

I am looking at going on a Norwegian Fjords cruise in May 2025. The ships I am considering are the Sky Princess or the Rotterdam.

 

I have not gone on either cruise line in 12 years. I have been cruising Celebrity for the past 10-11 years.

 

Thoughts and or suggestions would be appreciated.

We are currently on the Sky Princess on a 21-day B2B where we just finished the first leg, which was a 7-day Norwegian cruise. Here is a link to my Live From thread in case you would like the details. BTW to speed up its review, I would scan through it first to look at the photos, as I took a lot of excursion photos as well as from our balcony. 😁

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3016843-live-from-the-sky-princess-21-day-norway-baltic-b2b-jul-13-–-aug-3/

 

As for us we are in our early 70s and have cruised quite a bit with Celebrity (Elite+), Princess (Elite), and HAL (4 star). However, we haven’t cruised with HAL since 2019 when they fully implemented their Music Walk strategy and eliminated production shows. But we’ve heard based on CC posts that HAL is bringing back the production shows. They have also reduced their prices and offer a variety of early booking perks. As such, we are going to give them another try and have booked a 21-day Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam in April 2025 and are looking to book one of their extended Alaska cruises in 2026. 

 

However, right now Princess is our goto cruise line because of their unique 2+ week itineraries. We also enjoy going to theater shows in the evening followed by either a game show or going to the Laugh Lounge where they usually have a hilarious comedian performing. One note about Princess’ and Celebrity’s entertainment staff. Their CD usually has between 4-6 assistants to help keep the guests entertained whereas HAL’s may have only one or two.

 

As far as dining goes, as a minimum we book a Reserve Collection mini-suite to enable us to dine in the “anytime dining” Reserve Collection dining area where the servers have been hand pick, and an extra starter and entree are also offered with the evening meal to go along with what’s on the MDR menu. As far as the quality of the food goes, the only time we eat in a specialty restaurant is when we’re in a full suite where a complimentary SD meal is included. IOW the food is always tasty! 

 

Anyway, that’s my two cents on the subject. 😁

 

Edited July 22 by Ken the cruiser

[TAW1963]

My DW and I are relatively new to cruising, but have been on three HAL cruises and four Princess cruises since starting in December of 2022.   I am in my early 60s and my DW if in her mid 50s. We had always thought that HAL would be the best fit for us, but for some reason, we always seem to have a better time on the Princess ships.  I personally think the service is great on both lines and do not agree that HAL is a step up, although I can see how some consider it to be that way.  This past May, we were on the Majestic Princess for a week to Alaska and the Westerdam for a week to Alaska.  We were in a Neptune suite (our first time) on the Westerdam and in a forward-facing Reserve Collection mini-suite on the Majestic. Although we had a good time on both, we still find ourselves liking our experience on Princess better.  I think it comes down to individual preferences and personally feel it is okay to have a preference of one over the other. Liking one over the other does not mean the other one is bad, or a step down.  Both lines have their strengths and weaknesses, and perhaps our preference may change over time, but for now, we have most of our cruises booked on Princess for the next two, or so, years.

[jlawrence01]

I think that it really depends on the ship on each line since each ship has its own features that are different from others in the fleet.

 

Personally, there is several things that I like about Princess over Holland America.

 

The main theatre entertainment across the board is better on Princess by a pretty decent margin over HAL.  This is somewhat offset if the HAL ship has BB King.

 

I have found that Princess has had better enrichment on the cruises that I have been on.  They bring on outside experts to discuss the destinations and cultural aspects of the destinations.  I would rather hear about Central America from a retired US State Department diplomat over a canned Powerpoint presentation read by the cruise director.  I also really liked the FREE tours of the backstage of the theatre and of two of the galleys.

 

Third, I really like the Princess buffet due to the huge variety of foods and some of the absolutely great themed lunch buffets - English pub lunch and seafood - were really great.  Also, I liked that I could take a spoonful of 20 different dishes as opposed to a large served portion.

 

 

[crystalspin]

8 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

Also, I liked that I could take a spoonful of 20 different dishes as opposed to a large served portion.

You can get 20 different dishes at the HAL buffet (Lido Market) -- you just don't get to touch the spoon yourself -- after dozens of your comrades do.

[FlaMariner]

8 hours ago, crystalspin said:

You can get 20 different dishes at the HAL buffet (Lido Market) -- you just don't get to touch the spoon yourself -- after dozens of your comrades do.

 

+1 Holland America Line....this was very true and we noticed this also when on the Sky vs Rotterdam (all post Covid).

Edited July 23 by FlaMariner

[FlaMariner]

17 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

I would rather hear about Central America from a retired US State Department diplomat over a canned Powerpoint presentation read by the cruise director. 

 

Our HAL cruises have had both guest lecturers (college professor types) as well as great EXC presentations (given by the cruise director).......It has not been one or the other but has been both types of presentations on the same cruise.  And we enjoyed both types and glad we had them and could choose.  

 

We even had a college professor who was an astronomer on our 2023 South America HAL cruise who gave lectures during the day and then at night she would narrate star gazing on the back deck with the ship lights turned off....that was in addition to a professor giving talks on the South America and the EXC talks.....

[Bimmer09]

On 7/20/2024 at 9:05 PM, Hlitner said:

I am going to try and be very honest.  Over the years, we have been on many cruises with both HAL (we are 5 Star Mariners) and Princess (long time Elite).  The two lines are somewhat different, but also have a lot in common.  During the decades, we have found that each line went through changes and our favorite (between the two) also varied.  Currently, we have been very unhappy with HAL, but still find lots of enjoyment on Princess.  Perhaps this attitude will change over the next few years as the two lines make changes.

 

We have not cruised on the new Rotterdam but have been on the Sky Princess.  We were very disappointed that Princess did not see fit to put a "Crooners" (the piano bar) on this ship.  We have also heard, that since our cruise, that "Take 5" which we found a delightful Jazz Bar, has been changed to a non-smoking casino (folks might want to check this out to see if it is true).  If true, I doubt if DW and I would want to return to the Sky Princess.  We are currently considering a cruise on the Enchanted Princess (a Royal Class ship) which does have a Crooners.

 

As to HAL, we have no plans to book any future cruises on this line until we have some indication that they are moving away from their budget cruise line tendencies back to one of the better mass market lines.  We have seen some positive posts, here on CC, since our last voyage (Westerdam March-May 2023).  Perhaps they are starting to head in the right direction.

 

Hank

 

 

Hank, like you I am Elite on Princess (since 2015) but have yet to sail HAL. Here are my current bookings (from the Shipmate app)

 

I'll be back on Princess this October but it's really only to experience the Brooklyn sailing again as it holds second place in the eye candy stakes to our Venice sail-away of 2014 on the Ocean Princess. The Royal Class isn't my favorite but that can wait until my review in November. I sail hoping that Rudy Sodamin can lift the quality of the dining by the time we sail.

I've only done 2 Princess cruises since Covid in March 2020 (plus one AZ and one X). The restaffing after the shutdown has resulted in many great seasoned professionals staying away from the sea or away from the various PCL ships. The food, even on my recent Xmas Ruby Panama Canal sailing has been disappointing. I was offered extra lobster tails at one dinner and due to the sadness of their preparation  I declined and I don't usually wave lobsters away.

We like ships without fun fairs or water parks on the roof and so I began looking at HAL a year or so ago. To get the HIA perks and aft-wrap Neptunes I had to pull the trigger on 3 itineraries seen above. If the first, the Rotterdam this Christmas, is a complete dud I can always cancel the future ones. I can see that while I am anticipating, HAL is dialing back on the Music Walk presentations and planning to get back to production shows where Princess excels. Can I ask what is turning you away from HAL now? 

I have been lured by the many food vloggers who have had great things to say about HAL and have shown rich varied menus including some Specialty restaurants I have already been quick to book (post sail-away dinners in Tamarind, dinners and lunches in Pinnacle Grill, Grand Dutch Cafe etc). I am hoping that the food offerings don't take a nosedive before I can get a napkin on my lap, LOL.

Can someone tell me if the plates in the buffet are heated when you pick them up? I don't enjoy the cold plates on Princess.

I love the Crow's Nest on HAL- so wonderful to see where you are going while sitting in a comfy chair with a drink. Not doable on Princess (except buffet on Coral/Island)

 

Celebrity I am looking away from. Only one cruise booked and I am looking to replace that with a line that is less into skulduggery and pickpocketing/hiding the deck loungers. We used to book aft Sky suites on X but those are double the price now.

Azamara is a bit shaky since being sold by Royal so unlikely to sail them again.

 

So I am hoping that HAL  is a good fit!

Time will tell....

 

Norris

[Ken the cruiser]

33 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Hank, like you I am Elite on Princess (since 2015) but have yet to sail HAL. Here are my current bookings (from the Shipmate app)

 

I'll be back on Princess this October but it's really only to experience the Brooklyn sailing again as it holds second place in the eye candy stakes to our Venice sail-away of 2014 on the Ocean Princess. The Royal Class isn't my favorite but that can wait until my review in November. I sail hoping that Rudy Sodamin can lift the quality of the dining by the time we sail.

I've only done 2 Princess cruises since Covid in March 2020 (plus one AZ and one X). The restaffing after the shutdown has resulted in many great seasoned professionals staying away from the sea or away from the various PCL ships. The food, even on my recent Xmas Ruby Panama Canal sailing has been disappointing. I was offered extra lobster tails at one dinner and due to the sadness of their preparation  I declined and I don't usually wave lobsters away.

We like ships without fun fairs or water parks on the roof and so I began looking at HAL a year or so ago. To get the HIA perks and aft-wrap Neptunes I had to pull the trigger on 3 itineraries seen above. If the first, the Rotterdam this Christmas, is a complete dud I can always cancel the future ones. I can see that while I am anticipating, HAL is dialing back on the Music Walk presentations and planning to get back to production shows where Princess excels. Can I ask what is turning you away from HAL now? 

I have been lured by the many food vloggers who have had great things to say about HAL and have shown rich varied menus including some Specialty restaurants I have already been quick to book (post sail-away dinners in Tamarind, dinners and lunches in Pinnacle Grill, Grand Dutch Cafe etc). I am hoping that the food offerings don't take a nosedive before I can get a napkin on my lap, LOL.

Can someone tell me if the plates in the buffet are heated when you pick them up? I don't enjoy the cold plates on Princess.

I love the Crow's Nest on HAL- so wonderful to see where you are going while sitting in a comfy chair with a drink. Not doable on Princess (except buffet on Coral/Island)

 

Celebrity I am looking away from. Only one cruise booked and I am looking to replace that with a line that is less into skulduggery and pickpocketing/hiding the deck loungers. We used to book aft Sky suites on X but those are double the price now.

Azamara is a bit shaky since being sold by Royal so unlikely to sail them again.

 

So I am hoping that HAL  is a good fit!

Time will tell....

 

Norris

Just a couple notes. If your budget can afford it, which it appears it can since your booking HAL Neptune suites, I would highly recommend upgrading your Princess cruises to at least a Reserve Collection mini suite so you can dine in the Reserve Collection dining area. The additional menu items have been quite tasty on the Princess cruises we’ve been on this year, to include the Sapphire, Grand, and are currently on the Sky.

 

Also, we were up in the buffet a few times for lunch on our current cruise, and they have a table with hot plates on it. So at least on the Sky, you can get a hot plate to put your meal on.

[Bimmer09]

1 minute ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Just a couple notes. If your budget can afford it, which it appears it can since your booking HAL Neptune suites, I would highly recommend upgrading your Princess cruises to at least a Reserve Collection mini suite so you can dine in the Reserve Collection dining area. The additional menu items have been quite tasty on the Princess cruises we’ve been on this year, to include the Sapphire, Grand, and are currently on the Sky.

 

Also, we were up in the buffet a few times for lunch on our current cruise, and they have a table with hot plates on it. So at least on the Sky, you can get a hot plate to put your meal on.

Thanks Ken, I had a reserve Collection Mini Suite on my Xmas 2022 Diamond Princess cruise (new staff chaos) and on the Ruby an aft suite with included Sabatini Breakfast and Reserve Collection dining (good staff, mediocre food). Enchanted will be aft-wrap suite on Baja deck with Crown Grill breakfast apparently.

We also have Princess Plus included. I will check for hot buffet plates ( I get up early so often have 2 breakfasts) on Enchanted. Thanks for the info!

 

Norris

[Ken the cruiser]

18 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Thanks Ken, I had a reserve Collection Mini Suite on my Xmas 2022 Diamond Princess cruise (new staff chaos) and on the Ruby an aft suite with included Sabatini Breakfast and Reserve Collection dining (good staff, mediocre food). Enchanted will be aft-wrap suite on Baja deck with Crown Grill breakfast apparently.

We also have Princess Plus included. I will check for hot buffet plates ( I get up early so often have 2 breakfasts) on Enchanted. Thanks for the info!

 

Norris

BTW we’re also giving HAL another try in April 2025 on a 22-day Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam, and hopefully again on a 28-day June 2026 Alaska cruise up to Nome once they post their new itineraries. We just moved on to Celebrity and Princess back in 2019 as the implementation of their Music Walk strategy combined with eliminating production shows along with guest entertainers in the main theater totally turned us off. And since we are 4-star Mainers, giving up that free laundry was not an easy decision! 😂

[Bimmer09]

9 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

BTW we’re also giving HAL another try in April 2025 on a 22-day Panama Canal cruise on the Eurodam, and hopefully again on a 28-day June 2026 Alaska cruise up to Nome once they post their new itineraries. We just moved on to Celebrity and Princess back in 2019 as the implementation of their Music Walk strategy combined with eliminating production shows along with guest entertainers in the main theater totally turned us off. And since we are 4-star Mainers, giving up that free laundry was not an easy decision! 😂

Ken, I envy you your long cruises.

We have two cats at home and are limiting ourselves to 18 days-14 at sea and 2 days either side for European sailings, then home to the cats.  Carol also has a growing business to guide. 2 x 14 days at sea per year will be our max, on medium or small ships ( I am looking at Viking and Seabourn to replace the Dec 2025 Celebrity) I have no interest in Princess Sphere class and although I began cruising working for Royal Caribbean in the 1980s I wouldn't sail on them or their ilk, for pleasure. NCL, Carnival, MSC etc are all off the table for us for their size and family fun posture. We don't go to amusement parks on land.

 

At some Princess Theater shows I have counted 24 performers on stage at once- musicians, dancers, singers with vibrant high definition LED screens as background scenery- they can really put on an energetic 45 minute show!

 

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

[Hlitner]

Bimmer09,  We truly hope you enjoy your HAL cruises and can only post positive comments :).  Since we now avoid that line, it is the opinion's of others that may drive us to book a future cruise with that line.

 

Where I do disagree, philosophically, is the idea of booking a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite.  Yes, they are generally very nice suites.  My issue is that once you start getting to that price point, you are in the realm of the premium and some luxury lines.  Consider that we have cruised on Seabourn, several times, for about $400 per person/day (that price would be rare these days).  But even at $500+ per person day, we would strongly favor a small ship luxury line over a big suite on a mass market line.  or consider that we have an upcoming cruise on Silversea that cost us less than $400 a day.  And that line is all-inclusive and even includes shore excursions in every port.   The only plus to a Neptune is that the suite will be larger than the normal suites on most of the small ship luxury lines.  But also consider that the luxury lines have far better cuisine and service when compared to HAL (or any mass market line).

 

So this goes to my basic cruise philosophy (which we have posted in the past).  Would you prefer to have the most expensive largest home in a middle-class neighborhood, or a nice home in a high end expensive neighborhood.?  This philosophy has generally kept us from booking the more expensive suites on any line....because at that point we look to upgrade the entire experience rather than just our cabin.  When we last did HAL's very popular Voyage of the Vikings, we booked the lowest category outside cabin.  We ate many dinners and spent a lot of time at the bars, with a couple that were in a Neptune.  Our friends paid more than twice what we paid, but were eating the same food, going to the same shows, and enjoyed the same atmosphere throughout the ship.  They did have a fabulous suite, but like us, spent no more than 2 or 3 waking hours (a day) in that suite.

 

Hank

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Bimmer09 said:

Ken, I envy you your long cruises.

We have two cats at home and are limiting ourselves to 18 days-14 at sea and 2 days either side for European sailings, then home to the cats.  Carol also has a growing business to guide. 2 x 14 days at sea per year will be our max, on medium or small ships ( I am looking at Viking and Seabourn to replace the Dec 2025 Celebrity) I have no interest in Princess Sphere class and although I began cruising working for Royal Caribbean in the 1980s I wouldn't sail on them or their ilk, for pleasure. NCL, Carnival, MSC etc are all off the table for us for their size and family fun posture. We don't go to amusement parks on land.

 

At some Princess Theater shows I have counted 24 performers on stage at once- musicians, dancers, singers with vibrant high definition LED screens as background scenery- they can really put on an energetic 45 minute show!

 

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

We were once where you’re are now. Now look at us. Full fledge cruiseaholics! This could happen to you if you’re not careful! 😂

[Bimmer09]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Bimmer09,  We truly hope you enjoy your HAL cruises and can only post positive comments :).  Since we now avoid that line, it is the opinion's of others that may drive us to book a future cruise with that line.

 

Where I do disagree, philosophically, is the idea of booking a Neptune or Pinnacle Suite.  Yes, they are generally very nice suites.  My issue is that once you start getting to that price point, you are in the realm of the premium and some luxury lines.  Consider that we have cruised on Seabourn, several times, for about $400 per person/day (that price would be rare these days).  But even at $500+ per person day, we would strongly favor a small ship luxury line over a big suite on a mass market line.  or consider that we have an upcoming cruise on Silversea that cost us less than $400 a day.  And that line is all-inclusive and even includes shore excursions in every port.   The only plus to a Neptune is that the suite will be larger than the normal suites on most of the small ship luxury lines.  But also consider that the luxury lines have far better cuisine and service when compared to HAL (or any mass market line).

Hank

Hank, on our last Princess cruise (Ruby) we upgraded ourselves to an aft suite (from a balcony), our first post Covid. Warm weather cruise and my partner who's name is appropriately DeckChairQueen (real name/odd parents) spent much of her non-excursion time stretched out on the balcony and took some breakfasts and lunches there. She got benefit from the spacious suite. Some good undisturbed naps too.

So when I showed her video of an aft-wrap Neptune she saw herself living in one this Christmas as we pull into sunny Aruba. She was sold. With our HIA it brought us into the $750 pppd realm and once in that realm I could show her videos of Seabourn and Viking. She liked both.

Christmas cruise we expect to pay more. 

Her brother sails on Silversea( latest sail Iceland this month on Spirit) and her college chum sails on Regent (returned in May from World cruise) so I can show videos on those two without raising too much suspicion, even though their decor is a tad too upmarket for my taste. 

I am retired and read a lot of CC boards during the day. Generally ships are sailing full even though there are now more of them than ever. Demand is high and prices are rising as people complain that standards are falling and perks (like Celebrity's balcony loungers) are disappearing. According to the X CEO today on CC the loungers are going as customers are requesting to just have two tiny  waist-gripping upright chairs instead so that they are less likely to spend time on their balconies relaxing and can get into the maelstrom of the E Class where there is barely a chair that wasn't designed by a dentist (lean back-check out the ceiling). 

I agree- if you are in the most basic suite on Seabourn/Regent/ Silversea you are getting that great looking food, included quality drinks, professional service, included everything (except excursions on Seabourn). You're missing the crowds, the lines, the noise (Princess atrium on Royal Class) the lobster not even its' mother could love, the "we're out of it" that was said to me 2 hours after boarding Apex in Rotterdam when I asked for " another can of Guinness my good man".

I lean towards Seabourn as I love the polished wood decor, like a luxury yacht, and how much they serve food outdoors. Hopefully you have good things to say about them and hopefully it doesn't begin "they've gone downhill Norris".

Thanks for the considered  response Hank.

 

Norris

[Hlitner]

31 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Hank, on our last Princess cruise (Ruby) we upgraded ourselves to an aft suite (from a balcony), our first post Covid. Warm weather cruise and my partner who's name is appropriately DeckChairQueen (real name/odd parents) spent much of her non-excursion time stretched out on the balcony and took some breakfasts and lunches there. She got benefit from the spacious suite. Some good undisturbed naps too.

So when I showed her video of an aft-wrap Neptune she saw herself living in one this Christmas as we pull into sunny Aruba. She was sold. With our HIA it brought us into the $750 pppd realm and once in that realm I could show her videos of Seabourn and Viking. She liked both.

Christmas cruise we expect to pay more. 

Her brother sails on Silversea( latest sail Iceland this month on Spirit) and her college chum sails on Regent (returned in May from World cruise) so I can show videos on those two without raising too much suspicion, even though their decor is a tad too upmarket for my taste. 

I am retired and read a lot of CC boards during the day. Generally ships are sailing full even though there are now more of them than ever. Demand is high and prices are rising as people complain that standards are falling and perks (like Celebrity's balcony loungers) are disappearing. According to the X CEO today on CC the loungers are going as customers are requesting to just have two tiny  waist-gripping upright chairs instead so that they are less likely to spend time on their balconies relaxing and can get into the maelstrom of the E Class where there is barely a chair that wasn't designed by a dentist (lean back-check out the ceiling). 

I agree- if you are in the most basic suite on Seabourn/Regent/ Silversea you are getting that great looking food, included quality drinks, professional service, included everything (except excursions on Seabourn). You're missing the crowds, the lines, the noise (Princess atrium on Royal Class) the lobster not even its' mother could love, the "we're out of it" that was said to me 2 hours after boarding Apex in Rotterdam when I asked for " another can of Guinness my good man".

I lean towards Seabourn as I love the polished wood decor, like a luxury yacht, and how much they serve food outdoors. Hopefully you have good things to say about them and hopefully it doesn't begin "they've gone downhill Norris".

Thanks for the considered  response Hank.

 

Norris

ROFL, "Deckchairqueen!"  Love that name. I was hoping that things would improve, on X, once they pushed LLP out of the way.  

 

Funny Guinness story.  We were on a long HAL Grand Cruise on our beloved Prinsendam, and had a decent small drinking group that would hang out in the Crows Nest.  One of our little group was a single Irishman (Kevin) who truly loved his Guinness.  The only Guinness they had onboard were in the bottles, and Kevin would only drink Guinness in cans (with the widget),  He whined and complained to both the Beverage Manager (a good friend who now works for MSC) and the Captain (Halle Gundersen) who was also part of our little group (although he seldom would drink any alcohol).  When we reached our first European port, the beverage manager went off the ship and used "petty cash" to buy a few cases of Guinness cans (with the widget).  Keven, immediately purchased the entire stock, kept it in his cabin, and only gave some out to his drinking buddies.   Do not mess with Guinness lovers.

 

Hank

[Bimmer09]

14 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

ROFL, "Deckchairqueen!"  Love that name. I was hoping that things would improve, on X, once they pushed LLP out of the way.  

 

Funny Guinness story.  We were on a long HAL Grand Cruise on our beloved Prinsendam, and had a decent small drinking group that would hang out in the Crows Nest.  One of our little group was a single Irishman (Kevin) who truly loved his Guinness.  The only Guinness they had onboard were in the bottles, and Kevin would only drink Guinness in cans (with the widget),  He whined and complained to both the Beverage Manager (a good friend who now works for MSC) and the Captain (Halle Gundersen) who was also part of our little group (although he seldom would drink any alcohol).  When we reached our first European port, the beverage manager went off the ship and used "petty cash" to buy a few cases of Guinness cans (with the widget).  Keven, immediately purchased the entire stock, kept it in his cabin, and only gave some out to his drinking buddies.   Do not mess with Guinness lovers.

 

Hank

Kevin sounds like a man who will not accept 2nd best, which is what bottled  is. It lacks the nitrogen capsule that gives a canned Guinness the creamy head, the stuff of dreams...

 

My cat after his first pint of the day...

 

The Prinsendam was surely a beloved ship ( I have read the HAL boards for years) and it sounds like the Officers knew what customer service meant.

Good story!

Norris

[jlawrence01]

On 7/23/2024 at 8:54 AM, FlaMariner said:

 

Our HAL cruises have had both guest lecturers (college professor types) as well as great EXC presentations (given by the cruise director).......It has not been one or the other but has been both types of presentations on the same cruise.  And we enjoyed both types and glad we had them and could choose.  

 

We even had a college professor who was an astronomer on our 2023 South America HAL cruise who gave lectures during the day and then at night she would narrate star gazing on the back deck with the ship lights turned off....that was in addition to a professor giving talks on the South America and the EXC talks.....

 

Both my Caribbean cruises on Eurodam and my Mexican cruise on Konigsdam had no guest speakers of any kind per the daily cruise schedules.

 

And even though the HAL website currently shows a BB King club on the Eurodam, that was also gone by January 2024.

[BermudaBound2014]

19 hours ago, jlawrence01 said:

 

Both my Caribbean cruises on Eurodam and my Mexican cruise on Konigsdam had no guest speakers of any kind per the daily cruise schedules.

 

And even though the HAL website currently shows a BB King club on the Eurodam, that was also gone by January 2024.

 

It does seem like HAL is offering two different products. One for longer cruises and one for the 7 day 'bus runs'. 

 

I know when I spoke with staff on the 35 night legendary cruise they told me that HAL had a much bigger budget for food and entertainment. Makes sense as the longer cruises are typically more money. This was confirmed by a gal I met who was on the 18 day Hawaii preceding our cruise who said that many more things were offered on the legendary voyage (example lobster tail at the lido and prime rib offered every 3rd or 4th night). 

 

It's getting more and more difficult to make blanket cruise line comparisons (example princess vs HAL). To get more a accurate comparison it's now necessary to compare ship to ship and itinerary length to itinerary length. 

[sunviking90]

10 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

It does seem like HAL is offering two different products. One for longer cruises and one for the 7 day 'bus runs'. 

 

I know when I spoke with staff on the 35 night legendary cruise they told me that HAL had a much bigger budget for food and entertainment. Makes sense as the longer cruises are typically more money. This was confirmed by a gal I met who was on the 18 day Hawaii preceding our cruise who said that many more things were offered on the legendary voyage (example lobster tail at the lido and prime rib offered every 3rd or 4th night). 

 

It's getting more and more difficult to make blanket cruise line comparisons (example princess vs HAL). To get more an accurate comparison it's now necessary to compare ship to ship and itinerary length to itinerary length. 

This is exactly it. I notice the main cheerleaders for HAL are those who take the longer and world cruises. They definitely are serving 2 different products. 

[FlaMariner]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

It does seem like HAL is offering two different products. One for longer cruises and one for the 7 day 'bus runs'. 

 

I agree.  

 

When we do a 7 day "milk run" to the Caribbean, there is not much time for lectures, etc.....It's a much different experience for us as well as the cruise line.....vs a longer cruise.

 

Also, when attending a coffee chat w/the Hotel Directory on the Oosterdam TA, he referenced how different the longer cruises are from the "milk runs" based on customer demands....He said the "milk runs" were basically easy to figure out supplies (load up the ranch dressing, plenty of ketchup and plenty of beer) but the long cruises are a different animal....And when in Ft Lauderdale heading to Europe, stuff the ship with Diet Coke because that's not easily available in Europe......Basically, lots of different needs/requirements based on the type of cruise. 

[sambamama]

I've sailed HAL almost exclusively for 20 years, and did a Princess Panama Canal cruise last year.  I finally sailed my 14 night Asia cruise this year that had been postponed for 4 years.  Here is my take.  HAl had, and still has amazing service throughout the ship. Everyone is friendly, the stewards are great, and the MDR waiters bend over backwards for you.  I get special requests  all the time.  The food is good to very good, although the choices are more limited and the more expensive ones (like sea bass and tuna) are either off the menu, or more limited.  The bread choice is way worse-about 2-3 kinds in the MDR, and 1-2 kinds of rolls in the buffet, no bread and no crackers at all.  There is no tuna available for salads any more.  Princess has good food, too, but has no fixed seating.  There is a workaround to that-you can talk to the maitre'd for a table every night with the same waiter in the same dining room, and you are then set.  Princess has pasta on the menu every night, and you can get tasting portions.  I found the food better on HAL, but the food was good on Princess.  I can't comment on the specialty restaurant as I never ate there.  HAL's Pinnacle is great, and I always eat there at least once. the Rotterdam will be better for viewing.  Princess will have much better entertainment.  If you have a problem on your cruise, HAL will be responsive, and Princess won't even bother to answer.  I prefer the smaller size of HAL ships. The Princess ship I went on was beautiful, though.  HAL has made enormous cutbacks in the past 5 years, and as the single supplements are 80% or higher now, I won't be sailing on HAL until they drop them as the product isn't worth that.

[TRLD]

49 minutes ago, sambamama said:

I've sailed HAL almost exclusively for 20 years, and did a Princess Panama Canal cruise last year.  I finally sailed my 14 night Asia cruise this year that had been postponed for 4 years.  Here is my take.  HAl had, and still has amazing service throughout the ship. Everyone is friendly, the stewards are great, and the MDR waiters bend over backwards for you.  I get special requests  all the time.  The food is good to very good, although the choices are more limited and the more expensive ones (like sea bass and tuna) are either off the menu, or more limited.  The bread choice is way worse-about 2-3 kinds in the MDR, and 1-2 kinds of rolls in the buffet, no bread and no crackers at all.  There is no tuna available for salads any more.  Princess has good food, too, but has no fixed seating.  There is a workaround to that-you can talk to the maitre'd for a table every night with the same waiter in the same dining room, and you are then set.  Princess has pasta on the menu every night, and you can get tasting portions.  I found the food better on HAL, but the food was good on Princess.  I can't comment on the specialty restaurant as I never ate there.  HAL's Pinnacle is great, and I always eat there at least once. the Rotterdam will be better for viewing.  Princess will have much better entertainment.  If you have a problem on your cruise, HAL will be responsive, and Princess won't even bother to answer.  I prefer the smaller size of HAL ships. The Princess ship I went on was beautiful, though.  HAL has made enormous cutbacks in the past 5 years, and as the single supplements are 80% or higher now, I won't be sailing on HAL until they drop them as the product isn't worth that.

Unless you go up to premium/luxury or find a ship on another line that has specially designed single cabins is there any line not doing a 100% single supplement?

 

Now that ships are sailing full, cruise lines lose revenue for every solo sold at 100% supplement compared to 2 in a cabin. I recall the Celebrity had their solo supplement even higher at one time recently.

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

Unless you go up to premium/luxury or find a ship on another line that has specially designed single cabins is there any line not doing a 100% single supplement?

 

Now that ships are sailing full, cruise lines lose revenue for every solo sold at 100% supplement compared to 2 in a cabin. I recall the Celebrity had their solo supplement even higher at one time recently.

 

Lots of low (or even zero) single supplement right now. Costa just announced a special zero solo supplement for many of their sailings. I counted over two dozen with lots of unique destinations and not last minute either. Oceania is offering many zero solo supplements. Celebrity often runs 24% solo supplements (last year I nabbed a zero solo supplement on celebrity). 

 

Then there are the ships that have really paid attention to the solo market. I think HAL is missing the boat by ignoring this growing population.  NCL is undoubtably the leader with the dedicated solo studio section and they just added solo balconies and oceanview that are less than double. RCL also has single designed cabins and their solo balcony cabins on some of their ships are just wonderful. I sailed in a single cabin on K'dam last year at 60% supplement. 

 

So yes, there are lines not doing a 100% single supplement. 

Edited July 27 by BermudaBound2014

[TRLD]

42 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Lots of low (or even zero) single supplement right now. Costa just announced a special zero solo supplement for many of their sailings. I counted over two dozen with lots of unique destinations and not last minute either. Oceania is offering many zero solo supplements. Celebrity often runs 24% solo supplements (last year I nabbed a zero solo supplement on celebrity). 

 

Then there are the ships that have really paid attention to the solo market. I think HAL is missing the boat by ignoring this growing population.  NCL is undoubtably the leader with the dedicated solo studio section and they just added solo balconies and oceanview that are less than double. RCL also has single designed cabins and their solo balcony cabins on some of their ships are just wonderful. I sailed in a single cabin on K'dam last year at 60% supplement. 

 

So yes, there are lines not doing a 100% single supplement. 

Celebrity has also has a 150 solo supplement as their base recently. Might have more luck on EU focused lines. The Celebrity sale is about the only one on the US main stream lines. Sure the Premium and luxury lines have lower solo supplements including zero. But in those cases you are usually paying more without the supplement then with the 100% supplement on the main stream lines.