HAL fan unimpressed by Princess

[Jemima]

Must have changed. People walked in a line around the circle and the inner tables of bread and salad. Some people did cut in as always happens. Just checked with my daughter and she says I'm correct.

I do appreciate Hal ships where I can get a number of items, often my whole lunch, without being in/near the buffet line.

 

As to the tipping, it is the same on both Hal and Princess.

[FLACRUISER99]

I have sailed many different lines and guess what all the mass market cruise lines are different. One line is not superior to another. I have cone to the conclusion that even different ships in the same line are run differently. So if you had what you considered a bad cruise chalk up to experience or bad luck. Next time might be wonderful, I have never had a bad cruise, but I have had some bad experiences. Worst room steward on Princess:mad: & worst waiter in the dining room on HAL:mad: . I still like to sail on both.

[ASue]

Must have changed. People walked in a line around the circle and the inner tables of bread and salad. Some people did cut in as always happens. Just checked with my daughter and she says I'm correct.

I do appreciate Hal ships where I can get a number of items, often my whole lunch, without being in/near the buffet line.

 

As to the tipping, it is the same on both Hal and Princess.

 

Just wondering what items you are talking about getting you whole lunch without being in/near the buffet line?

 

As for the tipping, I wasn't aware that Princess had changed their tipping to be pooled together and divided up with the other departments. With HAL you can't take your auto tips off and pay directly to your server, cabin stewart anymore without them having to report it.

[rinshin]

On my sailing on Golden, the food court was just as Bardgirl indicated. You can go in from two areas and there were different food stations with the court area. Also, there were several stations outside the court for made to order omelett. Although at times it did seem crowded, it was manageable. Only other buffet setup I liked better was on RCL Brilliance - totally open food stations.

 

Most of my sailings have been on Celebrity and RCL and only once on Carnival, Princess, and HAL. I'm looking forward to trying Oosterdam in 2 months.

[kryos]

This is very interesting to read. We'll be taking our first Princess cruise in January. My expectations have not been too high, as I've figured out the cabin and balcony will be smaller than on HAL. But we're going for the itinerary, which was more interesting than any offered by HAL. So we'll look forward to visiting the ports and hope for the best on the ship. :)

I have done two Princess cruises ... one on the Island to Hawaii and one on the Sun to the Caribbean.

 

I found Princess to be adequate, and I did have a wonderful cruise on both occasions. There were little HAL touches missing, but then Princess had some things going for it that HAL didn't have ... such as that absolutely delicious pizza.

 

However, the main area where Princess failed miserably, in my opinion, is with the food. Other than the great pizza, far superior to what you can get on a HAL ship, there was no other food venue that surpassed HAL. The Horizon Court Buffet was nowhere near HAL's Lido in terms of service or food taste. The dining room, too, had food that was far below what I've enjoyed on HAL. The specialty restaurants were nothing compared to HAL's Pinnacle grill. I had meals in two of them which I could top in both service and tastiness of food by visiting my local Denny's.

 

Of course, I realize that taste of food is a very subjective matter. While I find Princess' food lacking, someone else could rave about it. Yet another person could have food not be that big a deal because maybe food is not a very important consideration to them when they book a cruise. But, for me, food is one of the most important aspects of the cruise experience ... probably right behind itinerary. So, for my money, I'm gonna just stick with HAL in the future. I eat better there. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[spongerob]

However, the main area where Princess failed miserably, in my opinion, is with the food. Other than the great pizza, far superior to what you can get on a HAL ship, there was no other food venue that surpassed HAL. The Horizon Court Buffet was nowhere near HAL's Lido in terms of service or food taste. The dining room, too, had food that was far below what I've enjoyed on HAL. The specialty restaurants were nothing compared to HAL's Pinnacle grill. I had meals in two of them which I could top in both service and tastiness of food by visiting my local Denny's.

 

I appreciate the attempt to provide a comparison between these two corporate sisters. The subject of food is obviously very subjective and cannot be compared easily. For instance, take the quote above, and compare to these comments from a passenger about poor food on Westerdam.

 

So, what is one to think? I think the comment about Denny's conflicts with my own experience and opinions. Admittedly Princess' specialty restaurants aren't nearly as fancy as what some other lines offer. I can see where some might be put off by the Sabatini's menu, my wife certainly found less to enjoy than I did, for example. Out of 11 cruises on Princess, though, I've found the food throughout the ship lacking just once, and said so.

 

HAL is probably going to show up on our list of future cruises sometime in the future. I've already looked at Westerdam for a future sailing, for example. I can only hope that people who do comparisons can find some balance in them, so as not to appear to be either a basher or cheerleader, so I can set my expectations appropriately.

[AAAAmerican]

HAving been on quite of few ship in many slips...

 

Food yes is subjective. Yes I do feel the quality and quantity has gone down..as has excuses increased for the quality or lack thereof..

 

It is very subjective and a personal choice.. but why do they say Gourmet when it is not even at Par?

 

gour·met::

NOTE:

A gourmet is a person with discriminating taste in food and wine, as is a gourmand. Because gourmand can also mean “one who enjoys food in great quantities” or even “a gluttonous eater,” care should be taken to make clear its intended sense. An epicure is much the same as a gourmet, but the word may sometimes carry overtones of excessive refinement. This use of epicure is a misrepresentation of Epicurean philosophy, which, while it professed that pleasure was the highest good, was hardly given to excessive concern with food and drink.

 

 

–noun

1. a connoisseur of fine food and drink; epicure.

–adjective

2. of or characteristic of a gourmet, esp. in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation: gourmet meals; gourmet cooking.

3. elaborately equipped for the preparation of fancy, specialized, or exotic meals: a gourmet kitchen.

[Origin: 1810–20; < F; OF gromet, grommes valet (esp. of a wine merchant)]

 

 

In the area we reside is the most competitive culinary marketplace in the world.

 

People do have dollars and eat out alot in the Greater NYC area.

 

I am so very lucky as my DW enjoys the time spent in the preparation from scratch and I like the end results. She would be a World Class Chef if she went to be rated. I never had the same meal twice.

 

When is the Culinary Pendulum going to be going back the other way ? Soon I hope ..as it used to be great ..

 

HAL and Celebrity have Culinary Classes aboard for Cruise Passengers Paying...Classes given by Rated Chefs..but still lack the skills in the galley.

 

Why dont they prepare..or at least offer the Cruise Guest what they prepare in there classes even in the Add On Eateries like the Steak Houses of HAL called the Pinnacle Grill?

 

We now all pay a Fifty Percent Increase for both Lunch and Dinner there and what they have only added a few main dishes and starters... that was October First and I have not really heard nor seen any Wonderful Comments yet except horrible service amd seatings...

 

Increasing the quality in food as well preperations and presentations serving them will cost so much less then the wonderful benefits (Which no firm has nor can ever pay for) of people lauding them with pariase and kind words... every person is worth the rule of 44 ..by telling that many how GOOD ...or bad it is/was...

 

Now with the increase of the FIFTY PERCENT is HAL going to Train/Hire Professional Waiters and ChefS?

 

 

I still use the ole NY Scale of CheeseCake Ratings ..a simple undertaking and preparation but understated elegance of quality.

 

Most cruise lines now adulterate the Cheescake with Flour so to cut costs..but ruin the quality... Just make it with CreamCheese ! Plain and Simple. Even call it the Calcium Palace Cake... Yes a Healthy Name..

 

 

:cool:

[lkmamom]

Okay another opinion here........We had always sailed with Princess prior to our last cruise on the HAL Zuiderdam. We like Princess very much and we are Platinum members. The anytime dining concept is different and if you have always dined traditionally, I can see where there may be some issues. Coming from the other side of the coin so to speak, we have always dined anytime dining on Princess, so traditional on HAL was a wonderful experiance. Truthfully, we do like the option of anytime dining, particularly if you are involved with shore excursions and are pressed for the meal times. That being said, HAL does have very good food in their Lido are the dinner hour as well if you do miss your traditional meal time.

 

I do think that HAL is a shade above Princess on service and comfort. We had a veranda suite and it was heavenly, we loved every aspect of it, especially the balcony. The grand class Princess ships are very beautiful and glitzy. They are huge and I guess I would also agree with the poster that said it is hard to find your way around. If you are used to HAL ships, I can see how this would be a negative. We really like the open spaces of Princess and also that there are many areas that are quaint and cozy.

 

As others have said, the food subject is completely subjective. Personally, I thought that Princess had HAL beat with the evening meals. The Pinnacle Grill is definately in my opinion better on HAL. We also loved loved the Lido concept of HAL. We found it very organized and with a lot of great and healthy. For those that do not worry about the extra calories, have no fear, there are plenty of selections there as well.:D We loved the room service menus of HAL. Many foods that are offered for suite guests on Princess are offered for all on HAL with even more selections. Room service items were always served promptly and piping hot and the thing that I loved the most, the tray was taken away as soon as we were finished. We never saw used trays of food in the halls.

 

I think that it is great that there are now two cruiselines that I would feel comfortable cruising with. As far as fellow passengers, our first HAL cruise was the Alaskan inside passage and we really did not notice a huge difference in ages as compared with Princess. i would think that it would depend on the ports visited. I guess in all fairness, I am hoping that our next HAL cruise will be as wonderful as our first one. We are really looking forward to it.

Linda

[azsunshine]

We have sailed HAL (3) , Princess (5)and RCCL (7) , and I loved some of the Princess ships, and some of the RCCL ships. I really enjoyed the Diamond Princess, and loved the choice of venues for dinner. I didn't care for the Caribbean Princess, but my son and wife loved it! My daughter was married on the Grand, so have a special place for that ship, and she met her future husband on the Ryndam.

 

We sailed the Ryndam and loved every moment on that ship. We have sailed the Veendam, and were extremely disappointed in all service, food, and rooms. We are booked now on Oosterdam, and we are looking forward to our cruise, and what I understand is an improved food menu on HAL...I don't do or like bland...so will let you know my opinion next time!

 

I remember on HAL being served "rosemary potatoes" they were very dry wedge potatoes with a spray of rosemary on the side...not a taste of it on my potatoes, nor a taste of anything else. We were seated at a dinner with a new person on board that was there to get opinions, observe and improve the menu. He made the mistake of asking my opinion... I hope it worked!!

 

Each cruise, and line is an opportunity to try something new. I hope you will all venture out, you may not know what you are missing. ah...variety is the spice....

[azsunshine]

There are many stations within the area - there are no lines - you simply walk to the station you wish to get food from. You can see them clearly in the deck plan. In fact, there are two sides to every station within each side of the area other than the ones against the partition.

 

quote]

 

Bardgal is correct...there are not lines.. you go from one station to another, or your order the food to order! loved it!!

[DiveMaster]

So what was the group that organized this cruise? I would be interested in future genealogy cruises.

 

"From an old family into cruising since the Mary and Margaret did her transatlantic to Jamestown":D

 

We just returned from a Princess cruise where we were part of a group of about 400 genealogists. The conference was wonderful; the ship was OK.

[Pam in CA]

I don't consider stacks of omelets or a tray of fried eggs as made-to-order.

I consider "made-to-order" eggs and omelets where you go to a station and tell the chef you'd like a cheese and bacon omelet, or, you'd like two eggs over easy. He cracks the eggs and prepares your order right in front of you. It's individual and made just for you. Every Princess ship I've been on has had a station like this. Sometimes it's at the end of the buffet opposite the hot beverages, sometimes it's a chef at a separate table with burners, and always completely separate from the scrambled and fried eggs in trays. You'll find a made-to-order station on any Princess ship in the buffet at breakfast.

[Jemima]

My only Princess cruise (11/11-18) there were no stations at breakfast or lunch with the exception of an extra table (cereal, juice, fruit) the first morning. We ate breakfast at various times between 6:30 and 7:30, so possibly other items were added later.

However, we ate lunch noonish. At lunch there were signs over sections of serving trays, but they were not accurate. For example, the sign would indicate that several items were vegetarian, but only one or two would be. The food area was too crowded to do much more than follow around except at lunch on port days or very early for breakfast. On both HAL and Princess there are lots of passengers eating breakfast and lunch in the buffet.

The pizza is tastier than HAL's, but availability and choice were poorer. On both this Princess ship and on my spring Maasdam cruise, pizza was located in the pool area. OK, if you just want pizza, but a problem if you also want other items.

Should add that I found Princess's salad dressings tastier than Hal's, but Hal's salad items & variety extremely better.

My reason for discussing this on the Hal board is that I'm concerned HAL might go this direction of poorer buffets.

[Jemima]

So what was the group that organized this cruise? I would be interested in future genealogy cruises.

 

We just returned from a Princess cruise where we were part of a group of about 400 genealogists. The conference was wonderful; the ship was OK.

 

The genealogy cruise was organized by a genealogy software company and included several name presenters. I'm assuming Cruise Critic rules are that I shouldn't name the company. The conference was excellent. Thirteen hours of presentions didn't concern the software, so the conference was fine for people not using it. Meetings were held while at sea, not during port times. (Try googling.)

Princess did have the large meeting areas needed and most return participants did like the Princess ship better than the previous year's Carnival ship. We also didn't prevent others from enjoying the cruise except maybe when most of us showed up for lunch at the same time. HAL fans will be pleased to hear that HAL ships don't really have the facilities for the group and so this is one group you won't have to worry about.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I'm sorry, but you are incorrect.

 

There are many stations in the buffet on the Diamond Princess, as well as all of the Grand class ships (Grand, Golden, Caribbean, Sapphire, and Star.) They ALL have made to order egg/omelet stations for breakfast (I've never been on a Princess ship that didn't), as well as what Pam stated, made to order pasta stations at lunch and dinner. In fact, they have one on each side of the Horizon Court buffet.

 

I'm sorry you did not enjoy your cruise, but I don't think it's necessary to give false information.

 

Perhaps you just missed them.

 

My wife also got made to order eggs every morning on our Princess cruise. I personally like the way the buffet is set up on Princess.

 

Friends of mine just returned from there first HAL cruise(Zuiderdam),having sailed previously on Carnival twice and RCCL many times. They were incredibly dissappointed in HAL and will never sail with them again. They said the food was mediocre and the service horrible all over the ship including room steward, dining room staff and bar staff. They felt they had been promised a five star cruise experience and got a two!

 

On our Zuiderdam cruise I thought the staff was the best in all of my 14 cruises, always smiling, asking if you need help, etc.

 

Bill

[S.S.Oceanlover]

[quote name='spongerob']I appreciate the attempt to provide a comparison between these two corporate sisters. The subject of food is obviously very subjective and cannot be compared easily. For instance, take the quote above, and compare to these comments from a passenger about [URL="http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=445183"]poor food on Westerdam[/URL].

So, what is one to think? I think the comment about Denny's conflicts with my own experience and opinions. Admittedly Princess' specialty restaurants aren't nearly as fancy as what some other lines offer. I can see where some might be put off by the Sabatini's menu, my wife certainly found less to enjoy than I did, for example. Out of 11 cruises on Princess, though, I've found the food throughout the ship lacking just once, and said so.

HAL is probably going to show up on our list of future cruises sometime in the future. I've already looked at Westerdam for a future sailing, for example. I can only hope that people who do comparisons can find some balance in them, so as not to appear to be either a basher or cheerleader, so I can set my expectations appropriately.[/QUOTE]

Hey Sponge nice to see you over here. While I have only done one cruise with HAL I had a very good time. It is a little sleepy after 11pm or so but other than that I found it to be a very relaxing and pampered experience.

While it's hard not to compare ships I try not to as much as possible. Each ship does somes things better than others and worse than others so in the end it's a push.

I haven't found the perfect cruise yet, though I'm trying .;)

Bill

[srqcruiser]

Me and my partner like Princess. We only sail in suites and get perks like full room service 24/7 but agree that anytime dining could be tweeked a bit. What you have to do is use anytime dining like fixed dining. Find a time like 7pm and if you like your servers, you ask to stay with them the whole cruise. You would be amazed how great service you will get. They tend to work harder hoping you will reward them at the end of the cruise with an extra tip. What I dont like about HAL is the very regimented schedule for Bfast, Lunch and Dinner. We were on the Volendam 3 years ago and found the ship to look old and too small for our tastes. We swore we would never go back. The food was nasty, things like liver and onions and pickled herring on the menu that are geared to a much older crowd. In fact, at the end of our cruise we ran off the ship to Dennys of all places to get a good breakfast. To get a bottle of wine was like pulling teeth during dinner. When you were able to wave the wine steward down for wine they were out of many wines on the menu. In defense of HAL they have the best suites, perks for suite holders and itineraries.
It was been 3 years since our last HAL cruise and I guess we have forgotten many of our bad experiences because we are booked on the Zuiderdam Feb. 3 in a suite. We are hoping we will like the vista class ships much better than the Volendam. I am a little nervous that we may have made a mistake but we liked the itinerary. We will be dining at the Pinnacle Grill several times because it was the only place on our last HAL cruise where the food was excellent. I am hoping someone out there can make me feel better about our upcoming HAL cruise.

[kryos]

[quote name='Candy']Darn that WSoD...[/QUOTE]
Here's something I discovered about the dreaded WSOD.

When you hit post ... and get that white screen ... simply hit your back brouser and go back to the screen before. You will notice that you lost all of your input. But don't fret. Go up to the top of the screen and click on the name of the current thread, and it will bring you back to the thread where you had just made your post. Guaranteed ... your latest post will be there.

By not doing anything like typing out your post again or re-pasting your post into the input screen ... you won't get a double post and you won't lose the material you already typed in.

At least that's what's been working for me lately.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

[quote name='srqcruiser']In fact, at the end of our cruise we ran off the ship to Dennys of all places to get a good breakfast.[/QUOTE]
When I was on HAL's Amsterdam last January, I couldn't wait to run off the ship at one of the ports to get a nice greasy Big Mac. I was really jonesing!

But, my desire for a Big Mac had nothing to do with poor food quality aboard the ship. Quite the contrary, the food was so good and so rich ... I just wasn't used to it ... the total lack of the junk food was what I was missing so bad. :)

Blue skies ...

--rita

[spongerob]

[quote name='S.S.Oceanlover']Hey Sponge nice to see you over here. While I have only done one cruise with HAL I had a very good time. It is a little sleepy after 11pm or so but other than that I found it to be a very relaxing and pampered experience.
[/quote]Thanks, Bill. We're looking for a change of pace sometime in the future. The contest is between HAL and X. I know a few people who have cruised both Princess and HAL and make favorable comments about both. We have friends here who cruise HAL quite regularly and ask us when we're going to try a DAM ship.

[CruzinNoony]

I just have to put in my two cents. I've been on 32 cruises and am an elite member of Princess. I'm going on the Zaandam in two weeks, which is why I am on this board. There is an omelette and make eggs to order area (maybe "station" is what is confusing to some) on every Princess ship I've been on, including the Diamond. Sometimes, it is in the actual buffet area, behind the made-already omeletts. On the Crown, for instance, you tell the chef what you would like on your omelette and he takes your name and finds you when it is ready (I was still in the "circle" toasting a bagel so I was easy to spot). He wasn't very busy, because maybe most people aren't aware that you can do this. On other ships, it is outside the "circle". A lot of times it is at the counter where at lunch you can get pasta made to order. If you can't find it ask someone! It is there!

The other thing is room service. Even though the printed times start at 7:30 or whatever, you can write in whatever time you want. I have done this on every Princess cruise I have been on, because I like morning shore excursions and want my coffee as I am getting ready. ;)

[Porkys2]

[quote name='CruzinNoony']
The other thing is room service. Even though the printed times start at 7:30 or whatever, you can write in whatever time you want. I have done this on every Princess cruise I have been on, because I like morning shore excursions and want my coffee as I am getting ready. ;)[/QUOTE]

On the Crown Princess, our room service breakfast always arrived about 20 minutes earlier than the beginning of the "time-slot" we selected.

Also, for anyone interested, I've posted over [URL="http://cruisenewbie.com/photos/"]300 photos of the Crown[/URL] (with descriptions) on my website. Lots of pics of the small shower, confusing buffet lines, and rude passengers... LOL... Actually, we had a great time. :)

[AlohaPride]

[quote name='Porkys2']On the Crown Princess, our room service breakfast always arrived about 20 minutes earlier than the beginning of the "time-slot" we selected.

Also, for anyone interested, I've posted over [URL="http://cruisenewbie.com/photos/"]300 photos of the Crown[/URL] (with descriptions) on my website. Lots of pics of the small shower, confusing buffet lines, and rude passengers... LOL... Actually, we had a great time. :)[/quote]

Awesome website. I liked the pictures. It felt as though I was perpetually looking at the inside of a huge shopping mall. $3 for a candy apple?? Amazingly SMALL shower! WOW!!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

[quote name='Porkys2']On the Crown Princess, our room service breakfast always arrived about 20 minutes earlier than the beginning of the "time-slot" we selected.

Also, for anyone interested, I've posted over [URL="http://cruisenewbie.com/photos/"]300 photos of the Crown[/URL] (with descriptions) on my website. Lots of pics of the small shower, confusing buffet lines, and rude passengers... LOL... Actually, we had a great time. :)[/QUOTE]

There are no lines in the buffet. That's probably the confusing part.:D

Bill

[Tinknock50]

[quote name='kryos']Here's something I discovered about the dreaded WSOD.

When you hit post ... and get that white screen ... simply hit your back brouser and go back to the screen before. You will notice that you lost all of your input. But don't fret. Go up to the top of the screen and click on the name of the current thread, and it will bring you back to the thread where you had just made your post. Guaranteed ... your latest post will be there.

By not doing anything like typing out your post again or re-pasting your post into the input screen ... you won't get a double post and you won't lose the material you already typed in.

At least that's what's been working for me lately.

Blue skies ...

--rita[/quote]

Thanks for pointing this out...I do the same thing , except I go all the way back to the main page and then refresh.

What I never, ever, do is push the refresh button! That can lead to a double post. I also don't send my post a second time until I am sure the first one didn't post.

I haven't had a double post in ages using my method, but I will adopt yours so I won't have to back all the way to the main page.

Thanks for the shortcut,