HAL vs Princess

[mcarroll2]

I know this question has been asked many times before. We've only sailed on HAL and we think HAL is great. How does Princess compare to HAL. I noticed on the Fodors web site that both lines are considered premium lines, so they should be comparable, right? Any feed back from recent cruisers woulb be appreciated

[swom]

I know this question has been asked many times before. We've only sailed on HAL and we think HAL is great. How does Princess compare to HAL. I noticed on the Fodors web site that both lines are considered premium lines, so they should be comparable, right? Any feed back from recent cruisers woulb be appreciated

Just returned from the Crown. It was our first time on Princess after being loyal to HAL until now.

We loved Princess. We love both lines, but it was more "active" on the Crown and we enjoyed the people and activity.

Quality is still a little better on HAL, but I think we will do Princess again. In fact, I know we will. We already put down a deposit on a future open cruise. Also like the perks that come with being a past cruiser on Princess.

Hope that helps some.

[Stevesan]

After eight HAL cruises, I took my first Princess cruise on Grand Princess in Y2005. I booked GP for convenience: she docked in our back yard.

I've since taken two more cruises on Princess (bracketed by a cruise on HAL's RVI) and have booked another for next February.

 

Following is excerpted from my review of the first GP cruise:

 

Our first Princess cruise, was terrific and included by far the best food and service of any ship we've sailed.

Although a 109,000-ton ship is a physically imposing object, GP’s interiors were intentionally designed to minimize the impact of her size. As a pioneer among mega-liners, her interiors were scaled down to lessen any potential intimidation factor. The more recent trend, notable among Royal Caribbean’s mega-ships, has been in the opposite direction. Many now intentionally celebrate size, even expanding interiors to obtain the greatest possible spectacular effect.

The ship’s condition was near faultless. Despite 2,000 plus passengers tramping through every day for the last seven years, signs of wear are virtually invisible. Maintenance is obviously a priority for the ship’s crew, clearly a tribute to her Captain, Andy Proctor. GP’s mechanical condition seems faultless. On the large scale, engines perform as intended, side thrusters function, tender operations go off without a hitch, elevators function properly, etc. On the more personal level, our cabin’s thermostat correctly responded to settings, drawers and doors opened and closed properly, every toilet we used flushed instantly. No obnoxious odors, aka sewage, were evident anywhere. In our observation, absolutely everything worked as designed. This ship is a model for those in the cruise industry who claim that unpleasant odors and malfunctioning toilets are inevitable and unavoidable on sea-going passenger vessels. Grand Princess, although not a maiden, puts the lie to that mistaken bit of nonsense.

Dining is an important factor for cruise passengers. We found little fault with either the quality or presentation of the food, either in the main dining room or buffet, the Horizon Court. Warning: My wife, Japanese by birth, says to avoid the buffet’s sushi. The rice is a gluey mess. Also, the butterfish in main dining is to be avoided as too tough and chewy. I thought the escargot lacked firmness. That’s it – the only criticisms!

We had late traditional dining. The dining staff in the Botticelli was personable and very efficient. Our waiter, Stefan, was particularly attentive to our eleven-year-old grandson, and did not display a hint of adult attitude condescension. He took orders at rapid-fire speed, without once delivering the wrong item. On the second Formal Night, Stefan performed what I thought to be an impossible task: he delivered two entrees in sequence. In addition to the lobster tails, my wife and I wanted to split a single order of the ravioli entrée. Previously, I was always told that entrees have to be served simultaneously. Stefan not only served them in sequence, but both were served hot and without interfering with the main service. Overall service was sufficiently prompt that we were in and out of Botticelli in an hour or less every night.

The headwaiter, Francesco, was first-rate, frequently visiting tables and overseeing service. One evening he prepared a special pasta dish employing his own authentic Italian recipe for the sauce. It was intended as a sampler plate, but was so delicious many people were enjoying full bowls as their entree.

The best part of the dining experience was the food. Preparation was first-rate: if ordered medium rare, the item was delivered medium rare, sauces were fully flavored, all dishes were consistently served at the correct temperature. The desserts possessed intense flavors, indicative of quality ingredients.

Entertainment was typical cruise ship fare: Quizzes, trivial pursuit, swimming pool games, Pilates (for a fee), water volleyball, and many others including the inevitable snowball bingo and art auctions. The bars and lounges are too numerous to list. We found Wheelhouse Bar to our liking with a small trio playing a variety of dance music. The main showroom, Princess theatre, featured two production shows, some single acts and a movie during one evening. The production shows were just ok, not creative but an acceptable after dinner diversion.

The MUTS (Movies Under The Stars) screen on Lido Deck at “Neptune’s Reef” pool was a popular attraction for adults and kids alike. A variety of videos are shown daytime, and feature-length films in the late afternoon and evening. The video quality is startlingly good. The MUTS audio is loud, but is sufficiently directional so as to not be obtrusive outside the pool area. Our category CC cabin was located not far from this pool, and the only MUTS audios detectable were overloud low bass notes. These were not noticeably bothersome.

Since this was a Spring Break cruise, our eleven year old grandson had plenty of company – there were !750! youngsters age seventeen and below. Since most are from Texas and adjoining states they were understandably well behaved. In spite of their numbers, I’m not aware of any problems that arose from the kids’ conduct. They had fun without being a behavior problem anywhere on board. Good for them (and us). Besides hanging out in the swimming pools and hot tubs, our grandson’s age group most enjoyed the paddle tennis court and putt-putt golf. There are designated kid’s clubs, including an exclusive area for the teen set. Included in the activities for the younger set, there was even a chess tournament with a large entry field with a broad age grouping.

 

I suppose this reads as a promo for Princess. Well, so be it. We had a great time on a magnificent ship. Both of us still consider Holland America as our primary source for cruising. But I guaranteed our return to Princess by making an open reservation deposit for a future cruise.

[sammiedawg]

We have had excellent cruises on both lines. they both do a great job. Both excel in different ways, We enjoy trying different lines but these 2 are the most consistent and best we have found. We always look at their intineraries first. . We were disappointed in Celebrity- their ship maintenance was not good, both Princess and HAL excel at keeping their ships updated .

[dakrewser]

We recently did a Mexican Riviera cruise on Dawn Princess which I compared to a similar cruise on the Oosterdam ("A HAL cruiser looks at Princess"). In a nutshell, the Princess experience was OK, nothing particularly great nothing particularly awful. But there are differences and, depending on what you value most, one line or the other may be a better choice.

[hammybee]

Princess is one of the few mass-marketed cruise lines I have yet to sail and one of these days I will do so. I enjoy reading the compare/contrasts between HAL and Princess. I don't think one can go too wrong with either line and it comes down to preference, intinerary and costs. Thank you.

[cruznon]

I returned last month from a 10-day Princess cruise (Golden Princess) I would sail Princess again if itinerary and price were right. However, the quality of service is not equal to HAL. Their ships are big and offer lots of neat music/danciung areas, but lack the elegance of a HAL ship. Their dining rooms are just that --rooms with tables/chairs

and no atmosphere.

HAL fits us best. If you want to try something different, give it a shot. SOmetimes sailing another line solidifies what you value most on a cruise. It made us realize how much we like HAL!