Princess, Carnival & HAL, who's sailed all 3?

[fmax]

Trying to book a new year cruise which is filling up fast.

 

Have only cruised Royal Caribbean but for this cruise am considering Carnival Freedom, Ruby Princess or HAL eurodam. As Princess and Hal aren't in service, yet, not expecting reviews of ship.

 

Love, Carnival's price and HAL's route.

 

Just want to hear from anyone who's cruised all 3 lines to get their opinion. I know it's all personal choice and you can have a variety of opinions from people sailing on exact same cruise but just wanted to hear the overal positive and negatives of the lines.

 

Looking at general input on Cabin Size, decor, entertainment, spa/pool areas, atmosphere etc.

 

I know I'm going to love the cruise no matter what, but one of the group has never sailed before so want it to be a good first experience.

 

Frances

[Toto2Kansas]

Yes, have sailed all three in the past, more than once.

 

Carnival, too glitzy and cheap looking in their ships decor. Staterooms, unless you move to the higher categories, seem more like a generic motel 6 to us. Carnival tends to have a younger passenger load onboard which is a plus to some, minus to others.

 

HAL, a little more subdued than we usually like. But cabin configuration would be probably the best of any we have sailed. Plus, love their room service, much better than Princess. HAL tends to have an older passenger load onboard except for the shorter 7 day sailings on the newest ships where we found many more young families than we expected. (stroller line up at the entrance to the diningroom on that last sailing).

 

Princess, Just right for us (except for the room service change to a very limited menu). But the staterooms, unless you go up to a mini or full suite, seem to be much smaller and lack the sitting area that the other two afford.

Passenger make up is more mixed on Princess for most sailings, unless you get into the higher priced exotics and longer voyages, then you will find more of the older crowd then anything else.

[edste]

i agree completely with Toto2Kansas but I would also add the Princess offers more in daily activities and night time activities. We loved both Princess and HAL but I'm more comfortable on Princess. You can't go wrong with either one

[MAcruiser222]

I agree with Toto2Kansas. I was unimpressed with Carnival all around. The price was great, but the decor was tacky, the activities surprisingly lacking (for something called the "fun ship") and we were overwhelmed with teenagers on our trip. I loved HAL, but it was a quiet cruise. Fewer activities than on Princess or RCI, but really classy and everything was well done. Princess is a great mix. I've sailed on the Sea Princess and the Star Princess, and enjoyed both at least as much, if not more, than my RCI cruise on the Voyager.

[Bucky3]

We, too, have sailed all three lines and we would agree with Toto's assessment. We have found our niche with Princess although we have enjoyed our two HA cruises and several on Carnival. Love everything about Princess from booking to disembarkation!

[fmax]

Thanks for the input.

 

One other thought, - what other additional costs are there other than drinks, photos, spa and shops, which I found to be the standard on Royal.

 

I recall reading, and not sure with regards to which cruiseline, that there's additional cost for some pool/spa area, or something.

 

 

Frances

[goodlife 2]

Hello beautiful downtown Waterdown, cold enough for you? I agree with the rest but my favourite is HAL. My trip with Carnival was 10 years ago, but it seems little has changed. HAL has smaller classy ships, but the crowd is a little older. Vista class ships seem to be drawing younger cruisers, but the ships are still upscale. My next cruise is Princess and I'm certain it will be fun. If the itinerary is close try HAL, even if its just for the best bed on water.

[Gabrielle R.]

Hi from your neighbor to the south- Minnesota that is!

Hey Frances! I too sailed all 3 plus we have sailed RCI. Just booked our 3rd Princess. Toto and others were right about Carnival. Lots of kids and and to my husband and I a drinking ship. (We noticed this and we were in our late 20's at the time.) HAL was nice, but We didn't like their food. Again as many said it is subjective. The food was bland and we couldn't get a decent steak on board HAL's Rotterdam. I felt the RCI and Princess were similar in soem things. Nice rooms, good food. Princess seems like we had more to do for activities.

Sometimes you just need to pick what ports you want and just go have fun! Have fun whatever you choose. I'm teasing you about sending us the cold, I know it came from the top of the world and headed south! Take care neighbors to the north! Gabrielle

[Wilcoam]

Keep in mind, we're younger cruisers....

 

HAL, awesome food n service, nice ship (Oosteedam), but very sleepy with much older pax. Classy more formal traditonal cruiseline

 

CAR, discount cruiseline, much younger pax, IMO litzy

 

PRIN, the best mix of pax, ship cabins, and on board vibe for us. More casual dining atmpsohere.

 

jc

toronto

[dclark]

Trying to book a new year cruise which is filling up fast.

 

 

 

Frances

 

It sounds like you want to book a cruise for next years New Years. have not been on HAL, but I have cruised CCL and Princess over the holidays, having experienced Christmas and New Years each on both lines (four holiday cruises in all). I have also cruised CCL on 7 other occasions.

The worst thing about CCL is the type of people that sail them, they are bit rough, tend to be loud, drunk, etc. Having said that, the holiday cruises attract different people, lots of well behaved people , lots of pleasant canadians. They have lots of kids, more than princess, but on both cruises, they were well behaved, much better than on summer cruises. The atmosphere is festive and CCL ships really are nice places on the holidays. Princess is also nice on the holidays, but I did like the free champagne on CCL given when you boarded, the xmas show with staff holdingc candles and some other things. I really like them both. Next year, I'll do a xmas cruise with Princess. Also, I highly, highly recomend that you consider a xmas cruise as well, irregardless of cruiseline. Christmas falls late in the week, so you'll be in different ports just before the xmas day and get to see their "xmas". I did this a few years ago and saw a mass in Cozumel and saw saw bands in Jamaica doing reggae versions of xmas carols as well. New years is nice, but both our xmas cruises were special!

[Cruise Raider]

We've sailed on all three and always find something special we like about each but that also comes with finding something we like better on others.

The more you cruise, the more you tend to comare...good or bad.

This is what I like and dislike about each line:

 

Carnival: Haven't sailed on them in a long time but have a cruise booked for next month. I like the more casual atmosphere and greater mix of pax. I like the varied activities as well.

I wasn't crazy about having drunks running wild, the crew tended to be a bit houndish around the young girls...but as I mentioned, this was a long time ago...hopefully this has changed.

The rooms are larger than most lines and usually at a much better price.

 

Princess: This used to be my favorite line --- as it had a mixture of all things good. They seemed to have declined somewhat in the last 3 years -- coincidentally, when Carnival took over. I might be off on the timing. The customer service has declined, although did get some resolution when contacting the main office in Santa Clarita after one bad cruise experience. I probably wouldn't sail on a really new ship again --- seems like the staff on the older ships are just better at customer service. The rooms on the newer ships are more comfortable, but the older ships have small, routine rooms. The public space is pretty generic on many of their ships. They do have non-smoking nights in the casino --- love this!! The food used to be fantastic but has also suffered in the past few years. But...they do have personal choice dining, which I really like. Their prices have really gone up, thus, this line has fallen from being on the favorite list but is still an ok cruise choice...maybe just not the best for us anymore.

 

HAL: This might be my favorite out of these three, although they don't have the personal choice dining. I liked the rooms better than on Princess, they had a good mix of pax and some of the best food I have ever had on a cruise. The service in the dining rooms is incredible. Also, some of the best entertainment found at sea was on HAL. I liked the repeat cruiser's party --- it was set in a gathering room vs a lounge so you were able to mingle. On the Zuiderdam, the top of the lifeboats were even with your balcony floor on the Veranda Deck. This caused us having to see other's vomit atop the lifeboat in the morning when sitting on the balcony --- although not HAL's fault. They certainy made good on it every day when we called to have it cleaned off. We usually got a special goodie in the room....chocolate covered strawberries, etc.

 

Celebrity: Now, I know you didn't ask, but hands down...this is my all time favorite cruiseline. I like the food, the service, the ship layouts (they are not too huge), the customer service , entertainment, activities, etc!! Not anything negative I can think of when it comes to Celebrity, except for no anytime dining options in the formal dining rooms.

 

Norwegian: I like the freestyle cruising option on this line. This makes up for anything else that might be lacking. The room stewards have all been great on this line...never a complaint with this. The rooms are comfortable as well but nothing extraordinary. The service in the dining rooms is ok, except for the wine stewards, they were always outstanding. The food is plentiful and overall good, not fabulous.

 

Never sailed on RCCL -- heard from other pax on these cruises they are great. I will probably book one of them but will never get to any greater status on these other lines if I keep flip flopping around. I don't think you can go really wrong with any cruise. The main things I would focus on are:

The itinerary

The price

The freestyle/personal choice vs fixed seating (your preference)

The size of the ship (extra big ships are not for us and really make a difference!)

[dennbr9]

Fresh Water Pools on Princess. Have not done a Carnival in many years but agree that it can be a rowdy bunch, I like to party, but do not care for Drunks.

 

Have heard a lot of good things about HAL, have to find time to try one.

[LETS PARTY]

I've been on all 3 a few times

I like them all----never meet a cruise I didn't like

I would go with the itin. you like best, and best price if that matters to you

Rob

[fmax]

Thanks for all the input.

 

I'm leaning towards HAL for it's itinerary, it's a new ship, it has both traditional and any time dining and with it being new year's i think it will tend to get few teens than the other two.

 

I think that maybe with the Ruby Princess not launching until November, it might not have chance to get any kinks ironed out before new year's, especially if there's any delays in its launch.

 

Frances

[gardenbaskets]

The Island Princess has fresh water but in the Lotus Atrium the pool is salt water with a current generator for swimming laps or just bouncing against the stairs if that's all you wanted. I loved that pool.

 

 

 

Fresh Water Pools on Princess. Have not done a Carnival in many years but agree that it can be a rowdy bunch, I like to party, but do not care for Drunks.

 

Have heard a lot of good things about HAL, have to find time to try one.

[innlady1]

We've sailed both Princess and HAL. Our next cruise on HAL is in 9 days! ;)

 

I liked Princess, but definitely like HAL better. They now have As You Wish Dining, by the way, and we will have that on our next cruise.

 

The food on Princess gets my vote, but everything else about HAL we like better. The bedding is to die for, 24 hour room service...anything on that days menu, no charge. The service is outstanding. IMO, the Lido is better on HAL.

 

The ships are more traditional in design, and we like that.

[newmexicoNita]

Trying to book a new year cruise which is filling up fast.

 

Have only cruised Royal Caribbean but for this cruise am considering Carnival Freedom, Ruby Princess or HAL eurodam. As Princess and Hal aren't in service, yet, not expecting reviews of ship.

 

Love, Carnival's price and HAL's route.

 

Just want to hear from anyone who's cruised all 3 lines to get their opinion. I know it's all personal choice and you can have a variety of opinions from people sailing on exact same cruise but just wanted to hear the overal positive and negatives of the lines.

 

Looking at general input on Cabin Size, decor, entertainment, spa/pool areas, atmosphere etc.

 

I know I'm going to love the cruise no matter what, but one of the group has never sailed before so want it to be a good first experience.

 

Frances

Frances,

 

What you do and do not like to do will make a difference on what line you choose. I will give you my opinion and that is all it is; an opinion.

 

Carnival: no matter what people say, it is still more of a party ship. This does not mean everyone will be drunk and in their 20s, but, especially over New Years you will have more night life, lots of happy people, many of them a bit on the drunk side I am sure. But there will be families as well. Most Carnival ships are inclined to be brightly decorated, a little gaudy and not always what people like, The cabins are larger than most lines which is a plus tne the food has improved over the years. For fun and a night time life Carnival is a great choice. There will be lots of entertainlment. both the silly poolside activities that so many love and the evening life. The casinos are larger than on many ships. They normally only have one sur charge restaurant which is about $30 now I beleive.

 

Princess: Ships are more subdued, the passengers, a little more on the quiet side and not nearly as many activities, but there still is plenty to keep you busy. Princess does offer the choice of flex dining or traditional dining which is a plus to many. The nightly entertainment is average to good with more than one choice per evening. The problem is the crowded showroom which may not be an issue on the Rudy as it is brand new. Of course brand new ships are always fun. We just got off the Golden so am somewhat familiar with the food. Although I didn't find it spectacular the selection was great, there was lots of seafood, the veggies were cooked to perfection and the appitizers outstanding. We had 1/2 avacado filled with shrimp salad one night, escargot and even frog legs. The downside was the buffet and the dining room breakfasts, plus the salad choices. I know a buffet is a buffet and that is true, but it seamed really lacking to us. Again food is subjective and this is our view. The cabins were on the small side, and the bathrooms more than small. This was the Golden not the new shiny ship. We loved the decor, both our cabin and the public areas. There were enough day time activities to keep us busy plus a movie everyday for those who couldn't find anything else to do. The pool area was the prettiest we had ever seen. Age breakdown, more little kids than we expected to see, but most of the cruisers were 45 plus, with a large number in their 60s.

 

HAL: The cabins and decor on HAL are the nicest of any line we have cruised and we have cruised all the mass marketed ones. The cabins are large, comfortable and the bathrooms a good size. The food, also was the best, not only the dinners but the buffets and the dining breakfast. The specialty dining room was not worth $30 in our estimation, but the service was good. Asfor activities, well, don't expect to find much going on after 10pm. New Years might be a little different. The average HAL cruiser will be a couple in their 50s or older, cruised before, subdued and finds trivia (the harder, the better) their idea of fun activiites. They are usualy rather refined and enjoy the formal nights, quiet times in the library, lectures and bridge games.

 

Remember I am generalizing and cruising over a holiday will change the atmostphere completely. Even HAL will have lots off families and a slightly younger audiance. HAL also now offers either flex dining or traditional.

 

For nightlife go with Carnival:

 

For a little quieter atmosphere but still activities after 10pm choose Princess

 

For a slightly more upscale experience with a refined atmosphere try HAL.

 

HAL has 2 formal nights with most men wearing tuxes, some in dark suits and few dressed any other way: You are expected to keep the formal wear on the entire night, not just at dinner. This doesn't mean you have to, but you are expected to.

 

Princess also has 2 formal nights; about 30% in tuxes, 40% in dark suits, 20% in sport jackets with dress shirts and ties and the other 10% you do not want to know. Most men did stay dressed in what they wore to dinner the entire night but no one made any suggestions either way about this.

 

Carnival: 2 formal nights, but you will see a larger number of men wearing dark suits and sports jackets than on the other 2 lines. No one will notice if the men change their clothes after dinner.

 

Hope this helps a little, whatever line, you will have a great New Years and please don't want more than another couple of months before booking.

 

Nita

[newmexicoNita]

Thanks for the input.

 

One other thought, - what other additional costs are there other than drinks, photos, spa and shops, which I found to be the standard on Royal.

 

I recall reading, and not sure with regards to which cruiseline, that there's additional cost for some pool/spa area, or something.

 

 

Frances

you may find added charges for some pool/spa areas on all lines, depending on what the spa area offers. Again, any extra charges are simply your choice to make. I may decide to use the T pools and pay the $15 per day or whatever, you may prefer to forget that and spend your money on a cool shore excursion.

 

Nita