HAL vet tries Princess

[Druke I]

delete - server stuttering.

[KLLund]

I find this very interesting because we have two favorite ships .. the Oosterdam and the Sapphire Princess. We have always felt the two compared favorably and are happy to be on either one.

[MightyQuinn]

Appreciate the info. We sailed the Prinsendam earlier this year & really enjoyed the smaller classic ship. We'd consider a Renaissance ship (on another line :eek::eek: ) if the experience would be similar.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

We were on her sister, Diamond Princess, last year. It was a very nice ship. Quite lovely, really. The first big difference you'll notice is the massive atrium on Princess ships. A little glitzier, too, than HAL standard. Not better ... not worse. Just different. I know you and Tom will have a great time.

Jim our very first cruise was on RCL's Monarch of the Seas and the beautiful atrium was the first thing you saw when you boarded the ship and I remember being WOWed it was very impressive. Then our 2nd cruise was on the Zuiderdam and in all honesty we will very unimpressed and were a bit leary because it did not have the WOW factor but as you can tell that obviously did not sway us to not cruise HAL:D Thru that week there were so many things that we loved about HAL over RCL that we had to try HAL again and then we were hooked ;)

[Tampa Girl]

The new Royal Princess, one of the Renaissance class ships, is 30,277GRT, 710PAX.

 

The old Royal Princess, now P&O's Artemis, was one of my favorites. She is 46,000GRT, 1200PAX.

 

Michael,

 

How do the verandah cabins on the new Royal Princess compare with the R & S class HAL ships? I like the size of the Royal. BTW, I did not take your earlier response as being argumentative; just enlightening.

 

Virginia

[Druke I]

Referencing comparing verandah cabins, I can't really help you.

 

We had a standard balcony cabin on Pacific Princess (haven't been on the new Royal Princess), and found it adequate. Our trips on Oceania's R-class ships have been in standard outside cabins.

 

Truth be known, we don't usually book balconies (verandahs), as we are among the odd ones who feel we can in fact travel without one. We don't subscribe to the argument that once you have had a balcony, you never can go back to a standard balcony-less cabin.

 

We actually spend little time in our cabins.

 

When we want fresh air, we'll go out to a public deck.

[mikefang]

Okay, now for some impressions on lounges and, of course, food! In this snapshot instance we found the dining room good but a little less than expected. That does not mean bad, just different. The first night prime rib was the best I have had on any cruise ship, the last night prime rib about the worst. Just differences found on any ship. DW did not like the cheesecake at any time. Kind of that light fluffy stuff. Service was good. Overall menu preference would be HAL but you will like the Princess food overall. The Lido buffet was an interesting contrast. Outstanding salad bar and a good selection. Seating was always available even at peak times, it took a little searching now and then but never terrible even with the usual group that likes to play cards during peak meal times. Biggest issue is the buffet 'line' traffic pattern. If you look at a good deck plan for the SP please note that many of the stations are not serviced from the back. There is a general oval shape with one whole side and the interior stations serviced from the front. Access to those stations is through gaps in the stations service from the back. So you are avoiding crew members loaded with food trays having to get between you and trying to load and unload these trays between other passengers. Kind of like a Boston roundabout at rush hour with no traffic control devices and all lane markings absent. On most occasions, at busy times, stopping to allow crew members through allows groups coming against the traffic flow to move in front of you. They do not let passengers have trays; platter type dishes, good sized but still platters are the norm. The reason given is room, I think it is because trays would make handy weapons. They have well separated omelet stations which were excellent. Overall food was excellent though I would give the nod to HAL on soups and dessert. To the lady who left the buffet line with most of my blue cheese dressing on her elbow I offer my sincere apologies-really!

 

DW and myself enjoy a drink before dinner-we had traditional at 8:00 pm. It has been difficult in the past on HAL to get into the Ocean Bar comfortably and was often smoky-it may have changed-and the Crow's Nest was our favorite spot-don't know about this explorations cafe and Crow's Nest co-existing. SP is a large ship with several good choices for the pre-dinner libation. This class has a lounge aft and above deck 16 which is kind of like the Crow's Nest looking aft. Very nice and it seems to be one of the two popular late night spots on board. In addition there are at least 3 more good spots for music and relaxing before dinner.

 

The central atrium is beautiful and well used. Lots of shops and service areas-front desk, excursions, library and of course gold by the inch. DW says the shopping is better on Oosterdam. I purchased 2 bottles of rum which were delivered the day before disembarking in the standard cardboard carry box but both were wrapped in bubble wrap. The library is small but comfortable, most reading done elsewhere on board.

 

Overall, if you like the food on HAL you will like the food on Princess.

 

Note of Warning to those considering balconies on SP: From the afore mentioned deck 16 lounge, Skywalker's, you can look directly down into

a good number of balconies. I think this is true from certain areas of Lido but I am not certain. So fore warned is fore armed or should I say fore dressed!

 

I have one more post planned covering the 'outlet sale' and disembarkation then I will go back to leaving you all alone to enjoy the boards.

Mike

[Nancyquilts]

Thanks for the reports. We too enjoy Hal and Princess (and Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, and Crystal, and probably most any other ship that comes along.) Anything that sails out of San Francisco has an advantage for us. Nancy

[mikefang]

Dress code: 2 formal nights and the rest smart casual. As I said earlier I think this was an older group than normal on Princess and formal night showed a number of tuxes, suits, and jacket/tie combinations. Smart casual was dress slacks and good shirts. I am now very limited on what I can lift and DW has to do all our baggage handling, from house to vehicle and return. I would normally take a tux/dinner jacket and a blazer/slacks for a cruise. Still might on a longer cruise but I found the blazer/slacks to work fine and were right in place. DW looks good in most anything and she dressed in the women's equivalent.

 

Princess does what they call an outlet sale. They have a lot of 'stuff' from purses to bags to clothes to watches they put on sale in one of the dining rooms. I can best describe this as one of those bargain basement sale routines you see in the movies. My first clue came when we were waiting in line and a woman said to DW "does your husband know how bad this is going to be"? No, I did not and learned rapidly that it is a good place to avoid in the future. I reached for one item to look at it and nearly withdrew a bloody stump. I am used to the HAL tables with the last venue's t shirts and such on it at various times in the cruise. I suspect I am not the only HAL cruiser with some shirts from places I have never been and in some cases never heard of. A really different scenario and, believe it or not, one woman was asking one of the staff to price one of the water pitchers left out in the dining room-true story. Very long checkout line staffed with young athletic looking sales persons who may double as bouncers.

 

Disembarking: As always this evolution varies greatly depending on the time and where you are onboard. A lot of folks were taking off all or most of their baggage which really clogged the passageways. We had to be in the forward theater and it was pretty crowded getting there. Communication on leaving was spotty but once in the terminal at Los Angeles the porters are quick and smooth getting you and the bags to the right bus.

 

Conclusion: We had a great trip, would do it again in a heartbeat and I agree with those posters who have no problem switching back and forth between HAL and Princess. If you are considering HAL or Princess you will find that they are both good, only some differences that do not deter from having a good time. Please enjoy.

 

Mike and Fang

[CowPrincess]

Mike (and Fang) thank you for the review. I'd be happy to take another Princess cruise, though DH is reluctant. After reading about the "outlet sale", I'd be SURE to not mention it to him in advance of boarding :D

 

then I will go back to leaving you all alone to enjoy the boards.

 

:( Was it something we said? Don't go -- this is how to feed your cruise addiction between cruises!

[jschm27]

Mike

 

Tell Fang that I do not think that you talk to much and that I appreciate your review! (Of course this comes from a fellow military retiree (Coast Guard Reserve) who appreciates technical stuff like how they are taking care of the ships fittings!) I am suprised though that you did not have to muster at the lifeboat. When I cruise, the life boat becomes my second best friend after my DW.

 

John

[brucory]

We have sailed Princess a little more than HAL, and we prefer Princess. We feel more 'at home' with Princess, and some of its 'Front Office Policies' suit us better than HAL's.

Having said that, we would sail HAL again, if the cruise seemed right for us.

 

john

 

Which "front office policies" are so different between Princess and HAL?

 

The only thing we noticed was that they offered to make all of our charges in our own currency (AUD), which was beneficial, as we were able to avoid some credit charges that would have applied if charged in USD.

 

:D :D :D

[mikefang]

Cow Princess-no, not anything said.:) I find most of the posters are good at answering questions, very knowledgeable and are usually ahead of any answers I might have. I concur with staying away from the outlet sale.

 

John-I also was surprised at no lifeboat muster. As a matter of fact there was no muster at all, just a group lecture in a lounge for several hundred people. I always fit my life jacket and that of Fang as well as having a small flashlight. Okay, call me paranoid but it is a ship. By the way, thanks for the service.

 

A belated thank you for the inquiry on my health. Doing okay, just have to live with more restrictions on lifting than I ever expected. This getting older is not for sissies.

 

Mike and Fang

[localady]

 

John-I also was surprised at no lifeboat muster. As a matter of fact there was no muster at all, just a group lecture in a lounge for several hundred people. I always fit my life jacket and that of Fang as well as having a small flashlight. Okay, call me paranoid but it is a ship. By the way, thanks for the service.

 

Mike and Fang

 

I think that given the fact you are on the high seas, it's not paranoid, but prudent !!;) :D May you and Fang cruise often in the years to come !! :D :D

[Druke I]

I for one totally "buy-in" to Princess' method of conducting safety drills.

 

In the event of an actual emergency, it makes sense (to me & apparently to Princess as well) to have you muster in a central location, protected from the elements, until such time as you have to be evacuated.

 

If, for example, the ship was listing heavily, it might be counter-productive to have you muster at your lifeboat, exposed to the elements, only to find that the davits are not able to launch the boat safely on that side of the ship.

[mr green]

Which "front office policies" are so different between Princess and HAL?

 

The only thing we noticed was that they offered to make all of our charges in our own currency (AUD), which was beneficial, as we were able to avoid some credit charges that would have applied if charged in USD.

 

:D :D :D

 

HAL charges in advance! Princess does not.

Foor example, with HAL, insurance is payable within ten days of down payment, and there is no refund if you cancel before full payment is made. All HAL will do is to put the insurance on another cruise.

With Princess insurance is paid with final payment.

Tours. With HAL, if you book in advance the tour charge appears on your next Credit Card billing.

With Princess ALL tour charges appear on that nasty piece of paper:eek: that the line gives you at the END of you cruise.

You might ask 'Why should I insure through a cruise line?' The answer is age, it does not matter if a person a person is 21, or 91, the charges are the same, and, the coverage is good. Also the 'perks' as a repeat cruiser are far far more meaningful with Princess, as opposed to HAL.

 

john

[jjb415]

Thanks for your report! Since December of last year, Princess have sent me e-mails,snail mails and call about sailings. I want to try them, but the few people that I know that sailed them had mixed reviews. However these reviews are from a few years past.

I will keep an eye out for the rest of your report.

 

Of all the cruise lines, I get the most of all of the types of mail you listed from Princess, a line that I have never tried. I guess it may be time to take advantage of one of those offers! :) Thanks OP for your report.

[many cruises]

Thanks for your great review of the Sapphire Princess. Our favorite line is Princess but we would cruise on HAL again. The Sapphire is a wonderful ship...you brought back some terrific memories. Wishing you many more cruises! :)

[sassyredhat]

I , too, thank you for the reviews. Because DH will not fly, we are looking at Princess for a future cruise.

 

This info is so reassuring. :)

 

Pat

[Jade13]

If there are lots of tender ports, I don't like the huge passenger ships. for Europe, the smaller the better and have only done Princess so far(Royal).

The cabins on Princess , balcony, have no sofa (except on the Royal), and not really comfortable for breakfast in room. There is loads of storage on Princess, Holland America (Vista class) very little.

San Diego Sue

 

Hmm, we thought there was tons of storage on Vista class, Westerdam and Noordam. Did you try under the bed? All of our suitcases fit. What about the stool? It is empty too.

[Jade13]

HAL charges in advance! Princess does not.

Foor example, with HAL, insurance is payable within ten days of down payment, and there is no refund if you cancel before full payment is made. All HAL will do is to put the insurance on another cruise.

With Princess insurance is paid with final payment.

Tours. With HAL, if you book in advance the tour charge appears on your next Credit Card billing.

With Princess ALL tour charges appear on that nasty piece of paper:eek: that the line gives you at the END of you cruise.

You might ask 'Why should I insure through a cruise line?' The answer is age, it does not matter if a person a person is 21, or 91, the charges are the same, and, the coverage is good. Also the 'perks' as a repeat cruiser are far far more meaningful with Princess, as opposed to HAL.

 

john

 

But, HAL's insurance covers pre-existing conditions. Very few cover that at final payment.

[mr green]

But, HAL's insurance covers pre-existing conditions. Very few cover that at final payment.

 

We are blessed with having none, to our knowlege, but as I recall, Princess does cover this in its Platinum Coverage, which you can get after five cruises.

 

john

[Jade13]

We are blessed with having none, to our knowlege, but as I recall, Princess does cover this in its Platinum Coverage, which you can get after five cruises.

 

john

We don't either but you never know about other family members. Pre-existing waiver goes for those not traveling with you.