Crown Princess vs. HA Westerdam?

[missmlt]

I am looking for some insight from someone that has cruised both princess and HA recently to help me decide if we should try Holland America.

 

Background: We are in our late 20's and we've done 3 cruises (RC, Carnival, Princess). We did not enjoy the loud "party party" atmosphere or the food on carnival. We prefer a little more laid back vacation. We loved our most recent cruise (Nov. 29th) on the Crown, it had great food and the right mix of fun and relaxation. For our next cruise we are looking for a cruise to go on with both sets of our parents. One set that has cruised, the other has not. We'd like to do princess again but the Westerdam's ports look more a little more interesting but I don't want to sacrifice the overall experience just for the ports if we can get a good experience on HA.

 

For those that have done both Princess and HA, if we really liked Princess would we like HA Westerdam?

[Grego]

I am looking for some insight from someone that has cruised both princess and HA recently to help me decide if we should try Holland America.

 

Background: We are in our late 20's and we've done 3 cruises (RC, Carnival, Princess). We did not enjoy the loud "party party" atmosphere or the food on carnival. We prefer a little more laid back vacation. We loved our most recent cruise (Nov. 29th) on the Crown, it had great food and the right mix of fun and relaxation. For our next cruise we are looking for a cruise to go on with both sets of our parents. One set that has cruised, the other has not. We'd like to do princess again but the Westerdam's ports look more a little more interesting but I don't want to sacrifice the overall experience just for the ports if we can get a good experience on HA.

 

For those that have done both Princess and HA, if we really liked Princess would we like HA Westerdam?

 

Looks like you have answered your own question. If they are both 7 day cruises then you are likely to have a younger "party" type passenger demographic. 10 day voyages bring on a quieter set. But in the end you can always find places to relax and places to have fun on any ship. What might be your decision point is the itinerary. If the ports are exciting to you, that's what counts. Afterall, you are spending a lot of your awake time in those ports when you are not at sea.

[Shifra]

I have been on the Westerdam & Ruby which is the sister ship to the Crown. I can understand your dilemma. Princess & Hal are my favorite lines for different reasons.

 

From what you are saying it sounds like the ship experience takes priority over the ports. In that case I think you should stick with the Crown. My reasoning has to do with your ages (yes I know you said you would be traveling with your parents). The cruise style is more active on Princess and if you are into nightlife I think you would have more choices for late night entertainment.

 

I know some of you will dissagree with me but HAL does usually have an older following and the ships tend to get pretty quiet early in the evening. The one exception is if you are cruising during a holiday or spring break.

 

Both have good food & service.

 

Just my opinion :)

[Rudd]

I sailed on the Crown on a 9 day Cariibbean in 2006 and on the Westerdam on a 10 day Med in 2007. Both provided enjoyable vacations. The itinerary, and not the ship, really influenced the cruise experience.

 

The Crown was out of NYC and people were there to have a good time. It wasn’t a total party, party scene but the venues were lively and it made for a fun cruise. The Westerdam was out of Rome and attracted a different crowd, interested in being ready for the next day’s historical tour. However, when I sailed on the Grand Princess on a 10 day Baltic, the disco was just as dead as the one on the Westerdam.

 

The cruise on the Westerdam was my first with HAL, so my opinions may be influnced by 6 prior Princess cruises.

 

The food in both dining rooms was good, but I preferred the buffet on the Westerdam. The service in the dining room on the Crown was more attentive.

 

If you gamble, the table limits were lower on the Crown than on the Westerdam. The Crown also had excellent craps dealers.

 

The entertainment on the Crown provided more options for listening to live music.

 

The bathrooms on the Westerdam had real terry cloth towels for drying your hands.

 

It was impossible to get a decent White Russian on the Westerdam. None of the bars carried cream or even whole milk, and this required a change in my preferred after dinner drink. I did enjoy the afternoon ice cream and the before dinner hors d'oeuvres served on the Westerdam.

 

Since we like to dive, we liked the little snorkel shop on the Crown where you can rent a wet suit.

 

It is nice to have choices and I don’t think you can wrong when you make yours. Mine would be based on the more appealing itinerary.

 

 

Rudd

[Mindy43]

We have sailed on both the new Westerdam and the Crown Princess. Both are lovely ships but we preferred the Crown! The food and service was very good on both ships, but there was more entertainment, more choices, on the Crown. I have to agree with someone else who mentioned that the Westerdam sported a slightly older crowd (we are mid 60's). Hope this comment helps.

[Scrapchick]

I've done 15 trips on Princess and 4 on HAL, including the Westerdam...

 

I personally like HAL very much and think it is slightly higher in quality than Princess, but would put them about the same overall.

 

I think you'll love the Westerdam. We've done that and the Noordam, her sister ship and would happily go on them again. We're doing the Crown Princess in June 2009. BTW... I'm 40 and we travel with our 7 year old daughter. None of us have any complaints about either Princess or HAL. The crowd may be slighter older on HAL, but not by much and they make a great effort for the kids too. I would love to go on the Westerdam again.

 

HTH!