Ruby Princess or Westerdam -- save 1100 bucks....

[uglybutgoodbakery]

I don't know where to post this, here or the Princess board.

 

We're booked on a 7-day on the Princess Ruby in April, two cabins for four of us, my husband and 2 teenage sons.

 

We can go on a very similar itinerary, almost the same dates on the Westerdam for $1100 less. HOWEVER, that would be the four of us in an outside OV quad on Main deck. They have a great deal where the 3rd and 4th passengers pay only $99. Princess does not give you any break with four in a cabin, so we took two outside OV cabins.

 

Price IS a huge consideration.

 

Any thoughts? I have no experience with Holland America, but have cruised on the Caribbean Princess on two cruises, b2b. (I'll be giving up $300 in onboard ship credits if I switch lines.)

[ViolaSwamp]

So the net savings would be $800... I guess you need to ask yourself if an extra cabin for your sons is worth it. With teenagers, my answer would likely be yes and I would probably keep your existing booking. Four adult-sized people in one cabin would be really tight, I imagine. But if you think you can hack being in such close quarters to save the $, go for it. Probably easier with boys than with teenage girls hogging up the bathroom to spend hours primping. :p

[uglybutgoodbakery]

But are the amenities similar on both lines? Princess was nice, but I wasn't BLOWN away. I'm thinking that they are both somewhat luxury lines, so it is comparing apples to apples then?

 

My boys are quick showerers, and we'd get ready in shifts.

[ViolaSwamp]

That I cannot answer. We have only sailed RCCL to-date (until our maiden voyage on HAL this Friday!!! :cool:). So we have not sailed Princess either...

[uglybutgoodbakery]

Have a great time!

[Glenrie]

We took a 10 day cruise to Mexico on Holland last Christmas and a 14 day Hawaiian cruise on Princess this Christmas; 2 adults (50's) and 21 year old daughter. All 3 of us agree that it is apples to apples and would take whichever one took us to where we wanted for the best deal. Is there anything that you particularly care about on the cruise? We liked the mini-suite on Princess, regular rooms and the food on Holland.

[matondo]

Four in a cabin will be tight but what you need to consider is how much time do you plan on spending in your cabin? If it is mainly just to sleep you can use the $800 savings to start paying for you NEXT cruise!

[uglybutgoodbakery]

We were in a mini suite on the Caribbean Princess, just my husband and I, and also a balcony room. I was unimpressed witht he balconies and didn't really use it at all except to hang bathing suits to dry on the chairs. I did my relaxing on the Promenade deck and the library, etc.

 

We spent no time in the room at all, except to shower and get ready. when we were in the room, we felt we were missing stuff. That said, we aren't into "activities."

 

I'm thinking that the 800 net savings would pay for us to get to Ft. Lauderdale (by car) and kennel our dog here at home. I really don't care which line it is, I'm not loyal to Princess since I've only cruised once on the b2b. We loved cruising, and I want to cruise again with my boys while they still love to hang out with us. :D

 

Food is very important, as is good cocktails and lovely atmosphere.

[RuthC]

I stayed in a quad inside on Main Deck on the Noordam (sister ship) alone. The cabin isn't all that different from the quad outside across the passageway.

 

If I had to share that cabin with three other people, I would have violated the "nothing overboard" policy. By jumping myself!

It will be tight, tight, tight, when you are all in there at the same time.

[pipedreams62]

We just got back doing the 4 in a cabin. I was really sweating it and was prepared for the worst. Guess what? The cabin was plenty roomy we kept everything picked up and clean and it was no problem and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The Westerdam is a beautiful ship and with the money you save you and your wife can buy a weekly pass to the thalassotherapy pool. I would suggest bringing the over the door shoe bag,It's worth it's weight in gold.

 

Have fun

[iancal]

I think both lines are similar. I would be tempted with the savings. Are you booked with Princess or with a TA. I would call Princess directly (or if you have a good TA get him/her to) and ask if they will match the 3rd and 4th offer OR if they are planning a similar program in the near future. Prior to doing so, determine how how full the ship is. My guess is that bookings are down and prices will drop even more or remain constant until the final payment window. One way of dropping prices to attract people while at the same time protecting revenue from those who have booked is to reduce the 3rd and 4th passenger rate. We did something similar a few years ago on RCI-or at least our TA did it for us. We picked up a last minute to Alaska-the bonus was they agreed to the 3rd and 4th @$99 each. Mind you, this was a week or so prior to sailing but it made a huge difference to our budget.

[MadManOfBethesda]

Price IS a huge consideration.

 

Any thoughts?

 

I think that you just answered your own question. :)

[jbhcw]

Our family sailed the Zuiderdam, which is a sister ship to the Westerdam, last Feb with son and his family which consisted of three boys, 15,7 and 4. The two younger boys alternated sleeping in our cabin each night, but my dil and son found the cabin to be doable with four.

 

I personally loved the outside on the main deck, even more than our balcony we had on the Oosterdam in October. We had lots of room and a full size couch which you could nap on in the day time and at night it folded down into a small twin, fine for a 4 or 7 year old. The quad cabin had the couch and a pulldown where the teenager slept.

 

I think for the money you would save I'd give it a shot!!!!

[norcal2]

I don't know where to post this, here or the Princess board.

 

We're booked on a 7-day on the Princess Ruby in April, two cabins for four of us, my husband and 2 teenage sons.

 

We can go on a very similar itinerary, almost the same dates on the Westerdam for $1100 less. HOWEVER, that would be the four of us in an outside OV quad on Main deck. They have a great deal where the 3rd and 4th passengers pay only $99. Princess does not give you any break with four in a cabin, so we took two outside OV cabins.

 

Price IS a huge consideration.

 

Any thoughts? I have no experience with Holland America, but have cruised on the Caribbean Princess on two cruises, b2b. (I'll be giving up $300 in onboard ship credits if I switch lines.)

 

I suspect you would be pleased with either if you like the itinerary but I have to say that getting TWO rooms for that price makes the HAL deal the better value. If you don't mind the teens in your room then you have your answer. If you would like to be separate from them, you also have your answer. You can't go wrong with whatever you decide.

[the_dylaness]

I think, as others have suggested as well, that the crux of the matter is this:

 

Is having to share a room with your two teenage boys worth an $800 savings?

 

I don't know how old they are, but perhaps you could ask them if having their own room is also worth something to them (I would imagine they'd prefer that set up as would you) and if they are old enough to work and save perhaps they could contribute a nominal amount to the "have our own room" fund, thus at least helping the financial strain and also learning a great financial lesson.

 

The other differences in HAL vs Princess will be minor compared to this key issue, IMHO. I mean if you were asking about Carnival versus Crystal I think our answers would all be different but I would suspect that the lines are more similar than they are different in many ways.

[DFD1]

Easy decision. Take the Westerdam and make the kids keep the room picked up. For me, that's too much money to leave lying on the table.

 

Besides, Westerdam is a wonderful ship with a great staff and crew.

 

Hope you have a great time.

[uglybutgoodbakery]

I think, as others have suggested as well, that the crux of the matter is this:

 

Is having to share a room with your two teenage boys worth an $800 savings?

 

I don't know how old they are, but perhaps you could ask them if having their own room is also worth something to them (I would imagine they'd prefer that set up as would you) and if they are old enough to work and save perhaps they could contribute a nominal amount to the "have our own room" fund, thus at least helping the financial strain and also learning a great financial lesson.

 

The other differences in HAL vs Princess will be minor compared to this key issue, IMHO. I mean if you were asking about Carnival versus Crystal I think our answers would all be different but I would suspect that the lines are more similar than they are different in many ways.

 

 

My 18 year old does works (with me) and he's saving for a car and college and life, so it doesn't feel right taking a dime from him. His grandparents are giving him graduation money, but that's not for cruising, that's for more practical things that he'll no doubt need in the future.

 

 

Oh, how I wish my 12 year old had a job!

 

And, yes, saving 800 would be worth sharing a room with the two people I love more than anything else in this world :D

 

I'm cancelling Ruby tomorrow and will see what happens with Holland America tomorrow, too.

[the_dylaness]

Glad to hear you made a decision! Have a wonderful Westerdam cruise!

[knitlady037]

The Vista class ships have a beautiful locker room with shower and changing facilities outside the gym. Your sons can shower in there while you are showering in the room. My husband is a big guy and sometimes felt closed in in the cabin bathrooms even though they are really a nice size.He would shower in the changing room while I showered in the cabin. Towels shampoo and body wash are in there.There are also mirrors and if I recall correctly a blow dryer also. This option will help keep everyone happy I hope.

[DFD1]

Knitlady, that's a great idea. A friend of mine did that once to free up room in the cabin and it worked like a top. He loved the shower and the privacy. Good work!

[CatherineL]

Hi Patti - I don't know if you've decided yet. But I was having a similar dilemma, trying to choose between the Ruby and the Oosterdam for a Med cruise with my 11 and 14 year old. Because of the great HAL child prices - the Ruby was going to cost double just for one state room - two cabins would have been even worse.

 

I've decided to go with HAL and use the extra money on excursions etc. The way I see it is, I'm taking them out of school, so either ship will have fewer children. And in this economic climate, I should imagine quite a few families with kids will take advantage of the HAL deal anyway. Plus - you're taking two of them along, so at least they'll have each others company.

[mamadot]

We just did Coral with a suite and it was lovely but I would do HAL to save $800.00. There are only two of us but we have been in many OV cabins on HAL and they are fine with us. Just so I am on that ship when it sails!!

[hulamoon]

I once gave up a 300 obc on a Princess cruise for a better rate on HAL. In the end Princess rates came down close to HAL so if I had been nervy about it I would have been better off staying with Princess. There is a lot of stress following cruise prices and being "hopeful". It is more fun for us to be certain, take the best deal we can and enjoy the planning.

 

Otherwise following cruise prices is like trying to play the stock market! Who needs the stress?

 

If you do decide to put 4 in a cabin I would pretend you are camping and that you have the luxury of a bathroom and electricity. Teenagers will likely only show up for sleep and showers anyway.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Assateague Island Princes]

I vote for the Westerdam! Any Dam ship is fine with me!

[alonzo14]

We cruised on Royal Carribean in 2000 with our 22 yr old son and 19 yr old daughter. It was a large inside with 2 uppers. The cabin was smaller than those on HAL, but we managed. And since we got a deal we couldn't pass up which was 69.00pp plus taxes we managed!! Sounds like you have a great deal there too. I would save money to use on other things a go for it. HAL is a great value for the money.