Perkins52

I was not trying to use the bev package to purchase the drink. I wanted to purchase the drink and pay for it for someone we met on the cruise. We have traveled both with and without a bev package but do not see why it should be an issue to do this...Like I said we will speak with guest services when we board in May.

So lets say my wife and I would like to buy a drink for a fellow traveler. We are prepared to pay the price of the drink and I believe it should be a simple thing.  On May 2nd I will ask someone from cruise line.  Thanks all for your input.  Happy cruising.

When we try and pay for a drink for a friend or an entertainer we are told they are not allowed to do this.  One time they had to talk to an officer to get permission.  It is crazy to me-----you would think the cruise line would love more of my money.  We are booked on a cruise in May and will try and talk to either hotel manage or guest services when we board.

My wife and I usually buy the drink package when we cruise and several times have wanted to purchase a drink for a fellow traveler or an entertainer.  We are fully prepared to pay the full cost of the drink but have had issues when trying to to this.  Has anyone else had this happen?

Thanks for update.  Looking forward to day when my wife tells me it is time to get luggage out of crawl space!

Well will have to wait until October to see who it is.  We like the Eurodam and looking forward to the cruise.

Any up dates on CD now?

Thank you we have sailed on her before and is one of our favorite HAL ships.

Thanks for info all and for spell check as well.

Can anyone tell me the name of current cruise director on Eurodamn.

Best described as an Asian themed restaurant---but we love the place.  I had the wasabi coated steak on our last cruise and have to rate it as one of the best steaks I have ever had.  We are sailing on Eurodamn in October and making a reservation at Tamarind will be one my first things to do when we get on board.

On 3/24/2019 at 2:40 PM, HMSDingy said:

Correction, I booked the Pinnacle for the first sea day but I wanted to book Canaletto for the second.  Tamarind is available for the second sea day but we would have preferred Canaletto.  Is the Tamarind that good?

Tamarind is our favorite place.  We always go there and in my opinion it better than PG.

We like PG but are even bigger fans of Tamarind.

My wife and I were not overly impressed with Catalina.  Found shops very expensive and much prefer the change to Santa Barbara on California coastal cruise out of Vancouver.

You are probably right. We will be stuck with it but will just have to grin and bear it.

Read that this surcharge is being tested by HAL and hope everyone complains about it during their survey. Not cruising with HAL until October so will be interested to see if policy has changed.

I have never been disappointed with dinner at either Pinnacle or Tamarind. We are going on Mexican cruise in October and have promised to take son and daughter in law to Tamarind.

Agree with Hank--easy to be picky but believe you have to look at whole package and decide if this is how you want to spend your hard earned money.  The one thing that does not concern me is internet---can check things when I get into a port but enjoy being away from email etc for a few days.

On 2/24/2019 at 8:44 PM, Hlitner said:

We have been Elite on Princess for over 15 years and also 5 Star Mariners on HAL.  Currently, we cruise on both lines along with a few others.  Trying to compare Princess and HAL is difficult because there are many differences not just between the lines but also between various ships of each line.  To be  very honest we still enjoy both lines although there have been cut-backs on both lines that certainly change things from what used to be.  

 

Not sure we understand the comment about Princess getting folks out of the cabin to spend money.  Like all mass market lines, each line does its best to separate passengers from their money.  But we do not spend much money on either line except tor our drinking habits.  On many Princess ships we love to spend time at their International Café (open 24/7) where we enjoy their fresh donuts, pastries, and other snacks during the day.  This is all free!  The IC does charge for coffee/tea concoctions (as does HAL at its coffee place) but we are able to swap our free mini-bar (an Elite benefit) for coffee cards (loaded on the cruise card) so pay nothing for coffee related items.  On HAL we get 50% Off but still must pay something.  Princess also gives us a lot of free Internet while HAL makes us pay for any Internet and only offers a small discount because we are 5 Star Mariners.  So in a sense, we pay more money for onboard stuff on HAL then we do on Princess.

 

Princess also has more late night (after 10) life then found on most HAL cruises where it seems like they roll up the decks shortly after 10.   When we did the Voyage of the Vikings cruise (a very popular HAL voyage) DW and I would often be among the last 4-6 passengers in the piano bar after 11.  In fact, Barry from Boston (the Piano Bar entertainer) would sometimes do the appropriate Sesame Street song equating to the number or folks still in the bar and the number "4" was not rare.

 

As to food,  there are some things that each line does better, but overall we would rate it close to a toss-up.  We would give the entertainment advantage to Princess except that on most of their ships the main theater does not offer enough seating to handle a full cruise.  Those that dine early on Princess will find that they may need to go to their show at least 20  min early to simply get a seat.  The shows for the later diners (which includes me) are generally not nearly as crowded.

 

Trying to debate cabins and décor really depends on the ship and cabin category.   But we have never had an A/C problem in any Princess cabin....while we have had quite a few HAL cabins that would never get as cool as we prefer.  On Princess, those that want a little more cabin space and seating should consider booking one of their mini-suites (not really a suite).  I should also mention that the new Princess Internet service called "Medallion Net" is lightyears faster then any Internet we have had on HAL.  While this service is currently only on a few Princess vessels it is gradually being expanded fleet-wide.

 

Hank

On 2/24/2019 at 8:44 PM, Hlitner said:

We have been Elite on Princess for over 15 years and also 5 Star Mariners on HAL.  Currently, we cruise on both lines along with a few others.  Trying to compare Princess and HAL is difficult because there are many differences not just between the lines but also between various ships of each line.  To be  very honest we still enjoy both lines although there have been cut-backs on both lines that certainly change things from what used to be.  

 

Not sure we understand the comment about Princess getting folks out of the cabin to spend money.  Like all mass market lines, each line does its best to separate passengers from their money.  But we do not spend much money on either line except tor our drinking habits.  On many Princess ships we love to spend time at their International Café (open 24/7) where we enjoy their fresh donuts, pastries, and other snacks during the day.  This is all free!  The IC does charge for coffee/tea concoctions (as does HAL at its coffee place) but we are able to swap our free mini-bar (an Elite benefit) for coffee cards (loaded on the cruise card) so pay nothing for coffee related items.  On HAL we get 50% Off but still must pay something.  Princess also gives us a lot of free Internet while HAL makes us pay for any Internet and only offers a small discount because we are 5 Star Mariners.  So in a sense, we pay more money for onboard stuff on HAL then we do on Princess.

 

Princess also has more late night (after 10) life then found on most HAL cruises where it seems like they roll up the decks shortly after 10.   When we did the Voyage of the Vikings cruise (a very popular HAL voyage) DW and I would often be among the last 4-6 passengers in the piano bar after 11.  In fact, Barry from Boston (the Piano Bar entertainer) would sometimes do the appropriate Sesame Street song equating to the number or folks still in the bar and the number "4" was not rare.

 

As to food,  there are some things that each line does better, but overall we would rate it close to a toss-up.  We would give the entertainment advantage to Princess except that on most of their ships the main theater does not offer enough seating to handle a full cruise.  Those that dine early on Princess will find that they may need to go to their show at least 20  min early to simply get a seat.  The shows for the later diners (which includes me) are generally not nearly as crowded.

 

Trying to debate cabins and décor really depends on the ship and cabin category.   But we have never had an A/C problem in any Princess cabin....while we have had quite a few HAL cabins that would never get as cool as we prefer.  On Princess, those that want a little more cabin space and seating should consider booking one of their mini-suites (not really a suite).  I should also mention that the new Princess Internet service called "Medallion Net" is lightyears faster then any Internet we have had on HAL.  While this service is currently only on a few Princess vessels it is gradually being expanded fleet-wide.

 

Hank

I agree with price and itinerary are what we look for as well.  Have cruised with HAL ,Princess and Celebrity and would cruise with anyone of them again.

34 minutes ago, creel5857 said:

We have been on 8 cruises with 5 princess and 3 HAL.  Our decision is based on the following: itinerary and price........the lines are very similar.  There are a few differences as mentioned:  you can usually get a room with mini sofa or better seating in HAL for less money than princess,  we have enjoyed entertainment on princess better, HAL usually has minister for church services on board or at least more often than princess.   We have also done royal and Caribbean and do not prefer those brands at our age/stage in life due to the noise and non stop business ........we are in 60 and 70’s and go for relaxation and dining and sight seeing but not needing the pool parties and karaoke bars and water park features and non stop games.  With both cruise lines it can depend on the ship as to whether the service and furnishings are as pleasant as we hope........but i would go with either if i can get good price on room with small sofa and balcony.

We have a cruise to Mexico booked with HAL for this year but also like the California Coastal from Vancouver so use Princess for that one.  I think you can drive yourself crazy doing too much of a comparison between lines---find the trip you want at the price you are willing to pay and enjoy.

On 2/26/2019 at 4:49 AM, Aquahound said:

 

My biggest beef about Princess is the size of their cabins.  Unless you book a mini suite, the cabins are very cramped and don't have a couch.  And now they're removing the chair?  Oy vey!  I don't know about HAL's oldest ships but every ship I've sailed (Vista, Signature and Pinnacle Class) had a couch in the cabin. 

 

From how you described your preferences, I think HAL will be a perfect fit for you.  

My wife and I have cruised with both lines--would say all in all prefer HA.  Would not say anything bad about Princess just are used to Holland.  We did put a future cruise deposit down on our last Princess cruise and will not have a problem with using it as they have a California cruise we like doing.