I'm not an expert like most of the folks who post here - I've been on 3 HAL cruises, each one on a different pinnacle class ship. Prior to HAL, we've cruised on Princess twice and Royal Caribbean once. RC was the worst for crowds. It was a much bigger ship (Allure of the Seas), but oh my goodness, it was often chaotic. I recall spending a lot of time wandering around trying to find a good spot to lounge in the sun. The public areas were packed. Disembarkation was so tedious.
HAL, on the other hand, has never been like that. Granted, we were only on pinnacle ships, which are larger. I don't know if it's because HAL's demographic usually means fewer children running around, or if there's something about their space ratio, but the vibe is so much more calm and relaxing. Once we switched, we've never looked back. We are looking forward to boarding the Rotterdam again a week from now.
