We have sailed HAL before and will again this fall. We liked our previous cruises with them, although they were several years ago. We sailed with Princess this past November, our 10th cruise with them and the first time that we did NOT buy Future Cruise Credits. From our first meals, it was obvious that there was rampant cost-cutting going on. The steaks, even in the steak house, were just poor- very tough. Plus, the number of entree options was reduced in the MDR. To make things worse, the chef (not one of the Italian chefs that Princess likes to tout) assembled dishes using an odd and inappropriate collection of flavors and accompaniments, none of which seemed to add much flavor, interesting or otherwise. The International Cafe, by contrast, did its usual bang-up job, even better than ever. The service on board Princess was very good, as has usually been the case. All of the staff seemed very eager to please. Entertainment was of meager quality, and there was no staff show.
Whether the problem with food on our Princess cruise was due to the individual chef or overall cost-cutting, I can't say, but it was sufficient to make us look elsewhere.
A much better experience, food-wise, was the cruise we took in January with Oceania. (Yes, I know Oceania is a premium-priced line, above mass-market lines like Princess and HAL but below luxury lines like Seabourn.) As opposed to Princess where we had to try to pick a meal choice that we would dislike least, on Oceania we had a tough choice picking the dish we would like the most. Generally great food all around. This cruise, by the way, was to Antarctica and South America. I must say that the enrichment team (4 in all) were above and beyond, with numerous lectures regarding Antarctica. General staff were also excellent, with top-notch cabin stewards.