Queen Elizabeth and Odyssey vs my long time favorites, Crystal and Prinsendam (1)

For the last 5 years I’ve been saying 2 things: My cruise line of choice, hands down, is Crystal and (2) my favorite non-Crystal ship, hands down, is the Prinsendam. I’ll do a bit of a comparison of those ships with the ones I’ve recently sailed, Seabourn Odyssey and Queen Elizabeth. While QM2 does function as a cruise ship, I look at it mostly as a ship uniquely suited to crossing the North Atlantic.

Before going into details I’ll revisit my 2 long held beliefs. (1) Favorite cruise line, hands down, no change there. (2) Favorite non-Crystal ship, the Prinsendam. I’m retiring the second hands down. Prinsendam, overall, slightly edges out the Odyssey as my favorite non-Crystal ship.

1, Check-in. I claim to follow a religious leader who said “as you’ve treated the least of these, you’ve treated me”, and I try to live that way. Tied for 3rd are HAL and Cunard. On each I’ve encountered long lines at the terminal checking in far more people than they have the staff to handle. It’s not entirely a matter of ship size; I’ve encountered these lines on Prinsendam which carries fewer passengers than either Crystal Ship. I now have the record with both companies to get priority checkin, but it should be easy for everybody. Tied for first are Seabourn (based on my very small sample) and Crystal. In each case we typically have security screening in the terminal but then go directly to the ship where full checkin is done by ship’s crew in one of the public rooms and there has always been ample staff allocated to the task to make it painless for everybody.

2. Room turnaround:

(4) Odyssey - Rooms are not available until 2PM on embarkation day. At least some of the hallways leading to the rooms appeared to be closed off. We were requested to vacate our rooms by 8AM on the last day. There was a place to leave bags until the rooms are ready. Also, the only option for the first and last meals was the Colonnade.

(3) Crystal - Rooms not available until2PM but it is easy to drop a bag off in the room before that. Disembarkation instructions said nothing about a need to vacate room before leaving the ship. On embarkation day the Dining Room is open until 1:30 and the Trident Grill all afternoon, but the Lido buffet is closed. On disembarkation morning all dining venues are available.

(2) Cunard - Rooms are available on embarkation but must be vacated by 8:30 when leaving. Only the Lido buffet is open on embarkation day (except for Grills) but both the Lido and Restaurant are open the final morning.

(1) Prinsendam - Rooms are ready on boarding and may be occupied until we leave the ship the last day. Both the dining room and buffet are open for both the first lunch and the final breakfast If HAL can do this why can’t others.

3. Walking

(5) Odyssey - just a short section around the aft of the ship, falling short even of the 15,000 ton Wind Surf.

(4) Queen Elizabeth - Very nice but a little below the others because the view is obstructed going around the bow and it’s pretty narrow in some spots.

(3) Prinsendam - A pure delight

(2) A step up from the Prinsendam in elegance

I’ve exhausted my 4 ships without a number one. I’ll break my own rules; number 1 is Queen Mary 2. A step below Crystal’s decks in elegance it more than makes up for that small shortcoming in practicality. QM2 provides far more suitability in a much greater variety of weather conditions with a bulkhead around the bow that can be closed off in high winds to make moving around it easy, high enough above the water to be less suseptable to spray and with double doors with an air lock which makes access much easier in windy conditions. A deck truly appropriate for a North Atlantic Ocean Liner.

4. Dining

(4). Odyssey - Very nice but two for me critical deficiencies. First, no choice of fixed dining. Also, way too late for my liking. It starts in the morning with only room service for coffee before 6, and nothing more than pastries before 8 most days. Dinner is the real challenge and several factors conspired to make it very undesirable for me. Starting out late, I found the dinners also very long, typically 90 minutes when dining alone and 150 minutes at a hosted table. Then follows a late show. I found it especially awkward to be at a table hosted by an entertainer and say “no, I missed your show”. Finally, a little administrative item on the Odyssey. Notice of time changes was very inconsistent. I pretty much said I would watch the late shows on nights where we gained an hour. One night it was in the Herald, a second the Captain mentioned it at noon. On the other 3 I saw nothing until there was a card on my bed after dinner. One night my hosted dinner ended about 9:40. I wanted to watch at least a little bit of the show and went right up to the Grand Salon, leaving by 10. When I got to my room, the card was on my bed and I returned for the rest of the show.

(3) Queen Elizabeth - Overall, very nice. A little bit less extensive menu than the other ships but still plenty of good choices. Could be downgraded slightly because the assignment of fixed vs flexible depends on cabin grade but Britannia Club is less expensive than any of the others than HAL.

(2) Prinsendam - High quality food and attentive service.

(1) Crystal - All the above plus the ability to order anything off menu with a day’s notice (I believe also on Seabourn). The Maitre’d is especially good at matching people up, will make changes if the very rare instances where things do not work out, and the staff is generally very quick to intervene when things go wrong.

Roy

Very interesting Roy.

thanks so much for taking the time to do the comparisons.

It's very useful :)

Thank you for taking the time to write your comparisons .

Very interesting.

Appreciate the comparisons and have studied them carefully. Together your comments really give a good picture of the other lines

Enjoyed your blog and am looking forward to your upcoming cruises.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for the comparisons. I've done crystal and seabourn and lots of other HAL ships but never been on Prinsendam. I'm going soon for 37 days and very much looking forward to the Prinsendam.

I have had several HAL regulars say it is their favorite ship.

Thanks for the review on why & what the difference is between the ships. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Allan

Thank you all.

(V) Public rooms

(4) Prinsendam - 3 Very nice rooms, Showroom, Crow’s Nest, and Wajang Theater but only one of the rooms is large enough to support a big event.

(3) Odyssey - The Club and Grand Salon are both very nice, and the Observation Bar is great but a bit on the small side. It looks like the Grand Salon was the only venue suitable for movies, and was very heavily committed. The Grand Salon also is a bit awkward due to the many columns and many obstructed view seats.

(2) Queen Elizabeth - Again 3 main rooms. The Royal Court Theater is one of the best theaters I’ve seen. Queens Room is great for Tea and Social Functions, and can double as a movie theater. Commodore Club is big enough to be a real gathering place

(1) Crystal - 4 superb rooms, a great theater, really 2 rooms suitable for social events, Starlight/Stardust Club, and the lovely and large Palm Court with spectacular views. Finally, the Hollywood theater, a great place for movies, lectures, and other events. I prefer the Symphony’s Starlite Club to Serenity’s Stardust but love each. The only other ship I remember with 4 such rooms is QM2 adding Illuminations, the Planetarium/Movie house, and lecture hall.

VI Cabins

(4) Queen Elizabeth - Except for the Grills, Cunard cabins have only a shower.

(3) On the smallish side, but well laid out. From my point of view the biggest weakness is limited computer work space.

(2) Prinsendam - Very nice. I think it had the nicest facilities on any ship I’ve been on for using my computers.

(1) Odyssey - Big, separate tub and shower, and a walkin closet. The nicest of my cabins but I’d give it up in a heartbeat for a slice of a Hollywood Theater or real promenade Deck.

VII - Service

(4) Queen Elizabeth - Very good service. The number 4 ranking is attributable to what the other 3 ships offer rather than any QE shortcomings.

(3) Prinsendam - Superb service, more personal than any I’ve seen on any other mainstream ship.

(1) and (2) - Crystal and Odyssey - While nothing human can be perfect, about as close as humanly possible. I used to consider being recognized by name as important until I sailed the other “S” luxury line where everybody knew my name but it stopped at that; while I had a name the crew seemed to have no concept of my individual needs or preferences. I got a bit more name recognition on Odyssey while staff recognition of my preferences was probably a bit higher on Crystal. Overall each were equally sublime.

VIII - Enrichment

(4) Prinsendam, generally a significant HAL weakness. I’ve seen a speaker or two on very long or special cruises but very little in general. The one bright spot in that area is what they call the “Location Guide”, a person who provides information on the areas we sail and the ports; while a member of the permanent crew his advice is very independent.

(3) Odyssey - 3 good speakers for our 10 sea days, one or 2 “Conversations” per sea day. The talks were apparently broadcast live on our suite TV, but I never saw any indication of a rebroadcast if a talk was missed.

(2) Cunard - More presenters and usually 3 per sea day. If a talk was missed, the day’s programs were broadcast over cabin TV later in the day on a rotating basis.

(1) Crystal - The variety of programs and speakers was actually quite similar to Cunard but Crystal added 3 enhancements. There is usually time allotted in each talk for audience feedback and participation. The talks are both broadcast live and repeated on TV each on a separate channel so you don’t need to wait through 2 other talks for yours to come up. Finally, it’s not on every voyage but Crystal often offers “Ocean Views”, panel discussions of topics from 2 or 3 of the onboard presenters.

IX Afternoon Tea

(4) Prinsendam - Very nice but it is done in the dining room and feels a bit morel like an opportunity for another meal and less as a social occasion.

(3) Odyssey - In the lovely Observation Bar. Music was always a pianist, and I downgraded it slightly one day because it appeared to be a fashion show by the shops.

(2) Queen Elizabeth - Absolutely first class with varied musical accompaniment including a harp, string quartet, and piano.

(1) For me, an upgrade over QE because while the Queens Room is lovely, Palm Court is equally elegant and adds sweeping ocean views.

Every ship has it’s good and not so good points. I start with Crystal as my measuring stick. I have several “go to” cruise lines, not necessarily because they are the best, but all of them offer something I do not get on Crystal. Some are far less than Crystal like NCL where the Studio cabin has some unique pluses or Royal Caribbean with by far the best itineraries out of Baltimore. I will talk more about HAL’s pluses on the HAL forum but there are several. Cunard’s main strength for me is the quality and frequency of transatlantic sailings.

Seabourn has fantastic service and a very high quality cruise experience. However for me there were only a few very minor areas where I said “I like this but I don’t get it on Crystal”. Perhaps the biggest one was the TV channel with a bridge view on a background of silence except for ship’s announcements. The 2 weaknesses conspire to make it difficult to find a Seabourn cruise that’s really attractive. A westbound transatlantic has enough time changes to somewhat mitigate the late dining schedule but makes the lack of a decent place to walk more of a problem. A port intensive cruise would allow walking on shore but heighten the impact of the late dining schedule. I probably will sail Seabourn again but it will likely be some time from now.

Pcruiser asked the question about things HAL does better than Crystal. Everyone’s opinions will differ but here’s my list:

Some of the things I like about HAL that I don’t get on Crystal. Most are applicable to all HAL ships, it’s the elegance and service on the Prinsendam that puts her so high on my list.

Advantages of the Prinsendam:

1. Cold Soups: Rarely on the Crystal menu, I enjoyed the cold soups at least 5 times a week on the Elegant Explorer.

2. Crew shows: The Indonesian and Filipino crew members each put on a show most cruises which they work very hard at in addition to their usual duties and put on a polished and entertaining show, a token both of their appreciation of their passengers and love of their homelands.

3. Poolside dining: I had looked forward to the enclosed back deck on the Prinsendam but found I did not use it on the warm Amazon days. No worry, I found a better substitute. Just outside the Lido Café and a stone's throw from the grill there are tables set up with service from the deck stewards. The view is superb and there's a choice of middle tables in the sun or outer tables shaded by the sports deck. I enjoyed most of my breakfasts and lunches there.

4. Location Guide: In my experience unique to HAL. As part of the entertainment department unlike other lines where the port presenters are part of the shore excursion team, I find their presentations interesting and largely unbiased. I especially appreciate their having office hours for personal advice and being stationed on the gangway for last minute questions.

There are other things like stateroom direct which HAL does exceedingly well that I consider relatively minor advantages in the overall scheme of things.

Roy

Thanks again for your comparison of the different ship & cruise lines, very informative.

Allan

Roy, I realize that you were not including the QM2 in your ratings, but can you tell me if the food on the QE2 is different - better or worse than the QM2? We sailed on the latter last May. While being very impressed with the ship and how it handled Force 8 winds (like knife through butter), we were very disappointed in the food. We were in the Princess Grille and ate almost every meal there because the Kings Court smelled like a steam table, and the food looked and was unappetizing - at least for us. We swore we would not sail another Cunard ship for that reason. Hence my question to you.

Tampa Girl, food is very subjective and I'm not a foodie, but I haven't found a lot of difference in the food between Cunard ships or between Cunard and HAL. I will note a couple of things, though. QM2 had a major drydock this year and Kings Court has been completely done and I think is a lot better.

In any case, QE and QV are essentially twins of the HAL Vista and Signature ships. I haven't actually been on those ships but I'm pretty sure the QE/QV lido would be very similar to the Nieuw Amsterdam or Eurodam.

I've never been in the Grills so can't really say how different it is from the Britannia fare but I certainly would not want to pay for Princess Grill and do my meals in the Lido.

I'm hoping another poster who has done a WC on QE as well as several cruises on the Vista/Signature ships will weigh in here as I probably haven't been a lot of help. I will mention that if it's the set dining times that made you upgrade from Britannia you might consider Britannia Club which has the same dining format and hours as the grills.

Roy

TampaGirl,

Did you dislike the food in the Princess Grille or only in King's Court? I have not been on QM2 but have spent some time (over 4 months) on QE and thought the majority of food was quite good (there are always some things that are not cooked/seasoned/presented the way one prefers).

I have sailed on Westerdam and Nieuw Amsterdam on HAL. These ships are very close in size to QE and QV (although much smaller than QM2). The major difference I noticed was that many of the foods (especially in the Lido) cater more to North American tastes on HAL and British tastes on Cunard. I found this especially true in the Lido where, for example, the salads were very British on Cunard. Cunard had a much greater selection of food in the Lido as well as much longer hours of service than HAL. On the other hand, I found the MDR had more selections on the dinner menu on HAL than on Cunard (even including the expanded menu in Britannia Club).

Thank you for your comparison of the lines. I enjoyed reading it.

TampaGirl,

 

Did you dislike the food in the Princess Grille or only in King's Court? I have not been on QM2 but have spent some time (over 4 months) on QE and thought the majority of food was quite good (there are always some things that are not cooked/seasoned/presented the way one prefers).

 

I have sailed on Westerdam and Nieuw Amsterdam on HAL. These ships are very close in size to QE and QV (although much smaller than QM2). The major difference I noticed was that many of the foods (especially in the Lido) cater more to North American tastes on HAL and British tastes on Cunard. I found this especially true in the Lido where, for example, the salads were very British on Cunard. Cunard had a much greater selection of food in the Lido as well as much longer hours of service than HAL. On the other hand, I found the MDR had more selections on the dinner menu on HAL than on Cunard (even including the expanded menu in Britannia Club).

Thanks for responding, Scrapnana. With the exception of two lunches, we always ate in the Grille. The food certainly was not bad, and the lamb crown roast was out of this world. However, and here is where I think you hit on it, the food was quite bland, with little of the seasonings you would find on a North American cruise. Even breakfast wasn't that enticing. As for the two lunches, one was fish and chips in the Pub restaurant, and it was the worst fish and chips we had ever had. The other was a hamburger in the Kings Court - dried out and tasteless. Several time we would through the Kings Court looking for something appetizing, but found nothing. Perhaps since the QM2 has redone the Kings Court, the selections have improved. Or perhaps we should try the QE and see for ourselves! Now, that's a thought.

Thanks for the comparisons. I've done crystal and seabourn and lots of other HAL ships but never been on Prinsendam. I'm going soon for 37 days and very much looking forward to the Prinsendam.

 

I have had several HAL regulars say it is their favorite ship.

Hello, We are new to Cruise Critic and believe that we are going on the same cruise (37 day South America/Antarctica) that you may have just finished. May we ask for your impressions? Tips? Is it possible to go to Macchu Piccu from Lima in the days alloted? Thank you in advance, Saillindee

It is interesting that you have the same feelings about Prinsendam and Crystal as I have had. We have completed many cruises on both Crystal and on HAL. We find that Prinsendam is so much like being on Crystal, save the shows.

Enjoyed your post.

harry