I've been straying with HAL - Help me decide to come back to Princess

[sprinkles]

Hello All,

 

Former Die Hard Princess Lover here, but it's been a couple of years now. One big question I'm wondering about is this. Has Princess cut down the number of room stewards like HAL has? We just got off a suite on the Oosterdam (first time for us in a full suite by the way), and we just can't get over how over-worked the room stewards were. We were basically cabin rats and on HAL it seemed like the stewrds had become nothing but maids. Our "pair" of stewards had 29 cabins to care for and basically would just finish morning "service" and have to start with the evening service. We would order room service and end up having to look at the tray of food for HOURS. They stricly did not want you putting your tray in the halways. We were supposed to call the concierge to "have it picked up", they would never come. We would leave the cabin for hours with a service sign up and come back to the tray still there and nothing done. They don't have carts in the hallway so you could never "see" where they were working to even go up to them and ask them for ice. We finally got to the point we wouldn't even bother calling and DH would take our ice bucket up to the Lido to get our own ice.

 

So, I guess a few of my questions are. Do the room stewards still have carts on princess (ie so you can actually find them)?

 

Are you still "alowed" to put your trays in the hallway with Princess?

 

Do you still get a card in your room with a number to page your steward if necessary?

 

Is it still one room steward? Or do they work in pairs like HAL does now?

 

How is the service in anytime dinning lately? I know that can be hit and miss. But on HAL we just felt like everyone was always overworked and the few times we would bother with the main dinning room, it just seemed like service between courses took FOREVER.

 

OK, are the beds on Princess still as hard as I remember? I was reading a Princess brochure and the mini-suite category was talking aboud premium mattresses, have they up-graded beds in mini-suites and above? We did a mini-suite once on the Coral right after it was re-done and the beds were as hard as any inside cabin had ever been.

 

OK, thanks all, I know everyone's opinion differs. I guess I am just asking have you noticed many major changes over the past couple of years? We are specifically looking at taking a 10 day Alaska cruise on the Sea Princess (a ship we LOVED years ago). Thanks.

 

Tammy

[bluenoser2]

We don't have extensive cruising experience, and have only cruised with Princess, so don't have anything to compare to....however....

 

Do the room stewards still have carts on princess (ie so you can actually find them)? I can't actually remember whether they were carts....but I do remember being able to find stewards in the hallway quite easily!

 

Are you still "alowed" to put your trays in the hallway with Princess? I saw lots of trays at different times in different places in hallways.

 

Do you still get a card in your room with a number to page your steward if necessary? Yes.

 

Is it still one room steward? Or do they work in pairs like HAL does now? One.

 

How is the service in anytime dinning lately? Anytime dining is the only thing we have experienced, so can't compare it to traditional, but on both the Sapphire and Emerald we had excellent service. Since we tended to dine at the same time on our Sapphire (Alaska) cruise, and at the same dining room, we ended up with the same group of service staff and were very impressed with their prompt service (even on 2nds of lobster!).

OK, are the beds on Princess still as hard as I remember? I'm probably not the one to ask, as I love a firm mattress - I remember reading all the egg-crate discussions on the board before I went on my first cruise, and was worried, but then once on board, I slept like the proverbial log every night, and had no complaints.

[katisdale]

Hello Sprinkles,

I remember you from one of our Europe cruises where you got off early for Paris and I had my one and only taste of espresso. I like that Princess uses the carts as you can find your steward easily. We have had one steward assigned to our room. Tom loves anytime dining so that is what we have been doing unless on one of the "little" ships. The service has been fine, the only difference I have noticed is that in anytime everyone around you is at a different place and if the waiter is delivering someone's entrees you may wait a bit for your salad or whatever. We like firm beds like we have at home and have always been comfortable on Princess. Our next cruise is the Baltics next May on the Emerald. Why don't you join us.

Kathy

[kywildcatfanone]

Hello All,

 

Former Die Hard Princess Lover here, but it's been a couple of years now. One big question I'm wondering about is this. Has Princess cut down the number of room stewards like HAL has? We just got off a suite on the Oosterdam (first time for us in a full suite by the way), and we just can't get over how over-worked the room stewards were. We were basically cabin rats and on HAL it seemed like the stewrds had become nothing but maids. Our "pair" of stewards had 29 cabins to care for and basically would just finish morning "service" and have to start with the evening service. We would order room service and end up having to look at the tray of food for HOURS. They stricly did not want you putting your tray in the halways. We were supposed to call the concierge to "have it picked up", they would never come. We would leave the cabin for hours with a service sign up and come back to the tray still there and nothing done. They don't have carts in the hallway so you could never "see" where they were working to even go up to them and ask them for ice. We finally got to the point we wouldn't even bother calling and DH would take our ice bucket up to the Lido to get our own ice.

 

So, I guess a few of my questions are. Do the room stewards still have carts on princess (ie so you can actually find them)? Yes

 

Are you still "alowed" to put your trays in the hallway with Princess? Yes

 

Do you still get a card in your room with a number to page your steward if necessary? Yes, it's on the counter.

 

Is it still one room steward? Or do they work in pairs like HAL does now? I've only seen one steward per room. Usually a couple per hallway.

 

How is the service in anytime dinning lately? I know that can be hit and miss. But on HAL we just felt like everyone was always overworked and the few times we would bother with the main dinning room, it just seemed like service between courses took FOREVER. The waiters seem real busy to me, more so than 3-4 years ago, and we always plan 1 1/2 hours for dinner at a table for two, more if we are with family. It does take a long time when the waiters are busy.

 

OK, are the beds on Princess still as hard as I remember? I was reading a Princess brochure and the mini-suite category was talking aboud premium mattresses, have they up-graded beds in mini-suites and above? We did a mini-suite once on the Coral right after it was re-done and the beds were as hard as any inside cabin had ever been. We find the beds to be a bit harder than we like, and request an egg crate topper.

 

OK, thanks all, I know everyone's opinion differs. I guess I am just asking have you noticed many major changes over the past couple of years? We are specifically looking at taking a 10 day Alaska cruise on the Sea Princess (a ship we LOVED years ago). Thanks. I can't say I've noticed anything I would consider significant over the past few years, except that the wait staff in the dining rooms seem to have more tables to deal with now, but that might just be my perception.

 

Tammy

 

Mike

[JWJs]

We sailed on the Coral September 09 and the HAL Statendam December 09.

 

Both of these cruises were excellent but right now I'm leaning toward booking with HAL again. The food on the Statendam was amazingly awesome and we loved the ship and crew. Our stateroom attendant was the best ever.

 

We really enjoyed being on the Coral for the 2nd time. We ordered room service many times and never had a problem with our room attendant picking up our trays. The bed was fine. The food was just ok in comparison to the Statendam food.

 

Our 2nd cruise was on the Sea Princess 12/02 . Not sure that I would book the Sea again. We were in the aft section and there was always a musty smell in the hall that finally I had to "just live with it."

[geoherb]

The cabins steward were definitely the weakest link of our HAL cruise last year. We splurged for a balcony and ordered room service for breakfast. When we tried calling the number listed for having trays and dishes removed, they told us our cabin steward would take them away. The problem was he and his assistant were slow. Sometimes it was afternoon before they made it to our cabin.

 

After a few days of this, my DH finally threatened to leave the tray and dishes in the hallway beside the elevator. Someone came right away that time.

 

The cabin steward on our Princess cruise last November was great. The one we had last month wasn't nearly as good--but he was much better than our HAL stewards.

 

We always try for traditional dining--both on HAL and Princess. We had the best wait team on our November cruise. Last month's team turned out to be OK after a rocky start the first night. We had great waiters on HAL last year. Dinner in the main dining room is supposed to be an event. I don't expect to be able to eat and run.

[BlueCat1105]

We took our first cruise on HAL in March, fully expecting the superior service I've read about on the boards here, and it wasn't there. We had the same thing with the morning tray being left in the room half the day, and the "service needed" sign remaining on the door for hours on end. We're novice cruisers, but It was not the premium experience I expected, and since there was less to do on the ship in the evenings, there's nothing that would make me choose HAL again. I'm back to Princess, and will try RCI for the variety factor.

[sprinkles]

Thanks everyone for your quick replies, sounds like Princess is still the way I remember (and LOVE), definately time to go back on Princess.

 

Kathy - I remember you too - nice to see you're still around. That cruise is one of our fondest memories. Yes, you're right, we left the ship to go to Paris and London on our own and had a great time. I wish the old Royal was still around. Didn't we share a van in Florence for the day? (I'm fairly sure we took some tour together, but my memory is weak).

 

Does anyone know the answer about mini-suites and above having "better" beds? I guess I'm like the princess and the pea (sleep on a soft temperpedic at home, LOL), but we've done double egg crates on Princess and still been miserable. Just wondering if I'm reading the brocures right, if they are "better" beds it might make the difference weather we "splurge" or not. Thanks.

 

Tammy

[katisdale]

Yes, we did share a tour in Florence. I really miss the old royal too. We did the Holy Land cruise on the new royal and that was great but the old royal was just special - all outsides and all the baths with a tub.

[velvetred]

We spent a week on the Eurodam over Thanksgiving - we never saw our room steward for the entire week. The service was acceptable but nothing to write home about. On the Noordam we met both our stewards and they did a great job - we only had a couple of mix-ups the entire week (ex. not emptying the trash once, not putting down the bed for the third person in the cabin a couple of nights, etc.). Our steward, Rej, that we had on the Ruby Princess was also a gem. However, the room stewards don't make or break my cruise experience.

[lovevacadays]

We sailed on the Coral September 09 and the HAL Statendam December 09.

 

Both of these cruises were excellent but right now I'm leaning toward booking with HAL again. The food on the Statendam was amazingly awesome and we loved the ship and crew. Our stateroom attendant was the best ever.

 

We really enjoyed being on the Coral for the 2nd time. We ordered room service many times and never had a problem with our room attendant picking up our trays. The bed was fine. The food was just ok in comparison to the Statendam food.

 

Our 2nd cruise was on the Sea Princess 12/02 . Not sure that I would book the Sea again. We were in the aft section and there was always a musty smell in the hall that finally I had to "just live with it."

 

 

I post this with all due respect for opinions and am always happy to hear of satisfied cruisers. It is pretty interesting how subjective cruising is. I sailed the Statendam as my first HAL experience a few years ago and although I had a nice time, because I always do on a cruise, that HAL experience on the Statendam is why I have never sailed HAL again. I am thinking about trying HAL again because I've seen posts like yours and Pam in CA that cruise HAL quite often and seem satisfied. Just my thoughtful ramblings on how we are all different and have different experiences.

[lovevacadays]

Thanks everyone for your quick replies, sounds like Princess is still the way I remember (and LOVE), definately time to go back on Princess.

 

Kathy - I remember you too - nice to see you're still around. That cruise is one of our fondest memories. Yes, you're right, we left the ship to go to Paris and London on our own and had a great time. I wish the old Royal was still around. Didn't we share a van in Florence for the day? (I'm fairly sure we took some tour together, but my memory is weak).

 

Does anyone know the answer about mini-suites and above having "better" beds? I guess I'm like the princess and the pea (sleep on a soft temperpedic at home, LOL), but we've done double egg crates on Princess and still been miserable. Just wondering if I'm reading the brocures right, if they are "better" beds it might make the difference weather we "splurge" or not. Thanks.

 

Tammy

 

Have done two mini-suites in a year and a half and didn't find the mattress' any better than in the balcony cabins. Still needed to add an eggcrate. I love those mini's though and have another booked for December. Some day I may be able to splurge on a full suite.

[cruisemom42]

I've only sailed recently with Princess (trying HAL again this fall) but I'm curious about the trays.

 

It was my understanding that you were not supposed to put them in the hall on any cruiseline, as they can be a hazard (e.g., rough seas or for anyone in a wheelchair, scooter, etc).

 

Is this incorrect?

[caribill]

Are you still "allowed" to put your trays in the hallway with Princess?

 

 

Although I have not seen any rule about this, the general practice is NOT to put them in the hallway. Besides being a possible safety hazard, they are visual pollution until they are picked up.

 

We always leave the trays in our cabin and they are picked up the next time the cabin is serviced.

 

If you really need to get rid of the trays sooner, you can (a) look for the steward to see if he/she is nearby or (b) call the steward's number you have been provided or © call room service and ask they come to get the tray.

[NSWP]

Just don't be tempted to come back to Princess for the Horizon Court coffee, ugh.

[Putterdude]

We have become Princess junkies over the past few years and have decided we need a bit of a change so are going to peek under the HAL tent this fall and see what it is all about.:)

[Stevesan]

I've been straying with HAL - Help me decide to come back to Princess

 

$$$$$ - especially of you sail solo.

[sprinkles]

Thanks All,

 

Ohh Noo - I hope I haven't started a flame thread about trays in the hallway, LOL. I only asked because it "used" to be very common on Princess (weather it was "allowed" - I don't know) to put them out in the hallway and they always seemed to "disappear" almost immediately.

 

And No, my cruise was not "ruined" by the steward service on HAL - for us there is no such thing as a bad cruise. It was just one of the things that made me get off the ship longing to go back on Princess. It did however negatively impact our cruise, maybe because we went on this one just to relax and get away from home. Looking at dirty trays of dishes for HOURS on end, really wasn't any fun.

 

For those of you trying HAL for the first time, I am in no way saying I didn't like it. I actually fell in love with HAl last year, that's why we went back on them this year (the beds - oh those beds on HAL are wonderful). There are differences, that's all (and that goes between ship to ship with any line too), I just wanted to know what's been going on with Princess for the past two years (it does sound like the beds are the same as I remember too, lol).

 

Thanks all and happy sailing!

 

Tammy

[jagsfan]

we've only had 2 criticisms of HAL

1)very quiet ship.....we're not night owls, but were surprised that no one else was.

2)i've never been able to see the plate through my slice of meat on Princess. An

elderly gentleman at our table once asked for 3 entrees so he could put them together

to make one. maybe that's improved in the last couple of years.

Otherwise, I find them similar......

[Katie333]

I think you'll find the beds the same (uncomfortable) as before. It's one reason I have HAL on my own wish list to try out.

 

We've never had a problem with timely service, but I think the stewards are probably overworked regardless of cruise line.

 

I wouldn't personally put my tray outside my door since the hallways are so narrow as it is. I have usually seen carts outside when cleaning, and generally never had a problem locating my steward.

 

Our experience with ATD has been that dinner is served at a more leisurely pace (read, takes a while) and the service ranges from polite but disinterested to excellent. We are more likely to frequent the casual eateries so that we can really do things at our own pace.

[Coral]

Sprinkles - I have to say there has been a decline on Princess with service on the newer ships. I think the staff is way overworked. It has probably been 2 years since I have been on HAL but I thought HAL had several things that they did better then Princess.

 

If you are cruising on the Sea Princess, I wouldn't worry about the decline in service as much as if you were on the newer, much larger ships.

[Sanibel*Gal]

We too decided to try a HAL cruise after numerous Princess cruises just to see what they had to offer. Booked the Westerdam last fall for a Southern Caribbean cruise. The main thing we were told over and over was that the service on HAL was way above & beyond. Unfortunately, we did not find that to be the case. Dining room service was very hit or miss along with bar service. Our room steward was fine, loved the HAL bed and tub in the bathroom. We found the ships decor to be very dark and not as elegant as Princess, IMHO. Oh, on a last note, we have not found that the service has declined on the larger Princess ships.

[westham]

All around Princess are very good value for the money, I have always been pleased with the Service, Food and Entertainment ........... I'm staying with Princess.

[irislady]

Our service on HAL has always been outstanding. The only negative that I have to say about any of their staff was that the shore excursion staff was curt and rather unhelpful on the Amsterdam on our Baltic cruise. On our last Princess cruise, which was on the Crown Princess, service was excellent except for the waiters on the Lido deck and in the theatre. I think they were understaffed and had too many passengers to take care of. Our next 2 cruises are on Princess, but only because HAL was much pricier for the next one we're taking, and didn't offer the itinerary of the second one.

 

I personally don't like the food as well on Princess, but that's okay... keeps me from gaining the weight I put on on HAL cruise.

Shae

[BlueCat1105]

I will say that the food and dining room service was better on HAL, though I only had Anytime Dining on Princess. And the bed on HAL was VERY comfortable. I don't mean to say I had a bad time on the Eurodam. On the contrary, it was very nice. I just expected to prefer HAL, and I didn't.