HA/Princess comparisons for Alaska cruise?

[fletcher57]

Hi, I'm in the beginning stages of planning a cruise to Alaska. There may be two of us, possibly three or four and I'm not sure whether we will opt for HA or Princess. If we do a 7-day cruise, it looks like we would be choosing between the Osterdam or the Westerdam for HA and the Golden or the Sapphire for Princess.

 

As for me, I am looking for the largest buffet, casino with the most penny and two-penny slots (and hopefully the quarter machine which is not a slot - pushes quarters off of two moving shelves into a bin), self-service laundry, flexible dining plan (if buffet is large will probably go to buffet for most meals), and promenade deck that goes all the way around on one deck. From looking at the deck plans of all four ships it looks as though the HA casinos are smaller than the Princess casinos. True?

 

Any other comments re a HA/Princess comparison will be very much appreciated. Thank you. Joyce

[SwissMyst]

A little off topic but the Sapphire Princess was in our town just yesterday and it was 4 inches of dank, dark rain and the saddest picture of her out in the harbor but the passengers still came into town. One passenger quoted: "It's December. I've done this several times ... the rain doesn't bother me." This Sapphire Princess cruise started in Long Beach and is making its way down the Mexican Riviera during a time when it does "rain in Southern California, and when it does it pours".:( Best wishes to them for the rest of their journey.

[x lindsay x]

You will find that the casinos on Princess will be larger than those on HAL, but based on the classes of ships you are looking at the differences most likely won't be a deal breaker. I can't speak specifically to the amount of the slots you are asking about, but I am almost certain that Princess will have more slots. Both lines should have the coin pushers you asked about.

 

As for the buffet, from my one experience on Princess, the quality of the food in the HAL buffet is far above and beyond Princess. I am by no means a picky eater but had a hard time finding breakfast items that were to my liking in the buffet so we opted for the DR for all of our breakfasts after day 2. We ate one dinner in the buffet after a late port day and it was food, that's the best I can say about it. Food is obviously very subjective. But I do prefer the selection and organization for the HAL buffets over Princess. Both lines offer the anytime dining in the DR.

 

There is no self service laundry on the vista class HAL ships. But they do have the wrap around promenades that I am not certain you will find with those Princess ships.

[sandiego1]

Went to Alaska on Princess Sapphire 2-3 yrs ago. I liked that they had self-service laundry. We traveled through Alaska w/ our friends post cruise so it was nice to start out the 2nd wk of our trip w/ clean clothes (less to pack too!).

 

Been on 2 HAL cruises to Carib: Veendam and Westerdam. I thought the food and service were better on HAL than the 1 Princess cruise we did. But, part of the better service level could be that we were in a suite on both HAL cruises and just a mini-suite on Princess (i.e. no Neptune type lounge access). We did feel that the waiters really catered to us on HAL vs. Princess.

 

HAL had trays for the buffets (don't know if they still do) but Princess did not. Found that very annoying. I couldn't carry the silverware, 1 plate of food, napkins, drink and dessert in 1 trip. Had to go back into buffet line multiple times. They had long lines, had to resanitize hands (very drying on my skin) and by the time I got back to the table w/ the missing item, my food was cold :( I know they do it to cut down on food waste. But it would be nice to just have to make 1 trip. They should make a smaller tray!

 

We had a great time on all of them!

 

Can't comment on the casino.

[Mary Ellen]

If we do a 7-day cruise, it looks like we would be choosing between the Osterdam or the Westerdam for HA and the Golden or the Sapphire for Princess.

The two HAL ships you're considering are ones without self-service laundry.

[CowPrincess]

For a trip to Alaska, I'd suggest you research the ports and the amount of time you will spend in each port for each ship you are considering. THEN look into the differences between the ships that do the itinerary you want. IMHO (and seriously, it is just my opinion) Alaska is far more about the ports and the activities than about the ship. But I can understand that for some, the casino is important.

 

HAL does have the wraparound Promenade Deck, and offers "anytime" dining. As for the casinos, can't help at all -- I take a very limited amount of $$$ to use in the casino, and I'm usually done in there by the end of the first night :)

[TracieABD]

I have done both, and given the choice, I would go with HAL.

I don't gamble so I cannot comment on the casinos.

The buffet on the Rotterdam was less crowded than the Golden. The food looked better on HAL.

I always use the self service laundry on Princess, but opt for the $49 unlimited laundry special on HAL (works out to be about a $20 difference and totally worth it).

 

The crew on HAL was the finest we have ever encountered and the food in the MDR was very, very good. The Pinnacle Grille on the Rotterdam was excellent.

 

Good luck in making your choice! Half the fun is in the planning...

[SwissMyst]

.....

I always use the self service laundry on Princess, but opt for the $49 unlimited laundry special on HAL (works out to be about a $20 difference and totally worth it).....

 

You raise a good point, since the self-service laundry is not free and worst of all you have to waste time monitoring the washers and dryers and get in line to wait for empty ones. We had free laundry as a suite perk this last cruise and they did a wonderful job. The unlimited laundry offer is well-worth it and now it is something we too will consider on longer cruises.

 

For 7-11 days I think one can pack around it, but for anything longer with luggage limits these days, having some form of laundry benefit besides sitting around doing it on your own is welcome. Though having self-serve laundries are a nice extra - think they should also be part of any ship's offerings for passenger convenience and choice.

[TracieABD]

You raise a good point, since the self-service laundry is not free and worst of all you have to waste time monitoring the washers and dryers and get in line to wait for empty ones. We had free laundry as a suite perk this last cruise and they did a wonderful job. The unlimited laundry offer is well-worth it and now it is something we too will consider on longer cruises.

 

For 7-11 days I think one can pack around it, but for anything longer with luggage limits these days, having some form of laundry benefit besides sitting around doing it on your own is welcome. Though having self-serve laundries are a nice extra - think they should also be part of any ship's offerings for passenger convenience and choice.

I sent a bag out every day, and the next day it would come back... clean, folded, and (in some cases) pressed. Felt like a true vacation!

 

I LOVE HAL's "laundry fairy"!!!!:p