Reflections on a HAL Cruise by Frequent Princess Cruisers

[mreasier]

We just disembarked in Tampa from a 7 Day Western Caribbean cruise on the MS Ryndam. We had a great time and the weather was wonderful. While it is still fresh in our minds, we thought we would compare our experiences with our experiences on Princess. In the spirit of full disclosure, we must say that Princess has a special spot in our hearts – we got married on the Caribbean Princess in 2006. I am in my mid 60’s and my bride is in her late 50’s. We are active; going to the gym several times a week and walking several miles each day. We will also post this in the HAL forum.

 

First, let me say that we are talking about degrees of goodness – as I said, we had a great time.

 

Stateroom

We usually get an inside cabin. We prefer the darkness – not knowing what time it is in the morning helps us sleep later. We spend little time in the cabin except to change or sleep. We would rather spend the money on more cruises. We know it’s not for everyone, but we never feel claustrophobic even on multi-week cruises.

 

The stateroom on HAL was larger and had a better layout than the Princess Grand class ships we have been on. The sofa in the room made it more livable. I know it is a matter of great discussion, but we find the beds on both HAL and Princess to be very comfortable. The HAL beds are noticeably softer, but not so soft that they affected my chronic back problem. The harder beds on Princess are closer to what we normally prefer and we have always liked them and slept well on them. Storage space seemed comparable between the two lines.

 

There was one thing about the HAL cabin that was inconvenient – there was that no refrigerator. I have a medication that needs refrigeration. Our wonderful room steward kept a wine bucket full of ice so I could keep my medication cool. I understand that there are refrigerators on the cabins of other HAL ships.

 

Main Dining Room

The Open Seating on HAL worked well and was comparable to Princess Anytime Dining. We only had to wait one night and that was on the 1st formal night when we hit the dining room at peak period. Main dining room food quality on both lines is very good, but if we had to make a choice, we would vote for HAL. Coffee was an entirely different matter. We usually get decaf coffee with desert. It was normally quite good on Princess. It was undrinkable (bitter) on the Ryndam. Overall the service was fast and attentive and seemed comparable between the two lines.

 

Alternative Dining

We did not try the Pinnacle Grill. The complementary Canaletto on the Ryndam was a nice alternative. While not the dining experience of Sabatini’s on Princess there was a nice variety of tasty options available on the menu. We ate there twice and the second time we came, the maître d and the wine steward remembered our names – a nice touch.

 

Lido

This is where we noticed the biggest food difference between HAL and Princess. Quality and variety of food was comparable with perhaps a slight edge to HAL. However, the hours of service on HAL are much more limited. Lunch ends at 2:00 and dinner ends at 8:00. The 2:00 lunch termination is manageable since burgers, pizza, etc. are available by the pool and desserts and real ice cream are available until 5:00. We did not even consider eating dinner in the Lido. We normally start eating dinner somewhere around 8:00. We would have had to get there by 7:30 and then load up everything, including desserts before they closed at 8:00. The Lido buffet on Princess is open 24 hours. Maybe because they are newer ships, the Lido buffet areas on the Crown and Diamond Princess seemed plusher. Table service for drinks was more attentive on Princess. Lido coffee on both lines was fair to poor.

 

Service

Very good on both lines – no complaints at all. It did seem that more people remembered our names on HAL – perhaps because it was a much smaller ship.

 

Entertainment

Being a smaller ship, there was less variety of entertainment on the Ryndam. There was one show per night in the main showroom at 8:00 and repeated at 10:00. The main showroom was the only place where an actual show could be presented. On the last two Princess ships we were on, shows could be presented in the Theater, the Explorer lounge, and the Club Fusion. Most nights there were two different shows plus a third activity going on. The Crow’s Nest on HAL and Skywalker’s on Princess have similar concepts – dancing, Karaoke, etc. In general, there was more variety on Princess and activity seemed to go later into the evening. The quality of entertainment was comparable.

 

On Board Activity

Again, perhaps because it is a smaller ship compared to the Princess, there were fewer activities during sea days on the Ryndam. There were almost no pool side activities.

Ambiance

 

I guess to no one’s surprise the ambiance on the Ryndam was more quiet and sedate than on the Princess ships. While we are not looking for a “party ship” we would have liked a livelier atmosphere. At one port we shared the dock with a Carnival ship. While we were glad that some of the rowdy people who were only able to stumble back on their ship were not on our ship, we did enjoy the music coming from their pool deck. There was not a sound coming from the Ryndam. There was as no attempt to set a Caribbean tone by pool music, dancing, specialized buffet, etc. The atrium/piazza area on the Princess ships is a center of activity, day and night. The atrium area on the Ryndam was disturbingly quiet.

 

Conclusion

Would we sail HAL again? Yes, if the itinerary and price were good. Cruises with several consecutive sea days might keep us away because of fewer activities. If the cruise was port intensive we would be less hesitant. If price and itinerary were similar, we would definitely choose Princess.

[Murrumbeena]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise :)

[jody]

Thanks for your helpful comparison! We are taking a family trip on HAL next year with my in-laws (we normally sail on Princess), so I'm very interested in hearing about other people's experiences and opinions!

[Michael Kays]

we are loyal Princess cruisers but have considered HAL..I understand they serve you teas amd lemonade poolside daily? I understand the age group slightly older on HAL..If the price and itinerary were right I'd do it in a heartbeat~

 

We cruise every January with our mothers, they are 85 and 84 this year. they love to hang out and relax so HAL might be a nice change for them.

[wdrl]

We decided to try HAL again after many years of cruising mainly Princess in April 2010. I have to admit that we pretty much had a similar experience. We did try the Tamarind Restaurant and Pinnacle Grill and both were very good with excellent service. IMHO the food overall on HAL may be slighter better than Princess, but the difference is really slight. One difference I noticed was that HAL was more formal, from the crew to the passengers themselves. Even dinner at the Lido Buffet, was more like a dining experience. There was definitely less children on the Eurodam than we would have encountered during April (late spring break) on a Princess ship. We did regularly have live music on the pool deck, but it wasn't steel band Caribbean style music.

 

I think the best part of doing a HAL cruise for me, was that I was getting bored with the same menus on every Princess cruise and there were lots of new items to try when we on the Eurodam. While on Princess I was beginning to feel if this is Tuesday or Day 3 of the cruise it must be French night. But then a few weeks later we did a 28 day cruise on the Star Princess and I enjoyed it too, even though some of the menus were the same on the two segments on our cruise, I could look forward to having a favorite food or be able have something I missed on the same menu.

 

Besides I get more perks as an Elite member on Princess than I get as near rookie on HAL. It's really hard to ignore that factor.

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for your review. As I posted on your thread on the HAL boards, you accurately reflected my experiences on HAL and many of my opinions.

 

HAL has some great itineraries and in some cases, better than Princess. I cruise them because I enjoy their ships and cruises, and while I don't get the perks, are worth going on HAL.

[echotumi]

one thing i like on Hal is all the fresh flowers nice touch

[shepp]

We cruise every January with our mothers, they are 85 and 84 this year. they love to hang out and relax so HAL might be a nice change for them.

 

FWIW, somewhere in her early 70s, my mom went from being a Princess cruiser to a HAL loyalist.

 

And yes, in my admittedly limited experience, HAL does skew more...mature. On Princess, my tablemates sat around discussing their parents' illnesses. On HAL, my tablemates sat around discussing their own illnesses.

[Bill B]

one thing i like on Hal is all the fresh flowers nice touch

Did you touch them? I did on the Volendam in Jan. and the ones outside the Pinnacle Grill and Wajang Theatre were all fake (they used to be real).

 

In my opinion HAL has 'slipped' dramatically since I was on the Amsterdam in '04/'05.

 

I know the Volendam is scheduled for dry-dock in March, but it was a shambles. There were no lifejackets in my room when I embarked. On one occasion dark brown water came out my tap for over 20 minutes. On another occasion my toilet was within 1/8" of overflowing with stinking sewage. Tiles were falling/had fallen off in the shower. The tiles & grout had mould & mildew in several (large) areas... as well as the ripped and incorrectly hung shower curtain liner. The shower head was more than half clogged. The door frame was rusted out. The compression catch on the bathroom cabinet door was broken so the door would not stay shut (nice when the weather is a little rough and it's slamming around in the middle of the night - I 'shimmed' it shut). I had to 're-shower' more than once because the towel(s) left me absolutely covered in lint after drying off. All the numbers and symbols were rubbed off the TV remote; and, it would not work unless it was within 2' of the TV (it was not the batteries). When I pulled out the tucked-in duvet cover at the foot of the bed, the matress 'shed' bits of itself all over the carpet (it took me a while to figure out where all the 'white bits' were coming from). I could go on and on...

 

That was my LAST HAL cruise.

[moniquet]

I thought the food on HAL far better than Princess. However, found the service throughout the ship on Princess better.

 

Good thing about Ryandam....no MUTS:D

[mreasier]

I understand they serve you teas amd lemonade poolside daily?

 

No complimentary lemonade on HAL. It was available on my last Princess cruise.

[caber]

As someone who has only cruised with P&O and Princess it is good to read this review.

 

We have always been hesitant to change to another cruise line, partly as it is quite an expensive experience for us, so we would not like to waste money on a bad product. We have tended to avoid the risk.

 

I must be more adventurous in future.

 

Thank you.

[hockeymom21]

We love the Bread Pudding and the ginger candy!

[AmberTeka]

I touched the flowers on the Volendam..and they were REAL. The small orchid on our dinner table was real.

I totally agree with this review. For the life of me...I cannot understand why HAL does not do more activities that would be enjoyable to the more mature cruise passenger they attract. Trivia cannot be expensive to do..and the ONE event each day on HAL is very well attended. ARTS AND CRAFTS..cannot be expensive either.

Yet HAL does huge programs for computers..and attracts almost no one on the cruises we have been on with HAL. Most people either know how to use the computor..have advanced as far as they wish to go..Do not have the time or the inclination to live their lives in public on FACEBOOk or such..........but they would enjoy learning how to arrange flowers..like the lovely ones that surround one on HAL.

Name that tune. Book Discussions. Scrabble. Card lessons...like Hearts..or some such. Something....and I don't mean Hairy Chest Games or such. White Elephant raffles for the things you have bought on shore..simple cooking expos...like making the really good cookies they turn out..

 

HAL...............is a lovely cruise line......that lacks.........anything to do while on board...on sea days.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for an interesting comparison-we just booked a Caribbean cruise for a nice warm getaway and I had intended to try a HAL cruise since I cruise Princess regularly and wante do do a comparison...BUT got a flash special on a 10 day Princess cruise that ended up costing only a little more than a 7 day on HAL...so I am on Princess and happy as I love my perks!

[travel09]

As a comitted HAL cruiser, I have to say, they do it so well,in comparison Azamara , a totally different experiance, is very good in many ways too.Being an a smaller ship has huge advantages in getting closer to interesting places,and meeting more people. We did feel the food was better on HAL, and of course the beds are beautiful, so comfortable. We like that there are fewer children on HAL, but that is dependant on the time of year and the places traveled to, summer in the Med, there are many families. We are about to experiance Princess, on a lengthy journey, and Im sure that will be a whole new world as well.

I think if you give a hundred people a chance to compare, they would, every one, have a different opinion, we are all different, thank goodness.How fortunate we are to have the chance to travel and have choices to compare.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thank you for your comparison! It's refreshing to read a well-written report. :)

[NH Cruisers]

I will be sailing HAL's Zuiderdam next month, I suspect food and service will be reminicent of our Alaska cruise on the Star Princess and similar to our Celebrity Solstice cruise. I have sailed Royal Caribbean, Princess, Carnival and Celebrity. They were more similar than different, I loved them all. Princess to Alaska, our New England Cruise on Royal Caribbean and our Celebrity Cruise this past September had The oldest average age passengers for us, late 50 to mid 70's. Incidently they were also some of our favorite cruises. I imagine Hal will be similar, Can't wait!!!