Princess vs HAL

[MikeDMess]

I have been on the Grand class ships of Princess 3 times and was happy with the overal experience. This August I will be on the Zuiderdam and wondering what differences to expect aside from Personal Choice. Is the quality overall beter on HAL? How about the standard balcony cabins?

[gbc]

I have been on both the Grand and the Zuiderdam. It is difficult for me to compare because I did such diffrent itineraries - the Baltic on the Grand and Western Carib on the Zui. Because the Baltic is so port intensive, I did less on the ship than on the Zui. I've never had a bad cruise - can't imagine such a thing. So, I think the food is about equal; service a little better on Zui; entertainment a little better on the Grand. I haven't been in a standard balcony so I can't comment. I was apprehensive about the size of the Grand but once on the ship, it didn't bother me. If you have any other specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

[kryos]

I have been on both the Grand and the Zuiderdam. It is difficult for me to compare because I did such diffrent itineraries - the Baltic on the Grand and Western Carib on the Zui. Because the Baltic is so port intensive, I did less on the ship than on the Zui. I've never had a bad cruise - can't imagine such a thing. So, I think the food is about equal; service a little better on Zui; entertainment a little better on the Grand. I haven't been in a standard balcony so I can't comment. I was apprehensive about the size of the Grand but once on the ship, it didn't bother me. If you have any other specific questions, I'll try to answer them.

I've been on the Zuiderdam and the Rotterdam, and on the Sun and Island Princess.

 

I found all the cruises very enjoyable. Princess and HAL each have their special charms. HAL ships are much more elegant (especially the Rotterdam), while Princess draws a more family type cruiser. The age demographics on HAL ... again, most notably the Rotterdam ... were much older than those on Princess ... but I had no trouble meeting people on either line.

 

I honestly don't cruise for a particular ship. Rather, I cruise because there is something about the itinerary I like. In my humble opinion, you can't go wrong on either line ... unless you just run into a spate of incredibly bad luck.

 

Blue skies ... and enjoy!

 

--rita

[mr green]

I will not take sides on this one, since I am booked with both lines. I did this because I liked the itineraries, and the ships, having sailed on both. I am now 'chicken' about taking advice, having had a very poor cruise with Celebrity, [self styled as a 'premium line']. From now on I will go with what I think that I know, and if I am wrong I can only blame myself. As of this writing I have always enjoyed my cruises on HAL, and Princess, I feel safe, and comforable with both lines, and I can look at each cruise that I have had with them, and call each one 'memorable'! :) john

[jhannah]

While I enjoy both lines, I find HAL a cut above in most respects. HAL's cabins tend to be a bit larger than industry standard, and that's nice. I've experienced excellent and so-so entertainment on both lines. You'll find more classic elegance on Holland America ships, but that doesn't mean stuffy. The Zuiderdam is a fine ship and we enjoyed sailing her very much. Kyros put it well ... each line has it's own special charm.

[Aussie Gal]

We were on both lines last year and will be again this year. We were on two smaller ships last year, the Tahitian Princess and the Prinsendam. They were both great cruise experiences with some things better on one than the other and vice versa but very little between the two lines. We found the food on both ships to be excellent. We were in a Verandah cabin on the Tahitian Princess and a Mini Suite on the Prinsendam and both were very comfortable.

 

This year we are again doing a cruise on each line but these will be both longer cruises. We are also going on the medium size ships this time - the Maasdam and the Regal Princess so it will be an interesting comparison. One going close to the Arctic Circle and the other down to South Amercica and Antarctica.

 

We always choose our cruises for their itinerary and if HAL is doing it we will go with them but if not, we will then look at Princess or another line.

 

Jennie

[Ray-Barbara]

I have been on the Grand and the Coral (twice) with Princess and just got back from the Eastern Caribbean on the Zuiderdam. Both are excellent cruise lines and I would take voyages with either one in a minute. I prefered the larger variety of foods and presentation of that food with Princess but I liked the entertainment and the larger cabins with HAL. If these areas could be merged into one, that would be to me the ultimate cruise line. Good question!

Ray

[legalsea]

Veterans of 10 HAL cruises, my wife and I just finished our first Princess cruise (the last voyage of the Royal Princess). Much as we love the elegance of some many HAL ships, we will go Princess again next year. The main reason: the food.

 

On HAL the Lido breakfast line was always slow since you had to wait for the line-server to scoop up your food. If the person ahead of you special ordered eggs (which seemed to be always) the line-server apparently had instructions to wait on no one else until that person's egg had been cooked and served. On Princess, the self-serve cafeteria line moved very fast. I also thought the breakfast served much better than HALs.

 

As for dinner, I should explain that we do not go to the dining room, but prefer eating in the Lido when we feel ready for dinner. We were delighted when HAL began serving dinner in the Lido. However, they made the service cumbersome: go through the line, tell the line server which entree you desire, receive a number back, and go sit and hope the waiter can find you, often in about 20 minutes. On our last cruise on HAL (the D-Day cruise on Noordam, last June 2004) we had virtually the same food every night (New York Strip for my wife, chicken for me). We also had to be sure to beat the closing time (I think 8 p.m.).

 

Ah, but on the Royal Princess! The Lido cafeteria opened for dinner at 6:30 p.m. and stayed open late (I am not sure how late, but we certainly wandered in around 9 p.m. a few times and had our dinner). Best of all, the Lido cafeteria served the same food as was being served in the dining room. We actually began looking forward to dinner each night. Twice on our 14 night cruise we had wonderful duck; one night we even had rabbit. Always something interesting and delicious.

 

Lunch was likewise wonderful on the Princess. I did not eat one hamburger (which I practically lived on while on HAL, since the lunch line was so often huge and slow).

 

I agree that the room we had on the Royal Princess was smaller than an equivalent room on a HAL ship (rather significantly; I was rather shocked at how small our room with balcony was, and our two suitcases barely fit into the closets).

 

HAL also beat Princess on coffee. How I loved getting up in the morning and making my way to the espresso machines in the Lido. On Princess, however, there were just two regular coffee machines, stuck as far back in the Lido as it was possible to get. To get my morning coffee I had to travel the length of the lido dining area, and then travel it back to get to the pool area.

 

I thought the service on both lines both excellent. The drink servers always remembered my name and my preference(s).

 

As a writer above observed, if they could just combine the best of HAL with the best of Princess, THERE would be a cruise line!