HAL & Princess -- Two Thoughts

[dag144]

We recently returned from a short Princess Cruise. This was our sixth cruise on Princess, but the first in 14 months. We cruised several times with HAL in 2012. Princess does a couple of things better than HAL which Seattle could consider.

 

1. Princess' dining rooms are more like intimate restaurants (if there is anything intimate at sea). HAL's main dining rooms are more like banquet halls. What I really liked about Princess is their service which is similar to a restaurant experience on land. By that I mean that our waiter took our orders and brought our food to our table just for us. No waiters laboring with a tray of a dozen orders at various temperatures.

 

2. I know that HAL prides itself on the bedding it provides to all its guests. Princess has less elaborate bedding arrangements which allow their stewards to make up the cabins rapidly and still have time to do some cleaning. Without going into gross details, Princess has less surprises and fewer bad odors than poor HAL. Since the HAL bedding takes quite a bit of time to arrange each day, HAL stewards should have fewer cabins to attend, or less elaborate.

 

Any thoughts?

[kazu]

I far prefer HAL beds to Princess - myself, I don`t think the bedding is complicated - if it is I guess mine is too;) a few pillows, a down comforter - I don`t think it`s complicated.

 

My MDR service has been far better on HAL than on Princess - each person has their own experience;) I wonder if it depends on which ship you are on as to whether the MDR appears like a banquet hall or not. It certainly isn`t on the Maasdam nor the Prinsendam . I don`t care for the one on the Nieuw Amsterdam myself - but others like it.

 

I think it comes down to we all have personal preferences - that`s what makes life fun:D It would be so boring if we were all the same:D

[Roz]

Took my first Princess cruise in November. I agree with Kazy about HAL's beds being better, but agree with the OP that Princess' dining room service was much better.

 

My major gripe with HAL's food the past few years has been inconsistent temperatures and meats either close to raw or overcooked. Our Princess waitress was really tuned into our tables likes and dislikes, and was knowledgeable about the menu and made suggestions based on our tastes. Food arrived promptly and soups were hot, salads cold and crisp, fish cooked thru and hot, etc.

 

Roz

[Assateague Island Princes]

Can't beat HAL's beds. And I agree w/Kazu, nothing elaborate about it, just good mattresses, and fine linens, can't imagine how that would take any longer to make up than any other bed.....or am I missing something? From everything I have heard and read about Princess, their beds are the pits and you have to ask for an eggcrate mattress either prior to boarding or the moment you step on board. No thanks! Why should ANYONE have to order an eggcrate mattress just to get a decent night's sleep? That is just plain silly in my opinion.

 

Can't comment on the Princess/HAL food comparison since I have not sailed on Princess.

[djhsolara]

I'm glad to hear this comparison from someone. Our Princess dining experiences felt the opposite to us.

 

I will agree that perhaps their dining rooms feel more like a land-based restaurant, however that was not something that we enjoyed. We felt like the ceilings were low in the dining rooms and they felt cramped. To us, we prefer the openness of the dining rooms on the Vista/Signature ships. They seem much more grand to us.

 

 

Douglas...Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thank you for your comparisons.

Princess beds are terrible -- too thin -- not enough support for those of with medical conditions of the back. (Elite members of Princess)

[George C]

We did 3 Princess cruises then 3 Hal in last 5 years or so ( plus a rccl and celeberity) I have had great service on a couple of Princess cruises and terrible service on a Princess cruise. Hard to get a table for 2 on Princess and have had no problems with that on Hal. I think food is MDR is equal, but left Princess since ships seemed crowded to us.

[BJzink]

We did our first cruise last fall on Ruby Princess. Have sailed x 2 on HAL, RCCL, Carnival, other misc. The only good things about Princess were the huge closets and entertainment. Our service in the MDR was very spotty, there were a group 13 of us at 2 tables, same waiters each night. Some nights one of the tables was served the entree while the other one didn't even have the soup/salad. One of the asst. waiters was pouring decaf coffee, came to my husband to pour when he said he ordered regular coffee. The waiter said that this was regular coffee, and continued to argue that he was not serving decaf. So either the others at the table got regular when they ordered decaf, or he was trying to give my husband decaf. One of our party ordered a steak med. rare - was at least med. well when it came. She asked for another one which took about 20 minutes and the rest of us were almost done. When it did come, it was the same as the first one. We could definitely tell the difference between the cruise lines. We have another HAL cruise next month, will notice whether a difference.

[itzmered]

We have been on 4 Princes Cruises in the last 2 + years. Loved the MDR service, do agree that the ceilings seem really low but the service was great. Never once had a problem getting a table for two. The beds are very hard on Princess and the egg crate is a joke I learned to ask for a comforter to be put under the sheets so I didnt wake up with a sore back and shoulders. From everything I have read on here about the set up and short hours of the Lido and the service in MDR on HAL I am interested to compare it.

[Typhoon1]

Princess' beds are probably the worst in the Cruise industry. Even Carnival has better beds.

[nowornever]

first Princess over Christmas & have been on 5-6 HAL plus other lines also, mostly "inclusives." Have to say that Princess has a far more enlightened smoking policy, IMHO...no balcony smoking. Thought the main dining room had a very nice "clubby" feel to it also & although the waiters were very, very busy, they didn't have sweat rolling down their faces from aerobic waitering like they did on the last HAL cruise. Maybe they put on extra staff because it was a Christmas cruise. There are so many categories on which to "judge" experiences, some better, some not, it's all in one's frame of reference. Any day that includes someone making up your bed, fixing meals & cleaning up is a GOOD DAY, no matter which cruise line you're on!

[yenta]

We were on the Diamond over the holidays and they had new pillow top mattresses. They were great and I have back problems.

[Appygirl]

Have been on both HAL and Princess over the years and sometimes ships within the fleet can be very different. In the last 6 months I've been on HAL's Zuiderdam and Zaandam. If I had to compare Princess food and Service to the Zuiderdam - way better on the Zuiderdam. If I had to compare Princess against the Zaandam - way worse on the Zaandam!

 

Cabin attendants on either line both very good. Or at least I've never had any complaints. Both lines cabin attendants friends and efficient. I like the bathrooms better on HAL. Princess is tiny.

 

Beds - I once asked for a egg crate on Princess just to see if I could tell a difference and I couldn't.

 

Enterainment and activities and cruise director staff are much better on Princess. Though oddly enough Zaandam is pretty good in this department too. Not quite as good as Princess but in the running and way better than the Zuiderdam.

 

Both lines have good and bad and if everything else was equal in price and ports I'd probably choose Princess over HAL.