A HAL & Princess Comparison

[Roz]

I thought MUTS would be something I would enjoy, but I found it to be too loud and noisy out there.

 

Roz

[cruisetrail]

Unfortunately, the video contains copyrighted material that is blocked in the US. Can somebody verbally describe MUTS for those of us who have not done Princess in many years?

 

Is it?

I can watch it with no problem (from the US)...

 

Sorry about off topic, does anyone else have problems watching

?

Thank you.

[nutensteve]

No problem watching it here ....

[cruz chic]

Unfortunately, the video contains copyrighted material that is blocked in the US. Can somebody verbally describe MUTS for those of us who have not done Princess in many years?

Movies under the stars.

[kpgibbs]

Thank you so much for posting this. I have been on PC once. I have an upcoming HAL. I have been a little skeptical about HAL. You have eased my fears. Thank You!

[Hlitner]

Have to agree with one of the posts. Although we enjoy Princess (and HAL among others) we absolutely hate that they use MUTS during the daytime and blast sound at anyone within earshot of the main pool. This is one reason why we have stayed away from Princess for the past 4 years (are soon heading back to do a 26 day cruise) as we seek-out ships (and cruise lines) that limit "noise pollution."

 

Hank

[CI66774]

Have to agree with one of the posts. Although we enjoy Princess (and HAL among others) we absolutely hate that they use MUTS during the daytime and blast sound at anyone within earshot of the main pool. This is one reason why we have stayed away from Princess for the past 4 years (are soon heading back to do a 26 day cruise) as we seek-out ships (and cruise lines) that limit "noise pollution."

 

Hank

 

Hank - which 26-day Princess cruise are you going on?

[RJ2002]

I thought MUTS would be something I would enjoy, but I found it to be too loud and noisy out there.

 

Roz

 

Agree that it is loud when they have MUTS showing. I guess they have to turn the volume way up to drown out people talking!

 

We prefer to watch movies in the comfort of our cabin. And since we are not sun worshipers, we aren't in the pool area during the day, except perhaps to just pass through, so the noise during the day is not an issue for us. However, I can see that it would be a nuisance to someone trying to relax out by the pool.

[chrispb]

I've got mixed feelings about MUTS too. We didn't find the sound too loud, although only sat in that area if we wanted to watch something. But they were showing that awful Bieber boy's life story over and over - soooo boring.

[RJ2002]

I've got mixed feelings about MUTS too. We didn't find the sound too loud, although only sat in that area if we wanted to watch something. But they were showing that awful Bieber boy's life story over and over - soooo boring.

 

OMG. Now THAT might give me pause to sail Princess. :D

[jkgourmet]

So this goes on during the day by poolside???? That probably reduces my interest in trying princess again!

[RJ2002]

So this goes on during the day by poolside???? That probably reduces my interest in trying princess again!

 

Sadly, yes, it's on during the day - - at least back when we last sailed Princess a few years ago. I'm not sure if it is on all day or just certain times. We don't stay out there long enough! I do know that it is not on when there is live entertainment by the pool.

[Roz]

Anytime I was near the pool during the day, there was some god awful movie or concert being shown. It seemed to me to be all day long. I sailed in December of 2012. MUTS was nothing like I expected. I was thinking it was going to be in the evening, and they would show high quality movies.

 

Roz

Edited February 5, 2014 by Roz

[jrzebird]

Is it?

I can watch it with no problem (from the US)...

 

Sorry about off topic, does anyone else have problems watching

?

Thank you.

 

No problem at all, except it made me want to call my TA and book the repo in October on the Royal Princess, for Halloween. Yep, think I'll do that now! Great video. One of the best I've ever seen.

 

Maureen

[RDC1]

Anytime I was near the pool during the day, there was some god awful movie or concert being shown. It seemed to me to be all day long. I sailed in December of 2012. MUTS was nothing like I expected. I was thinking it was going to be in the evening, and they would show high quality movies.

 

Roz

 

It depends upon which pool. There are two on the Lido deck. On some ships the second can have a roof that can closed or open depending upon the weather. On other ships it is a second open air pool. MUTS is only on one pool, cannot be seen or heard for the other. In addition there is usually another pool up by the work out facility that is seldom used and another back by the stern a couple of decks lower. Very little need to use the pool with MUTS unless you want to.

 

The day time is usually stuff like National Geographic style scenes with music, concert type shows, sometimes sporting events, etc.

Edited February 5, 2014 by RDC1

[RDC1]

I have sailed on both lines. Both are more similar then different. I find the rooms, food to be acceptable subject to individual tastes. Pretty much the same with entertainment, though tended to think Princess shows seem to focus on the dancers with music and singers supporting, where as the HAL shows tended to be focused more on singing with the dancers in a more subdued role.

I tend to go back and forth depending upon the routes, timing, and cost (HAL, Princess and Celebrity). There are two things that I find more attractive about Princess. 1. The veteran benefit. it is the same amount as the shareholder benefit and is combinable. Princess has it, Hal does not. 2. Inside Cabins. Princess has far more inside cabins on upper decks, away from public areas. Most insides on HAL tend to be lower decks and immediately above or below public areas. Since we cruise a fair amount (80 days this year) we do tend to use insides fairly often, unless there is something unique that makes a veranda worthwhile. On both cruise lines we are usually only in our rooms to sleep so quiet room locations are key.

[jkgourmet]

RDC1, you sound exactly like us. In over 12+ cruises, we have booked inside guarantees and been totally happy. We upgrade only when there is a good reason for the expense (i.e. celebrity's 123 promotion that requires an ocean view cabin).

[Hlitner]

[quote name='jkgourmet']RDC1, you sound exactly like us. In over 12+ cruises, we have booked inside guarantees and been totally happy. We upgrade only when there is a good reason for the expense (i.e. celebrity's 123 promotion that requires an ocean view cabin).[/QUOTE]

Well you should stick to what you like :). On my first dozen (or so) cruises I always booked one of the cheaper inside cabins and was always quite happy. Then we took a voyage on the, then brand new, Grand Princess and decided that since the European itinerary was so amazing that we would splurge and get a balcony. That was one of my bigger errors. More then 50+ cruises later we still love those balcony cabins and we only go back to an inside or basic outside when the cost of a balcony is ridiculous (like on several HAL ships) We have some good friends who also cruise often, and they still are happy with their inside cabins. But when I sit on my balcony, sipping a glass of wine and watching the sea, it all seems worth the extra money. I also like being able to wake up early on a sea day (before DW) and sit on my balcony watching the view and reading a book, while DW is still sleeping a few feet away.

So stick to those inside cabins and do not get tempted to try something a bit nicer.

Hank Edited February 6, 2014 by Hlitner

[PatriciaF]

Thank you for your comparison. We usually sail Princess but we are taking HAL (Eurodam) in may--my first HAL since 1997 and husband's first HAL ever.

He will miss the soda card--unlimited soda for a set price every day and will complain about MUTS but we are on a Baltic Cruise with only two sea days--so not too much pool time or probably pool weather.

We recently sailed Celebrity and will agree that Princess's closets are hard to beat. Celebrity depends on overbed storage--which was for my 6'1" husband, not too good for me at 5'3". I had to ask him to see if something I wanted was up there or get on top of the bed.

I always thought that HAL's food was great--looking forward to that.

[RDC1]

[quote name='Hlitner']Well you should stick to what you like :). On my first dozen (or so) cruises I always booked one of the cheaper inside cabins and was always quite happy. Then we took a voyage on the, then brand new, Grand Princess and decided that since the European itinerary was so amazing that we would splurge and get a balcony. That was one of my bigger errors. More then 50+ cruises later we still love those balcony cabins and we only go back to an inside or basic outside when the cost of a balcony is ridiculous (like on several HAL ships) We have some good friends who also cruise often, and they still are happy with their inside cabins. But when I sit on my balcony, sipping a glass of wine and watching the sea, it all seems worth the extra money. I also like being able to wake up early on a sea day (before DW) and sit on my balcony watching the view and reading a book, while DW is still sleeping a few feet away.

So stick to those inside cabins and do not get tempted to try something a bit nicer.

Hank[/QUOTE]

Back when we first started cruising we were in suites. At that time out cruises were limited by the amount of vacation time, not cost. Over time we came to the conclusion that we could spend 2-3 times as much time on cruises inside, for the cost of a balcony. Now we spend 25% of our time on cruise ships. That will probably move to 50% in the next couple of years. We have also found that we sleep better on an inside and don't miss the balcony. We are out and about most of the day.

[RDC1]

[quote name='jkgourmet']RDC1, you sound exactly like us. In over 12+ cruises, we have booked inside guarantees and been totally happy. We upgrade only when there is a good reason for the expense (i.e. celebrity's 123 promotion that requires an ocean view cabin).[/QUOTE]

Keep in mind that if you are a stockholder with RCI, not having the 123 promotion means that you can get the shareholder OBC which is worth a pretty good amount. Maybe a little less then the amount of paid tips.

not as good as the Carnival benefit which can be combined, but better than nothing and you don't have to upgrade for the 123 promotion. Edited February 6, 2014 by RDC1