Hal vs princess, a comparison

[Ineke]

So is it more brekie (aka breakfast:D) items that are Dutch or do they have lunch items too?

Unfortunately (for us, who really enjoyed them), neither frikandellen nor croquettes are available from the Dive In anymore. They did have croquettes at the Dutch sailaway barbecue when we were in Curacao in December. Generally there are fewer Dutch items available than in previous years. But as long as they have Old Amsterdam cheese and DH's jenever, all is well!

[cruz chic]

Unfortunately (for us, who really enjoyed them), neither frikandellen nor croquettes are available from the Dive In anymore. They did have croquettes at the Dutch sailaway barbecue when we were in Curacao in December. Generally there are fewer Dutch items available than in previous years. But as long as they have Old Amsterdam cheese and DH's jenever, all is well!

 

Thx for the info. I'm going to have to pay better attention.

[POA1]

Unfortunately (for us, who really enjoyed them), neither frikandellen nor croquettes are available from the Dive In anymore. They did have croquettes at the Dutch sailaway barbecue when we were in Curacao in December. Generally there are fewer Dutch items available than in previous years. But as long as they have Old Amsterdam cheese and DH's jenever, all is well!

 

I hope that they are available somewhere. I probably should have asked.

[bjarrett7]

I have enjoyed reading your comparison of Princess and HAL... We just booked an Alaskan cruise on Westerdam for this August but had considered princess as well. Hoping for another great cruise with HAL.

Edited March 5, 2015 by bjarrett7

[happy cruzer]

Yes the Princess showers are small. And no sofa. I think they decided to have the larger closet and small hall to the bathroom instead. I did like that area for dressing with a bit of privacy from the bed area.

 

Room service from the dr menu and overall standard room service on Hal are great winners.

 

Fresh water pools and lots of them are good for pool people on princess. MUTS for those who enjoy a loud movie

[albingirl]

Thank you so much for a great review!

[RJ2002]

We recently returned to Princess for an Indonesian cruise, after a string of cruises on HAL.

 

There is a similar "HAL/Princess comparison" thread currently active over on the Princess board, and I thought I'd share the comments I posted over there:

 

As a suite passenger, I really missed an equivalent of HAL's Neptune Lounge on Princess. However, I have to confess I never went to the daily suite passenger gathering on Princess... it just didn't look appealing. The special suite breakfast dining venues (Sabatini's on Princess; Pinnacle Grill on HAL) were equally as good, though I have to give an advantage to Princess for the complimentary mimosas!

 

From a MDR perspective, we thought the food on Princess was better than what we've recently experienced on HAL. I also liked the fact that our waiter (or his assistant) (we were not in fixed seating) could fulfill our wine orders, rather than a Wine Steward. Often times, on HAL we've waited quite a long time for the Wine Steward to come by our table.

 

Service wise, we find both lines about the same - very good to excellent service almost all of the time. Both lines seem to keep their ships spotless as well.

 

Finally, I know this will vary based on itinerary, but on the cruises we've been on, Princess has been a bit more active/lively in the evenings, which we enjoy.

[cruz chic]

We recently returned to Princess for an Indonesian cruise, after a string of cruises on HAL.

 

There is a similar "HAL/Princess comparison" thread currently active over on the Princess board, and I thought I'd share the comments I posted over there:

 

As a suite passenger, I really missed an equivalent of HAL's Neptune Lounge on Princess. However, I have to confess I never went to the daily suite passenger gathering on Princess... it just didn't look appealing. The special suite breakfast dining venues (Sabatini's on Princess; Pinnacle Grill on HAL) were equally as good, though I have to give an advantage to Princess for the complimentary mimosas!

 

From a MDR perspective, we thought the food on Princess was better than what we've recently experienced on HAL. I also liked the fact that our waiter (or his assistant) (we were not in fixed seating) could fulfill our wine orders, rather than a Wine Steward. Often times, on HAL we've waited quite a long time for the Wine Steward to come by our table.

 

Service wise, we find both lines about the same - very good to excellent service almost all of the time. Both lines seem to keep their ships spotless as well.

 

Finally, I know this will vary based on itinerary, but on the cruises we've been on, Princess has been a bit more active/lively in the evenings, which we enjoy.

 

I like that the waiters bring the wine too. They are very quick. Hal struggles badly in this area.