HAL Cruisers Try Princess

[DennisNV]

All, I posted this on the HAL Board but that it might be interesting to some. I hope you find it enjoyable:

 

DW and I needed a getaway and decided to try Princess after having really only have cruised HAL for a number of years. Other than HAL, we had cruised Crystal once, but that was a one-time trip to join family members for a specific event (super expensive). We identified a Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Pedro for a couple of reasons.First, we really just wanted a break from work and weren't very concerned with the destination. Second, we live in Las Vegas and the San Pedro port is an easy drive. Not having to fly was very appealing!

 

We booked a guaranteed balcony through the hot dog big box place having previously only booked HAL through our PCC. We had no problem at all, getting our room assignment a few weeks before sail away on the Caribe deck on the Emerald Princess.

 

The day before the cruise we drove from Vegas to Huntington Beach and stayed the night, enjoying dinner at one of my favorite places, The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. After dinner we took a walk down the pier at Newport and enjoyed the smell of the ocean air and watching people fish.

 

The next morning we slept in a bit and had a leisurely breakfast before heading to San Pedro. Arriving at the port around noon we drove up to drop off our luggage with the porter before parking. Unfortunately we arrived to find a huge line to check baggage and it looked like complete chaos. Given the massive line of people we arrived to we decided to go find a place to hangout and come back later. After killing an hour and a half at a local Starbucks we arrived back at the port at 1:30 only to find the line was still massive.Having nothing else to do we decided to go ahead and park and join the line.

 

After lining up for 40 minutes in the hot sun among a chaotic sea of people we finally reached the front of the line and gave our bags to thePorter. We headed inside, waited in a very short line and presented our passports and boarding docs. The check in person was very kind and friendly.When I asked about the massive line to check our luggage she mentioned that the incoming cruise had been a 28-day trip and the porters were overwhelmed by the amount of luggage coming off the ship. I though (but didn't say) that it shouldn't have been surprise to anyone that the ship had been out for 28 days,but there was no point in that. We received our boarding cards, went through security and lined up on a very long gangway to board the ship. Upon boarding we had to continue to wait in line on the promenade deck to have our pictures taken before being allowed to head to our stateroom. I found this odd as HALdoes this at the check in counter and it seems to make more sense. Overall the boarding process was 1 hour and 20 minutes. The muster drill was odd as we were required to take our life vests to one of the auditoriums and practice putting them on. We never did go to our life boats.

 

Our stateroom was comfortable and clean, but smaller than the balcony (aka verandah) cabins we've had on HAL. The difference was primarily in the bathroom and the sitting area. The bathroom had only a small shower with no tub. Over the course of the cruise my wife would remind me several times of how much smaller the bath was and how hard it had been to shave her legs. The sitting area next to the door had only a vanity with no couch or love seat. This was abit of a bummer as we really like to have room service for breakfast in our cabin, but it didn't apear there would be enough room for that. On the upside our balcony on the Caribe deck was very large in that it was longer than usual, and half covered. Over the course of the cruise we'd spend a lot of timeon that balcony and enjoy it greatly!

 

Our stateroom attendant was adequate but unremarkable. He performed the basic two cabin straightenings a day, but not much else. I know this is really picky but we've gotten used to wonderful service on HAL. For example, we brought some wine onboard. I expected but did not find any wine glasses in the room. At sail away we drank our wine in water glasses, again no big deal. The room attendant had to have picked up these glasses the next day and seen the other wine bottles, but did not provide any wine glasses even then. He eventually told me when I asked him that I could call room service and order some up.

 

On to the food. I realize that food is subjective so I'm sure there are plenty of people that may disagree with me. We had reserved a tablefor two in the MDR at second seating. The four nights we dined here we enjoyed very good food and very good service. Our waiter and assistant were as good as or better than any we'd had on HAL. The food was always hot, delicious, and presented well.

 

On the second sea day we ate at the Crown Grill, Princess' Pinnacle Grill equivalent. Our service was excellent, our steaks perfect, and the meal perfectly paced. We've eaten at the Pinnacle Grill a few times. We've had great food and service but gotten a little annoyed at the 2 and 1/2 hour meal. The Crown Grill took 1and 1/2 hours start to finish and was perfectly paced.

 

We tried the Horizon Court buffet for breakfast and found it was not good. We arrived to find much of the food empty and no place to sit. We'd find on our second attempt to eat there that it was a better experience food-wise, but there was still no place to sit. The food is better in the LidoMarket on HAL but of course it is difficult to find seating there too.

 

One lunch during a sea day we enjoyed "Pub Lunch" inthe wheelhouse bar. Classic pub food like Fish and Chips and Shepherd’s pie. We really enjoyed this!

 

We tried the gastro pubdinner at the Salty Dog. We both had an excellent hamburger called the Ernesto. DW had lobster mac and I had calamari as sides. This is a must do and only 10 bucks.

 

Lastly we ate at Share. Thisis a great venue where six small courses are served that are easily shared.This was very good but at $39 a person I think we’ll skip it next time.

 

We had room service once and only for lunch. They were fast and the food was good. We were disappointed to find that they only have pastries and no real hot breakfast available as on HAL, so we had to leave our cabin for breakfast.

 

One of our favorite places to spend time was the Piazza (think Atrium). Unlike HAL ships the area is very lively with a wine bar, the International Café (deserts and specialty coffee) and excellent live music. It had a great sidewalk café feel and was a great place to people watch.

 

I really didn’t take in much entertainment as I was enjoying quiet evenings and doing well in the casino. We did see one comedy show that was very good but seating was difficult. We arrived 20 minutes early and did not readily find seating.

 

 

Disembarkation once back inSan Pedro was different. Rather than being able to relax in your stateroom while your group was called as on HAL, we had to wait in our assigned location,a bar, having to have vacated our room at 8:00. Our group was not called until 9:30 so we had to mess around for quite a while. Once off the ship we were back at our car within 10 minutes.

 

 

Overall we had a very good cruise. We’ve decided that we’d happily sail Princess again. Overall there are more similarities that differences between Princess and HAL. I think going forward we’ll probably makeour decision based on the itinerary without a preference for either line although on the next Princess cruise we’ll like book a mini-suite. It is largerand has both a full size bathroom and a couch in the sitting area.

[1emerald1]

I'm sorry about the delay in San Pedro, usually it's a breeze, on the ship by 11 or 11:30!

[easyboy]

Nice to know you enjoyed your experience on Princess.

 

 

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[hpeabody]

Thanks for the review. I pretty much concur with your comparison. I am elite and a long time Princess cruiser. I have also cruised on HAL, most recently on the Koningsdam on her maiden TA last October. I loved the ship, service and food. I have another cruise booked next year on the Koningsdam, but I am a bit concerned about recent decline I might find. Princess has very much declined in the last couple years, much to my dismay :(

 

BTW, I was one of those people disembarking the 28 day cruise, a nice cruise :) Sorry you folks on the next cruise had a not so nice embarkation.

[cvpends]

Thank you for your comparison review. I concur with your assessment. Although I am Elite on Princess, I keep going back to HAL because of all of the advantages you mention, plus variety is nice. I also sometimes cruise other lines. I find that there are good things about each cruise line and each cruise ship, and although I focus on those good things I can't help but miss the things that are missing from each experience. For example, I wish that Princess had an excellent grill that included vegetarian options like HAL does, and I wish that HAL had decent pizza like Princess (at least used to.)

[Keith1010]

A lot of good information on your companions between the two lines which will be helpful to many Cruise Critic Members.

 

Keith

[satxdiver]

A few comments about the HAL cruiser on Princess for first time:

1. You should have booked a mini-suite which is an upgrade from the balcony cabins. Larger bathroom with tub/shower, sofa and chair, 2 TVs and more room.

2. The baggage handlers at the port are not Princess employees and do things their way. Princess has no real control over them. :(

3. You should try the MDR instead of the HC for breakfast as it is much better.

4. Breakfast room service has their version of egg McMuffin and it is good at least to me.

5. Wine glasses are not normally in the room. As you found out you have to call room service who will bring you two or more wine glasses and a corkscrew. They are very prompt even on embarkation day and we have never had a problem.

6. You don't have to have your picture taken at any time. Just say no and walk on by.

7. Nice to hear you liked SHARE (except for the price). You are one of the few to post anything good about that place. We tried it on last cruise (price reduced to $29) and did not like it.

We did one HAL cruise back in the last decade but don't remember very much about it. Thanks for posting.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting. We're dedicated Princess cruisers who occasionally sail on HAL ships. I hate giving up my Princess past passenger perks, but sometimes a deal will come along on HAL that's too good to pass up. I find it's best not to worry about the differences but to enjoy what each one does best. I've met too many people on cruises who talk about what they miss about sailing on other lines.

[sunsetbeachgal]

I love Princess but some of our best cruises have been on HAL, as particularly in Europe they have some more unusual itineraries that have appealed to us. I also love the differences and embrace them rather than looking to be critical. After all, it’s a cruise!

 

 

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[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

[floridalover5623]

We tried the Horizon Court buffet for breakfast and found it was not good. We arrived to find much of the food empty and no place to sit. We'd find on our second attempt to eat there that it was a better experience food-wise, but there was still no place to sit. The food is better in the LidoMarket on HAL but of course it is difficult to find seating there too.

 

 

 

What time did you arrive at the Horizon? It sounds strange that they let the food trays empty out when there were still people waiting on line.

The crowds can always be a problem at peak times on all the ships.

[JF - retired RRT]

6. You don't have to have your picture taken at any time. Just say no and walk on by.

Satx - I think you misunderstood his "complaint". It sounded like he was not impressed with having his photo ID picture taken on the Promenade deck after a long wait. Can't walk by that one.:cool:

It would probably be a lot quicker, if they took the picture at check-in.

[redrightreturning]

A few comments about the HAL cruiser on Princess for first time:

 

1. You should have booked a mini-suite which is an upgrade from the balcony cabins. Larger bathroom with tub/shower, sofa and chair, 2 TVs and more room.

 

2. The baggage handlers at the port are not Princess employees and do things their way. Princess has no real control over them. :(

 

3. You should try the MDR instead of the HC for breakfast as it is much better.

 

4. Breakfast room service has their version of egg McMuffin and it is good at least to me.

 

5. Wine glasses are not normally in the room. As you found out you have to call room service who will bring you two or more wine glasses and a corkscrew. They are very prompt even on embarkation day and we have never had a problem.

 

6. You don't have to have your picture taken at any time. Just say no and walk on by.

 

7. Nice to hear you liked SHARE (except for the price). You are one of the few to post anything good about that place. We tried it on last cruise (price reduced to $29) and did not like it.

 

We did one HAL cruise back in the last decade but don't remember very much about it. Thanks for posting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[redrightreturning]

Re: #6

I believe the OP was referring to queuing for his cruise card photo at the ships threshold, not the staged “welcome aboard” photo

 

 

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[redrightreturning]

Re: #6

I believe the OP was referring to queuing for his cruise card photo at the ships threshold, not the staged “welcome aboard” photo

 

 

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Sorry didn’t see post#12

 

 

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[crawford]

All, I posted this on the HAL Board but that it might be interesting to some. I hope you find it enjoyable:

 

DW and I needed a getaway and decided to try Princess after having really only have cruised HAL for a number of years. Other than HAL, we had cruised Crystal once, but that was a one-time trip to join family members for a specific event (super expensive). We identified a Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Pedro for a couple of reasons.First, we really just wanted a break from work and weren't very concerned with the destination. Second, we live in Las Vegas and the San Pedro port is an easy drive. Not having to fly was very appealing!

 

We booked a guaranteed balcony through the hot dog big box place having previously only booked HAL through our PCC. We had no problem at all, getting our room assignment a few weeks before sail away on the Caribe deck on the Emerald Princess.

 

The day before the cruise we drove from Vegas to Huntington Beach and stayed the night, enjoying dinner at one of my favorite places, The Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. After dinner we took a walk down the pier at Newport and enjoyed the smell of the ocean air and watching people fish.

 

The next morning we slept in a bit and had a leisurely breakfast before heading to San Pedro. Arriving at the port around noon we drove up to drop off our luggage with the porter before parking. Unfortunately we arrived to find a huge line to check baggage and it looked like complete chaos. Given the massive line of people we arrived to we decided to go find a place to hangout and come back later. After killing an hour and a half at a local Starbucks we arrived back at the port at 1:30 only to find the line was still massive.Having nothing else to do we decided to go ahead and park and join the line.

 

After lining up for 40 minutes in the hot sun among a chaotic sea of people we finally reached the front of the line and gave our bags to thePorter. We headed inside, waited in a very short line and presented our passports and boarding docs. The check in person was very kind and friendly.When I asked about the massive line to check our luggage she mentioned that the incoming cruise had been a 28-day trip and the porters were overwhelmed by the amount of luggage coming off the ship. I though (but didn't say) that it shouldn't have been surprise to anyone that the ship had been out for 28 days,but there was no point in that. We received our boarding cards, went through security and lined up on a very long gangway to board the ship. Upon boarding we had to continue to wait in line on the promenade deck to have our pictures taken before being allowed to head to our stateroom. I found this odd as HALdoes this at the check in counter and it seems to make more sense. Overall the boarding process was 1 hour and 20 minutes. The muster drill was odd as we were required to take our life vests to one of the auditoriums and practice putting them on. We never did go to our life boats.

 

Our stateroom was comfortable and clean, but smaller than the balcony (aka verandah) cabins we've had on HAL. The difference was primarily in the bathroom and the sitting area. The bathroom had only a small shower with no tub. Over the course of the cruise my wife would remind me several times of how much smaller the bath was and how hard it had been to shave her legs. The sitting area next to the door had only a vanity with no couch or love seat. This was abit of a bummer as we really like to have room service for breakfast in our cabin, but it didn't apear there would be enough room for that. On the upside our balcony on the Caribe deck was very large in that it was longer than usual, and half covered. Over the course of the cruise we'd spend a lot of timeon that balcony and enjoy it greatly!

 

Our stateroom attendant was adequate but unremarkable. He performed the basic two cabin straightenings a day, but not much else. I know this is really picky but we've gotten used to wonderful service on HAL. For example, we brought some wine onboard. I expected but did not find any wine glasses in the room. At sail away we drank our wine in water glasses, again no big deal. The room attendant had to have picked up these glasses the next day and seen the other wine bottles, but did not provide any wine glasses even then. He eventually told me when I asked him that I could call room service and order some up.

 

On to the food. I realize that food is subjective so I'm sure there are plenty of people that may disagree with me. We had reserved a tablefor two in the MDR at second seating. The four nights we dined here we enjoyed very good food and very good service. Our waiter and assistant were as good as or better than any we'd had on HAL. The food was always hot, delicious, and presented well.

 

On the second sea day we ate at the Crown Grill, Princess' Pinnacle Grill equivalent. Our service was excellent, our steaks perfect, and the meal perfectly paced. We've eaten at the Pinnacle Grill a few times. We've had great food and service but gotten a little annoyed at the 2 and 1/2 hour meal. The Crown Grill took 1and 1/2 hours start to finish and was perfectly paced.

 

We tried the Horizon Court buffet for breakfast and found it was not good. We arrived to find much of the food empty and no place to sit. We'd find on our second attempt to eat there that it was a better experience food-wise, but there was still no place to sit. The food is better in the LidoMarket on HAL but of course it is difficult to find seating there too.

 

One lunch during a sea day we enjoyed "Pub Lunch" inthe wheelhouse bar. Classic pub food like Fish and Chips and Shepherd’s pie. We really enjoyed this!

 

We tried the gastro pubdinner at the Salty Dog. We both had an excellent hamburger called the Ernesto. DW had lobster mac and I had calamari as sides. This is a must do and only 10 bucks.

 

Lastly we ate at Share. Thisis a great venue where six small courses are served that are easily shared.This was very good but at $39 a person I think we’ll skip it next time.

 

We had room service once and only for lunch. They were fast and the food was good. We were disappointed to find that they only have pastries and no real hot breakfast available as on HAL, so we had to leave our cabin for breakfast.

 

One of our favorite places to spend time was the Piazza (think Atrium). Unlike HAL ships the area is very lively with a wine bar, the International Café (deserts and specialty coffee) and excellent live music. It had a great sidewalk café feel and was a great place to people watch.

 

I really didn’t take in much entertainment as I was enjoying quiet evenings and doing well in the casino. We did see one comedy show that was very good but seating was difficult. We arrived 20 minutes early and did not readily find seating.

 

 

Disembarkation once back inSan Pedro was different. Rather than being able to relax in your stateroom while your group was called as on HAL, we had to wait in our assigned location,a bar, having to have vacated our room at 8:00. Our group was not called until 9:30 so we had to mess around for quite a while. Once off the ship we were back at our car within 10 minutes.

 

 

Overall we had a very good cruise. We’ve decided that we’d happily sail Princess again. Overall there are more similarities that differences between Princess and HAL. I think going forward we’ll probably makeour decision based on the itinerary without a preference for either line although on the next Princess cruise we’ll like book a mini-suite. It is largerand has both a full size bathroom and a couch in the sitting area.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

 

Since you are a seasoned HAL cruiser, I was curious about the balcony cabins. In looking at booking over the years, I noticed that a number of them have a walkway in front of them. Is this the case on all HAL ships or just the older ones?

If you've cruised using these cabins before, what was you impression of them?

 

Thanks!

[satxdiver]

Re: #6

I believe the OP was referring to queuing for his cruise card photo at the ships threshold, not the staged “welcome aboard” photo

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Perhaps so. I was on the Ruby last month out of San Pedro and the photographers were indeed taking the welcome aboard photos on the outside promenade deck. My comment was based on that experience and that the OP was departing from that port.

[rocky1]

Thanks for the very informative review. We have found many more similarities than differences between HAL and Princess.

[satxdiver]

In 2013 Carnival Corp reorganized their 10 cruise lines. The HAL Group was created and the CEO of HAL was appointed CEO of the HAL Group. It contains HAL, Princess, Seaborne, P&O Australia, Carnival Australia and their land operations in AK. This explains some of the similarities between the two cruise lines.

[Woodinville]

Overall we had a very good cruise. We’ve decided that we’d happily sail Princess again. Overall there are more similarities that differences between Princess and HAL. I think going forward we’ll probably makeour decision based on the itinerary without a preference for either line although on the next Princess cruise we’ll like book a mini-suite. It is largerand has both a full size bathroom and a couch in the sitting area.

Thanks for sharing ... your conclusion was ours as well ... and we now find ourselves alternating between HAL/Princess based on the calendar and destination --- we find both live in the world of Yes when given an opportunity to excel in customer service ... perhaps we've been fortunate, as I knock on wood.

 

--

CB

[helenb]

We are primarily Princess cruises but have sailed on other lines including HAL. It is interesting to see this comparison from a HAL regular's point of view!

 

The the OP: the reason why Princess requires that you be out of your cabin by 8 am is because the room stewards need to clean the rooms for the next cruise. Unlike most other lines, on Princess your room is ready when you board, even if you board before noon. Since you boarded later, you unfortunately did not reap the benefit of this policy. :-(

 

If you do take Princess again and there is a big line to drop off luggage... don't! Just take it with you up through boarding and check-in. Once you get on the ship, your cabin will be available and you will be able to drop it off immediately.

[satxdiver]

...

If you do take Princess again and there is a big line to drop off luggage... don't! Just take it with you up through boarding and check-in. Once you get on the ship, your cabin will be available and you will be able to drop it off immediately.

 

You can take all the luggage you can carry but it has to fit through the scanner or they will make you check it. The scanner they use is just like the ones at the airport and large luggage will not fit through it.

[DennisNV]

What time did you arrive at the Horizon? It sounds strange that they let the food trays empty out when there were still people waiting on line.

The crowds can always be a problem at peak times on all the ships.

 

As best as I can recollect it was about 9:30 AM. I am not an early riser, particularly on vacation!

[DennisNV]

Satx - I think you misunderstood his "complaint". It sounded like he was not impressed with having his photo ID picture taken on the Promenade deck after a long wait. Can't walk by that one.:cool:

It would probably be a lot quicker, if they took the picture at check-in.

 

I was indeed speaking of the ID picture that is required. It seemed a little odd to have to line up while boarding the ship instead of simply taking the picture at check in.

[DennisNV]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

 

Since you are a seasoned HAL cruiser, I was curious about the balcony cabins. In looking at booking over the years, I noticed that a number of them have a walkway in front of them. Is this the case on all HAL ships or just the older ones?

If you've cruised using these cabins before, what was you impression of them?

 

Thanks!

 

Hello,

We have not been on a ship that had the Lanai instead of the regular balcony. The posters on the HAL board do speak highly of the lanai rooms but I'm not so sure I'd like them. They are on the smaller, older ships.