Princess vs Holland America

[Hlitner]

We are long time HAL (5 Star Mariners) and Princess (Elite) cruisers....plus we also cruise on several other cruise lines. We routinely cruise both lines every year (often for many weeks). Regarding the BB King situation on HAL, the line has recently changed their policy and they will only have a BB King group on half their ships (the larger vessels). There will no longer be any BB King on the 7 smaller HAL ships....and they will revert back to a format similar to years ago when they had the lousy HAL Cat concept (a pick-up band who always seems to think that Glenn Miller is a contemporary music group). Also, many years ago HAL eliminated all the brass and woodwinds from their ship bands (except with the BB King groups) and replaced them with a strange instrument mix of 2 guitars (bass and lead) 2 keyboards and a drummer. Normally one of the keyboard players will handle piano parts while the other keyboard is supposed to replace both the woodwind and brass section. To my ear the overall sound resembles the kind of music you used to hear at Roller Skating Rinks :(. So, Princess gets much higher marks when it comes to live music.

 

As to food, there is so much variation (in terms of quality) between ships (and sometimes when a ship changes executive and sous chefs) that its hard to make a general statement. But we do think that currently, HAL has better meat. But Princess has better starters, fish, and desserts (in the MDR). The Princess Royal Class ships have the best Lido buffets (by far) with the other Princess ships slightly behind. The HAL Lido buffets are not very good...and are now further restricted because HAL limits the ability of any passenger to serve themselves (this is their new idea to minimize Norovirus risks).

 

When it comes to alternative restaurants we give low marks to both lines (Celebrity shines by comparison). We understand there are fans of the Pinnacle (HAL) and Crown Grill (Princess) but we are completely underwhelmed by both venues. HAL food executives should take a trip on a Celebrity S-Class ship and dine in Murano, Qsine, and the Lawn to understand my rating. Murano is in a totally different class then any of the other restaurants (we recently dined in Murano on the Reflection...for 10 nights and everything was absolute perfection).

 

We do have some major issues with the entire Princess 3 MDR concept. Its especially weird for those in Open sittings...where we sometimes find ourselves walking up and down stairs to determine which MDR has the shortest queue. So we prefer to single multi-story MDR design of HAL (and just about every other mass market line). Another big negative for Princess is that their main theaters are just too darn small on both the Grand and Royal class ships. This can cause big problems for those who dine early..and then cannot find a seat in the theater. Cruise Directors sometimes get so many complaints they are forced to add a 3rd show. Because this happens, Princess has shortened their production shows to about 35-40 minutes.

 

Much is made about the age of passengers on both lines (this is also a topic on Celebrity). Our experience is that, on Princess and Celebrity, the overall passenger age demographic is more dependent on the itinerary, length of cruise, and time of the year. The difference can be huge! But on HAL one can generalize and say that the passenger demographic is either old...or very old (or even ancient). In fact, although we are HAL fans we would never suggest that anyone under 50 go on a HAL cruise...and even those in their 50s will likely find a majority of passengers about their parent's age. We do not see this changing on HAL in the near future...because HAL just does not offer much for younger (under 60) folks. HAL does seem to making an effort to attract some younger cruisers (their new larger ships will help in this regard).....but its hard for them to overcome more than 100 years of tradition. Younger folks often want more activities.....but on our recent Rotterdam cruise there were only 2 people in the Cruise Director department (the CD and an Assistant CD....with perhaps another 1/2 of a staffer pitching in). HAL thinks that having Trivia 20 times a day (this is an exaggeration :) is good enough. A few years ago when we were on a long (62 day) Prinsendam cruise the most popular activity was "Animal Toss" where passengers got to toss stuffed animals at a target :). But even that activity no longer exists as the excellent CD who came up with that idea....has since moved on to become a Future Cruise person.

 

From our own observation, the most popular activity on HAL is the knitting group (who simply sit and knit) which is a self-organized group. And those who cruise on HAL need to understand that the ship is going to be sleeping by 10. On our recent Rotterdam cruise we often closed down the piano bar (with the wonderful Barry from Boston) at 11:45....when there were about 6 passengers left standing. And, you wil never find a late night adult comedy show on HAL...because the comedian would die of loneliness. But on Princess, an 11:30 adult comedy show will often be SRO! Speaking of late night comedy shows, on our recent (last month) Celebrity Reflection cruise they had a lot of angry passengers who could not even get into the room for a late night (near midnight) comedy show. The CD had to repeat that show the following night...and move it into the main theater.

 

Hank

[BarbinMich]

We have done 37 cruises on Princess, as it's our favorite line. However, last April we did a TA on HAL's Zuiderdam (it had been 6 yrs since our last cruise on HAL, where we've now done 7 cruises and are 3* Mariners). We chose this cruise for its itinerary and it was our 5th EB TA. While the ships are nearly the same length, the pax load is much different (there are fewer decks on the Z). The CB can carry over 3,000 pax while the Z's max load is 1,916 (CB has many more inside cabins and its cabins are smaller). So given the widely varying pax load, the experience is very different IMHO. HAL has far fewer daily activities than does Princess and as another poster says one of the main ones is cooking class. Z's casino is much, much smaller than CB's, but was very "good" to me on the slots. The spas are comparable, but Z's spa has a large indoor heated and jetted pool (if you want the jets on). The Z has one non-spa pool and it can be covered in inclement weather (which was often on our crossing). We always take nearly all our cruise meals in the buffet and here the CB had more to offer, no doubt because it has more users. The hub of activity on the Z is the Crow's Nest/Explorations Cafe at the front of the top deck. The former has a bar and many comfortable lounge-type chairs from which to contemplate the view. The latter has a coffee bar (lattes, etc), a good-sized library, a table where they put a different large jigsaw puzzle every day and more comfortable chairs. Nothing like this on Princess ships. The entertainment on the Z was similar to what it is on Princess, just on a smaller scale when they did production shows. A big plus was the fact that there were always lots of seats to choose from, right up to show time. Guess the usual HAL pax either doesn't care for the entertainment or goes to bed early. One of the biggest drawbacks for us was the check-in process in FL: there was one line for 4- and 5-star Mariners and another line for the rest of us. There were only 4 or 5 check-in people and they always waited on people in the 4*-5* line first, even if they had just walked in, so our line moved very slowly. One advantage HAL ships has over Princess ships (esp. Royal/Regal) are their true wraparound (and wide!) promenade decks.

Edited January 8, 2018 by BarbinMich

[LeeW]

Good thread with lots of information! We are Elite on Princess but HA seems to have some good itineraries. Stockholder OBC is good on both.

[Skai]

although we are HAL fans we would never suggest that anyone under 50 go on a HAL cruise...and even those in their 50s will likely find a majority of passengers about their parent's age. We do not see this changing on HAL in the near future...because HAL just does not offer much for younger (under 60) folks. HAL does seem to making an effort to attract some younger cruisers (their new larger ships will help in this regard).....but its hard for them to overcome more than 100 years of tradition.Hank

 

Not sure why our experience was the way it was, but on our one and only HAL cruise(Med. - where one might expect an older crowd), we didn't sense much of an avg. age difference among the passengers on board -- compared to the Princess cruises that we've taken. I was expecting a floating hospice facility from all that I had read beforehand about the demographic on HAL, but it simply wasn't the case.

 

We almost always sail outside of school holiday times, so...rarely have we sailed with many children on board. Nor have we taken any cruises less than 7 days(often opting for more days). Usually, most of our cruises have tended to skew towards a more mature crowd as a result. Perhaps our experience on HAL was an anomaly.

 

Yeah, there were a handful of scooters onboard HAL, however also noticed a few on our most recent Princess sailing as well. Whereas HAL might have averaged a hair above 60, and Princess a hair below, for us, we couldn't tell much of a difference, as we're often among the youngest married couples on board(other than perhaps 1st time honeymooners). It's never bothered us. Often the conversations are better among the better traveled.

 

We actually really liked HAL as an option for such a port-heavy itinerary. We were often so sacked after touring ports, that we were the ones retiring early for the night and not really caring if there was entertainment past 10p. That stated we still caught some live music and a variety act(or two). We did find HAL to be a much more comfortable ship as a place to relax in between sometimes frenetic days touring in port.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Thank you all for your replies. I really appreciate all this wonderful information that you have shared.

 

I'm excited for our cruise on HAL and at the same time I wish it was a Princess cruise. I know a lot of people don't like it but I happen to like MUTS and I think my daughter would too and I know she would love the IC! Oh well, next time.

 

I'm sorry it has taken me so long to respond but life has me absolutely exhausted and lately every night I fall asleep with my tablet in my hands before I can even post a response. Thank goodness it's the weekend :)

 

Thank you all again!

[lylebarb]

Sailed MS Eurodam in November 2017. Best. Cruise. Ever. Beautiful large bathroom with a tub. Very comfortable bed. Food was amazing. Loved tea at 3 pm. Entertainment was great. Very relaxing cruise. And I won $$$ in the casino.

[cruisefortwoagain]

We have cruised with HAL 9 times and just finished our first Princess cruise on Regal. We were looking forward to this but it was very disappointing for us. We had a mini suite Ocean medallion and found the balcony so small and tight we rarely used it. A veranda on HAL has a larger balcony. The food was a major disappointment. Nothing special in the main dining room or buffet. $40 charge in specialty restaurant and $10 more for a small surf and turf. Room service charge also of $4.95 each delivery.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[cruisefortwoagain]

We have cruised with HAL 9 times and just finished our first Princess cruise on Regal. We were looking forward to this but it was disappointing for us. We had a mini suite Ocean medallion and found the balcony so small and tight we rarely used it. A veranda not a suite on HAL has a larger balcony. The food was a major disappointment. Nothing special in the main dining room or buffet. Seemed more like cafeteria food and almost always lukewarm. $40 charge in specialty restaurant plus $10 more for a small surf and turf. Room service charge also of $4.95 each delivery. Charge for gelato. Noisy pool area, hard to have a conversation. Went to sanctuary and paid to stay there so we had a dedicated spot. We felt like there were more hidden charges on Princess. Laundry charges were high and were itemized. We used the self service laundry instead. On HAL we can purchase for a reasonable price a full bag of laundry to be done. Most regular chairs were saved early on. On HAL after 30 minutes if no one is at the saved spot the

stewards remove the saved towels. This is not always enforced but on our last cruise it was. Sabatinis had nothing that appealed on its menu compared to Canellellos on HAL with its short ribs bolognese.

On the plus side Princess crew was outstanding and most tried to ensure a great time. We had a beverage package for sip and sail and there were restrictions on Princess the same beverage package on HAL didn’t have those restrictions. Ages were very similar on both ships. We found HAL to be more relaxed, elegant and refined. Food definitely more to choose from and better quality. Princess had more activities. We will go back to HAL. Maybe in the future we will try cruising Princess again. But as I overheard a woman on the Regal state to her table mates, there is no comparison of Princess to HAL and we also found that to be true.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mike45LC]

Kruse, great comparison. I loved your tux-jacket-shirt example.

 

Hank, great analysis, that mostly supports my prior opinion that Princess and Celebrity are my lines of choice!

 

For whatever reasons (in large part, the reputation as to the “nursing home” age of the typical passenger), I have never sailed on HAL, so I had nothing to contribute to this discussion, but I was glad to read all of these opinions and comparisons.

I guess if a HAL ship has the itinerary I want, I’ll give it a try some day. Especially since I now qualify as a Senior Citizen for some purposes!

[capriccio]

We have cruised with HAL 9 times and just finished our first Princess cruise on Regal. We were looking forward to this but it was very disappointing for us. We had a mini suite Ocean medallion and found the balcony so small and tight we rarely used it. That is a common (and justified) complaint about Royal class (Royal, Regal, Majestic) balconies in general. A veranda on HAL has a larger balcony. So are balconies on the other, non-Royal class Princess ships. The food was a major disappointment. Nothing special in the main dining room or buffet. I'm not a buffet aficionado except on the Royal class ships. There are specials every night (especially like German night and Dim Sum). $40 charge in specialty restaurant is that the correct amount and if so, for what specialty restaurant? Sabatinis and Crown Grill are $29 per person. The only $40 charge I can think of is the Winemakers Dinner that is a multi course meal and wine pairings for only 10 or 12 people and only held once or twice a cruise and $10 more for a small surf and turf I presume you are referring to the Crown Grill where $10 is added to the $29 charge? Room service charge also of $4.95 each delivery. Room service has only charged for whole pizzas ($3 I think). I hadn't seen that they started a delivery charge. Charge for gelato. Noisy pool area, hard to have a conversation. Went to sanctuary and paid to stay there so we had a dedicated spot. We felt like there were more hidden charges on Princess. Laundry charges were high and were itemized. We used the self service laundry instead. On HAL we can purchase for a reasonable price a full bag of laundry to be done. Princess hasn't done that in many years. Truthfully I know that they have enough trouble on some cruises doing the laundry of full suite passengers and elite passengers in a timely fashion. Most regular chairs were saved early on. On HAL after 30 minutes if no one is at the saved spot the stewards remove the saved towels. This is not always enforced but on our last cruise it was. Sabatinis had nothing that appealed on its menu compared to Canellellos on HAL with its short ribs bolognese. On some nights they do have an outstanding short rib penne; we even had a chef offer to make it for us once when it wasn't offered the night we went to Sabatinis. On the plus side Princess crew was outstanding and most tried to ensure a great time. We had a beverage package for sip and sail and there were restrictions on Princess the same beverage package on HAL didn’t have those restrictions what restrictions? the number of alcoholic drinks (15 in 24 hours) or the pricing (drinks under $12)? . Ages were very similar on both ships. We found HAL to be more relaxed, elegant and refined. Food definitely more to choose from and better quality. Princess had more activities. We will go back to HAL. Maybe in the future we will try cruising Princess again. But as I overheard a woman on the Regal state to her table mates, there is no comparison of Princess to HAL and we also found that to be true.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

See my comments/questions in red. Have prices gone up since our 25 day cruise in October and November on the Royal Princess?

 

I am happy for you that you have a cruise line you like and hope your next HAL cruise is all you desire!

[Hlitner]

Glad somebody mentioned MUTS because I truly hate the thing. When MUTS first started it was called "Movies Under the Stars" and that is what is was....and it was great! During the day MUTS was usually quiet (sometimes they would put on silent videos. Princess then decided to put movies on during the day, and for a short time experimented with wireless headphone devices (attached to what looked like a small radio). But that quickly went away...replaced with blasting speakers....day and night.

 

DW and I love to relax, read, and listen to our personal music while lounging on deck. This is now impossible on Princess...unless one can find a lounger far away from the pool (very far) where there is something close to silence. There are times when its nice to hear the sound of the sea....but that does not happen with MUTS. On the Royal Class ships we can sometimes find loungers (in shady locations) on the deck above the pool (we like the loungers near the entrance to the gym. But on our 3 Regal cruises those loungers are in great demand (apparently there are many others who try to get far away from MUTS).

 

Princess is pretty smart when it comes to MUTS, Years ago there would be a lot more live bands playing at the pool deck for several sets a day. But now, they can simply put on a movie or video...instead of paying a steel drum band or other entertainer.

 

Hank

[cruisefortwoagain]

See my comments/questions in red. Have prices gone up since our 25 day cruise in October and November on the Royal Princess?

 

 

 

I am happy for you that you have a cruise line you like and hope your next HAL cruise is all you desire!

 

 

 

Thank you. My mistake about the Crown Grill being $40 it was $29 plus $10 for surf and turf. I did get my printout and we were charged $4.85 for room service each time I used the card left by the steward in the stateroom that goes on the door the nite before. It is a nice ship but much larger and many more people so I can understand the logistics of laundry on a ship the Regal size. Beverage restrictions were my husband was able to ask for a double which counted as two drinks toward the package that day but Princess wouldn’t do it. It was a single each time. We couldn’t even try to attempt to drink that much in a day which is why my husband asked for doubles from time to time on HAL. One other thing, we order room service breakfast disembarkation day and stay in our stateroom until our color to leave is called. It is a nice feature but again we were on smaller ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[EllenSunny1]

Thank you. My mistake about the Crown Grill being $40 it was $29 plus $10 for surf and turf. I did get my printout and we were charged $4.85 for room service each time I used the card left by the steward in the stateroom that goes on the door the nite before. It is a nice ship but much larger and many more people so I can understand the logistics of laundry on a ship the Regal size. Beverage restrictions were my husband was able to ask for a double which counted as two drinks toward the package that day but Princess wouldn’t do it. It was a single each time. We couldn’t even try to attempt to drink that much in a day which is why my husband asked for doubles from time to time on HAL. One other thing, we order room service breakfast disembarkation day and stay in our stateroom until our color to leave is called. It is a nice feature but again we were on smaller ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

I was on the Regal in November and wasn’t charged for room service. If you read the menu carefully it points out what is and isn’t extra.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[bluewatercoulpe]

On HAL you will actually be able to turn around in the shower.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[riclop]

I love Princess but I just booked a HAL cruise for the first time for the itinerary. What can you tell me? How do the two lines compare? I hope we are not disappointed. Please share with me :)

I hope you do not like to much entertainment, Hal is boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[creel5857]

we have traveled both cruise lines multiple times.......food is subjective but overall I favor princess, activities and theater shows are better on princess, we have been getting better prices on cabins on Holland .......service has been great on both with the usual complaints that lido dining staff can be iffy sometimes

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I hope you do not like to much entertainment, Hal is boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luckily, two of the days we will be in port until late in the evening so we will survive :)

[MsSoCalCruiser]

Sailed MS Eurodam in November 2017. Best. Cruise. Ever. Beautiful large bathroom with a tub. Very comfortable bed. Food was amazing. Loved tea at 3 pm. Entertainment was great. Very relaxing cruise. And I won $$$ in the casino.

 

This <3

[KruzeKrazy!]

I hope you do not like to much entertainment, Hal is boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

One person's boring is another person's relaxing...

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Forums mobile app

[tennisobo]

I sailed on the Eurodam on a Caribbean cruise. I did not like the ship. The interior is dark. The atrium is practically nonexistent. It seemed like a lot of the upper decks were closed off because they were set up with cabanas you had to pay for.

 

The food was about the same as Princess.

 

Loved the Crows Nest. Great views, nice little coffee snack bar. Excellent library offerings up there. Lovely views with comfy chairs.

We had one of the very large inside cabins. They are a bargain.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kathywin53]

Would someone comment on the balcony doors on Nieuw Amsterdam....regular swing door or sliding patio type. Also in v category can connecting cabin dividers be opened and still allow opening of cabin door, (have heard balcony at 42 sq Ft too narrow for opening cabin door if divider opened) thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[nutensteve]

Would someone comment on the balcony doors on Nieuw Amsterdam....regular swing door or sliding patio type. Also in v category can connecting cabin dividers be opened and still allow opening of cabin door, (have heard balcony at 42 sq Ft too narrow for opening cabin door if divider opened) thanks

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

The doors are out swinging doors and the dividers have a section at the front that can be opened. The opening is not very wide but you can pass between the balconies easily. The open divider does not interfere with the door.

[kathywin53]

Thank you for this info, was worried about being unable to use cabin door.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[rocky1]

I hope you do not like to much entertainment, Hal is boring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure what type entertainment you may be looking for, but I was favorably impressed by the entertainment on my one HAL cruise, especially BB King's Blues Club. I prefer Princess overall but I would actually give the entertainment edge to HAL, based on just this one experience.

[Kingofcool1947]

I love Princess but I just booked a HAL cruise for the first time for the itinerary. What can you tell me? How do the two lines compare? I hope we are not disappointed. Please share with me :)

I have heard from several PAXs on our recent 15 day Hawaii cruise on the Grand, who have sailed on both Princess and HAL, that the demographics on HAL.is skewed toward older PAXs. Like most are 70’s to 80’+. Saw HAL PAX’s sound a sleep in the public areas in the daytime! Picture PAXs snoring with mouths wide open. :eek::D

Some likened HAL to a “floating nursing home.” Full of old people with mobility scooters, and walkers. Very quiet public areas after dinner. Bars and entertainment shuts down early. YMMV, but if you’re elderly, you might will fit in just fine ;)

Good luck, and hope you enjoy your cruise on HAL.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Kingofcool1947