We just disembarked from our 1st HAL cruise, can't wait to sail with Princess again

[STREETKING]

20 hours ago, Diver2014 said:

Why would anyone want to compare HAL and Princess?   We've been on numerous cruises on both and there is no reason to compare apples to oranges.  Both cruise lines have their advantages, in our experience.  

Having cruised both Holland America and Princess, I think they are more similar than not. If pricing and itinerary are favorable I would certainly cruise with Holland again. For those that are cruising Holland for the 1st time the lobster bisque in the Pinnacle Grill is excellent, made right at your table. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

12 hours ago, tiger belle said:

I have only sailed RCI, Norwegian and Carnival previously, but am considering either HAL or Princess for our upcoming summer cruise to Alaska.  Can anyone weigh in on those two lines specifically as they compare for an Alaskan cruise?  I'm just overwhelmed right now with the choices.  Thanks.

go with Princess!

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we were recently docked next to some HAL ship, and both my DH and I commented on how much the ship looked like a solemn funeral home, rather than a fun, but classy/sophisticated ship.

[satxdiver]

12 hours ago, tiger belle said:

I have only sailed RCI, Norwegian and Carnival previously, but am considering either HAL or Princess for our upcoming summer cruise to Alaska.  Can anyone weigh in on those two lines specifically as they compare for an Alaskan cruise?  I'm just overwhelmed right now with the choices.  Thanks.

 

We have sailed both to AK.  The HAL ships are smaller than the Princess ships so you have less pax although I have never felt crowded on most ships.  On our HAL cruise the pax were much older including some younger ones that acted old.  The Princess pax tended to be younger overall with a greater spread in ages.  We did notice on our HAL cruise pax went to be shortly after dinner while we like to visit the entertainment often with more crew present than pax.  They both call on the same ports and go into Glacier Bay.  It comes down to smaller ship versus larger ship and average age of cruisers.  

[Cindy]

14 hours ago, tiger belle said:

I have only sailed RCI, Norwegian and Carnival previously, but am considering either HAL or Princess for our upcoming summer cruise to Alaska.  Can anyone weigh in on those two lines specifically as they compare for an Alaskan cruise?  I'm just overwhelmed right now with the choices.  Thanks.

 

We’ve sailed both Princess and HAL to Alaska. It’s hard to compare, because our first Alaska cruise on Princess was our first cruise and we were in awe of everything. Our second Alaska cruise was on HAL 13 years after our first Alaska cruise. It was a last minute replacement for a Celebrity wine cruise that was cancelled, and it was at the very end of the season. Life on the ship was dull, the crew was ready to head south, and the weather wasn’t great. 

 

That said, I believe the bad HAL cruise was mostly circumstantial. Both cruise lines have been in Alaska for a long time and do a very good job. I would pick the itinerary I like best, then decide based on what’s most important to you. 

[BarbinMich]

On 1/13/2019 at 6:39 PM, CineGraphic said:

Yes, the Nieuw Statendam is a lovely ship. Yes, HAL's musicians were the best I've heard in years (land or sea), but Pam and I can't wait to get back to what we're used to with Princess.

When trying to figure out why, I can't put my finger on it. . .

We've done 6 cruises on HAL over the years and 30 on Princess so it's obvious which we prefer.  However, we did do an EB 16-day TA in April 2017 on the Zuiderdam because it had some ports we hadn't visited:  Horta in the Azores (but we missed it due to weather) and Cherbourg (remember the movie "Umbrellas of Cherbourg" from 1964?  definitely needed an umbrella the day we were there but not HAL's fault).  The main adjective I'd use to describe the ship is "quiet" or maybe "subdued".  Had 3 different lecturers, two of whom were excellent; I did well on the slots (a rarity); there were a few onboard activities like bingo and some trivia, but nothing like what's available on Princess (those ships offer more because they have many more pax).  Cabin was great (larger than on P, had a couch).  Loved the indoor pool in the spa area.  The main negative was the check-in process:  we're 3 star mariners, but had to wait for ages to get to an agent because there were so many pax with more stars--very frustrating.  We're elite on P so we do have some preference at check-in, but P has so many more agents that everyone moves pretty quickly (HAL had just 4 as I recall).

[tiger belle]

thanks for the feedback...based on research and your comments, I think Princess would be a better fit for our group...my favorite line so far is Royal Caribbean...anybody here ever done RC to Alaska?  If so, how did it compare to Princess?

[MSBerliner]

We sailed on the HAL Westerdam from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver B. C. last August.  The ship was lovely in some aspects, but austere in others.  I'm comparing her to Princess' Grand class ships.  Overall we're anxiously awaiting our next Princess cruise on the Ruby, to the Mexican Riveriera.  We've sailed several time with Princess on several ships and much prefer them, although we do not dislike Holland-America.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

14 minutes ago, tiger belle said:

thanks for the feedback...based on research and your comments, I think Princess would be a better fit for our group...my favorite line so far is Royal Caribbean...anybody here ever done RC to Alaska?  If so, how did it compare to Princess?

 Princess goes to glacier bay. Which ever line you take make sure they go there.  😊