HAL/vs Princess

[swom]

I've only cruised on HAL ships but would love to try something different this time. I was thinking of Norwegian because I like the "free-style" cruise, but after looking at the ports of call on Princess, I think I might try this line instead. (Was looking at the southern caribbean for next year.

Can anyone that have cruised both lines tell me the big difference they've found between the two. HAL was a little "stuffy" for me, but I loved the service.

How is Princess lines and what makes them your choice in cruise lines? Are there a lot of kids on these cruises? I don't want a "Carnival" atmosphere, but would enjoy a little more fun than HAL provides.

Just let me know why you love Princess. What makes it your cruiseline of choice.

Thanks so much in advance!

[Ray-Barbara]

We have done both lines and found Princess to be a much better fit for us. This ships we used with Princess were much newer. We thought the food at Princess was more appealing and was presented better. The cabins were larger with Holland and included a full-size tub along with a shower. We also found that Holland has a tendency to change their time schedule to our disadvantage, but not once did Princess do that. Each person may feel different as to which line is best for them, but we are Princess fans. In fact, we are looking into a fall cruise with Princess to Canada/New England and will be in Mexico in just 56 days.

Ray and Barbara

[Suskies]

We've been on 3 HAL cruises and loved them. We are trying Crown Princess this summer because HAL is no longer doing summer cruises in the Caribbean. We researched NCL, RCI, Celebrity, and Princess and decided on Princess because its larger ships sound intriguing...more entertainment options, more dining options, etc. At the same time, we like quiet times and Princess ships seem to be designed with lots of small spaces so we can get away from any noise. Plus it sounds like it will be a very classy, elegant operation, which we've always liked about HAL.

[Ernie G]

HAL....Princess....Others????

 

We've cruised HAL the most, with the Ryndam being our first cruise in 2000. We have cruised Celebrity and RCCL 2 times each, Carnival once and on the Diamond Princess in 2004. We are sailing on the Caribbean Princess in March, 2006. My husband has a fondness for HAL because of the OCEAN BAR and because it caterers to a different crowd. I on the other hand absolutely love Celebrity (partially because of the Martini Bar). I feel Princess is a nice blend of both. The food is comparable with Celebrity (which I feel has the best food of on the premium cruise ships). Carnival's food is not bad, but service and kid running rampant are not our thing. Even when we cruise with our 9 year old grandson on Carnival, someone else's child has the ability to ruin our trip. RCCL (Rhapsody and Majesty of the Seas) has not impressed us at all. I certainly think that Princess is worth a try. Also, Celebrity has a great Southern Caribbean journey, I believe on the Summit.

[Times Prince]

I've only cruised on HAL ships but would love to try something different this time.

Can anyone that have cruised both lines tell me the big difference they've found between the two. HAL was a little "stuffy" for me, but I loved the service.

Just let me know why you love Princess. What makes it your cruiseline of choice.

Vawoods - Having cruised on HAL once, we found Princess to be a much better fit for our personalites, We found the food on HAL's Ryndam to be bland, where Princess' food has more variety, is better prepared, and much more representative of fine restaurant dining. The dining room staff was comparable, but perhaps a little friendlier on Princess. (The staff on HAL was not allowed to talk with customers unless serving).

 

We find the shows on Princess to be better, the movie theater venue to be far superior (Sun Princess vs. Ryndam), the comedians and/or jugglers to be comparable. All over the ship the music is FAR SUPERIOR on Princess. On our HAL cruise they played music for people in their 70's-80's. We also truly enjoy the opportunities for dancing each evening (there are several), and there is a broad choice of musical styles. I have always been pleasantly surprised when I attend deck parties to see the dancers from the shows out and enjoyng themselves.

 

The cabins were about the same, and stewards are comparable - on both cruises they have personnel who want to make your stay the best possible. Again, we found the tight managerial control of the HAL staff to be unreasonable - part of our cruise enjoyment is talking with the steward and staff about their home countries and HAL didn't allow that.

 

There were no children on board HAL (our 21 year old daughter was the youngest person on board), and children have never been an issue for us on Princess. They have their own areas of the ship and are usually well behaved in dining and theaters. If you don't want to be around pools where there might be boisterous kids, there is always an adult pool on the ship. You will also find less children aboard for longer cruises.

 

For other reasons I won't go into, we will NEVER cruise on HAL again. We already have an open deposit for our next Princess cruise.

 

Happy cruising, whichever line you choose!

[LICRUISER2GO]

I like Princess better, more going on at night, more people my own age and more to do for the kids...on Hal there was one old lady that was zipping all over the place with her electric wheelchair as if she had the place to herself. One night, I was looking for our family photos where they display all the photos.. and guess who came rolling in? Yep u guessed right,she ran her wheelchair right into my leg,then gave me a dirty look as if I didnt even belong on 'her' cruiseship.

[sissy f]

Ditto on all you who like princess. We decided to try HAL & by my signature you can see that we are back to Princess. I feel HAL has a luxurious line and the service was wonderful but Food was fair, entertainment was nothing to brag about, lounges were dull and boring. Don't get me wrong, but I was tired of walking behind wheelchairs & slow moving people and someday I will be there too & hopefully I'm not as crabby as some I've seen aboard. The ship (westerdam was immaculate) was a beauty. We went Thanksgiving week and the staff was appaled that their were so many children aboard (I think they had 150 approx-they hired 2 or 3 additional staff to handle this and the week before had 3 children aboard)When we were boarding, a staff member made the comment to us while we were in line that HAL couldn't pay her to get on this week due to the amount of children! We sail on holiday weeks so we always get alot of children aboard. We leave our (8) children home so we can get some R&R and we avoid the center pool area. We find wonderful nooks in all the ships to lounge. IMO my top pick & Celebrity and then Princess falls very close in 2nd place.

[m steve]

This past year we sailed on HAL Volendam and Princess Sun. The cabins were about the same price for 10 days, similar itineraries but the HAL cabin was more comfortable and larger, food better and lousy coffee on both. Shows were equal but show room on HAL was bigger and better. Check in much faster on HAL and disembark easier. Both out of FLL.

Neither was as good food wise or staff as friendly as Celebrity.

Taking cruise on P on 2/1 on Diamond and will see if this is better.

[Tak8]

I have been on HAL twice and Princess once, all Caribbean cruises. I prefer Princess. I also found HAL a little stuffy. I think Princess has a friendlier staff. Food: I give HAL the edge for their Lido buffet, but Princess wins the dining room selection and taste. Both have good alternative restaurants. I like the Princess pools: swim against the current pool and large main pool. I enjoyed the paddle tennis court on Princess. Princess has a few more kids than HAL, but never a problem.

[Druke I]

Three times on HAL, some dozen plus on Princess.

 

We think food slightly better on HAL - but Princess certainly has better production shows, and a wider range of itineraries. It is the itinerary that is 1st on our list.

 

HAL stuffier? Eyes of the beholder, I guess.

[luvs2beachit]

Was on HAL for our first two cruises and we fell in love with cruising so they set the tone for our future expectations. We tried other cruiselines (4 on RCCL, 2 on Celebrity, 2 on Carnival and 6 on Princess) but last year we decided to go back to HAL and it ended up being a big mistake........it was certainly not the HAL we remembered. The food at best was fair. Offerings such as meat loaf, broiled chicken and pot roast were not our idea of 'elegant dining'. The crowd was very old. Persons in our group were 50's and 60's so we were not especially young but we were bored to tears with the ship activities. The shows were terrible, the ship was deserted after dinner (we had late sitting so we were out by 10:30 at the latest) There was no night life at all. Even the casino was empty.

After that cruise we swore we would not go on HAL again. We love Princess and Celebrity. RCCl a close second with Carnival bringing up the rear. I must add this about our Carnival cruises.........we expected them to be rowdy and filled with wild kids and neither was true. The ship was loaded with fun people and the kids on board were well tended by either parents or Camp Carnival staff.

Judie