HAL Mariner tries Majestic Princess, what we liked, what we didn't

[Greysandy]

We are 7 days from being 4 star mariner’s with HAL and are very satisfied with them, but tried the Majestic Princess last week because 4 friends were going with us and had chosen Princess. There are many similarities and differences between the two. Here are some of my comments on the positives and negatives of each.

Princess outshines HAL on these:

COFFEE!! It was so much easier to get good coffee. It was quickly and efficiently prepared at the International Café, even with a long line. Cappucino also available at the buffet, by walking into the bakery hallway. Several bars also have expresso or cappuccino available throughout the day. I have waited quite a while to get coffee at the Crow’s Nest, and waited for it to open in the morning.

Croissants are freshly baked each morning and throughout the mornings. The almond croissants were my favorite.

The ease of the Medallion, unlocking our room door as we approached, being able to track and locate anyone in your travel group at any time, being able to retrieve ship photos instantly and select the best ones, and being able to order drinks (or coffee) to your exact location was definitely a game changer.

Bars and food venues are open the full hours posted and don’t close early.

Allegro’s sit down no charge specialty pizza restaurant was fabulous.

Zumba class in the open air basketball court was a blast!

Fitness center was newer, cleaner and bigger.

Veranda room design was efficient with open closet and smaller bathroom, making for more walking space in the room. But there was no loveseat, and the beds seemed to be an RV Queen rather than true Queen.

The production shows were higher quality with fabulous singers who did some amazing opera.

Since most people had the drink package, there was no hassle if one person ordered two drinks at one time and brought one to their partner.

The reasons we will still remain committed to HAL:

The wrap-around Promenade walking deck. This is an absolute must have for me. It felt so claustrophobic to be on such a large ship but not be able to do some nice walking each morning and evening. The small walking lap on the Sports deck on the Majestic Princess was tiny and only 3 ft wide in several sections.

BB King’s and all of the other live music on HAL is just more to my liking. I did not care for the multimedia technology offerings at the pool.

The wine pairing (and beer pairing lunch we had on an Alaskan cruise) dinners are exceptional and rival high end tasting menu dinners we’ve had on land.

Many more craft cocktail offerings, cocktail classes. Several drinks that I now make at parties at our house were ones we tasted first on a HAL ship. Princess was limited to standard recipes except for Good Spirits at Sea, where a special menu was offered at that bar on some afternoons.

Things that were pretty much comparable:

The dining room food, buffet food, and Pinnacle/Crowne Grill steakhouse. I did not try Bistro Sur le Mer or Harmony on our recent cruise due to poor reviews from my friends. I do love Cannaletto and Rudi’s Sur le Mer on HAL. Our recent service on the Majestic Princess was better than prior dining room experiences on HAL, but my guess is that was due to the fact that the ship was fully staffed but only at 45% capacity. We are sailing on the Koningsdam in December and can compare then since it seems HAL has also moved away from the early and late seating and will have Dine your way.

Pools and hot tubs, as well as the thermal suite. Both cost $219/week per couple and had heated chairs and giant uncrowded hot tub with unique seats and jets.

Cooking shows, crew chats, game shows. Since none of these are all that interesting to me after doing many over the years, they seem fine for both lines.

The other evening entertainment such as comics, and featured musicians.

Major disappointment with Princess:

The Chef’s Table dining experience. For $115, we really expected different food than the regular dining room, but it was basically the same and even the same lukewarm temperature. No flavor, no interesting recipes, flavors or sauces. We were literally served the lobster risotto entrée from the night before. The main dish was just 4 proteins (filet mignon, lamb chop, shrimp and scallops) simply grilled and put on the plate with potato cubes and some carrots and beets cut into spheres. The service and experience was fun but the food was a complete let down other than the beautiful designs of the dessert in a ruby slipper, and the sorbet with a sugar swan.

Overall, we really enjoyed our Princess cruise, but we are still really looking forward to doing the same itinerary (for the 6^th time) on the Koningsdam in a month.

[srpilo]

Solid take, thanks for your open minded report

[cheeseclan]

Thanks for that.   Shame you didn’t try Sur La Mer on the Majestic as it was fabulous.  Thought it had some of the best food on our 11/6 cruise.

[capriccio]

@GreysandyThanks for your comparison.  Since your Princess cruise was post-covid and your HAL experience is pre-covid, it would be interesting to hear if there have been any obvious changes in HAL's offereings for better or worse in your opinion after your upcoming Koningsdam cruise.  Enjoy!

[geoherb]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. My favorite part of our HAL cruises has been the culinary hostess and her activities. I love all the cooking demos, trivias, and other events. For me, HAL is not as strong as Princess at having a variety of activities. Our last HAL cruise had just the CD, the culinary hostess, a port lecturer, and the DJ doing all the activities. I do like the quirky guest entertainers on HAL ships. Princess seems to book comics, magicians, and generic singers for their cruises. I look at prices on both lines and will book HAL if there is a significant savings over Princess. I hate to give up my Princess perks.

[iamaqt2]

Thank you for the comparison.  I've sailed both lines many times as I'm based in Seattle and have done multiple repositioning cruises on both lines.  I've also sailed both lines for 7 day cruises.  HAL to Alaska, and Princess to Mexico.  
My personal opinion is that both lines are very similar in food offerings.  
Rooms are better on HAL.
Evening entertainment wins hands down for me on Princess.  Multiple venues with shows going, not just the theater.  LIve music in most venues, and dancing til late night.
The age demographic on HAL shuts the ship down at 10 pm, 11 at the latest.  And I love late night entertainment.
Princess has the International Cafe open 24 hours.  HAL has nothing going for the late night crowd, except room service. And even Princess room service menu is better.  Sometimes you need to cure the late night drunchies with food and waiting 30-45 minutes for room service is a hard NOPE.

[JVilleGal]

Frequent HAL cruiser here and am booked on Majestic in Feb will be interesting to see what I think. We have not been on Princess in many years. Have a Viking booked this summer and a Australia/NZ on HAL soon after. Looking forward to every one of them. Curious about the Medallion and am reading up on that Tech Tool. 

[iamaqt2]

3 minutes ago, JVilleGal said:

Frequent HAL cruiser here and am booked on Majestic in Feb will be interesting to see what I think. We have not been on Princess in many years. Have a Viking booked this summer and a Australia/NZ on HAL soon after. Looking forward to every one of them. Curious about the Medallion and am reading up on that Tech Tool. 

Depending on your age demographic Princess will appeal or not.  They're moving toward being very tech centric, so 50+ will do well with them, but 80+ will struggle.   I'm not quite 50, have sailed both multiple times and am a huge Princess fan over HAL.  But HAL still does a fantastic job with customer service, which other lines are struggling with.
I just can't get past the ship shutdown time of 10 pm on HAL.  There's a reason that a certain demographic chooses them over other lines.

[caribill]

On 11/27/2021 at 10:03 PM, Greysandy said:

Major disappointment with Princess:

The Chef’s Table dining experience. For $115, we really expected different food than the regular dining room, but it was basically the same and even the same lukewarm temperature. No flavor, no interesting recipes, flavors or sauces. We were literally served the lobster risotto entrée from the night before.

 

Others have posted the same disappointment with the Chef's Table recently.

 

Pre-pandemic, the Chef's Table was really special with food that was quite different from the regular dining room product.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

The age demographic on HAL shuts the ship down at 10 pm, 11 at the latest.  And I love late night entertainment.
 

 

3 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I just can't get past the ship shutdown time of 10 pm on HAL. 

 

Then you have not been on the newer HAL ships where some music entertainment events start as late as 11:30 PM and where the Lido buffet reopens again from 10:30 PM to 11:30 PM with a late dinner type menu.

[kapear]

Thank you for the comparison. We have sailed both lines in the past. We most recently sailed(November 2021) HAL on the Konigsdam and will be sailing on The Enchanted Princess in 3 weeks. We look forward to being able to compare the two. BTW, you can now view your photos on HAL Navigator app. 

[moodyb1]

Interested in your thoughts about the Hollywood Pool Club/Conservatory. The Majestic Princes is the only one in its class of ships that has an atrium pool. For me, it's a big plus when I go sailing. I'm Elite on Princess and prefer the older ships that have the atrium pools. I really enjoyed the Majestic and we sail her again in March on a California Coastal. We also sail on Celebrity because of the atrium pools.

 

Arlene

[cruisingrob21]

We bounce between Princess and HAL.  The last 4 voyages we have taken were on Koningsdam (2017), Ruby Princess (2018), Amsterdam (2019, RIP), and Sky Princess (early 2020), Majestic (later this month), and Eurodam (summer 2022)

 

To echo a few of the points above, we like Princess because:

• There is always food at intl cafe or marketplace, no odd hours, no waiting for roomservice.  From midnight to 6am the marketplace is closed, but thankfully intl cafe is still going.  Wish that HAL would just leave the buffet open with a station or two open from 6am to midnight.  More food choices overall.
• Usually a fair amount of activities going on for a variety of activity tastes
• Comedians on Princess seem to be a bit better
• More hottubs and pools typically.
• Activiation of the Piazza with events and shows is nice, but on most ships its hard to find room if you come in late
• The medallion is pretty slick, we don't use all the features of it, but its nice to find each other easily - especially in a dark, crowded theater (usually we can get pretty close to locating others in the party)
• Captains Circle Benefits
• Visibility of cruise staff
• Dining rooms of the Sapphire and Diamond

 

We like HAL because:

• The quieter areas of the ship are nice - many more "nooks and crannies" to relax with a book/tablet
• Cabins are generally a bit bigger
• The cooking demos are nice
• The food is just a smidge better in our opinion
• The ships are less "cookie cutter" and we've found the captains provide more discussion on the voyage.
• Crows nest is really a nice spot, and on the R and S class ships, the Library area was really a primo spot.
• The musical 
• Ports on more of the "milk run" itineraries have some better variation like Sitka and Icy Strait Pt in AK.
• Covered pools
• Overall, more modestly sized ships
• Value - since we travel with kids part of the time, we can usually get a better deal on HAL.  Kids seem to enjoy the HAL clubs more and there seem to be more kids on the HAL voyages we have gone on recently!
• Impressive main dining rooms

 

We cant make up our mind which is better with regards to:

• Service - HAL might have just a hair of an edge here, but generally we've had awesome service on both lines
• Excursions - they use the same vendors mostly
• Which brand we like coming back to more after a day in port 🙂

I will say this - while Princess has done a nice job with their Royal Class ships feeling less crowded than some of the super grand class ships, there are still an additional 600 people on board.  The HAL ships really hit that perfect balance and rarely feel crowded.  I would argue that the K-dam and other pinnacle ships may be "too big" for the 3, 4, and 5 star mariners, Princess really should take note as those ships are actually very similar to the original grand class ships in terms of functionality and space.  Any long time Princess fans looking to try HAL, definitely give a thought to HALs newer ships - the 2 deck lido pool is very nice as is the music walk and some of the performance spaces onboard.  Additionally, Princess fans of the Coral and original version of the Island should consider HAL.

 

[Greysandy]

On 11/29/2021 at 11:39 AM, cruisingrob21 said:

• Crows nest is really a nice spot, and on the R and S class ships, the Library area was really a primo spot.
• Ports on more of the "milk run" itineraries have some better variation like Sitka and Icy Strait Pt in AK.
• Overall, more modestly sized ships

 

Yes, thanks for pointing out a few more reasons we really like HAL. One more is that we like to rent a cabana for the trip as our own personal outdoor space. It's a really good deal especially compared to getting an ocean view or interior with it, versus a veranda.

[Greysandy]

On 11/29/2021 at 10:57 AM, moodyb1 said:

Interested in your thoughts about the Hollywood Pool Club/Conservatory. The Majestic Princes is the only one in its class of ships that has an atrium pool. For me, it's a big plus when I go sailing. I'm Elite on Princess and prefer the older ships that have the atrium pools. I really enjoyed the Majestic and we sail her again in March on a California Coastal. We also sail on Celebrity because of the atrium pools.

 

Arlene

I did actually quite like it due to the quiet and solitude compared to the main pool, but since it was warmer weather, I spent most time outside. I had envisioned a more "magical" vibe from the online photos, when in reality it was just a nice indoor pool with plastic plant topiaries. They did have small cabanas in there that on a full ship would probably be rented out, but weren't this time. An indoor cabana does not appeal to me. Also, Elite members get an exclusive happy hour with appetizers in there each evening.

[moodyb1]

9 hours ago, Greysandy said:

I did actually quite like it due to the quiet and solitude compared to the main pool, but since it was warmer weather, I spent most time outside. I had envisioned a more "magical" vibe from the online photos, when in reality it was just a nice indoor pool with plastic plant topiaries. They did have small cabanas in there that on a full ship would probably be rented out, but weren't this time. An indoor cabana does not appeal to me. Also, Elite members get an exclusive happy hour with appetizers in there each evening.

I was on the Majestic from Sydney to Singapore (actually we had to stop in Perth because of Covid), but it was a full ship. The cabanas are free. Of course, "first come, first serve", but we never had trouble finding one. On the open sea, I find the weather always too cold for me to be outdoors, plus I have had skin cancer, so an indoor pool is always a plus for me. It is a plus to be an Elite member, but we usually do not indulge in the Happy Hour. It ruins our appetite for dinner and our diets! I have never been on HAL, but friends of ours love it. 

 

Thanks,

Arlene

[AVCruzers]

We only walked through the Hollywood Pool Club area to get to the Conservatory area each afternoon on our way to the Elite Happy Hour.  The very strong chlorine odor was overwhelming.  I can't imagine spending much time in that area due to that smell.  

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

[moodyb1]

14 hours ago, AVCruzers said:

We only walked through the Hollywood Pool Club area to get to the Conservatory area each afternoon on our way to the Elite Happy Hour.  The very strong chlorine odor was overwhelming.  I can't imagine spending much time in that area due to that smell.  

When we were on the Majestic, there was no strong chlorine odor. Maybe this is something new. I'll have to see what it is like when I sail again in March. I agree that I would not like to spend a lot of time there with that smell.

[cruisingrob21]

Maybe they had just rechlorinated the pool?  The offgassing of chlorine takes 20-40 minutes if I recall.  Might even kill airborne Covid 😷

[jean s]

Looking into giving HAL a try so thanks for your comparison.  Nicely written!

[coopco]

Thank you, Greysandy, for your insightful commentary. We have never tried HAL but next year my husband and I will both be retired and looking to spend our kids inheritance. I'm sure a HAL cruise is in our future and I appreciate your comparison. And thanks to everyone who contributed. It has been very helpful to read your comments.

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for the comments.

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for sharing!

 

Cheers

[susancruzs]

Enjoyed reading these posts.  Haven't tried HAL, but do check their itineraries.  It seems like they would be a good fit, if I find an itinerary I like.