HAL vs Celebrity vs Princess to Alaska!

[Jammu2]

Greetings!

 

Our first three post-covid cruises just happened to be on different lines to Alaska! We were on Discovery Princess in May, Celebrity Solstice in August, and Koningsdam this past week. We had similar amenities on all three ships - balcony cabins, specialty dining packages, have-it-all type packages, etc. So this gives me a pretty good idea about where we want to spend our cruise dollars going forward.

 

Since this is the HAL forum, I will tell you all up front that our recent cruise on Koningsdam was my favorite. I will update this post when my formal review gets published, but I did want to make note of some comparisons for the forum readers.

 

Food:

 

Food is subjective, and I don't think our party of 4 would all be in agreement with my assessments. But food is very important to me and it can make or break a cruise for me. With that said…

 

Buffet - 1) HAL 2) Celebrity 3) Princess

Main Dining Room - 1) HAL 2) Celebrity 3) Princess

Specialty Restaurants - 1) Princess 2) HAL 3) Celebrity

Burgers - none of them had a decent burger bar

Pizza - Princess

Cafe - 1) Celebrity 2) HAL 3) Princess

 

I say more about the food in my formal review.

 

Itinerary:

 

Hands down, our itinerary on Koningsdam is one of the top itineraries in Alaska. Our Celebrity and Princess cruises did not do Glacier Bay National Park, which is a must-see for any bucket list Alaska cruise. Also, since our Koningsdam cruise left and returned to Vancouver BC, we did not need to do a Jones Act stop in Victoria (and I like Victoria!) so that is basically like an extra day in Alaska. Plus, starting and ending in Vancouver, you sail on the east side of Vancouver Island, which makes for a much more interesting sea day.

 

Ships:

 

I am partial to the Celebrity S Class of ships. They are scheduled to be Revolutionized at some point and I hope they dont ruin them. But they are in a kind of shabby condition at the moment, sorry to say. Discovery Princess is brand new, and a pretty nice looking ship. Koningsdam is my favorite of the three. Good size, nice spaces, very nicely appointed cabins. 

 

A bonus of Koningsdam (and also the Vista and Signature classes of ships) is the retractable roof over the main pool area. This is a great feature for Alaska and gives you a lot of additional options for hanging out on cold or rainy days. 

 

My only criticism of the ship would be the Buffet area. It is much too small for the number of passengers, and the tables and chairs are way too close together.

 

Staff:

 

The Discovery staff was pretty green and I will just leave it at that. I felt the Koningsdam was understaffed. You couldn't get drinks at meals unless you actually got up to get them. I think it was 4 days before a single plate was ever cleared from our breakfast table up in the Buffet. We never saw the assistant waiter in the MDR. Our room steward was nice, but he seemed overwhelmed and our cabin did not get made up until mid afternoon. Then a couple hours later it was refreshed. He needn't have bothered. Celebrity seemed to have the most seasoned and competent service staff.

 

Entertainment: - 1) Celebrity 2) Princess 3) HAL

 

I did like the BB King Blues Band. They were pretty tight. I lived in Chicago for a time and the band would have fit right into any blues bar there.

 

Passengers:

 

Koningsdam had a pretty good mix. I think leaving from Canada, we had a lot more international passengers aboard than we had earlier in the season leaving from Seattle. That said, there was a wide variety of ages and nationalities. I think the HAL passengers were more interested in the guest lectures and the various Alaska related activities, which I appreciate. 

 

Celebrity has more social activities, it seems to me. Also, there seems to be more drinking in the bars etc so if you like that scene you might not find it so much on HAL- though people seemed to be having a good time at all hours. Princess seemed to draw a younger crowd. I know HAL has a reputation for older passengers but honestly I did not see a big difference in the demographics from Celebrity.

 

In Sum!

 

Great cruise on the Koningsdam, and we are very lucky to have been able to cruise 3 times to Alaska during the 2022 season. My spouse and I are planning another HAL Alaska cruise for next year, possibly Eurodam out of Seattle, and despite some misgivings, we have a Princess New England cruise booked for Fall of 2023. We would certainly sail any of the three lines again!

 

[oaktreerb]

Thanks for your interesting comparison.  Koningsdam is my favorite HAL ship.  We do not eat in the Lido.  The Grand Dutch Cafe meets our needs for a quick lunch and we eat breakfast and dinner in the MDR or Club Orange.  We’ve been on a lot of different Alaska itineraries with HAL through the years.  

[robotpony]

52 minutes ago, Jammu2 said:

Burgers - none of them had a decent burger bar

 

For what it's worth, I was unexpectedly impressed by the HA Dive-In burger. Burgers can be a divisive issue, but I appreciated the simple smash-style (think In&Out). The fries were adequate, but I'd probably skip them next time we cruise HA.

[CruiserBruce]

Interesting read. Just an FYI, it's the PVSA that requires the foreign stop for roundtrips out of a US port, not the Jones Act, which is about cargo.

[Roz]

Nice, even handed review.  Thank you for taking the time to write it and post it.  I found the service on my March cruise on the Rotterdam to be lacking, first time that's happened on a HAL cruise.

[zhuangcorp]

Why was Celebrity entertainment better than Princess? And why was Princess entertainment better than HAL?

[curmudgeon98]

I tend to view these three lines as more similar than different, especially for Alaska.  There can be strengths and weaknesses to each ship and itinerary.  Taking the east side of Vancouver Island is definitely a plus, but so is starting or ending in Seward (for visiting Kenai Fjords).  Glacier Bay can be nice, but if you get a socked-in rainy day, you won't see much.

 

My own experiences have put HAL MDR in third place (though still quite adequate), with Celebrity and Princess doing better.  Similar order with entertainment (though that can vary from ship to ship).  Princess ships can get a little large/crowded for my taste.  Celebrity pricing seems to be higher, though prices are all over the map these days.

 

We've got three+ weeks on HAL scheduled for this fall (casino offers).  We'll see if that pulls us into being HAL regulars, or pushes us away towards other lines.  I suspect we will continue to be in the "uncommitted" camp, though.  

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, Jammu2 said:

Since this is the HAL forum, I will tell you all up front that our recent cruise on Koningsdam was my favorite

 

Thank you for an interesting mini-review.

 

2 hours ago, Jammu2 said:

Buffet - 1) HAL 2) Celebrity 3) Princess

Main Dining Room - 1) HAL 2) Celebrity 3) Princess

Specialty Restaurants - 1) Princess 2) HAL 3) Celebrity

Burgers - none of them had a decent burger bar

Pizza - Princess

Cafe - 1) Celebrity 2) HAL 3) Princess

 

Agree with your ranking of Buffet, MDR, Pizza, and Specialty Restaurants.  Disagree with Cafe (if you are considering the Explorations Cafe on HAL with the International Cafe on Princess.  Princess is my #1 and HAL is #2.  Burgers?  Dive-In is great in my opinion and better than the other two by a wide margin.

 

2 hours ago, Jammu2 said:

Itinerary:

 

The best Alaska itinerary visits Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier.  Southbound Princess cruises usually do so.  

 

2 hours ago, Jammu2 said:

Entertainment: - 1) Celebrity 2) Princess 3) HAL

 

Have not sailed on Celebrity in Alaska, but, for their Caribbean cruises, I agree with your ranking.  

 

Alaska oriented programming:  in my opinion, Princess exceeds HAL by a small margin.  

[Mary229]

6 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

Dive-In is great in my opinion and better than the other two by a wide

Ummmm, you might be slightly disappointed when you next cruise.  It’s good but it’s not quite as good.   The fries are still great, alas still no onion rings

 

thanks @Jammu2 for the review

[rkacruiser]

34 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Ummmm, you might be slightly disappointed when you next cruise.  It’s good but it’s not quite as good.   The fries are still great, alas still no onion rings

 

thanks @Jammu2 for the review

 

How can they make the Cannonball less than what it has been?  And, the Nathan's Hot Dogs?  

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

How can they make the Cannonball less than what it has been?  And, the Nathan's Hot Dogs?  

I didn’t try the hotdog this time but the burger was just one notch down.  I need to do some more experimentation before I could leave a sound review😁

[Florida_gal_50]

The dive in is so overrated.  If the onion rings taste like they do in the pinnacle be happy they don’t have them.  They taste like nothing, no flavour whatsoever. 

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

Disagree with Cafe (if you are considering the Explorations Cafe on HAL with the International Cafe on Princess

 

They were on the Koningsdam so it would be the Grand Dutch Cafe, which is far superior to the IC on Princess.

 

Editing to add:

The pizza on Princess was fantastic.  (Alfredo’s)

We tried Princess’ burger bar and it went in the garbage.  HAL’s Dive In beat them by a landslide.  HAL’s fries used to be fantastic.  Last time they were boring flash frozen ones.  Forgot to try the ones at the Grand Dutch Cafe.  Apparently they get rave reviews.

Edited September 27, 2022 by *Miss G*

[robotpony]

35 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

Forgot to try the ones at the Grand Dutch Cafe.  Apparently they get rave reviews.

 

They were good (especially the sauces), but they did look a lot like frozen steak-cut fries the last time we were on the Koningsdam. 

[Jammu2]

Itinerary: I've done the southbound on Princess and indeed it is the best. That's why I qualified the Vancouver round trip!

 

Entertainment. Very subjective. I thought Celebrity had more (and better) musicians throughout the ship at all hours not only in the evening. But I guess I should disclose that we did not attend the big shows on either Princess or Celebrity as we were traveling with our older parents and did not want to risk large gatherings.

 

I liked the cafes on all three ships, since we don't drink alcohol we spend more time in them than other passengers might. I didn't really think the International Cafe on Princess was that distinctive. Explorations was great but being on 12 forward we only made it up there after the gym. Nice, tho. The Grand Dutch might have been my first choice but I just think al Bacio has an edge.

[curmudgeon98]

One thing that I count as a major plus for HAL is the forward observation lounges.  Depending on the itinerary, I really enjoy relaxing up there and watching the world go by (usually with a book).  Sometimes the space gets invaded by trivia or (gag!) karaoke, but I just move on for a while if that happens.  Celebrity has dropped these on their newest ships, and Princess has very few, if any, across the fleet. 

 

 

 

 

[PROCRUISE]

Thanks for your very objective review. Also, in my opinion, if you do a land/sea trip to Alaska,  The Holland America McKinley Explorer Train is vastly superior to others!

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

the Grand Dutch Cafe, which is far superior to the IC on Princess.

 

I would rank it a tie inasmuch as the IC menu on Princess changes during the day.  There is no doubt that some of the Grand Dutch Cafe menu items are, in and of themselves, extremely good and not available in the IC.  

 

22 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

The pizza on Princess was fantastic.  (Alfredo’s)

We tried Princess’ burger bar and it went in the garbage.  HAL’s Dive In beat them by a landslide.  

 

Alfredo's?  YES!  Even the ships that did not have Alfredo's, my taste buds enjoyed the pizza.  Dive-in?  The best that I have tried.  Better, I think, that Carnival's Guy's facility.  And, many rave about their burgers and fries.  Dive-in's fries have been much better than Guy's.  

[Florida_gal_50]

I’ve had Alfredo’s pizza once.  I remember it being so so.  I think Hal’s New York pizza is better than that.

[vino100]

Thanks for this review. We will be on the konsingdam in May. 
was club HAl operating? 

[sunviking90]

We remembered Dive In being SO good on previous HAL cruises including the last prepandemic in fall of 2019. I loved the fries and would sometimes order them alone. On our recent Zuiderdam cruise we went there first thing and I was very disappointed. Burger seemed to lack flavour, fries were soggy, and bland. Not at all as we remembered.

Thank you to OP for an interesting comparison. We bounce around between the 3 and they all have their strengths and weaknesses for sure.

Edited September 28, 2022 by sunviking90

[NMTraveller]

22 hours ago, curmudgeon98 said:

One thing that I count as a major plus for HAL is the forward observation lounges.  Depending on the itinerary, I really enjoy relaxing up there and watching the world go by (usually with a book).  Sometimes the space gets invaded by trivia or (gag!) karaoke, but I just move on for a while if that happens.  Celebrity has dropped these on their newest ships, and Princess has very few, if any, across the fleet. 

 

 

 

 

Yep.  I am not a fan of the Celebrity E-class.  No front facing views unless you book a suite in the retreat.  I missed that on my Edge sailing.

[Jammu2]

3 hours ago, vino100 said:

Thanks for this review. We will be on the konsingdam in May. 
was club HAl operating? 

Yes. 

[Jammu2]

Burgers - yes as late as 2019 we enjoyed the Dive In. But my husband, the cheeseburger connoisseur, was pretty disappointed in the quality this last cruise. The fries were ok but I don't eat many French fries.

[Jammu2]

23 hours ago, curmudgeon98 said:

One thing that I count as a major plus for HAL is the forward observation lounges.  Depending on the itinerary, I really enjoy relaxing up there and watching the world go by (usually with a book).  Sometimes the space gets invaded by trivia or (gag!) karaoke, but I just move on for a while if that happens.  Celebrity has dropped these on their newest ships, and Princess has very few, if any, across the fleet. 

 

 

 

 

This was one of our criticisms of the new Discovery Princess.