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Thank you HAL for bumping us, we LOVE Princess!

Wilcoam

By Wilcoam,
in Holland America Line

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Wilcoam

Wilcoam

Posted
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'bout 8 months ago, 3 of us, decided to take our 'older' Mom's on a carribean cruise. We choose HAL, because our Mom's age fits nicely with the average HAL pax, and past HAL exp have been wonderful. (We mostly sail X n HAL)

 

We confirmed 3 aft balconies on the Zuidy. 6 weeks later, HAL bumped us for a 'lesbian' charter. We had to switch to the Princess Star.

 

Thank-You HAL...

 

The Star is a far more interesting ship than anything we've sailed on HAL. The pools and hot tubs are open 24 HOURS. The disco is an architectual marvel, and it's CROWDED with a much younger pax. The buffet is open ALL NIGHT LONG. There's a choice of NINE dinner entree's at every seating. The food is just as good as HAL, and better than X. The dress code is far more relaxed. The exposed balconies with all that gorgeous sun are far superiour than that of similar HAL n X ships. The mid-ship Penthouse has a seriously HUGE balcony similar to HAL's Zuidy Aft one's...

 

The embark was 10 min max (our last HAL trip, boarding in Lisbon was 2 1/2 hrs). never encountered a line-up. There's fewer pa announcements on Princess than HAL.

 

Sure, HAL is a great product, and there's things about HAL that are superiour than Princess, for example the attendivness of dinner service, butler service (none on Princess) but now having finally tried Princess, it's IMO overall an EQUAL to BETTER LINE, with EQUAL to BETTER SHIPS, with a much BETTER on board VIBE n ENERGY, with EQUAL to BETTER SUITES/BALCONIES...

 

IMO, Princess is just as PREMUIM, and in our opinion, for what we like on a cruseline/ship, a slightly better product than HAL or X.

 

jc n tkc

toronto

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hammybee

hammybee

Posted
Posted
'bout 8 months ago, 3 of us, decided to take our 'older' Mom's on a carribean cruise. We choose HAL, because our Mom's age fits nicely with the average HAL pax, and past HAL exp have been wonderful. (We mostly sail X n HAL)

 

We confirmed 3 aft balconies on the Zuidy. 6 weeks later, HAL bumped us for a 'lesbian' charter. We had to switch to the Princess Star.

 

Thank-You HAL...

 

The Star is a far more interesting ship than anything we've sailed on HAL. The pools and hot tubs are open 24 HOURS. The disco is an architectual marvel, and it's CROWDED with a much younger pax. The buffet is open ALL NIGHT LONG. There's a choice of NINE dinner entree's at every seating. The food is just as good as HAL, and better than X. The dress code is far more relaxed. The exposed balconies with all that gorgeous sun are far superiour than that of similar HAL n X ships. The mid-ship Penthouse has a seriously HUGE balcony similar to HAL's Zuidy Aft one's...

 

The embark was 10 min max (our last HAL trip, boarding in Lisbon was 2 1/2 hrs). never encountered a line-up. There's fewer pa announcements on Princess than HAL.

 

Sure, HAL is a great product, and there's things about HAL that are superiour than Princess, for example the attendivness of dinner service, butler service (none on Princess) but now having finally tried Princess, it's IMO overall an EQUAL to BETTER LINE, with EQUAL to BETTER SHIPS, with a much BETTER on board VIBE n ENERGY, with EQUAL to BETTER SUITES/BALCONIES...

 

IMO, Princess is just as PREMUIM, and in our opinion, for what we like on a cruseline/ship, a slightly better product than HAL or X.

 

jc n tkc

toronto

 

First off, does it matter who chartered the ship when you get bumped?

 

On a better note, I am always happy to read when a pax finds a cruise line to call home. I sail almost everything except Princess for reasons I do not know. Some day, I will fix this. In any event, tell me how the Movie Under the Stars thing went. In Greece, it's very popular to have open air roof top movies.These are English language movies, dubbed in Greek. The locals eat, drink and merry make throughout the movie and watching the people is better than the movie, any movie. And some how I imagined this is how the Princess Movie under the Stars thing is. So, please tell.

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Navy_Chief

Navy_Chief

Posted
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It sounds like you had a good time. It doesn't really matter which line anyone sails on as long as you enjoy it. Never did a cruise on Princess; from what you relayed in your post just wouldn't work for me, I'm not a night owl at sea (except when the ship starts pitching and rolling +/- 20 degrees :D ) so late night eating and Discos are not for me. My wife and I do enjoy the not so enormous crowd dancing in the Crow's Nest for a bit after the show when the next day is a sea day. Mostly I am there to relax away from my work environment, cutting the strings completely. I do bring my laptop to write "Live From" postings here but that's part of the experience that I like to share with my fellow CCrs. The rest of the electronic "Wiz-Bang" toys stay home. At any rate, glad you found something you like; sounds like your moving over to the Princess boards; happy cruising.

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caviargal

caviargal

Posted
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It's nice that you had a great cruise.

 

I have not been on Princess since 1991 but do want to try the Tahitian one day. Large ships like the Star are not for me. I don't care for the exposed balconies, and the number of passengers for the size of the ship does not appeal. And, the casual part is the nail in the coffin; I like old fashioned cruising. Bring on the dress codes and formality.

 

I do agree that a busy disco would be fun.

 

It is nice that there is something for all of us:)

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newmexicoNita

newmexicoNita

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It is great you found a new line after getting bumped. I will add, it doesn't make any difference what group had chartered, it is the same: you got bumped. In case you don't know this, what happened to you has happened to many on other lines including Princess. That being said, there is a reason for so many lines, just like restaurants and hotels, we all have our favorietes. Hope you enjoy all your cruises as much as you did your Princess cruise. NMNita

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happy cruzer

happy cruzer

Posted
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So if the idea was to get a match for the Moms, I sure hope they enjoyed the 24 hour buffet, disco, the casual dress, the Vibe and sunny balconies. sorry your post just sounded like a split personality. But I know what you mean it is nice to get a few changes that work out for the best. We will try Princess next and also hope to enjoy some of the differences. thanks for the report.:)

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Nghthawke

Nghthawke

Posted
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That's what I was wondering too. How did the 'older' moms like the cruise? A crowded disco and 24-hour buffet, relaxed dress code, etc. doesn't equal happy camper for hubby and me. I'm happy you had a wonderful cruise on Princess but I'm happy HAL is there for those of us who enjoy a quieter ship.

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sail7seas

sail7seas

Posted
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I think it's grand you found the perfect place for you.

Thanks for letting us know that you are happy.

 

 

Different strokes for different folks, as they say. About the last thing in the world I want on a ship is a pool that is open 24 hours. That is no big draw for me. Nor would 24 hour Lido interest us.....Last time we were on Princess, it wasn't very good at 12 noon so having it open at 3 A.M. certainly would not tempt us.

 

Did you miss the wonderful HAL crew? How about the beautiful teak decks? All the lovely flowers? The wrap around Promenade Deck. HAL's wonderful art throughout all their ships, Cloth towels in the rest rooms instead of coarse paper? If the product they offer at Princess is more to your liking, that is where you should cruise.

 

Hope you have loads of fabulous cruises on Princess or wherever. Travel safely.

 

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Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

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Princess is a very good line! (only thing I didn't care for on the Dawn were the tiny "soap the walls and do the hokey pokey" showers) Did the mom's learn the hustle in the disco?;) There is a cruise line out there for all of us. Glad you found yours! Happy sails to you!:)

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legalslave

legalslave

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I've been on HAL 3 times and Princess 3 times. They both offer something I like and something I don't like. The don't likes are extremely minor. They are 2 completely different sailing experiences to me. I have enjoyed every cruise I have been on. Please tell us how your Mom liked Princess.

 

Diane

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FinelyRetired

FinelyRetired

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We are very new cruisers and find this discussion regarding ambience on HAL and Princess fascinating, despite the fact that the original poster's motivation for starting the thread appears to be a lingering animosity toward HAL for having gotten "bumped."

 

We've cruised but 2 times. Both times.....it was itinerary 1st, travelers in party 2nd that determined the line:

 

1. Sapphire Princess - Alaska

2. Amsterdam-Panama Canal

 

We loved BOTH cruises and, BOTH lines. Ambience very different on both. Equally enjoyable.

 

Sapphire Princess was perfect since our cruisemates, son & fiance were 30 somethings. We really enjoyed the "nightlife" at "Explorer's" & "Skywalkers." We were in bed early.....they roared on until the wee hours. "Anytime" dining was easy for a group of 4 to decide on and the "dress code" just fine. I thought the staff was quite adequate. I thought the ship looked like a "shopping cart." But, I spent a lot of time on each stair landing fore and aft looking at some very nice art! Nicely appointed rooms. Both young and old were happy.

 

Amsterdam was different in serveral regrads. It looks elegant both inside & out. We were proud to be getting on and off. No young folk with us, but even the 60+ DH worried at embarkation that there "had best be a bunch of body bags" to carry off many passengers who looked to him that they were on their "last legs." We loved meeting these people on this cruise. SO well-travelled, exceptionally fun to encounter, chatty & interesting. Crows Nest crowd was sparse at night......but, looking back, we FINALLY got a spot on the floor for a romantic, slow dance. And, there were a bunch of us "youngers" who had no trouble keeping the action going after midnight if we felt like it. Crew was obviously better trained in conversation, "small talk" and name-recognition. Very much more upscale. We did NOT mind at all and even enjoyed the "forced discipline" of traditional dining. Had to watch the clock a bit during cocktails. Only slightly, but noticeably better dressed cruisers. Loved our tablemates and enjoyed having a "constant" dining/wine steward who learned our preferences.

 

Neither line earned very high marks for "embarkation" which was tedious on both.

 

All that said. We are booked on 2 more cruises......both, as is probably true for MOST cruisers, are, again ininerary-driven. Next is Grand Princess (ANOTHER "shopping cart") to Brisish Isles(itinerary includes Wales) on which we know we'll be quite happy & content. And, the next after that is on HAL Prinsendam to the Baltic/St Petersburg which we know will be terrific as well in its own right.

 

It's hard for us to understand how cruisers get so HUGELY loyal to one line over another. There are several quite acceptable lines to every destination you might want to visit?

 

Martha

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Sea King

Sea King

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Posted
'

 

We confirmed 3 aft balconies on the Zuidy. 6 weeks later, HAL bumped us for a 'lesbian' charter. We had to switch to the Princess Star.

 

Thank-You HAL...

 

and Thank you for sailing Princess:)

 

as mentioned by other posters, really didn't understand the significance of mentioning what group HAL had chartered the ship to .. would you have been less upset had it been a group of physicians?

 

hope you enjoy all your future cruises with "your kind of people":rolleyes:

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marco

marco

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We like both lines, too. We live in the northeast and if you're talking a Caribbean cruise in the winter.......it's 80 degress, the sun is out and I'm sitting by the pool drinking some foo-foo-shi-shi drink with a little pink umbrella in it..............I'm happy on ANY cruiseline!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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bepsf

bepsf

Posted
Posted
Whazzup with Rosie?? Does she have her own groups?

 

John--

Rosie is affiliated with R Family Vacations...

http://www.rfamilyvacations.com/

 

...about which HBO made an Emmy-nominated TV movie/documentary called "All Aboard"

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/allaboard/

 

(She's even got Gloria Estefan and Kathy Griffin on her cruise this month - Hmmm!)

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Copper10-8 "Live from...." Rare

Copper10-8

Posted
Posted
John--

 

Rosie is affiliated with R Family Vacations...

http://www.rfamilyvacations.com/

 

...about which HBO made an Emmy-nominated TV movie/documentary called "All Aboard"

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/allaboard/

 

(She's even got Gloria Estefan and Kathy Griffin on her cruise this month - Hmmm!)

 

Thank you Sir! Unlike Rosie, Gloria makes good music!;)

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Wilcoam

Wilcoam

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I am led to understand, cruiselines regularily bump pax for charters. Yes, it makes no difference as to what group does the bumping.

 

I run one of the most gay-friendly night clubs in north America. There's no homophobia here (lol), I apologize if anyone thought differently...

 

I'm simply noting that anytime a line, like HAL bumps Pax, especially one's that are loyal customers, and love to cruise, and we do not take their offers to move dates, but instead choose another line and ship to sail, sometimes that can result in a wonderfully new discovery of OTHER great lines and ships.

 

In this case, PRINCESS, and the Star.

 

As someone who previously loved sailing HAL and X, I'm just informing other pax, especially younger one's, that IMO Princess is up there with

X n HAL in the premuim cat, and is a line one should consider, if you get bumped, and/or HAL doesn't sail the itin you're looking for at any given time.

 

I'm also stating that our Mom's, whom I thought based on their age would have preffered the age mix, and elegance offered on HAL, in the end, and surprisingly so, enjoyed Princess more.

 

That's all folks...

jc

toronto

next up X Xpedition Sept 29 07

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