Caribbean Princess or HAL Westerdam?

[pniffer]

I have already asked advice about my upcoming November cruise and been bowled over by the good advice I get from fellow cruisers. I have made some decisions based on that advice but now find myself with a new dilemma.... Do I choose Caribbean Princess or HAL Westerdam for my cruise? I am going with a girlfriend, we are in our mid forties, she has never cruised before and I have. I enjoyed Noordam last year and the CC board suggested that with the facelift that Westerdam is enjoying this year, I may find she is very much like the Noordam. My dilemma is that I have never tried Princess, but many reviewers rave about the fleet. If I say that the food on a cruise is the most important factor, would anyone like to advise me on which ship I should choose? :confused:

[Mark]

the are both Carnival Companies and are both about the same caliber of cruise lines...if it were me, I would go with Princess for a better mix of passengers rather than the usual geriatric crowd on Holland America as well as Princess having the reputation for more and better onboard activities...but once again it all revolves around personal opinion.:cool:

[Desert Cruisers]

We have sailed multiple times on both Princess and Holland America. In fact, we have sailed on the Caribbean Princess and the Westerdam. I'm 53 and my husband is 61 so we are a little older than you but we are NOT "geriatric".

 

Each cruise line has positives and negatives. In general, Princess attracts a younger crowd than Holland America. However, the longer the cruise, the older the crowd regardless of which line you are on.

 

You mentioned that food is important to you. One's opinion of food is very subjective but I'll give you my view for what it is worth. We enjoy a wide range of cuisines and will try just about anything on a menu at least once. Food on both ships is a mixed bag - you will never go hungry but this is not "knock your socks off" food. There has definitely been a cutback on quality in order to hold down the basic price of a cruise. Princess does pastas well along with souffles, cold soups, escargot(appetizer) and scones at tea. Holland America presents their food in a nicer manner but it can be a little on the bland side. HA's strength is the buffet which has a better selection and presentation than Princess. We also enjoy the nasi goreng (Indonesian/Malayasian dish) served on Dutch night. On Holland America (as of December 06), specialty coffee (e.g., espresso, cappucino, etc.) is free in the dining room while on Princess you must pay for these beverages in the dining room.

 

As for service, both provide good service although, in some ways, Holland America pays more attention to the little things. For example, robes are in the cabin when you arrive not 1-2 days later as on Princess. The room service menu (as of December 06) is more extensive on Holland America.

 

Regarding activities, we have always found enough to do on both cruise lines. A lot depends upon what you like to do. We enjoy dancing, trivia, working out, lectures, movies, etc. We have participated in some of the contests held on board as a way to meet other passengers. This is a great way to connect with "younger" cruisemates on Holland America.

 

Hope that this is helpful.:) :) :)

[momofmeg]

the are both Carnival Companies and are both about the same caliber of cruise lines...if it were me, I would go with Princess for a better mix of passengers rather than the usual geriatric crowd on Holland America as well as Princess having the reputation for more and better onboard activities...but once again it all revolves around personal opinion.:cool:

 

Mark, the lines are owned by Carnival Corporation but that does not mean they are the same. That would not even be good business for the corporation to have lines that competed with each other. Princess is midway between Carnival and HAL to me.

 

You will see some 20 somethings on Princess but not as many as Carnival-you will see some older then 55 but not as many as HAL- I guess the average age would fall between 35 to 45, the food is a little more upscale on HAL but still Princess food was good.

 

Also Princess has a little more night life then HAL but not as much as Carnival.

[jerseygirl3]

We were huge Princess fans until we sailed Caribbean Princess. Staff was surly, ship was crowded and overrun with kids (this was in late September, a time we felt there would not be so many kids), food was mediocre, service was subpar, etc. The ship was very pretty, but IMO, the Westerdam was far superior. If you want more pampering and elegance, go with Westerdam. As I said, I had expected the Caribbean Princess to be similar to our experiences on Golden and Grand Princess, but they were like night and day. Princess has made a big effort to market Caribbean Princess to attract families and in the process, I think it has tainted the Princess experience we had been used to. Holland tolerates kids, but caters more to adults.

[Benita]

We have been on both ships and have sailed with both Princess and HAL many times. The food and service on HAL have a slight edge over Princess. The passengers on HAL, on the average, are old enough to be the parents of the people on Princess (and those on Princess are no youngsters). Living in South Florida makes me very used to being among people 80 and above and many are delightful, but I prefer to cruise with people a generation younger.

[momofmeg]

We were huge Princess fans until we sailed Caribbean Princess. Staff was surly, ship was crowded and overrun with kids (this was in late September, a time we felt there would not be so many kids), food was mediocre, service was subpar, etc. The ship was very pretty, but IMO, the Westerdam was far superior. If you want more pampering and elegance, go with Westerdam. As I said, I had expected the Caribbean Princess to be similar to our experiences on Golden and Grand Princess, but they were like night and day. Princess has made a big effort to market Caribbean Princess to attract families and in the process, I think it has tainted the Princess experience we had been used to. Holland tolerates kids, but caters more to adults.

 

 

Well I cruised the CP a month after you and I felt the ship was fine-the only crowds I saw were for fromal night photos by the staircase on deck 5 and ofcourse the show lounge was not large enough. I loved the fact that the CP had TWO adult only pools-one forward deck 16 and oneaft deck 14.

 

On the other hand I cruise RCI mariner of the Seas in October 2005 and it was way more congested-the lido on sea days was wall to wall people-and in the evening the Royal promonande area was congested-as unfortunately it was close to the dinningroom area, casino and show lounge.

 

To be honest though, I prefer the smaller ships-it just seems to cruise them I am cruising ships over 10 years old.

[caviargal]

If you want more pampering and elegance, go with Westerdam. .. Holland tolerates kids, but caters more to adults.

 

I would definitely choose the Westerdam. Though I have not sailed the Caribbean Princess, I have been aboard. The bedding and bathrooms and overall cabins on HAL are much better, you can have full room service menu without being in a suite, and the space per passengers ratios are much higher.

[jerseygirl3]

Well I cruised the CP a month after you and I felt the ship was fine-the only crowds I saw were for fromal night photos by the staircase on deck 5 and ofcourse the show lounge was not large enough. I loved the fact that the CP had TWO adult only pools-one forward deck 16 and oneaft deck 14.

 

On the other hand I cruise RCI mariner of the Seas in October 2005 and it was way more congested-the lido on sea days was wall to wall people-and in the evening the Royal promonande area was congested-as unfortunately it was close to the dinningroom area, casino and show lounge.

 

To be honest though, I prefer the smaller ships-it just seems to cruise them I am cruising ships over 10 years old.

 

Mom, maybe it would not have been so bad if the forward "Adults Only" pool wasn't overrun by young kids. They were completely out of control, jumping into the pool, standing in front of the lap machine so people couldn't use it, even a boombox blaring on the ledge of the hot tub. For several days we put up with this (I didn't say a word when kids who were well-behaved stopped by for a dip and upon their parents seeing the sign, quickly left). Finally, I had enough and said something to the pool butler, whose response was "there's nothing I can do about it." Huh? If he can't, who can? That was pretty much the attitude we encountered the entire week. I was "reprimanded" by a waiter when I asked for an appetizer as well as a starter of the pasta; he said, "you've already ordered an appetizer, I can't bring you the pasta too. It's either or." I was mortified. The maitre de had a rotten attitude. Anyway, things like this went on all week and as I said, up until that cruise, Princess was our favorite line. Mind you, I'm a very easy person to please when I'm on vacation. I hate when people complain. I consider myself blessed to be able to cruise, so I let a lot slide. But this was totally unacceptable. Perhaps I shouldn't dismiss Princess because of that one bad experience, but I had friends that were on Caribbean Princess last month and I purposely told them nothing negative when they told me they booked because I didn't want to spoil their expectations. I figured maybe our experience was a fluke. They, too, were huge Princess fans. They came back saying never again on Caribbean Princess. They had a miserable time, kids were out of control, and when I told them our experience, they were a bit upset with me that I didn't tell them beforehand. Yes, they did go during a spring break time of year (however, we didn't), but that's still no excuse for kids being out of control. We had 525 kids on the Century last month and it was no problem whatsoever, and that's a much smaller ship. Anyway, I hate to rule out Princess for the future, but I definitely wouldn't go on Caribbean Princess again.

[mamaofami]

Haven't sailed on Princess, but have friends who have after sailing HAL. They said they will never go on Princess again.

 

No one mentioned the wonderful crew on HAL. Service is great. I would go with Westerdam for sure. If you liked the Noordam, you'll also like Westerdam.

[momofmeg]

I would definitely choose the Westerdam. Though I have not sailed the Caribbean Princess, I have been aboard. The bedding and bathrooms and overall cabins on HAL are much better, you can have full room service menu without being in a suite, and the space per passengers ratios are much higher.

 

You are right about the size of the staterooms being small, that is a drawback-HAL's oceanview was bigger then our balcony-the only other line I have been on that compared to HAl in stateroom size was Disney.

 

Everyone goes on about how Carnival's rooms are bigger then RCI-which is true-but HAL's room are double the size of Carnival.

[momofmeg]

Mom, maybe it would not have been so bad if the forward "Adults Only" pool wasn't overrun by young kids. They were completely out of control, jumping into the pool, standing in front of the lap machine so people couldn't use it, even a boombox blaring on the ledge of the hot tub. For several days we put up with this (I didn't say a word when kids who were well-behaved stopped by for a dip and upon their parents seeing the sign, quickly left). Finally, I had enough and said something to the pool butler, whose response was "there's nothing I can do about it." Huh? If he can't, who can? That was pretty much the attitude we encountered the entire week. I was "reprimanded" by a waiter when I asked for an appetizer as well as a starter of the pasta; he said, "you've already ordered an appetizer, I can't bring you the pasta too. It's either or." I was mortified. The maitre de had a rotten attitude. Anyway, things like this went on all week and as I said, up until that cruise, Princess was our favorite line. Mind you, I'm a very easy person to please when I'm on vacation. I hate when people complain. I consider myself blessed to be able to cruise, so I let a lot slide. But this was totally unacceptable. Perhaps I shouldn't dismiss Princess because of that one bad experience, but I had friends that were on Caribbean Princess last month and I purposely told them nothing negative when they told me they booked because I didn't want to spoil their expectations. I figured maybe our experience was a fluke. They, too, were huge Princess fans. They came back saying never again on Caribbean Princess. They had a miserable time, kids were out of control, and when I told them our experience, they were a bit upset with me that I didn't tell them beforehand. Yes, they did go during a spring break time of year (however, we didn't), but that's still no excuse for kids being out of control. We had 525 kids on the Century last month and it was no problem whatsoever, and that's a much smaller ship. Anyway, I hate to rule out Princess for the future, but I definitely wouldn't go on Caribbean Princess again.

 

 

Only a ship's officer has authority to take care of a problem like that, none of the regualar crew members can reprimened a passenger. I have reported things to ship's officers and it was always taken care of-no matter the line.

 

but some things are the luck of the draw,it sounds as though for some reason your cruise was just too many children-that is why I have no interest in taking a summer cruise.

 

I hate the way ships are getting bigger and bigger also-no wonder they can be crowded and when there are lots of kids, that means staterooms have 4 people instead of 2 which means more people.

 

We had a similiar thing happen on our MOS cruise in the dinningroom also. Everyone at the table, except for me, asked for 2 lobster tails (I don't eat lobster) and we were politely told by the waiter that he would see once everyone was served in the dinningroom if there was enough. He did bring out more but he split one tail between 2 people. But no one at my table seemed embarrassed about it. They just laughed it off. They knew they were being pigs!

 

As I said the adult only pool on MOS was crowded with adults-no room to even sit!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Here is a vote for the Westerdam.

[CruiseNut7]

We LOVE the Caribbean Princess and have sailed her twice. The mini-suites are terrific, the service was excellent and the food very good. We ate in the Sterling Steakhouse twice as the steaks were out of this world and the service superb.

 

We sailed last month during spring break and I truly anticipated a barage of unruly kids - I was delighted that they were obviously kept busy and didn't have any issues with kids at all.

 

In all fairness, we have not sailed with Holland - perhaps one day. The deal-breaker for us is anytime dining with Princess. I don't want like my dinner time dictated and there are many options for dining.

 

Whatever you decide, make it a great sailing! :)

[jerseygirl3]

Only a ship's officer has authority to take care of a problem like that, none of the regualar crew members can reprimened a passenger. I have reported things to ship's officers and it was always taken care of-no matter the line.

 

but some things are the luck of the draw,it sounds as though for some reason your cruise was just too many children-that is why I have no interest in taking a summer cruise.

 

I hate the way ships are getting bigger and bigger also-no wonder they can be crowded and when there are lots of kids, that means staterooms have 4 people instead of 2 which means more people.

 

We had a similiar thing happen on our MOS cruise in the dinningroom also. Everyone at the table, except for me, asked for 2 lobster tails (I don't eat lobster) and we were politely told by the waiter that he would see once everyone was served in the dinningroom if there was enough. He did bring out more but he split one tail between 2 people. But no one at my table seemed embarrassed about it. They just laughed it off. They knew they were being pigs!

 

As I said the adult only pool on MOS was crowded with adults-no room to even sit!

 

I've never heard of having to have a ship's officer ask children to leave when they are in the adults only pool. We were on Celebrity last month, and every time anybody (whether it be a child or adult) did anything not permitted near the pool (sit on the ledge with a drink in hand, run, jump, etc.), the pool butler politely reminded them that this was not allowed.

 

As far as not sailing during summer months to avoid kids, we sailed the third week of September, which I felt would be fairly free from kids. Don't get me wrong, I love kids...we have four ourselves, but they are all grown and we like a little adult time and I think that should be respected around an "adults only" pool.

 

The issue in the dining room went beyond rude on the waiter's part. When he refused to bring me what I had requested, I let it go. One of our friends had ordered what I had asked for (and was denied) and when I leaned over to take a taste of hers, the waiter hurried over to our table and loudly and angrily shouted, "you don't have to share, if you would just be patient, I was going to get you one." I was so mortified, I was speechless. I wanted to report him, but my husband talked me out of it saying maybe he was just having a bad day.

 

In addition, the maitre de was very surly. When we arrived for dinner one night, although we were a party of four, we said we'd sit anywhere and with anybody, any size table. He seated us at a table for four (which was nice, but we would have sat with others, it didn't matter) and mumbled something about "an hour." None of quite got what he said. But our dinner was so rushed, they were bringing the next course minutes after the previous one had arrived. When we asked the waiter if he could slow down a bit, he said he had strict instructions to get us out under one hour because someone had reserved that table. We were really peeved as we told him we'd sit anywhere. Had I known we had to finish dinner from start to finish in under one hour we would said something up front.

 

As I said, I don't mean to sound like a complainer because we love cruises and feel very blessed to be able to cruise. We treat the staff well, tip well, and were quite disappointed to receive the treatment we did on that particular cruise. The only good thing I will say about that sailing was that we did the balcony dinner one night and it was spectacular. The two waiters who served us were outstanding and my husband tipped them each $50.00, so as I said, we appreciate good service and tip accordingly.

[momofmeg]

I've never heard of having to have a ship's officer ask children to leave when they are in the adults only pool. We were on Celebrity last month, and every time anybody (whether it be a child or adult) did anything not permitted near the pool (sit on the ledge with a drink in hand, run, jump, etc.), the pool butler politely reminded them that this was not allowed.

 

As far as not sailing during summer months to avoid kids, we sailed the third week of September, which I felt would be fairly free from kids. Don't get me wrong, I love kids...we have four ourselves, but they are all grown and we like a little adult time and I think that should be respected around an "adults only" pool.

 

The issue in the dining room went beyond rude on the waiter's part. When he refused to bring me what I had requested, I let it go. One of our friends had ordered what I had asked for (and was denied) and when I leaned over to take a taste of hers, the waiter hurried over to our table and loudly and angrily shouted, "you don't have to share, if you would just be patient, I was going to get you one." I was so mortified, I was speechless. I wanted to report him, but my husband talked me out of it saying maybe he was just having a bad day.

 

In addition, the maitre de was very surly. When we arrived for dinner one night, although we were a party of four, we said we'd sit anywhere and with anybody, any size table. He seated us at a table for four (which was nice, but we would have sat with others, it didn't matter) and mumbled something about "an hour." None of quite got what he said. But our dinner was so rushed, they were bringing the next course minutes after the previous one had arrived. When we asked the waiter if he could slow down a bit, he said he had strict instructions to get us out under one hour because someone had reserved that table. We were really peeved as we told him we'd sit anywhere. Had I known we had to finish dinner from start to finish in under one hour we would said something up front.

 

As I said, I don't mean to sound like a complainer because we love cruises and feel very blessed to be able to cruise. We treat the staff well, tip well, and were quite disappointed to receive the treatment we did on that particular cruise. The only good thing I will say about that sailing was that we did the balcony dinner one night and it was spectacular. The two waiters who served us were outstanding and my husband tipped them each $50.00, so as I said, we appreciate good service and tip accordingly.

 

You know, each line does things differantly. I like Celebrity also, I am going on the Connie in the fall; (I didn't like HAL though) but if people ignored the steward butler he could do nothing. A ship's officer could.

 

All I can say if you hated it that badly don't cruise Princess again. I feel the same exact way you do about Princess about RCI's vovyager class ships-I have a friend that is DYING to go on Liberty of the Seas (even bigger then voyager class) and wants us to go with her-and hubby wants to do the cruise because we would be cruising with friends-we haven't booked it yet but I am dreading it. Hopefully you don't have the same problem with your hubby and friends.

[momofmeg]

We LOVE the Caribbean Princess and have sailed her twice. The mini-suites are terrific, the service was excellent and the food very good. We ate in the Sterling Steakhouse twice as the steaks were out of this world and the service superb.

 

We sailed last month during spring break and I truly anticipated a barage of unruly kids - I was delighted that they were obviously kept busy and didn't have any issues with kids at all.

 

In all fairness, we have not sailed with Holland - perhaps one day. The deal-breaker for us is anytime dining with Princess. I don't want like my dinner time dictated and there are many options for dining.

 

Whatever you decide, make it a great sailing! :)

 

cruisenut I liked the CP and thought her food was very good but I was not impressed with Sterlings. As much as I hated the Mariner of the Seas I will say this, Chops has Sterling beat. But then the regular MOS dinningroom food was not so good and CP's was.

[caviargal]

I feel the same exact way you do about Princess about RCI's vovyager class ships-I have a friend that is DYING to go on Liberty of the Seas (even bigger then voyager class) and wants us to go with her-and hubby wants to do the cruise because we would be cruising with friends-we haven't booked it yet but I am dreading it. Hopefully you don't have the same problem with your hubby and friends.

 

 

momofmeg, don't waste your money. Freedom/Liberty is even worse than Voyager class IMO and you know how much I dislike those ships.:(

[momofmeg]

momofmeg, don't waste your money. Freedom/Liberty is even worse than Voyager class IMO and you know how much I dislike those ships.:(

 

If it was my choice I wouldn't especially at the prices they are asking-we could go on the Quest instead-but my friend has only been on one cruise and all that hoopla has caught her attention, you know that surfing thing. I tried to tell her that on sea days if there is any wind it would probally be closed, the way the rock climbing wall and inline skating track was on our MOS cruise. besides this gal is 40something- and she is not athletic at all.

 

I told hubby the only way he would get me on there is if he booked us a balcony stateroom. That way if it is super crowded and it stresses me-I will just stay in our stateroom more.

 

but you know, I don't think she realized how expensive that ship is going for-I told her we would do a radience class or a Carnival spirit class with her-maybe she will take us up on that.

[jerseygirl3]

You know, each line does things differantly. I like Celebrity also, I am going on the Connie in the fall; (I didn't like HAL though) but if people ignored the steward butler he could do nothing. A ship's officer could.

 

All I can say if you hated it that badly don't cruise Princess again. I feel the same exact way you do about Princess about RCI's vovyager class ships-I have a friend that is DYING to go on Liberty of the Seas (even bigger then voyager class) and wants us to go with her-and hubby wants to do the cruise because we would be cruising with friends-we haven't booked it yet but I am dreading it. Hopefully you don't have the same problem with your hubby and friends.

 

No, people didn't ignore the pool butler. The pool butler just refused to address the issue, period. He said it wasn't his job. Okay, then he should have seen to it that whose ever job it was could take care of the situation. I don't think it should be left to the passengers to take care of (which, ultimately, I did and received loud applause from the other passengers that someone actually had the nerve to speak up since the staff wouldn't handle the situation).

 

As far as hating Princess and never sailing again, I hate to put that stamp on the entire cruiseline. I surely wouldn't sail Caribbean Princess again, but I hate to write off the entire cruiseline for one bad cruise. As I said, we loved Grand and Golden Princess. I think the fact that Caribbean Princess is marketed for families, they attract a younger, rowdier crowd. But who would have thought that would be the case in mid September?

 

We're doing Freedom of the Seas and honestly, I think I know what to expect so there shouldn't be any surprises. We are doing this cruise because we are going with a large group of friends that my TA has organized, so we're more or less doing this cruise to sail once again with our friends. I'm less interested in the itinerary and ship (although people do say everyone should experience one of those monster ships at least once). I guess when we sailed Caribbean Princess, I expected it to be similar to our experiences on Golden and Grand, and those expectations were far from being met.

 

If we did Princess again, we'd consider a RT from LA to Hawaii.

[momofmeg]

No, people didn't ignore the pool butler. The pool butler just refused to address the issue, period. He said it wasn't his job. Okay, then he should have seen to it that whose ever job it was could take care of the situation. I don't think it should be left to the passengers to take care of (which, ultimately, I did and received loud applause from the other passengers that someone actually had the nerve to speak up since the staff wouldn't handle the situation).

 

As far as hating Princess and never sailing again, I hate to put that stamp on the entire cruiseline. I surely wouldn't sail Caribbean Princess again, but I hate to write off the entire cruiseline for one bad cruise. As I said, we loved Grand and Golden Princess. I think the fact that Caribbean Princess is marketed for families, they attract a younger, rowdier crowd. But who would have thought that would be the case in mid September?

 

We're doing Freedom of the Seas and honestly, I think I know what to expect so there shouldn't be any surprises. We are doing this cruise because we are going with a large group of friends that my TA has organized, so we're more or less doing this cruise to sail once again with our friends. I'm less interested in the itinerary and ship (although people do say everyone should experience one of those monster ships at least once). I guess when we sailed Caribbean Princess, I expected it to be similar to our experiences on Golden and Grand, and those expectations were far from being met.

 

If we did Princess again, we'd consider a RT from LA to Hawaii.

 

I said IF the people ignored the pool butler he would have no authority to do anything. Only a ship's officer would have authority. for EX. if on Celebrity this happened when the pool butler asked the offenders to leave and they refused, he would have to call a ship's officer.

 

BTW, are you sure there was a pool butler on CP? (I have no idea what a pool butler is) If he wasn't the pool butler, then no it would not be his job-remember the crew are the "little people" who work for tips and not much more-if they see no tip in it for them they will not go out of their way to do a job that is not theirs. I can't blame them myself. I didn't see a pool butler on Princess, there was a guy hawking drinks, do you mean him? I don't remember my one Celebrity cruise having one either, but then it was that cruise that the weather was too cool for swiming, so I was not at the pool much; but I wonder if you are getting the two lines mixed up and expect what Celebrity has for Princess to have. Celebrity is considerably more upscale then Princess, but if you mean the waiter hawking drinks on celebrity, I would not call them a butler, (I would call him a waiter) but maybe Celebrity does.

 

All I can say is, if you hated the cruise as much as you say-even if you liked the older grand class ships- you should stay away from the newer, larger, grand class ships.

 

Another thing, you mentioned how much better your Celebrity cruise was then your Princess cruise. As I said, I liked Celebrity and found them very nice-but HAL was a little boring and sedate-so I found them two very differant lines. Have you enjoyed you HAL cruises?

 

This just goes to show how very differant we can feel about the same experience. Maybe that is why there are all the choices of cruiselines-we are all differant and differant lines are a better fit for some where another line is a better fit for others.

Hopefully we have not confused the OP too much!

[flvol77]

We have been on the CB three times and we are going again on her in Sept.

 

We enjoy Princess, the service the food, the relaxed atmosphere. We have been on Caribbean Princess through spring break and NEVER felt it was over run by children. They have youth secruity who does a very good job during spring break times of keeping the kids out of trouble.

 

Its all in what you are looking for. I do think that the buffet area gets kinda crazy because of the amount of people on board sometimes. I prefer the Star or the Grand Princess because of the 600 less people.

[jerseygirl3]

I said IF the people ignored the pool butler he would have no authority to do anything. Only a ship's officer would have authority. for EX. if on Celebrity this happened when the pool butler asked the offenders to leave and they refused, he would have to call a ship's officer.

 

BTW, are you sure there was a pool butler on CP? (I have no idea what a pool butler is) If he wasn't the pool butler, then no it would not be his job-remember the crew are the "little people" who work for tips and not much more-if they see no tip in it for them they will not go out of their way to do a job that is not theirs. I can't blame them myself. I didn't see a pool butler on Princess, there was a guy hawking drinks, do you mean him? I don't remember my one Celebrity cruise having one either, but then it was that cruise that the weather was too cool for swiming, so I was not at the pool much; but I wonder if you are getting the two lines mixed up and expect what Celebrity has for Princess to have. Celebrity is considerably more upscale then Princess, but if you mean the waiter hawking drinks on celebrity, I would not call them a butler, (I would call him a waiter) but maybe Celebrity does.

 

All I can say is, if you hated the cruise as much as you say-even if you liked the older grand class ships- you should stay away from the newer, larger, grand class ships.

 

Another thing, you mentioned how much better your Celebrity cruise was then your Princess cruise. As I said, I liked Celebrity and found them very nice-but HAL was a little boring and sedate-so I found them two very differant lines. Have you enjoyed you HAL cruises?

 

This just goes to show how very differant we can feel about the same experience. Maybe that is why there are all the choices of cruiselines-we are all differant and differant lines are a better fit for some where another line is a better fit for others.

Hopefully we have not confused the OP too much!

 

No, it wasn't the guys hawking drinks that I was referring to. On Celebrity their shirts say "pool butler." On Princess their shirts said, if I recall, "Pool Staff." They don't serve drinks. They pick up the towels and perform various tasks around the pool area, like setting up lounge chairs and as I said, picking up stray towels. On Celebrity, they reminded people of the rules and if towels were left unattended for too long, they picked them up, etc.

 

We really liked HAL a lot. My sister had been on the Zuiderdam last year and hated it, so I wasn't sure what to expect on Westerdam. We liked the elegance and formality. We thought the staff was superb. The ship was beautiful and the food was very good (Celebrity wins on food, but I think HAL beat them on service). Within minutes of boarding, everywhere we went the staff addressed us by our first names (i.e., Mr. Robert, Miss Jo-Ann). I'm not sure how they memorize names as quickly and efficiently as they do, but it was a nice touch. As we get older (I'm 52 and my husband is 47), and try different cruiselines, we're scaling down to the cruiselines that we seem to prefer. Maybe if we were still taking young children with us, I'd feel differently, but ours are all grown so we look for a different experience when we cruise now.

 

As I said, I wouldn't rule out Princess. I had a bad experience and our best friends had a bad experience. My coworker is leaving tomorrow on Caribbean Princess (first time on Princess, they've done 3 other cruises on Royal Caribbean). As I did with my friend, I've told her nothing of our bad experience on Caribbean Princess. I don't like to dampen anybody's experience beforehand; their experience may be completely opposite of ours. I'll be curious to see how their cruise goes. If they don't care for it, I'll consider Caribbean Princess 3 strikes and you're out!!!LOL As I said, though, we'd definitely consider Princess for a RT Hawaii cruise.