HELP!! I'm burnt out on Holland America-will Princess do?

[PoseidonGodoftheSea]

It's not that I don't like HAL, they've been good to me. I love their staterooms, food, etc. But the ships are all starting to look the same, I need a change. I'm in the pre-booking stage for my spring cruise to Alaska and I'm considering the Star Princess or Golden Princess out of Seattle, the pics on Expedia look awesome and look to be jazzier ships than anything HAL sails.

 

My question is this: would Princess be a good line to cross over to for a single guy that is bearing down hard on middle age but not quite ready to hang it up? My impression of Princess is that it's less sedate than HAL but not over the top like Carnival. Can anyone confirm?

 

Thanks.

[willysgrandma]

I'd have to agree with your assessment. I think Princess is a fine choice for you.

[JLC@SD]

My impression of Princess is that it's less sedate than HAL but not over the top like Carnival. Can anyone confirm?

 

Thanks.

....that is a good way to describe it......I think Princess is a good change of pace that is comparable to HAL...:)

[Toto2Kansas]

It's not that I don't like HAL, they've been good to me. I love their staterooms, food, etc. But the ships are all starting to look the same, I need a change. I'm in the pre-booking stage for my spring cruise to Alaska and I'm considering the Star Princess or Golden Princess out of Seattle, the pics on Expedia look awesome and look to be jazzier ships than anything HAL sails.

 

My question is this: would Princess be a good line to cross over to for a single guy that is bearing down hard on middle age but not quite ready to hang it up? My impression of Princess is that it's less sedate than HAL but not over the top like Carnival. Can anyone confirm?

 

Thanks.

 

I think that is a great way to describe Princess "Less sedate then HAL but not over the top like Carnival".

We have sailed HAL twice and really did enjoy ourselves, got a tad bored I must admit, but the food, ships and staff were all very nice.

 

The only two differences that come to mind for me would be that you will find a difference in the staterooms on Princess compared to HAL. We sailed once in an outside cabin on HAL and once in an SS suite. Of coarse the SS was much nicer than the outside stateroom, but both had a sitting area in them. On Princess, in order for a loveseat, couch type sitting are, you need to book at least a mini suite or the staterooms would be more like a nomal bedroom with a desk chair and one upholstered chair. I remember the bathrooms also being nicer on HAL, and larger. Again, on Princess, for a nice sized bathroom with a tub, you must be in a mini suite or above. Regular and balcony staterooms have a small bathroom with a small shower only.

 

The only other real difference in the ships would be the anytime dining offered on Princess. Same as the dining on HAL, but unless you reserve a certain table, you might be sitting with different people each evening. Princess still has assigned dining, but unless you book your cruise way in advance, you could be waitlisted for the regular dining you are used to.

 

If you can handle those two main differences, I think you will love Princess as it definitely is a bit more alive (especially at night) then what we found on HAL.

[CrusinAgain]

Although I haven't been on HAL yet, I have read that their beds are nice and comfy like Carnival's. Princess hasn't updated theirs yet so be sure and ask for a egg crate topper or you will probably be disappointed after sleeping on a HAL bed.

[mikjr]

My question is this: would Princess be a good line to cross over to for a single guy that is bearing down hard on middle age but not quite ready to hang it up? My impression of Princess is that it's less sedate than HAL but not over the top like Carnival. Can anyone confirm?

 

Thanks.

 

Our two favorites are Princess and Celebrity... have you tried Celebrity before?

[Coral]

Alaska in general is more sedate then other itineraries (for both Princess and HAL).

 

You may want to look closely at the itineraries out of Seattle on Princess - they are not the best for Alaska IMO.

[GloriaF]

I was going to say similar to what Toto said about the difference in the cabins and bathrooms. And that unless you are in a suite (maybe mini), you cannot order room service from the dining room menu. There is room service for all cabins, but the selection is restricted to the room service menu, not the dining room menu.

 

We've cruised on HAL only once and were impressed with the bedding, baths, and sitting area in an OV cabin and the ability to order room service from the dining room menu in an OV cabin ~~ but we actually prefer Princess and get along fine in Princess balcony cabins with just a small bath and no sitting area. The bedding is hit or miss, as some Princess ships have been upgraded and others have not.

 

Coral makes a good point also about itinerary. I would suggest either a northbound from Vancouver to Whittier or a southbound by flying to Anchorage and taking Princess transfers to Whittier, then cruising to Vancouver. It is a much better itinerary and more in-depth scenery. We flew to Anchorage and spent a few days pre-cruise on our own. Princess also offers pre- and post-cruise tours that go further north in Alaska to Princess Lodges.

[happy cruzer]

Room service is much more limited on Princess, very little to no hot food on menu. Continental breakfast only. HAL does have that nice feature of hot food from room service including anything from the lunch and dinner dr menu delivered to your cabin ( any cabin). Princess has some extra charge balcony meals available. Buffet food will be available 24 hours on Princess.

 

More pools and hot tubs on Princess. More lounges and more different shows on Princess.

 

I was in the situation as you. Very happy with HAL and decided to give Princess a try. They are very nice ships and so many itineraries that I have been doing Princess alot.

[m steve]

I find HAL, X and Princess very similar in almost every way except, as Toto says, the cabins are smaller unless you book a mini suite. Food, entertainment, itineraries are very much alike. Sometimes I have to check the daily newsletter to see what ship and line we are on. I like the X concierge class for the full breakfasts on the balcony but thats the main difference to me. Prices are quite similar except for mini suites. We cruise all three.

[OhioDogLover]

I generally agree with what has been said. Personally, I like X best, but DH and DS like Princess best. We all agree that HAL was very nice, but rather sedate. We would take HAL again, of course. (We have been on another line, which shall remain nameless, that we would never take again unless they offered some itinerary that was far superior to anything on just about any other line.) We think there is more "stuff to do" on Princess. I think it would be hard to be bored on a Princess ship. You would almost have to try. Since I really don't care, but DS and DH do, we look for a Princess cruise when booking.

Just my two cents worth.

Ohiodoglover

[NOT my real name]

What were you doing on HAL to start with? Unless you find yourself searching for prunes to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you are too young for HAL. Switch to Princess. Go back to HAL 30 years from now.

[Toto2Kansas]

What were you doing on HAL to start with? Unless you find yourself searching for prunes to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you are too young for HAL. Switch to Princess. Go back to HAL 30 years from now.

 

Our last HAL cruise was on the Zuiderdam and I was amazed at how young the crowd was onboard. First and only time I have ever seen a 'stroller line up' outside the dining room, honestly. Very few prunes on any plates that we saw. ;)

It didn't make for that much more of a lively cruise experience, but the cruise we took had more families and young ones in the 20's and 30's range than I have ever seen on Princess or any other line besides 'C'.

 

Maybe it was just a fluke, but I know we were surprised.

[NOT my real name]

but the cruise we took had more families and young ones in the 20's and 30's range than I have ever seen on Princess or any other line besides 'C'.

 

Maybe it was just a fluke, but I know we were surprised.

 

Maybe they were running a special. You know, if you book a room at full price then your great great grandkids can get on for half price. ;)

[corkpopr]

HAL used to have only two classes of pax. Old or dead !

[Toto2Kansas]

Maybe they were running a special. You know, if you book a room at full price then your great great grandkids can get on for half price. ;)

 

Seriously, I wasn't trying to be funny, but we saw very few of the older crowd on the Zuiderdam. In fact, there were so many young adults with kids and babies, we had to double check to make sure we booked HAL and not Carnival. Maybe it was a special or something, but I was very surprised at the age make up onboard.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We have sailed HAL about 5 times and have been on Princess more lately. Ditto comments from previous posters about cabins, bathrooms, food, however I really like (and miss) the smaller size of the HAL ships. Love the Golden and the Star, but they are so large! Also miss the Crows Nest Lounge that the HAL ships have-so nice to go up there and have a drink at night and watch the world go by. The Grand class Princess ships do not have anything like this, except for the Skywalkers Lounge which is out of the way and usually not many people in it.

[gopher's girl]

Friend of a friend thing...

Princess is fun - and you are the one who controls how much or how little fun you are having.

 

If HAL is anything like the movie "Out to Sea" Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon - please try Princess - unless you like the organized dancing thing (I haven't seen that on Princess).

[mauiedin87]

I agree with most everything that's been said. We've been on HAL (the Veendam) only once and although we enjoyed it, we thought it was just way too old for us (and we're 66 and 79 respectively!!!). There was one nice aspect to this, though. We're vigorous dancers and we always had all the dance floors to ourselves. The dance bands were happy to have somebody to play for. This was 2 years ago.

Princess is just livelier - even on the longer cruises. Much more to do and a very different "feel". Having been on 12 previous cruises, Princess is now our line of choice, which is why we've already booked another cruise on the Island Princess (just the right size for us, classy without being overly glitzy, great service, beautiful cabins, not a million kids running around).:)

[Coral]

HAL is trying to attract families on their newer ships (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, etc...)

[Starbright]

If you like HAL, then you'll like Princess. We've done both.

 

I agree that the cabins on Princess are smaller unless you get a mini-suite. However, if you get a cabin on Caribe deck you'd get a lovely big balcony that makes up for having less space in the room. When we were on the Zuiderdam our balcony was very small.

[DougH]

I'm mainly a Princess person but have sailed HAL a couple of times. I really like the HAL ships I've been on and their staterooms are very nice. Biggest negatives on HAL for me is I hated their entertainment choices and wasn't real fond of the food. Overall I've found Princess best fits my style.

[scamper]

Poseidon,

 

I think the differences of both are so small as not to be an appreciable difference. On average Princess ships are bigger, but for service, staterooms, amenities, food quality, etc. they run about the same IMHO.

[Mary Ellen]

What were you doing on HAL to start with? Unless you find yourself searching for prunes to eat at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, you are too young for HAL. Switch to Princess. Go back to HAL 30 years from now.

Have YOU ever sailed on HAL???? :rolleyes: I started sailing on HAL when I was 26 and I've NEVER had prunes for breakfast - or even seen anyone do so. They certainly are NOT on the lunch/dinner menus. :eek:

 

I would suggest the OP consider sailing from Vancouver, rather than Seattle. We have done both and the scenery is SOOOO much better on the Vancouver sailings. Good Luck and have a great cruise.

[NOT my real name]

Have YOU ever sailed on HAL???? :rolleyes:

 

NOPE! Not yet anyway. Once I start wearing Depends I will give HAL a whirl.;)

 

You know how cruise lines have their slogans. Princess is "Escape Completely". I understand HAL is considering a new slogan...You can always Depends on HAL!