Trying HAL

[Nymue]

We are also considering a HAL cruise, 15 nights roundtrip Hawaii, instead of Princess. We love Princess, however this one looks like a better Spa (it has a thermal suite....important to us with so many Sea Days). Hal also has a better itinerary for Hawaii. We LOVE Princess.......will we be disapointed with HAL, can anyone tell me what differences to expect?

 

Thanks,

Anne

[jhannah]

I have sailed both, and think you will like Holland America. Their ships are lovely, and decorated in gleaming brass and warm woods. Their crews are second to none, and are eager to make your experience a memorable one.

 

Since this is a longer cruise, I think you'll find the demographics to be about the same ... slightly older. But I don't consider this a negative ... just mentioning it.

 

I prefer the Lido on HAL over Princess, but it isn't open 24/7.

 

We've sailed the Zaandam, and it's a fine ship. I like it's musical theme in the decor, including a huge ornate organ in the atrium.

 

Good luck.

[Nymue]

The Zaandam is the ship we'll be sailing. It was the Spa on the ship and the extra day in Hawaii that made our decision when choosing between that and the Golden.

 

Thanks for your input,

Anne

 

 

We've sailed the Zaandam, and it's a fine ship. I like it's musical theme in the decor, including a huge ornate organ in the atrium.

 

Good luck.

[GloriaF]

We love Princess but we sailed on the Westerdam in 2006, and I wrote a comparison. If you care to read it, here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=339804&highlight=

[Auntiejo]

I recently sailed HAL for the first time after several Princess cruises. Overall I prefer Princess for the simple reason that the entertainment is better and more varied and there's more to do. There are a few things HAL does better than Princess - the rooms were larger and the food is slightly better.

 

I found the service 100% equal. I am always surprised when I hear that the service on HAL is so superior. It was equal if not less than on Princess in my opinion.

 

Also didn't love the ship - we were on the Oosterdam. There was no "wow" factor. Low ceilings, small and chopped up spaces - not open or grandiose like the Grand Class ships that I'm used to. The decor was lovely though.

 

The cruise was overall very boring and didn't have the festive, fun atmosphere that I always enjoy on Princess.

[Nymue]

Thank you for that link, it's a wonderful review!

 

Anne

 

We love Princess but we sailed on the Westerdam in 2006, and I wrote a comparison. If you care to read it, here is the link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=339804&highlight=

[J.A.H.]

I recently sailed HAL for the first time after several Princess cruises. Overall I prefer Princess for the simple reason that the entertainment is better and more varied and there's more to do. There are a few things HAL does better than Princess - the rooms were larger and the food is slightly better.

 

I found the service 100% equal. I am always surprised when I hear that the service on HAL is so superior. It was equal if not less than on Princess in my opinion.

 

Also didn't love the ship - we were on the Oosterdam. There was no "wow" factor. Low ceilings, small and chopped up spaces - not open or grandiose like the Grand Class ships that I'm used to. The decor was lovely though.

 

The cruise was overall very boring and didn't have the festive, fun atmosphere that I always enjoy on Princess.

Sounds like our one (and only) experience with HAL. We were on the Oosterdam as well, and couldn't wait to get off! We didn't care for the ship for the reasons above, and also didn't think that the service was that great. The pool area reminded me of a high school gym! The crew was almost all one nationality. We enjoy meeting people from all over and were very surprised at this. We have sailed on Carnival, Celebrity, RCCL, and of course, Princess. Used to prefer RCCL but Princess tops them all by far!:) (We did a back to back from the Carnival Spirit to the Oosterdam, and the second we got on the Oosterdam were wishing we could get back on the Spirit!)

[susiefay]

We sailed the Noordam last Feb. and loved it. The service was exemplary, and the bed was heavenly:D Also loved the size and looks of the ship. The crowd wasn't as old as I expected:rolleyes: We love the cruises we've taken with Princess and will continue to do both!

[rebeccalouise]

We sailed Zuiderdam this summer and had a wonderful time. I don't think you will be sorry booking HAL. Somethings are better, somethings are worse but a cruise is the sum of all its parts and we had a fantastic time on Holland. The ships are smaller and more intimate. The cabins are spacious. The crew is attentive and remembers what you like to drink, etc. The buffet is better on HAL but I wasn't impressed with the main diningroom on Zuiderdam. The pools are freshwater.

 

The things I preferred about Princess were MUTS, the pools, the decor and the entertainment.

[rjm1cc]

I took the cruise in January 09 on the Zaandam. Used the thermal suite. Hot tub had brown water one morning (probably due to lossing all power and being dead in the water for a few hours), the sauna was out of order when we got on and was not fixed during the trip. Three time the steam room was out of service that I knew of.

 

Having said that I would do it again, but you might want to ask HAL if everything is wroking. $240 for 2.

[Coral]

I sailed on the Oosterdam last year and really liked the ship. The entertainment the week I was on had been better then my previous cruises with Princess. Obviously, entertainment changes and one week can be good and the next week bad....

 

I wouldn't hesitate to go on HAL again. Here is a review that I had written comparing the two:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=678502&highlight=Princess+cruiser+HAL

[wizard-of-roz]

We've sailed them all. I agree about the Oosterdam being a bit "chopped-up" and having low ceilings in places.....all that said it's still a lovely ship, it's small with a warm and inviting feeling, with a great staff.

I really like Princess in all ways better than most other lines. I'd like to see ice cream available more but I can live with the constraints on it. I figure I'm saving on calories. And, you can have it in the Dining Room, as much as you want. My DH asked for 3 scoops and off to the Princess Theatre we went......A live show and Ice Cream....how much fun is that?

You really can not go wrong booking either line......

[Pam in CA]

In the past few months, I spent 28 days on the Prinsendam and just recently, 20 days on the Amsterdam. Both were excellent cruises and you'll find a lot more similar than different between HAL and Princess. I agree with the comment that the HAL service is no better than Princess (my steward on the Prinsendam was definitely one of the worst) and overall, I think the food is better on Princess with more, and better, "Always Available" items on the menu but it's really not all that different. One of my few complaints about HAL is that the buffet closes at 2PM for lunch (a bummer if you have a morning tour that gets back late) and at 8PM for dinner (which means you have to get there before 7:30PM or otherwise, you won't have time to get more salad or even dessert.) On the other hand, the hamburger and sandwiches on the Amsterdam were terrific, much better than Princess.

 

You'll have a great time on a HAL cruise. :)

[bilvan]

We are also considering a HAL cruise, 15 nights roundtrip Hawaii, instead of Princess. We love Princess, however this one looks like a better Spa (it has a thermal suite....important to us with so many Sea Days). Hal also has a better itinerary for Hawaii. We LOVE Princess.......will we be disapointed with HAL, can anyone tell me what differences to expect?

 

Thanks,

Anne

 

Zandam 15 day cruise to HI was NOT better than {Princess 15 day to HI (2 cruises)

HAKL was adequate, but not better smaller size was nice 1700

less entertainment

[sackman]

I've sailed on the Zandaam and loved it. It's a beautiful ship. It's easy to navigate. The big organ in the atrium is cool, too. I wouldn't hesitate to sail her again.

[Nymue]

Thank you all for your input, it's been very helpful!

 

Anne

[Sailor Gal]

We sailed the new Eurodam in Nov. 08 and had a great time, but frankly didn't see any improvements over our Princess experiences. We tried HAL because we had read how wonderful the service was. We did not find this to be true at all. Matter of fact our room steward was never to be seen. We ended up having to ask the room steaward down the hall for ice, towels, etc. and tipped him extra. It could be the ship or the 7 day itinerary that made the difference. I would try HAL again, but not that particular ship. Not impressed...... (I know this won't be a popular remark, but there were a lot of older people on board - which is fine, however, many of them were huge complainers and it negatively impacted my experience listening to all the complaints.)