Just Booked, New to HAL with ???

[minner80]

Hi! I just booked our first cruise with HAL. We have previously sailed with Carnival, NCL, and Princess. We booked the Zaanam to Panama Canal. It is a 10 day cruise, how many formal nights will there be? We are in a B cat suite, will that allow us priority boarding? IS there somewhere on HAL site, that I can order gifts for the cabin? If anyone has sailed Princess in a mini- suite, how does it compare with HAL? As much closet space? Are there 2 t.v.'s? A mini- fridge, etc... Thanks so much!

[Orcrone]

Hi! I just booked our first cruise with HAL. We have previously sailed with Carnival, NCL, and Princess. We booked the Zaanam to Panama Canal. It is a 10 day cruise, how many formal nights will there be? We are in a B cat suite, will that allow us priority boarding? IS there somewhere on HAL site, that I can order gifts for the cabin? If anyone has sailed Princess in a mini- suite, how does it compare with HAL? As much closet space? Are there 2 t.v.'s? A mini- fridge, etc... Thanks so much!Welcome to HAL.

Ten day cruises generally have three formal nights (tux or suit) and two informal nights (jacket required, tie not required). Although B may be called a suite, it is a little larger than an outside cabin and has a verandah. There are no suite privileges, including priority embarkation, that go with it. There is only one TV. I'm not sure about the fridge, but if it doesn't come with one you can order one from HAL for about $2.00 per day.

This link on the HAL web site (http://www.hollandamerica.com/onboard/gifts.do) will allow you to order gifts for the cabin.

[jhannah]

Welcome to the HAL board. We, too, have sailed Princess. HAL ships tend to have a bit more formal appearance. Fresh flowers and fine art everywhere. The staterooms are a tad larger than the industry standard. (BTW, we will be on the Zaandam in May.) I believe you will enjoy your Holland America experience.

[Esme]

Yes, mini-suites (A&B) have small refrigerators. Lots of closet space with a safe in one of the closets. Also lots of drawer space.

[Pilot70D]

We cruised with Princess for the three cruises preceeding our recent Volendam cruise. All of the Princess cruises were on their 'Grand' class vessels. We had minisuites on all of these cruises as well as on the Volendam.

The Princess minisuites are slightly (just) larger than HAL and are very simular in layout. On Hal, the minisuites have only one TV vs. two on Princess. The bathroom on HAL is bigger and better with the tub being a jacuzzi. In the Princess minisuite there is one large closet which is larger than the closet space on HAL. The closets on HAL are better and a lot more useful. These closets are four individual closets with fold down shelves in case part or all of any given closet isn't needed for hanging clothes. This is a really handy feature.

The desk on HAL is larger and is actually useful. There is a minifridge which is big enough to hold bottles of wine and so forth. The verandas on both lines are nearly identical.

We liked the layout and livability of the HAL minisuite a little better. I did a live report dialy from the Volendam during our December 6 cruise. It contains more details. I invite you to look at this thread which is titled "Live From The Volendam Dialy Report" (yes, I did misspell 'daily').

Overall we liked our HAL cruise better in almost every respect. The one thing that we miss most (and wish HAL would adopt) is personal choice dining. We liked HAL enough better that we booked the 14 day Veendam cruise sailing November 26.

I hope this info is helpful and that you enjoy your upcoming HAL cruise as much as we did ours. Everyone have a great day out there.