New to Hal

[margaritawoman]

We will be doing Alaska the last week in August. This will be our first cruise on Hal but have been on 16 cruises before this. Carnival, RCCL & Princess. Princess being our favorite. Can someone who has also cruised on Princess give me some info on what to expect. The things we really enjoy on Princess is the traditional dining, and the after dinner shows. How will Hal compare?
We have booked a minisuite. I have been told there is a special lounge for suite passagers. Does this apply to the minisuite also. If so please give some examples of the benifits of this area. Thanks so much.

[Randyk47]

Welcome to the Holland America section. We've never sailed Princess, though we are thinking of it, but think you'll have a great cruise and experience on HAL. The ships and the people are just super. You asked about a "minisuite" having suite privileges in the Nepture Lounge. It's hard to specifically answer your question without knowing the letter category of your cabin and on what ship. The basic answer is that only the Penthouse Suites and Deluxe Verandah Suites qualify for the Neptune Lounge. On the Vista class ships there's a category called Superior Verandah Suites but the name is misleading and that category does not get suite perks. A and B category cabins are also called "suites" but aren't really suites, at least not in the sense that they get suite perks like the Neptune Lounge. Hope that's not too confusing but we need some additional information to give you an exact answer.

[Roz]

The Neptune Lounge is available to the S and PS cabin categories.

HAL has traditional dining, so you should be OK there. There are pre- and post- dinner shows (depending on dining times), but I don't know how they compare to Princess.

Roz

[Krazy Kruizers]

Minisuites do not have use of the Neptune Lounge.

It has been several years since we sailed on Princess. We gave them up when they went to "Personal Choice".

You will find the cabin bigger than on Princess.

HAL also serves free hot appetizers for about an hour before dinner in the CRow's Nest and the Ocean Bar.

[Betsy's Mom]

So glad all is okay healthwise and your trip is on! Enjoy!:)
B.

[Desert Cruisers]

We are Platinum on Princess. This Spring, we cruised to Hawaii on HAL - Amsterdam. Although the crowd was older on Amsterdam (we were "youngsters" at ages 52 and 60), we were very pleased with HAL.

1. Our interior cabin on the Amsterdam was bigger than any cabin we have had on Princess. We even had a small sofa. Cabin size might vary from ship to ship.
2. There was no "personal choice" dining on the Amsterdam. We had late traditional dining. The dress code was generally enforced with sports jackets required on informal evenings. We had no problem with the dress code but some cruisers want casual all of the time. HAL may not be for them.
3. We do enjoy dancing and thought that HAL did a better job at providing venues for a pre-dinner rhumba or waltz.
4. Regarding food, each cruise line has strengths and weaknesses. Princess has better pasta dishes and souffles. Holland America has, overall, a better menu including some Indonesian offerings. The afternoon tea service on Princess is significantly better than on HAL.
5. As for after-dinner entertainment, it is not important to us given that we live in Las Vegas. Our impression is that it is very "hit and miss" with occasional winners.:)