Love Princess & Celebrity, Will We Be Happy With HAL?

[Oink]

We are a child-free couple in our mid-40's who have been on 10 cruise over the past 5.5 years. My DH fears HAL will be too old a crowd for us. We are looking at the Vista class 7 day itineraries only. Would appreciate your opinions. Thanks....Oink! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Celebrity Summit - 7 Day Western May '04
Coral Princess - 10 Day Canal Feb '04
Grand Princess - 7 Day Western Nov '03
Celebrity Summit - 10 Day Ultimate Apr '03
Sea Princess - 7 Day Southern Nov '02
Grand Princess - 7 Day Western Dec '01
Celebrity Galaxy - 7 Day Southern Apr '01
Carnival Ecstasy - 3 Day Bahamas Jul '00
Celebrity Mercury - 7 Day Western Feb '00
Carnival Ecstasy - 3 Day Bahamas Dec '98

[Toto2Kansas]

We loved it, and we were used to sailing on Princess. It is a bit different, but we thought a bit more elegant then Princess.
Especially on the 7 day itinerary you will find a younger crowd then on the longer sailings.

Tahitian Princess 10/14/04
RCI-Legend of the Seas 3/27/05 Panama Canal.
One Phantom Booking still open with Princess.

[lgt]

Husband & I took our first cruiseon HAL in'99. We have taken5 on HAL since. We have also been on RCCL. This summer will be our 1st Princess. On HAL, it depends on when you are going. Last summer, we were on the Zuiderdam with 3 teens. The ship was beautiful & very active. The kids (& us) had a wonderful time. We were on the Veendam in Nov. and there were more older folks, but it is off season for cruising and it didn't feel like everyone was going to sleep in the early evening, just more subdued than summer. We have been on a 10 day cruise in Oct. on HAL in 2002 and there were lots and lots of older people. The longer the itinerary & all that. That all said, it depends on what you are looking for in a vacation. If you are looking for non-stop pool games, wet t-shirt contests, and lots of young people, try Carnival or RCCL. If you want exceptional service, and a more subdued atmosphere, try HAL. Can't comment on Princess since we haven't tried it yet. TA says it will be pretty much the same experience as last summer with HAL. Hope this helps, but probably not!

[torpeedo]

We have been on many HAL ships and we enjoy HAL's service and find them to cater to all ages. The Vista class does attract more diversity in ages. We have sailed the Zuiderdam and loved it! We have sailed other lines and HAL is comparable or better.

http://www.animatedgif.net/animals/wateranimals/aquarium_e0.gif
12/5/04 Legend
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Veendam 11/26/05
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[Italy52]

We have sailed HAL's Zuiderdam to the Caribbean and the Dawn Princess to the Caribbean. Loved both ships. Service, atmosphere, and age group about the same. Nice diversity, not too old, not too young. Cabins seemed a bit smaller on HAL compared to Princess. Princess also has a slight edge on the food than HAL. Loved HAL's buffet, nice variety. However, their dinner menus were rather boring and did not varry much. Found the food overcooked at times. We also give the edge to Princess for their PC dining option, not available on HAL. Whichever line you choose, I am sure you will have a wonderful time.

[Lynda90]

We sailed on the Amsterdam to Alaska two years ago on HAL and had a wonderful trip. I am in your age category and didn't notice the age group. Now that I think about it, the crowd may have been a little older than Princess, but definitely not noticeably so. There were almost no chidren on board, which didn't bother me at all. The food was excellent and we stayed in a deluxe outside cabin with balcony and tub/shower which is usually reserved for mini-suites and above. But on HAL you can get all that in an outside cabin. Also, there was no extra charge for dining in their very fancy restaurant (I can't remember the name). All in all it was a beautiful, memorable cruise and I think you will be very happy with HAL. All that being said, I still prefer Princess.

Lynda

[Druke I]

Been on Celebrity (Mercury) once;

Been on Holland America thrice (Noordam, Maasdam, and former Westerdam:

Been on Princess many many times.

All three good, but I maintain Princess has best selection of itineraries, particularly their exotics.

If I had to rate the food, I would give 1st to HAL, 2nd to Celebrity, and 3rd Princess, but not an awful lot of separation, other than HAL and Celebrity has better presentation.

HAL excels in guest lecturers and art aboard, but their main showlounges do not always have good sightlines.

Princess excels in production shows.

Celebrity Lido stewards are the most helpful of the three, particularly for those who are elderly or those not steady on their feet.

Bottom line, I think all three do a good job serving their niche of the market, which does overlap.

Michael

[geoherb]

We're thinking of taking a short cruise (5-nights) on the Ziuderdam in December. It's the best fit for our schedule in that we'd be back in time for Christmas.

Although HAL has a reputation for an older crowd, I did not really see it when we were on the Star Princess last summer in Alaska--following the Amsterdam around to all the ports. Some of the HAL passengers were on the ferry from Skagway to Haines with us and said they were having a great time.

[Dr Oink]

http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif Thanks for all your input! We are looking at the Nov 20th (Thanksgiving) sailing of the Zuiderdam's Eastern itinerary. We have sailed over both Christmas and Thanksgiving in the past. Christmas seemed to have hoards of families, but it wasn't really an issue. Thanksgiving seemed to have the perfect mix of ages...not to mention it's MUCH cheaper!

We like Princess because their dress code isn't so rigid, their pools and hot tubs are open 24 hours and you can always find food....no matter what hour! We like Celebrity because they have so many little touches that make them stand out, their service is fabulous, and we always make friends on Celebrity cruises. Oh, and we love to gamble....how is the casino on the Vista class ships? http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif Oink! http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

Celebrity Summit 7 Day - May '04
Coral Princess 10 Day - Feb '04
Grand Princess 7 Day - Nov '03
Celebrity Summit 10 Day - Apr '03
Sea Princess 7 Day - Nov '02
Grand Princess 7 Day - Dec '01
Celebrity Galaxy 7 Day - Apr '01
Carnival Ecstasy 3 Day - July '00
Celebrity Mercury 7 Day - Feb '00
Carnival Ecstasy 3 Day - Dec '98