HAL cruiser returns from first Princess Cruise.......

[FlorenceItaly]

and we LOVED it. A bit about us, I am 45, dh is 59. Our previous cruises include HAL, RCI, Celebrity, and Carnival. I guess you could consider me a HAL cheerleader, lol. Since Sept. 2007 one or both of us have taken 2 Carnival cruises, one HAL, and our first Princess. After the Carnival cruise, we decided it would be awhile before our next one or it would have to be an extremely good deal. We had an excellent experience, and am not quite sure why we(mostly me) felt this way, but we did. I cruised on the Oosterdam in Feb, which is similar in tonage as the Dawn Princess. I still love HAL, but for future cruises we will most likely choose Princess if the price is comparable.

We sailed on the Dawn Princess, April 27-May 4, Mexican Riviera.

Cabin size - We had an inside and were very comfortable. I was amazed. The layout was great with lots of storage. I sailed solo in Feb. in an inside and felt it was very small, and it was just myself. The Vista class insides are smaller(143 sq. ft) versus 185 on the R and S ships. I have sailed on the Maasdam, Veendam, Zuiderdam, and Oosterdam(2).

Service/Food - both excellent, but probably the edge to Princess especially in the dining room. We had anytime dining, btw. However, we did not exclusively dine in the dining room. We only had lunch in the dining room once, but the choices were numerous. Typically, on HAL I have trouble finding something in the dining room. On this particular day, I had trouble deciding. We dined with a friend that was on the Oosterdam in Feb., same cruise as myself, and she agreed. For the lido, I would give HAL the edge, especially for lunch. For dinner, in the lido, Princess wins as there is more choices. Food great on both lines. Room service, HAL wins, no question.
Princess offers no hot meals.

Entertainment - This goes to Princess. I loved the two showrooms, so you had a choice of shows, and could even do both. On this particular sailing the disco was dead, but that has been our experience on HAL also. There were people in the disco on Princess, but I think the dj was the problem.

Activities - I was amazed at the amount of activities offered throughout the day. They also offered several onboard lectures. Princess definitely offers more than HAL.

Drink prices - definitely higher on Princess. We did carry on wine and soda which was allowed. We still had a nice bar bill.

This is a short review, so feel free to ask further questions. I hope this will be helpful to those considering Princess. This is only my opinion, and I understand there are Princess cruisers on this HAL board that prefer HAL. I was a bit hesitant going into this cruise because HAL is a tough act to follow, imo, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I do some solo cruising, and those will most likely still be on HAL as it is solo friendly in pricing. Princess is not. Most sailings are 200%.


Marie

[Atomica]

Marie, I'm so glad to hear you had an excellent time on the Dawn Princess! We're right there with you - we loved the ability to do more than one show every evening (or alternate, in case we'd seen one already!) We also felt the same way about dining (though points to HAL for having that delicious deli station in the lido).

Maybe we'll run into you on Princess some day ;)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Marie, Welcome Home :)

I am so glad to hear you had such a great time. With the Oosterdam leaving San Diego Princess will mostly be our alternative for the Mexican Riviera. We will be sailing the Sapphire Princess one year from Friday and have a Mini Suite booked. I just hope that they at least leave one nice ship sailing a 7 day Mexican Riviera run for Fall/Spring 2009/2010 If our cruise goes like I expect it is very possible that Princess will see us more often as well.

As for prices of drinks for Princess the one thing I found was that they offered some better Sparkling Wines at a far more reasonable price. HAL's prices are extremely high and do not have much for selection. In all honesty I would rather just buy bottles on board.

Marie, you might want to consider joining us on the May 9th repo cruise next. It is an extremely unique itinerary and already a huge Roll Call.

[FlorenceItaly]

Hi Lisa,

I think you will be happy with the Princess product. Also, as of now, you are able to carry some wine on board. We carried on two bottles. People say the limit is one per person, but from what I have read, it varies from port to port. However, you must call room service for the wine glasses. Rhonda was on the cruise with us, and she enjoyed it very much. She says her favorite cruise lines are HAL and Princess, and I am now saying the same thing.


I did consider that particular Sapphire sailing, but I decided it was too close($$) to my Europe cruise later this year. I have tentatively booked the 11 night Wine Cruise on Celebrity Mercury for Oct 12, 2009. It is a similar itinerary to the Sapphire, but a few more ports, and longer. This also gives me a few more months to recover from the Europe cruise(which I probably shouldn't even be taking).

Lisa, Aaron, I really appreciate the responses :).


Marie

[cruisinbulldog]

I agree Princess product is my second choice after HAL..For me HAL service is superior and the ships are traditionally appointed..Princess gets my vote on entertainment through out the day..

Bulldog

[lorekauf]

I never thought I would find a cruise line that I like as much as HAL but Princess is right up there.

I am a solo cruiser for the most part and even though Princess changes 200% the cruises are still cheaper on Princess then HALs single supplement of around 140%. The cruise I am taking in Mar.09 was around $1400 less on Princess then HAL for a 14 day. That's a no brainer for me:) .

[fathercop]

ExaltHim - Glad you enjoyed your cruise. For our part we are looking at HAL for 2009. We heard lots of good things about HAL and DW was on HAL many years ago. So far I have enjoyed Princess, but I am looking at some of the ports that HAL goes to that Princess doesn't.

Good luck and enjoy your cruises!

[jhannah]

Welcome back, Marie. We've sailed 4 different Princess ships and found them all to be very nice. They do have a fine product. A great alternative if HAL can't meet your needs.

[obriendan]

Welcome back, Marie. Enjoyed your review. We've never cruised on Princess but your review has me thinking about it.

Now it is time to get serious about October 30th and the Prinsendam!:D

Dan

[sassyredhat]

This is reassuring. We're planning Princess to Alaska, and HAL IS a hard act to follow.

Pat

[Solo Cruiser]

Welcome home Marie! Lucky me, I've only sailed Princess and HAL so no wonder I've had a "super cruise" every time. :D

[DeRon]

Marie, thank you for your comments. As you can see in my signature, we are Princess people. We are having a hard time deciding if we would like HAL. The main things we wonder if we would like are the nightly activities, shows, and the overall liveliness of the ship. It seems like Princess is hopping in the evenings. Is HAL totally sedate after dinner?

Also, I am very intrigued about solo cruising. Why is that something that you like? Are you with frineds? Or do you make them onbaord? Or maybe you love to be alone for a week. Just wondering.

[liv2cruise4ever]

[quote=ExaltHim;14546871]and we LOVED it. A bit about us, I am 45, dh is 59. Our previous cruises include HAL, RCI, Celebrity, and Carnival. I guess you could consider me a HAL cheerleader, lol. Since Sept. 2007 one or both of us have taken 2 Carnival cruises, one HAL, and our first Princess. After the Carnival cruise, we decided it would be awhile before our next one or it would have to be an extremely good deal. We had an excellent experience, and am not quite sure why we(mostly me) felt this way, but we did. I cruised on the Oosterdam in Feb, which is similar in tonage as the Dawn Princess. I still love HAL, but for future cruises we will most likely choose Princess if the price is comparable.

We sailed on the Dawn Princess, April 27-May 4, Mexican Riviera.

Cabin size - We had an inside and were very comfortable. I was amazed. The layout was great with lots of storage. I sailed solo in Feb. in an inside and felt it was very small, and it was just myself. The Vista class insides are smaller(143 sq. ft) versus 185 on the R and S ships. I have sailed on the Maasdam, Veendam, Zuiderdam, and Oosterdam(2).

Service/Food - both excellent, but probably the edge to Princess especially in the dining room. We had anytime dining, btw. However, we did not exclusively dine in the dining room. We only had lunch in the dining room once, but the choices were numerous. Typically, on HAL I have trouble finding something in the dining room. On this particular day, I had trouble deciding. We dined with a friend that was on the Oosterdam in Feb., same cruise as myself, and she agreed. For the lido, I would give HAL the edge, especially for lunch. For dinner, in the lido, Princess wins as there is more choices. Food great on both lines. Room service, HAL wins, no question.
Princess offers no hot meals.

Entertainment - This goes to Princess. I loved the two showrooms, so you had a choice of shows, and could even do both. On this particular sailing the disco was dead, but that has been our experience on HAL also. There were people in the disco on Princess, but I think the dj was the problem.

Activities - I was amazed at the amount of activities offered throughout the day. They also offered several onboard lectures. Princess definitely offers more than HAL.

Drink prices - definitely higher on Princess. We did carry on wine and soda which was allowed. We still had a nice bar bill.

This is a short review, so feel free to ask further questions. I hope this will be helpful to those considering Princess. This is only my opinion, and I understand there are Princess cruisers on this HAL board that prefer HAL. I was a bit hesitant going into this cruise because HAL is a tough act to follow, imo, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I do some solo cruising, and those will most likely still be on HAL as it is solo friendly in pricing. Princess is not. Most sailings are 200%.


Marie[/quote

Marie,

:D :D :D :D :D I'm so glad you enjoyed the Dawn as much as we did! Your review is a very good comparison of the two lines. Both are great products. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise either one again. As for entertainment, HAL's Joel Mason is the BEST show I've ever seen at sea. Especially when he teams up with Julie Barr.
How did you like the promenade? I am going to miss the Dawn when she departs for Australia. Actually she'll be in SF tomorrow....hmmmm. Nah, nix that idea, I have to work.:cool:

Your Bro,
John

I

[localady]

Marie-
Thanks for the honest comparison. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed Princess as we too will consider them for Mexico after the O's departure.:rolleyes: :D

We have other friends who were avid HAL cruisers and have decided to sail almost exclusively Princess. Knowing you as I do, I know that you would be fair and balanced in your assessment.

Thanks for taking the time to share your cruise with us ! :D :D

[ducklovemama]

and we LOVED it. A bit about us, I am 45, dh is 59. Our previous cruises include HAL, RCI, Celebrity, and Carnival. I guess you could consider me a HAL cheerleader, lol. Since Sept. 2007 one or both of us have taken 2 Carnival cruises, one HAL, and our first Princess. After the Carnival cruise, we decided it would be awhile before our next one or it would have to be an extremely good deal. We had an excellent experience, and am not quite sure why we(mostly me) felt this way, but we did. I cruised on the Oosterdam in Feb, which is similar in tonage as the Dawn Princess. I still love HAL, but for future cruises we will most likely choose Princess if the price is comparable.

We sailed on the Dawn Princess, April 27-May 4, Mexican Riviera.

Cabin size - We had an inside and were very comfortable. I was amazed. The layout was great with lots of storage. I sailed solo in Feb. in an inside and felt it was very small, and it was just myself. The Vista class insides are smaller(143 sq. ft) versus 185 on the R and S ships. I have sailed on the Maasdam, Veendam, Zuiderdam, and Oosterdam(2).

Service/Food - both excellent, but probably the edge to Princess especially in the dining room. We had anytime dining, btw. However, we did not exclusively dine in the dining room. We only had lunch in the dining room once, but the choices were numerous. Typically, on HAL I have trouble finding something in the dining room. On this particular day, I had trouble deciding. We dined with a friend that was on the Oosterdam in Feb., same cruise as myself, and she agreed. For the lido, I would give HAL the edge, especially for lunch. For dinner, in the lido, Princess wins as there is more choices. Food great on both lines. Room service, HAL wins, no question.
Princess offers no hot meals.

Entertainment - This goes to Princess. I loved the two showrooms, so you had a choice of shows, and could even do both. On this particular sailing the disco was dead, but that has been our experience on HAL also. There were people in the disco on Princess, but I think the dj was the problem.

Activities - I was amazed at the amount of activities offered throughout the day. They also offered several onboard lectures. Princess definitely offers more than HAL.

Drink prices - definitely higher on Princess. We did carry on wine and soda which was allowed. We still had a nice bar bill.

This is a short review, so feel free to ask further questions. I hope this will be helpful to those considering Princess. This is only my opinion, and I understand there are Princess cruisers on this HAL board that prefer HAL. I was a bit hesitant going into this cruise because HAL is a tough act to follow, imo, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I do some solo cruising, and those will most likely still be on HAL as it is solo friendly in pricing. Princess is not. Most sailings are 200%.


Marie



I am glad that you had a great time. I have been on several princess cruises. I sailed on the dawn princess 3 years ago and had a blast as well.Its funny I will be cruising on HAL for the first time this late fall as you see below.I have heard nothing but the best comments about HAL. Princess cruises are really classy and I bet that HAL will be too.:)

[FinelyRetired]

Marie, Welcome Home :)

I am so glad to hear you had such a great time. With the Oosterdam leaving San Diego Princess will mostly be our alternative for the Mexican Riviera. We will be sailing the Sapphire Princess one year from Friday and have a Mini Suite booked. I just hope that they at least leave one nice ship sailing a 7 day Mexican Riviera run for Fall/Spring 2009/2010 If our cruise goes like I expect it is very possible that Princess will see us more often as well.

As for prices of drinks for Princess the one thing I found was that they offered some better Sparkling Wines at a far more reasonable price. HAL's prices are extremely high and do not have much for selection. In all honesty I would rather just buy bottles on board.

Marie, you might want to consider joining us on the May 9th repo cruise next. It is an extremely unique itinerary and already a huge Roll Call.

Well, the itinerary IS the thing, is it not? I've been on her and I'm thinking you'll be happy enough on the Sapphire. Esp. if she's going where you want to be.

I think of ships as "buses" to take me where I want to go. I'm not too picky as long as the itinerary is one I want.

Marie's assessment is fair. I'm no cruise veteran. Sapphire's service, crew, food were all okay. However...........and not that it should even matter.......but...heck.....I'll say it....

Sapphire isn't a particularly pretty ship. She's large, gangly, shaped like a "shopping cart" with a whole lot of blue plexiglass going on. My first cruise was on her and, although she was new...sadly for her she was berthed next to a HAL ship and looked "large, terribly large" :)

No big deal. But, I must admit, those dam ships are lovely to look at in port, with wonderful interiors and a wonderful sight to see after a long day sight seeing. Sapphire wont be as pretty to me as the Oosterdam on that SD webcam!

One thing I especially remember about the Sapphire was the great artwork on the landings of the stairwells? An odd thing.....but I did spend about 2 hours walking them all.

Enjoy, Martha

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Martha, Yes the itineray is one of the most unique ones I have ever seen which is what attracted me to book the Sapphire. It will be interesting to compare it to HAL

[FlorenceItaly]

Marie, thank you for your comments. As you can see in my signature, we are Princess people. We are having a hard time deciding if we would like HAL. The main things we wonder if we would like are the nightly activities, shows, and the overall liveliness of the ship. It seems like Princess is hopping in the evenings. Is HAL totally sedate after dinner?

Also, I am very intrigued about solo cruising. Why is that something that you like? Are you with frineds? Or do you make them onbaord? Or maybe you love to be alone for a week. Just wondering.

On the Vista class ships, imo, versus the R and S class there is a little more activity in the evenings. Of course, it depends on the crowd too. I am a believer in trying different lines so I encourage you to book HAL and see what you think.

I have been on 2 solo cruises(my first ones) where I knew no one. Two cruises were group cruises from two separate cruise boards. One time a friend met me there(separate cabins). Also, I have cruised with my sister(separate cabins). And, on one Celebrity cruise we had a very active Roll Call with lots of solo cruisers. With all that said, if my dh can not cruise with me, I prefer to cruise solo where I know no one or there is a very active Roll Call or CC groups. With the exception of my sister, of course. I enjoy the freedom of doing what I want, when I want. Plus I have become spoiled with my own room. I am very comfortable being alone, so that is not an issue with me. I am outgoing so if I want company, I start a conversation :).

I am very happily married(25 years), but my dh does not get much time off. He is a doll to not mind me cruising without him. In fact, my upcoming TA, is a solo one. I will miss him like crazy, and I am sure my internet bill will be sky high.
It is a 24 night cruise, and I am going in a few days early. Btw, we have a wonderful CC Roll Call.

I hope this helps shed some light for you.

Marie

[Sage]

LAFFNVEGAS,

Are you by any chance speaking of the costal cruise on the Saphire Princess that many are refering to as the wine country cruise? If so, we shall see you aboard.

[m steve]

Last Nov and Dec we sailed similar Caribbean cruises first w/ HAL on Westerdam and then the new Emerald Princess. Both were standard balcony cabins and about same per diem cost. HAL's cabin was larger andbalcony bigger. Food was comporable and shops quite similar. Access to dining room was better on Westerdam, no single entry with traffic jam. We had table booking problems on both but tehy corrected it faster on the Emerald. I don't need 2 tvs in a mini suite to get a couch to sit on in the cabin and pay $300+ more pp. I thought X was another equal choice but their new policy prohibiting smoking on the balcony takes them off our list unless my partner kicks the habit. Right now we are only looking at HAL cruises for 2009.

[Roz]

Hi Marie.

I appreciate your comments and observations, especially since I know you frequently sail solo.

I'm seriously considering Princess for a 12-day South American cruise in Feb., 2010. HAL's cruises are too long and too pricey; Carnival's are also too long (I'm forced to work to pay for these trips :D).

You've given me the confidence to go ahead and book.

Roz

[GCurry]

Hi Marie.
I appreciate your comments and observations, especially since I know you frequently sail solo.
I'm seriously considering Princess for a 12-day South American cruise in Feb., 2010. HAL's cruises are too long and too pricey; Carnival's are also too long (I'm forced to work to pay for these trips :D).
You've given me the confidence to go ahead and book.
Roz
We've cruised both, and love both lines as we've had nothing but a wonderful time with either.
Itinerary and price certainly play a part in what we book and with who, which it might also be for some of you.
We've tried other lines but so far HAL and Princess are our favorites.

Have a great cruise.

[BeagleOne]

I've done both lines in the last three years and on balance would prefer Princess. I really enjoyed the Maasdam and loved the vintage photos lining the companionways; the Zuiderdam interiors in 2005 were just awful IMHO. Not sure who the decorator was....but the Maasdam was lovely.

I think the food was better on Princess apart from the cheeses, which were really good on HAL. And the crowd on HAL was significantly older than on Princess, which for this 40-something makes Princess a better choice. More evening activities too, and I really enjoyed the outdoor movies on Princess.

However, I wouldn't hesitate to go on HAL again if the itinerary, dates, and prices suited. It was between HAL and Princess this year and Princess won because of those things.

[FlorenceItaly]

I have remembered a few more things I wanted to share.........

There were very few annoucements...only the noon Captains report, and late passenger names when we were in port. Other than those two times, nothing(no bingo, etc). I loved it.

Also, on one smart casual evening we saw people in shorts turned away from the dining room. They were very well dressed, but they were turned away. It is clearly stated in the Princess Patters no shorts in the dining room. I know there is much discussion on cruiseline enforcement(or lack of), but Princess seems to enforce it, at least on this ship.



Marie

[richnorto]

We love both lines! Princess seems to have better entertainment - by this I mean band by the pool daily and a better buffet. My husband LOVES this and spends bucks on buckets hanging out listening!!! Princess had a band by the pool for an hour - rained out -one day on an 11 day cruise! HAL has better DR food I think, but I think this varies by ships and chefs. HAL has better rooms, ie. bigger and stewards are great on both lines. I would book either in a second for the right price! Both a great time!

[KLLund]

Marie, Welcome Home :)

I am so glad to hear you had such a great time. With the Oosterdam leaving San Diego Princess will mostly be our alternative for the Mexican Riviera. We will be sailing the Sapphire Princess one year from Friday and have a Mini Suite booked. I just hope that they at least leave one nice ship sailing a 7 day Mexican Riviera run for Fall/Spring 2009/2010 If our cruise goes like I expect it is very possible that Princess will see us more often as well.

As for prices of drinks for Princess the one thing I found was that they offered some better Sparkling Wines at a far more reasonable price. HAL's prices are extremely high and do not have much for selection. In all honesty I would rather just buy bottles on board.

Marie, you might want to consider joining us on the May 9th repo cruise next. It is an extremely unique itinerary and already a huge Roll Call.


Lisa .. You are going to love the Sapphire .. my two favorite ships are the Oosterdam and the Sapphire. We did Mexican Riviera and Asia on the Sapphire and would go back in a second .. May huh .. I need to look at that !!

[Jade13]

Martha, Yes the itineray is one of the most unique ones I have ever seen which is what attracted me to book the Sapphire. It will be interesting to compare it to HAL

What is the unique itinerary? Thanks!

[DeRon]

Lisa .. You are going to love the Sapphire .. my two favorite ships are the Oosterdam and the Sapphire. We did Mexican Riviera and Asia on the Sapphire and would go back in a second .. May huh .. I need to look at that !!
We've never cruised on HAL before. What are the newer, "better" ships? I get their names confused.:o

[DeRon]

We love both lines! Princess seems to have better entertainment - by this I mean band by the pool daily and a better buffet. My husband LOVES this and spends bucks on buckets hanging out listening!!! Princess had a band by the pool for an hour - rained out -one day on an 11 day cruise! HAL has better DR food I think, but I think this varies by ships and chefs. HAL has better rooms, ie. bigger and stewards are great on both lines. I would book either in a second for the right price! Both a great time!
Are you saying that Princess usually has a band by the pool and this cruise had bad weather? Or are you saying that HAL has the better band by the pool situation?

[Stevesan]

We've never cruised on HAL before. What are the newer, "better" ships? I get their names confused.:o

The Vista class ships are "newer", but absolutely NOT "better". The Vistas are Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Eurodam. I sailed Zuiderdam once. That was my first, and likely only, cruise on a Vista ship. My still favorite ship is Rotterdam VI. Her sister is Amsterdam. These are classified R class and are beautifully decorated and, as Goldilocks said, "just right" in size. The S class ships are slightly smaller than the R class, but similar in design and decor. The S class are: Maasdam, Veendam,, Ryndam, and Statendam. There are two others, Volendam and Zaandam that are slightly similar in style and design to the R class, but slightly larger.
If you can find a cruise with the right price and itinerary I can definitely recommend HAL, but preferably on a non-Vista class ship. They are just too poorly designed. The Vistas are certainly not terrible, But they pale in comparison to the other HAL, Celebrity and Princess ships I've sailed.
This is an extract from my review of a Zuiderdam cruise limited to my ship experience and impressions, both the good and the ugly:

The Ship:
Zuiderdam has eleven decks. Decks four thru eight and part of deck two are cabins. Two per cabin occupancy is 1,824 with 800 crewmembers. She weighs 82,000 tons and is 935 feet long so that three circuits around the continuous lower promenade deck approximates one mile. She is powered by five diesel engines and one gas turbine, and she is propelled by 25,000 bhp Azipod props (more about these later). The décor is appropriate to the itinerary. Zuiderdam was built and designed for year round Caribbean cruising and the interior motifs reflect this concept. Some areas offer a challenge to navigate; especially the central lounges adjoining the casino on deck two. There are nooks, crannies and small corridors to deal with, somewhat similar to what is occasionally found in the lounge areas of some land resort hotels. Maybe this is what the designers had in mind? The central atrium is smaller than on the S Class ships. This provides more space for the lounges and other public areas, but I miss the larger atrium which I often use as a reference point for navigation.
The ship is impeccably clean and shows little signs of wear, a credit to the maintenance crew, her Hotel Manager Nick Burger, and Captain Johannes van Biljouw. Zuiderdam’s condition and appearance is extraordinary considering that 1800 people tramp through her every week.
Unlike the S Class ships, Zuiderdam does not have a passenger use laundry. Twice we used the $12 per ‘full bag’ laundry service. Both times delivery was next day.

The Lounges:
The Best:
Crow’s Nest. Great viewing lounge with huge wraparound window located forward on deck ten. Cocktail piano, also theme night music such as 50s & 60s tunes by CD. Explorer’s Lounge. Classical music by The Rosario Strings. This is also the venue for afternoon tea. Excellent snacks and a good selection of teas (save room for the scones!).

The Worst: Queen’s Lounge. So poorly designed that it’s useless for any function. That’s too bad because The HAL Cats, a truly good band fronted by a first-rate vocal quartet, plays danceable music here most nights.
Ocean Bar - Once again, poor design. This lounge is totally open to the atrium losing any identity as a lounge, and the dance floor is too small. For some incomprehensible reason, a divider is installed across the center of the seating area, disconnecting the rear of the lounge from the front. Music is by Meir & Rae Ann on drums and a piano. How eclectic is that? Music is mostly traditional dance: fox trot, waltz, tango, etc.

No Opinion: Northern Lights – Late night activity usually starting at 10PM, mostly disco and light rock. A DJ spinning CDs supplies music. Booth seating surrounds a largish dance floor. Design by Gateway.

There’s also a Sports Bar. Since the signal is international, the TV schedules are mainly soccer. A WNBA game was showing on NFL Sunday afternoon! To be fair, they do pick up Sunday and Monday night NFL games.

The Vista Lounge, The main showroom is forward on decks one and two. This is an attractive room of good design with comfortable seating. Just don’t sit behind one of the many pillars or in the rear of the upper section. Unfortunately, the quality of the shows does not match the setting. The production shows are LOUD. Who decided that loud is good? To paraphrase Shakespeare, let’s kill all the soundmen, too! Following cruise ship tradition there are two production shows. The first was decent, but the second, a review of movie musicals, was near unbearable. Almost every number, including the romantic ballads, was programmed in a hyper, upbeat tempo, making all the tunes sound alike. The show was completely out of sync and boring. The music for the production shows is prerecorded. Did I mention that it is LOUD? The cast was excellent with talented dancers and singers, all completely wasted. We didn’t repeat any shows during week two.


The Vista Dining Room: An attractive and well-constructed design. There are two levels located aft on decks two and three. Seating is well organized with comfortable chairs and some banquet tables. Best of all, each dining area has its own galley located immediately adjacent to the dining rooms. Instead of waiting for dumb waiters from a galley below, dishes are more directly served. This means hot dishes arrive hot and cold are offered cold. You do want to avoid seating the far aft section of the lower dining room. When cranked up the Azipod propulsion system delivers a significant vibration. The shaking is primarily felt on the back end of the lower deck. However, it’s only a problem when the engines are pressed. The captain tries to maintain lower revs during dining hours, but there are times they must be turned up. When this happens the place settings won’t dance off the tables, but it’s definitely uncomfortable.

Our cabin:
Since we were on for two weeks I upgraded us from our usual standard outside to a “superior verandah suite” located amidships on deck six. The SS cabin is @ 288sft, and the balcony 100sft. The room is well designed with two queen size beds, which we had put together, a restful full sized fold out sofa, three chairs (one too many), a glass top coffee table, a writing desk and the standard desk. There are plenty of drawers, shelves and closets. The bathroom is large, with a full size Jacuzzi tub, a separate shower stall, double sinks, two medicine chests and a long shelf running under the sinks. The standard outside cabins, as well as the inside (if you don’t mind the dark), are more than adequate in size and design. DVD rentals are available from the front desk. There’s a $25 deposit for each disk.

Dining:
The Vista dining room offerings are equal to, and often exceed, Celebrity. The quality and presentation is far better than on the other HAL ships we’ve sailed on. Menu selections are extensive: two or three selections are available for each precourse and there are four primary and three “from the grill” optional entrees every night. Steaks and prime rib are delivered to order; however, note that medium rare is usually too rare for the distaff side.

[Copper10-8]

The Vista class ships are "newer", but absolutely NOT "better". The Vistas are Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam and Eurodam.
.....................

You mean Noordam, right?;) Thanks for the review!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Lisa .. You are going to love the Sapphire .. my two favorite ships are the Oosterdam and the Sapphire. We did Mexican Riviera and Asia on the Sapphire and would go back in a second .. May huh .. I need to look at that !!

Kathy you should definitely think about joining us:) Just yesterday I moved my cabin on this. I had wanted an AA Mini Suite but was toward the aft but I just found where a midship AA opened up so I switched. If I could see a bright light at the end of the tunnel for the economy and car business I would book a Vista cabin in a heart beat but I would hate to book it now then find I need to step down later and all those cabins are gone :o My TA was on the Sapphire this past December in Asia as well and said we will love this ship.

What is the unique itinerary? Thanks!

The cruise is one year from yesterday and is a full 7 day repo cruise.

http://www.princess.com/images/global/spacer.gifhttp://www.princess.com/mapgen/images/LCV070sm.jpg (javascript:enlargeMap('LCV070'))http://www.princess.com/images/destination/BySea.gifItineraryPortArrival
Departure
1
Los Angeles, California12:00 AM
4:00 PM2
Santa Barbara, California7:00 AM
4:00 PM3
San Francisco, California8:00 AM
10:00 PM4
At Sea
5
Astoria, Oregon7:00 AM
5:00 PM6
Seattle, Washington9:00 AM
10:00 PM7
Victoria, British Columbia8:00 AM
10:00 PM8
Vancouver, British Columbia7:30 AM

I would love it if HAL did cruises like this rather than those very short 4 day ones, the always go out with only 30% to
40% occupancy, then attempt to do a 2 or 3 dayer that has even less that htey give away. If they did a full 7 day cruise they could ask a lot more and be almost sold out at a year from the sailing. I think this is one time HAL needs to follow what their sister company is doing.

[FlorenceItaly]

[SIZE=4]I would love it if HAL did cruises like this rather than those very short 4 day ones, the always go out with only 30% to
40% occupancy, then attempt to do a 2 or 3 dayer that has even less that htey give away. If they did a full 7 day cruise they could ask a lot more and be almost sold out at a year from the sailing. I think this is one time HAL needs to follow what their sister company is doing.

Lisa,
I have always thought this too!


Marie

[gwenmarie]

I just returned from a 23 day cruise on the Star Princess. We have been on several other cruise lines and HAL was our favorite. We were surprised to find no live music at any of the pools at any time the entire cruise from
Chile to Seattle! Missed the HAL ice cream and pre dinner chees plates as well. Princess may have more entertainment in the evening,but HAL's is better quality. My spouse likes the HAL ships as they look like a ship!

[FlorenceItaly]

I just returned from a 23 day cruise on the Star Princess. We have been on several other cruise lines and HAL was our favorite. We were surprised to find no live music at any of the pools at any time the entire cruise from
Chile to Seattle! Missed the HAL ice cream and pre dinner chees plates as well. Princess may have more entertainment in the evening,but HAL's is better quality. My spouse likes the HAL ships as they look like a ship!

Welcome Home. It sounds like you were on a wonderful itinerary. The Star Princess is a 2,600 passenger ship so I can understand what your spouse means about HAL ships look like a ship. On our 7 day with Princess we did have pool bands. My experience with HAL has been that the pool bands have been very, very minimal(if any).

Edited to ask a question about the Star Princess: I have a very good friend that will be sailing on her in January. What she loves about the HAL ships is the promenade deck as she loves to read in the teak chairs on this particular deck. Does the Star offer anything like this? The Dawn did, however, it is a much smaller ship. We also love to sit and read on the promenade deck.


Marie

[DeRon]

I have been on the Star, and it does offer a Promenade deck with chairs for reading. But I will say that I have seen pictures of HAL's Promenade decks, and they are much nicer and "old fashoined" (or "classic") than on Princess.

[Lynne Myrna]

and we LOVED it. A bit about us, I am 45, dh is 59. Our previous cruises include HAL, RCI, Celebrity, and Carnival. I guess you could consider me a HAL cheerleader, lol. Since Sept. 2007 one or both of us have taken 2 Carnival cruises, one HAL, and our first Princess. After the Carnival cruise, we decided it would be awhile before our next one or it would have to be an extremely good deal. We had an excellent experience, and am not quite sure why we(mostly me) felt this way, but we did. I cruised on the Oosterdam in Feb, which is similar in tonage as the Dawn Princess. I still love HAL, but for future cruises we will most likely choose Princess if the price is comparable.

We sailed on the Dawn Princess, April 27-May 4, Mexican Riviera.

Cabin size - We had an inside and were very comfortable. I was amazed. The layout was great with lots of storage. I sailed solo in Feb. in an inside and felt it was very small, and it was just myself. The Vista class insides are smaller(143 sq. ft) versus 185 on the R and S ships. I have sailed on the Maasdam, Veendam, Zuiderdam, and Oosterdam(2).

Service/Food - both excellent, but probably the edge to Princess especially in the dining room. We had anytime dining, btw. However, we did not exclusively dine in the dining room. We only had lunch in the dining room once, but the choices were numerous. Typically, on HAL I have trouble finding something in the dining room. On this particular day, I had trouble deciding. We dined with a friend that was on the Oosterdam in Feb., same cruise as myself, and she agreed. For the lido, I would give HAL the edge, especially for lunch. For dinner, in the lido, Princess wins as there is more choices. Food great on both lines. Room service, HAL wins, no question.
Princess offers no hot meals.

Entertainment - This goes to Princess. I loved the two showrooms, so you had a choice of shows, and could even do both. On this particular sailing the disco was dead, but that has been our experience on HAL also. There were people in the disco on Princess, but I think the dj was the problem.

Activities - I was amazed at the amount of activities offered throughout the day. They also offered several onboard lectures. Princess definitely offers more than HAL.

Drink prices - definitely higher on Princess. We did carry on wine and soda which was allowed. We still had a nice bar bill.

This is a short review, so feel free to ask further questions. I hope this will be helpful to those considering Princess. This is only my opinion, and I understand there are Princess cruisers on this HAL board that prefer HAL. I was a bit hesitant going into this cruise because HAL is a tough act to follow, imo, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I do some solo cruising, and those will most likely still be on HAL as it is solo friendly in pricing. Princess is not. Most sailings are 200%.


Marie

Thanks so much for posting this, it was very helpful, as we are thinking of taking a Princess cruise in 09....
Lynne:)

[gwenmarie]

As I recently posted,just off the Star Princess and no deck chairs as all on the promande deck only benches and not a true promanade deck,up went up and down stairs to get around. The very top deck had a walking area about 1/3 the deck that had a nice floor finish but only sunning lounge chairs etc. I missed HAL's walking deck and chairs right off as I do enjoy reading and sea watching on sea days.

[niso2]

Not sure if anyone knows the answer to this- but when is Hal leaving San Diego- we were considering booking her for a Feb 09 to Mexico and I am sad to hear she may not be in San Diego!
Thanks

[Boatdrill]

With the Oosterdam leaving San Diego Princess will mostly be our alternative for the Mexican Riviera. We will be sailing the Sapphire Princess one year from Friday and have a Mini Suite booked. I just hope that they at least leave one nice ship sailing a 7 day Mexican Riviera run for Fall/Spring 2009/2010 If our cruise goes like I expect it is very possible that Princess will see us more often as well.



Just want to add...The Dawn Princess will not be back to San Diego for the 2009/2010 season....Princess will not have a ship in San Diego.

HAL and Carnival will be there, holding down the fort (or should I say port). HAL will have the Oosterdam there until early 2009, and another ship will do the usual 10 day, from September to May. And HAL will still have the 2 week round trip to Hawaii.

Too bad Princess won't have a presence in San Diego....the Dawn went out full each sailing this past season, as did the Oosterdam.

[Boatdrill]

Not sure if anyone knows the answer to this- but when is Hal leaving San Diego- we were considering booking her for a Feb 09 to Mexico and I am sad to hear she may not be in San Diego!
Thanks

Oosterdam's last cruise from San Diego is February 21, 2009. I believe.

The Ryndam will remain in San Diego for the 10 day trips to Sea of Cortez.

[pekachryn]

Marie, Welcome Home :)

I am so glad to hear you had such a great time. With the Oosterdam leaving San Diego Princess will mostly be our alternative for the Mexican Riviera. We will be sailing the Sapphire Princess one year from Friday and have a Mini Suite booked. I just hope that they at least leave one nice ship sailing a 7 day Mexican Riviera run for Fall/Spring 2009/2010 If our cruise goes like I expect it is very possible that Princess will see us more often as well.

Marie, you might want to consider joining us on the May 9th repo cruise next. It is an extremely unique itinerary and already a huge Roll Call.

Glad you had a good cruise, Marie. We cruise Princess and HAL equally. We have been leaning towards Princess lately, as we tend to get bigger cabins for less money. Of course, there are pros and cons for both. I do love that I get free internet on Princess now. That is worth a lot to me. And, we like that HAL has many more tables for two in the dining room, plus the better room service menu.

We did the Mexican Riviera on the Oosterdam two years ago and are going on the Sapphire Princess in Sept., so we'll see how they compare for the same trip.

Laffn, Sounds like you are going on the wine country repositioning cruise on the Sapphire next year? We have a big group booked on that.