Princess versus Holland America

We've been asked by some friends to join them on a TA on Princess next fall. Can someone who has sailed both please compare them for me. How are the cabins? Are they the same size as on Hal? I'm not as concerned about entertainment , but do want to know about food and staff. The ship is the Island Princess.Thanks you very much.:)

I have been lucky enough to experience both! Overall, Princess tends to be my first choice. If you like, HAL - you should like Princess.... Just a bit more Jazzy and younger crowd. I do prefer the buffet on HAL esp the eggs Benedick. I iike the fan tail pool on HAL. :-)

The service is comparable to HAL. The food, I would give the edge to HAL.

The cabins are about the same size. The only difference on the cabins, is that you need to have at least a mini Suite for a Sofa/Love Seat, whereas on HAL you get the Sofa/love Seat in the inside ocean view cabins.

I did a princess cruise out of San Francisco to Hawaii and found they had more going on as far as activities in Sea days than when I did the Hawaii cruise on Hal.

They each have their fine points.

Would sail on either one of them in a

minute.

As said no sofa on Princess till a mini.

But Princess has a frig in every room.

Hal has the sofa but no frig till a balcony.

I think Hal rooms are bigger.

We've had great service on both.

I'd say 50/50. I love the smaller Princess sisters but that's about it.

Sometimes one wins on food other times they loose, but food is soooo personal.

Cabin size pretty much the same. suggest looking at the HAL web ste for the ship you are used to and compare it whatever you are looking at on Princess' website.

I think with most Princess ships you need a mini-suite before you get a sofa which is a little disappointing. But HAL doesn't have a fridge in OV or lower, but I always want a balcony so it doesn't bother me.

I lean ever so slightly to princess on ambiance but will go on HAL if timing and itinerary suit, if friends wanted me to go on either I wouldn't hesitate.

On Princess I have sailed on the Star Princess, Grand Pricess and Coral Princess, which is identical to the Island Princess. I would only stay in a mini suite category as it has the larger bathroom and closet. However, it has only 1 sink and 1 medicine chest. On HAL I have sailed on the Amsterdam, Westerdam, Noordam, Oosterdam and Zuiderdam. We stay in SY and above as we prefer the double sink vanities, double medicine chests, jetted tub with shower, a seperate shower and a larger balcony that is covered. I like the interior colors of the Princess ships more than the loud colors of many of the HAL ships. I have heard the newer ship interior colors on HAL or not as flashy as the older ships.

There are more activities on Princess. HAL is much more subdued. I like the taste of the food on HAL better than Princess. HAL has Lox available at every meal and with room service. I had a hard time finding Lox on Princess. This may have changed since I last sailed on Princess. Princess buffet is open 7/24. HAL has scheduled hours and is not open all of the time. I find the food in the Lido buffet far better than the food in the Princess buffet. I also like the room service menu on HAL better than Princess. I also feel HAL has the edge over Princess food in the MDR.

I have never encountered any problems with employees while sailing on Princess. I will say, in my opinion, the HAL staff are much more friendly and courteous. On Princess, they will have a pool open 24 hours a day and they are fresh water pools. On HAL, the pools close at a certain time each day. I prefer the pools on Princess.

Keep in mind these are only my opinions. I have been solely sailing on HAL since 2007. You can have a wonderful cruise on either line.

Diane

Both have a wide variety of ship sizes in their fleets.

We find the level of service and then e friendliness of the staff to be identical-no discernable difference from our perspective.

Food and entertainment too subjective and too variable to say other than most cruise lines that we have been on have better entertainment than HAL.

The cabins on HAL are larger. Entertainment on Princess is better.

The cabins on HAL are larger. Entertainment on Princess is better.

I agree.

HAL's food and dining room service is way better, YMMV.

HAL's staff much friendlier IMO

Wooden promenade deck and deck chairs on HAL, not on princess.

Princess pizza better.

We are elite on Princess, three star on Holland America. I will say Princess has improved its product on a continual basis, especially food and the quality of their ships. I feel Holland has been on a significant decline in the food department, their aging fleet is showing wear and tear and service has declined. There was no Lido table service on the Prinsendam, I did not see a single beverage service in 14 days. The Lido serving lines were greatly understaffed. I was bored to death on the Prinsendam, dull, plain jane experience when not in port. Princess is a bit livelier but not a party ship by any means.

I feel The parent company has greatly devalued Holland America and there has been minimal investment in the product whereas cash is being pored into Princess to make it better.

Within Princess the Coral, Island are the premium ships.

Princess and HAL are the only two lines we have cruised on. We like them both and would not hesitate to book either of them again. As a matter of fact, our upcoming cruise is a B2B2B. The first week is on Princess, and the next two on HAL.

The cabins on HAL tend to be a bit larger. The food is comparable , maybe a bit better on HAL. The crew on HAL are mostly Indonesian and Filipino, whereas Princess has crew from around the world. Both are great and will do a great job looking after you. The entertainment on Princess is a bit better.

Overall we love both lines. Go on the cruise with your friends. Try out a new line. You will enjoy it.

We are also elite on Princess. It has been several years since we sailed on them.

So -- I have a question.

What are the beds like? Sheets? Pillows?

The last Princess ship I was on was the Ruby and the bed had a very hard mattress. IMO HAL beds are much more comfortable.

Other than that we have enjoyed both lines and find more similarities than differences.

HAL may have the edge in entertainment on cruises featuring the BB King Blues bands. Does Princess have anything comparable?

igraf

...Entertainment on Princess is better.

We are also elite on Princess. It has been several years since we sailed on them.

So -- I have a question.

What are the beds like? Sheets? Pillows?

I was on the sapphire in February. The bed was as comfortable as hal, maybe more comfortable. I hope they are in the process of changing their beds.

I find the service to be much better on princess than hal. The food is usually hotter tempature wise. Breakfast menu is more limited as is the brekie room service on princess. Shower are tiny on princess but the closet space is usually bigger on princess.

We've been asked by some friends to join them on a TA on Princess next fall. Can someone who has sailed both please compare them for me. How are the cabins? Are they the same size as on Hal? I'm not as concerned about entertainment , but do want to know about food and staff. The ship is the Island Princess.Thanks you very much.:)

Some of the questions are easy to answer.

Cabin size doesn't matter because you can book the size you desire or need on any cruise ship on any line.

Food is a matter of choice, and if you don't like the item you ordered, all cruise lines will willingly replace it.

The staff on all lines can vary as much as you see in the general public. Some are very good, and some not so good, so it the luck of the draw.

I have sailed on the Island Princess and a few HAL ships, and the biggest difference I have seen is the way they enforce the dress code. HAL was a little more strict, but that could have changed. All cruise lines seem to be relaxing their dress codes (unofficially.

But HAL doesn't have a fridge in OV or lower, but I always want a balcony so it doesn't bother me.

Although it's true there is no fridge in the inside/outside cabins on the eight S- & R-class ships, there is a fridge in every cabin on the Prinsendam, and the Vista/Signature ships.

So, if a fridge matters to you, it depends on what ship you're looking at as to whether or not you will have one, or need to rent one.

I was on the sapphire in February. The bed was as comfortable as hal, maybe more comfortable. I hope they are in the process of changing their beds.

 

I find the service to be much better on princess than hal. The food is usually hotter tempature wise. Breakfast menu is more limited as is the brekie room service on princess. Shower are tiny on princess but the closet space is usually bigger on princess.

Thank you

Are the shower heads on a long tube like HAL?

Thank you

Are the shower heads on a long tube like HAL?

Do you mean are the removable from the wall? I can't remember:o.

Although it's true there is no fridge in the inside/outside cabins on the eight S- & R-class ships, there is a fridge in every cabin on the Prinsendam, and the Vista/Signature ships.

So, if a fridge matters to you, it depends on what ship you're looking at as to whether or not you will have one, or need to rent one.

The fridge is a low priority. I'm more interested now in location of cabins and the new retrofit they're doing now on the Island. Putting in some aft cabins and am wondering if that means no walking deck.

We definately like HAL betters better. My understanding is that Princess has upgraded the beds. let's hope so otherwise you may need a mattress topper. We wil find out in Feb.

One other thing. We thought that HAL coffee was bad. But Princess coffee was even worse. We will get a coffee card on our cruise.

The back end of the Island promenade deck will house new aft balconies. The Coral and Island were built as premium ships to sail the Panama Canal and Alaska. We've been on both ships multiple times and IMO they are the best mass market ships we have sailed. We are booked again on Coral next year for Alaska. No changes planned at this time for Coral.

The Island is being moved to the Mediterranean to do the Venice sailings. Venice is putting big restrictions on ship size, the Princess grand class ships will not be allowed. Therefore Princess wants to increase capacity on Island. We were just in Venice on Oceania Marina and our shuttle driver expects premium pricing for anything going into Venice. Locals fear the tourist numbers will be way down.

Island and Coral both have great space per passenger ratios and I think Island will still be a good ship if the size increase is modest. Time will tell how passengers perceive the change.

As far as bedding is concerned, Holland America had the edge ten years ago when they rolled out the Signature of excellence program but that bedding is aged and tired. If you want divine bedding go to Oceania.

I have been on 4 HAL cruises (2 back to back, Panama Canal, South America) und 3 Princess cruises (Australia, NZ and Caribbean) on three different ships. Food on Princess was sometimes excellent, sometimes really bad. HAL's food was consistently boring to my taste, but always edible. Same with entertainment. Princess had highs and lows, HAL consistently medium.

We had a balcony cabin on both. HAL's balcony cabin is larger. The bed was also better.

Our last Princess cruise was on a ship that desperately needed dry dock. If I were to book Princess again, it would only be on a brand new ship. HAL's ships were in good shape and had flowers. They also offer ginger outside the dining room. However, if they really did away with free Tai Chi classes, which is my favorite thing, there is not much daytime entertainment left that I like on HAL. Princess had an art class + porcelain painting.

I have been on 4 HAL cruises (2 back to back, Panama Canal, South America) und 3 Princess cruises (Australia, NZ and Caribbean) on three different ships. Food on Princess was sometimes excellent, sometimes really bad. HAL's food was consistently boring to my taste, but always edible. Same with entertainment. Princess had highs and lows, HAL consistently medium.

We had a balcony cabin on both. HAL's balcony cabin is larger. The bed was also better.

Our last Princess cruise was on a ship that desperately needed dry dock. If I were to book Princess again, it would only be on a brand new ship. HAL's ships were in good shape and had flowers. They also offer ginger outside the dining room. However, if they really did away with free Tai Chi classes, which is my favorite thing, there is not much daytime entertainment left that I like on HAL. Princess had an art class + porcelain painting.

I've found the princess ships to be in better shape. Curious which hal ships you've been on. I think the Veendam and Statendam are not in primo shape.

My 2 cents based on 4 HAL and once on Grand Princess(which we're booked on next year again): HAL's Lido food much better. We thought both service and food in the MDR much, much better on Princess than our last 2 HAL cruises. On Princess there was little sense of the waitstaff being stretched/stressed as we've seen on HAL. standard verandah cabin. HAL's bathroom better. Thought Princess bar staff friendlier. Everyone' mileage varies. There's a reason we picked Princess over HAL for Alaska.