Princess cruiser goes Holland

Hiya new friends;

I am sailing Dec 5 on the Amsterdam, my 1st trip through the Panama Canal. The itenerary is awesome and I am so looking forward to it.

What I wanted you to know is how well Holland is generally respected on Princess boards. There are so many folks there who do both lines and recommend both lines. Some of them are 100's of days on both. This is actually my second trip on Holland America; I sailed a California Coastal 4-day on the Oosterdam and liked many things. There are differences, but I love Princess and I know I will love HA just as much.

Looking forward to making new friends.

Doug

Welcome to HAL.

We are also Elite members on Princess.

Have long earned our 700 day medals.

We love the Amsterdam -- have quite a few days on her.

Just cruised on her again this past June/July on her 14 day Alaskan cruise.

That is a great itinerary you will be taking.

Have you signed up for the Roll Call?

Welcome, as with anything, you will find some things you like better on HAL and some you miss from Princess.

Welcome to HAL.

One Princess cruise was enough for us.

Welcome to the HAL board.

thanks so much for taking the time to share the Princess board's thoughts with us. Really nice:D

We loved the Panama - I never understood what all the fuss was about until we did it;) I hope you enjoy it as much as we did:)

Welcome to HAL.

 

One Princess cruise was enough for us.

Would you care to elaborate as I am considering booking a cruise with Princess! :eek:

Welcome to HAL.

 

One Princess cruise was enough for us.

We just got off Ocean Princess. The service was far superior to HAL. It is rare on Holland for the waiters to offer to bring drinks in the buffet during breakfast and lunch---or to find a table for you. We felt the food was superior, too. The organization for meeting passengers at the airport and disembarking were far superior, too.

However, I still prefer HAL Prinsendam---for her elegance and ambiance!

Just returned from a cruise on the N.Am. We found that drinks were offered constantly at breakfast and lunch in the Lido. We got a kick out of the different little "songs" the crew used to offer the drinks.

Only once did one of them find us a table, but we didn't find that to be a problem.

Hiya new friends;

 

I am sailing Dec 5 on the Amsterdam, my 1st trip through the Panama Canal. The itenerary is awesome and I am so looking forward to it.

 

What I wanted you to know is how well Holland is generally respected on Princess boards. There are so many folks there who do both lines and recommend both lines. Some of them are 100's of days on both. This is actually my second trip on Holland America; I sailed a California Coastal 4-day on the Oosterdam and liked many things. There are differences, but I love Princess and I know I will love HA just as much.

 

Looking forward to making new friends.

 

Doug

Cead Mille Failte: A Hundred Thousand Welcomes and have an awsome cruise on the m.s Amsterdam as you sail though one of the seven wonders of the world, the Panama Canal.

Would you care to elaborate as I am considering booking a cruise with Princess! :eek:

This is really subjective and, I believe, only you can make the decision yourself after sailing both lines.

Having said that, I prefer HAL because I feel they offer a number of amenities that Princess doesn't; e.g. real ice cream throughout the day, capucino complementary with meals, access to towels without signing for them on the pool deck, etc. I also prefer ships with less than 2,000 guests compared to Princess that loads 3,000 or so.

Princess does have better entertainment and is more geared to a younger crowd and families, particularly on shorter cruises.

Welcome, as with anything, you will find some things you like better on HAL and some you miss from Princess.

Well said, Kirk, and I agree. We have sailed mostly on Princess, and twice on HAL.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to book a cruise on any Princess ship. I would be more selective to book on certain HAL ships. Lots of bad press lately on some of the HAL ships.

Although, I did sail on the Zuiderdam and had a perfect experience while some others had terrible issues with A/C and plumbing.

For what it's worth, our overall experience on the Noordam and Zuiderdam was excellent.

Enjoy your cruise!

Would you care to elaborate as I am considering booking a cruise with Princess! :eek:

Hi GeriatricNurse. We also are faithful HAL cruisers but thought we should experience other lines. So we tried Princess (and another one). Spent the entire cruise wishing we were on HAL. It is just a hundred and one little things....probably the biggest thing we noticed was the ship personnel (service type), while being good and efficient, seemed cold and put-offish. (the one's we met seemed to be from the old eastern bloc countries, Romania, Czech, etc) HAL staff on the other hand always seemed to be warm and friendly.

The princess ship we were on felt institutional and cold. Felt like we were being herded around like cattle. Never felt this on HAL.

And the beds! Hal's beds are SO comfy..Princess beds felt like they were purchased at the Army-Navy surplus store...lumpy, thin mattresses.

And the COFFEE. Simply put, I have yet to have a decent cup of coffee on any cruise ship (excepting the specialty coffees). Our last HAL cruise the coffee was much improved though. Could not even choke down any of the Princess 'coffee'.

In summary, stick with HAL. You'll be glad you did!

Would you care to elaborate as I am considering booking a cruise with Princess! :eek:

I love Princess! If HAL and Princess were offering the same itenerary for the same price, I would always pick Princess.

Princess has the best loyalty program of all the cruise lines. I also prefer their food and its late night availability. I have always found the staff very warm and eager to please. The coffee does SUCK, but I buy their very reasonably priced coffee card that gives you 15 speciality coffees and unlimited fresh brewed coffee. I also prefer Princess' entertainment, the shows are staggered throughout the cruise, which gives you an opportunity to see all of them.

I also enjoy HAL and have sailed on HAL several times and am currently booked on the Maasdam.

I think you will be happy on either HAL or Princess, I always am.:):):)

and there are many similarities but the no smoking rule for balconies and the bad coffee lets me prefer HAL. Micky gets our money either way.

:D At least ALL Princess ships passed their CDC Inspecitions!

Sorry ... couldn't resist!

Seriously, we've cruised lots more on Princess (Elite) and only 4 times on HAL.

While Princess is our favorite, we have also enjoyed our HAL cruises. :)

They are much more alike than they are different. When planning a cruise, we always seriously consider both.

LuLu

and there are many similarities but the no smoking rule for balconies and the bad coffee lets me prefer HAL. Micky gets our money either way.

Princess Cruises prohibits smoking in passenger staterooms and balconies.

The coffee still sucks though:D:D

Princess is my favorite, but I also sail on HAL.

We perfer Hal we had done 3 Princess cruises on Grand/Crown and Carribbean, found the Crown and Carribbean much to crowded in public areas, our last 3 cruises were Hal, I think they are close in general, perfer Pinnacle resturant over any of the Princess pay resturants.Might try Princess again but not soon.

Thanks for all the responses. This is very similar to what I hear on Princess. Of course, since they mostly post on princess they usually prefer PCL. But almost none of them think badly of HAL and most think the itenerary is the deciding factor for them.

There are some clear differences. The syrup based coffee on Princess is a well despised truth. But if you by a coffee card, you get a huge array of choices, all good, plus free brewed coffee [excellent] and free hot chocolate [yum]. About $30 for 15 punches plus unlimited free brewed and chocolate FOR THAT VOYAGE. The punches carry over to any number of voyages, but the freebies are limited to the voyage you buy it for. Going to the buffet is very nice on Princess. They will show you to a table, often carrying you trays, and get your drinks. And they are almost TOO Johnny-on-the-spot when you are done to clean up. Entertainment is very good. But in almost ALL cases I have had service has been superb! I have never felt, as another did, shuffled around.

My passage on the Oosterdam made me like things about HAL too. Loved the combo library/cafe/ lounge there. Spent a lot of time. And I wish every ship on every line had a continuous promenade. I am a walker and hate those broken ones on the larger Princess ships. Looks like Amsterdam will have one, and seems most [if not all] HAL ships do.

Little negatives on the Oosterdam? Those tiny little 'juice glass' sized glasses for my iced tea. How many times I had to go back and go back. And the operation hours of all food service. I am often up during overnight hours, and on PCL can get tea and a snack anytime. HAL closes down the streets WAY early and you suffer till dawn. And, at least for my one trip, service was not quite up to PCL. But I never had much service in my life, so it is a distiction I can live with, for the most part.

All that is to say that, while different, both are a great value for a vacation. I doubt the differences will much affect my choices, just the timing and itenerary I need and want.

Looking excitedly forward to December.

Doug

The coffee and the Promenade deck configuration are two things that have sort of kept me from Princess. We like what we know and we've always had a great cruise on HAL. Nonetheless, we were nearly going to book a Princess TA this year when friends from an earlier cruise convinced us to join them on another HAL TA.

They must do something differently than on the large ships. We thought the coffee was fine and so did others at our table---including a couple of real coffee addicts!

I was impressed with the service--a noticable difference than on HAL. Maybe it was because it was a smaller ship. They really seemed to try harder. A new (very personable and available) captain was on. Maybe they were on their toes for him!

They must do something differently than on the large ships. We thought the coffee was fine and so did others at our table---including a couple of real coffee addicts!

 

I was impressed with the service--a noticable difference than on HAL. Maybe it was because it was a smaller ship. They really seemed to try harder. A new (very personable and available) captain was on. Maybe they were on their toes for him!

I think you are right about it being the smaller ships. My 1st cruise was an Alaska on the Coral, and the service was absolutely trancendant. Made me a cruiser, which I was uncertain of till then [partly because I cannot swim]. You know, one that cruise, when I had several needs and my room steward was in another room, the lady steward down the hall went far out of her way to help me, and always with happy talk and friendship. The friendship stayed throughout the voyage. The last day we were called early and I never got to say goodbye or to leave her the gratuity [and gratitude] she deserved. And I have never been on Coral or seen her since. Funny how strongly one remembers such kindness. I'll say this, if ever you see Coral with an itenerary you like, do it!

I think I will love the Amsterdam, for that reason and others. Besides, Pam of CA, a 25,000+ poster who everyone on Princess site knows, says HAL is great and Amsterdam her favorite HAL ship. THAT is a reference!

I think you are right about it being the smaller ships. My 1st cruise was an Alaska on the Coral, and the service was absolutely trancendant. Made me a cruiser, which I was uncertain of till then [partly because I cannot swim]. You know, one that cruise, when I had several needs and my room steward was in another room, the lady steward down the hall went far out of her way to help me, and always with happy talk and friendship. The friendship stayed throughout the voyage. The last day we were called early and I never got to say goodbye or to leave her the gratuity [and gratitude] she deserved. And I have never been on Coral or seen her since. Funny how strongly one remembers such kindness. I'll say this, if ever you see Coral with an itinerary you like, do it!

 

I think I will love the Amsterdam, for that reason and others. Besides, Pam of CA, a 25,000+ poster who everyone on Princess site knows, says HAL is great and Amsterdam her favorite HAL ship. THAT is a reference!

I agree with both points...

We loved the Coral Princess, great ship, amazing crew!

Pam has been a huge help to me, as well. She has a very balanced perspective, and offers accurate information in her posts.

Enjoy your cruise!

I think you are right about it being the smaller ships. My 1st cruise was an Alaska on the Coral, and the service was absolutely trancendant. Made me a cruiser, which I was uncertain of till then [partly because I cannot swim]. You know, one that cruise, when I had several needs and my room steward was in another room, the lady steward down the hall went far out of her way to help me, and always with happy talk and friendship. The friendship stayed throughout the voyage. The last day we were called early and I never got to say goodbye or to leave her the gratuity [and gratitude] she deserved. And I have never been on Coral or seen her since. Funny how strongly one remembers such kindness. I'll say this, if ever you see Coral with an itenerary you like, do it!

 

I think I will love the Amsterdam, for that reason and others. Besides, Pam of CA, a 25,000+ poster who everyone on Princess site knows, says HAL is great and Amsterdam her favorite HAL ship. THAT is a reference!

Amsterdam IS a great ship. Some of the others get complaints but I can't say I can recall any about her. I would remember---because we did the 2 week Alaska on her. I still say Prinsendam is the best affordable small ship out there! I would rather sail her and get my own drinks, just because of her elegance.

Not to hijack the thread, but since I've finally stumbled upon a objective group of cruisers (which is rare in CC), I'd like your thoughts.

We have ALWAYS enjoyed HAL and Princess. (Not so much NCL, RCCL, or Carnival). We ALWAYS book cheapest inside guarantee and never been unhappy with that arrangement. Now we are booked for our first cruise with Celebrity (what can I say? Curiosity, nice itinerary and GREAT price grabbed us.) Would other HAL and Princess fans be willing and able to give me their comparisons?

jkgourmet,

I have sailed on all three lines ( the most with Princess )

I don't think you'll be dissapointed with Celebrity at all.

From your name, I think food might be a thought, and Celebrity should be

just as good as what you've experienced....from what I've read the new

ships have lots of food invations..( I have not sailed on the solstice class)

The inside rooms on HAL are in most cases the biggest of the three lines

Any particular concerns, feel free to ask.