HAL Cruisers Try Princess

DW and I needed a getaway anddecided to try Princess after having really only have cruised HAL for a numberof years. Other than HAL, we had cruised Crystal once, but that was a one-timetrip to join family members for a specific event (super expensive). Weidentified a Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Pedro for a couple of reasons.First, we really just wanted a break from work and weren't very concerned withthe destination. Second, we live in Las Vegas and the San Pedro port is an easydrive. Not having to fly was very appealing!

We booked a guaranteed balcony through the hot dog big box placehaving previously only booked HAL through our PCC. We had no problem at all,getting our room assignment a few weeks before sail away on the Caribe deck ofthe Emerald Princess.

The day before the cruise we drove from Vegas to HuntingtonBeach and stayed the night, enjoying dinner at one of my favorite places, TheCrab Cooker in Newport Beach. After dinner we took a walk down the pier atNewport and enjoyed the smell of the ocean air and watching peoplefishing.

The next morning we slept in a bit and had a leisurely breakfastbefore heading to San Pedro. Arriving at the port around noon we drove up todrop off our luggage with the porter before parking. Unfortunately we arrivedto find a huge line to check baggage and it looked like complete chaos. Giventhe massive line of people we arrived to we decided to go find a place to hangout and come back later. After killing an hour and a half at a local Starbuckswe arrived back at the port at 1:30 only to find the line was still massive.Having nothing else to do we decided to go ahead and park and join theline.

After lining up for 40 minutes in the hot sun among a chaoticsea of people we finally reached the front of the line and gave our bags to thePorter. We headed inside, waited in a very short line and presented ourpassports and boarding docs. The check in person was very kind and friendly.When I asked about the massive line to check our luggage she mentioned that theincoming cruise had been a 28-day trip and the porters were overwhelmed by theamount of luggage coming off the ship. I though (but didn't say) that itshouldn't have been surprise to anyone that the ship had been out for 28 days,but there was no point in that. We received our boarding cards, went throughsecurity and lined up on a very long gangway to board the ship. Upon boardingwe had to continue to wait in line on the promenade deck to have our picturestake before being allowed to head to our stateroom. I found this odd as HALdoes this at the check in counter and it seems to make more sense. Overall theboarding process was 1 hour and 20 minutes. The muster drill was odd as wewere required to take our life vests to one of the auditoriums and practiceputting them on. We never did go to our life boats.

Our stateroom was comfortable and clean, but smaller than thebalcony cabins we've had on HAL. The difference was primarily in the bathroomand the sitting area. The bathroom had only a small shower with no tub. Overthe course of the cruise my wife would remind me several times of how muchsmaller the bath was and how hard it had been to shave her legs. The sittingarea next to the door had only a vanity with no couch or love seat. This was abit of a bummer as we really line to have room service for breakfast. On theupside our balcony on the Caribe deck was very large in that it was longer thanusual, and half covered. Over the course of the cruise we'd spend a lot of timeon that balcony and enjoy it greatly!

Our stateroom attendant was adequate but unremarkable. Heperformed the basic two cabin straightening a day, but not much else. I knowthis is really picky but we've gotten used to wonderful service on HAL. Forexample, we brought some wine onboard. I expected but did not find any wineclasses in the room. At sail away we drank our wine in water glasses, again nobig deal. The room attendant had to have picked up the glasses the next day,see the other wine bottles, but did not provide any wine glasses even then. Heeventually told me when I asked him that I could call room service and ordersome up.

On to the food. I realize that food is subjective so I'm surethere are plenty of people that may disagree with me. We had reserved a tablefor two in the MDR at second seating. The four nights we dined here we enjoyedvery good food and very good service. Our waiter and assistant were as good asor better than any he'd had on HAL. The food was always hot, delicious, andpresented well.

On the second sea day we ate at the Crown Grill, Princess'Pinnacle Grill equivalent. Our service was excellent, our steaks perfect, andthe meal perfectly paced. We've eaten at the Pinnacle Grill a few times. We'vehad great food and service but gotten a little annoyed at the 2 and 1/2 hour meal.The Crown Grill took 1and 1/2 hours start to finish and was perfectly paced.

We tried the Horizon Court buffet for breakfast and found it wasnot good. We arrived to find much of the food empty and no place to sit. We'dfind on our second attempt to eat there that it was a better experiencefood-wise, but there was still no place to sit. The food is better in the LidoMarket on HAL but of course it is difficult to find seating there too.

One lunch during a sea day we enjoyed "Pub Lunch" inthe wheelhouse bar. Classic pub food like Fish and Chips and Shepherd’spie. We really enjoyed this!

We tried the gastro pubdinner at the Salty Dog. We both had an excellent hamburger called the Ernesto.DW had lobster mac and I had calamari as sides. This is a must do and only 10bucks.

Lastly we ate at Share. Thisis a great venue where six small courses are served that are easily shared.This was very good but at $39 a person I think we’ll skip it next time.

We had room service once andonly for lunch. They were fast and the food was good. We were disappointed tofind that they only have pastries and no real hot breakfast available as onHAL.

One of our favorite places tospend time was the Piazza (think Atrium). Unlike HAL ships the area is verylively with a wine bar, the International Café (deserts and specialty coffee)and excellent live music. It had a great sidewalk café feel and was a greatplace to people watch.

I really didn’t take in muchentertainment as I was enjoying quiet evenings and doing well in the casino. Wedid see one comedy show that was very good but seating was difficult. Wearrived 20 minutes early and did not readily find seating.

Disembarkation once back inSan Pedro was different. Rather than being able to relax in your stateroomwhile your group was called as on HAL, we had to wait in our assigned location,a bar, having to have vacated our room at 8:00. Our group was not called until9:30 so we had to mess around for quite a while. Once off the ship we were atback at our car within 10 minutes.

Overall we had a very goodcruise. We’ve decided that we’d happily sail Princess again. Overall there aremore similarities that differences. I think going forward we’ll probably makeour decision based on the itinerary without a preference for either line.Although on the next Princess cruise we’ll like book a mini-suite. It is largerand has both a full size bathroom and a couch in the sitting area.

Thank you for sharing your experience. Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

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You can't compare the 2 lines when it comes to ports and number of seadays .

Thank you for taking the time to compare your Princess cruise with HAL cruises that you have taken.

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

I wrote this in Word and it eliminated some of the spacing when I pasted it. Sorry!

Thanks for sharing your comparison! Well thought out...appreciated!

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I encourage all of you to try different cruise lines.....within our budgets, of course. I like to rotate HAL, NCL, RCCL, Princess. There is something special and memorable on each of them.

David

Thank you for your report/review.

I think it is always good to try other cruise lines.

Keith

Interesting views thank you.

Thank you for taking the time to post your comments.

Very interesting comparisons.

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise.

I enjoyed your review. I sail Princess from time to time and everything you said was very close to what I think.

The two best things about Princess are the Piazza and the number of activities available if one wants to do them. I like the various musical groups that one finds in the Piazza during the day and evening.

Great review and comparison. I agree about the liveliness of Princess. I love the Piazza with the live entertainment. It's a great location to hang out when nothing else is going on. That's one thing HAL lacks....an impressive looking central location on the ship that is always lively.

I also agree that HAL has better cabins. Princess rooms are tiny. In order to get a couch, you have to book an upgraded room. I also think Princess ships feel a lot more crowded than HAL.

I sailed on Princess for the first time, early this month. I'm now more likely to choose it over HAL or RCI, based on a few impressions. The Piazza was a very enjoyable space with activities and pleasant, relaxing music. The buffet was open whenever we wanted something, and the background music was the right type (easy listening/classic pop) and at the perfect volume. Also, the absence of annoying music in the fitness center was a real nice surprise. And lastly, the happy demeanor of the crew on the Crown seemed a bit more genuine than on my HAL or RCI cruises.

The two things that will bring me back to HAL are the superior outdoor promenades and the ability to attend Mass, at least on Sunday.

Thanks for your comparison! Glad you enjoyed your cruise enough to want to sail on Princess again.

Next time, do get a mini-suite.

On HAL a veranda cabin is fine for us ... but on Princess we book mini-suites. ;)

All things being equal, we currently have Princess and Celebrity tied for fist in our list of cruise line preferences. All things being equal though, a Celebrity Solstice class ship will always tip the scale for us.

All things being equal, we currently have Princess and Celebrity tied for fist in our list of cruise line preferences. All things being equal though, a Celebrity Solstice class ship will always tip the scale for us.

We’re similar in that Celebrity and Princess are currently our first picks.

Does Princess have any ships the size of HALs S & R ships?

Does Princess have any ships the size of HALs S & R ships?

Pacific Princess is only 30,000GT and carries 670 passengers. If I'm not mistaken, that slightly smaller than Prinsendam.

All things being equal though, a Celebrity Solstice class ship will always tip the scale for us.

Agreed. A Solstice Class ship will win every time with me. I can't wait to see the new Edge.

The new Princess ship, Majestic, has no Ocean View rooms but the balcony rooms have a couch! Something new for Princess.

We were on the Ocean Princess, sister ship to the Pacific Princess and we had a couch in an OV room, butt those ships were not built for Princess, they are the old Regency ships. Ocean Princess was sold but Pacific Princess is still going.

And I agree with the gist of the OP's general comments on Princess, mostly on par with HAL with some differences. First balcony cabin we ever had was one of the double depth Caribe deck rooms on Star Princess, great balcony with sun and shade.

Muster on the Princess ships can be inside because they have public space on the lifeboat deck. I prefer mustering inside where it is sheltered, seating is available and the crew can have better management of communication and moving groups in an emergency. I greatly dislike standing on the Promenade deck for muster, squished together, can't see, can't hear, can't move, can't sit down and might be horribly hot or cold and more prone to chaos. I haven't cruised on K'dam but I think the muster situation on her is an improvement for HAL. m--

The new Princess ship, Majestic, has no Ocean View rooms but the balcony rooms have a couch! Something new for Princess.

That's not correct. Majestic is a Royal Class ship...the 3rd in an existing ship class after Royal and Regal. In order to get a couch, you have to book a Deluxe Balcony. Standard balcony rooms still do not have a couch.