Alaska–Need help deciding on Ship-Princess or HAL?

[samgill99]

I would really appreciate some help on choosing which ship to cruise on for Alaska. The 3 that I’m looking at are HAL Oosterdam, Sapphire Princess and Golden Princess. They are all the same price for a balcony cabin and each leave a day apart which is making it very difficult for me to choose (I think the itinerary is pretty much the same too) . I have only ever cruised once before on Carnival. I am going with my husband – we both turn 40 this year and celebrate our 20th anniversary. We both love good food (looking forward to eating a lot :))!! ! I do like to be active and all 3 ships have a fitness centre and jogging track. I just don't know :confused: Any insights and suggestions are more than welcome. I have also posted this on the HAL Board. Thank you.

[BobT172]

I've taken 3 Alaskan cruises on Princess....they were great.

 

I might suggest to check and see what glacier cruising the various lines do. Princess goes to Glacier Bay and College Fjord that some lines don't have access to.

 

Alaska is all about wildlife and scenery...Princess was great for that.

[chipmaster]

My 2 cents would be check the port and cruise timing very carefully. Some dock in Juneau 1/2 day others Skagway I think. Depending on what tours you want to do and what not that can limit or require you to juggle your excursions. If for example you got your heart set on some all day in Juneau a 1/2 stop or 2pm to 10pm won't work for example.

 

Also what glaciers are they visiting and what is their cruisetour time in say Tracy Arm is a factor to, IMHO.

 

Happy planning

[TracieABD]

I was on the Golden to AK last year and loved it. I am trying HAL this year. I will have a better answer to your question at the end of July.

 

My mother has done both lines and prefers HAL. :)

[Coral]

I have been on all 3 ships and they are all great ships. You need to go by the itinerary.

 

Pick a ship that goes to Glacier Bay.

[Cruise Junky]

Definitely go by itinerary. Make sure Glacier Bay is in there. Are you doing a return or a one way (sorry too lazy to look up each itinerary). We went on HAL last year for the sole reason that Princess didn't do a Vancouver return. Our HAL cruise was awful but the itinerary was fantastic. HAL can't possibly be as bad as we experienced or they wouldn't still be in business but I'd still recommend Princess hands down IF IT INCLUDES GLACIER BAY.

[Pam in CA]

I haven't been on the Oosterdam but I was on her sister ship, the Zuiderdam, in April. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these ships so I agree with the others to look at the itinerary first.

[Cruise Junky]

I haven't been on the Oosterdam but I was on her sister ship, the Zuiderdam, in April. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these ships so I agree with the others to look at the itinerary first.

 

We obviously did ;)

[Pam in CA]

We obviously did ;)

Sorry you did. I've had several "great" cruises on HAL. Even when things didn't go right or service wasn't up-to-par, the cruise itself was terrific. My worst cruise was on the Crown Princess, on a 10-day cruise where I didn't have a working toilet in my cabin for 8 of those days. I've been on her since then and have another cruise on the Crown in September. I don't let issues like that prevent me from booking a great itinerary.

[Appygirl]

With everything else being equal, I'd choose the ship with the best price.

 

Now this is totally subjective and some people will agree with me, others will disagree, but you mentioned you like good food and I say HAL squeaks past Princess in the food department. They're close. I would choose Princess if it had a better price than HAL, but everything else being equal I'd choose HAL because I like their food better. On the Alaska voyage they held a couple of salmon bakes on the Lido and had an amazing dessert extravaganza one evening. They beat out Princess in the dessert department too. But again, that's just my opinion. Everyone has different likes and dislikes when it comes to food.

[Pam in CA]

Now this is totally subjective and some people will agree with me, others will disagree, but you mentioned you like good food and I say HAL squeaks past Princess in the food department. They're close. I would choose Princess if it had a better price than HAL, but everything else being equal I'd choose HAL because I like their food better.

You're right; food is very subjective. I think the food on Princess is MUCH better, as is the service. But again, that's very subjective and based on one's personal experiences and preferences. :)

[Cruise Junky]

Sorry you did. I've had several "great" cruises on HAL. Even when things didn't go right or service wasn't up-to-par, the cruise itself was terrific. My worst cruise was on the Crown Princess, on a 10-day cruise where I didn't have a working toilet in my cabin for 8 of those days. I've been on her since then and have another cruise on the Crown in September. I don't let issues like that prevent me from booking a great itinerary.

 

Well your 8 days with no toilet beats my 5 days with no warm never mind hot water. But I had fake crab served to me in the dining room in place of Dungeness Crab and Alaska King Crab TWICE, 3 days trying to fix a safe and the most boring food on the planet ... your raise ;)

 

All kidding aside, we had a brutally bad cruise on HAL and they've promised all kinds of perks for us to try tham again after our complaint letter but I really don't think we'll bother. Lots of other alternatives out there. But as I said, there's no way they can be as bad as we experienced otherwise they'd be out of business.

[samgill99]

Thanks for all the replies - all 3 cruises are return from seattle. The itineraries are very similar except that the Golden Princess and Oosterdam go to Glacier Bay and the Sapphire Princess goes to Tracy Arm. The balcony cabins for Golden Princess and Oosterdam are the same price and the Sapphire Princess is $50 less. Not much of a difference. I noticed that on HAL there are culinary classes - is there something similar on Princess? I do love taking baking/cooking classes.

[Careg]

We were once HAL patrons 7 cruises and one trip with Princess on the Sapphire we moved to Princess and cant stop raving about it. We are in our late 40's.

A thing about Princess was when we were on one of the cruises last year that was denied docking in Mexico due to the swine flu Princess gave everyone on the ship 50% cruise credit. They did not have to do that and it was certainly not their fault. They substituted ports and returned excursion fee's. I think they made a responsible decision. Beyond the other niceties we really recognize an appreciation for their customers. we are already booked on 3 other Princess cruises. For us its about doing the right thing even if you dont have to. Sapphire is great but Golden has the International Cafe and MUTS.

[MojitoMadness]

With everything else being equal, I'd choose the ship with the best price.

 

Now this is totally subjective and some people will agree with me, others will disagree, but you mentioned you like good food and I say HAL squeaks past Princess in the food department. They're close. I would choose Princess if it had a better price than HAL, but everything else being equal I'd choose HAL because I like their food better. On the Alaska voyage they held a couple of salmon bakes on the Lido and had an amazing dessert extravaganza one evening. They beat out Princess in the dessert department too. But again, that's just my opinion. Everyone has different likes and dislikes when it comes to food.

 

They also said they were active 40 yo's and the geezer factor on HAL wayyyyyy over rides HAL slightly better food so I would go with Princess!

[Careg]

Hey we work with seniors and have never heard it called the geezer factor. Heres hoping we all get there someday.

[MojitoMadness]

:eek:

Thanks for all the replies - all 3 cruises are return from seattle. The itineraries are very similar except that the Golden Princess and Oosterdam go to Glacier Bay and the Sapphire Princess goes to Tracy Arm. The balcony cabins for Golden Princess and Oosterdam are the same price and the Sapphire Princess is $50 less. Not much of a difference. I noticed that on HAL there are culinary classes - is there something similar on Princess? I do love taking baking/cooking classes.

 

HALS culinary classes are $20 and are fun but if you know anything about cooking you really won't learn anything although I did get pretty buzzed on free wine at the 2 I attended and the chef gave me another bottle to take with me! :eek: I wouldn't choose though based on these classes, like I said fun but frankly the demographics of Princess would suit you better so take the Golden as it goes to Glacier Bay. I enjoyed the Oosterdam but it was a little too sedate for me and probably won't sail HAL again until I'm about 60 or maybe even 70! :p

[MojitoMadness]

Hey we work with seniors and have never heard it called the geezer factor. Heres hoping we all get there someday.

 

When I'm a geezer I will gladly be a geezer! :D

[Smithster]

We went on HAL to Alaska. Hands down food on HAL is better than Princess. But you will have a older crowd on HAL. I believe there is a lot more to do aboard ship on Princess. We are in mid 60's and we were the youngest on board. Hard decision.

[Coral]

Alaska cruisers in general are older.

 

I think food is pretty equal between the two - I prefer Princess's dinners but prefer the food on HAL for breakfast and lunch - so it is a toss up!

 

Definitely go with Glacier Bay!

[samgill99]

Thank you so much for all your input. THere was lots to ponder :confused:. I had to make a quick decision since the cruise is in 3 weeks and I had to book my vacation time. In the end I ended up booking the Sapphire Princess. It ended up being approximately $100 and $135 cheaper than the other 2 and it has laundry facilities. Yes, I can't believe this is what I based my decision on :eek: but I was so undecided and had to book it today that it would have been eenie meenie mino moe anyways!!!

[Pam in CA]

Thank you so much for all your input. THere was lots to ponder :confused:. I had to make a quick decision since the cruise is in 3 weeks and I had to book my vacation time. In the end I ended up booking the Sapphire Princess. It ended up being approximately $100 and $135 cheaper than the other 2 and it has laundry facilities. Yes, I can't believe this is what I based my decision on :eek: but I was so undecided and had to book it today that it would have been eenie meenie mino moe anyways!!!

Good decision. I love the Sapphire. I've been on her a couple of times and have another one booked. You'll have a great time and fabulous cruise.

[ilovhywd]

We love both Princess and HAL, but I thought about something that no one else has mentioned.....

 

HAL ships have "The Crow's Nest" high up in the front of the ship that provides fantastic viewing of scenery from indoors. We were in Greenland on the Eurodam in inclement weather, but we didn't miss a glacier due to the views from this room. The Princess ships that we have cruised on do not have a venue like this.

 

Perhaps this might influence our choice of ship in certain areas of the world. Does anyone else consider this?

[Coral]

Thank you so much for all your input. THere was lots to ponder :confused:. I had to make a quick decision since the cruise is in 3 weeks and I had to book my vacation time. In the end I ended up booking the Sapphire Princess. It ended up being approximately $100 and $135 cheaper than the other 2 and it has laundry facilities. Yes, I can't believe this is what I based my decision on :eek: but I was so undecided and had to book it today that it would have been eenie meenie mino moe anyways!!!

 

Unfortunately - you will miss Glacier Bay. That is the one thing I would have made my decision based on.