Review msWesterdam - HAL vs Princess

[jdvmd]

Thanks so much for the great review! Leaving on the Westerdam this Sunday!

[matondo]

Thank you for your review. Our last cruise I was almost ready to book a mini-suite on Princess...my DH LOVES HAL...he said go ahead and spend the extra $150 and get an SY on HAL....I still haven't cruise Princess.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Thank you for your review. Our last cruise I was almost ready to book a mini-suite on Princess...my DH LOVES HAL...he said go ahead and spend the extra $150 and get an SY on HAL....I still haven't cruise Princess.

There is such a HUGE difference between a Mini Suite on Princess and a SY on HAL. The PCL Mini Suite is just slightly larger than a regular balcony on HAL (although it is a nice cabin lay out) where the Superior Vernadah on HAL is quite a bit larger. It's like comparing peanuts and Macadamia nuts :D Spending the extra $150 would be a no brainer for me too ;)

[lawyerrose]

A little back ground information first. DH and I are in our mid 60’s and this was our 1st HAL cruise. We have been fortunate enough that we have sailed before, over 22 cruises, but they have, with one exception, all been on Princess. We sailed with good friends whom we have traveled with on Princess for the last 5 years. The 4 of us cruise to relax in the sun and get away from the daily routines and stress. As you will discover cruising is a very casual event for all of us and none of us needs to be entertained or stimulated all day/evening long.

This year we decided for reasons not relevant to this review to take a B2B on the msWesterdam instead of the Princess cruise we booked last year. We were well aware going into this that it could be either the best or worst decision we might ever make. You can decide after you read this comparison which one it turned out to be. The following comparisons are a collaboration between ourselves and our traveling buddies and are strictly our opinions so please don’t be upset if you disagree. I’m going to grade the sections using a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest score.

PRICING: We had originally booked a 10 day partial Panama Cruise with Princess at a good repeat passenger rate and when we changed over to the 14 day B2B on HAL it was actually cheaper for the same type stateroom accommodations.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 4

 

ON-LINE CHECK IN: Princess’s on-line check-in makes you wade through several pages of information used solely for marketing purposes (and yes, I’m aware you can just skip them) while HAL’s simply dealt with required Immigration and emergency contact data. Additionally, some of the data gathered by Princess that appears to be meaningful such as Beverage Choice for Elite passengers is never utilized. I find it just a tad bit annoying that they ask and then totally disregard the information.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 3

 

EMBARKATION: We arrived at the Pier at 1140am and after filling out the Medical Questionnaire proceeded directly to the check in desk and were in our staterooms by 12n. Since we have been Elite on Princess for several years and have been given priority boarding I’ve scored this one a tie. Someone else’s experience on Princes might be different.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 5

 

THE SHIP: In the past we just loved sailing on the smaller Princess ships (Sun, Dawn, Coral) but for the past several years we have found that we have had to sail on much larger ships in order to cruise the Caribbean in the spring. While cruising with 3000 of one’s nearest and dearest friends isn’t so terribly bad we were thrilled that the Westerdam only carried 1916 passengers. We loved the smaller feel of the ship where it seemed, to steal a line out of a familiar TV theme song, “where everybody knows your name”. We found the Westerdam to be free of “glitz” but full of understated elegance. There were a few areas that needed to be spruced up to remove bits of rust and wear but over all she was in very good shape. The one slight negative on the Westerdam was the veranda glass. While some deck hand did hose them down several times during our 14 days they really need a good cleaning and must be hand wiped to look their best. NOTE: the Westerdam is due to go into dry dock within a few months and that should put her back into tip top shape. Certain areas, such as the shops & casino, on her were definitely smaller in scope than we experience on Princess but who boards a cruise ship solely to shop or gamble. The Vista lounge had a much better ratio of seats to passenger load than the Princess Theater on Princess Gem class ships. The same holds true with seating in the Lido restaurant vice Princess’s Horizon Court. On the Westerdam we never had difficulty finding an open table regardless of time. The Lido itself is laid out much better than the Horizon on Princess. The different stations are clearly marked, there are rarely lines and filling one’s plate is far easier and quicker. And speaking of seats, no where on the Westerdam were there the typical white plastic Princess tables and chairs (think Wal-Mart patio furniture). Instead all furniture on the open decks and verandas were comfortable woven vinyl wicker usually with cushions. HAL has taken on the issue of NORO very seriously and smartly. There are hand sanitizers everywhere and for the most part they were used by all. Additionally, for the first 48 hours of each sailing HAL observes a code “orange” where staff does all the serving.

SCORE: HAL 4 ½ Princess 3

 

FELLOW PASSENGERS: Okay I’ve added this since we had been a bit fearful we were going to be sailing with escapes of some Nursing Home (NOTE to self, don’t believe everything you read) and while we aren’t spring chickens we aren’t that old. How pleasantly surprised we were to find the demographics of the passenger load to be almost identical to that of Princess. In fact we encountered far fewer walkers, wheelchairs and scooters than on any recent Princess ship. There were kids on board, probably a bit smaller ratio than on Princess, and most of them actually seemed to be accompanied by their parents. There were the typical rude, crabby and surly passengers but since the total passenger load was smaller they were even more so in the minority.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 5

 

THE CREW AND STAFF: I’m not certain I have enough words of praise for all we encountered onboard the Westerdam. Captain Henk Keijer, Future Cruise Consultant Alexis Keijer (yep, she’s lucky enough to be married to the Captain or vice-versa ), Cruise Director Jason Venner and his staff including DJ Greg and others, Purser desk personnel, deck bar servers, Lido staff, our Stateroom Steward Diding and all the Room Service personnel were simply very professional, personal and provided marvelous service. Once you encountered a staff member who read your name they remembered it and always used it. Talk about making you feel special, it seemed they went out of their way to do so. I would remiss if I didn’t speak to the announcements made by both Captain Heijer and CD Jason. First off it was wonderful to sail with a captain who spoke such understandable English. On Princess one usually just tuned out the captain’s announcements as they were totally incomprehensible. Secondly, he was a fantastic educator telling us interesting fact such as the difference between a “cay” and an “island” and where the term “crow’s nest” originated. Finally what a marvelous sense of humor the gentleman had in ways like “backing up the ship without the benefit of a rear view mirror”. CD Jason also impressed us when he announced he was not going to talk to us about all the activities going on as “we all knew how to read”. How refreshing not to have someone read the daily Explorer (HAL) / Patter (Princess) to us! While we usually sail with some excellent Princess personnel I’m knocking 1 point off their score for the constant reading of the Patter from the Morning Show to all day over the loud speaker and the illegible English spoken by their captains. NOTE TO Princess, please either make your Captains learn to speak legible English or keep them off the darn intercom.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 4

 

STATEROOM: We had a category VD on Deck 4 (thank you Joanie) and loved it. It was a bit larger than the regular balcony staterooms on Princess and even contained a love seat size sofa and coffee table. The bathroom was HUGE compared to Princess; no having to step out of the room to change one’s mind. There was a tub (not quite full size) / shower combination and more storage space than Princess in the bathroom. There were full size wall hung containers of shampoo, rinse and body wash rather than the small un-squeezable bottles Princess provides. Storage space was abundant with 3 closets with adjustable shelves, two large storage drawers under the end of the bed and 2 more drawers under the sofa. The night stands were a bit smaller than on Princess and lacked the one open shelf. The veranda door was a swing type rather than a slider and took a bit of getting used to but in retrospect I figure it kept people from “air-conditioning” their verandas. The veranda had two very comfortable chairs with cushions, a large ottoman and a small side table. Our stateroom, while not quite as large as a Mini-Suite on Princess and lacking the 2nd TV, was a much better value for the money than a Mini on Princess. And, has anyone ever mentioned how WONDERFUL the HAL beds are? If not let me, they are WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL!!!

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 3

 

FOOD: While I sincerely understand that food likes and dislikes are strictly unique preferences the 4 of us unanimously agreed that the food was better, in some case much better, on HAL. We stopped eating in the ship’s dining years ago (remember I said a cruise is a casual event for us) so we ate all our meals in the Lido whereas on Princess we ate in the Caribe Cafe. My DH claims HAL makes the best Omelets to order he has ever had. The Terrace Grill makes a much better hamburger to order than Princess and we even found the pizza to be pretty good. At lunch the Lido makes sandwiches to order and they always have freshly made tuna, chicken and egg salad. Additionally there is a Taco bar out by the Terrace Grill daily. And then there is the Lido’s Pasta station. DH had a serving of “made to order” pasta with every dinner and it really was good. The Westerdam had delicious bread pudding at lunch and at least 4 flavors of homemade ice cream daily. The only negative’s we could find were the salad dressings were served out of tall plastic bottles that always seemed to lack labels and were messy. Plus it’s pretty near on to impossible to get Blue Cheese dressing out of a ¼ inch hole. Secondly the selection of non-starchy vegetables at dinner in the Lido seemed to be quite limited. There always seemed to be a mixture of squash and carrots available but it would have been nice to see an occasional green bean or stalk of broccoli. And finally, YES the coffee is MUCH BETTER on HAL.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 4

 

ODDS AND ENDS: The bath towels on HAL are superior to those on Princess. They are enormous and very absorbent. The bathrobes on HAL are better than the waffle weave ones that Princess uses. They are soft and a comfortable weight without being heavy. The bed was made up with a top sheet; I didn’t have to request one. The soda card on HAL is a much better purchase than the soda sticker on Princess. On HAL the soda card gets you canned soda, not watery fountain soda, and for $25 you get $50 worth of soda. DH has advised that the beer selection is greater on HAL and that the cost of a “bucket of beer” is less than on Princess.

SCORE: HAL 5 Princess 3

 

I’m sure there are many more areas that I could cover but I’m tired of typing and I’m darn sure you’re tired of reading. I’m not going to bother to add up my scores but if it helps you determine which cruise like we now like better---- we have already booked a cruise on the msOosterdam for next spring and are considering taking a HAL cruise in the fall.

 

If anyone has any specific questions about things I didn’t cover just ask, I’ll answer if I can.

 

Thank you for your marvelous review! I agree with you in all aspects, though I do like Princess very much. Just thought I'd add a couple of things I like better on Princess. Their disco up at the top of the ship, aft. Their many dancing venues, like the Wheelhouse Bar, the way their ladies rooms are set up with the sauna and steam room inside so one can use them and not have to wear a bathing suit. The forward pool near the spa with jacuzzi's that you seem to have all to yourself sometimes. And I like the idea of the movie theatre on deck, but on the cruises that had it, they never played anything I wanted to see. And don't like it on all day, either.

Oh, yeah, and I also LOVE the balconies on the Caribe deck!!

[regnig]

Thank you for your marvelous review! I agree with you in all aspects, though I do like Princess very much. Just thought I'd add a couple of things I like better on Princess. Their disco up at the top of the ship, aft. Their many dancing venues, like the Wheelhouse Bar, the way their ladies rooms are set up with the sauna and steam room inside so one can use them and not have to wear a bathing suit. The forward pool near the spa with jacuzzi's that you seem to have all to yourself sometimes. And I like the idea of the movie theatre on deck, but on the cruises that had it, they never played anything I wanted to see. And don't like it on all day, either.

Oh, yeah, and I also LOVE the balconies on the Caribe deck!!

 

Thanks to everyone for your kind words. I was going to post this on the Princess board but decided not to rile up the folks over there.

 

lawyerrose, while MUTS can be good if it's a 1st run movie I like you dislike the constant noise during the day. That was another thing we liked on the Westy. No live music at the Sea View pool. One could sit out there and really relax with nothing but quite "elevator music". I did miss the "free" real steam and sauna rooms on Princess. I never liked their Thermal Suite and therefor didn't even try HAL's version. When I want to steam or use a sauna I much perfer using just a towel and my birthday suite. :o

 

In my original posting I also forgot to mention a few things that were on our comparison list - the most important being disembarkation. On HAL luggage does not have to be placed in the hallway until 1am (you can put it out earlier) which means you don't have to worry about what to do with clothes you wore to dinner. HAL also allows you to order room service that morning, in fact they almost seem to encourage it. We got off with the 2nd group following the "express" group (those handling their own luggage) and from the time we walked out of our cabin to when we arrived back at the Hampton Inn in Plantation (about 15 miles from the port) it took a total of 35 minutes. There was no mob of people blocking the halls or public places and no line for that last cruise card scanning. HAL seemed to have more colors assigned to the luggage tags so locating our bags was a snap. As well as Princess does their disembarkation HAL seemed to do it better.

SCORE HAL 5 Princess 4

 

I also neglected to mention that HAL's Room Service menu is just wonderful. Hot food at breakfast is listed right on the card for your door, no having to write it in and then rolling the dice to see if they will bring it. HAL's regular Room Service menu has several more items than Princess's and, even us lowely old folks in a regular balcony cabin could order off the dining room menu. Only full Suites on Princess get that honor.

SCORE HAL 5 Princess 3

[jdvmd]

In my original posting I also forgot to mention a few things that were on our comparison list - the most important being disembarkation. On HAL luggage does not have to be placed in the hallway until 1am (you can put it out earlier) which means you don't have to worry about what to do with clothes you wore to dinner. HAL also allows you to order room service that morning, in fact they almost seem to encourage it. We got off with the 2nd group following the "express" group (those handling their own luggage) and from the time we walked out of our cabin to when we arrived back at the Hampton Inn in Plantation (about 15 miles from the port) it took a total of 35 minutes. There was no mob of people blocking the halls or public places and no line for that last cruise card scanning. HAL seemed to have more colors assigned to the luggage tags so locating our bags was a snap. As well as Princess does their disembarkation HAL seemed to do it better.

 

Do you know what time you walked off the Westerdam? We have an early flight and planned to take our luggage off ourselves.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Do you know what time you walked off the Westerdam? We have an early flight and planned to take our luggage off ourselves.

We had a 10:55am Southwest flight this past Sunday. I did not want to do Self Disembark so marked for the first disembark which was to be between 8:30 and 9:00, they actually called our Pink 2 at 8:15 we were off the ship, thru customs, grabbed a taxi, checked luggage at SW and thru security at the airport and at our gate at 8:55 a full 2 hours before the flight which then was delay 15 minutes :rolleyes: But our connecting flight in Jacksonville took off early and we got into Vegas 40 minutes early :D

[jdvmd]

We had a 10:55am Southwest flight this past Sunday. I did not want to do Self Disembark so marked for the first disembark which was to be between 8:30 and 9:00, they actually called our Pink 2 at 8:15 we were off the ship, thru customs, grabbed a taxi, checked luggage at SW and thru security at the airport and at our gate at 8:55 a full 2 hours before the flight which then was delay 15 minutes :rolleyes: But our connecting flight in Jacksonville took off early and we got into Vegas 40 minutes early :D

Thanks for letting me know. Looks like we will be self disembarking. Our flight leaves at 9 a.m.

[Seago2]

Thanks for letting me know. Looks like we will be self disembarking. Our flight leaves at 9 a.m.

 

How is that even possible? We self disembarked Westerdam on the 11th- we were in our car by 8:30 and I couldn't believe how lucky we were. How do you make a 9am plane?

[jdvmd]

How is that even possible? We self disembarked Westerdam on the 11th- we were in our car by 8:30 and I couldn't believe how lucky we were. How do you make a 9am plane?

Knock wood, we won't have any problems and I certainly understand the problems that may occur. Just a chance we are willing to take. I have made numerous flights at 9:15 from FLL after disembarking but have never attempted a 9 a.m. one before.

[regnig]

Thanks for letting me know. Looks like we will be self disembarking. Our flight leaves at 9 a.m.

 

Oh dear :eek:, I'm not sure you will make a 9am flight. Normally the airlines want you there 1 hour in advance which for a 9am flight would mean 800am. I believe the self disembarking started at 745a. After you walk off the ship you have to go through customs and then get a taxi and then at the airport you've got bags to check and security to go through. There's a whole lot of difference between Lisa's 40 minutes and the 15 minutes you are allowing. Add to all of that, there is no guarantee that HAL can start disembarkation of any kind at 745a as good ol' Uncle Sam must give clearance first. I wish you bunches of good luck but hopefully you have a Plan B.

[Seago2]

Knock wood, we won't have any problems and I certainly understand the problems that may occur. Just a chance we are willing to take. I have made numerous flights at 9:15 from FLL after disembarking but have never attempted a 9 a.m. one before.

 

Are you the luckiest person on earth? I'm in awe! :cool:

[jdvmd]

We are doing carry-on bags so no checking of luggage. And, yes, we do have a back-up plan but hopefully it won't come to that. Thanks, everybody for the wise words. If all goes well, I think I will buy a lottery ticket!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

How is that even possible? We self disembarked Westerdam on the 11th- we were in our car by 8:30 and I couldn't believe how lucky we were. How do you make a 9am plane?

Kind of my thought too, they started self disembark at 7:45 last Sunday but if there is one tiny hiccup, I am not sure how it would be humanly possible to make a 9:00am flight.

To the poster with a 9:00 am flight you may also want to check with your airline, many are starting to refuse boarding if not checked in at least 45 minutes prior to the flight. Also I have seen long lines for TSA at FLL now granted not that early in the morning but who knows for sure :confused:

[Cindy]

Larsen, thank you so much for the review and the comparison to Princess. My husband and I are trying HAL for the first time in November, and I've been second guessing our decision ever since we booked. We enjoyed our Princess cruises, but there were several factors that pushed us over to Holland America. It's nice to read that someone who has cruised extensively on Princess really enjoyed their HAL cruise!

[HealthyTouch101]

There is a free public sauna on the Westerdam. If you cross the mid-ship Lido Pool deck and enter the other side on the left, where the spa is located, look immediately on the left and there you have it. I did not use it, but noticed it as I was on my way to the thermal suite ;)

[vivavegas]

Thank you for your spot on comparisions! I've cruised both lines and prefer HAL of the two.

[regnig]

There is a free public sauna on the Westerdam. If you cross the mid-ship Lido Pool deck and enter the other side on the left, where the spa is located, look immediately on the left and there you have it. I did not use it, but noticed it as I was on my way to the thermal suite ;)

 

Many thanks, while I don't see it on the deck plans I'm going to take your word on that. Is it coed or is there a separate one for men & women and do you know if one (not having booked the Thermal Suites) can use the changing rooms? I'll have to look for it on the Oosterdam.

[regnig]

Larsen, thank you so much for the review and the comparison to Princess. My husband and I are trying HAL for the first time in November, and I've been second guessing our decision ever since we booked. We enjoyed our Princess cruises, but there were several factors that pushed us over to Holland America. It's nice to read that someone who has cruised extensively on Princess really enjoyed their HAL cruise!

 

Cindy you are most welcome. I really hope you enjoy your Zuiderdam cruise as much as we did ours on her sister the Westerdam.

[jdvmd]

Oh dear :eek:, I'm not sure you will make a 9am flight. Normally the airlines want you there 1 hour in advance which for a 9am flight would mean 800am. I believe the self disembarking started at 745a. After you walk off the ship you have to go through customs and then get a taxi and then at the airport you've got bags to check and security to go through. There's a whole lot of difference between Lisa's 40 minutes and the 15 minutes you are allowing. Add to all of that, there is no guarantee that HAL can start disembarkation of any kind at 745a as good ol' Uncle Sam must give clearance first. I wish you bunches of good luck but hopefully you have a Plan B.

 

Are you the luckiest person on earth? I'm in awe! :cool:

 

Kind of my thought too, they started self disembark at 7:45 last Sunday but if there is one tiny hiccup, I am not sure how it would be humanly possible to make a 9:00am flight.

To the poster with a 9:00 am flight you may also want to check with your airline, many are starting to refuse boarding if not checked in at least 45 minutes prior to the flight. Also I have seen long lines for TSA at FLL now granted not that early in the morning but who knows for sure :confused:

 

Just an update:

We started lining up at 7 a.m. on Deck 2 at the Gangway Exit. We were probably the eighth people in line. They let us leave the ship beginning at 7:19 a.m. We were at the airport at 7:30 a.m.

[travelnnana]

After 9 Princess cruises we tried the HAL Noordam last year - we are now booked for 37 days on the Nieuw Amsterdam ending with the trans-atlantic - we have a balcony guarantee - on Princess to get a sofa one needs to book a mini-suite which we usually did - all HAL's ships have covered pools - not so on Princess - none of those big ships that do the Carribbean and Europe do - only the west coast Princess ships have covered pools and we have been on all of them - very happy we tried HAL

[lenquixote66]

Thank you for your review. Since I sail this Sunday with my mother & best friend, it's nice to read about someone else's experiences. I've sailed with HAL 4 times, but Mom has sailed with Princess twice. And my friend has never sailed before. Is she in for a treat!

 

 

Trying to get in contact with you .I've been e-mailing you the past 6 months .

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for posting a review of you cruise. Glad you had a good time, the Westerdam is one of our favorite Hal ships.

[SwissMyst]

...... I’m not going to bother to add up my scores but if it helps you determine which cruise like we now like better---- we have already booked a cruise on the msOosterdam for next spring and are considering taking a HAL cruise in the fall.

 

.

 

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and in-depth review. You hit just about every note we also found we liked about HAL after our first one too and started signing up for more and more HAL cruises -- seems like we too are now always planning at least one or two HAL cruises into the future, even when we are still waiting for our next one. You have been warned! :p Welcome to HAL and so glad it worked out so well for you.

[travelnnana]

We have been on Princess 9x - tired of having to get a mini-suite to get a sofa - also covered pools are important to me - the big Princess ships do not have them as I learned on our 2008 Canada-New England - despite a Princess rep informing me that they had a covered pool - we will be on the Neiuw Amsterdam in October for 37 days - Venice-Venice-Barcelona- Fll - in a balcony guarantee - with a sofa - we tried out HAL last year on the Noordam and have been converted - Im desperate to do the British Isles - but cannot stand having to get a mini and no covered pool - HALs larger ships are great for us!