HAL Cruisers Try Princess

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report. Your experience is consistent with ours.

[MS7777]

out of Brooklyn a few years ago in May as by then all the HAL ships had moved out of the carib. The itinerary was very good. We usually stay in HAL Deluxe Veranda suites and are spoiled I guess. Booked a mini-suite on Princess which was amply sized and the balcony was good sized BUT we are the suites the smaller balcony suites can see from above. Absolutely NO PRIVACY whatsoever when on balcony. Never again. We felt the food NOT as good as HAL and more to the point the wait staff was a mixed group of primarily E. Europeans who seemed surly and indifferent to our needs. (And we're not especially needy or picky). The beds were ok in my opinion, HAL's are better IMHO. There was more to do on Princess onboard, the library is better on HAL, The Pinnacle Grill on HAL is exceptional, the concierge Neptune lounge is the best as is the staff there. Overall, we said we would not go back on Princess if it could be avoided (and it can). We like the formal nights on HAL and like to dress for dinner (guess we should have been born 100 yrs ago), the demographics of HAL are definitely and older crowd but we're not exactly party animals anyway. We spend all year in the public eye and appreciate the quiet and solitude environment of HAL. It works best for us. Wouldn't go on Carnival, been on RCL and like them but prefer HAL. Haven't tried Celebrity or OCeania but heard good things about them.

[cavecreekguy]

I last cruised Princess (Star Princess) in 2005. I booked a mini suite. I became friendly with someone who was in a regular balcony cabin. He had thought about booking a mini suite and asked to see mine. He was very impressed by the linens. I said "Well what do you have? Scratchy wool blankets?" HE DID!!!

 

I was amazed at the small size of his balcony cabin. Even the HAL insides I have been in are much roomier.

 

I was impressed by the pizza! I wish HAL would learn how to make it like they did on the Star Princess.

 

I also still remember how, when the waiter delivered the lobster tail, he took a few seconds to cut the meat out for me. Nice touch.

 

I would go on another Princess cruise, if the price were right and I liked the itinerary.

[LindaM]

I thought it was pretty worthless. The first one was worn in the important spots. The second one did not help me at all. I did hear Princess is in the process of replacing mattresses.

[tigragirl]

I have found this thread interesting as we have just booked our first HAL cruise

(Nieuw Amsterdam) having had our last two cruises on Ruby Princess.

we love Ruby but had problems with dates this year and HAL fitted them. we bumped into a couple off HAL in port on our last cruise and chatted to them. hey were Princess cruisers but saw a great deal with HAL that would have been rude to turn down. They said the lines compared well and they were enjoying it as much as Princess.

 

Having read the posts I have a couple of concerns, I tend to eat little and often, I hope there is somewhere you can get a lite bite in the evening.

I also hope everyone isn't in bed by 10pm, I do like to see a little bit of life going on.

Do they have any midnight feasts or things going on around the pool in the evening?

Just to stress although it reads like I am a greedy pig, I really am not:)

[DaveOKC]

I have found this thread interesting as we have just booked our first HAL cruise

 

I also hope everyone isn't in bed by 10pm, I do like to see a little bit of life going on.

Do they have any midnight feasts or things going on around the pool in the evening?

Just to stress although it reads like I am a greedy pig, I really am not:)

 

I think 5 - 10 couples stay up after 10 PM on a HAL ship, so you should have a bit of company. Of course I am kidding, but it does get quite pretty early on the HAL ships in my experience. It varys by cruise and time of year however - on the long cruises you get an older group, so it is quieter.

 

DaveOKC

[tigragirl]

Gosh, we thought it got quiet early on Ruby:) hopefully it won't be too quiet, med cruise in the British 6 weeks school holiday hopefully will give us a lower age group.

[moniquet]

Wow and I thought it was just us who weren't impressed by Princess. Agree with everything the OP says.

[Typhoon1]

Wow and I thought it was just us who weren't impressed by Princess. Agree with everything the OP says.

 

Once you've tried HAL, then try Princess, you'll never cruise Princess again. We were convinced.

[brainyblonde]

I keep remembering the lack of amenitities on Princess versus HAL. Reading about bathrobes on another post, I can tell you Princess does NOT have bathrobes for their balcony rooms. We really missed them after our showers. Did not pack anything and love HAL's robes. Another cost cutting on Princess.

 

Again I repeat, I wish the posters would not say the two lines, HAL and Princess are equal. Again, we had a nice time on Princess but would not book a longer trip with them. (I am not a HAL cheerleader, just stating facts.)

 

brainyblonde

[earljr]

I keep remembering the lack of amenitities on Princess versus HAL. Reading about bathrobes on another post, I can tell you Princess does NOT have bathrobes for their balcony rooms. We really missed them after our showers. Did not pack anything and love HAL's robes. Another cost cutting on Princess.

 

Again I repeat, I wish the posters would not say the two lines, HAL and Princess are equal. Again, we had a nice time on Princess but would not book a longer trip with them. (I am not a HAL cheerleader, just stating facts.)

 

brainyblonde

 

We had two bathrobes in our cabin on our recent Carib. Princess B2B

and they were changed out on the second leg.

[cruz chic]

Do so many people really use the DVD player a lot?

 

I consider it an ill-spent evening if I can't find something more interesting to do "out and about" on the ship than sit in my cabin and watch a movie. There were a couple of times I used it on my Westerdam cruise because there was nothing much else to do.....but for me it's a last resort. :o

While I don't use the DVD player I find your comment quite condescending. I watch TV as my "sleeping pill". I find quite a few people making remarks about people watching TV on a cruise. I'd rather poke my eyes out then play trivia but I don't feel obliged to mark remarks about those that do enjoy it.

[cruz chic]

I keep remembering the lack of amenitities on Princess versus HAL. Reading about bathrobes on another post, I can tell you Princess does NOT have bathrobes for their balcony rooms. We really missed them after our showers. Did not pack anything and love HAL's robes. Another cost cutting on Princess.

 

Again I repeat, I wish the posters would not say the two lines, HAL and Princess are equal. Again, we had a nice time on Princess but would not book a longer trip with them. (I am not a HAL cheerleader, just stating facts.)

 

brainyblonde

I believe you can ask for them on the cruise personalizer before you leave on the cruise. In my mind the two lines are equal. Can we not have differing opinions?

[cruz chic]

Once you've tried HAL, then try Princess, you'll never cruise Princess again. We were convinced.

Really, I have several cruises on both lines. I go back and forth. Can you really make a accurate comment based on one cruise?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

brainyblonde, I have to agree that your comments mirror exactly what I stated when I got off the Crown Princess exactly 3 years ago this week. I no longer like to comment about a cruise I took more than 9 months ago because things change and to compare and give comment about something I did several years ago I often do not think it applies. But it is unfortunate to hear the same comments are being made about the Princess product. The really strange thing is that about 90% of time Princess is more money for the same itinerary as HAL is :confused:

Melodi I agree with you about probably doing Princess in 2014 although I am also looking at Norwegian Star doing a few sailings on the West Coast ;) But there are some interesting itineraries that Princess will be doing on the West Coast and having 4 ships sailing the West Coast. While I would rather cruise HAL Vista ships since there is not, Princess might be an option and at least this time I will know what to expect and not be trying to compare it to HAL ;)

[itzmered]

I keep remembering the lack of amenitities on Princess versus HAL. Reading about bathrobes on another post, I can tell you Princess does NOT have bathrobes for their balcony rooms. We really missed them after our showers. Did not pack anything and love HAL's robes. Another cost cutting on Princess.

 

Again I repeat, I wish the posters would not say the two lines, HAL and Princess are equal. Again, we had a nice time on Princess but would not book a longer trip with them. (I am not a HAL cheerleader, just stating facts.)

 

brainyblonde

 

I have had a bathrobe on every Princess cruise I have been on. I do not see any amenities listed for HAL that we did not have on Princess.

[hrhdhd]

Again I repeat, I wish the posters would not say the two lines, HAL and Princess are equal. Again, we had a nice time on Princess but would not book a longer trip with them. (I am not a HAL cheerleader, just stating facts.)

 

I hate to beat a dead horse, but you are providing your own perceptions of the two lines. MY perceptions differ. :rolleyes:

 

I don't use a bathrobe at home, so not having one on a cruise (and we've had them on the Emerald Princess) doesn't matter to me. If it does to you, fair enough, but the lack of a bathrobe isn't really (again, in MY perception) a reason not to sail with a particular line again.

 

Sail HAL. Enjoy. I'll be sailing both because essentially they are incredibly similar. Depending on price and itinerary, we'll cruise both again.

[igraf]

Conclusion: Never bring food back to the cabin! :-)

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

...Last cruise on Princess I gained 7 unwanted pounds, so that says a lot about the food. The Horizon Court has so much more to choose from and bring back to the cabin....

[cruisemom42]

 

Again I repeat, I wish the posters would not say the two lines, HAL and Princess are equal. Again, we had a nice time on Princess but would not book a longer trip with them. (I am not a HAL cheerleader, just stating facts.)

 

brainyblonde

 

As others have said, you've formed an opinion and clearly you've found a home with HAL. Many people who've cruised both lines have found them pretty similar. Some things HAL does better, and some things Princess does better. You seem to value the things HAL does better.

 

Plus, some of the things you experienced on your single Princess cruise seem like anomalies based on my own experiences. If I had formed an opinion of HAL based on the first cruise I took with them (Zuiderdam, maiden season, Caribbean) I likely would never have come back to the line. The food was not great, the service was slooow, the decor of the ship was kind of odd (bright, clashy colors), and so on....

 

 

 

While I don't use the DVD player I find your comment quite condescending. I watch TV as my "sleeping pill". I find quite a few people making remarks about people watching TV on a cruise. I'd rather poke my eyes out then play trivia but I don't feel obliged to mark remarks about those that do enjoy it.

 

I did not intend to be condescending. I have nothing against turning on the TV when one is trying to go to sleep. How did you get to that from what I said? :confused:

 

If you re-read what I said, I am making the point that if you are planning to watch a DVD as your evening's entertainment plan -- there being few or no other options -- then that is not a plus for me. Having a DVD player is fine -- but there should be choices. When that is the only choice, well...... as I said, I (note I did not say "you") would consider it a lost evening.

[Wakepatrol]

Once I read the frenzy of bringing or calling ahead to reserve an egg crate for your mattress on the Princess boards. I immediately lose interest.:o

[solocanadian]

Once I read the frenzy of bringing or calling ahead to reserve an egg crate for your mattress on the Princess boards. I immediately lose interest.:o

Brings to mind another question - how in the world do they deep clean an egg crate after Noro???

[baby]

interesting

 

I am also trying to decide between the na and celebrity reflections

 

any comments

 

we like the night life and am afraid we will not find it on the na

[sunviking90]

I agree with OP's views on this. We took a Princess cruise about 8 years ago and LOVED it. The food was wonderful, dining room service was warm and attentive, the ship was beautiful, beautifully presented and we loved all the activities. ( love trivia!)

We looked forward to returning to Princess a year ago, but the experience was not good. The MDR situation was weird. The Maitre'd, and dining room heads acted like generals in the army ordering the waiters around and watching them like hawks. It was not at all the friendly feeling we get on HAL. Made us very uncomfortable. We also had to wait on hold on the phone every morning to reserve a table for 2, and most times were unsuccessful. And the food was not good at all. (Read the Princess forum and you'll hear about the decline in food). We also had a customer service issue, that would have been an easy fix, but the purser's desk was indifferent, promising each day that it would be rectified "tomorrow". Finally contacted Princess upon returning home, and had a personal call from them offering me a $10 credit. Gee thanks Princess!

 

It was such a disappointment. I do think their ships are beautiful inside, although I prefer the traditional layout of HAL. What we liked about Princess was the cleaner cabin, larger closet, and better maintained ship. None of the wear and tear that we are becoming used to on HAL. I'll still jeep coming back to HAL though.

[dobiemom]

Brings to mind another question - how in the world do they deep clean an egg crate after Noro???

Oh my, good question. :confused: :eek: :rolleyes:

[tacrum43]

Once you've tried HAL, then try Princess, you'll never cruise Princess again. We were convinced.

 

I have my first HAL cruise coming up this summer for the Mediterranean. It was almost twice as long as the Princess cruises I found, and for only a little more money. This makes me concerned they may be cutting corners somewhere.

 

But anyway, I booked a balcony cabin on the Noordam (usually get a mini-suite on Princess). Can anyone compare these, size-wise? I know Princess' regular balcony cabins are considered small compared to other lines.

 

One thing I don't like about HAL is that you have to pre-pay the shore excursions and with a 10% cancellation fee. They also seem more expensive than the Princess ones, but maybe that's just because it's Europe and everything costs more. On Princess, you can cancel up until a day before the excursion for no penalty, and you don't have to pay ahead of time.

 

I am looking forward to some of the nice things I've heard about HAL: Full room service breakfast, fresh flowers, DVD player and a less crowded ship (the Crown class ships on Princess just have too many passengers for the size of the common areas).