Comparing HAL & Princess?

[canadarocks]

We have been very loyal HAL cruisers the past few years. For a variety of reasons (the new wine policy being one), we are potentially looking elsewhere for our next one. I've narrowed our choices (based on our time frame) to either the 21 day Seafarer/Wayfarer on HAL's Noordam or the 20 day Caribbean Explorer on the Emerald Princess. They are very similar itineraries.

 

I'm hoping those who have sailed on both lines (and ideally on one or both ships) can advise me on the pros and cons of HAL over Princess? I realize that this is the HAL board, but I would really appreciate your comparisons.

 

Thank you in advance!

[Dodifra]

We have been very loyal HAL cruisers the past few years. For a variety of reasons (the new wine policy being one), we are potentially looking elsewhere for our next one. I've narrowed our choices (based on our time frame) to either the 21 day Seafarer/Wayfarer on HAL's Noordam or the 20 day Caribbean Explorer on the Emerald Princess. They are very similar itineraries.

 

I'm hoping those who have sailed on both lines (and ideally on one or both ships) can advise me on the pros and cons of HAL over Princess? I realize that this is the HAL board, but I would really appreciate your comparisons.

 

Thank you in advance!

Hi,

We have sailed on several Princess ships but not Emerald and have sailed one 34 day HAL on Veendam and are booked on Oosterdam for next year.

We found them very similar really, food varies slightly in quality from one to another perhaps, as with any line but for me, the Princess ships offer more interesting daytime activities than HAL does. I don't think you would find enough differences to put one before the other, in our experience, so go for the best itinerary and price. Hope this helps.

Dodifra

[kazu]

Along with the itinerary, you might want to check the length of time in the ports. If you like time there you may find some differences which may also be important to you.

[mamaofami]

Along with the itinerary, you might want to check the length of time in the ports. If you like time there you may find some differences which may also be important to you.

 

In light of the recent shortened port times by HAL, this is a very good idea.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Both have there good and bads.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Daisyloo]

We have sailed on Eurodam, Westerdam and Maasdam with Hal, and Emerald Princess and Grand Princess with Princess. We currently have a Maasdam cruise and an Emerald Princess cruise booked. Does that tell you that we like both lines?

They are very similar in many ways, and different in others. Cabins and bathrooms are a bit larger on HAL and we prefer the beds on HAL. Food on both lines is good but Princess offers a few more options ie International Cafe on Princess is great. We love the cental Piazza on Princess - always a great place to people watch and lots going on there.

The crew on both lines is wonderful and you will be well looked after.

Give Princess a try, you just might love it!

[OutofNJ!]

Hi!

 

I've sailed both of these ships. In fact, I've been on the second half of both itineraries. Both ships are beautiful and comfortable. Both ship's Pax ages and legnthy itineraries don't lend themselves to any kind of active night life if that's what you're looking for. Not knowing what you're actually looking for, here are some observations of differences on our particular sailings:

 

Emerald Princess: Mean Pax age: 55ish (met quite a few 20ish travelling with parents also). Pax seemed a little more international. More active CC group with cabin crawls, slot pulls, excursion sharing, etc. (at least on my particular four Princess/HAL sailings). It made the build-up to the sailings much more fun. Service was good overall. Food was good. Tables for two were uncomfortably small. Buffet area superior (my husband would like me to note the excellent pizza available until very late at night). More abundant reasonably priced upscale restaraunts. International Cafe is fantastic. Absolutely do the Chef's Table on this ship if at all possible. I think I recall more specialty entertainers (illusionists, hypnotists, ventriloquists, etc.), so the shows were quite enjoyable. Tendering at Princess Cays a minus. Check out where you'll be docked in St. Thomas- could be the remote one (forget the name). Longer stops in ports. More generous wine policy. Ship's "bedtime" around 11:00 PM. Ship seemed larger and a little more difficult to navigate. Loved the central Atrium concept and the activities centerng around that spectacular area of the ship.

 

Noordam: Mean Pax age 65ish. Superior service on every level, hands down. Dining rooms are more comfortable, MDR food is comprable (HAL may have a very slight edge). Once again, superior service. Buffet is just OK. I think that the MDR breakfast/lunch hours are more reasonable, so we skipped the buffet more at breakfast. The layout is a little confusing and offerings are much more repetitive. Crown Grill is good but expensive. Chef's Table was much more expensive and a big dissappointment. Those heated chairs and the spa pool here are absolutely fabulous. If you catch a spa special for the cruise, buy it! Those showers and saunas are better than any other ship I've sailed! Many port stops are far too short for our taste, but there were alot less Pax getting off of the ship. Half Moon Cay is far superior to Princess Cays. I didn't think I'd like the "scenic cruising" in St. Lucia and Martinique, but it turned out to be one of our favorite things. Sooooo beautiful! Ship was easy to get around. Ship's "bedtime" around 10PM. The disembarkation was the easiest ever. We opted to purchase the luggage program (forget what it's called). So easy! We put our luggage out at 11PM and never looked at it again until we landed in Philadelphia. Beautiful!!!

 

So these are my observations. Please keep in mind that the tenor of each cruise is different, so these experiences could change from sailing to sailing!

 

Hope this helps!

 

MB.

[LindaM]

Princess is known for it's terrible beds. They are in the process of replacing them. They have bed toppers, but they are in terrible shape, as well.

 

They do not have a hot room service breakfast.

 

They do a better job than HAL at transfers---spot on, no long waits.

 

I am not crazy about their small ships....not very well kept up.

[OCruisers]

We have been on lots of Princess cruises but only four HAL cruises.

 

Now that our girls no longer cruise with us, we almost always take longer cruises in Jan/Feb so the ages on both ships are about the same at that time of the year on longer cruises. Princess normally has lots of passengers from the British Isles who are quite pleasant to be around.

 

Like HAL, Princess has limited public announcements which is nice.

The service levels are good on both.

Cabins on HAL are larger. We get a mini-suite on Princess. On HAL a cabin with a veranda works fine for us.

HAL has a better room service selection but Princess has food available at more places and for longer hours.

We like the food in the MDR a bit better on Princess ... but both have very good specialty restaurants.

People dress the same on both lines ... formal evening, etc.

 

While nothing wild & crazy, Princess offers much more to do both in the day and in the evening. The total entertainment is better on Princess. We especially enjoy the bars/lounges on Princess.

There are more folks up and about on Princess at Mid-Night ... but not too much later than that.

 

We were on Emerald Princess in January for 20 nights and had a wonderful time -- one of our best cruises ever! :)

 

LuLu

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[iancal]

We have not been on Princess for a few years...but we have booked a Princess cruise in Feb.

 

Our past experience is that the two lines are very similar.

 

We found that HAL beds were much better- even when we had the Princess mattress topper. Princess coffee was absolutely terrible.

 

We much preferred the hours of operation of the buffet on Princess. Food seemed to be available at all hours. We do not especially like room service other than for morning coffee. We found the entertainment on Princess far superior to HAL.

 

We found the MDR food, service, and cabin service to be the same.

[barbarah33]

I have also sailed on both lines more than once; though I have sailed many more Princess cruises than HAL. (Just booked my 3rd HAL cruise on Friday and have done more than 10 on Princess.) I had been concentrating on pretty much all Princess until two years ago when we decided to give HAL a try. Now I am more than happy with either one and consider them both fabulous cruise lines but HAL has become my favorite. I prefer their food and service to that on Princess but still have no complains about Princess. It is true that Princess has more nightlife; that is the one thing I wish would change on HAL but I take my vacations to relax so having a quiet drink or two after a late dinner with some music keeps me happy.

 

I don't think you are going to wrong with either one and if the actual time in port is different then I would pick by that; give yourself as much time as possible to see your ports of call.

[lovetocruise2020]

We have been very loyal HAL cruisers the past few years. For a variety of reasons (the new wine policy being one), we are potentially looking elsewhere for our next one. I've narrowed our choices (based on our time frame) to either the 21 day Seafarer/Wayfarer on HAL's Noordam or the 20 day Caribbean Explorer on the Emerald Princess. They are very similar itineraries.

 

I'm hoping those who have sailed on both lines (and ideally on one or both ships) can advise me on the pros and cons of HAL over Princess? I realize that this is the HAL board, but I would really appreciate your comparisons.

 

Thank you in advance!

 

Hey there,

Gave u a long answer on the princess board:)

[K2Cruises]

We have cruised with HAL on 8 occasions and twice with Princess. We have only selected Princess in the past because of the unique itineraries offered. Having cruised both lines, we will go with HAL whenever possible for the following reasons:

 

1) We enjoy the smaller ships. We recently cruised on the Crown Princess and were not happy with the long lines and crowds associated with a ship that holds over 3000 passengers. Also on HAL we tend to take the stairs (good exercise) but when one is on the 14th floor of the Crown, elevators became a must.

 

2) We enjoy the food on HAL more (with the exception of the Crown Grill on Princess that we thought was better than the Pinnacle Grill on HAL). We have also experienced much superior service in the MDR on HAL.

 

3) The beds on HAL are light years ahead of what we've experienced on Princess. We even considered ordering one from the Holland America store. The last Princess cruise we took, the bed was so bad (sagging) my partner tried sleeping on the floor. The room steward made it a bit better by adding two egg crates and some folded blankets to level it.

 

4) We have experienced more attentive service on HAL in the stateroom and dining.

 

5) The standard balcony staterooms on HAL are roomier and include a sofa. On our last Princess cruise, we booked a balcony stateroom and there was only one comfortable chair to sit in and one of us usually had to sit on the bed. Not the best back support.

 

6) HAL has those little touches that I enjoy like cloth hand towels in the public restrooms and the cart with candied ginger and mints when you exit the MDR (known on the boards as the Yum Yum man).

 

Although people tend to say that the Holland America crowd is older ( I am 50 and my partner is 45, we began cruising HAL 12 years ago), we find this works to our advantage as after the late sitting for dinner, we pretty much have the run of the ship as many people already went to bed.

 

Princess is not bad but in our opinion, HAL is a step above.

[OCruisers]

Just a note on the beds: Ours in a mini-suite on Emerald Princess in January had been upgraded and was very comfortable. :)

 

LuLu

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[Arwen]

Princess is known for it's terrible beds. They are in the process of replacing them. They have bed toppers, but they are in terrible shape, as well.

 

They do not have a hot room service breakfast.

 

They do a better job than HAL at transfers---spot on, no long waits.

 

I am not crazy about their small ships....not very well kept up.

 

Most of our cruises have been with HAL. And on every cruise the beds/mattresses were superb. Princess is fun because they have far more activities, and longer and varied dining options (IMHO). However, not once, but twice we ended up with AWFUL mattresses on our two very lengthy Princess cruises. They were lumpy, broken down, and the mattress toppers did not help. I have a bad lumbar disc, and this may keep me from cruising Princess again.

 

I believe that they do not replace their mattresses except for in the Penthouse suites or the very upper categories (whatever they are called.)

 

They do not replace mattresses, they just cover up the problem.

[stlouistravelers]

If you enjoy the shows I believe that Princess has shortened the shows. We took a Princess cruise last January and the shorter show was noticeable to me. Seemed the entertainers had just got started and the show was over. I hear they did this to be able to add one more show to accommodate more people.

[kazu]

Just a note on the beds: Ours in a mini-suite on Emerald Princess in January had been upgraded and was very comfortable. :)

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

good to hear:D

[canadarocks]

Sounds like the two lines are very similar. HAL having the edge on service, beds, room service, and cabin size. Princess having the edge on entertainment & activities, food availability & options, and their wine policy.

 

Thank you very much everyone for your helpful replies!

[Richard in Panama]

I find this very interesting! We had travel agencies for 15 years and were a top producer for both Princess and Holland America. I was with Kirk Lanterman watching the old WESTERDAM come into Florida after it was sliced in half and lengthened, not knowing that on the same Florida trip he was negotiating to sell Holland America to Carnival. And we were big Carnival producers, so when Carnival bought Princess we wondered, "How are they going to distinguish these brands?" We had always considered them somewhat comparable. Now that I've worked on both Holland and Princess over the past five years I'm still wondering, "What is the brand differentiation?"

 

When I was in the travel agency biz the big fear was that the cruise industry would become commoditized with ships and product being pretty much the same across the industry so companies would all compete on price. I'm a big fan of BOTH Princess and Holland America, but I'm still wondering how the two products are differentiated? I think Carnival Corp is struggling with the same issue, which is why I suspect, Micky Arison has brought Bob Dickenson out of retirement to take a look at overall branding.

 

Arison has left the door open to selling off some of the brands but I can't imagine a world without Holland America or Princess. Somehow Carnival Corp needs to provide a distinct identity for both companies based on product design and delivery, not just differing slogans. I think this thread speaks to the need: what, really, is the difference???

 

Regards, Richard

[iancal]

I could not agree with you more.

 

The lines blurred some time ago. It may be different for someone who is loyal to one of these lines. For us, who are not loyal to any cruise line, there are far more similarities than differences between these two lines.

[LindaM]

Sounds like the two lines are very similar. HAL having the edge on service, beds, room service, and cabin size. Princess having the edge on entertainment & activities, food availability & options, and their wine policy.

 

Thank you very much everyone for your helpful replies!

 

You've got a good handle on the differences. We need to use your post as a sticky, as this question is asked very often.

[kazu]

I find this very interesting! We had travel agencies for 15 years and were a top producer for both Princess and Holland America. I was with Kirk Lanterman watching the old WESTERDAM come into Florida after it was sliced in half and lengthened, not knowing that on the same Florida trip he was negotiating to sell Holland America to Carnival. And we were big Carnival producers, so when Carnival bought Princess we wondered, "How are they going to distinguish these brands?" We had always considered them somewhat comparable. Now that I've worked on both Holland and Princess over the past five years I'm still wondering, "What is the brand differentiation?"

 

When I was in the travel agency biz the big fear was that the cruise industry would become commoditized with ships and product being pretty much the same across the industry so companies would all compete on price. I'm a big fan of BOTH Princess and Holland America, but I'm still wondering how the two products are differentiated? I think Carnival Corp is struggling with the same issue, which is why I suspect, Micky Arison has brought Bob Dickenson out of retirement to take a look at overall branding.

 

Arison has left the door open to selling off some of the brands but I can't imagine a world without Holland America or Princess. Somehow Carnival Corp needs to provide a distinct identity for both companies based on product design and delivery, not just differing slogans. I think this thread speaks to the need: what, really, is the difference???

 

Regards, Richard

 

Wonderful statement - there are still some differences but they are much more subtle than they were say 6 or 7 years ago.

 

Each company needs their own differentiation and what makes them special.

 

Great post - thanks for coming on:D

[canadarocks]

We've had a variety of staterooms on HAL ships, from an inside J to a double wide balcony. Does the Emerald Princess have any extra large interior staterooms like the main deck J's on HAL?

[sppunk]

Emerald's International Cafe >>> anything HAL offers.

 

Beds have been upgraded as well, thankfully. Go - you'll likely have a great time and its fun comparing (very similar) lines.

[brainyblonde]

Another compare Princess and HAL. Personally, Princess is one step below HAL. Plastic dishes and "glasses" in the Lido, brown paper towels in the public rooms, cleaning carts like motel six in all the hallways all the time. Formal night the dining room does not "dress up", (chair covers and candles on HAL). Presentation of food on plain white dishes, less elegant appearance. Beds can be awful, hard as a rock. Balcony staterooms have no sofa and table, have to sit on the bed to eat room service. Furniture on balcony more utilitarian. Did like MUTS, but prefer quieter ambiance in the outdoor spaces.

 

Princess tries to dip into the Carnival market (have done Carnival also). HAL feels like a home away from home on long cruises, to me more like the golden days of ocean travel.

 

I am told the perks are better for frequent Princess guests. HAL doesn't seem to need this incentive. Reading between the lines, Carnival Corp. does not try to distinguish between the two lines. For short cruises I can overlook Princess' shortcomings, but on longer cruises I cannot.