Princess versus Holland America

[cruz chic]

I have to say that I send food back if it is not hot - but I certainly am not rude about it. I cannot stand eating luke-warm or cold food that is meant to be hot.

 

Who does like eating lukewarm food:D? Not many. It's sort of like people saying they don't like standing in lines? I'd love to hear from someone that does enjoy it;).

[cruz chic]

I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I had ordered food that wasn't either hot or chilled. It's been years. In fact the last time I can remember was the fettucini Alfredo on Princess - it was flat-out cold!

 

Food not being the right temperature is likely more of a waiter issue than a kitchen issue, fwiw.

 

Thanks for the lesson on how food ends up being cold. I guess you certainly shouldn't sail Princess then. I've had way more hot food on Princess then HAL.

[sppunk]

Thanks for the lesson on how food ends up being cold. I guess you certainly shouldn't sail Princess then. I've had way more hot food on Princess then HAL.

 

I don't know what lesson you're referring to, I simply was saying a delay in serving is almost always the issue no matter on a ship or on land.

 

Princess has great food. Well everything except their speciality restaurants.

[nana51]

I'm doing the reverse. After trips to Alaska on the Westerdam (bad) and the Amesterdam (so-so) I'm going on Princess next May. One thing I did notice is that Princess seems to stay longer in ports in Alaska than either of the ships I went on. Look forward to seeing the difference. And HOT food, not lukewarm or cold.

 

I had a fiend with me who went on a princess Alaska cruise then went with me on HAL. She said HAL spent longer in the ports. :confused: Just depends on the itinerary I guess.

[dchip]

We just spent 17 days on the Star Princess in three different cabins. We had new beds in two of them. The other 8 days were spent in pain due to the bed. On the Grand in January, I was counting the days until the cruise was over. Once again, horrible beds. Not all Princess beds have been changed over. I talked to a rep from a Princess and she agreed there was no way to know which cabins had a decent bed except for the Royal and the Regal. For this reason, we are canceling our 50th anniversary cruise on the Golden to do the Voyage of the Vikings with HAL. We are Elite on Princess and have 41 days on HAL.

 

Cheers, Denise

[Tarpeian Rock]

We just spent 17 days on the Star Princess in three different cabins. We had new beds in two of them. The other 8 days were spent in pain due to the bed. On the Grand in January, I was counting the days until the cruise was over. Once again, horrible beds. Not all Princess beds have been changed over. I talked to a rep from a Princess and she agreed there was no way to know which cabins had a decent bed except for the Royal and the Regal. For this reason, we are canceling our 50th anniversary cruise on the Golden to do the Voyage of the Vikings with HAL. We are Elite on Princess and have 41 days on HAL.

 

Cheers, Denise

 

 

In no way discounting your experience on the Grand, but remarkable what a crapshoot the mattress situation seems to be. Was on the Grand in October 3 months before your experience, and thought the mattress was great - and I've had 3 spine operations, so I have a great sensitivity to mattress issues. One would think that mattress replacement would have been on a ship-wide basis, not as spotty as so many reports indicate.

[dchip]

In no way discounting your experience on the Grand, but remarkable what a crapshoot the mattress situation seems to be. Was on the Grand in October 3 months before your experience, and thought the mattress was great - and I've had 3 spine operations, so I have a great sensitivity to mattress issues. One would think that mattress replacement would have been on a ship-wide basis, not as spotty as so many reports indicate.

 

That is the huge problem booking a cabin with Princess. No rhyme or reason to the replacement. I can't take the chance of getting a bad mattress for 28 days.

 

Cheers, Denise

[VioletHorse]

We just spent 17 days on the Star Princess in three different cabins. We had new beds in two of them. The other 8 days were spent in pain due to the bed. On the Grand in January, I was counting the days until the cruise was over. Once again, horrible beds. Not all Princess beds have been changed over. I talked to a rep from a Princess and she agreed there was no way to know which cabins had a decent bed except for the Royal and the Regal. For this reason, we are canceling our 50th anniversary cruise on the Golden to do the Voyage of the Vikings with HAL. We are Elite on Princess and have 41 days on HAL.

 

Cheers, Denise

 

This is the reason that I still have an unused FCD for Princess. There is no way to know which rooms have new mattresses, and I can't risk 7-10 days in agony if I end up on an broken down old bed. To clarify about those "egg crate toppers" that can be requested - they are not egg crate at all. They are thin slabs of foam which do very little to make a bad mattress more comfortable. The only way I'll be able to utilize my FCD on Princess is to book one of their new builds, assuming that I can find the right itinerary at the right price and time.

 

Congratulations on your 50th. The Voyage of the Vikings is on my bucket list, and I hope you enjoy the itinerary.

[kevingastreich]

Some of the questions are easy to answer.

 

Cabin size doesn't matter because you can book the size you desire or need on any cruise ship on any line.

 

Food is a matter of choice, and if you don't like the item you ordered, all cruise lines will willingly replace it.

 

The staff on all lines can vary as much as you see in the general public. Some are very good, and some not so good, so it the luck of the draw.

 

I have sailed on the Island Princess and a few HAL ships, and the biggest difference I have seen is the way they enforce the dress code. HAL was a little more strict, but that could have changed. All cruise lines seem to be relaxing their dress codes (unofficially.

HAL "unofficially" relaxing the dress code may be correct. We just came back from a 12 dayer on the Eurodam and the first formal night-and I kid you not-there was a fella in the MDR with an open collar and no jacket. I mean, come on! If you don't want to wear a tie or jacket (preferably both) eat at the Lido that night. It's not considerate to the rest of us who enjoy the pomp and circumstance of the formals.

[KirkNC]

We have cruise both and while Princess is not our first choice (probably around 4th) we would sail them again for the right itinerary and price. There are some things we like better on Princess, some better on HAL but overall we like HAL better.

[MSBerliner]

1. Does HAL offer "fresh brewed coffee" as Princess does?

 

2. Does HAL have anything similar to Princess' International Cafe?

 

3. We prefer a one level walk-around promenade deck. Princess requires one to climb into the wind of an upper deck to walk around the fore of the ship. What are HAL's newer ships like in this regard?

 

Many thanks.

[cruz chic]

1. Does HAL offer "fresh brewed coffee" as Princess does?yes, explorations Cafe

 

2. Does HAL have anything similar to Princess' International Cafe? No

 

3. We prefer a one level walk-around promenade deck. Princess requires one to climb into the wind of an upper deck to walk around the fore of the ship. What are HAL's newer ships like in this regard?

Yes, completely walk around but the new ship might not have it.

Many thanks.

 

See above

[MSBerliner]

Thanks Cruz Chic. By the way, what is the new HAL ship you reference, please? I'll bet it's a new build I haven't yet read about.

[nana51]

Yes, the new ship is still being built and will be ready hopefully by 2016. It will be called (not sure of spelling) Koningsdam.

[travelinjones]

We have sailed more than 30 cruises on Holland America and two cruises on Princess, both times on the Star Princess.

 

However, the last sailing on Princess was LAST WEEK, sailing on a 7-Day California Coastal cruise round-trip out of San Francisco. I booked it as a solo cruiser as Mr. Jones was working for another two weeks in London.

 

Here's my comparison notes:

- the Star Princess itinerary was fantastic, sailing out of the brand new Pier 27 cruise terminal in San Francisco: see photos of the terminal here: http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2014/10/27/trying-out-san-franciscos-new-cruise-ship-terminal-at-pier-27/

- The ship sailed to Ensenada, Mexico; and to Long Beach, San Diego and Santa Barbara in California.

- The Star Princess was built in 2002 and we had previously sailed on it during its launch year. Overall, it was in okay shape, but some areas definitely looked outdated. Here's a link to photos from around the ship:

http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2014/10/22/views-from-the-star-princess-cruise-ship/

 

-Positives for Princess (compared to HAL):

- Vintages Wine Bar is nice with a good selection of reasonably-priced wines by the glass with complimentary sushi and/or tapas. In both Vintages and in the restaurants there was a good, diverse selection of reasonably priced wines from regions around the globe.

-International cafe open 24 hours a day with salads, sandwiches, pastries and desserts.

-Many varied activities going on around the ship - Movies Under the Stars, Movies in the Vista Lounge, a number of different bar/lounges acts and main showroom. (negative - the only night I tried to go to show/completely full - not even any standing room at the back.)

- Sabatini's great specialty Italian restaurant; also enjoyed Crab Shack concept which is a restaurant on some nights in part of the buffet restaurant - similar to how Canaletto's is set up on HAL, but executed much better, in my opinion. A fun, bid-wearing seafood "boil" type experience.

- The food in the main dining room offered many choices and was good quality, similar to HAL.

- The buffet lines were crowded with not enough food choices.

- The pizza restaurant was far, far superior to HAL, and the burger/hot dog place looked okay (I didn't try it.) The ice cream shop provided complimentary ice cream cones, but selection was limited to chocolate and vanilla.

- I didn't dine at the specialty steakhouse, but did have the complimentary pub lunch there, and the service was terrible, so it turned me off for trying the regular evening offering.

- The shore excursions were very reasonably priced - they seemed much less expensive than HALs.

-Princess gives its elite alums free internet minutes and stocks their refrigerators with complimentary sodas and alcohol. The seemed to keep elite customers happy.

 

Now where HAL excels over Princess:

- the staterooms on Princess are much smaller - I had an interior cabin and it was 160 sq feet compared to 182 sq feet on HAL. Drawer space was limited, there's no sitting area, and the decor is dated on Princess. Most troublesome on Princess was the hard, uncomfortable mattress (didn't every cruise line get good beds about 2005?) HAL's are superior by far, as is the sound-proofing between decks. See photos of the stateroom here: http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2014/10/30/a-look-inside-interior-cabin-b-625-on-the-star-princess-cruise-ship/

-We love the walk-around decks on HAL ships. You could walk around on the Star Princess, but you had to climb stairs to a different deck on the end.

-The Pinnacle and the Tamarind have far better food and service than the specialty restaurants on Princess. (Of course, we get the 4-star 50% discount, so that's makes them seem like a great value on HAL.)

- The service - from dining room waiters to room attendants to the bar staff -is better on Holland America. Many staffers on Princess just seemed to be going through the motions - they were not engaged in the jobs. It always seemed to be a long wait for a drink in a bar, even when it wasn't busy.

-The internet on HAL is nothing to brag about, but it was better than Princess. The Princess system is bogged down by giving free minutes to past elite guests, and its very slow and expensive when you are paying, and it was difficult to log out. Royal Caribbean beats both out of the water with its pay 1 price for all that you can use, and it works well on iPhones and iPads.

- The Explorations Cafe on HAL is far superior to the Star Princess. The Princess library was a tiny space with a few shelves of old books and a few games. I love the huge selection of New York Times best-sellers on HAL, along with the cafe and the games and puzzles.

 

We'd be happy on either line, but unless it was for a specific itinerary, we would choose HAL over Princess for its smaller-size of ships and superior service.

[KitKatK]

That was a great review/comparison of the two lines! I enjoyed reading your blog articles and seeing your pictures as well. Thanks so much, Mrs. Jones!

 

KK

[regnig]

While written 2 years ago I still stick by what I wrote so feel free to take a look at my comparison -

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1603771

 

All that said the Island, sister to the Coral, is our favorite size ship that Princess has in it's fleet and you will find it a bit similar to HAL's Vista ships. If you get a regular stateroom beware the bathroom is small with the world's tiniest shower ---- no tub. You must book at least a mini-suite to get a bathtub that includes a shower similar to HAL's (fixed head only). Also on disembarkation day they will want you out of your stateroom early and gathered in a common area with lots of others.

Edited October 31, 2014 by larsen

[cruz chic]

We have sailed more than 30 cruises on Holland America and two cruises on Princess, both times on the Star Princess.

 

However, the last sailing on Princess was LAST WEEK, sailing on a 7-Day California Coastal cruise round-trip out of San Francisco. I booked it as a solo cruiser as Mr. Jones was working for another two weeks in London.

 

Here's my comparison notes:

- the Star Princess itinerary was fantastic, sailing out of the brand new Pier 27 cruise terminal in San Francisco: see photos of the terminal here: http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2014/10/27/trying-out-san-franciscos-new-cruise-ship-terminal-at-pier-27/

- The ship sailed to Ensenada, Mexico; and to Long Beach, San Diego and Santa Barbara in California.

- The Star Princess was built in 2002 and we had previously sailed on it during its launch year. Overall, it was in okay shape, but some areas definitely looked outdated. Here's a link to photos from around the ship:

http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2014/10/22/views-from-the-star-princess-cruise-ship/

 

-Positives for Princess (compared to HAL):

- Vintages Wine Bar is nice with a good selection of reasonably-priced wines by the glass with complimentary sushi and/or tapas. In both Vintages and in the restaurants there was a good, diverse selection of reasonably priced wines from regions around the globe.

-International cafe open 24 hours a day with salads, sandwiches, pastries and desserts.

-Many varied activities going on around the ship - Movies Under the Stars, Movies in the Vista Lounge, a number of different bar/lounges acts and main showroom. (negative - the only night I tried to go to show/completely full - not even any standing room at the back.)

- Sabatini's great specialty Italian restaurant; also enjoyed Crab Shack concept which is a restaurant on some nights in part of the buffet restaurant - similar to how Canaletto's is set up on HAL, but executed much better, in my opinion. A fun, bid-wearing seafood "boil" type experience.

- The food in the main dining room offered many choices and was good quality, similar to HAL.

- The buffet lines were crowded with not enough food choices.

- The pizza restaurant was far, far superior to HAL, and the burger/hot dog place looked okay (I didn't try it.) The ice cream shop provided complimentary ice cream cones, but selection was limited to chocolate and vanilla.

- I didn't dine at the specialty steakhouse, but did have the complimentary pub lunch there, and the service was terrible, so it turned me off for trying the regular evening offering.

- The shore excursions were very reasonably priced - they seemed much less expensive than HALs.

-Princess gives its elite alums free internet minutes and stocks their refrigerators with complimentary sodas and alcohol. The seemed to keep elite customers happy.

 

Now where HAL excels over Princess:

- the staterooms on Princess are much smaller - I had an interior cabin and it was 160 sq feet compared to 182 sq feet on HAL. Drawer space was limited, there's no sitting area, and the decor is dated on Princess. Most troublesome on Princess was the hard, uncomfortable mattress (didn't every cruise line get good beds about 2005?) HAL's are superior by far, as is the sound-proofing between decks. See photos of the stateroom here: http://www.travelingwiththejones.com/2014/10/30/a-look-inside-interior-cabin-b-625-on-the-star-princess-cruise-ship/

-We love the walk-around decks on HAL ships. You could walk around on the Star Princess, but you had to climb stairs to a different deck on the end.

-The Pinnacle and the Tamarind have far better food and service than the specialty restaurants on Princess. (Of course, we get the 4-star 50% discount, so that's makes them seem like a great value on HAL.)

- The service - from dining room waiters to room attendants to the bar staff -is better on Holland America. Many staffers on Princess just seemed to be going through the motions - they were not engaged in the jobs. It always seemed to be a long wait for a drink in a bar, even when it wasn't busy.

-The internet on HAL is nothing to brag about, but it was better than Princess. The Princess system is bogged down by giving free minutes to past elite guests, and its very slow and expensive when you are paying, and it was difficult to log out. Royal Caribbean beats both out of the water with its pay 1 price for all that you can use, and it works well on iPhones and iPads.

- The Explorations Cafe on HAL is far superior to the Star Princess. The Princess library was a tiny space with a few shelves of old books and a few games. I love the huge selection of New York Times best-sellers on HAL, along with the cafe and the games and puzzles.

 

We'd be happy on either line, but unless it was for a specific itinerary, we would choose HAL over Princess for its smaller-size of ships and superior service.

While I agree with most of what you wrote a correction is in order. You get some free internet at a platium level. I've never found the Internet to be better or worse than hals. Elite pax do get a mini bar set up but it's one time, not constant. Too bad about your bed. I plan on sailing on the same ship as you next April so hopefully they'll be replaced by then.

[metairiegal]

We've sailed both several times. I like both. But, HAL interiors (especially atrium areas) seem way out of date, small and dark-ish. Whenever see a HAL ship, all I think of is dark orange interiors.

 

I would sail on either again - probably the edge going to Princess.

 

But, on these boards the edge will go to HAL. Did you ask the same question on the Princess boards?

[CruisermanVA]

But, HAL interiors (especially atrium areas) seem way out of date, small and dark-ish.

I don't know, they look pretty nice to me.

 

Noordam

 

Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Veendam

[sammiedawg]

I've thought for years HAL ships are too dark. Lido buffet, atrium, public rooms of often strike me as too dark. Not to mention monotone dark carpets.

Princess ships are lighter, breezier in design, some of the atriums are gorgeous.

The most beautiful ship I've seen is Oceania Marina, just jaw dropping.

Edited November 1, 2014 by sammiedawg

[Lizzie68]

I've thought for years HAL ships are too dark. Lido buffet, atrium, public rooms of often strike me as too dark. Not to mention monotone dark carpets.

Princess ships are lighter, breezier in design, some of the atriums are gorgeous.

The most beautiful ship I've seen is Oceania Marina, just jaw dropping.

 

The atriums certainly do not have the "wow" factor that we feel on other ships. I actually find the older Celebrity ships way darker than HAL's, and have not cruised on Princess.

[metairiegal]

I don't know, they look pretty nice to me.

 

Noordam

 

Nieuw Amsterdam

 

Veendam

 

The 1st and 2nd pics look dark-ish. And, of course the 1st one has a lot of the orange I was talking about. Just my opinion.

[Northender]

My 2 cents based on 4 HAL and once on Grand Princess(which we're booked on next year again): HAL's Lido food much better. We thought both service and food in the MDR much, much better on Princess than our last 2 HAL cruises. On Princess there was little sense of the waitstaff being stretched/stressed as we've seen on HAL. standard verandah cabin. HAL's bathroom better. Thought Princess bar staff friendlier. Everyone' mileage varies. There's a reason we picked Princess over HAL for Alaska.

 

Could you please elaborate a little more on this. Thank you.

[HALrunner]

I just read all seven pages of this thread and enjoyed all the different opinions of the two lines. We cruised PCL once about 8 years ago, and although we had a great experience, have become loyal HAL mariners. Now our friends want us to go on a 7 day PCL with them. We will definitely not let our HAL loyalties hold us back as the our previous PCL cruise was good, but...

 

what is the one thing you would advise a loyal Mariner who is drifting back to PCL?

 

Do you have any little PCL tricks? We are so glad we learned (through CC, of course) of the glories of unlimited laundry and MDR room service on HAL, for example.

 

Thanks!

 

p.s. We will be on the Emerald Princess and be a family of four, any advice welcome!