HAL vs Princess?

[DonRobertoSanJuan]

We are looking to book an Alaska North bound and see similar itineraries for HAL and Princess. Which one would you choose? Also, Princess has 4 ships doing this itinerary, The Star, Grand, Coral and Pacific. Would there be much difference in ship / service quality between these?

[dorisis]

The Pacific Princess is a 700 passenger ship. The Coral is a 2000 passenger ship. I would not choose a ship larger than that for Alaska.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Agree that the Coral has lovely outside viewing areas...that would be my choice!

[jagsfan]

Personally I'd pick the itinerary that includes Glacier Bay.

I prefer Princess over HAL because the demographic and ambience seems slightly younger on Princess.

 

 

 

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[eandj]

If itinerary is one that you like, I'd then look for the smallest ship for Alaska. HAL and Princess will both have nice service, food and amenities.

Obviously if you go for a larger ship, there will be more public rooms,bars,entertainment options . Not sure if you are looking for something in particular onboard.

Alaska in the summer vacation months does draw more families on both lines. The longer the itinerary, the older the demographic generally because they might not have jobs/families restricting their time away.

[furb]

If itinerary is one that you like, I'd then look for the smallest ship for Alaska. HAL and Princess will both have nice service, food and amenities.

Obviously if you go for a larger ship, there will be more public rooms,bars,entertainment options . Not sure if you are looking for something in particular onboard.

This cannot be stated enough... if you have a preference for crowds or a preference for quiet, choose appropriately, or you'll not enjoy your cruise nearly as much.

 

Personally I'd pick the itinerary that includes Glacier Bay.

I actually preferred Tracy Arm Fjord over Glacier Bay. It was much more intimate, even on a larger ship.

 

I prefer Princess over HAL because the demographic and ambience seems slightly younger on Princess.

One of my (well-cruised) table mates on my last cruise put it this way: "Some people would call a Princess ship a floating nursing home because of the average age of their passengers. The HAL ships are funeral homes in comparison..."

[rayandshirl]

Princess does not allow smoking in cabins or most of the ship. HAL does...

[IIcaptain]

Just off the Emerald Princess Houston to Belize and Cozumel.

 

An absolutely wonderful Cruise !!

 

Exceptional staff, wonderful meals, clean as a whistle and hey, we were cruising !!

 

We have cruiised 15+ times on both and they are very comparable... real good and real good.

 

Your attitude may affect your perception...

[eandj]

Princess does not allow smoking in cabins or most of the ship. HAL does...

 

 

Good point re smokers. Our friends did HAL in Alaska and paid a premium for balcony location. Neighbors on both sides were heavy smokers. They were SOOOO disappointed that they couldn't comfortable use the balcony without wafting smoke. They won't cruise HAL balconies again because of the bad experience.

[Pam in CA]

We are looking to book an Alaska North bound and see similar itineraries for HAL and Princess. Which one would you choose? Also, Princess has 4 ships doing this itinerary, The Star, Grand, Coral and Pacific. Would there be much difference in ship / service quality between these?

If the itinerary is the same, I'd choose based on price and what I can get for my money. I'm Elite on Princess and a 3-star Mariner on HAL. In Alaska, I'd say that the demographics will be very similar. Forget the generalization that HAL is like an old people's home. There will be lots of families onboard all ships if school is out.

 

Food, dining and service are similar but I'd say the edge goes to Princess. On HAL, you can order anything from the dining room delivered to your cabin at no charge although the HAL buffet is open only for a few hours for breakfast, lunch and an early dinner. Entertainment is better on Princess, lecturers are generally better on HAL.

 

HAL ships have the Crow's Nest lounge at the top of the ship for great scenic viewing while staying warm. The only Princess ship I'd consider for Alaska would be the Coral, for several reasons. I wouldn't take more than a second to consider the Star or Grand before discarding them as options... unless there was a very significant price difference. The Coral has several decks both forward and aft that are opened for great scenic viewing. While still a large ship (longer than the Grand and Star), she has a lot fewer passengers for a better space ratio/passenger experience.

[geoherb]

I like both HAL and Princess. I'd go with price and itinerary.

[snapdragon7]

I like both HAL and Princess. I'd go with price and itinerary.

 

Same here. We slightly prefer Princess's food and smoking policy; on the other hand, the service on HAL can't be beat. We also like that HAL allows room service from the MDR menu, which Princess only provides for full suites. As to age... we're 30 and have never had a bad time on HAL. :) We choose each time based on price and itinerary.

Edited January 28, 2015 by snapdragon7

[shepp]

This cannot be stated enough... if you have a preference for crowds or a preference for quiet, choose appropriately, or you'll not enjoy your cruise nearly as much.

 

Having fairly recently sailed on both the Star and the Coral, I don't recall the Coral being noticeably quieter. The Coral/Island do have better passenger-to-space ratios, but because of the way Princess designs ships, the Star doesn't seem un-enjoyably crowded to me, either. Maybe my standards are too low or I'm missing something?

Edited January 28, 2015 by shepp

[Aus Traveller]

If the itinerary is the same, I'd choose based on price and what I can get for my money. I'm Elite on Princess and a 3-star Mariner on HAL. In Alaska, I'd say that the demographics will be very similar. Forget the generalization that HAL is like an old people's home. There will be lots of families onboard all ships if school is out.

 

Food, dining and service are similar but I'd say the edge goes to Princess. On HAL, you can order anything from the dining room delivered to your cabin at no charge although the HAL buffet is open only for a few hours for breakfast, lunch and an early dinner. Entertainment is better on Princess, lecturers are generally better on HAL.

 

HAL ships have the Crow's Nest lounge at the top of the ship for great scenic viewing while staying warm. The only Princess ship I'd consider for Alaska would be the Coral, for several reasons. I wouldn't take more than a second to consider the Star or Grand before discarding them as options... unless there was a very significant price difference. The Coral has several decks both forward and aft that are opened for great scenic viewing. While still a large ship (longer than the Grand and Star), she has a lot fewer passengers for a better space ratio/passenger experience.

I realize you are an experienced cruiser and it shows in your considered and helpful answer. :)

[kitkat343]

In general, we prefer the food and the mini suite rooms on Princess to HAL, and at least when we sailed to Alaska Princess was less expensive. The Coral is a very nice intimate ship, which we liked a lot on both the Alaska and Panama Canal cruises. I'd price out both, and take Princess if it is close financially.

[MaisonRose]

Princess does not allow smoking in cabins or most of the ship. HAL does...

My first Princess cruise is in 54 days so no comment there. But I have done three HAL TAs and the smoking policy is very strict and the enforcement was on. No smoking on the balconies. There was a tiny smoking area in the casino (I saw two slot players there) and the only other smoking section was an out of the way corner on the pool deck, which always had four or five people in residence.

As for demographic, the larger Nieuw Amsterdam had many, many more walkers and wheelchairs than the Ryndam, which is a much smaller ship. I can't explain that, and remember that a TA naturally attracts retirees who have the time for a 15+ day trip.

[Jim Avery]

We have sailed Star and Pacific and, hands down, the food and service were better on Pacific. Recently we sailed HAL and for my money, Star had better food and service than Veendam. We sailed Star on a Pacific Coastal and Pacific in Alaska. Would jump on Pacific again in an instant.

[Thrak]

Princess does not allow smoking in cabins or most of the ship. HAL does...

 

Holy Cow! I had no idea. To me, this is an excellent reason to avoid HAL like the plague. I don't want a room that stinks of someone else's smoke nor do I want to be driven from my balcony by the smoke billowing from neighboring balconies.

[shepp]

We have sailed Star and Pacific and, hands down, the food and service were better on Pacific. Recently we sailed HAL and for my money, Star had better food and service than Veendam. We sailed Star on a Pacific Coastal and Pacific in Alaska. Would jump on Pacific again in an instant.

 

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. When we sailed the Star around South America, food and service were both somewhat subpar. Last time on the same ship, they were outstanding. Depends on who's overseeing the kitchen, the CD and staff, and to some extent, the luck of the draw.

 

Haven't sailed on the small girls, though, so can't compare.

Edited January 28, 2015 by shepp

[Hlitner]

When you ask this question on the Princess board you will usually get folks with a bias towards Princess. Ask the same question on the HAL board you will get a HAL bias :). We are Elite with Princess and 4 Star Mariners with HAL so we obviously enjoy both lines. However, if you are planning on booking a balcony cabin and are not smokers we would strongly recommend any Princess ship over HAL. The reason is simple. HAL is one of the last mass market cruise lines that allows smoking of both cigarettes and cigars on passenger balconies (HAL calls them verandahs).

 

As to smoking "in cabins" HAL (and Princess) do not allow any smoking in cabins. And HAL has pretty much eliminated most indoor smoking except in the casino.

 

Hank

[DonRobertoSanJuan]

When you ask this question on the Princess board you will usually get folks with a bias towards Princess. Ask the same question on the HAL board you will get a HAL bias :). We are Elite with Princess and 4 Star Mariners with HAL so we obviously enjoy both lines. However, if you are planning on booking a balcony cabin and are not smokers we would strongly recommend any Princess ship over HAL. The reason is simple. HAL is one of the last mass market cruise lines that allows smoking of both cigarettes and cigars on passenger balconies (HAL calls them verandahs).

 

As to smoking "in cabins" HAL (and Princess) do not allow any smoking in cabins. And HAL has pretty much eliminated most indoor smoking except in the casino.

 

Hank

 

Well. I got 19 replies on the Princess board vs 7 on HAL...so Princess seems more alive:rolleyes: The bias on HAL was 4 somewhat in favor of HAL, 2 without bias and 1 leaving HAL for Princess. Thanks to all.

[OCruisers]

None are bad choices but we would pick Coral Princess because we love that ship -- lots of viewing areas! :)

LuLu

[pmd98052]

Early 40s and love HAL and Princess. I would give HAL edge on Staff and food, Princess on entertainment but not much difference. I'd go with price and itinerary. Our kids love both kids clubs and were on HAL for 41 nights. On the 41st night they were still loving it!

 

Piano bar on HAL can be wonderful fun with the right entertainer, more so than Princess.

 

All in a draw though I'd sail with either in an instant. Same for NCL too. RCL, Celebrity and Carnival are still on our to do list though.

[bachcruise]

None are bad choices but we would pick Coral Princess because we love that ship -- lots of viewing areas! :)

LuLu

 

I agree. Coral Princess is the perfect ship for Alaska. I also find the food and dining options to be superior on Princess compared to HAL.

[taxatty]

I agree. Coral Princess is the perfect ship for Alaska. I also find the food and dining options to be superior on Princess compared to HAL.

We've done the Diamond and the Coral for Alaska--we greatly preferred the Coral for the reasons mentioned. We've taken the Coral twice since on other itineraries, the last time a month ago, and it's in great shape. It really does seem much less crowded than the ships with hundreds or more on board.