Hal vs princess, a comparison

[cruz chic]

Hal vs princess, a comparison

 

I booked this cruise back in October 2014 when I saw a semi decent price for air. I liked the idea of going to the Caribbean without having to fly to Fort Lauderdale. I knew this cruise could be a bit risky because of fog but I flew in the day before and booked a flight leaving Houston at 4:25. Normally I'll stay another day after but I didn't want to burn up and extra holiday day. Turns out it wouldn't be an issue since I'm a senior oil and gas accountant that lost my job in the purge of workers due to low oil pricing. I decided to carry on since I did get severance.

 

On the way down princess sent email after email warning us that the ship could be delayed as heavy fog was predicted. It turned out to be fine and I took a princess transfer along with their hotel. I stayed overnight and somehow ended up in a suite and the 4 seasons houston. It was a delightful hotel. Princess got us to the port around 12:45. I brought one bottle of wine and the steward questioned me on if I was sure that I didn't have more. I told him he was free to search my carry on. They recorded every bottle. I've never had a problem bringing wine on the ship with hal. Princess fails in this regard. The rest of the embark was fine.

 

Had lunch on the ship in the MDR. While the food was good the menu was very, very limited. There was only mains with no appies and only soufflé for dessert. Hal wins.

 

My room was fine but I always forget how super small the shower is. This is probably tmi but the only way a woman can shave her legs is by shutting off the water and putting your leg up on the toilet. Hal wins.

 

Even thought the ship had 3000 passengers the ship never felt crowded to me. That said, I never went to the pools and spent more time on my balcony than anyplace else. Draw between princess and hal.

 

One place that princess really shines is the the MDR. Every night the service was better than any hal ship I've been on. The service did get worse in open dining every passing night but I would still say the princess wins. Food was very, very good. I never felt the need to go to a specialty restaurant. Most of the food was served hot. Something that hal struggles greatly with. Princess wins by a mile.

 

Breakfast service was good too. I have to say that the breakfast menu doesn't hold a candle to hals. The menu is very limited. I made the mistake of ordering an omelette one morning and I don't think it was even one egg. I don't know what happened but they seemed to get bigger during the week. Hal wins.

 

Princess doesn't allow balcony smoking. I guess my neighbour thought it didn't apply to them. It was hard to tell where it was coming from but this morning it was apparent. They are very lucky I didn't report them.

 

Entertainment, I rarely do it so I can't compare.

 

Now here's were the story gets ugly. The port out houston was closed due to fog. The ship didn't even make it into port until 11. I didn't even get off the ship until 1:30 and sat waiting for a transfer bus to fill up until 2:30. The airport is an hour away from the airport. Princess had no sense of urgency to get pax off the ship and to the airport. So many people missed their flights. I didn't get to my terminal until 3:40 for my 4:25 and then there was no one to tag your bags. I begged and pleaded and somehow by the grace of God I made my flight. Epic fail princess.

 

The whole week I must have said 50 times how much I preferred hal. I'm sure people got sick of hearing about it.

 

I'm an elite on princess and I will likely continue to cruise on them because they have west cost options. Hal is a much better fit for me.

 

Any questions, feel free to ask.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for your comparison. It seemed to me that for a while now you have been happier with Princess then Hal, though maybe I'm mistaken. Sounds like you had a good cruises except for disembarking, what a mess that musts have been. Glad you made your flight.:) I'm sorry did you mention which ship were you on?

[KruzPrincess]

I've read that HAL is changing their wine carry on policy, so I guess change is coming. Since you are elite on Princess, you must have been aware of how Princess does things unless it's been a long time since you cruised with them. They allow one bottle of wine for each person and will charge a corkage fee if you carry on any additional bottles. They make their policy clear. I don't see how that's a fail, I guess.

 

I've eaten lunch in the MDR on the first day and they've always had appetizers, salads, etc. It's interesting they didn't offer that on your cruise.

 

Which breakfast menu are you referring to? Buffet, MDR or room service. Princess offers a limited menu for room service and the only hot item you can order is a breakfast sandwich. Maybe you got the egg portion of the sandwich? They have made to order omelettes in the buffet and in the MDR. It is nice that HAL has a full menu. I agree there, but as an elite you must have been prepared for the limited breakfast menu.

 

There's so much good about Princess. It's too bad you chose to compare instead of just enjoying what they offer. I went on a HAL cruise last year after many years of not sailing with them. It was interesting and I tried to enjoy the differences. I did miss Princess, but I wanted to experience something else. I like food, activities and entertainment better on Princess, but HAL offers a nice cruise experience. Service was good. I enjoyed the HAL buffet, but I didn't like the limited hours. I like that Princess doesn't have limited buffet hours. On HAL, there are times when you only can order room service if you're hungry. Maybe that's why they offer more choices from room service. On Princess, you have so many options for food.

 

I've been very happy that I haven't had any smoke issues on my balconies since Princess changed their smoking policy. Sorry you had issues.

 

Just have to mention that it's not Princess' fault that there was fog. There has been a ton of information on CC about the fog issues of sailing from Houston. I personally have avoided cruising from there for that reason.

 

My first HAL cruise was on the Volendam many years ago. Everyone in my group (10 of us) talked about how we wished we were on a Princess cruise for all 10 days. It really affected our enjoyment. Now, I try to enjoy whatever cruise I'm on. It's a good learning experience, though. It's good you know what you like. It's good to try other cruise lines. Either you find something new that you like or it reinforces your loyalty.

[Danni3ll3]

What ship were you on? My princess experience was not as positive as yours. The service in the MDR was sorely lacking and the food was just acceptable. Mind you, it was the last run up to Alaska and I got the distinct impression that the crew was tired and done. I still had a wonderful cruise since we did not let those details detract from the enjoyment of being on a ship in Alaska.

[cruz chic]

Thanks for your comparison. It seemed to me that for a while now you have been happier with Princess then Hal, though maybe I'm mistaken. Sounds like you had a good cruises except for disembarking, what a mess that musts have been. Glad you made your flight.:) I'm sorry did you mention which ship were you on?

 

Sorry, I was on the emerald princess. I've never been happier on princess. I just prefer that I get better pricing on princess and appreciate the fact that the balconies are supposed to be smoke free.

[cruz chic]

I've read that HAL is changing their wine carry on policy, so I guess change is coming. Since you are elite on Princess, you must have been aware of how Princess does things unless it's been a long time since you cruised with them. They allow one bottle of wine for each person and will charge a corkage fee if you carry on any additional bottles. They make their policy clear. I don't see how that's a fail, I guess.

 

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. I brought one bottle on, which I'm allowed as per princess policy. The steward was accusing me of more. What policy am I not aware of?

 

I've eaten lunch in the MDR on the first day and they've always had appetizers, salads, etc. It's interesting they didn't offer that on your cruise.

yes, that's been my experience too. When was your last cruise?its not a matter of being confused. I specifically asked for a salad and was told that there was no appies.

 

Which breakfast menu are you referring to? Buffet, MDR or room service. Princess offers a limited menu for room service and the only hot item you can order is a breakfast sandwich. Maybe you got the egg portion of the sandwich? They have made to order omelettes in the buffet and in the MDR. It is nice that HAL has a full menu. I agree there, but as an elite you must have been prepared for the limited breakfast menu. I'm speaking of the MDR menu. Not sure why they would take the egg portion from a sandwich. I made a comment on the size and immediately ordered more food.

 

There's so much good about Princess. It's too bad you chose to compare instead of just enjoying what they offer. I went on a HAL cruise last year after many years of not sailing with them. It was interesting and I tried to enjoy the differences. I did miss Princess, but I wanted to experience something else. I like food, activities and entertainment better on Princess, but HAL offers a nice cruise experience. Service was good. I enjoyed the HAL buffet, but I didn't like the limited hours. I like that Princess doesn't have limited buffet hours. On HAL, there are times when you only can order room service if you're hungry. Maybe that's why they offer more choices from room service. On Princess, you have so many options for food. I was asked to do a comparison by another cc member and that is what I did. I'm sorry that this has caused so much upset for you. This is why there are so many lines. There was a couple doing their 200th cruise on princess at our platinum and elite party. He gave a ten minute speech and in the process had to put a slam in at hal in front of about 500 people. While I thought that was completely inappropriate it never occurred to me to wonder why he didn't enjoy the differences. We like what we like. Right?

 

I've been very happy that I haven't had any smoke issues on my balconies since Princess changed their smoking policy. Sorry you had issues.

 

Just have to mention that it's not Princess' fault that there was fog. There has been a ton of information on CC about the fog issues of sailing from Houston. I personally have avoided cruising from there for that reason. I'm sorry that the take away from this is that you think that I think princess caused the fog. I said no such thing. Its the way you deal with they problem, not the problem itself. Princess did a lousy job handling the situation. I know that you will tell me I'm wrong but im the only person out of the two of us that was there. I do not read the princess forum that often. I was aware that there could be fog issues but not to this extent. Even yesterday I talked to a woman from Houston that tried to minimize the amount of times that fog is a problem. Lesson learned.

 

My first HAL cruise was on the Volendam many years ago. Everyone in my group (10 of us) talked about how we wished we were on a Princess cruise for all 10 days. It really affected our enjoyment. Now, I try to enjoy whatever cruise I'm on. It's a good learning experience, though. It's good you know what you like. It's good to try other cruise lines. Either you find something new that you like or it reinforces your loyalty.

 

See answers in red.

Edited March 2, 2015 by cruz chic

[POA1]

Thanks for the comparison. :)

[puppycanducruise]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comparisons.

[Cruzaholic41]

Thank you for your comparison.

 

I have a hard time deciding which I like more (or less). To be honest, it's about even to me. It's a big negative to me HAL allows balcony smoking, but it's also a big negative to me how small the rooms are on Princess.

 

You mentioned the dining room and to be honest, my experience has been just the opposite. I much prefer HAL's MDR. I think the food and service are even, but I've always felt so crowded in Princess dining rooms.

[1teach53]

Emerald Review. February 7, 2015

 

Embarkation was as smooth as you expect with 3,000 people. Check in, then sit & wait for your group to be called. As you board the ship photo ID is taken by security. Lines always moved, but wow, there were lines!! (This to be the theme of the cruise!!)

First we will do our best NOT to compare to RSS because there is NO comparison !!! RSS is far more superior in all areas, whole different class!!!

Our comparison is to Holland America the line in mass market we have the most days & recent experience on......

Embarkation day we were in shock by the number of bodies & size of the ship!!! And not in a positive way!!

On day two as people dispersed throughout the ship we felt better. There is excellent signage posted to help navigation.

Impressions of physical space:

Main dining rooms & lounges are huge & seem dark & limited views to outside. Tables always very close together. There is a nice bar aft with a great view but doesn't open till 10PM!!

Found a very nice bar next to the surcharge Italian rest.. aft, however it was strange having a drink at 4:00 with an AA. meeting going on in this BAR!!

Cabins:

Very small balcony, smaller than HAL. Strange blue rubber matting on floor. Cabin (not a mini suite) very small, (tiny) desk chair & one sitting chair, no couch. Bathroom only has shower w/ curtain. I'd compare it to a airplane bathroom, slightly larger. Cabins do have a small refrigerator with a white plastic ice bucket. No DVD on TV but a number of movie channels.

No top sheet on beds unless you ask for it to be added, robes on request, very thin waffle weave.

Cabin hallways are very narrow, with steward carts etc it is very hard walking.

Wines- by the glass and wine list comparable to HAL

$9.00 for 5oz of something halfway decent

Regent pouring wines are better

Buffet- HAL buffet is far superior. Better selection

and much better food. The Princess buffet is crowded and poorly laid out.

 

Outside grill and pizza- both are better on Princess

Dining room- food and service, Princess wins.

Only complaint is that the dining room is cramped and crowded. Also, most of the tables for two are lined up in rows of seven very close together so that you are so close to the other tables that it seems like you are at a table for six anyway.

Steak house- both lines charge $25 up charge.

HAL wins here- food and presentation better.

Princess filet was dry and tough. Lobster was good.

Room service- we did not use because the menu was limited, there was no hot breakfast and a $3.00 service charge. HAL RS breakfast is good ( no charge)

Desserts and pastries- by far better on Princess. HAL has really gone down in this area.

Coffee- HAL wins- they use real coffee Princess uses the frozen liquid- yuk. We bought coffee cards for the coffee bar so we could get decent coffee.

$32.00 for a coffee card , 15 punches for speciality coffee, brewed coffee is no punch IF you present a card. Karen enjoyed the fresh brewed iced tea also no punch with card. The iced tea in other food venues is tea syrup in machines, yuck!!!

We did not go to any of the evening shows so can't compare.

At this point if we were to sail on another mass market line it would be HAL. We are 4 star so we have some perks, 50% discount at surcharge restaurants, free laundry, 50% discount on wine packages. We now realize we enjoy smaller ships, even if it means dodging wheelchairs & walkers on HAL!! It is a calmer more laid back experience which we enjoy at our age!!

Princess is just too crowded for us, and more nickel & diming than HAL.

Disembarking : must vacate the cabin & wait in a pubic area ( on HAL can wait in the cabin) & wait for color to be called. NO room service is served on this morning!! 🙀 couldn't believe this one!!

Makes us cherish & so look forward to RSS!!! If money was no object we would only cruise on RSS!!!

If needing a cruise fix at a bargain we would do HAL!!

[Mary Ellen]

Had lunch on the ship in the MDR. While the food was good the menu was very, very limited. There was only mains with no appies and only soufflé for dessert. Hal wins.

 

One place that princess really shines is the the MDR. Every night the service was better than any hal ship I've been on. The service did get worse in open dining every passing night but I would still say the princess wins. Food was very, very good. I never felt the need to go to a specialty restaurant. Most of the food was served hot. Something that hal struggles greatly with. Princess wins by a mile.

 

Breakfast service was good too. I have to say that the breakfast menu doesn't hold a candle to hals. The menu is very limited. I made the mistake of ordering an omelette one morning and I don't think it was even one egg. I don't know what happened but they seemed to get bigger during the week. Hal wins.

 

Now here's were the story gets ugly. The port out houston was closed due to fog. The ship didn't even make it into port until 11. I didn't even get off the ship until 1:30 and sat waiting for a transfer bus to fill up until 2:30. The airport is an hour away from the airport. Princess had no sense of urgency to get pax off the ship and to the airport. So many people missed their flights. I didn't get to my terminal until 3:40 for my 4:25 and then there was no one to tag your bags. I begged and pleaded and somehow by the grace of God I made my flight. Epic fail princess.

About the embarkation lunch - we were told before being seated that the menu was very limited due to an event on board. This was accurate, so I can't say "HAL wins". I've read of times HAL doesn't even have the embarkation lunch because of hosting local TAs.

 

We only had breakfast in the MDR the first morning. The ham we were served wasn't edible. It wasn't the color of any ham I've ever seen and it was beyond dry and tasteless. The toast we were served should have been described as 'Melba toast'. Again, incredibly dry. The food in the Horizon Court was good and the seating there is far better than in any HAL Lido we've seen. The service there also outshines HAL.

 

We had very nice dinners at the Crown Grill (which we prefer over the Pinnacle Grill) and the Crab Shack (nothing on HAL is comparable).

 

We had a 2:30 flight home. We did notice a sense of urgency from Princess to get passengers to the airport. That said, we barely missed our flight and are still in Houston waiting for our new flight this evening. As passengers who were actually impacted by the delay, we don't blame Princess in the least.

 

I will continue to sail on Princess and from Houston again. I won't be booking air home on the day of disembarkation in the future though.

 

I was also on this cruise so my opinion comes from our experience. We do realize that others will have had different experiences.

[cruz chic]

Agree with a lot of what you say 1teach but I find the pastry on princess to be of supermarket quality. On hal it's a struggle to keep away from them because they are so good.

 

On the emerald I was amazed that they did not enforce the dress code. On formal night I saw people wearing baseball caps and jeans and even a couple if dudes in flip flops and shorts (not even nice shorts). I could easily see the parade because I faced the door. On the second night I think there was one guy wearing a tie. It was a bit surprising because people were always dressed very nicely on previous princess cruises.

 

I have to say the captain was very visible on this cruise. I can't say that I've found that as much on hal.

Edited March 2, 2015 by cruz chic

[cruz chic]

About the embarkation lunch - we were told before being seated that the menu was very limited due to an event on board. This was accurate, so I can't say "HAL wins". I've read of times HAL doesn't even have the embarkation lunch because of hosting local TAs.

 

We only had breakfast in the MDR the first morning. The ham we were served wasn't edible. It wasn't the color of any ham I've ever seen and it was beyond dry and tasteless. The toast we were served should have been described as 'Melba toast'. Again, incredibly dry. The food in the Horizon Court was good and the seating there is far better than in any HAL Lido we've seen. The service there also outshines HAL.

 

We had very nice dinners at the Crown Grill (which we prefer over the Pinnacle Grill) and the Crab Shack (nothing on HAL is comparable).

 

We had a 2:30 flight home. We did notice a sense of urgency from Princess to get passengers to the airport. That said, we barely missed our flight and are still in Houston waiting for our new flight this evening. As passengers who were actually impacted by the delay, we don't blame Princess in the least.

 

I will continue to sail on Princess and from Houston again. I won't be booking air home on the day of disembarkation in the future though.

 

I was also on this cruise so my opinion comes from our experience. We do realize that others will have had different experiences.

 

Thanks for the info on the embarkation lunch. I didn't hear anything about that so its good to know that this isn't the new normal.

 

Agree that the service in the horizon court is really good. Within minites of sitting down they ask what you'd like to drink. I found food at the buffet to be very limited and not great. The toast is indeed like Melba toast in the MDR.

 

There were people that had flights much later then mine that had earlier debark times so I have no idea how princess arranging this. They also took princess transfers so it wasn't a case of taking alternate transport. Our bus driver was beyond useless and circled the airport several times before she let us off.

Edited March 2, 2015 by cruz chic

[cbr663]

Thank-you so much for the comparative review. I really appreciate the level detail. It is the details that help us decide whether or not we are interested in trying another cruise line.

[Susie51]

Thank you for the comparison.

[Lizzie68]

Thanks for taking the time to do the comparison, Cruz chic. I've never cruised on Princess, and likely never will, but I do like to know how it stacks up against HAL. Interesting that when you report on what you actually experienced there is always someone to jump in and say the opposite.;)

[cruz chic]

Thx Lizzie.

 

One thing I forgot about the bus driver. We sat on the bus for a half our before we left. When I driver came thru the bus I asked if we would leave soon because many of us were in danger of missing our flight. She told me that she wanted to go but PRINCESS wanted her to wait. Pretty hard to not place blame princess for that.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We like both lines for a variety of reasons. We feel that each line has pluses and minuses versus the other but in general are similar.

 

Over the past couple of sailing seasons, I have read a lot of posts about weather-related problems with port of Houston. We usually try to avoid cruise line transfers unless it is far less expensive and/or far more convenient than a cab or car and driver. I have also had buses that seem to take forever to depart, very annoying!

Edited March 2, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[igraf]

Two extensive Princess versus HAL reviews on this thread, and neither reviewer went to the shows! Take a guess at what I was interested in hearing about....

 

How about any differences with the lounge music? Neptunes, HALcats, violin/piano versus Princess offerings.

 

igraf

[cruz chic]

We like both lines for a variety of reasons. We feel that each line has pluses and minuses versus the other but in general are similar.

 

Over the past couple of sailing seasons, I have read a lot of posts about weather-related problems with port of Houston. We usually try to avoid cruise line transfers unless it is far less expensive and/or far more convenient than a cab or car and driver. I have also had buses that seem to take forever to depart, very annoying!

 

I agree about the transfers but it's an hour drive to the airport. I would think it would cost a small fortune for a cab.

[cruz chic]

Two extensive Princess versus HAL reviews on this thread, and neither reviewer went to the shows! Take a guess at what I was interested in hearing about....

 

How about any differences with the lounge music? Neptunes, HALcats, violin/piano versus Princess offerings.

 

igraf

 

Sorry about that. I should say I did go to one show. It's was Beatles music. It got very stupid after about 15 minutes so I left. I hate ventriloquists so that show was out. I don't go to lounges generally because princess drinks are very expensive. I'd rather have a glass of wine on my balcony.

[kazu]

Thank you very much for the comparison cruz chic. I've been hoping you would do one. Very enlightening.

 

I, for one find comparisons interesting and really appreciate it when someone takes the time to do them.

 

Haven't been on Princess in a few years due to the issues we had last time so it's always interesting to hear how things have changed and how things compare to HAL.

 

thanks again

[nutensteve]

Thanks very much for the comparison. We are going on our first Princess cruise in a couple of weeks and looking forward to the comparison. The good thing is we can drive to the port and do not have to deal with flights.

[hrhdhd]

Interesting that when you report on what you actually experienced there is always someone to jump in and say the opposite.;)

 

Not interesting, but expected. Several posters in this thread enjoy reminding the rest of us that they are entitled to their experiences; everyone else is, too.

[qsuzi]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comparison. On our recent Princess cruise we were directed to a table when the x-ray detected wine in our luggage. We removed the wine for review; no questions or further checking. Is this the normal procedure?

 

Is an "appie" an appetizer? Good to hear the showers on HAL are bigger than Princess showers. I chuckled and identified with your leg shaving description. We also had some of the best meal service (MDR and buffet) on Princess but also read just the opposite from others who have recently sailed. We are looking forward to more and better food selections on HAL.

 

Balcony size is smaller on Princess and no couch so we book mini-suites (larger balcony but 50 ft less cabin size than HAL Vista Suite) and the daily cost was less than what we would have paid on HAL. Pictures we have seen look like Princess public space isn't as large and that the HAL Promenade decks are wider. Great for walking without running into other walkers. Did you find this to be the case? We also didn't experience a crowded feeling for the size of ship/total number of passengers on Princess (except embarkation lunch).

 

Your next cruise is on the Veendam to Bermuda if my memory is correct. Looking forward to your feedback after that cruise. :)

Edited March 2, 2015 by qsuzi