Princess vs Holland America

[scubacruiserx2]

Just now, Gracie115 said:

 

 

Joe, I have to tell you that Princess has Celebrity beat HANDS DOWN for a Chef's Table dinner.  This just looks wonderful!! I can't wait to see the rest!!

 

They did do a really good job and you won't have to wait .

[scubacruiserx2]

Dessert was a chocolate mousse with a milk chocolate shell .

 

 

 

Extra yummy !

 

 

 

 

Also , a choice of gourmandises .

 

 

 

 

 

I settled for an overdressed , out of focus , strawberry ( it must have been the wine ! ) .

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly , the ladies were presented a rose

 

 

 

 

And the gentlemen , a 50th anniversary Princess cook book .

 

 

[Gracie115]

2 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

They did do a really good job and you won't have to wait .

 

Wonderful!!!

Thank you for posting all the pictures!!! We will definitely be booking a Chef's Dinner on the Regal!!!

[scubacruiserx2]

Just now, Gracie115 said:

 

Wonderful!!!

Thank you for posting all the pictures!!! We will definitely be booking a Chef's Dinner on the Regal!!!

 

You're welcome . Have you tried the Crab Shack ?

 

[Gracie115]

5 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

You're welcome . Have you tried the Crab Shack ?

 

 

No, we haven't.  We did attend a "Winemaker's Dinner"  on the Regal last year, which was very nice but nowhere near as elaborate as the Chef's Dinner.

[scubacruiserx2]

12 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

No, we haven't.  We did attend a "Winemaker's Dinner"  on the Regal last year, which was very nice but nowhere near as elaborate as the Chef's Dinner.

 

One of our favorite dining experiences on the Caribbean Princess or any other cruise ship was the Crab Shack . It was held once on this cruise on the 1st day at sea/ formal night . Conversely , it is a very casual , fun and messy dining experience , and you and your fellow diners will be bibbed . Here's the menu :

 

 

 

 

The popcorn shrimp must have been a misprint on the menu because they were huge and delicious !

 

 

 

 

Growing up in the South I've eaten a lot of hush puppies , but these were the best . The addition of cheese to the usually dry cornbread was genius ! And so the first round of food knocked it out of the park ! The soup was good , but paled in comparison .

 

 

 

 

And now , here is where the fun really begins . We had both ordered the King Crab legs and they require some surgical dissection .

 

 

 

 

It's hard to tell just how much food is in the bowl and so I had Pat hold a claw , and as you can see , she really had a handful !

 

 

 

We stuffed ourselves with the rich crab and butter and didn't come close to finishing what was in the bowl . We didn't even want to look at dessert , as we were so full that we couldn't eat another bite . But for those who would like to see what dessert looks like . here's a photo from the CB .

 

 

 

To summarize our dining experience at the Crab Shack : It was a delicious and full filling experience !

 

 

 

Edited August 27, 2019 by scubacruiserx2

[victory2020]

1 hour ago, BarbinMich said:

Would you be more specific?  What was the itinerary?  Which HAL ship?

 

We've done 30 cruises on Princess for a total of 340 days onboard compared to 7 cruises on HAL for a total of 71 days.  We book regular OV cabins and the ones on HAL are certainly larger since they have a couch (converts to a bed if a 3rd pax) and lots of cabinet storage across from the couch.  Usually we choose Princess because the ships are livelier and the price is less (we used to cruise 3x a year).  However, our last cruise was a TA (our preferred type of cruise) on the Zuiderdam and I really liked that ship.  The slots, in particular, were very kind <g>.

I was on the Veendam for a 12 day Mediterranean. Some thought the ship was dated, I thought it was beautiful - and there was enough room to eat room service with the couch with decent size table. Oceanview also had bathtub. Booked late but was much better price than Princess. Am looking at Mexico in October on the Oosterdam & price is very good compared to Princess (I know it's the Royal but I hate the larger ships).

[scubacruiserx2]

On 8/27/2019 at 11:06 AM, kstrittm said:

I've sailed in suites on both the Royal class Princess ships and on HAL.  In my opinion, the room size is a tad larger on the Regal.  Additionally, the "bedroom" can be closed off with a curtain from the "living room".  In my case, with insomnia, that is a huge benefit.  There are also TVs in both rooms.

 

The balconies on HAL are larger than Regal.

 

The Concierge Lounge/Neptune Lounge are comparable, but Princess never offers the Honor bar with alcohol (if that is important to you).  The lounge on Princess is open 24 hours a day, whereas the Neptune Lounges are only open set hours.  If you want early morning coffee, Princess wins that battle!

 

I assume Club Class dining is comparable to Club Orange dining, but I haven't been on HAL since that was implemented (will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in a couple of weeks, though).

 

I may be wrong on this, but I think Princess only offers dry cleaning, whereas HAL offers laundry and dry cleaning.  Somebody else can pipe in here.

 

I enjoy the free mini-bar set-up on Princess.  HAL does provide a welcome bottle of champagne, though!

 

I'm sure there are more differences - these are just a few off the top of my head.

 

 

Thank you so much , this helps us a lot .

[BarbinMich]

On 8/27/2019 at 11:06 AM, kstrittm said:

. . .

I may be wrong on this, but I think Princess only offers dry cleaning, whereas HAL offers laundry and dry cleaning.  Somebody else can pipe in here.

. . .

Princess offers laundry (free at Elite level, maybe sooner) and DIY laundry rooms where machines takes coins.  I don't think HAL has laundry rooms, but does do laundry for pax.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, BarbinMich said:

Princess offers laundry (free at Elite level, maybe sooner) and DIY laundry rooms where machines takes coins.  I don't think HAL has laundry rooms, but does do laundry for pax.

 

In December the Zaandam didn't have laundry rooms but on our previous cruise with Zaandam they did . We didn't look to see what they did with the space .

[caribill]

On 8/27/2019 at 10:06 AM, kstrittm said:

I assume Club Class dining is comparable to Club Orange dining, but I haven't been on HAL since that was implemented (will be on the Nieuw Amsterdam in a couple of weeks, though).   As I understand it, Club Orange has its own unique menu. Princess Club Class has the same menu as the regular part of the dining room, but often with one or two added dishes available. Club Organce has its own unique dining area. Club Class uses a section of a regular dining room, but with it's own entrance.

 

I may be wrong on this, but I think Princess only offers dry cleaning, whereas HAL offers laundry and dry cleaning.  Somebody else can pipe in here. Princess offers laundry and "cleaning". No ship offers traditional "dry cleaning" anymore due to the chemicals involved.

 

 

 

see above in red

[scubacruiserx2]

As I understand it, Club Orange has its own unique menu. Princess Club Class has the same menu as the regular part of the dining room, but often with one or two added dishes available. Club Organce has its own unique dining area. Club Class uses a section of a regular dining room, but with it's own entrance.

 

From the HAL site

 

Private Dining
Aboard Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, the Culinary Arts Center dining venue is being transformed into an exclusive Club Orange restaurant that will be open every day for breakfast and dinner. The complimentary venue will serve the same menu featured in Pinnacle Grill (breakfast) and the Dining Room (dinner) and also include additional daily dishes exclusive to the Club Orange restaurant. When Club Orange is introduced on other ships of the fleet in 2019, a dedicated section of the Dining Room will be set-aside for the exclusive use of Club Orange guests for breakfast and dinner. Reservations in the private dining venue are not required but welcome.

 

Club Orange only has a separate dining room on 2 ships . It sounds more like Club Class then less  But on those 2 ships they have eliminated breakfast at the Pinnacle Grille , kinda like eliminating breakfast at Sabatini's .

Edited August 29, 2019 by scubacruiserx2