Can a HAL fan convince me to switch from Princess for Alaska cruise?

[zgscl]

35 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Princess actually has more activities than HAL but what is offered will depend on the length of the cruise and number of sea days.  I do not recall much about cooking demos since we seldom get involved on either HAL or other lines.  My DW is a terrific cook (I call her my personal chef) and she has been underwhelmed by many of the cooking demos on HAL because she was not impressed with much of what was being demonstrated because she found most of classes too basic.  On longer cruises with lots of sea days Princess will also have some lectures and just like on HAL it is hit and miss.  The best two lecturers we ever heard were on the HAL (Dr. Alan Wright and Danny Catt) but we have also heard some awful lecturers on HAL.  As to the EXC thing we will leave that to others.  The thing about HAL is that so much depends on which ship and which cruise.  So, if you did some of those EXC cruises on the Massdam it was somewhat different than what was offered on other HAL ships.  You mention the Music Walk...but how many HAL vessels do not have the Music Walk?  It is the same with the BB King groups which used to be on about half the HAL ships.  And my big complaint about the BB King groups (often stated here on CC) is that they seldom played any BB King (or similar) music.   By the way, Princess does some ridiculous activities that are an awful lot of fun.  While the idea of watching an egg drop (the idea is to find a way to drop eggs 3 or 4 stories without them breaking) sounds ridiculous in practice it is a riot and lots of fun.  When we did the Grand Med cruise on HAL (Prinsendam) one major daytime activity was "Animal Toss" where passengers tossed stuffed animals at targets.  So yes, this kind of stuff happens on HAL. 

 

As to pool games on Princess, we have not seen that old stuff in years but volleyball games (in the pool) are not uncommon and fun for both participants and those watching. And if you think that is silly imagine being on Seabourn when Senior Officers, fully clothed in their white uniforms, serve caviar from the pool (or the surf if a beach party).   I mention Seabourn (a sister company of HAL's) because that line is like night and day when compared to HAL.  Seabourn actually does a lot of fun things on board (surprising for a luxury line) and they are better attended then most things we have seen on other lines.  On a recent Seabourn Odyssey cruise with only 130 passengers, a 9:30pm deck party was crowded with at least 100 of those passengers and many members of the crew.  We have been on some HAL cruises with over 1000 passengers when they had deck parties and there were not even 100 folks.   By the way, Princess has "Movies Under the Stars" which often draws a nice crowd of folks who cuddle on deck chairs (which are adorned with covers) under blankets while they eat their popcorn and watch some decent movies.  It is a lot more fun than being crammed into the tiny Wajung Theater.  While I strongly dislike that Princess uses that MUTS system during the day, watching a decent movie or sporting event at night (under the stars) is fun and MUTS has a truly amazing speaker system not to mention huge screen.

 

I do love music and the best variety (and quantity) I have heard in many years happens on MSC!  Go figure.  Since MSC deals with a very international clientele they tend to emphasize music since that works in any language.  But you will not find comedians on that line and rarely any kind of lecture (what language would they use?).   We still remember when HAL had decent musical Production Shows that also used a real 7-piece band!  HAL still remains the only cruise line we have been on that has "dark nights" on some of their longer cruises.  And on HAL when DW and I go for our cocktails around 6:30 it is pretty normal not to find any live music anywhere on the ship!  That would not happen on Princess, Celebrity, or MSC.  

 

For DW and I our favorite activity during long sea days is curling up on a deck lounger (weather permitting) with a good book.  But a decent lecture does get our interest.  On the other hand, when we cruised on the Queen Mary 2 we really enjoyed going to daytime Shakespeare productions (they had their own Shakespeare company aboard) and the Planetarium Shows.  My point is that each line has various options while HAL seems to live or die with Team Trivia.  

 

Hank

Thank you so much for this info!

[*Miss G*]

37 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

By the way, Princess has "Movies Under the Stars" which often draws a nice crowd of folks who cuddle on deck chairs (which are adorned with covers) under blankets while they eat their popcorn and watch some decent movies.  It is a lot more fun than being crammed into the tiny Wajung Theater.  While I strongly dislike that Princess uses that MUTS system during the day, watching a decent movie or sporting event at night (under the stars) is fun and MUTS has a truly amazing speaker system not to mention huge screen.

 

I think it might have been a while since you sailed on HAL?  It’s been quite a number of years since there was a Wajang Theatre and all the Pinnacle-class ships have outdoor movie theatres. The big difference between HAL’s and Princess’ outdoor theatre is that HAL, thankfully, doesn’t have it blasting during the day. 

[OlsSalt]

Don't know what it is like on other lines, but HAL has only one mid-day all ship announcement from the captain followed by a brief reminder of afternoon activities from the cruise director - pretty low key and functional. We like that too.  

[BigMattT]

We’ve done Royal Princess to Alaska in mini suites and aft wrap suites, and just did a Mexico cruise on Koningsdam.

 

I recommend HAL now. As far as value… you could book 4156 or 4154 for the sailing on Koningsdam by booking an obstructed verandah, adding Club Orange, and using the upgrade to VB4156/54.

 

That would give you a veranda way bigger than the mini-suites on Princess (bigger than Neptunes), much roomier showers, way better food in Club Orange than Princess Club Class dining, and priced likely below what you quoted.

 

There’s plenty of activities for anyone to do on HAL if they seek it out. But Princess is definitely Vegas compared to the relaxing vibes of HAL.

Itinerary wise, we stick with inside passage but have equally enjoyed round trip and one-way voyages. A lot of its luck with weather deciding what you’re going to see.

Photo of 4156’s balcony:

 

(But note our favorite Alaska ships are still the Celebrity solstice class with the glass-blowing studio on the top deck. Watching that scenery by the warmth of a kiln was really wonderful experience design.)

[Hlitner]

8 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

I think it might have been a while since you sailed on HAL?  It’s been quite a number of years since there was a Wajang Theatre and all the Pinnacle-class ships have outdoor movie theatres. The big difference between HAL’s and Princess’ outdoor theatre is that HAL, thankfully, doesn’t have it blasting during the day. 

You are only talking about one class of ship (Pinnacle).  I believe a majority of the line's vessels are not in that class.  I do agree that thank goodness HAL doesn't blast their outdoor theaters during the daytime....at least not yet.  Up until a few weeks ago HAL also didn't cram the Ocean Bar with slot machines.  And I still remember when HAL did not have add-on items (at a price) in the MDR.  All cruise lines do change but I am not happy with the HAL changes.  In fact, the Pinnacle Class moved HAL away from what many of us used to love about the line (smaller and medium size ships).  Our next HAL cruise (unless it becomes the 4th cruise in 4 years cancelled by HAL) is on the Westy.  Pinnacle Class not on our radar.

 

Hank

[PACD_JG]

Since this is my first cruise, and I've done a ton of research...it seems there's an agreement that if you want quiet to book a room on a deck with rooms below and above you.  That's not the case on deck 4.  Just wondering if you found rooms on the deck 4 noisy (front is above world stage, back is above dining room).

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

Since this is my first cruise, and I've done a ton of research...it seems there's an agreement that if you want quiet to book a room on a deck with rooms below and above you.  That's not the case on deck 4.  Just wondering if you found rooms on the deck 4 noisy (front is above world stage, back is above dining room).

You will likely get some differing opinions but in your position we would do are best to get our cabin moved to a quieter location.  Consider that while there would likely be no performance on the World Stage during normal sleeping hours there is no guarantee that there would not be some kind of rehearsal at a time when you might not want to hear noise.   Being above the dining room would not cause us too much problem although if you are a late sleeper you could possibly get some noise during breakfast time.  

 

That is why many experienced cruisers try to surround themselves (on all sides) with other passenger cabins or areas that tend to be quiet.  In the final analysis you may just have to take your chances unless you can get moved to a better location for no extra cost.

 

So here is my funny HAL story about noise.  Our favorite HAL ship of all time was the Prinsendam which was a relatively small 800 passenger vessel.  On one cruise we carefully chose a lower deck inexpensive cabin that was surrounded by other cabins except for the area below which was a large empty space next to one of the ship's doors used at ports.  We figured there was no problem being over an empty area which is not used except when in port.  Early on our long cruise DW woke up late at night and swore she heard voices coming from below.  I soon woke up and heard lots of laughter and what truly sounded like a ping pong game.  It turned out that the crew had a ping pong table that they opened up in that area to play late night games (the crew works and plays all kinds of weird hours).  Since there were no other empty cabins on the vessel the Guest Services folks worked it out so there were no games after midnight :).   We felt really bad about that deal because we truly were very fond of the crew on that ship and did not want to ruin their free time.  (we later heard that they found another area where they could move that ping pong table.

 

Hank

[bennybear]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You are only talking about one class of ship (Pinnacle).  I believe a majority of the line's vessels are not in that class.  I do agree that thank goodness HAL doesn't blast their outdoor theaters during the daytime....at least not yet.  Up until a few weeks ago HAL also didn't cram the Ocean Bar with slot machines.  And I still remember when HAL did not have add-on items (at a price) in the MDR.  All cruise lines do change but I am not happy with the HAL changes.  In fact, the Pinnacle Class moved HAL away from what many of us used to love about the line (smaller and medium size ships).  Our next HAL cruise (unless it becomes the 4th cruise in 4 years cancelled by HAL) is on the Westy.  Pinnacle Class not on our radar.

 

Hank

Just as you can’t compare the older Princess ships to the Royal,  the Pinnacle are different.  Yes a lot of HAL passengers are resistant to change,  but you may be pleasantly surprised.  We were.

 

As the OP enquired about Pinnacle class vs Royal, hands down for us it’s Pinnacle. Once trying to walk the deck on the Royal was impossible, followed by the traffic jam in the dining room on Princess  not too mention the 1000 extra passengers. The Pinnacle class  is beautiful, great food, not dead like you may think.   

[zgscl]

3 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Just as you can’t compare the older Princess ships to the Royal,  the Pinnacle are different.  Yes a lot of HAL passengers are resistant to change,  but you may be pleasantly surprised.  We were.

 

About to get on my first Pinnacle class ship and I am looking forward to it. The Grand Dutch Cafe looks fantastic. 

[BigMattT]

3 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

Since this is my first cruise, and I've done a ton of research...it seems there's an agreement that if you want quiet to book a room on a deck with rooms below and above you.  That's not the case on deck 4.  Just wondering if you found rooms on the deck 4 noisy (front is above world stage, back is above dining room).

Yes, I’d be careful what areas of deck 4 you choose. The only noise we had in 4154/56 at all was on the final night during luggage collection when that giant empty space affording the huge balcony was used. Otherwise zero noise.

 

Port side farther aft seems to be pretty safe for deck 4. 

[bennybear]

27 minutes ago, zgscl said:

About to get on my first Pinnacle class ship and I am looking forward to it. The Grand Dutch Cafe looks fantastic. 

Enjoy! Our absolute favourite is the Tamarind, don’t miss it.  And the Pinnacle Grill has a very nice lunch  usually on sea days.  

[PACD_JG]

It's official.  Cancelled my Princess cruise and booked V7133 and J7129.

 

The comment that definitely tipped the scales  (I can't find it in this thread now) was something like..."what's the point of going out of Vancouver if you're going to sail west of Vancouver Island - could have just sailed out of Seattle."  

[zgscl]

57 minutes ago, bennybear said:

Enjoy! Our absolute favourite is the Tamarind, don’t miss it.  And the Pinnacle Grill has a very nice lunch  usually on sea days.  

Thank you! What is your favorite dish in Tamarind? I have heard the wasabi crusted beef are great. 

[mcrcruiser]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You are only talking about one class of ship (Pinnacle).  I believe a majority of the line's vessels are not in that class.  I do agree that thank goodness HAL doesn't blast their outdoor theaters during the daytime....at least not yet.  Up until a few weeks ago HAL also didn't cram the Ocean Bar with slot machines.  And I still remember when HAL did not have add-on items (at a price) in the MDR.  All cruise lines do change but I am not happy with the HAL changes.  In fact, the Pinnacle Class moved HAL away from what many of us used to love about the line (smaller and medium size ships).  Our next HAL cruise (unless it becomes the 4th cruise in 4 years cancelled by HAL) is on the Westy.  Pinnacle Class not on our radar.

 

Hank

Hank we also have cruised since the early 90s with 89 cruises ,we sailed Celebrity ,Royal,Carnival .Princess & HAL . what ever you may think otherwise ,we love the Koningsdam  . Pinnacle  class  .in fact this ship reminds us more of Celebrity Soltice class  in many aspects . Now because o0f our advancing ages & my DW ears ,we no longer fly . Thus ,we will take both HAL cruises from San Diego ,our home port or drive 1.5 hours to San Pedro for Princess cruises  .We find more likes than dislikes in both cruise lines 

[mcrcruiser]

Perhaps for the 2023 Alaska season ,we will drive to SF to do the  R/T 10 night cruise on Princess ,if Princess does not reinstall the 12 night R/T from San Pedro  to Alaska   . Before that cruise on SF ,we can stay a week in Lake Tahoe & post cruise a Week in  Carmel by the Sea

[Hlitner]

20 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Hank we also have cruised since the early 90s with 89 cruises ,we sailed Celebrity ,Royal,Carnival .Princess & HAL . what ever you may think otherwise ,we love the Koningsdam  . Pinnacle  class  .in fact this ship reminds us more of Celebrity Soltice class  in many aspects . Now because o0f our advancing ages & my DW ears ,we no longer fly . Thus ,we will take both HAL cruises from San Diego ,our home port or drive 1.5 hours to San Pedro for Princess cruises  .We find more likes than dislikes in both cruise lines 

We have always liked the Solstice Class design and they are our favorite X ships (we have yet to try the newer Epic Class).   In your situation we would be taking any and every ship that embarks from San Diego or San Pedro :).  When faced with health and mobility issues we must do what we can do to get aboard a ship :).   For us, HAL has long been a line we cruised for their fantastic itineraries we have heard nothing that would cause us to alter that practice.  But if there are other cruise lines that do similar itineraries then HAL is generally not at the top of our list.  We no longer see any reason to book HAL for reasons other than itinerary.  

 

Until recently we would tell folks who asked our favorite cruise line that we had no favorite but we simply cruised many different lines.  But in the past 5 years we have finally settled on a true favorite (we think no other line comes close) which is Seabourn.   I just asked DW her favorite cruise line and she immediately answered, Seabourn.  When I asked her next favorite she said "the rest."   We have been spoiled.  By the way, on our most recent Seabourn cruise (last month) both the Captain and Staff Captain were ex HAL officers.  The two cruise lines operate as sister companies in terms of many staff.

 

Hank

 

A

[mcrcruiser]

2 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

We have always liked the Solstice Class design and they are our favorite X ships (we have yet to try the newer Epic Class).   In your situation we would be taking any and every ship that embarks from San Diego or San Pedro :).  When faced with health and mobility issues we must do what we can do to get aboard a ship :).   For us, HAL has long been a line we cruised for their fantastic itineraries we have heard nothing that would cause us to alter that practice.  But if there are other cruise lines that do similar itineraries then HAL is generally not at the top of our list.  We no longer see any reason to book HAL for reasons other than itinerary.  

 

Until recently we would tell folks who asked our favorite cruise line that we had no favorite but we simply cruised many different lines.  But in the past 5 years we have finally settled on a true favorite (we think no other line comes close) which is Seabourn.   I just asked DW her favorite cruise line and she immediately answered, Seabourn.  When I asked her next favorite she said "the rest."   We have been spoiled.

 

Hank

 

A

Hank ,I have been following your posts   & see your first choice is  Seabourn  .Still in the Carnival corp of family vessels .  Since you can fly & like the smaller more intimate ships that have very different  port itineraries due to size  ,I would also do the same ,if we could still fly . in fact we even prefer river cruises over ocean cruises  & those boats carry approx .130 to 160 pax .There are river cruise lines that include it all .We have done Europe river cruises followed by Ocean Trans Atlantic  with Celebrity  ,after spending a week in   Rome  

[bennybear]

2 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

It's official.  Cancelled my Princess cruise and booked V7133 and J7129.

 

The comment that definitely tipped the scales  (I can't find it in this thread now) was something like..."what's the point of going out of Vancouver if you're going to sail west of Vancouver Island - could have just sailed out of Seattle."  

I think you made the right choice for that reason alone.  Enjoy! 

 

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

Thank you! What is your favorite dish in Tamarind? I have heard the wasabi crusted beef are great. 

I’ve heard that’s good too. But I usually have seafood.  

Edited November 12, 2021 by bennybear

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, mcrcruiser said:

Hank ,I have been following your posts   & see your first choice is  Seabourn  .Still in the Carnival corp of family vessels .  Since you can fly & like the smaller more intimate ships that have very different  port itineraries due to size  ,I would also do the same ,if we could still fly . in fact we even prefer river cruises over ocean cruises  & those boats carry approx .130 to 160 pax .There are river cruise lines that include it all .We have done Europe river cruises followed by Ocean Trans Atlantic  with Celebrity  ,after spending a week in   Rome  

Yes, we can still fly although we would always prefer to be on a ship :).  One change we have made in the past 5 years is to generally fly Business Class (lay flat seats) on longer flights.  One nice thing about the CCL family is that Seabourn, HAL, Princess and Cunard all share a similar flight booking system which offers some amazing Business Class fares.   Living near the East Coast has also allowed us to do quite a few European trips where we have used cruises to get both to and from Europe and completely avoid the flying nightmare.  

 

Now we are all going to need to deal with inflation.  I was just looking at an Oceania cruise in 2023 that prices out at $500 per person/day for just a regular balcony cabin!  And anyone who has looked at Celebrity pricing for even small suites probably comes away is some shock.   We recently took a Seabourn cruise which was actually less money than a comparable suite on HAL or Celebrity!  Strange things are happening in the cruise/travel industry for those of us who are able to be flexible in terms of dates, cruise lines, itineraries, etc.  While we still book itinerary (our next HAL cruise has an amazing Asian itinerary) we also have lots of fun with last minute bookings when we spot a bargain.    We have already booked a spring Seabourn cruise that will get us to Europe but we will need to fly home since the Queen Mary 2 schedule does not offer us a good option.

 

I guess if we lived on the West Coast, we would also be looking at more transpacific cruises that would get us to and from Asia without those darn long flights.  Of course this has to wait because that part of the world is still very reluctant to reopen to tourism.

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, zgscl said:

The Grand Dutch Cafe looks fantastic. 

 

It is.  One does not need to go to the Lido Restaurant or the MDR for lunch.  Dutch goodies are all there!

 

8 hours ago, Hlitner said:

the Pinnacle Class moved HAL away from what many of us used to love about the line (smaller and medium size ships).  Our next HAL cruise (unless it becomes the 4th cruise in 4 years cancelled by HAL) is on the Westy.  Pinnacle Class not on our radar.

 

 

A Winter season sailing on Nieuw Statendam was not any more "crowded" than it was on any of the Vista or Signature Class ships.  A somewhat larger vessel "spreads people out" to the point that I did not notice differences in this regard.  

 

The Pinnacle Class vessels offer more options for entertainment and food than the other two Classes.  

 

I recall you posting your enjoyment of Celebrity's Solstice Class ships.  The dining room design of Celebrity Eclipse is nearly identical to the dining room design of Nieuw Statendam.  Surprising?  No.  The designer was the same firm/gentleman.  

 

Other than the Rolling Stone Rock Room on the Pinnacle Class ships, the other music venues are on the other Classes of HAL ships.  

[nocl]

10 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

Since this is my first cruise, and I've done a ton of research...it seems there's an agreement that if you want quiet to book a room on a deck with rooms below and above you.  That's not the case on deck 4.  Just wondering if you found rooms on the deck 4 noisy (front is above world stage, back is above dining room).

I would stay away from the stage.  Was on a cruise once where I was above the stage.  Even though there were no performances scheduled late at night did encounter music being played late at night in the theater dues to some performers rehearsing as well as some of the entertainment staff using the space and sound system as their party space.

 

Would not see an issue being above the dining room.  Might be a different story under it, but not much of an issue above it.

[OlsSalt]

Favorite dishes at Tamarind: I love their appetizers, sushi and desserts so much that I just order the tofu entree, which was very good. Waitress made sure I knew I was ordering tofu - yes, that is as much as I wanted after enjoying all the first courses and knowing there were some nice desserts ahead as well. 

[cruisemom42]

16 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I was just looking at an Oceania cruise in 2023 that prices out at $500 per person/day for just a regular balcony cabin! 

 

And keep in mind that solo travelers have for many years been paying that (or more) for a regular balcony cabin even on a mass market ship, let alone Oceania which RARELY offers any discount to a solo (at least not on any desirable itinerary.....)

 

Right now I am booking out cruises now for as far in future as I can. I suspect cruises are going to become more expensive relative to other travel for a while. 

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

And keep in mind that solo travelers have for many years been paying that (or more) for a regular balcony cabin even on a mass market ship, let alone Oceania which RARELY offers any discount to a solo (at least not on any desirable itinerary.....)

 

Right now I am booking out cruises now for as far in future as I can. I suspect cruises are going to become more expensive relative to other travel for a while. 

We have single friends who have complained about this for years.    But if O is trying to charge $500 per person day (more then we pay to cruise on some luxury lines) then singles might find themselves paying $1000 per person/day.  I do understand why cruise lines stick it to single travelers, but still think it sucks.

 

Hank

[rkacruiser]

10 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I do understand why cruise lines stick it to single travelers, but still think it sucks.

 

Yes, it does and always has.  But, it is our choice as a solo to "book it , Dano", or not.