Advice Wanted: HAL vs Princess in South America

[DCThunder]

I am a relatively new cruiser and so far have sailed exclusively on Princess both in the Caribbean and a TA/Northern Europe/Canary Islands sailing.  I've booked a Princess cruise from Buenos Aires to Los Angeles as well as a separate Panama Canal sailing from LA to FLL.  However, I'm considering cancelling the Princess cruises and booking a 31 day BA to FLL cruise (including a Canal transit) on HAL instead.

 

I must say that I have had zero issues with Princess but I am considering if I get more "bang for my buck" with a different itinerary on HAL.

 

Can anyone who's sailed on both Princess and HAL give me any advice as to which cruises to do?  The cost of the BA-LA on Princess and the BA-FLL on HAL is essentially the same, but I'd save on not doing the LA-FLL Princess cruise.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  TIA

[jimdee3636]

@DCThunder

Which ships and what dates? The answers might make a big difference in what advice people can offer.

[DCThunder]

35 minutes ago, jimdee3636 said:

@DCThunder

Which ships and what dates? The answers might make a big difference in what advice people can offer.

Sorry.  Oosterdam departing BA on Mar. 10 vs. Sapphire Princess departing BA Mar. 5. Essentially same itinerary until Santiago and same Peru port calls for each.  From there Oosterdam heads to Panama, Aruba and FLL and Sapphire heads towards Nicaragua and up the west coast of Central America/Mexico to LA.

Edited July 20, 2022 by DCThunder

[vicd1969]

If the savings on the LA-FLL Princess sailing are significant to you, going with the HAL option would be better value. Given ports are almost the same, your priorities for the onboard experience are the big factors in your decision. If you go with HAL, you may miss out on lesser entertainment and fewer sea day activities but gain on what should be better food and service. HAL also tends to stay in ports an hour longer, but you'll have to check the itineraries. The Oosterdam is a slightly smaller ship but still fine to handle the South American Cape Horn. Both ships are around the same age and have been refurbished in 2018, ship condition would be a push I think.

[jimdee3636]

@DCThunderLet me first say that I've cruised on both lines, but quite a bit more on HAL (four-star Mariner with them vs. only four short cruises with Princess). But I have future bookings on both lines, so I think I have an open mind. Overall, I think the Oosterdam voyage is the better choice. In part, that's because of the ship; the Oosterdam is my favorite HAL ship, and one of my future HAL bookings is on it. If you can spring for a Signature Suite, I think they're the nicest cabins I've ever been in on any ship. But it's also because you wouldn't be duplicating that long Mexico/ Central America stretch if you were to first go all the way up to L.A. and then turn around and do a Panama Canal cruise.

 

Yes, you'd be missing some nice ports in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, or wherever, but you'll see plenty of great places on a 31-day trip from BA to FLL (and, as you yourself point out) save some money in the bargain.

 

Jim

[iancal]

We had three choices.  HAL, Celebrity, and Princess.   The itineraries were the same.  

 

We selected based on price.  Princess had a one day sale with CAD at par.  The bottom line delta between Princess and Celebrity was 30 percent, with HAL closer to 20 percent.

 

We could not justify the differences in price. 

[Hlitner]

A very tough question since so much has changed post COVID.  Not only are we 5* on HAL and long time Elite on Princess, but we have cruised on both the Oosterdam and Sapphire Princess.  All things being equal, DW and I have a slight bias towards Princess for a variety of reasons including entertainment, nightlife, and some ship-related things like the International Cafe and Alfredos (Hal has nothing to compare with these venues).  But we have also enjoyed the Oosterdam (once did a 42 day cruise on this ship).   But all things do not seem to be equal.  If you are wanting to do South America you might want to focus more on the itinerary.  

 

What you present is a tough call.  Just keep in mind that HAL is not generally a late night ship so if you like to be out and about after 10 you might not be happy on HAL.  Cruising HAL also means adapting to their dining hours (especially in the Lido) which are not quite as long as you find on Princess.  We have not been back on HAL since COVID (HAL cancelled 3 of our bookings due to COVID) but have not been impressed by the various posts here on CC which call the cuisine into question (not to mention nickel and diming with add-ons in the MDR and even the alternative Pinnale).  On the other hand, when on the Enchanted Princess in December we were underwhelmed by the Crown Grill but did enjoy Sabbatini's.  And Gigi's (Enchantment's version of Alfredo on the Sapphire) was great.

 

One big downside of just about any Princess ship is the lack of decent forward viewing!   For whatever reason, the ship designers for Princess seem to think that passengers could care less about public venues with a nice forward seaview.  For some this is not a big deal but we do miss having a nice lounge with a forward view.

 

Hank

[iancal]

In our case the other two ships were HAL Zandam and Celebrity Infinity.  Neither was at the top our our list so it was fortunate for us that Princes presented the best value for us.

 

When it comes down to those three cruise lines the ship, time in port/itinerary,, and price trump the logo on the funnel for us all day long.

Edited July 21, 2022 by iancal