Princess Refugees Who Now Sail HAL - Loyalty Benefits Gap Analysis?

[VibeGuy]

I’ve been sailing with Princess since I was adorable and wore short pants, but now that they’ve essentially eliminated the unpublished loyalty rewards (OBC up to $100/sailing, milestones like 50th sailing/500 nights), there’s no sense in blind loyalty.   I haven’t sailed HAL for around 40 years, but the itineraries look good and the ships have some design elements and features that work for us.  We aim for between two and three months onboard per year and generally book fairly standard balcony cabins.   We tend to book Princess Plus, and I’ve been thinking we would book HIA on HAL - so the free loaded minibar isn’t a big selling point anymore and the internet discount is irrelevant.      I think the only two meaningful perks that remain for us at Princess are complimentary laundry service and priority boarding. 
 

Princess offers free cleaning and pressing at the top tier - it looks like HAL offers an optional add-on that replaces that for a whopping $9/day.    Aside from items that require specialty wet cleaning (linen, jackets), I don’t see any other gap here.  
 

One area of concern I have is that, delicately, I understand HAL is much stricter about enforcing boarding times, including terminal access, than some other lines.  With Princess, terminal access is essentially a free for all (nobody cares about the boarding groups to get in the building), and any enforcement is around actual ship access.  Fair enough, and the top couple of tiers have some priority on that part.   Am I reading correctly that adding the Club Orange package fixes both terminal access *and* actually boarding the ship?

So, for those who were earning Loyalty Commend OBC on Princess before the shutdown, am I missing something that can’t be fixed with application of a laundry package and Club Orange?  At this stage in my travel life, I really value frictionless experiences and I’m willing to fork over a little  for them. 

 

[*Miss G*]

Club Orange gets you into the 4*/5*/Neptune & Pinnacle Suites line at PEV and other embarkation ports.  This priority group gets the separate lounge and first boarding.  (In contrast, our Princess embarkation in March was pure misery and bedlam.)  There are reports that CO priority embarkation is not honored by the terminal agents in San Diego. 

 

CO also gets you priority tendering along with the same groups stated above.

 

If I remember correctly, the laundry package was $7/day in North America and $9/day in Europe.

Edited December 3, 2022 by *Miss G*

[crystalspin]

28 minutes ago, VibeGuy said:

...I think the only two meaningful perks that remain for us at Princess are complimentary laundry service and priority boarding. 
Princess offers free cleaning and pressing at the top tier - it looks like HAL offers an optional add-on that replaces that for a whopping $9/day.

...At this stage in my travel life, I really value frictionless experiences and I’m willing to fork over a little  for them. 

Hi Vibe!

Unlimited laundry on HAL is $7/day PER CABIN on US cruises, $9/day European. DNK about other regions.

 

I am not an expert on Club Orange or priority boarding, being the type that shows up when we're told.

[St Pete Cruiser]

I started cruising with some of the older ships that had been sold off by the larger lines, so in 1991 we tried Princess and were wowed by a new ship with a balcony!  After a couple more Princess cruises, went with Holland America because of a great itinerary.  The ship, the old Noordam, was frankly, not as attractive as the newer Princess, but after 14 days we were won over by the crew and the way that Holland delivered their product.

None of the lines have been exempt from cutbacks, except maybe the most premium/expensive.  I hope you will like Holland America if you choose to try one, especially a longer voyage.

[baggal]

Before committing to 2 to 3 months, why don't you go on a shorter HAL cruise to see for yourself whether its what you're looking for in a cruise line?  This way you can form your own opinion.

 

[regnig]

Perhaps I'm just lucky but have never encountered a problem with "boarding" either at embarkation or at port stops. If you are considering CO simply for that benefit IMHO it is a waste of money.  Personally the special dining benefit doesn't entice me either. I have found the food on HAL to be very good regardless of the venue and do not object to the company of others.

BTW, again IMHO, the laundry service on HAL beats Princess hands down.

[Sea42]

Also, with CO you can book the lowest level obstructed balcony cabin and an upgrade to the highest level balcony cabin is included in the price of CO. To me that is the best benefit of CO.

To be clear this is true of all categories of cabins for each individual meta category. Inside, ocean view etc

Edited December 3, 2022 by Sea42

[FlaMariner]

20 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

HAL is much stricter about enforcing boarding times, including terminal access, than some other lines.

 

Boarded the Nieuw Statendam in Port Everglades on 11/19.

 

Our boarding time was 1:40pm.

 

We arrived at 9:30am and were welcomed in and received boarding group 1.  We never waited in a line.  Kept walking until we found our seat.  Boarding began at 11:30am and that was the time we boarded.  As is with HAL, our room was ready upon boarding. Lunch in the MDR at noon.  Awesome cruise. 

 

We are "regular" passengers with no early boarding perks or suites......Inside cabin. 

 

Welcome back onboard Holland America Line. 

Edited December 3, 2022 by FlaMariner

[VibeGuy]

12 hours ago, baggal said:

Before committing to 2 to 3 months, why don't you go on a shorter HAL cruise to see for yourself whether its what you're looking for in a cruise line?  This way you can form your own opinion.

 

Oh, yes, absolutely.  We were thinking two or three weeks to start.  We aren’t retired yet.   Our record is 40 nights in a row so far.  

[Sea42]

1 hour ago, FlaMariner said:

Our boarding time was 1:40pm.

 

We arrived at 9:30am and were welcomed in and received boarding group 1.  We never waited in a line.  Kept walking until we found our seat.  Boarding began at 11:30am and that was the time we boarded.

I don't see the up side to this. 2 hours waiting around in the terminal? I'd much rather go for a walk or have brunch somewhere. Can you check in and leave and board later? Or just drop off luggage if you're not staying at a hotel? For me it just seems like a miserable way to spend 2 hours.

[FlaMariner]

20 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

Can you check in and leave and board later?

 

Don't come that early.....go to brunch or whatever and then when you are ready to board the ship just show up and board the ship.  Just do so before final boarding!

 

(We are all about getting onboard early and getting settled in......and enjoying lunch)

[oaktreerb]

22 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

 

 

One area of concern I have is that, delicately, I understand HAL is much stricter about enforcing boarding times, including terminal access, than some other lines.  With Princess, terminal access is essentially a free for all (nobody cares about the boarding groups to get in the building), and any enforcement is around actual ship access.  Fair enough, and the top couple of tiers have some priority on that part.   Am I reading correctly that adding the Club Orange package fixes both terminal access *and* actually boarding the ship?

So, for those who were earning Loyalty Commend OBC on Princess before the shutdown, am I missing something that can’t be fixed with application of a laundry package and Club Orange?  At this stage in my travel life, I really value frictionless experiences and I’m willing to fork over a little  for them. 

 

 Whether Terminal access and boarding times are enforced depends on the port of embarkation.  Club Orange may or may not help you board earlier.  Since Covid HAL has changed their boarding process, trying to make it more convenient for guests by assigning boarding times.  San Diego may enforce boarding times, Ft Lauderdale probably doesn’t.   If you arrive at your assigned time in San Diego your boarding process should in most  cases be pretty easy as long as you have your paperwork in order (in hand or online).  Club Orange will give you priority tender boarding (no tender ticket required), special dining arrangements, a dedicated customer service line onboard, and a special tote bag.  For your convenience you can order the laundry package separately.   On an older ship without a separate Club Orange Dining Room CO will provide expedited seating in the dining room (a separate entrance is available to CO travelers in anytime dining in the MDR.)

[VibeGuy]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

Our boarding time was 1:40pm.

 

We arrived at 9:30am and were welcomed in and received boarding group 1.  We never waited in a line.  Kept walking until we found our seat. 

That’s perfectly fine - I just don’t want to have to execute perfect time-on-target raids.   What I’m trying *very much* to avoid is queuing outdoors, while standing up, being held back by someone with a clipboard and a chronometer.   I’m 100% fine with as little as a folding chair in shade with temperatures between 50 and 85, once unburdened of checked luggage.
 

I admit to being really disheartened by what I’ve heard about the boarding process in San Diego.  We’ve been pondering our west coast homeport options and in terms of “everything that happens between getting to our home airport and being on the ship”, San Diego has a lot going for it - plenty of flights, rapid baggage claim, lots of fast, affordable ground transport options, plenty of stuff to do near the pier, great lodging if we fly in days before.  Knowing up front that the right option is to drop the bags and have the Uber continue on to take us to a leisurely brunch as a workable way to avoid the Clipboard Dragons helps some.   It’s not an irredeemable mess like Vancouver on a four-ship day.