Holland American or Princess Cruises?

[t3h_wookiee]

Has anyone on here done a HAL cruise before? DH and I are sending his parents on a cruise for the 30th anniversary in the middle of January to the Western Caribbean, and so far it's between HAL and Princess.

One complaint I've heard about the Princess one (out of Galveston, 7 nights on the Grand Princess) is that they nearly always are quite late to the Belize stop, so it becomes nearly worthless.

The HAL one is 7 nights out of Ft. Lauderdale and is on the Westerdam. It's most costly in the end for us (it costs a LOT more to fly to Florida from Tulsa than to Texas, big surprise ;) ), but it seems nicer, especially the Half Moon Cay.

I'm just so confused looking at everything, and I'm starting to go cross-eyed at this point! lol. All I know is I want 7 days, and they HAVE to stop at Grand Cayman (MIL adored it last time she went 35 years ago). Jamaica would be nice because they both love Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee, and it'd be cool to get some while they're there.

So anybody who's been on either of these lines, tell me what you liked about them! And any advice would be awesome! I've never planned a vacation before, so this is a bit overwhelming to say the least. Thanks so much! :D

[Vishenka69]

Princess and HAL are very different lines and you should pick either one based on what your ILs prefer. I've been on two HAL cruises (one that stopped at Jamaica and Grand Cayman) and the experience was pretty similar even though the destinations were very different. HAL ships tend to travel with Princess a lot, so we had many chances to compare our cruise with the passenger from Princess.

HAL tends to be more formal (from decor to assigned dinner seating to dress code) and have older passengers. Princess is a lot more laid back (casual dress at all times, no assigned seating for dinner, etc.). I think the atmosphere of the ship is just as important as the stops it makes.

[SwiftyOWB]

It all comes down to where you are going and the cost. My DH and I went on a cruise for our HM on HAL. Have you asked over on sites like cruisecritic.com The people over there were so nice and very helpful!! Also look around for the best price. I used a online quote tool where you told them what cruise you wanted to go on and a variety of travel agencies got back us. Cruises - N - More save us about 35%. If you need anything please PM me and I will help if I can.

[t3h_wookiee]

Thanks guys. :) They'd definitely like HAL better from the sound of it. We're pretty sure we know which one we want (and which cabin even, as it's an aft balcony). Now we just need to find a good price.
We called a ta back in our hometown, and his quote was $500 more than travelocity! Yikes! So Cruises N More huh? I'll look them up tomorrow and see what they can do. Thanks!