We have cruised with Princess 7 previous times and this was our first HAL cruise. Overall I can say I would recommend Hal to friends. I would say that HAL is more for the cruiser who prefers to pass time quietly rather than participate in multi activities.
The Amsterdam is a relatively small ship and we could tell the difference from princess. There is less room to share amongst the many things one wants to do on a ship. The crew managed to do a good job with space available.
I really like the enrichment programs - particularly the windows sessions. the instructor was first class. He showed me things ( an I am a computer geek) that I never knew!
cabin was nice but a bit awkward with closets along the main walkway in and out. Service was excellent thanks to Hans.