My qualification for writing this is that I am a four star member of the HAL Mariners group. That is I have accumulated over 250 days on some 25 different cruises. I have also cruised quite a bit with Princess. A few years ago, I had an article in Cruise Critic comparing the two lines. One finding was that Princess has better perks. I would be eligible for some free internet on Princess, something that is much harder to get on HAL. I could spend a whole year on a HAL ship and still not even be eligible for discounted internet. I noted that the libraries on HAL where much superior to the comparatively small Princess Libraries with fewer books and no librarian. HAL had much bigger libraries with many books, selected by the NY times in a deck ten Explorations Café, with a librarian who knew something about the computers there, and a lot of DVDs, with players in every cabin. That, alas, has changed, changed utterly. On a recent Oosterdam cruise, the library had far fewer books, some paper backs left by other passengers, but no librarian, no DVDs, and no one who knew anything about computers. Front desk person said HAL has abandoned libraries on other ships as well. A major loss.

A number of other changes have occurred on HAL, quite a few that seem aimed at saving or making money. They “push” alcohol. In almost every public event, some crew member circulates with a glass of wine or some other alcoholic beverage. They were kind enough to call a gathering of veterans. They used to offer us a free drink; now we pay for it. Although there is an AA meeting on board, it is not a safe environment for anyone with alcohol problems. What used to be free wine tastings, now have a charge. The dining staff work hard for long hours, but there seem to be fewer of them than there used to be, so service is slower.

Music is a different matter. Princess has an occasional good music group. HAL, however, has a history of excellent music. Used to have a string quartet on most ships, though that changed over the years to a piano and cello or a piano and violin duo. This year, however, the Oosterdam had a piano quintet assembled by Lincoln Center (New York) that provided excellent concerts for two hours most nights. Plus another “B-B band and two-piano duo on a “Music Walk.” I have heard that the Eurodam and new Konigsdam have similar groups. Some compensation for the lack of a library. Read more