avalon1025

I think Princess has been a brand looking for an identity for many years and where to fit in, though I have not sailed holland in a few years, they and their marketing team consider themselves premium (true on board or not). Maybe they will find their spot under holland Americas leadership

I didn't infer that from the announcement because after all, Seabourn isn't a notch below either HAL or Princess.

Sorry, that's exactly what I thought: Seabourn luxury, HAL premium, Princess mid market. Totally makes sense to have tiered brands. Why would HAL want competition for their own brand under their own umbrella ?

"The newly formed Holland America Group will include Princess Cruises in their portfolio of companies. The expanded division also includes Holland America Line, Seabourn Cruise Line and Holland America/Princess Alaska land operations. The new Holland America Group operates a combined total of 41 cruise ships with over 36,000 employees worldwide. Stein Kruse, currently president and CEO of Holland America Line, is being appointed CEO of the Holland America Group, adding to his current responsibilities of Holland America Line and Seabourn"

Is this the final step in the repositioning of Princess as a notch below HAL?

Crystal. Comes down to "You can pay me now (in the fare) or you can pay me later. I enjoy the free printing but would pay the quarter a page in a heartbeat.

 

Roy

Bingo! Crystal gave everyone on my sailing 20 minutes of internet to check in and print their boarding passes on the last day. A lovely cruise, but over $750 a day, vs for the week. You dont want nickle and diming, you unfortunately have to pay for the higher end cruise lines.

my last voyage on QM2 qas in QG and i'll be Princess Grill in a few weeks. Except for Lily, all my QG butlers were creepy and I found them more of an annoyance than helpful. The restaurants are the same and the food comes form the sam grill kitchen. Also the staff rotate between the two so I am assuming there is not too much of a difference. As for Caviar, i'll just buy it if I want it....

For cabins, for me, solo, I actually like the PG cabin, broad expanse of window and it looks cozier than the QG cabin

I've sailed in a Q4 and Q6 on QM2 solo, but trying a P1 in a few weeks. Will let you know if there is a huge difference. Since my last butler was creepy and condescending I'm all too happy to give up that perk (ie: asking how I could afford a penthouse all to myself, and going through my closet and commenting in passing on my clothes... Ewww)

Definately the Med, I've done Alaska twice now and find it somewhat boring....the ports have become so similar

I was faced with the same situation on Solstice a few weeks ago, I was booked in AQ and was given an upgrade offer for $300 to a Sky Suite. Now I have sailed in Sky Suites and honestly they are not that suit like (yes a slightly larger cabin, a bath and butler), but they are not really a big suite. I have never had what I would call an amazing butler, so I opted to stay in AQ.

I LOVED AQ and I am returning in AQ on the Eclipse. Blu was worth it alone (not having to deal with the crowds of the MDR and eating when I wanted and knowing everyone due to the small size of Blu). Blu breakfasts were some of the best i'[ve had at sea (including Silversea and the Queens Grill on QM2) My cabin steward was better than many of the butlers i have had on previous Celebrity cruises and I loved the location right near the stairs leading up to the spa.

Overall I think AQ is the best value in this level of cruising.

I've got 1540 on the Eclipse, great to hear its a good choice!

Yes they are high, the Steiner spas are about $115-$125 for a facial, the Canyon Ranch is higher, but not as high as some hotels ($228 in Hawaii, $185 in Las Vegas), so they are still in the range of some high end spas

Wow, you were able to have the Neptune Lounge make your AYW dinning requests? We were told that was not a service of the Neptune on the Noordam this past summer. Lets hope they have updated that policy.

We sailed with the vent off our Vista suite on the Diamond in Australia/New Zealand and the smell of garbage rendered the balcony useless. Princess knows it, when we inquired at the front desk the pursers immediately called HQ to request the standard package for these suites when passengers have issues.

Princess knows about this issue with the garbage smell, and actually resolved the issue with us by offering 25% of our cruise fare back to us. As this was a pricey Australia/New Zealand cruise it was a fair offer. The stench did render our suite balcony useless for all 14 days, pitty as it would have been great to host freidns outside, etc. Its a desgn flaw and one that has not been fixed in years, and I doubt they will ever will fix it or can fix it.

We sailed the Diamond in A VS aft (D739), we had a vent on our deck that made the whole balcony smell like garbage and rendered the balcony useless for 14 days.