Princess: The Race For New Ships

Imagine 4 of this 4500-5000+ passenger ships in port at the same time. We have seen pictures like this. Now not everyone gets off the ship or all at the same time. Add in the tourist that have flown in, that are all ready there and crew that are allowed to go ashore. Imagine how many people will be there. Excursions, private or ship, will be harder to book. Have you ever been to a port and your ship was the only one there? Have you been to a port with 4+ ships there? Give me a single ship any day.

This is why are they lots of cities fighting against cruise ship tourist. Bar Harbor wants more cruise ship tourism and is willing to building a pier, but the town people say no and is fighting against that. Charleston, SC wants to expand their cruise terminal, and the town people say no to that too.

This is why are they lots of cities fighting against cruise ship tourist. Bar Harbor wants more cruise ship tourism and is willing to building a pier, but the town people say no and is fighting against that. Charleston, SC wants to expand their cruise terminal, and the town people say no to that too.

Same goes for Sitka and Cordova, Alaska.

Some of the new ships I am likely to select last over the older ones that have more generous passenger space ratios and less passengers on a larger frame ship.

Having said that I am really disappointed that Princess is retiring ships like the Golden Princess and the Star Princess early and leaving much older barges like the Sun Princess and Sea Princess in service that I cannot wait to see be retired. The Sun class ships are obsolete ships that are well past their use by date being relegated to all cruises around or close to Australia and it is really sad that we have no other options. The next best option we had were the Golden Princess and Star Princess which I would love to see here sailing under the Princess brand and not P&O Australia.

At the moment there are only a few Princess ships that are at the top of my list to cruise on and they are Golden Princess, Star Princess, Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess.

Ships like the Island Princess is on my blacklist for life and I would never sail on that ship even if I were paid to do so. If the Coral Princess does not suffer the same destruction as the Island Princess then I am happy to add the Coral Princess to my list above of top ships.

The ships at the bottom of my list are the Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess. These ships will always be beneath the ones at the top but I would not rule out sailing on them.

My extreme last choice ships are the Royal Princess, Majestic Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess. I would happily defect to another cruise line before sailing on these ships. The reason being that a cruise line like Celebrity has the much larger Solstice class that carries less passengers than these ships so it stands to reason why would I go on an uncomfortable holiday when there are larger ships with less passengers available to sail on.

Do you mean the Grand Class of ship or The Grand itself?

The Grand Princess.

Since they removed Skywalkers and they have leakatopia onboard its off our list to cruise.

Another vote for well maintained smaller ships....but from what I've read' date=' it costs the cruise line less per capita on the giants.[/quote']

 

Not really. The whole reason the mass market lines are moving to larger ships is because they are financially more efficient (lower cost per passenger), resulting in better profit margins. Map almost any set of variables crew members per passenger, fuel use per passenger, Port costs per passenger, etc and the larger ships come out ahead when it comes to financial efficiency.

Some of the new ships I am likely to select last over the older ones that have more generous passenger space ratios and less passengers on a larger frame ship.

 

Having said that I am really disappointed that Princess is retiring ships like the Golden Princess and the Star Princess early and leaving much older barges like the Sun Princess and Sea Princess in service that I cannot wait to see be retired. The Sun class ships are obsolete ships that are well past their use by date being relegated to all cruises around or close to Australia and it is really sad that we have no other options. The next best option we had were the Golden Princess and Star Princess which I would love to see here sailing under the Princess brand and not P&O Australia.

 

At the moment there are only a few Princess ships that are at the top of my list to cruise on and they are Golden Princess, Star Princess, Diamond Princess and Sapphire Princess.

 

Ships like the Island Princess is on my blacklist for life and I would never sail on that ship even if I were paid to do so. If the Coral Princess does not suffer the same destruction as the Island Princess then I am happy to add the Coral Princess to my list above of top ships.

 

The ships at the bottom of my list are the Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess. These ships will always be beneath the ones at the top but I would not rule out sailing on them.

 

My extreme last choice ships are the Royal Princess, Majestic Princess, Regal Princess, Sky Princess and Enchanted Princess. I would happily defect to another cruise line before sailing on these ships. The reason being that a cruise line like Celebrity has the much larger Solstice class that carries less passengers than these ships so it stands to reason why would I go on an uncomfortable holiday when there are larger ships with less passengers available to sail on.

Have sailed several times on both Celebrity S class ships like the Solstice and Princess Royal class ships. The S class ships do not feel any roomier and in many ways feel more constricted than the Royal Class. Might be because more space is being taken up by specialty dining, and suite restricted space.

Have sailed several times on both Celebrity S class ships like the Solstice and Princess Royal class ships. The S class ships do not feel any roomier and in many ways feel more constricted than the Royal Class. Might be because more space is being taken up by specialty dining, and suite restricted space.

I have cruised on 4 of the Solstice class ships and the Royal... neither design is enjoyable in my view. I compared the Solstice and Ruby back to back, the Ruby was far more enjoyable. I don't care what the cruise line wants, cost effective, I know what I like as a passenger and will continue to book the smaller older ships as long as possible. I still prefer the Grand Princess over the Royal, even if I am in minority.

Ships like the Island Princess is on my blacklist for life and I would never sail on that ship even if I were paid to do so. If the Coral Princess does not suffer the same destruction as the Island Princess then I am happy to add the Coral Princess to my list above of top ships.

 

The ships at the bottom of my list are the Caribbean Princess, Crown Princess, Emerald Princess and Ruby Princess. These ships will always be beneath the ones at the top but I would not rule out sailing on them.

Even with the added staterooms Island Princess, at 91000 gross tons and 2214 lower berth passengers, has a better passenger to public space ratio than Caribbean at 112000 tons and 3138 capacity, or Crown/Emerald/Ruby at 113000 tons and 3060 pax.

Island is not overcrowded because of the 254 more passengers it holds compared to when launched. The only issue is the lack of a second showroom causing activities to cascade down to public rooms not really suited for that purpose. Other than that it is the same Princess experience as on every other ship in the fleet.

I have cruised on 4 of the Solstice class ships and the Royal... neither design is enjoyable in my view. I compared the Solstice and Ruby back to back, the Ruby was far more enjoyable. I don't care what the cruise line wants, cost effective, I know what I like as a passenger and will continue to book the smaller older ships as long as possible. I still prefer the Grand Princess over the Royal, even if I am in minority.

I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Grand.

I did sail her in '16 and the Regal last year and fail to see how the former is anywhere near a leg up versus the Regal.

Even with the added staterooms Island Princess, at 91000 gross tons and 2214 lower berth passengers, has a better passenger to public space ratio than Caribbean at 112000 tons and 3138 capacity, or Crown/Emerald/Ruby at 113000 tons and 3060 pax.

 

Island is not overcrowded because of the 254 more passengers it holds compared to when launched. The only issue is the lack of a second showroom causing activities to cascade down to public rooms not really suited for that purpose. Other than that it is the same Princess experience as on every other ship in the fleet.

No additions to any dining capacity after the new berths added.

It does affect AT dining.

The major milestone for ships is when they hit 30 years. At that age maintenance costs increase substantially. Inspections become more detailed at correspondingly higher costs. I would expect most Princess ships to be gone before they reach that age.

One ability to select smaller ships on main stream cruise lines will continue to reduce as ships approach that age.

Some people may feel that the way to go is to build more overgrown monstrosities but I don't agree. They aren't ships but are floating amusement parks. If I wanted amusement parks, I would go to amusement parks. Also, the really large ships are totally limited in the number of ports that they can visit most of which are already totally oversaturated with cruise passengers.

The biggest ship that I have ever cruised on has ben about 2000 pax. We are going to Alaska this summer on the Golden Princess (2600 passengers) but only because we are taking the grandkids and that is the only ship that both fit our schedule and also went to Glacier Bay.

Most of the recent cruising that we have been on R class ships. If I couldn't cruise on them, I guess that I would quit crusing.

Just my opinion of course..

DON

On the Royal in August going around the British Isles they used two gangways to get off the ship and you had to get numbers and get called off to avoid long lines. .

And that to me is a sign of a ship with too many passengers to make port stops enjoyable.

I actually don’t mind older ship when the are kept updated in decor and functionality. I find that Carnival and Celebrity do a great job on updating the older fleet. Princess besides replacing a bit of furniture and carpets do not give the older ship a new feeling when updating them. I find the older ships look the same as 10-15 years ago so for me that the reason I tend to go to other cruise line now or the newer Princess ships.

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I appreciate your enthusiasm for the Grand.

 

I did sail her in '16 and the Regal last year and fail to see how the former is anywhere near a leg up versus the Regal.

I have no plans to go on the Regal, after cruising the Royal... both remind me of the Celebrity ships which I don't care for either... now HAL is using the same design so will not do their new ship. Obviously, there are plenty of passengers that book them, just will not be me. I will stick with the Grand class on Princess as long as I can.

Years ago, when the cruise lines were independent, when a new ship came out it was exciting, each was different than the other. Now days, it is monkey see, monkey do because most of the cruises lines are own by a few companies.... too bad.

Bigger is not always better. Cruised the Dawn Princess some years ago, in a mini suite that actually was a suite. On Queen Mary 2, Princess style mini suites where called suites and had a price to match. On the Royal, mini suites have small balconies and there is no main deck. Same on Celebrity and HAL. Is this a step up? Or a step down?

As a stock holder in Carnival corporation I can tell every one that with out a doubt Carnival corp is going the same way that RCCL has done .Just look at the shares of RCL corporation . I bought them when they were just $5 knowing full well that the future was brighter .Same with our purchase of Carnival stock . the future is big & bigger simply because those vessels are much more profitable . :D

If any one wants small there is Viking ,Azamara ie :)

Some of the new ships I am likely to select last over the older ones that have more generous passenger space ratios and less passengers on a larger frame ship.

 

Having said that I am really disappointed that Princess is retiring ships like the Golden Princess and the Star Princess early and leaving much older barges like the Sun Princess and Sea Princess in service that I cannot wait to see be retired. The Sun class ships are obsolete ships that are well past their use by date being relegated to all cruises around or close to Australia and it is really sad that we have no other options. The next best option we had were the Golden Princess and Star Princess which I would love to see here sailing under the Princess brand and not P&O Australia.

Like. (y) I agree with your comments.

Yes the ships are getting bigger. But what we are now seeing is the "Ship within a ship concept" in which one for an additional charge get perks which in effect make one feel that they are in a smaller more private ship. In Celebrity they have Aqua Class, in Princess one sees Club Class. Of course if you book a suite you get additional perks. On many of the ships, if you are upper class such as Cunard you get private sections of the ship to relax in, and also eat in private dining rooms. I believe that MSC and NCL also offer separate classes and separate sections.

Cruising is definitely changing from the one class, everything is included.

I have no plans to go on the Regal, after cruising the Royal... both remind me of the Celebrity ships which I don't care for either... now HAL is using the same design so will not do their new ship. Obviously, there are plenty of passengers that book them, just will not be me. I will stick with the Grand class on Princess as long as I can.

 

Years ago, when the cruise lines were independent, when a new ship came out it was exciting, each was different than the other. Now days, it is monkey see, monkey do because most of the cruises lines are own by a few companies.... too bad.

 

Bigger is not always better. Cruised the Dawn Princess some years ago, in a mini suite that actually was a suite. On Queen Mary 2, Princess style mini suites where called suites and had a price to match. On the Royal, mini suites have small balconies and there is no main deck. Same on Celebrity and HAL. Is this a step up? Or a step down?

HAL is not using the same design for their new ships. THe Koningsdam is only 2650 passengers. Compared to 3600 for the Royal Princess. The Nieuw Statendam is also 2650. Certainly not the same ship design. No where even close.

Yes the ships are getting bigger. But what we are now seeing is the "Ship within a ship concept" in which one for an additional charge get perks which in effect make one feel that they are in a smaller more private ship. In Celebrity they have Aqua Class, in Princess one sees Club Class. Of course if you book a suite you get additional perks. On many of the ships, if you are upper class such as Cunard you get private sections of the ship to relax in, and also eat in private dining rooms. I believe that MSC and NCL also offer separate classes and separate sections.

 

Cruising is definitely changing from the one class, everything is included.

Princess and HAL have moved the least towards ship within a ship. Far less than Celebrity, Royal, MSC and NCL.

Princess and HAL have moved the least towards ship within a ship. Far less than Celebrity, Royal, MSC and NCL.

Thankfully this is true. Citing Cunard as the biggest example of "segregation" (sic) onboard (as the poster above who I won't waste keystrokes quoting did) shows a complete lack of understanding of the issue. Cunard has far fewer exclusive areas of the ship than X, MSC and NCL does--and they do not even use the term "class" in describing their four different levels of accommodations that do carry different dining options. Similarly Princess' uprated dining for Full Suites and highest-category Mini Suites is merely a perk and not remotely an attempt at ship-within-a-ship. And there is nothing in the design of the current Royal-class ships indicating Princess even fleetingly considered the idea.

I've been on the Regal, am booked on the Ruby and the new Sky, so you can see I like Princess. To the person who hates mega ships because you have to go past all the rides, and ice shows, etc. You can spend a week and not even see these venues if you didn't want to. Don't knock a product if you haven't tried it. Royal's Oasis class, or for that matter, anything from the Voyager Class on up are less crowded than the Princess ships. It's all about layout, and Royal has everyone beat in that catagory.

Thankfully this is true. Citing Cunard as the biggest example of "segregation" (sic) onboard (as the poster above who I won't waste keystrokes quoting did) shows a complete lack of understanding of the issue. Cunard has far fewer exclusive areas of the ship than X, MSC and NCL does--and they do not even use the term "class" in describing their four different levels of accommodations that do carry different dining options. Similarly Princess' uprated dining for Full Suites and highest-category Mini Suites is merely a perk and not remotely an attempt at ship-within-a-ship. And there is nothing in the design of the current Royal-class ships indicating Princess even fleetingly considered the idea.

Princess has already moved towards this with Club Class, and the "Sanctury Section" of the ship, as well as having Cabanas.

Princess has already moved towards this with Club Class, and the "Sanctury Section" of the ship, as well as having Cabanas.

The Sanctuary and Retreat Cabanas are not restricted to passengers booked in suites or other high cabin categories. Anyone can purchase them. Same with The Enclave and the cabanas on Princes Cays.

Beyond the dining perks (and the Concierge Lounge on the new Royal-class ships) there are no restricted areas on Princess ships. Comparing them with the NCL Haven and MSC Yacht Club is grasping at straws.

And that to me is a sign of a ship with too many passengers to make port stops enjoyable.

We have been on the Royal, Regal and Majestic and plenty of other Princess ships and the size of the ship had no correlation with our enjoyment of ports......:cool: