Questions about Mex Riv and Princess

[jbobst]

We live in Arizona, and pretty much always cruise the MR out of San Diego or LA. Our one Princess cruise was on the Grand Princess out of Galveston a few years back. I keep wanting to try the Sapphire (or any Princess ship for that mater) doing the Mex Riviera cruises, but they typically seem to be the most expensive out of all the other cruise lines. It seems like Royal Caribbean is having a hard time filling up the Mariner of the Seas, and thereby reducing the cost occasionally, but is the Sapphire doing well with their Mexican Riviera cruises with keeping capacity up, despite their higher prices?

 

Since we have cruised on the Grand Princess in the past, as well as on the Mariner, Ryndam, NCL Star, etc, there just didn't seem to be that much difference with Princess vs. the other cruise lines. Don't get me wrong, I really liked our Princess cruise, and certainly didn't think it was below the other lines, but just curious why the difference in price. It seems like a pretty similar product when compared to RCCL and some of the other lines. In fact, the Mariner cruise we took was really fantastic, and better than our Grand Princess cruise. But, the were both great of course. Hopefully for us, Princess will be a little bit more competitive with price in the future for the Mexico cruises, but maybe they are doing just fine with the way it is.

 

Thanks!

[hurwitz5]

Hi:

I'm not sure about the prices for the Mexican Riviera cruises, but the one negative we found on Princess is the hours that the ship is in port - 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We are not early people, especially on vacation. If the ship arrived at 9:00 a.m., and left at 4:00 p.m., it would be a much better day. Other cruise line have "better" hours in Cabo, similar to what I suggested above.

[Toto2Kansas]

We live in Arizona, and pretty much always cruise the MR out of San Diego or LA. Our one Princess cruise was on the Grand Princess out of Galveston a few years back. I keep wanting to try the Sapphire (or any Princess ship for that mater) doing the Mex Riviera cruises, but they typically seem to be the most expensive out of all the other cruise lines. It seems like Royal Caribbean is having a hard time filling up the Mariner of the Seas, and thereby reducing the cost occasionally, but is the Sapphire doing well with their Mexican Riviera cruises with keeping capacity up, despite their higher prices?

 

Since we have cruised on the Grand Princess in the past, as well as on the Mariner, Ryndam, NCL Star, etc, there just didn't seem to be that much difference with Princess vs. the other cruise lines. Don't get me wrong, I really liked our Princess cruise, and certainly didn't think it was below the other lines, but just curious why the difference in price. It seems like a pretty similar product when compared to RCCL and some of the other lines. In fact, the Mariner cruise we took was really fantastic, and better than our Grand Princess cruise. But, the were both great of course. Hopefully for us, Princess will be a little bit more competitive with price in the future for the Mexico cruises, but maybe they are doing just fine with the way it is.

 

Thanks!

 

Before you decide, find yourself a good discount TA and get a quote on a Princess MR cruise. If the TA quotes you the same price as shows on the Princess website, thank them, and then keep looking. Remember, Princess still allows discounting by travel agents, something most other lines have put a stop to. That could be why you feel you are finding higher prices for Princess then RCI. Good Luck!

[Working 2 Cruise]

Hi:

I'm not sure about the prices for the Mexican Riviera cruises, but the one negative we found on Princess is the hours that the ship is in port - 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. We are not early people, especially on vacation. If the ship arrived at 9:00 a.m., and left at 4:00 p.m., it would be a much better day. Other cruise line have "better" hours in Cabo, similar to what I suggested above.

 

This is only for Cabo though, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan leave later.... But yes, I would love to have more time in Cabo!

[DrivesLikeMario]

The answer is simple: you get what you pay for.

 

If you want to see a neat ship with nice cabins, want bad service and even worse food, go with RCI. You'll have a mediocre time.

 

RCI starts their prices really high, then drops them constantly until they are near Princess' prices. Princess starts out reasonable and therefore, more people book with them farther in advance than with RCI. For all the cruises I've priced on the Sapphire, it has been less expensive than the Mariner.

[karatemom2]

For all the cruises I've priced on the Sapphire, it has been less expensive than the Mariner.

 

That has been my experience as well. In fact we got such a good price that we upgraded to a balcony cabin for our March cruise on the Sapphire next year. As Toto suggests, you might look for a good discount TA. Our TA got us a very good price even though we are traveling the week before Easter.

[chasetf]

That has been my experience as well. In fact we got such a good price that we upgraded to a balcony cabin for our March cruise on the Sapphire next year. As Toto suggests, you might look for a good discount TA. Our TA got us a very good price even though we are traveling the week before Easter.

Same here for our Jan cruise. In fact an inside on our cruise was going for $399 for quite a while..... and a last minute email special was $299 in Oct.

[Linaka]

I think it just depends on the the demand. I know Princess was discounting the Sapphire for certain sailings in October & November to fill the ship which I took advantage of being in southern California. The past passenger pricing was the lowest I'd ever seen for a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise and even the regular rate at Princess.com was only $50 more for an inside cabin. The regular rate was right in line with what the Mariner was going for because I'd been checking prices on both. I don't know how the pricing was on other categories, but I was looking for a cheap, last minute getaway so I couldn't pass up inside rate.

 

Linda

[lovevacadays]

I recently booked the Sapphire for Jan 30 and checked the Mariners prices. The Mariner was more expensive. I guess it depends on the week.

[rdsqrl]

Wow. All I can say is that the Mariner must be a really cheap cruise, because I think Princess's rates on the MR are really, really low. Even paying the iniquitious single supplement, I felt like I was stealing the cruise from them, it was so cheap. I almost felt guilty -- right up until that first MaiTai kicked in. . . .

[pg.]

Hi, we usually find RCCL more expensive. We booked for next March on the Sapphire for less then the Mariner,, but we did have past passenger status so price was lower.

[KruzPrincess]

I booked the Sapphire for February. We booked a long time out and thought it was pricey, but that's when we wanted to go. Well, the price dropped 4-5 times since then and it's downright cheap now. We have a great balcony location and we just called out TA's to match the price right up to final payment. We're thrilled with the deal we got. I have't looked at RCI, but we love Princess and love the deal we got in the end. I can't imagine that they can be selling for much less than the deal we got.

[Cruisin' Chick]

haven't sailed on RC ships, but the deal breaker for us (as far as any cruise over say, four days, is the lack of a self-service laundromat.

[junglejane]

Like the OP, we live in Arizona and like to do the Mexican Riviera out of LA. We've done the MR on the Diamond, Golden and Sapphire (and also a Pacific Coastal on the Dawn). Like Rdsqrl, we always felt the prices were so low we were almost stealing them! In fact, the whole reason we keep repeating the same cruise is that it's such a bargain it seems stupid not to go! :D

 

This Spring we're trying the Mariner just to do something different. The pricing seems right in line with what we've paid in the past on our Princess MR cruises.

[Toto2Kansas]

haven't sailed on RC ships' date=' but the deal breaker for us (as far as any cruise over say, four days, is the lack of a self-service laundromat.[/quote']

 

Oh Yea, that is definitely missed. We sailed on RCI for the first time in years for 14 days several years ago. I had totally forgotten that they don't supply a self service laundry onboard. Even in a Grand Suite, we were not given any complimentary laundry whatsoever, and my shipboard account at the end sure reminded me of it.

[2278]

Starting fall 2010, the Mexican Riv. cruises are being cut in half. The Sapphire will be splitting time on the LA to HI route. I did not notice another ship filling the in the gap out of LA.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Starting fall 2010, the Mexican Riv. cruises are being cut in half. The Sapphire will be splitting time on the LA to HI route. I did not notice another ship filling the in the gap out of LA.

 

Probably not a heavy demand for the MR cruises. There's other cruiselines who also sail the same route (RC, Carnival, NCL, etc.). Also, if other west coasters are like my family, are pretty much burned out on Baja and MR cruises. Since the coastal ones are rare (except for repos to or from Canada), that leaves the Hawaiian RT's and Panama cruises.

[Coolmama_1]

haven't sailed on RC ships' date=' but the deal breaker for us (as far as any cruise over say, four days, is the lack of a self-service laundromat.[/quote']

 

That sure is a nice option and allows us to pack lighter.