More Sun Down Under

[rkmw]

i just noticed this on the Princess board about the Sea Princess

 

 

 

Princess Cruises deploys Sea Princess in Australia

Carnival's Princess Cruises has just announced that its 1950-passenger Sea Princess will be based in Australia over the 2011-12 cruise season, with the move boosting the brand's local fleet to four superliners.

 

Sea Princess will join Dawn Princess, Sun Princess and Sapphire Princess in cruising Australian waters, with Sun Princess heading north to be Brisbane-based from Sep 2011 to Feb 2012 - the first time a Princess vessel has been based in the Queensland capital.

 

Dawn Princess will return to Melbourne again, while Sea Princess will be based in Sydney to operate a series of cruises to New Zealand, Japan and Tasmania.

 

Princess Cruises President Alan Buckelew said Australian interest in Princess Cruises' ships was at an all-time high, saying "it's been clear that Australians love the cruise line's relaxed style of cruising as well as the exotic destinations that it offers

rkmw

[Guest012]

Come on down Sea and Sapphire Princess.... Princess USA leaves Princess Australia for dead...more ships more competition might even see a price war...thanks for that Bob cheers Shiona

[mezza]

yes, yes, yes, I love it. The USA loves the Sea P, so come on down, we will love her too :D

[Aus Traveller]

Wow! That will be great.

[victravellers]

The Sea Princess will be great but I was hoping for the Star Princess.

 

The Sun the Dawn and the Sea Princess are all the same.

 

Linda

[bobhsv]

Wow, thats great news for us. I have been patiently waiting for more selections....and here they come.....yeeha!

 

Jen

[rkmw]

it is true as i received an email from an online TA

 

 

BREAKING NEWS!

 

 

Princess Cruises to deploy another 'superliner' to Australia!

Princess Cruises have announced that the 77000 tonne SEA PRINCESS will be deployed to Australia for the 2011 / 2012 cruise season. Sister ship to DAWN PRINCESS and SUN PRINCESS, SEA PRINCESS will be the youngest of the 3 ships and will be based in Sydney alongside the seasonally based SAPPHIRE PRINCESS. SUN PRINCESS will relocate to Brisbane & DAWN PRINCESS to Melbourne ensuring a deluxe Princess Cruise presence in the top three Australian cruise capital cities. The decision by the Carnival Corporation is an emphatic vote of confidence in the Australian cruise market's future growth. Itineraries & fares will be released soon, STAY TUNED!

[Gaznjo]

when they pulled the star from her carribean cruises I had fingers crossed she might come down here.... great about another princess ship but why can't it be different one... I wonder if she looks just like the other two on the inside...

 

Garry really wants to cruise on a different ship... we have done sun and dawn and will do dawn again for the world cruise........ a new ship was going to be a good bargaining tool for me LOL...

 

joanne

[Australian family]

How will they cope with all these ships in Sydney, it will end up like the River Nile where the ships tie up beside each other and you have to walk through the ships to get to shore LOL.

 

Seems like 2011/ 2012 will be the year to plan to do another cruise, here come the bargains. About time!

[bazzaw]

Joanne

 

Can you comment on your preferences between Sun and dawn Princesses- any major differences . They look very similar to me (both nice)

 

Barry

[Aus Traveller]

How will they cope with all these ships in Sydney, it will end up like the River Nile where the ships tie up beside each other and you have to walk through the ships to get to shore LOL.

 

Seems like 2011/ 2012 will be the year to plan to do another cruise, here come the bargains. About time!

There will have to be more mid-week departures. :) With Wharf 8 and the OPT they can accommodate two ships simultaneously. In Melbourne we know they can fit two ships on the pier at the same time. It would probably be more difficult to have two ships doing a turn-around on the same day in Brisbane.

[rugbypopsie]

Maybe not any cheap cruises...and the Dawn and Sun in Australia still have a way to go to match the service and style of Princess US...but more choice is always good.

[Gaznjo]

Joanne

 

Can you comment on your preferences between Sun and dawn Princesses- any major differences . They look very similar to me (both nice)

 

Barry

 

Barry if you blind fold me and take me onto a ship and ask me if it was the dawn or sun princess I would not be able to tell you ...... the are identical ... and after the suns drydock in april she will have the muts to match the others....

 

the only difference are the names of a few of the bars and nightclub

[Sandielle]

Is the Sea Princess built the same, do you know, Joanne? :rolleyes:

[Skyrules]

Is the Sea Princess built the same, do you know, Joanne? :rolleyes:

 

Just having a look on the deck plans for Sea Princess and they are nearly identical to Dawn Princess, and therefore Sun Princess.

[Sandielle]

Just having a look on the deck plans for Sea Princess and they are nearly identical to Dawn Princess, and therefore Sun Princess.

 

Thanks, K. Well it will still be a different ship for Brisbane. It would be nice to have more choice of itineraries. ;)

[Johhno]

This could be another nail in the coffing for the old Pacific Sun,whats a bet we see a press release in the future from PO about the Pacific Sun being sold off.

Cheers Johhno

[Gaznjo]

Is the Sea Princess built the same, do you know, Joanne? :rolleyes:

 

 

sandy if you go to the princess website and click under ships they have photos of her dry dock... nearly identical to the dawns drydock

[Sandielle]

Thanks G and J - will do! :)

[The_Big_M]

Yeah, it's a bit more competition, but the demand's there to support it. I wouldn't expect to see cheap prices, particularly as the three Princesses are spread between different ports.

 

The main difference will be in the quiet times, and particularly in Melbourne where it's cooler and further away from the warm destinations. The greater competition could mean a few more bargains at off-peak/unpopular times i.e. when you already get the bargains.

 

How will they cope with all these ships in Sydney

 

There's no extra load in Sydney from this Princess announcement compared to before.

 

so now princess will have 4 based h in oz next year, that will make 8 ships from the same company, and rcl will have two based in oz next year,

 

Since you're comparing with RCL, you need to include the HAL ships, so need to add 2 there. Though as both HAL and RCL are only doing half a season (probably) with each, it's really only 1 additional on both sides not 2.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

This could be another nail in the coffing for the old Pacific Sun,whats a bet we see a press release in the future from PO about the Pacific Sun being sold off.

Cheers Johhno

 

One can only hope. The old bird needs to be pensioned off.

[bazzaw]

and the Dawn and Sun in Australia still have a way to go to match the service and style of Princess US.

 

I have heard this said quite a bit - and don't really understand the statement, especially regarding "service and style". (Differences in food, I could easily understand)

 

Well - I guess that I can partly, in that I could understand the difference (if any) regarding service and style of a ship like QM2 and Pacific Star . Now, there may be a difference - but would it necessarily be a difference that I would enjoy?? That is another question.

 

I have only ever sailed on Pac Star, Sun and Dawn. I recognize that they are very much Ozzie ships with VERY obviously Ozzie passengers. I'm sure that a ship full of some other nationality would appear and feel different. However, as regards the service levels that I have found on the P & O Ozzie ships, I am satisfactorily happy with them. I am not sure what kind of additional service one would/could expect - chocolates on the pillows at night?. :) I guess it would be a novelty - but I would not say that such a thing would be very important to me.

 

I would be keen to be able to cruise out of Brisbane on the Sun Princess. If anything, I think I have developed a sense of "deja vu" about sailing with P & O - so it would be lovely to try one of the Princess ships - even an Ozzie one (whatever that implies regarding levels of service and style.

 

I would be interested to hear from people any specific matters that they could relate to regarding a comparison of "service and style" on the two Ozzie based Princess ships and those based elsewhere.

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

I would also be sincerely interested in comparisons of service on each.

 

(Barry, the LAST thing I want is chocolate on my pillow at night! Enough damage to my diet is done in the daytime!!:D)

 

I found that on the Pac Dawn the cabin steward was excellent. Not too intrusive but always smiling and happy to have a word with you, if you needed something and couldn't see him about, there was a phone number to call him.

 

The wait staff, especially when we had the same table nightly, were the best, nothing was too much trouble - eg if steak was not cooked to your requirement it was quickly taken away and replaced, or if something was not liked they would get what you asked for instead. They were both always happy and smiling, attentive, but again not intrusive and hovering. (I can't stand hovering!!! eg those restaurants where the waiter whips away your spoon the moment you've stirred your coffee. That makes me jumpy. :eek: )

 

Everywhere, staff members were friendly and respectful, but not too 'in your face'. This is the way we like it, so we were lucky.

 

I'd love to know what they do differently on other lines, please?

[Australian family]

Some more information on Princess:

 

Princess Cruises yesterday announced its intentions to bring one more ship down under, increasing the Australian fleet to four in the 2011-2012 cruise season.

Sea Princess will join its sisters down under and be based in Sydney in order to offer itineraries to New Zealand, Japan and even Tasmania, said Carnival Australia.

This will see Sun Princess moved up to be based in Brisbane from September 2011, and become the first Princess line vessel to be based in the Queensland capital.

From Brisbane the ship will offer a brand new 41-night itinerary of Asia with stops including Brunei, Vietnam, Japan and China including Beijing. New Zealand and South Pacific itineraries will also be on the agenda.

“We think the time is right to introduce their sister ship, Sea Princess, into the Australian market,” said Alan Buckelew, Princess Cruises President.

“Since Princess Cruises first based a superliner, Sun Princess, in Australian waters full time in late 2007, it’s been clear that Australians love the cruise line’s relaxed style of cruising as well as the exotic destinations that it offers.”

Melbourne-based Dawn Princess and Sydney-based Sapphire Princess will round out the Princess offering in 2011-2012

[jessica3152]

How will they cope with all these ships in Sydney, it will end up like the River Nile where the ships tie up beside each other and you have to walk through the ships to get to shore LOL.

 

Sydney won't be anymore crowded given only Sea Princess will be cruising from Sydney during the summer season.

 

Dawn Princess will cruise the summer season from Melbourne whilst Sun Princess will be based in Brisbane.

 

Unlike Sun Princess and Dawn Princess, it looks like Sea Princess may only be a seasonal deployment meaning it will return to the US in the Australian winter probably to do Alaskan cruises from a port like San Francisco or Seattle.