Best Princess ship for Mediterranean?

[ActiveTraveler]

Part of me wants to sail on the Grand Princess because it was my sister's honeymoon ship (May 2001 in the Eastern Caribbean), but then I wonder if I should sail on that size ship or even on Princess at all because of my preference to have very few kids onboard and desire to travel solo. Does it make a significant difference if I board Grand, Golden, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, or Pacific? What are the pros and cons of each ship that has a Mediterranean itinerary? For southern Europe, which ship do you prefer, and why?

[ActiveTraveler]

I am trying to research ships on the Princess website, but there is no side-by-side way to compare them. I have to look at each ship by itself and remember what I read while I see what features are on a different ship. Naturally after reading posts about the food at the International Cafe and that I can get free desserts there anytime, I thought I need to sail on a ship that has it. But when I looked at the ships that have it I did not like either the ocean view/balcony cabins or minisuites. My favorite cabin on Princess so far is on ships that do not have International Cafe. Unless Princess adds International Cafe to all ships with Mediterranean itineraries, I apparently have to settle for a smaller cabin than I want because of the floor plan differences. :(

[Great8]

We have booked the Star Princess for 12 days departing Sept 23. We picked it because of the itinerary that includes both Rome and Venice as well as some other great ports. It was a hard decision to make because there are so many choices for Med cruises. People on this board have mentioned that there are fewer children on longer cruises especially during the school year so that might be something to consider along with the fact that it is a little cooler in spring or fall so more comfortable for sightseeing.

[ActiveTraveler]

I remember reading about longer cruises during the school year but that is irrelevant for babies and toddlers and they bother me the most of all age groups. Do certain ships in the Princess fleet tend to carry more kids than others for similar itineraries?

[janina]

We try to avoid the children also. I don't think certain ships have less than others. I have found on the longer itineraries 12 + you knock most of them out if you go doing the school year, and on the more expensive routes. I could count them on one hand on our Asia cruise 16 nights. Watch out for fall breaks and spring breaks. The most will be on the ships on 7 days during holidays, and summer. As far as the better ship, we choose by the ports of call, the dates, not the ships.:):):)

[rdsqrl]

Life is full of trade-offs. Frankly, if I were planning a cruise to the Med, the most important -- really, the only -- factor I would consider is the itinerary. Next would be the date that works best. If it's a ship without the IC, well, them's the breaks. There'll be other cruises on ships with the IC. And I frankly could care less how small/large my cabin is, especially on a port-intensive cruise. It seems like you're overthinking this way too much. But never mind all that. If you're that child-averse, I seriously think you'd be better off on another cruiseline: I believe there are some that prohibit kids but I can't think what they are at the moment. Because, bottom line, Princess allows children and so you can't ever count on there not being any at all aboard.

[rugbypopsie]

As well as itinerary I would consider the size of the ship in relation to the ports you are visiting. While I love the grand class ships, having to dock in container ports which are generally outside of the cities you want to visit is a pain especially if you are charged shuttle fees.

 

I loved the Pacific Princess size, they are small but dont feel that way and I never felt crowded in the public area.

 

We have not cruised the Med yet but will probably go for the smaller ships.

[ActiveTraveler]

Life is full of trade-offs. Frankly, if I were planning a cruise to the Med, the most important -- really, the only -- factor I would consider is the itinerary. Next would be the date that works best. If it's a ship without the IC, well, them's the breaks. There'll be other cruises on ships with the IC. And I frankly could care less how small/large my cabin is, especially on a port-intensive cruise. It seems like you're overthinking this way too much. But never mind all that. If you're that child-averse, I seriously think you'd be better off on another cruiseline: I believe there are some that prohibit kids but I can't think what they are at the moment. Because, bottom line, Princess allows children and so you can't ever count on there not being any at all aboard.

 

It must be a rookie thing. If I had cruise experience I would know what to not worry a lot about and have my priorities straight. The reason I am worrying about every little detail, obviously, is I will spend thousands of dollars on this, so I want it to be almost perfect if that is possible to make it worth that much money. Seriously, how would you like it if a cruise went really bad after you spent half of your bank account on one trip? Plus it will be two weeks, so I am stuck there half a month if I don't pick the right ship. Very few, if any, Mediterranean cruises are only one week long, so it is important to me that I don't feel cramped in a tiny cabin and there are plenty of dining options. That is what causes me to worry so much about cabin size and the number of places to eat onboard, even if it is port-intensive. :rolleyes:

[kuldalai]

You will get to berth at more wharves and closer into more ports and more time on shore by taking a smaller vessel in the Mediteranean . (less tendering) . Vessels like Ocean Princess (Princess Cruiseline) and MV.Gemini (Quail Cruises) are 650 - 800 pax and offer a more intimate classic cruising experience . So recommend forget the monsters and go for the smaller vessels in the Med, especially in the Greek Islands .

[spongerob]

I remember reading about longer cruises during the school year but that is irrelevant for babies and toddlers and they bother me the most of all age groups. Do certain ships in the Princess fleet tend to carry more kids than others for similar itineraries?

You will want to pay close attention to school term breaks, particularly the UK. The number of families with children on board will increase dramatically during the break, just as it does in the US.

[terrierjohn]

Part of me wants to sail on the Grand Princess because it was my sister's honeymoon ship (May 2001 in the Eastern Caribbean), but then I wonder if I should sail on that size ship or even on Princess at all because of my preference to have very few kids onboard and desire to travel solo. Does it make a significant difference if I board Grand, Golden, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, or Pacific? What are the pros and cons of each ship that has a Mediterranean itinerary? For southern Europe, which ship do you prefer, and why?

You seem to be worrying about cabin size unnecessarily, the ships I have highlighted in red are all Grand class and have virtually identical cabin dimensions within the same category. Even the Pacific which is a much smaller ship has very similar sized cabins.

The things you should be considering are Itinerary, number of sea vs port days, age of ship, number of passengers and probably top priority price.

Grand and Golden are the oldest ships, Ruby and Emerald are newest and these 2 plus crown have most passengers 500 more than Grand & Golden within the same length and breadth dimensions, but with an extra passenger deck.

Hope this helps you decide.

[Marmaduke]

Thoroughly recommend the R class ships (Ocean & Pacific Princess) The itineraries are more interesting/unusual as the ships being smaller can get into ports that the larger ships cannot. The atmosphere on board is more friendly and there are very few children onboard as they have very limited facilities for them.

[hubofhockey]

You will get to berth at more wharves and closer into more ports and more time on shore by taking a smaller vessel in the Mediteranean . (less tendering) . Vessels like Ocean Princess (Princess Cruiseline) and MV.Gemini (Quail Cruises) are 650 - 800 pax and offer a more intimate classic cruising experience . So recommend forget the monsters and go for the smaller vessels in the Med, especially in the Greek Islands .

 

We are on Ruby for Grand Med in two weeks. Out of ten ports, only one is tendered (Mykonos) and from what I understand, you are best off tendering in Mykonos in any case.

[financialgrl]

We are on Ruby for Grand Med in two weeks. Out of ten ports, only one is tendered (Mykonos) and from what I understand, you are best off tendering in Mykonos in any case.

 

I just got off Grand Med - Barcelona to Venice on May 29-June 10 sailing. We tendered in only Monte Carlo. Mykonos was docked. Somewhere on these boards I read that Mykonos is a tender based on how many other large ships are in port.

 

Regarding kids - just off 12 day Europe on Ruby and saw few kids and the ones I did see were probably 2-5 years old and not many at all of these. I'd guess more parents don't take their kids out of school for the longer cruises.

[financialgrl]

It must be a rookie thing. If I had cruise experience I would know what to not worry a lot about and have my priorities straight. The reason I am worrying about every little detail, obviously, is I will spend thousands of dollars on this, so I want it to be almost perfect if that is possible to make it worth that much money. Seriously, how would you like it if a cruise went really bad after you spent half of your bank account on one trip? Plus it will be two weeks, so I am stuck there half a month if I don't pick the right ship. Very few, if any, Mediterranean cruises are only one week long, so it is important to me that I don't feel cramped in a tiny cabin and there are plenty of dining options. That is what causes me to worry so much about cabin size and the number of places to eat onboard, even if it is port-intensive. :rolleyes:

 

Your concern at least makes sense to me now. I was just off Ruby on the Grand Med and you didn't like that I hadn't included a ship review. I am different in that especially for Europe I chose itinerary over ship. Also with the extra luggage fees at airlines, I also chose Princess for the self operated laundry rooms available on each deck. It would be very different if it would be Alaska where smaller ships may get to more inside places. You can get an idea of your cabin size but unless you are spending the really huge bucks, most cabins are not large but will have all you need. Remember I just spent the big bucks so been there done that and I get what you are saying but . . . as someone said, tradeoffs have to be made. I was in an outside with Obstructed View and the setup of the room made it fine for the two of us but we weren't in our rooms much either. Each morning enough sun came in and they used the lifeboats on our side for tenders in Monte Carlo and pulled it down for some required safety drill on another so we did have two days with views.

 

Food has never been a problem on any ship or cruiseline I sailed. I'd not base it on International Cafe alone (but that's me). Others may disagree but to me International Cafe was more of a before or after dinner place - specialty coffees, cookies, gelato, etc It's not a real walk in sit down venue where ones goes to eat a true meal - most I saw were listening to the music, enjoying a drink before heading to dinner or there afterwards for a specialty coffee, cookies or gelato. I went back and answered your comment on my review and I'll put it here too - my belief is that Europe was so port intensive I don't think one has time to do justice to what any ship may have to offer if it is your first time on that specific ship. It is nothing short of exhausting but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat. I know on our sail both sea days were used on deck reading, not participating in activites or roaming the ship.

 

Also, I haven't gone back to check but either you or someone mentioned big ships having to dock at ports that only have views of containers, etc. Well in Florence, Rome and Naples (usually one or more city is on most European itineraries) I am not so sure you have a choice. Those ports usually dock in those industrial sections and you need to board a bus and drive the hour or so to get to the actual city or site you visit. On these three specific tours we had to meet in a designated place by 7am to leave ship, board a bus and then the hourlong or so ride to the venue. Get back by 5:30 or 6pm, shower, change for dinner, eat, and it's late and not much time/energy left to do much else if you have another early day tomorrow. I may be 55 and stand to lose about 30 pounds but niece is 20 y/o, tiny, fit and is in college and walks campus all day long and very early on it was she who suggested doing a quick dinner in the buffet and not eating in the dining room again.

 

I expected to see lots of shows, participate in more activities but I found what I expected and what I actually did were two different things. In a perfect world it would be great to do a back to back and spread out your tours on both end to gain more time but there is that little thing of time/money and I'd rather save up and hit another area of the world.

[AmazingJourneys]

Part of me wants to sail on the Grand Princess because it was my sister's honeymoon ship (May 2001 in the Eastern Caribbean), but then I wonder if I should sail on that size ship or even on Princess at all because of my preference to have very few kids onboard and desire to travel solo. Does it make a significant difference if I board Grand, Golden, Crown, Ruby, Emerald, or Pacific? What are the pros and cons of each ship that has a Mediterranean itinerary? For southern Europe, which ship do you prefer, and why?

 

I was on the Emerald Princess during the summer of 2008 and it was a beautiful ship and a great itinerary as we traveled Venice through the Greek Isles. However, there were about 700 kids onboard as the trip was in July. My parents just went to the med on the Ruby and loved it, but there were less kids due to school still being in session.

 

If you want less kids on board, go on a smaller ship like the Royal, which is a very pretty ship from the Renaissance Fleet before they went bankrupt. The Grand is an older ship and although it has been refurbished, it is still an older ship and used to be the biggest ship in the ocean, before Royal Caribbean went haywire.

[AmazingJourneys]

It must be a rookie thing. If I had cruise experience I would know what to not worry a lot about and have my priorities straight. The reason I am worrying about every little detail, obviously, is I will spend thousands of dollars on this, so I want it to be almost perfect if that is possible to make it worth that much money. Seriously, how would you like it if a cruise went really bad after you spent half of your bank account on one trip? Plus it will be two weeks, so I am stuck there half a month if I don't pick the right ship. Very few, if any, Mediterranean cruises are only one week long, so it is important to me that I don't feel cramped in a tiny cabin and there are plenty of dining options. That is what causes me to worry so much about cabin size and the number of places to eat onboard, even if it is port-intensive. :rolleyes:

 

I never worry about the size of the cabin as there is too much to do on the ship. The only time I'm in the cabin is when I'm getting dressed for dinner or sleeping. If you are a reader, you can read around the pool or the other quieter rooms around the ship. Worrying about a few cubic feet isn't worth the brain power. Getting the IC is much more important to me than cubic feet in the room. The IC is awesome!

[stinesheri]

It must be a rookie thing. If I had cruise experience I would know what to not worry a lot about and have my priorities straight. The reason I am worrying about every little detail, obviously, is I will spend thousands of dollars on this, so I want it to be almost perfect if that is possible to make it worth that much money. Seriously, how would you like it if a cruise went really bad after you spent half of your bank account on one trip? Plus it will be two weeks, so I am stuck there half a month if I don't pick the right ship. Very few, if any, Mediterranean cruises are only one week long, so it is important to me that I don't feel cramped in a tiny cabin and there are plenty of dining options. That is what causes me to worry so much about cabin size and the number of places to eat onboard, even if it is port-intensive. :rolleyes:

 

 

Since you don't even know if you like cruising, perhaps spending thousands of dollars on a cruise is not the best idea. As many, many, many other posters have said - it isn't the ship, it's the itinerary. You need to FIRST figure out where you want to go, then find a ship that goes there. You will be spending precious little time on the ship, and even less time in your cabin. As you are only 1 person in a cabin built for 2 - 4 people, regardless of which one you pick, you wil have plenty of room.

 

Please stop obsessing about every detail of the ship and really sit down and figure out what you are looking for in a vacation to Italy. The more you post the more you make me and others realize that you have absolutely no idea what you are planning to do, nor do you realize what this trip entails, other than the 15+ thousand dollars you plan on spending.

 

Everything you post makes me feel that you are completely unaware of what is available in any of the ports, and that whatever ship you pick that has all of your ideal qualities, your trip will be wasted unless you do some SERIOUS research into the ports and choose accordingly. I think when you are done, you might find that this is not the vacation for you.

 

cs

[Off2China]

Since you don't even know if you like cruising, perhaps spending thousands of dollars on a cruise is not the best idea. As many, many, many other posters have said - it isn't the ship, it's the itinerary. You need to FIRST figure out where you want to go, then find a ship that goes there. You will be spending precious little time on the ship, and even less time in your cabin. As you are only 1 person in a cabin built for 2 - 4 people, regardless of which one you pick, you wil have plenty of room.

 

Please stop obsessing about every detail of the ship and really sit down and figure out what you are looking for in a vacation to Italy. The more you post the more you make me and others realize that you have absolutely no idea what you are planning to do, nor do you realize what this trip entails, other than the 15+ thousand dollars you plan on spending.

 

Everything you post makes me feel that you are completely unaware of what is available in any of the ports, and that whatever ship you pick that has all of your ideal qualities, your trip will be wasted unless you do some SERIOUS research into the ports and choose accordingly. I think when you are done, you might find that this is not the vacation for you.

 

cs

 

Ditto that! :rolleyes:

[cruisemom42]

I advise posters not to waste time trying to help this one. She has been posting on the Med boards for weeks regarding her "upcoming (i.e., yet to be decided upon and yet to be booked) cruise. She wants to cruise the Med but has no idea what she wants to see or do and no idea what cruise line to take.

 

Despite repeated efforts of many of us on the Med boards to point her in the direction of good guide books or online resources, she apparently cannot be bothered to do her own research. I gave up on her after she not only wouldn't do any research on her own, she started asking the exact same question again after it was fully answered the first time. :mad: Check her previous posts if you want confirmation.

 

She started out by saying she would only cruise on Crystal, based no doubt upon reading just a few posts somewhere saying that Crystal is the "best" line. :rolleyes: I guess she has now deigned to consider Princess....

[Ethel5]

I advise posters not to waste time trying to help this one. She has been posting on the Med boards for weeks regarding her "upcoming (i.e., yet to be decided upon and yet to be booked) cruise. She wants to cruise the Med but has no idea what she wants to see or do and no idea what cruise line to take.

 

Despite repeated efforts of many of us on the Med boards to point her in the direction of good guide books or online resources, she apparently cannot be bothered to do her own research. I gave up on her after she not only wouldn't do any research on her own, she started asking the exact same question again after it was fully answered the first time. :mad: Check her previous posts if you want confirmation.

 

She started out by saying she would only cruise on Crystal, based no doubt upon reading just a few posts somewhere saying that Crystal is the "best" line. :rolleyes: I guess she has now deigned to consider Princess....

 

Thank You! It makes me wonder the sanity of spending "half my bank account" on a cruise in these days of economic uncertainty. She is also setting herself up for failure by expecting everything to be perfect because of the money she's supposedly spending.

[cruisemom42]

Thank You! It makes me wonder the sanity of spending "half my bank account" on a cruise in these days of economic uncertainty. She is also setting herself up for failure by expecting everything to be perfect because of the money she's supposedly spending.

 

You are absolutely right. Anyone who thinks that any amount of research can guarantee one a "perfect" vacation is bound to come back disgruntled, whether she cruises with Crystal or any other line.

 

Perfection doesn't happen in the real world, no matter how much we plan. If you want perfection, rent a movie.

[karinad]

I advise posters not to waste time trying to help this one. She has been posting on the Med boards for weeks regarding her "upcoming (i.e., yet to be decided upon and yet to be booked) cruise. She wants to cruise the Med but has no idea what she wants to see or do and no idea what cruise line to take.

 

Despite repeated efforts of many of us on the Med boards to point her in the direction of good guide books or online resources, she apparently cannot be bothered to do her own research. I gave up on her after she not only wouldn't do any research on her own, she started asking the exact same question again after it was fully answered the first time. :mad: Check her previous posts if you want confirmation.

 

She started out by saying she would only cruise on Crystal, based no doubt upon reading just a few posts somewhere saying that Crystal is the "best" line. :rolleyes: I guess she has now deigned to consider Princess....

 

 

I don't see her in that way. I think she's undecided and she's hearing different opinions. Isn't this what this board is for? Considering Princess is a good thing, right? IMO, I think Princess sounds like a good middle-of-the-road cruiseline for what it sounds like her needs are. We've done the Med. on the Grand Princess in Oct. a few yrs back. We to were concerned about kids. Yes, there were a few, but they didn't bother you. We had also took our daughter on a Disney cruise a couple yrs ago, and if you could believe it, all the kids there didn't bother us in the least.

 

Please Poster, don't be afraid to post your questions. Everyone here is on the same boat!

[cruisemom42]

I don't see her in that way. I think she's undecided and she's hearing different opinions. Isn't this what this board is for? Considering Princess is a good thing, right? IMO, I think Princess sounds like a good middle-of-the-road cruiseline for what it sounds like her needs are. We've done the Med. on the Grand Princess in Oct. a few yrs back. We to were concerned about kids. Yes, there were a few, but they didn't bother you. We had also took our daughter on a Disney cruise a couple yrs ago, and if you could believe it, all the kids there didn't bother us in the least.

 

Please Poster, don't be afraid to post your questions. Everyone here is on the same boat!

 

I really do suggest you go back and read her posts. I am very patient and tolerant of questions, as any on the Med board will vouch, but she has me flummoxed.

 

For example, she asked a very precise question about something factual that I answered in great detail. She asked the same exact question again a few days later. I'm talking a factual question, not an opinion about something. (e.g., "What is this dome at the Vatican that you people all keep talking about?")

 

If she can't be bothered to read and process the information that people are willing to provide, then why post in the first place? :rolleyes:

[DrivesLikeMario]

I remember reading about longer cruises during the school year but that is irrelevant for babies and toddlers and they bother me the most of all age groups. Do certain ships in the Princess fleet tend to carry more kids than others for similar itineraries?

 

We chose the Ocean Princess because it does not typically attract kids and it's one of the Small Ships. It can get into ports that the big ones can't, like Portofino.