2:00 pm....really?

[Worn out mailman]

Wow,

 

We're giving CB another chance after our disappointment last March when our sailing was cancelled.

 

That sailing was a 5 port stop cruise, my kind of cruise.

 

We chose our upcoming sailing due to credits we were issued (to compensate for our cancelled sailing) and how with those credits a Caribe deck balcony midship was extremely affordable. Despite the fact that the itinerary only includes 3 islands: Princess Cays, Curacao, and Aruba, with a late arrival at Curacao, the price won us over.

 

With CB's apparent continuing propulsion problems, the sailing from Princess Cays to Curacao has occasionally taken longer than scheduled, resulting in a late arrival in Curacao.

 

It seems that Princess has dealt with this by simply changing the scheduled arrival time in Curacao to 2:00pm instead of 1:00pm. Wow.

Is being at Princess Cays so valuable to Princess that they can't instead leave that island an hour or two early, so the passengers can spend a decent day in Curacao? With a 2pm arrival, by the time we sit on the closest beach it'll be nearly 3. So, at the max we'll have 2 and a half or maybe 3 hours on the beach before the sun sets.

 

Oh, well. I guess we'll resolve to enjoy ourselves as much as we can on the ship that day, and remember how much money we saved by switching over to this sailing.

 

Are any of you folks let down by this push back?

 

What do you non CB cruisers think of this? Do you agree that PC should be where the shortened time should be?

 

Thanks for listening to my venting. :)

[Pam in CA]

Just FYI, sunset in Willemstad March 18 is 6:47pm. You should have at least four hours of sun.

[paul929207]

Everything you spend on Princess Cays helps Princess as they get at least a cut of everything. Same in not true in Curacao

[Pam in CA]

Everything you spend on Princess Cays helps Princess as they get at least a cut of everything. Same in not true in Curacao

True. Cruise lines lose money on cabin fares. Profits come from onboard spending, including Princess Cays. The cruise line is a for-profit business which we shareholders are OK with.

[Lovetravel101]

I am sorry that I booked this itinerary. I have always wanted to see Curacao...but I am disappointed about the time as well. It is my own fault for not noticing the times on the schedule. I wish that I had saved Curacoa for a longer itinerary that had better port times.

I too.....would prefer to leave Princess Cay earlier in order to have more time in Curacoa ! Do you think we could start a petition? :o and have the changes in place by March 23?

[Worn out mailman]

I am sorry that I booked this itinerary. I have always wanted to see Curacao...but I am disappointed about the time as well. It is my own fault for not noticing the times on the schedule. I wish that I had saved Curacoa for a longer itinerary that had better port times.

I too.....would prefer to leave Princess Cay earlier in order to have more time in Curacoa ! Do you think we could start a petition? :o and have the changes in place by March 23?

 

Ha ha. A younger greener me would jump all over that idea.

 

I do realize that Princess captures the revenue from the PC stop. They need to be careful though....a few hours revenue lost vs. a reasonable day at a legitamate port stop ensures loyalty to the line. Limiting the number of port stops (as all lines seem to be doing) and now shortening the time there will perhaps lead to people choosing other vacation options. They still fill their ships, to be sure, but I'll bet there's a tipping point. Ahhh, I guess I'm just miffed that they left San Juan. :(

 

Thanks Pam for that great news about the late sunset. It'll be nice to spend the early evening on the beach, which I've never been able to do on a cruise. :)

 

And props as always to Cruise Critic for enabling me to know what's what. It was another poster who put the changed arrival time on my radar.

[bled01]

I am a little bit disappointed in the later arrival, but since it seems they can't arrive on time I am not all that upset that they changed the itinerary to 2:00...at least that gives a better expectation for people to plan.

 

Overall I agree that the time in PC should be cut short in order to have more time in Curacao. This is my first time on Princess and have never been to any of the three ports, but IMO if you have seen one private cruise island you have seen them all. I was certainly not impressed with RCL's Labadee. Trying out Princess and seeing Aruba/Curacao was my main reason for booking this cruise, but it is what it is. This Princess cruise was a lot cheaper than any of the other cruiselines that were going to the same islands during the same week so I still think we are getting a lot of bang for the buck. I am just going to do the ship's three hour tour in Curacao that starts at 3pm so we get to see the main attractions. Will not hit the beach there since we plan on going to the beach in Aruba and PC.

[Svenster]

We are on the Feb 9th cruise, and I saw the arrival time change. I really doubt this has to do with the propulsion system trouble, rather it's just a long way to get there from PC! Sea conditions and wind are not predictable, and there is a lot of open water to sail through. Calm seas would likely get us there early.

 

I'm not going to worry about it, we are there until 10pm anyway. The worst day on a cruise beats any day at work . . . right?

[pablo222]

It seems that Princess has dealt with this by simply changing the scheduled arrival time in Curacao to 2:00pm instead of 1:00pm.

 

How do you know that engine problems were the cause of the

schedule change?

 

Perhaps Princess found a way to save $0.03 by being alongside

in Curacao for an hour less. ...much like the one hour earlier

departures from Ft. Lauderdale, now...

 

Maybe by next year, they can find "Crown Bay of Curacao" and

make sure they inconvenience their customers further, but save

an additional $0.03.

[willycruise]

I was dissapointed to see this change also. I had scheduled a private excursion based on the 1:00 time, and had to cancel. Now on the Princess site I can't even access any of there excursions for curacao....they must be trying to update their schedules also. For Sun and water lovers, this does limit you a bit.

 

BK

[cmitch9999]

I have been aware of this problem with the reaching Curacao for awhile now. I was wondering really what times the Caribbean Princess has arrived each week, I think maybe twice it made it before 2, on new years it arrived in the morning because they skipped Princess Cay. Realistically the 2PM arrival is rather optimistic!

I am not pleased that Princess just made an overall change in itinerary and didn't let anyone know. I did see in the printed princess cruise atlas they list curacao as a half day and evening. Not sure what they really did mean by that!!!

 

It is what it is, I am also excited about Curacao as I have not been to that port before so I am hoping we do make that 2PM time frame.

 

There has been talk on the roll calls about shore excursions being cancelled because of 'operational issues' not sure that is due to the itinerary change or something else.

 

We are booked with Irie tours at 3PM and I want to be OFF and on that party bus by then.

 

Happy sailing

[genmasjoy]

Don't get too excited - we were on the January 5 sailing and didn't arrive in Curaco until 4:00 p.m. There was a bottleneck of people wanting to all get off at the same time so they required the passengers to go to a lounge and pick up a numbered ticket, then they could exit when their number was called. We gave up and didn't get off the ship because our tour had been canceled due to the late arrival and from what we could tell the dock was quite a way from anything worth doing. However, we enjoyed the next full day in Aruba and had a great time on the ship.

[doodlesinkentucky]

Well, I guess it is a good thing we are just going to explore the town and play this port by ear.

I imagine it is disappointing to folks that have excursions planned or those wanting to bask at the beach during earlier hours. Hope ours is not any later. I guess it is good I know in advance we may be late.:rolleyes:

[Ti2m]

I too.....would prefer to leave Princess Cay earlier in order to have more time in Curacoa ! Do you think we could start a petition? :o and have the changes in place by March 23?

 

 

Protest by not getting off the ship at Princess Cay. Just stay on the ship and don't spend a dime.

[Caribensun]

We go to enjoy the sun and ship, so we do not care if we ever stop anywhere, just glad to be away. An all day caribbean rainstorm in port could be worse. Hope you can find a way to enjoy your cruise.

[eetonaee]

Protest by not getting off the ship at Princess Cay. Just stay on the ship and don't spend a dime.

 

There is a small shopping area at Princess Cay just outside of the 'official' Princess controlled section. The shops are operated by locals who support themselves with their sales.

 

The selection of clothing and siouvenirs is not too varied but I've always bought something as a show of support. I haven't been there for a few years so I'm a little fuzzy about the location but I believe you walk straight ahead from the pier instead of going left or right to the beach.

 

There is a security guard and signs warning that you are responsible for your own safety but don't let that stop you. The merchants are very friendly and pleased to see you.

[RD64]

Last year on the Crown Princess, we easily made it to Curacao from Princess Cays for the scheduled one o'clock arrival. I assume that the problem is with the Caribbean Princess.

 

That being said, we are booked for this same cruise this March on the Caribbean Princess. I have to give Princess credit for changing the itinerary this far out - at least people can plan accordingly.

 

That being said - Princess - if you are reading these posts - and listening - we would much prefer that the scheduled call at Princess Cays be eliminated or shortened. We do not plan on getting off either way. We would much rather spend more time on a beach in exotic Curacao than in the Bahamas.

 

Cheers.

[Iamcruzin]

Protest by not getting off the ship at Princess Cay. Just stay on the ship and don't spend a dime.

That's what I would do. Who wants to jump into a tender just to go to the beach? I would rather be on the empty ship..... Oh ....never mind everybody go have a great time and enjoy Princess Cay.

[eastoftheboston]

For some people, the later time in Curacao is a benefit. For example, on our Carnival cruise our stop in Key West was from 7am to 2 pm, not exactly a great time to experience the nightlife. If you're interested in Curacao nightlife, this is a good thing!

 

We did this itinerary in November, we were the first ship at PC after Sandy. At that time the capt blamed the late arrival into Curacao on gunk in the propellers from when they were avoiding the hurricane and the seas were all churned up, apparently the problem still hasn't been solved.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!

[flying fingers]

I'm with RD64, figuratively and literally as we travel together. I would much rather skip Princess Cays, which is not a particularly great beach to begin with, and spend more time in Curacao. I do not like tender ports and will not be getting off the ship that day. A 2:00 arrival in Curacao is later than I would like and I will be most disappointed if we arrive even later as has been happening.

 

Tired mailman and others, I say lets get this petition moving! Princess please listen!

 

Cheers.:D

[boco5]

Skip the beach. There is enough to see and do on the island. You have the beach on PC and in Aruba, plus you have the sun on sea days. Enjoy the island. Have a nice lunch. An hour isn't going to make a difference in anyone life.

[Iamcruzin]

I'm with RD64, figuratively and literally as we travel together. I would much rather skip Princess Cays, which is not a particularly great beach to begin with, and spend more time in Curacao. I do not like tender ports and will not be getting off the ship that day. A 2:00 arrival in Curacao is later than I would like and I will be most disappointed if we arrive even later as has been happening.

 

Tired mailman and others, I say lets get this petition moving! Princess please listen!

 

Cheers.:D

 

You don't need a petition. Do what I did after viewing the 2013 Princess Caribbean itinerary. I booked another cruise line. If the 2014 Caribbean itinerary doesn't show improvement I am going to have my FCC's refunded. I am hoping that with the new builds that Princess will come back to NY for the summer.

[JEM4205]

Protest by not getting off the ship at Princess Cay. Just stay on the ship and don't spend a dime.

 

Thats my Plan!

[Tak8]

I agree. If the itineraries don't interest you, pick another line. Before this past December, my past 3 cruises have been on Princess. I didn't like the 3 island cruises and the short port times on some of the islands, so I did a Royal cruise. I missed some of the Princess touches, but I got to 5 islands with full days on each. I love the ships, but I go for the island time. In fact, I requested a FCC refund. I hope the next wave of routes will be better. I'd rather be on Princess, but not at a huge lose of beach time.

[robtulipe]

We gave up and didn't get off the ship because our tour had been canceled due to the late arrival and from what we could tell the dock was quite a way from anything worth doing.

 

You were completely mistaken as shown by the map below.

Both cruise terminal areas, Mega Pier on the seaside and Mathey and West piers in channel, are within an easy walking distance, 5 to 10 minutes, from the center of Willemstad which has good shopping included the Riffort, floating market place, parks and restaurants/bars, etc.