Our Small Ship Experience

[AJs Grandpa]

We (two couples ranging in age from mid 50s to early 70s) recently completed our first cruise on one of the “Little Sisters”—the Ocean from Dover to Rome. It was our 18th Princess cruise; previous cruises were on almost every Grand/Super-Grand class ship, Island/Coral, and our previous absolute favorite, the Sun. We booked the cruise the day it became available roughly 17 months ago. Meanwhile we read every CC thread available discussing the pros and cons of the small ships. We didn’t expect any big surprises, and we only had one (discussed below.) In short, we were very pleased and would sail on a small ship anytime the itinerary fit our needs. What follows is my version of the differences between large and small ships. As you might guess by now, IMHO the several positive differences far outweigh the few small ones.

 

Boarding: The usual Princess efficiency. We were among the first to check in and were enjoying our traditional embarkation lunch in the dining room shortly after noon.

 

Cabin: As always, we chose adjacent balcony cabins and asked to have the partition between them opened. While each balcony was smaller than the ones we always get on the Caribe deck of the big ships, the fact that the entire partition opened gave us the feeling of more space. We chose a mid-ship cabin on Deck 7, and it was very convenient. Two decks up or two decks down to almost everything we needed. (Exceptions were the specialty restaurants—used for Platinum/Elite lounge—on Deck 10.) The cabin itself seemed to have a little less storage than the bigger ships, but it was enough for us. The loveseat was a welcomed addition.

 

Dining Room: We always choose late traditional, so the lack of ATD was not an issue for us. Service and food were the usual Princess standard with one notable exception. As often lamented here, Princess beef is often a little tougher than many like—including yours truly. I had my usual sailaway prime rib and was pleasantly surprised by its tenderness and taste. I had beef several more times on the cruise and found it to be better than on any other ship. I even commented about it to the chef and maître de when they did a walk-around to each table late in the cruise. They credit the difference to having a better butcher on board than on other ships. I’m not saying the beef quality was related to the size of the ship, but it was noteworthy nonetheless.

 

Buffet: We normally avoid the HC on the bigger ships because they are crowded and poorly laid out. The Panorama Buffet on the Ocean was much different. We enjoyed breakfasts there and always found outdoor seating on the stern. Selections and quality were good. A negative was the fact that selections were limited when returning to the ship mid-afternoon. There was food of course, but not as wide a selection as on the large ships. Overall, the small ship buffet is much more enjoyable for us compared to the HC.

 

Other Dining:

 

--As often cited, the lack of an International Café is a minus. Yes, the coffee bar outside the dining room has pastries, but there were normally only three or four selections.

 

--We do not patronize Crown Grill/Sterling’s or Sabatini’s, so I can’t comment on the quality. I can confirm they are not open simultaneously. While each has its own room, only one is open on any given night. Our only visits there were for the Platinum/Elite cocktail hours. They are in one of the two specialty dining rooms each night. The service and snacks are the same as on the big ships.

 

--Pizza—Served inside the buffet area. I generally like Princess pizza, but the Ocean’s seemed a little sub-par. I don’t know whether that is because of the small ship or just a difference in chef. Of course, it was still good enough for me to have a couple of times!;)

 

--Hamburgers, hot dogs, etc—The grill was the same as on other ships.

 

Entertainment: We attend almost every show in the Princess Theater when we cruise. We especially like the production shows. Our research prepared us for a different experience and smaller production shows on the Ocean. Our expectations were set too low. As a whole the entertainment was the best of any previous cruise. Yes, the production shows were smaller, but the singers and dancers were more talented than any we remember on the bigger ships. The guest singers, both Canadian, were also better than any we can recall on previous cruises. Finally, the comedian was innovative and did not rely on the tired old jokes about shower curtains and flushing toilets. I know it could have been the luck of the draw and not associated with the size of the ship, but it is what we experienced.

 

Tendering: We had two tender ports—St. Tropez and Portofino. The process went quickly and smoothly in both ports. Tickets were not needed after 8:30am in one and 9:30am in the other.

 

Self-service laundry: There was one laundry room. That is probably enough for the passenger load if machines were operable. There seemed to be an unusual number of outages for both washers and dryers. Again, not necessarily related to the size of the ship, but it was an irritant.

 

Other laundry and cleaning: We took advantage of free Elite service a couple of times and had all clothes returned the next day with no damage.

 

Gym: Small but sufficient. We never had a problem getting a machine.

 

Casino: A minor inconvenience—they could only staff one table when bingo or horse racing was taking place. Folks were sitting at the blackjack table twiddling their thumbs until players at the three card poker table finished their game, so the dealer could move.

 

Stability: This was a concern to me because I have a tendency to feel poorly in very rough seas. I consider myself a seven on a scale of one to ten. (One being feeling every bump in the road and ten being someone who loves the roller-coaster ride.) I always have pills with me but can’t remember the last time I needed them. I needed them this time. The evening before our first sea day the captain warned of a rough ride the next day. He didn’t lie. I awakened and tried to go to the gym—way up and way forward. I couldn’t stay on the treadmill. I then had a light breakfast and tried to go to a port lecture in the theater—way forward. I had to go back to the cabin, took a couple of pills and remained in bed until tea time. The seas calmed, and I was back to normal. Nonetheless, there were many empty chairs at dinner, and even our junior waiter was too ill to work. (I asked him the next day if the ride was typical, and he assured me it was not. The ship had been up in Norway and around the British Isles several times prior to our cruise without incident.) So, the small ships may not be right for anyone who is very sensitive to rough seas.

 

A big surprise: We started the cruise with only 125 Princess sea days, so we were surprised to get an invitation to the MTP even—a cocktail party on this cruise. The Captains Circle hostess (who also doubled as the Future Cruise Consultant) told us the cutoff was only 112 days. We can’t say we will miss the event in the future (doubtful we will qualify anytime soon), but it was a nice touch with some very tasty hors d’oeuvres.

 

Those were the things that stuck in my mind. Overall, we had a great cruise and loved the small ship experience. We hope the ships stay in the inventory long enough for us to sail on them again. (Our next two cruises are back on Grand class ships for itinerary and schedule reasons.)

[KBS1607]

I enjoyed your review.

 

We are about to leave on the Coral soon and DH keeps warning/reminding me that Coral is smaller than other ships we have been on.

[AJs Grandpa]

Don't worry, the Coral is roughly three times bigger than the "small" ships. It carries nearly 2,000 passengers vs. 670 or so for the Ocean. You'll have a great experience.

[ggprincess2004]

I enjoyed your review.

 

We are about to leave on the Coral soon and DH keeps warning/reminding me that Coral is smaller than other ships we have been on.

 

Coral does not have the passenger count of the Grand Class ships, thankfully, but is not nearly as small as the Ocean Princess. She is a very long ship, as long as the Grand Class, but her beam is a bit narrower. She is Panamax, and the Grand Class cannot make it through the existing locks on the Panama Canal. We love her!

[Seafoam Green]

So glad you enjoyed the small ship experience. It's definitely not to be missed, IMO.

 

:D

[KBS1607]

Don't worry, the Coral is roughly three times bigger than the "small" ships. It carries nearly 2,000 passengers vs. 670 or so for the Ocean. You'll have a great experience.

 

Thanks, y'all. I didn't want show my ignorance and ask the relative sizes. We did Ruby as our last Princess.

 

ggprincess the Panama Canal is what we are doing. I'm excited.

Edited September 10, 2014 by KBS1607

[msmoger]

Thanks for the review. We board the Ocean in 28 days. It will be our first small ship cruise also. We're expecting a very different experience but we're really looking forward to it. :D

 

One question, approximately how many washers and dryers are there and what percentage were out of order?

 

Thanks,

[Pia1913]

Thanks for the review Grandpa. Now you know why we've been on the small ships many times with almost 200 days between them.

[hospvol]

We love both the Coral and the Island.

[Pia1913]

We love both the Coral and the Island.

 

Both are wonderful ships, but are not the small ship experience.

[cnd crsr]

Thanks for your review. I am glad you enjoyed the small ship experience. We have a little over 100 days on the "little girls"and they are our favourite sized ships.

[OCruisers]

Totally enjoyed your review! We've never been on one of the "little girls". The smallest Princess for us were the Sun Class ships so your experience was quite enlightening. Thank you! :)

LuLu

[Kinkacruiser]

We very much enjoyed our time on the Ocean in 2008 (then Tahitian Princess ) and will be on the Pacific Princess next year.Looking forward to it.I believe she was refurbished recently.

Thanks for your honest review.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thsnks for the review.

[gertz]

The small ships are like a different experience but still with the same cruise line. And for me if you have a port intensive cruise they are great but if you have a lot of sea days they can be a little on the "not enough to do side". And also the show room left a little to be desired.

 

But would do one again very soon, like next year.:D

[Jim Avery]

We had a great trip on Pacific Princess in Alaska. Would gladly sail her again. But a real "Small Ship" experience for us is SeaDream. 110 passengers.:eek::D:D

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. Very interesting to read a review from a first time, small ship cruiser.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[GUT2407]

Loved your review and my favorite cabin position on my favorite ships, haven't been on Ocean but love Pacific and they're to all intents the same ship.

 

That little beauty got us hooked on cruising, but these huge monsters are a bit like visiting the mall.

 

I love that with 680 pax by the end of the cruise you know most people on board and I'm a hermit.

[lynnak]

Thanks for your fair review. We go on the Ocean Princess for our first small ship experience later this year. Sounds inviting.

[AE_Collector]

Our first 13 Princess cruises were NOT on Pacific or Ocean. So far this year we have done Princess cruises #14 through #18, 3 on Pacific and then 2 on Ocean. We love them!

 

Number 19 starts in 6 days on Pacific. We have #20 & #21 booked on Ruby in December and are already worrying about lineups and crowds!

 

Terry

Edited September 11, 2014 by AE_Collector

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thanks for taking the time to do a review. I've been thinking of doing one myself from last December about Pacific Princess. Better late than never? I dunno.

[KruzeKrazy!]

Nice, thoughtful comments on the small ship experience. All of our cruises so far have been 2,000 to 3,500 pax ships and while size can lead to some grandeur in the "hardware" of the ship we're definitely looking forward to the more personal "software" of our first Princess small ship experience next year.

 

We'll be on the Pacific Princess for a 10-day French Polynesia cruise plus some OWB days and your review had made us even more eager for trip time to arrive! Thanks!

[shredie]

I love the Pacific Princess. Haven't done the Ocean yet, but it's on the list. Pacific has the most beautiful dining room with upholstered chairs and some semi-circle banquets. As noted earlier, the Panorama buffet on the small ships is beautiful with a nice deck right outside for sitting and relaxing while having lunch. No IC, but I don't think I missed it.

[KruzeKrazy!]

Thanks! We're really looking forward to relaxing outside at the Panorama Buffet and soaking in the beautiful scenery of the islands. Is it time to go yet...? :- )

[casavaha]

Your review was helpful. We will be on the Pacific, Dec., 2015. What about dancing

on board? We do not go to shows but love to dance.

Thanks,

 

Greg