Ocean Princess for sale

[Jim Avery]

On the other hand, I suspect that if someone came to Princess with a decent offer and wanted both ships, the Pacific would become available.

 

That's the truth. Didn't take Mickey Arison any time at all to sell the then nearly 40 year old QE2 for $100 million!!!! Smart guy.

[CruzinNoony]

FYI, they haven't had that itinerary for a couple of years now...

 

We did an Amazon cruise this past January on the Pacific and loved the ship. We also sailed on the Ocean in April from Cape Town to Dover and we are booked on the Pacific 50th anniversary sailing. We love the regular balcony cabins with the couch. I'll be very sorry to lose them.:(

[RickEk]

We're booked on a "dream vacation" to French Polynesia on the Pacific Princess in Oct 2015. It's to celebrate our 40th anniversary and being a planner-type I have everything arranged - pre-cruise hotels, transfers, surprise canoe-delivered room service breakfast, etc., etc

 

And we're, of course, wondering if we should bag the whole thing and look for something totally different.

 

It's kind of a "keep the dream vacation plans and hope it works out" versus "find something different but know it's a sure thing" decision...

 

I wouldn't worry about them selling Pacific Princess anytime soon. Her 50th Anniversary voyage in December of 2015 is the cornerstone of the anniversary celebration...

 

We did an Amazon cruise this past January on the Pacific and loved the ship. We also sailed on the Ocean in April from Cape Town to Dover and we are booked on the Pacific 50th anniversary sailing. We love the regular balcony cabins with the couch. I'll be very sorry to lose them.:(

 

I stand corrected...

Edited October 2, 2014 by RickEk

[LewiLewi]

We are also booked on our "Dream Vacation" on the OP from March 14 thru May 3; Sydney to Singapore. Like many others, we have pre booked hotels, nonrefundable, as well as air. I am so disappointed with Princess for not telling us of any contingency plans if the ship is sold prior to our scheduled embarkation. They will not give anyone a definitive answer, including our TA.

Because of this, I can tell there is a general feeling of mistrust among the many loyal cruisers who book cruises with them every year. In the future, I doubt that I would book a cruise with them again. What would stop them from doing this again?

We are also wondering if we are better off booking with another cruise line at this point, when there is still a good availability of cabins on other lines, cruising to many of the same places that the OP was going to take us. We will have to make our decision soon.

[Coral]

We are also booked on our "Dream Vacation" on the OP from March 14 thru May 3; Sydney to Singapore. Like many others, we have pre booked hotels, nonrefundable, as well as air. I am so disappointed with Princess for not telling us of any contingency plans if the ship is sold prior to our scheduled embarkation. They will not give anyone a definitive answer, including our TA.

Because of this, I can tell there is a general feeling of mistrust among the many loyal cruisers who book cruises with them every year. In the future, I doubt that I would book a cruise with them again. What would stop them from doing this again?

We are also wondering if we are better off booking with another cruise line at this point, when there is still a good availability of cabins on other lines, cruising to many of the same places that the OP was going to take us. We will have to make our decision soon.

 

Though - this can happen on any cruise line. Princess (Carnival Corp) just happened to make it public. Remember, there are really 3 main cruise companies out there that cover the vast majority of the cruise lines. I can see any of them doing the same thing.

[CaribbeanIsland]

If you think about it, whoever buys it needs to advertise their sailings to fill the ship. They probably need 6-8 months to do so. I think there will be plenty of notice when the ship is sold and that the published sailings will go on as scheduled.

[Royalty X]

People need to remember that this is not the first ship that Carnival Corp has sold. P&O Australia sold Pacific Sun and she had many itineraries sold beyond what was her final sailing date. Those sailings were cancelled and alternatives were offered (many of which left from different ports on the opposite side of the country, etc), but it left a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. With regards to reimbursements for pre and post cruise plans, P&O Australia was refunding or rearranging any plans/flights that had been booked through them, but anything that was organised independently from the cruise line, had to be dealt with personally. I would suggest that anyone who is booked on Ocean Princess sailings, has travel insurance with adequate cancellation cover.

 

On a side note, I'm surprised Azamara hasn't swooped on this ship (or ships) to increase their fleet.