Why no true 14 day Caribbean cruises?

[eandj]

I think when you look at demographics....the older, shall i say more "experienced" travelers tend to be on cruises longer then 10 days...id say the average age shoots up to about 68 years old when you start to look at 14 days at sea...(2) schools of thought here....The First: with passengers being much older maybe Princess feels staying "close" to home...such as ft Lauderdale is a little bit safer if they had to disembark a terminal passenger.

 

 

Circle of life I guess,

-Mark

 

LOL....you make the 14 day cruises sound like hospice care:D While on our two Carib 14 day cruises on Celebrity, the demographic wasn't any different than 10 day ones we've done. In fact there were LOTS younger than me (65) . Many we talked to owned businesses or were in positions that allowed more than a couple weeks vacation a year. Many from Germany and England. Certainly not all ready to be carried off the ship. And with the drink packages included as promotion, the ship is hopping later. And of course other than a handful of preschool age kids, you won't see family groups.

 

I look forward to reviewing Princess 14 dayers. Guess they've caught on to Celebrity's Suite life AND the longer itinerary.

Edited May 13, 2016 by eandj

[Whimsy]

I'm so excited about the new 14 day itinerary! We are already working on getting a group together to get booked!

[cityguy300]

I did a 14-day on Caribbean Princess out of San Juan a few years ago, that was actually a B2B. For me, the biggest problem wasn't the turnaround day -- it gave me a port day in the Old Town I wouldn't otherwise have had -- but the complete duplication of the MDR menus and nightly shows on the second week. I assume that wouldn't have happened on a true 14-day itinerary.

 

Also, they only credited me for one cruise, not two. While that was what I had expected beforehand, I reconsidered when I saw I got a new card with a new voyage number on turnaround day. The Princess rep I spoke to said it was because I had booked them as a single code / bundled trip, but from posts I saw on this board afterwards, it sounds like I still should have gotten two credits. I haven't booked another B2B since, to know if that's what they (definitively) do now.

[paul929207]

No repeats on a true 14 day cruise. We took a 32 day which was not divisible into segments. Some menu choices were repeated, but not entire menus. Some of the entertainers had to work real hard when we missed the port where there was to be a change over of the entertainers.

 

A few years ago Princess changed to giving the second cruise credit for a b2b booked as one cruise. Before that it was just 1 credit. Probably 5 or 6 years ago??

[PescadoAmarillo]

A few years ago Princess changed to giving the second cruise credit for a b2b booked as one cruise. Before that it was just 1 credit. Probably 5 or 6 years ago??

One of the best changes Princess has made! It certainly made my life easier.

 

(Now if they would just add ship name and sailing date to the list of FCCs in our Captains Circle account...please!)

[cityguy300]

A few years ago Princess changed to giving the second cruise credit for a b2b booked as one cruise. Before that it was just 1 credit. Probably 5 or 6 years ago??

 

Yeah, my B2B where I just got one (double) credit was in early 2009. Just a few months earlier, on my very first Princess cruise (12 nights), I missed out on the solo-passenger double credit they first introduced in late 2008.

 

More recently, I sailed 12 nights on RCL a few weeks before they implemented their double-credit system for solos. Man, I've left too many cruise credits on the table over the years -- HAL better not do the same to me this year! :p

[MplsYogini]

OK for everyone averse to opening links or to just taking the time to read the whole thread:

 

Caribbean Princess 14 night Caribbean:

 

FT LAUDERDALE/Princess Cays/St Maarten/Anitgua/St Kitts/Martinique/Barbados/Trinidad/Curacao/Aruba/FT LAUDERDALE

 

7-Oct-17; 20-Dec-17; 13-Jan-18; 18-Mar-18

(Amber Cove replaces Princess Cays on 18-Mar-18)

 

St. Thomas replaces St. Maarten on 18-Mar-18, also.

 

While I love the new itinerary (the one with Princess Cays and St. Maarten), I've read mixed reviews of Caribbean Princess. Does anyone who has sailed on her recently have any feedback?

 

Thanks,

Tia

[The Wilkies]

I believe Princess did out of San Juan PR but very few if any out of there now.

Again I believe its supply and demand and most non retired passengers can get away for 14-15days:(

 

Our first Princess cruise was b2b out of San Juan. It was almost our last! The worst airport in the world, well it was in 2003. Thank goodness we decided to give them a second chance.

 

From a UK point of view, we can go with P & O flying direct to Barbados for a true 14 night cruise.

[The Wilkies]

I did a 14-day on Caribbean Princess out of San Juan a few years ago, that was actually a B2B. For me, the biggest problem wasn't the turnaround day -- it gave me a port day in the Old Town I wouldn't otherwise have had -- but the complete duplication of the MDR menus and nightly shows on the second week. I assume that wouldn't have happened on a true 14-day itinerary.

 

Also, they only credited me for one cruise, not two. While that was what I had expected beforehand, I reconsidered when I saw I got a new card with a new voyage number on turnaround day. The Princess rep I spoke to said it was because I had booked them as a single code / bundled trip, but from posts I saw on this board afterwards, it sounds like I still should have gotten two credits. I haven't booked another B2B since, to know if that's what they (definitively) do now.

 

Totally agree about the duplication of menus and entertainment. Incidentally, we got 2 credits even though it was booked as a single cruise.

[The Wilkies]

 

A few years ago Princess changed to giving the second cruise credit for a b2b booked as one cruise. Before that it was just 1 credit. Probably 5 or 6 years ago??

 

We got 2 credits in 2003.

 

Sorry for number of posts. On iPad and haven't mastered copy and paste of paragraphs.

[Corfe Mixture]

I guess that those of us who travel over from the UK for Christmas and New Year are going to be seriously thinking of changing our loyalty if all we have available to us are 2 - 7 day B2Bs.

 

A couple of days in Florida before the cruise is a wonderful way to start the holiday, but then when we head south for the sun we don't want to give up four days in the middle of our cruise coming back north, even if that does mean a total of four cruise credits for a 14 day B2B.

 

As a suite passenger, loyalty benefits on Princess don't really mean anything to me (other than double mini bar setup) but, as a matter of interest, does anyone know whether or not, as with Princess, the suite benefits on Celebrity exceed the benefits of the top level of their loyalty scheme?

 

If so no reason not to change lines, though I will miss Sabatini's for breakfast. Yup, I know there is no Sabatini's on Dawn which is why given the fact that the mid ship mini-suites have the same layout as the mid-ship full suites on the other ships, we saw no benefit whatsover in booking full suites this year.

Edited May 17, 2016 by Corfe Mixture

[MplsYogini]

I just booked the new 14-day itinerary on Caribbean Princess. (Hope that's on-topic!)

[EatonDoolittle]

I just booked the new 14-day itinerary on Caribbean Princess. (Hope that's on-topic!)

 

I did too! I picked the March 18 sailing, as Amber Cove replaces Princess Cays.

I know it is a man made port in DR, but it is a new stop for me.

 

Plus, St Thomas replaces St Martin, also a plus, since I'll be at St Martin twice before then.

 

Now the wait...

[MplsYogini]

I did too! I picked the March 18 sailing, as Amber Cove replaces Princess Cays.

I know it is a man made port in DR, but it is a new stop for me.

 

Plus, St Thomas replaces St Martin, also a plus, since I'll be at St Martin twice before then.

 

Now the wait...

 

I picked the January 13th sailing, because I've never been to St. Maarten. So St. Maarten, Martinique, and Trinidad will all be new for me.

 

I hate the wait....

[RASHOPPER2]

We booked the Jan. one also because we had never been to Martinique and Trinidad. Also love St. Maarten. Really something nice to look forward to.

[MplsYogini]

We booked the Jan. one also because we had never been to Martinique and Trinidad. Also love St. Maarten. Really something nice to look forward to.

 

Too soon to start a Roll Call? :)

[islandatsea]

I picked the January 13th sailing, because I've never been to St. Maarten. So St. Maarten, Martinique, and Trinidad will all be new for me.

 

I hate the wait....

 

We booked the Oct 7, 2017 14 day & that cruise also goes to Trinidad. Agreed it is a long wait.

[EatonDoolittle]

All 4 of the sailings go to Trinidad and Martinique.

The only variance is St Thomas/St Martin, and Princess Cays/Amber Cove.

 

Great itineraries.

[MplsYogini]

All 4 of the sailings go to Trinidad and Martinique.

The only variance is St Thomas/St Martin, and Princess Cays/Amber Cove.

 

Great itineraries.

 

One additional variance is that the January 13th sailing goes to Bonaire instead of Aruba.

[EatonDoolittle]

One additional variance is that the January 13th sailing goes to Bonaire instead of Aruba.

 

Aahh, I did not note that.

 

I do prefer Bonaire to Aruba, I think many people do, but also will be there twice before 2018, so it's all good.

[Whimsy]

We booked the January 14 night too. I know it's a long way off but it has so many ports, there will be lots of time to plan!

[RASHOPPER2]

Thanks so very much for posting this. I was not able to open the link.

Very interested in the Jan 13, 2018 so will call our TA tomorrow.

Think we may want to book the new Club Class Mini-Suite so it might be best to book what we want as early as possible.

 

We have booked the Jan. 13 cruise. So happy to have a true 14 day Caribbean Cruise.

[venicecruiser]

I booked the Jan 13, 2018 cruise the day bookings opened!

 

Claudia

[Hlitner]

Just keep in mind that the 14 day Caribbean Princess cruise is not a true 14 day cruise....but rather another back-to-back (7 night cruises). Personally, we hate those back to backs because you have to deal with a turn around day in Port Everglades...and the itineraries are very limited (basic eastern and western Caribbean ports). Compare this to the true 14 day Celebrity Eclipse Cruise itinerary and you will quickly see the difference. The Celebrity ship heads to the southern Caribbean (usually better weather in the winter) where it stays for most of the 2 week cruise.

 

Hank

[EatonDoolittle]

Just keep in mind that the 14 day Caribbean Princess cruise is not a true 14 day cruise....but rather another back-to-back (7 night cruises).

 

Hank

 

No longer true for the '17, '18 season.

Hence the excitement on this thread since the true 14 day itineraries were bookable on the 19th.