Your experience on the Pacific Princess world cruising

[vinonme2]

I am considering the 2020 Pacific Princess world cruise and would very much appreciate input from those who have sailed her very recently as to condition of ship, etc. and also those who have sailed her for a world cruise.

 

This will be my first (and probably only!) world cruise and I understand that on other cruise lines for a world cruise the dining room menu is more extensive, there are more on board activities, and there are multiple gifts given to the passengers.

 

If it matters, I am Elite with Princess, 4 star mariner with Hal, and have also sailed Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. I am also considering the world cruise on Hal and Viking.

 

Thank you.

[JF - retired RRT]

I can't give you a specific answer. We've only done one leg of a world cruise on the Pacific.

What I can tell you is that a lot of the world cruisers were repeats.

We actually talked to one lady who had booked the world cruise and it was her FIRST cruise EVER. She said she'd only brought one suitcase.:eek:

I frequently wonder how she did on that cruise.

Another thing about the Pacific...the crew stays voyage after voyage. Oscar ( maitre d') and the head waiter both said "if Princess takes me off this ship, I'll quit!". I recently read on CC that the Cruise Director (Sammy) retired, she also had been on the ship for years.

[bobby3334]

I have been on the ship a number of times and it is my favorite since it only holds around 650 and the library is huge. Beautiful and old style. Great for two or three weeks...you actually get to know other passengers. But I had the same question. Would the small become boring after more than 3 months? I walked around the ship twice and the answer for me was yes. Mike

 

 

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[caribill]

 

This will be my first (and probably only!) world cruise and I understand that on other cruise lines for a world cruise the dining room menu is more extensive, there are more on board activities, and there are multiple gifts given to the passengers.

 

 

The world cruise is also sold in segments. Each segment will have its a set of menus which will repeat on the next segment. Within a segment some items may be repeated, but each menu should be unique.

 

I would not expect any special gifts.

 

There should be special lectures. Other than that, the daily activities should be much like you experienced already as a Princess cruiser. Since the ship is a smaller one, there will be less activities scheduled at the same time than there would be on the larger ships.

[mediator]

I am considering the 2020 Pacific Princess world cruise and would very much appreciate input from those who have sailed her very recently as to condition of ship, etc. and also those who have sailed her for a world cruise.

 

This will be my first (and probably only!) world cruise and I understand that on other cruise lines for a world cruise the dining room menu is more extensive, there are more on board activities, and there are multiple gifts given to the passengers.

 

If it matters, I am Elite with Princess, 4 star mariner with Hal, and have also sailed Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. I am also considering the world cruise on Hal and Viking.

 

Thank you.

 

 

We did the 94 day world cruise in 2015. We are currently booked for 2020. It was on my husbands bucket list. I was full of apprehensions about everything. It ended up being amazing, educational, enlightening. I guess we were sorry that we could not have done this when we were younger. The components for us to do a trip like this was money, retirement and your health. My bucket list is to take my grandchildren sometime after they turn 18 tand let them view the world first hand. We were so ignorant and we thought we were smart, saavy people. We were booked for 2018, but health issues made us cancel.

Hopefully, we will see you in 2020. We are booked Fll to Fll . 111 days.

[mediator]

I am considering the 2020 Pacific Princess world cruise and would very much appreciate input from those who have sailed her very recently as to condition of ship, etc. and also those who have sailed her for a world cruise.

 

This will be my first (and probably only!) world cruise and I understand that on other cruise lines for a world cruise the dining room menu is more extensive, there are more on board activities, and there are multiple gifts given to the passengers.

 

If it matters, I am Elite with Princess, 4 star mariner with Hal, and have also sailed Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. I am also considering the world cruise on Hal and Viking.

 

Thank you.

 

 

We did the 94 day world cruise in 2015. We are currently booked for 2020. It was on my husbands bucket list. I was full of apprehensions about everything. It ended up being amazing, educational, enlightening. I guess we were sorry that we could not have done this when we were younger. The components for us to do a trip like this was money, retirement and your health. My bucket list is to take my grandchildren sometime after they turn 18 tand let them view the world first hand. We were so ignorant and we thought we were smart, saavy people. We were booked for 2018, but health issues made us cancel.

Hopefully, we will see you in 2020. We are booked Fll to Fll . 111 days.

 

We were very apprehensive about the size of the ship ,clicks, enough to do, sea sickness.. you name it. With that said, we loved the pacific, and the staff amazing. Very personal service and attention.

[lidojohnny]

Went on the Prin. world in 2010. Small enough that after awhile

passengers became family to crew. Enjoyed things that they

no long do, i.e cooking in MDR by asst MDS, strolling strings

in MDR, great variety of food. Went on HAL world 2014, not

the same. Of course it depends on itinerary, but liked the small

feel and at that time the small price. Would go again but grandkids would put up a stink.

[trvlwrld]

we did 3 of the world segments in 2015...hated to get off...loved EVERY second...wish we could do it again...everyone gets to know everyone—-crew and passengers alike...the ships starts to feel like home—-plenty to do but you get so familiar that just sitting in the lounge areas or going to breakfast ends up being a few hours of conversation with others

[vinonme2]

Thank you all for your responses. Between those and the RoundTheWorldWriter blog, I'm getting a good idea of a world cruise on Princess.

 

I've eliminate Viking from the 2020 world cruises possibilities. Choosing between Princess and Hal is going to be difficult as they both have favorable and eh factors.

[Go-Bucks!]

I've eliminate Viking from the 2020 world cruises possibilities. Choosing between Princess and Hal is going to be difficult as they both have favorable and eh factors.

Have you considered Oceania? Basic cruisefare costs more than Princess, but includes so many of the things you'll have to pay for separately if you go on Princess.....(first class) airfare, choice of 36 shore excursions (private ones for a world cruise can be expensive) or $3,600 OBC or an alcohol beverage package, prepaid gratuities, unlimited onboard medical care, unlimited internet, unlimited laundry, 5 shoreside events, free visa package (we need 5 of them), precruise hotel night, roundtrip transfers, roundtrip luggage delivery, spa credit, and onboard credit. Our travel agent gave alot of OBC too. Plus, Oceania's world cruise is on the same type of small ship as Princess uses. Also, all specialty restaurants are no charge, all non-alcoholic/coffee/espresso drinks are no charge and 60% port days/40% sea days. Not sure about the 2020 itineraries since we're going on the 2019 one.

 

We researched 10 cruiselines before deciding which world cruise to take in 2019. We felt Oceania gave us the best value for our hard earned money. Even though we're almost Elite on Princess, the O perks won. Apples-to-apples cost is nearly the same for both cruiselines.

[bobby3334]

My only other concern with the world cruise on Pacific Princess, other than size, mentioned above is that it didn’t go where I wanted some of the time so last year I took two 50 day cruises that did. Mike

 

 

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[vinonme2]

Have you considered Oceania? Basic cruisefare costs more than Princess, but includes so many of the things you'll have to pay for separately if you go on Princess.....(first class) airfare, choice of 36 shore excursions (private ones for a world cruise can be expensive) or $3,600 OBC or an alcohol beverage package, prepaid gratuities, unlimited onboard medical care, unlimited internet, unlimited laundry, 5 shoreside events, free visa package (we need 5 of them), precruise hotel night, roundtrip transfers, roundtrip luggage delivery, spa credit, and onboard credit. Our travel agent gave alot of OBC too. Plus, Oceania's world cruise is on the same type of small ship as Princess uses. Also, all specialty restaurants are no charge, all non-alcoholic/coffee/espresso drinks are no charge and 60% port days/40% sea days. Not sure about the 2020 itineraries since we're going on the 2019 one.

 

We researched 10 cruiselines before deciding which world cruise to take in 2019. We felt Oceania gave us the best value for our hard earned money. Even though we're almost Elite on Princess, the O perks won. Apples-to-apples cost is nearly the same for both cruiselines.

 

 

 

Thank you for your response, I greatly appreciated it.

 

Yes, I looked at Oceania but each segment was too long for me, and again, had quite a few ports I had no interest in returning to. You are right, when you add all that Oceania provides in their price, they are really on par with Princess and Hal.

 

I have not sailed Oceania but have friends who sail her frequently and speak very highly of the line.

 

I looked at your itinerary and it is really a nice one, great ports! Enjoy every moment of your cruise!

[vinonme2]

My only other concern with the world cruise on Pacific Princess, other than size, mentioned above is that it didn’t go where I wanted some of the time so last year I took two 50 day cruises that did. Mike

 

Your logic makes an awful lot of sense. What cruises did you take?

 

I'm doing Hal's 89 night Grand Asia this September and quite a few of the ports were also going to be on their 2020 world cruise. It just wasn't appealing to do a repeat of the same area so quickly.

 

I've decided to forego a world cruise in 2020 and will see what comes out for 2021. Next year may take me on a T/A to Europe followed by a few weeks of living like a local in Italy and Greece. No problems with returning to those areas!

 

Thank you for your responses.

[bobby3334]

They weren’t exactly 50 days: one was 49 days maiden voyage of the Majestic Princess from Civitavecchia to Shanghai and the other was about 60 days from Ft Lauderdale around SA to LA. The ship’s were much bigger than the Pacific but I could have stayed on either indefinitely. In retrospect I could easily have done either on the Pacific for the number of days indicated. Mike

 

 

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[Waynetor]

We were on her for last Christmas and New Years for our 3rd time. Overall very nice except I found the cruise director staff (except Sammy) to be the worst of any cruise we had done.

 

We were booked for the Princess 2019 world cruise but switched to a sister ship on Oceania for their 2020 world cruise. Part of the reason for changing was on Princess the production shows will repeat each segment and there is no other entertainment at night. Princess has only fixed dinning in the MDR while Oceania had open sitting in an identical dinning room. Princess also has a higher 'at sea' day ratio.

[caribill]

Part of the reason for changing was on Princess the production shows will repeat each segment and there is no other entertainment at night.

 

Yes, the Princess production shows will repeat each segment, but that at most would be three of the evenings on each segment. The other evenings will have guest entertainers which will not be the same each segment.

 

Of course the "Crooners" equivalent performer will likely not change between segments.