Itineraries Getting Stale

[DrivesLikeMario]

5 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

What ports would you like Princess to go to in the Caribbean?  We've been to 17 different ports over our 20+ years of cruising there, mostly on Princess.  Years ago they went to Jamaica (we went there on the Star in 2006 and other lines in 2008 and 2011); crime has become more of a problem there per a recent news article.  Dominican Republic's version of Costa Maya (i.e. "port" built by a cruise company) is one of the few ports we've never been to and not sure Princess stops there.  Grand Turk which also has a newish facility built by Carnival Corp is another possible stop (been there once).  Trinidad is a port we visited on a 14-day itinerary, but it's pretty far south.  Isla de Margarita, off Venezuela, is a lovely place; we were there on the Dawn P (2000, 2005) and a HAL ship in 2002.  Perhaps its proximity to troubled Venezuela has made it less desirable.  Finally, we've visited Guadeloupe (1994), Martinique (2000, 2005, 2007), St. Vincent (2010), and Granada (2005, 2012), which are all in the same chain of islands as Antigua, St. Lucia, etc. where Princess calls frequently.  "Dropping"  of some of these ports may be related to the new larger ships (Royal, Regal) being deployed there.

 

If you re-read my post, I didn't say anything about the Caribbean.  Was mostly thinking of Bermuda and a true Greek Isles cruise RT out of Athens but since you bring it up, I'd also like to see the Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan again.  As I stated, we can only go on cruises of 9 days or less (7 is best).  Princess doesn't go to the more unique islands in the Caribbean on 7 day cruises.  Those itineraries are very hum-drum IMO.  😉

[HappyCruiserettu]

On 11/8/2018 at 5:32 PM, leck57 said:

I agree with the OP. We have done all the Greek Islands and would like a Western Med cruise with a difference. Plenty of options in Spain, Portugal and Princess seem to stop at some of these on TA cruises. Why not some from Barcelona return and stopping at these places. Apologies if these cruises are scheduled in 2020 but a quick look and I didn't see them.

The OP who suggested Rhodes - we did a Med cruise last year with Princess which did stop at Rhodes. It is a wonderful place.

We did a 7-day Athens roundtrip last year on Majestic. It called at Rhodes, which we enjoyed.

[HappyCruiserettu]

8 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

 

I I'd also like to see the Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan again.  As I stated, we can only go on cruises of 9 days or less (7 is best).  Princess doesn't go to the more unique islands in the Caribbean on 7 day cruises.  Those itineraries are very hum-drum IMO.  😉

 

8 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

 

I'd also like to see the Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan again.  As I stated, we can only go on cruises of 9 days or less (7 is best).  Princess doesn't go to the more unique islands in the Caribbean on 7 day cruises.  Those itineraries are very hum-drum IMO.  😉

They have been offering an 8-day cruise to the Dutch "A B C" islands on Royal. Don't know if it's on the future schedule. It's one of the few to go to Curacao.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

 

If you re-read my post, I didn't say anything about the Caribbean.  Was mostly thinking of Bermuda and a true Greek Isles cruise RT out of Athens but since you bring it up, I'd also like to see the Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan again.  As I stated, we can only go on cruises of 9 days or less (7 is best).  Princess doesn't go to the more unique islands in the Caribbean on 7 day cruises.  Those itineraries are very hum-drum IMO.  😉

Most Princess 7-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries go to Princess Cays, St. Thomas and St.Maarten, the latter two ports often having seven or more other cruise ships in port. A very uninspiring itinerary.

 

Every 5 or 7 day Western Caribbean cruise includes Grand Cayman and Cozumel. There is a limited number of times I want to see those ports (never again would be soon enough).

 

The only Caribbean cruises with some decent variety are the14 day "Circle Caribbean" cruises on the Caribbean Princess and the 14 day "Caribbean Connoisseur" cruise on the Pacific Princess. Depending on which of these ships you are on, you stop at such ports as Virgin Gorda, Antigua, Grenadines, Tobago, or St.Kitts.

[lynn247]

58 minutes ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

 

They have been offering an 8-day cruise to the Dutch "A B C" islands on Royal. Don't know if it's on the future schedule. It's one of the few to go to Curacao.

It's not being offered anymore. The Nov 9th was the last.

[capriccio]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

The only Caribbean cruises with some decent variety are the14 day "Circle Caribbean" cruises on the Caribbean Princess and the 14 day "Caribbean Connoisseur" cruise on the Pacific Princess.

Next month we are on a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the the Crown with stops in Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Curacao which is also an unusual itinerary for Princess (especially both Bonaire and Curacao).

[chrysalis]

3 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Next month we are on a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the the Crown with stops in Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Curacao which is also an unusual itinerary for Princess (especially both Bonaire and Curacao).

They have been doing that itinerary for years....ususally Bonaire or either Curacao or Aruba. The last couple of years it has been Curacao when we have gone. We much prefer Curacao over Aruba. That itinerary used to include Isla Margarita. Last year, Dominica was dropped because of hurricane damage and replaced with Martinique.

[Hlitner]

The OP says it all when they talk about "exclusively" cruising on Princess.  We laugh when we hear so-called "loyal" cruisers complaining about itineraries, the same production shows, same menus, etc.  The simple solution is to expand your horizons with some variety in your own travel habits.  Instead of booking a specific cruise line, look for itineraries that are of interest with all cruise lines.  Some of the most interesting cruise itineraries are found on smaller vessels of other lines.  We just got off the Regal this morning.  In a few weeks we will be on MSC and our following cruise will be on HAL.  Had dinner last night with a couple that was heading to a Viking Ocean cruise within days after the Regal.

 

In a true sense you have created your own problem for which there is a simple solution.

 

Hank

[Iamcruzin]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

Most Princess 7-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries go to Princess Cays, St. Thomas and St.Maarten, the latter two ports often having seven or more other cruise ships in port. A very uninspiring itinerary.

 

Every 5 or 7 day Western Caribbean cruise includes Grand Cayman and Cozumel. There is a limited number of times I want to see those ports (never again would be soon enough).

 

The only Caribbean cruises with some decent variety are the14 day "Circle Caribbean" cruises on the Caribbean Princess and the 14 day "Caribbean Connoisseur" cruise on the Pacific Princess. Depending on which of these ships you are on, you stop at such ports as Virgin Gorda, Antigua, Grenadines, Tobago, or St.Kitts.

That’s the other issue. The better itinery is on the worst ship Caribbean Princess. Been on her 4 times between 2006 and 2010. Nice ship but has a history of mechanical issues. 

[DrivesLikeMario]

9 hours ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

 

They have been offering an 8-day cruise to the Dutch "A B C" islands on Royal. Don't know if it's on the future schedule. It's one of the few to go to Curacao.

Already did that last March and it was a great itinerary with 2 days at the beginning and the end of the cruise.  Wasn't our first time to those islands, but still a great itinerary and it sold out pretty well too.

[DrivesLikeMario]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

Most Princess 7-day Eastern Caribbean itineraries go to Princess Cays, St. Thomas and St.Maarten, the latter two ports often having seven or more other cruise ships in port. A very uninspiring itinerary.

 

Every 5 or 7 day Western Caribbean cruise includes Grand Cayman and Cozumel. There is a limited number of times I want to see those ports (never again would be soon enough).

 

The only Caribbean cruises with some decent variety are the14 day "Circle Caribbean" cruises on the Caribbean Princess and the 14 day "Caribbean Connoisseur" cruise on the Pacific Princess. Depending on which of these ships you are on, you stop at such ports as Virgin Gorda, Antigua, Grenadines, Tobago, or St.Kitts.

Totally agree with you.  There's some good 14 day cruises but that's just way too long to be gone from work.  Wish they'd mix up the 7 day itineraries. 

[BarbinMich]

19 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

 

If you re-read my post, I didn't say anything about the Caribbean.  Was mostly thinking of Bermuda and a true Greek Isles cruise RT out of Athens but since you bring it up, I'd also like to see the Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan again.  As I stated, we can only go on cruises of 9 days or less (7 is best).  Princess doesn't go to the more unique islands in the Caribbean on 7 day cruises.  Those itineraries are very hum-drum IMO.  😉

True, but you were replying to a post from "MCC retired" about Caribbean itineraries so I inferred that's what you were referring to.  Re sailing out San Juan:  we did that on our first Caribbean cruise back in 1994.  It was not on one of the large cruise lines; was a group cruise through my husband's professional association.  I don't know how long it's been since Princess has sailed from there, if they ever did.  It's a long flight down there, except from the East Coast, so not as desirable as Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.   On that 1994 cruise we were able to get as far south as Barbados which was wonderful and isn't doable on a 7-day from Ft. Lauderdale.  It takes 2 days just to get to St. Thomas!  As for Bermuda, I don't know why Princess doesn't sail there regularly; we stopped there on our last TA from Houston to Europe.  Celebrity's Summit sails there regularly in the winter and I believe an NCL ship does as well (both from NYC, I think) so maybe they've cornered the market.

[DrivesLikeMario]

7 minutes ago, BarbinMich said:

True, but you were replying to a post from "MCC retired" about Caribbean itineraries so I inferred that's what you were referring to.  Re sailing out San Juan:  we did that on our first Caribbean cruise back in 1994.  It was not on one of the large cruise lines; was a group cruise through my husband's professional association.  I don't know how long it's been since Princess has sailed from there, if they ever did.  It's a long flight down there, except from the East Coast, so not as desirable as Port Everglades in Ft. Lauderdale.   On that 1994 cruise we were able to get as far south as Barbados which was wonderful and isn't doable on a 7-day from Ft. Lauderdale.  It takes 2 days just to get to St. Thomas!  As for Bermuda, I don't know why Princess doesn't sail there regularly; we stopped there on our last TA from Houston to Europe.  Celebrity's Summit sails there regularly in the winter and I believe an NCL ship does as well (both from NYC, I think) so maybe they've cornered the market.

Princess sailed out of SJU for years.  We sailed a few cruises on Princess from there and loved the itineraries.  We're on the West Coast, so it's even farther for us - like 9 hours of flying and we do it overnight, so not the most fun, but it's worth it for the itineraries.  We have done the Bermuda itinerary on Celebrity and also really enjoyed that, so much so that it'd be worth doing again sometime.  For both of these areas (So. Caribbean and Bermuda), we rely on Celebrity but Princess would be our first choice if they sailed from there.

[voljeep]

17 minutes ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

Princess sailed out of SJU for years.  We sailed a few cruises on Princess from there and loved the itineraries.  We're on the West Coast, so it's even farther for us - like 9 hours of flying and we do it overnight, so not the most fun, but it's worth it for the itineraries.  We have done the Bermuda itinerary on Celebrity and also really enjoyed that, so much so that it'd be worth doing again sometime.  For both of these areas (So. Caribbean and Bermuda), we rely on Celebrity but Princess would be our first choice if they sailed from there.

what would be a typical Celebrity cruise itinerary that would include Bermuda? - maybe an overnight in Bermuda?

[DrivesLikeMario]

Just now, voljeep said:

what would be a typical Celebrity cruise itinerary that would include Bermuda? - maybe an overnight in Bermuda?

Two days at sea

Three days in Bermuda (totally awesome especially if you like clean, pristine beaches and an English flavor)

One day at sea

Returns to Bayonne, NJ. 
NCL also does this kind of itinerary and HAL does occasionally.  HAL actually gets the best docking location right in downtown Hamilton but the ships they use (or were using) for this itinerary are older and small.

[HappyCruiserettu]

13 hours ago, BarbinMich said:

As for Bermuda, I don't know why Princess doesn't sail there regularly; we stopped there on our last TA from Houston to Europe.  Celebrity's Summit sails there regularly in the winter and I believe an NCL ship does as well (both from NYC, I think) so maybe they've cornered the market.

NCL runs two ships to Bermuda. Breakaway from NY, and Gem (I believe) from Boston. Both involve a two overnight stay, which is very nice for seeing the island.

 

[63 Super Sport]

On 11/8/2018 at 1:05 PM, Thrak said:

Try the Northern Lights cruise to Alta, Norway. It's new to Princess this year and I believe they are offering this cruise in the future.

I too have been looking at  another line. We are interested in Iceland and Greenland. Celebrity has some great cruises out of Ireland. Also, back 20+ years ago Princess had an amazing cruise out of Hawaii. It cruised the islands then headed to Bora Bora. Wish Princess would bring this one back. Cruising 5 days to Hawaii and 5 days back doesn't appeal to us.

[63 Super Sport]

21 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

Totally agree with you.  There's some good 14 day cruises but that's just way too long to be gone from work.  Wish they'd mix up the 7 day itineraries. 

We are doing the Feb 9 cruise. Princess has mixed up the 7 day itinerary. Going to a few different ports. 

[BarbinMich]

2 hours ago, 63 Super Sport said:

Cruising 5 days to Hawaii and 5 days back doesn't appeal to us.

Even though we enjoy sea days, I think that would be too many for us, as well.  That's why we always flew to Hawaii and stayed on 2 different islands for 10 -14 days, after having done the SS Independence cruise around the islands back in 1997.  Unfortunately, our favorite hotel in the Kona area had to be torn down because it was becoming unstable where it was partially built out over a lagoon (you could go out on a deck and watch the fish below).  For many years we rented a different condo apt in a beachfront building through VRBO or similar site.

[BarbinMich]

2 hours ago, 63 Super Sport said:

We are doing the Feb 9 cruise. Princess has mixed up the 7 day itinerary. Going to a few different ports. 

Looks like you're going on the Caribbean P out of Ft. Lauderdale and stopping at Princess Cays, San Juan PR, Amber Cove DR, and Grand Turk.  I believe that IS a new itinerary and nice variety for 7 days.

[Hlitner]

8 hours ago, 63 Super Sport said:

I too have been looking at  another line. We are interested in Iceland and Greenland. Celebrity has some great cruises out of Ireland. Also, back 20+ years ago Princess had an amazing cruise out of Hawaii. It cruised the islands then headed to Bora Bora. Wish Princess would bring this one back. Cruising 5 days to Hawaii and 5 days back doesn't appeal to us.

We think the best itinerary that includes both Greenland and Iceland is the annual Voyage of the Vikings cruise done by HAL once a year (usually in early August).  It is generally a 34-36 day round trip from Boston (no need for expensive European air_  The negative is that since the itinerary is very popular with HAL fans it is also very pricey when compared to many other HAL cruises.

 

Hank

[emmak8]

What about Cape Town? Would love to cruise from South Africa. Also, wish Princess would bring back transpacific cruises. Last April there was a cruise from Japan to Alaska through the inside passage to Vancouver.

[pris993]

On 11/8/2018 at 10:54 AM, chrysalis said:

Not sure that there is a suitable port in the Med for Morocco (but they already go to Casablanca on the Atlantic. I think they used to go to Cairo on some sailings but unrest caused them to drop it too many times. Slim pickings along the rest of the north Africa coast. It would be nice to do the circle, but....

 It is possible to do a day trip from Gilbrater to Morocco.. I believe....we visited Casablanca a few years back on HAL, my dh lived there during WW!!.  Morocco, especially Casablanca is not what it was once under the French.