Princess Cruises Confirms Two New Cruise Ships

[Lucky TGO]

On 3/27/2019 at 10:38 AM, UPNYGuy said:

Princess announced two new 175,000 GRT NextGen ships today. These will be built at the Fincantieri Monfalcone shipyard, and delivery will start in 2023. These will have an approx capacity of 4,300 guests at dual occupancy, and be LNG fueled. 

Wow 4,300 passengers. By the time it’s built I can’t  imagine how many Elite passengers will be on the ship. Princess may have to mail your laundry back to you when you get home.😳😁 4,300 Passengers that’s just to BIG of a ship for me.

Tony

[DDG 41]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I was unhappy when Princess reclassified the better located minisuites to becoming 'Club Class.'  Now, if you are subject to motion sickness, you need to pay more because the suite comes with exclusive perks we don't need or want.  The more benefits given to certain classes of passengers does take something away from the other passengers.  The other passengers just don't see it, but they're still paying what they paid before.

Or just book an interior down on the lower decks, Mid-ship . No one is forcing you to book a Club Class Mini-suite your doing it from your own will.

[OzKiwiJJ]

16 hours ago, DDG 41 said:

They're not losing their direction. people need to understand that they provide a mass market premium service. Princess is not and has not been for a very long time a mid-size cruise line they are a large size cruise line with a few mid-size ships just like other lines such as Carnival RCI etc.

I woudn't rate them as a premium line any more. All the cutbacks recently have dropped them down below that level. We're currently on Celebrity Solstice and, so far, I've haven't noticed any cutbacks on her since our previous cruise two years ago, whereas Princess has gone downhill noticeably in the last two years.

 

Incidentally Celebrity seems to be keeping their ships under 3000 lower berths. The Edge class is only slightly bigger than the Solstice class. 

 

I've enjoyed cruising on Princess in the past but I think we'll be doing less Princess cruises in the future and more with other lines.

Edited March 30, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, DDG 41 said:

Or just book an interior down on the lower decks, Mid-ship . No one is forcing you to book a Club Class Mini-suite your doing it from your own will.

 

You just made my point.  When perks are given to the club class exclusively, it does take away availability that used to exist to other PAX.  DW is subject to motion sickness and when she feels it, sitting on the balcony in the fresh air helps.  She can't get that in a mid-ship interior so we need to go forward or aft or not book the cruise at all.  We love sailing on Princess but with the mini sized balconies on the Royal class and the expensive Club Class minisuites, we may need to look elsewhere in the future.  And that would be a shame, as we really enjoyed Princess.

[nukesubsailor]

3 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I was unhappy when Princess reclassified the better located minisuites to becoming 'Club Class.'  Now, if you are subject to motion sickness, you need to pay more because the suite comes with exclusive perks we don't need or want.  The more benefits given to certain classes of passengers does take something away from the other passengers.  The other passengers just don't see it, but they're still paying what they paid before.

Charging more for the suites and Club Class mini-suites is the reason why the other passengers are still paying what they did before instead of having their fares increased.  Cruise fares, just like the cost of everything else in life, increase in time.  My first new Ford cost me $3,500.  My latest new Ford cost me $35,000.  Raising the price of Lincolns and Cadillacs did not keep the price of Fords and Chevys from going up.

[Daniel A]

18 minutes ago, nukesubsailor said:

Charging more for the suites and Club Class mini-suites is the reason why the other passengers are still paying what they did before instead of having their fares increased.  Cruise fares, just like the cost of everything else in life, increase in time.  My first new Ford cost me $3,500.  My latest new Ford cost me $35,000.  Raising the price of Lincolns and Cadillacs did not keep the price of Fords and Chevys from going up.

Very true.  My point is that when new features come out on Lincolns and Cadillacs, they don't take features away from the Fords and Chevys.  They all still have windshield washers and air conditioning, you are just paying more.

[SantaFeFan]

On 3/29/2019 at 3:40 PM, deliver42 said:

Skynight, why? They don't take away from the rest of the passengers. Maybe 5% of the ship is reserved.Depending on the ship, they may get a small pool, a separate lounge and restaurant. Big deal. If I don't have it, I don't miss it.

 

They DO take away from the rest of the passengers. For instance, Celebrity's latest ship, Edge, has 18% of the ship dedicated to suite passengers, with a slew of suite only venues and spaces, including lounges, entertainment, restaurants, bars, pools, and sun decks. And this is on a ship that is not much bigger than their last ship, Reflection (129,500 GT vs 126,000 GT). That affects how much space the non-suite passengers can enjoy, creating a more crowded experience for them. And on Edge, non-suite passengers no longer have access to forward viewing areas unless you pay extra to use the spa or are using the fitness center. No longer can the peasant class enjoy forward views when approaching a port. While the older ships have forward facing lounges and sun decks that everyone could use, on Edge you have to spend thousands more to get that amenity. 

 

So, absolutely they are taking away from the rest of the passengers. You can defend more suite areas all you want, but at least post facts instead of spin. 

[DDG 41]

34 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

They DO take away from the rest of the passengers.

You can't take away something from other passengers when they never had it. Class distinction is part of life whether you like it or not. If you don't like it find another line to sail with however proceed with caution as it inevitable that they will also have class distinction.

[DDG 41]

36 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

No longer can the peasant class enjoy forward views when approaching a port.

Yes they can't and never were able to, as the peasant class doesn't exist in our day and age. They were in the medieval time period. Back when they were a class they wouldn't of been able to watch they would've been working...

[pamwigs]

We have our eyes on the Enchanted for 2020. 😍

[SantaFeFan]

1 hour ago, DDG 41 said:

Yes they can't and never were able to, as the peasant class doesn't exist in our day and age. They were in the medieval time period. Back when they were a class they wouldn't of been able to watch they would've been working...

 

You know exactly what I meant. 

 

Forward views for the majority of the passengers have been denied to appease the suite passengers. In other words, 2,700 passengers have now lost an important feature of the ship so less than 300 passengers can have it exclusively to themselves. ALL non suite passengers have had something taken away so a few privileged passengers can enjoy it. This is a trend I am seeing on many cruise lines. The rich get more while the rest get less. 

[nukesubsailor]

I guess someone needs to build a cruise ship that has these features:

All cabins are identical in every way.  All dining rooms large enough to seat all passengers. All pools large enough for all passengers.  All viewing areas large enough for all passengers.  No specialty restaurants.  All bar drinks the same price.  Absolutely nothing on the ship that is not available to every passenger at the same price.  Absolutely no benefit for those who want to finally enjoy some benefit for having worked hard enough and saved enough to acquire more wealth than someone else.

This ship could be named  Socialist of the Seas.

 

[Daniel A]

3 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

I guess someone needs to build a cruise ship that has these features:

All cabins are identical in every way.  All dining rooms large enough to seat all passengers. All pools large enough for all passengers.  All viewing areas large enough for all passengers.  No specialty restaurants.  All bar drinks the same price.  Absolutely nothing on the ship that is not available to every passenger at the same price.  Absolutely no benefit for those who want to finally enjoy some benefit for having worked hard enough and saved enough to acquire more wealth than someone else.

This ship could be named  Socialist of the Seas.

 

So because somebody accumulated more wealth than me I need to sit in the back of the bus because the front seats are only for rich people - do I get to eat at the lunch counter?

[nukesubsailor]

41 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

So because somebody accumulated more wealth than me I need to sit in the back of the bus because the front seats are only for rich people - do I get to eat at the lunch counter?

If the seats in the front of the bus cost a lot more than the seats in the back of the bus, and you are not wanting to pay that price, you cannot begrudge those who do pay that higher price.

Now if suites cost the same as an inside cabin, then there should be no difference in the benefits of those cabin types.

 

[c-boy]

11 hours ago, pamwigs said:

We have our eyes on the Enchanted for 2020. 😍

the Countess and I are doing the 2020 Spanish passage 

[deliver42]

Please, lets not put politics into the conversation. Thank you.

[DDG 41]

1 hour ago, deliver42 said:

Please, lets not put politics into the conversation. Thank you.

Politics?

[caribill]

16 hours ago, Daniel A said:

So because somebody accumulated more wealth than me I need to sit in the back of the bus because the front seats are only for rich people - do I get to eat at the lunch counter?

 

Just like on an airplane. If you can afford First Class, you can sit up front.

[DDG 41]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

  

Just like on an airplane. If you can afford First Class, you can sit up front.

And enjoy the lounges, food and drinks that come with it.

[Doubt It]

Not interested in the large size ships announced by Princess.

 

Regarding public space - the removal of forward viewing lounges across many cruise brands means those brands will not receive my patronage.

 

I choose to sail on a ship, not a hotel. I expect, and require, to have many vistas of the ever changing host medium, the ocean - particularly where are we going and what is forward.

 

Removal of this key element of being on a ship is not acceptable.

 

The most impressive remembrances and pictures I have from a cruise ship is watching Venice emerging from the ocean and the sail in with the forward vista of the grand canal.

 

Removal of the traditional forward viewing area is removal of space from the public access sphere.

 

It is part of the mass cruise lines plan to remove the ocean from the ship experience and turn guests inwards so they can be manipulated into spending.

 

Comments that you can buy access to the, formerly available to all forward views, is evidence that some consumers are more aligned in their support of the cruise lines than their fellow consumer. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Loreni]

NCL, with Bliss and her sisters, has found a way to provide forward viewing to all while still having the ship within a ship concept.

 

Perhaps Princess will also show this level of respect for all her passengers on their new ships.

[kywildcatfanone]

25 minutes ago, Doubt It said:

It is part of the mass cruise lines plan to remove the ocean from the ship experience and turn guests inwards so they can be manipulated into spending.

 

The goal of cruise lines, like any other vacation entity, is to separate their patrons from more of their money.

[Doubt It]

Loreni, well said. Yes ship design can secure forward/backward views while increasing the segmentation of room selection. It was the RCL Sovereign of the Seas (loved that ship) with the 360 degree lounge up top on the funnel that provided me with the best views of my many decades of cruising. Celebrity has the highest level of arrogance against non suite passengers and that can be seen in the Edge design that eliminates forward viewing for non suite guests. Like you said, NCL has a better balance.

 

kywildcatfanone, you are right of course. However, in the past 5 years or so the fixation on cash extraction in the mass cruise lines in particular has become extremely pronounced - the "nickle and dime" concept has been born. This fixation is now the driver of cruise ship design. It has not always been that way nor to the overt level to be seen these days.

[Expat Cruise]

If you prepay using your US Account it will be in US Dollars. On our last cruise we did not pay the daily service fee it was included. But Princess changes the price of everything paid on the ship when in AUD so I believe you will be paying a amount equal to the US charge in value but more than the 13.50 per day.

[compozer]

Bring back the smaller ships!