Tell Me About Princess . . .

[cruzin2paradise]

We've never sailed Princess and would like to. Received an e-mail from my TA today saying that she's got pricing on some of the cruises (out of NYC) we've chosen for Next May/June 2007, with the addition of the new Crown Princess going out of NYC. The only part of the itinerary I'm not crazy about is Port Canaveral, but otherwise I'm good with it. Our choices are NCL Spirit, Carnival Legend RCI Explorer of the Seas and now Princess. I'm attracted to the Princess because of the fact that it's a new ship and it's $25 less than NCL Spirit.

 

So, convince me (please) that this is a good choice - I want to book my cruise so bad that I'm breaking out in hives. The remainder of the itinerary is Grand Turk, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman (which I really like).

 

And, excuse my ignorance, but isn't Princess owned by the same "parents" as Carnival? If so, do I get my past guest "perks?"

 

Anyway, I look forward to your opinions. Thank you all in advance.

[montgomeryfamily]

The new Crown Princess will be a sister ship to the Caribbean Princess and is a Grand class ship, so it will have the features and amenities of those ships, including the wonderful Lotus Spa, freshwater pools and hottubs, including some adult only ones, and Movies under the Stars.

 

There are lots of balcony cabins and the pricing of the balcony cabins is quite competitive compared to NCL and RCI. If we knew what type of stateroom you usually book, that might also help with a comparison. Please feel free to email me for more info, especially about staterooms, at kacruiser@ev1.net.

 

IMHO the food on Princess is generally better than NCL. There is both the choice of traditional dining or anytime dining, which is like NCL, except that if you want to make a standing reservation for the same table/time you can do so. The dress on NCL is casual and on Princess the dress is casual except that that will be at least a couple of formal nights, where the dress is more formal like a jacket or suit (and many men will wear a tux). But if you don' t want to dress up, you can go to the alternate restaurant which will be next to the buffet or to the buffet. Also, Princess offers a balcony dinner for $100 which includes lobster/steak, wine, flowers, and photograph taken on your balcony.

 

While Carnival does own Princess, while you might get a break on pricing due to having sailed with a sister company, you won't get repeater benefits.

[cruzin2paradise]

Kathy -

 

Thank you so much for your prompt response. I may just e-mail you with more questions. I'm very excited about this turn of events in our plans and the fact that I can book something now is extremely exciting.

 

We are the people who booked the interior closet for the first cruise, upgraded to an oceanview for the second and plunged onto the balcony for the last one - so, needless to say, we we never go back - it's balcony's for us all the way.

 

So, here's a couple of more questions. On our last cruise on RCI's VOS, the balcony's were metal half-way up and then the railing. What are Princesses balcony's like? Glass and then the railing so you can sit and actually see if you aren't over 6' tall?

 

What kind of evening adult entertainment is there? Comedians? How often? (We love comedy shows.)

 

What kind of different day-time activities are there? I've read on NCL they have Martini clinics and such, anything similar on Princess?

 

I like the idea of the balcony dinner - that's really cool and romantic and since my husband and I will be celebrating our 20th Anniversary (about 4 months early), that would be a nice touch.

 

How big are the balconies? I read that the room, including the balconies are 232 sq. feet - what is the breakdown?

 

Oh, one more question, since the Crown Princess is a sister ship to the Grand Princess, will it have a handle like the Grand Princess? (The nightclub way up high - I call it a handle - it looks like that one brand of cell phone - LOL)

 

Tell me more!!

[montgomeryfamily]

Yes, its hard to go back once you've had a balcony. :) The Crown hasn't become operational yet, but I think you can expect the balconies to be the same as on the Caribbean Princess. All of the balconies should have the plexiglass with the railing. (If anyone knows of one otherwise, please post that information.).

 

All of the balcony cabins have the same size cabin, but some of the balconies on some of the cabins are larger. The Caribe deck and aft balconies are larger, but especially on aft watch for obstructions. There is another category of stateroom called minisuites that has a larger cabin--it includes a sitting area and bathroom with shower/tub combo, as well as other upgrades.

 

You can search the board and find some info about the Crown. There will be raised nightclub.

 

Princess has evening shows, including a couple of production shows with the Princess singers and dancers. There is usually a comedian or two in the line-up. Princess also has alternate evening shows usually every evening l and those are often comedians or comedy acts or shows which are funny, like the Love and Marriage show. Princess also has Scholarship at Sea, which are various classes, some of which are free and some a charge. Some only have a small charge, like the digital photography, where you also get a book, or the mixed drink making class, where the fee pays for "materials" and a book. There is also usually a wine tasting and a martini tasting. Princess also has a bar hoppers card, where you get a stamp at each bar and then a free T-shirt.

 

Please feel free to send me an email at kacruiser@ev1.net for more info or questions. I know it can be confusing, especially stateroom selection. I'm glad to provide more info. I'm sure you would enjoy cruising on Princess.

[Pastor Shane]

My wife and I went on our first cruise Jan. 21-28 on the Caribbean Princess. We had an absolutely wonderful time in all respects. Everything about the ship and staff was in our opinion exceptional. I read so much on these boards and heard a number of horror stories that made me wonder if I had made a mistake. Don't pay any attention to them. Some people live to complain. The food in the dining rooms is exceptional (and we enjoy fine dining), and the specialty restaraunts were well worth the money. Everywhere we went on the ship we met smiling staff willing to bend over backward to make your holiday enjoyable. In the ports we stopped at we spoke to a number of people cruising on both NCL and Carnival, and they didn't have much good to say about either line. However, the people aboard RCI had nothing but good things to say.

 

The balconies aboard Princess have beautiful blue tempered glass and teak railings, so the view is unobstructed.

 

Have a fantastic trip. You will be aboard an absolutely stunning vessel!

[melissa_bel]

Hi Cruizin!

No, no handle on the Crown. It's supposed to be a sister to the Caribbean Princess but the exterior design is more similar to the Diamond and Sapphire Princess. Actually, I like the handle! It's so distinctive of the Princess ships, you can't confuse them with another line!

 

It is hard to say exactly how it's going to be because the Crown will be a little different from the other ships...

[cruzin2paradise]

Thank you all so much for your input. If you think of any more, please let me know. I'm anxious to try a new line and am glad that it will be Princess. I prefer their eastern itinerary out of NYC over the western, but being on the ship is a big part of the vacation, so I'll be happy either way.

 

I'm disappointed there will be no handle - for whatever reason that thing makes me laugh when I see it . . .

 

I'm looking at one of the AFT cabins on the Baja deck - I think it's B738 or B739 (the end rooms). Any thoughts?

[montgomeryfamily]

Sorry if I confused you about the mention of aft balconies being larger. I was talking about aft balconies that are on the very end of the ship, not on the sides of the ship toward the aft. Those balcony cabins you mentioned don't have the larger balconies. If you book the guarantee category, you may be upgraded to any balcony cabin or higher, so is this what you were wanting or did you like that cabin location? Please feel free to email me about the cabins, perhaps I can clarifiy.

 

I understand why you were concerned about the balconies being clear. We sailed in a balcony cabin on the VOS shortly after the ship was operational and were very disappointed in both the size of the balcony and the metal. I felt like I was in a cave when I sat on the balcony with the metal halfway up and the covering over the balcony :) The balconies on Princess give a nice feeling of openness with the glass, even the balconies that are covered.

 

Although the Skywalkers, the nightclub, is going to be more forward like the Diamond and designed differently, it will be raised. So I'm not sure if that is what you were interested in or you just were interested in the actual design.

Here is a link that discusses mentions this about the nightclub--it is from the Princess website and is also in the new Caribbean brochure: http://www.princess.com/ships/kp/tour/kp_entertainment.html

Hopefully you can access this--since it is on the Princess web site, you may have to be a member. I would paste the information directly, but I don't know how.

 

There are going to be several differences in the new Crown than in the Caribbean Princess, with changes in some of the public rooms and restaurants, addition of dining venues, and other design differences. There is information on the board about that and also information in the new Caribbean brochure plus on the Princess web site. But as Melissa says, since the Crown isn't out yet, it isn't really known what the design and changes will be like/look like. It does seem like a great ship and there will still be many of the traditional Princess touches.

[niborHS]

We just got off the Grand, and have cruised 4 times with NCL, and once with RCCL. In my mind, the comparison is between NCL & Princess. I think the food is comparable on the 2, but with free-style dining, which I happen to like byt DH does not, the food in the alternative dining restaurants is far superior, but most of them have a surcharge. The Grand had 2 alternative dining restaurants, also with a surcharge, but the service was so superior to the dining room, it was worth it. Activity-wise, it all depends on what you like. Some include a charge, as mentioned, however I didn't consider $25 for each of 3 photo-shop workshops, to be nominal. I thought that was rather excessive, and keep in mind that I book a suite, so its not the $25. We opted for tranditional dining on the Grand. We did not get good service at all in the dining room. Our first table was at the back, where the vibration made the meal horrible. We switched tables, and the waiter just never treated us like we saw him treat his other 2 tables. For example, on the last night, he served the other 2 their main courses, then the flaming baked alaska parade came out, then our main courses were brought out, and put at the waiter stand. He then went back into the kitchen to bring the baked alaska to another table, served it to them 1 by 1 (a 6 person table I might add), then he brought us our dinner.

We had an excellent cabin steward. We were travelling with friends, and they had a mini-suite. Check on the price of that, which in my mind is the best value at sea, room wise. Unfortunately, Princess does not give a breakdown of cabin size to balcony, just total sq footage. Don't remember about the balcony enclosure, but if you want to watch the sunset you have to sit in a chair, not a lounger, but you probably wouldn't have that on your balcony anyway.

Are you cruising out of NYC because you want to visit NY? If so, that's a great idea, but otherwise I would choose to cruise out of FL. Atlantic is rougher seas, especially around cape hatteras, even at that time of the year.

I felt more pampered on NCL than Princess, which was probably one of the dissapointment of the week. Also, I don't like the idea that they don't give out pool towels at the pool, so you have to remember to bring them from your cabin.

The spa is comparable on all 3. I think the entertainment on NCL is better, although we did see 2 good shows on Princess, 1 of which we only caught half of because of our lousy dining room service.

You did not mention your age, and if you are traveling alone or with children. There are other things that would enter in knowing these factors.

[The Anchor Banker]

I think you should be warned that if you are going to book so far in advance, you definitely should not book with Princess. They are the only line that will not provide you with a refund if the price lowers on your cruise - they claim lower prices are "flash" promotions and those suckers already booked are not eligible. Do yourself a favour and either book with one of the other lines or book Princess last minute only.

[bdwyer]

I had no problem getting my rate lowered when I spotted a lower price several months after I booked my trip to Alaska. The only time I've heard of people not being able to get the lower price is if they have already made final payment, required about 75 days before the cruise.

[montgomeryfamily]

After final payment date, it can be difficult to get refunds. But we have had no problem with price adjustments when the cruise price goes down before final payment date. In fact, just on Thursday, our cabin price for our August 19, 2006 Caribbean Princess cruise lowered by $200 and our price was adjusted that same day by our TA--we already have the new invoice, sent via email.

 

Robinsilver, sorry you had a bad dining experience on the Grand. I suggest that if this every happens again, the first time you see this happening, talk to the Asst. Maitre'D and get a new table assignment. We've never had to change tables, as our service has always been excellent, but if we experienced a problem like you did, we would have done that on the first night. That is the Maitre'D job to fix problems like that.

 

I agree that the fees for the computer classes seem high, whether it is photo shop, Word, or whatever. But I have talked to people who enjoyed those because the classes were very small and they received individual attention. We have never taken a computer class onboard. But we have taken a couple of the digital photography classes offered by the photo shop. One had no fee and the other one was $10, but we received a nice book on digital photography which I still use. We had a couple of friends who took the mixed drink making class twice and their charge both times was $10, which included the "materials" with which they used to learn to make their drinks (which they got to consume) and also a small book that had receipes for making various mixed drinks. They took it twice because they said it was fun and they drank way more than $10 worth of drinks. So I think with the Scholarship at Sea classes you have to look at the fees involved, if any, and decide whether you think it would be worth the money. But it can be an enjoyable activity to learn something new/different.

 

As far as lounge chairs on the balcony, there are some balconies on the Caribbean Princess that have lounge chairs and some that do not--it is usually based on the size of the balcony. But we have found this to be the case for balcony cabins on all of the cruise lines we have been. If we are in a balcony cabin that does not have a lounge chair on the balcony, we always just ask the room steward to get us one or two (depending on how much room there is and whether there is already one on the balcony). We have always received the (extra) lounge chair(s ) when we asked when sailing on Princess.

 

But we do this on any cruise ship when we have a balcony cabin with no or only one lounge chair. (The only time we didn't ask for a lounge chair was when we were on the VOS and the balcony was too small for even one lounge chair--but we learned our lesson and when we sailed on the Mariner, we made sure we had a cabin with a larger balcony). So no matter what cruiseline/ship you sail on, if you don't have a lounge chair on the balcony, then just ask the room steward. You will likely be accommodated--and if not, then just employ self-help. :)

[cruzin2paradise]

Are you cruising out of NYC because you want to visit NY? If so, that's a great idea, but otherwise I would choose to cruise out of FL. Atlantic is rougher seas, especially around cape hatteras, even at that time of the year.

 

Actually, born and raised in NY, have family there - will be dropping the kids with grandma & grandpa. Since we're already flying to NY we decided it would be a nice change from going out of somewhere in Florida.

 

Sorry if I confused you about the mention of aft balconies being larger. I was talking about aft balconies that are on the very end of the ship, not on the sides of the ship toward the aft. Those balcony cabins you mentioned don't have the larger balconies. If you book the guarantee category, you may be upgraded to any balcony cabin or higher, so is this what you were wanting or did you like that cabin location? Please feel free to email me about the cabins, perhaps I can clarifiy.

 

So, which AFT cabins have the larger balconies? Is there a specific cabin I should request?

[montgomeryfamily]

All of the staterooms which are on the very end (aft) of the ship have bigger balconies. Some are higher category than the balcony category, so when you look at the deck plans, be sure and look at the category colors. Beware that some of those aft cabins have obstructions on the balcony (a beam running through a portion of the balcony).

 

These are very popular, so its likely that, even though the cruise you are looking to book is next year, many may be already booked. So I suggest that you ask your travel agent what is available in the balcony category (cat. BB) and then choose from that.

 

You may already know this, but cabins which are on the very back of the ship have a lot of movement. So if this is a concern (for seasickness or some other reason), then you should probably consider booking one of the balcony staterooms with the larger balconies which are on the Caribe deck and are more midship.

[ahracer]

I think you should be warned that if you are going to book so far in advance, you definitely should not book with Princess. They are the only line that will not provide you with a refund if the price lowers on your cruise - they claim lower prices are "flash" promotions and those suckers already booked are not eligible. Do yourself a favour and either book with one of the other lines or book Princess last minute only.

 

 

This is bad advice. It is only an issue after final payment has been made ,before that time it is no problem to get a lower price so booking far in advance is NOT an issue.

 

We are already booked for 4/07 on a Princess cruise.

 

Scott

[cruzin2paradise]

This is bad advice. It is only an issue after final payment has been made ,before that time it is no problem to get a lower price so booking far in advance is NOT an issue.

 

We are already booked for 4/07 on a Princess cruise.

 

Scott

 

I figured and chose to ignore it . . . sometimes people get burned and try to use it as fact. Thanks!

 

I have a really amazing TA -- contacted her a year ago with what we were looking for in a cruise -- she e-mailed me through the last year "just to say hi" and then e-mailed me yesterday with the information I've been waiting for - that's a good TA - on top of it!

 

So, with that in mind and the fact that I'm extremely anal, any price drops will be found and dealt with - not an issue -- I also know from past experience on other lines, once final payment is made, you can ask for room credit, but there are no guaranties at that point.

 

You all have been very helpful and I appreciate that.

[cruzin2paradise]

All of the staterooms which are on the very end (aft) of the ship have bigger balconies. Some are higher category than the balcony category, so when you look at the deck plans, be sure and look at the category colors. Beware that some of those aft cabins have obstructions on the balcony (a beam running through a portion of the balcony).

 

These are very popular, so its likely that, even though the cruise you are looking to book is next year, many may be already booked. So I suggest that you ask your travel agent what is available in the balcony category (cat. BB) and then choose from that.

 

You may already know this, but cabins which are on the very back of the ship have a lot of movement. So if this is a concern (for seasickness or some other reason), then you should probably consider booking one of the balcony staterooms with the larger balconies which are on the Caribe deck and are more midship.

 

Which are the AFT cabins that have obstructions?

[Ethel5]

This is bad advice. It is only an issue after final payment has been made ,before that time it is no problem to get a lower price so booking far in advance is NOT an issue.

 

We are already booked for 4/07 on a Princess cruise.

 

Scott

 

I also agree with this advice but, in addition, I would add that if you book in advance you are assured of getting the cabin and dinner seating you want.