Princess ships for 2024-2025

[icat2000]

On 3/28/2023 at 6:16 PM, OzKiwiJJ said:

Crown is one of the four Grand Class ships that they built with an extra deck of cabins but with no extra public space. The others are Ruby, Emerald, and Caribbean. We went on Ruby in 2019. Never again! 

 

I would be interested to hear exactly what Princess thinks makes Crown better than all the other ships that have cruised this region. Bigger isn't always better IMHO!

I've been on the Ruby, Carribean and Grand. And your right the space to ratio makes a difference. I can remember at certain times of the day Deck 7 was so crowded. This time over the past 20 days on the Grand it didn't seem so crowded as what I have experienced on Carribean and Ruby.

 

I didn't really think much of the 2024/2025 release. Apart of the repos. Its same, same, same. There no unique one off cruises. 

[LittleFish1976]

10 minutes ago, icat2000 said:

I've been on the Ruby, Carribean and Grand. And your right the space to ratio makes a difference. I can remember at certain times of the day Deck 7 was so crowded. This time over the past 20 days on the Grand it didn't seem so crowded as what I have experienced on Carribean and Ruby.

 

I didn't really think much of the 2024/2025 release. Apart of the repos. Its same, same, same. There no unique one off cruises. 

 

I'm booked for my first Princess cruise in a few months on the Grand - do you think it's not a good first impression of Princess? It'll be hard for me to know what's just 'that ship' and what's Princess in general.

[icat2000]

29 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I'm booked for my first Princess cruise in a few months on the Grand - do you think it's not a good first impression of Princess? It'll be hard for me to know what's just 'that ship' and what's Princess in general.

I liked the Grand Princess. Its a nice ship, but an older ship. But it looked okay to me. My favourite ships are the Diamond and Sapphire. 

Edited March 29, 2023 by icat2000

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, icat2000 said:

I've been on the Ruby, Carribean and Grand. And your right the space to ratio makes a difference. I can remember at certain times of the day Deck 7 was so crowded. This time over the past 20 days on the Grand it didn't seem so crowded as what I have experienced on Carribean and Ruby.

 

I didn't really think much of the 2024/2025 release. Apart of the repos. Its same, same, same. There no unique one off cruises. 

Grand has been very reasonable on this cruise. Comparable with Diamond and Golden.

 

I agree, nothing of interest in the 24/25 release plus the only ship I'd want to go on would be Diamond.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I'm booked for my first Princess cruise in a few months on the Grand - do you think it's not a good first impression of Princess? It'll be hard for me to know what's just 'that ship' and what's Princess in general.

Grand is very nice. Better than the bigger ships like Royal in my opinion even if it is a lot older. The cabins are very quiet unless someone talks loudly right outside your door. No noise from adjacent cabins.

[springaussie]

Grand Princess reminds me of Radiance of the Seas. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

Just now, springaussie said:

Grand Princess reminds me of Radiance of the Seas. 

Or Rhapsody of the Seas, but with the Princess vibe. 

 

I'm currently sitting in Crooners which is the best place to get coffee. The International Cafe is always crowded and the coffee never tastes as good from there as they are too busy to clean the machines during the day - they can only do it at night when things quieten down. 

 

They've been using the One5 bar for the PES drinks. That's a lovely space but under-utilized as is Skywalkers on some of the other Grand Class ships. They close the bar once the PES session is over then, presumably, reopen it later as the nightclub.

[Ondine]

8 hours ago, icat2000 said:

 

I didn't really think much of the 2024/2025 release. Apart of the repos. Its same, same, same. There no unique one off cruises. 

 

Not sure what's going on because they have now pulled the bookings for Melbourne after mid December 2024 for Princess.  According to Melb Ports.  Diamond goes to Brisbane.  Are we not going to have any Princess ships here?  

[Aussie Gal]

8 minutes ago, Ondine said:

 

Not sure what's going on because they have now pulled the bookings for Melbourne after mid December 2024 for Princess.  According to Melb Ports.  Diamond goes to Brisbane.  Are we not going to have any Princess ships here?  

Obviously Princess doesn't count the 5 million people who live here enough to give us a ship for the whole of summer. I don't understand why Brisbane with their awful port get the best of everything. 

[LittleFish1976]

1 hour ago, Ondine said:

 

Not sure what's going on because they have now pulled the bookings for Melbourne after mid December 2024 for Princess.  According to Melb Ports.  Diamond goes to Brisbane.  Are we not going to have any Princess ships here?  

 

Their loss. With short-haul flying becoming even more of a pain in the backside than it ever was, Victorians will choose cruise ships they can get from our local port.

 

Have they (Princess) actually changed the plans they had in place for cruises departing from Melbourne?

[Tranquility Base]

16 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I'm currently sitting in Crooners

On the Promenade, do they still have the full length loungers with padding ?

Any issues with swapping out items in your minibar with items you prefer ?

Thanks.

[arxcards]

14 hours ago, Ondine said:

 

Not sure what's going on because they have now pulled the bookings for Melbourne after mid December 2024 for Princess.  According to Melb Ports.  Diamond goes to Brisbane.  Are we not going to have any Princess ships here?  

No, just an early part season for Diamond. There have been many chaotic turnaround days at station pier, so I wonder if that plays a part for basing a larger ship there. They mostly go by bums on seats though, and I wonder if they have had trouble filling their cabins.

 

I think it is likely they will have an extended season for Pacific Explorer, or the possibility of a Carnival ship being announced instead. Princess could be making space so they are not fighting to fill whatever ship they place there.

[arxcards]

22 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I'm booked for my first Princess cruise in a few months on the Grand - do you think it's not a good first impression of Princess? It'll be hard for me to know what's just 'that ship' and what's Princess in general.

I would agree with the other comments. If nothing else, Grand should give you a typical Princess experience, which is somewhat lacking on newer ships like Majestic.

[arxcards]

On 3/29/2023 at 10:31 AM, cheznandy said:

Geoff we have had 741 and 747 Insides on Diamond and Golden and have had no noise issues. You may hear that aft door close shut if others don't close it gently.

It's our favourite area on those ships to get outside, a bar and the buffet for early morning cuppa.

I would take the 749 or 750 which are further away from the foot traffic using that door.

These cabins have two small portholes, head of bed is against them and they are slightly smaller than an inside at 158sqf (inside 160sqf), otherwise same layout as standard insides on those ships.

I have had a look at these Oceanview cabins on Emerald.

Thanks for the info Chez. In the end, with the possibility of rona disruptions, I am erring on the side of caution and looking. at a balcony near the aft lifts. The price difference isn't huge between those BE balconies and those aft outsides, and they would be a much ncer option should there be any cabin isolation.

[springaussie]

Princess has certainly cut back in Brisbane wth departures 24/25 season.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean (TBC) have also for the season. 

 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, springaussie said:

Princess has certainly cut back in Brisbane wth departures 24/25 season.

Carnival and Royal Caribbean (TBC) have also for the season. 

 

Similarly for Brisbane, they are struggling to fill Luminosa & Pac Adventure during the shoulder parts of the season, so better overall for the Carnival shareholders for Princess to have less departures there. Only for a couple more years though, until cruising becomes unrestricted, and confidence returns to those folk who aren't rusted-on.

[Rassa]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

No, just an early part season for Diamond. There have been many chaotic turnaround days at station pier, so I wonder if that plays a part for basing a larger ship there. They mostly go by bums on seats though, and I wonder if they have had trouble filling their cabins.

 

I think it is likely they will have an extended season for Pacific Explorer, or the possibility of a Carnival ship being announced instead. Princess could be making space so they are not fighting to fill whatever ship they place there.

Shame about cruises starting (or not) from Melbourne, getting sick to death of flights to Sydney and we live close to the port in Melbourne and a long way from Melbourne airport.

 

Pacific Explorer is getting old but has some great cruises to the west.  I am afraid Princess and RCCL spoil us, making it harder to go on a cruise and expecting less.

 

[geoff2802]

I think the cohort sailing on Princess is quite different to those sailing on Carnival & P&O.  Why would you reduce capacity for your higher margin product?  Only if you couldn’t sell it.  
The exchange rate might be a factor in the capacity reductions we’re seeing, although by the time final payments are made it may have completely reversed.    

In the case of Brisbane, the shorter Princess season will benefit Royal Caribbean.  Seems like an own goal to me.  
… and in the case of Melbourne, I guess Virgin is the beneficiary.  

Edited March 30, 2023 by geoff2802

[icat2000]

Virgin cruises is adult only. Doesn't help families who want to cruise out of Melbourne that not PO. Carnival don't even have a ship ported in Melbourne.

[OzKiwiJJ]

6 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

On the Promenade, do they still have the full length loungers with padding ?

Any issues with swapping out items in your minibar with items you prefer ?

Thanks.

I never went out on the Promenade deck. Rolf did and there were some loungers there but he can't remember what type. He said it was comfortable though.

 

Ring room service and they will swap out minibar items for you. 

[Yaya_in_Oz]

23 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

 

 

Ring room service and they will swap out minibar items for you. 

On my last 2 cruises, Grand and Coral, my steward organised the swapping but there was a shortage of brandy 😃 so whisky it was with diet coke. I don't drink much these days anyway but its nice to have.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, icat2000 said:

Virgin cruises is adult only. Doesn't help families who want to cruise out of Melbourne that not PO. Carnival don't even have a ship ported in Melbourne.

Carnival - not yet. I have a hunch they are going to try it.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, geoff2802 said:

I think the cohort sailing on Princess is quite different to those sailing on Carnival & P&O.  Why would you reduce capacity for your higher margin product?  Only if you couldn’t sell it.  
The exchange rate might be a factor in the capacity reductions we’re seeing, although by the time final payments are made it may have completely reversed.    

In the case of Brisbane, the shorter Princess season will benefit Royal Caribbean.  Seems like an own goal to me.  
… and in the case of Melbourne, I guess Virgin is the beneficiary.  

That makes sense but I am not sure Princess is a higher margin profit though. All down to bums on seats, and they would have a ship there if they could make $1 more than having it somewhere else. It is also a puzzle that the short Cunard season is missing as well, so there is something Carnival Corp is not loving about porting from Melbourne.

 

As for Virgin, the only Melbourne to Melbourne cruises in 23/24 are short ones to Tassie, which hardly throws them up the benefactor. Niche offerings unless they expand their season in 24/25.

[arxcards]

2 hours ago, Rassa said:

Shame about cruises starting (or not) from Melbourne, getting sick to death of flights to Sydney and we live close to the port in Melbourne and a long way from Melbourne airport.

 

Pacific Explorer is getting old but has some great cruises to the west.  I am afraid Princess and RCCL spoil us, making it harder to go on a cruise and expecting less.

 

True, hopefully it is just for 24/25. Knowing we get loyalty perks on those lines does make it harder to cruise on P&O for us to, as well as all of their fleet being former Princess ships that are seen as too old for Princess.

[geoff2802]

While we’re whingeing about Princess’ deployment…  why would they base Diamond in Melbourne in the Spring when it’s still cold around the south of the country and Brisbane in summer when it’s hot?  Perhaps they still can’t work out our seasons.  
And no cruises to the islands from Brisbane - leaving it to the sister brands presumably.  
I reckon Royal is laughing.