Which Tahitian Princess cabin?

[emairs]

I have an aft BA cabin on hold on deck 8. I've never taken a Princess cruise, but always book the aft cabins on Celebrity M-class ships.

Since these BA cabins are available on decks 6, 7 & 8, which is the best location? Is there noise from above on deck 8?

Does anyone know how they compare to the Celebrity aft cabins, i.e. in balcony and cabin size? I know that the balconies will be smaller, but are they tiny? Are the balconies covered?

Any help would be appreciated. I have a couple of days before the deposit is due. TIA.

[southwestgal]

Hi. I was on the TP in January. I was on Deck 8 (mini-suite) and it was wonderful, but there was a bit of noise in the morning (lounge chairs being straightened, etc.) The mini-suites are only on Deck 8, but, since your class of cabin is also on 7, then I would take the cabin on 7. You will be surrounded by cabins. Aft on Deck 9 is the buffet so you might get some noise in the morning if you are on Deck 8 directly underneath.

 

The TP is a beautiful ship. All the balconies are covered and have room for a couple of chairs. They are all the same depth, but the width varies.

 

Hope this information helps you out a bit.

[donna5]

I have an aft BA cabin on hold on deck 8. I've never taken a Princess cruise, but always book the aft cabins on Celebrity M-class ships.

Since these BA cabins are available on decks 6, 7 & 8, which is the best location? Is there noise from above on deck 8?

Does anyone know how they compare to the Celebrity aft cabins, i.e. in balcony and cabin size? I know that the balconies will be smaller, but are they tiny? Are the balconies covered?

Any help would be appreciated. I have a couple of days before the deposit is due. TIA.

FYI the balcony is made out of the hull so you don't have a railing that you can see through while sitting down. (If that is important to you)

[cactusrose]

Heck.. . . a few days into the cruise and those Plexiglas panels are so dirty you can't see through them anyway.:rolleyes:

[southwestgal]

Only the aft balconies (and probably the forward ones) are "made of the hull". They are the only ones without rails. The balconies along the side of the ships have standard rails (not plexiglass).

[DGF]

I have an aft BA cabin on hold on deck 8. I've never taken a Princess cruise, but always book the aft cabins on Celebrity M-class ships.

Since these BA cabins are available on decks 6, 7 & 8, which is the best location? Is there noise from above on deck 8?

Does anyone know how they compare to the Celebrity aft cabins, i.e. in balcony and cabin size? I know that the balconies will be smaller, but are they tiny? Are the balconies covered?

Any help would be appreciated. I have a couple of days before the deposit is due. TIA.

 

A word of caution- We have been to Tahiti twice. Weather for the first trip was disappointing. Second time we got it right and had a wonderfull ten days aboard the Tahitian Princess= August and September are good months for lots of sunshine.

 

Cabins- our friends had a mini suite and we had a normal balcony cabin next door. We found the balcony cabin very good- only difference between the two was more room and a bath tub.

 

We spent close to two months in the south pacific and came back with a ton of notes. If you would like, please advise as to your plans and we can parcel out those notes that are applicable to your trip

 

Here is what we had to say about the Tahitian Princess in an article we wrote for a local travel magazine-

 

The Tahitian Princess is one of the four former 30,000 ton ships of the Renaissance fleet (small cruise ships) which went bankrupt. Much to the credit of Princess they left the décor package (Renaissance) and ship layout in tact, restricting up grades to worn out items. Has a passenger load of 680 approx and a crew of 370 approx

 

 

We can not praise this ship, its staff, the food, and itinerary enough. This is the best cruise we have been on. The dinners were all memorable experiences, with the food ranging from very good to gourmet with the attentive staff providing extras such as allowing us (table of four) to add a fifth dish placed in the middle of the table to be shared.

 

The ship, being only 30,000 tons, worked well without the normal boarding and disembarkation hassles (Tahitian Princess in fact allows you stay on board the day of your departure using all of the ship's amenities, including dining, other than your cabin, until your flight departs = some of the guests were still on board late into the evening on the eve of our departure).

 

The itinerary can be best described as a "cruise thru paradise"- the French Polynesian Islands are some of the most beautiful we have visited, many of the islands being volcanic with rugged black peaks covered with green foliage tapering off and disappearing at the shoreline into clear azure blue water.

 

Many of the lagoons, especially those in Bora Bora are outstanding. Our cruise also included a side trip to the Cook Island of Rarotonga, allowing for two relaxing days at sea.

 

One of our company staff took the same cruise in September 2004 and had similar experience to ours

 

Cabin 8027- Deck 8, veranda

 

Noise- very good insulation between cabins = no horizontal noise pollution. During the day there was, from time to time, a thumping noise from above (not loud enough to be a real problem). Could not determine the cause since only deck chairs around the pool above cabin (may have been jogging track two decks up)

 

Sleeping- twin beds together. Comfortable, no problem

 

Washroom- shower, sink, cabinet. Tight but satisfactory. Could have had more shelf space. Intensity and volume of water in shower lacking

 

Furniture- i) one chair for desk/ make up table, one sofa chair and small corner round coffee table, two end tables for bed = need another sofa/ chair; ii) TV with CNN and travel channel; iii). Safe for storage of valuables; iv) Electrical- plug in washroom for North American current for razor; v) AC- individual control in cabin which held room temperature at 70 F at night for sleeping

 

Balcony- two plastic chairs, plus small plastic coffee table just large enough to put breakfast food tray on in the morning. Adequate size for furniture and for two to use. Partition aft was solid. Partition bow was only partial and removable = restricted privacy/ not full privacy.

 

Conclusion- Excellent room size for short cruise of one to two weeks. Given the scenery would recommend a cabin with a veranda. Only problem encountered was insufficient shelf space. More than adequate hanging space in closets. For longer cruises would take a larger cabin (Mini suite on Deck 8 which is larger, more furnishings and larger bathroom with tub). Next time- same room category but would go as low as possible with the same category (when party on the pool deck can be heard in the cabin- one night only in Raiatea. Also lower the deck the less the motion and will save money)

 

Itinerary- Excellent. Time in ports sufficient to get a good feel for each island (for details see following)

 

Embarkation & Disembarkation- Smooth and efficient.No line ups for either. Princess allows departing passengers to stay on board to use all the facilities other than their cabin = provide you with meals until you leave = excellent and considerate service by Princess

 

Ship décor- Renaissance- upscale, very good

 

Food- Dinners were a memorable experience. Good choices each night and excellent quality food. Did not have a bad meal in whole trip. Also discovered that waiters would allow more than one course as well as special orders = we started to order a fifth main course, put in the middle of the table and shared. Also enquired as to special menu items being prepared for high end cabins and allowed to order when available. Executive Chef was Cluade Palloure. Have option of reserving in two specialty restaurants- Sabatini Room, Deck 10 at a cost of US $20 each. Recommend that you skip lunch. Our experience- Italian menu, started to bring one serving after another and went on for two hours. Could make choices per course. Two parts of menu were selection- soup and main course (permitted you to double up/ select two and sample both). Conclusion- excellent and RECOMMEND you treat yourself for one night. Also Sterling Steakhouse Grill, which we did not indulge (also extra charge)

 

Service- Dining room was equal to service in gourmet restaurant. General- excellent throughout the ship. Staff are really trying to accomplish a standard of excellence

 

Size/ facilities- Equal to large cruise ships. Did not feel crowded at anytime. Very good gym with full equipment other than no graviton

 

Entertainment- Standard fare on a cruise ship (some of shows needed help), added bonus of Four Tahitian shows by local groups were good to excellent = no need to see a Tahitian show prior to cruise

 

Information on daily activities and ports of call- as on other cruise ships, each evening you receive a news letter "Princess Patter" delivered to your cabin, outlining in detail the activities available and times for the next day (ship runs an extensive daily program). In addition you receive an Adventures Ashore Port Guide

 

Internet room- very slow, could not download and save to a disc, could not hook up lap top. Several days unable to use.

 

Casino- smoking was permitted and resulted in the room not being suitable when crowded. Otherwise friendly helpful dealers. We had some success on one arm bandits- luck or better odds?

 

Princess charter flights- do not use. Many complaints as to tightness of seating and food

 

Excursions- On the whole, Princess excursions were very good (only one not that great). NOTE: book your excursions ASAP using the Princess Web sites. By the time you board the ship the good ones will likely be booked. We found that one month prior to departure some were booked

[DGF]

One further experience relating to cabin

 

Since the ship is small it "can move around a lot" in rough seas= you might want to consider a mid ship location if you do not have good sea legs.

 

Our friends who just returned from a trip on Tahitian Princess in January were not able to get into Raratonga (Cook Islands) due to the winds

[DGF]

Wanted to double check some photos before I responded to a previous cruise critics advice of restricted view from balcony

 

Our cabin had the traditional open railing and had no restriction when we sat on the balcony

[debshomespun]

When was your trip to Tahiti that had bad weather? We want to go during the "best weather season" if there is such a thing, LOL! Not sure when the rainy season is in these islands. We were thinking of spring, April/08, or 09. This is my dream cruise, and I will have to save lots of $$$ to be able to go.

 

Did you stay pre-cruise in Tahiti? I want to arrive a couple days early and stay in an over water bungalow. Any suggestions as to where is a good location?

 

Thanks for all your help!

[emairs]

FYI the balcony is made out of the hull so you don't have a railing that you can see through while sitting down. (If that is important to you)

 

Yes, being able to see the ocean when sitting down is very important to me. Does the same apply to the owners' suites, and the cabins at the front of the ship as well? If so, what do you recommend? Perhaps a mini-suite?

[wystiria]

Debshomespun -

 

Staying an additional day at the begining or end of your cruise is a GREAT idea! we stayed an additional week after our B2B in 04' for us $$ was dwindling so we stayed and a small pension and didn't get an over the water bungalow. BUT we knew people that did and it was incredibly cool. I would try and stay on Bora Bora or Moorea instead of Tahiti. (I love the main island but that is a whole other story :) ) Anyway I would also reccomend you stay after your cruise becasue then you don't need to be at the airport with everyone else and your experience will be much better!!! plus you might be able to book your own airfare for a good price as long as you don't fly the same days as princess cruises in general. we weere able to do this and it saved us money PLUS we controled when we arrived and departed.

 

Also the rainy season starts in November and continues thru to March I think - I know it starts in Nov. just not sure when it ends. You will probably have some rain no matter when you go, but like other tropical destinations it frequently dries up quickly.

 

Rooms - I reccomend the 7th floor, we spent a month in a regular balcony in teh center of the 7th and it was great :)

 

Have fun!

[Spender Nui]

Debshomespun -

 

Staying an additional day at the begining or end of your cruise is a GREAT idea! we stayed an additional week after our B2B in 04' for us $$ was dwindling so we stayed and a small pension and didn't get an over the water bungalow. BUT we knew people that did and it was incredibly cool. I would try and stay on Bora Bora or Moorea instead of Tahiti. (I love the main island but that is a whole other story :) ) Anyway I would also reccomend you stay after your cruise becasue then you don't need to be at the airport with everyone else and your experience will be much better!!! plus you might be able to book your own airfare for a good price as long as you don't fly the same days as princess cruises in general. we weere able to do this and it saved us money PLUS we controled when we arrived and departed.

 

Also the rainy season starts in November and continues thru to March I think - I know it starts in Nov. just not sure when it ends. You will probably have some rain no matter when you go, but like other tropical destinations it frequently dries up quickly.

 

Rooms - I reccomend the 7th floor, we spent a month in a regular balcony in teh center of the 7th and it was great :)

 

Have fun!

 

 

I'd imagine that your flights would be less crowded too. Is that correct?

[donna5]

Yes, being able to see the ocean when sitting down is very important to me. Does the same apply to the owners' suites, and the cabins at the front of the ship as well? If so, what do you recommend? Perhaps a mini-suite?

 

 

Cactusrose has apparently not been on the Tahitian. There are no plexiglass panels on the mini-suite/balcony cabins on port and starboard. They are a rail type. We have had a mini on the tahitian and were happy with it. Could just lay in bed and look out. I'm sure if you did a search you might find some pictures of the aft cabins and port and starboard cabins. Granted the balonies of the aft balcony and Owner Suites are bigger. The minisuite and balcony, balconies are not deep.

[cactusrose]

Cactusrose has apparently not been on the Tahitian. There are no plexiglass panels on the mini-suite/balcony cabins on port and starboard. They are a rail type. We have had a mini on the tahitian and were happy with it. Could just lay in bed and look out. I'm sure if you did a search you might find some pictures of the aft cabins and port and starboard cabins. Granted the balonies of the aft balcony and Owner Suites are bigger. The minisuite and balcony, balconies are not deep.

 

Au contraire Donna5. I was on her identical sister ship the Pacific Princess and, with the exception of the aft cabins, below the rail of the balcony and mini-suite cabins are clear plexi-glass panels. Any picutre you look at shows this very clearly.

[bankofdad]

We're looking at the April 18, 2008 sailing right now. This thread has been very helpful, as were were interested in the aft BA, but would have been disappointed with the "hull" obstruction. I had a suite on one of our cruises that was built that way, and it just didn't feel as "open" as we like.

 

Is anyone that has sailed in mid-April (or thereabouts) able to comment on the weather?

 

Thanks to all for contributing!

[southwestgal]

I was just on the Tahitian Princess in January. There are absolutely no plexiglass panels of any kind on the port and starboard balconies. They have thin rails that are very easy to look through. I have wonderful pictures of the ship and if anyone can tell me how to post them, I will be glad to do so when I get home from work tonight. The pictures show very clearly that there are rails on these balconies.

 

Cactusrose, I have no doubt that you saw plexiglass panels on the Pacific Princess, but they do not exist on the Tahitian Princess. I was there.

[cactusrose]

I was just on the Tahitian Princess in January. There are absolutely no plexiglass panels of any kind on the port and starboard balconies. They have thin rails that are very easy to look through. I have wonderful pictures of the ship and if anyone can tell me how to post them, I will be glad to do so when I get home from work tonight. The pictures show very clearly that there are rails on these balconies.

 

Cactusrose, I have no doubt that you saw Plexiglas panels on the Pacific Princess, but they do not exist on the Tahitian Princess. I was there.

 

I stand corrected then. I'm glad to hear they don't have them on the Tahitian. Since I was on the Pacific when she was first brought in to the fleet, maybe they have taken them off her also. I'll be interested to see what they have on the Royal when I sail on her next year.

[donna5]

I was just on the Tahitian Princess in January. There are absolutely no plexiglass panels of any kind on the port and starboard balconies. They have thin rails that are very easy to look through. I have wonderful pictures of the ship and if anyone can tell me how to post them, I will be glad to do so when I get home from work tonight. The pictures show very clearly that there are rails on these balconies.

 

Cactusrose, I have no doubt that you saw plexiglass panels on the Pacific Princess, but they do not exist on the Tahitian Princess. I was there.

 

Thank you.

[chrysalis]

I stand corrected then. I'm glad to hear they don't have them on the Tahitian. Since I was on the Pacific when she was first brought in to the fleet, maybe they have taken them off her also. I'll be interested to see what they have on the Royal when I sail on her next year.

 

for what will be the Royal....

 

do the "virtual tour" and you will get a screen size side view of the entire ship.....looks to me like some plexi and some not

 

http://www.swanhellenic.com/aboutminerv.asp

[budaman]

I've been following this thread because we have just been assigned our balcony cabin for our cruise, 6014. I had always thought in the pics I had seen that the openings for the balconies on Deck 6 and the rear 1/3 of those on Deck 7 seemed larger. I downloaded the Tahitian Princess pic from the Princess sight and enlarged it as my desktop background. It clearly appears the balconies that seem larger, have plexiglass panels while those on the upper decks have steel with a small rail which is why they seemed smaller. You can clearly see the Tahitian Princess ame on the ship. Are my eyes playing tricks or have the balconies been welded in since the photo was taken.

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[budaman]

I've been following this thread because we have just been assigned our balcony cabin for our cruise, 6014. I had always thought in the pics I had seen that the openings for the balconies on Deck 6 and the rear 1/3 of those on Deck 7 seemed larger. I downloaded the Tahitian Princess pic from the Princess sight and enlarged it as my desktop background. It clearly appears the balconies that seem larger, have plexiglass panels while those on the upper decks have steel with a small rail which is why they seemed smaller. You can clearly see the Tahitian Princess ame on the ship. Are my eyes playing tricks or have the balconies been welded in since the photo was taken.

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[budaman]

For some reason, the pic didn't post. I'll try again.

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/

[southwestgal]

Hi Budaman,

 

If you can give me instructions on how you post a picture, I'll post the ones that I took of the TP in January. They clearly show the balconies. Who knows how old the picture of the TP is on the website. It could even be the Pacific Princess and they digitally added the name.

 

Southwestgal

[bankofdad]

Thanks everyone for all of the info. DW convinced me that we should do Tahiti instead of Alaska 2007 (we'll re-schedule and do that in 2008). We just booked the Tahitian Princess for the 6/29/07 sailing. We selected a BB near mid-ship (cabin 7073)

 

I took the tips from other posters here, and checked the monthly average rainfall statistics for Papeete at www.weatherchannel.com, and WOW do they get some rain October to April. I compared it to the many times we've been in Hawaii around the islands, and I was shocked at how much more they get in Tahiti!

 

Thanks again to everyone for posting!

[budaman]

Photo posting 101;) If you want to post a pic like the one I did.....

After typing your reply, scroll down to where it says Additional Options, you'll see a box that says Attach files...click on manage Attachments. A box will open that has a button 'choose file' and below will show how large a pic file can be in the different formats...I use JPG as it gives you the largest size. This is where you'll have to play with your pics to reduce the size. I have a Mac with IPhoto so it's real easy. Once you choose the pic, click upload and it will save the pic as an attachment. When done, click 'submit reply' but use the button below the 'Additional Options' box.

 

Mike

 

http://www.homepage.mac.com/csealove/