Princess Newbie with questions..............

[JNLROSE]

We are RCI & Celebrity past cruisers and are interested in the Pacific Princess cruise from Papeete to Hawaii. 12 nights. Can anyone give me some info on this itinerary, the ship, activities, mini suites w/balc, dresscodes, dining, etc. In other words, EVERYTHING???

[elmtree]

You might want to go to one of the large websites that sell cruises and go through the steps to book and it will give you most of that information, or just go to the Princess website and they also will show you pics of the ship and all the activities and information that you could want. Hope this helps...

[mii]

I can help you with the mini-suite. We were on the Pacific Princess to Alaska and I must say that the mini-suite with balcony was fanatastic. Plenty of room, had a nice couch and the balcony was more than efficient for two. As to dining of course there is only traditional seating and the food was great. You have to make a visit to the ships library. It looks like it came right out of an old English manor. Beautiful woods throughout ship. Hope that helps.

 

Marilyn

[JNLROSE]

Thanks Elmtree, I have done that, I'm mostly looking for firsthand experience on the ship. Someone who has actually sailed that itinerary in one of those cabins. Tasted the food and can give a first hand experience on board. :D

MII--are there the alternative dining rooms available also--Sterling Steakhouse & Sabbatini's??

[mii]

JNROSE: There was a sterling steakhouse(alternative) cannot remember the price and I am not sure about Sabbatini's. I agree with the above poster in that the Princess site should list all of the alternative restaurants. Maybe someone else will come on and tell you more info. Also go to the ports of call board and go to the places that the Pacific Princess goes to. Maybe someone there might be able to help you.

 

Marilyn

[bdjam]

There is a list on the Princess website of the dining venues on the ships – you have to dig for it, however. When I was on Pacific Princess last August (2003) there were both Sterlings and Sabitini’s, however they were open alternate evenings. Sterlings was brilliant.

The service and quality of product presented on this small ship was at the upper end of the Princess spectrum…

[NitaBcruising]

Hi Rosie!

 

How are you??? Jumping ship, so to speak??? :D

 

I see the Pacific and Tahitian are sisters. Unless you insist on BIG, you might love the Pacific, as I love the Tahitian! It is beautiful, and a great small ship.

 

Assuming they have the same policies, they would alternate nights with the two restaurants. We ate at Sterling, great food and service!

 

I think you should book, the itinerary is great! :)

[JNLROSE]

Hi Nita! :D

Yep, considering it seriously! The Mercury was not up to our standards! :( The Tahiti to Hawaii itinerary interests us A LOT!!! Waiting for the May 2006 to be released. I think we could do the smaller ship with a more relaxed atmosphere, no problem! The Mercury was a LOT more relaxed than it should have been! :rolleyes:

[Seabee]

Hi Rosie...another X fan looking for something different huh? I've already booked my first Princess cruise for March...Carib Princess. Going caribbean because I'm taking all my adult kids with us and Caribbean is the only one I could afford. :D I even gave up my balcony for an inside. :(

[JNLROSE]

Hi Seabee!

Yep, getting tired of the samo samo itineraries at X!! They made some changes for 2005 which in MHO, are not good so we're looking for something new! Have always wanted to do Tahiti, so now is the time to do it I think!

[Rustynail]

We are RCI & Celebrity past cruisers and are interested in the Pacific Princess cruise from Papeete to Hawaii. 12 nights. Can anyone give me some info on this itinerary, the ship, activities, mini suites w/balc, dresscodes, dining, etc. In other words, EVERYTHING???

Hey girl - what are you doing over here? Come have a taste of Princess and sail with us on the Carribean Princess next month.

You never know - Newt may show up on board and spring for the martini's!

Dan

[JNLROSE]

Hi Rusty!! Wish that I could!!!! Unfortunately for accountants, January doesn't work!!! :eek: Happy Holidays my friend! :D

[bdjam]

Hey girl - what are you doing over here? Come have a taste of Princess and sail with us on the Carribean Princess next month.

 

Just want to make one comment – if you’ve not sailed Princess before, please note that the cruise experience presented on a 7-day Caribbean Princess run will be completely different than what you experience on Pacific Princess for 12 days…

[JNLROSE]

BDJAM, I am hoping you mean the 12 day Pacific will be better, am I right????

[Rustynail]

Rosie, I believe that's what he meant.

 

Dan

[JNLROSE]

Rusty, I can definitely handle that then. I have seen the interior of the ship & she is quite elegant, I figured it would be pretty top notch which is why we are choosing it!!! ;)

[bdjam]

BDJAM, I am hoping you mean the 12 day Pacific will be better, am I right????

In my opinion, 12 days on Pacific Princess will be better – and probably closer to a Celebrity experience. But some people don’t like the smaller ships and longer cruises and aren’t looking for the same type of experience. For them, the 12 days might be a disaster!

[JNLROSE]

BD, I am so glad you are responding with such good info!! Thanks! :D We always sail longer than 10 nights, so 12 on the smaller ship will be no problem for us, I have always thought though, that the Seabourns 200+ pax was too small, even for us!

[bdjam]

BD, I am so glad you are responding with such good info!! Thanks! :D We always sail longer than 10 nights, so 12 on the smaller ship will be no problem for us, I have always thought though, that the Seabourns 200+ pax was too small, even for us!

OK – you got me going - I wrote a review after sailing Pacific Princess which was not transferred over from the old boards. Here it is…

 

On board, the crew calls her “Terrific” Pacific Princess. I must say that I agree with that assessment. The new Pacific Princess is a little jewel in the Princess fleet and although she’s small compared to her running mates, she shines in her own way without having to shout about it.

I boarded Pacific Princess on July 23rd in San Francisco. I arrived at the pier about 12:30 and was quickly on board. The only “line” (of about eight people) was to get through the security check. Once past there, I went to the Platinum Check In line and was on board by 12:45.

While there was no one to direct me (or escort me) to my cabin, I quickly found it – due to my studies of deck plans – on Deck 8, number 8019, a category AA mini-suite. The cabin was comparable in size to the mini-suites on the Grand Class ships, maybe a little smaller. The layout is basically the same, with the sleeping area first, then the sitting area, then the balcony. The sitting area included a couch (which folded out to a double bed) and two chairs and a table. Only one TV (really, quite enough) and a balcony which was at least double the width of the standard balconies, but the same measurement in depth. The bathroom included a bathtub. There was so much storage space that I couldn’t even begin to fill it all. My room steward, Jose, was efficient and often times anticipated my needs before I even asked – the service he delivered was excellent.

 

JSEA asked about the noise from the pool deck above these cabins. I didn’t notice any noise issues. You could hear movement around up there at times, as you would from any floor above, but I wasn’t disturbed by any noise at all.

 

There also have been some comments regarding the hard mattresses. I didn’t notice a problem with mine, however one couple at our table at dinner did complain theirs was very uncomfortable. When we disembarked in San Francisco, they were switching out mattresses. So, either they already did mine, or it just wasn’t uncomfortable for me.

 

Another area of concern has been the motion experienced on board. Well folks, this is a ship – not a floating hotel – and yes, she does move. We were told we did not go through the infamous Potato Patch (apparently it is not in the normal sea-lanes) and we had relatively smooth sailing out of San Francisco. At about 3:00 the next morning we entered an area of low pressure which whipped up the winds and the sea was “rough with average moderate swells.” While I thought Pacific rode it out pretty well, barf bags were strategically placed around the ship and many didn’t make it to meals (I think some didn’t make it to the bags). Crewmembers said that going north was usually somewhat rough, but this was probably the worst they’d been through (and of course it was perfectly smooth when we came back). I didn’t notice a great deal of roll, but there was a pronounced pitch and yaw. When the bow was down and she was trying to right herself, there was a pronounced side to side shaking – enough to knock stuff off the bathroom shelf. For us Californians, a moderate earthquake. I’m thankful that the motion didn’t bother me (I was starved at mealtime) as it continued for about a day and a half, although lessening in intensity. Many were thankful when the seas calmed down – I kind of had fun with it all!

 

I spent a lot of time in the Nightclub (too much according to my bar bill) and found it to be a very pleasant room. An observation lounge in the day time, it could be a nice quiet place to enjoy a book and the scenery. At night the theme parties happened here and late it became the dance club on board.

 

Princess has refurbished the Nightclub so it looks more like a Princess room than the rest of the ship. I know – a lot don’t particularly care for the Princess “beige” décor, but I happen to like it and would have preferred the ship be totally gutted and redone. While I thought her beautiful, the interiors of Pacific have a Victorian look with heavy carpet patterns, dark woods, narrow stairwells and heavy furniture…not necessarily to my taste, but well executed.

 

Also up on Deck 10 is the Library, a room with a beautifully painted ceiling that is sorely underused. Sterling Steakhouse and Sabitini’s are also on this deck. These alternative restaurants were not open on the same nights – Sterling was open 7 nights and Sabitini’s 3. We ate at Sterling one night and had a fabulous dinner – the food, service and ambiance well worth the $8 per person.

 

The Lotus Spa was wonderful…I spent a lot of time there too. I was surprised to see they offered the same menu of treatments as on the Grand Class ships, although in a much smaller venue…only three treatment rooms! There was a steam room, fog shower (?), multiple head shower, and the extreme forward deck was private for those getting treatments that day – this area was sheltered from wind by glass, had teak loungers and a whirlpool spa.

 

Aft on Deck 9 was the Panorama Buffet. The food here was quite good, and some of the offerings at the themed luncheons were excellent. I visited the omelet guy every morning. There was a problem with lines here, even though the number of passengers is small. This is where you realize the free-floating arrangement in the various Horizon Courts is actually a plus. You couldn’t just move around to get what you wanted here, you sort of had to stand in line and wait until you got to the food item you wanted – or be accused of not waiting your turn. The Panorama Buffet had a Bistro menu each night from 11:00 to 4:00 a.m.

 

The rest of the main rooms were down on Deck 5. The Cabaret is forward and is the main show lounge. While this again is a much smaller room than the Princess Theaters on the Grand Class ships, the production shows were still done – of course they were scaled down, four singers (two being singer/dancers) and four dancers – and done well given the space limitations. Some of the shows I’ve seen at the big theaters, and again, I didn’t feel there was anything missing from these performances (except space and scenery). The production shows were executed very well – of the five, two of them lacked in their composition, but the performances were still extraordinary.

 

The Cabaret was also used for Bingo, Real Live Wooden Horse Racing, etc. Of special note in the Cabaret were the lectures of Brent Nixon, the naturalist. Thanks to postings on these boards, I knew to visit his presentations and all were excellent. He also gave wonderfully inspiring commentary during the Tracy Arm sailing, the arrival in Vancouver and when looking for wildlife – all of which could be heard out on deck (or by dialing channel 35 on your stateroom TV!).

 

Moving aft on Deck 5 is the Casino – if you have problems with cigarette smoke, watch out for this area…it actually drifted up into the stairwell so you could smell it halfway down the stairs from Deck 6. The Casino is an open area that, except for the starboard corridor, takes up the whole deck…there doesn’t seem to be an effective smoke removal system there – and as a smoker, if I noticed it, you know it was apparent.

 

Outside on Deck 5 was the Promenade Deck – this deck does not circle the ship and was very isolated when I was out there. There are the teak loungers to use and I got a great viewpoint from that deck when docking in Juneau.

 

All the way aft is the Club Restaurant. I had most of my dinners here and I thought all were very good to excellent. There wasn’t one meal that I didn’t enjoy or felt was poorly prepared. It was standard Princess fare, but again, the Princess experience keeps me coming back, so I must like it. I did have an excellent Rack of Lamb, Chicken Kiev and Beef Wellington. King Crab Legs were offered as well as the usual Lobster Tails. The service was somewhat uneven, but the wait staff at our table seemed to be overpowered by another table of six which every night had special appetizer orders (how do you do that?) and were somewhat inebriated…it didn’t diminish the experience for me. Missing were the Head Waiters preparing pasta or Cherries Jubilee (rats!). Using this room for the two dinner seatings means there’s a good number of people in it at once. I think a remodel if this room to remove the heavy furniture (keep the ceiling, please) would help to make it more efficient.

 

 

[bdjam]

Dress in the dining room – one of our favorite subjects – was a mixed bag. Smart Casual nights were in some cases attended in jeans, t-shirts and shorts – my comment to Princess is that they should enforce the guidelines, or change them so we know what to expect. Everyone seemed to be at least dressed to the minimum guideline for formal night, with tuxedos being in the minority…the men had at least a jacket and tie, however. The past passengers at the Captain’s Circle Party seemed on the whole better dressed than those who were not there – some being beautifully dressed and a pleasure to watch. One of the gentlemen at my table came dressed to dinner in a suit every night and his wife was always in a dress and heels – this was very nice to see.

The Champagne Waterfall was SQUEEEZED into the area beside the atrium staircase between decks four and five. As is tradition, it was built to ten layers to represent the ten decks. Because of the smaller area, the party entertainment was the piano player on board rather than rollicking dancing waiters, but the champagne was free flowing (I could have had three or four glasses) and there were plenty of the little dessert items.

Pacific Princess offered an abbreviated version of Scholarship at Sea on board, the Patter identifying which of the day’s events qualified for these “contemporary enrichment” courses.

I pre-ordered my shore excursion tickets online at the Princess website and the tickets were waiting for me in my cabin when I arrived. I only participated in two shore excursions, and one was the all-day ticket to Mt. Roberts in Juneau, but many that did said they felt that Princess did a great job. They felt the excursion operators were obviously top of the line, the excursions were well organized and worth the money – even if a higher price than what you could get on shore - due to the convenience and quality. I participated in the Sea Otter Wildlife Jet Boat excursion in Sitka and would recommend it to anyone. We were out for a full three hours, saw a number of humpback whales, otters, seals, bears, eagles, deer and jellyfish (?). It was quite a wonderful afternoon.

Another “shore” highlight was the arrival in Vancouver – while the hours were somewhat odd, and many hoped for more time there, we arrived mid-day and so everyone was able to be up and out on deck to enjoy the sailing into this spectacular port. The weather was perfect (one of the few days it was) and so the arrival was excellent.

I did have an occasion to talk to one of the revenue managers on board just after a meeting with some corporate people in Juneau. He had nothing but positive thoughts about the mingling of the Carnival and Princess companies. He indicated that Carnival Corporation has adopted some of the strengths they’ve observed in the Princess administrative style. He also indicated they recognize Princess is marketing to two demographics – the 7-day mass-market passengers and the “connoisseur” passenger looking for different types of itineraries with more days and smaller ships. Regal, Royal, Tahitian and Pacific are selling like hot cakes. Although they’ve been slated to leave the fleet, look for Regal and Royal to remain indefinitely, and the possibility of additional smaller ships.

All in all, I didn’t feel that anything I wanted from a big ship was missing on Terrific Pacific Princess. There was a reduction in scale for sure, but there wasn’t anything missing. The service levels were above that on the bigger ships and I felt the food quality and presentation better as well. And I did enjoy those six days at sea when I could relax and do nothing (even though the Patter was chock full of activities) – a great respite from my day to day life. There are definite differences between this ship and what one would expect on a Grand Class vessel. I found those differences to be positive, and wouldn’t hesitate to sail Terrific Pacific Princess again.

Inquiries? I’d be happy to help!

[JNLROSE]

BD, hey thanks a million! I just printed all of this & will go study it with the DH!!! You really have been helpful! :D

[bdjam]

BD, hey thanks a million! I just printed all of this & will go study it with the DH!!! You really have been helpful! :D

You’re welcome…enjoy Pacific Princess – she’s a great little ship!

[JNLROSE]

OK, got another question.........I have read where some if not all the P. ships have self serve laundry facilities, is that true of the Pacific? Do they also have pay laundry service available? I don't care to do my own, I can, but I always use the service on Celebrity.

[Times Prince]

We took last May's Tahiti to Hawaii cruise on the Pacific Princess (cabin 7089) and it ranked as one of the best ever! Food was terrific, entertainment was, too. They have the main show in what would be considered the Vista Lounge in other ships, and it was really exciting to be up close and personal with the shows. This is the first ship where we actually got to be friends with the cruise director, Sammi. She is extraordinary, and gave a great talk on whales from her personal experience. This is the first ship where we have ever had a casual conversation with the Captain as well.

 

JNLROSE, yes they do have a self serve laundry on the Pacific Princess.

 

Our trip was really smooth - we've had rougher days on bigger ships going from Cozumel to Ft. Lauderdale. This surprised us because we expected the smaller ship to rock more. It didn't.

 

All in all, it was a great trip for our wedding anniversary - very romantic.

[JNLROSE]

Times Prince, thanks for the wonderful review of the Pacific! We are SOOOO excited to try to book this, just have to wait so long to do it! LOL