bubbaed

In theory, when the ship is running on LNG, there would be no soot...

It's possible that Princess is/was under a legal contract with Fincantieri that prohibits them from sharing details of the delay, lest they find themselves in legal jeopardy. Until Princess takes 100% responsibility for the ship, they are likely not in control of what information they can and can't share with the public. This could also explain the lack of media coverage, social media coverage, etc. Until the other day, the ship, technically, did not belong to Princess - it belonged to the shipyard. Now that Princess has ownership, it is still parked at the dock getting work done so it makes sense that Princess would not want to throw their contractor under the bus, so to speak. Not to mention the Star, currently under construction, could be impacted by any negative press. In the case of RC and the Icon rollout contrast with Sun's rollout, it's possible that RCI has a different legal arrangement with their shipyards than Princess does - one which allows them more freedom of sharing information. Not en expert in such things, just guessing.

Currently on Vista, second leg of back-to-back. We were in cabin 7028 for the first leg and the creaking coming from the balcony door frame was very loud. Thankfully, we were moved (at our request) to a different cabin for our second leg, and our new cabin is wonderfully quiet (although the neighbor's TV can be heard through the wall...)

While travel-related costs are skyrocketing across the board (booked flights or hotels recently?!?) I agree that this seems short-sighted and a blow to those who usually cannot plan vacations far in advance. One of the great things about Princess had been the excellent choice in available itineraries from various ports of departure allowing me to book in conjunction with a work trip or a last-minute gap in my calendar - particularly from home ports in California where I live. However, when I am able to plan a cruise vacation far in advance, I'm now unlikely to choose Princess - mostly due to changes in the service levels and quality of the on-board product - not to mention the recent price increases that don't seem to be in line with what's actually being offered. Princess was always my go-to for a wonderful vacation on short notice, and they usually met my expectations. But when I have time to plan and do the research, I'm far more likely to book on lines like Oceania and Viking, which arguably offer a product that is more in-line with the prices they charge, or book a land-based vacation. Maybe someday Princess quality will be (again?) to the point where it's worth booking 18 months in advance. Bottom line: Princess prices are up, quality of product is down, and last minute-deals are (apparently) no longer an available remedy to this conundrum. Bummer.

And even more of us are happy with the changes. Do the math and see if one of the packages works for you vs. booking with no package and paying for the extras. Princess is the BEST in Alaska. HAL is close second.

Sapphire. Less crowded, full (wide) promenade, indoor pool, can sail the "true" inside passage, smaller MDRs, better organized elevator banks (aft), still has complimentary steam and sauna near the gym... older, yes, but still one of the best ships in the Princess fleet.

In this example, $400 would be roughly $26/day on drinks. A $9 glass of wine + gratuity is $10.62. So any more than 2 drinks a day (not sure if you drink, but your handle suggests you do drink wine) and it might make sense to upgrade to Plus. Then you get some extras including bottled water, coffees, and most of the new fees waived.

Last time I priced NCL, they charge you separately for the beverage gratuities on these packages. That would add 18% (or is it 20%?) to the cost making it $82.60 per day and that still doesn't include daily crew gratuity. Princess is still a better deal, IMO.

It's an entirely different debate about what's included in the various packages. I agree with fee waivers but desserts? Fitness classes? Not sure there's value in that. The no-brainers for me are 1) drinks, 2) tips, and 3) WiFi. I would pay for these things anyway so rolling them into a package makes sense for me. The PLUS package has always worked out in my favor – the break-even point was about 3 drinks (Bloody Mary, martini, bourbon) and became and net plus (pun indented) for me when I add in 2 americanos and a few bottles of Perrier per day. Got even more valuable if I chose to have wine with dinner or a beer with pizza at lunch. It boils down to your cruising style. Only you can figure out if $60/day is worth it based on your habits.

This change makes sense. For years (or even decades) cruise prices have been falling overall as cruise lines add capacity and attract new passengers, many of whom are price sensitive. A lot of us “cruising veterans” have been spoiled with low fares. I do not blame the cruise lines for wanting to keep the “entry level” fares low to attract new customers, but cruising MUST get more expensive if it’s going to survive long-term. Cruises have traditionally been a somewhat or mostly “inclusive” vacation, but this model is becoming incompatible with low entry-level fares due to rising costs and increased demand. So, it makes total sense for cruise lines to charge for various levels of inclusiveness (much in the same way they charge for a range of different cabin types.) That being said, I think Princess failed miserably on messaging their new packages. Passing off new fees as “increased value” for those who purchase packages was lame. They simply should have said, “In response to increased costs, and to keep our base fares low while continuing to provide exceptional service, we are adding nominal fees for some optional services provided on board. Guests who have purchased Plus or Premier will have the fees waived.”

This is absolutely correct. Thanks for clarifying. But - the Princess PLUS package includes drinks, and it would be an additional $25/day pp on Viking to add the drinks over and above the beer/wine at meals. That would be additional $750 on this sailing for two. Probably a wash in this case... use the $750 for shorex on Princess and you still come out ahead.

This is all very interesting on Princess' part. To keep things in perspective, I did a quick price comparison between Viking and Princess for similar 14/15-day itineraries to Scandinavia. Spoiler alert: Princess is the clear winner in the value category. For Princess, I priced Reserve Collection mini suite with PLUS on Sky Princess: Note this does not include any discounts, OBC, casino rates, etc. Public fare (not logged in). For Viking, I priced the cheapest veranda cabin with NO extras on Viking Sky: I think this speaks for itself. Having recently completed a Viking Ocean cruise, and understanding the reasons they charge so much more, I can say I'd choose Princess for this one, emphatically. The Princess price could be even less in a Deluxe Balcony, which I feel is more equivalent to the basic Viking cabin. I understand everyone is different and some people definitely appreciate (and will pay for) the small ship experience on Viking. If that's important to you, then give Viking a try. Happy cruising!

How about Premier for the price of Plus as a benefit?

In addition to my original post, I'll try to address some of your specific questions on the things that matter to you: 1. Sailing on a small ship definitely has its advantages - there are hardly any queues anywhere except for absolute peak times, and even then it moves very fast. Getting on and off the ship is very easy compared to 3000+ passenger ships, and the smaller ships often dock much closer to the city center. Advantage = Viking. 2. The no kids policy was great - if that matters to you, then you'll appreciate it. Advantage = Viking. 3. We didn't attend the enrichment lectures, but from what I heard, they were excellent. Advantage = Viking. 4. Included excursions were just so-so, and one of ours was terrible. Advantage = tie. 5. Evening activities (and activities in general) are limited on Viking. After the theatre show, you have Torshavn with a live band until about midnight then it shuts down. Advantage = Princess. My advice: if it's not a financial stretch for you, try Viking. I've done Princess in the Baltics twice, and I think this would be one itinerary where the cost of Viking would be worth it. Happy cruising!

Regarding the food - it's not that it was overly bad - we definitely did not go hungry. There were some things we quite enjoyed - the sushi station for one, the gelato, and a few of the dishes in the Restaurant were great - but it just wasn't significantly better than Princess in taste & variety. We've also had excellent dishes on Princess in the MDR, Crown Grill, and Sabatini's and the expanded variety in Princess buffets far exceed anything on Viking. The demographic is not necessarily older than Princess, unless you count that fact that on some Princess cruises (shorter itineraries, Caribbean, holidays, etc.) there can be a large contingent of younger people and families. I get the sense that this does not happen on Viking very often (or at all.)