RMS Olympic

Can you tell me when the funnel was enlarged? I found a video of a dry dock refurbishment, but nothing recorded the funnel being modified. I sailed on the Getaway back in November 2014, and am going again this October so I’m curious about any and all modifications since...beyond carpet changes. Thank you

Well I’m booked on the Prima for February, the Viva for August, the Viva in Feb 2024 🤓 Now to await number three...I’d think steel cutting would be underway? I hope these ships successfully move NCL into the premium bracket🥂

Anyone else booked? I hope Celebrity doesn’t change the sailing date moving it forward like they have in the past. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

I’ve booked this sailing to get back to NCL....it’s been a few years (2018 on the Bliss). Actually sailed tht Getaway back in 2014 and enjoyed her even if she’s a bit big for my taste. Price was great....got the same cabin I had in 2014 overlooking the bow on deck 13. If your sailing, say hi!🤗 Tom

Well I booked the cruise sailing on Oct 15th after speaking with my NCL cruise planner. We discussed staffing, fill rates and pricing..... Although there are exceptions, they are trying to keep the ships at 7O to 75% full. Holidays being the exception or if another ship is pulled from service, passengers are moved to other ships. Seems the Getaway is being brought back because of what’s happening with Russia...and since October is a slow month the price is being reduced without a cut back on quality. So I’m booked and reserved the same cabin I had in 2014....overlooking the bow on deck 13. Thank you for all the responses...it helped me decide to book.🤓

I was surprised to see this decision, but think it was a great financial decision by both Costa and Carnival. These two basically new ships were built for the Costa business in China, and with that business basically dead in the water these ships became unplanned excess berths in Europe. Costa needs to fill their new jumbo ships like the Toscana....so filling These two ships becomes a challenge. Costa also had really low rates in the European market which didn’t help the overall financial position for Costa post Covid. By bringing these ships to the US market.....the pricing will be higher.....compared to the Mediterranean market. Carnival will now have to up the service and food if they hope to get And keep Americans on board. To me, Carnival made Costa a cheap Carnival product when they bought Costa. I was a Costa fan till I sailed the Costa Atlantica after the purchase of Costa by Carnival Corp.. It was so sad I stopped sailing Costa. Now it will be a reversal so to speak and it will get me to go back to a Costa vessel. Now to figure out how the booking will work.....book thru Costa or Carnival...my guess Carnival. Me, I’ll shoot for the first sailing....I like inaugural’s🤓

Thanks graphicguy. I hope your cruise is staffed adequately. Enjoy your cruise!

Thank you so much for your response. I sailed on the Getaway 8 years ago and enjoyed it even though it was crowded. I paid for the Vibe which made the cruise for me. I just completed a cruise on the Caribbean Princess...my 26 th with Princess...and it’s was substandard. The ship was almost fully booked, missing 30% of her crew, food just plain sad. I normally book the Crown Grill steak restaurant for at least 3 to for nights a cruise. One night was enough...although the food was good, the service was poor. The waiters were running their legs off but there wasn’t enough wait staff...20 minutes between courses.. As a result I cancelled the remainder of my reservation for the week. If NCL is sailing full, reduced staff and cutting back on their food budget, then I’m not sure I want to chance it. I understand the need to recoup financial losses due to Covid, but dropping standards too much makes me question sailing in October. If this trend is across all lines, then I don’t know what to do..... Thank you for your comments as well as your review.

Ive been told that NCL is not filling ships to avoid a lower quality onboard experience. Yet I watched a YouTube video of an April cruise on the getaway....sold as 60% full but was actually sailing full without crew for a full ship...... I understand the post pandemic challenge, but filling a ship without adequate staffing leaves me hesitant to book. How is the Getaway doing and how is the onboard experience? Im considering an October cruise on the Getaway.....would I find a lower quality experience on board due to cutbacks (staffing, food, entertainment)? Thank you.

All cruise lines have cut back on the things that made them great. Princess has been my line of choice but how long that will be the case remains to be seen. In particular is the building of bigger ships. The new sphere class which I will sail on once will be in my opinion a mass market vessel. Too much of everything waters down the “product”. Celebrity isn’t going huge, HAL isn’t building huge....even NCL who wants to go premium is building smaller ships. To me the mass market ship is one that tries to cater to everyone with everything.....thus drifting away from their core product. But only change is constant.....so I will have to accept the future changes with Princess or look elsewhere. Time will tell. This Saturday it’s the Caribbean Princess.....it’s been 15 years since I sailed on her. Curious as to how I will feel about things on board especially if she is fully booked and inadequately staffed. My 92nd cruise.....hope it’s not time to beach myself..... keeping my fingers crossed.

Thank you for posting. my last three cruises....ships were less than half full.....not sure what a full ship will be like. If the staffing is adequate, it should be fine in my opinion. If the ship is understaffed...I question Princess in risking the quality of the onboard experience. I look forward to boarding next Sat the 4th. Save some bacon for me😛

Hi Jim. Im booked on this same sailing, look forward to meeting you both. Im also on the Prima in February so I’ll get to know the ship before the Iceland trip. So I’ll be able to answer any questions you may have post cruise. Tom

Hey Perth! off topic... Ive been looking at a Sept 2024 Princess cruise round trip from Perth. How are the ports on the west coast of Australia? It’s a 10 day cruise with only 5 ports. Its the length of flight time that has me concerned from Florida to Perth....would the ports be worth the hours and hours of plane travel? Thanks for any thoughts. Many thanks

I’m ready to go. I booked the Prima for Feb 2023....the solo cabin with the perks was in my opinion just fine cost wise. Avoiding 100% single surcharges with other lines brings me back to NCL. looking for a new itinerary I booked the Prima for June 2023.....never been to Iceland. The pricing for a single wasn’t exorbitant....only their precruise hotel. After that it’s the Viva out of San Juan in Feb 2024. As I have a love hate relationship with NCL......I have learned to roll with the punches. I do give them high marks for food and entertainment. Ive cruised too many decades, too many ships and find the business continually changes so if I cant deal with the changes...I might as well stay home, beach myself for the duration and think about the past memories. In the Meantime it’s the Caribbean Princess followed by the Sky Princess and look forward to the Prima. So sail on what you want and disregard what others say....like me. It’s your money, your time, your vacation. Bon voyage.

I’ve been watching YouTube videos today talking about staffing issues on cruise ships. In some cases cruise lines are capping bookings or canceling cruises for booked passengers. I have not heard anything about Princess.....so can you tell me if staffing is adequate on the Caribbean Princess? In January on the Sky the low numbers of staff was noticeable, but the ship was less than 50% booked....so no problems. so how is it on board? Thank you.

Oh no! So many people! I hope they have stocked up on: 1 bacon 2 vodka 3 rum 4 cheesecake 5 shrimp 6 ribeye steaks 7 white wine not necessarily in this numerical order except for BACON 🥓🥓🥓

Names....how about the Stubing Princess and the Julie McCoy Princess....or maybe the Issac Washington Princess! 🤪😛😉🥴 Just no rock climbing, roller coasters,zip lines, ice skating. But do bring back a steel drum band paleeeeeeze 🤗

Oh no! So many people! I hope they have stocked up on: 1 bacon 2 vodka 3 rum 4 cheesecake 5 shrimp 6 ribeye steaks 7 white wine not necessarily in this numerical order except for BACON 🥓🥓🥓

Can you tell how full the ship is? Thanks

Well it’s time to empty out my tip jar in preparation for the cruise. I keep a big jar on the kitchen counter to put change in after coming back from the store. It’s amazing how much I collect between cruises😝. It becomes part of my cruise where I can tip crew without having to think about it from a trip budget perspective. I figure if I can say thank you, show appreciation or make someone’s day.....it makes me feel good inside. The only downside is when other passengers criticize me for my actions..... oh well, it’s a personal thing and it makes me feel good....along with a lemon drop martini🤓

I got an email from Celebrity to book....so I did. As I enjoyed the Edge last September, I thought a maiden voyage on the Ascend might be fun... I hope to meet great people onboard for cocktails and dinner. See you on board. Tom

I just booked this sailing....can a roll call be created? Thank you.