Questions about when a ship is new

[GoochDSA]

My fiancee and I are planning on getting married sometime next May or June. While she has been looking into things for the wedding, I have been looking into ideas for our honeymoon. We have decided that we want to do a Mediterranean cruise. To my surprise, a few days ago I noticed that the Royal Princess will be doing an great looking itinerary from the get-go. I showed my fiancee the renderings and video of what the Atrium is expected to be like, and needless to say she became quite interested.

 

Now, with all that being said, we have never been on a ship that new so I have a couple of questions that I hope maybe some of you might be able to help out with.

 

First how do things usually go those first handfull of cruises? Do things run better or smoother since the ship is new or should it be expected that there will be some issues with things not working right? Also, on a new ship, how is the staff? Are they usually newer staff or are they more pulled in from other ships (in other words is it their first few weeks of working or are they in month 6 where they tend to be a little worn out)? Finally (for the time being), how are the prices? Should I expect to see prices being similar to that of a different ship doingt he same itinerary or, because it is a new ship, should I expect to see much higher prices for those first few months?

 

I appreciate any information anyone can give on this subject.

[Pam in CA]

Staff come from other ships but there will also be some new staff, just as there is on other ships. It's always a mixture no matter which ship you're on.

 

I would expect pricing to be quite high in comparison to other ships. It comes down to supply and demand, and some people prefer the new ships. You'd do best to book with a TA that specializes in Princess bookings as they will have the best prices regardless of the ship.

 

No cruise is perfect so expect a few "blips." I have yet to go on any cruise on any line that didn't have something that could have been better.

[CruisinMinnie]

I agree with Pam about the possibility of a blip or two on a cruise. There will always be something that might not be perfect on any cruise. That being said, I've never had a bad time on any cruise. :)

[howard6933]

In 1999 a group of my friends, amounting to 6 couples booked Royal Caribbeans Voyager of the Seas for her 3rd sailing. There were little glitches here and there, but the best part was that all of us were upgraded from inside cabins to outside cabins with a balcony. I have no idea why we were upgraded, but I must assume that the ship was not fully booked and they wanted to give us the better cabins and sell the insides at a cheap price. The ships crew were all great......we had a terrific waiter and assistant waiter and they turned a table for ten into a table for twelve and it worked out wonderfully. As I said, it was only the 3rd sailing, but as far as I'm concerned, everything was perfect. ;)

[BobT172]

We were on the first sailing of the Emerald Princess doing the Med cruise.... if there was a blip or a hiccup, we didn't notice...a great ship and a great time...

 

BTW, the greatest sailaway ever was when the Emerald when down the main Canal in Venice...breathtaking....so take the itinerary when it sails from Venice....

[GoochDSA]

Thank you all for responding so far. Pam, I have to say I am totally jealous of your past cruises. I could only wish to visit 1/10th of the places you have probably been.

 

I am quite aware of the blips a typical cruise goes through. We have dealt with those and it's never ruined a cruise for us. I was more concearned about things like wiring issues or things falling apart, so it's good to see that that sort of issue is no more or less likely than on any other cruise.

 

 

We were on the first sailing of the Emerald Princess doing the Med cruise.... if there was a blip or a hiccup, we didn't notice...a great ship and a great time...

 

BTW, the greatest sailaway ever was when the Emerald when down the main Canal in Venice...breathtaking....so take the itinerary when it sails from Venice....

 

I will keep that in mind about leaving from Venice instead of leaving from Barcelona. Do you feel, in your opinion, that it is worth paying the extra to cruise a ship in it's first month or so of service (not the maiden voyage)?

[neilrr]

GoochDSA - Congratulations on your wedding and marriage!!!

 

It generally takes 3 - 6 months or sometimes up until one year until all of the glitches are worked out and the staff settles in and gels together. I would take a ship that is "newer" but has most/all of the glitches already worked out; though we know that there are never any guarantees.

 

We have been on ships that have even been through retro-fits and it took several months until things got straightened out. We were on one Holland ship that they were still building a stage in the lounge and the month before our arrival - passengers were knee deep in water in their cabins from a ruptured pipe... Thank goodness - it was cleaned up by the time we arrived.

 

I personally like to be on the leading edge rather than the bleeding edge of things...

 

Good luck in making your choice...:)

[RASHOPPER2]

Thank you all for responding so far. Pam, I have to say I am totally jealous of your past cruises. I could only wish to visit 1/10th of the places you have probably been.

 

I am quite aware of the blips a typical cruise goes through. We have dealt with those and it's never ruined a cruise for us. I was more concearned about things like wiring issues or things falling apart, so it's good to see that that sort of issue is no more or less likely than on any other cruise.

 

 

 

 

I will keep that in mind about leaving from Venice instead of leaving from Barcelona. Do you feel, in your opinion, that it is worth paying the extra to cruise a ship in it's first month or so of service (not the maiden voyage)?

 

We did the Grand Med from Barcelona to Venice. I must tell you that the sail into Venice is absolutely breathtaking - so don't worry about the direction you take. Either will be spectacular. Take the cruise that best fits your schedule.

[Mary Ellen1]

We honeymooned on an inaugural cruise years ago (Carnival Destiny 1996). It was a wonderful way to go on a honeymoon! But we were cruising newbies, so didn't have any idea what to expect as far as new ship, new crew, etc. But I distinctly remember the sound of several loud crashes coming from the kitchen, on more than one night during dinner. Our waiter explained that the whole kitchen setup was new, with a different configuration than the workers were used to, and they kept crashing into each other. :eek:

 

Have a fabulous honeymoon cruise, whatever you pick! :)

[gcsmith]

My family was on the inaugural of the Diamond Princess and I can't remember a single glitch.

[GoochDSA]

GoochDSA - Congratulations on your wedding and marriage!!!

 

It generally takes 3 - 6 months or sometimes up until one year until all of the glitches are worked out and the staff settles in and gels together. I would take a ship that is "newer" but has most/all of the glitches already worked out; though we know that there are never any guarantees.

 

We have been on ships that have even been through retro-fits and it took several months until things got straightened out. We were on one Holland ship that they were still building a stage in the lounge and the month before our arrival - passengers were knee deep in water in their cabins from a ruptured pipe... Thank goodness - it was cleaned up by the time we arrived.

 

I personally like to be on the leading edge rather than the bleeding edge of things...

 

Good luck in making your choice...:)

 

Thank you for the congrats. :D

 

These were some of the things I was worried about, but it seems like things like a ruptured pipe are more of a coincidence or exception to the rule. I will be keeping the Royal on my list as we reach a point where a decision has to be made. It's been a while since I have been on Princess (and she has never been on Princess before), so I will have to start doing a bit more research.

 

Thank you to those who responded. I am sure I'll be around with more Princess questions as we get closer to deciding.

[cibaygirls]

Another congratulations on your engagement. I did the Med cruise in 2003 for my honeymoon. It was wonderful!!! It was quite pricey, but I have not ever regretted any penny spent on the trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck:)

[BobT172]

I will keep that in mind about leaving from Venice instead of leaving from Barcelona. Do you feel, in your opinion, that it is worth paying the extra to cruise a ship in it's first month or so of service (not the maiden voyage)?

 

With all the costs associated with a Med cruise (especially airfare now being so high), I personally would not pay additional to cruise early... the Med itinerary is fantastic.... we spent 2 days pre-cruise in Venice (very expensive place) and about 4 days in Barcelona post crusie... a FANTASTIC city... that timing was good for both cities...

[alicam]

My fiancee and I are planning on getting married sometime next May or June. While she has been looking into things for the wedding, I have been looking into ideas for our honeymoon. We have decided that we want to do a Mediterranean cruise. To my surprise, a few days ago I noticed that the Royal Princess will be doing an great looking itinerary from the get-go. I showed my fiancee the renderings and video of what the Atrium is expected to be like, and needless to say she became quite interested.

 

 

 

Where did you find out that the Royal will be doing a Mediterranean cruise? This would interest my wife and I but I have not heard anything about Royal Princess itineraries...thx

[alicam]

Where did you find out that the Royal will be doing a Mediterranean cruise? This would interest my wife and I but I have not heard anything about Royal Princess itineraries...thx

I found the answer to by own question...sorry to be a bother ;)

[Murphey]

Keep in mind the "public" maiden voyage won't be it's first. They usually do a private (ta's i.e.) to work out the kinks. I do expect the prices to be a it higher......as said earlier, supply and demand.

[caribill]

And be aware there is always the possibility that the ship will not be ready to cruise on the currently anticipated date.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You never know.....

[Coral]

My family was on the inaugural of the Diamond Princess and I can't remember a single glitch.

 

Though I was booked on the "real inaugural" of the Diamond Princess and it was cancelled due to a fire at the ship yard. Though we knew months out on this.

 

The first sailing on the Coral Princess (I believe) was cancelled as the ship was delayed at the shipyard (Princess didn't take possession until it was completely done which took longer then expected). They had very little notice on this as it went down to the wire.

 

Another line had a brand new ship scheduled and things were not entirely complete inside (doorknobs, etc..). They contacted passengers and gave them a choice of sailing with things not fully complete or to cancel. This was a higher end line and they handled it very well.

 

Most ships they pad enough time so it will get done and if it gets done early, they plan travel agent sailings to show the ship off with 2 night sailings, etc...

[GoochDSA]

Another congratulations on your engagement. I did the Med cruise in 2003 for my honeymoon. It was wonderful!!! It was quite pricey, but I have not ever regretted any penny spent on the trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Good luck:)

 

Thank you kindly. I have always wanted to see some of the areas on the itinerary. We figure that a honeymoon should be one of those "once in a life time" type of trips, so we aren't going to let costs really slow us down too much.

 

With all the costs associated with a Med cruise (especially airfare now being so high), I personally would not pay additional to cruise early... the Med itinerary is fantastic.... we spent 2 days pre-cruise in Venice (very expensive place) and about 4 days in Barcelona post crusie... a FANTASTIC city... that timing was good for both cities...

 

We probably won't be spending too much extra time in either Barcelona or Venice (if this is the route we go), unfortunately. We'll probably plan a buffer day for before the cruise and after the cruise, but not much else. One of the biggest draws for me and the Royal is that it has stops in Athans and Venice and lots of what I have seen from other cruise lines is that it is either/or. I may come looking for you when it comes time to plan the buffer days. :D

 

Though I was booked on the "real inaugural" of the Diamond Princess and it was cancelled due to a fire at the ship yard. Though we knew months out on this.

 

Out of curiosity, was there any sort of compensation for your troubles or did they just offer the same cruise at a different time?

[Infi]

If anything, I think the first cruises on a new ship would be some of the best. Sure, there will be bugs to work out because it's a completely new class of ship, but those should be worked out on the pre-inaugurals and VIP sailings. When it comes to crew, Princess and other cruiselines send their creme de la creme crew members to their newest ships. They send the best and most experienced crew in order to make the inaugural season run as smoothly as possible, so you should be in for a great cruise.