Will Princess eventually enter short-market cruises?

[Cruisin' Chick]

FYI, P&O already has a Sun-class hand-me-down, the Oceana (formerly Ocean Princess) and Sea Princess went to P&O for a number of years as the Adonia, but came back to the Princess fleet a few years ago .

 

 

 

meh... that's okay. The East Coast can keep the newer super-Grand-class vessels. I think we have a good mix of the smaller Grand-class ships here especially with the renovated Sapphire Princess as the crown jewel of the west coast fleet, so to speak. But you know, once the new Panama Canal opens, Princess will be able to move their fleet around much more easily and we may see the larger vessels here on the West Coast.

 

 

 

And really, there are only two ships doing regularly scheduled shorter cruises (beyond repositioning coastal cruises), the Golden Princess on the West Coast and the Ruby Princess on the East Coast. It's not like the entire fleet will be doing these shorter cruises. I do think it is a way to introduce the Princess brand to people who might not have considered a Princess cruise before...

 

I was thinking more of the Emerald and that class. The under 120,000 gt for me.

[dmwnc1959]

Reading this thread gave me quite a chuckle. It was very prescient of you, And good strategic thinking, but the idea was certainly dismissed by many, thinking Princess was "classier" than that.

 

THANKS for the compliment! :D (although I had to look up the word 'prescient' ;))

 

I do think it is a way to introduce the Princess brand to people who might not have considered a Princess cruise before...

 

This has happened with Celebrity Cruises. Many first timers jumping on the 4- and 5-night short market cruises of the Celebrity Century (two years ago) or the Celebrity Millennium (this past winter deployment) and commenting how much they loved Celebrity and how beautiful the ships were. They were instantly hooked and may stay loyal to Celebrity for some time.

 

My last cruise with them was a 10-nt B2B on Celebrity Millennium and it was far from the party crowd a lot of people associate with shorter cruises. A lot has to do with the pricing and if Carnival or NCL are a lot cheaper they are less likely to spend hundreds of dollars more just to cruise Princess. That keeps away a lot of the 'Jersey Shore' crowds.

 

We hope not! For us 7 day Cruises are too short. 10 plus days or B2B'ers for us.

 

Too late. It was already announced last month. ;)

 

As I have mentioned on other threads regarding these short market cruises quite a few Celebrity faithful combined several of the 4- and 5-night alternating itinerary cruises and did a B2B2B or longer. There was even one that did 20 days this way. It's a great way to enjoy a 'favorite ship' without the distraction of the ports of call that may not be of interest. It also adds up quickly with the past guest points and the multiple 'sail aways' from Florida can be a real hoot as well!

[trekkerlady]

DH and I did a 4 night on Caribbean Princess a few years ago. It was an entirely different crowd, especially since it was scheduled right after graduation. We said never again. Not what we enjoy from Princess. I just got my Cruise Atlas for 2013-2014 and it is showing several short cruises in the Caribbean. Go figure!

[Sincity]

Just received the 2013-2014 cruise atlas and there are several Carribbean (sp?) samplers.

[trikeman]

If they are going to run short cruises out of Florida and Texas maybe I'll be able to get more cruising in.

[davekathy]

We hope not. 10 Day Cruises are short enough.

 

OOPS! Looks like I've already voiced my opinion.

[lovevacadays]

If they are going to run short cruises out of Florida and Texas maybe I'll be able to get more cruising in.

 

A good way to build up cruise credits if you aren't already Platinum or Elite.:)

[Wishing on a star]

We did a rare 'shortie' on the Ruby a couple years ago.

 

The ship was wonderful!!!

Had a great Caribe Balcony for an incredibly low price.

 

However, I beleive that because it was a shortie, and because most of the top staff were on leave, the service and the food really suffered. Those were pretty bad.

 

I guess I am saying that a shortie may not be the same experience as a full length cruise.

 

Would I do it again?

On my budget, YES, in a heartbeat!!!

But with different expectations.

[BruceMuzz]

Princess has experimented with 3 and 4 day cruises a few times - with disappointing results.

That sort of cruise tends to attract the party crowds who scare away the normal people.

 

My ship did a series of 3 and 4 day cruises a few years ago. The passengers stole $80,000 worth of linen from their cabins, and had parties in their cabins that caused several million in damages.

My bosses said "Never again".

[1 HappyCruiser]

The 3 & 4 day cruises means people who like to party hard. They've got to get all the fun in on a shorter schedule....certainly a different sort of cruiser- more like Carnival.

[southwestgal]

Well, I always thought I was a "normal" person....but apparently not. We've cruised with Princess since 1987. Have done 7, 10 & 14 day cruises. We are thrilled to take upcoming 1 & 2 night repositioning cruises. Is it going to be a different experience? Absolutely. Why is that a bad thing? Might be nice to walk through the ship after 10pm and actually see another passenger or go to Skywalkers in the evening and have someone else in there other than the DJ. We aren't retired and appreciate the ability to take a shorter cruise.

 

Some of the posts insinuate that the clientele taking the shorter cruise aren't Princess worthy, riff raff, or otherwise undesirable. I say rubbish. I've met my share of wacko passengers, especially the ones who feel entitled, on the longer cruises. Chair hogs, people who insist on ordering special things every night in the mdr or come late, people who are downright rude to the staff, people who will cut in front of others to get in the elevator or not hold a door open, and don't even get me started on some of the nastiness and cheating at trivia. Can you believe that? I've seen people come to trivia with notebooks full of previously asked questions and the answers. OMG! But the people taking the shorter cruises are undesirable.

 

I like the Princess product and appreciate having additional choices offered. I'm hoping for additional shorter offerings in the future.

 

Happy cruising!

[Wishing on a star]

Princess has experimented with 3 and 4 day cruises a few times - with disappointing results.

That sort of cruise tends to attract the party crowds who scare away the normal people.

 

My ship did a series of 3 and 4 day cruises a few years ago. The passengers stole $80,000 worth of linen from their cabins, and had parties in their cabins that caused several million in damages.

My bosses said "Never again".

 

If you are talking about those two December shorties on the Ruby.... We were ON that cruise. And I neither saw or experienced anything like what you are describing.

 

The ship was wonderful!

The weather on the first of the short cruises was amazing!

We did not happen to see drunken disrespectful passengers.

Heck, they can always go on the short cruises on the other cruise lines.

 

We, and other passengers, were pretty disappointed in some of the food and service on the Ruby Princess. As I said, it was a short cruise, and I think they had really kind of cut back on all counts. And, most of the good top staff were on leave.

 

We, as passengers on a shortie, had a great cruise ourselves.

But, it led me to really question what Princess offers, if was indicative at all, of what one might experience on a full length cruise.

[Wishing on a star]

Just received the 2013-2014 cruise atlas and there are several Carribbean (sp?) samplers.

 

Yes, I hadn't checked that far out...

But the Ruby is doing short cruises Dec 2013 - Jan 2014.

 

Not just a couple of shorties between scheduled full length itineraries.

but a whole schedule of short cruises.

 

So, they are indeed giving this a real tryout.

[BruceMuzz]

If you are talking about those two December shorties on the Ruby.... We were ON that cruise. And I neither saw or experienced anything like what you are describing.

 

The ship was wonderful!

The weather on the first of the short cruises was amazing!

We did not happen to see drunken disrespectful passengers.

Heck, they can always go on the short cruises on the other cruise lines.

 

We, and other passengers, were pretty disappointed in some of the food and service on the Ruby Princess. As I said, it was a short cruise, and I think they had really kind of cut back on all counts. And, most of the good top staff were on leave.

 

We, as passengers on a shortie, had a great cruise ourselves.

But, it led me to really question what Princess offers, if was indicative at all, of what one might experience on a full length cruise.

 

Sorry.

Wrong ship, wrong cruise line.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Well, I always thought I was a "normal" person....but apparently not. We've cruised with Princess since 1987. Have done 7, 10 & 14 day cruises. We are thrilled to take upcoming 1 & 2 night repositioning cruises. Is it going to be a different experience? Absolutely. Why is that a bad thing? Might be nice to walk through the ship after 10pm and actually see another passenger or go to Skywalkers in the evening and have someone else in there other than the DJ. We aren't retired and appreciate the ability to take a shorter cruise.

 

Some of the posts insinuate that the clientele taking the shorter cruise aren't Princess worthy, riff raff, or otherwise undesirable. I say rubbish. I've met my share of wacko passengers, especially the ones who feel entitled, on the longer cruises. Chair hogs, people who insist on ordering special things every night in the mdr or come late, people who are downright rude to the staff, people who will cut in front of others to get in the elevator or not hold a door open, and don't even get me started on some of the nastiness and cheating at trivia. Can you believe that? I've seen people come to trivia with notebooks full of previously asked questions and the answers. OMG! But the people taking the shorter cruises are undesirable.

 

I like the Princess product and appreciate having additional choices offered. I'm hoping for additional shorter offerings in the future.

 

Happy cruising!

 

No matter how many undesirables you find on longer trips the shorter cruises do attract more of them. It's a proven fact. They also spend more money per day than longer trips but as mentioned it's not worth the damage they cause.

[southwestgal]

Well, since it is a proven fact then I guess there is no need for further discussion. I will give a shout out to the crew on turnaround day as they apparently can repair the millions of dollars in damages in a few short hours. I am sure that the more vocal members of this board who regularly cruise have gotten on a ship after it completed a short cruise. I guess I missed the posts where they reported that the ship was ripped to shreds. :rolleyes: