Pacific Princess versus larger ships

[cruising oceangal]

Hi all,

 

My DH and I have cruised on the larger Princess ships. Would love to hear from those of you that have cruised on the Pacific. Did you like the experience?

 

We have an opportunity to cruise the Mediterranean this fall and love the itinerary of the Pacific but have never cruised on a ship this small. I know it will be a port intensive cruise with only a few sea days. So I'm sure we may not be awake for nightly entertainment, lol! It will be our first time cruising in Europe.

 

Thank you!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Hi all,

 

My DH and I have cruised on the larger Princess ships. Would love to hear from those of you that have cruised on the Pacific. Did you like the experience?

 

We have an opportunity to cruise the Mediterranean this fall and love the itinerary of the Pacific but have never cruised on a ship this small. I know it will be a port intensive cruise with only a few sea days. So I'm sure we may not be awake for nightly entertainment, lol! It will be our first time cruising in Europe.

 

Thank you!

We are in the same { BOAT} On a small ship ...

[Pam in CA]

The small ships have most of what the large ones do, they are friendlier, the service is more personal, and you get to know the staff and your fellow passengers. The decor is more like an inn than a Marriott and it takes less than five minutes to walk from one end of the ship to the other.

 

The cons are that the buffet isn't as large, there aren't as many lounges or activities at night, and there's no Anytime dining. There are far fewer families and not many children.

[bphman]

I have not sailed on the Pacific Princess nut have sailed on the Azamara Quest which is identical. We love the intimacy of the smaller ships and prefer them over the goliaths. The ship is beautiful and the very upscale. Cabins are small but very nicely appointed and comfortable. The bathroom is small as is the shower but you will survive. What we love about the smaller ships is that it is very easy to meet people and form relationships if that is what you like. We became good friends with 2 couples and have subsequently traveled with one and will be visiting the other in Belfast is a few months. The same holds true with ships such as HAL's Maasdam with 1300 pax. As people say once you try a balcony you can never go back is how we feel about the smaller ships. I doubt you will be disappointed. Sorry I couldn't comment specifically on Pacific Princess.

[sunnygidget]

Loved the Pacific Princess, she was our first cruise. Now every cruise is measured by her. Tried a much larger ship and it was okay, no where near as fun with the crew. The dancers do double duty as craft people and work in the library and such. They also are on the club floor dancing with the passengers. We went from Hawaii to BoraBora, Moorea, Tahiti across the equator for 5 days at sea, and always found something to do and had fun. The pool is small, still good. We now prefer 2100 people ships or smaller. Do not feel hearded like cattle on her.

[mycruz]

We were on the Pacific this January for 2 weeks from Manaus, Brazil to Ft. Lauderdale and loved every minute we had on the ship!

 

I liked the size, getting around from one place to another was easy and I took the stairs almost all the time. The entire atmosphere was perfect for us. We liked the small venues and the staff was the best we've experienced on any ship.

 

Casino and theater are small, in fact the performers also work as crew during the day on the Cruise Director staff. The buffet at night was not a buffet. It was turned into a Bistro where you were seated at a table and given a menu to order from, not the same as the MDR.

 

Let me know if you have any other specific questions, my email is below.

[Matcodixon]

We sailed on the sister ship, the Tahitiian Princess, now renamed the Ocean princess and it is our favorite ship so far. Love the decor, the small ship ports and the fact that you get to be more friendly with crew and other passengars. The decor is pure Rennasance cruise line, now gone, who had 5 of these ships built before they went out of business. All of the balcony cabins have a couch like the big ship minisuites.

Beautiful, comfortable, classy.

[Tiffany's mom]

We sailed for 24 days last and are doing another 24 this year. The Pacific is a wonderful small ship, just like cruise ships were 20 years ago. If you like all the bells and whistles you may not like a small ship. Like other said you get to know the crew. Everyone was very friendly. The buffet was small but very good. Great omelets in the morning. Specialty coffees are in the buffet area. A great aft deck to eat breakfast and lunch on and also watch a sail-away. Balcony cabins are nice and have a love seat so it is a little larger than the big ships. Beautiful library - you must visit.

[Idratherbeatsea]

We took the Pacific Princess from Vancouver to Hawaii which meant 5 sea days to start. Loved it. The size has many more pluses then negatives.

[RickEk]

We sailed on the sister ship, the Tahitiian Princess, now renamed the Ocean princess and it is our favorite ship so far. Love the decor, the small ship ports and the fact that you get to be more friendly with crew and other passengars. The decor is pure Rennasance cruise line, now gone, who had 5 of these ships built before they went out of business. All of the balcony cabins have a couch like the big ship minisuites.

Beautiful, comfortable, classy.

 

Actually there were eight R-ships...

 

Princess has two of them (Pacific Princess, Ocean Princess)

P&O has one (Adonia)

Azamara has two (Quest, Journey)

Oceania has three (Regatta, Nautica and Insignia)

 

I look forward to the day that I can cruise on one of Princess' "little girls".

[Cruise Junky]

My husband will not sail in the balconies cut from the hull, so the wonderful itineraries of the smaller ships aren't an option for us.

[Matcodixon]

My husband will not sail in the balconies cut from the hull, so the wonderful itineraries of the smaller ships aren't an option for us.

 

I do not understand??? The balconies are in the normal place. They start at the deck above the Promenade deck.

[Matcodixon]

Actually there were eight R-ships...

 

Princess has two of them (Pacific Princess, Ocean Princess)

P&O has one (Adonia)

Azamara has two (Quest, Journey)

Oceania has three (Regatta, Nautica and Insignia)

 

I look forward to the day that I can cruise on one of Princess' "little girls".

 

Even Better!!! I always thought that there were only 5, but in this case, I am glad to be wrong!

[Pam in CA]

I do not understand??? The balconies are in the normal place. They start at the deck above the Promenade deck.

The balconies aren't open as they are on the Grand class ships but are built within the hull. Hard to explain without photos but the balcony railing is flush with the hull of the ship and there are metal walls between balconies, not dividers. This means that the balcony can feel very closed in rather than open and airy. On the plus side, they are very private. The Ocean, Pacific, Sun, Sea and Dawn Princess all have balconies cut out of the hull.

[Matcodixon]

The balconies aren't open as they are on the Grand class ships but are built within the hull. Hard to explain without photos but the balcony railing is flush with the hull of the ship and there are metal walls between balconies, not dividers. This means that the balcony can feel very closed in rather than open and airy. On the plus side, they are very private. The Ocean, Pacific, Sun, Sea and Dawn Princess all have balconies cut out of the hull.

Ok I think I understand now. I really didn't notice that much difference between the balcony cabin we had on the Diamond and the one on the now Ocean.. I do remember the metal dividers but they did not seem to go any farther out than the Diamond dividers.. Since it was Alaska and Tahiti and the south Pacific Islands, I gues I was not looking at the balcony dividers very closely, the scenery was totally amazing!:D

[Tiffany's mom]

Balcony did not bother us. Yes it is different then our usual Caribe deck, but it is a different ship with a lot of other wonderful features.

 

Pam (also in Calfornia)

[clmom]

Our first cruise was on the Pacific Princess, Med itinerary. It hooked us on cruising. Lovely, lovely ship. My husband especially loved dining on the rear deck for breakfast/lunch. We prefer a packed itinerary so don't need or use all the entertainment venues found on the larger ships. Most nights we were exhausted and happy to stay awake for dinner! looking back, I am very glad we had the small ship experience as our first cruise experience.

[cruising oceangal]

Thank you everyone for your comments! We love the caribe balcony on the larger ships, too! My concern was the size of the Pacific. But it seems past cruisers totally enjoyed their experience.

 

As this would be a port intensive cruise, our first time cruising Europe, we will be lucky to eat a nice dinner and then collapse, lol! So much to see!

 

Our other option would be the Crown Princess 12 days in Nov. We have cruised on her before and had a wonderful time in the Caribbean. But the itinerary on the Pacific is more to our liking.

 

If anyone would like to share some tips, I would appreciate it!

[caribill]

The balconies aren't open as they are on the Grand class ships but are built within the hull. Hard to explain without photos but the balcony railing is flush with the hull of the ship and there are metal walls between balconies, not dividers.

 

For a picture of the balcony on the Ocean, go to http://fp.caribill.com/

 

Then select "Cabin Life"

 

Pictures 8 and 11 show the balcony.

 

Not very large, but nice.

[cruising oceangal]

For a picture of the balcony on the Ocean, go to http://fp.caribill.com/

 

Then select "Cabin Life"

 

Pictures 8 and 11 show the balcony.

 

Not very large, but nice.

 

Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Was your balcony built within the hull?

 

I see you ordered eggs benedict for breakfast. Is the room service menu different from Princess regular one? We both enjoy our coffee first thing in the morning delivered to our stateroom!! Would love to add a nice hot breakfast, too!

[shellbeachjim]

All of the balcony cabins have a couch like the big ship minisuites.

Make that most of the balcony cabins. There are a few balcony cabins (8024 is one) which have an adjoining door to the next cabin. The cabins with adjoining doors have an upholstered chair and no couch - a couch would block the adjoining door.

 

We prefer the "little girls" and will probably stick to them for the foreseeable future.

[caribill]

Great pictures, thanks for sharing! Was your balcony built within the hull?

 

I see you ordered eggs benedict for breakfast. Is the room service menu different from Princess regular one? We both enjoy our coffee first thing in the morning delivered to our stateroom!! Would love to add a nice hot breakfast, too!

 

The picture where you select the Papeete link shows the balconies as they are cut out of the hull.

 

Actually, I asked at the restaurant that day if I could order the eggs Benedict and take them back to the cabin. They offered to have them delivered.

[Pam in CA]

John Heald, best known for being a cruise director on Carnival, wrote an excellent article about the Pacific Princess which has a number of photos of the ship: http://johnhealdsblog.com/2008/06/25/pacific-princessa-day-onboard-a-5-star-country-inn/

[Times Prince]

We sailed on the Pacific Princess II from Tahiti to Hawaii and absolutely loved it. I agree with all the comments about it being a more intimate ship, where one can meet more people, and we made some lasting friends on that trip.

 

We loved the shows onboard, and had the experience of seeing some of them presented later on other cruises with larger ships with the same band. The Pacific Princess experience was for us much, much better.

 

We had a cruise where the head chef had more leeway on what to prepare and there were some extraordinary presentations and selections at the buffet.

[stunnedinva]

For a picture of the balcony on the Ocean, go to http://fp.caribill.com/

 

Then select "Cabin Life"

 

Pictures 8 and 11 show the balcony.

 

Not very large, but nice.

 

Thanks for the pictures! It looks as if it's possible to open the wall between the balconies as you can on the larger ships. Is that correct?