Rumor re Pacific Princess & Tahitian Princess

[DrivesLikeMario]

I agree with Eroller's comments - it's only a matter of time before Princess (Carnival) gets rid of these 2 ships and puts something else in French Polynesia that is bigger. They're moving in that direction already.

[bdjam]

Jan Schartz is a he and I believe he is the director of cruise operations.

No wonder he never answers my letters. So are his official press releases untrue?

[jig]

Sorry but I think that you still have it wrong. The PP goes to P&O in Nov 2005. That is when the Statendam arrives in Australia. It will leave Sydney Mar 4 2006 with me on it for Hong Kong then Osaka where it will go back and forth a few times before returning to Alaska for the Summer. the PP is with P&O till the end of April 2006. If the Statendam returns to Australia in the fall of 2006 then I don't know. Anyway what will be will be. Should know in a few weeks anyway. Looking at the Princendam for it's Athens to Lisbon to Cape Town down the west coast of africa. Did the same cruise in 2002. It changed my view of cruising.

[NitaBcruising]

I agree with Eroller's comments - it's only a matter of time before Princess (Carnival) gets rid of these 2 ships and puts something else in French Polynesia that is bigger. They're moving in that direction already.

 

Would be a big mistake, in my opinion! Way too many people on way too small of islands! :eek: Having been on the TP twice, with a 3rd cruise booked, I would hate to see any bigger ship in French Polynesia.

[laurieb]

It seems to me that said, a larger ship would be difficult to navigate into some of the fp islands' bays. And I agree, how would these small islands be able to handle a large number of tourists all at once? Gosh, most of the smaller islands don't have enough rental cars for a very small ship. That being said, I would go back on any size ship, I just want to go back again.

[nreeder]

I'd agree with the post above. Even the Statendam is too big for French Polynesia and it's lagoons. We've been on Renaissance's R-3 (Pacific Princess), and Tahitian Princess and they are perfect size for those islands. Putting Star or a Dawn size ship there doesn't make sense as they can't dock anywhere.

 

Princess may have the market locked up as Windstar and Raddison are leaving the market totally. Why would Princess want to loose a chance at for an exclusive choice? Statendam also doesn't fit the Tahiti profile. Tahiti and her islands are all about water sports i.e. snorkeling, and SCUBA etc as well as 4X4 land tours. That doesn't sound like a HAL profile with over 65 year old passengers as the majority (don't flame me, I'm 60!).

 

They can do anything they want, but the reality is that Tahitian Princess makes more sense there than anything else.

 

Thanks

Norm

[Kylie]

Thanks for the information (or lack of it). We really had our hearts set on Tahiti for the summer of 2006 (we are teachers so need to cruise in the summer) and we were so disappointed to find that out that the TP might not be going there. I'll keep checking back here often hoping that when someone finds out for sure what is happening they will post the information.

My next choice would be Hawaii on NCL Pride of America, I guess.

[spongerob]

I got the new Captain's Circle magazine today and there are no cruises scheduled for Tahitian Princess after May 2006. Just a big grey blank with no notations at all. It makes one think something's up, and we aren't in on the secret yet.

[MichTraveler]

It was these concerns that made me change my schedule around and book the Tahitian Princess in March 06 instead of waiting for the June schedule to come out (or not come out). Hey, I'm going 2 months sooner so life is good!

Stranger1: I also had planned Tahiti after April/2006 but was afraid to be left behind. So I booked for March/2006. It happens to coincide with my 25th wedding anniversary, so that is a plus. But I was thinking May weather might suit us better. Like you, "I'm going 2 months sooner so life is good!"

[FreQuentKruser]

I got the new Captain's Circle magazine today and there are no cruises scheduled for Tahitian Princess after May 2006. Just a big grey blank with no notations at all. It makes one think something's up, and we aren't in on the secret yet.

 

I havent gotten my magazine yet, can you tell me if there are any cruises scheduled on the Pacific Princess after April or May of 2006 .. or is it just the Tahitian that has no schedule?

[cruisernurse]

Well just to make sure we were on the TP we booked the last date 4/19/06 that was listed in all the cruise advertisements. We have a group of 20 already and it seems to be selling out fast. Love to have any of you to join us, just in case this is the last TP cruise out of Tahiti.

[spongerob]

I havent gotten my magazine yet, can you tell me if there are any cruises scheduled on the Pacific Princess after April or May of 2006 .. or is it just the Tahitian that has no schedule?

 

There is nothing listed for Pacific Princess, either, after September 2005. Just a note saying that the ship is returning to P&O Australia.

[JudyOh]

Just got the new Princess Cruise Calendar for July 2005/Nov 2006 at our office today. The Pacific Princess is listed from Oct 2005 to P&O cruising Australia. The Tahitian Princess last scheduled cruise in Tahiti is April 19, 2006. Nothing listed after that.

[cborzill]

As I recall, the Tahitian and Pacific Princess are the former R4 and R3. It was my understanding that they were owned by French Polynesia and formerly operated by Renaissance Cruises. Princess never actually acquired them. Princess got an agreement from the government to operate the two ships as long as Tahitian is in Tahiti year round, and Pacific Princess is in Tahiti part of the year. As I recall, these two ships were built for Renaissance cruises with financial backing of the French Polynesian government and so they still has rights to the ships. Princess may have decided to let the leases lapse on the two ships. Otherwise, Princess will have to buy the two ships if they want to use them in other waters. They are great ships, but may not be the money makers that the Grand class ships are.

[amyr]

Cborzil - I'm pretty sure you're dead on about the leasing agreements and the requirement to sail in Tahitian waters. I guess that's up. The Pacific ends its split P&O deployment in the Spring of 2006, when the Tahitian's itineraries end, so who knows?

 

We really want to do that Pacific Theatre cruise that Frequentcruiser (upthread) is booked on, but I wanted to do it in the reverse, ending in Honolulu as the Pacific did in 2004. Now it looks like we may have missed it altogether by not booking it this year. :( A couple of people on my Pacific cruise in September 2004 booked that cruise while on board.

 

There is an interesting thread on this subject on the Cunard board with mixed feelings about whether a Princess ship would be appropriate for Cunard, but several people have pointed out that they're in fact Ren ships. I also didn't realize that when the QE2 leaves the fleet it won't really be a fleet anymore, just the Queen Mary. I would imagine that Cunard could use the two little ships, or what would really be the point?

 

Amy

[btrojanoski]

If all this occurs it will be bad in two distinct ways. Firstly the Tahitian Princess is a very nice ship so we would hate to see her go and secondly if this means Princess is abandoning the South Pacific routes that would also be a shame. We only did one of the two routes that the Tahitian Princess did but it was fantastic. I can only hope that maybe they will just transfer one of the Sun Class vessels down there and continue with the routes.

[cborzill]

I believe Tahiti has restrictions on the size of ships it will allow to make repeat visits to the islands. They may not even be able to handle repeat visits from a Sun class ship given the number of passangers and the depth of the water at some of the islands. I agree with all of you. I did that itenerary when the Tahitian was the R4. It is one of the best cruises I have ever taken and I would hate to see Princess abandon it.

[laurieb]

If Princess does decide not to renew the lease, I wonder what the chances of another line picking them up and continuing with the same type of itinerary would be. Oceania perhaps?

[Pam in CA]

According to the Captain on the Royal Princess who announced at the Captains Circle party a couple of weeks ago, the Pacific Princess is staying with Princess full-time and will be doing many of the Royal Princess' itineraries. The Tahitian Princess will remain in the Pacific.

[Druke I]

Very happy that SuzyCruisy posted the new itineraries, 2006/2007 for Pacific Princess and Tahitian Princess, and that this rumor can be put to bed, at least for the time being.

 

Isn't it wonderful we have so many choices?

[jsea]

But, here, I am expressly looking for the itinerary...So, hearing that the ports are ill-equipped for larger ships scares me...And then, there's the question of whether Princess will do this route in JULY if they have to fill up a 2,000 passenger ship...I have heard it's hot in July in Southeast Asia and it may not be that popular a time to go...My guess is there is SOME demand from customers like us...maybe just enough to fill up a nice, small 670 passenger ship...

We did a Royal Caribbean cruise to Southeast Asia in 1996 and it was our favorite sailing we have ever done. We really lucked out with the weather as we avoided nearly all precipitation. Sure, it was hot and humid, but no different than Dallas in the summer. I know you have found Suzy's information on other threads, but I wanted to tell you how great a trip it is. We were in the same boat as you and were looking for something new. The ports will be fine... they were back when we went.

 

We too are looking at Pacific for 2006 but it's hard to get everyone together and across an ocean for such a long time.