3 and 4 day cruises out of California

[madjohn]

I recently saw that Princess was doing 3 and 4 day cruises out of California. Is any one signed up for these? Are these going to be like other cruise lines "Booze Cruise." I am just wondering. I have never taken a short cruise like this but could be a fun (and inexpensive) get away, however, the wife and I don't drink (not that we mind others doing that which they wish to do) and we are wondering what the general atmosphere will be.

 

Any thoughts welcomed.

[Pam in CA]

I don't have any doubt that these short cruises will attract a different passenger than Princess 7+ day cruises. I was on a 2-day cruise from Vancouver to SF last September and while it wasn't a "booze cruise," it was a different atmosphere. Hard to explain.

[paul929207]

Princess has offered these for a number of years. They are needed to move the ships to Alaska in the Spring and away in the autumn

[madjohn]

Well my thinking is with such a short cruise, it would be a nice get away (we live close enought just to drive in the day of the cruise) and we could easily carry on and off our luggage. Just a fun get away. However, if I can't sleep at night due to excessive noise or other distractions, I can just book a nice place in Monterey or other nice place.

[madjohn]

Princess has offered these for a number of years. They are needed to move the ships to Alaska in the Spring and away in the autumn

 

I am aware of these cruises. I have never taken one due to having to deal with flying home or too the cruise and the added costs. I think they would be different then the 3/4 dayers out of LA.

[Astro Flyer]

I recently saw that Princess was doing 3 and 4 day cruises out of California. Is any one signed up for these? Are these going to be like other cruise lines "Booze Cruise." I am just wondering. I have never taken a short cruise like this but could be a fun (and inexpensive) get away, however, the wife and I don't drink (not that we mind others doing that which they wish to do) and we are wondering what the general atmosphere will be.

 

Any thoughts welcomed.

It's been several years since taking a "booze & gambler's cruise" from LA but my experience was that the weekend cruises fit that description more than the midweek cruise. Those were on Carnival & RCCL so I don't know if it would be any different on Princess.

 

The future Princess 3 & 4 day cruises I viewed are on various days & are not like previous standard 3 night weekend or 4 day midweek cruises. Maybe without the weekend cruises they're less likely to be a "booze & gambler's cruise"???

 

I've considered them & would hope it would have the more typical type of Princess cruiser that I've experienced previously. :)

[Pam in CA]

Princess has offered these for a number of years. They are needed to move the ships to Alaska in the Spring and away in the autumn

They've had 1-, 2- and 3-day cruises but they are repositioning cruises, not a whole season of 3- and 4-day round trips. I think this makes a difference mostly because many people add the repositioning cruise for a B2B. Perhaps people will combine the 3- and 4-day cruises for B2B's. They're going to be different, particularly during college and school breaks. If I were booking one (which I might), I'd avoid those times.

[jbobst]

Princess has offered these for a number of years. They are needed to move the ships to Alaska in the Spring and away in the autumn

 

These aren't the repositioning cruises. The Golden will be doing regular 3-4 night cruise continuously for about ~3 months starting at the end of September 2013 I beleive.

 

I was also looking at these cruises, and one difference between these and the typical 3-4 day cruises that Carnival and Royal Caribbean offer (typically to Ensenada or the Bahamas) is that the Golden cruises are somewhat scattered about on different days of the week. I've been trying to figure the schedule out, but it's not quite the Mon-Fri and Fri-Mon schedule the other cruise lines do. It's very similar, but not quite the same. Also, I think it's great that they are varying up the ports a little bit. I think some of the short cruises offer a San Diego, Catalina, and Santa Barbara option (and of course they all have to do the Ensenada stop). Hopefully they won't be a booze cruise, and we are also looking at trying one or two while they are here.

 

I will probably be disappointed though, as a typical 7 day cruise is too short for me! But I am very glad there is FINALLY another option to Carnival even though it's only about 2-3 month window.

[Astro Flyer]

Princess has offered these for a number of years. They are needed to move the ships to Alaska in the Spring and away in the autumn

The ones I looked at are next January & they're different than those for Alaska & not part of a repositioning. They may draw a similar type of passenger or may be a way to introduce new passengers to Princess. Although with the unusual Monday to Thursday and Thursday to Sunday itineraries it may be difficult for those working without using a week of vacation for a short cruise.

[jbobst]

Didn't mean to duplicate what everyone else was saying!

 

By the way, I was also considering doing a back to back with two of these sailings, but I have never done that. Is the turn around day kind of a hassle for passengers staying on the ship? I mean, it's kind of a waste of valuable vacation time if you have to get off the ship and reboard...then muster drill and all the first day activity stuff that goes on (all the pushing of soda cards and wine packages). Not that it's a really big deal, but do they make it easy for people doing back to back cruises? I was wondering the same thing about doing northbound/southbound Alaska cruises too.

[COMBOY]

I recently saw that Princess was doing 3 and 4 day cruises out of California. Is any one signed up for these? Are these going to be like other cruise lines "Booze Cruise." I am just wondering. I have never taken a short cruise like this but could be a fun (and inexpensive) get away, however, the wife and I don't drink (not that we mind others doing that which they wish to do) and we are wondering what the general atmosphere will be.

 

Any thoughts welcomed.

 

The shorter the cruise; the more diverse the passenger based...but Princess doesn't in general attract the young party crowd. So no, I don't think these will be all out drunken booze cruises. The atmosphere & decor of the ship probably isn't going to attract a frat house party house crowd anyway. Sure, the bars and casino will be hoping, but I wouldn't expect a Carnival style cruise nor a typical Princess 7-day cruise either...probably something in between. These 3/4 day cruise only run from late Sept to the end of Nov (when school is in session) and then repositions to South American. Princess doesn't general operate the 3/4 day cruises, but they had done these types of short of cruises in the past. I think these type of cruises will attract of lot of first time cruisers and will probably market them as such. It's a great short cruise especially if you live in California/Arizona/Nevada since it's a drive to port and you want to try Princess.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I am booked on the 9/30/13... Frank, why don't you join us? Just a little fun before your Royal Princess cruise! It should be interesting to see... I, for one, am happy about these cruises...

 

Affordable, but short... But short sometimes is better than nothing. I would, of course, appreciate a longer cruise!

 

I am especially looking forward to visiting the wineries in Santa Barbara. We are no longer driving, so it is hard to get there any other way.

 

So, for us, it will be fun and a nice getaway!

[Sitmar Lady]

I was considering them too but I am more concerned about the cold weather than the passengers. Maybe October could be nice but then again, maybe not. I'm also guessing they will be booked up becuase of people seeking their elite status.

[centralcalicruzer]

Well my thinking is with such a short cruise, it would be a nice get away (we live close enought just to drive in the day of the cruise) and we could easily carry on and off our luggage. Just a fun get away. However, if I can't sleep at night due to excessive noise or other distractions, I can just book a nice place in Monterey or other nice place.

 

We have taken the short weekend cruises on both Carnival and RCCL (when they had them out of L.A.) because, like you, we can drive to port in a few hours and it's a nice inexpensive weekend getaway (we actually got our last one for $135 per person for three nights during the swine flu scare a few years ago!). Although these are certainly a livelier atmosphere than most Princess cruises, I never had any trouble sleeping due to noise or other disturbances. Maybe it's the time of year we have sailed, but we have not found those short cruises to be that crazy. I probably wouldn't go on one during Spring Break though...:eek:

[Astro Flyer]

I am booked on the 9/30/13... Frank, why don't you join us? Just a little fun before your Royal Princess cruise! It should be interesting to see... I, for one, am happy about these cruises...

 

Affordable, but short... But short sometimes is better than nothing. I would, of course, appreciate a longer cruise!

 

I am especially looking forward to visiting the wineries in Santa Barbara. We are no longer driving, so it is hard to get there any other way.

 

So, for us, it will be fun and a nice getaway!

That's the day we're flying to Rome for a week in Tuscany before embarking on the Royal. We plan to drive to SB the day before to pick up a CC buddy from Texas to take them to the Santa Inez area wineries.

 

If you don't want to take an overpriced ship tour & want to get a group from your roll call email me because we enjoyed our independent tour for 6-8 people very much. There's also the option to walk not too far to several wine tasting rooms just off State Street.

 

Based on replies to this thread there are quite a few frequent Princess cruisers who are like us & considering these 3/4 day cruises as a quick getaway...particularly for those of us who can drive to the Port of LA! :D

[sassyredhat]

We are booked on one for Oct. It goes to Santa Barbara, and Ensenada.

Been to E numerous times, but we thought the SB itin would be a fun getaway, and give me a chance to sail Golden since Star will be taking her Hawaii itin next year.

Hopefully, it won't be like CCL's 4 dayers. We have sailed several of those. We always get their'suite" up on verandah deck to stay away from the loud 30 and 30 yr olds.

No flaming plz. :D

I'm really excited about it.

Pat

[caribill]

I would expect the new 4 day sails from Fort Lauderdale on the Ruby Princess to be more of a party atmosphere than the west coast ones.

[caribill]

By the way, I was also considering doing a back to back with two of these sailings, but I have never done that.

 

Is the turn around day kind of a hassle for passengers staying on the ship? I mean, it's kind of a waste of valuable vacation time if you have to get off the ship and reboard...If the turnaround port is the first port back in the USA, then you will need to go through immigration. If you are not going off the ship for other purposes, you will be asked to go off as a group around 10 AM and be able to reboard soon after. Not really much of a hassle. then muster drill You will not be required to attend the muster drill again although it might be encouraged and all the first day activity stuff that goes on (all the pushing of soda cards and wine packages). By then you will be able to skillfully avoid the sellers of these cards and packages.

 

Not that it's a really big deal, but do they make it easy for people doing back to back cruises? I was wondering the same thing about doing northbound/southbound Alaska cruises too.

 

It is really easy to do (even on the Alaska B2Bs) and it is fun to be on the ship with almost all of it to yourself for a few hours.