Shorter Cruises?

[travlinbug]

Opinions? Generally shorter cruises(less than 7 days),especially in the Caribbean,attract a younger party crowd and in general the flavor or tone of the cruise is different. A better price and needing less time off can change the demographic quite a bit . Do you think this will hold true on Princess. Their ships don't offer quite the bells and whistles that this crowd loves(Flowrider,more risqué contests and games),so I'm wondering who the cruisers will be and how much Princess might alter it's activities and loosen up for such a group? Would love a shorter cruise sometimes but I have avoided them in the past just for this reason. I am 51 and love fun,not a prude,but really don't want to feel like I dropped into the middle of spring break. Makes me feel like an old sea hag!! LOL!!!! Or maybe I'm way off base with my generalizations?

[simbasmom]

Opinions? Generally shorter cruises(less than 7 days),especially in the Caribbean,attract a younger party crowd and in general the flavor or tone of the cruise is different. A better price and needing less time off can change the demographic quite a bit . Do you think this will hold true on Princess. Their ships don't offer quite the bells and whistles that this crowd loves(Flowrider,more risqué contests and games),so I'm wondering who the cruisers will be and how much Princess might alter it's activities and loosen up for such a group? Would love a shorter cruise sometimes but I have avoided them in the past just for this reason. I am 51 and love fun,not a prude,but really don't want to feel like I dropped into the middle of spring break. Makes me feel like an old sea hag!! LOL!!!! Or maybe I'm way off base with my generalizations?

 

Yes, that seems to be the observation of my son, who's been staff on many Princess cruises-the shorter cruises usually attract the younger crowd. And it makes sense-the younger crowd tends to be working, as opposed to retired, and can take less time off from work.

[WVBill]

Ruby appears to be doing a number of 4-5 day cruises in the December/January timeframe this year/next.

[travlinbug]

Yes,those 4 and five day cruises are the ones I am talking about. I have only done 7 day(which have been the short ones on Princess since I have been cruising) and the crowd was not especially young and not too wild. By young,I don't mean children but 20-somethings. I realize in the cruise world,on some lines I would even be "young" ,but I mean the wet T-shirt contest,body shots,girls gone wild crowd. ;)

[doodlesinkentucky]

Did a 5 day once and it is not for me. I think 7 days are too short too but can't take more then 7 days usually. It is a party atmosphere and does not seem worth it. But if we lived near a port it would be a different story.

[sassyredhat]

We do live near ports, and have taken several of the short cruises. In fact, we are booked on a 4 dayer in Oct.

We actually like the 5 days best, but don't care for the 3 dayers. That one was a party scene. :eek: (it was another line).

If PCL continues having these short itins, we may just be booking more of them.

Pat

[gertz]

Just not for us.

[NewPennCruiser]

I really think Princess is testing the waters and it seems to be a trend for them in going with some shorter cruises. I've cruised with them for many years and never personally considered anything less than 7 days but otherwise Princess only seemed to offer shorter itineraries when they were repositioning on the west coast or trying to get the ship set to a certain day of the week.

 

I got the recent copy of Captain's Circle Magazine and the shorter offerings are all documented and at first glance I thought they actually looked more expensive than I expected, especially the 4 day Ruby Getaways. I compared the cost and those cruises were significantly more expensive per day then comparable 7 day offerings on the Crown, Caribbean or even the Royal which will be a brand new ship.

 

I'm sure they will discount heavily if they have to so the ship sails full, but I somehow doubt Princess is going to pull in much of the "party cruise" crowd to accomplish that. I'm guessing they will end up advertising heavily in the Florida market and just pull in more of the retirees looking for a short getaway or others still in the workforce looking for a quick vacation. Time will tell and it will be interesting to see how these go over. They just might bring in a younger crowd that might not have otherwise tried Princess and if they can get them to return, then they have accomplished something.

 

I do give Princess credit for offering something different. If it isn't profitable (and you know that's the ultimate goal) I'm sure we'll be back to 7 day cruises scheduled all over the Caribbean for 2014/15. Dave

[highheel girl]

I think it cheapens the whole experience. :cool:

 

Don't mind doing a coastal repo once in awhile.

[jean s]

I'm disappointed because there is no 7 day southern Caribbean cruise next February. I guess the 4 and 5 day trips are taking the place of the southern route.

[rdsqrl]

I'm disappointed because there is no 7 day southern Caribbean cruise next February. I guess the 4 and 5 day trips are taking the place of the southern route.

Look again: Crown Princess, 1 February and 8 February. PC, Curacao, Aruba

 

[karinad]

We're doing a 4 night on the CROWN r/t London in Sept. We usually do no less then 7. Dh is wanting to do something different then cruising, so I compromised. He wanted to see some castles, so I put together land and cruise, 3 days pre and 4 days post. With looking at the price of a decent hotel in London, the cruise is a bargain!

 

I'm hoping that it won't be a wild 4 days on the Crown in London! I think the kids will be back in school. I'm hoping that Princess doesn't tolerate the bad behavior that you hear about on other cruise lines.

[smoosh21]

Yes,those 4 and five day cruises are the ones I am talking about. I have only done 7 day(which have been the short ones on Princess since I have been cruising) and the crowd was not especially young and not too wild. By young,I don't mean children but 20-somethings. I realize in the cruise world,on some lines I would even be "young" ,but I mean the wet T-shirt contest,body shots,girls gone wild crowd. ;)

 

 

The real 'wild' cruises are the 3 night cruises. Royal still runs the Monarch and the Majesty this way. Quite a few people start drinking when they board on Friday and dont stop until they get off the ship on Monday morning.

However, it wasnt just 20 somethings but also 30-50 somethings who were all drinking a lot all weekend long.

[WVBill]

We booked the Ruby December 22-26 cruise to PC and back on a whim last December when we saw pictures here on CC of her all decorated for Christmas.

 

Having second thoughts now. PC is not our favorite stop, but we like sea days. Ruby does a 5 day to PC and Grand Turk a week later over New Years. We like GT because we can go horseback riding but we haven't been awake to seen it turn a "new year" in ages.

 

Dilemma.....

We may just skip it and book a 10 day southern Caribbean in early 2014....

[dmwnc1959]

I did a couple of those 'short' cruises two years ago out of Miami on the Celebrity Millennium, and combined two of the 5-night cruises into one 10-night. The cruise ran from Nov. 28th to Dec. 8th, and the crowd was anything but a party crowd. I was at first worried about it, even started a thread over in the Celebrity Cruises Forum and discussed the same concerns. What materialized over her first season of short market cruises was that any of the 4-night cruises that took place over a weekend (i.e. Thusday-Monday) had a more 'active' crowd, whereas the 5-night cruises that ran Mon-Sat or Sat-Thurs had a more sedate crowd.

 

I'm sure if Princess keeps the price up where it is now, most of those looking for a cheap cruise for a weekend drunk-fest will end up on Norwegian Sky or Carnival Imagination since their 'starter rates' are often below $200pp.

[dorisis]

By avoiding school holidays one can avoid cruising with lots of children. The shorter the cruise, the younger the crowd. Also cheaper cruises attract younger passengers. I rarely ssee young people on expensive or very long cruises.

 

~Doris~

[dmwnc1959]

I'm sure they will discount heavily if they have to so the ship sails full, but I somehow doubt Princess is going to pull in much of the "party cruise" crowd to accomplish that. I'm guessing they will end up advertising heavily in the Florida market and just pull in more of the retirees looking for a short getaway or others still in the workforce looking for a quick vacation. Dave

 

Celebrity Cruises ended up with a lot of those short cruises on Celebrity Millennium, as well as this Winter on Celebrity Constellation, for $279-299 on Tuesday Specials. I paid (single occupancy) $1233 for an ocean view stateroom for 10-nights which isn't bad at all. And it did seen to pull in quite a few retirees including folks from The Villages on the 5-night cruises.

[hannibal54]

I am older than the OP and I prefer the shorter cruises. Living in Illinois with such a long way for any departure ports, airfare keeps getting higher. We like to go a couple days early and stay a day or so after. This way I get my cruise fix and we spend a few days, normally in Fl. to soak up the sun. I don't have problems with young kids enjoying themselves, I was young once.

[travlinbug]

I am older than the OP and I prefer the shorter cruises. Living in Illinois with such a long way for any departure ports, airfare keeps getting higher. We like to go a couple days early and stay a day or so after. This way I get my cruise fix and we spend a few days, normally in Fl. to soak up the sun. I don't have problems with young kids enjoying themselves, I was young once.

I can party with the best of 'em even at 51. I personally would enjoy a top free sunning area onboard. What I don't care for is vomit in the halls and elevators or stepping over passed out young adults on the stairways. Not fond of drunks running up and down the halls at wee hours and knocking on all the cabin doors for fun.Late night fire alarms and urine in places besides toilets never thrills me either. I'm referring to the heavy drinking Spring Break type young folks on ships with their chums and no parents in the party. I was young once too. I was pretty tame,but I don't know if I would want to cruise with the "young me" ! LOL!! ;)

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I prefer longer cruises, but sometimes I am able to fit in a four-day Caribbean cruise between my main cruises. Because I am still working (48 years old), shorter cruises allow me to have a nice break and only miss three or four days of work. Most of my shorter cruises have been on Royal Caribbean.

 

I recently returned from a four-day cruise on the Liberty of the Seas (the cruise that departed from Ft. Lauderdale on Feb. 7, 2013). Also, I did this same four-day itinerary on the Liberty of the Seas in December 2011. I have also done four-day cruises on the Navigator of the Seas and the Celebrity Century as well as a five-day cruise on the Jewel of the Seas. I always try to schedule these cruises so that they are not during school breaks. These cruises have been nice, fun and not too wild. If you are careful when you schedule a short cruise, it is an enjoyable mini vacation. I have never witnessed any bad behavior during these cruises. I imagine that the short Princess cruises will offer a similar experience.

 

Chuck

[Working 2 Cruise]

I personally would enjoy a top free sunning area onboard. ;)

 

Good luck with that!

 

I could not pass up on a 4-dayer.... Better than nothing, and a quick fix until I can book something longer... I, personally am happy that Princess is offering those.