Ocean and Pacific Princess

[antsp]

Having never sailed the babies of Princess and probably wont in the next few years, how long do you give it until Princess gives them up. With 2 new ships within a year Royal and Regal, is the time up.

[cms1]

I for one hope they do not. We were on Pacific two year ago on the Holy Land cruise and the small ship experience was excellent.

 

The cruises are more expensive but well worth it for a different Princess experience. I would go back again in a heartbeat. :)

[yyjguy]

For what it is worth, here is some talk from within the maritime community where I work (not the cruise industry though). Word is that Carnival Corp is shopping their 3 R class vessels around, but so too is RCI for their 2. No word on what Oceania is doing, but having 5 sister vessels on the market does not bode well for a quick sale. Delivery is apparently the fall of 2015 or spring of 2016.

[paul929207]

I will also miss the little girls if they sail off into the sunset. I have heard rumors that they will be sold and the Island and Coral will replace them on the exotic routes.

 

We have 199 nights on the Ocean Princess and another 80 booked thru next year.

[Seafoam Green]

I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to sail on the Pacific Princess. It saddens me to think about the R-class ships disappearing.

[DougH]

Count me in the "I'd hate to see them go" category. I don't get to sail on the small ships nearly often enough but some of my favorite cruises have been on the smaller ships. They offer a far different experience than the big ships and I sure love them

[Lostincruisin]

Me too... I'd hate to see them go. Nothing like the small ship experience. they dock where the larger ships can not go.

You know everyone on the ship... it is so intimate.

I can't imagine that you could "replace" the Ocean and Pacific with the likes of Royal and Regal.

the Royal can only get into the Caribbean Islands that have docking facilities for very large ships. I would imagine the same goes for Europe where the piers are huge.

Let's hope they hang on a bit longer.. I'm not done yet.

[Pia1913]

I would hate to see them go too. As of now we have sailed the "babies" 133 days with another 124 booked for 2014 and 2015.

[bdjam]

I also don't get much chance to sail the smaller ships but I hope that the opportunity remains with Princess. My only beef with the old R ships is that they don't sail very well. I guess it's going too far to hope that Princess builds a couple of new small ships... :rolleyes:

[siuc78]

I certainly hope Princess keeps the little princesses, we love sailing on them too!

[Tweedy]

It is so nice reading about the smaller ships and that if they go from the fleet they will be missed. I get my first experience on the Pacific next April.

[Drews_Cruise]

I think there is still a market for the small ships. I loved the previous Royal and would definitely like to sail on that class again. It all depends if they can keep the ships full I guess.

[Mommypig]

The small ships are a very different experience from the big ships, and I like them better when I am traveling just with my hubby. The whole flavor of the ship is different. The exotic cruises generally have mature couples and groups, rather than the college crowd, the spring breakers, and the families with small children. There is no "camp carnival" provided. The halls are narrower, but that is OK because the ship feels less crowded and it isn't so far to walk from one end to the other. The shows are smaller, but you get to know the cast. Nobody is militant about their table at the buffet. On the Ocean Princess people WANTED to share their tables so that they could meet more people. I made good friends on the small ship, friends that we hope to cruise with again.

 

When the grandkids come, the bigger ship experience is better because there are more things for them to do. Big ships are great for families. But the worst service I have experienced was on the huge Carnival Dream, a really big ship. The wait staff at the dinners were so rushed that you never really go to know them. They did not sing for us like on other ships. There were just too many passengers. It took over an hour of waiting to get a tender at some ports.

 

So I hope they keep the small ships. Bigger is not always better.

[bronte2]

We just love the small ships and would hate to see them disappear from Princess. While we have enjoyed all our cruises on various ships, the experience is just not the same as on the R class ships.

Our next cruise is 51 days on Ocean in 2014 so can't wait. Earlier this year we had a similar length cruise on a much larger ship, so it will be interesting to compare the experience.

I must admit to feeling a bit pessimistic about the future of these lovely little ships. I hope I'm wrong!

[paul929207]

We just love the small ships and would hate to see them disappear from Princess. While we have enjoyed all our cruises on various ships, the experience is just not the same as on the R class ships.

Our next cruise is 51 days on Ocean in 2014 so can't wait. Earlier this year we had a similar length cruise on a much larger ship, so it will be interesting to compare the experience.

I must admit to feeling a bit pessimistic about the future of these lovely little ships. I hope I'm wrong!

When will you be on the Ocean P in 2014? We will be on for 32 days in the Eastern Med in October/November 2014

[KPLIONMA]

We love, love the small Pacific Princess. We thought we'd try the Allure of the Seas this past May for the experience of a "big" ship. Never again! On the Pacific we had wonderful table mates and we enjoyed going into dinner each night. We could walk from stem to stern within 5 minutes. We would pass each other in the hallways and stop and talk like we were old friends. It was the "best" cruise experience we've ever had.

[siuc78]

I sure hope someone at Princess is reading these posts!!

[sailinglisa]

Count me in the "I'd hate to see them go" category. I don't get to sail on the small ships nearly often enough but some of my favorite cruises have been on the smaller ships. They offer a far different experience than the big ships and I sure love them

 

I agree with Doug! Doug and I were part of a group of about 20 friends who were able to take advantage of a one of a kind 10 day Caribbean cruise on the Pacific Princess this past January. Our group had a blast! We ALL loved the small ship experience. The crew got to know all of the passengers so well and vice versa. By the end of the cruise it was like good friends taking care of good friends.

 

I wish Princess had more "smaller princesses"........I would gladly pay a bit more for that kind of experience!

[dorisis]

We love the small ships and if Princess,Oceania and Azamara sell theirs we will go to the luxury lines that also have great itineraries.

[Fletch1]

I hope they don't get rid of the smaller ships as well. We haven't been on one yet but are booked on the Ocean for the TA in November 2014 and cannot wait. Have heard so many good reports about the small ship experience, we just have to do it.

[NJ Fred]

So, too, are my wife and I aficionados of smaller cruise vessels. In fact, we grew our sea legs on ships such as the Italia, Doric, Fairsea, Song of Norway, Carla Costa, et al.

 

When the "bigger sisters" first took to sea they were somewhat of a novelty.

 

But that wore off fast - - at least for us. Just seems like some of the warmth gets lost in the crush of 3100 fellow passengers, crowded buffets, long lines and the like.

 

Put us on the list. We hope Mr. Buckelew and his executives will come to the conclusion that there is a substantial market for the ambiance only a smaller, more intimate vessel can offer.

 

Bigger ain't better!

[beg3yrs]

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

 

Big ships, small ships, mid-sized ships.

 

Exotic itineraries, pedestrian itineraries, etc.

 

Diversification reduces risk!

[paul929207]

Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

 

Big ships, small ships, mid-sized ships.

 

Exotic itineraries, pedestrian itineraries, etc.

 

Diversification reduces risk!

I don't understand? Is this aimed at Princess?

[beg3yrs]

I don't understand? Is this aimed at Princess?

 

Of course it is. Princess has its Royal and Grand class big ships. They have mid-size ships a la Coral/Island and Sun class. They have the small class too with the the Ocean and Pacific. Likewise, Princess has a wide range of cruise itineraries to suit multiple tastes. In this way the cover multiple market segments. As people's tastes change (and they do) they have the opportunity to stay with Princess. What Princess doesn't do is have a wide range of on-board experience, contrary to what you'd believe by reading this forum ;), they've chosen to make that one of the signature attributes, "Escape Completely." They also pretty much stay mid-scale as far as amenities go.

 

The term "risk" is used in a financial sense, not meaning the risk of an accident, but the financial risk caused by uncertainty. Spreading your investment over multiple and somewhat uncorrelated segments attempts to keep your investment returns reasonably stable. With a stable investment return you can more reliably forecast your future, enabling one to make decisions which provide a return to shareholders for a long time to come.

 

So, all that said (and there's certainly much more that could be said and discussed but we don't have multiple semesters to do this), the remark was pointed at Princess which very much pays attention to the bottom line financially. Keeping the small ships would help maintain their diversification. Of course those at corporate who have the more global perspective may dismiss it as just a small part of the big picture, but it's a valid point nonetheless.

[bronte2]

When will you be on the Ocean P in 2014? We will be on for 32 days in the Eastern Med in October/November 2014

 

Paul,

 

We are on the Sydney to Cape Town sector in March/April. Would love to have stayed on until Dover though. Perhaps in 2015!

 

Diane