Question about patters

[RavennaM]

Hi guys, I have been trying to do research about Princess since we are considering booking Royal on summer 2016. I have only cruised with RCCL and X before. I have one question about patters: Don't they print fitness classes to patters or are the zumba and stretching seriously only fitness classes they do? No boxing, body conditioning, abs???Thanks already!!

[Cruisin' Chick]

It's up to the cruise director to decide what goes in to the Patters during his or her cruise, as far as I know. There's only so much space (each one is four pages, but it's page 2 and 3 on which the daily schedule is listed).

 

If the fitness classes are a priority for you, then I suggest you go to the gym the first afternoon and one of the workers there would be happy to go through what classes are offered (maybe even have a schedule you can take).

 

On my last cruise, the zumba classes were listed (usually either on the pool deck or in one lounge) in the Patters, but I didn't pay attention to when spinning and other classes were held in the gym and whether they were listed in the daily newsletter or not.

[cruzrbachoua]

I just got off the Regal in March and only the zumba class was listed. I do not recall seeing any other classes. I used to see yoga and zumba and this time yoga was not listed so either they stopped listing it or stopped doing yoga as it did always state that it was an extra fee of $10 for yoga...zumba is free.

[Thrak]

Hi guys, I have been trying to do research about Princess since we are considering booking Royal on summer 2016. I have only cruised with RCCL and X before. I have one question about patters: Don't they print fitness classes to patters or are the zumba and stretching seriously only fitness classes they do? No boxing, body conditioning, abs???Thanks already!!

 

Given the main demographic of Princess passengers I wouldn't be surprised if none of those are offered. I'm 62 and not at all "old" on Princess.

[OCruisers]

We've never seen Boxing offered on any Princess ship.

 

LuLu

[Astro Flyer]

Skimming through 17 days of Patters from the Regal in April, I only noticed the free Zumba classes. I've always seen sign up lists & prices for other optional exercise classes such as spinning at the entrance to the gyms & have read that the Royal-class ships offer TRX (short for total-body resistance exercise) for a fee.

Edited May 18, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[goofy559]

The Royal has many different fitness classes - boot camp, Pilates, trx, all for a fee, plus a stretch or abs workout and zumba. As mentioned hit the gym the first day to find out the classes being offered and the schedule. Most for fee classes were only offered on sea days.

[CaptainKlutz]

We've never seen Boxing offered on any Princess ship.

 

LuLu

 

You've never been in the buffet on "Get Out!" morning?:eek:

[Colo Cruiser]

You've never been in the buffet on "Get Out!" morning?:eek:

 

 

And don't ever plan too. :rolleyes:

[pablo222]

We've never seen Boxing offered on any Princess ship.

 

LuLu

 

When grand entered service, they had a 'slam man'.

[jasbo49]

You've never been in the buffet on "Get Out!" morning?:eek:

 

Now, this I love. Second place is "get on day," which is why I really, really want to board before the MDR ends lunch service.

 

Jim

[RavennaM]

Thank you so much for your answers to all of you! So I guess there is some classes, but they don't print them to the patters. And I guess I'll have to take my boxing classes in the buffet :D

 

I am only a bit over 30 and I have understood the average age on Princess ships is much higher, but Princess itineraries are very hard to beat unless you can book so called luxury cruise lines.

 

I have found several threads which compare Princess to other cruise lines but what do you guys think? Have you cruised with for example RCCL? What are the major differences between Princess and RCCL. I know there isn't flowrides, bumper cars etc. but what do you think about cabins, food, buffet, MDR, trivias/game shows, gym, ship layout etc. Thanks!

[geoherb]

I have found several threads which compare Princess to other cruise lines but what do you guys think? Have you cruised with for example RCCL? What are the major differences between Princess and RCCL. I know there isn't flowrides, bumper cars etc. but what do you think about cabins, food, buffet, MDR, trivias/game shows, gym, ship layout etc. Thanks!

I have cruised on Carnival, Norwegian, RCCL, Celebrity, HAL, and Princess. The last three are pretty close. Princess, at least the larger ships, have a good variety of activities. Food is subjective. We avoid the buffet if possible, so don't have much experience with it. Princess has good trivias and a variety of evening entertainment. I just use the treadmills in the gym, but it looks like people are enjoying the other equipment available.

[RavennaM]

I have cruised on Carnival, Norwegian, RCCL, Celebrity, HAL, and Princess. The last three are pretty close. Princess, at least the larger ships, have a good variety of activities. Food is subjective. We avoid the buffet if possible, so don't have much experience with it. Princess has good trivias and a variety of evening entertainment. I just use the treadmills in the gym, but it looks like people are enjoying the other equipment available.

 

Thanks! I have heard so many good things about Royal that I think I am ready to book her 21 day Mediterranean cruise to summer 2016.

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks! I have heard so many good things about Royal that I think I am ready to book her 21 day Mediterranean cruise to summer 2016.

 

Hopefully you'll enjoy the Royal as much as we did during our 28 days (2 cruises) onboard plus 17 days recently on the Regal.

 

I don't know your itinerary however our Med cruises were very port intensive without much time to relax on the ship. That's why we've always added a transatlantic cruise to the end of our Med cruises to relax at sea & for exploring a new ship. :)

Edited May 19, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[RavennaM]

Hopefully you'll enjoy the Royal as much as we did during our 28 days (2 cruises) onboard plus 17 days recently on the Regal.

 

I don't know your itinerary however our Med cruises were very port intensive without much time to relax on the ship. That's why we've always added a transatlantic cruise to the end of our Med cruises to relax at sea & for exploring a new ship. :)

 

Thanks! I am planning on booking 21 days from Athens and that is indeed very port intensive cruise. I basically don't anything about Princess yet, do they usually run any sales like X and RCCL? Free beverage package, onboard credit etc.?

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks! I am planning on booking 21 days from Athens and that is indeed very port intensive cruise. I basically don't anything about Princess yet, do they usually run any sales like X and RCCL? Free beverage package, onboard credit etc.?

Princess always has some type of a sale promotion however probably like those other cruise lines' sales are not always a better deal. ;)

 

Sometimes when they add those types of incentives, they charge higher cruise fares or eliminate OBC. It's probably the same marketing techniques used by all cruise lines...sometimes the net "sale" price doesn't truly result in a lower total cost. :(

 

Some sales have a "non-refundable, non-transferable" deposit & something to consider when booking a sale. When that restriction was added several years ago my TA got Princess to waive it however not recently. We have several Furure Cruise Credit (FCC) deposits available which being only $100 is something we can afford to loose if a great sale becomes available. FCCs can only be purchased during a cruise but also comes with up to a $150/pp OBC on a future cruise. :)

 

One thing we like about Princess is their various complimentary onboard credits are combinable unlike our most recent RCCL experience. That is a substantial savings for us & we've had as much as $1,700 on a month long cruise: FCC, shareholder, military, sales promotion & TA agent credits.

 

My recent experience for cruises I've checked have considerably higher prices than previously when booking well in advance. Obviously I have not checked every cruise however that has been my recent experience for most cruises. I usually book at a reasonable price well in advance & hope for a better price and/or cabin before final payment. Current higher pricing has resulted in us not having a cruise booked for the 1st time in many years. Instead we're waiting for short-notice offers which being retired is now our best option.

 

These are merely our experiences although there have been several recent discussions about pricing with others who feel prices are higher...good for cruise lines but not for passengers. I've read about more frequent cruisers who have cancelled before final payment...bad for them but good for those seeking short-notice cruises. ;)

 

Recent experiences with off-season travel to Europe from the U.S. has resulted in the best airfare prices using Princess eZAir. For an April cruise this year I found good routings & only $630 roundtrip (LAX/FLL and back from London) with eZAir and that was a "flexible" airfare which was much less expensive than their "restricted" airfare. Although a recent post said it was $2,200/pp to Europe from Colorado during August & along with a higher cruise fare they unfortunately cancelled before final payment.

 

Hopefully some of this will be beneficial to you but since you said that you basically don't know anything about Princess decided to answer your questions by sharing our experiences. :)

 

EDIT: Oops...I just noticed that you're in Finland so airfare shouldn't be a major issue for you. :o

Edited May 19, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[RavennaM]

Princess always has some type of a sale promotion however probably like those other cruise lines' sales are not always a better deal. ;)

 

Sometimes when they add those types of incentives, they charge higher cruise fares or eliminate OBC. It's probably the same marketing techniques used by all cruise lines...sometimes the net "sale" price doesn't truly result in a lower total cost. :(

 

Some sales have a "non-refundable, non-transferable" deposit & something to consider when booking a sale. When that restriction was added several years ago my TA got Princess to waive it however not recently. We have several Furure Cruise Credit (FCC) deposits available which being only $100 is something we can afford to loose if a great sale becomes available. FCCs can only be purchased during a cruise but also comes with up to a $150/pp OBC on a future cruise. :)

 

One thing we like about Princess is their various complimentary onboard credits are combinable unlike our most recent RCCL experience. That is a substantial savings for us & we've had as much as $1,700 on a month long cruise: FCC, shareholder, military, sales promotion & TA agent credits.

 

My recent experience for cruises I've checked have considerably higher prices than previously when booking well in advance. Obviously I have not checked every cruise however that has been my recent experience for most cruises. I usually book at a reasonable price well in advance & hope for a better price and/or cabin before final payment. Current higher pricing has resulted in us not having a cruise booked for the 1st time in many years. Instead we're waiting for short-notice offers which being retired is now our best option.

 

These are merely our experiences although there have been several recent discussions about pricing with others who feel prices are higher...good for cruise lines but not for passengers. I've read about more frequent cruisers who have cancelled before final payment...bad for them but good for those seeking short-notice cruises. ;)

 

Recent experiences with off-season travel to Europe from the U.S. has resulted in the best airfare prices using Princess eZAir. For an April cruise this year I found good routings & only $630 roundtrip (LAX/FLL and back from London) with eZAir and that was a "flexible" airfare which was much less expensive than their "restricted" airfare. Although a recent post said it was $2,200/pp to Europe from Colorado during August & along with a higher cruise fare they unfortunately cancelled before final payment.

 

Hopefully some of this will be beneficial to you but since you said that you basically don't know anything about Princess decided to answer your questions by sharing our experiences. :)

 

EDIT: Oops...I just noticed that you're in Finland so airfare shouldn't be a major issue for you. :o

 

 

Thank you for your comments. Every information about Princess is beneficial for me at this point. You are so right about prices being very hight nowadays. It is getting harder and harder to choose a perfect cruise because of prices and so many different ships and itineraries.

[SadieN]

Princess allows stacking of OBC. So if you're eligible for booking OBC, shareholders OBC, and military OBC you'll get them all for your cruise.