Pacific Princess

[lrockwitt]

We booked a cruise in the Pacific Princess. I was told it was a smaller ship and only has 680 passengers?

We have never been on such a small ship. Any thoughts pro and con?

Does it have an international cafe?

 

 

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[CruisenOne]

We booked a cruise in the Pacific Princess. I was told it was a smaller ship and only has 680 passengers?

We have never been on such a small ship. Any thoughts pro and con?

Does it have an international cafe? NO

 

Have sailed on the Pacific Princess three times.

 

Great Ship.

[cnd crsr]

The Pacific Princess is small, easy to find your way around and never feels crowded. Tendering and debarking in ports work much faster. We have cruised on this ship several times and love it.

 

There is no IC, but you can get specialty coffees at the bar in the Buffet area and the bar by the only main dining room.

 

Enjoy your cruise on the smaller ship!

[beg3yrs]

Haven't been on the Pacific Princess but have been on its twin, the Ocean Princess, for 125 days. Love this ship!

 

The dancers (a total of 8) do double duty as cruise staff. You may get to know them well during your voyage.

 

There are only two specialty restaurants and only one is open each day. Typically they alternate. This keeps the other venue available for special functions.

 

You won't need to pack a lunch to get from one end of the ship to the other!

 

In spite of being smaller, she handles heavier seas pretty well, IMHO. We've been around both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope on the OP.

 

Yes, there is no IC but the Club Bar back by the dining room always has a try of snacks.

[towhee]

We've sailed on Pacific Princess several times and she is our favorite. We love the smaller ship. She seems to feel less crowded. You get to know your fellow cruisers and the crew. You don't feel like a "number" even if you are in the lower cost cabins. There's plenty to do.

Enjoy your cruise.

[JF - retired RRT]

One thing to note: if you are going to a "warm" climate for your cruise, pack a jacket anyway. The Cabaret Lounge where the shows and movies occur is COLD!! Meat locker cold.

We did a B2B Panama Canal cruise and if I hadn't had my winter hoodie (insulated), I would have had to stop going to shows and lectures.

I wore my jacket with the hood up, wore my gloves (always in the pocket, thank goodness) and got a blanket from our steward which I wrapped around my legs. I was the only warm person in the room. :eek:

[Centsless_Cruiser]

We booked a cruise in the Pacific Princess. I was told it was a smaller ship and only has 680 passengers?

We have never been on such a small ship. Any thoughts pro and con?

Does it have an international cafe?

 

 

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You should be able to get all the information you need about the ship from Pescado Amarillo's blog here - http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/ They have spent the past three years on the ship including the TA crossing and Panama Canal this year. They basically have fallen in love with the smaller ship and may never go back to the bigger ones!

 

Smooth Sailing.

[easyboy]

We had an inside cabin once on the Pacific and was glad that ours has a sofa.

[UpcountryTravelers]

We haven't sailed the Pacific, but have gone on her (sadly gone) twin, Ocean Princess. Absolutely our favorite ship so far. Wonderful crew, easy to get around, able to get into ports the others cannot. Uncrowded, warm and friendly. Loved it!

[caribill]

The Tahitian Princess which was renamed to be the Ocean Princess and later sold is a twin to the Pacific Princess.

 

You can see pictures of the Tahitian/Ocean Princess at http://fp.caribill.com/

[flamomo]

Love the Pacific Princess! Cruising on her is very different from the large ships. Much more cozy and intimate. Very easy to get around the ship because of the smaller size. Easy to get to know your fellow passengers and the crew.

Going on her for the 3rd time later this year, and I can't wait!.

[Woobstr112G]

We will be on the Pacific Princes, for the first time, in May, for our Panama Canal cruise. Really looking forward to my first small ship cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[LoveCruisinMoreskies]

We are getting married on the Pacific Princess in September! Really excited to see what a small ship is like.

 

 

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[KruzeKrazy!]

Very nice ship - relish the "good old days" of sailing with fewer other pax and a great crew. Only one MDR and a smaller showroom but who cares - you're on a ship! [emoji4]

 

Plus they have Sabatini's and Sterling (think Crown Grill).

 

You're trading the more choices of a larger ship for the more intimacy of the smaller ship. But one other advantage of the smaller ship is very quick and easy on and off

 

We had an aft Owner's Suite which was huge and loved it!

 

We still like the grandeur of larger ships but also the balance of mid-size ships and the "yacht-like" experience of smaller ships. To us it's like 3 different kids - each is their own person but we love them all.

[msmoger]

One thing to note: if you are going to a "warm" climate for your cruise, pack a jacket anyway. The Cabaret Lounge where the shows and movies occur is COLD!! Meat locker cold.

We did a B2B Panama Canal cruise and if I hadn't had my winter hoodie (insulated), I would have had to stop going to shows and lectures.

I wore my jacket with the hood up, wore my gloves (always in the pocket, thank goodness) and got a blanket from our steward which I wrapped around my legs. I was the only warm person in the room. :eek:

 

First let me say that the Pacific and Ocean Princess were probably our best two cruises to date for all of the reasons stated above.

 

As far as JF - retired RRT's comment is concerned, which has been repeated many times by Pescado Amarillo on her great blog, we never experienced this at all.....and I'm definitely someone that gets cold (I'm kind of puny :D). Perhaps it's colder when the AC is cranked up during warm weather cruises. Both of ours were not.

[treesah]

Our first cruise was on the Tahitian Princess. It was love at first sight. So lovely and intimate. I enjoy the monsters of the seas, too, but much prefer the tiny ships. My DH loves the giants so we compromise.

[cruisequeen4ever]

My first impression was whoa; everything is so small!! I'm used to the big ships, BUT I very quickly acclimated and was able to appreciate her charm. The big downside is that she's so small, she moves a lot more! I had never experienced serious seasickness until I was on her over Christmas. Many others onboard said the same. It took me 2 days to get my sea legs, and the captain announced to everyone that's how long it would take us; he was right on. The cruise staff is comprised of the singers and dancers, so that's very different. The quality of nighttime entertainment wasn't as high but still decent. Now on to the benefits...fantastic food, easy to get around the ship quickly, great service from crew who get to know you, and you're able to visit exotic ports the big ships can't. I would sail on her again; my preference is still very much for the big ships, but I can understand why people rave about the Pacific.

 

 

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[miagirl]

Let me just say that I love the little lady so much that when I see a possible opening in our schedule for a trip the first thing I do is where the Pacific Princess is to see if I can make a cruise on her work.

 

I know that any day on a cruise is better than a day at the office, but I really don't know how well I'll be able to adjust back to being on a big ship after being spoiled by life on the Pacific. We have a week long trip on the Emerald this summer. Big ships just seem like so much work...

[Ferndale Girl]

One thing to note: if you are going to a "warm" climate for your cruise, pack a jacket anyway. The Cabaret Lounge where the shows and movies occur is COLD!! Meat locker cold.

We did a B2B Panama Canal cruise and if I hadn't had my winter hoodie (insulated), I would have had to stop going to shows and lectures.

I wore my jacket with the hood up, wore my gloves (always in the pocket, thank goodness) and got a blanket from our steward which I wrapped around my legs. I was the only warm person in the room. :eek:

I read that the Cabaret Lounge was cold before we went on our Christmas/New Year cruise and I wasn't cold at all. I took my sweater the first night and never took it again. I'm usually cold on ships but not this time. The dining room wasn't cold either. I think the buffet was somewhat cold though. I does seem like walking through parts of the ship it was cold. Maybe it varies from time to time.

 

We had a cabin at the front of the ship and I got seasick - first time ever. I would try to pick a cabin in the middle.

 

I really liked the small ship.

[LarryL]

We just booked a transatlantic cruise on her and couldn't be more excited. We've been waiting to book a cruise on the Pacific for a long time. [emoji3]

 

 

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[kennicott]

We spent a month on the Pacific Princess, a TA---started in Venice in Mid November 2016, did the Balkans, Greece, Italy, Spain Gibraltar, Madeira, Bermuda and then Florida. For us we passed the 600 total days of sailing landmark on this cruise. Excellent ship, confirms my preference for the smaller vessels. We both agree we like ships this size best, doubtful if we do much cruising in the future if all we have are the gigantic's to choose from. Princess may sell this one as it is much smaller than anything else in their fleet. They are really keeping it up nicely though, don't know if that is because they want to sell or what, they are still booking it through 2018 however.

 

It is little over 30,000 gross tons with approximately 650 guests. In my opinion, more staff per guest, more space per guest and much less pushing and shoving than we have seen in quite some time on the high seas, plus much more quality and personal service. I thought our cabin, 8000, must have recently been refurbished as it was in perfect condition and the heating-A/C system worked like it should. Crew members are constantly chipping away old paint and renewing woodwork everywhere. I saw no patches of rust anywhere. This "Pacific Princess" was one of the three, out of eight, relatively new "R" ships Princess acquired after the Renaissance Line went under around 2000 (R-3). These vessels are still all in service but Princess has only this one left now. It is too bad that Renaissance didn't have stern thrusters installed when these were manufactured as those would eliminate a few difficulties and need for tugs, even though they do have "Becker Rudders", when getting into tight ports under severe wind conditions.

 

Our stateroom was a mini-suite and one of the finest if not the finest we have had. A five by fifteen foot balcony with drapes that, when pulled back, presented the spacious living area with a huge picture window. Very quiet location forward on Deck 8.

 

I like the theatre on this vessel (Cabaret Lounge). We had previously quit attending showband dance productions and other individual entertainment shows, since the theatres in the newer vessels are a nightmare due the long rows located too close to each other where early arrivals take the closest seats to the too few isles, leaving other guests to try and squeeze by as many as a dozen who fail to stand up and let you by. So, this was the first cruise out of the past five cruises where we attended such events and really liked it. I really appreciate the Princess enrichment lectures, they took place in this lounge during the sea days, temperature was just right, more often than not the air conditioning is turned up way high on ships and everyone is freezing during these lectures.

 

Princess still has formal nights, we had five this cruise, we love them. I understand a lot of the other lines are doing away with formal to satisfy the preference of the average cruiser today, consequently confusion and anarchy in dress practices is causing degradation in the quality of the cruise experience for many, not on this ship though.

 

There are three hot tubs on this ship. Two of normal size and design on the pool deck on each side of the main swimming pool. One very large excellent one just below the bridge and available for extra charge. To gain access to the big tub one must go through the "Lotus Spa" area. Along side this hot tub are Lotus Spa provided extra comfort reclining deck chairs and lemon water refreshments. My wife negotiated some sort of deal for a 29 day Lotus Spa package wherein we got access to this hot tub and the two steam rooms in the men's and women's dressing areas. Took a while but we finally got them to turn the hot tub temps up.

 

Buffet-(Panorama Buffet) was a lot more enjoyable on this ship than on the larger ones. Not near as crowded, hardly ever had a difficult time finding a table at lunch and at dinner there was always many empty tables. On warmer days there was a lot of outdoor seating, particularly on the fantail immediately aft of the buffet. In addition, the food and service was a lot better, there were more staff per guest and the quality of meals superior.

 

The main dining room "Club Restaurant" was very good, the first time I've been able to give a MDR an "A" rating in a long time. Didn't start out that way though. This ship only offers traditional dinner seating, we always use anytime dining as traditional times are way too late or too early. Thanks to the Maitre d', he got us set up at a table for two in the MDR, with seating anytime between 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM. From that point on eating in the MDR was like the days of yore. Good wine service, good meals, great waiters and atmosphere in a not over crowded dining room. We then ate dinner in the MDR most of the rest of the cruise.

[Fussytraveler32922]

We just booked a transatlantic cruise on her and couldn't be more excited. We've been waiting to book a cruise on the Pacific for a long time. [emoji3]

 

 

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Are you booked on the Venice to Ft. Lauderdale trip? We're on that one.

[IECalCruiser]

First let me say that the Pacific and Ocean Princess were probably our best two cruises to date for all of the reasons stated above.

 

 

 

As far as JF - retired RRT's comment is concerned, which has been repeated many times by Pescado Amarillo on her great blog, we never experienced this at all.....and I'm definitely someone that gets cold (I'm kind of puny :D). Perhaps it's colder when the AC is cranked up during warm weather cruises. Both of ours were not.

You must have been lucky. In Mexico in 2015 and the Med last year it was always cold and I usually don't get cold. The Med cruise was in late November with temps in the high 50's/low 60's so they didn't need to crank up the AC to keep it cool. Just be prepared with a sweater or the sort.

 

 

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[flamomo]

You must have been lucky. In Mexico in 2015 and the Med last year it was always cold and I usually don't get cold. The Med cruise was in late November with temps in the high 50's/low 60's so they didn't need to crank up the AC to keep it cool. Just be prepared with a sweater or the sort.

 

 

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I was on her for the transatlantic, Rome to FLL, in December, and didn't experience the Cabaret Lounge, or other indoor parts of the ship, being overly cool. Had it been, I would have been bundled up, because I am very intolerant of being cold.

[LarryL]

Are you booked on the Venice to Ft. Lauderdale trip? We're on that one.

 

I wish it was that soon. We booked for the Rome - Ft Lauderdale in Dec 2018. Lots of planning time. :p