Yet Another New Princess Ship

[Druke I]

There is a press release from Carnival, over on the HAL boards:

 

Carnival has ordered four new ships, including one for Princess, which will be a sister to Emerald Princess, 3100 PAX, 116,000 GRT.

 

Another one that is too damned big, in my opinion.

 

HAL is getting one that is smaller, about 84,000GRT, and it will fit through the Panama Canal.

[mii]

I totally agree Druke about the larger ships. Just wish they would make more of the size of Coral/Island. As far as I am concerned those ships are the best in the fleet.

 

Marilyn

[Pam in CA]

Again, I agree with Michael. I'd like to see more "medium" (I consider the Coral/Island medium-sized) ships that are better designed to handle the seas. I don't need "bigger is better" -- just a nice ship to cruise on.

[julieh]

I agree with Michael as well. We need more Sun Class.

 

Julie

[julieh]

I agree with Michael as well we need more Sun Class.

 

 

Julie

[dazee8]

I agree with the other posters on this thread. I love the Sun class ships and try to cruise on them most of all. Cruising on the BEHEMOTH of the Emerald, Caribbean, etc. is just not for me. It's way too many people. I don't feel like I am on a cruise, but at a stadium event the whole time. Yuck! Princess, please build more Sun class ships. :)

[FlyingRev]

The Dawn and Sea are indeed wonderful ships! You know, bigger isn't always better.

[TorontoTL]

As I've said before I enjoy both the smaller Sun/Coral Class and the larger ships as well. However, I believe that if Princess wants to provide a more upscale cruise than what Carnival is offering then if they are going to build larger ships, then they need to improve on two very important things. They should improve the space ratio, and the crew/passenger ratios. The Caribbean Princess' space ratio should be improved. The easiest way of improving it is to have fewer passengers and the same amount of space. They could do this by removing cabins that are for pax and using them as crew cabins, also improving the crew/passenger ratios and improving service on the larger ships. Ideally they would design a new ship from scratch to do this and along the way increase the cabin size to keep up with Carnival and others now all offering larger cabins. I have no issue with large ships as long as there is no excessive crowding, which I haven't found on the non Caribbean Princess, Grand Class ships. And as long as the service is excellent.

[Coral]

Why does Holland always get the perfect sized ships???

 

Disappointing news.

[honeymoon4ever]

OK, so maybe I should not be the most qualified to comment on this thread, (only two cruises under my belt), but I like the big ships. It is nice to have so many dining and entertainment options. I really think we would get bored on the smaller ships. :)

[spongerob]

Less is more.

[Princess Chatterer]

The Emerald/Crown twin will be built by Fincantieri and will arrive in the Summer of 2009 according to Cruiseweek. http://www.cruise-week.com

[Ethel5]

OK, so maybe I should not be the most qualified to comment on this thread, (only two cruises under my belt), but I like the big ships. It is nice to have so many dining and entertainment options. I really think we would get bored on the smaller ships. :)

 

 

It will be interesting to hear from you after you have sailed on the smaller (Sun/Regal) sized ships. I really think you will join the rest of us moaning about the mega ships!

[Coral]

It will be interesting to hear from you after you have sailed on the smaller (Sun/Regal) sized ships. I really think you will join the rest of us moaning about the mega ships!

 

Ditto! Plus, service is usually so much better on the smaller ships!

 

If one looks at the Coral/Island Princess - I don't think one has to give up anything to enjoy this smaller ships. All the amenities of the larger ship in a smaller ship form.

[eroller]

What is really scary is that the "small ships", such as the DAWN and SUN that people are referring to were considered the largest in the world at the time they were built. Hardly small at almost 80,000 gt, but compared to the monstrosities today I guess they are.

 

All these mega-monsters being built for Princess only confirms the line is most interested in the "mass-market", rather than the "premium" market that Princess used to attract.

 

The reasonably priced options for smaller and mid-sized ships has shrunk, and meanwhile those lines that do offer smaller ships can really jack up the prices. It's amazing none of these mega-lines can see there is a market for smaller, more intimate ships. They only see the increased revenue that cramming in more cabins to each ship design can achieve. Someday it may come back to bite them in the rear end as passengers that "graduate" from Princess if you will, have few alternatives for a small or medium ship experience.

 

Ernie

[lois1112]

I love the sun class ships. So far the Island has been my favorite ship. Big enough to have all the extras, and small enough that you don't get lost.

I was on the Sapphire in November (and I will sail on her again next Novmber) I would see people at breakfast etc, and never see them again. That doesn't happen on ships the size of the Island and you become a family (especially on the 15 day Hawaii cruise)

[Druke I]

Although the Princess website lumps the Coral and Island into the Sun class, they are in fact a different class of ship.

 

Different hulls, different propulsion system, different GRT, different builders, different passenger load, etc.

[spongerob]

Coral and Island Princess actually have more in common with Celebrity's M-class ships than they do the older Sun-class. Princess' version of the Chantiers de l'Atlantique Panamax hull is much better looking.

[cnmiranda]

I like larger ships but not the 3100 passenger part. The Diamond is almost the same size with 2600 passengers, wish Princess would stick with that:)

[Coral]

I agree that the Sun Class and Coral Class are 2 entirely different classes but once in awhile I give in and go with what Princess has on their website. Regardless, I will take a Sun or Coral class ship any day over the Grand class.

 

I also wish that when Princess decided to build more Grand class ships, that they would have chosen the Diamond Class as their model verses the Grand Princess. The space ratio and design of the Diamond Princess is much improved on compared to Grand/Caribbean ships.

 

Just my opinion.

[patlanta]

When you've visited all but one of the world's largest container ports because the Princess ships have been too big for the usual ports in those cities, you'll agree that this proposed ship is TOO BIG! The long, long coach rides to get to the excursion sites, the shortened time for touring, no shops in the vicinity, the higher cost for the shuttle because of the remote locations (no deals from Princess on this one), and the heightened security which don't allow any private arrangements are an annoyance my money doesn't like.

 

I still grin about one of our Princess ships being hit in a container port. It was a bit amusing because they were calling the crew to their emergency stations just before supper and the ship was still berthed--wonder what the response rate really was.

 

In the meanwhile, left Princess.

[Mike2131]

I do not think we will ever again sail a ship as large as the Voyager of the Seas. The experience on the Diamond in Sepember will be interesting for 2 reasons: 1) To see if Princess handles the large ship experience better than RCCL (No doubt in my mind. We will not sail with RCCL again). 2) To see if the much smaller passenger load (vs. the Voyager) helps make a ship as large as the Diamond more personal and intimate.

We really liked the Coral and Summit and I think those are ideal "large" ships for us. We are also really looking forward to a smaller ship experience on the Regatta in a couple of months.

[mummsie]

we have been on both (the Sapphire in January) and the baby of the fleet (Pacific Princess)last week. I loved both. They both have good and bad points. I loved the extra entertainment on the Sappire but I also loved the friendliness of the Pacific Princess. I would have no hesitation on going on either and in fact we have booked another cruise on the Pacific Princess for late next year. The service was certainly better than the Sapphire due mainly to the size. Gayle

[calikak]

We like both the big and the small ships, but all the new builds are just bigger and bigger. It would be really nice if they would buy a variety of sizes of ships for Princess instead of just the big ones. Smaller ships are supposed to be part of that "Personal Choice" concept, right?

[angel41]

Which of the "smaller" ships depart from Florida (I'm assuming Fort Lauderdale)? When I try to look for any, the only options I get are Caribbean Princess, which I have already done.:confused: Maybe it's just the dates I'm looking at but I would be willing to change to have a different ship.