Are Princess transatlantic cruises fun?

[Ken the cruiser]

We are in our mid 60s and tried a Celebrity transatlantic cruise on the Eclipse last fall from Southampton to Miami and had a blast. They had great evening shows in the main theater, 2-3 lectures a day, interactive game shows to bring out the "kid" in us and good food. We've been on a couple of Princess cruises before and always had a fun time. We are now looking to book a club mini-suite on a 2020 16 day transatlantic on the Crown, as the prices are quite cheap, and were wondering how fun the Princess transatlantic cruises are. We like evening shows where we recognize the music preferably from the rock n roll era, interactive game shows, multiple professional lectures (rather that port briefings) and, of course, good food. Any thoughts you may have will be greatly appreciated.

Edited December 10, 2018 by Ken the cruiser

[2theship]

We've done transatlantics on both Celebrity and Princess and the activities are more similar than they are different. The lectures will depend on who they managed to get for that specific cruise but we've found enough variety that we attended one or two each day. There will also be ongoing trivia, arts and crafts, etc.

 

If you have an active roll call, members might plan a Meet & Greet, slot pull, cabin crawl, bar crawl, gift exchange and more. We've never gotten bored on a TA.

[GloriaF]

We've done 3 transatlantic cruises.  All have been in the spring from FLL to Europe.  It is my preferred way of traveling to Europe, sure beats coach class air.  I wish we could stay in Europe until fall to take the transatlantic back to FLL.

 

As mentioned above, being active in the roll call makes transatlantics even more fun.  The ship has plenty of planned activities, including dance and/or steel drum lessons on some cruises.  You can participate in what you wish or laze away the day watching the sea roll by during the crossing.  

 

Ports are often every day once you get close to your destination.  Check the itinerary carefully to be sure it suits you.

Edited December 10, 2018 by GloriaF

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks and we'll definitely check out the Roll Call!

 

Different question. Do you get any perks for booking a cruise while you're on a Princess cruise? If so and we decide to book this cruise, which we probably will, can we subsequently "rebook" the cruise (if it makes monetary sense) while we're on our upcoming UK Princess cruise to get those perks added to the transatlantic booking?

[Ken the cruiser]

17 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks and we'll definitely check out the Roll Call!

 

Different question. Do you get any perks for booking a cruise while you're on a Princess cruise? If so and we decide to book this cruise, which we probably will, can we subsequently "rebook" the cruise (if it makes monetary sense) while we're on our upcoming UK Princess cruise to get those perks added to the transatlantic booking?

Just got finished reading some old threads regarding booking onboard and I really didn't see any positives about rebooking a cruise onboard. However, a lot of folks referenced buying a Future Cruise Credit. If someone has a moment to explain, what are the perks with buying a Princess FCC? We've bought them before while on HAL, Oceania and Celebrity cruises, but not Princess yet.

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks and we'll definitely check out the Roll Call!

 

Different question. Do you get any perks for booking a cruise while you're on a Princess cruise? If so and we decide to book this cruise, which we probably will, can we subsequently "rebook" the cruise (if it makes monetary sense) while we're on our upcoming UK Princess cruise to get those perks added to the transatlantic booking?

Normally no. But it's good to purchase Future Cruise Deposits while on board, $100 each. They have the benefit of OBC and can be used for almost any voyage with some world cruises excluded. We always have some FCD's in our account. FCD's are fully refundable if not used.

[paul929207]

We have done 5 or 6 and loved everyone. They have more activities than on the more port intensive cruises.

[skynight]

6 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We are in our mid 60s and tried a Celebrity transatlantic cruise on the Eclipse last fall from Southampton to Miami and had a blast. They had great evening shows in the main theater, 2-3 lectures a day, interactive game shows to bring out the "kid" in us and good food. We've been on a couple of Princess cruises before and always had a fun time. We are now looking to book a club mini-suite on a 2020 16 day transatlantic on the Crown, as the prices are quite cheap, and were wondering how fun the Princess transatlantic cruises are. We like evening shows where we recognize the music preferably from the rock n roll era, interactive game shows, multiple professional lectures (rather that port briefings) and, of course, good food. Any thoughts you may have will be greatly appreciated.

All the same types of things on a Princess T.A. Lots of trivia. Sometimes the lectures are good, some not so good.

[Ken the cruiser]

12 minutes ago, skynight said:

Normally no. But it's good to purchase Future Cruise Deposits while on board, $100 each. They have the benefit of OBC and can be used for almost any voyage with some world cruises excluded. We always have some FCD's in our account. FCD's are fully refundable if not used.

Thanks! We'll definitely check out the FCD when we go on our next cruise.

Edited December 10, 2018 by Ken the cruiser

[BoopTennis]

what are the daytime temps like when sailing transatlantic, say from US to Europe in summer? once you are way out in the ocean is it chilly?  same question for cruising to Hawaii from US west coast. thank you

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, BoopTennis said:

what are the daytime temps like when sailing transatlantic, say from US to Europe in summer? once you are way out in the ocean is it chilly?  same question for cruising to Hawaii from US west coast. thank you

We just completed a TA on the Oceania Riviera from Barcelona to Miami in November and the temps were usually in the mid to high 60s when we were cruising out of the Med. However, as we got closer to the Caribbean it got a lot warmer, usually from the mid 70s to low 80s.

 

We did a Hawaii cruise a couple of Decembers ago on HAL's Amsterdam and the temps were very comfortable, maybe from the high 60s to low 70s.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Ken the cruiser

[capriccio]

3 hours ago, BoopTennis said:

what are the daytime temps like when sailing transatlantic, say from US to Europe in summer? once you are way out in the ocean is it chilly?  same question for cruising to Hawaii from US west coast. thank you

We did a Barcelona to Fort Lauderdale in October/November 2017.  The weather was glorious the entire TA (14 days) and the preceding Rome to Barcelona cruise (11 days).  Temps in the mid-70s and the ocean was like glass.

 

Generally US to Europe TAs start in late March and continue through April while Europe to US TAs usually occur in October and November.  That is because the TAs are the transfer of ships from the Caribbean to/from Europe for the season. 

[daydreamer16]

We are doing our first TA on the Crown, September 2019. We also enjoy Celebrity but they don't offer the beverage package as a perk on a TA but on Princess if you book doing Sip & Sail you can get the package included. This is important to us, but of course not to everyone.

[flamomo]

We've just got home 3 weeks ago from  a 25 day transatlantic on the Crown ……  first leg, Barcelona to Rome, and then Rome to FLL as the 2nd leg. The weather was amazingly good most of the trip …. daytime temps in the 60 - low 70s, warmer on the sunny days, overnight temps usually 58-60ish, very little rain. Calm seas most of the time …. just a couple of bumpy days when we sailed past Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic. And the Crown was a great ship with an excellent crew.

That was my 5th T/A, all of them but one were westbound. I much prefer the westbound because of all the time changes. By the end of the cruise, we are back on US time. Kinda eases the time adjustment period, and I'm less apt to be coming home short on sleep and tired out.

[flamomo]

12 hours ago, BoopTennis said:

 

what are the daytime temps like when sailing transatlantic, say from US to Europe in summer? once you are way out in the ocean is it chilly?  same question for cruising to Hawaii from US west coast. thank you

The Spring crossings tend to be cool and rain's a good possibility, especially as you near the European coast.

Remember, the water is the Atlantic Ocean is still very cold at that time of year, so the air temps will probably be pretty cool at sea.

[satxdiver]

FCD's are definitely a plus.  For $100/pax you can in the next two years book a cruise using the FCD as the deposit instead of the much higher usual deposit and you get a $50 to $250 OBC depending on the length of the cruise.  If after two years it is not used, Princess will return the money.  It definitely is a win option if you would maybe like to cruise on Princess again.  Like others we always have several FCD in each of our accounts ready to book the next cruise. 

 

The TA temperature is dependent on time of year and whether the TA is in the north Atlantic or more towards the equator.  A TA from the UK to NYC will take the northern route and be colder than a TA from PE to the Mediterranean.  TAs start in April to Europe and September to the US.  We prefer the fall TA's since we can do the overnight flight first and then relax for the rest of the trip.    

[BigGuy25]

We really enjoy transatlantics.  Our only disappointment on our recent September ‘18 voyage on the Regal was the lack of general lectures, etc. on sea days. Almost all of the “lectures” provided were really thinly disguised (sometimes blatant) attempts to get you to purchase onboard services like acupuncture, spa skin procedures, art, shore-side purchases, etc.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with those ... I’d just like some general interest “non commercial” programs.  One of my “best evers” was on a Royal Caribbean cruise where a Thomas Jefferson impersonator held a Town Hall meeting. Even during Q&A he remained totally in character. It was an totally enjoyable experience.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, satxdiver said:

FCD's are definitely a plus.  For $100/pax you can in the next two years book a cruise using the FCD as the deposit instead of the much higher usual deposit and you get a $50 to $250 OBC depending on the length of the cruise.  If after two years it is not used, Princess will return the money.  It definitely is a win option if you would maybe like to cruise on Princess again.  Like others we always have several FCD in each of our accounts ready to book the next cruise. 

Thanks! Exactly what we wanted to hear, no down-side. I'm assuming the $50 to $250 OBC is per cabin rather than per person.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, BigGuy25 said:

We really enjoy transatlantics.  Our only disappointment on our recent September ‘18 voyage on the Regal was the lack of general lectures, etc. on sea days. Almost all of the “lectures” provided were really thinly disguised (sometimes blatant) attempts to get you to purchase onboard services like acupuncture, spa skin procedures, art, shore-side purchases, etc.  There’s nothing inherently wrong with those ... I’d just like some general interest “non commercial” programs.  One of my “best evers” was on a Royal Caribbean cruise where a Thomas Jefferson impersonator held a Town Hall meeting. Even during Q&A he remained totally in character. It was an totally enjoyable experience.

Good to know and, hopefully, that's not a sign of things to come with regards to professional lecturers on their TAs. That would definitely be a bummer.

[capriccio]

7 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! Exactly what we wanted to hear, no down-side. I'm assuming the $50 to $250 OBC is per cabin rather than per person.

No it is per person using an FCD but it may be limited to 2 per cabin (at least that is what the form looks like: https://book.princess.com/html/personalizer/downloads/pdf/FutureCruiseDepositForm.pdf).  In addition to the hard copy form, you can buy and FCD thru the Princess online intranet.

[Ken the cruiser]

4 minutes ago, capriccio said:

No it is per person using an FCD but it may be limited to 2 per cabin (at least that is what the form looks like: https://book.princess.com/html/personalizer/downloads/pdf/FutureCruiseDepositForm.pdf).  In addition to the hard copy form, you can buy and FCD thru the Princess online intranet.

We, right now, have a Courtesy Hold on a 2020 cruise. Are you saying we can let the CH expire, buy the FCD online right now and then rebook the cabin using that FCD? If so how can we access the Princess online intranet to see this?

[Colo Cruiser]

19 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks and we'll definitely check out the Roll Call!

 

Different question. Do you get any perks for booking a cruise while you're on a Princess cruise? If so and we decide to book this cruise, which we probably will, can we subsequently "rebook" the cruise (if it makes monetary sense) while we're on our upcoming UK Princess cruise to get those perks added to the transatlantic booking?

No...we purchase FCD's while onboard and book with our TA when we get home saving 8% to 12% over Princess prices.

[capriccio]

No since you only have access to the intranet while you are onboard (sorry, I should have made that clearer).  I have read (or at least think I have) that Princess has expanded FCD purchase to a few days after a cruise in case you didn't buy it on board but that won't help you.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, capriccio said:

No since you only have access to the intranet while you are onboard (sorry, I should have made that clearer).  I have read (or at least think I have) that Princess has expanded FCD purchase to a few days after a cruise in case you didn't buy it on board but that won't help you.

That makes sense as the other seemed too good to be true. Thanks for the heads-up though.

[satxdiver]

22 minutes ago, capriccio said:

No since you only have access to the intranet while you are onboard (sorry, I should have made that clearer).  I have read (or at least think I have) that Princess has expanded FCD purchase to a few days after a cruise in case you didn't buy it on board but that won't help you.

 

That was true on our cruise last month which surprised me since before you had to be on the ship.  How long this offer lasts and if it is available on all ships now (most likely) remains to be seen.  However it appeared to be a new policy for all Princess ships.  I have used the onboard intranet (not internet) and the Princess webpage only available onboard to buy FCDs which are charged to our credit card they have securing the folio and not put on the folio.  Notification is by email of the FCD and of course appears on our Princess dashboard listing available FCDs and used FCDs.  Princess makes it so easy to spend money!