New or Old Ship

[ccruzer123]

We are really torn between taking a cruise on one of the older ships or one of the newer ships.  We have cruised on Princess over 30 times so are familiar with many of the ships.  We have definitely noticed a decline in the conditions on the older ships lately.  The newer ships are definitely in better shape, nicer and clean, but way to crowded for our likes, though not too bad when in a Suite.  We much prefer the smaller ships over the newer larger ships regarding passenger size but also prefer being on a clean well maintained ship. The problem is we have found some cruises we would like to take but are hesitant to sign up because of being on older ships and none of the newer ships are cruising to these places.  Is anyone else having this problem between the older and new ships?

[vampiress]

i've mostly cruised older ships, and only once on a  royal class.  i've not had any issues with ships being dirty or ill maintained.  we do still prefer the grand class because of the promenade.  the royal was nice and i liked the bigger piazza and alfredos. 

 

i guess i find after reading complaints here, i'm a fairly self contained passenger, i don't expect a whole lot, i rarely get to know the cruise director personally. i enjoy the craft and trivia sessions, and do attend the shows. i find a nice place to sit and read or knit.  so maybe i'm not the best person to answer your question.

[Thrak]

19 minutes ago, az2sea said:

We much prefer the smaller ships over the newer larger ships regarding passenger size but also prefer being on a clean well maintained ship.

 

We have yet to sail one of the newer ships. We have cruises booked for next fall but will again be on an older ship - Sapphire Princess. We like that class of ship and have never had an issue with them not being "clean and well maintained".

[fredflint]

Well I feel if you have cruised on Princess over 30 times your answer to the question would be more valid than  most people that respond to you.

We have definitely noticed a decline in the conditions on the older ships lately.  The newer ships are definitely in better shape, nicer and clean, but way to crowded for our likes, though not too bad when in a Suite.  We much prefer the smaller ships over the newer larger ships regarding passenger size but also prefer being on a clean well maintained ship. The problem is we have found some cruises we would like to take but are hesitant to sign up because of being on older ships and none of the newer ships are cruising to these places.  Is anyone else having this problem between the older and new ships?

 

 

My wife likes smaller ships so we do smaller ships doing Island Princess for 28 days in 2021 do have a club minisuite at this point.

[leck57]

It is quite a difficult question to answer and it is not always as simple as comparing new or old ships and then comparing crowds. Of the Princess ships we have cruised on I would have rated all of them in pretty good condition internally, or better. The Royal was in excellent condition but you would expect this as she is not that old.

We recently cruised on the Ruby and although looking a bit shoddy on the outside was still in good condition internally. However we found Ruby far more crowded than the Royal was even though the Royal has 600 more people cruising. All of our cruises have been at capacity so I'm comparing full ships. I guess my point is that the larger ships don't always feel more crowded and certainly we didn't notice any extra delays with disembarking at ports etc.

The Sapphire certainly didn't feel as crowded as the Ruby although that ship is a little smaller again, but in very good condition. So I think I'd still pick the itinerary that suits and then see what reviews say about the ship condition. If a Sapphire cruise is on your list I'd go for it. 

[satxdiver]

We sail on whichever ship offers the itinerary we want.  If the ship is the grand class, expanded grand class or royal class makes little difference.  As for preferences we are not crazy about the older grand class ships and sailed on the Star last month.  The ship was in good shape and certainly presentable but lacks some of the amenities of the newer ships (i.e. we like Alfredo's).  The royal class (we have been on the Royal and Regal) are nice but I miss the disco while loving the new layout of the HC.   P&O Australia is getting the Golden in 2020 and Star in 2021 which says to me that they will not get any new upgrades or dry dock before they leave the fleet.  

[geoherb]

I have sailed on the Island, Crown, and Caribbean this year. My favorite of those three is the Crown. We sailed on the Royal last year. I miss walking around the promenade, but I do like some things on it, such as Alfredo's. Princess Live, though, is a cluster foxtrot.

[dog]

I feel the same as OP. The Star is showing her age. Plumbing problem s in aft. 

[MissP22]

We'll sail the newer Royal class ships over the old ones any day but sating that we still go back to the older class ships provided we see a decent price every now and then except for the Island & Caribbean Princess. 

We just didn't like the food on the CB and what they did to the layout of the Island.

[skynight]

Many of the Grand Class ships have been refurbished and offer a nice cruise. 

[Knickearth]

12 hours ago, az2sea said:

We are really torn between taking a cruise on one of the older ships or one of the newer ships.  We have cruised on Princess over 30 times so are familiar with many of the ships.  We have definitely noticed a decline in the conditions on the older ships lately.  The newer ships are definitely in better shape, nicer and clean, but way to crowded for our likes, though not too bad when in a Suite.  We much prefer the smaller ships over the newer larger ships regarding passenger size but also prefer being on a clean well maintained ship. The problem is we have found some cruises we would like to take but are hesitant to sign up because of being on older ships and none of the newer ships are cruising to these places.  Is anyone else having this problem between the older and new ships?

so we are also over 30 cruises with Princess and definitely prefer their newer ships.  The atrium and Alfredos is a huge plus.  The layout of the buffet area (horizon court and bistro) is fabulous compared to the old ships.  We recently got off the Emerald and after spending quite a bit of time in the Club Fusion started to dislike the fact that the "couchlike booths" had material on the arm part that had holes in it.   The chairs had wooden arms and the wood had worn away.  They are definitely not taking proper care of older ships.  As for passenger size, I found the newer ones altho they hold more passengers, felt less crowded.  I also tend to get a cabin that for some reason on older ships has a lot more creaks and other noises in it.  Friends and I are left looking into going on the newer royal class ships.

A big negative for my hubby and his friends is that on the royal class ships (newer ones) you have to pay to utilize the sauna and steam room.  That is something they love to go to daily on the older ships.

[SargassoPirate]

With just under 50 cruises under our belts, on various lines, we have cruised on brand new large ships and older smaller ships.  While we mostly cruise for the itinerary and/or book transocean cruises to get to or from another continent, we seem to prefer the older smaller ships.  We don't need a floating amusement park to be amused.  Food and service are subjective, but we've found that a kind word or two and a smile goes a long way to receive excellent service from the crew.

 

When we boil it down, a comfortable standard balcony (with seating) and a wrap-around promenade are our two main requirements.  

 

And, one can be about as happy on a cruise as they make up their mind to be.  

[BigGuy25]

We been on over 30 voyages and pay a lot more attention to itinerary and price than to the age of the Princess ship. A ship that is getting near it’s time to be refurbished has always still provided us a fantastic cruise experience. 

[Coral]

I am all about older ships. Less crowded.

 

[Esprit]

Looking forward to Enchanted Princess after being on the tired looking Allure of the Seas. Crown Princess was showing her age two years ago too.

Much prefer new ships.

Edited December 29, 2019 by Esprit

[CineGraphic]

We prefer the Grand Class ships, with access to the terrace pool area on the Lido deck from the Riviera Deck.

The newer ships don't have such access. Once Princess retires all of the older ships, we'll be forced to consider other options.

[MissP22]

12 minutes ago, Esprit said:

Crown Princess was showing her age two years ago too.

It wasn't looking all that bad this past October and the food certainly hasn't slipped. 

[Tak8]

I'll be on the Sky next year.  I like the older ships, but it's nice to try the new and yes larger ships.  My favorite is still the Golden.  Easy to navigate and a nice size.  

[PaperSniper4]

13 hours ago, leck57 said:

........

We recently cruised on the Ruby and although looking a bit shoddy on the outside was still in good condition internally. However we found Ruby far more crowded than the Royal was even though the Royal has 600 more people cruising......

 

We often look at the Space to Passenger ratio when we book cruises. While it is not the overriding issue, it is important to us. In general the older ships have a higher ratio, but there a many exceptions to that.

 

"A space ratio less than 33 means that you may find the ship crowded in areas. A space ratio greater than 39 means that there should be plenty of space for each passenger."  (source: WiKi)
 Ruby 30.9
 Royal 33.4

 Star 35.0

   That's only about a 10% increase of those three ships. Significant? Depends.

 

We booked the Star in Jan 2021 on its departure port and itinerary, but I did check its space ratio....and that was part of my decision making to choose it. We prefer the smaller ships, regardless of age. We do not care about the rock climbing walls, racetracks, water slides, etc. For those reason, we always check HAL's cruises even though we cruise mostly on Princess. HAL still has newer, smaller ships. But again, that is just one thing to consider when I book. Everyone's needs and wants are different.

[mcrcruiser]

We just booked the Aug 14 ,2021 Alaska 14 night cruise ,round trip from San Pedro ,Ca on the Sun Princess . Should we be concerned with the ships condition ?  we booked into a mini suite  ,for this cruise 

TIA for your replies 

[Coral]

51 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

We just booked the Aug 14 ,2021 Alaska 14 night cruise ,round trip from San Pedro ,Ca on the Sun Princess . Should we be concerned with the ships condition ?  we booked into a mini suite  ,for this cruise 

TIA for your replies 

The mini suites are great on the Sun Princess. I like the ship - it is more of a Traditional Cruise ship than the newest ships. I would sail on her again in a heart beat. She has been in Australia so I haven't been able to sail on her.

 

Though if you are sailing from LA, you have a lot of sea days. If you are interested in seeing Alaska - I would do a B2B out of Vancouver.

Edited December 29, 2019 by Coral

[LoriPhil]

Our ship choice depends on the itinerary.  In Alaska we would always book the Coral rather than a Royal-class ship, for the excellent viewing options and public spaces in this magnificent Scenic-cruising area.  In the Caribbean we’ve booked a midship mini on the Sky for our10-day Southern cruise, for the fun of being on a new ship. 

Edited December 29, 2019 by LoriPhil

[ccruzer123]

Great feedback, really appreciate the comments.  We have been looking at the Crown and the Sapphire so it was helpful to hear comments on these two ships.  Our favorite Princess ship is the Pacific Princess but have read some comments lately about it having plumbing problems so a little concerned.  Coral was our second favorite Princess ship but the last time we sailed on her the ship wasn't in good shape, balcony was filthy/disgusting, worn furniture and rust everywhere, so a little leery now.  Still love the feel of the older ships but also like that new clean feeling of the newer ones.  Would appreciate comments on the Diamond, Sea or Sun?

[nini]

We also are not fans of crowded ships, however, I guess our experiences and perspectives are a bit different.

We really love the Golden and Crown because we love Skywalker's and two certain cabins on each.

We found the Coral to feel much more crowded and really did not care for the HC location with dirty and foggy

windows preventing views most of the time.

We also fell in love with the Regal and LOVE the HC. We are just careful to book rooms with larger

balconies- aft which is our favorite.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, az2sea said:

Great feedback, really appreciate the comments.  We have been looking at the Crown and the Sapphire so it was helpful to hear comments on these two ships.  Our favorite Princess ship is the Pacific Princess but have read some comments lately about it having plumbing problems so a little concerned.  Coral was our second favorite Princess ship but the last time we sailed on her the ship wasn't in good shape, balcony was filthy/disgusting, worn furniture and rust everywhere, so a little leery now.  Still love the feel of the older ships but also like that new clean feeling of the newer ones.  Would appreciate comments on the Diamond, Sea or Sun?

Love the Sapphire! Hated the Crown Princess. Crown Princess was way too crowded.

 

I actually like the Sea and the Sun Princess. You have to like traditional ships to like these 2 and it sounds like you do.

Edited December 29, 2019 by Coral