The dreams go on even though operations have ceased.

[carefreebee]

I am a huge Princess fan. My husband and I have been cruising on Princess ships since 2007 and have made our way to Elite status. I usually spend my daydream time pondering, searching, and researching Princess Cruises, Princess Ships, excursions, menus, cabins.... just obsessed! In normal times I would have spent these last 80 days writing a big Sky Princess review, stalking price reductions, booking flights on Princess Air or during a Southwest promo and be hugely obsessing over the new Enchanted Princess. With everything that is happening in the world I miss my old Princess obsession. This is, what it is, today…

 

This year we were fortunate to enjoy the Sky Princess over New Years and again in March. We were on the last cruise for the Sky Princess as the Covid-19 virus hit and cruising was halted. About 12 noon on March 12th the Captain came on over the ship wide PA with a special tone chime. The ship’s services stopped and a strange quiet came over the World Marketplace area where we were sitting.  The buffet crew & wait staff came to a standstill and the galley crew come out into the open to listen. A slightly shaken Captain Laakkonen said some comforting and uplifting words before instructing passengers and crew to return to our cabins and listen to an urgent message from Jan Swartz.  Passengers and crew, many with perplexed and worried faces, did as we were told and returned to our cabins where most heard for the first time the news: Princess Cruise Lines was pausing their worldwide operations and all ships were to “head home!” This was the beginning of the end of cruising as we know it.

 

Thursday was a hard day for the crew and performers with the news from corporate and so many unanswered questions. The new Princess song & dance team, after months of practice and dedication, was taking over to open their first performance of the spectacular ROCK OPERA at 8pm that night but sadly, they closed their last show at the 10pm performance. All in the same day. They performed beautifully. At the end voices were cracking, tears were streaming, and hearts were breaking as the singers and dancers took in their last moments on stage. The retiring team stood at the back of the house cheering the loudest while crying the hardest. It was becoming real for these young people. It was heartbreaking.

 

Disembarking from the Sky on March 14th we really had no way of knowing, that day, how wide reaching and catastrophic the pause in cruising would become and the horrific global spread of this virus. Tearfully, we said good-bye to cherished crew members and wished THEM a safe future. As we disembarked a large number of crew were in the Piazza under a huge banner with #WEWILLBE BACK #PRINCESSPROUD waving and clapping for us! I can't say enough about how fantastic this crew and officers were. I knew we would be okay, but I was and continue to be worried about the crew members we adore. One lovely young bar supervisor from India had his young family on board with him. He and every other crew person we encountered those last two days on board said with pride that Princess would take good care of them. I think from all reports that is proving true. After being a part of the great crew swap at sea, the Captains Circle Hostess just made it home to Brazil this week, happy and safe! My heart is sad for all the trials and challenges the crew and those who care for them have had to endured. Princess proud, indeed!

 

As a Princess fans we always seemed to have cruises booked and currently have a string of them booked into 2022. Starting with the Enchanted Princess in early December of this year. It remains to be seen if the delay in completing the ship's build will affect the Enchanted's scheduled arrival in Fort Lauderdale. Nonetheless, due to our concerns over the virus, I'm sure we won't personally be ready to cruise again in 2020 and so we'll cancel this one before final payment. I will however find a way to be on her soon!

 

We have three cruises booked for 2021. We're excited for our 10-day Sky cruise to the Southern Caribbean in March. It's a great itinerary, we're in our favorite cabin and our cruise buddies plan to be on board then too. I've really been looking forward to getting back on the Sky Princess after the great cruises we had on her over New Years and in March. She is a beautiful ship. This 2021 cruise may be in jeopardy though if a successful Covid-19 treatment is not available by early in 2021. I have my doubts there is enough time for this to happen. A second booking we may need to drop. This makes me sad.

 

I'm a little more optimistic about the next booking on our Personalizer: August 2021, back to Alaska, this time on the Regal. We did Alaska in 2019 on the Ruby and loved it!  We especially want to revisit the ports to enjoy more of the great excursions Princess offers. This also is our chance to sail on the Regal again before she heads off to Australia. We were lucky to have a run of cruises on her during 2016-2019 making the Regal Princess a favorite. We also have our favorite cabin again on this cruise! By the time this Alaska cruise's final payment is due I hope we see positive reports on Princess's efforts. And world's response to the virus is be working and we will feel confident in traveling again. 

 

My thinking is by June of next year science & medicine should have many successes in the treatment and control of this virus and people will have adjusted. By then we all will have a better picture on how the cruise & travel industries have adjusted to the new reality too. I believe cruise ships can establish an environment that is safe and sound. It is in Princess Cruise Lines best interest to be a leader in policy and practice addressing passenger health and safety. I am confident PCL can succeed and flourish once again. I’m also optimistic cruise lines will strive to keep most of the things passengers love but with a measured sound approach. With good testing, good hygiene, good medicines, and great science we’ll find that ‘happy spot’ where cruising can flourish.

 

In the Fall of 2021, we're booked again on the Sky, this time over Halloween. This will be our third Halloween cruise and they are a blast! The crew really gets into the spirit of wearing costumes and lots of passengers do too! We nabbed a Window Suite for this cruise out of NYC to Canada and the North East coast ports. We're very excited to stay in the Window Suite after being in one on the Caribbean Princess several times. The Sky's Window Suites are forward on Sky deck and have floor to ceiling windows along the length of the room, truly spectacular.  Forward Lido cabins have become a favorite location for us on Royal class ships because the views are awesome and Lido deck cabins put you close to daytime action on the ship. It's not uncommon for this itinerary to encounter snow this late in the season, not going to miss the balcony if that happens! One cruise we disembarked on 10/31 just as the snow started that morning. By the time our flight could get out of NYC eight hours later, it was a Nor'easter dubbed Frankenstorm! With little doubt, by October 2021 the world's brilliant scientists and heroic medical experts should have the reigns over this virus and the cruise lines and the travel industry in whole will have adjusted and evolved accordingly. I feel the most confident that we will be on this cruise.

 

The last cruise we have on the books is on the new Discovery Princess when she's made her way to LA, in the Spring of 2022. We want to visit LA (never been) and cruise the California coast. This should be a fun itinerary and even though we only have minimal information about this new ship it should be just as exciting and beautiful as all the Princess ships. If it is completed, that is. I would not be surprised if Princess makes the decision to not go forward with Discovery and focus on the new Sphere class ship and speed up that timeline. This could be the “it” ship, that's designed with the new protocols in mind, putting Princess back on their innovated course of using technology and design to better the passenger experience. 

 

We really liked the Medallion usage on both the Regal and Sky Princess cruises we've been on. On the Sky Princess, being designed with this technology from the start, the crew used the Medallion system to their advantage. I can see how this technology will assist with new Health protocols. Let’s not forget how ordering room service and bar drinks from your balcony totally rocks! (and bath robes, extra hangers, and spa products!) Finding your shipmates was a dream. Having the ships patter schedule at your fingertips was so much better than what's left of the paper Patter, which has become nothing more an excel document. I get why it's less but if you’re going to keep printing it, make it better. Otherwise stop the presses!

 

I know we will cruise again but three of my five cruises are in doubt and there is nothing ‘as good’ I can book as replacements. What I desperately want to do is book more cruises! I am waiting, not so patiently, for Princess to release the Enchanted & Sky Caribbean cruises for 2021-22-23 for me to obsess over. I know PCL folks are incredibly busy with all the refunds…believe me we all know how frustrating waiting is…and focused on getting crew back home. Moving those ships across the seas in such an unprecedented situation, must be a head exploding mammoth mission involving so many people, nations, and personnel! My craving new itineraries to daydream over can wait, they have more important things to do now. But I know; it all will soon be coming.  

 

With so many people carrying FCCs from canceled cruises, I'm sure they will be looking for cruises too. I think it would be helpful for Princess to release some more dates when they can and not wait for their traditional launch patterns/dates. Maybe shake it up and add another ship in the Caribbean over the summer months? I'm seeing polls that suggest people want to get back to traveling but indicating they prefer to stay in US or close. I think it could be well received for Princess to add the occasional visit to more US ports. Is there a way to… say…sail out of Port Everglades and visit Costa de Maya, New Orleans and back to Fla? How about Pt Everglades to Charleston with a stop at Princess Cays? Heck, I’d suffer sailing out of Houston if another Princess ship gets to cruise around the Caribbean and US Gulf ports. I'd love to sail out of NYC for Bermuda, how can we make that happen? Is there a reason cruise ships don't do the NYC to Canada itineraries in the summer? Does anyone think these are in Princess's idea box? 

 

This is where I'm at today. The world is in chaos and I'm dreaming of cruises, cruises from before, cruises that may or may not happen and itineraries that haven't even been created! 

 

...what's a girl going to do?

[geoherb]

I'm a last-minute booker, so we did not have any cruises booked. I had hoped to go back to Alaska this month. I did back-to-back cruises last year on the Island and had a great time. It was my first time sailing solo--leaving DH at home to work. He did not mind too much since we had been to Alaska on three previous cruises. And within a week after I got back, I booked us a transatlantic cruise that fit in with his mother's birthday. We couldn't leave before it. We enjoyed 16 wonderful days on the Crown. I was dreaming about trying to fit in another transatlantic cruise this fall. For now, I don't anticipate a cruise any earlier than next spring. Maybe I'll be wrong and the cruises will start back up in December or January. But I'm afraid it could be even longer.

[caribill]

Thanks for a very well thought out post.

 

By the way, the Houston cruise terminal no longer exists. (We loved using it for Princess cruises at it was less than 8 miles from our house.)

[RosieCanberra]

What a great post carefreebee! I loved reading it, I can't wait to cruise again either. 

[carefreebee]

10 hours ago, RosieCanberra said:

What a great post carefreebee! I loved reading it, I can't wait to cruise again either. 

Thanks Rosie. I do love cruising on Princess.

[greenie082756]

Nice post and most avid cruisers totally understand what you are feeling as we all are.

I think about cruising daily. We were suppose to go see Alaska this August alas not happening.

 

We are in the group of "wait and see" before booking another cruise in 2021. I have a lot marked that I think we would like to do but right now its just a wish list.

Thanks for sharing!

[cruzsnooze]

Hope you got whatever off your chest, it was too long for me to read through.

[carefreebee]

10 hours ago, caribill said:

Thanks for a very well thought out post.

 

By the way, the Houston cruise terminal no longer exists. (We loved using it for Princess cruises at it was less than 8 miles from our house.)

It's been torn down? I thought it was fairly new when we sailed out last, in 2012. Not the most attractive port to sail from but the fog and Texas liquor laws made it a challenging port, for sure.

[voljeep]

why can't / won't Princess sail out of Galveston like Carnival announced they are doing with the limited start-up also including Port Canaveral and Miami ?

[caribill]

14 hours ago, carefreebee said:

It's been torn down? I thought it was fairly new when we sailed out last, in 2012. Not the most attractive port to sail from but the fog and Texas liquor laws made it a challenging port, for sure.

 

All the cruise equipment (such as ramps to ships) was sold off and no longer exists there. The basic building is there and is used as storage, possibly for cars being imported but I do not remember for sure.

[caribill]

11 hours ago, voljeep said:

why can't / won't Princess sail out of Galveston like Carnival announced they are doing with the limited start-up also including Port Canaveral and Miami ?

 

There was a time in the past when Princess did cruise out of Galveston.

 

Unlike Florida ports from which many varied itineraries can be sailed, from Houston/Galveston the options are limited. Almost every 7-day cruise from there goes to Cozumel plus many to Belize and/or Roatan. Other possible ports include Grand Cayman. There really is not a demand for another brand to go to the same places from Galveston.

 

When Princess did sail from Galveston, the competition among Princess/RCI/Carnival for essentially the same itinerary led to very low pricing. Princess found their ship earned more money sailing elsewhere.

 

When they returned to the area using the Houston cruise terminal, it was basically because they were publicly paid to do so. They were charged no port fees and earned some of the parking revenue plus a $$$ payment in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This was because the cruise terminal had been built with the theory "if it is built, the cruise companies will come" but they did not until Princess signed the contract with these financial benefits. Once the contract time was up, Princess never returned. Shortly after Princess signed the contract, so did NCL sign a similar one. They left at the time Princess did.

[CC Rider 69]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

There was a time in the past when Princess did cruise out of Galveston.

 

Unlike Florida ports from which many varied itineraries can be sailed, from Houston/Galveston the options are limited. Almost every 7-day cruise from there goes to Cozumel plus many to Belize and/or Roatan. Other possible ports include Grand Cayman. There really is not a demand for another brand to go to the same places from Galveston.

 

When Princess did sail from Galveston, the competition among Princess/RCI/Carnival for essentially the same itinerary led to very low pricing. Princess found their ship earned more money sailing elsewhere.

 

When they returned to the area using the Houston cruise terminal, it was basically because they were publicly paid to do so. They were charged no port fees and earned some of the parking revenue plus a $$$ payment in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. This was because the cruise terminal had been built with the theory "if it is built, the cruise companies will come" but they did not until Princess signed the contract with these financial benefits. Once the contract time was up, Princess never returned. Shortly after Princess signed the contract, so did NCL sign a similar one. They left at the time Princess did.

And don't forget it was 26 or so miles up the Houston ship channel and many times fogged in losing $$$. We loved cruising from there, now we either do CCL or have to fly. Oh well, for today off to the golf course shortly.

[san diego sue]

We were on the last cruise that sailed out of Houston. Severe wind and rain kept us from leaving the port for more than two days.It was a transatlantic  but had to  stop in Ft. Lauderale to pick up additional passengers.

 

[warthog2608]

Carefreebee, fun post! I got a chuckle out of “suffer sailing out of Houston “. We did 1 cruise out of there in 2015 on the Emerald P and of course fell foul of the Texas liquor laws a couple times. 

San Francisco is our home port and love being able to get to a port without having to fly. (Love the Grand P) We were actually going to try Carnival since the plan was for Carnival to homeport a ship in SF and run short cruises to San Diego & Ensenada. Oh well, like you we love paging through the cruise atlas and dreaming of better times. 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, san diego sue said:

We were on the last cruise that sailed out of Houston. Severe wind and rain kept us from leaving the port for more than two days.It was a transatlantic  but had to  stop in Ft. Lauderale to pick up additional passengers.

 

 

I have a slightly differently memory of that.

 

On embarkation day, the ship was supposed to leave at the usual late afternoon time of 4 PM, but because stormy weather had prevented a number of plane flights from arriving on time, the ship waited for those passengers and the last passenger boarded by around 10 PM.

 

By at that time, winds were too high for safely going down the ship channel, so it was projected the ship would leave around 3 AM.

 

But by then there was a big rain storm in the area. And when the rainstorm ended, the ship channel was closed due to fog.

 

The fog listed and the ship left about 2 PM (the day after embarkation) for the 2.5 day sail to Fort Lauderdale to pick up the remaining TA passengers.

 

On the way to Florida the ship was moving as fast as 28 knots due to being in a very favorable current. Despite leaving Houston about 22 hours late, by sailing at full speed in the Gulf of Mexico with the benefits of the current, it reached Port Everglades around 2 PM, only seven hours late.

 

As we exited the ship at Port Everglades for some last minute shopping, we passed through the terminal seeing all the waiting passengers, looking very, very unhappy at their wait.

 

The ship left Fort Lauderdale about 10 PM for the TA voyage.

 

 

[san diego sue]

42 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

I have a slightly differently memory of that.

 

On embarkation day, the ship was supposed to leave at the usual late afternoon time of 4 PM, but because stormy weather had prevented a number of plane flights from arriving on time, the ship waited for those passengers and the last passenger boarded by around 10 PM.

 

By at that time, winds were too high for safely going down the ship channel, so it was projected the ship would leave around 3 AM.

 

But by then there was a big rain storm in the area. And when the rainstorm ended, the ship channel was closed due to fog.

 

The fog listed and the ship left about 2 PM (the day after embarkation) for the 2.5 day sail to Fort Lauderdale to pick up the remaining TA passengers.

 

On the way to Florida the ship was moving as fast as 28 knots due to being in a very favorable current. Despite leaving Houston about 22 hours late, by sailing at full speed in the Gulf of Mexico with the benefits of the current, it reached Port Everglades around 2 PM, only seven hours late.

 

As we exited the ship at Port Everglades for some last minute shopping, we passed through the terminal seeing all the waiting passengers, looking very, very unhappy at their wait.

 

The ship left Fort Lauderdale about 10 PM for the TA voyage.

 

 

That is what I said but neglected to tell a big story as you did. Storms (prevented people from boarding on time), winds etc.

All I was trying to say was we were on the last cruise from Houston. The storms and being late etc wasn't the point.