New Princess Sphere class ships?

[JimmyVWine]

I just hope that the new builds do not include "Magic Carpets" Go-Kart tracks or ice skating rinks.  Or Any fast causal food by Guy Fieri. Other than that, I am pretty flexible. 

[SantaFeFan]

21 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

I just hope that the new builds do not include "Magic Carpets" Go-Kart tracks or ice skating rinks.  Or Any fast causal food by Guy Fieri. Other than that, I am pretty flexible. 

 

All that really matters are human sized balconies instead of the doll sized ones on the Royal class ships.

[JimmyVWine]

Just now, SantaFeFan said:

 

All that really matters are human sized balconies instead of the doll sized ones on the Royal class ships.

Certainly would be nice to see larger balconies and a usable Promenade.  I'd even settle for one like NCL's Boardwalk, or whatever they call it.  Large.  Walkable. And multi-purpose.  

[Wishing on a star]

I don't care what extras they add, Let them have activities and Guy....  Those things can easily be avoided.

 

Just keep the Piazza, Crooner's type bar, open the Retreat Pool Deck back up.  And have some version of the Sanctuary. Don't turn the ship into a floating enclosed building.  that is not what sailing is about.  I can stay on land for that. 

 

Princess has taken away the open Retreat Pool deck, the promenade areas, and so much more.  I have no desire to be on any new ship of any size due to those factors.

 

The new Prima looks amazing and absolutely beautiful.

Somebody just mentioned the Epic.

But, I am still not convinced these could replace these features on Princess that we enjoy.

 

[Wishing on a star]

And yes, the balconies on Royal and Regal are like what...  Is this a joke?

They did add many premium larger balconies on the newer ships.  : )

[Guest ldtr]

6 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

I don't care what extras they add, Let them have activities and Guy....  Those things can easily be avoided.

 

Just keep the Piazza, Crooner's type bar, open the Retreat Pool Deck back up.  And have some version of the Sanctuary. Don't turn the ship into a floating enclosed building.  that is not what sailing is about.  I can stay on land for that. 

 

Princess has taken away the open Retreat Pool deck, the promenade areas, and so much more.  I have no desire to be on any new ship of any size due to those factors.

 

The new Prima looks amazing and absolutely beautiful.

Somebody just mentioned the Epic.

But, I am still not convinced these could replace these features on Princess that we enjoy.

 

Other than the Majestic which is a one off built for the Chinese market where exactly has Princess not had a Sanctuary and open air retreat pool.  The later Royal class builds certainly seem to have them.

 

For most ships the retreat pool is not much different than the old Grand class.  Then it was surrounded by the Spa and Gym, with top open. On the Royal class it is surrounded by cabins, but still with the top open.

Edited September 14, 2022 by ldtr

[Wishing on a star]

The retreat pool is surrounded by cabins on these new ships.  And, is a very small area, which have seen the original Retreat pool deck packed with every chair taken on the first two royal class ships.

[SantaFeFan]

34 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

And yes, the balconies on Royal and Regal are like what...  Is this a joke?

They did add many premium larger balconies on the newer ships.  : )

 

They didn't add "many" larger balconies on the last four ships in Royal class. Of the 1430+ balconies, only 120 are the larger size. That is less than 10%.

 

That means the vast majority of balconies on all Royal class ships are very narrow. A person can't comfortably sit facing the ocean and instead must turn slightly sideways to have room for your feet. Even the foot rests have been eliminated because there really isn't enough room for them. On every other ship that I have been on, regardless of cruise line, the balconies are much deeper, even the lowest priced balcony cabins. 

 

The balconies on Royal class ships are one of it's weak points. 

 

Compare the average balcony on Royal class (pic #1) to the average balcony on Grand class (pic #2)

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by SantaFeFan

[Wishing on a star]

Yes,  a huge issue!  But at least they did add some.  Enough to hope to get one if booking fairly early.

 

[JimmyVWine]

14 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

A person can't comfortably sit facing the ocean and instead must turn slightly sideways to have room for your feet.

Look for the new build to "fix" this problem by putting 4 round holes in the plastic panel so that you can slip your feet through and dangle your feet over the edge.  That way you can sit facing directly at the ocean.  😄

[Wishing on a star]

Hahahahahaha!!!!!!   

[SantaFeFan]

24 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Look for the new build to "fix" this problem by putting 4 round holes in the plastic panel so that you can slip your feet through and dangle your feet over the edge.  That way you can sit facing directly at the ocean.  😄

 

Or they could just put the deck chairs inside the stateroom in place of a desk, sofa and table. Then they could make the balconies even narrower! ✔️

Edited September 14, 2022 by SantaFeFan

[JimmyVWine]

5 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Or they could just put the deck chairs inside the stateroom in place of a desk, sofa and table. Then they could make the balconies even narrower! ✔️

"Our loyal customers have made known their strong preference for covered balconies and we listened!" 

[Guest ldtr]

22 minutes ago, SantaFeFan said:

 

Or they could just put the deck chairs inside the stateroom in place of a desk, sofa and table. Then they could make the balconies even narrower! ✔️

aka Celebrity

[Wishing on a star]

Yes...  Celebrity...  that crossed my mind.   Not my 'ideal'!!!

[KeepCalmBearOn]

starting over

 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by scottca075
formatting

[SantaFeFan]

29 minutes ago, ldtr said:

aka Celebrity

 

Yep, a bad idea. There are so many reasons why this is going in the wrong direction! The metal bar, for instance, is right at eye level for most people. And the room A/C is disabled when the upper window is lowered, heating the entire room in hot climates. Dumb!!!

 

Celebrity used to be our favorite cruise line, but this new direction with all the gimmicks they are introducing, has pushed us towards other cruise lines, including Princess. 

 

Edited September 14, 2022 by SantaFeFan

[KeepCalmBearOn]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

I just hope that the new builds do not include "Magic Carpets" Go-Kart tracks or ice skating rinks.  Or Any fast causal food by Guy Fieri. Other than that, I am pretty flexible. 

 

I don't get the Magic Carpet and why someone thought that was going to be a wow factor to get people on a cruise ship, but the Grand Prix on NCL, expanding to three decks, is very cool. So are the Solarium Pool, Aqua Slides, Central Park and Flowrider on Oasis; Seaplex, the ice rink, Master Blaster  and Royal Promenade on other RCCL ships; Bolt, WaterWorks, Sky Ride and Sky Zone on Carnival ships are fun too.

 

The innovations of the Disney Wish are amazing too and I can't wait to see what they have in store for 9-10 days at sea on their new transpacific cruises.

 

Innovate and grow or die. Those who think the future is the SS Lurline experience should get together pools of money and invest in such a line.

Edited September 14, 2022 by scottca075

[MileHighAko]

I guess if you want big entertainment, you need big ships.

 

I'm pretty sure Princess is trying to target a new generation of cruisers that will cruise with them over the next 20+ years (the life of the new ships). 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, scottca075 said:

but the Grand Prix on NCL, expanding to three decks, is very cool. So are the Solarium Pool, Aqua Slides, Central Park and Flowrider on Oasis; Seaplex, the ice rink, Master Blaster  and Royal Promenade on other RCCL ships; Bolt, WaterWorks, Sky Ride and Sky Zone on Carnival ships are fun too.

To me, you have just described the Chuck-E-Cheez of cruising whereas I want the Capitol Grille. Both can exist in equipoise. Capitol Grille does not have to add Whack-A-Mole machines to compete or survive. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

45 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

To me, you have just described the Chuck-E-Cheez of cruising whereas I want the Capitol Grille. Both can exist in equipoise. Capitol Grille does not have to add Whack-A-Mole machines to compete or survive. 

 

You want Capitol Grille, but you want to pay Outback rates. You can get the Capitol Grille. It's called Seabourn and it is owned by Carnival Corp. Silversea and Regent are also Capitol Grille.

 

Viking and Oceania are luxury light, more like Shula's, than Capitol Grille with their"better than prime" claims.

[Cruise Junky]

Typo perhaps…there’s a booking on the Fremantle port schedule for Pacific Princess in 2025 🤷🏻‍♀️

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

You want Capitol Grille, but you want to pay Outback rates. You can get the Capitol Grille. It's called Seabourn and it is owned by Carnival Corp. Silversea and Regent are also Capitol Grille.

 

Viking and Oceania are luxury light, more like Shula's, than Capitol Grille with their"better than prime" claims.

Not even close. Those cruise lines you mentioned are Daniel and Per Se. Capitol Grille is a large chain that is nice, but nowhere near luxury. 

[KeepCalmBearOn]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

Not even close. Those cruise lines you mentioned are Daniel and Per Se. Capitol Grille is a large chain that is nice, but nowhere near luxury. 

 

Uh no, just no.

 

Silversea and Regent are chains too. They do not have Michelin level food.

 

Azzam and Eclipse are Daniel and Per Se.

[ekka49]

14 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

Last new build for Princess with less than 2K pax were the Sun Class ships. Coral and Island were both built at double occupancy of 2000 and Island post retrofit has a double occupancy of 2200.  The overall direction of ship size of >100K GRT and 2500+ passengers has been pretty obvious for Princess since the launch of Grand Princess in 1998. 

We have sailed on all the Sun Class ships, while they were in the Princess fleet.

We are now lucky to have the Coral Princess in Australia. 

We have 6 cruises booked on the Coral Princess.