Limiting passenger capacity?

[Cruise Raider]

On 8/28/2022 at 9:09 AM, PacnGoNow said:

Maybe the Royal is fully staffed?  Did they say?  I hope.

He told me it was fully staffed.  We are on the Ruby right now and it appears to be very adequately staffed yet the Crown Grill and Sabatini’s are only open on alternating evenings due to staffing issues.  So, who knows?  

[ceilidh1]

On 8/28/2022 at 9:04 AM, Cruise Raider said:

Well, three of our Royal Princess cruises are showing as currently not available.  I spoke with one of my friends that works on the Royal and they aren't controlling capacity ... they are just fully booked.  Wow!!  

There is something odd going on for sure! I'm booked on Royal for Sept 17th and a friend was going to sail, too. When we were talking about it, she was looking for inside rooms - at the time, there were LOTS of insides available. Less than 24 hours later when she went to book, they were all sold out. She then waited a day or two trying to decide whether to go with a balcony - when she went in, the entire sailing was unavailable! We have both been watching daily since then - the insides have never come back as available but balcony/mini/suite do come back on occasion. It's like one day the cruise is available and the next day not...it's very odd.

[MileHighAko]

29 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

There is something odd going on for sure! I'm booked on Royal for Sept 17th and a friend was going to sail, too. When we were talking about it, she was looking for inside rooms - at the time, there were LOTS of insides available. Less than 24 hours later when she went to book, they were all sold out. She then waited a day or two trying to decide whether to go with a balcony - when she went in, the entire sailing was unavailable! We have both been watching daily since then - the insides have never come back as available but balcony/mini/suite do come back on occasion. It's like one day the cruise is available and the next day not...it's very odd.

 

I have been assuming that the cancellation of Diamond in September has resulted in the other west coast September cruises filling up to capacity.

[ceilidh1]

16 hours ago, MileHighAko said:

 

I have been assuming that the cancellation of Diamond in September has resulted in the other west coast September cruises filling up to capacity.

Possibly, but the sailing I am on is Alaska rather than West Coast. After 3 days of being "unavailable" it is suddenly available to book again in all categories other than inside. It's so odd!

[Westsail32]

I'm on the 9/24 Sapphire 10-day out of San Pedro.  This is my third scheduled cruise this year (first two were cancelled including last one on Diamond out of San Diego).  I emailed my Princess Travel Advisor to ask her about the "currently unavailable" note on the website.  If she responds I'll post the answer here.  I'm hopeful with the Diamond laid up they shifted crew to the Sapphire and the cruise will go on.  I can see maybe it's nearly sold out given all the cancelled Diamond cruises.  

[GonzoWCS]

On 8/22/2022 at 9:21 AM, Cruise Raider said:

We are on three cruises, all of which appeared to have availability on cabins but are showing as ‘Currently Not Available’…. All of which are on the Royal Princess.  When booking a cabin for a friend, my CVP said she would have to check capacity before booking it because of a staffing shortage.  I didn’t think to ask her about it at that time, wish I would have as she is so busy, I really don’t want call her back and waste her time with such an insignificant question.  However, if there are any travel agents on here that might be able to answer the question of limiting capacity, particularly on the Royal Princess, I’d really appreciate it.  

Maybe they are all actually sold out and have no cabin availability?  Just wondering what to expect.  

 

Hey folks any update on capacities CURRENTLY? 

 

Looking to head out 18 December on the Regal and wondering are ships full, are they staffed well, and how are the staff holding up?!?

 

Cheers

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Hey folks any update on capacities CURRENTLY? 

 

Looking to head out 18 December on the Regal and wondering are ships full, are they staffed well, and how are the staff holding up?!?

 

Cheers

We headed out on the Royal since I last posted and of those three cruises, one as at very low capacity, one had 1500 passengers and one was pretty much sold out.  The staff did a wonderful job keeping up with the ever changing capacity on all three sailings.  The cruise with full capacity was very crowded, though.  We were pretty much able to find a seat somewhere, though, be it at the theater, MDR, activities, etc.  
We’ve also cruised on the Ruby this past year and noticed the service wasn’t lacking one bit, but they have had to alternate opening of the specialty restaurants due to not having enough staff onboard to have them both open at the same time, especially when they need to open the third MDR for the larger capacity sailings.  
Some friends are currently on the Regal and are having a wonderful time.  I have heard no complaints from them about the service.  

[NownZen]

2 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Hey folks any update on capacities CURRENTLY? 

 

Looking to head out 18 December on the Regal and wondering are ships full, are they staffed well, and how are the staff holding up?!?

 

Cheers

We are on the Sapphire heading to Santiago. 1477 passengers (capacity about 2600). Very quiet, lots of staff with not much to do. The Antarctica part is full. 400 get off, 1500 get on.

[GonzoWCS]

17 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Some friends are currently on the Regal and are having a wonderful time.  I have heard no complaints from them about the service.  

Thanks for the update.  Do your friends on the Regal have current numbers by chance.  Obviously don't want to bother them on their vacation, but any assistance is appreciated.

 

Cheers

[Cruise Raider]

13 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Thanks for the update.  Do your friends on the Regal have current numbers by chance.  Obviously don't want to bother them on their vacation, but any assistance is appreciated.

 

Cheers

I can always ask ... 

[GonzoWCS]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

I can always ask ... 

Thanks

 

Cheers

[Guest ldtr]

on Crown going to Hawaii at or near capacity. A bit understaffed in the buffet area. Third serving area at the back not used. Clearing of dishes from tables lagging.

[Guest ldtr]

On 8/22/2022 at 7:53 AM, partybarbie said:

Even though I don't have any inside information from a travel agent, I was on the Royal last month. The ship appeared to be fully staffed, although we were sailing at about two thirds capacity.

 

It's strange that some of the cruises showing unavailable now, were available last week when we booked a Mexican Riviera cruise. Perhaps the unavailable cruises are actually sold out? 

Saw several of the Mexican riverine cruises going through late 2023 saying sold out, yet if you clicked on them there were cabins available. probably a bug in the web site.

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, GonzoWCS said:

Thanks

 

Cheers

So, there are 2880 passengers on this cruise that disembarks tomorrow on the Regal. She doesn’t know the capacity of the next ones but she did say they’ve been very well taken care of the entire time.  

[kywildcatfanone]

Ships are mostly full again. It was fun while it lasted.

[GonzoWCS]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

So, there are 2880 passengers on this cruise that disembarks tomorrow on the Regal. She doesn’t know the capacity of the next ones but she did say they’ve been very well taken care of the entire time.  

Thank you and please thank your friend for taking the time to check for us.  Much appreciated!

 

Cheers

[PescadoAmarillo]

Ruby Panama Canal is half full right now. The past three Hawaii cruises and Mexico cruise were between 65 and 80% full. The next cruise, a Christmas cruise, will be nearly full. Removing mask and vaccine mandates did not automatically fill the ships. 

[Shippy]

THEY ARE CAPACITY CONTROLLED....AT LEAST THE SUITES !

  Not long ago we were on a Princess cruise that had a ton of occupancy left.  In another week or 2 that cruise was sold out.

   I asked the suite concierge  how they managed their staff when that happens. He said it never happens in the suites because there is only a certain number of those cabins that can be booked.

As soon as that number is reached, the others go off the market. That is how they can be consistent with the service to the suites....makes sense !

 

[PacnGoNow]

4 hours ago, ldtr said:

on Crown going to Hawaii at or near capacity. A bit understaffed in the buffet area. Third serving area at the back not used. Clearing of dishes from tables lagging.

You should have about 3000 on the Crown on the Hawaii leg and 65 new crew picked up in San Pedro.

I hope they open the third MDR for you.

 

Covid isolation remained on the low side at the end of the cruise, but a lot of heavy coughing going on towards the end of the South Pacific cruise, that just ended Dec  7th.  The crew was outstanding!

 

Hope you have a great cruise!