Would you sail on an older Princess ship?

[Sigyn]

Would you sail on an older Princess ship? One built more than 10-12 years ago? I've been on an older ship on Carnival and it was awful. I was so scarred from the experience I'm afraid to try older ships on other cruise lines. Please share with me your experiences, since some itineraries, ports or dates only offer older ships. 

Edited October 13, 2022 by njsmom

[Potstech]

Will be on the Caribbean Princess in November with no qualms about the trip.

[LidoLiz]

The old ladies have their graces. 

[ShakeDaddy]

I've been a bit of a new cruise ship sailor but recently went on the NCL Star that was 22 years old and absolutely love it.  Kind of made me reconsider the older ship if they are well maintained, plus the older ships typically better itinerary's.  Maybe it's the Carnival thing.        

[Rick&Jeannie]

If Princess was still in possession of the Pacific we would sail her in a heartbeat!  We were so disappointed when we learned that she had been sold during the pandemic. 

 

We had just gotten off of her as she was continuing the world cruise on from LA.  (We had just done the first segment...Panama Canal transit from FL to LA.)  She continued on from LA just as all of the pandemic started breaking loose.  We were following the rest of her journey since we were so caught up with that ship.  The Princess got as far as the Indian Ocean before the cruise was cancelled and ordered to return back to the States.  She only carried 675 pax so that should give you an idea as to her age.

[Guest ldtr]

Sure have been on 3 of the Grand class during this past year and will be on two others in the next 3 months.  Have also been on 4 of the Royal class.  

[sloopsailor]

26 minutes ago, njsmom said:

Would you sail on an older Princess ship? One built more than 10-12 years ago? I've been on an older ship on Carnival and it was awful. I was so scarred from the experience I'm afraid to try older ships on other cruise lines. Please share with me your experiences, since some itineraries, ports or dates only offer older ships. 

 

What "scarred" you? Cruise ships are built to last 40 years. Older ships owned by reputable companies like Princess are kept in very good condition, and even go in for multi-million dollar upgrades every 10 years or so. I wouldn't hesitate to cruise on a ship because she is 10 or so years old. I wouldn't even hesitate to cruise on a ship that is 20 years old. In their own way, they are just as nice and safe as the newer ships. 

[luvtoteach]

I prefer the old Princess ships over the new. 

 

 

 

[NownZen]

I think there is an inverse correlation with the desirability of the ships and the age. My favorite ships are the small ships (as in the old Royal, Ocean and Pacific Princess ships). The newer ships are much more inward oriented and they lose much of the feel of being at sea. We also sail with Oceania  (which has the old Pacific Princess as the Sirena). We like the promenade decks and sitting and watching the ocean both at the front of the ship and the wake. We were on a cruise a couple of months ago on the Island and were very happy. Our favorites are the Grand class ships. They are big but do not seem overwhelming. I cannot imagine being on a ship with 6000 passengers and the crowding that comes with that. But we cruise either for the destinations (more often Oceania there) or for relaxation (like the Hawaii runs). We are not into the shows or casino or restaurant choices so YMMV.

[JeffT237]

We sailed on our first Princess cruise on the Crown Princess this past May and after that experience we would be very hesitant to cruise on an older Princess ship.  We were surprised as were many other passengers we spoke with (both first timers and experienced Princess cruisers) on the overall condition of the Crown. The propulsion, plumbing and generator issues were discussed at length on CC, but there were several other maintenance issues. I know it made it through the Alaska season and it is now in dry dock so hopefully all of the issues are addressed.  Since this was our first Princess cruise we have nothing to compare it to, on the other lines we have cruised we typically sail the newer ships. My comments are meant to be objective based on our experience, not to unfairly criticize Princess.  We set sail soon on the Discovery and expect a great cruise.

Edited October 13, 2022 by JeffT237

[cr8tiv1]

For me, I followed the Grand since post pandemic.  I have had 5 voyages on her since October.  I prefer the Grand Class ships over the Royal Class.  They are too big.  They can't do smaller ports.  It seems to be a hurry up and wait mentality (tendering/MDR/Princess Theater, and the list goes on.  

 

Yes, I do remember the bucket brigade on the Grand Princess.  But I will take that over the newer ships any day.  

 

Have another two cruises booked on the Caribbean Princess next year.  Waiting to see what ships Princess ports in San Pedro (LA).

 

It would help if you narrowed your inquiry to port/destination/Grand or or Grand with one extra deck.

[fpsphil]

I love the new ships but nothing compares to Skywalkers on the Grand Class (Minus the grand itself). On the Sapphire in a week and a half and super super excited.

[ontheweb]

42 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

If Princess was still in possession of the Pacific we would sail her in a heartbeat!  We were so disappointed when we learned that she had been sold during the pandemic. 

 

We had just gotten off of her as she was continuing the world cruise on from LA.  (We had just done the first segment...Panama Canal transit from FL to LA.)  She continued on from LA just as all of the pandemic started breaking loose.  We were following the rest of her journey since we were so caught up with that ship.  The Princess got as far as the Indian Ocean before the cruise was cancelled and ordered to return back to the States.  She only carried 675 pax so that should give you an idea as to her age.

We were on the sister ship, the Ocean Princess on a British Isles cruise. We loved the small ship experience and getting to know fellow passengers and even crew.

[odyssyus]

"I was so scarred from the experience"..

 

SMH....

[GUT2407]

58 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

If Princess was still in possession of the Pacific we would sail her in a heartbeat!  We were so disappointed when we learned that she had been sold during the pandemic. 

 

We had just gotten off of her as she was continuing the world cruise on from LA.  (We had just done the first segment...Panama Canal transit from FL to LA.)  She continued on from LA just as all of the pandemic started breaking loose.  We were following the rest of her journey since we were so caught up with that ship.  The Princess got as far as the Indian Ocean before the cruise was cancelled and ordered to return back to the States.  She only carried 675 pax so that should give you an idea as to her age.

Ditto, my favourite ship by far.

 

[trinitygirl]

Back in 2019 I sailed for two weeks on the Golden Princess, and I LOVED her  - I think she is classified as an older ship.  Less people, a wonderful promenade  deck etc.  I would happily sail on her again.

[CineGraphic]

You will quickly find out that the older ships are favored by many of us.

Our faves are Coral, Caribbean, and Ruby.

[G&T Cruisers]

Yes Yes Yes I prefer the older ships our favourite ship is the Island followed by the Caribbean 

[cr8tiv1]

20 minutes ago, trinitygirl said:

Back in 2019 I sailed for two weeks on the Golden Princess, and I LOVED her  - I think she is classified as an older ship.  Less people, a wonderful promenade  deck etc.  I would happily sail on her again.

 

I wish you could give her back.  She has the best Piazza layout of all the Grand ships.  There is so much open space on the Fiesta Deck with the Crown Grill, Excursion Desk, and room to sit while waiting for the Captain Circle/Future Cruise persons.  And the Casino is on Deck 7.

[Mike-Cruisin]

We sailed 10 days on the Crown Princess last November and saw no issues. I know there were a lot of complaints about engine vibrations on the prior cruises last year but we did not experience any significant issue.  We are planning to be on the Majestic next May and it will be interesting to compare a much newer ship to our experience on the Crown. I would certainly be willing to try other older Princess ships if the opportunity came up. 

[richla]

We prefer the older ships. They still have the traditional Wheelhouse Bar with its floor that still offers ballroom dancing. We tend to shy away from the really large ships anyway.

[suekel]

2 hours ago, njsmom said:

Would you sail on an older Princess ship? One built more than 10-12 years ago? I've been on an older ship on Carnival and it was awful. I was so scarred from the experience I'm afraid to try older ships on other cruise lines. Please share with me your experiences, since some itineraries, ports or dates only offer older ships. 

I would prefer to sail exclusively on the older ships

[travelin.sisters]

for me yes, I would...I like both the newer & older ships for different reasons

 

it depends on what about your previous experience was distressful to you...

• older ships will have more maintenance issues & less 'flash' but we have never experienced issues that destroyed a cruise for us...we have had AC problems, balcony leaks, strange smells in the halls on various ships 
• newer ships will have more fancy stuff, different venues, more technology but some people feel they lack the coziness & atmosphere of the older ships

 

I think you might get more info if there was a specific ship you were thinking about, but you will find people who absolutely love & others who will never sail again on any ship in the fleet

[PescadoAmarillo]

The Pacific Princess was our favorite also. We’ve spent over a couple hundred days on that ship. Sure, she had an occasional toilet issue, but we never encountered on lasting more than 3 hours or so. And we used to get chocolates every time we had an issue. We called them toilet chocolates and we kind of looked forward to them. 
 

But it was the interactions with the crew on a ship that size that set her apart. DH is currently on the Ruby, and he is sending back pics of waiters we knew from the Pacific that are currently on the Ruby. You don’t ever forget those people. 
 

So, like some others here, the older ships are our favorites.  The covered pools are a definite plus. 

[capriccio]

Our next 3 cruises are on ships built 18 and 20 years ago.  We have cruised all of them before and look forward to cruising on them again in the next year and a half.  We like the smaller size of the Coral and Sapphire and even the Caribbean when compared to the size of Royal Class ships and the full promenade decks.  The Coral and the Sapphire also have covered pools, a rarity on Princess ships. These are our upcoming cruises:

 

• Round Australia in 28 days:  we will be on the Coral Princess - launched in 2002 - in April 2023 for our 3rd cruise on her and are really looking forward to it.  We like the smaller size.

 

• The only ship cruising the Caribbean in the summer:  we will be taking the entire family (2 kids and spouses plus 2 grandchildren) on the Caribbean Princess - launched in 2004 - in July 2023.  It was fine when we were on her this past January and the other 3 times we have sailed on her.

 

• South Pacific and Hawaiian Islands - in April/May 2023 we will be on our 3rd cruise (our last one was June 2019) on the Sapphire Princess - launched in 2004 - and can't wait.

 

The age of the ship is not among our top criteria when choosing a cruise. We were on the brand new Enchanted Princess in March for 10 days and have over 50 days sailing on the Royal Princess (launched 2013).  Itinerary matters much more.