First time on Princess!!

[mamafun]

I just booked our first ever Princess cruise on the Ruby Princess in November, the California Coast trip.  This is also our first cruise in 26 years.  We've been busy raising children and the last one is finally leaving the nest this fall!  I've been lurking these boards and asking a question here and there and I am thoroughly excited.  November can't get here fast enough.

[jagoffee]

@mamafun, Awesome for you.  How exciting.  The anticipation is part of the fun.

[TheMichael]

Congratulations on the cruise!

 

It would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who has cruised but hasn't for decades - I think people may lose perspective when they're "too close" to their past cruises.

 

The main thing to note is that ships are bigger than they were when you last cruised (even the Ruby, one of Princess' oldest and smallest now, was built almost a decade later and sleeps 3000). So, as they say, pack your patience, and prepare as much as you can.

[mamafun]

1 minute ago, TheMichael said:

The main thing to note is that ships are bigger than they were when you last cruised (even the Ruby, one of Princess' oldest and smallest now, was built almost a decade later and sleeps 3000). So, as they say, pack your patience, and prepare as much as you can.

 

Funny thing, the ship we were on (RC Rhapsody of the Seas) is still in service.  It was their newest ship back in 1997, and now it's one of the oldest and smallest.  

 

That's a good point - it will be interesting to see how things have changed and stayed the same.  I'll of course report back!

[mamafun]

9 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

It would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who has cruised but hasn't for decades - I think people may lose perspective when they're "too close" to their past cruises.

 

I do find all of the dining options intriguing.  We had the MDR, the buffet, and the bars as our only options back then.  There might have been something small that was a la carte, but certainly not all of the options now.  Excursions look to be about the same, but way more $$.  Internet of course is a whole new animal.  We shall see!

[memoak]

51 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

Congratulations on the cruise!

 

It would be interesting to get the perspective of someone who has cruised but hasn't for decades - I think people may lose perspective when they're "too close" to their past cruises.

 

The main thing to note is that ships are bigger than they were when you last cruised (even the Ruby, one of Princess' oldest and smallest now, was built almost a decade later and sleeps 3000). So, as they say, pack your patience, and prepare as much as you can.

Not quite true the Coral is 5 years older than the Ruby and only holds about 2,000

[TheMichael]

 

1 hour ago, mamafun said:

Funny thing, the ship we were on (RC Rhapsody of the Seas) is still in service.  It was their newest ship back in 1997, and now it's one of the oldest and smallest. 

 

Now RC's latest ships can hold between 3 and almost 4 times that many! I recently went from Discovery Princess (Princess's latest until the Sun is finally delivered, 3600+) to the HAL Westerdam (1900+) and kind of liked the small-ship vibe.

 

I'm looking forward to trying a Virgin ship soon - moderate size, and no MDR for everyone to swarm at 5 pm.

 

24 minutes ago, memoak said:

Not quite true the Coral is 5 years older than the Ruby and only holds about 2,000

 

I did say "one of." And even the Coral was built after OP last sailed!
 

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

 

Now RC's latest ships can hold between 3 and almost 4 times that many! I recently went from Discovery Princess (Princess's latest until the Sun is finally delivered, 3600+) to the HAL Westerdam (1900+) and kind of liked the small-ship vibe.

 

I'm looking forward to trying a Virgin ship soon - moderate size, and no MDR for everyone to swarm at 5 pm.

 

 

I did say "one of." And even the Coral was built after OP last sailed!
 

The oldest ship currently in the fleet is the Grand which was built in 1998 and has around 2,000 passengers. Before that the was the Sun class ships from the mid 1990’s and also held quite a few passengers   If these were the last ships they sailed the sizes now would not be that far off unless we are talking the new sphere class or Royal class. We take most of our trips on the Grand class 

[MacMadame]

The first time I cruised was in 1979/80 on some Carnival ship whose name I forget (the Carnivale?). EVERYTHING was included except alcohol. No specialty restaurants. No entrees that cost more or charging for a second entree. Let alone waterslides, go-carts, rock climbing walls, etc. Not sure of the capacity, but it was probably 1,000-1,500.

 

The last time I cruised was on the Disney Magic in its first year. There was one specialty restaurant. But again, everything besides that and alcohol was included. 2,400 capacity.

 

Cruising has changed SO MUCH since then, it's unreal. Though we're cruising on the Coral which has a capacity of 2,000 and not a single water slide so it's mostly trying to figure out whether to buy a package and which one and how much to budget for all the things that are no longer included.

 

[TheMichael]

6 hours ago, MacMadame said:

The first time I cruised was in 1979/80 on some Carnival ship whose name I forget (the Carnivale?). EVERYTHING was included except alcohol. No specialty restaurants. No entrees that cost more or charging for a second entree. Let alone waterslides, go-carts, rock climbing walls, etc. Not sure of the capacity, but it was probably 1,000-1,500.

 

Basically they included the soda that they don't now, and the other things are either still an extra charge (alcohol) or not something that existed at the time (internet, specialty dining)? Is there something I'm missing? 

 

And second entrees are still free on most cruise lines (along with second and third appetizers and fourth desserts).

 

6 hours ago, MacMadame said:

The last time I cruised was on the Disney Magic in its first year. There was one specialty restaurant. But again, everything besides that and alcohol was included. 2,400 capacity.

 

Disney wouldn't have much to lose with free alcohol, since so many of their passengers aren't able to order it. 😁

 

6 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Cruising has changed SO MUCH since then, it's unreal. Though we're cruising on the Coral which has a capacity of 2,000 and not a single water slide so it's mostly trying to figure out whether to buy a package and which one and how much to budget for all the things that are no longer included.

 

Again, I'm not sure what was included in 1980 that has been taken away (except maybe the legendary unlimited lobster). There was no internet, no specialty dining, probably not much espresso to be had...

 

It seems like today there's just more on a ship, and the cruise lines have done an excellent job of making a basic cruise cheaper (in today's dollars), then positioned those additional items to feel like something necessary. 

[mamafun]

14 hours ago, MacMadame said:

The first time I cruised was in 1979/80 on some Carnival ship whose name I forget (the Carnivale?). EVERYTHING was included except alcohol. No specialty restaurants. No entrees that cost more or charging for a second entree. Let alone waterslides, go-carts, rock climbing walls, etc. Not sure of the capacity, but it was probably 1,000-1,500.

 

This is very much like our cruise in 1997.  Only alcohol was extra, and maybe some things like champagne in your stateroom (do they even call them those anymore?).  Oh, and excursions, but much less expensive!

 

14 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Cruising has changed SO MUCH since then, it's unreal. Though we're cruising on the Coral which has a capacity of 2,000 and not a single water slide so it's mostly trying to figure out whether to buy a package and which one and how much to budget for all the things that are no longer included.

 

The budgeting is the thing that I'm having to adjust to also.  In some ways it's easier to have a package, but there are still a few things to plan for.

[mamafun]

8 hours ago, TheMichael said:

Again, I'm not sure what was included in 1980 that has been taken away (except maybe the legendary unlimited lobster). There was no internet, no specialty dining, probably not much espresso to be had...

I think what I'm seeing is that there is the casual and specialty dining for instance, but if you have a package those are included (or a certain number of meals) and for me, it's was more about determining whether we both needed wifi, or just one, how many meals might we want at a specialty restaurant, etc.  Like I said, before it was the MDR or the buffet, no other choices.  

 

[memoak]

16 hours ago, MacMadame said:

The first time I cruised was in 1979/80 on some Carnival ship whose name I forget (the Carnivale?). EVERYTHING was included except alcohol. No specialty restaurants. No entrees that cost more or charging for a second entree. Let alone waterslides, go-carts, rock climbing walls, etc. Not sure of the capacity, but it was probably 1,000-1,500.

 

The last time I cruised was on the Disney Magic in its first year. There was one specialty restaurant. But again, everything besides that and alcohol was included. 2,400 capacity.

 

Cruising has changed SO MUCH since then, it's unreal. Though we're cruising on the Coral which has a capacity of 2,000 and not a single water slide so it's mostly trying to figure out whether to buy a package and which one and how much to budget for all the things that are no longer included.

 

I have cruised since 1990 and can tell you the packages have saved me tons of money. Princess has probably the least amount of things like climbing walls, wart slides, go cart races etc. No one has to use specialty dining, room service etc.  They are there if you want them but you will never go hungry regardless of what plan you have

 

[Hello, Newman]

41 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have cruised since 1990 and can tell you the packages have saved me tons of money. Princess has probably the least amount of things like climbing walls, wart slides, go cart races etc. No one has to use specialty dining, room service etc.  They are there if you want them but you will never go hungry regardless of what plan you have

 

Wart slides?  That's an amenity I can live without. 

[memoak]

1 minute ago, Hello, Newman said:

Wart slides?  That's an amenity I can live without. 

Lovely auto fill. Water slides may have warts though

[MacMadame]

Water slides are the only thing from those big mega-ships that I wish for. I do like a good water slide. And maybe a zip line though the ones I've seen seem kind of lame (compared to ziplining some place exciting). GoCarts, FlowRiders, and climbing walls? Not so much.

 

I do think some things that used to be included in 1980 aren't anymore. I see people post menus on various Princess ships and every menu seems to have some items that are extra even in the MDR, for example.