Princess/Carnival loyalty merger

[memoak]

36 minutes ago, beg3yrs said:

While I won't disagree with that statement, I personally think they've cut back on some of the more amazing itineraries.

 

They used to go up the Amazon - no more.

We've taken several of the Grand Adventures - don't really see much of that any more (if I'm wrong, tell me!)

 

As their ships get larger, the variety of itineraries gets smaller. Boo!

They don’t have a ship small enough to sail to Amazon   Due to river pollution only very small ships are allowed. We cruised the Amazon on the old Pacific before things got too bad

[beg3yrs]

12 minutes ago, memoak said:

They don’t have a ship small enough to sail to Amazon   Due to river pollution only very small ships are allowed. We cruised the Amazon on the old Pacific before things got too bad

Which goes hand-in-hand with my comment about the larger the ship, the smaller variety in itineraries!

 

We loved the R-class vessels. Really a shame they're gone.

Edited July 26 by beg3yrs

[DCThunder]

44 minutes ago, memoak said:

They don’t have a ship small enough to sail to Amazon   Due to river pollution only very small ships are allowed. We cruised the Amazon on the old Pacific before things got too bad

I just cruised up the Amazon in February/March on board Zaandam with HAL.  While it was a smaller ship (61K tons, 1700 guests), there were many ocean going bulk carrier cargo ships or container ships anchored in the river at Manaus.  All were well in excess of 100,000 tons, so there's no prohibition against large ships.  During the dry season, the water level may restrict some ships to the lower parts of the river as the difference between low water and high water often exceeds 35 feet.. 

 

While it's true that we couldn't make fresh water while on the river, it was not because the river is "polluted" but because there is so much sediment in the water that the filters would get clogged very quickly.  The Amazon is no more "polluted" than the open ocean.

 

 

[memoak]

7 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

I just cruised up the Amazon in February/March on board Zaandam with HAL.  While it was a smaller ship (61K tons, 1700 guests), there were many ocean going bulk carrier cargo ships or container ships anchored in the river at Manaus.  All were well in excess of 100,000 tons, so there's no prohibition against large ships.  During the dry season, the water level may restrict some ships to the lower parts of the river as the difference between low water and high water often exceeds 35 feet.. 

 

While it's true that we couldn't make fresh water while on the river, it was not because the river is "polluted" but because there is so much sediment in the water that the filters would get clogged very quickly.  The Amazon is no more "polluted" than the open ocean.

 

 

When we were in Manaus there was garbage in the water in the port much worse than any other port I have been in

[DCThunder]

37 minutes ago, memoak said:

When we were in Manaus there was garbage in the water in the port much worse than any other port I have been in

Yes, I saw the trash in the water and it was bad.  But in my mind, at least, that's not "pollution" and wouldn't keep a ship from calling at that port or sailing the river.

[memoak]

9 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Yes, I saw the trash in the water and it was bad.  But in my mind, at least, that's not "pollution" and wouldn't keep a ship from calling at that port or sailing the river.

In addition the refineries along the river east of the port are contributing to the issue. 

 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

I just cruised up the Amazon in February/March on board Zaandam with HAL.  While it was a smaller ship (61K tons, 1700 guests), there were many ocean going bulk carrier cargo ships or container ships anchored in the river at Manaus.  All were well in excess of 100,000 tons, so there's no prohibition against large ships.  During the dry season, the water level may restrict some ships to the lower parts of the river as the difference between low water and high water often exceeds 35 feet.. 

 

While it's true that we couldn't make fresh water while on the river, it was not because the river is "polluted" but because there is so much sediment in the water that the filters would get clogged very quickly.  The Amazon is no more "polluted" than the open ocean.

 

 

Princess also does not have any ships as small as the one you describe. The smallest is the Coral with 2,000 passengers

[Iamcruzin]

4 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

While I won't disagree with that statement, I personally think they've cut back on some of the more amazing itineraries.

 

They used to go up the Amazon - no more.

We've taken several of the Grand Adventures - don't really see much of that any more (if I'm wrong, tell me!)

 

As their ships get larger, the variety of itineraries gets smaller. Boo!

I agree but they still have better choices compared to other lines who's ships are already  bigger than any ship should be, causing those ho-hum ports they call on to become over crowded. If I wanted to visit a crowed island I could have easily taken a train to Manhattan when I lived in NY.

Edited July 26 by Iamcruzin

[DCThunder]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

In addition the refineries along the river east of the port are contributing to the issue. 

 

Well, I swam in the Amazon/Tapajos at Alter do Chao (next door to Santarem, a large port) and the beach was as nice as any Caribbean island.and the water was crystal clear.

[Kay S]

4 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

 

 

We loved the R-class vessels. Really a shame they're gone.

Agreed.  We're sailing one again on Oceania this fall.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, DCThunder said:

Well, I swam in the Amazon/Tapajos at Alter do Chao (next door to Santarem, a large port) and the beach was as nice as any Caribbean island.and the water was crystal clear.

If you are going to try that near Manaus I would make sure you have all your shots

[SeaFairy707]

On 7/20/2024 at 10:52 AM, Coral said:

I did not get that when I sailed on HAL. I know others haven't also. I think it is inconsistent.

HAL doesn't automatically know that you've sailed on another Carnival brand. You have to notify them, probably before sailing. Moot point now though, you got your first star ✨ 

[Coral]

35 minutes ago, SeaFairy707 said:

HAL doesn't automatically know that you've sailed on another Carnival brand. You have to notify them, probably before sailing. Moot point now though, you got your first star ✨ 

Maybe I sailed with them before they started this (2007). I literally got nothing - my TA sells a ton of Princess and HAL so I would have thought she would have coded it correctly. Though I have to say I had a great experience on HAL. I don't know if I was incredibly lucky or what but we had amazing entertainment on the ship that week - best I have ever had on any cruise. Any people complain about HAL's entertainment. Plus, I had an inside cabin that was huge. It was a good experience. I don't know why I haven't returned to HAL.

Edited July 27 by Coral

[TRLD]

On 7/26/2024 at 8:24 AM, memoak said:

They don’t have a ship small enough to sail to Amazon   Due to river pollution only very small ships are allowed. We cruised the Amazon on the old Pacific before things got too bad

The Coral and Island could. Princess just has better things to do with them.

[Teechur]

21 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Well, I swam in the Amazon/Tapajos at Alter do Chao (next door to Santarem, a large port) and the beach was as nice as any Caribbean island.and the water was crystal clear.

Seeing the number of people along the Amazon with round, silver-dollar sized Pirahna scars stopped me from swimming in the river. 🐠

[SeaFairy707]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Maybe I sailed with them before they started this (2007). I literally got nothing - my TA sells a ton of Princess and HAL so I would have thought she would have coded it correctly. Though I have to say I had a great experience on HAL. I don't know if I was incredibly lucky or what but we had amazing entertainment on the ship that week - best I have ever had on any cruise. Any people complain about HAL's entertainment. Plus, I had an inside cabin that was huge. It was a good experience. I don't know why I haven't returned to HAL.

Maybe it's a newer thing. I sailed with them for the first time in 2018 and my PCC connected the dots. Here I am, eleven more HAL cruises later but that's due to the great deals they had in 2022/2023. They've added some beautiful ships in the last decade so you might consider sailing on them again.