Few Princess Cruises Available week of 1/2/05

[ted1717]

Wanted to book a cruise on the Carribean Princess for 1/2/05 but alas she appears to be in dry dock. So I tried to look for an alternative Princess itinerary and the pickings were mighty slim and very pricey. Seems more than one Princess ship is in dry dock that week. Ended up on a RCCL cruise for first time in years. Have to say no matter what cruise I took this particular week was alot more money than the following week. I had no choice because of a wedding we have to attend and kids school schedules. This might be a good thing for me, after six straight Princess cruises to see how rest of the world lives! LOL Might be a good thing for Princess, if RCCL does not match up favorably. On the other hand I am looking to book Alaska for June and wondering if I should wait to see the product offered by RCCL. I'm listening to my fellow cruisers, what do you all have to say?

[Coral]

Maybe the ships are already full the first week in January? And that is the reason they are not showing up.

 

Having sailed both Princess and RCCL to Alaska - I strongly recommend Princess. Princess does Alaska so much better than RCCL. In the Caribbean - with these 2 lines, it is personal preference. In Alaska - Princess is superior to RCCL.

 

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I just looked at the Princess calendar and both the Golden and Star are sailing that weekend. Some of the other ships are doing 10 dayers starting at the end of December (Coral, Dawn, Sun). Enjoy your RCCL cruise :)

[spongerob]

It's not surprising to find such slim pickings this late in the game. Cruises have been selling out much earlier in general. The week you are looking at might still be considered holidays by some, and those fill up even earlier. I think Princess had some pretty good last-minute deals a few weeks ago. At least you found something.

[ted1717]

Folks we did not wait til the last minute. We were set to go on the Carribbean Princess on Jan 9, till we got invited to wdding we have to go to!

Still I think at least 2 or 3 ships are in dry dock the week of 1/2

Ted1717

[kkorman]

I do not think that there are any in drydock... Coral, Dawn, Sun, Regal, and Grand are all in drydock or just finished. Drydock is usually done in between season when people do not travel as much... the middle of winter, people cruise. Perhaps they are just sold out or doing a chartered cruise. It is defintely not scheduled to do its normal itinerary.

[enymarsh]

We have gone during this week several times and this is the first year that the ship was sold out in some categories so far before sailing. We were surprised since we had hoped to wait until after final payment to book one of our cabins. Really glad we listened to our travel agent and didn't wait, but booked at the higher price. So sorry this happened to you this year since in past years I'm pretty sure it wouldn't have been a problem since this is usually such a slow week.