cruisingrob21

Just received notice that our Jul 9th voyage on the Eurodam has a 3pm departure from Seattle. Also, Alaskan sampler on the Crown in Sept also has a 3pm departure. I think some of these adjustments must be due to reduce speeds and save fuel when sailing to Juneau because as far as I know the Eurodam has no issues currently and has a higher top speed.

Princess really needs to come clean on this issue - convert the Crown to 10 day voyages so she can reliably make her stops and let any passengers who can't make that work go to the Discovery. It's wishful thinking if Princess thinks they are selling full ships this summer. Alternatively, re-brand the crown to just sail a PNW itinerary with visits in Vancouver, Victoria, Astoria, Nanaimo, and perhaps Prince Rupert. Give passengers who want "ALASKA" the chance to go to the Discovery Aren't the Diamond and Sapphire still crew-only - both are sailing around in the eastern med? They should be getting one of those ships ready very quickly and bringing it over to replace the crown for the remainder of the season. Summer Alaska bookings aren't great this year - and most ships are not sailing full, hence the really impressive last minute drop and go fares we are seeing. There are simply too many ships there this summer with only tepid demand. I feel bad for people who are coming to Alaska for the first time on Princess - they are not getting a "great" experience that Princess normally provides in Alaska.

Seeing has how thats a "coastal" voyage, part of a longer voyage, in years past. HAL usually only sells "GTY" on those voyages. After the covid restart they seemed to be selling specific cabins on those voyages but perhaps that has now changed. It provides them maximum flexibility when selling the longer voyage. In that case, it looks like its a 6 day voyage, an 18 day voyage, and a 17 day voyage.

I think the CDC/cruise lines missed a golden opportunity early last year to get some volunteers on a ship for 7 days with daily testing and observe how the virus transmits itself among a mixed group of vaccinated, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated passengers. They'd get a good picture of asymptomatic vs symptomatic passengers. As many like the paint cruise ships as "floating petri dishes", we may as well as embrace it and learn from it. It seems like a perfect living laboratory to study.

We had it in a minisuite on the Sky in Feb 2020. The kids slept on it and they didn't complain - I didn't try it for more than a few minutes so I can't comment on if it was comfortable for an adult for a full night. Note that the "pullout" is basically another twin bed - maybe a bit wider? But its not the full couch. You might be better off switching to two obstructed view cabins that connect.

The 4 day voyage I went on last week was pretty cold - except on the SB return to Seattle where we were going about 20 kn and had a 20kn tailwind. I ate most of my meals on the back open deck aft of the buffet, and on that day there were a lot of people back there with legs in the pool. Was it crowded? No, not even close, but it was lively. I can't comment on the dining room vs buffet on this voyage, but on my voyage in December on the Majestic I ate in both venues and found the food comparable. The presentation is always better in the dining room obviously. Princess has regrettably gone back to 80% self serve in the buffet so everyone is sharing the same serving spoons - we really like HAL that serve nearly everything in the buffet. In December, Princess had most everything served like HAL does it other than a very few "grab n go" cups of veggies or chips/crackers for snacking. However, the flip side of this is that the buffet is so large on the Royal class ships, everything moves pretty fast and gone are the lines of the Grand class ships. If you are looking for hottubs don't forget about the ones just aft of the sanctuary on deck 18 - they were hardly used when the others were full.

There is no "change" fee - but if you booked under a promo and that promo is no longer available or its a new promo, to "refare" you they will have to cancel and rebook - which is probably the "change fee" they are referring to. Refunds only happen after final payment if there is a price drop in the current promotion. I'm betting you are seeing "drop and go" pricing which is only offered after the final payment for new bookings. It never hurts to ask however. The older grand class ships had all their mini suites on deck 9, and a few on deck 8. This allowed for large balconies for all mini suites. The newer royal class ships do have them scattered about which means you can score a mini suite on deck 16 (my favorite location since I am more of an upper deck person myself) which is near pools, hottubs, open decks, and lots of food and drink options. The downside is other than a few minisuites on deck 8, the balconies on the minisuites are a fraction of what they were on the grand class ships. The premium deluxe balcony can be decoded as follows: premium = large balcony, potentially with a wake view deluxe = room has a loveseat instead of a small storage unit for the mini fridge (I think its put near the desk in the deluxe cabin). You'll find these similar to most HAL balconies balcony = bed, desk, deskchair

Agreed on all points. I used to put HAL and Princess on a level playing field, but the newer Princess ships have been a disappointment to me whereas the original Vista class ships felt lacking. However the Signature ships have been an improvement and I really enjoyeded a cruise on the Kdam in 2017. If HAL could put the Grand Dutch Cafe on all their ships that would be appreciated because one of my biggest gripes about HAL is that when I want a snack, the Lido always seems to be between meals and is closed and I don't want to go back to my room to wait for room service. It looks like HAL has extended the lido hours since covid, but I'll have to verify that when we sail on the Edam in July. It just seems that overall, HAL is generally making good updates to their fleet through thoughtful drydock upgrades and newbuilds. Princess is heading the wrong way in my opinion. Another thing I like about HAL is that they have pretty good deals on children's fares (compared to Princess anyways) and my kids have really enjoyed ClubHAL. When we sailed on the Amsterdam in summer of 2019 which was on a "one off" 7 day alaskan voyage, there were a lot more kids on board than typical, but the CD and his staff really rolled with the punches - the kids club was well managed and the CD even hosted bingo in the main showlounge for all the kids on the last day. It was a really nice touch as the kids were offered snacks and chocolate milk while they played for an hour or so. The Princess ships have been making minor decor changes between vessels lately, but most of their grand class ships are virtually identical in decor. I appreciate that HAL has at least a few unique pieces on their vista/signature ships to differentiate them and my favorite venue that has been created is the Gallery Bar - what a great way to create a fun space out of the art gallery. I also enjoy that the HAL ships have something akin to a sports bar, on Princess your choices are the smokers lounge, the casino, or the movies under the stars.

As a frequent cruiser on Princess and 2 star Mariner on HAL - I used to always give the edge to PCL from 2018 and before on similar sailings and prices. After sailing on 3 different Royal Class ships with Princess in the past 2 years, (Feb 2020, Dec 2021, May 2022) I think the "tides" have turned for me. The lack of a functional promenade, the "Free for all" buffet with shared utensils in the age of COVID, the constant, top 40 music playing almost at all times in all places (someone called the Discovery princess a 'loud ship' because of the constant soundtrack played), the lack of climate controlled top deck viewing locations, and the medallionclass app has made me really not care for princess anymore. I hope the OP has a nice voyage on the Discovery - it is beautiful and tastefully decorated with a lot of fun activities, but its a BIG noisy ship that gets crowded if the weather isn't nice. For me, similar voyage and cost and I'll be happily choosing HAL. Ironically, I tell other Princess cruisers that lament the Royal Class ships lack of many of the nice features of the Grand class ships that they should try the Pinnacle class ships - in many ways those ships are the next generation of the original Grand class ships in my opinion.

NCL has been attempting to position themselves more upmarket after the shut down. While I have enjoyed parts of NCL in the past, I don't enjoy the NCL "class" system they have inherently created and their promos are very deceptive. Unfortunately, I think Princess is, either by choice or decree from Carnival management, shifting to more of a mass market line. The next class of ships will be larger yet and I'll be curious to see if they put back some of the things that are omitted on the Royal class. The reason I bring up NCL is that a few years back Frank Del Rio, NCL CEO determined that the sweet spot (for NCL anyways) was around 4k guests and any larger than that was more trouble and cost than what was returned (NCL Prima is around 3100 guests). I hope Princess makes this realization soon an sticks to the low 3000 passenger numbers. Cruise ship design is an evolving science, but I hope princess realizes that some things, like a nice open promenade deck has a value that may not have a direct return on investment. NCLs newest ship is eschewing the "life boat access" promenade design for an actual usable one and the newer carnival ships have figured out that alfresco dining on promenade deck, with lifeboats below can work as well. Meanwhile, while HAL and Princess used to be similar they are differentiating further and I'm okay with that. Makes my choices easier I suppose.

Ah ok I was wondering how full the ship was. Half full seemed to feel about right. It was nice that there weren't many crowds and I had a similar experience on the majestic. On the sky in Feb 2020 it was crowded but manageable because of the good weather in the Caribbean and all the deck space to spread out on. A full royal class ship in a cool climate is definitely going to feel crowded indoors. I'm glad you had a great time and by no means did I have a bad time, I just need to adjust my expectations. My next PCL cruise is on the Crown in September, and I'm looking forward to that voyage to be on a different class of ship.

I was on the sampler voyage after the coastal voyage. I may get flamed for saying some of the below but its my honest opinion. My last 3 voyages have been on the Sky, Majestic, and Discovery. At this point, I can't say that I will seek out the Royal Class ships to sail on in the future, and may even avoid them. If it wasn't for copious amounts of FCCs from cancelled voyages, I'm not sure I would even sail on Princess again as they have changed a fair amount from where they were just a few years back. I realize I have a choice to sail with other lines, and plan to continue to do so - It just makes me sad that, in my opinion, princess had a pretty solid product a few years back, and now they seem to have lost their way. Not happy about: It's been mentioned elsewhere, but the majestic and this ship are NOISY - not from a movement perspective, but just that there is music piped in everywhere it seems - and right on the verge of being distracting. Near the wakeview pool and bar, it was especially annoying as it seemed to be the same ten, top 40 songs that were remixed. The outer promenade on deck 7 of the Sky was "open" in that you could walk it from near front to back. But its not useful for walking and the areas near the lifeboats are single file. On the discovery, most of the outer deck areas were closed off on deck 7 for much of the cruise. I'm not sure if that was because it was pretty chilly out, but it was darn hard to even find the doors to the outside. The doors to the Vista Lounge and Take Five were always closed - maybe to keep the sound in, or the ambient music elsewhere out but it made me not want to go in for fear of disturbing the bands that were performing. Maybe that's just me, it just wasn't welcoming as the vista lounge or wheelhouse bars of the past and I'm wondering if the bands in those venues had low attendance because when the lights are low in those areas, it looks closed. The buffet and gym are the only climate controlled areas on the upper decks to observe the scenery. Both are pretty loud. Obviously the Majestic has the Hollywood Conservatory and they probably should have done something similar on the Discovery since she will be based on the west coast for the foreseeable future. The voyage I was on was early in the season so I'm sure it will warm up, but the first and last day at sea to/from Seattle when the ship is sailing full speed is windy and chilly. I avoided elevators due to covid which was my choice, but I typically avoid elevators anyways - the hike from deck 8 to deck 16 should be sold sold as an "8 minute quad workout" - this is not unique to princess but I miss the buffet and pools being on deck 14. The IC seemed to have the same stuff at all times and every day. Maybe just an anomaly. Good Spirits at Sea is a nice thought, but I found that if it's not staffed with effective presenters, its kind of boring. Some of the bigger game shows and audience events should have been in the vista lounge - Princess live isn't big enough for the crowds for the couples game show at 7:30. The former high limits gaming area on the majestic, which is take 5 on the Sky, Discovery, and Enchanted, was turned into a defacto sports bar with a wall of TVs on the handful of sports that the satellite picks up. I couldn't find something similar on the Discovery other than some tv's in the casino, above the tables - and you can't really sit there and watch sports without actually playing at the tables. MedallionNet on the first day was not stable and very slow. It improved after we left vancouver. MedallionClass app - not that functional - clunky, unorganized, and why is the font so huge on phones - looking through the schedule requires doom scrolling. Very Much Enjoyed: The crew was for the most part excellent and friendly Some of the new game shows have upped their production value I continue to favor the world fresh marketplace layout and size compared to the horizon courts of the grand class ships. The Crown Grill bar was a nice space We are sailing to Alaska this summer on HAL - and I used to slightly prefer Princess to HAL even though they can be similar, I feel like Princess just isn't selling what I'm looking for in a cruise anymore in either their ships or onboard programs, and that kind of bums me out.

Booked on the Alaskan sampler at the end of the Crowns Alaska season. It's a 5 day voyage and with full day stops in Ketchikan and Juneau, starting in Seattle and ending in Vancouver. We have already received notice that the port times will be shortened and we will depart Seattle an hour earlier. At the rate things are going, I'm betting they swap out Juneau for Victoria. As an aside, we are presently onboard the discovery for the Alaskan sampler l (which was a replacement voyage of the cancelled SF to Vancouver coastal in early April, which they say was related to needing more time in drydock immediately after that voyage. Most don't buy that). While the discovery is new, this is my 3rd voyage on a royal class vessel in 2 years, and I have to say it's not my preference to sail on this class anymore. I'm very much looking forward to sailing on the crown so I hope they don't scrap my late September voyage. Certainly the trajectory doesn't look good if princess limps the crown through the summer only to cancel some voyages late in the Alaska season for a majors drydock fix.