Shoalwater

I never have been to the art auctions, so I cannot speak to the value of what is offered, but I do have a question......In 60 cruises we have seen the same exact pictures(excuse me....fine art) on all of them. How can anything that is obviously so common be of any value?...There are so many copies of each piece that one wonders. On the other hand, I believe an object is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. I might suggest that one first check what is for sale on Ebay first.

 

Doug

HI Doug, best to you and Annie. We have pieces from years ago when Princess ran their own department, and some appraised for essentially purchase price, while others at 20% of purchase! Caveat emptor! As for now on Princess, one clue as to what you are seeing is to look and determine if the piece is under glass or not. Originals are not, prints are protected so they don't get torn. Most of the Peter Max stuff is glassed, and priced as an acrylic original. PW "auctioneers" seem mostly to carefully not identify a piece up on the easel for sale as being either an original or print, talking instead about what the artist's originals (oil or acrylic) works are selling for. They lead you to where you make the assumption that what is being shown is an original when in fact its most likely a print. Anne and I assiduously avoid taking part. We are starting to move over to Viking Ocean ships, no art department or photo gallery. Oh, we do need to do lunch one of these times.

Barcelona to Venice (Mediterranean Odyssey) so Barcelona, Florence, Rome, Naples, Venice etc. Will check museum sites. Thanks. Interested in Sagra Familia, Picasso museum, seeing David in Florence, Sistine Chapel, Pompeii....

Photos okay in Sagrada Familia, the Vatican Museum (no flash) but not in the Cistine Chapel although many visitors take them and the guards just keep repeating their mantra "No photo". Don't remember accuratelt, but I do think the Accademia in Florence allows photos (where David is). One tip about Venice and St, Marks is 1) you can get an online pass beforehand that lets you jump the waiting line, and 2) if you want to see the mosaic ceilings illuminated, go to mass there because that's the only time I have seen them lit.

Points well taken.

Nevertheless, it is surprising that a new cruise line with only two ships up till now got such good marks from CC members in this member's"poll".

We have over 34 cruises on Princess, but Viking is clearly the better of the two in terms of ship, cabin, treatment of passengers, food and size (except we do like the 680 passenger Pacific Princess). I think the ratings are not the result of overenthusiastic Viking cheerleaders, but rather reflect the brand quality they are now offering. let's hope it lasts. That said, the per diem price is reflective of the added quality on viking. So, you do get what you pay for.

Having free wine may not be the main reason, but it is surely a factor with winos like ourselves. Being able to have many glasses without thinking about the cost or signing slips, etc makes for a more relaxing trip.

 

I do agree with the respect - though I think both #1 and #2 in your post are tied directly to the marketing philosophy they have implemented . In the end, they may love and respect us, but they are in it to sell cruises.

 

Enjoy!

Well, the wine served isn't really "free", but is "price included". While I'm not a wine expert, I found that the bottles served were very respectable and wondered why anybody would go to the trouble of bringing their own bottles aboard. Viking is also okay with your bringing spirits onboard. Agree, I like their approach to the passenger, at least thus far. Let's hope it doesn't evolve like some of the other cruise lines have over time and that are now "mass market", the passenger beware.

In October, Princess personnel didn't ask to see them, but told us to have our cards ready. Immigration agents did ask to see them.

 

You'll be getting a card in the mail. Be sure to post your experience.

 

As was stated previously, CBP does not have kiosks for GE, so if you want to use that line you must have your GE plastic ID card with your "photo" on it. We disembarked on 3-Jan, 2017 at terminal 2. However, we were fortunate that only the Pacific Princess (680 passengers) was in port and there was no line anywhere for CBP. A lot to be said for smaller ships!

We had a great cruise, great weather for the time of year, very good to excellent included shore excursions, good to excellent dining....

Did they decorate the ship for Christmas?

We are veterans of cruising aboard Princess ships over Christmas and enjoying the festive decorations adorning the ships. We have booked Viking Sea for Christmas, 2017 and are wondering whether passengers aboard the Viking ships this week can comment about whether they are also decorated for Christmas?

Good morning everyone. I know this isn't the shore excursion board but I have a question about a specific cruise excursion through Princess. Has anyone done the 'FIVE STAR SAIL, TURTLE ENCOUNTER & LUNCH' or 'CATAMARAN SAILING, TURTLE ENCOUNTER & BEACH BREAK' in Barbados? I am just wondering how the excursions were and by any chance if you know the name of the company that did the excursion? I want to book one of the excursions but I'm sure booking directly through the company is cheaper than Princess for the same excursion.

 

Thanks!

If the tour operator is the one selected by Princess Shorex for a port, their contract probably prevents them from accepting a reservation from a ship passenger. If they do...they can kiss the Shorex contract goodbye.

the question became moot when I discovered I had to return the rental car to London City Airport on the north bank of the Thames. Seems there are issues with Sunday operating hours for some of the rental sites in the port area.

We will visit Canterbury by rental car for a few days before our Viking Midnight Sun cruise starting in Greenwich. Question now arises, which side of the Thames does Viking board from so we can decide where to return the car? The City Airport side or the other side?

The Pacific Princess is one of the last of a dying breed. Enjoy her while you can. Personally, I gave no ambition to cruise on one of the RCI mega ship. Her MDR and theaters are small enough that it feels like you are participating in something special.

We enjoy the small R class Princess ships, but I am afraid the Pacific will eventually be mustered out of the fleet like the Ocean was. However, Viking Ocean Cruises is filling the void with 6 ships, 980 passengers and we are ready to transition our cruising over there as the situation warrants.

Hello

 

I am thinking of changing from the Eurodam (Christmas 2017) to Pacific Princess. I have been advised that there will be quite a few families on the Eurodam at Christmas. Are there likely to be quite a few children on the Pacific Princess?

 

Regards:)

In addition to what others have pointed out, the fact that this is a true 14-day voyage should also weigh against many families with kids booking. I would guess the shorter 7-day voyages are more attractive. Also, we sail before many schools break for Christmas, and return after they start again in January.

Some pretty broad misperceptions here.

 

We have bought art while on Princess Cruises but all pre-Park West.

 

None of the art has depreciated in value when looking at any legitimate gallery or on-line dealer. In some cases, like art by Martiros, the price has increased significantly. However, we do recommend one buy art because you like it, and not for investment purposes.

 

Certainly, there are many pictures where one can buy a poster and come out cheaper, like one person inferred below. But, as another said, most of the time one cannot buy the frame on land for the price of the framed artwork. For instance we saw this for a Behrens picture at JC Penney's - the reproduction in the store cost more than a hand embellished and signed lithograph from a Princess art auction.

 

Even some of the "free" art we won and paid shipping for was found to be in the $230 price range from an online source for the same artist. Not a bad deal - and in one case that was great documentation of value for a donation to a church auction.

 

So, making no comment about the current offerings or vendor (other than that we do not like the atmosphere and pre-registration requirement for the current auctions), it is always a "buyer beware", whether on ship or elsewhere. With internet access it is easy to check for current value from a good source (not Ebay) to see if the price is reasonable.

Our experience as well, pre-Park West. We enjoyed the art show when Princess ran it, but now don't waste our time. What galls me is how PW will put talk up an artist with pricing comments about an original, and then slot in a lithograph for sale, not clearly say its one, and then start the "bidding". Caveat emptor. Most of the fine art pieces we purchased previously when it was a Princess concession appraised very well and were less than a gallery price. Some of the true originals that PW now have, especially Peter Max are sold at 1.4-1.7x what we paid only a few years ago. I doubt they have appreciated that much so quickly.

Doing a transatlantic next spring. Last port is Normandy before disembarking in Southampton the next morning. Has anyone had any luck getting Princess to let you arrange in advance to disembark early. We have a few extra days after the cruise and wanted to do a couple nights in Paris. Would make sense to do it first before seeing London where our flight back to Canada departs from.

We did this same route deviation in May of this year, and no problem getting the authorization. HOWEVER, on the next voyage scheduled to stop in Le Havre the French dockworkers were venting their displeasure at something through a job action and the ship skipped the port :eek:. Better have a back-up plan to get to Le Havre or wherever just in case. We would have lost a hotel night and car rental fee, as well as incurring the expense and lost time, one day of going back across the Channel.

Price is included with cruise fare. Was able to use Google Hangout for video conference, no lag, instant response.

Hi All

 

Have a look at jobs that Princess are advertising, onboard spend analyst,

 

revenue analyst, yield management , and a load of titles I have no idea what

 

they mean, form this it appears they are looking at squeezing every last penny

 

out of us, rather than improving our vacation experience.

 

 

yours Shogun

They are looking to improve our vacation experience, but from the corporate side of the table :D. Now, I won't condemn a for profit operation from making a living, but if it gets to being chippy with the package than we will head more to Viking Ocean and to land trips. The best way to screw up an on-board experience is to create the impression in your head that you are being fleeced.

We were 2 couples and booked a private tour so we could customize it to our interests. Our guide, Pierre was a young but superb student of history, and we accomplished more than we ever thought possible. The value of having a private tour more than outweighed the slightly higher cost. This is the second time we have used Overlord Day Tours, and both times their expertise and logistics have exceeded expectations. The vans are comfortable, the guides know their history, and the experience was more than expected. This company enjoys our highest possible recommendation.

Just noticed there is also a 14 day on Pacific Princess:

 

22-Dec-17 Fri PACIFIC K801 14 Caribbean Caribbean Connosieur

 

FT. LAUDERDALE, Grand Turk, St. Barthelemy, Nevis, St Lucia, Tobago (Scarborough), Barbados, Martinique, Antigua, Virgin Gorda, FT. LAUDERDALE

We jumped on this when we saw the true 14 day length as well as it being the Pacific Princess, a grand old ship feel, intimate with lots of real wood and large cabins. Not a fan of the multi-thousand passenger ships any longer.

Yep, weather is a risk they should factored in to their business plan. It happens. Most travel businesses accept that it happens. Apparently this one doesn't.

It's called the non-refundable portion of your pre-paid excursion.

Wouldn't they check if you ordered a drink? Unless the elite/platinum passenger bought all the drinks on their S&S card. We don't go as none of the drinks offered appeal to us.

I doubt any waiter would refuse to take a paying passenger's drink order no matter where it was being asked.

Isn't the whole purpose of dry dock usually to freshen the ship up?

it is used to access and perform maintenance on those parts of the vessel not normally accessible when afloat. Hard to strip and repaint the hull at anchor or service the flippers and props, stuffing box, thrusters...... Like Pam said, if you can get at it while afloat why do it in dry dock? Hefty parking meters there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasperdo

My thoughts exactly. SHARE doesn't bother me at all, since it's tucked away in it's own room, and I never went to Sabatini's so I don't miss having that. But the Salty Dog butchered the look and feel of the Wheelhouse Bar. At the minimum, what needs to be done is moving the Salty Dog seating area over to the starboard alcove, and returning the center section as the Wheelhouse, since it's closest to the dance floor. And the decor of the Salty Dog needs to be updated to incorporate the nautical design of the Wheelhouse.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shredie

That would definitely help. Those table and high seats are not compatible at all with the traditional furnishing of the original Wheelhouse and they look like Princess just found them cheap when a McDonald's was closing down. ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasperdo

They really do look like something from a fast food outlet.

:(

To me it's unfortunately just the latest what was Princess thinking change. :(

A. Change the cheap new furniture to match the Wheelhouse traditional nautical decor? What, and lose all those gross margin dollars? Never happen. I predict it will morph into a complete fast food restaurant style takeover with piped, recorded music to eliminate those costly bands.

B. Princess is clearly thinking PROFIT.

The mass market cruise passenger demographic is changing, and maybe the younger passengers accept this style, maybe they prefer it. As a stockholder of CCL I can't complain about my return, but as someone who enjoys classic lines, style and grace, the evolution has turned off my life path. I wish them well as I look at their wake heading off into the distance. I have found my new cruise line.

Who killed the Wheelhouse Bar? Why did they do this? It was a great place to hangout after the show and dance to mostly good music. Why, it was comfortable, a drink lasted the night, pleasant to meet new people, talk, dance.....:eek: Huh! those people are enjoying themselves but not spending enough money. We've got to do something about that. How about we ruin the atmosphere, drive those laggards out by leaving only limited seating so they'll fast abandon the place. Then we can say it isn't being used sufficiently for dancing so we'll redesign it so it caters to more of our passengers needs. We are just off a Viking Ocean cruise, and I am afraid we will probably be switching lines as soon as they roll out their full complement of ships. I am disgusted at the evolution of Princess, and will vote with my cruise fare.

Depending on your luggage situation, we like to use the Southwest trains from LGW to Southampton station (about $10/pers) prepurchase then a $10 cab to the pier.

if it's for "security" and to help prevent theft...think again.

We use zip ties as someone else suggested to simply keep the zippers from accidentally opening. There's now way I know of to defeat the ballpoint pen!