What are your thoughts about Pacific Princess?

What are your thoughts about Pacific Princess?

We just booked a 12 days Mediterranean cruise on the Pacific Princess and have never sailed on her or any other ships that small. Just wondered those who have sailed on her what do you think about the ship.

Thanks in advance.:D

we've never sailed on it, so no comment...

Nearly ideal for a port-intensive itinerary. Service was excellent and I love the loveseats in regular balconies.

I wouldn’t want five sea days in a row, and it’s VERY quiet at night, a function of limited venues, a small entertainment staff and the demographic her sailings typically attract.

Nearly ideal for a port-intensive itinerary. Service was excellent and I love the loveseats in regular balconies.

 

I wouldn’t want five sea days in a row, and it’s VERY quiet at night, a function of limited venues, a small entertainment staff and the demographic her sailings typically attract.

This sums up my opinion. I would also add that the decor reminds me of a Victorian grandmother's house, although some will try and convince you that it's more "English hunting lodge". The library is beautiful, with a painted ceiling and tons of books.

When I cruised on her, there was no anytime dining. While waiting for second seating traditional dining, the cruise staff held "cocktail karaoke" in the bar next to the casino. It gave a whole new meaning to "scary-oke".;p

Thanks for the comments.I hope there will be more.

We were hoping for quieter evenings since the cruise will be so port intensive.

we've never sailed on it, so no comment...

That was quite helpful.

Thanks for the comments.I hope there will be more.

 

We were hoping for quieter evenings since the cruise will be so port intensive.

DH and I spent 28 days on her. It was a B2B Med/TA cruise. One evening, the patter advertised a movie. We decided to go check it out. The movie was shown on a laptop in the card room. There's only one swimming pool and no MUTS. She's fine for a port intensive itinerary, but I probably wouldn't do another TA on her.

Overall we have enjoyed sailing on her but a few things we do not like -

The only dinning room is set time dinnig. Oceania uses the same design ships with the same dinning room/kitchen and they have open dinning

The production show dancers are hired for their dancing skills but on this ship they do cruise director staff duties - some do that part poorly.

Unlike other Princess ships, the pool is salt water.

We have sailed 61 days and 64 days on the Ocean Princess, a ship identical to the Pacific Princess. We absolutely LOVED those trips. Yes, the ship is small but hey, you don't have to pack a lunch to get from one end to the other. It's very intimate, you get to know the passengers and the staff very well. The dance troupe does double duty as the entertainment staff and they spend lots of time mingling with passengers. You really get to know the kids. I suspect they are chosen for this assignment because they have a personality, unlike many of the dancers on the larger ships.

One poster said the movie was on a laptop in the library. That's not the standard method. Movies are played in the forward theater on a screen.

For the sake of full disclosure, we're about to embark on the Pacific Princess for 51 days.

We love the Pacific and miss her sisters (the middle Royal and the Ocean). We have over 300 days on these three beautiful ladies. In 3 weeks we head to Fort Lauderdale for 48 nights on the Pacific.

Was on the Pacific Princess for a 10 day cruise in Tahiti. Very much enjoyed the ship.

MDR was traditional only. However the buffet was very good as an alternative.

Movies were shown in the Cabaret Lounge, which also doubles as the main theater for shows and other entertainment. (not a traditional theater, more of a lounge with seats around a half circle stage/dance floor)

As mentioned this ship has limited crew space so the dancers do double duty as the CD staff. Works great for dance classes such as Zumba. This is a choice assignment for the dancers because also working on the CD staff gets them a higher rank, that carries with them to other ship assignments.

One bit of warning. Obstructed Ocean view cabins on that ship, next to the lifeboats are smaller than any other cabins. As a result they often used them for entertainers. Also the front facing balconies and suites are nice, but noisy during anchoring operations.

the pacific is my favourite ship. i've spent 26 days on her and 30 on the ocean princess (says my cruise history--i can't remember this stuff)! i love this 'little' ship.

i like the size of the rooms, the staff is great, the stairs are do-able because there isn't 18 decks of them. easy to disembark and reboard because there's less passengers.

yes, only traditional dining and surprisingly, this anytime diner enjoyed that too. it helped with a maitre d who put 8 of us solos at one table.

i thought there was plenty to do if you wanted to do it. after early rising for ports, i didn't want to do a lot.

the shows are kind of like what you've seen but the floor they perform on is within touching distance so its a lot more intimate.

mostly, the ship is friendlier. i think because its so small you can't be anonymous--you WILL see these folks again, so people behave better.

The Pacific Princess is intimate, iconic and personal. You can expierence a bygone era. Nothing is ever rushed or crowded. Never seen a line a the pursor desk.

This era for PCL is numbered, so enjoy it soon.

We did two cruises on this size ship. One on the Pacific, round trip from San Francisco to Alaska...enjoyed it a lot. Second time, we booked the same size ship, when Princess had one called the Royal out of Rome to Egypt, Israel and Greece, once again we had a fantastic time. Both of these cruises were about 10 years ago.

We have yet to sail Pacific Princess but I have read many, many reviews by people who absolutely love the ship and go on and on about how great it is. Take it with a grain of salt but, like I said, many people think it is the most wonderful ship in the Princess fleet. Personally, I'd like to take it through the Panama Canal. I think that would be a great "tester" cruise for the ship.

She is my favorite ship. You can get anywhere in 5 minutes and no lines. Great forward lounge to watch the world go by in. Have done a 1/2 cruises on her and was lucky to be on the 50th Anniversary cruise on her.

Always my first choice but she does tend to be pricey as she does some exotic routes

We have heard great things about the PP and will be doing our first cruise on her this December a TA.

Number of friends have sailed on her and tell us it is their favorite ship.

We sailed on the Pacific in 2015 for the 14 day 50th Anniversary Cruise and in 2016 for a 12 day Med cruise. We really like her.

Yes, there is no Anytime dining unless you book a Club Class mini or a full suite. Although there is a Sterling Steakhouse and Sabatini’s, only one of the two is open on a given night. The steakhouse will be open for 2-3 nights and then Sabatini’s will be open for 2-3 nights. There is no Vines, but on both cruises they did offer a Stammtisch Table at least once as well as a Chef’s Table. Our CT was held in the Sterling Steakhouse and we rode the service elevator from the galley on deck 4 to the DR on deck 10. Although small, the Panorama Buffet offered a sufficient selection and quality. There is a pizzeria and a grill as well as an area for made to order omelettes in the morning. Almost all of the afternoon tea items were also available in the buffet. With no ice cream bar, there was real freshly made ice cream available in the buffet at 3:30 and for dinner. There is no International Cafe so the only option between 10:00 at night and 5:30 in the morning is room service. The Club Bar does have some half sized pastries in the morning and the afternoon tea finger sandwiches in the afternoon.

You will probably only have 2 sea days but there should be a movie shown in the morning in the Cabaret Lounge. In addition to serving on the CD’s staff, there are only half the singers and dances with only one male and female dancer, three male, and 3-4 female dancers. If you get to the show early, you can get up close and personal because the performers are less than six feet from you at times. There would be two shows in the Cabaret Lounge with a themed party or trivia in between in the Pacific Lounge. There was music for dancing in the Pacific Lounge and this was the late night venue. The Casino Bar also had small groups performing in the evening.

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My husband and I did the PP for 54 days of the WC in Feb 2017 from Sydney to Venice. Had never been on a small ship but like many many others will attest, fell in love! We are not the "must always have something to do" type so her laid back style suited us just fine. You really get an opportunity to know the crew and fellow passengers on the longer voyages. In fact we enjoyed the PP so much we are booked on the 96 day 2019 WC from LA to FLL! And after seeing pictures of her recent update, looking forward to being back. The PP is great for the World Cruises. They can get into ports that the larger ships cannot. And when you are on a ship for that many days, it really does take on an atmosphere of being your "home and family" away from home. It starts to seem like your own 650 passenger private yacht!

Small ships are definitely not for everyone. My sister did Alaska in late 2016 and did not like the very limited venues and quietness. She prefers the larger Princess ships with the 3 level atriums. Always something going on.

So my advice would be to decide on your cruise style and your "must haves". And if PP fits, then I know you will enjoy her.

DH and I spent 28 days on her. It was a B2B Med/TA cruise. One evening, the patter advertised a movie. We decided to go check it out. The movie was shown on a laptop in the card room. There's only one swimming pool and no MUTS. She's fine for a port intensive itinerary, but I probably wouldn't do another TA on her.

Too funny. DH & I LOL.

We did 34 days on the Pacific (b2b Panama Canal). The movies were in the Cabaret Lounge, forward, deck 5 on a BIG screen.

My only complaint was that is was like a freezer in there...all...the...time.

When we went there for shows/movies we wore jackets (mine had a hood), I had mittens in the pocket (leftover from life in NY) and I brought a blanket (courtesy of our steward). Hood up, mittens on, blanket wrapped around legs and I was ready. My only complaint about the ship.

Positive comments by everyone else, I second all of them.

Oscar (the Maitre D') is one of a kind and excellent. He and the head waiter work together beautifully and both say if they have to leave the ship, they'll retire.

We were both on the 50th Anniversary Cruise in 2014 & loved it. If they had the right itinerary I would have no problems sailing on her again.

The small ship experience was great & like someone said you can get from one end to the other easy.

If you find the itinerary that you like go for it. Getting to know some of the entertainment staff & being up close was a great experience. Get a front row seat for a great view.

Please post back what you decide & if you decide to book a cruise on the Pacific Princess please post a review when you get back.

If you would like some photos I’ll be glad to post some here.

Tom😀

You better like sea days if you booked this one. We have voyaged on the Pacific Princess for almost two months total plus have just added another month beginning this November. Our first on this vessel was in November and December 2016, our second was almost a month voyage into the South Pacific which we just got back from about 10 weeks ago. I posted an excellent review after the first, not such a raving review the second time, however, this ship still remains one of our favorites.

We do like the sea days; also motion sickness has never been a problem for us, 8 consecutive sea days on the Atlantic on this cruise though. One nice thing about this voyage compared to our Nov/Dec 2016 one, which was essentially the same, is that the Atlantic crossing is further south, just slightly north of the tropics, hopefully more sun, flatter seas and warmer. On that one we were a lot further north due to taking in the Azores and Bermuda. Unfortunately, a good sized blow was in between us and Bermuda so the Captain had to alter course meaning we missed the Azores. This will be our eighth TA, 5 west and 3 east.

About 30% of the ports have changed on this voyage over 2016, I'm not enamored by a Slovenian port being excluded as that offered the best shore excursion on our first voyage, however, the Canary Island port might make up for that. All in all, the seas were pretty calm in 2016 considering the cruise was in mid-winter at solstice time, same time frame as this cruise. The roughest by far was two days and nights during the western crossing of the Ionian Sea where even a seasoned 1300 day Princess cruise faithful spent time losing his cookies.

I'm hoping Princess has a good lecturer on board during the Atlantic crossing, their enrichment lecturers have always been one of my on board favorites but during our last four cruises with them they have been slipping badly in that regard.

The main dining room (MDR) folks are exceptional. The high point for us is that the main dining room service and cuisine has restored our faith in the MDRs, at least on this vessel. Maitre d'hotel, Oscar Perego, has to be one of the best if not the best in the business. We originally intended to do a few dinners in the two speciality restaurants but the staff and service was so great in the MDR the only speciality we bothered to use was a Ultimate Balcony Dinner, which was exquisite.---The buffet is very good, food wise, service wise and table wise. They even change things around in part of it in the late afternoon making a more formal section with table cloths, flowers and wine glasses. This buffet has ample seating which gets constrained only when inclement weather forces everybody off the outdoor seating areas, which has even a larger number of tables than inside.

The mini-suties are the best. They are only on deck eight though.

Mona, we first went on the Pacific Princess with some amount of trepidation, too, but, after over 250 days, it is, without a doubt, our favorite Princess ship. It’s perfect for Europe, too, especially in tender ports where you can be off the ship quickly and easily. I could say that it’s great when it’s the only ship in port, but, depending on when you go, it probably won’t be.

Oscar...we love Oscar. He treated us like family, but he treats everyone that way.

If it varied its itineraries a bit more, I doubt we’d ever cruise on any other Princess ship. Unfortunately, it’s a bit pricier than the others, so we’d onky be able to cruise half as long.

I hope you’re doing well!

What are your thoughts about Pacific Princess?

 

We just booked a 12 days Mediterranean cruise on the Pacific Princess and have never sailed on her or any other ships that small. Just wondered those who have sailed on her what do you think about the ship.

 

Thanks in advance.:D

Love it, love it, love it.

We did 29 days on her from Venice to Ft Lauderdale. I must agree with the previous posters about the staff, as they were some of the best we have ever experienced. Food was pretty good, although as someone mentioned there is no Vines or International Cafe and the coffee bars are near the buffet and MDR. The entertainment was pretty good considering the size of the ship. However, there’s less activities offered, so if you require that and your cruise has lots of sea days, you may be disappointed. Overall it was a wonderful experience. We’d definitely sail on her again!