Please tell me the differences between Paul Gaugin and Princess?

[trixiee]

Enquiring minds need to know!

[trixiee]

I guess I'm looking for the "ambiance" differences of the 2 ships...

[Cruisedreamer1]

We have found the PG passengers to be very friendly,interesting and intelligent. The food and drink are better on the PG. The ship is smaller than what the Princess sails in FP so there are less amenities that allow for more activities, etc.

 

If you can afford the PG, you will not be disappointed. You will soon realize that many of the passengers return time and time again due to the wonderful crew and their efforts to make your experience worthwhile.

 

The ship has a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere unlike some of the other lux ships which keeps us coming back.

 

The PG definitely does not have the ambience of the Regent's ships like the Mariner for example.

 

We will be on our 5th PG in 5 years this November so that may tell you something!

[trixiee]

I'm pretty much a food snob, having worked in the industry for 30+ years. Can you tell me some more about the type and variety of food on the menu? Also, what type of wine is available? I've developed a fine taste for wine as well....;)

[Emdee]

Trixiee,

 

We also love the PG and have also been 5 times in 6 years.

 

The service is superb. I enjoy the food and ambiance as well.

 

I remember on my first PG cruise the two ships were docked side by side on the last night.

I asked the Princess crew about their ship. They told me it was not as good as the other Princess ships and I did well to be on the PG.

 

Last November I mentioned to our waiter that I missed the almond croissants. Of course each morning they had prepared some just for me along with Crepes for my daughter.

 

I have never been on Princess but I have been on other mainstream lines like Celebrity and RCCL. My heart is on the PG.

[Cruisedreamer1]

The food is good to great(this is subjective) and there is something for everyone. The wines served at dinner are from around the world with the New Zealand,Chile, CA, Argentina, Spain,France and Italy represented. The left overs are served at lunch. I always asked for the best red wine at lunch. There is a premium wine list available if you wish to pay but 99% of the guests find the served wines just fine. The wines are good but not earth shaking. We never found them undrinkable or poorly paired.

[TomCruises]

I guess I'm looking for the "ambiance" differences of the 2 ships...

 

Trixie,

 

We love an AFT PS or OS Category on Princess!The 180 degree views are breathtaking and the 180 sqft. Verandahs are wonderful.The cuisine is always wonder as well but Chefs Plate.....WOW!I believe PG was too small for me.A mid size ship or traditional large vessel are much more fun.Of course on Princess you have many jacuzzi's for late night fun along with Movies Under The Stars and several swimming pools and dining venues.Breakfast at Sabatinis is great!The journey is generally always smoother and extremely enjoyable.

 

We enjoy the expanded number of guests on board that we may choose to engage with while on vacation.And best of all,no 8-10 hr flights:)

 

I hope this is of help as it appears that you will receive plenty of comments regarding PG.

[Chuck1j]

We did 3 weeks on the PG at the end of May. The ship is in the small Category only 330 Passengers but can have as many as 200+ crew. We experienced too many crew (220 vs 130 passengers) for the first 2 weeks and not enough for the last week (177 Passengers vs less than 200 crew). I understand they have to try and balance the crew to passengers but here were severe lapses on the 1 week cruise. The Service Staff and the Crew just can't do enough for you and at no time was I told NO I could not have something. If I wanted a drink before the bar opened all I had to do was ask someone and viola a drink.

They food is good but I would not rate it above this. We found the rotating restaurants annoying. Out door dining area called The Grill and The Veranda are open on alternate nights for dinner. We enjoyed The Grill very much as we spend winter inside. The whole PG experience is about you and is set around ambiance and service and they succeeded as we stayed on board for the third week which we did not book in advance but requested an extension while we were on board.

As you can see from our signature we are Princess junkies from their Small ships to their Very Large. While Princess is not in the same Category as PG, I could probably get close on service if I upgraded to a Suite on Princess. We love Princess for it's variety and it's Rewards program probably the best in the industry.

Would we book PG again yes but right now there are a lot of other places in our Bucket to see.

Tom, I glad to see you made it home OK. There is a whole other story behind the 3rd week, you would not have enjoyed it.

See you on board.

[TomCruises]

We did 3 weeks on the PG at the end of May. The ship is in the small Category only 330 Passengers but can have as many as 200+ crew. We experienced too many crew (220 vs 130 passengers) for the first 2 weeks and not enough for the last week (177 Passengers vs less than 200 crew). I understand they have to try and balance the crew to passengers but here were severe lapses on the 1 week cruise. The Service Staff and the Crew just can't do enough for you and at no time was I told NO I could not have something. If I wanted a drink before the bar opened all I had to do was ask someone and viola a drink.

They food is good but I would not rate it above this. We found the rotating restaurants annoying. Out door dining area called The Grill and The Veranda are open on alternate nights for dinner. We enjoyed The Grill very much as we spend winter inside. The whole PG experience is about you and is set around ambiance and service and they succeeded as we stayed on board for the third week which we did not book in advance but requested an extension while we were on board.

As you can see from our signature we are Princess junkies from their Small ships to their Very Large. While Princess is not in the same Category as PG, I could probably get close on service if I upgraded to a Suite on Princess. We love Princess for it's variety and it's Rewards program probably the best in the industry.

Would we book PG again yes but right now there are a lot of other places in our Bucket to see.

Tom, I glad to see you made it home OK. There is a whole other story behind the 3rd week, you would not have enjoyed it.

See you on board.

 

Hey Chuck!

Does it have anything to do with pet food or a female blackjack player?

Tom

[Chuck1j]

Tom e-mail me plsyyz@rogers.com

[trixiee]

Aw come on, Chuck! We would all like to hear the story! ;)

[trixiee]

Aw come on, Chuck! We would all like to hear the story! ;)

[TomCruises]

Aw come on, Chuck! We would all like to hear the story! ;)

 

Have you checked out Princess yet?:D

[Chuck1j]

What I have to say relates to more than just PG. They are no worst nor better than anyone else, we have probably all been on the receiving end and some of us may have been part of the problem. We all book and pay for a trip, be it cruise or otherwise, for some it is a trip of a lifetime for others it maybe a reward for a job well done. The problem comes from the later when a corporation decides to reward a large number of it's employee's on your trip, especially when they are in the majority and in an inappropriate venue. I find both the carrier and the employer at fault here, first for creating a situation were there reward winners are monopolizing the facilities and secondly for choosing a venue that is not appropriate for the people attending. I know I will get hammered here for coming off as snob but that is far from the truth, I just don't feel this particular group were a good match for the PG, Cuba or Dominican Republic all inclusive would have been more appropriate and they would have fit in, both in demographics and number of guests. I also find that PG is at fault here for allowing the group. I know they were low on paid guest and this was an opportunity to grab the money and run but how did this money grab reflect on their so called 5 star rating, in my eyes it put it right up their with Carnival. I think PG should have had more respect for its regular customers and maybe split up the group on 2 or 3 cruises limiting the mismatch.

The situation on the June 5th cruise created an uncomfortable situation for both passengers and staff alike. Add to the fact that PG had reduced the number of staff for this cruise and the demands being made on them by this privileged group, which they constantly reminded anyone that didn't jump or get out of their way, that they're employer had paid a lot of money for them to be there. How did this affect me personally, I didn't get the service that I had during the 2 weeks, previous, it was difficult to get sit quietly as they kept occupying areas that were normally quite and disturbing everyone else until thy had the area or the pool to them selves. So what is my axe to grind here, the problem I spacicificly had was when my wife and I were having a before dinner drink in La Palette, normally a quite Lounge. The group started showing up and forming a circle behind us, after a while the circle grew until it was directly behind us, the next person in pushed their chair into the back of my chair, as if that wasn't enough they were ow taking up a good portion of the lounge and loud enough that it was ruining the entrainment and anyone else's conversation in the room. Finally 3 more showed up and started pushing both my wife's chair and mine forward to make room, when I asked them to stop they just provoked me. I stood up and questioned the groups manners, the scales tipped and if it weren't for the staff stepping very quickly it could have escalated into a very nasty affair. This happened on the 3rd day of the cruise so it made for a very uncomfortable truce for the rest of the cruise.

I have had my say and probably not in the correct forum but you asked.:eek::eek:

[trixiee]

OH man, that is terrible! I am in sales, but the last thing I want on my well -earned cruise is to be stuck with a bunch of sales people! And I know exactly what you are talking about, because it happened to my DH and I on our last RCCL cruise. I was not impressed with the way they took over the ship!

 

Thanks for sharing you story - I had thoughts of something way different than that! - And you're right. I did ask!

 

Tom - I have posed this very same question on Princess, and have not received near the response... I'm not adverse to Princess. In fact, I quite enjoyed my last cruise on it. It's just that I'm going to have a "significant" birthday that I want to celebrate in style, and have saved up for since the last significant birthday! ;) We're quiet folks, not stuffy - just quiet (at least my DH is :rolleyes:)... I really want to get the flavour of French Polynesia, but with the least amount of hassle possible.

 

Thanks Tom and Chuck for sharing your experiences and expertise!

[TomCruises]

OH man, that is terrible! I am in sales, but the last thing I want on my well -earned cruise is to be stuck with a bunch of sales people! And I know exactly what you are talking about, because it happened to my DH and I on our last RCCL cruise. I was not impressed with the way they took over the ship!

 

Thanks for sharing you story - I had thoughts of something way different than that! - And you're right. I did ask!

 

Tom - I have posed this very same question on Princess, and have not received near the response... I'm not adverse to Princess. In fact, I quite enjoyed my last cruise on it. It's just that I'm going to have a "significant" birthday that I want to celebrate in style, and have saved up for since the last significant birthday! ;) We're quiet folks, not stuffy - just quiet (at least my DH is :rolleyes:)... I really want to get the flavour of French Polynesia, but with the least amount of hassle possible.

 

Thanks Tom and Chuck for sharing your experiences and expertise!

 

Trixiee,

 

Although they will take you to a different faraway destination other than FP,SeaDream Cruises in my opinion would be perfect for you.:)

Do check it out!

Tom

[TomCruises]

What I have to say relates to more than just PG. They are no worst nor better than anyone else, we have probably all been on the receiving end and some of us may have been part of the problem. We all book and pay for a trip, be it cruise or otherwise, for some it is a trip of a lifetime for others it maybe a reward for a job well done. The problem comes from the later when a corporation decides to reward a large number of it's employee's on your trip, especially when they are in the majority and in an inappropriate venue. I find both the carrier and the employer at fault here, first for creating a situation were there reward winners are monopolizing the facilities and secondly for choosing a venue that is not appropriate for the people attending. I know I will get hammered here for coming off as snob but that is far from the truth, I just don't feel this particular group were a good match for the PG, Cuba or Dominican Republic all inclusive would have been more appropriate and they would have fit in, both in demographics and number of guests. I also find that PG is at fault here for allowing the group. I know they were low on paid guest and this was an opportunity to grab the money and run but how did this money grab reflect on their so called 5 star rating, in my eyes it put it right up their with Carnival. I think PG should have had more respect for its regular customers and maybe split up the group on 2 or 3 cruises limiting the mismatch.

The situation on the June 5th cruise created an uncomfortable situation for both passengers and staff alike. Add to the fact that PG had reduced the number of staff for this cruise and the demands being made on them by this privileged group, which they constantly reminded anyone that didn't jump or get out of their way, that they're employer had paid a lot of money for them to be there. How did this affect me personally, I didn't get the service that I had during the 2 weeks, previous, it was difficult to get sit quietly as they kept occupying areas that were normally quite and disturbing everyone else until thy had the area or the pool to them selves. So what is my axe to grind here, the problem I spacicificly had was when my wife and I were having a before dinner drink in La Palette, normally a quite Lounge. The group started showing up and forming a circle behind us, after a while the circle grew until it was directly behind us, the next person in pushed their chair into the back of my chair, as if that wasn't enough they were ow taking up a good portion of the lounge and loud enough that it was ruining the entrainment and anyone else's conversation in the room. Finally 3 more showed up and started pushing both my wife's chair and mine forward to make room, when I asked them to stop they just provoked me. I stood up and questioned the groups manners, the scales tipped and if it weren't for the staff stepping very quickly it could have escalated into a very nasty affair. This happened on the 3rd day of the cruise so it made for a very uncomfortable truce for the rest of the cruise.

I have had my say and probably not in the correct forum but you asked.:eek::eek:

 

Chuck,your so right,it's a good thing I didn't stay!It is unfortunate that PG is willing to gamble it's very own reputation for simply the almighty buck!PG may have booked that group (pet food) and feel they made a great profit,however,in the end,they are going to fail.:rolleyes:

[trixiee]

Just checked on-line pricing at both Princess and PG.

 

Both lower end balcony cabins:

 

Princess (flights and cruise)

$6,600.00

 

PG

$11, 574

 

I think my frugal self says go Princess. I can go on another cruise next year for the $$ difference...

 

I'm sad. 'cause I really wanted a "luxury" experience once in my life, but with kids still in college, I can't seem to convince myself that it's worth it.:(

[TomCruises]

Just checked on-line pricing at both Princess and PG.

 

Both lower end balcony cabins:

 

Princess (flights and cruise)

$6,600.00

 

PG

$11, 574

 

I think my frugal self says go Princess. I can go on another cruise next year for the $$ difference...

 

I'm sad. 'cause I really wanted a "luxury" experience once in my life, but with kids still in college, I can't seem to convince myself that it's worth it.:(

 

You are going to have a "luxury"experience!Live it and enjoy it!You are so right,the difference can be invested in another experience,later.Have a wonderful time on Princess:)

[JAKUEHNLE]

Chuck, I can see why your 2nd cruise was not as good as the first one. I was at the

(The Motivation Show / McCormick West / Chicago, IL

Conference: October 12-14 / Exhibits: October 13-14, 2010, )

last year and stopped at the PG booth before I booked the Fiji cruise later in the year. They sell incentive travel to companies and this might have been when the "group" sale happened. So I don't think PG could have put them on several different cruises or broken them into small groups. They would have been booked long before the sailing date, so the contest could set up to reward the best employees. I think Tom is right when he said PG wanted to fill cabins and didn't get the standard level of passenger for this type of cruise. But I would sure have worked my back side off to win a trip on this ship over the standard low end lines.

John

[TomCruises]

Chuck, I can see why your 2nd cruise was not as good as the first one. I was at the

(The Motivation Show / McCormick West / Chicago, IL

Conference: October 12-14 / Exhibits: October 13-14, 2010, )

 

last year and stopped at the PG booth before I booked the Fiji cruise later in the year. They sell incentive travel to companies and this might have been when the "group" sale happened. So I don't think PG could have put them on several different cruises or broken them into small groups. They would have been booked long before the sailing date, so the contest could set up to reward the best employees. I think Tom is right when he said PG wanted to fill cabins and didn't get the standard level of passenger for this type of cruise. But I would sure have worked my back side off to win a trip on this ship over the standard low end lines.

 

John

 

John,

Hey!I think PG made a very bad decision.It just makes too much sense for them to attract a slightly larger group and perform a "CHARTER" or if they want to attract the "GROUP" business only sponsor it when the ship is at 250 or more passengers and the group doesn't exceed 10% of the total.

 

What they did was totally unacceptable.They had a group of 75 which was basically 50% of the total occupancy.The cruise,unfortunately,was dominated and controlled by these obnoxious and rude group!

[Cruising Librarian]

Trixee-

 

I've only been on the PG, but I wanted to share a couple of things with you.....In 2006 my husband turned 50 and wanted to celebrate his birthday on the Paul Gauguin. A good friend of his had been on the ship and recommended it highly. Even by booking a nonbalcony room, I couldn't justify the extra cost and pushed hard for the Princess. He insisted. The cruise was wonderful, I loved the small ship, the attentive service, great food and beautiful islands. Our small OBC covered the costs of an excursion, and we took advantage of the motu day in Tahaa and the motu in Bora Bora, so no additional charges at checkout time. I obviously think it's a good value, we went back in 2007 and 2008 for a 10 and then 14 day cruise, staying each time in a non balcony room. Although I 'm sure they are lovely, we didn't feel we needed one. We were either on shore, sitting by the pool (No chair saving crap) or watching the sail away in La Palette with cocktail.

 

 

I'd suggest computing your costs a little differently-change to a nonbalcony suite on the PG and add tips, water (I read somewhere Princess charges $3 for bottled water!!) liquor, soda and 2 excursions like the motus on the PG to the Princess tab.

 

On the subject of groups onboard, more than half of the ship on our last PG cruise was a large group of Canadian doctors. They had a couple of events that closed off rooms of the ship, I vaguely remember being irritated once when I wanted to eat in La Veranda or something, but there was no mob mentality like Chuck experienced.

 

Finally, on our last cruise we met a couple from the UK and were chatting about FP. They said they had been on the Princess a couple of years earlier and had seen the PG from afar and vowed they would come back and take the smaller ship next time. So perhaps that will be your experience:)

[trixiee]

Good points - all! I will have another look. We have had both a window and a balcony. While we do prefer the balcony, it's probably b/c we bring our own wine, and have a glass or 2 before dinner... My DH doesn't use the balcony much. But I do. It may be worth a try, given your suggestions and viewpoint! Thanks for taking the time to reply! :)

[TomCruises]

Good points - all! I will have another look. We have had both a window and a balcony. While we do prefer the balcony, it's probably b/c we bring our own wine, and have a glass or 2 before dinner... My DH doesn't use the balcony much. But I do. It may be worth a try, given your suggestions and viewpoint! Thanks for taking the time to reply! :)

 

Trixiee-Great idea.Since you don't use the balcony that much getting an oceanview stateroom on Princess will be perfect for you both.Plus,you will save even more money.I always take all of my own beverages....its so convenient.Have fun!:D

[Chuck1j]

I am in no way knocking GP we had a great time the first 2 weeks and a mediocre time on the 3rd week. We have had similar problems on Princess. We tried Caribbean Princess for one week. They were under booked so they sold off cabins the last week for $300.00 to Sun City Fl, yes that was per cabin, they squeezed max per cabin. Talk about 800 nasty people who felt they were entitled to the owners suite. Th4e up side was they upgraded us from inside to mini suite, we at least had a sanctuary from the Geriatric mob on their scooters.