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Pacific Princess questions - is it old and tired?


RachelNYC
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Hello Rachel,

 

You've received a lot of advice and diversity of opinion.  FWIW, here's some more:

 

We've been on both ships multiple times.  You do not need to worry about age of the ships.

 

From what you've said about your kids, I think they'd be happy on either ship for an Alaska cruise.  While on the Pacific Princess, evening activities might depend on whether they'd enjoy the shows/entertainers in the  Caberet Lounge.  During sea days,IMO, there are plenty of activities which you and your kids might enjoy, often led by the six dancers, who participate as activity leaders on this ship (but not on the others).  There could be activities such as towel animal folding, napkin folder, egg drop, paper airplane flying, bean bag toss, etc.

 

As to the Coral, it bridges the gap between the small PP and the larger Princess fleet.  The same activities could occur, this time led by the Activities Staff.  With 2000 passengers vice 650, the Coral would undoubtedly have more kids on board, especially for Alaska.

 

IMO you can't make a bad choice between these two ships.

 

Bruce

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I love the R ships.  After you complete this cruise you will know all about the R Ships.  I have been on 5 of them.

They ride well on rough seas, I have done two trans atlantics  (T/A's) on them.  Breakfast on the  outdoor buffet area is a cruise highlight EVERYDAY.  Small is wonderful, everything they have have on a big ship is here but smaller.  (and better)

Enjoy, you will love the ship and become a fan.  Azamara has 3, Princess 1, and Oceania has 3.  (I think)

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7 hours ago, brucedodge said:

Hello Rachel,

 

You've received a lot of advice and diversity of opinion.  FWIW, here's some more:

 

We've been on both ships multiple times.  You do not need to worry about age of the ships.

 

From what you've said about your kids, I think they'd be happy on either ship for an Alaska cruise.  While on the Pacific Princess, evening activities might depend on whether they'd enjoy the shows/entertainers in the  Caberet Lounge.  During sea days,IMO, there are plenty of activities which you and your kids might enjoy, often led by the six dancers, who participate as activity leaders on this ship (but not on the others).  There could be activities such as towel animal folding, napkin folder, egg drop, paper airplane flying, bean bag toss, etc.

 

As to the Coral, it bridges the gap between the small PP and the larger Princess fleet.  The same activities could occur, this time led by the Activities Staff.  With 2000 passengers vice 650, the Coral would undoubtedly have more kids on board, especially for Alaska.

 

IMO you can't make a bad choice between these two ships.

 

Bruce


thanks Bruce! So helpful. 

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On 1/12/2020 at 6:28 PM, RachelNYC said:


Thanks so much - I’m starting to think you might be right.  We certainly want some activities we can do as a family and would be bummed if we were keeping ourselves busy with board games all the time!

 

I will check out the Coral - but I don’t know if she is sailing Alaska this summer. 

You’re welcome! 

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I haven't been on the Pacific Princess since she's been refurbished (on my wish list).  I did go to Alaska on her several years ago and thought she was perfect!  There were very few children on the ship, only remember seeing 1 small child.  But you are closer to the water on the small ship and so it's  easier to see things.  I remember trivia and such, but not a specific one for families. It's very easy to get around the ship and go back and forth between sides of the ship when watching the glaciers.  There is a wonderful viewing area with glass around it on the upper decks, but the glass was tinted and I personally didn't like that.  I wanted to see the actual glacier colors, so I opted to go down to some lower decks for most of my viewing.    I personally can sit and watch glaciers and watch for wildlife all day, but you might want to bring a game or something to help break up the time for the kids if they get restless.  Or throw in a game of shuffleboard. You also may want to move to different viewing spots to add a little more interest. ( I actually recomment that anyway - different view.) Or maybe watch a movie in the room to break up the glacier viewing days, or play personal game systems for a break? You should have two days of glacier cruising, which is great in case 1 day is really foggy or something, but that means alot of time spent watching that. We loved just pretty much walking on and off the ship past long lines for other ships - that would be a nice perk with kids.  There are hot tubs, but they may be crowed - or they may not be used much.  I think if you and your kids go into it, knowing there won't be all the bells and whistles, and plan some diversions (uno), it's a great ship.  Maybe you could make a scavenger hunt or bingo cards (of things to see).  Or do real active things in port to wear everyone out! lol  I know some kids that I absolutely would not take them on that ship, but I know others, including an 8 year old, that it would be perfect.

Edited by alasbound
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On 1/14/2020 at 10:02 AM, peternina said:

I love the R ships.  After you complete this cruise you will know all about the R Ships.  I have been on 5 of them.

They ride well on rough seas, I have done two trans atlantics  (T/A's) on them.  Breakfast on the  outdoor buffet area is a cruise highlight EVERYDAY.  Small is wonderful, everything they have have on a big ship is here but smaller.  (and better)

Enjoy, you will love the ship and become a fan.  Azamara has 3, Princess 1, and Oceania has 3.  (I think)

Excuse my ignorance what are the R ships please?

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8 minutes ago, subaru94 said:

Excuse my ignorance what are the R ships please?

These class ships were built for Renaissance Cruises and were known as R-1 through R-8.

When the line went belly up they were all sold to different cruise lines.

Princess bought 2. Tahitian (ex Ocean) and Pacific.

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Oceania has 4 of the R ships currently. They are currently updating all of them.

The Tahitian/Ocean Princess is the Sirena on Oceania. I sailed on their Nautica last summer for 20 nights, fabulous cuisine that puts Princess to shame.

Screenshot_20200120-140454_Chrome.jpg

Edited by cflutist
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1 hour ago, subaru94 said:

Excuse my ignorance what are the R ships please?

A few have jumped in with correct technical answer.  The R ships do have a following because they are the perfect size, the perfect layout, ride the seas like a classic Mercedes and because of the size make making friends very easy, of fellow passengers and crew alike.

Because the above reasons many people love the R ships enough to base their cruise on Ship rather then destination, itinerary or cruise line.

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2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

These class ships were built for Renaissance Cruises and were known as R-1 through R-8.

When the line went belly up they were all sold to different cruise lines.

Princess bought 2. Tahitian (ex Ocean) and Pacific.

Actually Princess bought three. They also had the Royal Princess. This was the second Royal Princess, originally R-8, and it left the Princess fleet in 2011. It's now the Azamara Pursuit. One major difference this ship had with its sister R class ships was the lack of mini-suites.

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3 minutes ago, shellbeachjim said:

Actually Princess bought three. They also had the Royal Princess. This was the second Royal Princess, originally R-8, and it left the Princess fleet in 2011. It's now the Azamara Pursuit. One major difference this ship had with its sister R class ships was the lack of mini-suites.

Thanks. I thought it was 3 but changed my post.  😉

Interesting tidbit about the mini's.

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1 minute ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Thanks. I thought it was 3 but changed my post.  😉

No problem. We actually sailed on all 3 of the R class ships owned by Princess as well as the R-1 now owned by Oceania. Personally they were some of our all-time favorite ships. Number one on my list is the original Royal Princess which left the fleet in 2005.

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2 hours ago, cflutist said:

Oceania has 4 of the R ships currently. They are currently updating all of them.

The Tahitian/Ocean Princess is the Sirena on Oceania. I sailed on their Nautica last summer for 20 nights, fabulous cuisine that puts Princess to shame.

Screenshot_20200120-140454_Chrome.jpg

 

I sailed on the Insignia loved eating meals on the stern.  Great cruise.

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BTW: if there are enough "kids" booked on the cruise, there is a kids club (sort of). On our first Pacific P. cruise there were around 10 or so children. Princess had 2 kids club ladies to watch over the young ones. They used the card room for their play room. Played games, took tours around the ship, went to the buffet for ice cream. It was nice to see them being escorted around instead of running wild with no supervision.

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Whatever ship is the Azamara Quest is one of my favorites.  Saw the refurbish video on youtube and the Pacific Princess looks nice.  I'd consider booking it if they did overnights in ports like Azamara and more destination immersion itineraries.  They could have kept many of these ships and done a boutique line like both Celebrity and NCL did with Azamara and Oceania.  It's too late now.  They don't make ships like this anymore.

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I think Alaska would be a great time to sail the Pacific Princess. We sailed her a little over a year ago on the transatlantic and she was in great shape then. I'm sure, with the last, drydock, they have made even more improvements. For the 17 days we were on the ship, we never lacked activities. The entertainment staff on this ship operate a little differently than on larger ships. They are far more engaging and attentive. Before the crossing (leaving the Canaries) the ship picked up some crew families with kids. For the rest of the cruise, they could be seen providing entertainment and activities, probably tailored, for the kids. They were very good and from what I could tell, the kids were well attended to. If you choose not to have them that engaged, there will be plenty of other things for them. This ship does not have a lot of bells and whistles, but she is beautiful. I hope you enjoy your cruise. :classic_tongue:

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So I know I'm way off topic but have any of you that have sailed on an R Class also sailed on one of the Windstar motor yachts?  We were on Star Pride a couple years back and absolutely loved it.  10,000 tons; 200 guests.  They are expanding them a bit during retrofits currently underway.  Comparison?

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Just popping in to say thanks for the comments re Pacific - we're sailing her for the first time on the 12-day Alaska cruise in May and I'm very excited about it now.  Alaska is our favorite itinerary and Coral has been our preferred ship, but couldn't resist 12 days that included new-to-us ports of Icy Straits, Sitak and Prince Rupert and Victoria.  Yay!

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hello,  just saw this thread;  I read all the comments regarding this ship.  I have a few more questions and hope I don't upset the tea cart by my questions.

1. Does this ship have medallion net, if not what type of wifi does it have?

2. I did not see an int'l café on deck plans;  is there anywhere you can get something to eat late at night other than room service?

3. It seems the price of cabins cost more than the price of cabins on another princess ship; have you noticed this?  ie; I can book a full suite on island princess doing a med cruise for ten days verses a 12 day med cruise in full suite on pacific princess. Pacific is $5800 more.  Why would that be?  two days more should not warrant that much of a price difference

 

Thank you in advance for any info on these questions.

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1.  It is not Medallion and I believe it will not be converted.  I think the internet is the old Princess technology.

 

2.  Pizza perhaps?  I am not sure as I do not recall.
 

 

3.  The price difference may have an element of supply and demand.  The R Class ships, like the Pacific Princess, have very few full suites. I believe this makes them harder to book.  My three bookings have been sold out for some time.  My experience with the Owner Suites (aft) are that they are very large, have large balconies, a lot of storage, and 1.5 baths.  I cannot imagine anyone would need more than what is included.  I compare them to a Celebrity Royal Suite.  Therefore you might want to compare the type of suite.  

Edited by jagoffee
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