176 (+/- 3) pax on the Grand Nov 20-28

[PRNole47]

Yep, there were anywhere from 173 to 179 total pax (depending on which crew member one spoke with) aboard the Grand's Coastal CA plus Cabo Nov 20-28 cruise out of Long Beach.  They were scheduled to have appx 200+ on their follow-up cruise and then jump to about 1,000+ for their Dec 5 sailing.

 

Felt really bad for that crew.

Edited November 29, 2021 by PRNole47

[pms4104]

Thanx for the numbers.

 

For how long can this be sustainable?

Edited November 29, 2021 by pms4104

[Level six]

We were on the 2 previous cruises.  The crew were bored to death.  We saw a photographer pace around for 3+ hours, only taking a few photos.  When we talked to him later, he said it was hard and the time passed so slowly. 

 

The Nov 5th(5 day) had 300 passengers and the Nov 10(10 day) had 600.  We never saw a single person in the hall leading to our room. Nor did we ever share an elevator. 

 

I mean, it was nice to have so much space and never wait for anything, but it was boring for the crew.  The cruise directors staff were literally begging people to participate in games. I don't know how this will end for the cruise lines.

[Sea Hag]

Wow! That's not good.

[victory2020]

They put on about 200 this cruise. I want to go on the Grand this month but the prices have gone up in the last few weeks. They are not discounting these like they are the Majestic, I don't understand why. (though the 10 day Christmas cruise has no single supplement)

[Syracusefan44]

Like many of us on this board I have quite a bit of money tied up deposits and shore excursions on cruises from 2022-2023. 

 

The news about the omicron variant coupled with the fact Princess is operating ships with 200+ passengers onboard is very concerning since they will be facing bankruptcy if things don’t change soon. 

[franktown]

When I talked to my PVP this morning she told ne that they have less than 1k passengers booked on the Sky for February 12 out of Fort Lauderdale.  She didn't know how many less.  Tons of rooms available in every category.  I didn't expect it to sail full but under a 1000 was a surprise.  What also surprises me with that less than 1k passengers is how much the cruise has gone up in price since I booked.

Edited November 29, 2021 by franktown
add

[cruisingrob21]

Very interesting.  Sailing on the Majestic later in December and wonder if the holidays will pull more passengers.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, franktown said:

When I talked to my PVP this morning she told ne that they have less than 1k passengers booked on the Sky for February 12 out of Fort Lauderdale.  She didn't know how many less.  Tons of rooms available in every category.  I didn't expect it to sail full but under a 1000 was a surprise.  What also surprises me with that less than 1k passengers is how much the cruise has gone up in price since I booked.

I bet she was not supposed to be revealing info about passenger load for a voyage still being sold.

[lx200gps]

Very interesting. Our trip this past week on the Sky had a little over 2000 pax and the follow-on trip has about 1700.  I can relate to the comments about the crew being bored, even on our trip which was half full. Many times over the course of the week, in various venues, a waiter would bring us our drinks, then stand there and yak with us for 10 or 15 minutes. Even when we wanted some "private time" they would just stand there, and it really seemed like they simply needed someone to talk to.  Needless to say, the service from these "bored" crew members was superb.

[cruisingrob21]

I think for the cruise line its a real challenge on the larger ships.  While the largest and newest are the most economical to operate, it still requires they hit a certain number of passengers.  Presumably the royal class ships sailing 60% full can probably almost break even vs some smaller ships needing to sail almost full to cover fixed operating costs.  But, the smaller ships' crew needs are less sensitive to variations on passenger counts.

 

It's kind of funny when you think about it.  Cruise lines always point out how dynamic they are when it comes to avoiding weather or port issues and still delivering a consistent vacation experience.  Yet the one thing that is almost static is the number of crew - they can't drop 100 crew off for 2 weeks very easily whereas a land resort can more easily scale down staff when not needed.

[Syracusefan44]

I bet Princess now wishes they did not invest in these mega ships since cruise ships with capacity like the Island, Coral, and Pacific (sold) are the perfect size for cruising in the COVID19 era. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

As a passenger, those numbers are a dream! As a company, I’m sure those numbers are a nightmare.

[Level six]

It was definitely a dream!!  It was just like the commercials show..........I don't even know if I can ever enjoy a cruise again after this experience, it was amazing. But, I do feel sorry for Princess. 

[pms4104]

Not seeing comments that other lines are experiencincing such low occupancy.

 

Even for 800, 900, 1000 pax on a Princess ship, Royal Class or not, the percentage of pax is amazingly low.  

 

What is different about Princess ... when other lines are at 50 or 60%?

 

Has all the MedallionClass promo deterred potential bookings?  Has that program burped and hiccuped once too many times?

 

I don't know ... but the numbers are not sustainable, particularly when one considers that so many bookings are now being coverrd by FCC, cash long since spent by Princess.

 

 

[john watson]

When you think about it looking back Princess, like many other cruise lines had ships not going on any cruises anywhere.  Now they are hoping to get back to normal it is inevitable low numbers will be typical until full confidence returns with potential passengers.  People do not want to comply with all the regulations or follow new procedures once on board, therefore for this and a number of other reasons people are booking in far smaller numbers.

 

People might think Princess might regret ordering a number of new  mega-sized ships but I think the reality is that Carnival Corporation order the ships and then land the various cruise line brands with them.  The brands then need to try and work out the best thing to do with what they have been allocated.

 

Regards John

[milolii]

2 hours ago, pms4104 said:

Not seeing comments that other lines are experiencincing such low occupancy.

 

Even for 800, 900, 1000 pax on a Princess ship, Royal Class or not, the percentage of pax is amazingly low.  

 

What is different about Princess ... when other lines are at 50 or 60%?

 

Has all the MedallionClass promo deterred potential bookings?  Has that program burped and hiccuped once too many times?

 

I don't know ... but the numbers are not sustainable, particularly when one considers that so many bookings are now being coverrd by FCC, cash long since spent by Princess.

 

 

I agree.  I am not  seeing threads like this on other forums.  I mostly follow NCL though.  

[LACruiser88]

Something that has not been mentioned in this thread is the age of the Grand.  It is now the oldest ship in the Princess fleet and shows her age.  It is in the LA market competing with the Majestic, a much newer and more luxurious ship.

 

IMHO this was a major marketing mistake by Princess.  If I have to pick between two ships, cruising similar itineraries, I will pick the newer ship.  We have and so have many others, as the Majestic has been sailing with around 1,500+/- for the past couple of months out of San Pedro

[victory2020]

1 minute ago, LACruiser88 said:

Something that has not been mentioned in this thread is the age of the Grand.  It is now the oldest ship in the Princess fleet and shows her age.  It is in the LA market competing with the Majestic, a much newer and more luxurious ship.

 

IMHO this was a major marketing mistake by Princess.  If I have to pick between two ships, cruising similar itineraries, I will pick the newer ship.  We have and so have many others, as the Majestic has been sailing with around 1,500+/- for the past couple of months out of San Pedro

But they are offering deep discounts on the Majestic( $377 for inside cabin this week) while the Grand started at $479. I would be on the Grand right now if it was at $377 - I don't like the larger ships. 

[brisalta]

On 11/29/2021 at 1:09 PM, cruisingrob21 said:

I think for the cruise line its a real challenge on the larger ships.  While the largest and newest are the most economical to operate, it still requires they hit a certain number of passengers.  Presumably the royal class ships sailing 60% full can probably almost break even vs some smaller ships needing to sail almost full to cover fixed operating costs.  But, the smaller ships' crew needs are less sensitive to variations on passenger counts.

 

It's kind of funny when you think about it.  Cruise lines always point out how dynamic they are when it comes to avoiding weather or port issues and still delivering a consistent vacation experience.  Yet the one thing that is almost static is the number of crew - they can't drop 100 crew off for 2 weeks very easily whereas a land resort can more easily scale down staff when not needed.

 

The number that I have seen published is 50% capacity is the point at which the cruise ship makes money.

[brisalta]

7 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

Something that has not been mentioned in this thread is the age of the Grand.  It is now the oldest ship in the Princess fleet and shows her age.  It is in the LA market competing with the Majestic, a much newer and more luxurious ship.

 

IMHO this was a major marketing mistake by Princess.  If I have to pick between two ships, cruising similar itineraries, I will pick the newer ship.  We have and so have many others, as the Majestic has been sailing with around 1,500+/- for the past couple of months out of San Pedro

 

The Grand Princess is the much nicer ship IMHO. It has a proper promenade and it has an indoor pool that is usable on cool days.

[john watson]

On equal priced cruises with these two ships on identical itineraries I should favour the Grand which is even better than other later Grand class ships which featured an extra deck. I think a problem which many people do not understand is how younger cruisers think and what their preferences are in terms of what the ships offer.  Sometimes they may even choose having a number of false assumptions and incorrect information.

 

Regards John

[LACruiser88]

2 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

The Grand Princess is the much nicer ship IMHO. It has a proper promenade and it has an indoor pool that is usable on cool days.

I guess that is why they kept her around?  Different folks like different things.  Btw, the Majestic also has an indoor pool.

[srpilo]

5 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Something that has not been mentioned in this thread is the age of the Grand.  It is now the oldest ship in the Princess fleet and shows her age.  It is in the LA market competing with the Majestic, a much newer and more luxurious ship.

 

IMHO this was a major marketing mistake by Princess.  If I have to pick between two ships, cruising similar itineraries, I will pick the newer ship.  We have and so have many others, as the Majestic has been sailing with around 1,500+/- for the past couple of months out of San Pedro

 

Its good to remember when the Grand was deployed to Los Angeles from SFO for the 2021 season, she wasn't intended to complete with the Majestic at all, but rather to handle the Hawaiian schedule which as you know personally was interupted by the Hawaiian Government, and to a lesser extent Covid.   Hopefully come January she'll return to her slated schedule and passenger loads will return.

 

IMO she's still a great ship 😎

[LACruiser88]

31 minutes ago, srpilo said:

 

Its good to remember when the Grand was deployed to Los Angeles from SFO for the 2021 season, she wasn't intended to complete with the Majestic at all, but rather to handle the Hawaiian schedule which as you know personally was interupted by the Hawaiian Government, and to a lesser extent Covid.   Hopefully come January she'll return to her slated schedule and passenger loads will return.

 

IMO she's still a great ship 😎

Very true, I had forgotten...