Crown princess changed to Royal for Alaska

[mtnesterz]

9 minutes ago, Sailor75 said:

Hopefully Princess scraps the Crown. Since they can't fill their ships maybe they're consolidating cruises. With the service they provide I see why they can't fill ships.

Not likely. Built in 2006 and refurbished in '18. Most likely scenario is it will follow sister ships that transferred to P&O AU, at a future date. Ultimately ships are a big machine. Things break and can be repaired. Below the waterline is a tough one. As you read above, not only is the Royal replacing the Crown, but the Regal replacing Enchanted, or was it Emerald? Anyway, those cruises got cancelled. Opposite of a moneymaing move for them for sure.

I'm sorry you feel the way you do, 'cause you sound upset right now.  We have had our problems with Princess over 16 cruises. Things that could happen to anyone on vacation. And you just have to roll with it. But Princess has always made things right for us. Hope things work out for you too.

[hpeabody]

Hey ..... what about those of us who are booked on the Crown this year.  Are we going to be stuck with her.  Princess does not seem interested in fixing their problem, at least not anytime soon. IIRC the October dry dock was scheduled some time ago and not for the electrical/propulsion/barnacles or whatever the problem is.  If they do not change us to another ship, I will be cancelling.

[cruisingrob21]

1 hour ago, hpeabody said:

Hey ..... what about those of us who are booked on the Crown this year.  Are we going to be stuck with her.  Princess does not seem interested in fixing their problem, at least not anytime soon. IIRC the October dry dock was scheduled some time ago and not for the electrical/propulsion/barnacles or whatever the problem is.  If they do not change us to another ship, I will be cancelling.

The ship was operating at 19knots the other day so it would sound like most of the engine issues are resolved as it's close to the top speed of 22.  Obviously the new ships are more efficient and can operate at a profit with fewer berths sold.  I'd also guess that the high fuel prices is driving up costs and if the ships sail slower they can save money.  Since princess has already published the new itinerary details due to the crowns previous and/or current issues, it's easy to pass it along and save money by slowing down or skipping ports.

 

Supposed to sail on the sampler voyage on the crown in the fall.  Specifically chose this voyage over other 4 nt coastal voyages on the majestic, which I was moved to from the sapphire.  I have not enjoyed the royal class ships.  That crown voyage in the fall is still on, but a shorter crown voyage next spring was swapped with the royal.  I'll be looking to the volendam or noordam which offer a similar itinerary - this was the nudge I needed to make the jump I guess.

Edited June 15, 2022 by cruisingrob21

[cruisingrob21]

Some info for TA's indicate that shuffling of the crown is not necessarily related to the crown's issues - sounds like the austrailian voyages in fall of 2023 will be cancelled which were to sail on the Royal.  The Regal also had voyages cancelled next summer in the baltics due to the ongoing conflict in the area.

 

They don't show any of the new voyages but discuss that there will be an announcement soon for 10 and 11 day alaska voyages RT from Vancouver in 2023 and summer cruises from LA on the Emerald to Mexico, the California Coast, and Hawaii.  

[Sailor75]

7 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Not likely. Built in 2006 and refurbished in '18. Most likely scenario is it will follow sister ships that transferred to P&O AU, at a future date. Ultimately ships are a big machine. Things break and can be repaired. Below the waterline is a tough one. As you read above, not only is the Royal replacing the Crown, but the Regal replacing Enchanted, or was it Emerald? Anyway, those cruises got cancelled. Opposite of a moneymaing move for them for sure.

I'm sorry you feel the way you do, 'cause you sound upset right now.  We have had our problems with Princess over 16 cruises. Things that could happen to anyone on vacation. And you just have to roll with it. But Princess has always made things right for us. Hope things work out for you too.

Princess isn't making anything right. In fact, they're still selling cruises on that bucket of bolts they call Crown with a stop in Icy Strait Point and an arrival time in Juneau of 2:30. Then, they change the itinerary later, I guess after enough people book. That's immoral and they should be sued. That's not the kind of company I'm giving my money too, I booked my next two cruises on MSC. Princess knew of these propulsion problems a long time ago and they should've allowed anyone to cancel and get a full refund if the person wanted that.

[Sailor75]

1 hour ago, Sailor75 said:

Princess isn't making anything right. In fact, they're still selling cruises on that bucket of bolts they call Crown with a stop in Icy Strait Point and an arrival time in Juneau of 2:30. Then, they change the itinerary later, I guess after enough people book. That's immoral and they should be sued. That's not the kind of company I'm giving my money too, I booked my next two cruises on MSC. Princess knew of these propulsion problems a long time ago and they should've allowed anyone to cancel and get a full refund if the person wanted that.

And, in August they're still selling the original itinerary with Ketchikan and a noon arrival in Juneau; do they think it'll be a miracle cruise? From what I've read the ship will not be fixed until the dry dock in October.

[Ombud]

9 hours ago, Sailor75 said:

Hopefully Princess scraps the Crown. 

With current debt load and this ship having major issues perhaps they will

[llarsen]

We have 3 balcony cabins booked on Crown for this August 6th on Alaska cruise...

I just noticed it is 2023 sailings that are being switched.

Are they going to just limp along for the rest of this season missing ports?

Any possibility they might have it fixed or switch ships for this season?

 

Edited June 15, 2022 by llarsen

[memoak]

If this concerns people then don’t book any more cruises on the Crown. Lots of choices in Alaska or talk to your CVP about changing ships

[GottaLuvCruising]

Phew...thought this was about 2022.  

Edited June 15, 2022 by GottaLuvCruising

[cruisingrob21]

14 minutes ago, llarsen said:

We have 3 balcony cabins booked on Crown for this August 6th on Alaska cruise...

I just noticed it is 2023 sailings that are being switched.

Are they going to just limp along for the rest of this season missing ports?

Any possibility they might have it fixed or switch ships for this season?

 

Aida (of Carnival brands) just sold one of their older ships.  I could see Carnival continue to downsize its fleet and potentially sell off the Grand and then have the Crown replace those itineraries.

 

The fact that the ship has recently been operating at nearly 20 knots indicates that most of the problems have been resolved.  They may still have 1 generator offline (so can't reach top speed) but any significant schedule adjustments seem to be a choice rather than dictated by mechanical issues.  Going slower does save fuel and fuel aint cheap right now.

 

While its a bit unethical to operate the crown the way Princess is - not being forthright about issues and itinerary changes until just before sailing, they have every RIGHT to do so since I'm sure that's covered in the passenger contract.  Best anyone can do is just avoid - and TA's should be sharing this info as well.

[mtnesterz]

3 hours ago, Sailor75 said:

And, do they think it'll be a miracle cruise? From what I've read the ship will not be fixed until the dry dock in October.

What miracle would you then propose? Because that's what it would take to affect a repair prior to a drydock appointment. Don't get me wrong, I share your frustration about transparency. 

Your solution, is to give MSC a try and I hope you enjoy it. The food and onboard experience are... well, different. To each their own.

[Sea Hag]

17 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Our Alaska cruise was changed from Sapphire to Royal. Our large Caribe deck balcony became a tiny Caribe deck balcony. They assigned us the same cabin we had on Sapphire. We were told that the deck below was likely to be the Covid quarantine deck so we got moved up another deck.

The corresponding cabin on the Royal is a connecting cabin. I won't be keeping that!

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

The corresponding cabin on the Royal is a connecting cabin. I won't be keeping that!

 

When I didn't want to be directly above the Covid ward I had no problem at all changing cabins. They are letting people who are confined for Covid smoke on their balconies. Bleh. I didn't want to end up directly above someone smoking on their balcony or someone out on their balcony coughing and wheezing with Covid.

[1emerald1]

I just got my cabin assignment, C103.  The most forward balcony.  I will definitely cancel if I cannot find a midship cabin once the cruise is open on the web.  Oh, this is for the 7/08/23 sailing.

[PacnGoNow]

37 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

I just got my cabin assignment, C103.  The most forward balcony.  I will definitely cancel if I cannot find a midship cabin once the cruise is open on the web.  Oh, this is for the 7/08/23 sailing.

That was fast!  Did your TA or CVP email you?

[1emerald1]

3 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

That was fast!  Did your TA or CVP email you?

I received the e-mail from Princess.

[avic77]

We got the email too 😞 had the much sought after aft corner balcony on caribe deck.... Was moved to D720 on Royal. I have to get back on chat with TA line tomorrow to see if I can move cabins. Really disappointed as we booked well in advance because we wanted an aft corner balcony for this special 25th anniversary cruise to Alaska.

[Sailor75]

1 minute ago, avic77 said:

We got the email too 😞 had the much sought after aft corner balcony on caribe deck.... Was moved to D720 on Royal. I have to get back on chat with TA line tomorrow to see if I can move cabins. Really disappointed as we booked well in advance because we wanted an aft corner balcony for this special 25th anniversary cruise to Alaska.

Why all the sudden does Princess replace the Crown with the Royal? Do they not plan this in advance? Where is the Crown going?

[Sailor75]

10 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

What miracle would you then propose? Because that's what it would take to affect a repair prior to a drydock appointment. Don't get me wrong, I share your frustration about transparency. 

Your solution, is to give MSC a try and I hope you enjoy it. The food and onboard experience are... well, different. To each their own.

My point exactly, it would be a miracle to fix the ship before dry dock but Princess is selling cruises like it will be fixed before dry dock. And, who said anything about giving MSC a try? I've been on a few of their ships and I have met some of the nicest people from all over the world on much classier ships than Princess could ever dream about.

[Thrak]

28 minutes ago, Sailor75 said:

Why all the sudden does Princess replace the Crown with the Royal? Do they not plan this in advance? Where is the Crown going?

 

Propulsion issues on Crown have been causing missed ports or late arrivals resulting in shortened port stops. People who are actually on Crown Princess are extremely unhappy. Being moved to Royal results in changed cabins, small balconies, etc. but the ship does make all the port stops on time. We sailed in May and were booked in an aft Caribe balcony (nice big balcony) on Sapphire Princess. We were moved to Royal Princess and had a balcony that's more like a shelf. We weren't happy about the move but Sapphire Princess still isn't sailing with passengers and Royal Princess made it to all ports on time.

[caribill]

16 hours ago, memoak said:

If this concerns people then don’t book any more cruises on the Crown. Lots of choices in Alaska or talk to your CVP about changing ships

 

For this year at least, many people have booked flights with airlines and arranged for vacation dates that meet the Crown sailings.

 

Switching to another cruise which may originate in a different city and on a different day can be costly for those who cannot easily change vacation dates and/or have non-refundable airline tickets.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Propulsion issues on Crown have been causing missed ports or late arrivals resulting in shortened port stops.

 

Since the top is for cruises next year, the Croiwn propulsion issues should be repaired by then.

 

My guess for the switch: Royal can accommodate more passengers.

[cruisefan2012]

On 6/15/2022 at 4:52 AM, cruisingrob21 said:

Some info for TA's indicate that shuffling of the crown is not necessarily related to the crown's issues - sounds like the austrailian voyages in fall of 2023 will be cancelled which were to sail on the Royal.  The Regal also had voyages cancelled next summer in the baltics due to the ongoing conflict in the area.

 

They don't show any of the new voyages but discuss that there will be an announcement soon for 10 and 11 day alaska voyages RT from Vancouver in 2023 and summer cruises from LA on the Emerald to Mexico, the California Coast, and Hawaii.  

Any idea if there will be a Vancouver to California round trip cruise similiar to the 22nd September 2022 cruise from Vancouver to California in 2023? Also which ship? and more importantly what dates and when is the "announcement" due? got a tonne of Princess Cruises, British Airways snd WestJet credit to use up

 

I was booked on the 22/09 Vancouver to California cruise on Crown Princess, Long story short I cancelled my cruise & entire holiday...I'd be truly pi££ed to get on Crown and miss ports especially as I will be coming from the UK 

[Cruise Wonderland]

This notification gives us the answer.

 

ROYAL replaces CROWN for the original 7-night voyages (roundtrip Seattle).

CROWN will have new 10-night and 11-night voyages (roundtrip Vancouver).