Inform me about Princess World Cruise Segment

[Eli_6]

We are experienced cruisers, but not on Princess.  I have been wanting to take a world cruise for years, but the problem is most don't run in the summer (kids in school) and my husband can't be out-of-contact with his business that long.  However, between Princess upgrading their internet and Princess offering a summer WC from Australia, I have been watching the 2025 wc segment from Sydney to Rome. For months the segment was showing as sold out. Finally, I got a balcony.  Then, today, I was able to snag a second nearby inside room...which works out well for us. So, we are all set with two rooms for my family of four. 

 

I am taking my Mom on a scandinavian cruise in August 2024 so that will be my first experience on Princess and I hope will allow me to "dip my toes" in the Princess pool and learn a little bit about her before I jump on a boat for 36 days.  We are platinum on Carnival so that is one reason I have looked at Princess...figuring that at least some of the things would be similar but (hopefully) just a little nicer. (For example, it is a BIG deal to me to have self-service laundromats on a ship and some lines do not.)  What can I expect from a Princess WC?  How will it be different from my upcoming shorter cruise with Princess?  How will it be different from Carnival? 

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, Eli_6 said:

What can I expect from a Princess WC segment?  How will it be different from my upcoming shorter cruise with Princess?

You may not notice any difference on the segment vs. a short cruise.

We did a segment on the Pacific Princess (back when she was still in the fleet). The only difference we could see was that the crew knew the names of all of the world cruisers. It was like one big, happy family. Of course, there we only 600 passengers total and probably 300-400 that were on for the WC.

[Rick&Jeannie]

37 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

You may not notice any difference on the segment vs. a short cruise.

We did a segment on the Pacific Princess (back when she was still in the fleet). The only difference we could see was that the crew knew the names of all of the world cruisers. It was like one big, happy family. Of course, there we only 600 passengers total and probably 300-400 that were on for the WC.

I *believe* we were on that same segment as you! Was this the FLL to LAX beginning segment in 2020? We fell in love with the Pacific Princess and then they went and sold it during the pause! Bummer!

[JF - retired RRT]

3 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

I *believe* we were on that same segment as you! Was this the FLL to LAX beginning segment in 2020? We fell in love with the Pacific Princess and then they went and sold it during the pause! Bummer!

I had to check. Yes! We did a B2B...LA to FLL and FLL to LA.

I keep hoping they'll do that variation again. Usually it's FLL to LA and LA to FLL. We don't want to do the flying.

[sewgood]

5 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

How will it be different from Carnival? 

On the WC leaving from AUS/NZ, there won't be many children onboard as we do not have a long winter school break during that time down here and long Princess cruises tend to have a low number of children on board anyway.

In saying that I was on a long relocation and the the small amount of children onboard were spoilt by both the crew and fellow passengers.

[Tranquility Base]

6 hours ago, Eli_6 said:

What can I expect from a Princess WC?  How will it be different from my upcoming shorter cruise with Princess?

The majority of passengers will be from Aussie or NZ.

Therefore, if the ship runs out of Vegemite (as the 2023 WC did for a short time), there will be quite a few grumbles.

The Kiwis won't mind as they'll have their own supply of NZ Marmite.

 

The onboard currency will be AUD.

When you look at the drinks menu the price you see is the price you pay.

There are no gratuities added onto the displayed bar menu prices.

 

Someone on the roll call may take the lead and organise various onboard meet ups; eg: a lunch in the dining room every couple of weeks.

A great way to keep in touch with / meet new people.

 

As mentioned, there won't be many children on board ( perhaps less than 10 ).

The crew will really try to make their cruise extra special.

 

Avoid the tendency to overpack.

As you mention the self service laundries are there for a reason.

[Tranquility Base]

Three other things.

Take a supply of chemist items with you.

Buy these in Sydney. 

 

If you want small amounts of cash to walk ashore with until you find an ATM (eg Euro), Singapore has plenty of money changers at reasonable rates.

 

22 sea days.

Whilst most people settle into a sea day rhythm which makes the days pass quickly, it does pay to be prepared in case of bad weather.

On those days activities & entertainment will likely be curtailed, but also there will be more people inside in the public spaces.

Have a thought as to how best to handle 2 or 3 days in a row in such a case.

Edited December 31, 2023 by Tranquility Base