Princess Cruises has announced several significant changes to its transpacific cruise scheduled for later this year. These changes result from the need to clean the Grand Princess' hull prior to her arrival in New Zealand.
Customers who have booked the Transpacific cruise now have a revised itinerary with the elimination of two exciting port visits and an extended stay at sea.
Changes to the transpacific cruise aboard the Grand Princess
Princess Cruises has informed customers who have booked the transpacific cruise that it has made several changes to the Grand Princess' itinerary. The high-class cruise ship will depart from San Francisco on September 26, 2023.
The updated transpacific itinerary for the 107,517 gross ton Grand Princess now includes an overnight stay in Los Angeles, California.
The cruise will arrive at 23:00 on September 27, 2023 and depart at 20:00 on September 28. Unfortunately, guests cannot disembark during this hull cleaning call.
In addition, Princess Cruises announced that it has made the painful decision to cancel the October 1 call to Hilo, Hawaii and the October 8 call to Moorea, French Polynesia.
The letter to guests states: "Please note that the Grand Princess will be conducting a thorough hull clean prior to our calls to New Zealand." Arriving 27th September 2023 and departing on Thursday 28th September.
"As this is a hull cleaning call only, unfortunately guests are unable to disembark. In addition, we will no longer call at Hilo, Hawaii on Sunday, October 1 and Moorea, French Polynesia, on Sunday, October 8."
Papeete arrival and departure times have been changed. The ship will now arrive on October 9th at 7am and depart on October 9th at 5pm instead of October 8th as originally planned.
In addition , the Grand Princess will now arrive in Honolulu on October 3 at 9 a.m. and depart at 11 p.m. instead of the originally scheduled October 2 from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
To offset these changes, passengers will receive an onboard credit of US$200 applied to their onboard account. Customers who booked Princess Shore Excursions for Hilo or Moorea will receive a refund.
For ports with changed schedules, updated shore excursion information will be available in the Cruise Customizer over the next two weeks.
Several cruise ships are affected by New Zealand biosecurity regulations
The Grand Princess isn't the first ship to be affected by New Zealand's stringent biosecurity rules. Several cruise ships, including the Queen Elizabeth , Coral Princess , Viking Orion and Regent Seven Seas Explorer , have been denied entry to New Zealand due to regulations designed to protect the country's delicate marine ecosystems.
The Carnival Splendor was in a similar situation, having to clean her hull before embarking on her ten-day, four-port New Zealand voyage on February 13, 2023 .
Had Princess Cruises decided not to clean the hull of the 2,590-seat Grand Princess , she would have been denied entry to New Zealand.
New Zealand isn't the only country that has strengthened its biosafety protocols. Celebrity Eclipse 's May 22 voyage to Alaska was canceled due to marine growth on the hull .
The cancellation of the two exciting stops to Hilo and Moorea could cause displeasure among customers. However, most of those booking transpacific and transatlantic cruises are used to spending longer periods at sea, and many even squeeze in a few more days at sea, bringing the total to 14.
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