LabGuy64

Even if ALL you say is true.....and the designs work out as you fear they will?.....I don't really see the point....maybe Princess is ruining the Island....that it will never be as good as it is now. But all the hair pulling and hand wringing will accomplish nothing.

Either accept what she will be....and try to enjoy cruising on her.....or don't and show princess their error in the only real way you can...by booking elsewhere....It won't help the Island......that ship has sailed ..so to speak but, it may influence future refit decisions

So, I've studied and scanned both the pre- and post-refit deck plans....

 

Let's see: improvements? Hmmmmm....

 

1) - A slightly expanded and redesigned Horizon Court

2) - Looks like an International Cafe will replace La Patisserie

3) - Expanded Sanctuary

4) - And that's it

 

Literally EVERYTHING ELSE is a 'non-improvement':

 

1) - The compete removal of a major entertainment venue (the Universe Lounge)

2) - Reduction in size of a major onboard revenue generator (casino)

3) - The loss of all aft public viewing access on Promenade, Dolphin, Caribe, and Baja Decks

4) - An exercise and aerobics venue with NO windows to the outside

5) - No additional dining or entertainment venues

6) - No public spaces getting larger

7) - 110+ added staterooms and suites.

 

Now it's your turn. YOU compare both deck plans, and tell me if I missed anything. I'll be right here, waiting.

 

:cool:

 

 

P.S. Here's the post by Crystalspin on her Roll Call from November, but it appears her then observations on Crooners and the Churchill Lounge are not correct. I challenge you to find any real 'improvements'.

 

 

 

:D

My guess would be that even thoughs that Mean to tip at the end often get distracted by their prep to leave the ship and start running short of time ...and end up just end up tipping their cabin stewart as they are near.

After reading some of the replies, My guess is that those who remove the auto tip probably pick the drink package and the OBC and continue to remove the gratuity at the end of the cruise.

When it comes down to it, does it matter why the changes were implimented?.....Revenue for revenue's sake is why all corporations exist. The ONLY real reason.

The services and or goods they produce are for revenue...or more specifically profit.

Perhaps, since the changes are GOING to happen, and in the way Princess has determined ....right or wrongly....that is best for the line...you might use your energies thinking about possible actual improvements that might come from the refit rather than bemoaning the "butchering" of the poor Island....I can't believe the ONLY "upgrade" are the revenue grubbing additional cabins. Surely there must be something that the future cruisers would appreciate aesthetically and functionally on the new version of the Island.

Hi Brian,

 

I had thought of that also; the increase in revenue generated from a lot more of the Passenger 1 and 2 rates, versus that being paid by Passenger 3 and 4 rates. But does this all boil down to 'increasing revue' for revue's sake? Would they have done these drastic changes, and added over 110 staterooms and suites, had Island Princess not been redeployed from her West Coast and Panama Canal duties to the Mediterranean to replace Regal Princess?

 

:confused:

would have thought :cool: better for sarcasm...

:cool: Michael

:rolleyes: = sarcasm

 

:cool:

Happy sailing,

Jenna

The only thing with including it into the cost of the cruise is that it can start a second level of tipping (we are even seeing this with autotipping)......people feeling...or are made to feel that there should be a visible show by the individual that you are recognising the " effort " of the server (at the time service is given)....Personally, I think the whole tipping thing has gotten out of hand....the venue should be paying the server a wage for the job done...and a tip....should be extra....when DESERVED and not considered as it is now as an obligation by customers to supliment the servers income.

Tips given by custom encourages mediocre service. In my opinion....

Since we always pay gratuities, I would not have a problem if they were always included in the cost of the cruise.

 

Then, if we have exceptional service, we could (and do) reward those people individually.

 

Just my two cents.

You know what they say.....never say never.

This could NEVER happen to me :rolleyes:

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

not taking it any particular way...the thread has run it's course.....it's done

Take some with a grain of salt.....and maybe a little tequila. :D ;) :D

I've read a lot worse....there will always be "stiffers"....no matter where you go. We see it in restaurants a lot....people eating a nice meal and throwing a dollar or two on the table. :rolleyes:

Sure....

Some might not have known that you could stop the auto tipping.....but now..it's just people griping about how bad it is to stiff the staff...or those crying how it is justified because the pay more for their cruise...

Maybe not for you, but I now know several people that did not know this. :p

nothing "new" is being learned...

Why? It's a good discussion and as long as people are learning something, it's never a waste. :rolleyes:

I totally agree ...

next people will be wanting to bring cakes, and home squeezed juice because it is fresher comping from their private juicer...and healthier cause they added vegitables......

I don't think the issue is "homemade". There is no prohibition against the wine being such, so even if they determine that it is homemade, so what? The issue is whether the "waiter" at the table will understand that the contents in the bottle is vitis vinifera as opposed to contraband. No one is suggesting that the labels sold for home use are a dead ringer for commercially produced wine. And as for what is on the label, the labels are completely customizable. You want country of origin? State? county? appellation? vineyard designation? It can all be done. Alcohol percentage? Not sure. Besides. The "waiter type people" are not sommeliers or anything close to it. They are not there to determine if your wine is good, bad, or indifferent. They are only there to determine if it is wine, and how many bottles you have. It's not like you are trying to pass off a homemade wine as Chateau Petrus under the watchful nose and eye of Kevin Zraly. You are simply trying to show some waiter from Who_knows_where_istan that you aren't smuggling on scotch.

 

As for the last question--beats me. Seems like more trouble than it's worth.

Glass half empty guy hmm?

The outcome is pretty much known.

 

More passengers with the additional cabins along with less public space and no additional dining or entertainment seating capacity.

 

Sort of the same benefits to the passengers as the airlines have when they add two more rows of seats to existing aircraft cabins.

the only thing you can say for Carnival is they know their demographic.....and it has made them able to buy up all these other lines.....not saying its good for the other lines....but there way does work...for lower middle america and the young party crowd

When you look at their history all lines had different markets and different styles. Princess was in no financial danger when it was acquired by Carnival and I have seen nothing but standards drop on some lines ever sine Carnival got their claws in them. Namely P&O standards have deteriorated.

 

The thing about Carnival is that short gambling cruises are their bread and butter. That is their income. They know no other form of revenue raising apart from the style that made them. Princess made their revenue off the style of cruising we grew used to. Carnival cannot understand this concept as it is totally alien to them. What I find sad about Carnival is that they seem to treat all lines the same and all the good things are gradually going.

 

These changes of Island Princess reek of Carnival greed and is not the Princess style.

You have to do what's best for you however, if it was me....I would wait as long as I can (just not so far as I would lose anything at the time i cancel) I don't recall when they will be rolling Island out but when they do Princess will be putting up video on Youtube., i would take a look at the changes first.....you never know..i might be nice....at least you can really know what you are cancelling on.

LOL, I know, right. I was comparing Carnival to Carnival. Although my prior two Carnival cruises were far superior to my last 2 Royal Caribbean cruises. As for the large ships, I don't prefer them. That is another reason this is so sad, I think this new CEO is trying to turn all 9 of the brands under Carnivals umbrella into Carnival. The great thing about all the different cruise lines is there was something for everybody. Carnival and Princess have generally appealed to different people.

Have to say that is a really crappy way to look at things.....and if people are so hard up for money that they feel the need to stiff the staff then they have more important uses for their money than taking a cruise.

My TA in Australia advises people that they can have all grats removed, see the Guest Relations when onboard. This is correct. As we here tend to pay (for a cruise) in excess of what US folks pay, the TA uses this as an equaliser. I am not saying this is morally right but it happens and I have spoken to cruisers who do have all grats removed on the basis of "we paid more than many for the cruise so why should we pay additional". At the end of the day, cruise staff still receive way more money than they ever could earn at home and they sign up in droves for these jobs.

Is this friend getting everyone some OBC for everyone going on the trip?

while you can remove the auto tipping it does make giving the tips easier.

and if this "friend" dabbling in TA isn't getting any OBC your friend should transfer the booking.....getting the credits can partially or compleatly offset the gratuities depending on the level of the cabin and length of cruise (and maybe more besides)

I have a friend who is going on Celebrity with a group of friends. One of the friends makes all the travel arrangements...he's dabbling in TA.

Anyway, this is her first cruise and the group had a meeting to finalize plans and the guy that planned the cruise said they do not have to pay gratuities and they could tip staff as they saw fit...i.e., if someone isn't deserving of a certain % tip and someone is more deserving. Anyway the guy said if they go to the ship's purser when they board, and they can have the daily gratuities removed. :confused: Is this possible?

My common sense tells me it isn't....otherwise a lot of pax could do that and say they are going to tip and then don't.

No flames please...I told her I would post the question.

you own a Honda VTX?

If you go to your wine making supplies store and get a couple of adhesive wine labels and a couple of heat-shrink caps, no one will know the difference !

 

...VTX-Al

I second the darwin award nomination

Ya Think? Also might qualify for a Darwin Award.

Carnival fallen?...where could they have fallen to? they have allways been at the bottom......

Personally I don't like the small ships...more stable in rough seas....and as for entertainment...the bigger ships can justify richer and more varied entertainment as more money has been spent in fares etc. Just my opinion of course

I just booked a 15 night Panama Canal for next December. The fact that the Island Princess held less than 2000 was a big factor in my decision. I also liked that the promenade deck went all the way around. After seeing the new deck plans, I am seriously having anxiety about it. A 7 night port intensive cruise with the lower space ratio probably wouldn't be a big deal, but 15 nights with 9 sea days stuck on the ship with crowds of people, I don't know. We booked a Mini Suite, so we can always go sit on our balcony if it is crowded, but for the price paid, I expect some great entertainment, fun and food not just hanging out in my room. I booked under the Anniversary sale, so I feel I got a good deal. I don't want to do anything rash, but at this moment I am leaning toward canceling my booking. I read an article in USA Today about the CEO that came on in 2013. While his credentials are impressive, I am not impressed by the direction he wants to take the company. ie having the different brands work more together instead of compete with one another. Sounds good, but if you are going to turn Princess or HAL into Carnival, you are going to lose a whole niche market. I just returned from a 3 day Carnival Ensenada (not my cup of tea, but we did it as an inexpensive short girl's trip) It was my 3rd Carnival cruise and wow have they fallen. After reading the article I could see the influence of the new CEO in the onboard experience. I felt what I paid was an OK price, ( and it was quite a bargain) had I paid more I would have been really upset. Sad thing is it was my Daughter-in-Laws first cruising experience. They didn't even give separate forks for salad/appetizer/dinner, they just kept removing the fork from the plate they were taking and set it back on the table. Seriously, that is not fine dining that is coffee shop. So I am worried about not feeling like I have gotten the value I paid for with the Panama Canal cruise. Sorry for the rant, I don't know if I am looking for someone to talk me out of cancelling or to validate my concerns.

that's the trap of OBC....you tend to look at expensive extras differently......a 300.00 spa treatment....SURE...go ahead...we have lots of OBC.....Hey! let's try an expensive wine with dinner...we have OBC....then you take a look ......and the OBC is gone..and you ar down an extra 1500.00. And you are going......did we really spent THAT much?....lol :eek:

Hope so!! We once had $800 OBC and pre-paid gratuities and still spent too much!! Our next cruise is only one week long, we have pre-paid gratuities, beverage packages, and $300 OBC... I'm going to try to behave. :)

HEY I AM 6'8........more space is a necessity....Internet won't mean a thing to me.....I don't spend one minute on the net when I am cruising.....the wife does....a bit...maybe an hour all together

Depends on the couple, but the $429/28 hour internet package amounts to two hours per day per person. Easy to do or go over -- for us, assuming it is sharable between two different devices.

 

And the next package down is 10 hours/2 people/7 days --- we would def go over, so it's a no brainer.

 

 

 

I factor in both the additional space and subtract out the value of the amenities to determine the net incremental cost. Yes, second bathroom has a value..$5K, prob not. Spacious feeling...guess it just depends on how much money you have...more space is always better than less.

you, would really be on the net eough to rack up 500-1000 in internet charges in a week?!

and as to the other charges....I can't speak for everyone.....but I don't tally the value of each ammenity to decide if it is worth it....the overall package and how it will effect my overall enjoyment of the cruise is more important....also, it's nice to be able to share with friends....have a party in the room etc.....but mainly it's not the additional perks....they are an added benefit.....i just like the extra room of the suite.....big bathroom....Shower for 2...:).... big balcony...etc

This is how I would value this for a 7 night cruise:

 

* Complimentary Premium Beverage package

$58 x 2 + 15% = 853

 

* Complimentary unlimited Specialty Dining

$29 x 2 +15% = $467

 

* Complimentary unlimited Internet access

 

$429 to maybe $1000

 

* Complimentary mini-bar stocked daily with water, sodas, beer

 

Not highly valued by me.

 

So excluding free soda...that's $2000-$2500 I will otherwise be spending.

Supershuttle would not be my first choice.....ad not at all if you are pressed at all for time.It is possibel you might have to make other stops to pick people up....the times I have used it they made several stops ..having said that I have not been picked up from a cruise terminal for drop off at LAX....port to airport might be different. I would ask if there would be stops on the way before getting on though.

We will be getting off our cruise and need to get to LAX for a 12:30 flight. We will be using Super Shuttle. What time do we need to be off the ship? If I guess wrong (by picking an early time)will Super Shuttle still pick us up (they offer 4 different times)? How does it work for Super Shuttle in San Pedro?

 

Thanks

And which path are you talking about?.....just where do you see such perks leading Celebrity?

Personally, I don't care for ANY of the suggestions on this thread. I sincerely hope that the folks at X will have a good laugh around the water cooler after reading them.

Does that mean I'm criticizing? No. Just my opinion.

 

There are many options out there when it comes to choice of a cruise line.

All these "pay for perks" suggestions would take X down a path that I, for one, don't want to see it go down.

Bah......

I am not intimidated by Europe at all......every place in the world has areas of greater or lesser danger.....I would not advise you walk at night in any number of urban areas in the US....But, Europe is not especially dangerous....and not especially for Americans......Now the Middle East....no..it would not be particularly wise to be there as an American.....cowardly scum taking unarmed tourists and the well meaning fools that go there to help the poor and are kidnapped and killed for their attempted kindness

But, the UK had to deal with issues like this when they were the number one power in the world.....but, people alwasy gripe about having to make way for someone with more power and influence....be it a nation, lord.....or just someone with authority over you...

With the greatest of respect ... I hear what you say ........ and .. I'll bear it in mind. http://uk.businessinsider.com/what-the-british-really-mean-when-they-say-things--and-what-other-people-hear-2015-1

 

A mate of mine got mugged in Barcelona and it's probably got a higher risk of getting pick pocketed than Cartegena 2. A UK boxing champ got stabbed just down the coast. Europe is a terribly dangerous place which Americans should fear. But at least your chances of getting shot (by police or public) are less than the odds of winning the lottery.

 

.

Wow,

I so completly disagree with that you are proposing.....

Half of the reason I choose a suite are the special services the other levels CAN"T get....not because of snobbishness.....but because having them as part of a small venue they are done at a higher level of quality.

This by the way is why whe specialty restaurants work.....if iveryone went to them every night.....they would cook huge batches.....have to deal with more pax per server.....they would be ...the MDR....and while the MDR is not bad....I rather like many offerings it is not the same quality level that the specialties can offer.....just can't be done. they might offer 50 or so very exclusive packages for people that can't afford the full suite package but, want something special for an anniversary or the like.....anything more and quality will suffer

The cruise lines need to go full force with tiered pricing. Airlines are already doing it. Count me in as one of those who is tired of all the nickel-and-diming. I just want to pay one price and be done with it. I won't really do it with an airline as I just don't see the value in paying hundreds of dollars more for a 3-6 hour experience. But a 7-14 night cruise...yes, I will pay more to get more.

 

We are seeing it happening with Celebrity already in the high-end suite categories which now give all specialty restaurants, all alcohol, and unlimited internet so they appear to be moving in this direction already.

 

Maybe offer 3 tiers (regardless of category). Tier #1 would be essentially all-inclusive - all alcohol, all restaurants, all ala carte food items (gelato, etc.), all gratuities, one free excursion in every port, admission to all areas of the spa (maybe give one free treatment too to encourage people to buy more), free photo package, unlimited internet, etc. Tier #3 would be bare-bones - basically you would get your cabin, main dining room and buffet, main pool area and not much else. Then I'm sure they could come up with something in between.

 

By offering in all categories it would take away from the exclusive benefits that suites are now experiencing but maybe then prices could come down a bit on those cabins to be off-set by people paying for tier #1 in other categories. Then maybe suites can get a different group of benefits (transport to/from the ship, private club, reserved deck chair area, butler, etc.)

 

Customers want to have a choice. By being up-front with pricing like this it gives them that clear choice and allows them to create the cruise experience that's right for them.