2and2

We got our medallions a day before we left. Then when we were boarding they had a blue line and green line. We went in the green line. They had you check in with your medallion. To my surprise, it took us around ten minutes to check in. 

In my opinion, Princess waits to long to ship the medallions. We got ours the day before we left. It caused stress.  I know, I know, we would have been able to get them at the ship, but why wait so long.

  That was bad.  Wow seventy cruises and they are not interested in at least trying to make you happy. 

     I do not like how they tell you one thing then they say they didn't say that. Such as when I booked the cruise, they told me that I would have one complimentary specialty dinning on the first day. I went to make the reservations as sone as I got on board and and they told me I didn't.  Not even close to what you were told,(the ship will be ready to sail) but anytime you are lied to it really is upsetting.  Turned out the Main Dinning room was better than the specialty dinning anyways. Especially the waiters.

Here is what I would tell them and it is the facts.    I paid extra to be able to chose my room number . You agreed to book that room to me  and you did.  I have no interest in changing rooms. 

       To me this should not have even been brought up to you. This is something they need to address in the future if it is a problem for them .   

1 hour ago, TopofWorld said:

Hi ev1. As the countdown for my summer cruise with Sun Princess continues, I thought I would share my (subjective) impressions of Princess Cruises. This is our second cruise with them but admittedly many years have gone by ever since. So, overall to me Princess does not seem to be knowing what is doing at least IT-wise and customer service wise. 

1. Too many issues with their app - usually not working correctly, completely down, wrong information ....

2. Constant changes in my booking - they cancelled the reservation 3 times (their mistake) and my TA kept rushing to put it back on.

3. Dismal website and the need/command to only use their app for certain functions (checkin, dining reservations ....) makes it even more frustrating.

4. Booked a D2 cabin, and all of a sudden it became a D0 category with Signature benefits -now they say they made a mistake, no Signature benefits. No biggie (since when I originally booked I was not expecting such benefits) but still these constant "mishaps"do not instill trust.

 

As I said, these are my first impressions pre-cruise. I certainly hope I am proven wrong and happily surprised once on board.

I had same issues as you. I did not and could not use the app for anything pre cruise. I used the laptop to get ocean ready and medallions set up, and phoned in to make specialty dinning.   The only time I even used the app onboard was to use the deck map.  I agree, it was frustrating, but once I got on board it was really nice.

At the gelato stand I just got a scoop of gelato in a waffle cone.  I liked that I was finally able to try gelato. In the past, I would not get it because I had to pay for it.

    At certain times there was a long line, and they are not fast. I seen some in a half hour line. On the Regal the overflow of Gelato eaters filled up the tables at Vines. I went to Vines one day, and there was absolutely no seating let alone being able to get waited on. I was also surprised at how many I saw at Vines tables playing cards.

I had to call them. 

13 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

I had Steak/Lobster on night 6 in the MDR - it's on the menu as Land/Sea and was delicious.

I had this in the Main dinning room and also the Crown Grill. The service and flavor was actually much much better in the Main Dinning room. And yes it is cold water lobster. The Crown grill service and steak was disappointing, but the lobster was good, except for the cold drawn butter and cold plate.

Cecchini's cuts of steak.  Better have an open mind .

I had to call .  

Maybe the Italian sourced Florentine steak will be better than the 1/2 " thick Texas Nolan Ryan sourced Fillet Mignon I had  at Crown grill on the Regal last week. That is just wrong .

It took us 2 1/2 hours to eat at Sabatinis two weeks ago on Regal. I am not complaining, just saying I personally think if you can reserve a good time pre cruise, why not.

Thanks for the review. We were on the Regal the week before and had a very nice cruise.  My experience at Crown grill was the same as yours. I sprung for the upcharge for fillet and Lobster. I asked the waiter if the lobster was Spiny lobster or Maine lobster.  He said " yes it is the Main coarse". I ordered anyways hoping it was cold water lobster and it was. It was delicious. But when I dipped it into the drawn butter, the butter was cool along with a cold plate. I flagged down the waiter and asked him for some warm butter. He said " it is warm butter" and left. I survived.  Then on to my fillet mignon.  Now I know being from the Midwest I think I know my steaks.  This steak they served me was 1/2 inch thick and tasted like a sirloin like I think it was. (Nolan Ryan struck out with my streak).  But the lobster made up for the rest of the dinner. I have to tell you that the waiters I had in the main dinning room were ten times better than the ones I had in the specialty dinning. I even liked the food better in the main dinning room. 

   I enjoyed Vines also, but it was hard to get waited on there because the overflow crowd from the Gelato stand were using up the Vines seating.

6 hours ago, memoak said:

I am always amazed how people think they need to book in advance. We have been on 60 Princess cruises and have never ever had any issue with getting into the venues on the same day we decide to eat there. I have never seen any of the venues full after 7:30 or 8:00. We generally look at the dinner menu in the morning and if there is nothing that hits our fancy we get a reservation through the dine line. They never book every table in advance

The cruise before our last one only had 9:00 available when we booked on board for both dinners. And Crown had no time. 

35 minutes ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Amaretto Martini in Crown Grill Bar. Verdict is still in deliberation as to whether I'd order it again. 

Well then, go to Crooners and ask bartender Henry to make you a "Bugsy".  You have to like Irish creme . That is what my wife drank most nights. Henry made the best ones.

54 minutes ago, drwbrt said:

@Thrak @Host CJSKIDS No Luxardo Cherries onboard from what I can tell.  Mine have been coming without the cherry lately, I miss is 0%. I'm not here for the cherries.

I asked to hold the cherries also. At Crooners they were muddling both orange slices and cherry in my old fashioned.  They always were good about requests.

1 hour ago, New2cruise2022 said:

The views from the Sanctuary have been amazing. Including the luck of seeing whales having a great time. 🐋

 

 

 

 

 

You don't get to see that every day.  And it is amazing how you can see the curvature of the earth out in the middle of the Gulf. From a cruise ship you can understand why they thought years ago that the earth was flat and you could sail off the edge.

I went through the trouble of bringing a bottle of wine on board. I would never do it again.

I am wondering if you were able to review the main dinning rooms Famous Crab Cakes without the crab . They taste like mashed potatoes. 

   On the positive note, pretty much everything we got in the main dinning room was very good. I was surprised how good the fish was. And of coarse the creme brulee.

Just got off the Regal recently. We got $25.00 on board credit because we had to pay for our drinks until out of Texas.  I just had water at Alfredo's. We sailed away at 3:30. And the package was good at 5:30. Not a problem at all. We actually had a complementary bottle of wine waiting in our room that we did not drink. 

Nice to see many chairs wider and without the wood arm rest for us full sized Midwestern cruisers and those with hip pain..  The chairs on our recent cruise were mostly small.  We seen the tiny chairs in Princess Live and keep walking on by. Looks like they addressed that in many areas.

1 hour ago, pilot said:

Got off the Sky Princess last early this month.

 

It was very clear to see what was refundable. There were two lines on the bottom of the folio showing refundable and non refundable balances.

That's what I thought, but that is not what it was. I would have owed them if I would not have gown  to the desk to verify what I really had.  Don't ask me how to read it.

2 hours ago, memoak said:

You don’t use it to find friends, check folio, look at menus ?  Those are the best functions for me

I did check folio one time and I don't think a CPA could have figured out how much non-refundable credit I had. I had to go to the desk and even they had a hard time figuring it out.

I just got back from the Regal.  The only time I used the app was to look at the deck plan to find out what floor I needed to go to.   Seriously,that is it.  All that stress about the new app for nothing.

37 minutes ago, New2cruise2022 said:

We have encountered some inexperience at times, but the kindness is reciprocated so nicely. Inexperienced staff members still shine with good attitudes and appreciation for patience. 

You described the new bartenders perfectly. We encountered some inexperience also. But we also had some expert seasoned entertaining bartenders too. It is amazing how you get to know them.