GrannasVacay

2 hours ago, MonikaJ42 said:

Thank you for the taking the time to provide your review.  I'm not going to lie, I am a little worried about how the negative reviews just keep coming and the common areas of complaint are the same in almost every review.  I think i just have to set the bar low and hopefully be pleasantly surprised or I will be on the news as I have jumped off the ship (dark sense of humor, sorry). 30 days to go until we board so still a little time for things to improve....we hope!  

to be fair... the excursions were great and while I was disappointed with a lot of things shipboard, many people loved it. My sister and brother in law sailed on a Princess ship last December and raved about it. They felt let down for this as well. I am a Royal Carribean fan so maybe I overhyped this in my head. 🙂 Everyone is going to have a different experience and while those things were not great, it didn't diminish the fantastic time we had in Europe. My opinion is my own and as you can see in the commentors in this thread not everyone will agree (which is totally ok). 

36 minutes ago, voljeep said:

please expand on this ... sales pitches, of course ... are your trapped and can't walk away?  we need to know what to avoid

 

nobody grabs my money, sorry , Princess or otherwise

 

 

One example - we went to Good Spirits to watch a 'mixology' show. It was half video and half watching the bartender make a drink and then tell us we could order it. All the onboard 'things to do' were geared towards the shops. Go and sample wines and then buy them. Go and see the watches on display... I saw very little trivia, bingo, cooking demonstrations, poolside games, etc. 

On 7/11/2024 at 1:04 PM, MonikaJ42 said:

We are booked on the October 19th sailing. I have been checking reviews and most are very negative and I can't understand why?

Its a new ship so I get there would be some hiccups but the Icon is new and it has rave reviews hence why RCCL prices are ridiculous right now.

 

Any comments? 

 

Regardless I'm looking forward to the cruise.  Its going to be my first Princess cruise in over 15+ years!

We just returned last week from the Sun Princess. And it left a LOT to be desired. The ship is tastefully decorated and beautiful however, the staff all seemed far too busy to be engaged with the cruisers on any level. The food was subpar. Chain restaurant quality at best. The main dining room was nice, but it was all about rushing you through your meal to get out (and we had the late evening reservation so it's not like they needed the table). Cabins were beautiful and spacious, and I had no complaints (the beds were divine!). Our stateroom attendant was kind, responsive and attentive. The Spellbound dinner was disappointing (I would not do it again if I were to sail Princess again). Two of my biggest complaints were the lack of anything to do onboard that wasn't a sales pitch and how all the alcohol tasted watered down with the exception of wine and beer. No waitstaff roaming to assist with food or cocktail service - they rely on that app which is as useless as all get out. you were better off standing in line for 20 minutes to get an order in. 

All in all, it was disappointing and did not live up to the hype. Also many of the 'big ticket' areas were often closed for weddings. The entire Dome was closed for an afternoon for a wedding. Everything felt like a money grab. 

On 5/10/2024 at 12:46 PM, GrannasVacay said:

I tried to book for my cruise in Aug/Sept. It doesn't let me. side note, I LOATHE the app. It is clunky at best. I find it's easier for me to go to the website and use the web version of the app (obviously I'm going to have to grin and bear it when we are on board but for now it's obnoxious). 

I was finally able to book it. Excited!

On 5/25/2024 at 1:47 AM, NeutralNovice said:

Just to sorta hijack... I am on the Nov 9 sailing and I still can't book Spellbound or Love.  Hopefully I'll be able to book on board or better yet, bookings will open up soon.

I booked for our Aug Cruise. Maybe it’s just not available yet?

On 4/30/2024 at 3:02 PM, cynbar said:

It's 6 weeks before our Sun cruise and we still can't make dining reservations, which is contributing to all the concern. Apparently no reservations are available yet for cruises after May. It just all seems so confusing and unnecessary. All the other Princess ships can make reservations after final payment, or earlier for Elite and Platinum. But thank you everyone for the input.We may not know much more until we board, sadly.

We are sailing in August. Don't know if you have tried since this post, but if you are arriving a day or two (in our case 3) ahead of the cruise, obviously you can't reserve shipboard dining on those days. The confusing thing is on the app your days prior to boarding the ship are listed as 'day 1, day 2, etc'. It took my s-i-l and I 20 minutes to figure out what we were doing wrong. 🙃 

I tried to book for my cruise in Aug/Sept. It doesn't let me. side note, I LOATHE the app. It is clunky at best. I find it's easier for me to go to the website and use the web version of the app (obviously I'm going to have to grin and bear it when we are on board but for now it's obnoxious). 

4 hours ago, Esprit said:

As for the Sun Princess, we can't wait to board this August for 14 nights. Nothing reported so far has put me off in the slightest.

Agreed. The closed thread for the Sun was filled with some of the most critical posts I've ever seen! Nothing and I mean nothing, goes right on an inaugural season of anything! Bugs have to be worked out, they need to review the feedback on new features, determine what needs correcting and what doesn't. Work time in to make those corrections. Folks aren't even giving it a chance and complaining 'back when I sailed on such-in-such...' or 'quality sure has gone down hill' when they haven't even let the dust settle on this.  To cancel is certainly anyone's prerogative, but it seems a little hasty to do it. 

Just now, eroller said:

 

I would too.  I would just prefer Princess be straightforward and transparent about what is happening.  They have handled this debacle very poorly, showing little respect for their “valued” guests.  

Just now, eroller said:

 

I would too.  I would just prefer Princess be straightforward and transparent about what is happening.  They have handled this debacle very poorly, showing little respect for their “valued” guests.  

Fair point. 

3 hours ago, eroller said:

That was the rumor yes, but not confirmed by Princess.  
 

And if the real reason then probably a blessing since it could have been disastrous having a water contamination issue with passengers onboard.  

I actually read an Italian article about the strike before Princess gave their reason. But honestly, if they are working on things to make it right, then I'd rather have that then putting me at risk sailing on a ship that has potential problems. 

2 minutes ago, eroller said:

 

Well this is the second cruise canceled.  It’s quite possible the same “technical” issue is responsible for canceling both cruises, in which case Princess has known about it for some time. 
 

Of course there is no way of knowing for sure, as Princess is being purposely vague.  A water contamination issue is likely something they would want to keep under wraps.  

The first cruise date was delayed because of union issue with the builder - it stalled work on many of their ship builds.