Pickels

On 4/18/2024 at 9:01 AM, EbayCruiser said:

We booked the Caribbean Princess for a 6 night cruise for March '25.  There are four of us (all ladies) with 2 rooms (mini-suite with the reserve package).

 

We have never cruised Princess before but I have cruised on Holland America, RCI, & Disney once.  Looking for good food and a nice, clean ship.

 

Reading the reviews and see a lot of bad ones about old ship, sewer smells and bad food.  I realize all of this is subjective but we are paying a lot for this cruise with the reserve benefits.  

 

Now I have looked at a 4 night on the new Utopia of the Seas in October '24.  I have been on the Oasis class ships 3 times and really loved them but not sure about the crowds (children) and the food.

 

Thoughts?

Without a lot of detail, and, in a word:  NO!

1 hour ago, Huenemecruiser said:

Is anyone else having trouble with On Line Check In? I am at the 30 day point and can download my documents without a problem, but still can not do Check In. I have tried both the website and the app, and only get error messages. Last week I called Customer Service a few times and opened trouble tickets, but no resolution. Worst case scenario, I have to do Check In at the pier, but curious if anyone else is having this problem and if they found  solution.

Wow!  I see that Princess is not the only cruise line with "support"  issues! 

On 4/10/2024 at 5:57 AM, CalTexCruiser said:

Thanks for reporting.  We were originally assigned deck 17 penthouse suites but switched to deck 15 penthouse suites due to noise concerns from the Sanctuary.

 

With the large number of loungers in the Sanctuary I guess some noise would be inevitable during setup.

We've cruised twice on Princess, once on the Regal and recently on the Enchanted.  We've relaxed in The Sanctuary on both cruises and what happens during the day {most times} is that people will move the loungers around to their preference during the day and, then the staff has to reset them to the original layout.  They usually do this in the evening, but, they may also do this in the a.m. thus, some noise in your cabin. 

Never saw a limit, just fill the laundry bag, fill out the form as to what you're packing.  With all of our cruises, with several cruise lines, never had an issue with stuff missing, but, there's always a first time. 😃

39 minutes ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

You are incorrect. 
 

If you are invited to the Go Lounge in Fort Lauderdale (mostly suites), it’s an area before the cruise terminal to wait to board the ship. They will then bring you to the ship and you cut all lines and basically walk on the ship.  While in the GO Lounge they will take dinner reservations, spa reservations AND Sanctuary reservations. 
 

Now it didn’t work for us because our suite concierge onboard was inept at her job (she was awful the entire cruise) but someone else posted that it worked for them as they were on a different ship and had a much better suite concierge. 
 

They wouldn’t take your Sanctuary reservation request if they hadn’t planned to try and make the reservation.  We told them we wanted two together in the shade on all sea days. They then phoned the ship and spoke to the suite concierge to take care of it. They confirmed that the suite concierge was taking care of it and we should get confirmation in our room. 

Wow!  that's great news!  Thanks for the update.  It eliminates the problem of rushing to get to the Sanctuary when on board, and getting knocked over by inconsiderate people.  (happened last cruise when some idiot almost knocked me down getting out of the elevator).  Thanks again! 

4 hours ago, Crown Cruiser said:

We have been lucky enough to pre cruise at the GO Lounge 2 times.  The first time we were in a reserve class mini so we wanted the Sanctuary.  The concierge at the Lounge (Anthony) called over to the concierge on board the ship to take the reservations.  Being a little cynical, we still went up to the Sanctuary as soon as we boarded to double check the reservation.  Manager said he know nothing about it, however, luckily he was able to fit us in for the week.  I believe that everything may depend on how quickly the concierge on board takes care of the requests.  

 

Our second time we were in the GO Lounge we were in a full suite and didn't need the Sanctuary.

 

The Lounge is a very nice pre boarding area.  Just double check the reservations when you get on board.

Reservations for the Sanctuary can only be made at the reservation desk in the Sanctuary; that's where they check what's available and process your request. 

Take a few minutes and write a letter to upper management providing your issue, that usually works better than a phone call or customer service.  Your letter will be passed down to a support staff, but I’ve found that usually gets results.

Can only reserve a lounge in the Sanctuary on the ship at the Sanctuary desk.  And be careful of those idiots who will rush to get to the desk; last cruise I had an idiot almost knock me over getting out of the elevator to get there ahead of me.  We got a spot and used it everyday for the entire cruise; that idiot and his wife only used it for one day.  Go figure!

Regarding Customs:  recently off Enchanted Princess in Ft. Lauderdale we noticed a significant change to Customs; much faster with what I think they call "face recognition".  Made going thru Customs a breeze. 

On 4/6/2024 at 4:20 PM, rideev said:

Can you still go to guest services the day you board and order flowers?

I ordered flowers for my wife for our anniversary; came on time and were very nice!

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

It’s not the variety but the quality. Also never knowing who has picked things up and put them back. I might do buffet once in awhile for lunch but for dinner I want 3 courses plated at a decent temperature. After all at home I would never go to Golden Corral 

Ok, but if you can’t find a menu selection that you like or can eat in the MDR, what are you going to do?  Skip a meal?

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Sorry the days of tuxes and suits are over. I no longer own a tie and no longer bring slacks, sports coat or long sleeve shirts on a cruise. I wear jeans or crew pants with short sleeve shirts. I have never seen a buffet where the food is better than the MDR on any of my 60 cruises

Depending on your preferences, there is more of a selection in the buffet.

On 3/29/2024 at 11:45 PM, landnsea said:

Just back from our Southeast Asia sailing Singapore to Tokyo onboard Diamond Princess. A wonderful adventure we had,crew and staff were great as always service wonderful in every way. Our second Princess sailing since the industry’s return from Covid. This is not the same Princess Cruises that we fell in love with cruising with. So many corners have been cut most if not all of the little things that ment the most to us are long gone.We did not once eat in the Horizon Court nothing and i mean nothing looked at all appealing. We enjoyed our morning breakfast in Sabatini’s as always. The evening dinners repeated itself though out the sailing no WOW whatsoever. No more Sterling Steak House or Crown Grill it was replaced with something they called the Brazilian all you can eat meat experience? I did speak with the Food and Beverage Officer The Maitre De and the Executive Chief each pretty much had the same thing to say in response to my questions. The menu choices in Asia change Not as many choices for the foodies onboard. That was very obvious to say the least. Our next two sailings are not with Princess we do have two open bookings on our books but nothing booked as of now. Feeling disappointed with our Princess Cruises as cruising is such a big part of our life. 
 

Landnsea

John Laura and Gaby

Seattle, Wa. 

Cruising has changed.
We’ve been cruising since 2003, one or two a year, with several cruise lines, NCL, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and recently Princess.  It seems to have gotten a bit more complicated and involved with new “enhanced” technology. 
     I come from an IT work environment and have worked with computers for more years than I’d like to admit.  So I’m quite comfortable with new technology.  But, when they roll out new technology that causes more problems and issues for people trying to reserve a cruise, it just makes it difficult for those trying to cruise.  Some cruise lines have rolled out new technology without fully testing the app.
    Then try contacting the cruise line thru customer service!   They hire staff for their “customer service” who don’t have the answers, give you the wrong information, or simply hang up. 
    We’ve noticed the cutbacks and price increases across the board.  
    The food selection has taken a turn for the worse, with limited selections.  When it’s better to have dinner in the buffet rather than the MDR; well, that’s not a good thing.  
    And since when do they allow guests in the MDR, to come with t-shirts and/or shorts for dinner?  
 

On 11/12/2021 at 12:43 PM, JAVERZ said:

We just returned from a cruise on the Ruby Princess.  Now I am wondering what to do with the Medallion.  Do you save it for another cruise?  Does it still store your  personal information on it?  Or is the personal information deleted when the cruise is over?  In other words, can anyone access data like credit card information, etc. that was entered into the Medallion App on your smart phone and was then available on the Medallion during the cruise?  Does anyone have any insight or experience with this issue?  Thanks.

We just add it to our photo album! 

19 hours ago, iankh said:

I had a Hawaii cruise booked on Princess that I canceled today. I wrote to them on four separate occasions about the crucial need for my husband to have vegan or vegetarian food, and to my dismay, did not receive a single reply to any of my emails (I believe waiting three months for a reply is more than reasonable). We had a previous experience, about 5 years ago, when we took our first cruise with Princess. The 'vegetarian' options on the menu contained parmesan cheese, which is made with rennet, an enzyme taken from the stomachs of cows or sheep. The kitchen did try to accommodate us, but since they could not disclose the ingredients, it led to a very distressing week. When I returned home I wrote to Princess and received a reply from customer service that was both unsettling and alarming. I was informed that they offer what they consider to be vegetarian food and that passengers consume the food they offer at their own risk. I should emphasize that my husband has a condition that could potentially lead to hospitalization, as it had done in the past, so the concern about meeting dietary needs was not trivial.

 

I looked at Princess again and thought that perhaps after five years, things had changed. To be proactive, I wrote to Princess explaining his physical condition and our past cruise experience with them. Silence. There was no response to my initial email or the three follow-up emails.

 

I recently booked a Holland America cruise to Hawaii and specified the dietary restrictions. I received an email back with the email address of their special needs department. To my pleasant surprise, within 24 hours, I received a personalized, detailed response outlining exactly what they would do to accommodate the diet and who I should speak to when we boarded the ship. They assured me that they take dietary needs very seriously, a stark contrast to my experience with Princess Cruises.

 

I know that many people here have had wonderful experiences with Princess. Our friends are very loyal to Princess. I'm also sure that others with dietary needs have had excellent experiences with Princess. But as they say, "Once burned, twice cautious."  It could have been a redeemable situation had they responded to my emails.

 

This posting is not about the merits of Princess vs. Holland America. I did not cancel our Princess booking because" cruise line—they're not. They're a very good cruise line in all respects except for this. This posting is about listening and responsiveness to needs. I canceled based on personal experience and their lack of response to me. I canceled because, for our needs, I simply don't trust them.

On a recent cruise with Princess on the Enchanted, I filled out my diet allergies on the app, and on the ship, when we went to the MDR the first night, our server had all my information.  She and the Maître 'D double checked my information and ensured me  that I wasn't given anything that I was allergic to.  Great job Princess!

30 minutes ago, mrrom92 said:

I am not 100% but I suspect, and would not be surprised, that the files they offer for phone downloading are not the same as what they would give you on a USB stick. They probably shrink them considerably for easy distribution over the ship’s network. I can only hope that’s the case, anyway. They clearly do have the full resolution files available for them to make prints of. 

Agree!

4 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Then what's the point? I guess they figure they are only going to be used to post to the web?

 

I've had good luck res-ing stuff up in Photoshop but I'm not sure you could do that with 16-20kb. That's obscenely small.

When they display the pictures in the studio on the ship, they are tack sharp but, the pictures they download for you are of the low resolution so you’re not going to print an acceptable print.  Just want people who are considering a photo package to know what they will get.

On 3/4/2024 at 1:21 PM, mrrom92 said:

Shame they only give small JPEGs. I would never pay for them if that were the case. I will only be retrieving them because they are included with the premiere package. So we go on the last night and they give us a flash drive or do I have to bring one with me? I have no interest in downloading these photos to my phone. 

You're right, 16- 20 KBs , (bummer).  On previous cruises, both Princess and Celebrity, when we did this, the images were much better and acceptable for printing. 

On 4/21/2023 at 12:30 PM, mtnesterz said:

Curious about the answer myself, meaning under the new Premier offer. There are three prints given in the Premier package, but don't know the size of the print, or if you have a choice of which photo, would think you would. They're always taking photos at ports, dining, formal nights... Unlimited download.

As far as downloaded images, they are digital files. I would think you could have them printed in any size the photo printing business offered. Again, if I'm wrong on that, I'm posting to learn.

We had the premier package and my wife and I got 3 8x10s each and all the digital photos downloaded on my phone in the ship's photography studio.  The 8x10s were great but the downloaded digital photos we got were of a low resolution, so when we got home and tried to print them, they had pixelation. 

the three (free) prints that we received were of excellent quality, tack sharp and properly exposed.  The digital versions that they downloaded for us at the photography studio on the ship were of such a low format that when you went to print them, they were subject to pixilation, (seeing the pixels).  Sure, you will get all of the photos in a digital format, but don't expect good quality prints when you print them at home. 🤒 

27 minutes ago, mknopick said:

Whenever I try to order my medallion for an Alaska cruise in July, it says "Can't load content". I've completed all the rest of the items on the checklist.

What am I missng?

A viable website that works! 

12 hours ago, Thrak said:

Sad. Truly sad. I've never had a "real" omelet on a Princess ship. Then again, what passes for hash browns is also pathetic. The "hash browns" at McDonald's are better.

Just got off the Enchanted Princess; each morning I would make a very simple request:  "Please scramble up two fresh eggs".  Boy, you'd think I asked for something out of the ordinary  Each time, the cook would look at me as if I had two heads.   One morning I walked away to get something and when I got back, they gave me a portion of the pre-scrambled eggs.  You could tell the difference just by looking at them.  Each follow-up morning, I would stay and watch. 

20 hours ago, gvre said:

We will be on the Emerald on Friday 15-day solar eclipse cruise through Panama Canal.

If your cabin is hot, will they bring you a fan?

Thanks

We just got off the Enchanted Princess; my wife asked for a floor fan, and our cabin guy said there's none on the entire ship.  So, bring a small desk fan!  We also asked them to adjust the a/c temp; tech came and said he could increase the fan speed on the A/C but, it really didn't do anything. 

Sorry my bad, forgot to mention the ship in question:  Enchanted Princess, thanks again.

Nope