Falling standards?

[C at Sea]

My daughter and Son-In-Law are freshly off Caribbean Princess having been on cruise from New York to Halifax and back for their honeymoon.

We did a similar cruise last September only a little longer - up to Quebec.

We very much enjoyed it and were happy with Princess despite being big P&O fans.

My daughter and her new husband have also been with P&O since their early years - infact they met on a cruise!

So appropriately, they decided to honeymoon on a cruise and we persuaded them that Princess would suit them fine.

However, they had a good time but were not impressed and said they would definitely be back to P&O in future!

According to them the food was nowhere as good and the entertainment was so bad that they got up and left on a few occasions!

The organisation was poor - they were given no disembarkation information at all and had to run round trying to find things out themselves!:(

Thing is, my husband and I are booked on Sapphire Princess in May 2013. That, too, is a "small cruise" like theirs. Are the week cruises not so good as the longer ones?

Whats anyone elses experience?

[WeBeGone]

Food and entertainment are very subjective. For each person disappointed they will be someone who loved it. And in our many cruises, the disembarkation information was always given out. Perhaps they just didn't see theirs? In any case, I wouldn't catagorize this as "falling standards".

[C at Sea]

No, they were not given any disembarkation information. As I said, they have been cruising for 16 - 20 years between them and they know what happens. They also are not fussy eaters and know whats good or not so good as far as food is concerned!

If one person dancing to a CD is good entertainment - I suggest that you take a P&O cruise to experience first class West -End standard shows. You are right though, it is all what you get used to - and they are obviously used to better!

Actually they did say some people on their table who were seasoned Princess travellers said that the standard on that cruise was not as good as it had been on their others.

I was just wondering if not so much effort is made with the shorter week cruises.

[Astro Flyer]

If you enjoyed the experience on your Princess cruise last September, then you'll enjoy it on your next Princess cruise. As said, things such as food & entertainment are very subjective but apparently your daughter & son-in-law must have different opinions than you because you "very much enjoyed it". We take a couple of Princess cruises per year & don't believe there's been a drop in their cruise experience. Some things improve while other things are gone and are now only a fond memory...just like most other cruise lines. I've never sailed on P&O but think there's no need to be concerned about your next Princess cruise. The Sapphire will have all of the updates from their newer ships & we enjoy their wider Promenade deck able to hold lounge chairs. :)

 

The only difference between a week long & a month long cruise is how well the staff gets to know their passengers. The longer the cruise, the better they know our needs but to me the service is the same no matter how long the cruise.

 

Mistakes are made but I've never not received our disembarkation info. If they weren't provided, contacting their cabin steward should have taken care of the problem for them or by contacting the PSD so they wouldn't have to run around to take care of it themselves.

 

Bottom line, I don't think there have been any major changes since you last sailed on Princess however maybe your daughter & son-in-law have different ideas about a Princess cruise than you.

[Loonbeam]

The issue with food is not necessarily a matter of quality. Sometimes it preparation. For example, I like my food fairly well seasoned. My dad couldn't abide anything other than plain food, no seasoning at all. So, based on the seasoning in the meal alone, I might find a meal excellent, where he would complain it was inedible.

 

P&O may have a different style of cooking then Princess, that alone could cause issues. And I would wonder about cost comparisons as well. I happen to agree about the entertainment, but that's not key for me, and since cheaper entertainment keeps costs down for me, that's a tradeoff I can make, but others won't.

 

On another forum, someone vented about how they went from Princess to Carnival and not everything was the same, as it should have been because they are all the same company, but they are not. Each line has their own distinct character, and different lines may work better for different people.

 

 

 

My point is not that they weren't disappointed by the way, its that their disappointment doesn't necessarily imply lower standards.

No, they were not given any disembarkation information. As I said, they have been cruising for 16 - 20 years between them and they know what happens. They also are not fussy eaters and know whats good or not so good as far as food is concerned!

If one person dancing to a CD is good entertainment - I suggest that you take a P&O cruise to experience first class West -End standard shows. You are right though, it is all what you get used to - and they are obviously used to better!

Actually they did say some people on their table who were seasoned Princess travellers said that the standard on that cruise was not as good as it had been on their others.

I was just wondering if not so much effort is made with the shorter week cruises.

[C at Sea]

Suppose the whole point is that we were on a different ship at a different time so can't compare our cruise with their experience, nearly a year later. Which is why I wondered if this was a case of falling standards.

Probably feeling a bit guilty because we told them they wouldnt notice a great deal of difference between P&O and Princess - but they did!

Also they were shocked that hardly anyone bothered to dress up for Formal Evenings like they do on P&O.

Oh well its a case of you try it and see! We can always swap our cruise if thats the way things are going!

[Astro Flyer]

Oh well its a case of you try it and see! We can always swap our cruise if thats the way things are going!

I still think if you enjoyed your last Princess cruise, then you'll enjoy your next one also because things haven't changed. ;)

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

We have sailed P&O and Princess, personally we prefer Princess, they are both under the Carnival umbrella, P&O mainly UK travellers Princess mixed nationalities as a broad rule.

We have sailed 7 day itineraries and found them different to 10 day + and again it all personal we won’t be doing another 7 day although we did a B2B2B we found the passenger demographic different to the longer cruises, IMHO Princess standards weren’t dropped the passengers were different.

[Beopthtuh]

hi

weve done both princess and p&o , we find food to be much the same.

each ship in the fleet is different .

we found arcadia pretty poor as a ship but found aurora a well organised ship.

as for the entertainment both cruise lines are aiming at different types of pasenger who expect different things.

we find princess staff a lot more attentive and freindly than p&o.

enjoy ur cruise on the sapphire she,s a good ship

[jools222]

I totally agree that it is an individual thing. My husband is firmly in the Princess is better court whilst I preferred P & O. As a foodie I think Princess was best & their cabin staff but when it came to entertainment & excursions, P & O offered more IMHO! Needless to say we now are thinking we will need to alternate annually! Shame we cant afford 2 a year. Wish I lived in USA!

[Times Prince]

My daughter and Son-In-Law are freshly off Caribbean Princess having been on cruise from New York to Halifax and back for their honeymoon.

We did a similar cruise last September only a little longer - up to Quebec.

We very much enjoyed it and were happy with Princess despite being big P&O fans.

My daughter and her new husband have also been with P&O since their early years - infact they met on a cruise!

So appropriately, they decided to honeymoon on a cruise and we persuaded them that Princess would suit them fine.

However, they had a good time but were not impressed and said they would definitely be back to P&O in future!

According to them the food was nowhere as good and the entertainment was so bad that they got up and left on a few occasions!

The organisation was poor - they were given no disembarkation information at all and had to run round trying to find things out themselves!:(

Thing is, my husband and I are booked on Sapphire Princess in May 2013. That, too, is a "small cruise" like theirs. Are the week cruises not so good as the longer ones?

Whats anyone elses experience?

From our experience there is no substantial difference between 7 day and longer cruises. There will be a little more variety in evening meals on the longer cruises, but that is only if one takes several cruises in a year. And as mentioned your wait staff and steward have more time to adapt to your preferences, and know you more as a person (we like to talk with them).

 

We have found some entertainment to be not appealing, especially comedians with jugglers a close second. However that is mostly our taste as we have had tablemates rave about the same acts we didn't care for.

 

Disembarkation - never in 17 cruises have we had an issue with not getting disembarkation information. Our steware always makes sure we have received the information, and we have noted that even the Princess channel on TV says (paraphrased here) "if you did not receive expected disembarkation information please come to the special service area of the Passenger Services Desk." However, I could imagine that, as they were on their honeymoon, they might have other interests than turning on a TV.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

I would say that there are very big differences bewtween short and long cruises out of US ports.

 

Short cruise more younger folk, less formal, entertainment main stream stuff the same but guest performers different,

 

P&O will be more formal just because more Brits

 

Princess food is different from P&O this does mean better or worse

 

One thing I think Princess is bad at is not giving a lot of info about what happens on board,

 

If you ask staff are more than happy to help,

 

on my first Princess cruise never found the mini golf, never new there was one,

 

like folks I have met never ate at International cafe as they thought they had to pay.

 

You will have a good cruise on Princess just do not be shy and ask,

 

like the Wii most folks never even know the ship has it.

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Disembarkation info on TV a last couple of days non stop.

 

Crew in ever lounge

 

Half way through cruise request for info on flights

 

Patter and disembarkation notice in cabin,

 

Room steward checking if you had details

 

Extra copies of info at front desk

 

 

How can some one not know what do.

 

Then if you do not know what you are doing when and where would you not ask the night before.

 

yours Shogun

[avalong]

My daughter and Son-In-Law are freshly off Caribbean Princess having been on cruise from New York to Halifax and back for their honeymoon.

We did a similar cruise last September only a little longer - up to Quebec.

We very much enjoyed it and were happy with Princess despite being big P&O fans.

My daughter and her new husband have also been with P&O since their early years - infact they met on a cruise!

So appropriately, they decided to honeymoon on a cruise and we persuaded them that Princess would suit them fine.

However, they had a good time but were not impressed and said they would definitely be back to P&O in future!

According to them the food was nowhere as good and the entertainment was so bad that they got up and left on a few occasions!

The organisation was poor - they were given no disembarkation information at all and had to run round trying to find things out themselves!:(

Thing is, my husband and I are booked on Sapphire Princess in May 2013. That, too, is a "small cruise" like theirs. Are the week cruises not so good as the longer ones?

Whats anyone elses experience?

 

I have not noticed any drop in standards on the Sapphire. I last sailed her in January. I have never sailed on the Caribbean Princess but I have recently noticed a few negative reviews of the New England/Canada itinerary.

[cdngrl]

I have not noticed any drop in standards on the Sapphire. I last sailed her in January. I have never sailed on the Caribbean Princess but I have recently noticed a few negative reviews of the New England/Canada itinerary.

i agree that there have been a few comments lately about the caribbean princess and this itinerary. i wonder if the honeymooners were on the exact same cruise? sounds like the staff were busy with passenger feuds on this cruise.

 

i haven't noticed a difference in how the ship was run, service, food, or activities whether it was a 3 day or a 30 day cruise.

[caribill]

The organisation was poor - they were given no disembarkation information at all and had to run round trying to find things out themselves!:(

 

Did they receive luggage tags to put on their luggage for disembarkation?

 

If so, the luggage tags were stapled to the instructions for disembarkation.

 

The instructions said where to meet and at what time based on the color of the luggage tags.

 

If they did not receive the luggage tags, then it is possible they did not get the attached instructions.

[cdngrl]

i've been thinking about this and i guess the short answer is no, i don't think there are falling standards. i have found some ships are run better than others though.

[Pam in CA]

As said, some things are subjective, such as food and entertainment. Some people prefer crispy bacon, some prefer barely cooked bacon, and some prefer Canadian bacon. Bacon on a British ship is more like American ham; different cut and preparation. The point is that one person will say the food is terrific and another will say,"Yuck!" at the same time. We were on the Sea Princess several years ago and a lot of the food and entertainment was geared towards British passengers. Our tablemates felt badly for us as the comedian's patter was funny to the Brits but meant nothing to Americans.

 

From just the "formal night dress" threads, you can tell that many Americans hate to dress up and will use any excuse not to. There are definitely differences between cruiselines, even those owned by the same corporation. These differences can affect whether you prefer one over another.

 

I'm amazed that someone didn't receive disembarkation information. I would venture to guess this is the fault of the cabin steward. Did they get the form to fill out with their disembarkation plans? Did they get their luggage tags (they're stapled to the instructions)? Even without the information in your cabin, it's difficult to miss or ignore the instructions. There's a notice in the Patter, a talk by the CD that's repeated continuously on the TV, etc.

[kendon]

In my experiences with the Caribbean Princess, I find the overall cruise experience a couple of notches below my other Princess ship experiences. Keep your current reservation.

[TracieABD]

A cruise it what the vacationer makes it. I have really loved the food on some ships and just liked it on others.

One of the best Princess cruises that I have been on was the CB. (I have to be honest, based on the CC panning of this particular cruise on this ship, I was really dreading it---I ended up being very pleasantly surprised!:))

[cdngrl]

In my experiences with the Caribbean Princess, I find the overall cruise experience a couple of notches below my other Princess ship experiences. Keep your current reservation.

good to know, although i am leery of trying one of this class of ships. i agree with you, in my experience the sapphire is a great ship.

[Carolyn R]

The CB is in no way inferior to any other Princess ship! I speak from experience.

[caribill]

For another view, see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1468180

[wrecks]

How about having your daughter and son-in-law post their complaints instead of second hand info. Would be helpful if they are looking for an explanation from us frequent cruisers. That is of course, if they are looking for an explantion.

[RickEk]

No, they were not given any disembarkation information. As I said, they have been cruising for 16 - 20 years between them and they know what happens. They also are not fussy eaters and know whats good or not so good as far as food is concerned!

If one person dancing to a CD is good entertainment - I suggest that you take a P&O cruise to experience first class West -End standard shows. You are right though, it is all what you get used to - and they are obviously used to better!

Actually they did say some people on their table who were seasoned Princess travellers said that the standard on that cruise was not as good as it had been on their others.

I was just wondering if not so much effort is made with the shorter week cruises.

 

And you can go to the P&O board and the folks there are complaining about the food...

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1462904

 

It's all subjective. We were on the 7/28 sailing of the Caribbean Princess and found the food and entertainment to be on par with our recent Princess cruises of which we have no complaints.