Cost Savings or Cutbacks You Noticed on Princess

[caribill]

We were on the Golden in April 2012 and they had at least three big outdoor buffets...including a Mexican one.

 

Themed outdoor buffets at lunch time still occur, but they have eliminated the fruit and dessert buffet that used to accompany the Ultimate Deck Party which is held one evening during a cruise.

[many cruises]

As you can see in our signature, we are die-hard Princess cruisers. We just booked the Celebrity Eclipse to Scandinavia & Russia and are very excited to be on this beautiful ship. The reviews have helped us change our minds and book the Eclipse.

 

On our last few Princess cruises, we noticed cutbacks especially in the dining and entertainment areas. The dining room is no longer open on port days and we also noticed a general decline in food quality. The food wasn't horrible, it just wasn't up to par with previous Princess cruises. The shows are shorter and you still need to get there 30 minutes early to get a decent seat. We will probably still cruise on Princess, but are very concerned about the changes in the quality of their cruise experience.

[Loonbeam]

This probably should be merged with the existing cutback threads.

 

Here's the reality. Costs go up. That leaves businesses with two options. Raise prices (which has not been effective in the leisure travel industry), find extra revenue, or reduce cost items.

 

If you want a cruise line to maintain the same levels of services and amenities year to year, expect cruise prices to increase anywhere from 1 to 6 percent annually at the base. What you will likely then find is less people booking cruises, thus exacerbating the problem.

 

Therefore, expect reductions on the mass market lines. It's either that or they eventually go out of business. You pick.

 

As you can see in our signature, we are die-hard Princess cruisers. We just booked the Celebrity Eclipse to Scandinavia & Russia and are very excited to be on this beautiful ship. The reviews have helped us change our minds and book the Eclipse.

 

On our last few Princess cruises, we noticed cutbacks especially in the dining and entertainment areas. The dining room is no longer open on port days and we also noticed a general decline in food quality. The food wasn't horrible, it just wasn't up to par with previous Princess cruises. The shows are shorter and you still need to get there 30 minutes early to get a decent seat. We will probably still cruise on Princess, but are very concerned about the changes in the quality of their cruise experience.

[waltd]

Nothing stays the same forever. We still love being at sea and happy we can still afford to go.

[kruisey]

As you can see in our signature, we are die-hard Princess cruisers. We just booked the Celebrity Eclipse to Scandinavia & Russia and are very excited to be on this beautiful ship. The reviews have helped us change our minds and book the Eclipse.

 

On our last few Princess cruises, we noticed cutbacks especially in the dining and entertainment areas. The dining room is no longer open on port days and we also noticed a general decline in food quality. The food wasn't horrible, it just wasn't up to par with previous Princess cruises. The shows are shorter and you still need to get there 30 minutes early to get a decent seat. We will probably still cruise on Princess, but are very concerned about the changes in the quality of their cruise experience.

I personally have not noticed a decline in food quality .

Although they do bring more prepackaged and prepared food on board now.I personally am on the no salt diet..Admit was not on it a few years ago.....

Regarding the entertainment that has really changed very third rate now.

There again is one looks way back some of the late minute specials for couples given these days which many take advantage of, might be the reason for the decline in other areas.After all Princess is a business with shareholders,many are passengers and has to keep a good profit margin.

I too like yourself have noticed very much that the entertainment area is very poor.

Imagination is also lacking in day time activities on board they even recycle those on every cruise.

Expect to get negative replies from the regulars now...;)

[Mom33]

As you can see in our signature, we are die-hard Princess cruisers. We just booked the Celebrity Eclipse to Scandinavia & Russia and are very excited to be on this beautiful ship. The reviews have helped us change our minds and book the Eclipse.

 

On our last few Princess cruises, we noticed cutbacks especially in the dining and entertainment areas. The dining room is no longer open on port days and we also noticed a general decline in food quality. The food wasn't horrible, it just wasn't up to par with previous Princess cruises. The shows are shorter and you still need to get there 30 minutes early to get a decent seat. We will probably still cruise on Princess, but are very concerned about the changes in the quality of their cruise experience.

 

I see you have been on many cruises, but you don't say where you have traveled to. Are you repeating many of the same ports? Sometimes a change of ship and ports is a good thing so that cruises don't become monotonous.

[highheel girl]

This probably should be merged with the existing cutback threads.

 

I agree 3 threads on the same thing. :confused:

[capriccio]

Nothing stays the same forever. We still love being at sea and happy we can still afford to go.

 

Agreed - and everything can vary from ship to ship, cruise to cruise. In general sweeping generalizations (one way or the other:D) should be taken with a grain of salt realizing that what you will experience will probably be somewhere in the middle.

 

We were lucky enough to have 2 cruises in the past 6 months. On both (the Sapphire and Coral Princesses) we thought the food was good to very good with a couple of excellent meals in Sabatinis. We thought the entertainment was fair on the Sapphire but outstanding on the Coral with four singers that could really sing and a great house band - especially in the "On the Bayou" show developed just for the Coral and Island Princesses, the multi-talented Sarge (comedian, singer, pianist), and local talent brought on in port.

[Armchair Cruiser]

We don't live in a perfect world and make the most of what we do and how we travel. We try to find the positives. We take a book and arrive early for the shows. Sometimes we engage in conversation with our fellow travellers, it is all part of the experience of cruising. We are happy with Princess - it is all about value for money with us and Princess has delivered. Society is changing and many things are not what they used to be. "Bon Voyage"

[Kinkacruiser]

I've not seen any difference in food quality in the short 5 years we have been loyal to Princess. If cutting costs to keep prices down is necessary, I'd gladly forego some of the higher priced foods items.

[fishywood]

The OP's feelings do echo many others, and I will find out personally when I book a Princess cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for December or January (as a local I thrive on last minute deals). But they are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment in switching to Celebrity for the first time:

 

Celebrity discontinued lunch on port days long before Princess did--and on one sea day a self service brunch replaces both breakfast and lunch;

 

Afternoon Tea on Celebrity was served to all only once on a two week cruise--the other days it was either additional charge or open to Platinum and Elite members only;

 

There is only a single choice of evening entertainment, and for late sitting diners it will be a pre-dinner show on all but one night (the exception being the night of the Captain's cocktail party, which as a first timer you cannot attend). I found service at late sitting so slow that by the time I emerged at nearly 11:00 most evenings nearly all venues and bars were closed for the night;

 

You will be excluded from many other daytime activites besides Afternoon Tea: the cooking demonstration/galley tour, matinee concerts and the prime viewing areas on 'scenic cruising' days are all restriced to Platinum members and above. This policy is not considered by Celebrity as an added benefit for frequent cruisers, but openly advertised as a separate cruising experience in the daily program and on signs in the atrium--they seemed to enjoy making first-timers feel inferior.

 

I learned my lesson earlier this year: that even in times of austerity, familiarity breeds affection--and to just enjoy being onboard where I know I am welcomed.

[Beopthtuh]

sometimes changes are for the worst or best cruiselines change as do peoples attitudes ,

we never bother with shows but did 4 on the crown and enjoyed everyone .

sometimes its down to the cruise director for how the ships entertainment comes over some are better than others .

as for the quality of food we have not noticed a drastic downgrade in food ,as someone else pointed out different ships different results.

princess aren,t a premium over priced cruiseline they are a good value for money product who sometimes get things wrong ,they will do there best to rectify any prob you have their and then if possible

[miched]

Check what you use at home.

 

All manufacturers have cut back the width on what is sold in grocery stores also.

 

A friend of mine told me that he only noticed it from the tissue he bought at Wally World.

 

Haven't noticed it with the Kirkland brand.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

A friend of mine told me that he only noticed it from the tissue he bought at Wally World.

 

Haven't noticed it with the Kirkland brand.

 

No matter what the cruise lines use (typically "Heavenly" brand), we'll always toss a couple of rolls of Cottonelle in our suitcase! ;)

 

Tom

[kruisey]

It is now a deluxe Carnival line.

There is not another line similar to the old Princess .

One has to go to Crystal which is a step above the old Princess.

At least many more folks can afford to cruise instead of just dream of such a luxury.

As somebody mentioned 'Times of Changed' for many for the good, and a few not so.

Majority wins in every vote.Shareholders are kept happy.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We were on the Ruby for 33 nights last May and were disappointed in the food, whether this was due to a new menu or the fact that the Main chef was Philipino we don't know. I usually have fish once a day at either lunch or dinner but the selection was terrible and hardly ever had it and if I did it was terrible. The deserts were a poor selection too, all the old favourites were gone..... very disappointed.

 

We are hoping the Diamond in a few months will be better. We cruised on her last year and loved it and the food was terrific. Hoping.....

[KirkNC]

We don't cruise Princess a lot but did this last summer and while there were several things that I thought were subpar, one area that was outstanding was the service in all the dining venues.

[dinosaurdem]

The OP's feelings do echo many others, and I will find out personally when I book a Princess cruise out of Ft Lauderdale for December or January (as a local I thrive on last minute deals). But they are setting themselves up for a huge disappointment in switching to Celebrity for the first time:

 

Celebrity discontinued lunch on port days long before Princess did--and on one sea day a self service brunch replaces both breakfast and lunch;

 

Afternoon Tea on Celebrity was served to all only once on a two week cruise--the other days it was either additional charge or open to Platinum and Elite members only;

 

There is only a single choice of evening entertainment, and for late sitting diners it will be a pre-dinner show on all but one night (the exception being the night of the Captain's cocktail party, which as a first timer you cannot attend). I found service at late sitting so slow that by the time I emerged at nearly 11:00 most evenings nearly all venues and bars were closed for the night;

 

You will be excluded from many other daytime activites besides Afternoon Tea: the cooking demonstration/galley tour, matinee concerts and the prime viewing areas on 'scenic cruising' days are all restriced to Platinum members and above. This policy is not considered by Celebrity as an added benefit for frequent cruisers, but openly advertised as a separate cruising experience in the daily program and on signs in the atrium--they seemed to enjoy making first-timers feel inferior.

 

I learned my lesson earlier this year: that even in times of austerity, familiarity breeds affection--and to just enjoy being onboard where I know I am welcomed.

 

I do not want to spend the time to respond item by item but most of this post is incorrect starting with their not being a Platinum level and continuing through the list of exclusive activities.

[dinosaurdem]

I do not want to spend the time to respond item by item but most of this post is incorrect starting with their not being a Platinum level and continuing through the list of exclusive activities.

 

Having cruised about twenty times, with four lines, mostly Celebrity and Princess, I have never had as miserable an experience on any cruise line, even NCL, as Fishywood describes in her review of Celebrity. Small wonder she opted to critique Celebrity on a thread about Princess.

[cotonwod]

I do not want to spend the time to respond item by item but most of this post is incorrect starting with their not being a Platinum level and continuing through the list of exclusive activities.

We cruised Celebrity to Alaska last August and were first time with that line. I didn't feel like we were treated any different from past cruisers as we were traveling with some. Princess is still my favorite. We're going on the Crown in Feb. so we'll see if we can see any changes. As long as the food's good, I'm relatively happy.

[caribill]

 

If you want a cruise line to maintain the same levels of services and amenities year to year, expect cruise prices to increase anywhere from 1 to 6 percent annually at the base. What you will likely then find is less people booking cruises, thus exacerbating the problem.

 

Therefore, expect reductions on the mass market lines. It's either that or they eventually go out of business.

 

In my opinion, pricing has increased and in some cases significantly.

 

Example:

 

In 2009 we took the first 10 day Baltic cruise of the season on the Emerald Princess. We booked it 8 months in advance. Looking at the first 2013 Emerald 11 day cruise to the Baltic (now 6 months in advance), the per day (since it is now one day longer) pricing is 82% higher than we paid when looking at the same category cabin.

[Travel Bear]

While most of our cruises are on Princess, we have experienced many of the other competitive lines, CCL, RCCL, Costa, NCL. We are always glad to return to a Princess sailing and bring our frineds on that line. I think when we get frustrated with some of the cutbacks, etc it helps to try another line and compare like services. Each line has a personality and we try to plan our cruises accordingly. We know when we bring our young adult children with us, they need an active night life and do better with a very different atmosphere. That same atmosphere is not for us but hey, time with kids is so precious it becomes a no brainer. While princess has great prices if we want to go with others that need a less expensive line we will do that. I think this helps us to appreciate what the PCL has much more than what it doesn't have. I love the fact that PCL has so many differnt entertainment options to choose from on an evening. We love the custumes and dancers. We have been on another line where the costumes were verging on obscene. Princess shows can be attended even by the young. If you don't want the main show, you still have many other options to choose from including movies under the stars. Day times aren't filled with lots of games and puzzle choices but we are given options for lectures, multiple quiet spaces to read or chat with friends, and a fantastic piazza mid ship that offers differnt entertainment throught out the day. The dining room portions are smaller but I think that is a change for the better. Less waste. And you can always ask for a double portion if you need it. We really can not find any complaint with the service. Once in all the years did we encounter a problem and as soon as it was brought to the attention of the senior staff, not only was it resolved but they followed up to be sure we were ok. We also love the way the buffet service is set up. On other lines where you need to bring your own drinks to the table the traffic is crazy. Some even have really uncomfortable seating. Also the buffet expereince is classier and there is always supervisory staff available should a problem arise. Princess seating is comfortable and plentiful. In fact on our last cruise we ate dinner in the buffet and loved it. They kept the atmosphere calm and change to placemats and water goblets. All being said, our first choice is Prncess. It's the first cruise line we ever cruised with and we always feel we are coming home when we return. They have one of the best loyalty programs around and make huge imporvements to the perks the more you have sailed with them. We use other lines for other reasons but that is the joy of "choice". I didn't mean to be this wordy but....it boils down to the fact that we have many lines to choose from and there are differences among them. When we choose the line to cruise with knowing ahead what to expect helps. All lines can't be all things to all people.

[Mom33]

Great post Travel Bear!:D

[PeteC22]

What you say is very true and after while we've learned what things on their menu's not to order. As far as 30 minute entertainment goes, there's not much to do about that except go with the flow. I imagine other cruise lines are faced with the same cost cutbacks and sooner or later we'll have to branch out & see what they offer.

[ischeer]

Celebrity discontinued lunch on port days long before Princess did--and on one sea day a self service brunch replaces both breakfast and lunch;

 

.

 

This statement only applies to the Main Dining Room. All other food venues are open, both on port days and on the "brunch" day. I am certain of this because we now avoid the brunch; we find it overcrowded and awkward, but many others love it.

 

Also, the only venue I know of that has restricted access is the Sky Lounge, when there are specific functions for Captain's Club members scheduled. I assume this is the "prime viewing area" to which you refer. Similar to Skywalker's on Princess ships, which has restricted evening cocktail hour.