Pillows on Princess

[suntan]

The countdown has begun for our November 16th Caribbean cruise. A quick question - does Princess offer a pillow selection (soft, medium, firm) on their ships? An MVA resulted in a neck injury that has haunted me for years and I prefer a medium to firm pillow to a soft one to prevent excruiating neck pain :mad:. OR should I bring my own?

[MsSoCalCruiser]

The countdown has begun for our November 16th Caribbean cruise. A quick question - does Princess offer a pillow selection (soft, medium, firm) on their ships? An MVA resulted in a neck injury that has haunted me for years and I prefer a medium to firm pillow to a soft one to prevent excruiating neck pain :mad:. OR should I bring my own?

 

I have been on 3 princess ships and each time the pillows have been terrible. They are so thin and worn out that you can fold them in half and they stay that way.

 

I brought my own pillow the last time and was happy that I did. :)

[Treven]

I also prefer a firm pillow. I agree with the previous poster about the crappy pillows on the ships. I too bring one of the pillows from my bed at home, that's the only way I can get a decent nights sleep, though the rocking of the ship certainly does help.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Treven

[Thrak]

Princess lists a "pillow menu" as one of the suite perks. Perhaps if you contact them directly and request it you might be allowed to partake of that feature as a medical necessity.

[gmann]

Have never been given a choice. Better to bring your own. As the beds are hard we bring our own 2" memory foam mattress.

[iceleven]

Have never been given a choice. Better to bring your own. As the beds are hard we bring our own 2" memory foam mattress.

 

H0w do you transport them on the plane (if you are flying) and contained in what manner?

[Treven]

H0w do you transport them on the plane (if you are flying) and contained in what manner?

I just stick mine in my big rolling duffel. Granted it takes up room but I think it's well worth it.

[GweninTX]

I complained on the CB and got a great pillow! I complained for 24 days on the Crown and never got a good pillow! I believe it is a crapshoot. maybe a $10 bill with the complaint on the Crown might have gotten met a better pillow - not sure? But they were awful!

[pegbert]

H0w do you transport them on the plane (if you are flying) and contained in what manner?

 

We were on the Ruby last year and will be on the Crown in a few weeks. Base on our experience last year (hard mattresses and flat pillows), we will also be taking our own mattress topper and pillows.

 

Just ordered a queen size 3" egg crate topper for less than $30. I'm going to pick up a duffle bag for a couple of $$ at Goodwill to transport the topper down to FL as one of our free checked bags, and we plan on leaving the topper on the ship when we disembark (the ship can always use more toppers!)

 

As for the pillows, we like latex foam. I did a trial run, and you can put them in those "roll up" space bags that take out all the air, making the pillows about 1" thick. We're going to put them at the bottom of our luggage, then let the pillows puff up when we get on board. We do plan to bring them home the same way.

 

Where there's a will, there's a way!! :D

[Love.II.Cruise]

I HATE the pillows on Princess. Perhaps we need to bring our own this next time. I'm not sure yet. An 18 day cruise can cause a heck of a neck cramp.

[lizzy77]

I have found the pillows are terrible on any cruise line, though hubby thinks they are ok. ( he could sleep on concrete:D)

I take my own, or if we have a few days in the city where we sail from, I will buy one and leave it on the ship when we disembark.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The pillows on Princess really are terrible. I've had many suites and have never been offered a "pillow menu" even though it's supposed to be one of the perks.

 

On the CB the last time, I finally got a limp feather pillow exchanged for a thick foam one. On the Crown last Jan., it took me 4 pillows to fall asleep plus a mooshy I always bring with me. The pillows were thinner than pancakes.

 

I'd bring my own wonderful side-sleeper pillow if it was possible to bring it but it seems like such a hassle. I have seen many people walking thru the cruise terminals carrying pillows and wondered why.

[iceleven]

The moment we meet our room steward we ask for a total of 4 more pillows so that we can each have three. I also bring my own small swooshy horseshoe shaped pillow that at least supports my neck. We've tried every kind of mattress topper that the ship offers but found none of them helpful so we now bring air mattresses used for camping and just blow them up and place them under a layer of a folded comforter and the bottom sheet. Not perfect but allows for a few hours of sleep each night.

Edited October 24, 2013 by iceleven

[GweninTX]

I have thought about buying one of those "space bags" you suck the air out of to make my wonderful pillow at home flat and pack it in my suitcase. We are on the Royal next and I have heard that the bedding is new and wonderful. I sure hope so!

[suntan]

Thank you for all your responses. It appears that Princess needs to upgrade their pillows - maybe they will on the next round of dry docks for their ships. It's settled. I'm taking my own pillow and as one of you has said "where there's a will there's a way".

[FritzG]

We always arrive at the port at least a day early, and one of the first stops I make is a Target or Walmart to buy a new pillow. I've never had a problem with a mattress on Princess, but I've always been glad that I had my own pillow.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I have thought about buying one of those "space bags" you suck the air out of to make my wonderful pillow at home flat and pack it in my suitcase. We are on the Royal next and I have heard that the bedding is new and wonderful. I sure hope so!

 

Has anyone tried that? I'm afraid it will hurt my expensive, high-quality, super side-sleeper pillow but I'd love to bring it along with me! :confused:

[JimmyVWine]

I have thought about buying one of those "space bags" you suck the air out of to make my wonderful pillow at home flat and pack it in my suitcase. We are on the Royal next and I have heard that the bedding is new and wonderful. I sure hope so!

 

That works fine when you are leaving from home. But you won't have any way to reverse the process for the trip home unless you can borrow a vacuum. So you might end up having to leave your pillow behind. Which brings us to.....

 

We always arrive at the port at least a day early, and one of the first stops I make is a Target or Walmart to buy a new pillow. I've never had a problem with a mattress on Princess, but I've always been glad that I had my own pillow.

 

This is our solution for many items. We buy snacks, pillows, decent wine glasses and other low-price items and bring them on board with no intention of every taking them home. If we can get the back home, fine. Otherwise, we find a good home for them on board. Our total bill at Target/Walmart is usually around $50 or so, but it is money well spent for real wine glasses and a good night's sleep. I look at it this way: If I got a terrible pillow from Princess (which is always), and every night at 2:00 a.m. a magic genie appeared and said that he would get me a nice pillow for $2, would I pay him for the pillow? Yep! Do that for 7 nights and you will have spent $14 for a good night's sleep. That's about what I pay at Target/Walmart for a pillow. Do I enjoy having to pay this money? No. But I just amortize it into the cost of my cruise.

[jrzebird]

I have toyed with the idea of bringing a pillow or two. It never occurred to me that I could smoosh them down. I don't like hard or large pillows, but I do like to take 3 or 4 and surround myself with them. It makes me feel cocooned. But, that's not 'necessary', however a decent or new pillow is. If I buy a couple at Kmart, I'll have no problem leaving them. I have not been happy with the Princess pillows. HAL on the other had has magnificent pillows and does have a pillow menu.

Edited October 24, 2013 by jrzebird

[TM]

I prefer a firm feather pillow. The standard pillows provided in the rooms are way too soft for me. I have always asked the room steward for 2 firm feather pillows and they have been provided every time. And we were not in a suite.

[pegbert]

Has anyone tried that? I'm afraid it will hurt my expensive, high-quality, super side-sleeper pillow but I'd love to bring it along with me! :confused:

 

It seemed to work just fine in my "test run" with our latex pillows.... they bounce right back!

 

Keep in mind, you don't want the space bags that need a vacuum.... you want the kind that you "roll" the air out of. You put the pillow in, zip the bag shut, then roll from one end, and the air is pushed out a one-way valve on the other end. I don't think they are meant for long-term storage, but as long as they keep the pillow flat long enough for me to pack the rest of my stuff on top and zip the suitcase shut, then I'm fine with it!

 

I don't recall the brand off hand, but I'm pretty sure they are marketed as a "travel accessory."

 

Hope that helps!

[DONNAKG]

hello-- I was told by my TA that on the new Royal there are new foam /softer mattresses,, but not sure about that or the pillows...

anyone know for sure what they are providing?:confused:

 

on the older Princess we requested toppers but there still is nothing like our

Icomfort , adjustable split king at home!!;)

thanks Donnakg

[DrivesLikeMario]

I have toyed with the idea of bringing a pillow or two. It never occurred to me that I could smoosh them down. I don't like hard or large pillows, but I do like to take 3 or 4 and surround myself with them. It makes me feel cocooned. But, that's not 'necessary', however a decent or new pillow is. If I buy a couple at Kmart, I'll have no problem leaving them. I have not been happy with the Princess pillows. HAL on the other had has magnificent pillows and does have a pillow menu.

 

Everything about the HAL bedding is wonderful, isn't it?! I also like to be cocooned with pillows but DH objects to giving up his side of the bed. :D

 

I prefer a firm feather pillow. The standard pillows provided in the rooms are way too soft for me. I have always asked the room steward for 2 firm feather pillows and they have been provided every time. And we were not in a suite.

 

I found out (the hard way) that I'm allergic to the Princess feather pillows. The other pillows are like cellulite - mangled messes of lumps of stuffing. Other ones are so limp, I can roll them into the size of a large snowball. :cool:

[DRS/NC]

"Just ordered a queen size 3" egg crate topper for less than $30."

 

From where did you order the 3" topper? I really want to get one!

I make do w/2 egg crates from Princess, but they tend to shift as I turn.

 

I was on the Emerald last month & got extra pillows, but all were quite quishy -- one wasn't enough; 2 were too many. Will take my own next time.

[pegbert]

"Just ordered a queen size 3" egg crate topper for less than $30."

 

From where did you order the 3" topper? I really want to get one!

 

I doubt that I am allowed to post the name of the store on here, but I will try to send you a private message with the link. It is a very large "box store" that has a logo similar to one that we use on this board .... how coincidental! :)