Advise on Princess cruises

[usateg]

I recently travelled on Princess Cruises new ship, "Royal Princess". This was my 1st & last experience with Princess (I am a Diamond with RCCL). I feel that the staff was very rude & robotic & was almost impossible to get a smile out of any of them. In addition, I felt that my balcony had privacy issues (I was directly below the Seawalk)

 

I completed the online review with Princess & well as completing a review here on Cruise Critic. I received an email from Princess stating they understand my concerns & thanking me for the survey. I then in turn spoke with a Customer Relations Specialist who said all my concerns were heard as well as any balcony has privacy issues?

 

After talking with this individual I feel that she just blew me off & my concerns will not be addressed & they did not care that I am not recommending Princess to anybody.

 

Any thoughts & comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Usateg

[waltd]

Please tell us what you expected from Princess Corporate when you sent them the survey and phone call. Were you looking for a refund?

[caribill]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

As far as the balcony privacy issue, if you had come to Cruise Critic before you took this cruise, you would read many posts about this issue and you could then have booked a cabin elsewhere on the ship.

[skynight]

Sorry you did not like the Royal. Many seasoned cruisers with Princess and other lines have mentioned design errors on the Royal, such as the balcony issues. There are 1,000's of CC postings about them. Princess has announced that the sister, Regal, will have a Promenade and Aft Pool and that an aft pool will be added to the Royal when it goes to dry dock. They hear their customers. Others have reported that on board service on the Royal was not up to the normal Princess standards. By now, 6 months into service I would think this would be corrected, but maybe it hasn't. Maybe the crew is just overworked, trying to get too much out of them to save $$$. This of course can be corrected, and I hope Princess does correct any shortcomings in the crew area. We have always had very good service on all other Princess ships. All the issues you mentioned to the Customer Service staff in CA are collected and passed up for review. I'm sure Princess is concerned.

 

If you like the experience with RCCL, stick with them. If you wish to try Princess again, try an older grand class ship such as the Golden, Star, Grand, Crown, Emerald or Ruby, the Panamax class ships Coral or Island, or the Far East ships Sapphire or Diamond. They are very nice, with nice balconies, some that are 9'x9' in standard balcony cabins.

[OCruisers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Sorry this was not a good cruise for you!

 

Was there ANYTHING you liked about Royal Princess?

 

LuLu

~~~~

[usateg]

Unfortunately I did not book this cabin. I had booked a cabin on the same deck but in the front of the ship. A few days before my cruise I received an email stating they were upgrading my balcony & to print out new boarding pass, etc. Thanks!

[Pam in CA]

Unfortunately I did not book this cabin. I had booked a cabin on the same deck but in the front of the ship. A few days before my cruise I received an email stating they were upgrading my balcony & to print out new boarding pass, etc. Thanks!

So, why didn't you mark your original cabin, "Do not upgrade" or, after receiving the email, reject the "upgraded" cabin? You had the choice to do either. Your TA should have advised you better. If you booked directly, then you overpaid for your cruise plus you assumed responsibility for knowing your options. Edited November 26, 2013 by Pam in CA

[MCC retired]

Most every cruise ship has less desirable balcony cabins . Seems the Royal has these under the Skywalk and other places .

Seems OP did not know about , or have their booking marked "do not upgrade" when they selected the cabin that they wished.

 

As far as onboard personal not being friendly , I'm amazed , never ran into that on any Princess ship.

 

The Royal does seem to have more complaints (mostly design) than the rest of the fleet. Perhaps that is why complaints are brushed aside (they have already heard it all).

[Beachdude]

I'm not sure what you are expecting. Have you ever complained to RCCL and did they respond better?

 

We complained about the soot on our balcony and I was very impressed by the response. We are not typically complainers, so I can't compare with the other four or five cruise lines we've sailed, but Princess sure made us feel like we were important to them.

 

Also, I'm glad you ventured to Princess, but try some othe other lines as well. The differences are enjoyable most of the time.

 

Burt

[usateg]

I am not sure what I am expecting either because I have never had issues before & as you Burt I am not a complainer (I try & find the good in all). I travelled this summer with NCL & all was good & never had issues with RCCL or (believe it or not) Carnival (in my younger days).

 

Truthfully I wanted to try a few different cruise lines this year (NCL & Princess) & this has left a "bad taste" in my mouth with Princess. I am very glad that Princess took care of you but I do not feel that they have to me :)

 

Usateg

[usateg]

I liked the Itinarary (Eastern Caribbean) as well as my waiter (Mario) & Junior Waiter( Jason). They were the BEST & always knew what we wanted/needed before we even did :)

[Cauzneffct]

I liked the Itinarary (Eastern Caribbean) as well as my waiter (Mario) & Junior Waiter( Jason). They were the BEST & always knew what we wanted/needed before we even did :)

 

I don't follow. You earlier said the crew was rude, robotic, and it was hard to get them to smile.

[usateg]

I did say that but in my survey to Princess I said the ONLY 2 individuals that I liked were the waiter & Junior waiter. (Not sure if I said that in my original post). EVERYBODY else on the cruise was rude & robotic.

 

Usateg

[waltd]

Still not quite sure why you are upset. You say you were forward and then were moved center ship which is an upgrade. Did you book through a travel agent or directly through Princess. I'm guessing that you are just mad at yourself for not saying something when you were told they were moving you or you're mad at yourself for not looking at the deck plans to see where the new location was located. Either way your travel agent should have told you the good and the bad. The skywalk has been talked about for almost a year on Cruise Critic. So the privacy issue is not new. Sounds like you still made the best of it and glad you had good waiters. It's nice to have enjoyable dining.

[cherylandtk]

Any thoughts & comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Usateg

I think you should quit while you are ahead and cruise the lines you do enjoy, NCL and RCCL. You have already stated that you will not cruise Princess again, so there is no incentive for them to try and research any problems you may have had. Sometimes the customer and the cruiseline are not a good match. That seems to be the case here.

[Mom33]

I recently travelled on Princess Cruises new ship, "Royal Princess". This was my 1st & last experience with Princess (I am a Diamond with RCCL). I feel that the staff was very rude & robotic & was almost impossible to get a smile out of any of them. In addition, I felt that my balcony had privacy issues (I was directly below the Seawalk)

 

I completed the online review with Princess & well as completing a review here on Cruise Critic. I received an email from Princess stating they understand my concerns & thanking me for the survey. I then in turn spoke with a Customer Relations Specialist who said all my concerns were heard as well as any balcony has privacy issues?

 

After talking with this individual I feel that she just blew me off & my concerns will not be addressed & they did not care that I am not recommending Princess to anybody.

 

Any thoughts & comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Usateg

 

I'm sorry you found Princess to be a big disappointment. I read your Member Review and found an inaccuracy I think should be cleared up.

There is no charge or reservation to use any pool on the Royal Princess. If you want a Sanctuary lounger, you pay, if you want a Retreat cabana, you pay. All other loungers are free to use as are the pools.

[usateg]

I wanted to take this time to thank everybody that saw my post & gave me advise on my Princess experience. I am not new to Cruise Critic (been one it for years reading review, Cruise news etc) but I am new to the Message boards :)

 

I agree with most of you about the balcony issue. When I received the upgrade notification I did have slight concerns as to the location of the balcony below the Seawalk but reading the 100's of reviews & the negatives on the size of the balconies on the Royal Princess we decided to take the upgrade because as Princess stated this balcony was a bit larger than the standard balconies. Oh well, lesson learned not to listen to the cruise line all the time.

 

As far as Princess & their reaction to my complaints working in a customer related industry my company tries as hard as possible to keep customers if they are complaining or planning to "jump ship." I do not feel that Princess cared about my concerns about the crew, etc & that is why I will be sticking with my cruise line of choice in the future (RCCL).

 

Again thank you to all & hope everybody has a HAPPY THANKSGIVING :)

 

Usateg

[usateg]

Thank you for reading my review however I was correct in saying that you had to be at the Sanctuary or Retreat pool at the crack of dawn if you wanted to find space. I do not know about you but when I am on vacation I do not want to have to wake up before & arrive at a pool at 6-7AM to get space.

 

Again thank you for reading my review

 

Usateg

[Pia1913]

Usateg: How is it that you chose this to be your first Cruise Critic encounter?

[Coral]

I recently travelled on Princess Cruises new ship, "Royal Princess". This was my 1st & last experience with Princess (I am a Diamond with RCCL). I feel that the staff was very rude & robotic & was almost impossible to get a smile out of any of them. In addition, I felt that my balcony had privacy issues (I was directly below the Seawalk)

 

I completed the online review with Princess & well as completing a review here on Cruise Critic. I received an email from Princess stating they understand my concerns & thanking me for the survey. I then in turn spoke with a Customer Relations Specialist who said all my concerns were heard as well as any balcony has privacy issues?

 

After talking with this individual I feel that she just blew me off & my concerns will not be addressed & they did not care that I am not recommending Princess to anybody.

 

 

You are not alone in not being a fan of the ship. As far as staff seeming robotic and rude, that is unusual for Princess. I do find the staff overworked and busy but for the most part, I haven't encountered them rude and most do smile.

 

In response to receiving a response to your survey, I am actually impressed. I have never received an email after filling out the survey. The Customer Service person probably did what she is instructed to do, report complaints up to a specific department. I think they are listening to complaints as there are a few things people have posted on this board that they did not like about the Royal and they are attempting to change them on her future twin ship. This is actually amazing as I didn't expect those items to be changed.

 

While I have not sailed on this ship, I don't think it is the ship for me. I completely understand going back to RCCL. If you do choose to sail Princess again, I would recommend the Coral or Island Princess. The Golden, Star, Sapphire and Diamond are also ships that I have had very good service with.

 

Sorry that others attacked you for being new to the board or not marking your booking as no-upgrade. Most people who have not been on this board for long would not know that.

 

Good luck on your future cruises, whatever line you choose.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Coral

[Coral]

I'm sorry you found Princess to be a big disappointment. I read your Member Review and found an inaccuracy I think should be cleared up.

There is no charge or reservation to use any pool on the Royal Princess. If you want a Sanctuary lounger, you pay, if you want a Retreat cabana, you pay. All other loungers are free to use as are the pools.

 

I have read others who were confused by this also. They indicated that the pool near the Retreat cabanas seemed reserved for them by the setup. Princess needs to somehow let people know that the pool is for all.

[Mom33]

I have read others who were confused by this also. They indicated that the pool near the Retreat cabanas seemed reserved for them by the setup. Princess needs to somehow let people know that the pool is for all.

 

There are quite a few confused people giving reviews on CC.:D Some don't seem to know where the ship took them saying their cruise was of the Western Caribbean, there is only one pool on the whole ship, there are no mid ship stairs for evacuation etc. As long as their mistakes are not corrected by the CC people in charge of screening the reviews before publishing, the confusion will continue.

A simple inquiry to a crew member about pool charges would settle the question of someone that boarded the ship without ever researching the ship.

 

At the very least, one should know where the ship went!!:D

[usateg]

Coral,

Thank you! I am very new to the message boards & your "thank you" was very comforting. I am sure that once I am on the boards for a while then I will understand all etc. I am not new to cruising (16th Cruise & 17th next year) but this is the first time I have encountered shipwide crew issues.

 

Usateg

[caribill]

I recently travelled on Princess Cruises new ship, "Royal Princess". This was my 1st & last experience with Princess

 

Any thoughts & comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

It is hard to believe you were on the same ship as the poster in http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1949625

[waltd]

I agree. I have friends on the ship right now and they have nothing but praise for the ship and the crew. Crew bent over backwards to make them happy and in some venues they even remembered their names. They felt it was going to be hard to cruise on any other Princess ship. I am always a bit leery when someone says they will never cruise with Princess again especially when they have only been on one ship. You can always run into one or two that are having a bad day but the whole ship????