Disappointment in Caribbean Princess 4/19-4/26

[rdsqrl]

#1 (mass-market)Cruising provides for a good value vacation for a majority of people.

 

#2 (mass-market)Cruising may not be for everyone.

 

#3 Food can be hit-or-miss on (mass-market)cruise ships. Nobody ought to be expecting 5-star gourmet quality. However, one can usually find some pretty good items and not go hungry if they know where to find them.

 

Anybody who has multiple experiences cruising the mass-market lines ought to know this going in.

 

If food is such a 'make or break' for the OP (who claims to live off of Lean Cuisine at home) , then perhaps she ought to look into the luxury lines.

 

However, if she balks at having to pay a cover charge for dining at the specialty restaurant(s) - Which she found to be "excellent".......(SEE: #1 above for more info as it relates to luxury cruising)

Yeah, here's someone [the OP, not you, Skai. I'm just quoting you to follow up on what you said.] who apparently thinks Lean Cuisines are good . . . well, let's just say that I'm not going to be putting much stock in their opinions about the food, as it's obvious we don't share the same tastes.

Edited April 29, 2014 by rdsqrl

[HMSDingy]

#1 (mass-market)Cruising provides for a good value vacation for a majority of people.

 

#2 (mass-market)Cruising may not be for everyone.

 

#3 Food can be hit-or-miss on (mass-market)cruise ships. Nobody ought to be expecting 5-star gourmet quality. However, one can usually find some pretty good items and not go hungry if they know where to find them.

 

Anybody who has multiple experiences cruising the mass-market lines ought to know this going in.

 

If food is such a 'make or break' for the OP (who claims to live off of Lean Cuisine at home) , then perhaps she ought to look into the luxury lines.

 

However, if she balks at having to pay a cover charge for dining at the specialty restaurant(s) - Which she found to be "excellent".......(SEE: #1 above for more info as it relates to luxury cruising)

 

Thanks Skai you put it more politely that I dared so....I am humbled....:D

[chris2597]

DH and I sailed the CB twice this season..... november and march. We enjoyed the cruise both times. The food and entertainment were a bit better in march. However, we both got very sick 2 days after returning home with a horrible upper respitory infection. People were hacking away all over the ship. Maybe they should be as vigilant about URI as they are noro.

I think a lot of people on the Texas itinerary cruise more for the ship than the ports, as most cruise out of Texas for convenience and have visited the same ports many times. In that case it is important to keep the entertainment and food choices fresh. I am so sick of the western itinerary but love the cruise experience...and not flying into a port.

OP dont give up on Princess. Sorry you had a bad week. I hope you let customer service know about your experience on the survey. Positive as well as negative experience on critiques are needed for the ability to constantly improve.

[LMaxwell]

If you are happy eating Lean Cuisine (chemical garbage) and putting artificial sweeteners (more chemical garbage) in your food I could understand how fresh daily prepared food would let you down. :D

 

I too have concerns about entertainment geared towards an older generation; Royal Caribbean does that as well. Princess does not seem like they want to attract cruisers under age 50 or so in that regard.

[BratDet]

I had chosen to post, NOT to flame you, but to balance my opinion to yours as someone who has spent 33 days on the CB. Heck the last two days were when we had to stay on board due to Hurricane Sandy extending our 4 day mini cruise to 6 days.

 

When new people read these boards, for the first time.....a severely negative will paint more of an unfair picture than a balanced picture. Your opinion was interesting, but so negative.....made me feel like you disliked cruising overall...

 

Overall, people have not flamed you, just adding their opinions....

 

Bernadette

[SwissDave]

Lots of very 'strong' opinions to the OP, some of which I read as flaming, almost abusive in some cases.

 

Why can't people just accept that no 2 people will have the same experience on a ship? Whats good for one is bad for the other. To say 'I was on that cruise and it was all wonderful' is valid for you and some others, but what about the other 3000 people did they all think it was all wonderful? Obviously not as the OP didn't think so.

 

My one and only cruise on CB last year was also the worst Princess cruise I had taken, with most staff not their usual smiling self, food not quite up to par etc. BUT other people I know on the cruise thought it was all good.

[HMSDingy]

Lots of very 'strong' opinions to the OP, some of which I read as flaming, almost abusive in some cases.

 

Why can't people just accept that no 2 people will have the same experience on a ship? Whats good for one is bad for the other. To say 'I was on that cruise and it was all wonderful' is valid for you and some others, but what about the other 3000 people did they all think it was all wonderful? Obviously not as the OP didn't think so.

 

My one and only cruise on CB last year was also the worst Princess cruise I had taken, with most staff not their usual smiling self, food not quite up to par etc. BUT other people I know on the cruise thought it was all good.

 

I don't understand this quote? Are you stating that, according to the OP, the other pax did not like the cruise as well? Since you also have had a similar experience on the CB, your opinions are somewhat bias, IMHO. To clarify your comment on the flaming on this thread, I believe, also IMHO, that the OP didn't properly explain the consequences leading to her dislike for the cruise. Labelling the food on one hand as disgusting and then stating it was excellent a post later is a tad confusing. I also believe that some took exception to her ability in judging the food when she stated that she enjoys Lean Cuisine (frozen dinners) . I posted a comment that $1500 isn't necessarily expensive for a cruise. A clarification is needed here as I speak from experience as Canadian our prices seem to be higher than the US residents.

[JF - retired RRT]

I'm sure there were several others that enjoyed the cruise...... I merely pointed out my opinion only to be blasted by almost everyone on this board. I agree prices have come down but I did not pay $299 for this cruise. Frankly I am tired of being flamed on this board so please refrain from posting and allow this thread to disappear.

 

Chances are very good that this thread will linger for a while...why don't you "unsubscribe" and stop thinking about the responses that are being made about your original post.

[SwissDave]

I don't understand this quote? Are you stating that, according to the OP, the other pax did not like the cruise as well? Since you also have had a similar experience on the CB, your opinions are somewhat bias, IMHO. To clarify your comment on the flaming on this thread, I believe, also IMHO, that the OP didn't properly explain the consequences leading to her dislike for the cruise. Labelling the food on one hand as disgusting and then stating it was excellent a post later is a tad confusing. I also believe that some took exception to her ability in judging the food when she stated that she enjoys Lean Cuisine (frozen dinners) . I posted a comment that $1500 isn't necessarily expensive for a cruise. A clarification is needed here as I speak from experience as Canadian our prices seem to be higher than the US residents.

 

So because I said I also had a less than wonderful experience on CB I am biased? just for giving my own experience of this ship? I have been on many Princess cruises, all have been good or excellent, except the one on CB. The itinerary was great, but the ship was just not right to me, something felt wrong. That is just my opinion. Others in my group thought it was great, me? I was bordering on the not good to just OK.

 

With reference to the 3000 other pax, I am not saying the others did not enjoy it, however, it is certain that some did. Of the 3000, some will have loved it, some would have thought it was good, some will have thought it was just OK, and some would have thought it was not good.

[SeagoingMom]

I'm sure there were several others that enjoyed the cruise...... I merely pointed out my opinion only to be blasted by almost everyone on this board. I agree prices have come down but I did not pay $299 for this cruise. Frankly I am tired of being flamed on this board so please refrain from posting and allow this thread to disappear.

I feel your pain. If I have learned anything on CC, I have learned that if I were to post a negative review about Princess on the Princess forum, I would be setting myself up as a target. Princess fans are very loyal. :eek:

 

Thanks to my Caribbean Princess cruise in mid March, I won't be returning to Princess in the foreseeable future. I did not think the dining room or buffet food was disgusting, but I was not very impressed by it. We, like you, had issues especially with (but not limited to) the beef, which, with one exception (a decent New York strip), we found either tough and grisly or tender but tasteless. We did find some tasty lunch/snack items at the International Cafe, but when we cruise we "dine" in the dining room, so we expected the food in that venue to the best (non-extra fee food) on board. We were not overly impressed with the (Anytime) dining room service, either; its professionalism varied. We were not fond of the cramped feeling of the dining room and the proximity of every table to the service areas where waiters noisily rattled glasses and silverware and scraped half-eaten food off plates into heaps, in full view of diners.

 

We were not fans of the entertainment, across the board. Either too loud or too soft, or simply amateurish. We disliked the circus atmosphere of the Piazza, where a good deal of entertainment and activity took place and, for us, disturbed the peace of this beautiful space, rendering it unappealing. We thought the theater felt small and cramped.

 

We found the layout of the ship to be chopped up and confusing, with too many expanses of public space with little exposure to the sea. Sometimes I felt like I was in a hotel, not on board a ship. I personally did not like being on such a large ship. I knew when I booked it it was larger than any ship I had been on before, but I wanted to find out if it would would seem too large for me. I found out. (Let no one think I "blame" Princess for this. I do not.)

 

We were not thrilled to have to pay extra for a mini-suite on Princess in order to get a sofa/loveseat, a piece of furniture we had found standard in the regular balcony cabins on all of the three cruise lines we had sailed with before. Princess' standard balconies include only a desk chair and an arm chair! My husband and I like to sit together on the sofa while cruising. (Again, I was aware of this issue when I booked, but it is a negative.)

 

There were lapses in our cabin service, which of course were easily remedied by speaking with our cabin steward, but still, lapses. Missing or unusably-shrunken bathrobes, missing pool towel, mysterious reddish drips in the bathroom :( and sticky spots on the walls and the carpeting, scraps of napkins jammed into the sliding door (to reduce air transfer?) by some previous passenger. On top of these minor issues was the sad, dejected, and self-justifying ("it's not my fault") demeanor of the cabin steward.

 

In general we found the crew to be as unhappy, unenthusiastic, and even unfriendly of any cruise ship we had been on. There were, of course, notable exceptions.

We loved the itinerary! We chose this cruise mostly for the itinerary -- 3 ports, 3(!) sea days -- and because we wanted to try Princess! We had heard so many good reports -- glowing, enthusiastic, stellar reports -- about Princess, it had for years been on our short list of cruise lines to try. Do not think I am in any way blaming Princess cheerleaders for causing my sense of disappointment in my Caribbean Princess experience. I blame no one -- I am a big girl and I make and take responsibility for my own decisions. However, it is certainly true that balanced reviews (of any ship or line) allow for pax to have realistic expectations and therefore less chance of disappointment. Just sayin'

 

We were not disappointed in any way with the itinerary!

 

Did we have a wonderful cruise? Yes, we did. We were alone together, away from the cares of everyday life, on God's beautiful sea, visiting beautiful and interesting places where we enjoyed the freedom and relaxation we craved.

 

Would we sail with Princess again? Not unless HAL seriously disappoints us!

[SeagoingMom]

Mistaken double post (deleted)

Edited April 30, 2014 by SeagoingMom

[caribill]

Thanks to my Caribbean Princess cruise in mid March, I won't be returning to Princess in the foreseeable future.

 

Sorry that your experience was not as good as it should have been.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[SeagoingMom]

Sorry that your experience was not as good as it should have been.

 

Thanks for sharing.

Thanks. I am not sure it was not "as good as it should have been" -- it was just not as good as I expected it would be!

[RDC1]

This was not my first cruise nor was it my first Princess cruise....... and to clarify Europe cruise with the family will be my 3rd European cruise.

 

No I didn't research this out as I was invited by friends -- who happen to have Platinum status with Princess. They too were disappointed.

 

We did try the international restaurant..... the pastries were what was offered in the MDR the night before. The soup was the same soup being offered on the buffet and the MDR. And yes I did send food back, more often than I would have liked...... When I asked about alternative food sources I was told that all the dining rooms offered the same menu. Many times when we went to eat the Horizon was closed and we were sent to Cafe Caribe. On the oriental offering day the line to Cafe Caribe made it impossible for us to be served as we had appointments scheduled during the time it was offered.

 

We did eat in the Crown Grill one night and the service and food were excellent. However, when one is paying $2000 + per person I expect to be entertained and served and have a satisfactory meal. Not one that I have to beg for beverages or send my entree back several times. I was looking forward to Rack of Lamb not mutton chops and Eye of Round substitued for Filet Mignon.

 

I agree that cruising has definitely changed. Gone are the days of being spoiled rotten.

 

If the rest of the post is as accurate as this line "We did try the international restaurant..... the pastries were what was offered in the MDR the night before. " then it has no credibility with me. The offerings at the International Cafe are not the same as offered in the MDR. The offering size is different and the selection is different. You occasionally see some of the same items offered in the buffet, but not in the MDR.

 

In the 9 cruises I have done on a Princess ship with an IC, including on the Caribbean Princess two months ago. I have trouble thinking of even one item available in the IC that was the same as a MDR desert offering. For it to be as presented in the OP's comments that they were the same is absurd.

Edited May 1, 2014 by RDC1

[MauiLvrs]

We did try the international restaurant..... the pastries were what was offered in the MDR the night before.

Where would one even dream that up...

[joe/jack]

There is no question the over-all cruise experience has changed in the past 20 years. The lines have all had to make major adjustments in order to fill cabins week after week. The price for fuel alone has doubled but the cruise ticket price remains about the same.

But the cruise vacation is still a great value but in 2014 it may not be for everyone. "You may need to adjust your expectations"

:cool:

[seamanfs]

If the rest of the post is as accurate as this line "We did try the international restaurant..... the pastries were what was offered in the MDR the night before. " then it has no credibility with me. The offerings at the International Cafe are not the same as offered in the MDR. The offering size is different and the selection is different. You occasionally see some of the same items offered in the buffet, but not in the MDR.

 

In the 9 cruises I have done on a Princess ship with an IC, including on the Caribbean Princess two months ago. I have trouble thinking of even one item available in the IC that was the same as a MDR desert offering. For it to be as presented in the OP's comments that they were the same is absurd.

 

Agree 100%! We have done 22 cruises with Princess and never ever saw menu items in the IC the same as Horizon Court.

[Warm Breezes]

With all due respect to the OP (if I'm wrong) but the OP had not explained or at very least commented on posts by others who have stated quite contrary experiences while onboard the same ship. Does everybody know what a troll is.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Having a different experience from someone else on your same cruise does not make you a troll. Why do they need to comment on other people's threads when they voiced their opinion in their own review? People enjoy different things...that is why there are so many different types of cruise lines to choose from. Princess wasn't for OP. We had a similar experience as OP on our Ruby cruise. We will probably try Princess again in the future....but based on this experience it will be a few years. But calling someone a troll because they didn't enjoy their cruise when others did... :rolleyes:.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Warm Breezes

[HMSDingy]

I apologize for my troll comment as I see that the OP did return to clarify her comments. Bad choice of words. But I see that others have posted their own opinions questioning her credibility with regards to, in one instance, pastries served in the MDR. I understand that we all have different tastes but at very least back up your comments with facts.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited May 1, 2014 by HMSDingy

[Dan1113]

I'll admit, we were both also very disappointed with our first Princess cruise. We felt several staff members were surprisingly rude (the captain himself on certain announcements to the whole ship was not particularly polite either - this was on the Diamond), lack of organisation and preparation with the tenders (to the point it required apologies from the captain to the whole ship, with people waiting hours to get off/back on), disappointing food for room service, and a few other things. Overhead some staff dealings at the customer service desk (which always had a massive queue) and was surprised at the responses people were getting to issues. We've been on other cruise liners and had been excited to try Princess, but I don't think we'll be coming back (we were also treated like children pretty much at every possible opportunity). I heard several bad experiences at dinner too, so it seemed like quite a few were not particularly happy.

 

From organisation and food to the staff and everything really, I was expecting Princess to beat our last experience with RC (since the price we paid for Princess was much higher), but RC beat Princess in pretty much everything (even Thomsons did too, actually). The only thing I really preferred on Princess was the movie under the stars concept, but a couple nights had the same movie (not sure the point in that?) so even that was less than ideal.

 

Met some really nice people on the ship and the itinerary was good, so I am still happy we went on the cruise, but we'll look for another cruise liner next time.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Dan1113

[SeagoingMom]

We did try the international restaurant..... the pastries were what was offered in the MDR the night before.

 

Where would one even dream that up...

This is so funny! I was disappointed that the pastries in the International Cafe were NOT the same pastries as I had had the day before! I had a torte that was to die for at tea one day, and because I loved it so much, I went looking for the same dessert at the International Cafe the next day! Never did I assume, when looking to revisit the same dessert, that its presence would be a bad thing -- like that is was stale or anything -- I was simply hoping that that a fresh batch might have been baked! I went looking for another round of Satay chicken at the buffet once, too, but did not find it. Of course I did not think that if I had found it, I would be eating "leftovers."

[caribill]

Agree 100%! We have done 22 cruises with Princess and never ever saw menu items in the IC the same as Horizon Court.

 

In the morning, some of the IC pastries are identical to some that are available at the buffet. For example, the bran muffins, the chocolate Danish and the plain croissants.

[kendon]

If the rest of the post is as accurate as this line "We did try the international restaurant..... the pastries were what was offered in the MDR the night before. " then it has no credibility with me. The offerings at the International Cafe are not the same as offered in the MDR. The offering size is different and the selection is different. You occasionally see some of the same items offered in the buffet, but not in the MDR.

 

In the 9 cruises I have done on a Princess ship with an IC, including on the Caribbean Princess two months ago. I have trouble thinking of even one item available in the IC that was the same as a MDR desert offering. For it to be as presented in the OP's comments that they were the same is absurd.

 

I had the same thought.

[seamanfs]

In the morning, some of the IC pastries are identical to some that are available at the buffet. For example, the bran muffins, the chocolate Danish and the plain croissants.

 

Yes you are right as always!!! Dont ever eat those so did forget about them! I was considering salads and desserts at lunch!

Edited May 2, 2014 by seamanfs

[RDC1]

In the morning, some of the IC pastries are identical to some that are available at the buffet. For example, the bran muffins, the chocolate Danish and the plain croissants.

 

Yep, sometimes you even see some similarities later in the day. For example the chocolate/peanut cup shows up in both. Which makes some sense since the portion size of items is the Buffet is the same as the IC. However, never have I seen something from the MDR show up at the IC (different items, portion size, etc.) as claimed by the OP.

Edited May 2, 2014 by RDC1