Stateroom Amenities Survey

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Why not just do away with suites and replace them with single cabins,

 

should be able to squeeze enough cabins in to earn same $ per square foot

 

yours Shogun

[shredie]

If they close skywalkers to suites only that would be the end of my Elite Princess cruising days. That is the only place on the ship with a view.

 

I guess some suite people think they pay enough money that they should be able to deprive the rest of us of something we enjoy. Seems to me they get a lot of extra perks as it is.

[Josy1953]

Wow, we have just booked a cruise with Princess after 4 years with other lines, we were thinking that we would give Princess another go but if the screw up as they did on our last cruise with them then this will be our last cruise with them. I am now thinking that we have made a mistake booking and perhaps we should just cancel and book with Celebrity, P&O or Cunard again. None of them are perfect but Princess have obviously not improved their penny-pinching ways in the last few years but this sounds as if they are out to grab even more from us.

Edited October 28, 2015 by Josy1953

[Woobstr112G]

I guess some suite people think they pay enough money that they should be able to deprive the rest of us of something we enjoy. Seems to me they get a lot of extra perks as it is.

 

I started cruising with Princess in 2008. Since then I have sailed 9 Princess cruises. Overtime at work has allowed 6 of those cruises to be in a full suite.

 

JMHO, but I don't think I should be somewhat vilified by some for working a ton of overtime at work to be able to book a full suite. If they offer me some reserved seating, a free lunch, priority tender tickets, etc I will gladly accept it for the simple reason I am paying for it. I also like the idea of a suite only (not to include platinum-elites because there are to many of them) lounge; again because I am willing to pay for it. One additional thing I wouldn't mind is if Princess allowed, as a prior poster stated, suite passengers to pre cruise book Specialty Dining, The Winemakers Dinner, and the Chef's Table.

 

Since I am nearing retirement (Spring 2017) the overtime will be ending and I will change the way I cruise with most of my future cruises probably being in minis. I will miss the suite perks but oh well. I do have two last hurrahs though, as my T/A next year and Panama Canal Cruise in 2017 (most likely a retirement present to myself) will both be in suites.

 

Bob

Edited October 28, 2015 by Woobstr112G

[partybarbie]

I'm not opposed to Suites having their own lounge, but not Skywalker's. Suites could have the Adagio lounge converted or use Sabatini's.

 

Personally, if I could afford a suite, I wouldn't even sail on Princess. I would charter a private yacht. Even in a suite, one is still on a mass market cruise line. It's not even a high-end cruise line like Crystal. On a yacht, one wouldn't have to share the ship with the rest of us. Just a thought.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Royal class ships have there own lounge with limited facilities,

 

If Princess wanted to develop this so folks could have meals there

 

on future ships etc no problems with this,

 

 

yours Shogun

[mmckm]

Most of what has been talked about we don't care about.

Priority seating for the shows, we hardly ever go to the shows. mostly found there not worth the time spent. We sometimes go 14 days and never go to the theater.

Tender line for boarding, we have never waited more then a few minutes to get on a tender back to the ship. We return early so as not have to wait .

Champagne on boarding we get a small bottle of sparking wine usually the room steward brings it after muster.

Priority for chefs table and other dinning. We get on the ship first and booking them has never been a problem. Sometime the chefs table is only one day during a 7 day cruise. I've been on cruises where they couldn't get enough people to sign up so it was cancelled. Leave it as is.

Totally close skywalkers to other passengers, that's not a good idea. Sometimes we go there and it's almost empty. There's not enough suites to fill the place if everyone in a suite showed up. The view is great but $1.00 off a drink is a joke. Plus some free food, food is free on the ship. Its a place to get you to spend some money and make you feel special because only certain passengers can get in.

Butler a waste of money, I don't need or want a escort to get off the ship, or meet me, serving dinner in cabin no. We like to do things for ourselves.

bottled water when returning to the ship. Thats got to be a joke. you can't wait till on board or if your that thirsty get a drink while on shore.

A good mattress is important.

Priority boarding great

mini bar set up great

sabatinis breakfast great.

We always stay in suites. Like the perks, but nothing that has been mentioned does anything for us. A spot for a few drinks for a couple hours a night would not mean anything to us other then a quite place to go for a drink as we get the drink package. Think about what your asking for is it worth the extra costs. Nothing comes free, if it costs princess more it will be passed on to the passengers, with profit built in for Princess.

I don't want more, I just want to have a nice relaxing cruise and enjoy myself.

[flamomo]

The concept of closing Skywalkers to Elites, most of whom have spent quite a bit of money paying for enough cruises to reach that status, is ridiculous!! A quick estimate of my own costs for fares for the 15 cruises that got me a black card, plus what I have spent since reaching that point, for an overall total of 30 plus Princess cruises, comes to surprising number of thousands of dollars. And there are MANY other Elites who have way more Princess cruises under their belts than I have. We've ALL paid quite a bit to get where we are on the loyalty ladder, and were happy while doing it because Princess rewarded our loyalty.

 

Considering ways of taking perks, such as the Elite Lounge in Skywalkers, away from Elites to offer even more to suite passengers is a very bad idea. We Elites have contributed to, and continue to contribute, quite significantly to Princess coffers. So where are the ideas for adding a few new perks for the loyal Elites??

[shredie]

If they need their own lounge space, put the suite people in the back corner of Horizon Court. :D Again, I am mystified by those who say Skywalker's is too small for the PES lounge. I have never seen it too crowded, and I've been on a fair number of cruises since I became Platinum a few years ago. I didn't notice the crowd swell when I became Elite, either. This "too many people" thing has become just another meaningless talking point, IMO.

[rdcruisin]

I have just returned from a Royal Caribbean cruise on the Grandeur in a suite. They did take PART of the Viking Crown Lounge for the Concierge Lounge for suites, but there was still plenty of space available, so I don't think Skywalkers will be totally reserved for suites. The free happy hours in the CL definitely saved me a bundle on my shipboard account. I used the exclusive theatre seating perk one time and found the seats that were reserved for suites were not the best -- way in the back.

 

The Princess suite perks I like is the free laundry and mini bar setup. Of course now that I'm Princess Elite, those perks are available to me in any class cabin.

[Grego]

.....and then there are some of us that don't care about all that pampering stuff that help us feel important but rather take all these voyages for the itinerary, being at sea and the experience of cruise life. I would rather they keep it simple, keep the costs down and expand the venues rather than have a butler to scrub my back in the tub.

[JeffandMelissa]

DH got an email from Princess today to take a survey. Being the Good Wife I am, I took the survey:D

Most interesting, were the questions about upgraded Suite Amenities they are considering adding - for a fee, of course!

 

Question:

How appealing is the following group of additional Full Suite Amenities:

Reserved Theater Seating

Reserved Seating for Movies Under the Stars

Daily Complimentarey Lunch in Specialty Restaurants

Dining in an Exclusive Area of the Mail Dining Rooms

In Suite Embarkation Day Lunch

Upgraded L'Occitane Bathroom Amenities

Daily Bottled Water

 

You have to rank appeal on 1-10 scale

 

Then, they ask at what price would you consider it too expensive, a good bargain, worth considering, or so low you would perceive it not valuable.

 

Then, finally, they asked what amenities would be appealing?

I listed these but am interested in your ideas!

 

Tender tickets for return to ship

Priority line to board ship on dock in port

Chilled, bottled water when returning to ship in port

Dedicated stewards with fewer cabins to service.

 

I have to say that most of their ideas would not sway me to spend more but that's just me!

 

I got the same survey. We've sailed Princess 8 times of which each has been in a suite. We book suites, not for the amenities, but for the extra room and my DH is a big man and it helps. But, primarily for the fact is that we like to spend time in our cabin...reading, napping, watching movies/TV...and a suite is worth it to us for the privacy. We have crazy busy work lives and we enjoy just relaxing in our cabin, while we are very aware others only book their cabin levels for a place to sleep.

 

Cruising for us is all about the itinerary, but we do love a good sea day in our cabin. Perfect vacation day for me is staying at home/cabin in my PJs.

 

It was mentioned earlier...what about our non-suite friends? I want to enjoy time with them. I don't need reserved seating. Daily bottled water? I don't like the minibar contents so exchange all of it for bottled water anyway. Embarkation day...we are fine with the dining room.

 

On this survey, the dollar values ranged from $0 to $150 on what you'd be willing to pay for these enhanced amenities. I said nothing listed was worth anything above $0 to us.

 

The one thing I did say they should include as a suite amenity...give me internet minutes...not unlimited free, since that can be abused...but a set standard number of minutes (to add to my current loyalty amount).

 

As with Bob, when we do retire...I am sure the "suite" life will be a thing of the past due to economics. We laugh at each other because once we do retire, we will be so tired of looking at one another, we won't stay in the cabin any longer than we have too. :p

 

Melissa

[LMaxwell]

At least they are asking about UPGRADING services and amenities, and asking how important you consider them, unlike Carnival which makes guest choose how much they can cut out on their surveys.

[RocketMan275]

At least they are asking about UPGRADING services and amenities, and asking how important you consider them, unlike Carnival which makes guest choose how much they can cut out on their surveys.

 

Pretty obvious that Princess understands they must improve the product they provide their most profitable suites customers or lose them to the cruise lines who are providing more attractive options. RCI, Celebrity, NCL, all have upgraded their suites amenities. HAL has a major announcement on branding tomorrow.

[LMaxwell]

Pretty obvious that Princess understands they must improve the product they provide their most profitable suites customers or lose them to the cruise lines who are providing more attractive options. RCI, Celebrity, NCL, all have upgraded their suites amenities. HAL has a major announcement on branding tomorrow.

 

Identifying the direction you need to go in is always a positive step.

[timtrek]

We have been in suites twice and have enjoyed it as it fit in our budget for that particular cruise. When I took the survey the "add on" amenities did not really add anything for me. I don't think I would use it even if it was available, but I can understand why some would like it.

Edited October 28, 2015 by timtrek

[newcruzer2]

When paying for a full suite all the amenities listed should be included or why bother paying 5 or 6 times the fare for a suite.

 

I agree , 1st let me say I've never stayed in a FULL suite. But would love to go on a full transit Panama canal someday and looked into the suite for the space. However I find the USE of the space perplexing. However, I would definitely book a full suite IF princess would include reserved theater seats for suites. There's nothing worse than showing up 20-30 minutes before the show to get a seat , only to be Bummed Rushed, by inconsiderate people 2 minutes before the show. I couldn't take 17 days of that and would find the money to get a suite if, seats were reserved for suite guests.

[pegpowell]

The extras listed did not sound that interesting to me.

[EagleRockers]

Oh no... it looks like Princess is going the RCI route... :mad::eek::eek:

 

Just what is the "RCI route"?

[bhopal21]

We have always stayed in a suite and I answered all we wanted was for Princess to restore the complimentary internet and Lotus Spa Eucalyptus products that they have taken away from us.

 

Mike:)

[Mommypig]

Hi All

 

 

 

Interesting to see, however nothing Princess can offer will make me take a suite,

 

 

 

apart from a 75% price reduction,

 

 

 

yours Shogun

 

 

I agree. I cruise the way I fly. First class is nice if I get bumped up there, but I'm not paying that much just to get someplace. And although we do prefer balcony cabins, we have cruised interior or OV to stay in budget. I would rather cruise more than pay suite prices.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I agree. I cruise the way I fly. First class is nice if I get bumped up there, but I'm not paying that much just to get someplace. And although we do prefer balcony cabins, we have cruised interior or OV to stay in budget. I would rather cruise more than pay suite prices.

 

I completely agree with this! I'd much rather cruise more often.

[rdsqrl]

I think Princess needs to tread carefully here. There's a difference between perks that are neutral and perks that take away from and/or give the appearance of lessening the experience of those who don't receive the perks. It doesn't impact my vacation in any way if those in suites get unlimited internet or a specialty dinner one night or a bottle of Opus One and a butler to draw their bath. However, if the best seats in the theatre are reserved for those in suites or if prime venues at prime times are reserved for suite people or the best waiters/best tables in the dining room are cordoned off, then I think that's problematic on a mass-market cruise experience. When we sign up for Cunard, we know going in what to expect. Princess, however, is no Cunard.

 

P.S. And if Bhopal21 gets his eucalyptus stuff back, then I want some, too! Otherwise, To The Barricades!!

Edited October 29, 2015 by rdsqrl

[Ethel5]

I think Princess needs to tread carefully here. There's a difference between perks that are neutral and perks that take away from and/or give the appearance of lessening the experience of those who don't receive the perks. It doesn't impact my vacation in any way if those in suites get unlimited internet or a specialty dinner one night or a bottle of Opus One and a butler to draw their bath. However, if the best seats in the theatre are reserved for those in suites or if prime venues at prime times are reserved for suite people or the best waiters/best tables in the dining room are cordoned off, then I think that's problematic on a mass-market cruise experience. When we sign up for Cunard, we know going in what to expect. Princess, however, is no Cunard.

 

P.S. And if Bhopal21 gets his eucalyptus stuff back, then I want some, too! Otherwise, To The Barricades!!

 

Totally agree! Those who stay in suites are paying for real estate and some nicer benefits (Sabatini breakfast etc). It should not create a "class" distinction.

[Mommypig]

I think Princess needs to tread carefully here. There's a difference between perks that are neutral and perks that take away from and/or give the appearance of lessening the experience of those who don't receive the perks. It doesn't impact my vacation in any way if those in suites get unlimited internet or a specialty dinner one night or a bottle of Opus One and a butler to draw their bath. However, if the best seats in the theatre are reserved for those in suites or if prime venues at prime times are reserved for suite people or the best waiters/best tables in the dining room are cordoned off, then I think that's problematic on a mass-market cruise experience. When we sign up for Cunard, we know going in what to expect. Princess, however, is no Cunard.

 

P.S. And if Bhopal21 gets his eucalyptus stuff back, then I want some, too! Otherwise, To The Barricades!!

 

 

I am definitely in agreement here. There are enough suite amenities for the price. Remember they already have enough real estate by the size of stateroom and balcony to justify the extra $$. Let's not create class snobbery here.