Even if you love Princess, help them with ideas to improve

[legalslave]

My only real complaint is the tray thing! Celebrity & HAL have them. It shouldn't add too much expense to purchase trays for the buffet area. Would also like to see status based on number of days cruise and not number of cruises.

 

Diane

[bdjam]

4. Excursion prices within reason: We(two of us) are spending over $700 just for two all day excursions in the Panama Canal/Cosat Rica area.

Why do you feel the prices are not reasonable?

[cruzinforever]

Princess should post the rules of engagement for using the Horizon Buffett - too many people don't understand the "Island" concept.

 

[AZPam]

There are lots of excellent idea on this thread! I would be happy if a lot of them were given a chance. I would be thrilled if Princess would just enforce the no saving seats in the theaters or by the pool!

[CroozBlooz]

Lots of good ideas here. Some, that would require modifications to the ships, are not realistic for the existing fleet, but could be considered for new builds.

 

In terms of changing the basis for determining Captain's Circle credit, Princess likely would be angering more people than it would be worth. For example, Let's assume that someone on the west coast has 14 cruises of three days each, for a total of 42 days. Under the current arrangement, after the next cruise they would be eligible for Elite. If Princess now changes to a day-based system, that cruiser likely would have to sail substantially more times to make it to Elite.

 

And how many days would it take to get to each new level?

 

Personally, we have never taken cruises on Princess that were less than 7 days, so I don't think any modification would affect our situation (as even a day based system would probably take into account an average cruise of 7 days). I just think that Princess would be wise not to make the change because their program already is mature and everyone knew the terms of the program when they began sailing. All of the cruises are equally available (albeit not as convenient) to all.

 

I do think it would be a big plus to add punch and lemonade to the iced tea and water offerings.

[luv2cruise99]

I love Princess and all my suggestions are pretty minor, but here is what I would like to see (not necessarily in this order):

 

1) Trays in the buffet line - this would make it easier to get salad, entree, dessert and drink all in one trip or to serve yourself and a child without having to go through the line twice. Not having trays is especially frustrating on those ships that do not have separate stations because you have to wait through the whole line again even if you are only getting one item and without a tray, it is difficult to get everything the first time through.

 

2) Serve Pepsi products and serve better iced tea. I love iced tea but usually find it undrinkable on the ships.

 

3) Improve the desserts. They always look good, but usually don't taste very good, especially the chocolate items.

 

4) Better quality steaks. On my last two Princess cruises the steaks were horrible!

 

5) On the ships that have more than one Anytime Dining room, make one room casual on formal nights so that those not wishing to dress formally have another option besides the buffet.

 

6) I would love to see Princess build some megaships with extras such as rock climbing, skating, and surfing like RCCL.

 

7) Charge more reasonably for shore excursions. On our last cruise, we booked the same exact pirate ship excursion independently for half of what Princess was charging! It would be nice if Princess' excursions were more reasonably priced so that we didn't have to search for equivalent one's on our own.

 

8) Access to shipboard account on the cabin T.V.

[Host Caroline]

Please please a coffee bar on all ship... lattes, frapuccinos etc.. and on Diamond and Sapphire make the more "visible' .. if you don't go in internet "cafe" you won't find them.

Oh, and latte on the continental breakfast menu..

I swear I'm not addicted but that is one thing I like about RCI...

[dbeckett]

Now that lots of suggestions have been made (and for some things lots of times) does anyone have an inkling if anyone from Princess will read them and what is the chance of anything being done?

 

When I first joined coffee was a big complaint and now some 2 years later it is still a big issue. It is nice to know that other people have the same issues but if Princess take the opinion that we'll still cruise with them regardless of the grumbling need we bother?

[Tarheelbelle]

A lot of mentions about the Princess Patter , but I didn't see this suggestion: Please revamp it! It is the most disorganized daily on any cruise line I have sailed!! So much so that my friend and I call it the Pitter Patter!

 

They need to look at the layout of the Royal Caribbean paper, which has a detachable chronological timetable for each day's activities to carry with. Really, a high school journalism student could do better than the Patter.

 

 

And a very minor thing that probably means nothing to 99% of pax---Have Schweppes mixers, including Bitter Lemon at the bars!

[sandymc47]

PEPSI PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...........Play the "Love Boat" theme during sailaway, as they used to.....Bring back the milk , like the Grand had 5 years ago. I hate begging for milk at lunch, or dinner in the Horizon court. Those little cartons do not do the trick....AND, better beds. TOO hard!!!

[bdjam]

6) I would love to see Princess build some megaships with extras such as rock climbing, skating, and surfing like RCCL.

As I said in my first post – I’d really like to see Princess differentiate itself from the rest of the main-stream mass market lines by concentrating on the finer details of cruising without the gimmicks. We already have RCI (RCCL no longer exists) that provides all of these things. Why make Princess the same as RCI?

[Cruisin' Chick]

Phabric, Holland has RT Alaskan trips from Vancouver. The RT from Seattle is really nice. You stop in Victoria, which is a city we wouldn't mind going back to spend more time.

 

I would love to see a cruise that's longer than 7 days get additional points toward the platinum/elite status, especially as my next cruise is 15 days. It shouldn't count only as much as a three day cruise.

 

UK Lady, I try to wear only one inch or shorter heels. But it's hard to find dressy or even slightly dressy shoes that fit me as I have very narrow heels. Either I have to buy expensive shoes or suffer with poorly fitted shoes. I try to stick with sandals as they fit better but again it's still hard to find shoes I like that fit. BTW, I wore white ballerina shoes (the type you wear for a ballet class with soft soles) for my wedding. Fortunately it was an indoor ceremony.

[legalslave]

Princess should post the rules of engagement for using the Horizon Buffett - too many people don't understand the "Island" concept.

 

 

I am interested in just what the Princess rules of engagement are. I understand what "the island concept" is.

 

I was unaware Princess had rules to eating a buffet! Someone mentioned previously on this thread that when we eat at a sit down dinner, you only get one course at a time. That is true. The buffet is not a full service restaurant. There are many folks who eat their salad with their dinner and indulge in their beverage at the same time. It is very difficult to carry a plate holding your entree & vegetables, a plate for your salad and whatever beverage you will be indulging in at the same time, without dropping or spilling something.

 

If you are traveling with someone who has a physical disability, or an elderly person and are carrying their food as well as yours, it's a lot of trips to the food islands.

 

Diane

[Opinions]

[ It used to be that from 6:00 onward, you were not to be on deck unless you were formally attired on formal nights. /QUOTE]

 

I have cruised for about 40 years...I have never been on a ship where you were required to wear formal clothes on "deck" after 6PM...Many would stroll the promenade deck and sit around the pool deck if they had second seating for dinner...Then go back to change.

It seems obvious that there are some who are relatively new to cruising who have a somewhat different view of ship board life than I recall...Of course I only sailed the mass market cruise lines of which Princess was one.

[bdjam]

I have never been on a ship where you were required to wear formal clothes on "deck" after 6PM

We obviously don’t travel in the same circles. I specifically remember being spoken to by an officer on Starward when I was up on deck at 6:30 still in shorts. It was also expressly stated when I sailed Royal Cruise Line. I wouldn’t know why you don’t remember such guidelines given your years of cruising experience.

[coiran]

I am interested in just what the Princess rules of engagement are. I understand what "the island concept" is.

 

I was unaware Princess had rules to eating a buffet! Someone mentioned previously on this thread that when we eat at a sit down dinner, you only get one course at a time. That is true. The buffet is not a full service restaurant. There are many folks who eat their salad with their dinner and indulge in their beverage at the same time. It is very difficult to carry a plate holding your entree & vegetables, a plate for your salad and whatever beverage you will be indulging in at the same time, without dropping or spilling something.

 

If you are traveling with someone who has a physical disability, or an elderly person and are carrying their food as well as yours, it's a lot of trips to the food islands.

 

Diane

 

There are no rules per se. I think it is just commonsense, however mmany don't understand the island concept and try to fill several plates with all of there courses at the same time causing congestion. At a normal sit down dinner one does not expect to have all courses served at the same time.

[juliejoe]

I do not agree that a buffet is to be experienced in the same manner as a normal sit down dinner. I do not want to make a trip to the congested island area for each course. If that is practiced, my guess would be its done by a minority of buffet fans. IMHO that would only cause more congestion.

 

We find that the plates are large enough to hold our salad, entree and vegetable. We go to the table, drop off the plate and then get our beverage from the beverage station. Unfortunately for the home scales we can't resist and usually return to the buffet to pick up a dessert.

[spongerob]

I find the easiest solution to buffet difficulties is to go to the dining room. Personally, I like the layout of the food service area in Horizon Court, but finding a seat can be difficult. Why fight it when you've got a comfortable seat and great service downstairs? If you have time to eat in the buffet, you've got time to eat in the dining room.

[juliejoe]

If you have time to eat in the buffet, you've got time to eat in the dining room.

 

I disagree. If you are short on time, the dining room can be very frustrating. You can grab a bite to eat much faster from the buffet. We prefer the dining room and go there whenever possible - but it does take more time.

[melissa_bel]

Hi all...

I guess as many have already mentionned, I would like to see:

- Trays at the Buffet

- No chair-hogging policy inforced

- Free pop-corn provided when there's a movie showing, it's a nice (but debatable) touch.

- If Carnival has interractive TV to check on expensenses, excursions, etc. I don't see why it would be a problem for Princess to have it as well.

- STOP the tacky T-shirt sales bazaar... it looks bad and cheapens Princess.

- While you're at it, stop trying to sell me wine, beauty products, diamonds, excursions. It bugs a lot of passengers.

- Please, keep the variety of ship sizes and great mix of popular and exotic ports-of-calls.

- Is decent coffee really too much to ask?

 

But apart from that... I love you, Princess.

[spongerob]

Really, it doesn't take any more time to eat in the dining room if you consider the time involved waiting in line and finding a table. Even if it does take a little longer, how difficult is it to leave your cabin a few minutes early?

Okay, that was a stupid comment, I'm a guy and it's no issue, for the ladies it can be a big issue. Never mind. :)

My point is, the dining room is an option, and a rather pleasant one at that.

[Iamthesea]

I posted the following conversation on another thread, but will also post it here so that Princess will see it.

[QUOTE]I told DH about the ice cream buffet beginning at 3:30, and he asked "I can still get the soft serve all other times of the day...right?" I told him "no" and that the only available ice cream was for sale at the ice cream bar. He replied:

"NO soft serve ice cream
NO lemonade
NO free hot chocolate
NO daily account information on the TV
NO comfortable furniture on the balcony
NO full room service breakfast"..."Now, remind me again of why we are cruising with Princess!" [/QUOTE]

No flames please. We take our first Princess cruise in less than two weeks. Looking forward to a comparison and if Princess is wonderful or even comparable with other cruise lines we have tried, I will be singing praises on this board.

[MaryPoppinz]

[quote name='coiran']At a normal sit down dinner one does not expect to have all courses served at the same time.
[/QUOTE]

If I want a "normal sit down" dinner, I go to the dining room to have it served to me in courses. If I want a quick, lighter meal, I go to the buffet, take a single plate, and put all of my courses on it. It doesn't require several plates -- the service plates in the buffet are more than large enough to hold an entire meal. I don't want to add to the congestion in the buffet by trying to make my own do-it-yourself full-service four-course meal in a cafeteria.

[Opinions]

[quote name='bdjam'][font=Comic Sans MS]We obviously don’t travel in the same circles. I specifically remember being spoken to by an officer on Starward when I was up on deck at 6:30 still in shorts. It was also expressly stated when I sailed Royal Cruise Line. I wouldn’t know why you don’t remember such guidelines given your years of cruising experience. [/font][/QUOTE]

Given my age I am forunate to remember my name let alone all the "guidelines" through the years...I have never been told I had to wear "formal" clothes on a outdoor "deck" before dinner on any ship I have cruised...I don't doubt your experiences...You obviously doubt mine...Incidentally, speaking of "circles" I sailed the Starward in 1994...I don't remember it as being a particularly formal ship...But perhaps I just don't remember.

[KCSungirl]

Dear Princess, Please read my suggestions.

1. Network Television
2. Better towels and sheets. Marriott quality, not Hotel 6.
3. Brewed Coffee, not the liquid mix.
4. Better quality steak and beef cooked to order. Celebrity has you beat.
5. More security at the swimming pools on sea days. People would not try to break the rules if security had a presence. (adult pool, chair hogging, etc)
6. Bring the Silver King back. That cold milk is the best.
7. Add lemonade and punch to the "freebie" beverage list.
8. Do not build another ship as large as the CB. 2000 pax or less.

Fondly, Sungirl