Going down hill in quality

[pablo222]

I asked for a commitment to a Bridge Director for the 89 day South America cruise and Princess would not commit. We have subsequently cancelled.

 

Cancelling seems like a good choice.

 

Whatever happened on the next cruise would be tainted by

your feelings for princess after this cruise.

[CineGraphic]

10 of us wanted to perform brain surgery, but Princess didn't provide us with a victim, errr, I mean patient. :p

[MCC retired]

Bridge must be a very important activity for the OP .

Perhaps it is becoming a less popular activity on Princess ?

After all, cruising has changed over the years , as have the mass market cruisers.

Gosh , I miss skeet shooting ;)

[Colo Cruiser]

Bridge must be a very important activity for the OP .

Perhaps it is becoming a less popular activity on Princess ?

After all, cruising has changed over the years , as have the mass market cruisers.

Gosh , I miss skeet shooting ;)

 

According to the OP's 1 and only "other" post.......

Not having bridge onboard might be better then being trapped between 2 other barges. :rolleyes:

[golfb4cruzing]

Is it any wonder the "Bridge Director" was unavailable? Worn playing cards and frayed carpet...If that is going downhill, you will soon be horrified by other findings.

[Doug R.]

OP's only other post was disparaging about a river cruise they took. I see a chronic complainer with overblown expectations. I would be interested though what led to the expectation of having a bridge director.

 

For some people the glass is always half empty.

[Colo Cruiser]

OP's only other post was disparaging about a river cruise they took. I see a chronic complainer with overblown expectations. I would be interested though what led to the expectation of having a bridge director.

 

For some people the glass is always half empty.

 

 

Not to mention having your first post on CC locked!! :cool:

[DebJ14]

I am just surprised that none of the 100 Bridge Players stepped up and offered to coordinate. On a 45 day on Swan Hellenic there was no bridge director either, but a fellow passenger stepped up to the plate and did a bang up job with assistance from Guest Services. They were thrilled he took on the task and was rewarded with wine and other gifts from the cruise line.

[galensgrl]

Welcome to the world of cruise line cutbacks.

 

Princess is no different than their competitors....good luck finding something better.

 

I think that most Princess passengers would call a Bridge Director....Captain.:p

 

You speak the truth. Go to any cruise lines message board and you see the same thing. People talking about how much better things used to be, and lots of complaints about how cutbacks have changed the cruising experience and not for the better. Don't know about Cunard though, they are a little formal for us so I haven't been looking at their boards. It seems what we are looking at is a "new normal" where cruising is concerned. Less for our money, and more money for what we do get.

 

That being said, I just booked an 11 day cruise in October 2017 on the Crown Princess, it will be our first Princess cruise! We are totally excited about it, always wanted to try out Princess cruise line. :D

Edited March 11, 2016 by galensgrl
add info

[tampacruiser]

I'm going on the regal on 3/27

1. I don't play bridge and I don't think many do anymore

2. I don't feel the need to wear a tuxedo to eat mediocre frozen lobster tails

3. I don't need port lecturers...I can look up anything I need to know on my phone.

4. I wont complain about too many "kids" being on board

5. I will not come on here and opine about the "good old days" of cruising

 

Its 2016...Times they are a changing! I say lets quit dwelling on what was and enjoy what is to come. Cruising has become far more exciting offering so many more options in what to do, and what to eat and when to eat and where to eat....etc etc...

Time to move on to the future of vacations....

What's bridge? LOL

Edited March 11, 2016 by tampacruiser

[Northender]

Not to mention having your first post on CC locked!! :cool:

 

Yes, but now the OP is a two post wonder. I do hope he/she finds a cruise line that fills the need for them in the future.:)

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

So OP lost 2kg, and this is a complaint, I know folks that would pay to lose 2kg,

 

yours Shogun

[Thrak]

Hi All

 

So OP lost 2kg, and this is a complaint, I know folks that would pay to lose 2kg,

 

yours Shogun

 

Our last cruise was 17 days and I was thrilled to gain a total of ZERO pounds! Losing 4.4 pounds (2kg) would be fantastic. ;)

[greenie082756]

When my husband and I went to Hawaii on the Golden in April 2013 we had the pleasure not once but twice to be seated at dinner with a Bridge Director.

 

He was doing two cruises as a Bridge Director. Apparently he was allowed to bring a friend along for free (as his payment for services). So on his first one, he brought a friend (guy) and on his next one it would be his daughter.

 

I thought that was very nice of Princess to do that. Apparently, however, that is not longer provided.

 

I enjoyed doing Poker tournaments however for some reason on our last cruise they were not doing it.

 

Oh well...maybe next time. If not, I'm sure I will find something else to keep me occupied :)

[Potstech]

10 of us wanted to perform brain surgery, but Princess didn't provide us with a victim, errr, I mean patient. :p

 

How about instructions including video? Hope you didn't cancel because of that.

[geoherb]

The level of bridge play on cruise ships, in my experience, is not very good. If bridge is important to someone, he or she needs to find a cruise line that still offers a certified bridge director to direct the games. Friends of mine do contracts with Cunard. The wife teaches the advanced class and runs the games and her husband assists.

 

There are also several bridge cruises every year. They are group cruises where the bridge activities are available only if booked through specific travel agencies. A real bridge enthusiast would prefer this type of game.

[Katie333]

I would suspect bridge directors and tournaments etc, are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Not only is there likely to be a declining population of interested participants, but I can definitely see this as a viable 'cut-back' opportunity for the cruise lines.

 

I think cut backs are inevitable these days and it pays to be an informed cruiser. I enjoy knowing what to expect (and what not to expect) and if something was this important to me, I'd do my research to ensure it was included. I saw Oceania was advertising certain cruises for bridge players, so options are still there ....

[Pam in CA]

Our last cruise was 17 days and I was thrilled to gain a total of ZERO pounds! Losing 4.4 pounds (2kg) would be fantastic. ;)

Over 50 cruises and I've never gained weight and sometimes lost. The OP's cruise was 30 days so a 4.4-lb loss is very doable/possible. That's about 1-lb/week. Just watch what you eat and don't overindulge. There's plenty of good, healthy food to choose from. :)

[TNTLAMB]

I've always lost weight on a cruise. I feel sooooo guilty indulging I actually use the stairs and fitness center.

[elliair]

Wow! A bridge game can be hostile? I don't know how to play. I love to play spades, at least that does not require someone to direct you.:eek:

 

DH and I love Spades too. We bring our tablets with us on cruises and on sea days play Spades. Haven't met too many people who know how to play.

[elliair]

For years Princess had a bridge director on board and a number of bridge players would book cruises on Princess because of that. A bridge director is not just one of the bridge players on board. It is a person certified to be able to run tournaments and have points awarded to the winners. The person is also qualified to give tutorials in playing bridge.

 

But a couple of years ago, Princess said they would discontinue having a bridge director on board except for long voyages and it seems the OP was on a cruise that would qualify as a long cruise. This was a cost savings move, but the only cost to Princess was a free cruise. Princess would rather sell that cabin and hope they could fill the cabins that bridge players no longer would book.

 

You mention priests and rabbis. Princess also used to have these for major religious holidays. For example, there would be a priest at Christmas and at Easter and there would be a Rabbi for Rosh Hashanah, Yum Kippur and Passover. Again, the cost to Princess was a free cruise. Princess no longer does this. And there are people whose religious beliefs mean they will not cruise during a religious holiday period unless they can attend a service run by a qualified member of the clergy. A Cruise Director running an Easter service is no substitute.

 

Yes, 100 passengers is a small percentage of passengers on a Grand Class ship (3.8%), but it could be a significant percentage on the Ocean Princess size ship (14.5%). But if you start eliminating every activity or program that appeals to a small percentage of passengers. sooner or later you will have eliminated what brings 50% or more of the passengers on a cruise to Princess.

 

Do 25% or more of passengers take dance lessons on board? No. So why not eliminate that?

 

Do 25% or more of passengers participate in trivia? No, so why not eliminate that?

 

Do 25% or more of the passengers attend photography lectures? No, so why not eliminate that?

 

Keep eliminating what a large number of passengers do not participate in and you may end up only with the Captain's welcome speech and possibly Bingo as activities.

 

We cruise on both Princess and Carnival and while I see Bridge offered in the Patter, I didn't know that an expert had to be there to supervise. Is the Bridge offered by Princess to all guests? I wouldn't mind learning how to play but I never saw an invitation to learn. As for lectures, we have attended them in the past until Princess started repeating them. It's just like the movies being shown on board, we've seen them all. If it wasn't for the election debates going on, we wouldn't have the TV on. I like the Stargazing that's being offered unfortunately, on our last cruise a few days ago it was thundering, lightning, and raining. Oh well.:rolleyes:

 

You did mention Bingo - that costs like the casino. Princess weill never get rid of that as it's a money maker for them.:rolleyes:

[iceleven]

For years Princess had a bridge director on board and a number of bridge players would book cruises on Princess because of that. A bridge director is not just one of the bridge players on board. It is a person certified to be able to run tournaments and have points awarded to the winners. The person is also qualified to give tutorials in playing bridge.

 

But a couple of years ago, Princess said they would discontinue having a bridge director on board except for long voyages and it seems the OP was on a cruise that would qualify as a long cruise. This was a cost savings move, but the only cost to Princess was a free cruise. Princess would rather sell that cabin and hope they could fill the cabins that bridge players no longer would book.

 

You mention priests and rabbis. Princess also used to have these for major religious holidays. For example, there would be a priest at Christmas and at Easter and there would be a Rabbi for Rosh Hashanah, Yum Kippur and Passover. Again, the cost to Princess was a free cruise. Princess no longer does this. And there are people whose religious beliefs mean they will not cruise during a religious holiday period unless they can attend a service run by a qualified member of the clergy. A Cruise Director running an Easter service is no substitute.

 

Yes, 100 passengers is a small percentage of passengers on a Grand Class ship (3.8%), but it could be a significant percentage on the Ocean Princess size ship (14.5%). But if you start eliminating every activity or program that appeals to a small percentage of passengers. sooner or later you will have eliminated what brings 50% or more of the passengers on a cruise to Princess.

 

Do 25% or more of passengers take dance lessons on board? No. So why not eliminate that?

 

Do 25% or more of passengers participate in trivia? No, so why not eliminate that?

 

Do 25% or more of the passengers attend photography lectures? No, so why not eliminate that?

 

Keep eliminating what a large number of passengers do not participate in and you may end up only with the Captain's welcome speech and possibly Bingo as activities.

 

I understand your point however other than photography lectures most of the other activities are run by the same crew members, i.e., trivia is run by the same person who is teaching Zumba, who also is organizing the pop choir, etc., etc. They all wear many hats.

 

The ship lecturers, Bridge leaders, priests, rabbis, only have the one duty and sometimes that is only for one day only when it's for a religious holiday. I suggest that people who find these positions absolutely necessary to have on board would be to make arrangements with fellow roll call members and pitch in enough money to have that person on board.

[likeadisguise]

Do 25% or more of passengers take dance lessons on board? No. So why not eliminate that?

 

Do 25% or more of passengers participate in trivia? No, so why not eliminate that?

 

Do 25% or more of the passengers attend photography lectures? No, so why not eliminate that?

 

Keep eliminating what a large number of passengers do not participate in and you may end up only with the Captain's welcome speech and possibly Bingo as activities.

 

These activities are all run by members of the ship's staff in addition to their regular duties, so there's zero extra cost to Princess.

 

I'm not sure it's an apt comparison to events that require granting a free cruise for them to occur.

[TwoBadKnees]

iirc, I think the Zumba class requires a specially certified/trained instructor.

[iceleven]

iirc, I think the Zumba class requires a specially certified/trained instructor.

 

Yes, that is the case if they title the class "Zumba" but that instructor has a variety of other classes and/or duties while on the ship. My last cruise in November had the Zumba instructor also running some Trivia classes.

Edited March 12, 2016 by iceleven