Shocked by my first Princess Cruise

[Potstech]

So I wonder if the OP expects the food handlers in the gallies to handle each food on each dish with seperate serving utensils? He would either pass out or have a heart attack if he ever went into the food prep areas and saw that the foods were touched by utensils used on different dishes. One knife to chop all the lettuce, one giant spoon to atir all the veggies, one ladle to pour all the soups. Bet seperate ones are not even used in his daily food prep.

 

Wonder where the OP has gotten too? Another single poster then nothing.

Edited August 16, 2016 by Potstech

[Pushka]

I always think I get more value from reading reviews from unhappy cruisers esp when they outline their reasons for dissatisfaction so I can determine whether those issues might impact on me too. In this case - the serving of Lobster - not an issue at all. Just wondering if there is an expectation of individual utensils in the kitchen for serving of portions. Crew - it is nice when they are friendly but wouldnt be a deal breaker if not. Nickel and diming? Yeah but happens on most mainstream cruises. Very happy with small portions. People eat too much these days.

So I guess these issues wouldn't impact me at all.

 

 

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[Aus Traveller]

Clueless personnel (not equipped with any Princess uniform/hat/jacket/flag) was responsible for Russian excursion. On and on and on.

I won't respond to the other parts of the OP because others have. I will respond to just one part of the original post.

 

Princess escorts do not wear a Princess uniform/hat/jacket/flag. They are not tour guides, they are escorts to assist if a passenger needs help. They also have to put in an extensive report on all aspects of the tour.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Just a note on this: I believe Crystal cruises may have all-inclusive shore excursions, where your tour guide is actually a Crystal Cruises employee. While this is typical of all-inclusive cruises, this is not the case for other mass-market lines like Princess (or Holland America, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, etc.). So the staff during your Russian excursion would not have been employed by Princess, and therefore would not have had a Princess uniform/hat/jacket/flag.

 

Hope that helps, and hope you give Princess another try! For what it's worth, I've been on 15 cruises (both river and ocean) and find Princess food to be better than most--better even than Viking, which is supposed to be a high-end gourmet experience (and with which I was rather disappointed).

 

I won't respond to the other parts of the OP because others have. I will respond to just one part of the original post.

 

Princess escorts do not wear a Princess uniform/hat/jacket/flag. They are not tour guides, they are escorts to assist if a passenger needs help. They also have to put in an extensive report on all aspects of the tour.

 

I'm glad someone explained the OP's comment on this.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thank goodness for that. :rolleyes:

 

 

Sounds like this cruise was doomed from the start with the OP expecting a Crystal experience?

[tailspintom]

I would suggest that you stick with Crystal. As others have mentioned, your service expectations may be too high for any large market cruise line.

 

I am reminded of the old Henny Young man story of the person coming back from the "mountains". (Yeah, you New Yorkers know where I mean.) When asked how the food was, she replies 'it was terrible and they didn't serve enough of it'.

 

Our own experience with Princess has been largely positive in most aspects. Same with Celebrity and RCL. NCL has been inconsistent so we steer away unless traveling with friends.

[keithm]

We were on Diamond Princess for a 9 day cruise around Hokkaido, Japan.

This was my 6th cruise but 1st with Princess. I've cruised 4x with Crystal, 1x with Celebrity.

 

To be honest, I was quite flabbergasted by how bad the cruise was. Especially shocking was:

1. The crew's attitude. The crew was completely cheerless: you could tell they were doing their job as if they are on an assembly line. No friendly greetings in the hallway. Some staff were not trained properly. At Sabatini, the waitress had somebody else's lobster shell on a plate and proceeded to deshell my lobster using the same utensils and plate she'd already used for another guest. Clueless personnel (not equipped with any Princess uniform/hat/jacket/flag) was responsible for Russian excursion. On and on and on.

 

2. The food in the Main Dining Room. Many nights we skipped the MDR since the food was just horrendous: portion was tiny and ingredients were subpar. Thank goodness for the 14th Deck.

 

3. The attempt to nickel and dime the passengers (my jaw dropped when after paying $30 for Bingo, Princess refused to provide pencils to mark the paper...instead expecting us to shell out a further $2.5 for special markers).

 

By no means am I trying to badmouth Princess. In fact, despite the bad service, I am not discounting the idea of a future Princess cruise. I really liked the room layout and the fact that pretty much dresscode was casual throughout the cruise.

 

So, did we just have bad luck with a bad crew? Should we give Princess another try?

We did the Regal last Feb. The crew's attitude & genuine caring is one reason we may sail with them again. The good was good, but not as good as Celebrity. That aside the buffet was varied & very good. Portions in the MDR or buffet were generous to say the least. As to the not switching utensils, well we're in the food industry & as long as the utensils are not touched or dropped there's no problem. I'd suggest going back to Crystal, though I'd never think "Crystal" pax would be the ones to play bingo!

[pjrockman]

Really don't understand the lobster comment. The server de-shelled the tail with their own utensils as soon as it got to the table. The passenger hasn't touched anything (the plate, the tail or the utensils) at this point. It would be different if it was the tail that the passenger removed and left on the plate.

 

Also don't understand if that was a problem, then how was the buffet better with hundreds of passengers using each serving utensil.

 

I would agree with others and recommend that you stick with the luxury lines. I would, but I prefer taking several yearly cruises on Princess for the same price.

 

To each his/her own. Safe Journeys on whatever line you cruise.

 

Paul

Edited August 16, 2016 by pjrockman

[Gwendy]

Princess is not perfect, but good enough for me. Portion sizes, as I have mentioned in other posts, I can never manage to finish my meal.

Crew being grumpy, I generally find they react to how you are, smile and greet them nicely you get the same back. Some people/crew can be having a bad day and not respond, this is not going to impact on my cruise.

Princess staff on tours, generally crew wh have some time off, give reports back, but are there to enjoy the tour.

When in Vladivostok on a Princess tour we had the most gorgeous tour guide and her trainee. They brought in home cooked bread rolls for us to try, sorry I have forgotten the correct name.

Their English was very good, much better than my Russian and they were helpful and happy throughout the tour.

Cruising - I go to different places, someone cooks and serves my meals, does the washing up, makes my bed and cleans my room, now even does my laundry. If everything is not perfect, I think I can still cope.

[lucksak]

I say try MSC or Carnival you'll appreciate Princess a little more especially during spring break. :D

 

We have sailed with Princess appx. 120 days. We have always been happy with the food. We do find the service in the MDR slow because they don't have enough waiters. We went on a MSC Prezioa 7 day cruise and the food and service was pleasantly superior to Princess RCL and much better than NCL. We have 2 TA's coming up with Princess.

[Gwendy]

We have sailed with Princess appx. 120 days. We have always been happy with the food. We do find the service in the MDR slow because they don't have enough waiters. We went on a MSC Prezioa 7 day cruise and the food and service was pleasantly superior to Princess RCL and much better than NCL. We have 2 TA's coming up with Princess.

It's all subjective isn't it. I found service on MSC quite poor and food just ok. Lunch in buffet on Preziosa when all tours got back at about the same time was and experience in itself, waiting for seating, ran out of pizza, no dishes cleared, and people everywhere. Gave up on eating and just watched. Best part of cruising with MSC, bingo in four languages, hilarious.

[Arzeena]

 

So, did we just have bad luck with a bad crew? Should we give Princess another try?

 

OFCOURSE you should!

 

We have sailed Princess, Royal, Celebrity, NCL and (now venturing on Carnival) and so far, to me Princess is the best! That is just my opinion based on my cruises. We love to cruise and like to vary our cruise experiences so we do not stick to one line only.

[joeyancho]

I, personally, am suspicious of some one who says all the crew was unpleasant. Maybe one or two but not all. I have never had anything but stellar service on Princess. Especially when I took my 2 year old grandson, Captain Adorable, on his first cruise. They could not do enough for us. The waiters team did everything in their power to make sure he was happy. I was so pleased I tipped them a hundred extra. No way they were just going through the motions.

In regards to the food, I have always been pleased with the portion and preparation. The times I wasn't i just sent it back and got a different meal. I find the food on Princess to be much better than cruises I have taken on Royal and Carnival. The Norman Love desserts are on part with the desserts in a 5 star restaurant. If you think the portion sizes are paultry, order 2, problem solved.

So if you say you were "shocked" as opposed to unhappy, disappointed, letdown, perhaps Princess is not for you. For us it is a great value and a great fit.

[mattswiss]

My husband and I only cruise with Princess in a Suite or with Cunard in the queens grill. Both are great for their price class. If I want to dress up and eat 5-star food everyday I choose Cunard. For a relaxed middle of the road dining experience I choose Princess. The staff has been always friendly on Princess and mostly on Cunard. We are going to sail a lot with Princess in our upcoming retirement. Why? It is affordable and pleasant. You simply can not compare apples and oranges.

[riclop]

We have never found that with Princess.

[Skai]

Meh, I give this review a 6/10...If it weren't for the nice use of hyperbole, I would score it a lot less.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I say try MSC or Carnival you'll appreciate Princess a little more especially during spring break. :D

 

:D Best answer! And so true! :D

[Lucky TGO]

:D Best answer! And so true! :D

Can I vote for this answer to? :)

Tony

[Murphey]

Out 3rd cruise on Princess was the cruise from hell. It took us 5 years to try them again & for the most part they have been pretty good, with the exception of a couple of rude assistant maître'ds.

I am in foodservice so the lobster thing would appall me, but knowing what I know about the typical diner, you are probably the only one who noticed.

 

Since this seems to be a big discussion point, could you please elaborate??

[USNUZULOOSE]

Granted I have only been on one Princess cruise, and that was 3 years ago. So I can't say what has really changed. But using utensils that could contaminate something that was used on one raw item and then cooked, you could contaminate the food. But the food I found was hit and miss for me. But at least I did not have to cook or clean the dishes. I was not fond of the desserts but I am not that big on sweets so much. But there ice cream is awesome. I would give them another try. A vacation is what you make of it. I certainly did not starve.:D

[Nancyquilts]

Crystal is great for a lot of reasons, but Princess sails regularly out of San Francisco, and that works well for us. We have always found the crew friendly.

Edited August 17, 2016 by Nancyquilts

[Cairn Mom]

Nadmad- I have been on 6 Crystal Cruises,6 Princess Cruises,1 Oceania and 1 Celebrity Cruise. Expecting Crystal quality service on Princess is absurd. As somebody else pointed out ,it is three times the price. The good news is that with Crystal you get what you pay for- it is 5 star all the way! We tend to take Crystal when we cruise in Europe. They overnight in many ports which allows the passenger to really explore each place. The Serenity and Symphony are large enough to have a casino and good entertainment, but small enough to offer personal attention.

Princess is a different, but equally enjoyable experience for us. We do not expect the princess cuisine to be as good as that served on the Crystal ships. However, we have always found the food and service in the MDR to be good. In our experience, the crew has always been pleasant. We do not expect the same level of attention on a Princess ship that we receive on a Crystal ship. In addition to the lower fare,there are many more passengers on a Princess ship.

In my opinion, Oceania is somewhere between Princess and Crystal. You might want to look into it. We loved our Oceania cruise. I agree with the others, if you expect an upscale experience then you will never be happy on Princess.

[Sillyjilly]

It never ceases to amaze me that people will spend $$ on Bingo cards and are too cheap to pay a couple of bucks for a dauber.:confused::confused::confused: Especially when you can keep them and re-use them.

 

I believe that all ships do this now.

 

Good Grief.

[pris993]

We were on Diamond Princess for a 9 day cruise around Hokkaido, Japan.

This was my 6th cruise but 1st with Princess. I've cruised 4x with Crystal, 1x with Celebrity.

 

To be honest, I was quite flabbergasted by how bad the cruise was. Especially shocking was:

1. The crew's attitude. The crew was completely cheerless: you could tell they were doing their job as if they are on an assembly line. No friendly greetings in the hallway. Some staff were not trained properly. At Sabatini, the waitress had somebody else's lobster shell on a plate and proceeded to deshell my lobster using the same utensils and plate she'd already used for another guest. Clueless personnel (not equipped with any Princess uniform/hat/jacket/flag) was responsible for Russian excursion. On and on and on.

 

2. The food in the Main Dining Room. Many nights we skipped the MDR since the food was just horrendous: portion was tiny and ingredients were subpar. Thank goodness for the 14th Deck.

 

3. The attempt to nickel and dime the passengers (my jaw dropped when after paying $30 for Bingo, Princess refused to provide pencils to mark the paper...instead expecting us to shell out a further $2.5 for special markers).

 

By no means am I trying to badmouth Princess. In fact, despite the bad service, I am not discounting the idea of a future Princess cruise. I really liked the room layout and the fact that pretty much dresscode was casual throughout the cruise.

 

So, did we just have bad luck with a bad crew? Should we give Princess another try?

 

I would say, you must have run in to a bad situation with the crew. We are elite on Princess and Celebrity, have cruised Crystal some years ago, Cunard and Holland America more recently.

 

The experience you had a Sabatini's should have been mentioned to the manager or you could fill out a comment card at Customer Service... I sure would have done so.

 

I have had only one situation where we had a head waiter once who had a attitude... lasted the entire trip. After that trip, I decided if I did not like something I would change it and not put up with it. I cruise to enjoy myself, if something is not working I try something else.

 

Ref the food on Princess... feel food is about the same on most lines. Feel Celebrity does a great job with the buffet, not as good for us in the MDR... since they are not as accommodating as Princess on off menu orders. Food on lines is not as good as it once was, so we now have decided to eat at the Crown Grill on Princess most nights. On Celebrity I skip the MDR completely, enjoy the buffet. Tried BLU, about the same as the Crown Grill.

 

I play bingo only the last game but know what you mean. I have a marker to take to play.

[Big_G_111]

Alright, since everyone else is slagging the OP, I'll give him/her a little backup.

 

I was also recently on the Diamond Princess, probably 1 or 2 cruises before the OP.

 

I will actually agree (to an extent) with the OP's point #1. There DID seem to be more "checked-out" personnel than on previous cruises. The drink people, in particular, seemed disinterested in making any sales.

 

I wouldn't chalk that up to Princess as much as just fatigue.

 

I chatted up the casino personnel, my steward, and some of the wait staff. Probably 3/4 of them were coming up on the end of their contracts. FWIW, the entire production crew was also 2-3 weeks away from finishing their gig.

 

Can't help you on 2 or 3, though. The food was fine, and paying for the daubers is SOP everywhere I've seen Bingo. :D