All Princess ships the same?

[Robrph]

We just returned from our first Princess cruise on the Golden and I must admit the food, service and general atmosphere left a lot to be desired when compared to several Celebrity cruises we've taken. The service by just about everyone we encountered was cordial and polite, but nothing out of the ordinary. Everyone seemed willing to take care of us, but not the genuine feeling of wanting to do something a little extra. The food in the dining room and buffet was just okay- I can't remember anything I ate all week that I would really rave about. We did visit the two specialty restaurants on board, Sabatini's and Desert Rose, and they were excellent. But in my opinion, you shouldn't have to pay extra to get very good food and great service. Frankly, this is what we've come to expect on Celebrity- and we've been on their small ships as well as large ships.

 

Since our return, I have spoken to others, in person and on the boards, about this situation. Many have stated that their first experience with Princess was on a Grand-class ship and they had similar feelings as us. Then later they tried one of the smaller Princess ships (Sun class) and had a totally different (better) experience.

 

So my question is this: should we expect ALL Princess cruises to be generally the same as we just experienced OR would we fare better on a different Princess class? Thanks for your input.

 

Rob

[Pam in CA]

No... not all Princess ships are the same and you'll find differences even between ships of the same class. I think the Captain and the CD make a big difference in how the ship is run and your overall cruise experience.

 

I'm one who thinks that the smaller ships, such as the Regal Princess, and the medium-sized ships such as the Sun-class (Sun, Dawn, Sea, Island and Coral), you will generally have better service and a better experience. But these are also older ships and don't have MUTS (except for the Sea Princess), large Internet cafes, etc. that appeal to people who think bigger is better.

[Druke I]

As noted above, all Princess ships are not the same.

 

Whoever is the Executive Chef aboard can make a huge difference in the food. (of course opinions about food are highly subjective).

 

Back in Mar 98, we took Royal Princess, Buenos Aires to Barcelona, and food was mediocre at best.

 

5 months later, Aug 98, same ship, Dover to New York City, and food was very good/excellent.

 

Different Executive Chef!

[Toto2Kansas]

I have to admit, we were not impressed at all with the food and service on the Golden Princess this past summer. Now, we also sailed on the Sea Princess in November, and the difference between the two was like day and night.

So, that tells you that depending on the ship and executive chef that the ship has, makes a huge difference.

[Coral]

On the other hand - I wondered the same thing about Celebrity. I was on the Millennium several years ago and had inferior service and food. I have been reluctant to return because my Princess cruises have been much better.

 

I do have to agree that service is much better on the smaller ships. If you are used to the Millie class - the Coral and Island is about the same size. The Sun class experience, while not the latest and greatest, offers a great Traditional cruise experience.

 

Good luck and hope you return to Princess and have a better experience. I am not a fan of the Grand class ships.

[Toto2Kansas]

I totally agree with Coral on this one. We have only sailed on two Celebrity ships, the last being the Millennium. We were so disappointed in the food and service onboard the Millennium that we have not returned to Celebrity since. I hear raves on how great Celebrity is, but that is not what we found. So I guess that means that ships and staffing have a lot to do with the experience onboard different cruise lines.

[Drumbum1977]

I find this an interesting topic. This is becasue we are on the Dawn in April and we are concerned from going from 2 cruises on the Grand and Star. We thought that smaller might not be as "good", but we are not into all the MUTS and other crazy things they have on big ships anyways. So now I feel better about going on a smaller ship.

[2theship]

Our last Celebrity cruise was in 2002 on the Millennium. Until that point we had been devoted Celebrity fans but we found the experience rather disappointing. I have to take some of the blame myself since I think we made a poor cabin choice. It also was the cruise where we realized that our daughters had gotten too old to be in the same cabin with us. But, even taking that into consideration, it wasn't the incredible Celebrity experience we were used to. Since then we've sailed on the Queen Mary 2, the Voyager of the Seas and the Caribbean Princess. We haven't been purposely avoiding Celebrity but there hasn't been a Celebrity cruise that fit our travel dates/itinerary interests in the past couple of years.

 

Having said all of that, our two Princess cruises (Sun and Caribbean) have not measured up to Celebrity overall. The quality of the food (especially at the breakfast and lunch buffets) and the quality of service on Celebrity have been far superior.

 

However, I've wondered if perhaps I'm comparing it to the Celebrity experience of 8-10 years ago when cruising was a different experience overall. As the cruise lines attempt to give us more and more while not increasing the prices significantly, the product is bound to suffer. It's been mentioned many places on these boards how the cabin stewards and now expected to service far more cabins in the same amount of time. Other service staff has probably been cut back as well. And, I've just assumed that overall the food has been downgraded a bit to save on costs.

 

Still, I like cruising and will continue to do so. My expectations are not what they used to be but I'm still happy with the product.

[cruzinchris]

I totally agree with Coral on this one. I hear raves on how great Celebrity is, but that is not what we found. quote]

 

 

I don't want to disparage any cruiseline because I believe that everyone has different expectations and preferences for a cruise. Based on our experience with Celebrity, I second Coral's and Toto's comments.

 

DH and I took a break from cruising for several years and vacationed at some lovely resorts (not all-inclusives). We finally decided to try another cruise, and, on the advice of our AAA travel agent, booked Celebrity because we had specifically asked for something more "sophisticated" than our previous cruises (mostly with our daughter) on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and one on Norwegian. Note: We had not sailed on Princess prior to the Celebrity cruise.

 

We didn't find the food on Celebrity any better (or worse) than previous cruises, and, having now been on four Princess voyages to date, we still don't think that Celebrity's food was superior to any other cruiseline.

 

The nickel-and-diming was excessive on the Horizon with constant pushing to buy drinks, a special video of the cruise, and other shipboard merchandise. We also felt that the ship's decor was lackluster and really quite sterile.

 

By far the worst part of our Celebrity experience was the brusque, unfriendly service that was enough to make us say, "Never again." Here are examples:

 

We rarely, if ever, saw our cabin stewardess whom we believe would not have given us the time of day. To be sure, she did her job of maintaining our stateroom (aft oceanview), but she never greeted us or called us by name if and when we saw her. The only time that she appeared the least bit friendly was on the final night of the voyage when she stopped by to get her tip envelope.

 

While sitting poolside, our beverages were confiscated without our even having finished them! As soon as a drink was removed, a waiter appeared immediately to take another drink order. We figured that they must have had a daily quota because they practically forced us to have one drink after another.

 

What some might consider "attentive" dining room service was downright rude in our book. Plates were abruptly removed when diners were obviously not finished. Similar to the beverage confiscation at the pool, we and others at our table were forced to speak up and ask waitstaff not to do this.

 

Unfortunately, waitstaff forgot from one night to the next, and we ended up joking about this rather than make an issue of the brusque dining service. Those of you who are (or were) fans of I Love Lucy may remember the episode called "Lucy's Schedule" with the dinner party scene that is absolutely hysterical. If you are familiar with this very funny episode, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. Whisking plates off the table in an effort to appear efficient does not constitute good service; it is rude.

 

Lastly, the disembarkation process from the Horizon was insane. Once off the ship, we were made to stand in line for about 90 minutes - in the blazing San Juan sun - while our bags were loaded onto a ramshackle bus to be taken to the airport. I had to sit down on the pavement to keep from fainting or being sick from the heat while DH went in search of a water vendor. The entire process was ridiculous!

 

Disappointed with Celebrity, we again avoided cruising for a few years. We discovered Princess in 2002, and have found our four Princess cruises (and another in 43 days) to be quite pleasant - not perfect - but very enjoyable.

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[Oxo]

Just got back from Celebrity's Mercury. I posted this on the Celebrity Cruise Critic Board:

Just got off the Mercury 12/02/05. It was not the same Celebrity as it was 3 years ago. Many changes and not always for the better. This also applies to all other cruise lines. Changes are being made to ensure a profit. The price of a cruise now is cheaper than it was 20 years ago.I will address only the dinner meals on the Mercury in this posting. This was our experience and I am sure others had some issues, too. Others may have also experience totally different service and food quality. These are two subjective areas. However, I am citing specifics. Not what I heard or did not see.

We personally knew the MD and sailed with him on the Century in '95. He is aware of what is going on and all they can say is 'What can we do other than try to fix it. Our hands are tied.'

Our waiter had 3 tables. Ours, a table for 2, a table for 8 and a table for 1. So he was waiting on 3 tables with 11 people. We arrive at 8:30PM and then receive our appetizer about 9:15. Was he bad or was service bad, no just a little slow.

The first night we ordered Prime Rib. My DH ordered his medium rare and I ordered mine medium. When mine came out it was blood red and my DH ask the waiter if he switched the orders? 'No, that is medium.' Please exchange it. OK, no question - but when it came back it was a different piece, as expected, and it was well done. Over done to the point that it was from one extreme to the other.

We love lamb and they had Lamb Steaks. We were told not to order the lamb steaks by the waiter and Asst. MD, as it was very tough. The table for 8 ordered the lamb and they returned it because it was tough. The same was true of the Lamb Kabob, very tough. The rack of lamb was excellent and we had it 2 nights. No mint sauce only mint jelly. Never had this happen before on any cruise ship or cruise line. No one seemed to know what Mint sauce was. No big issue.

Lobster night, lobsters were very big compare to other cruise lines and you get a very good size tail. On some cruise lines you normally get 2 small tails. Well, the lobster that I had was so tough that even the Asst MD didn't understand why. They offered to replace it and that was not an issue. My DH's lobster was very good.Fillet Mignon was done perfectly, but no taste at all.

Last night they had a steak on the menu. DH asked the Asst MD about the steak. He told DH to order a New York Strip and it would be better. DH was sorry he ordered the New York Strip as it was tough. The beef seemed to be very tough. Is it that the cruise lines are using a lower cut of beef.

Celebrity has an always available menu, but it is not posted. You are suppose to know this or ask about it. Why not post it on the menu every night? No, not all the waiters tell the guests that there is such a thing.

If shrimp cocktail is on the menu it came with 4 shrimp and a cocktail fork. If it was not on the menu and you requested it, you got 3 shrimp and no cocktail fork.

Salad dressing were very bland. Bread ever night was the same.

On Thanksgiving night in the dining room, no decorations or anything to show it was Thanksgiving. They did have a 3 layer pumpkin pie. Only it was one layer and one person at the table for 8 asked where the 3 layers were so the waiter brought two more pieces of pumpkin pie to make 3 layers. What a riot that was. LOL

The presentation of food in the past was very nice on Celebrity. This was our 7th Celebrity Cruise so we know what the presentation of food was in the past. Now it is like someone going through a chow line and they sling it on the plates. The food was bland but the Head Chief on this cruise was English. Nothing against the English, just stating who he was.

Bad experience? No, just not up to previous Celebrity service and food standard. Celebrity is rated as a 5 Star Cruise Line. Sorry, not on this ship or on this cruise.

Go to the Celebrity board and see other peoples opinion on Celebrity. No Cruise line is everything to everyone. I am returning to PRincess!

[Oxo]

We sailed on the Mercury 11/21 – 12/02/2005. We are Elite (Founder) members with over 20 Royal Caribbean cruises and 7 Celebrity cruises. On this cruise there were 56 Elite, 166 Select and 352 Classic members. In all actuality, Celebrity identifies a lot of benefits, but does not seem to provide them. I will identify these short comings that we incurred on this specific cruise. My only point here is to try and help others who may run into the same concerns and/or shot comings. 1. 10 Complimentary Internet Minutes - My DH used the internet for only 9 minutes. There is no clock that keeps time to show you how many minutes you are using until you sign out. He only checked our email and did not surf the net. When he took the coupon to Guest Relations, as printed on the coupon, for the 10 free minutes, he was told that they could not give him credit (free 9 minutes) because he did not use 10 or more minutes. After 10 minutes you are charged 75 cents per minute. He questioned this and asked where does it state that you must use 10 or more minutes. Guest Relations said: ‘Well, it does not say that, but it does state that you get 10 free minutes and are charged 75 cents per minute there after.’ Guest Relations did not know if he would be able to get the 9 minutes free. So, they would try to process that coupon with the people in the Internet Department onboard since they are a subcontractor to Celebrity. I talked to four different Guest Relation personnel and after 4 visits to Guest Relations and 24 hours later he finally got it taken care of.

Apparently People who work Guest Relations are not well informed.

[Oxo]

2. Complimentary Wine Tasting – This was the poorest presentations that we have ever seen on any Cruise Line, including Celebrity. We were ‘cordially invited to participate in their special wine tasting seminar with Cabernet Sauvignon in the Manhattan Restaurant. This unique tasting experience allows you to taste wines from various countries that exhibit different characteristics of Cabernet Sauvignon. The seminar explores the background of Cabernet Sauvignon, the sites to which the grape is best suited, the aspects of the varietal itself, and the artisan winemaking techniques that produce superlative Cabernet wines. Our Celebrity Cellar Master onboard will lead you through the experience of tasting the uniquely different styles of Cabernet Sauvignon. We hope you enjoy this special event especially designed for our Captain’s Club Select & Elite members.’

When you entered the Manhattan Restaurant you were seated at a table that had a white table cloth and 3 glasses of Cabernet Sauvignon filled about a ¼ - ½ inch full. There were no place mats identifying them as 1, 2, 3; no crackers, cheese or fruit; and no literature as to what wines we were tasting. This was a complete farce. It took all of approximately 15 minutes and it was over. Many of those attending were completely shocked by the lack of presentation, information and ‘special even especially designed for the Captain’s Club members.' It seemed like it was thrown together at the last moment. Had trouble understanding the presenter. Would not waste my time to attend another one like this again.

[Oxo]

3. Private Shipboard Departure Lounge with Continental Breakfast – There was no mention of this in any of the literature that was provided prior to debarkation. Called Guest Relations on debarkation morning and was told to go to the Pavilion Nightclub. We sat there until we were told to leave because that was to be used by US Immigration. Went to Guest Relations and inquired where Elite Members should go for debarkation. Was told that there is no Departure Lounge available and someone on the phone gave us wrong information. Same ship’s Guest Relations. Needless to say, another example of Guest Relations not knowing what to do or tell the Guests.

 

I think this final posting gives you our experience on Celebrity. Did we have a bad cruise? NO. It was a good cruise, but we will think very hard before we go on Celebrity again. No cruise line is the same as it was a year or even 2 years ago. When did we cruise Princess last? Four (4) times this year: Sun, CB twice and Star.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy New Year.

[Oxo]

Almost forgot this one. 4. Invitation to Captain's or Officers' Table – This was the best of the worst. On the last formal night, there were 3 formal nights on this sailing, in the morning we went by the Guest Relations and Concierge Services to inquiry about the lack of an invitation. Guest Relations told us that there were not sure how this works, but they thought that all the invitations were set up at Corporate Office prior to the sailing. So, they sent us to Concierge Services. After about 10 minutes of talking around the subject we were told the following.

‘Invitations are determined before the cruise. Celebrity only does it on 2 formal nights regardless if there are more than 2 formal nights. Suites have top priority and then Elite members maybe invited. They only use 4 tables for this function.’

Bottom line is that even though the benefits state that Elite Membership (After completing 10 cruise credits) includes all benefits of Classic and Select membership, plus: Invitation to the Captain’s or Officers’ Table’ that is not true. Suites, regardless of Captain’s Club Membership status will have top priority. I guess since they paid top dollar the suites should get something extra regardless of how many times they cruise on Celebrity/RCI.

My point is don’t list or publish a service if it will not be provided, unless there is really a valid reason for not providing such services. If there are other conditions or terms, publish them to eliminate the confusion. There were many Elite members that we talked to who were very dissatisfied with the lack of the benefits provided on this specific cruise.

Celebrity Benefits do NOT compare to Princess’ benefits even when an Elite member receives all the benefits. This was discussed with the Concierge Services by the couple in front of us talking to the Concierge Services representative.

All the other benefits were provided as listed and appreciated.

[cruzinchris]

Oxo,

Thanks for your multi-part commentary. Where in MI are you? I live in Rochester Hills.

Chris

[Robrph]

Wow! as the OP I seem to have stirred a hornet's nest! So many people dissing Celebrity- and you know what? If you go to the Celebrity thread, people are dissing Princess. So it seems loyalty is supreme in the cruise business. Well, despite our so-so experience on the Golden, we still layed down a deposit for a future cruise, although nothing specific. Hey, ANY cruise is better than working, right? At some point we will try Princess again, hopefully with better results. In the meantime, thanks to all for their input.

 

Rob

[gipper77]

cruzinchris - Are you going on the 7 day Mexico cruise out of San Pedro by chance?

[cruzinchris]

cruzinchris - Are you going on the 7 day Mexico cruise out of San Pedro by chance?

 

We are doing an encore sailing on the Caribbean Princess 1/28/06. Loved the ship a year ago and didn't have time to do everything that we wanted. We're also planning to book the Coral (Panama Canal) for 1/07.

Chris

[Times Prince]

Since our return, I have spoken to others, in person and on the boards, about this situation. Many have stated that their first experience with Princess was on a Grand-class ship and they had similar feelings as us. Then later they tried one of the smaller Princess ships (Sun class) and had a totally different (better) experience.

 

So my question is this: should we expect ALL Princess cruises to be generally the same as we just experienced OR would we fare better on a different Princess class? Thanks for your input.

Rob

While Princess maintains a somewhat common standard of service aboard all their ships, there are differences that depending on your personal taste can be better or worse.

• Let's start with the fact we have not had a bad Princess cruise
  
• The main menu tends to be fairly common, there are some things you can count on - e.g. Prime Rib on the first night with profiteroles for dessert.
  
• There are variations from chef to chef. When on the Pacific Princess II we learned the chef had to be really creative as the previous cruises chef had ordered all the basic material - but didn't leave information concerning what he was going to cook. This cruise also had the greatest food we've experienced, with a German master chef !
  
• The size of the ship probably doesn't matter as much as the quality of the cooking staff. The best Horizon Court fare we had was on both Pacific Princess II and the Island Princess. The difference? We observed the head chef personally involved in ensuring the quality of food in the Horizon was to his customer's satisfaction and delight in each case.
  
• The size of the ship and traditional dining vs. anytime dining does matter some for your dining service staff. Our experience has been that the traditional dining wait staff will quickly learn our preferences and cater to them.

So, try the different ships. All the cruises have some differences that make that individual cruise unique. Sometimes the difference is us, not the Princess staff. Enjoy !

[Oink]

:) Hi Robb, you sassy Summiteer! Like I said on our Summit thread, our 1st experience with Princess was not glowing by any means. However, ALL the other cruises we've done on Princess (excluding our 2nd one on the Grand) have been excellent to awesome! :D

 

FYI - The Summit cruise we met you and Cheryll on was our second on that ship. The previous cruise (10 day Ultimate) was leaps and bounds better as far as both service and food go. The Cruise Critic groups were fantastic on both, but we were definitely disappointed with the level of service and food on our second Summit cruise.

 

Here's the biggie: Dress code on Celebrity is ridiculously silly and just not "vacation friendly". On a 10 day cruise they have 3 formal and 2 "informal" nights with the rest being casual. On a 10 day Princess they have only two formal nights with the rest being smart casual. There is no such thing as "informal" (Which, by the way, when did wearing a sport coat and tie become "informal"?) In my book, this is a HUGE PLUS for Princess. Also, we love the personal choice-anytime dining.

 

Overall I still consider Celebrity to be a notch above Princess in the service department, but cost/value wise....Princess wins hands down. :D

 

Later....Oink! :)

[Shifra]

:)

Here's the biggie: Dress code on Celebrity is ridiculously silly and just not "vacation friendly". On a 10 day cruise they have 3 formal and 2 "informal" nights with the rest being casual. On a 10 day Princess they have only two formal nights with the rest being smart casual. There is no such thing as "informal" (Which, by the way, when did wearing a sport coat and tie become "informal"?) In my book, this is a HUGE PLUS for Princess. Also, we love the personal choice-anytime dining.

 

Overall I still consider Celebrity to be a notch above Princess in the service department, but cost/value wise....Princess wins hands down. :D

Amen Oink. These are the reasons that Princess keeps me coming back. My first Princess cruise on the Golden was not up to my expectations. I felt the food was bland, and service was just ok. I decided to give Princess another chance and did the Star and had one of my better cruises. The food was much better and the staff was great! I just did the Star a 2nd time a few weeks ago and enjoyed her again.

 

I am not loyal to one cruiseline because they all have their pros & cons, but I'm in the process of booking a fall cruise on the Sun and really look forward to its smaller size compared to the Grand Class ships.

 

:D Greetings Summiteers:D