We love Princess- but...

[Hazegreyunderway]

Hi all,

My wife and I are ready to try the more upscale ships. We started out with a boom-boom spring break to the Bahamas ( Carnival big mistake). We are late 50's and the cruise age was 20.

 

I post this on the Princess forum because a lot of Princess cruisers have done upper scale cruise lines and in my opinion have the best overall experience.

 

Our 2,3,4 cruises were on Princess out of San Francisco on the Golden and we enjoyed it very much. The ship was kinda old but the staff was wonderful.

 

We are now ready to upscale to Oceania, Chrystal, Regent and other high end cruisers. We are more than willing to pay for excellent service and food. Hence an upscale cruise line. We want it all. Sorry we don't want to seem snotty.

 

Our problem:

We booked the grand suite on the Princess $1000 p/day (Golden) but it was really lame service. Suite L302

The breakfast menu was the same as everyone else and no perks at all for booking the grand suite. You booked the grand suite- but don't expect anything more.

 

We really want a beautiful suite and all the perks with fine dining , which in your opinion cruise line does it the best?

We've heard that some cruise lines require suit jackets after 6pm??

 

We realize that food is subjective. We don't want to be nickel & dimed but are willing to pay top dollar for top service.

No kids- no boom boom party cruises, basically old timers like us that want to relax in style with perfect Gin & Tonics.

 

Does it exist? Sorry for being long winded.

Thanks to all for replying.

 

 

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[Fisherwoman]

We are in our early 70's and have been on more than 40 cruises. We've done everything from Carnival to Crystal. In November we took the family on the Harmony of the Seas in an Aqua Theatre suite. We loved the suite on the Harmony but do not go on one of the mega ships if you don't like children. Even in the suite dining room, lots of kids and school was in session.

 

I would go Crystal! No extra charges and believe me we are fed up with the upcharges. The food and entertainment on Crystal is fantastic! It's a completely different cruise experience and would be my choice if price didn't matter! Enjoy.

[Keith1010]

We have sailed many cruise lines over the years and there was a point in our lives that we are primarily sailing Princess and Celebrity and enjoyed them both. We finally decided that we wanted to try a luxury line. We did a lot of research.

 

We tried Crystal and over time a couple of other luxury lines and Crystal did become our go to line.

 

Over the years it evolved in terms of including more items in the cruise fare.

 

We like the line because of the size of the ships. Not too large but not too small so they can offer a good deal more enrichment and entertainment and other activities compared to other luxury lines so for us that works.

 

You will never know for sure until you experience a luxury line.

 

I would give it a try.

 

We still from time to time sail other lines and not all luxury lines. Often the itinerary has become the driver.

 

Good luck with this.

 

Keith

[CU64]

You might try QM2 or Victoria.

[Lanwood]

We have a similar opinion to yourself, and also book full suites when we cruise Princess, however we like to co me back "home" to Princess every other cruise or so. I guess its the familiarity of the line. We choose Crystal us our "upscale" alternatively.

[Bigred84]

Viking ocean cruises do a very good job, friendly crew, beautiful ships and very good food.

[happy cruzer]

Here is someone who cruises Princess asking about Oceania:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2587854

 

Do lots of research, happy hunting.

[RNRcruisers]

Hubby and I are mid-50's but Princess is as "upscale" as we can afford :) I would try Viking if money was no object.

[cruzsnooze]

I like Azamara better then Princess but their itineraries are not appealing. I hate flying so try to stay close to home port in Los Angeles which limits us to a lot of Princess. I plan to try Viking ocean soon.

[lahore]

Oceania: best food at sea IMO and Penthouse suite (which we had once) comes with butler and immaculate service. ‘Country Club’ Casual attire at all times, no requirement for ‘dressing up’ at night. Princess is entirely lame as you say, although we have cruised with them a bit because of itineraries, we always expect bad food and lacklustre service. For the amount you are spending you could do a great deal better with any of the upscale lines, e.g., Oceania, Azamara, Seabourn.....

 

 

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[cherdon]

I'm not sure if Windstar is considered upscale. We have enjoyed them very much. We just got off Diamond Princess and were disappointed with the cruise.

[LuAnn]

I agree with you trying Oceania and/or Azamara...both are very nice and have great suites...especially Oceania...and the food is fabulous on board there as well. LuAnn

[Coral]

I sailed on Crystal once and it was amazing. Everything was perfect. I loved the size of the Crystal Serenity. Though I would probably be happy with any of the R ships also on some of the other lines.

 

It was several years ago. I personally would rather sail in a cheaper cabin on a more expensive cruise linen than in the top cabin on Princess. Just me.

[Mike45LC]

Based on the OP's comments, I would suggest Crystal and/or Seabourn.

[Cairn Mom]

We have sailed many cruise lines over the years and there was a point in our lives that we are primarily sailing Princess and Celebrity and enjoyed them both. We finally decided that we wanted to try a luxury line. We did a lot of research.

 

We tried Crystal and over time a couple of other luxury lines and Crystal did become our go to line.

 

Over the years it evolved in terms of including more items in the cruise fare.

 

We like the line because of the size of the ships. Not too large but not too small so they can offer a good deal more enrichment and entertainment and other activities compared to other luxury lines so for us that works.

 

You will never know for sure until you experience a luxury line.

 

I would give it a try.

 

We still from time to time sail other lines and not all luxury lines. Often the itinerary has become the driver.

 

Good luck with this.

 

Keith

 

 

 

We sail primarily Princess and Crystal. Itinerary is the driving force.

We tend to like Crystal for European voyages because the offer many port intensive cruises. The crews on both the Symphony and Serenity are very attentive and we see many of the same people year after year. They don’t nickel and dime you, but you pay a lot more upfront. Crystal is an elegant experience with no formal nights- a dream come true lol.

Princess is great for what it is, but they have gone down since we first started sailing with them. For example,they offer now hamburgers instead of steak on the “always available”section of the menu in the MDR. However, they have lots of ships with itineraries that appeal. We’re Platinum and we like our perks. Our next trip is a Australian cruise tour. From what I read,Princess does this well. We’ll see...

 

 

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[Flatbush Flyer]

Oceania: best food at sea IMO and Penthouse suite (which we had once) comes with butler and immaculate service. ‘Country Club’ Casual attire at all times, no requirement for ‘dressing up’ at night. Princess is entirely lame as you say, although we have cruised with them a bit because of itineraries, we always expect bad food and lacklustre service. For the amount you are spending you could do a great deal better with any of the upscale lines, e.g., Oceania, Azamara, Seabourn.....

 

 

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So many HAL, Princess and Celebrity cruisers have finally done the math and realized Oceania gets them a far better experience for basically the same "bottom line" (all expenses included) price.

 

 

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[Gabanna31]

I am 100% with you on elevated luxury. We are willing to spend hard earned money on elevated accoutrements, but the main stream lines are adding so many fees now and upcharges that it makes sense to pay more inclusive up front. It’s all part of our changing global economy, consumers have a more disecerning palate at this point. I am returning to a Princess Cruise after cruising Royal, and NCL the past 10 years. I hope to be impressed yet I know that the cruise experience is not what it used to be.

I’ve been pursuing the Seabone and Crystal boards recently- my only trepidation is that we will be in the minority of young travelers on those lines.

[timtrek]

Hi all,

My wife and I are ready to try the more upscale ships. We started out with a boom-boom spring break to the Bahamas ( Carnival big mistake). We are late 50's and the cruise age was 20.

 

I post this on the Princess forum because a lot of Princess cruisers have done upper scale cruise lines and in my opinion have the best overall experience.

 

Our 2,3,4 cruises were on Princess out of San Francisco on the Golden and we enjoyed it very much. The ship was kinda old but the staff was wonderful.

 

We are now ready to upscale to Oceania, Chrystal, Regent and other high end cruisers. We are more than willing to pay for excellent service and food. Hence an upscale cruise line. We want it all. Sorry we don't want to seem snotty.

 

Our problem:

We booked the grand suite on the Princess $1000 p/day (Golden) but it was really lame service. Suite L302

The breakfast menu was the same as everyone else and no perks at all for booking the grand suite. You booked the grand suite- but don't expect anything more.

 

We really want a beautiful suite and all the perks with fine dining , which in your opinion cruise line does it the best?

We've heard that some cruise lines require suit jackets after 6pm??

 

We realize that food is subjective. We don't want to be nickel & dimed but are willing to pay top dollar for top service.

No kids- no boom boom party cruises, basically old timers like us that want to relax in style with perfect Gin & Tonics.

 

Does it exist? Sorry for being long winded.

Thanks to all for replying.

 

 

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Seriously? Did you know about Sabatinis for the Suite only breakfast. This is one of the reason that my wife and I book suites. I dont think its worth 1000/day, but it is not the same menu as everyone else. Also did you know you could order off the MDR menu for room service? That is a great suite perk, too !

Edited January 27, 2018 by timtrek

[lahore]

I’d put Sabatini’s up against the buffet on Oceania any day, and the winner would always be Oceania. Oceania’s worst food is better than Princess’s best.

 

 

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[Hlitner]

Found the OP's post fascinating. We have been cruising (extensively) for over forty yeas on all kinds of cruise lines from budget to upscale. Over the years we have never understood why anyone would book an expensive suite on a mass market line. Sure, some folks do not care about the money and like a larger cabin. But we equate an expensive mass market cruise line suite (such as Princess) with the person that buys a million dollar home in a neighborhood where the other homes cost $100.000. Bottom line is that you still have the same Princess staff, same entertainment, pretty much the same cuisine, same deck chairs, etc.

 

Go on a line like Seabourn, Silverseas, Sea Dream and everything is upscale. I guess there are some folks who prefer to be the big person in a small field. But others (including us) figure if we are going to pay the big bucks we want more for our money then a few extra square feet. For us, the truth about suites is that we sleep in our cabin 6-8 hours a night (when we have no clue to the size of our cabin). We are awake in our cabin 2-3 hours a day. To pay an extra $1000+ per day for space we use no more than 3-4 waking hours is nutz. Because in the end we are on the same ship as folks paying less than $100 a day. Bottom line is that if we are paying the big bucks. we want to be on a ship where everything (not just our cabin) is upscale.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

I am 100% with you on elevated luxury. We are willing to spend hard earned money on elevated accoutrements, but the main stream lines are adding so many fees now and upcharges that it makes sense to pay more inclusive up front. It’s all part of our changing global economy, consumers have a more disecerning palate at this point. I am returning to a Princess Cruise after cruising Royal, and NCL the past 10 years. I hope to be impressed yet I know that the cruise experience is not what it used to be.

 

I’ve been pursuing the Seabone and Crystal boards recently- my only trepidation is that we will be in the minority of young travelers on those lines.

 

 

 

Look instead at Oceania. Though there's an older crowd on the longest cruises, those that are 2 weeks +\- to areas like the Med ar very popular with university alumni associations and multi-generational families.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

I recommend that the OP try one of the luxury lines.

 

We have sailed three of them; Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal.

 

Our favorite is Crystal because it offers what we are most interested in as the ship are larger then those of Silversea and Seabourn (they sail around 900-950 passengers) so they can offer lots of daytime and evening activities along with great service and cuisine.

 

Keith

[AF-1]

Seriously? Did you know about Sabatinis for the Suite only breakfast. This is one of the reason that my wife and I book suites. I dont think its worth 1000/day, but it is not the same menu as everyone else. Also did you know you could order off the MDR menu for room service? That is a great suite perk, too !

 

I have to agree with TimTrek, you were in a suite and along with that suite comes perks. Breakfast in the crown grill or Sabatini's depending on which ship you sail; club class dining where you are seated right away and have a different menu; fresh fruit and hor's douvere's every day in your suite; free dry cleaning, bottles of water every day. mini bar setup with booze; there are more perks; i have only listed a few. If you didn't take advantage of these then you missed out

[StLouisCruisers]

My recommendation is Seabourn. I was very impressed with the ship, food, alcohol included, suites for everyone. No photographers, gratuities added or art auctions every other day. We choose for the itinerary and not for daily activities. I would try Crystal but haven't needed to yet.

[Cairn Mom]

Found the OP's post fascinating. We have been cruising (extensively) for over forty yeas on all kinds of cruise lines from budget to upscale. Over the years we have never understood why anyone would book an expensive suite on a mass market line. Sure, some folks do not care about the money and like a larger cabin. But we equate an expensive mass market cruise line suite (such as Princess) with the person that buys a million dollar home in a neighborhood where the other homes cost $100.000. Bottom line is that you still have the same Princess staff, same entertainment, pretty much the same cuisine, same deck chairs, etc.

 

 

 

Go on a line like Seabourn, Silverseas, Sea Dream and everything is upscale. I guess there are some folks who prefer to be the big person in a small field. But others (including us) figure if we are going to pay the big bucks we want more for our money then a few extra square feet. For us, the truth about suites is that we sleep in our cabin 6-8 hours a night (when we have no clue to the size of our cabin). We are awake in our cabin 2-3 hours a day. To pay an extra $1000+ per day for space we use no more than 3-4 waking hours is nutz. Because in the end we are on the same ship as folks paying less than $100 a day. Bottom line is that if we are paying the big bucks. we want to be on a ship where everything (not just our cabin) is upscale.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s the itinerary that causes people to choose Princess over Crystal. Which line is going when and where we want to go decides it for us. Different strokes for different folks.

 

 

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