What Has Prompted You From Moving On From Princess to (Premium/Luxury) Lines?

[caribill]

Being Retired and living in the State of High Taxation, we hardly noticed the Princess nickle and dimeing us the passengers

 

It is not the money involved that is annoying. It is the continual interrupting of the cruise to try to get you to buy something.

 

 

This is everything from P.A. announcements to photographers coming through the dining room to waitstaff push beverage packages and wine tastings.

[ABoatNerd]

We left the mass lines (mostly Celebrity) a year ago and now patronize Oceania.

 

The premium lines provide a cruise product that well fits our requirements, generally the premium lines provide the experience the mass cruise lines used to provide to every guest.

 

We reject - the large ship, "ship in a ship", overt class segmentation, fixation on booze, booze with the so called "free" packages, Sysco institutionalized cheapened MDR food; really all the ship food, Las Vegas distractions, reduced service levels, shrilling to sell everything, elimination of inside & outside forward viewing areas, structure and distractions to minimize connection to the ocean and routine itineraries.

 

The premium lines are generally the opposite of the above, hence why we purchase a cruise at this level.

 

Consumers should purchase what they want and minimize brand loyality because that does not serve them well in times of corporate profit maximization.

[kendon]

I admit to booking a luxury line in an attempt to get away from the mass market cruiser mentality. The thread about sleeping on the balcony is a perfect example. I'll let you know if luxury cruising has less frat house attitudes on board.

 

That one had me thinking for sure....hahahaha

[happy cruzer]

We like the premium lines for the small ship - few children, off and on in port easily, flexible dining. We still do the bigger ships for the entertainment and variety. With careful shopping, the rates for your entire trip may be fairly close because some lines/TAs will include grats, internet, air, excursions, laundry, etc. Love the differences.

[chisoxfan]

An interesting thread. We have 'abandoned' Princess after our last marginal (CB) cruise and poor response from Princess. My view is that Princess is a brand seeking its identity (and moving in the wrong direction).

That said, we like the 'attractions' of a larger ship (at least 80,000 tons) ie. multiple pools, restaurants. casino, more music venues, shows, etc.

We also look for value which I know is subjective but I would rather take two/three cruises in a balcony than one in a suite, etc.

We just booked MSC Seaside Yacht Club. Seems to be the best of all worlds. A dedicated suite experience for not much more than a 'premium' balcony on other mainstream lines. Match up front to highest status, and a new expansive ship. If it is good as I expect I will be standing in line to book future cruises with them (YC bookings are already limited due to popularity apparently).

We have been happy X cruisers with Aqua Class and still look at this as a nice compromise between mainstream and luxury cruising.

We love cruising and really have basic needs in that regard. A balcony cabin, great hot dog at the pool, variety of music and shows, friendly service, and limited hassles.

[tere247]

For me, it's the food. We were on the Regal Princess November, Christmas, and are currently on a b2b. The meals, although pretty good on the November cruise, have gotten worse with each cruise.

Alfredo's tomato sauce on my favorite spaghetti stuffed eggplant tasted like Franco American. My best meal this cruise was the first night prime rib as well as the salmon in the main dining room upon boarding. Fish has been tasting extra fishy. My chicken in Sabitini's was dry as well as tasteless. Not enough sauce on the side to give it flavor. My husband's veal was not bad. The buffet was hit or miss. First time ever, I had to salt my food. Crown grill tonight, so I'm hopeful.

We have a November cruise to the ABC islands which I'm considering canceling.

[chisoxfan]

For me, it's the food. We were on the Regal Princess November, Christmas, and are currently on a b2b. The meals, although pretty good on the November cruise, have gotten worse with each cruise.

Alfredo's tomato sauce on my favorite spaghetti stuffed eggplant tasted like Franco American. My best meal this cruise was the first night prime rib as well as the salmon in the main dining room upon boarding. Fish has been tasting extra fishy. My chicken in Sabitini's was dry as well as tasteless. Not enough sauce on the side to give it flavor. My husband's veal was not bad. The buffet was hit or miss. First time ever, I had to salt my food. Crown grill tonight, so I'm hopeful.

We have a November cruise to the ABC islands which I'm considering canceling.

 

Ouch, I would have thought Sabatini's would be at least acceptable in quality. We were also underwhelmed with out two meals on CB Crown Grille.

Good luck on the rest of your cruise.

[CU64]

For me, it's the food. We were on the Regal Princess November, Christmas, and are currently on a b2b. The meals, although pretty good on the November cruise, have gotten worse with each cruise.

Alfredo's tomato sauce on my favorite spaghetti stuffed eggplant tasted like Franco American. My best meal this cruise was the first night prime rib as well as the salmon in the main dining room upon boarding. Fish has been tasting extra fishy. My chicken in Sabitini's was dry as well as tasteless. Not enough sauce on the side to give it flavor. My husband's veal was not bad. The buffet was hit or miss. First time ever, I had to salt my food. Crown grill tonight, so I'm hopeful.

We have a November cruise to the ABC islands which I'm considering canceling.

 

FYI watching food shows; All judges admonish contestants for not using salt. They put spices but no salt. The health craze has left out salt. Unless you eat a lot of packaged or fast foods, salt is not your problem.

I think this is happening on cruise food. Yes, it may not be the best, overall, but with selectivity & asking for more salads & vegetables in MDR, + food knowledge & what interests your palate, it can be done.

If you want to be served gourmet food, you will pay for it on luxury lines.....& may still have to salt.

[Redwing55]

It is not the money involved that is annoying. It is the continual interrupting of the cruise to try to get you to buy something.

 

 

This is everything from P.A. announcements to photographers coming through the dining room to waitstaff push beverage packages and wine tastings.

I kind of get your point, but on most recent cruise, the PA announcements were once and occasionally twice a day (plus one by the Captain about location, etc.) only had Photogs on one formal night and in specialty, no bev package push, cept for stations on boarding day. And wine tastings? Hardly remember that.. maybe on the PA?

 

So,all in all, on a 10 day trip it was a handful of "interruptions" - IMO, not really a big issue. Maybe it's just my perspective?

[diane.in.ny]

I kind of get your point, but on most recent cruise, the PA announcements were once and occasionally twice a day (plus one by the Captain about location, etc.) only had Photogs on one formal night and in specialty, no bev package push, cept for stations on boarding day. And wine tastings? Hardly remember that.. maybe on the PA?

 

So,all in all, on a 10 day trip it was a handful of "interruptions" - IMO, not really a big issue. Maybe it's just my perspective?

 

I agree. And a simply soft-spoken 'no' takes care of it.

 

On the other hand, on my little experience with more upscale sailing, I found the staff hovering in case I wanted/needed something, a bit uncomfortable. I don't want or need a butler at my beck and call. So Princess suits me just fine.

[capriccio]

I kind of get your point, but on most recent cruise, the PA announcements were once and occasionally twice a day (plus one by the Captain about location, etc.) only had Photogs on one formal night and in specialty, no bev package push, cept for stations on boarding day. And wine tastings? Hardly remember that.. maybe on the PA?

 

So,all in all, on a 10 day trip it was a handful of "interruptions" - IMO, not really a big issue. Maybe it's just my perspective?

 

We share your perspective with over 20 cruises on Princess.

[tere247]

FYI watching food shows; All judges admonish contestants for not using salt. They put spices but no salt. The health craze has left out salt. Unless you eat a lot of packaged or fast foods, salt is not your problem.

I think this is happening on cruise food. Yes, it may not be the best, overall, but with selectivity & asking for more salads & vegetables in MDR, + food knowledge & what interests your palate, it can be done.

If you want to be served gourmet food, you will pay for it on luxury lines.....& may still have to salt.

 

I've learned to season (salt) my food before/while cooking. Hate to salt once my food was plated. I want to taste my food, not the salt. Most of my family will salt even before tasting.

This is our 21st and 22nd Princess cruise and always enjoyed our meals. Just not lately. Lots of salads this week

[sammiedawg]

We’ve been sailing Oceania almost exclusively but I still like certain Princess ships and love their Alaska program. We are elite on Princess and view the brand favorably.

 

Oceania food, service and comfort levels are much better than the mass market lines. They include a lot of little things but at the same time it is not all inclusive. The level of onboard comfort really sold me, thickly cushioned loungers, dreamy beds, comfortable seating areas, uncrowned public spaces.

 

Since we started Oceania we have done one Holland America ship, Prinsendam and were displeased. It is an old ship that just turned us off. But we sailed Coral Princess to Alaska and loved it, just like before. The Coral is a great ship. We hope to do Royal Princess in Alaska in years to come. We want to do Diamond Princess to Japan but haven’t been able to work out the timing.

 

We’ve done a couple Viking trips, we liked it a lot but felt onboard comfort and food was a notch or two below Oceania. We had a little disconnect with the included onboard excursions, built into the price whether you take them or not.

 

Variety is the spice of life, try something different.

[Sunviking]

We are elite on Princess, all of our days in suites. Five years ago we moved to Seabourn because the larger ships Princess was building with so many passengers and the changes in food quality were not appealing to us. When I figured out that for what we were spending on a suite on Princess including beverages, specialty restaurants (we ate there most nights because we didn't enjoy the MDR) and gratuities we could get a very nice suite on Seabourn, we tried it and have never looked back. Unlike many people here on CC we only cruise once a year and we feel we get more of what we enjoy on a luxury line. Clearly that's not the case for everyone, but it works for us. It's good that there are lots of options for everyone to choose from.

[geoherb]

We have not tried a luxury line yet. I am a bargain shopper and have managed to find good deals on our recent Princess cruises. I still enjoy the Princess experience. Our last cruises have had improved food over a few years ago. It may be that I'm making better menu choices.

[diane.in.ny]

We have not tried a luxury line yet. I am a bargain shopper and have managed to find good deals on our recent Princess cruises. I still enjoy the Princess experience. Our last cruises have had improved food over a few years ago. It may be that I'm making better menu choices.

 

We were on the Royal last fall and I remember looking at the MDR menu and nothing appealed to me by the description. So I just picked something and was amazed at how delicious it was. So still happy with the food ... just not how it is sometimes described. :)

[RLK33853]

This is a great thread - as well as timely. We have tried most major lines over the years but with the Elite benefits, great service, and good food on Princess, we have spent the majority of our time with Princess.

The last couple of years we have noticed the same things everyone else has - food variety has declined in all venues whether it be the Dining Rooms, Buffet, or even the Trident Grill. There are fewer staff/bartenders/waiters; the stateroom stewards are overworked having to do more rooms, etc. Basically everything is still good, but there has been a decline.

January saw us on the Diamond Princess in the South Pacific. Our mini-suite temperature was over 80 degrees each day. Originally we asked that it be adjusted, and were told that the temperature had been checked and was 72 degrees, thus was fine. The Passenger Services supervisor who was great by the way, had the Mechanical department supervisor attend the cabin with a meter to see if we were being unreasonable or whether the Mechanical personnel were just saying that the temperature was fine. The digital meter showed the temperature to be 81 degrees and over the next 8 days never came below 80 when they checked. We were not the only people with this problem, which apparently couldn't be fixed (even though the hallway temperature was at least 10 degrees cooler and in the dining rooms my wife had to wear a sweater).

Passenger Services did everything they could - opened a file with Corporate, checked with us daily, and then finally were able to move us to a cabin with air conditioning (it became available after a medical evacuation).

When we returned home we had to deal with Corporate for compensation. We were offered $600 future on board credit compensation on a 10K cruise. This was not acceptable to us - we clearly articulated that we were unable to be in/use our cabin for 8 days, that we had to go to the gym to shower since if we didn't we were immediately bathed in sweat as soon as you got out of the shower, and included not being able to get much sleep due to the heat. They said that there was no way to negotiate their offer and that there was no appeal process - either take it or leave it.

Thus the timely thread. We take 2 to 3 and sometimes 4 cruises with Princess each year. We have informed our travel agent to start looking for a more upscale line that treat their guests better. This includes better food choices, accommodations that you can use, ships that are less crowded, have a better crew to passenger ratio, and have a Corporate office that appreciates their customers.

 

Since we always have booked mini-suites or suites, the increase in price to a luxury line isn't that much more when you see what you get.

Now comes our problem and why this is a timely thread. What we don't want to do is to have things included that we don't use. We would rather wander and arrange our own shore time since we have already been to a lot of ports, thus included shore excursions on lines such as Regent are a waste. We also don't like the idea of included airfare since we don't live in a gateway city (thus an additional charge), and that we usually like to travel to our embarkation port several days in advance - on Paul Gauguin and Oceania they wanted a substantial upcharge if we wanted to pick your own travel route/date (originally we were looking at using them for the South Pacific).

Any suggestions from people that have similar tastes? I'm all ears about other lines and why.

thanks

 

Ray

[sammiedawg]

This is a great thread - as well as timely. We have tried most major lines over the years but with the Elite benefits, great service, and good food on Princess, we have spent the majority of our time with Princess.

The last couple of years we have noticed the same things everyone else has - food variety has declined in all venues whether it be the Dining Rooms, Buffet, or even the Trident Grill. There are fewer staff/bartenders/waiters; the stateroom stewards are overworked having to do more rooms, etc. Basically everything is still good, but there has been a decline.

January saw us on the Diamond Princess in the South Pacific. Our mini-suite temperature was over 80 degrees each day. Originally we asked that it be adjusted, and were told that the temperature had been checked and was 72 degrees, thus was fine. The Passenger Services supervisor who was great by the way, had the Mechanical department supervisor attend the cabin with a meter to see if we were being unreasonable or whether the Mechanical personnel were just saying that the temperature was fine. The digital meter showed the temperature to be 81 degrees and over the next 8 days never came below 80 when they checked. We were not the only people with this problem, which apparently couldn't be fixed (even though the hallway temperature was at least 10 degrees cooler and in the dining rooms my wife had to wear a sweater).

Passenger Services did everything they could - opened a file with Corporate, checked with us daily, and then finally were able to move us to a cabin with air conditioning (it became available after a medical evacuation).

When we returned home we had to deal with Corporate for compensation. We were offered $600 future on board credit compensation on a 10K cruise. This was not acceptable to us - we clearly articulated that we were unable to be in/use our cabin for 8 days, that we had to go to the gym to shower since if we didn't we were immediately bathed in sweat as soon as you got out of the shower, and included not being able to get much sleep due to the heat. They said that there was no way to negotiate their offer and that there was no appeal process - either take it or leave it.

Thus the timely thread. We take 2 to 3 and sometimes 4 cruises with Princess each year. We have informed our travel agent to start looking for a more upscale line that treat their guests better. This includes better food choices, accommodations that you can use, ships that are less crowded, have a better crew to passenger ratio, and have a Corporate office that appreciates their customers.

 

Since we always have booked mini-suites or suites, the increase in price to a luxury line isn't that much more when you see what you get.

Now comes our problem and why this is a timely thread. What we don't want to do is to have things included that we don't use. We would rather wander and arrange our own shore time since we have already been to a lot of ports, thus included shore excursions on lines such as Regent are a waste. We also don't like the idea of included airfare since we don't live in a gateway city (thus an additional charge), and that we usually like to travel to our embarkation port several days in advance - on Paul Gauguin and Oceania they wanted a substantial upcharge if we wanted to pick your own travel route/date (originally we were looking at using them for the South Pacific).

Any suggestions from people that have similar tastes? I'm all ears about other lines and why.

thanks

 

Ray

 

We book our own air on Oceania, an air credit is deducted from the price. You can book with or without something called O Life, which is either OBC, a few shore excursions or a beverage package. Booking straight cruise only may be the way to go for you.

We love Oceania.

 

I would avoid Viking, which includes a shore excursion in every port. It is built into the price whether you take them or not. I like this line but we prefer DIY or private touring.

For the same reason we don’t do Regent. I don’t want to pay for someone else’s shore excursions or liquor.

[stevenr597]

We have booked everything from Carnival to Azamara (and in between). An argument can be made for each line and class. We tend to gravitate between Princess and Celebrity. But we are hoping to also book on Ocenia at some time in the future.

[CRZR58]

If you like good to great food and a small ship experience, try Windstar. Depends on your tastes though... No 'Off-Off Broadway' musical, kids, flow riders etc. and just the one nightly venue with live music. No waiting for tenders or lining up for most things. The ships can visit places that others can't get to, so there are significantly less folks on the island than the big ships in the bigger ports.

 

We loved it.

[Sunviking]

Now comes our problem and why this is a timely thread. What we don't want to do is to have things included that we don't use. We would rather wander and arrange our own shore time since we have already been to a lot of ports, thus included shore excursions on lines such as Regent are a waste. We also don't like the idea of included airfare since we don't live in a gateway city (thus an additional charge), and that we usually like to travel to our embarkation port several days in advance - on Paul Gauguin and Oceania they wanted a substantial upcharge if we wanted to pick your own travel route/date (originally we were looking at using them for the South Pacific).

Any suggestions from people that have similar tastes? I'm all ears about other lines and why.

thanks

 

Ray

 

We also like to arrange our own air and we often arrange our own shore excursions. We took a Regent cruise several years ago and enjoyed it but not enough to book another one. Seabourn proved to be a better fit for us. They do not include air or shore excursions. The standard Seabourn verandah suite is approx. 300 sq.ft. with a 65 sq.ft. verandah. It has a bathroom with both a tub and walk in shower and two sinks. We have found the service and the food to be excellent. We've been on 4 cruises with them since our first in 2013 and are shortly leaving for our 5th. Because of the smaller size of the ships, they are able to go to ports that the giant ones cannot. If you look at the Seabourn board here on CC you will see that there are some people who miss the original Seabourn ships (they now belong to Windstar and are supposed to be very nice). We never sailed on them and therefore have no basis for comparison with the current Seabourn fleet. Seabourn also does some very nice things we have not seen on other lines (and we have been on many). For example, on our second cruise with them we stopped in Aqaba, Jordan and took a Seabourn shore excursion to Petra. It was a fairly long ride through the desert. On the way back to the ship, the buses turned into the parking lot of one of the few buildings we'd seen (it was a store of some kind). There in the lot Seabourn had set up tables with hors d'oeuvres (including caviar and foie gras) and champagne. The Executive Chef and some of the staff had trucked out the things so we could have a break in our trip. When we arrived back to the ship, a red carpet had been rolled out and more staff lined the walkway to welcome us "home." It was a lovely day and something that can only be done when you carry a maximum of 454 passengers.

 

You might ask your travel agent to check them out for you.

[Go-Bucks!]

Seabourn proved to be a better fit for us. They do not include air or shore excursions.

Do they include alcohol?

 

I don't drink and do not want to pay for other people's alcohol consumption. My understanding has been that most of the luxury lines (Crystal, Regent, etc.) include alcohol.

[myfuzzy]

I admit to booking a luxury line in an attempt to get away from the mass market cruiser mentality. The thread about sleeping on the balcony is a perfect example. I'll let you know if luxury cruising has less frat house attitudes on board.

 

:rolleyes::evilsmile:

[Griller]

Do they include alcohol?

 

I don't drink and do not want to pay for other people's alcohol consumption. My understanding has been that most of the luxury lines (Crystal, Regent, etc.) include alcohol.

 

Absolutely agree with you, I am looking for a line which doesn't have gyms on their ships, because I don't use the gym and don't see why I should pay for other people's use of it.

 

There is also the question of salad, I don't eat it and don't see why I should pay for other people who eat it.

 

And being bald I don't use the hair conditioner........ need I continue?

[RLK33853]

Great thoughts folks. Keep them coming.

• thanks
  

Ray