How much are you willing to let slide?

[startedwithamouse]

But we're not paying full price or even close to it for cruising. Compared to land vacations, cruises are dirt cheap. We are still getting a fantastic deal for money spent. Where can we get a room for a week with all meals and entertainment for well under $100 a day?  No where else.  

[Level six]

I guess we are all willing to try it until it affects us directly like it has some people.  

 

I have had one fantastic cruise (15 days) post covid and one okay cruise (14 days).  I will try again, but if it is just MEH, then I will really have to rethink whether the return meets the investment. 

 

Is it worth all the pre testing, stress and then lack of enjoyment?  Only the person experiencing it can say. 

 

 

[Thrak]

Okay... I know I said "'nuff said" earlier but perhaps I should give a more thorough answer. (Although I do stand by my opinion that the marketing of cruises on Crown - even though Princess knows full well  that they can't fulfill their promises on that ship - is due to the evil marketing clown known as John Padgett.)

 

We have only sailed once since the restart. It was 12 days in Alaska on Royal Princess - which was originally supposed to be Sapphire Princess but they changed ships on us. We were not at all happy about the change of ship but, since it seems Sapphire still isn't sailing with passengers, I'm guessing we may have dodged a (Crown Princess type) of bullet. I really don't know what the deal is with Sapphire Princess. Due to the change we lost the large Caribe balcony we had booked and were given the same cabin on Royal Princess which has a much smaller balcony. Due to the fact that we read about the deck directly below being used for the "Covid Ward" we asked to be moved and we ended up on Aloha Deck. So far, not too bad. EZ Air then moved our incoming flight to land a day and a half after the ship was due to leave. I don't really place this on Princess as Delta made the changes. I did the "wait on hold forever" thing and finally got the flight fixed.

 

Staff on Royal Princess were exemplary - other than one person at Customer Service who was somewhat surly and unhelpful. What the heck is up with that? On the other hand I did see some pretty "vocal" passengers at that desk so the crew member had likely been reamed out and wasn't in the best "customer service mood".

 

We had several excursions that had to be refunded One was closed the day we were in port. One was heavily impacted by another ship and by extremely poor planning on the part of Princess. One was cancelled and arbitrarily replaced with another excursion we didn't want. I went to the Excursions desk and was patient and non-confrontational. I told them that I fully understood it wasn't their fault. I was refunded in full for all 3 excursions and they sent a bottle of wine to my cabin as a thank you for not reaming on them. (I'm pretty sure they had a fair number of irate passengers jump all over them and, as I said, it really wasn't their fault at all. They just happened to be the staff who had to deal with the problems caused by Princess. (John Padgett... Really... He really is the devil...) I was surprised when they called to apologize again and ask if we would prefer Red or White wine. (It was good wine too!)

 

The serving staff was embarrassed and apologetic when it took forever to take an order and, by the time their device connected, they had to ask us to repeat the order. Again, we made sure they knew that we understood it wasn't their fault. (We felt pretty bad for some of them as it really was embarrassing for them.)

 

Our steward was excellent. The bartenders were excellent. The staff at IC were excellent. (The show Colors of the World should be taken out and made to walk the plank.) The casino staff or whoever was in charge of the casino should be made to walk the plank along with the show. There "may" have been an announcement in the casino to let people know it would be closed the last night of the cruise but who the heck spends their entire cruise in the casino "just in case" there might be an announcement. Normally they leave a message on the cabin phone to remind you to cash out. Not only did they not do that there was no notice in the Patter telling people they would close a night earlier then usual because they weren't heading out to sea far enough to open. We were unable to get out money out of the casino and, since I only had a couple of bucks Canadian on me, we were unable to tip the excellent Steward, bartenders, etc. Not cool. (We did get our money in the mail 3 weeks later.)

 

Even though we weren't flying home the day we disembarked (we had flights booked for the next day) Princess covered our Covid tests and, had we tested positive, they promised to put us up on a Canadian hotel and pay for meals. Fortunately, we tested negative and were able to fly home on schedule.

 

Food in MDR was good. We were not offended by the portion sizes. Staff in MDR was great. After the first night we were able to be seated with our friends at the same table with the same staff each night. Other than not having any cash (stupid casino manager) with which to tip the excellent servers we had zero issues with MDR.( Okay, there was no freaking ice cream available for my wife and no creme brulee available for me. WHAT THE HECK??? However, when our table mates made a point of the lack of creme brulee and told the head waiter that I pretty much always ordered that, he did go away and then come back with creme brulee for everybody at our table. I thought that was pretty good service but still have no idea why creme brulee and ice cream weren't ever on the dinner menu for our cruise.) Food in the buffet was "so so" and most of the buffet had zero food. The Pastry Shop portion had nothing in it for the entire cruise.

 

Pre-cruise testing was a stressful pain in the butt. Testing to fly home was a stressful pain in the butt. However, I don't believe either of those requirement were "Princess requirements".

 

In summary, there were a few things that were annoying and we felt could be better but, overall, we still enjoyed our cruise and (other than one less than helpful and somewhat grumpy Customer Service person) the staff went out of their way to make our time aboard great.

 

We are considering booking a 16 day cruise in December and a 32 day B2B2B in October/November of 2023.

 

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Thrak

[Steelers36]

9 hours ago, nini said:

Wine pours were 3 oz.

Is this for real?  I have read a couple of posts about WBTG being less, but 3 oz seems impossible to believe.  Perhaps a slight exaggeration?  Although even 4 oz would still be terribly chintzy.  I imagine  it was another of your posts, at least, that I saw recently.  Perhaps a cruise report.

 

Anyway, this is terrible that they would do such a thing.  3oz is like two sips and it's gone.  I know a lot of restaurants pour 6 oz (and some offer a 9 oz option), but I think Princess was doing 5 oz.

 

Makes my BYOW decision even more worthwhile. 

 

[suzyed]

8 hours ago, voljeep said:

huh...too bad you couldn't have used them on the cruise your daughters had to pay over 12k for...

They didn't HAVE to pay it....that was their gift to their dad.  They didn't want us to use our FCCs so we could still use them on our upcoming cruise.

[suzyed]

5 hours ago, JEH said:

Booked on the Crown 8/19 /22  7 night from Seattle ,  the key to our happiness  is low expectations . Have done in past years 2 land sea cruises with Princess which were excellent . We're  not expecting  that and are using  credits. Hope things improve .

We have no problem with Princess' ships on a normal day. We love Princess. But what is going on with the Crown right now is a whole other story.

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by suzyed

[Happiest when cruising]

3 hours ago, Thrak said:

Okay... I know I said "'nuff said" earlier but perhaps I should give a more thorough answer. (Although I do stand by my opinion that the marketing of cruises on Crown - even though Princess knows full well  that they can't fulfill their promises on that ship - is due to the evil marketing clown known as John Padgett.)

 

We have only sailed once since the restart. It was 12 days in Alaska on Royal Princess - which was originally supposed to be Sapphire Princess but they changed ships on us. We were not at all happy about the change of ship but, since it seems Sapphire still isn't sailing with passengers, I'm guessing we may have dodged a (Crown Princess type) of bullet. I really don't know what the deal is with Sapphire Princess. Due to the change we lost the large Caribe balcony we had booked and were given the same cabin on Royal Princess which has a much smaller balcony. Due to the fact that we read about the deck directly below being used for the "Covid Ward" we asked to be moved and we ended up on Aloha Deck. So far, not too bad. EZ Air then moved our incoming flight to land a day and a half after the ship was due to leave. I don't really place this on Princess as Delta made the changes. I did the "wait on hold forever" thing and finally got the flight fixed.

 

Staff on Royal Princess were exemplary - other than one person at Customer Service who was somewhat surly and unhelpful. What the heck is up with that? On the other hand I did see some pretty "vocal" passengers at that desk so the crew member had likely been reamed out and wasn't in the best "customer service mood".

 

We had several excursions that had to be refunded One was closed the day we were in port. One was heavily impacted by another ship and by extremely poor planning on the part of Princess. One was cancelled and arbitrarily replaced with another excursion we didn't want. I went to the Excursions desk and was patient and non-confrontational. I told them that I fully understood it wasn't their fault. I was refunded in full for all 3 excursions and they sent a bottle of wine to my cabin as a thank you for not reaming on them. (I'm pretty sure they had a fair number of irate passengers jump all over them and, as I said, it really wasn't their fault at all. They just happened to be the staff who had to deal with the problems caused by Princess. (John Padgett... Really... He really is the devil...) I was surprised when they called to apologize again and ask if we would prefer Red or White wine. (It was good wine too!)

 

The serving staff was embarrassed and apologetic when it took forever to take an order and, by the time their device connected, they had to ask us to repeat the order. Again, we made sure they knew that we understood it wasn't their fault. (We felt pretty bad for some of them as it really was embarrassing for them.)

 

Our steward was excellent. The bartenders were excellent. The staff at IC were excellent. (The show Colors of the World should be taken out and made to walk the plank.) The casino staff or whoever was in charge of the casino should be made to walk the plank along with the show. There "may" have been an announcement in the casino to let people know it would be closed the last night of the cruise but who the heck spends their entire cruise in the casino "just in case" there might be an announcement. Normally they leave a message on the cabin phone to remind you to cash out. Not only did they not do that there was no notice in the Patter telling people they would close a night earlier then usual because they weren't heading out to sea far enough to open. We were unable to get out money out of the casino and, since I only had a couple of bucks Canadian on me, we were unable to tip the excellent Steward, bartenders, etc. Not cool. (We did get our money in the mail 3 weeks later.)

 

Even though we weren't flying home the day we disembarked (we had flights booked for the next day) Princess covered our Covid tests and, had we tested positive, they promised to put us up on a Canadian hotel and pay for meals. Fortunately, we tested negative and were able to fly home on schedule.

 

Food in MDR was good. We were not offended by the portion sizes. Staff in MDR was great. After the first night we were able to be seated with our friends at the same table with the same staff each night. Other than not having any cash (stupid casino manager) with which to tip the excellent servers we had zero issues with MDR.( Okay, there was no freaking ice cream available for my wife and no creme brulee available for me. WHAT THE HECK??? However, when our table mates made a point of the lack of creme brulee and told the head waiter that I pretty much always ordered that, he did go away and then come back with creme brulee for everybody at our table. I thought that was pretty good service but still have no idea why creme brulee and ice cream weren't ever on the dinner menu for our cruise.) Food in the buffet was "so so" and most of the buffet had zero food. The Pastry Shop portion had nothing in it for the entire cruise.

 

Pre-cruise testing was a stressful pain in the butt. Testing to fly home was a stressful pain in the butt. However, I don't believe either of those requirement were "Princess requirements".

 

In summary, there were a few things that were annoying and we felt could be better but, overall, we still enjoyed our cruise and (other than one less than helpful and somewhat grumpy Customer Service person) the staff went out of their way to make our time aboard great.

 

We are considering booking a 16 day cruise in December and a 32 day B2B2B in October/November of 2023.

 

 

Was there no ATM onboard? Guest services may have been able to assist you, as well. . I’ve read a post before where you had no cash to tip extra, but wanted to. I’m sure I have been able to get local currency on board before, I just don’t exactly remember how…

[caribill]

15 hours ago, Ombud said:

> no laundry

 

 

Please explain more.

[caribill]

8 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

 The Lotus Spa pool was algae filled for days until another cruiser personally escorted the HGM there and wrote his name on the algae on the wall.

 

Love it!

[caribill]

7 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Where can we get a room for a week with all meals and entertainment for well under $100 a day? 

 

Certainly not on my Ruby cruise this December where balcony cabins start at $190/day/person plus taxes + gratuities. (Admittedly an inside cabin starts at just under $100/day/person + taxes+ gratuities.)

 

Or on my Island Princess cruise next spring where balcony cabins start at $186/day/person + taxes+gratuities. (Inside cabin starts at $124/day/person + taxes + gratuities.)

[caribill]

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

(Although I do stand by my opinion that the marketing of cruises on Crown - even though Princess knows full well  that they can't fulfill their promises on that ship - is due to ... John Padgett.)

 

 

Remember that JP comes from the Disney organization. When you arrive at a Disney park with your pre-purchased ticket you are greeted with a sign listing what attractions are closed during your visit..

 

Much the same practice with the Crown Princess when after having made final payment and embarkation day approaches you are informed of where you will not be going and where you will not have enough time to do anything on shore at the places you will be visiting.

[leck57]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Is this for real?  I have read a couple of posts about WBTG being less, but 3 oz seems impossible to believe.  Perhaps a slight exaggeration?  Although even 4 oz would still be terribly chintzy.  I imagine  it was another of your posts, at least, that I saw recently.  Perhaps a cruise report.

 

Anyway, this is terrible that they would do such a thing.  3oz is like two sips and it's gone.  I know a lot of restaurants pour 6 oz (and some offer a 9 oz option), but I think Princess was doing 5 oz.

 

Makes my BYOW decision even more worthwhile. 

 

 

I was on the same cruise and I must say I drank plenty of wine and it always looked like a standard size to me.

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Please explain more.

I did not have the ship do my laundry on 1 cruise. I used the laundry room facilities. Only took an hour

[phonejock]

I just want to say that I have really appreciated Everyone’s reports and opinions about current conditions/procedures on Princess ships.  I am living vicariously through you all.😊 Although there is nothing I would like more  than to be sitting at a IC, sipping a coffee and looking out the window , I realize we need to wait till things get back to more of the experience we have had in the past. Hopefully over the next year, the quarantining will go away, the problems with the App, Medallion, dining room reservations will be resolved, Princess customer service will improve, and the the airlines will get their act together.  ( Hey, a girl can dream)

[HogTide]

I have been wondering where Padgett's bosses are hiding out.  Where in this problem is Jan Swartz, where is the President of Carnival Corporation, and where is the Carnival Board of Directors???  Are they simply distant observers of this sinking?

[Sn0cruiser]

The Crown issues are appalling and it should be taken out of service and fixed.  I’ve had cruises and/or ship changes due to changes in dry dock schedules so I don’t understand what is happening with that ship.
 

And I agree that the general changes are annoying.  However, for those I compare the changes with what I’m seeing on land - or at least will for the next few months - which mirrors the supply chain issue, oil price hikes, and staffing issues.  We accept the apologies and either enjoy knowing that we may not get pre-Covid service or cancel. 
 

What worries me is that once a service level is lowered, that may become the new normal long after the reason for it is gone.

[caribill]

37 minutes ago, Sn0cruiser said:

 

What worries me is that once a service level is lowered, that may become the new normal long after the reason for it is gone.

 

Such as no longer putting chocolates on the bed each evening.

[donaldsc]

16 hours ago, geocruiser said:

I have no plans in sailing on Princess when Princess's  product is sub-par. 

 

This is the best response yet on this long thread.  Fool me once - it might be an outlier.  Fool me twice - just proves that I am a fool.

 

DON

[rbtan]

We've mostly done Oceania of late. Even there there have been minor cutbacks. We're on the March 2023 Emerald circle the Caribbean. We certainly don't expect the same food quality, which is a shame as our CC minisuite is basically the same price as our Jan. 2022 cruise. We chose this cruise for the 14 nights at sea. We're at Ruby level & like some of the perks. That & the fact the staff really shows they care.

[cruzsnooze]

1 hour ago, Sn0cruiser said:

 

What worries me is that once a service level is lowered, that may become the new normal long after the reason for it is gone.

Service level decreases and the suggested gratuity increases. Anyone else see a disparity here?

[nini]

14 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

Makes my BYOW decision even more worthwhile. 

 

 

Actually, that does sound rather appealing. Our next cruise would make that possible (driving to the next embarkation port).

[nini]

8 hours ago, leck57 said:

 

I was on the same cruise and I must say I drank plenty of wine and it always looked like a standard size to me.

 

Hi @leck57. It was fun meeting you and I am glad you had a safe flight home.

Actually, I have tended bar and have a good eye. These pours were far from standard. On the very last day, I think the pours were more up to par.

[AlibearNS]

We sailed 14  days on the Majestic last month, first cruise since 2019. The only thing sub par for us was that the theatre entertainment was absolute pants. Other niggles, as pescatarians they wouldn't allow us to sign up for Chef's Table (they apologized profusely) and that my favorite pina colada soup is now served in a bowl not a glass. I let my thoughts be known, ha ha. We chose to wear masks (many didn't) and it felt good to be cruising again. The crew kept telling us how good it was to have us back. It was a GREAT vacation and we made Elite at the end!
Reading about the issues on the Crown, I feel sad that so many won't have the ports/experience we had. It isn't fair to advertise one thing, knowing you are supplying another, even if it is in the small print that things can be changed.
We wanted to book a Vancouver loop again this fall, to somewhere warmer, but the Crown is doing the loop to California in September (before the dry dock) and the price is way too high to take the risk.
ps The wine pours did seem smaller, unless we were in Vines.

[nini]

17 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

But we're not paying full price or even close to it for cruising. Compared to land vacations, cruises are dirt cheap. We are still getting a fantastic deal for money spent. Where can we get a room for a week with all meals and entertainment for well under $100 a day?  No where else.  

 

$100.00 a day- I WISH!

Try $292.83 per day/ per person WITHOUT the flights! This was for a 12 day British Isles cruise and reservations were made dating back to 2019.

[LovetheSea]

What would bother me most is missing ports, coming into ports really late , plumbing issues. Toilets backing up and /or no hot water in the showers. What would be frustrating is when a cruise line expects more and more passengers to put up with this , week after week without doing something major to fix it. Example the Crown Princess. Shameful ! We were booked on it for Sept and changed to the Discovery .