Change of pace, Whos's sticking with Princess?

[dog]

Change happens.

 

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

 

Let your issues/ complaints be known while on-board so the crew gets a chance to satisfy you.

 

Do your pre booking research so you are aware of maintenance issues, itinerary changes, passenger’s rights, before putting down a deposit.

 

Buy insurance such as PVP or similar.

 

Fly in a day or two before cruise; book flight for return home for late pm or next day.

 

The above is what I successfully do.

 

Atleast Princess is offering those on the Crown some compensation for their disappointment.

I have stayed at expensive all inclusive resorts that offered nothing when they did not live up to my expectations.

[KetoCruiser]

We will be sticking with Princess, just left Sky Princess on Saturday, the cruise was not without its problems but overall we had a lovely time.  The disembarkation was  chaotic  and we had large number of passengers with covid but won’t let that spoil the memories.
 

 I just felt sorry for staff who had to deal with all the complaints, also those who were cruising for the fist time as many would have been put off by the experience.

 

[karatemom2]

I think you can legitimately be critical of a product without being “disloyal”. We truly enjoyed our cruise in the Royal in May but I am so sympathetic to people who have had horrible experiences on the Crown. They have every right to be disappointed in Princess. I don’t blame them for being upset. We had a very bad experience with Princess a few years back and at that moment I swore I would never give them another penny. So we continued to try other lines, but eventually we came back to Princess because in general it has proven to  be the best fit for us. It isn’t perfect but we still generally enjoy our cruises. That doesn’t mean blind loyalty, however, and we have also very much enjoyed our cruises on RCI, NCL, HAL and Carnival and will continue to branch out when price or itinerary are optimal. 

[Ken the cruiser]

As long as Princess keeps offering longer, more unique 3-5 week itineraries, we’ll keep booking cruises with them. Initially, we had similar Celebrity cruises booked until these below combinations appeared on our radar, which we jumped on almost immediately and converted our previously booked Celebrity bookings to “place holders”. We also can’t wait to go on PCL’s well know 28 day Tahiti cruise out of LA. But, at the same time, we’re now finding NCL offers some unique longer itineraries as well. 😁

This 21 day Med cruise on the Regal leaves in a few days!

 

We also have this B2B Antarctica/SA cruise on the Sapphire booked in 2024.

 

 

[tetleytea]

1 hour ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

 

I don't think the intention of the OP was to do anything scientific. It seems like it is most common for people to post who have issues to report (and that's fine). The point of this thread was to also encourage some positive posts for those of us who have not yet been back on since covid, but have something planned. It's exhausting to always read negative posts---however well deserved or accurate they are---and it's nice to hear that there are some people who enjoyed their cruises...

🙂

 

Actually... I enjoyed my last Princess cruise...AND I'm not sticking with them. There are other cruise lines out there, some are getting higher ratings, and Captain's Circle is not all that.

 

When I saw the OP subject, I was under the impression that both yes and no votes were being invited.

 

[suzyed]

19 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

As long as Princess keeps offering longer, more unique 3-5 week itineraries, we’ll keep booking cruises with them. Initially, we had similar Celebrity cruises booked until these below combinations appeared on our radar, which we jumped on almost immediately and converted our previously booked Celebrity bookings to “place holders”. We also can’t wait to go on PCL’s well know 28 day Tahiti cruise out of LA. But, at the same time, we’re now finding NCL offers some unique longer itineraries as well. 😁

This 21 day Med cruise on the Regal leaves in a few days!

 

We also have this B2B Antarctica/SA cruise on the Sapphire booked in 2024.

 

 

We did a similar S. America on the Coral, which also was to included Brazil and  2 Caribbean ports and back to Ft. Lauderdale, 32 days.....unfortunately it was cut short by covid, known as corona at the time.  Well we were still on the ship but the last place we visited was the Falkland Islands.

Edited June 28, 2022 by suzyed

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, suzyed said:

We did a similar S. America on the Coral, which also was to included Brazil and  2 Caribbean ports and back to Ft. Lauderdale, 32 days.....unfortunately it was cut short by covid, known as corona at the time.  Well we were still on the ship but the last place we visited was the Falkland Islands.

We really enjoyed visiting the Falkland Islands on our HAL cruise. We actually did both  morning and afternoon excursions to see different types of penguins as well as stroll around the town. I think on that trip we got to see 5-6 different types of penguins on our visit to Chile, Argentina and the Antarctica Peninsula as well as the Falkland Islands. 😁

[Expo67]

For us I think the correct adage would be Variety is the Spice of Life. We have enjoyed Princess but as we use 5 other lines we do so to get a different experience. The level of perks for us is not a determining factor as we have over the decades of cruising decided to spread our cruise vacations and not be totally dedicated to just one line. We have 70+ nights booked on Princess with longer itineraries on our preferred smaller ships. We also have 100+ nights booked on 3 other lines for specific itineraries and ships. Our desired preferences seem to now be solely based on itinerary and size of ship. From that standpoint we may be booking fewer Princess cruises because the Royal Class is not our favorite but as many others have said it very well could be theirs. 👍 Thankfully we all have choices. 

Edited June 29, 2022 by Expo67

[LibertyBella]

I remember the Love Boat shows, and I was lucky enough to sail on the Pacific Princess back in the early eighties, so I will always have a sentimental spot for Princess Cruises.  Yes, they do have some great itineraries, and that is always one of my priorities.  I am sticking with CRUISING, and that will always include Princess.

 

I have sailed on more than ten different cruise lines (some no longer in existence), and I will say sometimes I choose a line based on the travel purpose. For instance, history and itinerary--Princess or Celebrity or Holland America.  Old world and traditional--Cunard.  Also, if family members with children are joining us -NCL or Royal.  Older, more sedate passengers--Viking.  Cheap sun getaway--Carnival.

 

My Princess cruise this Summer was taken over by a whole ship charter, so we were "kicked off," but I booked the same cruise for next year (Rome to Athens). In three days I sail on Cunard!

 

I laugh at folks who say "never again" due to minor inconveniences on cruises.  As the world recovers from a major pandemic, I am thankful to be in good health and able to slowly but surely check off my travel bucket list.  Bon voyage to all!

[leck57]

I'm glad someone started this thread because I thought I must have missed something on our recent UK cruise on Emerald, which was great. Sure there was the minor pain of wearing masks inside, however the meals in the DR were as good as any cruise I've been on, drinks were fine, staff were excellent, and the tender operations were well done. In summary, almost as good as any pre Covid Princess cruise I'd been on.

The price was pretty reasonable as well, and I was checking some pricing for Celebrity just before and their prices seem to have gone up markedly. So unless something changes we will stick with Princess.

That is not to excuse the recent issues with the Crown which it seems Princess have handled appallingly.

[suzyed]

What's happening right now on the Crown is much more than a "minor inconvenience", but we are still sailing mostly due to the logistics of trying to change 6 people in 4 cabins, airfare etc.  We'll make the best of it.
We will stay with Princess at least through this year and use up our FCCs.  Beyond that, we will have to see how it goes.  I will not say "never again". 
We don't cruise for the food...we enjoy good food but if that's not up to snuff every time that's not a deal breaker for us. We've had better and we've had worse.  But we like the itineraries, the ships (usually), the onboard environment, some of the shows, etc. on Princess. 

[SargassoPirate]

23 hours ago, suzyed said:

We did a similar S. America on the Coral, which also was to included Brazil and  2 Caribbean ports and back to Ft. Lauderdale, 32 days.....unfortunately it was cut short by covid, known as corona at the time.  Well we were still on the ship but the last place we visited was the Falkland Islands.

 

And to show you how ignorant some people can be, sales of Corona beer dropped off at the start of the pandemic - like it was virus in a can or something.

[caribill]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

sales of Corona beer dropped off at the start of the pandemic - like it was virus in a can or something.

 

You mean it isn't?

[rayandshirl]

Princess has been a great fit for me as a solo passenger and also when I bring a friend.  Sailed on the Ruby to Alaska in August and loved the Prince Rupert port and will return to the Ruby in late September for the seven day Vancouver cruise.

I believe I have sailed 16 times over the years on various itineraries and even enjoyed the hurricane Sandy cruise that kept us sailing up and down the St. Lawrence seaway since all the ports from Boston, New York, Rhode Island were damaged and not workable.

 

Princess provides a product that makes it seem like you are coming home when you step aboard.

 

[Musky Ike]

4 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

And to show you how ignorant some people can be, sales of Corona beer dropped off at the start of the pandemic - like it was virus in a can or something.

Funny I bought extra (pun intended). Made for great dad jokes.  

[suzyed]

14 hours ago, Doug R. said:

I have been accused of being a Princess cheerleader, right @Roberto256? However, since my first post-shutdown cruise is not until October on the Enchanted, I will reserve my judgement on my future with Princess until then.

That's fair.  You will  have to report back on how it was!
We sail on the Enchanted over NYE.

[DougH]

I have sailed with Princess four (4) times since last Aug when they restarted sailing and all have been very good. I have not had any issues and all the staff has ben very good. I have no plans to switch anywhere else.

[Doug R.]

10 hours ago, suzyed said:

That's fair.  You will  have to report back on how it was!
We sail on the Enchanted over NYE.

Will do!

[Guest ldtr]

For the first time, after 5 other cruises since the restart, I am on a Princess ship with truly horrid internet speed ( Ruby Princess).  A speed test run multiple times yields an internet connection speed running anywhere between 28Kbps to 41Kbps. Yes that is K not M. We are back in the range of early modem speeds.

Edited June 30, 2022 by ldtr

[Thrak]

23 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

And to show you how ignorant some people can be, sales of Corona beer dropped off at the start of the pandemic - like it was virus in a can or something.

 

22 hours ago, caribill said:

 

You mean it isn't?

 

Bleh... I never buy Corona. It's just not good beer. If I buy beer in Mexico it's usually Pacifico because it's available pretty much everywhere. I've had Mexican bartenders comment that they thought Americans all drank Corona. Nope, nope, nope. Not this gringo.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Princess remains our "go to" cruise line.  We have just recently done two sailings on NCL, mainly because we were tagging along with family members who had booked with credits that they had to use up.  Both itineraries were nice...but it just seemed that the whole time on both cruises I was comparing NCL to Princess "in my head".  There really wasn't anything *bad* on these NCL cruises (they were somewhat older ships...Jade and Gem) but I just couldn't get the perceived differences out of my head!  Princess has certainly been making it difficult lately to foster our loyalty...but we're not likely to "jump ship".

[Z0nker]

Since Princess added SF as a home port, we’ve sailed four times with a fifth coming up. Nice to cruise without the added stress and expense of a flight. We’ve enjoyed Princess. It’s a good fit for our style. As long as they keep discounting the Princess Plus package, it remains a good value. 
 

After Carnival moved the Miracle to SF for the Alaska season we decided to try a five day to Catalina and Baja. Had a nice time but prefer Princess. 
 

We cruised to Alaska from Seattle on the Celebrity Solstice just before COVId. Everything was awesome, truly a cut above. Too bad Celebrity doesn’t do more on the West Coast. 

[caribill]

5 hours ago, ldtr said:

For the first time, after 5 other cruises since the restart, I am on a Princess ship with truly horrid internet speed ( Ruby Princess).  A speed test run multiple times yields an internet connection speed running anywhere between 28Kbps to 41Kbps. Yes that is K not M. We are back in the range of early modem speeds.

 

a) Where is the ship located when you ran these tests?

 

b) Have you asked about a partial or full refund of Internet costs with the speed of the "best Internet at Sea". Whether purchasing through a Plus/Premier package or by itself, you have paid for performance you are not getting.

[Rick&Jeannie]

2 hours ago, Z0nker said:

 Nice to cruise without the added stress and expense of a flight.

Hah! We live in Tennessee...holding my breath as to when I can say such a thing! 😄

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

a) Where is the ship located when you ran these tests?

 

b) Have you asked about a partial or full refund of Internet costs with the speed of the "best Internet at Sea". Whether purchasing through a Plus/Premier package or by itself, you have paid for performance you are not getting.

Ran in several places last night when we were close to San Francisco, today when we were parallel to Eureka, CA and later when off shore of Oregon.

 

The Internet manager said it was working as good as it was going to get and expect it to get worse near Alaska. First tried to blame it on position of ship and using geosynchronous sats. until I mentioned that we were still way south of Seattle. Then tried to blame it on the number of passengers, even though we are not full by any means.

 

Have not asked for a refund since I can still do some things that I really need, even though the speed is annoying.