Think I have fallen out of love with Princess

[Blondilu]

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

So you don't attend any production shows, eat any dinner meals in the DR and avoid using the pools.

Why bother to cruise at all? 

I could honestly say this has been me on a number of cruises.  My number one reason to cruise would be to get to so many different places so effortlessly. Number two is being on the ocean.  I could sit on deck and stare at the ocean all day.  I also like talking to people from around the world, or sometimes just sitting in a public space, drink in hand, just watching the world go by.  I also like watching the pilot come on board, sailaway from the promenade (guess that will be a thing of the past soon) sunrises, sunsets.

 

Way down on the list are production shows, the MDR in the evening (or anything that promotes "fine cuisine" and/or wine pairing, sooo overated) and I've only ever used a pool twice, I think.    

 

Like someone else said, different strokes.  Happy cruising to all.

 

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

My take about not eating in the DR is possibly because the OP arrived at the most busiest time on the evening & was told there would be a wait. (which they weren't willing to do)

This seems to be common lately as the ships are beginning to fill up without having a full crew to assist people. ❓

This could have been easily solved by slightly adjusting their arrival for dinner. 

 

Another option if they don’t want to wait is to make reservations for the times they are likely to eat. If plans change, reservations can be changed or cancelled. 

[Happiest when cruising]

57 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Welcome to the club.

We have one booking left with Princess, as we weren't about to walk away from some hefty future cruise credits.

If the on board experience is anything like our sailing last April, this could very well be the last time we sail with Princess until things change.

 

The Little Mary Sunshines should be around any second to tell you how fabulous everything is when they sail. Don't let them get to you, they are in their own little world.

I don’t know about Mary Sunshine, but more time spent enjoying your cruise, instead of looking for problems might help. Stop reminding yourself about what went wrong last time, and just staying in the moment should also help. Of course, we have had mishaps over the years, like a backed up toilet, but I don’t go on vacation to just to see if it will happen again, or remind myself of negative memories… 

I hope you find the right cruise line that suits your needs better, and brings you happiness. 
I also hope your last cruise with Princess is an enjoyable experience for you, and your family,  if you travel with one. 
 

[c-boy]

well o p the journey was fun while it lasted. Thanks for hanging in there as long as you did.  May the wind be at your back and may the sun shine warm upon your face. May good fortune and health  always be at your side.

Edited August 22, 2022 by c-boy

[MissP22]

2 hours ago, disneyochem said:

We don’t attend production shows, occasionally eat in the MDR and, having had melanoma, avoid pool sun decks.  And yet, we’ve been on 9 cruises this past year and have enjoyed all of them.

The nice thing about cruising?  Different strokes for different folks. What works for you may not work for me on a cruise!  To each her/his/their own!  

It cheaper to stay home and take a land vacation. 

[Tak8]

No harm in trying another line.  You may be back or find your new love.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, Blondilu said:

My number one reason to cruise would be to get to so many different places so effortlessly. Number two is being on the ocean.  I could sit on deck and stare at the ocean all day.  I also like talking to people from around the world, or sometimes just sitting in a public space, drink in hand, just watching the world go by.

Pretty much describes us.  We tend to take port-intensive cruises. Off the ship by 8:00 and back on at 5:00.  Grab a lite snack at the International Cafe, then shower, have dinner around 7:30, enjoy wine/cocktails (preferably at Vines or Crooners) from 9:00-10:30, and if we want to hang out and watch the ocean, we do so on our balcony if no other space is convenient.  With this as our almost daily agenda, it is really hard to have a bad cruise.  I have a pool at my house. I don't covet the ones on board.  If I get a lounge chair, fine.  But not getting one does not ruin my cruise.  I have multiple TVs at home.  If I cannot watch a movie under the stars, it won't ruin my cruise.  I've never had a problem getting seated in an MDR immediately or close to it at 7:30.  If you spend most of your waking hours off the ship touring the ports of call, what happens on the ship becomes almost irrelevant. It is a form of transportation that takes you from one place to another.  I'm knocking wood that I never encounter a cruise that is so bad that I eat these words.  But things would have to go really, really sideways for that to happen.   

Edited August 22, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[HaveDogWillTravel]

1 hour ago, Blondilu said:

I could honestly say this has been me on a number of cruises.  My number one reason to cruise would be to get to so many different places so effortlessly. Number two is being on the ocean.  I could sit on deck and stare at the ocean all day.  I also like talking to people from around the world, or sometimes just sitting in a public space, drink in hand, just watching the world go by.  I also like watching the pilot come on board, sailaway from the promenade (guess that will be a thing of the past soon) sunrises, sunsets.

 

Way down on the list are production shows, the MDR in the evening (or anything that promotes "fine cuisine" and/or wine pairing, sooo overated) and I've only ever used a pool twice, I think.    

 

Like someone else said, different strokes.  Happy cruising to all.

 

Absolutely agree 100%. 

[Princessfan20]

1 hour ago, Blondilu said:

I could honestly say this has been me on a number of cruises.  My number one reason to cruise would be to get to so many different places so effortlessly. Number two is being on the ocean.  I could sit on deck and stare at the ocean all day.  I also like talking to people from around the world, or sometimes just sitting in a public space, drink in hand, just watching the world go by.  I also like watching the pilot come on board, sailaway from the promenade (guess that will be a thing of the past soon) sunrises, sunsets.

 

Way down on the list are production shows, the MDR in the evening (or anything that promotes "fine cuisine" and/or wine pairing, sooo overated) and I've only ever used a pool twice, I think.    

 

Like someone else said, different strokes.  Happy cruising to all.

 

 

We cruise Princess because they have Fortuna Luck!  Our #1 reason.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, nattie said:

I am sorry to hear about your bad cruise. Not necessarily an excuse, but I wanted to point out that most of the senior management stuff from Regal (also my favorite ship!) is now on Discovery princess, including captain, hotel director, interior services director (might be wrong title, his name is Constantin and he is in charge of the entire interior services), customer services senior reps, etc. I know that Ralph (hotel director) is heading back in Sept/Oct. We were just on Discovery and I was surprised at how much I immediately loved it until I met the senior crew. They brought the vibe from my favorite Regal 🙂

Too bad for us on the Regal this Fall.  Hopefully, some good mgmt left behind.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, c-boy said:

well o p the journey was fun while it lasted. Thanks for hanging in there as long as you did.  May the wind be at your back and may the sun shine warm upon your face. May good fortune and health  always be at your side.

And don't let the gangplank trip you up as you leave the ship.

[princess76021]

10 hours ago, windsurferfirst said:

After 11 cruises with Princess I think I may have reached the end of the road with them. I have done 4 cruises since the start up. July 2021 a 4 day cruise to know where. It wasn't perfect but we were just happy to be back on board. The staff tried their hardest as they always do on all ships.The staff are the best. They work hard and always with a smile on their faces.  October 2021 Things were slightly better but hey no complaints these were tough time and once again happy to be back on board. April 2022 A really lovely cruise to Norway things a whole lot better and we were very happy. August 2022 Athens to Barcelona on Regal my all time favourite ship.This started really bad as due to a computer hitch somewhere we were 2.5 hours checking . The heat was horrendous and despite me calling Princess a number of time pre cruise to say I thought the booking was messed up they told me it wasn't. We didn't get our medallions until Sunday and even then mine had the wrong name on it!!! Its was very, very obvious how Princess were nickel and diming just about everything We had the drinks package but the wines available on the list were very, very limited. Only able to get into the MDR once.The ship was at capacity and the dining rooms couldn't cope.We were constantly told to come back in an hour. The menu was very limited in both MDR and Sabatini's in the past the menus have been really good, not so much anymore. Entertainment left a lot to be desired Bravo again!! first saw this on the Regal in Feb 2019 and they are still turning it out. - enough already! Don't start me on the sun bed hoggers. Why are people so selfish to hog beds from 7 am and not even sit on them at all?.

 

So all in all I think the love affair with Princess is over. 

This is very upsetting! We haven't been on Princess since 2015,  booked for March of 2023, hope they get their act together by then.

[Bgwest]

1 hour ago, princess76021 said:

This is very upsetting! 

Please don't let it be. As others have said, ramp up problems exist across the cruise line spectrum. Princess isn't alone in experiencing a few bumps along. It is our firm belief that in spite of what you will always hear from the naysayers who post here, Princess continues to be a class act. We expect that to continue. So much so that we have 5 cruises booked starting in October and continuing into next year. 

 

We've voted with our checkbook.  

[JimmyVWine]

23 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Please don't let it be. As others have said, ramp up problems exist across the cruise line spectrum. Princess isn't alone in experiencing a few bumps along.

If I let my "please come back as we return to normal" experiences guide me, I wouldn't:

• Fly on an airplane
• Eat in a restaurant
• Stay in a hotel
• Rent a car

 

All of these activities have been "substandard" if I am going to use December, 2019 as my "standard".  Everyone is struggling to return to the way things used to be, and cruise lines probably have a harder time than most in getting their product back to level par.  You are in a restaurant for 2 hours.  You are on a plane for 4 hours.  You are on a cruise ship for a week, or two, or three.  Lots more room for error and places where things can let you down, but only if you let it.  My advice is to refrain from booking any cruises until well into 2023 if you really want your experience to be close to what it used to be, or book now and know that things will be different.  But if you do the latter, you have to be willing to grade on a curve.  Anything less just isn't fair to the cruise line or its employees. 

Edited August 22, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[californiagirl]

9 hours ago, MissP22 said:

So you don't attend any production shows, eat any dinner meals in the DR and avoid using the pools.

Why bother to cruise at all? 

I think it's fair to say we all cruise for different reasons.  I eat in the dining room and swim daily but I rarely attend any entertainment.  I love cruising because I can sit on my balcony and watch the world go by as I read, go to bed and wake up in an entirely different place.  One of my favorite times of a cruise is standing on my balcony as we pull up into port.  I don't think anyone's reason is better than another's...just different.

 

I agree that Princess currently has a black eye.  When my Diamond cruise was cancelled less than a month prior to sailing we were given a paltry $100 OBC and a discount on a small group of cruises two months later. None of which fit my schedule.  They should have offered the discount also on cruises scheduled to leave the same time period as the original cruise.

 

Then I read GeoHerb's current live thread (great thread) where there was a flat tire on the bus of a ship sponsored excursion.  They missed their excursion and when they returned to the ship they received their excursion money back and Princess gave them an ADDITIONAL $100 OBC for their inconvenience!  They deserved the OBC but when you compare the inconvenience of a last minute cancellation BY PRINCESS and all the work that entails for the passenger and a missed excursion there is no comparison.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by californiagirl

[Halcyon guy]

We just came back from our 20th Princess cruise on the Regal. Never had a problem getting into the MDR. Food was very good, especially in Horizon court where the variation of different dishes is astonishing. We don’t normally do shows, but found the entertainment was better than we have seen for some years. 
 

Bravo was mentioned earlier - we watched this on our first week and the quality of the singing was quite moving. Also 2 external singers who did shows were also excellent. The magicians were not great and only one of the comedians was worth listening to. The bands and other singers/musicians were great. There was a circus performer in the Atrium most days and he was really different and very entertaining. 
 

 The negatives were the embarkation at Athens was awful - I did speak to staff on the ship, but was told this was an ongoing Problem with the local staff they use. Secondly there was sunbed hogging which I also raised to the Deck staff.

we normally do things opposite to the crowd where possible. At ports we stay by the pool all morning then go ashore for the afternoon/eve. . We eat at 6pm when it’s quiet. We also skip some ports which we have done many times previously and have a ship to ourselves.

 

overall, the staff on the Regal, the atmosphere and overall experience was excellent. We will continue to use Princess as our preferred line, having tried several others. They are not perfect, and there are challenges in this post Covid world, but there were many, many more positives than negatives on our cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

[MustangGT]

9 hours ago, Esprit said:

Our experience on Regal last month seems at odds with yours. We got our table in the Allegro restaurant every time at 8 pm and with the same waiter. Winston the restaurant manager was an absolute star.

Sun beds on sea days were not an issue either but you had to search free ones out. We never try for ones by the pools but everywhere else they could be found. Ones in the shade were obviously harder to find.

 

I agree about Sabatini's. it was not so good the second time we went and the Crown Grill service was painfully slow on the last evening of our cruise.

 

We were however happy with the Pinot, S/Blanc and Merlot wines and therefore pleased with the drinks package.

 

My only gripe was the ubiquitous TV film crew. What an effing pain they became!

 

Winston is a rock star!  Our dining experience was awesome on our B2B in January!

[ROXIETHEHORSE]

14 hours ago, MissP22 said:

So you don't attend any production shows, eat any dinner meals in the DR and avoid using the pools.

Why bother to cruise at all? 

We have never gone to a show, usually eat in a specialty restaurant or on our balcony and have only hung out at adult only pool area. Always have a fantastic time. 😬

[deltaqueenie]

11 hours ago, billco said:

We don't use the pools. I do use the hot tubs. We don't go to the over amplified production shows. We spend the time in Crooners or the Piazza. We have early dining in the MDR after a few glasses of wine in the Platinum/Elite Lounge. We still bother to cruise. Have 4 Princess cruises and 1 NCL cruise booked. Avoiding the Melanoma Deck didn't help us. My DW still tested positive for Covid the last day of the cruise, Just got back to the states after 10 days of isolation and quarantine. Still like Princess, especially after looking at my recent booking with NCL and seeing how much I am going to be nickel and dimed on that cruise.

I’m curious…was DW actually sick those 10 days? Or what country did you disembark in that required 10 days quarantine?

[Guest ldtr]

6 hours ago, californiagirl said:

I think it's fair to say we all cruise for different reasons.  I eat in the dining room and swim daily but I rarely attend any entertainment.  I love cruising because I can sit on my balcony and watch the world go by as I read, go to bed and wake up in an entirely different place.  One of my favorite times of a cruise is standing on my balcony as we pull up into port.  I don't think anyone's reason is better than another's...just different.

 

I agree that Princess currently has a black eye.  When my Diamond cruise was cancelled less than a month prior to sailing we were given a paltry $100 OBC and a discount on a small group of cruises two months later. None of which fit my schedule.  They should have offered the discount also on cruises scheduled to leave the same time period as the original cruise.

 

Then I read GeoHerb's current live thread (great thread) where there was a flat tire on the bus of a ship sponsored excursion.  They missed their excursion and when they returned to the ship they received their excursion money back and Princess gave them an ADDITIONAL $100 OBC for their inconvenience!  They deserved the OBC but when you compare the inconvenience of a last minute cancellation BY PRINCESS and all the work that entails for the passenger and a missed excursion there is no comparison.

 

 

 

 

If you have booked a hotel and they are over sold, and you get walked to another hotel, most do not give any amounts above refunding your charges.

 

If you scheduled a restaurant for a dinner and they have a problem and cannot provide a service you are on your own in most cases.

 

Book a flight and it gets canceled pretty much you just get a refund and no bonus.  With many airlines you have to fight for the refund.  

 

Pretty amazing that when cruise lines have a problem, where they provide options including full refund or additional refunds and OBC.  Options where one can submit charges for other out of pocket expenses (something pretty unique in the travel industry) that are not covered by insurance or are not refundable due to a last minute cancellation,  people are still upset and the extra amounts offered are not enough.

 

Find any other travel related business that provides anything other than a  refund of money paid other than cruise lines. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by ldtr

[KruzPrincess]

17 hours ago, MissP22 said:

So you don't attend any production shows, eat any dinner meals in the DR and avoid using the pools.

Why bother to cruise at all? 

Honestly, that’s pretty much me in a nutshell. I’ve spent many years seeing shows in Las Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe. I’d be fine if I never saw another production show. Cruise ship shows aren’t that good. I dislike sitting in the MDR every evening. It takes too long. I no longer sit in the sun. Although you didn’t mention it, I don’t drink anymore, so I don’t go to bars.  None of those things are why I cruise. I just want to be on the ocean. I love seeing nature and natural beauty. It makes my cruise if I see whales. It’s wonderful if I can go somewhere I’ve never been. I love being away from real life. After a career of dealing with people all the time, I don’t really need to socialize. I have met some of my best friends on cruises, though, but I don’t pursue that. I read a lot of books in a quiet spot. Yes, occasionally I see a show and eat in the MDR, but that’s not why I cruise. 

 

To the OP: I’m sorry you were disappointed. It happens. Maybe you should try some other cruise companies. I did try several and usually end up coming back to Princess. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by KruzPrincess

[MissP22]

5 hours ago, ROXIETHEHORSE said:

We have never gone to a show, usually eat in a specialty restaurant or on our balcony and have only hung out at adult only pool area. Always have a fantastic time. 😬

I'm sure you do but isn't that a very limited view of the ship in general? 

We don't normally hang around the main pool are either but do so on occasion when we find others to talk to. It's to noisy most of the time for our liking. There can be a big difference among the different ships. 

 

Although the food is usually pretty good on all the ships it can vary tremendously from ship to ship.

[caribill]

18 hours ago, MissP22 said:

My take about not eating in the DR is possibly because the OP arrived at the most busiest time on the evening & was told there would be a wait. (which they weren't willing to do)

This seems to be common lately as the ships are beginning to fill up without having a full crew to assist people. ❓

This could have been easily solved by slightly adjusting their arrival for dinner. 

 

 

Don't know if OP had made a reservation with DMW or not, but DMW does not appear to work for everyone . If showing up for a reservation and finding there will be a wait, then showing up at the same time without a reservation definitely means there will be a wait.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, Halcyon guy said:

Bravo was mentioned earlier - we watched this on our first week and the quality of the singing was quite moving.

 

Op did not say Bravo was a bad show, just that he saw it before and wished that Princess would change shows more often.

[MissP22]

3 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Don't know if OP had made a reservation with DMW or not, but DMW does not appear to work for everyone . If showing up for a reservation and finding there will be a wait, then showing up at the same time without a reservation definitely means there will be a wait.

Once again, it's only my take on the subject, but letting people reserve a dining time doesn't mean the minute you arrive (especially at the busiest time) guarantee that you'll be seated the moment you walk through the door.  

I see their reservation system as only a request for a dining time which cannot be guaranteed but they'll do their best to fulfill. Unlike a land based restaurant who will hold a table empty, the ships tables are in use prior to you arriving & considering the number of people eating there every night makes it impossible to hold empty.