Princess Cruise Line...improving or on a downhill run?

[chamima]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Glad you have had a good experience on board with the App.

 

However, not everyone does. Here is a quote from a friend who was on a recent Princess cruise:

 

"Also hate the Medallion app & mostly not working on ship!!"

 

As I previously stated, we sailed on the Caribbean Princess this last January . Was our first experience with the Medallion.

Having things delivered wherever we were was nice but the best part was being able to locate everyone in our party wherever they were on the ship whenever we wanted.

My App also stopped working but a quick trip to Guest Services fixed it.

I was totally expecting to NOT like the Medallion but came away as a definite fan.

 

Is it the best part of Princess? No. That will always be the crew. But it's a nice feature.

[caribill]

5 hours ago, chamima said:

 

I was totally expecting to NOT like the Medallion but came away as a definite fan.

 

Is it the best part of Princess? No. That will always be the crew. But it's a nice feature.

 

Based on posts on a number of threads, it appears to be that how well the APP works for some depends on:

1. Whether they are using an Android based smart phone of an iPhone.

2. The amount of available memory that the smart phone has.

3. The ship they are on.

 

You had a very good experience with the App on the Caribbean Princess. The person I quoted in an earlier post who said it was "mostly not working" was on the Caribbean Princess recently when she said this.

 

 

[sloopsailor]

4 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Based on posts on a number of threads, it appears to be that how well the APP works for some depends on:

1. Whether they are using an Android based smart phone of an iPhone.

2. The amount of available memory that the smart phone has.

3. The ship they are on.

 

You had a very good experience with the App on the Caribbean Princess. The person I quoted in an earlier post who said it was "mostly not working" was on the Caribbean Princess recently when she said this.

 

 

 

Which phone works better?

[Daniel A]

On 8/28/2022 at 12:39 AM, ghstudio said:

Yes, they still allow smoking in part of the casino and even sitting in a different part of the casino, your clothes will reek of smoke when you leave.  

I am always amused by people who despise smoking yet continue to patronize venues where smoking is permitted, and then complain about the smoke.  It reminds me of the people who move in next door to an airport or shooting range and then complain about the noise.

 

The solution is simple - move on to something which suits you better.

 

Caveat Emptor...

[sloopsailor]

8 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I am always amused by people who despise smoking yet continue to patronize venues where smoking is permitted, and then complain about the smoke.  It reminds me of the people who move in next door to an airport or shooting range and then complain about the noise.

 

The solution is simple - move on to something which suits you better.

 

Caveat Emptor...

 

Apples and oranges. There is only one casino on a ship, so there is no other option for that activity. There are many different neighborhoods in a town or city, so it's possible to live away from that noise. 

 

Caveat venditor...

 

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by sloopsailor

[billco]

2 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I am always amused by people who despise smoking yet continue to patronize venues where smoking is permitted, and then complain about the smoke.  It reminds me of the people who move in next door to an airport or shooting range and then complain about the noise.

 

The solution is simple - move on to something which suits you better.

 

Caveat Emptor...

My solution would be to ban smoking in venues that appeal to both smokers and non smokers. 

[chamima]

30 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Which phone works better?

I have an iPhone so I guess that one. 

[Daniel A]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:12 AM, mtnesterz said:

This thread is interesting. What is intrinsic to cruising is different for each cruiser. What change would you tolerate and still remain loyal?

You raise an interesting point about loyalty.  I choose my airline based on where I want to fly and is most convenient and cost effective for me.  I do the same with cruising, I sail a lot with Princess as they are convenient points of departure for me from New York, Florida and California and I know I'm comfortable on their ships.  I have never sailed on Princess from Europe as I have found the itineraries from other cruise lines to be more attractive.  When I sail on another line, I have never felt as if I was being disloyal to Princess, so despite what they call the Captain's Circle program, calling it a 'loyalty program' but that's just semantics meant to make some people feel the same way about 'their' cruise line as they do about their favorite sports team.  JMHO.

[Sea Hag]

36 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Which phone works better?

The app works great on my Android.

[sloopsailor]

Just now, Sea Hag said:

The app works great on my Android.

 

Thanks. My wife has an iPhone and I have a Samsung. We seem to have more problems with her phone than mine. Not a judgment of which is better, just our experiences with what we use them for. 

[Daniel A]

27 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Apples and oranges. There is only one casino on a ship, so there is no other option for that activity. There are many different neighborhoods in a town or city, so it's possible to live away from that noise. 

 

Caveat venditor...

You're partially correct, but the choice comes in picking a cruise that permits smoking in the casino versus picking a cruise that has a non-smoking policy in their casino.  That's where Caveat Venditor comes into play.  If tobaccophobes didn't patronize the ships with smoking casinos, and it significantly hurt the bottom line of those ships, they'd ban smoking in a heartbeat.  

 

Disclaimer:  I was a smoker many years ago, but I am a non-smoker now, so maybe I can see both sides of the issue.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Daniel A

[Sea Hag]

3 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Thanks. My wife has an iPhone and I have a Samsung. We seem to have more problems with her phone than mine. Not a judgment of which is better, just our experiences with what we use them for. 

My Android is a Samsung too, and it's the best cellphone I've ever had. 

[bmc alabama]

56 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Based on posts on a number of threads, it appears to be that how well the APP works for some depends on:

1. Whether they are using an Android based smart phone of an iPhone.

2. The amount of available memory that the smart phone has.

3. The ship they are on.

 

You had a very good experience with the App on the Caribbean Princess. The person I quoted in an earlier post who said it was "mostly not working" was on the Caribbean Princess recently when she said this.

 

 

There are 2 important things I learned on Crown Princess this past summer that really, really helped my app work MUCH, MUCH better.

 

1) Put the phone in airplane mode when on the ship

 

2) Go to the phone settings, and turn off the "Private Wi-Fi address" and "Limit IP Address Tracking".  The Medallion desk had me do this and it was amazing how much better the app worked after that.  We loved being able to order drinks/room service, etc. to wherever we were (which was often the Explorer's Lounge :)... )

[Lady Arwen]

57 minutes ago, billco said:

My solution would be to ban smoking in venues that appeal to both smokers and non smokers. 

Please!

[richsea]

On 8/30/2022 at 6:37 AM, MissP22 said:

I believe you may be correct. Even a few yeas ago Princess was tied for the oldest demographic and today I'll bet is far in the lead.

It's evident by some of their actions (i.e.- dress code, production shows, drink packages) that their trying to compete and change to attract a younger crowd but HAL from what I understand is still ahead of them. No one wants to be known as having the oldest cruisers at sea! 

That's not where a cruise line want's to be for future expansion. 

Admittedly I haven’t cruised HAL, but have always heard they attract the oldest demographics in the industry. We recently switched from Celebrity to Princess & immediately thought the average guest age on Princess was about 5 years younger than X. Don’t see why you think Princess skews so old.

[nini]

We found that the guests on HAL to be of a much older group. You could nearly hear a pin drop after 8:00 pm on the HAL ship. However, this was just our experience.

[Daniel A]

1 minute ago, nini said:

We found that the guests on HAL to be of a much older group. You could nearly hear a pin drop after 8:00 pm on the HAL ship. However, this was just our experience.

Sounds like a relaxing time. 👍

[chamima]

6 minutes ago, richsea said:

Admittedly I haven’t cruised HAL, but have always heard they attract the oldest demographics in the industry. We recently switched from Celebrity to Princess & immediately thought the average guest age on Princess was about 5 years younger than X. Don’t see why you think Princess skews so old.

 

We go back and forth between Celebrity and Princess and find the length of the cruise determines the demographic more than anything else. 

[dreaminofcruisin]

37 minutes ago, bmc alabama said:

There are 2 important things I learned on Crown Princess this past summer that really, really helped my app work MUCH, MUCH better.

 

1) Put the phone in airplane mode when on the ship

 

2) Go to the phone settings, and turn off the "Private Wi-Fi address" and "Limit IP Address Tracking".  The Medallion desk had me do this and it was amazing how much better the app worked after that.  We loved being able to order drinks/room service, etc. to wherever we were (which was often the Explorer's Lounge :)... )

 

Before my recent cruise, someone had posted to log off the app when you get on the ship. Then log in using your stateroom number and birthdate. We tried that and it also appeared to make a world of difference!

 

[richsea]

11 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

We go back and forth between Celebrity and Princess and find the length of the cruise determines the demographic more than anything else. 

Without a doubt the cruise length affects the age of passengers. Also flow riders, rock climbing, water slides, etc. are going to attract families with kids. We only do 7 nighters with the kids/grandkids, otherwise 10-14 or more nights. I do feel that HAL, X, & Princess attract the oldest demographic, in descending order.

[DrSea]

On 8/28/2022 at 3:01 AM, MissP22 said:

Your main complaint seems to be with the Medallion system. Why not use the Medallion for the things you do like and ignore the rest? No one is forcing you to use it to gamble, make purchases or reserve a DR time.

Other than an ID for embarking and disembarkation it becomes transparent once aboard.

 

On 8/28/2022 at 3:35 AM, leck57 said:

 

I think you are spot on. People overthink the Medallion - if you don't want to use all the bells and whistles just use it as a room key equivalent.

Unfortunately Princess have confused people and their website/magazines don't give people the impression that they can take it or leave it. Even the OP mentions onshore purchases, whereas in reality just about no one uses that. 

I hate the medallion. I am a millennial in my early 30s and it actively makes cruising worst. Not using the medallion is easier said than done and there some situations where the medallion is actually required with no substitutions. 

First off, some ships have moved more features onto the medallion. Ex. The do not disturb option on the Regal princess is only tied to medallion system. You have to select the option on the screen in front of your room. It malfunctioned and my room steward kept cleaning my room even though I specifically asked her not to. This was a few months after the restart and I was trying to minimize my contact with humans due to COVID. I didn't want to test positive and sit out from work. 

 

Secondly, all the crew members will constantly ask you where your medallion is and why you aren't using it. It sucks up a lot of time to be stopped and to explain that you don't want to use it. Some crew members are nice about it and will take time to try to help you figure it out and tell you about how great it is, which wastes time if you have to do that multiple times a day. But some will give you some attitude or subtle shade. I don't want attitude or shade on my cruise for not using a cr*ppy app on cr*ppy wifi. 

 

Thirdly, you cannot disembark without the medallion. I thought I could just bring my card. But I was told to turn around and get my medallion. Added another 30 min to disembarking to the port bc I had to go back to my room, actually find it, and get in line again to disembark. 

 

I get that these are first world problems. But I don't want to deal with it on my cruise and IDK why I am paying for someone to place all of these inconveniences on my vacation. Not using the medallion only inconveniences yourself and I would argue really is necessary on PCL (esp if you want to get off of the ship, lol). 

[DrSea]

On 8/27/2022 at 6:37 PM, Flyinby said:

We've been on several Princess cruises and enjoyed them...prior to that we did several Carnival cruises which we also enjoyed, but the less "party-like" atmosphere on Princess was more to our liking.  Last Princess cruise was Nov. 2019 Panama Canal.

 

I booked a December 10-day Mexico cruise this year for our family, 14 total, and in getting things set up I've noticed some changes...the so-called "Medallion" being the elephant in the room.  While not needing a card to get into the room is nice, I see nothing else useful there; getting 7% back from onshore purchases made from a merchant who had to raise his prices 20% to make up for the 17% Princess charges him?  No thanks.  And having to give my credit card info to a firm I never heard of, to enable this silly medallion, does not particularly thrill me.  Setting up dining now seems like one could spend half the cruise time scheduling times for what?  Before, we had early or late, and if we didn't want to bother or it didn't fit our schedule, we just ate at the buffet...simple and it worked fine.

 

Now I look at a recent Princess Circle, with the new president raving about all the "great" changes coming, "MedallionClass" being one of them.  Whooppee, sports betting, just what I never wanted.  And you can gamble from your room, wow, wonderful (not).  And maybe someone from a show cast will say happy something or other to one of us and surprise us, can hardly wait.  And we can always watch the new "Love Boat II" reality show soon, that's about as exciting as nothing I can think of.  So is Princess turning into Carnival, only more so?

 

I'd have been many times more excited if they announced they were quitting being such cheapskates with drinking water, and no longer charging us for the bottle conveniently left in the room, or to carry on an excursion.  Or eliminating formal night, though I don't begrudge them having it as some folks really like them.

 

So perhaps I'm spoiled...we did a Viking trip this spring and really enjoyed it, besides things like water being freely handed out, coffee, drinks with dinner, sparkling water, wine, beer or whatever included, wi-fi for all.  No onboard gambling, and never missed it.

 

As I said, I did enjoy our several Princess Cruises before, so am withholding judgment until after this family cruise, but the things I've seen don't look good, if this is the way they're headed.  They've hyped that silly Medallion so much (I think it's the president's pet project) that it monopolizes everying from magazines to discussion boards, and what a waste of everyone's time in figuring out how to use it.  I actually liked the Princes app for onboard use before, it wasn't confusing and worked well.

 

So we'll see, but I think their leadership is leading them the wrong way, and hopefully they'll figure it out before I write them off and head for other cruise lines.

I agree that you are just accustomed to Viking. 

 

Great product. Can at times not be more expensive than PCL per night depending on the itinerary.

 

PCL has gone down in terms of service and food quality. Not a deal breaker, but it is noticeable. Ex. prior to the shut down, I would ask for gauc in the buffet. Someone would spend 10 min going down stairs to get it for me. Now ppl tell me that they just don't have it and to get something else from the buffet. It's little things like that have changed. There are limited beef options in the MDR and buffet, which has been documented here by quite a few posters. I don't eat seafood at all, so the menu changes have left me leaving the MDR hungry at times. 

 

Overall, PCL is a decent product. But I cannot deny that they have changed. 

[DrSea]

49 minutes ago, richsea said:

Admittedly I haven’t cruised HAL, but have always heard they attract the oldest demographics in the industry. We recently switched from Celebrity to Princess & immediately thought the average guest age on Princess was about 5 years younger than X. Don’t see why you think Princess skews so old.

The average HAL age has to be around 70.

[AlibearNS]

41 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

Before my recent cruise, someone had posted to log off the app when you get on the ship. Then log in using your stateroom number and birthdate. We tried that and it also appeared to make a world of difference!

 

 

Yes, we struggled with the app playing up for a few days but when we did as above it worked perfectly for the rest of the cruise. We loved the ease of both the medallion and app. The crew knew us by name at the bar and I loved not having to line up at a busy Guest Services when I could just sent them a text about an issue. We loved ordering snacks and drinks to wherever we were sat and also to the cabin! Only problem was someone thought I was cheating during the quiz in Live when I ordered our cocktails on my phone, ha ha. 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, DrSea said:

 

I hate the medallion. I am a millennial in my early 30s and it actively makes cruising worst. Not using the medallion is easier said than done and there some situations where the medallion is actually required with no substitutions. 

First off, some ships have moved more features onto the medallion. Ex. The do not disturb option on the Regal princess is only tied to medallion system. You have to select the option on the screen in front of your room. It malfunctioned and my room steward kept cleaning my room even though I specifically asked her not to. This was a few months after the restart and I was trying to minimize my contact with humans due to COVID. I didn't want to test positive and sit out from work. 

 

Secondly, all the crew members will constantly ask you where your medallion is and why you aren't using it. It sucks up a lot of time to be stopped and to explain that you don't want to use it. Some crew members are nice about it and will take time to try to help you figure it out and tell you about how great it is, which wastes time if you have to do that multiple times a day. But some will give you some attitude or subtle shade. I don't want attitude or shade on my cruise for not using a cr*ppy app on cr*ppy wifi. 

 

Thirdly, you cannot disembark without the medallion. I thought I could just bring my card. But I was told to turn around and get my medallion. Added another 30 min to disembarking to the port bc I had to go back to my room, actually find it, and get in line again to disembark. 

 

I get that these are first world problems. But I don't want to deal with it on my cruise and IDK why I am paying for someone to place all of these inconveniences on my vacation. Not using the medallion only inconveniences yourself and I would argue really is necessary on PCL (esp if you want to get off of the ship, lol). 

Arguably you don't have to use the medallion APP, just the MEDALLION; big difference.😄