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

[DrSea]

6 minutes ago, jwattle said:

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

Haha! Well my 2nd and 3rd point are still valid then. 

 

And I haven't even begun to start complaining about the actual app...lol...that is a whole thread in itself. 

[Guest ldtr]

6 hours ago, sloopsailor said:

 

Which phone works better?

I have android and it has worked well on 3 different Princess ships.

The app can be a memory and cpu hog, so if your phone has an older slow processor or it has limited free memory, you may have problems.

[Princessfan20]

7 hours 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...

 

Agree.  Princess needs to stop with this "we care about your health" while they allow a dangerous activity for all like smoking to go on in their casinos.  

 

It is a myth that banning smoking in casinos hurts a casinos bottom line.   Why should a few be allowed to make it miserable for many.  

 

Second hand smoke is not healthy for all involved and that should be what princess should be focused on is making their ship environments healthier.

 

Just ban smoking in their ships' casinos or create a separate enclosed area in the casino where smokers can gamble but they are the only ones breathing their disgusting smoke and carcinogens.

 

It is definitely the most annoying thing on their cruises for us.

[Guest ldtr]

5 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). 

Actually the do not disturb function is a button on the screen by the door. Does not use either the medallion or medallion app. Just a matter of pushing the right button.

[Flyinby]

On 8/30/2022 at 2:10 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

 

There are small nuances with Princess.  You mentioned junior suites (there are NONE on a Princess ship).  There are mini-suites and Club Class mini-suites.  Both are incorrectly marketed.  THEY ARE NOT SUITES.  They are balcony cabins with a little bit more real estate.  

 

If some of your members are in a Club Class mini-suite, the others would not be able to join them for meals.  Those in CC dining may join the rest of the group in the MDR.

 

This may or may not be an important distinction, but worth bringing to your attention.

I guess it's mini-suites, probably getting the terminology mixed up with Viking junior suites, which really ARE suites.  I saw that the mini-suite is basically just a little bigger "deluxe balcony" which is just a little bigger "balcony", with some different configuration.  No club class here, we associate with the normal riff-raff...8^).

 

Thanks for the heads-up, though...I didn't bother mentioning that I could see that the suite really isn't one, had I done that someone up the thread would have no doubt branded me even worse of a complainer.  Some folks are very sensitive about their favorite cruise line, apparently.

[caribill]

14 hours 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.

 

On Carnival they ask each other "Do you remember where you were on 9/11?"

On Princess they ask each other "Do you remember where you were when man first landed on the moon?"

On HAL they ask each other "Do you remember what you had for breakfast?"

[caribill]

14 hours ago, DrSea said:

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.

 

That one makes no sense. I assume you had a cruise card that you used instead of a Medallion.

 

People with heart pacemakers are supposed to avoid using the Medallion and are issued cruise cards instead. Certainly they are allowed to disembark with their cruise card.

[MissP22]

16 hours 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...

😄

[geoherb]

Comparing Princess to Viking isn't very helpful. Of course Viking should have much better food and service. I priced out an itinerary similar to the one I'll be taking in November on the Caribbean Princess. Viking would cost me eight times more. And that's a comparison of the price I'm paying with Princess Plus, so I will be getting all the glasses of wine and cocktails and bottles of water included along with gratuities and internet.

 

I disembarked from the Caribbean Princess yesterday. I enjoyed the cruise in spite of the many little things that weren't perfect. I did not have any problems with the medallion or the app. 

[Flyinby]

8 hours ago, MissP22 said:

😄

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

 

Caveat Emptor...

I've noticed something on some of these discussion boards...a "love it or leave it" tendency from many that post there.  While I understand brand loyalty and a tendency to be defensive of one's favorites, how are businesses to know what customers like or dislike if no one says anything?

 

If someone really likes Princess overall but dislikes the smoke whenever you're anywhere near the casino, what's wrong with saying it bothers you?  If people speak up, perhaps they'll listen.  If you just cruise once, enjoy all but the smoke, and then write them off without saying anything, what good does that do, except for you individually?  And it doesn't do Princess much good either, if people just leave and don't tell anyone why.

 

A good example, since I started this thread about something else, is that I've enjoyed Princess cruises in the past, but weren't too thrilled about some recent changes (like the medallion, or having to authorize your credit card to a company you've never heard of and they don't say a word as to why or even who it is).  There were some helpful responses, of experiences with Medallion etc., which were helpful and informative, which is what I was hoping for...people's thoughts, positive or negative, on those issues.

 

But then of course in no time came the useless posts saying no way would I enjoy the cruise because I was a complainer, maybe I should just take a hike, how stupid of me to even book the cruise (even though the changes became apparent after booking, and I said I'd see how it goes after taking the cruise, as to whether to continue with Princess).  To those  folks, don't waste your time answering anything you don't have anything useful to comment with, it's a waste of time and will be ignored anyway.

 

This post I'm replying to wasn't one of those, but since it only expressed the (obvious) "you can always go somewhere else", I thought it was worth mentioning...no one is forced to answer here, so if you don't have anything useful to say, maybe think twice before posting.

[MissP22]

40 minutes ago, Flyinby said:

I've noticed something on some of these discussion boards...a "love it or leave it" tendency from many that post there.  While I understand brand loyalty and a tendency to be defensive of one's favorites, how are businesses to know what customers like or dislike if no one says anything?

 

If someone really likes Princess overall but dislikes the smoke whenever you're anywhere near the casino, what's wrong with saying it bothers you?  If people speak up, perhaps they'll listen.  If you just cruise once, enjoy all but the smoke, and then write them off without saying anything, what good does that do, except for you individually?  And it doesn't do Princess much good either, if people just leave and don't tell anyone why.

 

A good example, since I started this thread about something else, is that I've enjoyed Princess cruises in the past, but weren't too thrilled about some recent changes (like the medallion, or having to authorize your credit card to a company you've never heard of and they don't say a word as to why or even who it is).  There were some helpful responses, of experiences with Medallion etc., which were helpful and informative, which is what I was hoping for...people's thoughts, positive or negative, on those issues.

 

But then of course in no time came the useless posts saying no way would I enjoy the cruise because I was a complainer, maybe I should just take a hike, how stupid of me to even book the cruise (even though the changes became apparent after booking, and I said I'd see how it goes after taking the cruise, as to whether to continue with Princess).  To those  folks, don't waste your time answering anything you don't have anything useful to comment with, it's a waste of time and will be ignored anyway.

 

This post I'm replying to wasn't one of those, but since it only expressed the (obvious) "you can always go somewhere else", I thought it was worth mentioning...no one is forced to answer here, so if you don't have anything useful to say, maybe think twice before posting.

😄😁

Edited September 1, 2022 by MissP22
cross posted

[DrSea]

17 hours ago, caribill said:

 

That one makes no sense. I assume you had a cruise card that you used instead of a Medallion.

 

People with heart pacemakers are supposed to avoid using the Medallion and are issued cruise cards instead. Certainly they are allowed to disembark with their cruise card.

I couldn't use my cruise card to disembark. I had to go get my medallion to get off the ship to head into port. 

[DrSea]

On 8/31/2022 at 5:06 PM, ldtr said:

Actually the do not disturb function is a button on the screen by the door. Does not use either the medallion or medallion app. Just a matter of pushing the right button.

Yea I understand. This is what I wrote in my original post:

 

"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." 

 

As a layman, I consider the screen in front of my door as a part of the medallion system, as it is connected to the wifi, unlocks the door with the medallion, displays if you are in the room or not, etc. 

[cruzsnooze]

8 minutes ago, DrSea said:

I couldn't use my cruise card to disembark. I had to go get my medallion to get off the ship to head into port. 

Yes you can, I've done it. If you tap the card in the circle it dings green and the crew say OH!  They don't realise it works just fine.

[DrSea]

9 minutes ago, cruzsnooze said:

Yes you can, I've done it. If you tap the card in the circle it dings green and the crew say OH!  They don't realise it works just fine.

Then the crew needs to be trained better. This happened to me about a year ago. Maybe the crew was still new to the medallion system? 

 

Can someone try on their next PCL cruise soon? Mine is not until Feb 23

[DrSea]

8 hours ago, Flyinby said:

I've noticed something on some of these discussion boards...a "love it or leave it" tendency from many that post there.  While I understand brand loyalty and a tendency to be defensive of one's favorites, how are businesses to know what customers like or dislike if no one says anything?

 

If someone really likes Princess overall but dislikes the smoke whenever you're anywhere near the casino, what's wrong with saying it bothers you?  If people speak up, perhaps they'll listen.  If you just cruise once, enjoy all but the smoke, and then write them off without saying anything, what good does that do, except for you individually?  And it doesn't do Princess much good either, if people just leave and don't tell anyone why.

 

A good example, since I started this thread about something else, is that I've enjoyed Princess cruises in the past, but weren't too thrilled about some recent changes (like the medallion, or having to authorize your credit card to a company you've never heard of and they don't say a word as to why or even who it is).  There were some helpful responses, of experiences with Medallion etc., which were helpful and informative, which is what I was hoping for...people's thoughts, positive or negative, on those issues.

 

But then of course in no time came the useless posts saying no way would I enjoy the cruise because I was a complainer, maybe I should just take a hike, how stupid of me to even book the cruise (even though the changes became apparent after booking, and I said I'd see how it goes after taking the cruise, as to whether to continue with Princess).  To those  folks, don't waste your time answering anything you don't have anything useful to comment with, it's a waste of time and will be ignored anyway.

 

This post I'm replying to wasn't one of those, but since it only expressed the (obvious) "you can always go somewhere else", I thought it was worth mentioning...no one is forced to answer here, so if you don't have anything useful to say, maybe think twice before posting.

Yeah I don't get the take it or leave it attitude. But to ea their own. 

 

Conversely, I don't feel like picking up the phone to call PCL about certain issues. I don't want to wait 4 hours over the phone to make a complaint. I like mentioning my experiences here bc it's my hope that someone else will pick up the phone and tell PCL my complaints on my behalf. 😁

 

The market will work itself out w/o me having to pick up the phone. 

Edited September 2, 2022 by DrSea

[pris993]

My sister books club class because she can get cabins mid ship, being handicapped that makes it easy for her to get around the ship.  She often travels with others who do not book club class so she joins her friends and does not use the CC dining.  

 

I am planning to travel with her, was consider booking club class to have a cabin near hers.  Compared price difference for two pps, Club Class was $500 more.  Have decided I would book my regular mini suite and use the extra $500 to go to the Crown Grill.  

 

Really depends on what folks want or need.  We are all elite on Princess, so obviously cruise line works for us at this point in our life.  I have cruised 9 other lines over the years.  Elite on both Celebrity and Princess, still prefer Princess, now because it has a ship going out of my home port.  I don't care to fly anymore anywhere.  

[Houston Roadrunner]

To go back to the original question "improving or on a downhill run?", my feeling is that Princess in on a very rapid downhill run.  When I first started sailing Princess, it was like the Nordstrom of cruises.  Then it moved downward to Macy's.  In June, I debarked from an 18-day Transatlantic on the Island Princess, and let me tell you, it was a Dollar Tree cruise.  It was truly the cruise from hell.  Food was awful, internet non-existent (even in port), surly crew (new experience), never received a fully correct order from room service, etc., etc.  Little problem with medallion, rather liked it once I got one with a live battery.  The system is just not as sophisticated as advertised. 

 

This last cruise did it for me and Princess.  (I didn't write about the worse things that happened or didn't happen.)  Just booked a HAL but have some concerns because Carnival combined the leadership for HAL and Princess under Jan Swartz, who was the president of Princess.  She is now Group President of Holland America Group, and the president of Princess, John Padgett, reports to her.  Since she was the president of Princess during what I consider a major downhill run, I wonder if the same is in store for HAL.

 

I also sail Viking and Oceania.  It is certainly a different experience on their ships, but due to the major differences in price points, I don't try to compare.  In fact, my next cruise in 70 days is a 39-day Viking Ocean cruise.  To correct some misinformation -- if you regularly cruise Viking you can negotiate a 6-month pre-pay even if you book out 2 years.

 

I've also sailed with Celebrity and Carnival.  Am still open-minded about Celebrity.  Carnival (the short cruises) is fine for the party animals but I'm far past those days now.  Good wine, good food, good music, a spacious cabin, and good balcony chairs is all I need these days along with my sweet hubby who will go with me on any cruise I come up with.

 

 

[caribill]

4 hours ago, Houston Roadrunner said:

To go back to the original question "improving or on a downhill run?", my feeling is that Princess in on a very rapid downhill run.  When I first started sailing Princess, it was like the Nordstrom of cruises.  Then it moved downward to Macy's.  In June, I debarked from an 18-day Transatlantic on the Island Princess, and let me tell you, it was a Dollar Tree cruise.  It was truly the cruise from hell.  Food was awful, internet non-existent (even in port), surly crew (new experience), never received a fully correct order from room service, etc., etc.

 

 

And yet in a recent TV ad for the Ruby sailing out of Galveston, the marketing VP called Princess "a premium cruise line."

[MissP22]

8 hours ago, DrSea said:

Then the crew needs to be trained better.

I believe that's the answer. 

Many of the crew haven't been around long enough to see people using a card as a replacement. 

[chamima]

18 hours ago, Flyinby said:

I've noticed something on some of these discussion boards...a "love it or leave it" tendency from many that post there.  While I understand brand loyalty and a tendency to be defensive of one's favorites, how are businesses to know what customers like or dislike if no one says anything?

 

If someone really likes Princess overall but dislikes the smoke whenever you're anywhere near the casino, what's wrong with saying it bothers you?  If people speak up, perhaps they'll listen.  If you just cruise once, enjoy all but the smoke, and then write them off without saying anything, what good does that do, except for you individually?  And it doesn't do Princess much good either, if people just leave and don't tell anyone why.

 

 

 

As far as the smoking issue - we sailed  this last January when smoking was forbidden in the casino because of Covid. The casino was packed every night. There were lots of comments on this board about similar experiences for lots of people on lots of Princess ships. We mentioned how much we enjoyed the smoke free atmosphere in our comments after the cruise.

We really had hopes that Princess would "see the light" and continue the smoke free casinos after Covid protocols. It didn't happen.

I'm not saying this to discourage anyone from speaking up about their preferences but be prepared that it might not change anything.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

 

As far as the smoking issue - we sailed  this last January when smoking was forbidden in the casino because of Covid. The casino was packed every night. There were lots of comments on this board about similar experiences for lots of people on lots of Princess ships. We mentioned how much we enjoyed the smoke free atmosphere in our comments after the cruise.

We really had hopes that Princess would "see the light" and continue the smoke free casinos after Covid protocols. It didn't happen.

I'm not saying this to discourage anyone from speaking up about their preferences but be prepared that it might not change anything.

During that brief period of time the people sailing didn't have much of a choice if the wanted to gamble. 

Once again, Princess decided to go with the position that will make them the most money. If people really wanted to change things they would stop using the casino all together until they made it totally non smoking,

We all know that will never happen.

[chamima]

22 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

During that brief period of time the people sailing didn't have much of a choice if the wanted to gamble. 

Once again, Princess decided to go with the position that will make them the most money. If people really wanted to change things they would stop using the casino all together until they made it totally non smoking,

We all know that will never happen.

 

We had done exactly that. Stopped using the casino for years until that cruise. Others commented that they were the same.

We thought Princess would take note................

(FWIW- Celebrity's casino is non smoking and they do just fine)

[Daniel A]

8 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

We had done exactly that. Stopped using the casino for years until that cruise. Others commented that they were the same.

We thought Princess would take note................

(FWIW- Celebrity's casino is non smoking and they do just fine)

I note that the thread is asking if Princess is possibly going downhill.  How is Princess doing the same thing they have been doing since they were founded in 1965, going downhill?

[chamima]

18 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I note that the thread is asking if Princess is possibly going downhill.  How is Princess doing the same thing they have been doing since they were founded in 1965, going downhill?

 

Daniel - Many threads go (WAY) off original topic. 🤣🤣🤣

 

And- FWIW- I don't think Princess has gone downhill any more than any other cruiseline. There are, unfortunately, cuts everywhere.

However, attitudes toward smoking have changed drastically since 1965 and maybe keeping up with current thinking about health would be advantageous.

Edited September 2, 2022 by chamima