Open letter to Princess President John Padgett

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Yes, of course he did, and also told them that the reservations had disappeared in the Cruise Personalizer also. He wants this to get fixed as much as anyone. 
 

Your observations got me wondering this morning. I went into the Medallion App for the first time since booking 17 B2B cruises during the $1 deposit promotion. As I would expect, they all do show up in my account in the app. However, they were broken into two dates, each grouping with approximately half of the total number of days. The Booking ID shown is not for the first cruise, but, I am not inclined to dig through through 17 confirmations to see which cruise it relates to. They show up: I’m happy.
 

However, when I attempted to make dinner reservations at the same time every night for the first half of the cruises, it states there are no reservations available (at any time, in any restaurant). Hmmmm.  I chose the second grouping and was able to book the same time at a private table in our chosen dining room. That seemed to work. I tried again with the first grouping…nothing available. 
 

I tried online and couldn’t even get that far. It states that my Booking ID is already linked and gives me no options for what to do next. This despite the fact that I got to that point through the booking. 
 

I am left unconvinced that either the Medallion App or the online check in are fully functional. 

I am guessing the App cannot handle more than 9 linked (B2B) voyages in a row.  Single digit programming perhaps? 

 

Have you tried individual night booking for the first set of cruises?  (I know it would take forever to do them all, but you could try it out for functionality).

 

BTW, our B2B2B last Fall showed the middle voyage booking number for most of the pre-cruise period.  Don't recall for sure, but might have showed the first confirmation in the beginning.  Might have even showed the third one at one time.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

I'm sure there's a version of reality somewhere in which the wise thing to do is to base decisions on posts on a forum which is used by a fraction of 1% of the passengers on a cruise line and then to select from them only those which agree with your own pre-conceptions as to the service offered.

I see your point, but the truth is more nuanced than that.  The opinions offered here are not from a random sampling of guests.  Were that the case, you point would have infinitely greater validity.  Rather, the opinions here are from dedicated customers who are experienced and concerned enough to make the time to share their stories.  And in case there is any question about who is who, we can see the date that each poster joined the forum and how many posts they have made.  Is the opinion of someone who has been a member here since 2010 and who has over 5k posts more valuable (to me) than the praise or criticism of someone who joined last month and who has 24 posts?  That's a big "yes" for me.  Perhaps it is not fair because a person on their first cruise could be served a shoe leather steak the same as someone who is on the 30th Princess Cruise.  But the reality is that it is human nature to weigh and balance opinions and we all do it to some degree. And when  you are here enough, you pick up pretty quickly whose opinions tend to align with yours.  I'll use wine as an analogy because, why not?  Robert Parker, Jancis Robinson, James Suckling and James Laube comprise an infinitesimally small percentage of wine drinkers/critics.  But if I see their opinions on a particular wine, I can pretty much be assured of knowing what I will think of it, because I know how my palate aligns with theirs.  And here on this Board I know who my functional equivalents are. I could pick out 3 people here who, were they on the same cruise of 3,000 people, would comprise 1/10th of 1% of people on that cruise.  But their collective opinions would be close to gospel for me. I'll bet that is true for most people here.       

Edited January 24, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[PescadoAmarillo]

19 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Have you tried individual night booking for the first set of cruises?  (I know it would take forever to do them all, but you could try it out for functionality).

 

BTW, our B2B2B last Fall showed the middle voyage booking number for most of the pre-cruise period.  Don't recall for sure, but might have showed the first confirmation in the beginning.  Might have even showed the third one at one time.

Yes, thanks, I did try that, sampling about one day a week for 10 weeks. I was way more willing to set up 80 or so nights of dining individually than to sit on hold for hours only to be told I’ll be called back (but never would).   Nothing shows up, not even 9pm. I even went to the night we’re in  Honolulu until 11pm.  Few people are dining in the dining rooms that night. Nope. And for the second half it went exactly as it should.  Unfortunately, the first cruise is a month long.  It would be nice to have it fixed from the beginning, instead of waiting until cruise #2nto get the dining situation we want. 
 

It’s not user error. It’s not hardware. It’s not duplicate Captains Circle numbers (unless the erroneous one is also Elite).  It’s not WiFi connectivity/speed (current speed test 686.8Mbps download).  It’s that damn app. 
 

And what you said makes perfect sense. I didn’t look at the specific bookings, but I bet they’re split 8 cruises/9 cruises. The days look about even because the first one is a month long. I’m not surprised it can’t handle it. At one point we had more than 50 FCDs each. That’s when I learned that our Captains Circle accounts that we see online could only show 50. I had to keep a spreadsheet for each of us.

[AE_Collector]

On 1/20/2023 at 5:57 PM, Lcruiser5356 said:

I agree with everything said in the LONG letter. We did a 14 day cruise on Crown Nov 2022. Food in DR was mediocre at best - slow, cold and sometimes inedible. Organization at DR entrance - not a bit. For our 6:30 reservation we finally left the line at 7:15. Learned it was best not to have a reservation as they got in first.

Buffet was always out of food in many containers. When mentioned to an attendant she just barked and said she'd get to it. Food was also usually cold.

Our medallion worked occasionally to open the door to our room. Even after getting a new one. Forget setting it up to get the room cleaned.

I agree about the bright light at BR door. Don't carry electrician tape to cover it.

Staff and activities were great, as usual, for the most part. Do miss the old Elite perks.

We  have done 25 cruises with Princess and have one planned for next Nov. If this goes the way of the last it will be our last.

 

This shows how easily different people have different experiences! We did a 7 day on Crown Princess in November 2022 and experienced none of what you mention. This was our 43rd Princess cruise so it wasn’t that we have nothing to compare to. However, maybe we weren’t on the same ship as you say you were on a 14 day cruise in November. We were on the 7 day Nov 2 to 9 Vancouver to LA. Then it did the 28 day South Pacific so there was no 14 day cruise on Crown in November.

[TheMichael]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I am guessing the App cannot handle more than 9 linked (B2B) voyages in a row.  Single digit programming perhaps? 

 

Have you tried individual night booking for the first set of cruises?  (I know it would take forever to do them all, but you could try it out for functionality).

 

BTW, our B2B2B last Fall showed the middle voyage booking number for most of the pre-cruise period.  Don't recall for sure, but might have showed the first confirmation in the beginning.  Might have even showed the third one at one time.

 

Again, likely not the App at all, but the system, which the App merely accesses. Princess has a website from which one can access the same system as the App. Maybe try that.

 

Technology can be tricky.

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, TheMichael said:

 

Again, likely not the App at all, but the system, which the App merely accesses. Princess has a website from which one can access the same system as the App. Maybe try that.

 

Technology can be tricky.

The App is likely handling a lot more than it ought to on the phone itself since memory and resource load has been reported high and I did read somewhere at least once that they are working to reduce that.  But, yes, if such a restriction is indeed the case on number of linked voyages, it very well is likely something programmed into the base system. 

 

[caribill]

9 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

 

 

The Medallion app is fine. Amazing in some ways (hands-free door, shipmate location, and there's nothing like ordering a drink and having the bartender hand it to you and just say "I've got you") but not in others (like dining reservation visibility, which briefly came and went for me too at one point)

 

The hands-free door unlocking in no way, shape or form involves the app.

[PescadoAmarillo]

8 hours ago, TheMichael said:

 

Again, likely not the App at all, but the system, which the App merely accesses. Princess has a website from which one can access the same system as the App. Maybe try that.

 

Technology can be tricky.

As I said above, that was the first thing I tried after the app failed me. I can’t even get into the booking online because it says the Booking ID is already linked. @ldtr explained why that might be. I have roughly 75 to 80 days of cruising for which I cannot make a dining reservation, when the following 75 to 80 days were easily booked.  
 

There is no better example to prove the point I’ve been making on this thread, and I just happened into it when @ldtr got me thinking yesterday. 
 

Of course, even if I get these dining reservations made, after hours/days of working with the App help desk, there is no guarantee that they will stick. That’s my other point. We’ve had them disappear in the recent past, and before that, also. There’s also no guarantee that the stateroom which is marked Do Not Upgrade won’t be upgraded, although I spent a day finding the one cabin in our desired location that is available for all 17 cruises. That happened twice in the past three months also, resulting in my husband literally moving from one end of the ship to the other on turnaround days when we initially had him in the same deck/ end of ship. And how all of his minibar bottles disappeared from his suitcase the one time he got help, never to be seen again. 

But I continue to appreciate all comments about how, if I don’t like it, I should just stay home, which totally dismiss these valid concerns. If that’s what we do, these reasons will be the major reason why. And if we go, the fact that, as my husband said again yesterday, the crew is just “so wonderful” will probably be the only reason why. Princess better hope that never changes. 

 

[cruising.mark.uk]

Seems to me that if you don't like it, you should just stay home.

[PescadoAmarillo]

16 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

Seems to me that if you don't like it, you should just stay home.

Thank you for proving my point. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

As I said above, that was the first thing I tried after the app failed me. I can’t even get into the booking online because it says the Booking ID is already linked. @ldtr explained why that might be. I have roughly 75 to 80 days of cruising for which I cannot make a dining reservation, when the following 75 to 80 days were easily booked.  
 

There is no better example to prove the point I’ve been making on this thread, and I just happened into it when @ldtr got me thinking yesterday. 
 

Of course, even if I get these dining reservations made, after hours/days of working with the App help desk, there is no guarantee that they will stick. That’s my other point. We’ve had them disappear in the recent past, and before that, also. There’s also no guarantee that the stateroom which is marked Do Not Upgrade won’t be upgraded, although I spent a day finding the one cabin in our desired location that is available for all 17 cruises. That happened twice in the past three months also, resulting in my husband literally moving from one end of the ship to the other on turnaround days when we initially had him in the same deck/ end of ship. And how all of his minibar bottles disappeared from his suitcase the one time he got help, never to be seen again. 

But I continue to appreciate all comments about how, if I don’t like it, I should just stay home, which totally dismiss these valid concerns. If that’s what we do, these reasons will be the major reason why. And if we go, the fact that, as my husband said again yesterday, the crew is just “so wonderful” will probably be the only reason why. Princess better hope that never changes. 

 

 

How are G's reservations going for these cruises he is on?  Has he had any issues with them again?

 

Will you be joining him soon?  Hope he is having a great time!

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

That happened twice in the past three months also, resulting in my husband literally moving from one end of the ship to the other on turnaround days when we initially had him in the same deck/ end of ship. And how all of his minibar bottles disappeared from his suitcase the one time he got help, never to be seen again. 

 

That's a pretty serious accusation.  So one of the crew members opened his suitcase and stole the mini bar bottles?  What happened when he reported it?  Were the crew members who handled his suitcase reprimanded (or let go)?  Did Princess replace the mini bar bottles?

[PescadoAmarillo]

29 minutes ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

How are G's reservations going for these cruises he is on?  Has he had any issues with them again?

 

Will you be joining him soon?  Hope he is having a great time!

His dining reservations disappeared twice before he boarded for the first of his B2B. It took until his third cruise to get the same table every night. His cabins were changed twice. One time we were able to get his original cabin back, and one time we weren’t. He had three minibar setups of liquor stolen between cruises  But aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln thinks the play was great. 😆

 

No, he is the first to admit it’s not like it used to be, but still enjoys the experience of what we think of as spur of the moment cruises to who cares where simply to escape winter. He was very taken with the crew on the Ruby, who apparently looked after him extremely well. Naturally, he sees many we’ve known for years, and that is part of what we’ve always loved about our many days on Princess. The Ruby (at least) had a policy where the most traveled passenger could have breakfast in Sabatini’s and he naturally enjoyed that immensely (who wouldn’t?). 
 

No, I will not be joining him, for many reasons. 

17 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

That's a pretty serious accusation.  So one of the crew members opened his suitcase and stole the mini bar bottles?  What happened when he reported it?  Were the crew members who handled his suitcase reprimanded (or let go)?  Did Princess replace the mini bar bottles?

I have no idea. I believe he got a $50 OBC. It’s hard to know exactly who took the bottles, since it’s often the deck attendants who move luggage for in transits. He had the drink package and hadn’t touched his mini alcohol bottles at all (but did take his sodas off the ship in ports). I actually only found out about it from a couple we know who were on the cruise with him; he never mentioned it to me. When I asked him about it, he said simply that it’s not like it used to be. He usually moved his own belongings but got off the ship in San Francisco on one turnaround to buy more COVID tests and that’s when it happened. 

Edited January 25, 2023 by PescadoAmarillo

[Host CJSKIDS]

2 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

His dining reservations disappeared twice before he boarded for the first of his B2B. It took until his third cruise to get the same table every night. His cabins were changed twice. One time we were able to get his original cabin back, and one time we weren’t. He had three minibar setups of liquor stolen between cruises  But aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, the play was great. 😆

 

No, he is the first to admit it’s not like it used to be, but still enjoys the experience of what we think of as spur of the moment cruises to who cares where simply to escape winter. He was very taken with the crew on the Ruby, who apparently looked after him extremely well. Naturally, he sees many we’ve known for years, and that is part of what we’ve always loved about our many days on Princess. The Ruby (at least) had a policy where the most traveled passenger could have breakfast in Sabatini’s and he naturally enjoyed that immensely (who wouldn’t?). 
 

No, I will not be joining him, for many reasons. 

 

 

 

Totally agree with you, there really is nothing like the crew on Princess.  It's what always brings us back!

[memoak]

1 hour ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

 

 

Totally agree with you, there really is nothing like the crew on Princess.  It's what always brings us back!

We were on the Ruby over Thanksgiving and it was the happiest crew I have seen all of 2022. I attributed this partially to the captain who was wonderful and set a great tone for the trip

[dog]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:16 PM, Kruzkrazy said:

Mr. Padgett:
As a longtime Carnival stockholder and elite Princess cruiser with nearly 500 days at sea with your line, I fully understand that your ships have recently been idle for two years, making no money and piling on enormous debt. You needed to make changes. I get this. If you believe nothing else I write, you can believe that.
That said, I must convey to you my enormous disappointment in Princess after a recent 10-day cruise I took with my wife. In fact, Princess now seems an entirely different cruise line, and not for the better.
It all began weeks before we even boarded the Crown Princess, when our Medallions arrived in the mail. The shortcomings of this ill-conceived piece of technological rubbish have been well-documented in this forum, and I'll not waste my time and yours by rehashing all that. I'll just say that you would have done well to do some meaningful beta testing before foisting it on your paying customers. Frankly, it's an insult to us. In fairness, however, it does make a nice refigerator magnet, as another contributor to Cruise Critic has noted. Enough said about that.
Now, to embarkation day at the San Pedro cruise terminal in California. There was, in theory, a separate check-in line for elite passengers, as always. But the Princess employee was interested only in maintaining lines of equal length, and was unaware that the elite line should have been much shorter, benefitting your most loyal customers. The sign saying so was unmistakable. Clearly, she was ill-trained for her job.
Some other problems regarding elite passengers:
-- We always received a $35-per-person onboard credit. That is now gone.
-- No special toiletries in the bathroom, as in the past.
-- No more free internet, just a discount on the regular package. Gee, thanks a lot.
It is painfully clear, Mr. Padgett, that you no longer want our business. What you do want is a younger crowd that will accept your rampant nickel-and-diming without complaint. New passengers have no way of knowing what they are now missing.Your most loyal, longtime customers have become just another burden to be disposed of.
But these problems are not the end. With no corner left uncut, you have degraded the cruising experience in other ways as well:
 -- MDR food quality onboard has taken a huge hit. Portions are smaller. I almost needed a chain saw to cut my veal scaloppine. In Crown Grill, same thing. Our traveling companions ordered "tiger prawns" that turned out to be ordinary shrimp, barely an inch long. Steaks came with no sauces offered.
-- Dine My Way is a chaotic mess. What was wrong with two MDR seatings at set times?
-- You have removed the club chairs from all non-suite cabins. Why? Is it too expensive to maintain and clean them? Or have you simply cut your staff to the point that you now have no one to do it?
-- There are no longer any trash receptacles at the elevator stops. They used to be placed at every one, on all floors. No staffers to empty them, eh?
-- No padded loungers on the exterior promenade deck. Just hard, uncomfortable, upright wooden chairs. It used to be a pleasure to sit out there and just watch the ocean go by on a beautiful day. What's the matter, Mr. Padgett? Oh, right. I get it. You don't want me just having a lazy day relaxing outside. You want me inside, drinking, gambling and spending money in your overpriced shops.
-- No more chocolates on the pillows at night. Is this a small thing? You bet. Is it too small to complain about? Not at all, because it gives a perfect insight into your cut-everything-to-the-bone mindset. If the repeat passengers miss it, too bad. You don't want us anyway. The newbies will never know that the chocolates used to be there. As I said, I understand that you're in a financial hole now. But is saving money on an item as small as this worth deliberately antagonizing your biggest fans?
-- The automatic, even-though-I-don't-want-them floor-level night lights that went on in the middle of the  night every time I stepped out of bed. Or even if my sheet dangled over the side. And  the big  one outside the bathroom that awakened my wife every time.  What, we're such children that you can't trust us to get to the toilet without your help?
-- Last, but certainly not least, here's an item I just can't comprehend: An electronic panel outside my cabin door where I'm supposed to indicate whether I want my cabin serviced or just don't want to be disturbed. Trouble is, I'm standing right there with my medallion, which keeps unlocking the door and forcing me to keep reprogramming my preference, which never seems to work. My cabin steward finally told me to forget about it; nobody else could get it to work either. I mean, really, sir, what was wrong with the old-fashioned cardboard signs we'd hang on the door handle as we left the cabin? Are you so maniacally committed to electronics that you must simply have them everywhere, even when they make no sense whatever?
In short, Mr. Padgett, you win. You are rid of my wife and me. We will now take our money, and our combined 1,000 days at sea, and go where we can get a little appreciation.
There. Happy now?
KK

Back to OP who started this thread-

1) I agree with you moving on.

2) If you can’t get your issues resolved on board the cruise & you can find nd a better suited vacation then go ahead.

3) I personally would not waste hours on the app trying to make reservations (for someone else) or myself. 
4) Things work out for some of us, but not for others.

 

What do you say? Any responses from Princess?

[cruising.mark.uk]

6 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Thank you for proving my point. 

And thank you for proving mine.

[dog]

On 1/20/2023 at 1:32 PM, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

John Padgett, and others to whom this may concern,

 

Hello.

While there are a lot of Princess Cruisers who do not seem to like any of the changes.  And, while that is very valid.  I would like to address a few very specific shortcomings and bad experiences we had with Princess on our last cruise.

 

1.  TOTAL AND COMPLETE unacceptable lack of customer service.

Our Princess Planner was totally AWOL,  failed to respond to any messages or requests, and most importantly, she would still put out very very annoying mass emails encouraging us to contact her immediately to book a cruise and get the best deals.

Worst of all, the recent promotion which offered the Excursion OBC came out just after we booked.  And we could find NOBODY  at Princess to handle making the switch and getting this credit for us.  When we knew we were making a specific booking with Princess that this would have helped to cover.  That, along with future price drops costed us hundreds of dollars on a short cruise.  Not Okay.

THAT IS MONEY THAT I KNOW WE COULD NEVER GET BACK.

 

I will also add the booking issues, and problems, caused by most, or even ALL, deluxe balconies only being shown available to parties of 3 or 4.  This is a huge problem.  We usually book a deluxe balcony.  We would have to try to deal with the totally non-existent customer service, or do some kind of 'hokey pokey' as some call it, to actually book a cabin that we wanted.  This totally locks couples out of desired locations, such as AFT premium deluxe balconies, and midship bump out deluxe balconies, with slightly larger balconies.   This is a very real problem.

 

2.  TOTAL AND COMPLETE unacceptable lack of edible steak onboard. 

Even in Crown Grill.  This is nothing less than shameful to charge people for this.  On top of that, our service was lacking, we sat there for what seemed like forever (while on a cruise ship entertainment schedule) waiting for our meal, while others were served.  All we got was a lame excuse, and a very bad steak, which we then had no time or desire to send back for change.

 

3.  Can we talk about the beds?  

Seriously.  I had been assured that all of the beds on the Regal Princess had finally, FINALLY, been changed out.  Imagine my shock and disappointment and unhappiness to walk into our cabin and see, visible thru the freshly made bed linens, two very very saggy, lumpy, awful mattresses shoved together with a huge ridge up the middle.  Really?   Are you not kidding?  And the past slogan was 'Come Back New', as in relaxed or refreshed?  Wow.

 

4.  Menus and dining.

If there are a very few things that people have recommended when dining on Princess, it has been things like the Alfredo, the Princess Specialty desserts, and few others.   What in the heck are you all at Princess thinking to take the few things that work, and get rid of them!!!   The 'shaved' thin slice of Prime Rib on Farewell Night.  And that embarkation night menu, are severely lacking,.  Again, nothing short of an embarrassment.   While we did enjoy a lot of good food on our cruise, there is still no excuse for these cutbacks and changes.  When you have a very limited few things that work, don't 'fix' them.

I can live with some rushed, less than attentive, service.  Which is what is now standard.   But, the things mentioned above can not be overlooked.

 

Yes, we very much enjoyed our cruise!

But whether it is cruising or any other service industry,  The above points are all just totally unacceptable and a total embarrassment to Princess.

 

I will make a point to offer some positives that help to offset the problems I have mentioned.

In particular, the wonderful and hardworking staff onboard!

1. Rodrick (Hot Rod) our Steward, who was excellent.  I believe he managed to switch out our mattresses for some slightly better ones from a nearby cabin.  He took excellent care of us!  And, when we walked out for dinner, dressed, after changing out of sloppy travel sweats, he raised his eyebrows and told me that I looked stunning that evening!

2.  Our server in Allegro, Cyrel,  who took excellent care of us, and provided friendly and quick service!  We returned to our table there throughout the cruise.

3.  Jooey our server in Crooners who remembered our favorite martinis, and offered me an imaginary wheelchair when we declined another drink, because how then would I make it to dinner!

4.  The great staff up in The Sanctuary, which truly is a wonderful happy-place!

5.  The staff on Princess Cays, who made it very nice, even thru a very rainy beginning of the day.  Their dedication to service, running and soaked in the weather, is to be commended.  Even the servers on the island's buffet line had cranked up some Caribbean Jam and were singing and dancing and partying to keep spirits up!  I definitely got that on video on my phone.

 

Thank You, very sincerely

 

 

 

 

Did you get a response from Princess yet?  What did they have to say?

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/20/2023 at 10:32 AM, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

John Padgett, and others to whom this may concern,

 

Hello.

While there are a lot of Princess Cruisers who do not seem to like any of the changes.  And, while that is very valid.  I would like to address a few very specific shortcomings and bad experiences we had with Princess on our last cruise.

 

1.  TOTAL AND COMPLETE unacceptable lack of customer service.

Our Princess Planner was totally AWOL,  failed to respond to any messages or requests, and most importantly, she would still put out very very annoying mass emails encouraging us to contact her immediately to book a cruise and get the best deals.

Worst of all, the recent promotion which offered the Excursion OBC came out just after we booked.  And we could find NOBODY  at Princess to handle making the switch and getting this credit for us.  When we knew we were making a specific booking with Princess that this would have helped to cover.  That, along with future price drops costed us hundreds of dollars on a short cruise.  Not Okay.

THAT IS MONEY THAT I KNOW WE COULD NEVER GET BACK.

 

I will also add the booking issues, and problems, caused by most, or even ALL, deluxe balconies only being shown available to parties of 3 or 4.  This is a huge problem.  We usually book a deluxe balcony.  We would have to try to deal with the totally non-existent customer service, or do some kind of 'hokey pokey' as some call it, to actually book a cabin that we wanted.  This totally locks couples out of desired locations, such as AFT premium deluxe balconies, and midship bump out deluxe balconies, with slightly larger balconies.   This is a very real problem.

 

2.  TOTAL AND COMPLETE unacceptable lack of edible steak onboard. 

Even in Crown Grill.  This is nothing less than shameful to charge people for this.  On top of that, our service was lacking, we sat there for what seemed like forever (while on a cruise ship entertainment schedule) waiting for our meal, while others were served.  All we got was a lame excuse, and a very bad steak, which we then had no time or desire to send back for change.

 

3.  Can we talk about the beds?  

Seriously.  I had been assured that all of the beds on the Regal Princess had finally, FINALLY, been changed out.  Imagine my shock and disappointment and unhappiness to walk into our cabin and see, visible thru the freshly made bed linens, two very very saggy, lumpy, awful mattresses shoved together with a huge ridge up the middle.  Really?   Are you not kidding?  And the past slogan was 'Come Back New', as in relaxed or refreshed?  Wow.

 

4.  Menus and dining.

If there are a very few things that people have recommended when dining on Princess, it has been things like the Alfredo, the Princess Specialty desserts, and few others.   What in the heck are you all at Princess thinking to take the few things that work, and get rid of them!!!   The 'shaved' thin slice of Prime Rib on Farewell Night.  And that embarkation night menu, are severely lacking,.  Again, nothing short of an embarrassment.   While we did enjoy a lot of good food on our cruise, there is still no excuse for these cutbacks and changes.  When you have a very limited few things that work, don't 'fix' them.

I can live with some rushed, less than attentive, service.  Which is what is now standard.   But, the things mentioned above can not be overlooked.

 

Yes, we very much enjoyed our cruise!

But whether it is cruising or any other service industry,  The above points are all just totally unacceptable and a total embarrassment to Princess.

 

I will make a point to offer some positives that help to offset the problems I have mentioned.

In particular, the wonderful and hardworking staff onboard!

1. Rodrick (Hot Rod) our Steward, who was excellent.  I believe he managed to switch out our mattresses for some slightly better ones from a nearby cabin.  He took excellent care of us!  And, when we walked out for dinner, dressed, after changing out of sloppy travel sweats, he raised his eyebrows and told me that I looked stunning that evening!

2.  Our server in Allegro, Cyrel,  who took excellent care of us, and provided friendly and quick service!  We returned to our table there throughout the cruise.

3.  Jooey our server in Crooners who remembered our favorite martinis, and offered me an imaginary wheelchair when we declined another drink, because how then would I make it to dinner!

4.  The great staff up in The Sanctuary, which truly is a wonderful happy-place!

5.  The staff on Princess Cays, who made it very nice, even thru a very rainy beginning of the day.  Their dedication to service, running and soaked in the weather, is to be commended.  Even the servers on the island's buffet line had cranked up some Caribbean Jam and were singing and dancing and partying to keep spirits up!  I definitely got that on video on my phone.

 

Thank You, very sincerely

 

 

 

 

Point 4. - You do know Jooey has all your drink information right in front of him, right? He doesn’t need to remember anything. If you look at your own medallion app, you can see the history of all the drinks you ordered, as can he. They are also paid and usually tipped for their ability to make us happy.  Even before you order, everyone who comes close to them shows up on their system with a picture. Like, if you walk or stop by a bar…you will see your face and many others nearby on their screens. I guess that is progress…I call it tracking. A cruise ship is no different than on land. They need to generate revenue. I do wonder if their sales are tracked, as well. 

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/20/2023 at 4:48 PM, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Here is yet another.

"Agree about Crown Grill - we were on Discovery Princess during Christmas and except for the bread the Crown Grill was horrible~"

 

My only hope is the Princess finally addresses this. If it can be heard over the cheerleaders.

That’s interesting, the bread was the only thing we didn’t love. So…everyone is different with what foods they enjoy. Overall, our meal was fantastic and I would not have thought to complain, just because it wasn’t our thing. It just left me more room for dessert. lol. 

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/21/2023 at 1:15 PM, dhdoug said:

Being an Elite cruiser with Princess is one reason that’s it’s hard to give up the benefits but very close to moving to another cruise line. Recently inquired with Princess agent who I have dealt with in the past about the cost to upgrade to premium from plus. After 3 days with no response resent email. Received response with a statement that he didn’t have time to immediately respond to my question and gave me the general customer service phone.  

Princess your customers deserve better. 

Can I ask why you just didn’t go to the payment screen on your personalizer, and check it out yourself? Were you aware that even if you used a PVP, you can look and see what the final cost to upgrade would be?

I try not to bog mine down with the little things that I can figure out myself. 

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/21/2023 at 2:32 PM, ldtr said:

Keep in mind that half of the issues were not about operational issues, which the cruise line would be interested in (food quality, service times, Buffet staffing, MDR check in times).  These are areas where I expect the cruise line would be working to improve and would like to be notified of short comings.

 

Many if not most of the OPs complaints were sour grapes about policy decisions that are extremely unlikely to have any chance of being reversed: the chair removal, the nighttime chocolate, the change of internet from a few free minutes to 50% discount on unlimited,  implementation of medallion, the elimination of the loyalty OBC as well as some others.  The blue bags and the special toiletries might come back if they are supply issues, but not if they are policy decisions and they are likely gone for good.

 

If one is basing upon their future cruising on Princess on the operational issues then letting Princess how they feel on those subjects may yield benefits for them.  If they are focused on the policy changes then Princess may not be the line for them in the future.

Wow, you listed those things and my mind travelled back to the good old days quickly. There have been many changes, that’s for sure. Some I miss, some I don’t. 

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/21/2023 at 5:12 PM, ORB said:

I'd be interested in knowing how you managed to get that permanent table assignment!

 

Otherwise, I find your post very encouraging.  We aren't particularly loyal to a single line, but Princess was hitherto on the short list of those we have preferred.  Our conversations with other passengers led us to suspect the issues we were experiencing were due more to problems on the Crown than problems fleet-wide.

It isn’t that hard to get the same same table.
After our first meal, and waiting long past our reservation time, we went to the hostess desk upon leaving and asked. We said we liked the wait staff and the area. That was that. For the next 13 nights, we went straight to our table. Sometimes, they asked us to tap our medallion, but most nights they did not. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by Happiest when cruising

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:21 AM, ldtr said:

Keep in mind that there is a difference between total not working and not working for those that do not understand the system.  We have done 9 cruises under the DMW system.  WE have had minimal issues other than a little slow first night check in because we under stand the system, know the limitations and adjust accordingly.

 

Quite a few do not understand it, many have made no effort to understand it, some do not want to understand it.  Easier to complain about it. 

 

As more people are cruising under the system more are understanding how it works and also adjusting accordingly.

 

Some will choose to say it is horrible even when it works relatively well. Most ships seem to be improving on implementation, with the one exception we have seen is the Crown.

 

Could it be better? Certainly.  However, the solutions may be more use of the App, not less.  For example the biggest problem is the lines and speed of check in.  That could easily be eliminated if they added the check in function to the App where one can check in, and get their table assignment on the App.  That would greatly speed the process.   For those dining early the App could be populated immediately on check in.  For those dining later the table assignment could be provided as soon as their table is ready.

 

As far as the App there were problems when it first came out.  Lately it has been working pretty well.  The biggest problems I have seen or heard about from discussion with the medallion staff is due to older/cheaper phones with insufficient memory or CPU.  

 

With some people any hiccup is a crisis worthy of complaining to the world, to others it is just something to be solved and resolved.

What about those people who don’t want to carry a phone around with them? 
My phone works great on the ships, I just like to leave it in my cabin, so I’m not tempted to be on it all the time reading social media sites, like this one.😉

[Happiest when cruising]

On 1/23/2023 at 11:31 AM, MissP22 said:

We'll I stand corrected but I still don't think it's right to hold tables for 6:30 PM  arrivals. There's nothing they can do with that table until you arrive, meaning someone who's ready to eat will have to wait at the door.  

Nah…lots of people eat at 5 and would love to be done by 6:30. 
Having said that, we had a 5:40 reservation, and it was great. We were able to make the 7:30 shows, with time to spare.