Open letter to Princess President John Padgett

[Nebr.cruiser]

Of course this letter is a rant and too long; unlikely to get a response, but he does make many valid points.  We've been on two Princess cruises within the last year, with another coming up, our first as Elites.

 

There have been many down-grades, mostly in food quality and variety.  Also, on our last cruise, the entertainment was pretty bad, in the theater.  Two very old and outdated shows,  one really mediocre comedian, one better comedian duo--but they were on twice--and one Prince imitator--who was also on twice-- and not everyone's cup of tea, for sure.  Far less quality in entertainment.

 

The medallion worked well for us, but we only use it for boarding and cabin entry, basically.  Hated the cabin lights that went on automatically, and the closet light would only go on if we opened the bathroom door and then only stayed on for a little bit; then we'd have to open the door again.

 

Staff was very good, but I assume the cabin stewards have been given a lot more cabins as ours didn't get done until pretty late in the afternoon.  

 

 

[Pizzasteve]

On 1/24/2023 at 4:58 AM, cruising.mark.uk said:

So, if I understand this correctly:

- You are going to base a decision on whether or not to continue to sail on Princess on what you read on here (thanks, by the way, for telling posters what the purpose of this forum is or isn't).

- You only want to hear complaints, nothing good or neutral.

- You will decide whether you read the complaints or not.

- You know before you start that DMW doesn't work and neither does the wifi.  You know that because you've read it on here and you've discounted any reports to the contrary.

 

Given the positive approach you've adopted and the empirical, even-handed, unbiased and scientific methodology you are taking, I think most people could tell you right now what conclusion you're going to reach.  

 

I hope whatever line you jump ship to disappoints you less.  However,  I fear you'll discover (assuming you adopt the same glass half full outlook and rigorous methodology for researching them as you are towards Princess) that they all disappoint you equally, if not more.

As an unvested reader who jumped to the last few posts, I would like to say that your response to her very reasonable comment was argumentative and rude.

 

Your 'summary of the other poster's position' is completely inaccurate and slanted, forming conclusions that are not what the person said.  If you want to restate them, then quote them.  This post uses a classic 'false straw man' tactic people use to attempt to put words in other people's mouths, they didnt say, when they do not have a strong position, but want to 'be right' anyway.  For example, saying they consider posts in future cruise decisions is not the same as 'basing their decision solely on the posts'.  Thats just nonsense. One assumes, price, timing, other options and a whole host of issues come into play, but one might be a CC review or complaint.  It seems obvious if you assume a rational person is posting and/or reading.

 

I post this to show sympathy to the cruiser who is obviously interested in the experience of other passengers, both positive and negative.  If one doesnt like complaint threads it is very easy to not click on them.

Edited February 11, 2023 by Pizzasteve

[cruising.mark.uk]

15 minutes ago, Pizzasteve said:

 I would like to say that your response to her very reasonable comment was argumentative and rude.

 

 

Thank you for your argumentative and rude response to my very reasonable comment.

[toofewcruises]

Wow! What an unhappy person you must be! Cutbacks are occurring throughout the cruise industry as they have had no revenue for over 2 years. Good luck finding a cruise line that will satisfy you and cater to your every need! I bet it doesn't exist.

[Pizzasteve]

Happy valentines day

Edited February 14, 2023 by Pizzasteve

[Nicole&Pete]

On 1/20/2023 at 3:16 AM, 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

I can see there have been mixed opinions about this letter on this forum, but what I like about it is the fact that it points out that Princess have spent time, money and effort creating the medallion app and medallion onboard systems which a lot of people don’t really care about when on holiday, but have cut back on the things they do care about. It would be interesting to know how much the technology on the ships cost them versus the cost saving of the cut backs mentioned in this letter.
 

I would really hope cruise lines come to realise that the small things matter. I would much rather have a cushion on my deck chair and a chocolate on my pillow than a screen outside my door saying do not disturb when a piece of card works just as well. 
 

Also celebrity still offer traditional dining, we tried to make traditional dining work on Princess through the dine my way app last year and it was difficult, but on our Celebrity cruise last year it was just so easy to have the same table and same waiter for the entire cruise, took the stress away each night in my opinion.

[Over from NZ]

Correct me if I'm wrong.. but the guy that started the thread didn't come back?! That in itself is rather rude and arrogant. So now you've got a whole lot of people arguing about the rantings of some self-centred person who wasn't even actually interested in having a discussion. Take his letter with a pinch of salt and ignore him as he's ignored all of you. 

[ldubs]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:34 AM, cruising.mark.uk said:

Thank you for your argumentative and rude response to my very reasonable comment.

 

I also think you did not understand the poster you were quoting and intentionally so.    

[DHP1]

15 hours ago, Pizzasteve said:

Happy valentines day

Lol. Off topic. 😀