Pool Deck Atmosphere

[Thrak]

I remember on one of our early cruises I was walking across Lido deck and looked up at the MUTS screen. Casablanca was just starting and I settled into a lounger to watch. After a while someone came around with a cart offering warm cookies and cold milk. It was great.

 

The loud concerts they play over and over can be annoying and people complain about them running the same ones repeatedly but, there are an awful lot of folks who don't sail Princess repeatedly and the concerts are "new" to them.

 

I don't use the pools but my wife does. She enjoys the Wake View pool as it is quiet and she can have a lounger and read with occasional dips to cool off and there is a bar there so she can have a beer while reading. It is not a large pool and is adults only.

[CapnCrews]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Given that the consensus on here ( admittedly a small sample) is that no one likes MUTS, why does Princess persist with it.

I mention it on every one of my post cruise surveys. I guess others do too.

It just seems that Princess have invested so much money in the screens, that they will use them regardless of the opinions of their paying passengers.

 

 

Here’s a shot of “no one liking MUTS” on Princess

 

 

[JimmyVWine]

28 minutes ago, CapnCrews said:

Here’s a shot of “no one liking MUTS” on Princess

 

But this is a picture of people enjoying a movie UNDER THE STARS with few if any people actually using the pool area as a pool area. 100% in favor of that 100% of the time. But when the staff at the Trident Grill cannot hear me place my order at 1:00 pm because some configuration of Journey with which I am not familiar, (no Steve Perry = no Journey) is blasting from the screen, then that is a problem. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[rnr4thatsme]

1 hour ago, that said:

The repositioning cruise

Los Angeles to Vancouver?

Yes!  That’s the one!

[Guest ldtr]

6 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

No.  The "Quiet Pool" is only found in the Retreat area and that is not available to everyone.  

The retreat pools on the Royal class ships are open to everyone, as are the SPA pools (those located just past past the SPA desk next to the gym on the Sun deck)) on the Grand class.  While the retreat pools are located near the sanctuary on most ships it is not part of the sanctuary.

 

Problem is that on some ships such as the Discovery Princess they are only about 3.5 feet deep.  

Edited March 2, 2023 by ldtr

[Guest ldtr]

14 minutes ago, rnr4thatsme said:

Yes!  That’s the one!

Would not count on much pool time that time of the year.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

Given that the consensus on here ( admittedly a small sample) is that no one likes MUTS, why does Princess persist with it.

I mention it on every one of my post cruise surveys. I guess others do too.

It just seems that Princess have invested so much money in the screens, that they will use them regardless of the opinions of their paying passengers.

 

Or the other possibility is that those that are vocal about not liking it are really the minority.  I suspect that most have no strong feeling about it one way or another.  For many they like the movies in the afternoon and evening, as well as the sports presentations.  

Edited March 2, 2023 by ldtr

[donaldsc]

I just came off a Viking cruise.  It was great and one reason was that the pool area was very pleasant - no live bands; no loud or unlistenable music; no bad movies that you couldn't pay me enough to see; also almost no loungers with unread paperback books on them.  Also no trivia or art sales or jewelry events.  There are many of us who like that sort of atmosphere and who do a lot of cruising.  

 

There are other reasons besides those things that I wouldn't cruise on Princess or other ships of that type,  The last time we cruised Princess was when we took our 10 year old granddaughter to AK and it work for us or else I wouldn't have done that cruise.  I have booked a long Japan cruise on Princess this fall because of the itinerary and I sure hope that I will nol be subjected to the c**p described above.  At least if they do have that stuff this cruise is a port intensive cruise so I will be off the ship for most of the day.

 

If that makes me an old grouch so be it.  I also have to admit that when we did our recent cruise on one of the Clipper Lines sailboats the Conquest of Paradise" a 1992 song recorded by Greek composer Vangelis that they played when they raised the sails was pretty cool but they also played it ONLY when they were raising the sails and not all the time.  Really cool sail setting music - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ufkMTshjz8

 

 

DON

 

 

 

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by donaldsc

[caribill]

13 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

My solution would be for Princess to install a Bluetooth transmitting sound system around the pool area allowing anyone who wants to use their own Bluetooth enabled earbuds or headphones to connect to that system and listen to whatever is playing on the screen. 

 

As long as  Princess provides at no charge Bluetooth enabled earbuds or headphones to passengers who not have such devices.

[Lady Meer]

1 minute ago, caribill said:

 

As long as  Princess provides at no charge Bluetooth enabled earbuds or headphones to passengers who not have such devices.

Agreed. On our first Princess cruise with MUTS, during the day the screen was silent and headphones were handed out to those who wished to listen. I wonder why it changed?

[JimmyVWine]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

As long as  Princess provides at no charge Bluetooth enabled earbuds or headphones to passengers who not have such devices.

They could do that.  But most people eschew earbuds that have been worn by others.  Pretty gross.  Better solution is to BYO for an afternoon "silent showing" with a regular showing of the entertainment at night, or an audio showing in the afternoon in the theater. Those without their own listening devices still have an option and are not cut out .

 

The number of people under the age of 60 who I know who do not have BT listening devices can be counted on one hand.  When Apple stopped putting the output jack receptacle in its iPhones, people went BT all the way.  And when Work From Home became mandatory and people were on Zoom calls and every day, the sales skyrocketed.  Princess could provide spare pairs for the 5% of the people who don't have such devices, but I'm not sure those people would want to wear them. 

Edited March 2, 2023 by JimmyVWine

[JimmyVWine]

13 hours ago, ldtr said:

The retreat pools on the Royal class ships are open to everyone,

???

Taken directly from the Princess website:

 

Retreat Pool – Adjacent to The Sanctuary, the Retreat Pool provides an exclusive area for adults to relax and rejuvenate. The Retreat Pool on Royal Princess offers more space and seating than the adult pools on other Princess vessels, plus adds new Retreat Cabanas that can be reserved for an enhanced experience. 

 

https://www.princess.com/news/backgrounders_and_fact_sheets/factsheet/Passengers-Can-Enjoy-the-Ultimate-in-Pampering-Aboard-Royal-Princess.html

 

[Guest ldtr]

11 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

???

Taken directly from the Princess website:

 

Retreat Pool – Adjacent to The Sanctuary, the Retreat Pool provides an exclusive area for adults to relax and rejuvenate. The Retreat Pool on Royal Princess offers more space and seating than the adult pools on other Princess vessels, plus adds new Retreat Cabanas that can be reserved for an enhanced experience. 

 

https://www.princess.com/news/backgrounders_and_fact_sheets/factsheet/Passengers-Can-Enjoy-the-Ultimate-in-Pampering-Aboard-Royal-Princess.html

 

Yes it is an adults only pool. But it is open to all adults.  Same as the wake pool.

 

In the caseof the Majestic where the Retreat pool is the indoor Hollywood pool they will, on occasion in cold areas also allow children.

Edited March 2, 2023 by ldtr

[JimmyVWine]

30 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Yes it is an adults only pool. But it is open to all adults.

Just want to make it clear to readers.  "Open to everyone" is not the same thing as "open to all adults."

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

Just want to make it clear to readers.  "Open to everyone" is not the same thing as "open to all adults."

Considering that in the context of a discussion in which everyone is an adult and no one was asking about children it is a fairly minor point.

 

The key point is that it is not restricted requiring an additional fee or particular cabin class as your terminology indicated.

 

I was not the only one to draw the same conclusion.

Edited March 2, 2023 by ldtr

[pmallen]

Yesterday amd today, final 2 sea days on the Emerald Panama Canal cruise, the Neptune's Reef pool has had a DJ with pool tunes (not super loud) and MUTS has been showing nature scenes with no sound. When a movie has been showing it's not been blaring (though I know what you mean from prior cruises), to the point you couldn't hear the movie from the approaches to that deck area. 

 

Meanwhile, the aft Terrace (deck 14) and Oasis (deck 17) and the forward Lotus Spa (deck 16, adults only, very limited seating), pools are all very quiet.

[Buckeye10640]

23 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

This is the main reason we prefer the Sanctuary.

And you are lucky that you have been able to get it!

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, ldtr said:

Considering that in the context of a discussion in which everyone is an adult and no one was asking about children it is a fairly minor point.

Not sure how you got to this conclusion.  I just re-read the whole thread and there was no differentiation between groupings until post 13 where the word "everyone" was first introduced and has now been addressed and corrected.  Nowhere is a question asked about what the atmosphere is like "for adults".

[SCX22]

Not sure if this applies to all sailings, but Princess is re-introducing Guests vs. Crew activities.  On one of the days there was Crew Department Tug of War and on another, Guests vs. Crew pool volleyball.  This usually happens on sea days.

 

On Princess cruises that are longer or in the slow season, the pool deck is littered with old people that think they look good without a shirt on.  🙃

[brisalta]

20 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I just came off a Viking cruise.  It was great and one reason was that the pool area was very pleasant - no live bands; no loud or unlistenable music; no bad movies that you couldn't pay me enough to see; also almost no loungers with unread paperback books on them.  Also no trivia or art sales or jewelry events.  There are many of us who like that sort of atmosphere and who do a lot of cruising.  

 

There are other reasons besides those things that I wouldn't cruise on Princess or other ships of that type,  The last time we cruised Princess was when we took our 10 year old granddaughter to AK and it work for us or else I wouldn't have done that cruise.  I have booked a long Japan cruise on Princess this fall because of the itinerary and I sure hope that I will nol be subjected to the c**p described above.  At least if they do have that stuff this cruise is a port intensive cruise so I will be off the ship for most of the day.

 

If that makes me an old grouch so be it.  I also have to admit that when we did our recent cruise on one of the Clipper Lines sailboats the Conquest of Paradise" a 1992 song recorded by Greek composer Vangelis that they played when they raised the sails was pretty cool but they also played it ONLY when they were raising the sails and not all the time.  Really cool sail setting music - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ufkMTshjz8

 

 

DON

 

 

 

 

 

Vangelis -- you have got to be joking.

[donaldsc]

55 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

Vangelis -- you have got to be joking.

 

It is a Clipper Cruise tradition.

 

DON

[brisalta]

Just now, donaldsc said:

 

It is a Clipper Cruise tradition.

 

DON

 

Well that is a good reason not to sail with them.

[caribill]

3 hours ago, SCX22 said:

On Princess cruises that are longer or in the slow season, the pool deck is littered with old people that think they look good without a shirt on.  🙃

 

That's one difference between Princess and Carnival. On Carnival, most on the pool deck do look good without a shirt on.

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

Vangelis -- you have got to be joking.

Surely the Bladerunner soundtrack is an all time classic ?