Why did you pick Princess?

[c-boy]

we either applaud change or choose to loathe it. 

[jlacy1987]

We picked Princess because the itinerary, dates, and price worked for our schedule. I have a stepson and every other weekend he is at his mom's. So Saturday-Saturday, Sunday-Sunday, even Friday-Friday cruises just generally don't work for us. So the 2 previous cruises we've taken him on have been 5 day cruises that fit into the custody schedule.

 

I was trying to pick a family vacation for this year and thought about Alaska and even though I had checked before, I checked Carnival and they had one or two that would work. NCL had none. And I thought, let me just check Princess. I've checked Princess before and it's usually more than I prefer to spend for a family of 4 (we have a 3 year old as well). I happened upon an Alaska cruise that is a Wednesday-Wednesday cruise and doesn't conflict with my husband's custody schedule. And I lucked out and happened upon it when Princess had a 3rd and 4th passenger sail free promotion. 

[jlacy1987]

On 3/3/2023 at 9:22 PM, JimmyVWine said:

All of this plus:

6. Affordable Mini-Suites with space for us to sail comfortably as a (small) family, and with a bathtub which is a dealbreaker for Mrs. V. 
7. A very mature and generous BYO wine policy. My screen name says it all and we are a very wine-centric family. We like to enjoy our best wines while on vacation and in fine restaurants that allow us to bring our special occasion wines with us. There are other cruise lines that check most of our boxes, but Princess is unique in allowing us to bring an entire vacation’s worth of wines from our cellar. For this, they get our money. 

Yes! I don't understand why rooms built for 3 or 4 passengers, regardless of category, don't have bathtubs. Those are generally going to be for families. That is the big plus for us with our upcoming mini-suite on Princess, the bathtub. 

[Joy Bunny]

55 minutes ago, jlacy1987 said:

Yes! I don't understand why rooms built for 3 or 4 passengers, regardless of category, don't have bathtubs. Those are generally going to be for families. That is the big plus for us with our upcoming mini-suite on Princess, the bathtub. 

Most people don't care about bathtubs so having one in those cabins are a waste space and cost since they more often sail with only two people in them. I also prefer a shower instead of a tub because it's easier to get in and out of, especially in rough seas. 

 

Edited March 6, 2023 by Joy Bunny

[JimmyVWine]

15 minutes ago, Joy Bunny said:

Most people don't care about bathtubs so having one in those cabins are a waste space and cost since they more often sail with only two people in them. I also prefer a shower instead of a tub because it's easier to get in and out of, especially in rough seas. 

 

...and yet...one of the biggest complaints before the Royal Class of ships added a ledge was the impossibly small size of the shower and the attack of the killer shower curtain.  Can't tell you how many hacks people posted about how to keep the evil curtain from adhering to the occupant's body.  So with all the angst spilled over that issue, I would have to disagree with the premise that people don't care about extra room for showering/bathing.   Even if the tub in the MS is not used as a tub and is instead used only as a shower, it is a major upgrade over what is offered in the Grand Class ships and frankly, even the Royal class ships.  It's not as if the extra 6 square feet (2 x 3) of bathing space in the MS could have been repurposed toward a greater good.   

[jlacy1987]

32 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

...and yet...one of the biggest complaints before the Royal Class of ships added a ledge was the impossibly small size of the shower and the attack of the killer shower curtain.  Can't tell you how many hacks people posted about how to keep the evil curtain from adhering to the occupant's body.  So with all the angst spilled over that issue, I would have to disagree with the premise that people don't care about extra room for showering/bathing.   Even if the tub in the MS is not used as a tub and is instead used only as a shower, it is a major upgrade over what is offered in the Grand Class ships and frankly, even the Royal class ships.  It's not as if the extra 6 square feet (2 x 3) of bathing space in the MS could have been repurposed toward a greater good.   

I also question the idea of most cabins that can fit 3/4 passengers only being filled with 2. If no one was putting 3/4 passengers in the cabins, there would be no reason to offer those types of rooms to begin with. There is obviously a need for them, which is why they are available. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

We picked Princess last minute for our first cruises (B2B) because of itinerary. We stayed for three more cruises because of itineraries and self serve laundries. By then we were Platinum and stayed for the free internet and laundries. And when Elite status started being achieved by days or cruises, we had 12 cruises but nearly 200 days and that was the hook. We still cruised around quite a bit until we reached Elite, and since then we’ve been 90% Princess. I think the quest for still more unique itineraries combined with the too large ships will have us looking more elsewhere. Not a fan of multiple behemoth ships overrunning ports. 

[RNCheryl]

We have cruised many lines, and look for itinerary first.  Chose Princess British Isles.

 

Also took into consideration laundry facilities.  12 night cruise, plus 4 nights in London:  Do not want to pack all the clothes we own!!

 

Also, part 2, we have had 3-4 previous Princess cruises where service and product were excellent.

 

[Joy Bunny]

1 hour ago, jlacy1987 said:

I also question the idea of most cabins that can fit 3/4 passengers only being filled with 2. If no one was putting 3/4 passengers in the cabins, there would be no reason to offer those types of rooms to begin with. There is obviously a need for them, which is why they are available. 

 

Most ships have a large number of three or four occupant cabins. On the next ship we will be on, the Royal Princess, approximately 50% of all cabins can hold at least three people, and of those, probably 30% can hold four people. If most of these, as you assume, would have as many occupants at they can hold, Royal would sail with almost 5,500 passengers, not the 3,560 she is listed as at "full" capacity. I rather doubt that having that many people on board would be enjoyable. 

[patterson3]

Celebrity is my preferred line for a number of reasons, but there are a few things I like better about Princess including the larger, grander atriums, the afternoon teas, and the aft pools that offer a great view of the wake. I also love the wraparound promenade decks on the pre-Royal class Princess ships.

[KYBOB]

We first started cruising back in 1990 with Royal Caribbean and did 4 cruises with them the first were great then the last 2 they really had this hard sell about tipping, and evaluations to the point on our last cruise with them it was mentioned 2 nights before the cruise was over and then every night at dinner and before and after each show. We then took our first Princess cruise on the original Crown Princess and now 21 cruises later still on Princess. I will say the first cruise we took since COVID we almost cried getting on the ship because it felt like we were home again. We have talked lately about trying another line and may if they get rid of smaller ships in favor of larger mega ships. I just am not a fan of bigger and bigger ships some much has been cut out on the newer designs. 

[nini]

2 minutes ago, KYBOB said:

We first started cruising back in 1990 with Royal Caribbean and did 4 cruises with them the first were great then the last 2 they really had this hard sell about tipping, and evaluations to the point on our last cruise with them it was mentioned 2 nights before the cruise was over and then every night at dinner and before and after each show. We then took our first Princess cruise on the original Crown Princess and now 21 cruises later still on Princess. I will say the first cruise we took since COVID we almost cried getting on the ship because it felt like we were home again. We have talked lately about trying another line and may if they get rid of smaller ships in favor of larger mega ships. I just am not a fan of bigger and bigger ships some much has been cut out on the newer designs. 

 

What are your favorite Princess ships?

[KYBOB]

On 3/10/2023 at 1:17 PM, nini said:

 

What are your favorite Princess ships?

I this order

Coral

Grand

Crown (seems to be having plumbing issues now)

Caribbean 

 

[SargassoPirate]

On 3/6/2023 at 10:59 AM, ontheweb said:

 

And the latest nickel an diming I now read about in these boards is charging people to be sent the medallion. They should be ashamed of themselves.

 

Just pick up the medallion at the port like you would the card or brass key.  No need to pay to have it shipped.  

 

 

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by SargassoPirate

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

Just pick up the medallion at the port like you would the card or brass key.  No need to pay to have it shipped.  

 

 

 

An even easier way not to have the medallion shipped is to not book a Princess cruise.

[Ken the cruiser]

Why we switched to Princess.

 

1. Longer, more exotic 3-5+ week itineraries than offered by any of the other cruise lines we sail with.

2. Super funny cruise directors and staff that are all quite engaged during the evenings and on sea days with the main goal being to keep us laughing!

3. Their Vista Suites on the Grand class ships are awesome!

4. Club Class dining.

5. Military OBC for each of us as we are both retired.

6. Our TA gives 8% off our fare where we only get OBC with other cruise lines we book with them.

7. We can apply (AARP) Princess Gift Cards to help pay for our cruise at a 10% discount.

8. Free unlimited laundry once we make Elite!

 

But most of all, we always seem to have a great time when we're cruising with Princess! 😊

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[nini]

3 hours ago, KYBOB said:

I this order

Coral

Grand

Crown (seems to be having plumbing issues now)

Caribbean 

 

 

Thanks! We have been on all of those except the Caribbean. We love the Grand and Crown, but we were not crazy about the Coral.

[Kellyansapansa]

We picked our first cruise based on itinerary and it happened to be Princess. We loved the entire experience and have cruised Princess ever since, except for one trip on Royal Caribbean with extended family. That was a very different experience and reinforced our preference for Princess. 😊

[tobyt]

The Love Boat…..I know but true it was a favorite show and when we first went on Princess it is part of the”why”. We stay and come back for price and the overall experience. There are however few cruises I haven’t enjoyed!

[sammyjoanne]

On 3/3/2023 at 10:34 PM, Dreamcruiser185 said:

We picked Princess since it presents itself as more upscale line without being “stuffy”.  The cruise line has a laid back feel to it, since it doesn’t have all the slides and water parks at the pool.  We are first time cruisers with Princess, hopefully it lives up to the bill!   Looking forward to our cruise!

We went for the first time last year on the Ruby for our 25th and loved it. Im the same, im not one for slides and waterparks. Loved the entertainment and the food. The princess patter which was delivered was a nice touch, and I did not do everything on the patter, theres so much. We was very content doing bingo, watching a movie, ping pong, or people watching in the piazza. Fave spots was explorers lounge, crooners, and the wheelhouse.

2 weeks on friday we are on our next cruise, this time on the Emerald, Rubys sister ship and the layout is pretty much the same. It will also be a bit warmer, so definitely going to the pool, also try out the Sanctuary, and going to some of the enrichment/history sessions in the theatre.

Still not up for the face lift/ pain reliever sessions they put on for the day (im sure they must hav some sort of upsell at the end lol) but Im willing to give Zumba a go and have a couple of sessions in the gym on sea days as I know I will feel guilty with all that food lol.

Edited March 13, 2023 by sammyjoanne
spelling

[nbsjcruiser]

On 3/3/2023 at 6:34 PM, Dreamcruiser185 said:

We picked Princess since it presents itself as more upscale line without being “stuffy”.  The cruise line has a laid back feel to it, since it doesn’t have all the slides and water parks at the pool.  We are first time cruisers with Princess, hopefully it lives up to the bill!   Looking forward to our cruise!

This is precisely why we have converted from RCI to Princess over the last 5 or 6 years. The food an service is noticeably better on Princess than RCI as well. Beds are more comfy too.

[kywildcatfanone]

We chose Princess for our first cruise by chance, and enjoyed it and didn't want to try others.  We have since, and Princess still provides the best value of the ones we have tried, but that appears to be getting worse at a rapid pace.

 

We are about ready to move back to land based vacations as a result.  The product is getting worse, and the prices are astronomical now for everything they charge an upcharge for.