Not choosing Princess for next cruise…..

[suzyed]

7 hours ago, capriccio said:

We did one MSC cruise right before Covid hit.  They matched our Princess Elite to their Black (now called Diamond) tier and immediately qualified for at least a 5% discount (and double that on certain cruises).  They also have a military/civil service (active and retired) discount of 10% (can't combine discounts though) so check those out.  We were in the Yacht Club (their ship within a ship area) and loved it.  On the other hand I found the rest of the ship (Meraviglia) chaotic with just too many people.  Our TA was right when she said she would only recommend the Yacht Club.  We are cruising again in the YC next December on the new Seascape because retaining your MSC status requires at least one cruise every 3 years (extended a year because of Covid).  Hope you enjoy your cruise.

We've done MSC twice...love the ships...really pretty.   The main dining room food was awful but some of the specialty restaurants were very good.   We had a bottle of wine in the MDR that we didn't finish and tried to save it for the next night.  We got there and no one could find it!  I think the crew drank it...LOL!  They gave us a whole new bottle.  This was on the Seaside when it was just a few months old and all the staff seemed confused about the rules concerning which wines you could order in what venues with the drink package. 
One thing we never experienced until our Seaside sailing was unhappy crew and they were not shy about telling you their feelings.  The really bright spot was the Captain!
Most people we spoke with said they wouldn't sail on MSC again, but we  would have to get a really great deal or do the Yacht Club to do it again.

[reedprincess]

7 hours ago, dandonna said:

Thank you for the yacht club recommendation as we will be trying MSC after our Celebrity cruise. Happy cruising!

We sail MSC couple times a year, absolutely love them. Both Yacht Club and non YC.

Very very different from the mainstream lines that cater to US/Canada/UK/Oz markets - Experiences, service type, food, etc is very much Continental European style.. and demographics aboard are about 50% or less North American and the rest a wide mix of nationalities - and thus very different cultures mixing, etc. Announcements are in 5-7 languages.. menus are in 5-7 languages. Theater shows (every single night, at least twice and 3 times on larger ships) are mainly musical and dancing as themes or story lines rarely translate across the wide range of cultures and nationalities. 

It's very different - which we love... Definitely pay attention to what's included in your Experience booked, even YC has changed a few times in the last two years...

Enjoy! 

[Happiest when cruising]

1 hour ago, reedprincess said:

Enjoy Celebrity, OP! 

Very different experience, but heck - why not?

Some differences to be prepared for: limited buffet hours. Much shorter pool side grill hours. No self service laundry. Limited Ice Cream hours at buffet. $9.95usd+18% gratuity room service delivery charge for any order except continental breakfast (unless you're in a suite). $17.95+18% gratuity for a second lobster tail (unless you're in a suite, eating in Lumimae).  Closed off deck areas and lounges solely for Suite guests.  Great food (even the lowered quality in the MDRs and buffet is better quality for lots of things than Princess). Much larger and more varied MDR menus. Escargot, French Onion Soup, filet mignon, chicken, salmon, shrimp cocktail, etc always available (and listed) every night. Beautiful ships. Overall you get more diverse demographics.. couch in your cabin. Smaller closet, less storage space in cabin.  Lots of different stateroom classes with different perks for each level (ie, need Concierge Class at least for embarkation day lunch in MDR, for example).  

And lots of other differences in the Plus and Minus column - but hey, variety is the spice of life.  We enjoy both, for different reasons. Having sailed Apex and Regal within 2 weeks if each other in February, it was an enlightening experience to chat with frequent cruisers in both, and get the "good and bad" from both sides of the fence.  

Happy sails. 

Thanks for listing those differences. We did a Celebrity cruise a few years ago and I couldn’t remember why we didn’t go back., but your list had me saying… oh yeah- several times. 

We aren’t foodies and I remember we didn’t love it, but food isn’t everything. 

[reedprincess]

33 minutes ago, suzyed said:

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess last October and it was very good.  It was showing some age, sure, but it was clean and kept up.  The crew was great!  We only just started sailing the newer ships in the last year or so and they are very nice. 
Ours was Canada/Colonial America 15 days.  No issues.  Could the itinerary influence the quality of the cruise?  Not really sure why it would?  But I guess possibly it could.
We had no waits for the MDR and the specialty restaurants were good>great.
I have tried Celebrity once after I heard folks rave about it....I can't say I was super impressed but I think experiences vary depending on the ship and itinerary.  We had a wait for dinner every night and though the portions were small the food was good.  Please come back and share your experience.
Sorry your cruise did not live up to expectations. 

Yes, itinerary can and does okay a big role in guest demographics. Longer cruises - older and/or unencumbered cruisers, few families with young kids, etc. More diverse or unique itinerary - same thing. Run of the mill 7 night Caribbean, during what amounts to holiday seasons (US holiday weekends, spring break, summer time, Christmas or NY, etc ) - loads more families with kids, budget conscious, younger adults, les experienced or seasoned cruisers, etc...

Princess, and all cruise lines, have been pushing hard for younger families and first time cruisers - and it shows. But then, they need new food that will actually spend versus the experienced cruisers who knows how to shop the best pricing and doesn't spend a dime aboard - or actually "brags" about the amount of OBC they have and how they simply cash it out at the casino..

And, it shows up in the onboard experience when you have loads and loads of first times - including staff.... 

[caribill]

10 hours ago, that said:

Not the fault of the dining room manager?

Hmmmmmmm

 

 

The dining room manager did not invent DMW but has to deal with the promises that DMW made such as being able to eat when you want by having a reservation.

 

Being there for a reservation for 6 PM but not being seated until 6:20 is not eating when I want.

[caribill]

12 hours ago, dandonna said:

2) Dinner waiting times were a joke. If you had a 6pm in the main dining room you stood in a line of 30 people for a minimum of 20 minutes. Here is the kicker if you didnt have reservations you could go to the 

 

On the Ruby Princess. Line on the left in first photo is for those with reservations. In the second photo is towards the end of the live with reservations.

 

 

[DrSea]

Princess has changed, and I don't recognize it. The service from the front desk feels more like Carnival every single day. I called about our bathroom not working for about 12 hours, and no real acknowledgement. 

 

The Medallion app is just straight up trash. It's the absolute worst.

 

Every princess cruise, there is at least one incorrect charge on my account that has to be removed. 

[DrSea]

16 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

On the Ruby Princess. Line on the left in first photo is for those with reservations. In the second photo is towards the end of the live with reservations.

 

 

On the Crown princess last week. It was like that too. 

 

The wait times on Princess have exceeded my wait times on NCL. How things have changed so fast. 

[DrSea]

11 hours ago, dandonna said:

No cruise is ever perfect but this was just one thing after another. I didnt even mention the bad wi-fi. I feel like the last 4 Princess cruises things have worsened but always said that oh well Covid did this and just give them the benefit of the doubt. Princess needs to take these reviews serious as this is the first time in years we are trying different cruise lines. If they dont take us or fellow cruisers serious they will continue to lose revenue. Have a great week!

The wifi was pretty bad. If they didn't tie so much to the crappy app, it would be less of an issue. 

[nini]

@dandonna.

To each his own. Pre- Covid, we did a 2018 cruise on the Celebrity Refelction. The best part was our cabin steward and the itinerary. We did not enjoy 3 hours for a meal in the dining room, flies all over the buffet (everyday), the extreme snootiness of staff, and lack of service in the buffet. Good luck flagging down a server for a drink or to clear your plate.

This has never happened on Princess.

Edited March 8, 2023 by nini

[DrSea]

10 minutes ago, nini said:

@dandonna.

To each his own. Pre- Covid, we did a 2018 cruise on the Celebrity Refelction. The best part was our cabin steward and the itinerary. We did not enjoy 3 hours for a meal in the dining room, flies all over the buffet (everyday), the extreme snootiness of staff, and lack of service in the buffet. Good luck flagging down a server for a drink or to clear your plate.

This has never happened on Princess.

After the restart, flagging ppl to clear your table can be an issue due to staffing issues on PCL

[nini]

14 minutes ago, DrSea said:

After the restart, flagging ppl to clear your table can be an issue due to staffing issues on PCL

I STATED that this was 2018!!! Which was very pre-covid!

[DrSea]

29 minutes ago, nini said:

@dandonna.

To each his own. Pre- Covid, we did a 2018 cruise on the Celebrity Refelction. The best part was our cabin steward and the itinerary. We did not enjoy 3 hours for a meal in the dining room, flies all over the buffet (everyday), the extreme snootiness of staff, and lack of service in the buffet. Good luck flagging down a server for a drink or to clear your plate.

This has never happened on Princess.

 

Just now, nini said:

I STATED that this was 2018!!! Which was very pre-covid!

I didn't realize you meant that based on what you wrote in the bolded section. 

[justafem]

I tried carnival for the first time.  I heard it was the WM of cruises and I told correctly.  

 

BUT they keep giving me really cheap cruises, so I'll go.

 

That's the thing, we LIKE princess.  When it's hubby and I, we've decided princess is how we're vacationing.  When it's me and a friend, it's all about cost.  I'll take the carnival cruises or jump on a couple low fares from princess.  The friends I travel with don't have the vacation time of year limitations that hubby has.

 

There's also a limit on the cruises we take.  We only leave from San Francisco and, so far, only princess and carnival leave from there.  Well, they're the only cruise lines that are within our budget. I'm definitely one of those budget shoppers and have cashed out in the casino when I have to.  

 

So I'll keep cruising princess.  

[datone]

I've already made the decision not to cruise Princess next time.   I never ever thought I would say this but the loss of Elite perks has really annoyed me.    The free internet is gone for a start.  I know you get a 50% discount but buying it for the whole cruise works out quite expensive.   The very least they could have done is allow you to buy a package of so many minutes to use for the whole cruise so that way you can just spend 10 minutes a day or so checking emails.   I don't go on a cruise to spend the day on the web.   Last cruise there was no priority boarding, and their so-called priority tendering was calling only 20 numbers at a time.   The nightly chocolates are gone, the tote bags are gone, the elite toiletries are no more and the OBC for 20+ cruises is gone too.   Just small things but at least you felt they appreciated your loyalty.  I don't really care about the free laundry which is one of the few remaining perks left.   And now that you cannot exchange your mini bar for coffee cards is very disappointing and the final straw, as I don't drink alcohol or soda.  The entertainment on our last cruise was poor, and I am at the stage of feeling it's all too familiar and craving for something different.   So it's off to Royal I go next month to see what they are like.   Whilst Princess had been my first choice, I am now going to consider other lines because the advantages to stay with Princess are slowly disappearing.

Edited March 8, 2023 by datone

[CruisingWalter]

Our experience on Sky Princess was the complete opposite last week. We've been cruising near 20 years across 8 different cruise lines and Sky reminded us of everything we love about Princess. Outstanding service, outstanding food and a beautiful ship. The Royal Class was certainly a step above what we're used to from Princess and miles above the other 3 cruise lines with MDRs that we've sailed since the restart. 

 

Caribbean Princess is an older ship but she was refurbished in 2019. It should not look bad at all being that recent and with the 2 year lay off. That being said, I've heard multiple complaints about that specific ship from friends recently. 

 

Celebrity is a fabulous cruise line with beautiful pools and a similar MDR to Princess. Or consider Virgin Voyages which hands down has the best food at sea right now and one of the most fun crews at sea as well. Beautiful ships too. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by CruisingWalter

[RNRcruisers]

17 hours ago, So_Tweetie said:

 

What dining room did you have issues with? We had most of our dinners in the Palm dining room and never had an issue being seated immediately, although I have learned to book 5PM reservations to avoid the lines you mentioned. The Island dining room was not very well run. We arrived for our 5PM reservation for a private table on formal night and the Maitre D insisted we share a table. We refused and pointed to several empty tables for two, asking why we couldn't be seated at one of them. He said "they're reserved". . .For who?? They miraculously found us a table for two when we insisted on not sharing, and the two tables we'd pointed out remained vacant for another 30 minutes. 

 

Overall we really enjoyed the cruise, sorry to hear it was such a disappointment for you.

 

 

 

I would agree that the dining room makes a difference. We had reservations the first night in Coral and it was a mess (although to be fair the first night often is). After that we moved to the Palm and it was better.

 

I hate to start something, but it really worked better with traditional dining!

 

 

[kywildcatfanone]

We have been on one Celebrity cruise and are elite on Princess.  I really truly hate Princess nickle and diming, which is really Ten dollaring and twenty dollaring.  There should be better ways to gain back revenue and customers without removing all the benefits from those who have been loyal passengers.  They simply do not care, and as long as people buy the stuff, they will continue to increase the costs.

 

With that said, we enjoyed our Celebrity cruise, we were on their oldest ship I think the Infinity, and it was older and smaller and needs renovation (it was scheduled for 2020, but the pandemic ended that).  But I will say it was overall a positive experience. 

We booked one FCC with them, but haven't booked a cruise yet. I would like to try one of their newer ships.  I don't care for the salt water pools though, and while Princess prices on everything onboard is super high now, Celebrity is still higher. 

 

It might be time to move back to land based vacations.

[stevenr597]

Since July we have had two cruises.  One on Discovery Princess to Alaska and more recently on Celebrity Reflection.

Common to both cruises has been a decline in the level of service.  But this was something we noticed even before the Pandemic and possibly secondary to Cruise Lines trying to hold the line on the cost of a cruise. This decline has accelerated as ships recover from the Pandemic. 

The Discovery Princess was a brand-new ship.  In perfect condition.  We were Club Class and had no wait and excellent service in the dining room. We did notice that food selection was limited, but in the dining room and the buffet, but quality was good.

The tours by Princess were great, well-coordinated.  Entertainment was excellent.   

I do agree that the idea of a waiter tracking you down by Medallion is simply a "Bridge to Far" for Princess.

Getting on the ship in Seattle was a disaster, very disorganized, getting off was only  a little bit better.  

Our second cruise was on Celebrity Reflection out of Ft. Lauderdale.

We had to take a shuttle from the parking lot to the boat.  It was docked in an out of the way, out of date pier.

The ship, to be blunt, is dated.  

We ate in Blu.  Selection was quite limited and portion size was very small.  Quality however was fairly good.  Buffet as compared to Princess was a disappointment. 

Entertainment, like Princess was excellent.

The two lines are similar.  Both have their advantages and disadvantages.  

Looking at both, we prefer Princess to Celebrity and in fact are going on a Trans-Atlantic this October out of Southampton. 

[Negril60]

I will be sailing on The CP March 22nd. I haven’t sailed with Princess since 2014. I was on the CP when she first came out. I actually quit cruising for awhile as I fly into destinations now. In 2019 my husband and I booked a cruise to Cuba on carnival the rules changed so that cruise is canceled so we had to book a fast last minute cruise so we took an older carnival ship to the Caribbean. I will say it was probably the worst ship I’ve ever been on. It sounded pretty much like your experience on the Caribbean princess. This past, November, my friend and I took a cruise on a new carnival ship the panorama on the West Coast of Mexico. This ship was absolutely beautiful and we had a great experience. I even had a facial in the spa and the girl wasn’t too bad about pushing but I always love the princess experience so I will try to report back and tell you how I feel after being off of Princess for nine years what I see the medallion experience will all be new for me, I am platinum on Princess. I always love their ships and the layouts. Sorry to hear your cruise wasn’t what you expected. 

[caribill]

1 hour ago, RNRcruisers said:

I hate to start something, but it really worked better with traditional dining!

 

And there is no reason Princess could not bring back Traditional Dining and keep DMW with its reservation system for all those that prefer it.

[Cruise Raider]

53 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

And there is no reason Princess could not bring back Traditional Dining and keep DMW with its reservation system for all those that prefer it.

I was one that couldn’t stand the traditional dining format .. especially once they added the anytime dining, which was great for us in the beginning .. but, then became a free for all.  
The traditional dining time changed from 6:00 PM to 5:00 PM .. way too early.  I even had it changed to 4:30 PM once .. but when you got onboard, they changed it back to 5:00 PM.  The late dining was changed to 7:30 PM .. which is too late for us.  Then once onboard, it was changed to 7:45 PM and even 8:00 PM.  
As a result, many people from traditional dining would show up at the anytime dining room and we could not get in to the dining room.  One time, it was our anniversary and they said there just wouldn’t be room for us to dine by ourselves.  Seriously, I think the DMW has been a definite improvement for us in all ways!  On many of our cruises over the past several months, we’ve had the same table with the same waiters and at a time we like to dine.  The first day, you may wait in line but from then on, they just let you know when your table is ready and we just walked on back!  We’ve had excellent experiences in going that route.  
 

 

[Lady Arwen]

3 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

I was one that couldn’t stand the traditional dining format .. especially once they added the anytime dining, which was great for us in the beginning .. but, then became a free for all.  
The traditional dining time changed from 6:00 PM to 5:00 PM .. way too early.  I even had it changed to 4:30 PM once .. but when you got onboard, they changed it back to 5:00 PM.  The late dining was changed to 7:30 PM .. which is too late for us.  Then once onboard, it was changed to 7:45 PM and even 8:00 PM.  
As a result, many people from traditional dining would show up at the anytime dining room and we could not get in to the dining room.  One time, it was our anniversary and they said there just wouldn’t be room for us to dine by ourselves.  Seriously, I think the DMW has been a definite improvement for us in all ways!  On many of our cruises over the past several months, we’ve had the same table with the same waiters and at a time we like to dine.  The first day, you may wait in line but from then on, they just let you know when your table is ready and we just walked on back!  We’ve had excellent experiences in going that route.  
 

 

The same for us.  Works like a charm every time.  We call it Traditional My Way lol!

[memoak]

10 hours ago, DrSea said:

The wifi was pretty bad. If they didn't tie so much to the crappy app, it would be less of an issue. 

I found very little reason to use the app on board my last 4 cruises. The medallion opens my door, pays in the shops and let’s bartenders know that I have the plus package. None of that involves the app on board. I can also use my TV to see what the menus are, watch the safety video etc.  I don’t see very much I would use the app for

[RNRcruisers]

34 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

The first day, you may wait in line but from then on, they just let you know when your table is ready and we just walked on back!  We’ve had excellent experiences in going that route.  

 

 

Except it doesn't always work that way. We know to ask for that. We got it on Regal last year but not on Caribbean this year. It seems like it could be set up to work for all. Other cruise lines do it, why not Princess?