Not choosing Princess for next cruise…..

[nattie]

Caribbean Princess is my least favorite ship. I had the same feeling after our last cruise on it. We ended up taking a cruise on NCL and now are back to Princess, but on Royal class. I am also open to other lines (looking at MSC for sure). 

I hope you have great cruises on Celebrity and MSC!

[DrSea]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

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

Room service and chatting with my guests are exclusively tied to the app. My TV didn't work a lot of the times too. So, that isn't always an option to check the menu and call in. 

 

A lot of functionality is tied to the app where it would be more difficult to do in person. Ex. checking my bill statements, making/canceling restaurant reservations, asking for help from guest services on crew chat instead of waiting in line at guest services (the line was very long bc they changed our disembarkation times on the last day and ppl were freaking wild animals waiting in line to get flights changed), etc. 

[Paula_MacFan]

We are Princess loyalists who just returned from Hawaiian cruise on NCL. We had a great time due to the unique itinerary, and really didn't care that much about the ship -- it was a floating hotel used for every day ashore. I would never take Princess HI cruise due to number of sea days vs port. Nonetheless we are looking forward to being back 'home' on Princess for our next 2 cruises.

 

We haven't set foot in the MDR for anything other than muster and merch sales for years. Seeing the pictures of long lines reminds me why. We frankly couldn't care less about MDR dining and it doesn't impact us.

[DrSea]

44 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 cruise line that does dine my way the best is NCL. Never an issue getting a table by myself whenever I want with almost no wait times. No other mainstream cruise line I have seen has done it better. 

 

Waiting is more and more a part of the PCL experience, which is not something I would have said 3 years ago. Still very surprised how things have changed in such a short time period. 

[DHP1]

22 hours ago, dandonna said:

Sorry my honest opinion bothers you 😀

Your opinion are much appreciated. Thank you for sharing your concerns. We experience almost the same problems as yours in our last 2 cruises with Princess.  Princess has changed. 

[cruisequeen4ever]

It’ll be interesting to see what you think of Celebrity. Celebrity pax rave about it, but then I’m seeing lots of complaints on their forum, too. We had a very mediocre experience on Celebrity a few years ago and highly prefer Princess. Maybe you’ll love your Celebrity cruise, though! Come back and let us know!

[rmsmith]

My wife and I cruised on the Caribbean princess, third cruise for her after the restart, and I was somewhat surprised by the amount of maintenance she seemed to need having just come back to service after the pause. Definitely showing her age.  I don't think I would select the Caribbean Princess for a future cruise unless it was an itinerary we just couldn't pass up.

 

Try Celebrity, see what you think.  Took an Alaska cruise last June on the Solstice, enjoyed Celebrity and the itinerary very much. Would generally speaking would rank Celebrity and Princess more or less on par.  Each has it's pros and cons.  Wouldn't hesitate to take another Celebrity cruise in the future.  And have a 2024 cruise booked with Princess.

[Peasy24]

I very much agree with you. I was on a 4 day on the Discovery last month and was so glad we didn't commit to a 7 day on that ship. Any future cruises for me will be RC, Celeb, or Disney. Might give Virgin a go.

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, DrSea said:

The cruise line that does dine my way the best is NCL. Never an issue getting a table by myself whenever I want with almost no wait times. No other mainstream cruise line I have seen has done it better. 

 

Waiting is more and more a part of the PCL experience, which is not something I would have said 3 years ago. Still very surprised how things have changed in such a short time period. 

We had an excellent experience with (I think it’s called) My Time Dining on Royal Caribbean nearly 10 years ago. Regardless of when we showed up in the dining room, we would show them our ship card, and were then accompanied to a table for two in the same area with the same servers and headwaiter that we had every night, and addressed by name and asked about our day on the way there. Never a wait. I tried to figure out why it was so seamless and never could, and this was on the Allure running full.

[Level six]

We have been so jaded and unhappy with Princess our last 3 cruises (total of 60 days post covid) that we requested a refund of our FCD.  It took a while, but we got it all back.  

 

Will we sail with Princess again? Yes, we have one booked in 2024.  But, we will likely try other cruise lines more often.  Princess will no longer be our go to cruise line.....that ship has sailed😋 

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

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?

We have completed 19 cruises since the restart in July 2021.  Every one of them has worked that way for us in all those sailings.  I will only count 17 of them, though as two were in club class.  We are in full support of DMW.  For us, it’s the best dining we’ve ever experienced in Princess.  

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, DrSea said:

The cruise line that does dine my way the best is NCL. Never an issue getting a table by myself whenever I want with almost no wait times. No other mainstream cruise line I have seen has done it better. 

 

Waiting is more and more a part of the PCL experience, which is not something I would have said 3 years ago. Still very surprised how things have changed in such a short time period. 

We’ve also sailed on NCL and loved their dining program .. but we did have to wait several times on that line as well.  I guess our opinions are all tailored by our experiences.  I have been a big fan of the DMW .. I would include it is because we like to dine between 6:00 PM and 6:20 PM.  I could never ever ever get that timing on Princess before DMW.  Now, we have no trouble at all.  
All of my cruises since the restart have been on the Majestic, the Royal, the Ruby, the Grand, the Diamond and the Discovery.  
Now that I look back, the Diamond is the only one where we didn’t get such stellar service in the dining room … the others all did a great job!  
 

[luvs to cruise]

Thanks for sharing your experience, we also had many issues on the Discovery in February.  The ship was beautiful and the staff we had no problems.   The crown grill was a real disappointment.  Also the app did not work as promised, we never received anything ordered thru it, to a location or to the room.  Im not sure why they still are offering that perk??? Whenever we said something their response was well we are so busy....... Maybe they were not prepared for the order anywhere on the app and it will find you program.  I finally stopped using the app and ordered drinks at the bars, (my complaint is if you are too busy and cant keep up with the demand then maybe the program should not be implemented). We also had charges added to our account that we needed to get removed (which they did with no problems), so make sure you check your account closely.     We just cancelled our August cruise when we got home, We will wait to see if we will cruise Princess again, will keep reading reviews to see if things are better.  and I do appreciate you taking the time to write this review......

[Liketachat]

We are also Elite with 30 (long) cruises under our belts.  We too are disenchanted with Princess.  However, we still find the onboard experience wonderful.  It is the land service that is atrocious.  We are still waiting for FCC from last October on Majestic and airfare refunds.

Also, been charged for speciality dining on the app that was to be complimentary and can't get to talk to anyone.  Emails are not responded to.  When we phone we are told they don't have the tools to fix it or they can't help.  They transfer us around and around until we are actually hung up on.  We also on 4 occassions have spent the usual 25 minutes stating our case to someone (Michelle, Graham, Marlon, Laura) no surnames of course, they are apologetic and will look into it as it has been too long.  Promise to ring back on a certain afternoon so, we wait for hours to no avail.

 

Come on Princess, we love you but, enough is enough.  Get yourself some staff that are loyal to the Brand and really care if you flourish or go under.  Until your staff enjoy their work and are fully trained you will suffer with your cruisers paddling to other Fleets.

[Cruise Raider]

6 minutes ago, Liketachat said:

We are also Elite with 30 (long) cruises under our belts.  We too are disenchanted with Princess.  However, we still find the onboard experience wonderful.  It is the land service that is atrocious.  We are still waiting for FCC from last October on Majestic and airfare refunds.

Also, been charged for speciality dining on the app that was to be complimentary and can't get to talk to anyone.  Emails are not responded to.  When we phone we are told they don't have the tools to fix it or they can't help.  They transfer us around and around until we are actually hung up on.  We also on 4 occassions have spent the usual 25 minutes stating our case to someone (Michelle, Graham, Marlon, Laura) no surnames of course, they are apologetic and will look into it as it has been too long.  Promise to ring back on a certain afternoon so, we wait for hours to no avail.

 

Come on Princess, we love you but, enough is enough.  Get yourself some staff that are loyal to the Brand and really care if you flourish or go under.  Until your staff enjoy their work and are fully trained you will suffer with your cruisers paddling to other Fleets.

Ever since we found a superb CVP, we never experience any of those issues.  Everything is just taken care of … no fighting to get what we need or deserve.  

[PurpleTraveller]

14 hours ago, datone said:

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.

 

I couldn't agree more about the loss of the free internet. A small change to Princess but a big change to me. I only use the internet on board to check my emails - maybe three minutes a day and I have never even been close to using all of my free minutes. For my next 11 day cruise it would cost me $82.50 with the 50% discount for approximately 33 minutes of internet. I don't get a package as I don't drink alcohol and gratuities are not included in the packages for Australians. 

 

I don't feel any appreciation from Princess for my loyalty. Last June I cruised for the first time with Celebrity and had a wonderful cruise and now have two cruises booked with them for 2024. Until last year I had only cruised with Princess but there are many other cruise lines out there and I will not only be cruising with Princess any more.

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Liketachat said:

We are also Elite with 30 (long) cruises under our belts.  We too are disenchanted with Princess.  However, we still find the onboard experience wonderful.  It is the land service that is atrocious.  We are still waiting for FCC from last October on Majestic and airfare refunds.

Also, been charged for speciality dining on the app that was to be complimentary and can't get to talk to anyone.  Emails are not responded to.  When we phone we are told they don't have the tools to fix it or they can't help.  They transfer us around and around until we are actually hung up on.  We also on 4 occassions have spent the usual 25 minutes stating our case to someone (Michelle, Graham, Marlon, Laura) no surnames of course, they are apologetic and will look into it as it has been too long.  Promise to ring back on a certain afternoon so, we wait for hours to no avail.

 

Come on Princess, we love you but, enough is enough.  Get yourself some staff that are loyal to the Brand and really care if you flourish or go under.  Until your staff enjoy their work and are fully trained you will suffer with your cruisers paddling to other Fleets.

That is just another reason to use a TA. Let him or her deal with the cruise line. And a good TA should have a dedicated contact with a cruise line. I know ours has said to me if we had any of these type problems, instead of spending much of our time trying to deal with them, let him take care of it afterwards.

[suzyed]

21 hours ago, reedprincess said:

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! 

The shows on MSC are top notch!

[RNRcruisers]

17 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We have completed 19 cruises since the restart in July 2021.  Every one of them has worked that way for us in all those sailings.  I will only count 17 of them, though as two were in club class.  We are in full support of DMW.  For us, it’s the best dining we’ve ever experienced in Princess.  

 

I'm glad it is working for you. The lines suggest to me that something is not working though, at least for others. 

[Cruise Raider]

11 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

 

I'm glad it is working for you. The lines suggest to me that something is not working though, at least for others. 

There are always lines the first night but from then on, they seem to dwindle down.  We used to have to wait up to an hour for a table pre-CoVid.  They’d give you a beeper and you had to stick nearby so you new when a table was ready.  This is now a huge improvement as we have only had to wait for a maximum of 10-15 minutes the first night and no more than 5 minutes the remaining nights, with most times being able to just walk right in because they would wave us through.  We’ve even had little trouble on those occasions when we added another person to our table.  

Oh, and always let them know if you are not using your table on a specified night.  They really are so appreciative of that.  

Edited March 9, 2023 by Cruise Raider

[PescadoAmarillo]

20 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Oh, and always let them know if you are not using your table on a specified night.  They really are so appreciative of that.  

We tried, hard to do just that on the Emerald Princess in late 2021. We decided to spending the evening in port and went into the app to cancel our dinner reservation. The next night we were told that they had no idea we had cancelled and that feature on DMW on the app doesn’t work.  

[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. 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 3/7/2023 at 1:35 PM, dandonna said:

So why was this bad cruise bad?

1) This ship looks and feels old. Our balcony & cabin furniture were all beaten up in L256. The room smelled very musty and just needed to be refreshed.

Caribbean Princess was old back in 2016 when we sailed on her. We wouldn't be sailing on an old ship ever again. But if you choose to sail on an old ship, you should be prepared for her age to show in unfavorable way.

 

We just had the most wonderful cruise on Enchanted 3 months ago. The medallion worked, ordering worked, food was great, MDR service was slow, shows were new and good, etc.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Cruise Raider]

13 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

We tried, hard to do just that on the Emerald Princess in late 2021. We decided to spending the evening in port and went into the app to cancel our dinner reservation. The next night we were told that they had no idea we had cancelled and that feature on DMW on the app doesn’t work.  

That’s why we always cancel in person but sometimes, that just isn’t logistically possible.  
 

[RNRcruisers]

38 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

There are always lines the first night but from then on, they seem to dwindle down.  We used to have to wait up to an hour for a table pre-CoVid.  They’d give you a beeper and you had to stick nearby so you new when a table was ready.  This is now a huge improvement as we have only had to wait for a maximum of 10-15 minutes the first night and no more than 5 minutes the remaining nights, with most times being able to just walk right in because they would wave us through.  We’ve even had little trouble on those occasions when we added another person to our table.  
 

 

I agree that the first night there are usually lines. However, these are lines every night. Again, I am happy that this is working for you but it would be nice to figure out a way to work better for all of us.