Passengers argument with staff in theter

[Guest ldtr]

58 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

Thank you for the info on the Premier Sections and how it was handled....

Good to know!

Seems to differ from ship to ship...  But, hey, that is Princess.

Been on 5 different ships since they started the reserved seating.

 

Only for production shows.

Usually bottom section on left, just below upper section. Usually part of 3 or 4 rows. A couple of time have seen it split with part in bottom of upper section or in middle.

 

Always an announcement that seats will be released 5 minutes before show start.

 

Have seen people line up to get the seats when they are released, but no other drama.

Edited July 19, 2023 by ldtr

[Guest ldtr]

8 hours ago, antsp said:

Things got a little heated in the Princess Theatre last night, spotlight bar was on and 40mins before the show the theatre was full,except for 150 reserved seats for Princess Premier passengers. About 15 seats or so were taken, the rest remaining empty . The officers checking people in got a lot of arguments from passengers stood in the aisle as there was no seating left. Someone higher up came and sorted it out, and eventually about 10mis before show start and let passenger be seated. Passengers not happy and it left a nasty atmosphere in the area.

This situation could be managed so much better, by Princess asking those with Premier package do they want reserved seats for the evenings production show and only removing those seats (not 150) Princess need to sort it..... 

What ship was that. I have not seen more than 40 seats saved on any of the 5 different ships I have been on. Usually part of 4 rows bottom left just below start of upper section.  That was on Regal, Discovery, Majestic, Crown and Grand.

 

Out of those maybe at most 10 used before release 5 minutes before.

[antsp]

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

What ship was that. I have not seen more than 40 seats saved on any of the 5 different ships I have been on. Usually part of 4 rows bottom left just below start of upper section.  That was on Regal, Discovery, Majestic, Crown and Grand.

 

Out of those maybe at most 10 used before release 5 minutes before.

150 seats on the Sky

[Guest ldtr]

18 minutes ago, antsp said:

150 seats on the Sky

How many were in use before they released them?

[gah_cruise]

21 minutes ago, antsp said:

150 seats on the Sky

when and where?

 

[antsp]

2 minutes ago, ldtr said:

How many were in use before they released them?

About 12 maybe, with about 100 plus people crowding the entrance and pathway 

[Sprocket]

Read on another site that it was passengers who had the Plus package who were causing most of the drama.  Very easy to find out what the packages include it’s in the Personalizer and also the app under Packages.

Staff know as soon as they scan their medallion which package they have but unfortunately some passengers don’t read and don’t listen.

 

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

What ship was that. I have not seen more than 40 seats saved on any of the 5 different ships I have been on. Usually part of 4 rows bottom left just below start of upper section.  That was on Regal, Discovery, Majestic, Crown and Grand.

 

Out of those maybe at most 10 used before release 5 minutes before.

I've also seen several rows (maybe 10?) in the upper left section near exit to Deck 7 on Royal and Emerald 

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Seats in this section are available on a first-come, first-served basis and will be held up until 15 minutes before the performance start time and then released.

Their T&C statement that seats are held up to 15 minutes should be followed & not be as little as 5 minutes before a performance.
 

That’s a Premier benefit but also believe that Princess needs to follow their own rules & to explain to ineligible passengers why they’re being held. Reasonable people will understand & accept that is a Premier benefit however even they might get frustrated when those seats are held up to 5 minutes before a performance which violates their T&C.

 

[Level six]

Poor Staff, just another thing for them to be yelled at for. 

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, antsp said:

About 12 maybe, with about 100 plus people crowding the entrance and pathway 

So about the same as on other ships that hold back about 40. Wonder why they hold so many more.

[waltd]

Just now, Bgwest said:

Yet there will always be those who offer similar complaints about "sitting in the back" on airplanes. I suppose these folks would think nothing of walking into the forward cabin of the airplane and wanting to share in the meals and included beverages - THAT THEY DID NOT PAY FOR!

 

This "everyone gets a trophy" stuff has gotten completely out of control. 

 

Funny thing is some have tried.   

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, reedprincess said:

#35: 

1. What is included in reserved theater seating?
   As part of the Premier package, you will have access to a section of reserved seating in the Princess Theater for production shows only. Seats in this section are available on a first-come, first-served basis and will be held up until 15 minutes before the performance start time and then released. All guests in your stateroom will be able to sit with you in this reserved section. Unfortunately, if you are traveling with others who are not Premier package guests, they will not be able to join you in this reserved section.

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages/

 

4 hours ago, capriccio said:

Two weeks ago the Premier reserved seating on the Caribbean Princess was on the left side of the theater almost half way up.  Personally if I had the Premier package I still would have come earlier to get a better seat (we prefer center seats about +/-10 rows up from the stage).  There was a pre-recorded announcement being played every 5 or 10 minutes that the seats marked reserved were for Premier package holders and that they would be released 5 minutes before the show and they were.

 

Seems to me, some guests might want to remind Princess personnel their own rule is 15 minutes.

 

My opinion is that 5 minutes is too close to show time to hold the seats and 15 minutes is a bit too early to release them (at least one member of couple/party ought to be there in decent time).

 

I would pick 10 minutes and hold to it.  I think that is reasonable for both groups.

 

[Ombud]

There's SEVERAL overhead msgs as to when the empty seats will be released (it's been 10 minutes before the show starts) on every cruise I've been on. And I've only seen 1 incident. Non Premier guests wanting to sit with Premier friends were made to wait 

 

% of seats reserved based on % of Premier passengers 

 

But I'm going to duck out of this one now as I just feel sorry for the staff having to hold up their end of the contract with Premier passengers.  

[Ramblin Wreck Cruiser]

We just booked a cruise with the premier package for next summer. Our primary reason for getting the premier package was that my husband prefers the higher end bourbons, but we were also enticed by the reserved seating in the theater. We had a very unpleasant experience years ago on a Princess cruise where we struggled to get a seat in the theater 45 minutes before the show. We eventually gave up and missed the show, which has never happened on any of our other cruises with other cruise lines. I do hope we can take advantage of the benefit that is included in the package that we have paid for without confrontation. We will definitely show up at least 15 minutes before showtime.

[Jeter02]

4 hours ago, antsp said:

150 seats on the Sky

I was on the sky a few weeks ago for 2 weeks, and they only had four reserved seats with the seat coverings. 150 is an awful lot, I wonder if it changes each cruise based on how many people actually have the premier package?

[BamaVol]

4 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

I was on the sky a few weeks ago for 2 weeks, and they only had four reserved seats with the seat coverings. 150 is an awful lot, I wonder if it changes each cruise based on how many people actually have the premier package?

That would make sense. But maybe that’s too much work and they base it on the size of the ship.

[Jeter02]

2 minutes ago, BamaVol said:

That would make sense. But maybe that’s too much work and they base it on the size of the ship.

Well to go from 4 to 150 reserved seats on the same exact ship, weeks apart, is a big difference.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Jeter02

[SCX22]

From what I gather on this thread, this occurred on the Sky Princess.  Was this at the 20:00 production show?

 

I've sailed twice on the Sky out of Southampton, the entertainment director/cruise director, whoever is in charge of this, should put the shows back to 19:30 and 21:00/21:15/21:30.  Everyone wants to attend the 20:00 show because the next performance time at 22:00 is too late; you won't be able to get out of there until at least 22:45, which is way too late for American tastes, or even if you have an early shore excursion the next morning.  The 20:00 showing is sometimes completely full 30 to 45 minutes ahead of time. 

 

I agree, though that 150 seats is excessive.

[Sprocket]

Passengers can upgrade to Premium if they wish on embarkation day, I have always been happy with Princess Plus but have a 5 night cruise booked and am considering paying the difference.

Which in some small way might explain the discrepancy in reserved seats.

 

Anyone that bullies the crew over this should be disembarked at the next port.

Edited July 20, 2023 by Sprocket

[Hlitner]

14 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

This whole "class" thing is going to keep things tense unfortunately.  That and the fact that society is collapsing in many ways, including public behavior, are just going to get worse.

I do think the term "class" is often misused.  This is no different than folks who go to a rock concert with some paying more money for decent reserved seats and others taking the cheap seats.  Anyone can choose (the operative term is choose) to pay extra for the Premiere package.  It has nothing to do with "class" but simply buying your way into better benefits.  

 

The problem is not about "class" but rather that Princess has long designed their vessels with main theaters that are simply too small for the normal 2 show format.  In the past, we have been on some cruises when the Hotel Manager decided to add a third show to alleviate the seating shortage.  Princess might need to move to a ticket system (some lines do this now) where folks need to book reservations and get tickets for certain shows.  I think that truly sucks, but it may be the future.

 

Hank

[cr8tiv1]

Solution to make everyone happy (never going to happen).  Have 3 production shows.  I have seen overflow for guest artists in the Explorer's Lounge.  Not idea, but better than nothing.  Oh....some ships don't have that lounge 

[Buckeye10640]

12 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

I have no problem with the current policies, especially since those seats are released within 10 minutes of show time.  Passengers have paid for that privilege and for $80 a day, anyone is able purchase the premier package if they choose to do so.  
Would these same people be mad if they tried to get into the sanctuary because all the pool chairs were taken?  
 

lol I have tried to PAY to book the sanctuary and still cant get a lounger there!

[capriccio]

46 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Solution to make everyone happy (never going to happen).  Have 3 production shows.  I have seen overflow for guest artists in the Explorer's Lounge.  Not idea, but better than nothing.  Oh....some ships don't have that lounge 

In 30 Princess cruises, only one (Caribbean Princess Round Great Britain cruise in August 2013) had 3 shows a night in the theater beginning at 6:30 (for late traditional diners). 8:30 (for early traditional diners), and 10:30 (for everyone who missed one of the earlier shows).  We thought it worked very well but I can understand where it might be hard on the dancers and singers.  I also have no idea if their contracts have production time limits.

[Guest ldtr]

7 minutes ago, capriccio said:

In 30 Princess cruises, only one (Caribbean Princess Round Great Britain cruise in August 2013) had 3 shows a night in the theater beginning at 6:30 (for late traditional diners). 8:30 (for early traditional diners), and 10:30 (for everyone who missed one of the earlier shows).  We thought it worked very well but I can understand where it might be hard on the dancers and singers.  I also have no idea if their contracts have production time limits.

Princess did go to 3 30 minute shows, instead of 2 45 minute shows for a brief amount of time around then. It was an experiment that did not work out.