Star Princess a major disappointment.

[monkeypuzzle]

 

Certainly appears to be a half-empty personality. .

 

 

understatement of the evening! :)

 

Over the years Ive been on - what I imagined to be - some terrible holidays..that now appear to be luxurious vactions if your review is to be believed ........dunno, just doesnt add up to me.....I detect a refund claim going into Princess head office ;)

[JLC@SD]

It is interesting that this is the posters first post EVER at CC, and no mention of any other cruise....

 

Certainly appears to be a half-empty personality.

 

here is the only half full part.....;)

Cesar and Mongkhol in the Anytime Dining rooms were the only truly nice people we encountered in there for the entire seven days

[NorcalGuy]

 

The first major disappointment was before we even embarked. We stood waiting in a humid, airless room in Ft. Lauderdale packed in among hundreds of other people for over an hour, waiting to check in.

 

Wow, Have you ever been to an airport? I've waited much longer than that going through the desk, security, and getting to the gate!

Frankly, your whole post seems like a perfect compilation of EVERY complaint I see currently being discussed on this board. It's hard to believe you encountered ALL of them on one cruise. Sorry if I'm wrong...

[DebbieLynne]

I too am sorry you had a bad experience. My boyfriend and I were on Star Princess 12/16 as well (see my review posted if you like) and we had some experiences both good and bad as well. Personally, I'm glad you posted your first post as your review. I think your perspective is much needed and I hope not maligned as "insignificant" just because it's your first cruise and first post. I think anyone's first impression is extremely important, and one we never get again once we've had it. I hope Princess and others can see it as such and not denigrate it. It has it's own unique place in the canon of perspectives and needs to be factored in as such. I think the perspective of ones upbringing, expectations, age, culture, education, socio-economic status, gender, and a bunch of other factors go into how one processes any event...and they're all interesting and informative to the constituency to which they appeal to...and therefore serve. Just like a smorgasbord, if something doesn't appeal to and/or serve us, we can always leave it alone, but that doesn't mean it isn't edifying and satifying to someone else. As a professor of the arts of theater and music, (and somewhat of a student of people) it is interesting to me to factor in all this information and I thank you for your forthright commentary.

Debbie

[stewcrews]

Sorry you had to smell the sewer everyday like we did. It is unacceptable that the Star lets this go on. We had a very ,very, long wait at embarkation. There were only 5 groups in front of us and it took over an hour and a half. The employees moved SO slow. Never again on the Star

[camNaud]

With respect, you appeared to be in a negative frame of mind before you even set sail.

 

I also think you were rude; getting up from the table and storming out the dining room as you did will not solve any problem. If you had actually said what was wrong to the waiter, things would could have been a whole lot better. I had a waiter spill red wine down my shirt before, I laughed it off and got a hearty apology and another bottle of wine (no charge). Would I have got this if i had stood up and stormed out - no.

 

People can sense a negative attitude in other people just by the body language a particular person displays. If you go about feeling miserable you are not going to make a lot of friends full stop. You probably don't realise it but The Staff on board any vessel know who the 'happy campers' and who 'the mumpy moaners' are after a few days. It's the happy campers that tend to get the good service and the problems solved with no problem.

 

We are well travelled and have learned to not go looking for negatives when travelling. Things are not the same as at home, food is different, peoples attitudes are different, not everything will be as you expect it. Somethings will be better, some not so good. Something can fixed easily and somethings can't.

 

We still have expectations that need to be met, but it's amazing how a big hearty smile followed by a please and a thank you will help when things need sorting.

 

Did you actually attempt to get any staff to remedy all your gripes while away? It seems not, you have gone out your way to complile a list of everything and anything you deemed to be not to your liking with the intention of writing a complaint letter.

 

We sailed on The Star last year but never smelt any sewage smell. I have a feeling this smell everyone is going on about is something to do with the exhaust fumes from the funnels. It seems it is encountered mostly on upper / outer parts of the ship. Just a guess but I'm sure Princess are trying hard to find out what it's all about.

[mr green]

Normally the first cruise is the best, so Waterlass has a lot to look forward to.:rolleyes: john

[camNaud]

Another observation

 

You wanted sit at a table alone 'every night'. That's a bit prentious in my book - even 'The Royal Family' and 'President Bush' don't get a table alone every night they go cruising. Okay it was your honeymoon, but part of 'THE FUN' of cruising is dining with different people. We enjoy to dine at a table alone every now and then and that's when we usually 'book' a table to ensure we don't have to wait.

 

Yes perhaps cruising is not for you.

[DebbieLynne]

We were on the Star Princess 12/16 too and I will say that we tried the anytime dining at several different times within the 6-10PM time frame to try to find the best service and least problem with lines and we still had difficulty getting good service and getting served in a timely fashion. We were never grumpy and still had a great time, but this is something I think Princess, or Star in particular should take the time to try to streamline.

 

Interestingly, there were several times we had to ask for things twice or more in order to get them, and several wrong orders or incomplete orders (missing soup/salad, whatever) happened throughout the cruise. Not a big deal and it didn't ruin our cruise but we missed a show or two due to the slow service, and in general I was sad that some of the banter I had hoped for between passengers and crew wasn't always there. The crew did seem to be slow and overloaded and not happy, though we tried to lighten their load and cheer them up.

 

Ultimately, we were disappointed in the efficiency and timeliness of the service, as it was inferior to what we normally get at a regular restaurant. My rule of thumb is that if I have to ask for things more than once (on more than one occasion) I chalk that up to a dining experience that lacks service as one of its "plusses." And if a table waits longer than a half hour to receive the standard water glasses and bread basket and greeting, then the service is slow. I don't feel negative about it, but I do think it's something they should attend to since service and friendliness are qualities they use to promote their own product. I did encounter some people who were very friendly and did give good service (Sylvia in the dining room was magnificent and Kez the cruise director was great) but overall felt these qualities were lacking on the ship, though we had a great time anyway. It will be interesting to keep cruising to see how other ships and/or lines compare.

[DebbieLynne]

Another observation

You wanted sit at a table alone 'every night'. That's a bit prentious in my book - even 'The Royal Family' and 'President Bush' don't get a table alone every night they go cruising. Okay it was your honeymoon, but part of 'THE FUN' of cruising is dining with different people. We enjoy to dine at a table alone every now and then and that's when we usually 'book' a table to ensure we don't have to wait.

Yes perhaps cruising is not for you.

 

I'm with camnaud on this one...though I wouldn't go so far as to say "pretentious" but I do agree that part of the fun of cruising is wanting (at least part of the time) to be engaged with others at the table. (although you do have a right to do whatever you want on your own cruise) Every night Alan and I asked to be seated at the biggest table (admittedly I'm very sanguine so I love people) and we met a ton of great people, which is probably the main reason we ended up having such a good time despite some of our disappointments in service and some of the staff. It's kinda the same as the cruise board...I'd think you'd want to post so you can meet more people, gain some perspective on the positives and negatives of cruising and then decide for yourself which things you like or don't like.

 

I wouldn't say you started out in a negative mindframe but I think after the first few disappointments (the disembarking line and the smell you encountered as we set sail) it did end up putting a damper on your cruise experience which is sad. I'm sorry for that for you. I do agree with some of the other CC posters that going after what you want to remedy the situation when it happens is important. As a teacher, of course being positive (not Pollyanna-ish, but generally amenable) and solution-oriented is my mantra. For instance, when we waited for over 45 minutes to get bread and water one of the nights, I did go up to the servers nearby and tell them I didn't mean to complain and I'm sure I don't know the full nature of the problem (I don't) but that we had been sitting there for almost an hour and hadn't had our order taken and we'd like to know exactly who our server is/was and when we could expect him/her. I don't know if they were confused about which server had our table or what...a possibility (I've waited tables before so I know a myriad of things can get mixed up). But we did actively take steps to remedy the things we saw as negatives as they occurred. Sometimes it worked out and sometimes not, but it did help our frame of mind to take action toward a positive solution. Hope that helps. And I think you should take more than one cruise to really know if cruising is for you. I'm a "two times" person in that I like to try things at least two times to have a better perspective before writing something off as "not for me." But that's me...to each his own.

Take care and happier sailing next time,

Debbie

[flvol77]

Another observation

 

You wanted sit at a table alone 'every night'. That's a bit prentious in my book - even 'The Royal Family' and 'President Bush' don't get a table alone every night they go cruising. Okay it was your honeymoon, but part of 'THE FUN' of cruising is dining with different people. We enjoy to dine at a table alone every now and then and that's when we usually 'book' a table to ensure we don't have to wait.

 

Yes perhaps cruising is not for you.

 

I disagree - we don't go on a cruise to eat with other people - maybe you feel that way and that is fine - part of "the fun" of cruising and PERSONAL CHOICE is eat when you want and with whom you want. You may enjoy meeting other people and other may not view that as "fun"

 

In four cruises so far we have never ate dinner with anyone other than ourselves, but we don't mind waiting an extra 15-20 mins so that we can be alone while we eat.

[camNaud]

I disagree - we don't go on a cruise to eat with other people - maybe you feel that way and that is fine - part of "the fun" of cruising and PERSONAL CHOICE is eat when you want and with whom you want. You may enjoy meeting other people and other may not view that as "fun"

 

In four cruises so far we have never ate dinner with anyone other than ourselves, but we don't mind waiting an extra 15-20 mins so that we can be alone while we eat.

 

Yes everyone is different and we all like different things. At least you understand that you may have to wait a while to get your choice.

 

We enjoy the occasional night dining on our own, especially after a long tiring day, when lots of conversation might not be as much fun.

[camNaud]

I'm with camnaud on this one...though I wouldn't go so far as to say "pretentious"

Debbie

 

Yes perhaps I did exagerate things a little bit. It was 'the tone' of the original post that made me think along these lines. Mind you i did say ' a bit pretentious' which is not as full blown as plain old 'pretentious' on it's own, if you catch my drift.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I disagree - we don't go on a cruise to eat with other people - maybe you feel that way and that is fine - part of "the fun" of cruising and PERSONAL CHOICE is eat when you want and with whom you want. You may enjoy meeting other people and other may not view that as "fun"

 

In four cruises so far we have never ate dinner with anyone other than ourselves, but we don't mind waiting an extra 15-20 mins so that we can be alone while we eat.

 

I couldn't agree with you more, we also prefer to eat alone as a family or just the 2 of us as a couple. If I have to wait for a table for just the 2 of us then I'm happy to wait.

[DebbieLynne]

Yes perhaps I did exagerate things a little bit. It was 'the tone' of the original post that made me think along these lines. Mind you i did say ' a bit pretentious' which is not as full blown as plain old 'pretentious' on it's own, if you catch my drift.

 

Camnaud, I was only kinda teasing you. :p I'm sure you didn't mean it in a fullblown negative way and I do understand where you're coming from. I do find it interesting though (and I notice this from reading a lot of the CC boards since I joined in October) that you felt the original posting was negative and/or that they started off with a negative bent. I didn't get that impression at all from the original waterlass post. Being a person in theater I'm always curious as to how people can all see "the elephant" differently...if you know what I mean. (the old story of the people who touch the tusk, tail, trunk and such of an elephant and then describe the elephant and argue about what it "looks" like because all their perspectives are different).

 

Anyway, I wonder if it isn't maybe because I'm from the north, or because I grew up among entrepreneurs, salespeople, and law enforcement people, or because I grew up in the somewhat opinionated 80's...or something that makes that post not seem negative to me and seem negative to you. Not that I'm saying my background or anything is better or worse, just different. Since I live in the south right now as I just finished grad school, I do notice very distinct differences in what is politically correct and/or socially acceptable to say which I find fascinating. Often things my northern/Detroit friends would consider proper or forthright, my southern friends would consider rude or impolite which always intrigues me.

 

I've never "chatted" before on any board so the CC experience is my first, though we do a lot of critical/analytical debate in theater. I do find it fascinating that some people find some posts "negative" that I would just consider forthright or informational, but not particularly negative. Without the use of visual elements to communicate some of the subtleties of one's meaning, it's interesting to me how such a cross-section of people communicate. Anyway, thanks for the clarification. :) And I look forward to more "elephant" banter! ;)

 

Take care,

Debbie

[Too blessed to be stressed]

I feel for what you went through. The cruise line advertises every need will be met with smiling faces as you bask in the lap of luxury. That is what I always felt a cruise was until I went on my first one a little over a year ago. I thought the food was going to be gourmet. I thought the crew members would be as happy to be there as I was.

Then reality hit. This is their home away from home, they are home sick, alot sending all their money back home to their families. Waiting on people constantly day after day. I am sure they deal with some very demanding people, people can be down right rude when they are hungry and think you owe them something. I am not saying you were rude, only they may have dealt with that kind of people. Not that that makes it okay, its only to help myself maybe understand this kind of behavior. Maybe we can be the person that reminds them we are not all going to be impatient with them even if they are having a bad day for what ever reason.

I felt a bit dissapointed after my first cruise, some of the food, some of the service. But not all of it. We have this fantasy in our minds about how perfect it will be, and indeed the cruise industry feeds this to sell their product.

That being said one thing is absolutely awfull and that is the smell of raw sewage, this should not be something we should just have to deal with. How can you enjoy anything in that situation, thats just down right gross!!! I hope princess will get this taken care of.

keep the good memories, throw away the rest.

[camNaud]

DebbieLynn,

 

Thanks for that very interesting insight. I also find it fascinating how people from different countries and (as you highlighted) different parts of the same country view things in different ways.

 

I felt the original poster was 'negative' from the start, this is all down to expectations I think. She was not happy waiting for an hour (in the heat) to board the ship. These things happen and times to board all depend on volumes at the time you try to board. Perhaps her expectations were she would just turn up and just get on board. The fact she complained about the heat is also weird to me because it was Florida after all and it's hot 95% of the time in Florida. ;)

 

I travel a lot both for fun and work and I see differing standards and ways of doing things in different countries. I very rarely have cause for complaint, this is down to our expectations.I am an easy going sort of person and so is my wife. We do different types of holidays. One example would be 2 weeks in Crete, Greece. This costs us peanuts, we get our flight, transfer and studio. the studio consists of a bed, a dressing table and a shower / toliet in a small bathroom. We have no air con and it gets hot 100F. The old woman who lives next door comes in to clean the floor and toliet every other day and will change the sheets only on request. Sounds like hell compared with The Star, but..........

 

... the views from the blacony are astounding, on a small cliff above the bay. The walk into town is fantastic as are the all the locals we have got to know. So by the time we come to a Princess Cruise we are being totally pampered for 2 weeks. Our expectations of what to expect are indeed raised, and pound for pound (dollar for dollar) we actually get better value on the cruise, compared with the old billet in Crete. Perhaps it's this perception that allows us to not to get phased when things are perhaps a wee bit amiss on board ship.

[J&KCruisers]

Different people have different experiences! We have sailed on the Star three times, including two weeks prior to this cruise (Dec 2-9). We completely enjoyed our cruises and would sail the Star again in a minute!

 

This cruiser obviously arrived prior to the 1:00 time recommended for embarkation where there is generally little wait time to get on the ship! Food is very subjective, but I can tell you that few vacation experiences will allow you to try everything on the menu until you find what you like. The cost for drinks is also comparable to any hotel or restaurant we have experienced. The only "sell, sell, sell" is Day 1 during sailaway which I find to be a convenience for purchasing the coke cards, etc.

 

In relation to the "smell", it is from the vents on the stacks and is most noticible on the top decks and in ports where they are probably discharging the sludge. I sought out the sewer smell (from the posts on CC) and it really was not that bad and certainly did not cast a negative on the cruise.

 

Some cruisers seem to seek negatives about their experiences on ships and this poster (similar to the lady who spent her entire cruise seeking a paper sign and two balloons outside her door) are no different. They seem to be trying to get a refund or something for free from the cruise lines at every whim. Very shallow points of view, in my opinion.

 

The service/amenity to dollar value for a cruise is higher than any vacation most can imagine. Try going to Las Vegas for 7 days, eat 4 meals a day, buy drinks and go to 1-2 production shows each evening and end the evening in a first rate club dancing or enjoying the music. Add on classes, activities and room service and see what it costs!

 

Cruising is defintely not for this lady and I'd suggest taking her money and finding another vacation alternative.

[camNaud]

 

Some cruisers seem to seek negatives about their experiences on ships and this poster (similar to the lady who spent her entire cruise seeking a paper sign and two balloons outside her door) are no different. They seem to be trying to get a refund or something for free from the cruise lines at every whim. Very shallow points of view, in my opinion.

 

 

It's how you deal with these situations that is the essence of the matter.

 

Last year we celebrated our Wedding Anniversary on board. I made Princess aware of this via their website. We came back from breakfast on our celebration day to find.........

 

Happy Honeymoon Balloons and Poster on the door. Boy did we laugh about it what a hoot!! and it was made even better when when our neighbours wished us all the best for a 'happy future'.

 

We didn't complain and actually left then 'offending' items in place. Our room steward eventaully pulled me aside a few days later and asked 'Was it not your anniversary' I said 'yes' He said 'Sorry I made a mistake and I will change them'. I told him 'not to worry as we had a good laugh about it - and everyday was like a honeymoon being married to my dear wife anyway'. He came back with a bottle of bubbly later that day and another apology. I just don't see the point of upsetting oneself in these situations.

 

Again perhaps it's because we don't make an issue of these sort of things that keeps getting us free bottles of wine / bubbly in these situations.

[from the desert]

With so many of us going cruising, and cruise ships going out for months at a time with back to back sailings without going into drydock, its little wonder that some problems may take a bit of time getting fixed. I'm not talking about subjective issues but actual physical problems with the ships.

 

I'm sure ALL cruise lines focus on the need "fixing" fervently, but sometimes it's a matter of waiting until the ship has time out. I don't think many of us would be real thrilled to have the cruise line cancel our cruise because they needed to fix something that was not a safety concern or life threatening.

 

I'm sure many of us have driven a car that leaks oil, or one that burns gasoline, or has a funny odor. We drive without windshield cleaning fluid, wiper blades badly in need of replacing, and the last coffee spill stain on the seat and carpet. When we don't need the car for a few days we then take it in for repairs and cleaning.

 

I know this isn't much consolation to those that have been inconvenienced, but it is a fact of doing business.

[crusdiva]

Another observation You wanted sit at a table alone 'every night'. That's a bit prentious in my book - even 'The Royal Family' and 'President Bush' don't get a table alone every night they go cruising. Okay it was your honeymoon, but part of 'THE FUN' of cruising is dining with different people. We enjoy to dine at a table alone every now and then and that's when we usually 'book' a table to ensure we don't have to wait. Yes perhaps cruising is not for you.

Sorry,

I beg to differ. My husband do plenty of socializing during the course of the cruise - on excursions, at the pool and in the lounges and at dinner we prefer to be alone. I see nothing wrong with this. We are incredibly social people, we just enjoy our time alone at dinner.

I think the issue with the OP about dining alone is that they thought they could simple show up at the dining room and be seated right away. I agree the best solution is to make arrangements in advance.

[camNaud]

Sorry,

I beg to differ. My husband do plenty of socializing during the course of the cruise - on excursions, at the pool and in the lounges and at dinner we prefer to be alone. I see nothing wrong with this. We are incredibly social people, we just enjoy our time alone at dinner.

I think the issue with the OP about dining alone is that they thought they could simple show up at the dining room and be seated right away. I agree the best solution is to make arrangements in advance.

 

The staff has no problem with our request for a table for two.

 

A few posters have stated the same preference as yourselves since I posted the above. I understand we all have different preferences. I think the fact you are prepared to wait for your choice shows you have a great understanding of how things work on board ships.

 

The OP seemed to want a number of things on a 'here and now basis' - hence my comments did seem a bit harsh particuarly to good people like yourselves.

[DebbieLynne]

... I'm sure ALL cruise lines focus on the need "fixing" fervently, but sometimes it's a matter of waiting until the ship has time out.......I know this isn't much consolation to those that have been inconvenienced, but it is a fact of doing business.

 

I would think then the problem is they're not planning their "time outs" as effectively as need be to handle the problems at hand. Of course no one wants to get their cruise cancelled because they want to fix something on the ship, but these repair and maintenance times should be part of the ongoing mix that Princess plans for and implements...otherwise, stuff like the smell problem could be a never ending issue...

[DebbieLynne]

camnaud,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, the compaint about it being hot in Florida is kinda funny. Duh. And I totally understand what you're saying. I do think a lot is a matter of perspective like you say, and your general travel perspective holds sway I'm sure. And that was a great story about Crete. Wow! I've only been to a few countries outside the USA (Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Scotland) and I will say that the USA in general has fairly high standards for service and quality of product so maybe we're spoiled in that way. I definitely was glad to get back on the ship after being in Jamaica for the day we were in Ocho Rios, though Dunns Falls was beautiful.

 

When I went to Costa Rica a few years back (not on a ship) we were at a house that had cockroaches crawling up through the drain every time you took a shower, so that was a hoot to have to get around. We ended up putting a washcloth on the drain and then standing on it squarely the whole time so as not to let the critters up and scampering on me during the shower. At least I didn't have to deal with that on the Star! :eek:

 

And by the way, your Scotland was BEAUTIFUL! And I got to meet the Queen and actually talk to her on her roundabout in Aberdeen. Of course this was years ago, in 1990/August but I remember it well. My pic ended up being in the Aberdeen paper talking to the Queen the next morning. That was fun. Anyway, our accomodations there were quite quaint but we had a killer time anyway. So, again, perspective. Ah, the castles...

 

Take care,

Debbie

[DebbieLynne]

Sorry for the quick off-topic but does anyone know how to run a spell check before posting. Just finishing grad school and my thesis I'm probably a bit hypervigilant about that kind of thing right now? I can't seem to find the icon/button/thingamabob...

Thanks,

Debbie