stop complaining about caribbean princess

[ALEMA]

I don't know if this thread has been officially hijacked or not. But most of the criticisms I have read about the CB seem justified and relate specifically to changes in itinerary and reduced port times that relate to engine problems. Those criticisms seem to be legitimate and I would consider changing ships if I were booked on the ship and I found out about this prior to final payment.

 

 

My BF and i knew about the issues the CB was having before he booked the trip.Well I loved every single minute on board. It was our firt on princess and will most likely go on the cb again. Have no complains about the ship or the crew. Just enjoy your cruise and have a good time.

[ikelmay]

I guess if you are not going to cruise Princess you should be posting on the forum where you will be cruising. I don't know where you get the idea that some have a financial stake in puffing Princess - we just tell it like it is.

 

Personally, I like hearing both the positives and negatives. I have no desire to read a string of overhyped inflated reviews of a ship, nor an endless stream of negatives. I do think I can use my own judgement and weed out the truth from both sides. As an earlier poster pointed out, the negative reaction at the moment seems to relate to operational issues, which I think is of concern.

 

I also liked the idea of at least not passing judgement before a second cruise on a particular line. We have only cruised once with Princess, and we enjoyed it - not sure it matched some of our other experiences, but I'm looking forward to trying them again.

[jbpinkie]

I will be upfront and tell you that Princess is my personal favorite. Now that that is out of the way, on a recent cruise with My mom and Grandmother we received the best dining room service we had ever had on a cruise, and it was on Carnival. I went to the Maitre D to commend the employees to him, and he said I have to thank you and your lovely family. Now personally I think we're a cute 3 peas in a pod, but his statement puzzled me. He went on to say, that since we boarded everytime he saw us we were smiling and being friendly to his staff, no matter wether it was an open seating or assigned crew. He said you received good service not only because of the staff but because you were open and friendly. Having fun at work is so much easier when the client you serve is appreciative. He ended by giving my grandmother a hug and a kiss on the cheek and thanking her for sailing with him.

 

Just thought I would share....

[jpg1747]

I hadn't been on Princess in many years before my 4 day quickie on the CB last May. It wasn't what I remembered my Princess cruises to be like, but I still had a wonderful time. It may be that my memories are cloudy, or that cruising has changed since then, or it could be that those 3 and 4 day cruises just weren't up to the standard I remembered. Nonetheless, I am still looking forward to being back on the CB this November. Some of my past cruises were better than others, for a variety of reasons, but none of them have been bad.

[NeurosurgeryNP]

He said you received good service not only because of the staff but because you were open and friendly.quote]

 

I hear you there. Passenger attitute makes a HUGE difference in your cruise experience. We have sailed on the CB twice this year (one 7 nighter and one of the 4 nighter) and we have a third booked in October. We can't wait to go aboard again. On both of our prior cruises, we were open and friendly with the crew, especially the cruise staff, and we had a better cruise because of it IMO.

[KLLund]

I think you learn something new about yourself, your tastes and your distastes on every cruise. While we had a good time on the CB, I did learn that some ships are too big to be to my taste. I love Princess and will of course sail her again .. ummm May for instance, But I will select ships that are smaller than this particular ship.

 

I don't think that is bashing the CB and I didn't say anything negative about her.. I learned from that cruise!!

[Clutterlady]

Perhaps the OP sailed with her glass half full:)

 

Can anyone find faults on any cruise, well....of course. Did the OP overlook some small faults, probably so!

 

Love the CB too!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spikesgirl]

We've been customers of Princess for over 12 years now and can't say we've had a bad time on any of the ships. Were all the cruises perfect? No, I suspect not, but we choose to remember the good times and let the bad ones pass us by.

 

As JBpinkie pointed out, a lot has to do with attitude. I'm just glad to be somewhere that the theater can't find me and to ahve some quiet time away from the every day woes. I once had a CD accuse me of being able to have fun with a barrel of dryer duct lint and she was right. I'm on a cruise, there's very little, even a missed port, that can completely ruin a cruise for me. Hopefully, this trend will stay with us in the future.

[coiran]

Ron;

Your insuting tone is an example of the kind of team loyalty I was referring to. Whether or not I can afford a luxury line is neither the question at hand nor any of your business. The issue is what is a reasonable standard of service any passanger aboard the CB or another Princess ship should expect and have a right to opine about.

 

It was your post that had the insulting tone toward Princess loyalists. I don't care if you don't like Princess, go cruise another line which will meet your expectations.

Ron

[F858MM]

Do you have to pay for your drinks if you are gambling in the casino

[Solara]

Just to say we loved the CB. I've never had a bad cruise on any cruiseliine. It's all in the attitude and thinking positive. What could possibly be bad when you are on a cruise ship.:p

[Solara]

Do you have to pay for your drinks if you are gambling in the casino

Yes!

[Mom33]

People have as much right to complain as you do to shill for Princess--that's what boards are for. I have my own standars of good service, food etc--perhaps higher than yours. If my expectations are not met I have a right to say so. My own experience this summer aboard the CB was so-so and I will vote with my feet and give my tourism dollars to another ship or carrier. If others love the CB or Princess so be it. If this board is only for people who have a financial stake in puffing Princess or who develop strong emotional ties to the brand, cabin stewards, entertainers etc. (in the way sports fans support their team godd or bad) then someone should say so and everyone else can go home.

 

I find the bolded statement puzzling. :confused: Are you implying that if we are happy on a Princess cruise, that we are beneath you? The remark had a tone that was snobbish.

[Kathy130]

Loved the CB. First one with Princess, and look forward to more. Booked the same ship again for next summer. I don't expect perfection..............I've sailed now 4 different cruise lines and had a wonderful time on each. Attitude DOES make a difference.

[willysgrandma]

My BF and i knew about the issues the CB was having before he booked the trip.Well I loved every single minute on board. It was our firt on princess and will most likely go on the cb again. Have no complains about the ship or the crew. Just enjoy your cruise and have a good time.

 

Sometimes reading about problems can make you pleasantly surprised when you do sail if you don't experience the same thing. You are prepared for the worst and end up finding the best.

 

We sailed the NCL Pride of Aloha when NCL first came out with the American staffed ships. They had a ton of problems with staff walking off the ships and the ships were severely understaffed. We read the bad reviews here before we went and while we were prepared for it to be horrible, it really wasn't. Did we experience some of the problems others did? Yes. But maybe because we were prepared, it didn't seem that bad or maybe because we roll with the punches and were on vacation nothing really can be that terrible to us.

[BobBeaSea]

Ron;

Your insuting tone is an example of the kind of team loyalty I was referring to. Whether or not I can afford a luxury line is neither the question at hand nor any of your business. The issue is what is a reasonable standard of service any passanger aboard the CB or another Princess ship should expect and have a right to opine about.

 

I totally agree, the response of the poster you are referring to was insulting, and petulant for that matter. I for one appreciated your opening post on this thread, it is a reasonable post - not "attacking" in any way, in my opinion.

 

Princess is a cruise line we will try someday. I have been reading the Princess board here, just trying to learn more about the line. It does seem CB comes under a fair amount of scrutiny - both good and not so good.

[coiran]

I totally agree, the response of the poster you are referring to was insulting, and petulant for that matter. I for one appreciated your opening post on this thread, it is a reasonable post - not "attacking" in any way, in my opinion.

 

Princess is a cruise line we will try someday. I have been reading the Princess board here, just trying to learn more about the line. It does seem CB comes under a fair amount of scrutiny - both good and not so good.

 

You didn't read the whole post by him/her.

 

Originally Posted by Sirdar

People have as much right to complain as you do to shill for Princess--that's what boards are for. Ietc--p have my own standars of good :p . If my expectations are not met I have a right to say so. My own experience this summer aboard the CB was so-so and I will vote with my feet and give my tourism dollars to another ship or carrier. If others love the CB or Princess so be it. If this board is only for people who have a financial stake in puffing Princess or who develop strong emotional ties to the brand, cabin stewards, entertainers etc. (in the way sports fans support their team godd or bad) then someone should say so and everyone else can go home.

 

You might also want to look up the word "petulant" in your webster's - I fail to see how it applies to my post.

 

Ron

[coiran]

I find the bolded statement puzzling. :confused: Are you implying that if we are happy on a Princess cruise, that we are beneath you? The remark had a tone that was snobbish.

 

 

I agree!!!

Ron

[BobBeaSea]

You didn't read the whole post by him/her.

 

Originally Posted by Sirdar

People have as much right to complain as you do to shill for Princess--that's what boards are for. Ietc--p have my own standars of good :p . If my expectations are not met I have a right to say so. My own experience this summer aboard the CB was so-so and I will vote with my feet and give my tourism dollars to another ship or carrier. If others love the CB or Princess so be it. If this board is only for people who have a financial stake in puffing Princess or who develop strong emotional ties to the brand, cabin stewards, entertainers etc. (in the way sports fans support their team godd or bad) then someone should say so and everyone else can go home.

 

You might also want to look up the word "petulant" in your webster's - I fail to see how it applies to my post.

 

Ron

 

Petulant - cranky, easily irritated or annoyed. :D

[Sirdar]

The OP (who started this whole thing) seemed, at least to me to be saying that anyone who did not find the CB to be as wonderful as she did should stop complaining. To which I responded-- Why? If I have actually sailed aboard the ship (which I have) and have contrasting experiences on other Princess ships and other lines as well against which to measure my experience on the CB it seems to me that I have as much right to complain as anyone else.

 

As to the issue of shills on these boards--it is my opinion(and nothing more) that many posters are TA's who have some stake in all this and many others who for one reason or another develop an almost fanatical devotion to a particular line to the point where they are ecstatic about discussing everything from the number of revolutions per minute that the engines made on the the last run of the Princess Whatever from Timbuktu to Samoa to the favorite aftershave of Captain X. Their "team Loyalty" will broach no adverse comments and they quickly spring to the attack.

 

Finally, as to the alledged snobishness of asserting " I have my own standards of good service, food etc--perhaps higher than yours." I don't see what the issue is. Everyone has, presumably, his own standards and expectations that are developed over a lifetime and influenced by many factors, social, educational and economic. My level of sophistication maybe greater than that of the next person; on the other hand it may not.

[yorky]

The OP (who started this whole thing) seemed, at least to me to be saying that anyone who did not find the CB to be as wonderful as she did should stop complaining. To which I responded-- Why? If I have actually sailed aboard the ship (which I have) and have contrasting experiences on other Princess ships and other lines as well against which to measure my experience on the CB it seems to me that I have as much right to complain as anyone else.

 

As to the issue of shills on these boards--it is my opinion(and nothing more) that many posters are TA's who have some stake in all this and many others who for one reason or another develop an almost fanatical devotion to a particular line to the point where they are ecstatic about discussing everything from the number of revolutions per minute that the engines made on the the last run of the Princess Whatever from Timbuktu to Samoa to the favorite aftershave of Captain X. Their "team Loyalty" will broach no adverse comments and they quickly spring to the attack.

 

Finally, as to the alledged snobishness of asserting " I have my own standards of good service, food etc--perhaps higher than yours." I don't see what the issue is. Everyone has, presumably, his own standards and expectations that are developed over a lifetime and influenced by many factors, social, educational and economic. My level of sophistication maybe greater than that of the next person; on the other hand it may not.

 

Still not the brightest line to use in a thread if you don't want to wind people up.

 

I actually agree that people can get very defensive of their favorite cruise line. I posted on the Cunard forum that the food and service in the Brittania dining room was the worst I had encountered on any cruise line and you can imagine how that went down. I did not however infer that if they did not agree they obviously were not at my level.

[cruisemom42]

I come to these boards to read about the new, the good, and the not-so-good. (I won't say "bad"!) If every reviewer only said that the ship was excellent and didn't give any hard information, I think these boards would lose a lot of their usefulness for me anyway.

 

Sometimes things can go awry and it's good to learn how others successfully dealt with the issue or read their tips as to what might be a better path.

 

I'm as much of a Princess supporter as any; I don't think hearing about areas that could be improved detracts at all from my overall enjoyment. Knowing about things like what cabins to avoid, what dining room menu is the best to miss for a specialty restaurant, and how to deal with chair hogs (!!!) etc can only make future cruises better for all of us who are informed by the experiences of others.

[garfieldgarfield]

The point of starting this thread was not to start trouble or talk about "standards." I was simply stating that I was nervous to go on this cruise because I believed what everyone said on these boards. I wanted to let everyone else know that not everything you read on here is true in the least bit. That's it. It is that simple.

[Sandytoes]

The point of starting this thread was not to start trouble or talk about "standards." I was simply stating that I was nervous to go on this cruise because

 

I believed what everyone said on these boards.

 

I wanted to let everyone else know that not everything you read on here is true in the least bit.

 

That's it. It is that simple.

 

:confused:

[Nebr.cruiser]

Hey - give the whiners a break - some people live to complain. I expect some folks would complain if the cruise was free.

Ron

 

We were doing Anytime dining on the Star Princess once and by chance was seated with the same couple several times. They complained constantly, about everything, especially the (very good) food. Nothing was right, food was sent back, etc.

 

On the last meal we had together they let slip that, yes, they had won the cruise in a drawing at their bank. A completely free cruise! But not good enough for them, I guess.