spyro1952

I agree don't fly SW. Herded cattle get better service and seats.

I'm sorry to hear this because we are also spending a month on this ship very shortly. I think we'll be going to the dining room more often, but it's a port intensive cruise, and the dining room is closed at lunchtime on port days.

Yes I will be on the TA portion of your cruise. You should be ok on port days because so many pax are off the ship and it's not going to be a big issue getting space at the buffet. The food is a different issue though.

We booked the B2B TA/British Isles in April '18 to specifically because it is on the Royal Princess - such a nicer, newer ship to spend 26 days on. See you on board. Enjoy your BI ports!!

We are looking at the Sapphire European Explorer cruise in October 2018. I'm not sure if this is the right board to ask this question, but I'm wondering how far it is from where the ship docks to the Normandy Beaches and American Cemetery excursion. It looks like over a 2-hour bus ride each way. If this was an excursion on a River cruise, would the trip be shorter? I don't know if my husband can comfortably handle that long of a bus trip (motion sickness issues). Thanks.

Try joining your CC roll call for this cruise and see if someone is organizing a private tour. It could be more comfortable for you and less expensive.

I am very experienced Princess cruiser and experienced the new buffet when it debuted on the east bound TA in April. I thought it was horrible. The food was very redundant, in fact mostly the same thing everyday. Also very poor quality and totally unappealing. If I did go there it I would end up with tuna salad and make my own sandwich.

The redesigned seating area seems to have decreased the actual number of seats and on sea days it was difficult to get a table. We mostly ate in the MDR on sea days or burgers/pizza.

Definitely not my favorite ship in many ways.

At some point one would think that they would fix this permanently rather than keep offering OBC and changing itineraries. I'm on the 9/22 TA mostly as transportation back from the UK so it doesn't bother me too much that ports were dropped and changed. BUT after doing the east bound TA in the spring, this is one ship and crew that I will try really hard to avoid in the future.

This is happening more and more. I have blood clot issues and we have been traveling first or business the last five years. We are traveling to Berlin with friends and she found flights for us. They did not offer business so I booked coach so we would not only be together but they were terrific connections. I figured I would be able to switch to business later. Those flights have not appeared in the past eight months. It was through American, but listed as British Airways, yet we are on an Aer Lingus flight. I spent hours calling American, then British Airways and finally found an Aer Lingus rep that helped me. For some reason we could not select seats or switch to first class. American said I could only do that at check in. I was worried because there were only middle seats left on all our flights. There is no way I could last in a middle seat for 11 hours.

I did notice that there were some nice exit row seats available. I mentioned this to the rep and she managed to get them for the four of us. I hope they are worth the extra cost but I still am going to see if I can get moved to first class - hopefully there are still some available to buy.

The seats do not show on our personalizer or the airline website. I did call the airline back and told her they are not showing up but she said it will be ok. I asked for an email confirmation of the seats but she said they could not do that. I am taking proof of payment and keeping my fingers crossed that we get the exit row seats but I am still afraid I will have issues with my legs. I would love to bring a blow up ottoman, so I can get my feet up ��.

 

So, after all that, see if you can get the flight number of the airline you are on and call them. Good luck.

I fly Aer Lingus frequently to Dublin from Orlando. They do have good customer service most of the time. They do not have first class on any of their flights but do have excellent business class.

We cruised on Crown Princess on 17/6/17-1/7/17 Land of the Midnight Sun and although we thoroughly enjoyed the ports of call, apart from Bergen where we had to leave an hour early because we had to get into Southampton earlier than planned due to Isle of Wight annual boat race, where Capt Lawes proudly announced that the gangway would be open an hour early at 0630am. Where anyone who is not on a tour is expected to visit at 0630 I just don't know. The food and service in buffet at lunch times was very poor and repetitive and the queues for Anytime dining at the Michalangelo were very long and when you managed to get to the front there always seemed total confusion and nobody seemed to know what they were doing and this continued for the whole cruise. After complaining at PSD and receiving a phone call from the Maitre D at the beginning of the cruise I felt he was just going through the motions of returning my call and was not really interested and my point was proved because nothing improved. We have cruised numerous times and love Princess cruises but this was the worst ship and experience we have ever had with them. Think the writing was on the wall with regarding to Capt Lawes because at the Meet the Captain talk in the theatre all he wanted to talk about was how many houses he owned in Wales and Spain and who is famous neighbours were and what expensive car he was driving and how many Ferrari's he had previously owned.

I was originally booked on this cruise but had to cancel. I totally agree with you that the Captain sets the tone for the entire crew and the cruise. When Commodore Romano has been at the helm on some of my previous cruises, they have been great despite incidents that negatively affected passengers. Since he is retiring this year (I think), I wonder who will get the Commodore position? There are definitely some Captains I think should be overlooked and Lawes is one of them.

I rebooked the Midnight Sun cruise for 2018 on the Sapphire and will hopefully get to go.

Has anyone booked the Grange Tower Bridge Hotel in London through Princess?

 

What does Princess do for you or how does Princess take care of You?

 

What was your experience?

 

Bob

The good thing about booking pre or post cruise hotels thru Princess is that all your transfers to and from the ship are included. Also there is a Princess rep at the hotel to organize your arrival and departure and answer questions etc. The bad thing is Princess hotels are very expensive, especially in London. You pay per person, not per room. Maybe 10 yrs ago or so we stayed at a Princess hotel post cruise about a block from Buckingham Palace and it was over $1000.00/night per person. Great location but just ridiculous price.

Compozer was correct to tell OP not to worry. He was speaking from his own personal experience that suite passengers had Club Class dining with no issues. There may be many things to worry about on a cruise, but whether you as a suite passenger can eat in Club Class is not one of them.

 

Princess is extremely clear on their website and in their Full Suite Benefits PDF that full suite passengers have "Exclusive Club Class Dining in the Main Dining Room for breakfast and dinner daily as well as lunch on sea days."[/quote

 

 

REALLY DUDE?? I GUESS THE STAFF ON THE CB NEVER GOT THAT MEMO!!:mad::mad::mad::mad:

Don't worry. We have sailed two times in suites and used the Club class. There was nothing on our personalizer.

It just said anytime dining.

to tell someone not to worry is a bit dismissive IMHO. We were in a full suite on the CB in April and were never told that we were eligible for club class dining. On the 2nd or 3rd night of frustration in the MDR, the MD mumbled something - the only words we understood were Club Class. For 2 weeks I pursued whether full suite passengers were entitled to CC and NEVER got a straight answer from anybody - customer service,

MD, Captain's Circle host - no one. AND we never received a letter in our suite telling us about this benefit.

Make sure the MDR section captain has your name on his CC list the first day. One thing is always certain about Princess is the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

A cursory run through of the deckplans does not show me any connecting cabins in any category on Crown. Princess has never been generous with connecting cabins. Perhaps a call to Princess could confirm or refute my findings. EM

Thanks!

I just checked, no connecting on the Crown. The Ruby has connecting cabins.

To check, go to deck plans. Select a deck, and there is a box to check for Connecting. If there are any , it will show up for that deck. Just checked at Crown doesn't have any. On the Ruby, they are mid decks in the 500's on Caribe and Baja decks.(Balcony cabins). A couple of insides too.emerald deck has mini suites connecting.These connecting on the Ruby has been a recent addition. We had them in December for our family and you could tell the doors inside looked newer.

Thanks Sue. We'll just get rooms next door to each other.

Thanks again for all your insight everyone. Besides the food, it sounds like the seating seems to be a problem at peak times too. I guess the problem with the Caribbean Princess is the extra deck of passengers but the same public space. I know on other Princess ships you have to arrive at least 30 minutes early to get a seat in the theater. It this the same or do you have to arrive even earlier? How's the entertainment? I'm really torn on this one. We have a while to make up our minds but no sense planning excursions if we're not taking that cruise. Caribbean Princess is not doing this itinerary in 2019. Anyone have any experiences on the Island Princess?

Like I said, I never remember the buffet being so awkward and crowded prior to this cruise and I've been on this ship many times. I can't speak to the theater or entertainment because I no longer choose to do those things. Just walking around, even on sea days, the ship never seemed crowded but like I said we don't do the usual activities from the Patter - we are readers and I also knit. We like to shop and the stores on board were never that busy.

I haven't been on the Island in a long time so I really can't say what's going on there but just do a search of these threads and I'm sure you'll see some comments. Good Luck!!

Does anyone know of connecting inside rooms on the Crown and where they are? TIA

Shelly97060, Glad to hear the buffet was satisfactory. Did they have theme nights like German night or Italian night? Have they discontinued the specialty peanut butter and jelly station or did you just not try them? I know there is always plenty of food available but I like to be able to get MDR quality food in the buffet. On our last cruise we could get beef wellington in the buffet the same night is was served in the MDR.(Regal) It seemed like some variety of shrimp was available every night too. Did you see shrimp on the buffet? I hope others will share their experiences too. I know food is subjective but from the early postings I've been less than impressed. Decisions, great itinerary(Caribbean Princess) great ship (Regal).

I've been on the CB since it was first launched and numerous other Princess ships (59 Princess cruises). We were on this ship immediately after dry dock going to Southampton. Since you specifically are asking about the buffet I will tell you my experience: They should have left it alone or just bought new furniture. The seating area actually has less seats because of the reconfiguration so at lunch it's very difficult to get a table for 2.

IMHO, the food is much less than desirable. On this cruise, the selections were mostly the same thing every day and if I did go there for lunch, the best thing was just getting tuna salad and making a sandwich or PB & J We did go up for dinner twice and the food was the same - not good at all. We did not notice any theme nights but one night they did have quite a nice dessert display with fancy cakes etc. I never noticed shrimp but I can get plenty of shrimp at home (FL) so it's not something I go gaga over.

I much prefer the buffets on the Royal or Regal but doing TA's is a great way for us to get back and forth from Europe. We are on this ship again for the Sept. crossing but I can tell you the buffet is one thing I am NOT looking forward to. We have lots of sea days so the MDR will be open for lunch or pizza, or Salty Dog.

Rules were changed April 2017. It's not a cancellation fee, it's the fact that the FCD is not refunded if you cancel within that 181 days. It's just happened to me !!

Also, cruises are often cancelled for a variety of reasons, not just for any old reason.

 

 

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What you are saying doesn't make sense. The FCD is good for 2 yrs so it goes back into your account. You don't lose it. If you don't use it within the 2 yrs, it is refundable. If you use a FCD for a cruise that has a non-refundable deposit it makes sense that you would then lose that FCD.

Please don't flame this posting (and sorry if this is hijacking ),,but I was wondering if the same type of problem might have affected our end of May /early June 2015 C P R/T from England sailing in the North Sea.

 

We were in one of the window suites and as soon as we got into the North Sea we had acute vibrations & screaming/grating/banging sounds; so much so that engineering staff even went to the deck above to see if the slot machines directly above us had come loose.

 

This lasted 24/7 for almost 5 days of our 7 day cruise.We had a full ship so could not be moved but did get some compensation. The front desk finally told us they thought it it was the stabilizers...but we are long time cruisers (40+ years) and have never experienced such a situation....noise too loud to carry on a conversation and things flying off tables and shelves to say nothing about lack of sleep..

 

My hope is this is limited to the Caribbean Princess i.e. maybe part of the above issue.

That Window Suite was the best cabin set up we have ever had and we mostly sail in suites. We have been fearful of trying one on another sister ship but might if it is solely on the C P. and part of this problem.

We were in F305 on the last east bound TA and had the same creaking etc during some rough seas. It only lasted 1 or 2 nights but it was very apparent. I've been in these WS before so I kinda knew what to expect. It does keep you awake if you are a light sleeper.

On our last cruise - CB TA - we did receive the grocery store type in our suite. We asked about the suite bags and steward said they are no longer giving the cloth suite bags and suite passengers get the grocery type; regular cabins do not get them at all. Go figure!!!

Just off the Regal. Because we were in a full suite we were eligible for Club Class dining. One good thing was we didn't have to wait to be seated. That was virtually the only difference we saw between Club Class and Anytime dining. If there were any special presentations or dishes offered, we were not made aware of them.

 

 

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We had a similar experience on CB in April. We were also in a full suite.

We were in a full suite in April on the Caribbean Princess. Club class dining was a small area of the mid ship dining room on deck 6 on the starboard side. Unfortunately we were never made aware that full suite passengers were eligible for cc dining until 2 days before the end of the cruise. It appears that Club class works under an "anytime dining" schedule but I suspect you wouldn't have a problem waiting for a table as it looked liked they have approx. 10-15 cc tables.

Why wasn't this addressed/corrected during recent dry dock? One poster on the roll call suggested there is another week of "off line" in late October for this ship.

 

So unsettling. I would not want to traverse the Atlantic in Sept without a 4th gear. With final payment next week, i think a lot of folks might let this one pass by. Esp for just $100 OBC. I feel badly for those pax, it's a tough decision and precious little time to make it.

My final payment for just the TA portion is due on July 9th. The more I think about it we would have to change a lot of reservations if we cancel this or move to another crossing. There is a good chance we will just grin and bear it. But I certainly wouldn't say I'm looking forward to this cruise.

Maybe someone on board now can find out more? At a Meet the Crew-type event? Won't the ship have to do a TA to get from the Caribbean to Europe before September?

The ship is already in Europe doing British Isles since April. I don't know why they couldn't have taken care of these mechanical/technical issues during the 2 wk dry dock prior to the TA in April??? That's why I believe Princess is lying about the reason for changing itinerary. Doesn't pass the smell test.

Thanks for the comments.

 

Steak has been off the always available for a long time.

Thats pretty bad taking up part of the HC for a pay area now.

Its already limited with 500 extra passengers from Riviera deck.

Steamers with no lobster/crab, pretty pathetic IMO.

 

Not sure who is making the new design change and food venue decisions at Princess but it sounds like the same people are still there from the Island Princess renovation disaster. :rolleyes:

They seem to be in no man's land on all the changes/failures being made over the last year or 2.

I was also on this TA and thought the changes to Horizon court area were horrible IMO. Although they've made some more comfortable seating, it has taken up more seating space to do so. We were in a suite so we didn't have to fight the crowds at breakfast or lunch so much but ended up there for dinner couple of times. Very crowded on this particular formal night and almost impossible to get a table. What made it worse for me was that the food was really bad, especially at lunch. I only came away with some cheese cubes or tuna salad.

I think overall the food on Princess has really deteriorated over the past two years or so but I now cruise for transportation more than the cruise experience. We did speak with the customer service manager several times while on board for various issues which were resolved more or less.

I have also experienced trouble with Princess website. Not able to look at reservations for my cruise or look up new cruises, very frustrating. It's been going on for three days. Called Princess and said its my computer, but I have three computers and same problem on all three. Called internet provider and will see what happens on Wed. Princess also told me they do not have an IT dept, now I am angry. Hope it get fixed soon.

Yes, I am still having the same problems as OP. I have both Mac & PC laptops and the same issues across the different platforms. I wish I knew who to call at Princess as I have cruises coming up and need to get in my cruise personalizer. This is crazy!!!!!!

I, too, been having problems since Tuesday using Safari on my macbook, iPad and iPhone. I called Princess and the customer service rep contacted IT - apparently they said that they have had no other complaints and it must be my computer. They suggested I download Chrome - which I really don't want to do.

 

I'm having a whole host of issues with the site - it's difficult to log in (although possible), impossible to prepay gratuities or pre order anything from Cellars and am unable to do any mock bookings.

 

It's been really frustrating - I even sent an e-mail to customer care hoping that they forward it to their IT department.

I am having same issues with my MacBook and unable to log in or do much of anything. I will try my Windows based machines but not my fav's. Very frustrating.