Enjoyable vacation on Caribbean Princes (but last with Princess)

I'm not sure of the OP's letter to Princess that elicited such a poor response. What I've found works is that Princess responds better when you suggest what would make you happy. For instance, the problem with the excursion in the canal should have been dealt with onboard the ship with the excursions desk. Speaking with a head waiter or the maître d' about the unacceptable wait times can get you better service on subsequent nights. We have never eaten in the anytime dining rooms. We like late seating. The same thing with shows: we don't have a problem getting a seat for the late show in the theater.

 

Do you want some onboard credit for the next cruise? Do you want a free dinner in a specialty restaurant? Etc. Listing a long bevy of complaints without saying what would make it better for you doesn't get you much.

Your points are perhaps valid but I am not sure practical here. As stated I waited in line at the Excursion desk to get flawed info on our excursion and it really made no sense to me to stand in line again and complain about seating on our excursion.

Same thing with dining, I am sure the maitre d was well aware that passengers were waiting extended periods for dining. Our first breakfast sandwich came cold, we tried again with same result so we just gave up on room service breakfast.

I spoke to the Sanctuary manager about the spa pool situation and he shrugged his shoulders and said a lot of people were upset. This did not get the pool operable. If I would have registered direct complaints on every issue.....well I would have spent a great deal of my time standing in line complaining

My wife and I were not looking for things to be unhappy about- we wanted to go with the flow and make the best of things ie. keep in a positive state of mind to enjoy our vacation. There are always a few things that are unsatisfactory on any cruise. The problem here is the multitude of items.

After the cruise we wanted to respond to the cruise line (and report to CC) regarding our overall disappointment with many items. Towards the end of the call from Customer Relations (I assume it was generated by my second letter to Ms, Black) I actually raised the fact that we had an upcoming cruise booked and was surprised they did not at least offer a token OBC or something to make me reconsider Princess. Her response was a vague 'we can't do that'.

So in hindsight I believe I handled this in the most professional and stress free way. I wrote an extended letter immediately after my cruise. When I did not receive a response in ten days I sent it to the attn of a customer relations manager and received the (form letter by voice) follow up call three days later.

I will relate a note on good customer service that I shared with Ms. Black (not certain she will actually read it). I am a frequent Southwest flier and on one occassion the plane from a flight I was checked in for was diverted last minute to another flight causing a delay for me. This was particularly unfortunate since I had an anniversary dinner that night. I complained to Southwest and I was pretty upset. The response was unexpected and immediate. The customer service person wrote a very lengthy description of what happened, why the plane was diverted, etc, etc,

She clearly took a great deal of time researching and composing this response so that I might better understand the airline's thought process. The effort taken completely diffused my anger and I wound up writing a complimentary letter to Southwest. They had taken my complaint seriously, had validated it, were understanding but also wanted me to know why this happened.

In short, we were not there to pander for freebies on our vacation. Our simple expectation is to be valued and respected as customers.

Chisoxfan, thanks for the review. My wife and I had a very similar experience on the Royal over the new year. We've cruised Princess once a year for the past 8 years and had some fabulous cruises (Alaska, Europe, South America). Overall this last cruise was good but not great. I agree with a previous poster that one bad cruise does not make a make for a bad cruise line but we have seen a steady decline over the last three cruises. Anytime dining has become a source of irritation. We also had to wait for a table, only to be seated near several empty tables. Some of which remained empty the entire time we were in the dining room. Although, overall, the food was good, there seemed to be fewer choices. I too ate more fettuccine alfredo and caesar salads that I have on other cruises. Tried the Crown Grill for the first time. Service was great, the steak was great, the lobster tail was mediocre at best.

Not a horrible cruise but not great either.

Bottom line? We also cancelled an upcoming cruise (2019 Australia) and have decided to try other cruise lines. We're not necessarily done with Princess but they are no longer our exclusive line.

Chisoxfan, thanks for the review. My wife and I had a very similar experience on the Royal over the new year. We've cruised Princess once a year for the past 8 years and had some fabulous cruises (Alaska, Europe, South America). Overall this last cruise was good but not great. I agree with a previous poster that one bad cruise does not make a make for a bad cruise line but we have seen a steady decline over the last three cruises. Anytime dining has become a source of irritation. We also had to wait for a table, only to be seated near several empty tables. Some of which remained empty the entire time we were in the dining room. Although, overall, the food was good, there seemed to be fewer choices. I too ate more fettuccine alfredo and caesar salads that I have on other cruises. Tried the Crown Grill for the first time. Service was great, the steak was great, the lobster tail was mediocre at best.

 

Not a horrible cruise but not great either.

 

Bottom line? We also cancelled an upcoming cruise (2019 Australia) and have decided to try other cruise lines. We're not necessarily done with Princess but they are no longer our exclusive line.

Thanks for your comments. 'Not horrible but not great' sums things up nicely. The fact that this was your sentiment after a cruise on one of their newest ships reinforces to us that perhaps the decline goes beyond certain vessels. I also had the lobster tail in Crown (ate there twice) and I would agree it was nasty.

Bottom line for us was if Princess shared concern in any way we would have been open to trying one of their newer ships.

I just received another call from Princess Customer Service from the same individual who 'inflamed' me earlier (when I expressed dissatisfaction with an initial call I received I would have thought they might have tried to have someone else call). It was the same drill. 'We reported your concerns to management'. and we are sorry we did not meet your expectations. I said this does not address directly the disappointment on our cruise and that I don't need to waste my time on platitudes. A direct response to our concerns would be a nice way to proceed.She asked what I wanted or what they could do. I indicated as before that I had not yet cancelled an upcoming Royal cruise and she had already told me there was nothing they could offer on our last call. She insisted I advise what I 'wanted'. I suggested she was in customer service and no doubt dealt with this on a daily basis. She pushed the issue and I suggested the only thing I could see to keep my interest was a credit on our booked cruise. I reminded her I was not pandering for anything and my opinion of Princess was lessening as this 'dance' went on.

She said she would give me a bottle of wine and a specialty dinner on my next cruise!

Princess has really stepped up their game...not.

There were several comments that did not register with me. I mentioned how I heard no response for ten days and she said 'it usually takes 2-3 weeks'. She said she couldn't guarantee I would not have waits for dining on the Royal, etc.

Overall the response from Princess was worse than none at all IMHO.

We are moving on (hopefully to a better place). While I retain some feeling that the Royal might offer a better experience I can't bear the thought of cruising on her and having the same issues ie. fooled you once. etc.

We booked on MSC Yacht Club which sounds interesting. A suite with dedicated pools, restaurants and drinks will be close to what we would pay for a Royal balcony and the Sanctuary.

I am more frustrated with the Princess 'customer service' model than I was with the cruise.

Thanks for the chance to vent and Happy Cruising for the Princess followers.

Thanks for your input since you were on the same cruise and shared some of the same concerns.

I consider myself a savvy cruiser but guess I have not focused on the reservation 'thing', I keep reading about (not only on Princess) people with anytime who reserve tables at a certain time for the whole cruise. Maybe we will need to be more aggressive regarding this on future cruises. After our wait on the first evening we called down for reservations but were always told none were available. We always secured a table for two with mixed quality of location. Despite my 'complaining' we try to be undemanding as far as table is concerned figuring some days will be good and some not so good. Breakfast was one meal we did enjoy to be fair although our dining room breakfasts were multiplied because of what we felt was poor room service.

 

I wish we would have tried Steamers as it looked like a good option although seemed to just be a venue 'tacked on' to the buffet.

 

I agree that any of these complaints isolated could be expected on most cruises. Our disappointment was on how many things seemed to be off for us.

If you ever decide to cruise Princess again, I suggest booking a CC mini-suite. That is what we do now and all your comments about AD are moot. CC Dining is true anytime dining and I like that.

Pooh

Excellent and interesting review, thanks.

If you ever decide to cruise Princess again, I suggest booking a CC mini-suite. That is what we do now and all your comments about AD are moot. CC Dining is true anytime dining and I like that.

 

Pooh

Hello and thanks. Ironically, I had just seen a post regarding wait times for CC Dining. The poster was complaining he was not seated promptly. We did not see any lines for CC dining but obviously were not that attuned to it. We used to book mini suites and the CC concept was interesting but the prices we saw seemed extravagant for the perks offered (I know pricing is a moving target). We saw the CC dining area and I understand they add some extra dishes but at the end of the day it seems crazy to pay a large premium just to be seated in a timely fashion (hopefully).

I feel it instructive/fair to at least complete this saga.

I received a call from a different customer service agent last week who offered me a mini suite upgrade on the booked (I had not had cancelled yet as had recently completed MSC booking) Royal cruise. I thanked them (I was travelling and at dinner) but said I was not certain this would be of interest at this time. They said 'fine' and indicated they had contacted my travel agent and this upgrade option is there if I care to use it.

When I returned from travel my interest was piqued and called my agent to see what the deal was. They said the cruise line had transferred my cabin to a standard mini suite. I know this will come off as if I am a chronic malcontent but I was not informed of this change and had a 'no upgrade' selected on my booking. When I originally booked I was intrigued by the large balcony 'front facing' cabins. I initially did a fair amount of research on these and they sounded kind of neat. My initial cabin was now gone. I asked my agent if the only remaining front facing mini suite was available and after contacting Princess found that this was a CC mini so not available to me. (I have to confess I could have been bought if this cabin was offered as an upgrade I would have likely stayed with Princess to try CC which had not appealed to me because of the cost). I know this is a lot of work and complaining about a cruise I had essentially decided to cancel.

That said, I just felt it odd things would be handled like this. I also wanted to report fairly about Princess and their offer. If it would have come early on with apologies I would have been impressed with it and reported it (and likely continued with the cruise). After the initial run around I had actively looked at options for next winter. We like X but have been on most of their ships and the preferred Aqua Class was pricey on the cruise dates we searched. Really wanted to book a HAL newer ship also but no drink package included offers to date.

Remembered MSC and their Yacht Club which we looked at the previous year but seemed to sell out quickly. Anyway we are set up with a YC suite on brand new mega ship with dedicated restaurant, lounge and pool with outdoor dining. Drinks are free including in the suite mini bar. MSC does't get great reviews but the YC does. As reported earlier we will pay approx the same for this as our booked balcony and one week at the Sanctuary.

So anyway, in the interest of telling 'the rest of the story' as Paul Harvey used to say I thought I would post this closing episode. Thanks for your kind indulgence in allowing me to share my concerns and rants. I do not expect everyone (or maybe anyone ) to be sympathetic to my views but I do believe that the CC boards are a wonderful tool of discovery and that every post has nuggets of enlightenment for some cruisers.

Apologies if this was already addressed:

Is using the sink at the Buffet mandatory? I ask because I would assume it would cause a long queue.

I

I am more frustrated with the Princess 'customer service' model than I was with the cruise.

Thanks for the chance to vent and Happy Cruising for the Princess followers.

We agree, have four Princess cruises booked, two with family, but our experience on previous sailings and with Princess Customer Service has been poor. We will complete our booked sailings and then try other lines. We are Elite but the packages you can now get with other lines are comparable. I feel that due to the Medallion fiasco passengers wlll continue to experience “nickel and diming” and ridiculous cutbacks. The weird thing is that we recently sailed Carnival and they have upgraded their services, staff was excellent. No I won’t let the door hit me because if Princess offers a great itinerary I’ll try them again. You should be allowed to vent and your review and comments were right on:). Safe and Happy travels

Apologies if this was already addressed:

 

Is using the sink at the Buffet mandatory? I ask because I would assume it would cause a long queue.

We did not find it mandatory and it did not seemed heavily used. I know some applaud this but I was just so taken aback when I turned into the buffet and thought I had made a wrong turn into a janitor area. I could be wrong but I believe these sinks did allow the line to eliminate the customary dispenser people.

We agree, have four Princess cruises booked, two with family, but our experience on previous sailings and with Princess Customer Service has been poor. We will complete our booked sailings and then try other lines. We are Elite but the packages you can now get with other lines are comparable. I feel that due to the Medallion fiasco passengers wlll continue to experience “nickel and diming” and ridiculous cutbacks. The weird thing is that we recently sailed Carnival and they have upgraded their services, staff was excellent. No I won’t let the door hit me because if Princess offers a great itinerary I’ll try them again. You should be allowed to vent and your review and comments were right on:). Safe and Happy travels

Thank you and same wishes to you in your future cruising. Fully agree that the cruise market is evolving and the old stereotypes need to be constantly reevaluated . We will be most interested to see how the MSC Yacht Club product shapes up.