Are Princess beds that bad??

[kooljamming]

I would like to be brutally honest and say it was too hard. I like to have a bit more cushion between the bed and my bones. However that would be too much like, to oppose, deny, or take a pessimistic or negative view of something. So my body was better able to appreciate the foundation the bed laid after adding the egg crate. After a few glasses of wine, I really didn't feel much after hitting the floor, ooops I meant the bed:D

 

Ha, worse scenario case get the egg crate and you'll be fine!

 

Happy Cruising!

[Putterdude]

We just have an eggcrate on them and never give the bed a second thought.:)

[Cruiseorr]

We just returned from our first Princess cruise and found the mattress too firm for our comfort. We requested an egg crate, which was set up promptly, and slept comfortably after that. (We did tip our room attendant for this extra service, and he took very good care of us the entire week).

We have never had this issue with Celebrity or Holland America, so this was our first time ever to request an egg crate.

That being said, we enjoyed our cruise completely, and having a firm mattress or a soft one is not a deal breaker for us.

[PhoneGoddess]

I have to agree, they are incredibly hard! If you have any hip, knee, muscle or joint pain, you will want an eggcrate or three or four....:D I will say however, they're not THAT bad. /quote]

 

I suffer from severe joint and muscle pain and have never had a problem with the bed on any of my Princess cruises. I always sleep like a baby. :)

[billco]

Better than the beds I slept on when I was in the Navy. So is the food.

[sillysailor 1955]

We just returned from our first Princess cruise and found the mattress too firm for our comfort. We requested an egg crate, which was set up promptly, and slept comfortably after that. (We did tip our room attendant for this extra service, and he took very good care of us the entire week).

We have never had this issue with Celebrity or Holland America, so this was our first time ever to request an egg crate.

That being said, we enjoyed our cruise completely, and having a firm mattress or a soft one is not a deal breaker for us.

 

My mom also likes a "softer" bed and the egg crate does the trick for her as well. I also found the mattresses very firm on HAL cruises

[grandmato4]

All depends on what you're used to and what type of mattress you prefer. We find them a bit too hard for what we would prefer. An eggcrate has helped and we don't have a huge problem and after a night or two we tend to adjust better but do feel that the only good thing about going home after a Princess cruise is getting to sleep in our comfortable bed again!;):)

[gertz]

Never had a problem. Just got off Island beds fine.

Jack

[phillipahain]

Mostly the beds are fine and an eggcrate does soften them if you cant tolerate a firm bed which is of course really the best thing for back support

 

However on the Grand this summer we had beds that had clearly been wrecked by "Heavies " and it was an uphill struggle getting them changed because if a mattress has a dip or sags thats when i very fast develop a back problem ............otherwise i never experience a twinge

[lindy2]

We are on the Golden now and the beds are the worst in 20+ cruises. The beds sag in the middle so much that it is visible through the duvet and bedspread. I am going to post a picture when we get home. Other than that t he cruise has been wonderful.

[Lemonslikethefruit]

We are in the process of booking our 2nd Princess cruise for November on the Caribbean Princess. Our last Princess cruise was about 10 years ago on the Sea Princess. Since then, we've sailed twice with Carnival and twice with RCCL. We've never had a problem with the beds on Carnival or RCCL; in fact Carnival has a very nice bedding system with down comforter, duvets, etc. I cannot remember much about the Princess bed but I am a bit concerned with all the posts I see about requesting egg crates. Egg crates seems to be very old-fashioned and are they even sanitary?? :eek: Yikes! Anyone out there have an update on how the Princess beds are these days, esp. on the Caribbean Princess? TIA!!

 

 

We are taking our 3rd Princess Cruise in 29 days and both other cruises we had no problem whatsoever with the beds. In fact, we had 3 cabins reserved and none of us had bed complaints. I slept like a baby; must have been that fresh sea air.

[ginagirl]

After countless cruises on Princess, HAL, Celebrity, Carnival and RCl, I have NEVER had a problem until we did the 21 day Panama cruise on the Island Princess last year. OMG, by the second day, I was in agony from the horrible night's sleep in the unbearably hard bed. By that time, there were no more egg crates available; and I pleaded with our steward to place several duvets on the bed to help cushion the "tabletop" mattress. It did help somewhat for the 3 weeks, but I wouldn't be lying in saying that was one cruise I couldn't wait to see end. Just came off Carnival's newest ship, the Splendor, and the bedding was better than any recent bedding I have been experiencing on Princess. We did the Ruby's transatlantic in April, and the bed in our mini wan't that comfortable at all. We do the Golden next month; and I already requested an egg crate and am praying that my request is honored.

[Toto2Kansas]

ginagirl, we ran into the same thing last January for 14 nights. After the second night we were in pure agony from the concrete slab we had been sleeping on (even with an egg crate, as it was one of the new egg crates that is very very thin). That is why for this next cruise, we will take care of the problem ourselves if needed. 21 days is far too long to not have a comfortable place to sleep at night. :) I know right where you are coming from on this!

[Travelrd]

i've been on two princess cruises and the beds are awful! I was on the star right after drydock and the new beds are likek concrete. i did have two egg crates and it was bearable but not comfortable. The golden was just plain hard and uncomfortable before the drydock and i'm sure they are same after too.

 

now, hal in contrast, has the most fabulous beds! the mattresses are fabulous and the bed linens are fabulous too. their beds are so comfortable i feel like i'm sleeping on a cloud.

 

thanks

[cigal]

I sleep on a really soft mattress at home.....adjustable waterbed mattress with a pillow top over the waterbed........I Lurv it!!!:):)

DH's side of the bed has more water in his mattress and is firmer, so the dual mattresses are a win-win for us.:)

 

However, I find many hotel mattresses to be too firm and much less comfortable for me even though DH loves them. When we took a Princess cruise I was concerned, based on what I read here. I never got around to ordering an egg crate in advance, so I was surprised to discover that the best sleep I ever had was on the Coral Princess.

 

Maybe it is all about being on vacation, the sea air, and the gentle rocking motion..........:)

[CanuckCurlers]

We were a group of 10 on the CB in July. Three couples were fine with their beds and two couples had morning back aches. Whether it was the beds, the bodies or the cabins that differed is anybody's guess. The CB was retrofitted in the spring and we were told that the bed in our cabin was 4 years old so having time in drydock does not mean new mattresses.

[rdsqrl]

I sailed on several Princess cruises before I ever read this board thoroughly enough to know about mattress issues. It wasn't until having read 8 million posts about the firm beds that I even paid attention on my next sailing and noticed that yes, they were on the hard side. So I guess what I'm saying is, once you even posed the question by starting the thread, it was too late for you. You're now doomed: expectation will become reality. The best thing for you at this point is to have several glasses of wine before bed so that you're out like a light before you have time to register the sheer torture you're being forced to endure.

[stellalimelight]

Sorry guys, but I have to take the opposite stand on this one. I have never in my life tried to sleep on a bed that firm (read HARD). Last cruise we had a brand new mattress in our suite, we ended up with three egg crate toppers to make it tolerable.

Next cruise, we are hitting the first port in Hawaii and purchasing a memory foam topper if the beds on the Pacific are as firm as the one we had on the Grand. We are giving it a one night try before we decide though. ;)

 

 

It is funny how objective we are all in this matter. I have a tempurpedic mattress at home and I have absolutely no problems with the beds. I have been on the Diamond, Golden and Island and slept very well in each ship.

[Toto2Kansas]

It is funny how objective we are all in this matter. I have a tempurpedic mattress at home and I have absolutely no problems with the beds. I have been on the Diamond, Golden and Island and slept very well in each ship.

 

We have actually only had serious problems in a mini suite on the Star and Golden and a full suite on the Grand. All of those staterooms had just received a brand new mattress before we arrived (we were told by the room steward), the Grand was by far the very worst. Ships before that, the mattress wasn't the greatest, but those last three were intolerable.

So, I am wondering if those of us who actually had the brand new ones are where the problem seems to be? And therefore the inconsistancy.

Still not taking any chances if the Pacific's are like the Grand, as said, I will give it a one night try first. ;)

[Shoobee2]

Sorry guys, but I have to take the opposite stand on this one. I have never in my life tried to sleep on a bed that firm (read HARD). Last cruise we had a brand new mattress in our suite, we ended up with three egg crate toppers to make it tolerable.

Next cruise, we are hitting the first port in Hawaii and purchasing a memory foam topper if the beds on the Pacific are as firm as the one we had on the Grand. We are giving it a one night try before we decide though. ;)

 

I was on the Pacific Princess this summer and found the beds to be very hard. It was my only complaint about the whole ship and I had a great time, but didn't sleep very well. I sleep on a memory foam topper at home though, so I am used to a much softer bed.

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks, that is exactly what I was told when Pia did her live from. We have plans to head into a local store in Hawaii to make our first purchase of a memory foam topper if we find our suite has the same type of bed. It won't surprise me, and the trip is already planned. Maybe if we have to make the purchase, I can find another CC member on the following sailing that could benefit from it (as we will be leaving it behind, too heavy to bring back from Tahiti). And Thanks for the warning, we also have a memory foam at home, and that is what we are used to. ;)

[legalmaze]

I sailed on several Princess cruises before I ever read this board thoroughly enough to know about mattress issues. It wasn't until having read 8 million posts about the firm beds that I even paid attention on my next sailing and noticed that yes, they were on the hard side. So I guess what I'm saying is, once you even posed the question by starting the thread, it was too late for you. You're now doomed: expectation will become reality. The best thing for you at this point is to have several glasses of wine before bed so that you're out like a light before you have time to register the sheer torture you're being forced to endure.

 

I agree, but might add the following:

 

1) A few cocktails before dinner...

2) A few glasses of wine during dinner...

3) A few post dinner cocktails...

 

You'll sleep fine, regardless of the mattress.

 

Now, for those of you that don't partake, an AmbienCR before bedtime will do the trick. The results are, simply, not arguable.

 

Rick

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

We have actually only had serious problems in a mini suite on the Star and Golden and a full suite on the Grand. All of those staterooms had just received a brand new mattress before we arrived (we were told by the room steward), the Grand was by far the very worst. Ships before that, the mattress wasn't the greatest, but those last three were intolerable.

So, I am wondering if those of us who actually had the brand new ones are where the problem seems to be? And therefore the inconsistancy.

Still not taking any chances if the Pacific's are like the Grand, as said, I will give it a one night try first. ;)

 

I think you may have nailed it there, Toto! That, along with personal preference.

 

We found the beds on the Ruby to be far too firm for our liking, and these will be fairly new as the ship is fairly new.

 

My DH broke his back several years ago and had numerous operations, so you could say that he suffers from a bad back. Whilst firm beds are supportive and required for him, rock hard ones aren't!! This is what we found on the Ruby - they were way too firm for us. We requested an egg crate on the second morning but they had all been assigned already.

 

Whilst we did sleep, as we were usually so worn out by our hectic days and sea air etc, it was not comfortable.

 

This is one reason (though not the most important one) why we have chosen to sail on HAL for our second cruise :)

[Toto2Kansas]

I think you may have nailed it there, Toto! That, along with personal preference.

 

We found the beds on the Ruby to be far too firm for our liking, and these will be fairly new as the ship is fairly new.

 

My DH broke his back several years ago and had numerous operations, so you could say that he suffers from a bad back. Whilst firm beds are supportive and required for him, rock hard ones aren't!! This is what we found on the Ruby - they were way too firm for us. We requested an egg crate on the second morning but they had all been assigned already.

 

Whilst we did sleep, as we were usually so worn out by our hectic days and sea air etc, it was not comfortable.

 

This is one reason (though not the most important one) why we have chosen to sail on HAL for our second cruise :)

 

And the fact that this is normally the case (from what I have read on CC posted by many others), where there are no egg crate mattress pads left the second day on many ships, also makes me wonder why so many are requesting them if the beds aren't way too firm? Many are not forwarned and don't post on internet cruise message boards, so it isn't because they read the beds were too firm. Could it be that more of the passengers find the beds uncomfortable then those that find them acceptable? Guess we will never know for sure.:confused:

[ginagirl]

ginagirl, we ran into the same thing last January for 14 nights. After the second night we were in pure agony from the concrete slab we had been sleeping on (even with an egg crate, as it was one of the new egg crates that is very very thin). That is why for this next cruise, we will take care of the problem ourselves if needed. 21 days is far too long to not have a comfortable place to sleep at night. :) I know right where you are coming from on this!

It is so reassuring to read that you too have suffered on some of the Princess mattresses. And you are so right about the new eggcrates being no more than an inch thin and practically worthless. After reading this thread from all the lucky people who have had no problems with the bedding on Princess, I was beginning to think I am like the girl in the fairy tale who can feel the annoying little pea under tons of mattresses!!!:D To be honest, knowing that even a request for an eggcrate is only honored some of the time, I am dreading my 2 week Hawaii sailing on the Golden next month. I just might follow your lead and pick up a foam pad myself for the sailing. It's really a shame that we have to resort to this though. I personally would like to shoot the buyer for Princess who chose these new mattresses. Maybe he was a secret agent for Celebrity, trying to undermine Princess.:D BTW, Toto, have a simply great time on your South Pacific sailing!!!!! We did it last year and loved every minute of it. Wishing you smooth seas and days of sunshine.