Is Princess cruise a mistake?

[rti]

There are 6 of us that have booked a 16 day Asia Cruise for next April on the Diamond Princess. Is this a mistake? The reviews I have been reading sound like Princess has gone "down hill". The cruise is too expensive to just have an "OK" cruise. Not sure on what to do. It's not too late for us to all cancel and book with another cruiseline! We have cruised with Princess 5 other times, but not for two years.:confused:

[flamomo]

Not sure where you are getting the idea that Princess has "gone downhill". If you are reading posts made by disgruntled cruisers that were, for some reason, dissatisfied with something about their cruise, and made blanket statements implying that Princess was a bad or faltering cruiseline, your may be assuming too much.

Princess still offers great itineraries, beautiful ships, great service, good food, etc., just like they have in the past. I've been on 9 Princess cruises, the most recent in March of this year, and feel that everything was as enjoyable and "up to snuff" on that cruise as it was on the previous eight. If it was not, we certainly would not have another cruise booked on the Diamond Princess in January 2011.

[paul929207]

We spend 96 days on Princess ships last year and loved all but three. We hated getting off at the end of each of the three cruises. :)

[AFT_LOVER]

on all of our 31 cruises, 11 on Princess and we are last off each cruise as they drag me kicking & screaming to the taxi.

 

When I write a review of a cruise there are always many who disagree with me on excursions, food on the ship, the staff and a few were terrible. A few are still posting here today and many new folks hate them. So it is time for all to post nicely and stop cutting down people. We are a great family who enjoy cruising.

 

 

 

We spend 96 days on Princess ships last year and loved all but three. We hated getting off at the end of each of the three cruises. :)

[WineCountryCruiser]

There are 6 of us that have booked a 16 day Asia Cruise for next April on the Diamond Princess. Is this a mistake? The reviews I have been reading sound like Princess has gone "down hill". The cruise is too expensive to just have an "OK" cruise. Not sure on what to do. It's not too late for us to all cancel and book with another cruiseline! We have cruised with Princess 5 other times, but not for two years.:confused:

 

My wife and I did the 23-day Beijing to Vancouver cruise on the Diamond last May and loved it. The Asian ports were fabulous and we very much enjoyed the Diamond -- service was great and the ship was well kept. We've cruised with Princess since 2004 and any changes we've seen have been minor.

 

I presume that you're sailing the Beijing-Bangkok itinerary. If so, the only issue that I heard about from those on our cruise who were doing B2B was the weather -- hot and sticky.

 

There are never any guarantees, even with cruising, but I'd keep that booking!:)

 

Craig

[blondietoo]

we did the 16 day Asia cruise on the Diamond in October/November 2008.....loved it !!! Ship was lovely and a great itinerary.

[WeBeGone]

You do realize that you're asking this question of people who LOVE Princess? :D

 

Not a single one of us will tell you you've made a mistake. Princess is wonderful and you will have a great cruise.

[Cruising Auntie]

We just came off a ten day first time on Princess Cruise. (04/09 - 04/19) Have cruised on three other lines. By far Princess has been our best. Everything from the Service, Food, and Staff. Couldn't believe the food on the buffett was as good as in the Dining Room. If you are a smoker, make sure you take enough to last you till you get to first port. You cant buy a carton on the ship to take to your cabin. but you can buy cartons in port and bring on board. I bought four credits for future cruises while on board. And I always use a TA. :cool:

[woodofpine]

If you know the cruise line, you should be happy.

 

The loudest most noteworthy posts on any forum are those of the miserable.

 

Has Princess 'gone downhill' (?) probably only as much as the industry as a whole which WE ALL KNOW has gone downhill... that's why its been the fastest growing sector of the vacation industry...:D

[Coracii]

Not a mistake at all in my opinion. We've been on the Diamond three times in the last 3 years and will be back again for the Australia/New Zealand Cruise in January.

[paul929207]

There are 6 of us that have booked a 16 day Asia Cruise for next April on the Diamond Princess. Is this a mistake? The reviews I have been reading sound like Princess has gone "down hill". The cruise is too expensive to just have an "OK" cruise. Not sure on what to do. It's not too late for us to all cancel and book with another cruiseline! We have cruised with Princess 5 other times, but not for two years.:confused:

We may see you next April. We will be on the Ocean Princess from Shanghai to Bangkok to Rome. I don't know if we are in any ports together.

[vickie_bernie]

this is a Princess board so we may be a little biased -- I've sailed 18 times with Princess with four more cruises booked. Sure over time I have seen some cutbacks, like now juice is only avail in am in HC, have to pay for my latte in the dining room, costs for alternate restaurants, but this appears to be consistent accross the board with all cruise lines. But on that note I have noticed a lot of extras added to the cruising experience since I started sailing in 1990. International Cafe, food is free (minus gelato), anytime dining, bigger ships, cruise price has not really gone up that much, drink prices are very similar to cost of trendy restaurant, Platinum Elite perks....

 

I envy your booking and hope one day to do that exact voyage.

[freddie1974]

We took our first ever cruise last year after some thorough research to determine which cruiseline best suited us. We throughly enjoyed every second and are on the Grand in 29 days (almost time to start counting down the hours!). It is possible we would prefer another cruiseline but when we had absolutely no complaints at all on Princess, why risk it?

[sunsetbeachgal]

We continue to be very pleased with princess. If you spend any time on Trip Advisor (for hotel reveiws) you will also see that there can be alot of complainers. I, for one, would rather be "nickel and dimed" so some say, and pay for what I want. And between our last cruise and the one I just took in March on the Crown, two more things were included free of charge-the sushi in Vines and the soft serve ice cream. I think Princess is an excellent value and a quality product!

[rti]

After reading all of your posts, I feel a lot better! I will continue on with the research on what to do at the different ports! Any suggestions would be great! Thank you again..

[kywildcatfanone]

No vacation is perfect, and there are always things that might not be as you would like, but regardless, we have always had a great time on our cruises. A cruise is what you make of it.

 

Mike

[pamesacruisin]

We sailed on the Diamond Princess in Feb. 2009. Previously we had been on 2 NCL cruises. There was just no comparison.....we were awestruck with the Diamond Princess. What a gorgeious ship! We loved everything about her, staff, service, shows, food, even the buffet! Had an inside cabin and even though I prefer a balcony for the fresh air, found the cabin to be roomy and a place for everything. Can hardly wait until our next Princess cruise in September!

[Toto2Kansas]

All I can say is that we have sailed 40 cruises, and if Princess is a mistake, we have made 24 mistakes in the past. :) In other words, no mistake in my opinion. ;)

[chipmaster]

We sailed princess Alaksa, Med, and will do it again for Alaska this summer. Reviews are so much about the reviewer's expectation versus the actual experience. Were they expecting a big ship experience, a premium line experience, private tour experience etc. etc.

 

FWIW I find Princess to be dead on a great value and good experience for what I pay. I know what the good and bad of big ships are. For Asian cruise as long as you know the ship, age, amenities etc. and that is what you want then read reviews with that prospective.

 

While in Thailand at the Grande Palace in Bangkok we ran into a group on a Princess tour, could tell from a mile away with the little princess logo flag guide and 60 odd people in tow. I struck a converstation with a few couples from Australia. One loved their cruise, another hated, it was intereting to listen to the one that hated it. IMHO everything he complained about was things he should have known he was getting.

 

Good luck planning!

 

There are 6 of us that have booked a 16 day Asia Cruise for next April on the Diamond Princess. Is this a mistake? The reviews I have been reading sound like Princess has gone "down hill". The cruise is too expensive to just have an "OK" cruise. Not sure on what to do. It's not too late for us to all cancel and book with another cruiseline! We have cruised with Princess 5 other times, but not for two years.:confused:

[sabookkeeper]

There are 6 of us that have booked a 16 day Asia Cruise for next April on the Diamond Princess. Is this a mistake? The reviews I have been reading sound like Princess has gone "down hill". The cruise is too expensive to just have an "OK" cruise. Not sure on what to do. It's not too late for us to all cancel and book with another cruiseline! We have cruised with Princess 5 other times, but not for two years.:confused:

I have never been on the Diamond, but we have cruised with Princess for the last 3 years. The ships were great, service was great and so was the food. We have already booked our Princess cruise in February 2011. I'm sure you will enjoy sailing on Princess.

 

Darlene

[BalconyGal]

i think you would be hard pressed to find people on the princess board telling you to cancel. However if you really don't want to go I would be happy to take your place. :D

[Woobstr112G]

We've done our last three cruises on princess. While there were a few glitches overall our experiences were outstanding. I wouldn't hesitate choosing princess again. In fact we've got another one booked for Oct of 2011. Would have had one for 2010, but not enough $$$$ available.

 

All cruise lines have had to change things due to prevailing economic conditions. Overall, it's all about personal choice.....:):):)

 

Bob

[emmieepoo]

Cancel and go with another cruise line! Read my post about 'don't book with princess" Now I find out with the insurance i bought I only get $400 back from a $3700 cruise! Beware!

[Toto2Kansas]

Cancel and go with another cruise line! Read my post about 'don't book with princess" Now I find out with the insurance i bought I only get $400 back from a $3700 cruise! Beware!

 

I would bet that extra for air deviation doesn't sound like much to you now that you will end up loosing over $3000 when all is said and done. Also, you might consider looking into the insurance that will pay you 100% instead of the 75% for the next cruise, no matter which line you book with. You honestly would have not had any better luck under these same circumstances with ANY of the other cruise lines, it isn't just Princess that handles these situations this way.

Again, sorry you had problems, but the responses to you on your BEWARE thread I think explains in full that Princess has absolutely no control over flights, they are just booking them as a courtesy to passengers. They can not hold up 3000 passengers waiting to sail because two passengers had mechanical problems on their flight. I do hope your next cruise, again, on whatever line you choose, goes a lot smoother for you. Good Luck!

[Clutterlady]

Cancel and go with another cruise line! Read my post about 'don't book with princess" Now I find out with the insurance i bought I only get $400 back from a $3700 cruise! Beware!

 

No matter what thread you move to, you're going to get the same response.....it's an airline problem. No matter which cruise line you sail with, you could have the same problem! Honestly sorry you had to go through this, but your ranting is not going to change anything on this thread or any other.