Diminished Elite Benefits?

[AJs Grandpa]

A poster on another thread re the Royal reported:

 

There is no longer an elite set up, don't expect any Q tips. Cotton balls, lip balm, nail files, loofa scrub, and anything else they used to leave for us elites. They also no longer give us upgraded towels, and there are also no moe bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. There are shampoo and body gel dispensers in the showers, and they give tubes of them as well once but they do not replace them.

 

Does anyone know if that is fleet-wide? Or, perhaps unique to a particular voyage due to inventory issues?

[jollyjones]

I was on the Grand last week and the upgraded toiletries were given to me - don't understand 'upgraded towels', have never had them and have been elite for a while - but I'd be perfectly happy if Princess saved the money and dispensed with these fiddly little wastes of the cabin steward's time and my money, since I never use them, I bring what I choose to use with me. And don't forget that they are definitely not 'free', you're just not paying for them directly.

[flamomo]

I just had all the Elite "goodies" on my Pacific Princess cruise 3 weeks ago. They were already in the bathroom when I boarded.

 

I had read on CC that the Royal has the in-the-shower dispensers, so while you didn't get the little bottles, you were provided with shampoo and shower gel.

[Stevesan]

A poster on another thread re the Royal reported:

 

There is no longer an elite set up, don't expect any Q tips. Cotton balls, lip balm, nail files, loofa scrub, and anything else they used to leave for us elites. They also no longer give us upgraded towels, and there are also no moe bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. There are shampoo and body gel dispensers in the showers, and they give tubes of them as well once but they do not replace them.

 

Does anyone know if that is fleet-wide? Or, perhaps unique to a particular voyage due to inventory issues?

 

I won't miss the highlighted items or the "upgraded" towels, because I don't recall ever having them.

 

When you run out of items, tell your steward. He/she will gladly replace them.

 

However, Let me know when they start messing with the minibar setup. I trade that for coffee cards. Thats serious money.:eek:

[antsp]

We had to ask for lip balm on our August Ruby cruise, look forward 10 years whats Princess or cruising in general going to be like.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Antsp bought two light jackets a buoy and 30m of floating rope today,

 

do you think I will need to bring them with me on my next cruise,

 

Never seen up graded towels, some ships have had new fluffy ones others

 

have been a bit worn,

 

As to bits and bobs on the Royal we had all the bits in our cabin

 

including lip balm.

 

Other stuff was in little tubes.

 

yours Shogun

[whatcruiseisnext]

A poster on another thread re the Royal reported:

 

There is no longer an elite set up, don't expect any Q tips. Cotton balls, lip balm, nail files, loofa scrub, and anything else they used to leave for us elites. They also no longer give us upgraded towels, and there are also no moe bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. There are shampoo and body gel dispensers in the showers, and they give tubes of them as well once but they do not replace them.

 

Does anyone know if that is fleet-wide? Or, perhaps unique to a particular voyage due to inventory issues?

 

We sailed on the Royal in July in the Med. We had the Elite set up regarding the bathroom amenities and they were replensihed whenever we needed anything. We never had upgraded towels on any Princess cruise. It had been well documented that the Royal was going to have dispensers in the shower instead of the bottles. We personally like the "stuff" in the dispensers adn wish they would add them to all ships. There was also bar soap left for the sink and tubes of lotion that were also replenished as needed.

 

If you don't get something that you want or feel you should get....just ask.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The only items we've noticed have been eliminated are the slippers and the sewing kits. I do miss the sewing kits. The Qtips and cotton ball packs are a bit of a joke; one pack each for an entire cruise, and they contain- what?- 2 really flimsy Qtips each.

[AJs Grandpa]

 

 

 

As to bits and bobs on the Royal we had all the bits

 

Shogun--So sorry, I am not proficient in Scottish. Glad you got the "bits"...but what about they "bobs?". :)

 

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Our first Elite voyage is in December, and we want all the "free" stuff. (I keep reminding DW we have paid an awful lot for that "free" laundry she anticipates!:rolleyes:)

[notentirelynormal]

Well, I didn't know we had upgraded towels until I sailed with my brother. My brother checked in but didn't have any towels so he asked Stewart and was waiting. In the meantime he came and borrowed one of ours. When he returned it THEN I saw the difference. Ours were plush and fluffy, his were not. Who knew? :D

 

Most of the stuff the OP mentioned I don't use anyway so it was probably there just ignored by me. It really sounds like Stewart didn't realize they were Elite when he did the cabin.

[hpeabody]

This was my first cruise as "elite" I believe I DID receive all the new perks. I traded the little booze bottles for wine. I loved the chocolate dipped strawberries on formal nights. I did not really notice anything special about the towels. I definitely took advantage of the free laundry. My guess is there was an inventory issue on the OPs cruise.

[CruisinChris]

As previous poster mentioned, you might not be aware you're getting upgraded towels. The better towels have a long pattern woven in (think long white on white stripes) and are much plusher than the standard towels which are plain and quite thin. I always get the upgraded towels. If I didn't, I would definitely ask for them. The others are not pleasant.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[RNGALNG]

I am reading the same live that the OP is. Most of the responders there said they thought it was a steward thing. If you remember they also told us how they reported their non working toilet before getting off the ship in port and still nothing was done by the time they returned. They wanted to know if toilets were not being cleaned. So I will lean on the side of it being a steward problem and not that it has been taken away.

[waltd]

If there are truly upgraded towels how bad could the standard towels be on the Royal since the ship is new?

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

DW says we got slippers on the Royal but can not recall if we got sewing kit

This is a bit hit and miss depending on ship

 

Yours Shogun

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[Happy2cruise]

This was my first cruise as "elite" I believe I DID receive all the new perks. I traded the little booze bottles for wine. I loved the chocolate dipped strawberries on formal nights. I did not really notice anything special about the towels. I definitely took advantage of the free laundry. My guess is there was an inventory issue on the OPs cruise.

I was under the impression that you could not swap out the liquor for wine, is this something new? What kind of wine was offered? Thanks!

[cdngrl]

I've only gotten the sewing kit once and the slippers once. gel eye mask once also. and never all together on the same ship. i never use their cotton balls, q-tips. never had upgraded towels. its definitely hit and miss as to what you get. I do like the little sewing kits. i also think its a steward issue. i had one trip where i never had shampoo. he kept leaving lotion instead. friends from the roll call gave me some of their shampoo. i bring my own now.

[DrivesLikeMario]

As previous poster mentioned' date=' you might not be aware you're getting upgraded towels. The better towels have a long pattern woven in (think long white on white stripes) and are much plusher than the standard towels which are plain and quite thin. I always get the upgraded towels. If I didn't, I would definitely ask for them. The others are not pleasant.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app[/quote']

 

That's true. Until you compare them to the lesser models, you don't realize how nice those upgraded towels are. BIG difference.

[Putterdude]

Haven't seen the slippers in a long time and never seen upgraded towels but rest of the toiletries were there last month on the Ruby. I have found on our last few cruises that they are not quite as generous in replacing them but you only have to ask and new ones are there. Same with the sewing kits, my experience has been that the stewards have them on their carts, you only have to ask.

[pris993]

If you want something just ask. We were on the Grand last week. Asked for robes and slippers. Cabin Steward brought initially robes that were so shrunk no one could wear them... we requested new ones. No problem, they arrived.

[umbertsmum]

Hi All

 

DW says we got slippers on the Royal but can not recall if we got sewing kit

This is a bit hit and miss depending on ship

 

Yours Shogun

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

 

Like Shogun we got the eye mask, slippers, shower cap, lip balm etc.We didn't get the sewing kit but got everything else- I would politely ask the steward for them

[jackieo]

You don't need a sewing kit when you have duck tape! Works for everything.

[Astro Flyer]

A poster on another thread re the Royal reported:

 

There is no longer an elite set up, don't expect any Q tips. Cotton balls, lip balm, nail files, loofa scrub, and anything else they used to leave for us elites. They also no longer give us upgraded towels, and there are also no moe bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. There are shampoo and body gel dispensers in the showers, and they give tubes of them as well once but they do not replace them.

 

Does anyone know if that is fleet-wide? Or, perhaps unique to a particular voyage due to inventory issues?

I read the post you refered to & believe as others replied to her it was because her cabin steward didn't provide them. I don't recall her requesting them but if that's the situation when we board the Royal in a couple of days I'll better know the answer. Less than 2 months ago on the Coral in Alaska they provided all of the elite amenities in our cabin.

[waltd]

On the Pacific in Jan. We got none of the bathroom extras and only one bar of soap. We had to ask for the second bar of soap. Did not really care about the rest. Others on the ship did receive them.

[Times Prince]

A poster on another thread re the Royal reported:

 

There is no longer an elite set up, don't expect any Q tips. Cotton balls, lip balm, nail files, loofa scrub, and anything else they used to leave for us elites. They also no longer give us upgraded towels, and there are also no moe bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. There are shampoo and body gel dispensers in the showers, and they give tubes of them as well once but they do not replace them.

 

Does anyone know if that is fleet-wide? Or, perhaps unique to a particular voyage due to inventory issues?

On our Crown Princess Transatlantic in April this year we got all of that stuff, except for noticeably upgraded towels. This was the first time we've seen the sewing kit. Only saw the upgraded towels on one cruise - they were a softer Egyptian cotton one would expect of new towels.

 

We have found that if something is missing a polite reminder to our steward gets it, and if he/she isn't familiar with what to bring a polite query to the Captain's Circle hostess about "what is considered upgraded bathroom amenities?" will bring results.