You Paid and Princess Listened

[Coral]

True, but the dining room food has suffered with the addition of a specialty steak restaurant.

 

Most Princess dining room steaks are almost inedible recently in my experience.

 

There has been speciality steakhouses since 2002 or so. I think the decline in food is independent of the specialty steakhouses. I agree about the steaks/beef in the dining room.

Edited May 25, 2014 by Coral

[Drew's Wife]

This was our first cruise with Princess and I must say that I was not impressed with several things. I ordered the fruit to be sent to the room..two banannas. The first day they sent two fairly nice ones, so I ordered two for the next day. This is what I got!

[Love.II.Cruise]

This was our first cruise with Princess and I must say that I was not impressed with several things. I ordered the fruit to be sent to the room..two banannas. The first day they sent two fairly nice ones' date=' so I ordered two for the next day. This is what I got![/quote']

 

LOL! That was on it's way to being banana bread in a couple days. :p Sorry you go those bananas though :(

[Drew's Wife]

LOL! That was on it's way to being banana bread in a couple days. :p Sorry you go those bananas though :(

 

 

The really funny part, they were delivered late in the afternoon in a very lovely silver type bowl! :)

[shredie]

.[/color] Luxury cruise lines exist so that "like" people can cruise together.

COLOR="White"].[/color] /QUOTE]

 

What does that mean, anyway?

Edited May 25, 2014 by shredie

[Ethel5]

.[/color] Luxury cruise lines exist so that "like" people can cruise together.

COLOR="White"].[/color] /QUOTE]

 

What does that mean' date=' anyway?[/quote']

 

I guess the rich don't like to mingle with the poor peons! LOL

[azdmelani]

I do think it was poor planning on Princess's part not to release the pricing ahead of time. However, I dont think the charges are unreasonable. And there are replacement choices. The pizza by the pool is still free (and pretty decent), and the International Cafe is open 24/7 for sandwiches, salads, cheese and desserts at night, and breakfast in the morning.

 

I loved the Royal and am excited to be sailing on the Regal in a few months.

[Rick-cruiser]

Wow, stereotyping at its best! :rolleyes: Have you even sailed a luxury cruise line? The food by far beats Princess. You get what you pay for.

 

Yes I have.. Several times.. And the food does not "by far" beat Princess.. "You get what you pay for"?. Tired cliche...and not always correct.

Edited May 25, 2014 by Rick-cruiser

[Cruisin' Chick]

We're not foodies so we haven't felt the need to go to the specialty restaurants (the only time we've gone, it was complimentary). We'll even eat at the buffet or get a chicken sandwich at the poolside grill. Not a biggie for us. I think the one time we've gotten room service on a cruise was maybe on my first or second cruise. Fortunately the one time I felt ill (due to a hay fever attack), hubby brought my breakfast from the Horizon to our cabin so I can sleep while he and my daughter went out in the port.

 

I guess if we're on a ship with an Alfredo's, it may be something to try out perhaps as I like Italian food.

 

As for the Regal, it would have been considerate for Princess to let those who had booked know about the upcoming charges as soon as they were decided.

[Momma Mojito]

I both agree and disagree with the Op. I agree that adding cost to room service is nuts, as is the Princess policy of "members only - pay up front" for the Sanctuary (Not a chance in he** I'm paying for that). But, I'm not against paying extra for chef table or Crown Grill. These are above and beyond and worth the extra 'up-charge' and are really (generally) funded via OBC from stock ownership, veteran status and special booking offers.

 

I agree!!!

[Momma Mojito]

Yes and No. I'm early 60's so I have 20 - 25 years if I'm lucky to spend my retirement cruising. I am taking 7 cruises this year alone. Can they really start preparing for a new generation 20 years in advance. Also seniors or retirees can take many more vacations per year then families who have to juggle jobs, vacation time, kids and school vacations. I believe the cruise industry needs to capture both markets, young and old.

In some cases ( flame retardant full length coat on ) the cheap prices on some cruises especially when they go to $399 for a 7 nighter attracts a group of passengers that doesn't have the middle class value system or manners. I find that evident when I see baseball caps being worn in the dining rooms ( no not a dress code discussion) and hats worn in the theatre. What happened to hats being worn outside not inside, especially when I can't see over them during a show.

 

It really doesn't matter what you pay for a cruise!! We recently did a 15 day Panama cruise where the average age was over 50, but I didn't get their income,...dining room saw hats and men in shorts, plus many people that needed manner!!!

[Happy2cruise]

I ordered the fruit to be sent to the room..two banannas. The first day they sent two fairly nice ones' date=' so I ordered two for the next day. This is what I got![/quote']

First thought was a $3 charge for two bananas:o but second thought was sad.....$3 for two overly ripe bananas:mad:.

[Luvmyrotti]

We cruised Princess in January and I loved it. My husband grumbled at the charge for a coffee card, but he went along with it, even quite enjoying some of the specialty drinks he tried for the first time. When I told him of this plan to charge for room service, his reply was very colorful and can't be reprinted here. I doubt we sail Princess very often strictly due to the number of upcharges passengers are faced with.

 

It looks like you mostly sail Carnival. At here not similar 'upcharges'?

[Colo Cruiser]

At here not similar 'upcharges'?

 

 

??? :confused:

[Ethel5]

??? :confused:

 

It's a typo....should be "are there not similar upcharges?"

 

I get paid extra for translations LOL :D

[LewesBeach]

I guess I wouldn't mind cruiselines charging for upgraded dining venues if they did not diminish the food quality elsewhere. But I too find the steaks in MDR unedible since the introduction of pay-for Specialty Dining.

[Astro Flyer]

This was just posted on the Princess Facebook page 5 minutes ago although they say "for the time being" and without notification so it still could be in our future.

 

"We appreciate your feedback regarding our room service. We've listened to our valued guests and Facebook fans. Based on the feedback, for the time being both room service and Alfredo’s pizzeria charges being trialed on Regal Princess will be halted. We acknowledge we need to provide our guests prior notification of any such changes to our onboard experience, and we promise to do this in the future".

Edited May 26, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[Lynda90]

WooHoo, Glad to hear Princess listened to us! Of course it's just a matter of time!

Edited May 26, 2014 by Lynda90

[Woobstr112G]

WooHoo, Glad to hear Princess listened to us! Of course it's just a matter of time!

 

Lynda;

 

That's good to know. Being the pessimist I am however, I think that they'll soon announce a fleet wide price increase for room service and the increase for the ships that have Alfredo's and we'll all see the increase again sometime this year.

 

Bob

[Liz54]

Lynda;

 

That's good to know. Being the pessimist I am however, I think that they'll soon announce a fleet wide price increase for room service and the increase for the ships that have Alfredo's and we'll all see the increase again sometime this year.

 

Bob

 

I am also a bit of a pessimist, but I think they will make a different kind of upcharge implemented with grandfathering. If they just reinstate the room service and Alfredo's charges, everyone will get riled up again. Back to the drawing board I'm thinking.

[dorisis]

 

I guess the rich don't like to mingle with the poor peons! LOL

 

And they don't shop at Walmart or 'dine' at Mc Donalds. You really do get what you pay for.

[Luvmyrotti]

It looks like you mostly sail Carnival. At here not similar 'upcharges'?

 

Sorry, this should read, are there not similar upcharges.

[hubofhockey]

Someone on these forums complained that there were too many threads on the institution of room service charges and fee for Alfredo's. I guess there were "enough" rather than too much.

 

Princess would do well to listen to its customer base. Nobody can honestly say that their wonderful marketing department believed that cruise customers really want ships with tiny balconies, fewer and smaller pools, shorter shows, removal of central staircases, and $10 surcharges for pizzerias. Maybe Rai Caluouri will return and explain how these changes are evolutionary.

[sckal]

I'd just read the first part of this thread and was pretty ticked about the room service charge. We always have continental breakfast in our room b/c my 90 year old mother prefers to wake up slowly and enjoys it. But now I'm glad to hear Princess did listen and rescind the charges for now.

Edited May 26, 2014 by sckal

[Grego]

You're 100% correct of course. Any time more people are eligible to use a service, without an increase in the capacity of that service, wait times will increase.

 

But that is kind of beside the point. The person I was responding to was hinting at, if not directly saying, that is unfair for people to become Elite without going on as many cruises as they did. My response is the company has created the thank you reward system and as long as someone reached a certain level by the rules of that system they are fully entitled to the rewards given by the company. The quality of the benefits offered really is a different discussion, but the simple fact that someone reaches a status faster than someone else should not preclude them from participating. Everyone is subject to the same current rules at any given point in time.

 

Sorry I wasn't clearer about what my point was. First of all, those that have received the Elite level by the process of going on many coastal voyages are indeed playing by the rules and should be Elite. It is the rules that are in question. Those of us that started cruising over 20 years ago when there wasn't coastal voyages and took 10, 15, 17 and sometimes 7 day voyages to reach the Elite level have put a larger economic investment into Princess than those taking 3 and 4 day voyages. Princess had the opportunity to put into place a program that made a loyalty program more reflective of overall commitment before they added the coastal itineraries. Value for days at sea, solo passengers and number of voyages would be easy to incorporate into a program if they had thought it through and instead of adding a mid-level status like Ruby, they could have added a level above Elite or modified Platinum. The result now is that the upper levels are getting top heavy and not easily handled aboard the ship during some events such as tendering, Elite/Platinum/Suite lounges, etc.