what's happened to Princess?

[DebJ14]

We found Princess has improved in the MDR. The food was exceptional last month on Emerald Princess. Our waitstaff could not have been more attentive and remembering our names and desires. Entertainment was good and a good all around cruise.

 

I have to agree with this. We found the same thing on the Emerald in January.

[AKman2495]

I agree about the caveat emptor piece; the itineraries are clearly b2b rather than designed-in 14-day sailings; it doesn't take a lot of brainpower to decode, but really, it is a trifle disingenuous to sell it as a 14-day cruise. The 14-night Hawaii sailings aren't two passes of a seven-day menu and entertainment cycle - they're a curated 14-day experience. Making the distinction a trifle more clear in the marketing fluff might lead to a better match between expectations and reality.

 

I generally agree with you and I would not book two identical 7 day cruises back to back.

 

Our "14 day cruise" was booked as a 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise and a 7 day southern Caribbean cruise. With the exception of Princess Cays and FLL, the ports were completely different. the first was more part intensive and the second had more sea days. So, it had more the feel of a 14 day cruise. Fortunately, we has a great cruise director (Lisa Ball) who kept thing hopping. There was so much to do, we missed some of the entertainment in the first week and were able to catch it in the second week.

 

Still, it is not really a 14 day cruise. But, that's how they are sold....

[caribill]

My opinion includes:

 

2. Cruises where you pay $100/day and less are very susceptible to customer dissatisfaction. Just like being on an airline flight, the person sitting next to you in the same class of service has likely paid a different fare than you have. There are times you can pay a lower prince than $100/day while the person in the next cabin paid more than $100/day. You will both get the same level of service.

 

3. Longer cruises (14+days) with much higher per day fares seem to have more of the amenities from days gone by. On the same cruise line, the quality of food (other than cooking which can make it different), the entertainment, and many amenities are the same no matter what the length of the cruise. The only thing really different is that a longer cruise may have lecturers who have interesting topics not related to Diamonds International.

 

4. The optimist in me hopes that lower fuel prices will allow the cruise lines to relax some of the cutbacks of recent years. (and pigs will fly) Right about those pigs. Princess and the other cruise lines are allowing the savings in fuel costs to go to the bottom line. Carnival Corp will release earnings soon. Watch how much of there earnings comes from lower fuel expenses. American Airlines even announced they are operating as if oil still was at $100/barrel.

 

see above in red

[robandana]

Its very true that things are not as they were in the past but like a few others we have noticed a general downgrade over all cruise lines, but we still feel Princess provides us the best overall value for money. Our last few cruises with RCL were quite bad....and we are D+....

 

Looking forward to sailing the Crown in 17 days...:D

[lcpagejr]

and the sad thing is that RCCL is very expensive as well...Poorer service/food plus higher cost don't add up too well. They may have a fleet of Mega ships...but the novelty of those additional activities will quickly wear off if other aspects of cruise are declining.

Edited March 25, 2015 by lcpagejr

[Oxo]

and the sad thing is that RCCL is very expensive as well...Poorer service/food plus higher cost don't add up too well. They may have a fleet of Mega ships...but the novelty of those additional activities will quickly wear off if other aspects of cruise are declining.

 

We cruise RCCL and Princess. In fact we were on the Allure OTS in Nov 2014. Totally disagree with your comments. However, that is your opinion and this is mine. That just shows why people cruise on different lines/ships. We enjoy them all.

[Aquahound]

Cutbacks are a topic on every board. However, some lines balance cutbacks with other additions. RCI, for example, has suffered the same cutbacks, but they've bettered their entertainment by adding more full-run Broadway shows to their newer ships.

 

I've only sailed Princess twice...my third being in a couple weeks. My question for Princess regulars is...despite the cutbacks we all complain about, in what way has Princess improved?

[Waynetor]

We were on the Caribbean for 5 B2B from late Jan to late Feb. We found the food and service very good. We went to several ports multiple times put knew that ahead of time. We experienced the same menu multiple times but that gives us more oppurtunity to try other items.

Guest entertainers came and went so only had some production shows repeat in the theatre.

An ounce of research by the OP would have prepared them.

[Woobstr112G]

We've just returned from an extremely disappointing '14 day caribbean adventurer' on the Caribbean Princess, which turned out to be 2 seven day cruises. Poor entertainment, boring food, indifferent crew (everything almost identical both weeks). Others commented to us about the same decline in service, standards, cleanliness, etc. Was it just this ship, or has the company changed? Based on our previous cruises, we were great advocates for cruising with Princess. We'll not likely sail again...

 

Welcome to CC. I hope your next cruise is better.....:):):)

 

Bob

[robandana]

I also feel RCL is much too expensive today....so we are sailing Princess more...who knows in the future....I guess its supply and demand...right now RCL is doing very well with first time cruisers...not so well with old timers like us....we are D+ and close to Pinnacle....

[seacruise9]

I also feel RCL is much too expensive today....so we are sailing Princess more...who knows in the future....I guess its supply and demand...right now RCL is doing very well with first time cruisers...not so well with old timers like us....we are D+ and close to Pinnacle....

 

Hi,

 

I agree with you. I have taken 20 Royal Caribbean cruises, but I have not been happy with my last few cruises with them. Also, many of their prices are much too high. Princess has become my line of choice. I always prefer their policies - unlike Royal Caribbean, Princess allows me to combine my shareholder onboard credit with other credits and promotions.

 

Chuck

Edited March 25, 2015 by seacruise9

[Oxo]

Last night I posted the cost of 2 Princess cruises and 2 RCL cruises to compare costs. However, I cannot find that posting. Apparently you cannot post cruise prices? The reason for posting the 4 cruises was to show that RCL and Princess are about the same price. Both cruises were at the same time, but a week later.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I sadly have to agree that the level of service has declined. I still love Princess and cruising more than any other type of travel, though. I used to have consistently good steak onboard, and last cruise had the worse steak of my life that I couldn't even get through due to the poor quality. Some other food was better than past cruises, though. I think there's less consistency. Some waiters still provide the old school service, remembering your preferences, and anticipating your every need; some act "barely there". I love walking to my table to find 2 Shirley Temples, 1 on the table, and 1 at the serving station ready for me when I finish the first. I am still pleased with the value received, but my husband is not feeling as loyal due to the decline in service. His opinion is that he has stuck with Princess for the "above and beyond" service, but now that it's not there all the time, he's thought more about land trips and other cruise lines. I've explained to him that the same has probably occurred on the other cruise lines based on what I've read. I do hope that cruise lines take note of pax dissatisfaction over that and try to improve again without losing profitability. I also hope that the ships don't become so large that good service can't possible occur.

[richstowe]

cruisequeen4ever,

 

I agree with both you and your husband .;) You are right in thinking "that the same has

probably occurred on the other cruise lines ".

Your husband is right in thinking "more about land trips and other cruise lines" .

Therefore I think you should see if "the grass is greener" and change up your travel options.

Report back as to who is more correct. :D

[pcsunlover]

Last night I posted the cost of 2 Princess cruises and 2 RCL cruises to compare costs. However, I cannot find that posting. Apparently you cannot post cruise prices? The reason for posting the 4 cruises was to show that RCL and Princess are about the same price. Both cruises were at the same time, but a week later.

 

I saw your post, and had commented that even though you had balcony cabins on both ships, they weren't exactly comparable because on Princess they were ocean views and on RCCL they were Central Park views. I could be wrong, but I believe a balcony cabin with ocean views on RCCL would have been more expensive than the prices paid on the Princess cruise.

 

These are the 2 cruiselines I consistently research before booking and RCCL has yet to beat Princess pricing (for us anyways) on the same itinerary and cabin category.

[jagsfan]

We sailed on Oasis last year and had good food, great service and a really enjoyable variety of entertainment. We're back in Princess and hope for the same. Maybe it's apples and oranges, both equally good. (Or bad!)

[Oxo]

I saw your post, and had commented that even though you had balcony cabins on both ships, they weren't exactly comparable because on Princess they were ocean views and on RCCL they were Central Park views. I could be wrong, but I believe a balcony cabin with ocean views on RCCL would have been more expensive than the prices paid on the Princess cruise.

 

These are the 2 cruiselines I consistently research before booking and RCCL has yet to beat Princess pricing (for us anyways) on the same itinerary and cabin category.

 

I still wonder why that posting was taken off. If it was because of Pricing, I was not aware of it. However, back to your comment.

 

No, the price of Central Park views and Broadway are more than just a balcony. In fact, we enjoyed the Central Park view much more especially at night to see all the lights, sky and people walking around in Central Park.

 

I do research prices on-line, but through experience, I get better pricing from my TA that is far cheaper than what I can get on-board or through the on-line price from viewing TA sites. When I say on-board, I am talking about Princess, Celebrity and RCL.

 

There are some who say that some cruise lines don't discount fares. True to some point, but I can always beat the cruise line fare. I could go into much more detail with examples of a recent booking I made on-board. I checked various TA site prices, then called my TA and beat the price by a minimum of $650. It was a cruise line that some say do not discount or allow TAs to discount.

[pcsunlover]

I still wonder why that posting was taken off. If it was because of Pricing, I was not aware of it. However, back to your comment.

 

No, the price of Central Park views and Broadway are more than just a balcony. In fact, we enjoyed the Central Park view much more especially at night to see all the lights, sky and people walking around in Central Park.

 

I do research prices on-line, but through experience, I get better pricing from my TA that is far cheaper than what I can get on-board or through the on-line price from viewing TA sites. When I say on-board, I am talking about Princess, Celebrity and RCL.

 

There are some who say that some cruise lines don't discount fares. True to some point, but I can always beat the cruise line fare. I could go into much more detail with examples of a recent booking I made on-board. I checked various TA site prices, then called my TA and beat the price by a minimum of $650. It was a cruise line that some say do not discount or allow TAs to discount.

 

That's wonderful that you can get such good deals. On every site I look at, the ocean view balconies on the Allure are significantly higher than the Boardwalk or Central Park balconies. We prefer to look outwards to the sea when on our balcony. Sounds like you had the best of both worlds sailing two different ships! :)

[BosoxI]

[i've taken 24 Princess cruises since my first one on the old Pacific Princess in 1986. My best cruises have been on Princess; their food has always suited my taste, as have the service and the dining venues. DW and I will be on the Royal in September. Frankly, we booked the cruise only because we had future cruise credits and we wanted to see a new Princess ship. We have heard some not very good things about the Royal and wanted to see for ourselves.

 

We are Elite on Princess and Elite+ on Celebrity. We would never book a cruise solely for the benefits, but a breakfast lounge with drinks, a lounge in the evening with drinks beats a stocked refrigerator once a cruise. The MDR food on X is now on a par with Princess; it didn't use to be. Unlimited laundry is nice, but we can get by with the Celebrity coupons on all but the longest cruises. And if I want a specialty coffee on X, I can get it 24 hours a day at no additional charge and no paid for punch cards.

 

So why should we stick with Princess? While it still has the most interesting itineraries, there's not much more to set it apart from X. We spent 16 great days on Princess ships this past December. No complaints at all. But it appears there's more bang for our buck on Celebrity. The cruise on the Royal may just be the one that determines for us whether we want to continue with our old favorite.

[caribill]

I also hope that the ships don't become so large that good service can't possible occur.

 

Good service can be had on any size ship -- if properly staffed.

 

Bad service can be on any size ship if there are not enough staff.

[KruzeKrazy!]

Service level is driven by both quantity and quality. A lot of bad service staff does not equal good service.

[Iamcruzin]

CB has a history of bad reviews over the years which consist of mechanical issues, visual wear and tear , crowding but lately I have been reading about service issues. I have been on that ship several times over the years and never had issues. Other than the Royal Princess I rarely see negative threads about any other ship in the fleet. OP thank you for your comments.

[Iamcruzin]

We are Elite on Princess and Elite+ on Celebrity. We would never book a cruise solely for the benefits, but a breakfast lounge with drinks, a lounge in the evening with drinks beats a stocked refrigerator once a cruise. The MDR food on X is now on a par with Princess; it didn't use to be. Unlimited laundry is nice, but we can get by with the Celebrity coupons on all but the longest cruises. And if I want a specialty coffee on X, I can get it 24 hours a day at no additional charge and no paid for punch cards.

 

So why should we stick with Princess? While it still has the most interesting itineraries, there's not much more to set it apart from X. We spent 16 great days on Princess ships this past December. No complaints at all. But it appears there's more bang for our buck on Celebrity. The cruise on the Royal may just be the one that determines for us whether we want to continue with our old favorite.

 

I have been looking a X before Princess as well. We have very limited vacation time and resources so we look for the best bang for our buck as well as itinerary. We are platinum on Princess and have only sailed on X once. Between the week Caribbean itineraries and the lack of ocean view rooms on the new ships Celebrity has our business for our next cruise. I was able to book Concierge class and receive a drink package, paid gratuities, and $300 OBC for what Princess was charging for the least expensive balcony on the Royal and Regal I would rather spend 3 days in Bermuda than sail the Princess Cays, St Thomas and St Maarten run.

[edpeeks]

"The problem is that we, like many of you, are long time cruisers and have a lot to compare current cruises to."-- CABER

 

Last year at this time we had been traveling RCL for a spell; got on the Royal and loved it. Then last May RCL had the original BOHO sale and I booked 5 cruised over one weekend. We have been on 2 RCL cruises since then and I have cancelled all of the RCL cruise (and they were priced so well!) but one in April of 2016.

 

My point is with our 45+ cruises under our belt we don't cruise for the same reasons as the new cruisers. It's not that certain things are not important but we use cruising as a getaway from stresses. So if things are not as they once were; they are still really, really better than the paperwork we have to do in my Chiropractic office. So we don't notice , for more than 2 seconds, that the carpet is worn or the servers in the MDR are slower. We are on a cruise ship being served, not serving others; getting the variety of food we don't care to pay for on land. And we have no agenda or timetable. In the Caribbean at least we have been to almost every port several times. We scour the excursions before we cruise and don't find anything we have an interest in doing or that we haven't done before. So we just chill.

 

So, if you are picky at home, you are probably going to be picky on a cruise. And that's OK. If you haven't seen all that you want to in port, prepare and go with the experience. If you like us and are escaping, enjoy and see you next time.

[Aquahound]

CB has a history of bad reviews over the years which consist of mechanical issues, visual wear and tear , crowding but lately I have been reading about service issues. I have been on that ship several times over the years and never had issues. Other than the Royal Princess I rarely see negative threads about any other ship in the fleet. OP thank you for your comments.

 

I actually like the CB. I gotta say, my first impression of Princess was on Ruby and it wasn't the greatest. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't impressive. I then went on CB and I liked it much better. The only thing I liked better about Ruby was the location of Crooners and how the bar was out of the walkway. One thing about both ships though...they felt like the most crowded ships I've ever experienced.