princess nickle and diming has gone too far

[geri]

I was on this same transatlantic trip and I am an elite member. Had a really great time! Arrived at the dock in Barcelona at 3pm and there was not one other person boarding with me. I was told that the thousand plus other passengers basically showed up between 11:30 AM and 1 PM. Something I'll keep in mind on future trips… Enjoy the city you are in and show up later to board. You'll be in your cabin inside of 15 minutes. In general I think going against the typical flow pattern that most folks follow on a ship may lead you to a more unique experience. (i.e. Have a big lunch one day instead of a large evening dinner and spend the evening on the top deck in the vacant gym, pools, sauna etc.). Regarding the limited wine supply… I learned that apparently numerous cases of wine were to be delivered to the ship in Barcelona but were somehow waylaid. Apparently they were delivered to a different Princess ship a day or two after the Emerald departed the port. The ship does need some time in dry dock, particularly with the bedding and internet reception, but a ship is a floating city and these things are to be expected. As mentioned earlier I had a really great time!

[caribill]

 

I do agree re the lumping Platinum and Elite together especially up on SkyWalkers for the 5 pm drink. I think they should consider that only Elites. It was crowded at times.

 

When the Skywalkers event was first started, it was only for suite and elite passengers. On many of the cruises, only a handful of people would show up. That is when they extended it to include platinum.

 

On most cruises, the number of elite and platinum is not so high that this event is crowded. I often see less than 30 people there.

 

On a ship with 2000 platinum and elite, of course the event will be crowded. What is surprising is that they did not move it to Club Fusion as they do on some of the other ships when there are a high number of passengers that might attend.

 

Of course since this event first started, many more passengers have become elite and platinum. However, the benefit cannot include platinim on some itineraries and not on others.

[Iamcruzin]

Charges for port shuttles were $10 or even $15 yet a taxi was way cheaper

The Alcohol policy has become ridiculous

The coffee is pure dishwater

and the food very little better in many instances

even the most travelled passengers with over 2000 days were not impressed

 

All cruise line shuttles have always been more expensive than a taxi. You pay for the convince of not having to wait in a taxi line. There have been complaints about the coffee syrup since I joined Cruise Critic in 2008 so there is nothing new there. What is it about the alcohol policy that is ridiculous? Are you referring to the alcohol that you buy on board or the alcohol that passengers bring on board while in port or on embarkation day?

[Iamcruzin]

There is a mindset among some Elites (and its similar on other cruise lines) that seem to "force" them to go (and stay) in venues that they later say they dislike. Why? The few times we even bother going to an Elite event, if it seems to crowded we simply leave and go elsewhere. On the Ruby (where we spent 25 days last year) we were not happy with the venue used for the Elite cocktail parties, and never thought the $1 saved on a drink we did not want was worth the hassle. So after going twice (in 25 days) we never returned. As we mentioned in another post, we have seen Elites wait in long lines for embarkation while the regular lines were very short. But most would never "dream" of leaving their Elite line to join the masses on a short line. We enjoy extra perks as much as the next person, but only when its truly a perk.

 

Hank

This type of mentality always amazes me. I don't know how these people made it this far through life. I also notice that most of the complaints come from Elites who keep on supporting the same cruise line just for some free laundry and internet minutes.

[flamomo]

Oh goodie. We have 2 cruises on the Emerald coming up in December.

 

When is the Emerald going into dry dock?

 

Try not to let the "Negative Nellie's" posting here give you cause for concern about your upcoming cruises.

 

The Emerald is not THAT tired looking!! She is a lovely ship, and provides a very pleasant, relaxing cruising experience.

 

Enjoy your cruises!!

[Hlitner]

This type of mentality always amazes me. I don't know how these people made it this far through life. I also notice that most of the complaints come from Elites who keep on supporting the same cruise line just for some free laundry and internet minutes.

 

The mentality issue is interesting. We know a cruiser (who actually works for CC) who loves to cruise on RCI and gets the usual Diamond Plus perks. We once suggested he try a different line and he told us something like, "I feel like somebody important on RCI because of the perks...and do not want to start again with another line." I am sure RCI loves when they hear that because the perks are intended to build strong brand loyalty. But we are constantly amazed at how a relatively small perk changes some mind sets. HAL gives out cheap Medallions (Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc) to frequent cruisers. These Medallions are really a big nothing (they are several inches in diameter) although you could wear them around your neck (they have a ribbon) and look like a total fool (some HAL cruises actually do this onboard). But when HAL announced they were discontinuing the Medallions there was such an uproar that they quickly relented and continued the program.

 

My comment to HAL (ignored) was keep the Medallion and give me free drinks like we get on Celebrity :).

 

Hank

[HJH]

My wife and I boarded the Emerald in Civitavecchia on September 26 and were on board for 21 days. We are Elite, along with about 2000 other Elite and Platinum passengers. This, as with other "Repositioning Cruises", are unique and are attractive to those people with a lot of time and resources.

 

The nightly Elite gathering was moved to Club Fusion after several packed night in Skywalkers to accommodate the thongs of attendees. Yes, the wifi reception was terrible and to make sure you could connect it was necessary to go the somewhere in the Atrium. I think there some technical issues that need to be worked out, plus all the passengers with free minutes who would never log off when not actually using the service made it more difficult.

 

The ship is going into drydock in December and will be back to First Class condition again.

 

As always, there are some minor annoyances along the way, but it was a fantastic cruise

[long cruiser]

We just got off the new regal princess sept and even this ship has problems.

The bath towels were cheap and like sandpaper.There was no place to put your drinks in the theater or club live.Some we cut the hands or wrists sooner or later if these problems are not solved.

long cruiser

[AHS123]

The nightly Elite gathering was moved to Club Fusion after several packed night in Skywalkers to accommodate the thongs of attendees.

 

Like a coat or hat check? :eek:

[Hlitner]

Reading the recent post about the Regal we feel obligated to post our support for not having drink holders (or drink servers) in the main showroom. Having had waiters crawl over me (to deliver drinks) on other ships/lines and having the show interrupted by waiters (with their little flashlights) makes me think that the benefit of drink service for a few is outweighed by the potential annoyance to others.

 

Hank

[nanwel]

I find most of us could find fault with a cruise if that is what we want to spend our time doing. I am there to enjoy myself. Sometimes things do not go as planned, but there is always something else to try.

I recognize that all cruise lines have cut corners in recent years, if they loose a few passengers because of it - oops, more in line to come - but, they have also had to make a profit, and costs are going up. If ships were empty, they would have to give more to the customer, but, will full ships???

Personally, I still find it a great way to travel, hotels/resturants/airlines etc have all increased costs and reduced service - unfortunately, a sign of the times.

[cruisin_bliss]

I recognize that all cruise lines have cut corners in recent years, if they loose a few passengers because of it - oops, more in line to come - but, they have also had to make a profit, and costs are going up. If ships were empty, they would have to give more to the customer, but, will full ships???

Personally, I still find it a great way to travel, hotels/resturants/airlines etc have all increased costs and reduced service - unfortunately, a sign of the times.

 

Disney is a great case in point. They recently raised rates to get into the park, and would not be able to do that unless they knew people would pay through the nose for the Disney experience. Some people would argue “Well they just priced some people out of the market!” But think about it. Going to a Disney park is a lesson in patience. Lines are long. In some areas of the park you are shoulder to shoulder (on OFF days). I would rather pay a little more and have a better experience with less people and enjoy myself without feeling like I am being crushed by throngs of people.

 

The same goes for the cruise industry. I do not believe I have EVER been on a ship that has been less than 85-90% full. And it does not seem even with all the press in recent years of engine failures, norovirus outbreaks and other mishaps the interest in cruising has significantly declined. Take a gander at the recent posts about “all the Elites traveling at one time.” I can assure you, prices have only gone up, and will continue to increase because the industry knows we will pay for it.

 

But as with nanwel, we too enjoy cruising as it is a fun, unique and relaxing experience. Hey…anytime someone else makes the bed for me every day I find a huge blessing! :)

[Woobstr112G]

Disney is a great case in point. They recently raised rates to get into the park, and would not be able to do that unless they knew people would pay through the nose for the Disney experience. Some people would argue “Well they just priced some people out of the market!” But think about it. Going to a Disney park is a lesson in patience. Lines are long. In some areas of the park you are shoulder to shoulder (on OFF days). I would rather pay a little more and have a better experience with less people and enjoy myself without feeling like I am being crushed by throngs of people.

 

The same goes for the cruise industry. I do not believe I have EVER been on a ship that has been less than 85-90% full. And it does not seem even with all the press in recent years of engine failures, norovirus outbreaks and other mishaps the interest in cruising has significantly declined. Take a gander at the recent posts about “all the Elites traveling at one time.” I can assure you, prices have only gone up, and will continue to increase because the industry knows we will pay for it.

 

But as with nanwel, we too enjoy cruising as it is a fun, unique and relaxing experience. Hey…anytime someone else makes the bed for me every day I find a huge blessing! :)

 

 

Well stated.....:):):)

 

Bob

[bUU]

Disney is a great case in point. They recently raised rates to get into the park, and would not be able to do that unless they knew people would pay through the nose for the Disney experience. Some people would argue “Well they just priced some people out of the market!” But think about it. Going to a Disney park is a lesson in patience. Lines are long. In some areas of the park you are shoulder to shoulder (on OFF days). I would rather pay a little more and have a better experience with less people and enjoy myself without feeling like I am being crushed by throngs of people.

I'm having trouble making that decision for our family, because the youngest child is 12, now, and the next generation has yet to begin marrying, much less having children. We wouldn't have given a second thought to the recent price increase if it were 5 years ago or 10 years from now.

 

Disney's actually got a much more complex calculation than just "price times attendance". As incredulous as some folks might be at the prospect of it, but the reality is that Disney is under-charging. They could almost surely earn more profit from the parks with even-higher admission (and consequently lower attendance). They under-charge due to the impact their pricing has on the reputation of the company overall and the impact of that on ticket sales for its films in theaters, the impact of that on viewership of its television networks, the impact of that on the purchasing of its consumer products, etc. - even the impact of that on the booking of their cruises. (There's also a tie between their park admission and their hotel bookings, but that's a bit more complicated. Their hotels have traditionally run at ridiculously high load levels for the industry, so not only is there room there to increase park admission without causing too much harm to the hotels, but they may even be able to increase hotel rates, too.)

 

The same goes for the cruise industry.

Let's use the word "similar" instead of "same", please. Disney's theme parks (specifically) are outliers.

[Putterdude]

Probably the cuts that Princess has made over the past 5 or 6 years that have angered me the most would be:

 

Having to print my own luggage tags and cruise docs

The elimination of port day lunches in the MDR

The installation of the shampoo and soap dispensers

 

On the positive side of the ledger....they have given us free soft ice cream (or whatever it is):)

[Pierlesscruisers]

Probably the cuts that Princess has made over the past 5 or 6 years that have angered me the most would be:

 

Having to print my own luggage tags and cruise docs

 

But you don't "have" to print your own luggage tags as they have luggage tags available at the luggage turn-in area at the pier. Even if you turn your bags over to a porter you can go with him to the clerk's table and have the tags made there. That is a bit of an inconvenience, granted, but it is a work-around. Even if you take a Princess shuttle from the airport or your hotel to the pier, the people meeting you at the airport/hotel have baggage tags available for you. At least that is the case in Seattle. Other ports may do things differently.

 

Tom

[Putterdude]

But you don't "have" to print your own luggage tags as they have luggage tags available at the luggage turn-in area at the pier. Even if you turn your bags over to a porter you can go with him to the clerk's table and have the tags made there. That is a bit of an inconvenience, granted, but it is a work-around. Even if you take a Princess shuttle from the airport or your hotel to the pier, the people meeting you at the airport/hotel have baggage tags available for you. At least that is the case in Seattle. Other ports may do things differently.

 

Tom

 

You are absolutely correct but there is a degree of inconvenience to all of this. I still think that after spending thousands of dollars on a cruise its nice get your tags and cruise docs in the mail from the cruise line, it was just a cheap out on part of Princess.

[peternina]

I too was on the Emerald T/A in this discussion. (Elite, also)

 

Someone earlier used the adverb "slipping." That summarizes what is (going) wrong with Princess.

 

We all hope that Princess does not slip AND fall, we like her too much.

[Pierlesscruisers]

You are absolutely correct but there is a degree of inconvenience to all of this. I still think that after spending thousands of dollars on a cruise its nice get your tags and cruise docs in the mail from the cruise line, it was just a cheap out on part of Princess.

 

Well, you've got me at a disadvantage there, Putterdude, as I haven't been cruising long enough to have ever received that in the mail. But, I suspect that most people would rather print their docs if they want them and keep their cruise price low than have them mailed to them and pay a higher price. I suspect that if we knew all the costs of the mailing process (printing (paper, ink, machinery), collating (whether by machine or human), mailing (postage, envelopes, labor), other (space, utilities, other) ) plus other costs that I haven't even thought about, it was probably a pretty pricey operation. I have no idea what the costs are for putting the documents on the website for downloading by the cruisers but I suspect that they're quite a bit less than the old way.

 

But, honestly, I suspect that neither of us will ever know (or even want to know!) the reasons behind the change.

 

On another subject, I was surprised by your handle here as I have had friends in the past who used to call me by that name since my last name is Putnam. Seemed like I was reading something written by myself! <:D

 

Have a good day!

 

Tom

[bUU]

If Princess doesn't make these kinds of changes, that's another type of slipping, one that leads to falling just as much if not more.

[Mackenzie1]

I too was on the Emerald T/A in this discussion. (Elite, also)

 

Someone earlier used the adverb "slipping." That summarizes what is (going) wrong with Princess.

 

We all hope that Princess does not slip AND fall, we like her too much.

 

Yes. I like Princess for the value and itineraries, but what I don't like are the unauthorized charges made to my credit card while onboard or after having disembarked. In June, the Caribbean Princess Palm dining room charged a drink to my account even though I was on the All Inclusive Beverage Package; and more recently, after a Canadian fall foliage cruise on the Caribbean Princess, the ship made an unauthorized charge of $9.05 to my credit card after I had disembarked and signed off on the final invoice as being correct. As to the June charge, even though the service desk removed it from my invoice during the cruise, it mysteriously appeared on my final invoice. I didn't take it up with Princess again because it was less than $10, which wouldn't break me. However, after other CC'ers who had experienced the same problem appropriately pointed out that we aren't doing each other any favors if none of us complain about incorrect charges, I've decided to email Princess about any unauthorized charges from now on. I've emailed Princess customer services about the more recent unauthorized charge to my credit card, and I hope I receive a response.

Edited October 22, 2015 by Mackenzie1

[mr green]

One other item, that affects my wife and I, is the withdrawal of ACBL Bridge, on all but world cruises, this was one thing that we realy enjoyed on sea days.

 

john

[shredie]

One other item, that affects my wife and I, is the withdrawal of ACBL Bridge, on all but world cruises, this was one thing that we realy enjoyed on sea days.

 

john

 

This one is my DH biggest complaint.

[Loonbeam]

As far as the random charges, until Princess moves to a real POS system, that's going to happen. Right now, a lot of things are manually keyed in to room numbers, etc, which leaves a lot of room for error (this is not only a Princess or even Carnival Brands issue)

[moonhunter]

I was on this cruise also and had no problems. Dining room food was good and quite warm. Some entertainment outstanding and some lackluster. My only complaints were that I would have liked to have 7 pm Priness Theatre shows every night and would have to have had better movies.

 

With some of the posts it seems as if people go on cruises to have something to complain about. Even though we got a notice that it would take 72 hours to get laundry back, it was usually back in 48.