A few thoughts on our first Princess cruise

[avp1234]

I'll begin by saying we did have a good cruise. We love cruising, some have been better than others, but we haven't had a really "bad" one.

 

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess out of Houston in a balcony. The room was fine, yes it's dated but that didn't bother us. Our stateroom attendant Aneel did a wonderful job.

 

I have to admit we were a bit disappointed with the Princess product. Customer service was terrible. Any problems we had, and there were a few, we were sent from one person to another to be sent to yet another. It seemed like they were really understaffed and we really didn't get that welcome feeling like we have on other ships. The crew outside of our room steward seemed unhappy in general. Just a few examples, I asked more than once for tea at dinner and got it maybe 3 out of 7 nights along with missing food items. If you wanted a drink from the bar, you may as well get up and get it yourself.

 

We did miss a port and went to shore excursions a couple of times and there was only 1 guy working with a line at least 20 people long. He was doing his best but I'm sure it was frustrating. We were also disappointed with the food. I have to say our dinners were really good with the exception of the Curtis Stone items we ordered. The pizza was the best we've had at sea, and that became our fallback. The breakfast and lunch buffets were simply bad, and the layout isn't the best either. As for our 2 wake up calls, we never received either, which wasn't surprising.

 

Hate to be negative, but we heard the same complaints from other pax that I'm saying here. It was just so unorganized, lacking service along with an unhappy crew. I know I'm posting this on the Princess board and this probably won't be a popular post, but it's very true. Will we cruise Princess again? Probably not. I'm glad we tried it, just wish we would have had a different experience.

[Colo Cruiser]

I'll begin by saying we did have a good cruise. We love cruising, some have been better than others, but we haven't had a really "bad" one.

 

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess out of Houston in a balcony. The room was fine, yes it's dated but that didn't bother us. Our stateroom attendant Aneel did a wonderful job.

 

I have to admit we were a bit disappointed with the Princess product. Customer service was terrible. Any problems we had, and there were a few, we were sent from one person to another to be sent to yet another. It seemed like they were really understaffed and we really didn't get that welcome feeling like we have on other ships. The crew outside of our room steward seemed unhappy in general. Just a few examples, I asked more than once for tea at dinner and got it maybe 3 out of 7 nights along with missing food items. If you wanted a drink from the bar, you may as well get up and get it yourself.

 

We did miss a port and went to shore excursions a couple of times and there was only 1 guy working with a line at least 20 people long. He was doing his best but I'm sure it was frustrating. We were also disappointed with the food. I have to say our dinners were really good with the exception of the Curtis Stone items we ordered. The pizza was the best we've had at sea, and that became our fallback. The breakfast and lunch buffets were simply bad, and the layout isn't the best either. As for our 2 wake up calls, we never received either, which wasn't surprising.

 

Hate to be negative, but we heard the same complaints from other pax that I'm saying here. It was just so unorganized, lacking service along with an unhappy crew. I know I'm posting this on the Princess board and this probably won't be a popular post, but it's very true. Will we cruise Princess again? Probably not. I'm glad we tried it, just wish we would have had a different experience.

 

 

Thanks for your comments. Sorry you had a bad experience.

Just curious, did you check here on CC for these issues on many previous CB cruises before you booked/sailed?

[avp1234]

I forgot to add, we never saw the constant cleaning, painting, maintenance etc like we see on other ships. I also had to seek out the hand sanitizer after the first 2 or 3 days which was odd after the Noro outbreak a few weeks ago.

[chamima]

I wonder if all of the issues with bad weather and missed ports which translates to upset passengers has gotten to the crew?

 

We sailed once out of Houston (or maybe Galveston) and said never again - and this was a good 10 -15 years ago.

Edited January 3, 2016 by chamima

[avp1234]

Thanks for your comments. Sorry you had a bad experience.

 

Just curious, did you check here on CC for these issues on many previous CB cruises before you booked/sailed?

 

 

I knew about the port problems, sailing with the fog etc and was expecting that and was ok with missing Costa Maya, would rather be safe. Was surprised with the other issues.

[avp1234]

I wonder if all of the issues with bad weather and missed ports which translates to upset passengers has gotten to the crew?

 

We sailed once out of Houston (or maybe Galveston) and said never again - and this was a good 10 -15 years ago.

 

 

That could be so. But the passengers we talked to were ok with the weather and port issue, it happens. It was the numerous other reasons that was the problem. We met one couple that has cruised Princess for years and said they won't again that it's been going downhill every year.

[KruzPrincess]

My very good friends just did the Caribbean's Canada/New England transition cruise to Texas. They are very loyal Princess cruisers and I'm sure they will continue to be, but they were very disappointed in this ship. They said they will never book a cruise on the Caribbean again. They experienced very long lines and poor service. The husband of the couple said he's convinced it's because it's a big ship. He has tried to avoid large ships. I was on the Royal at the same time they were on the Caribbean. I had great service and didn't experience long lines at all. I had a wonderful cruise with very few complaints. I wouldn't judge the entire cruise line by one experience on this ship, but I can understand your attitude. I had one bad cruise on HAL and it took me 12 years to try them again. I'm sorry you had some disappointments with your cruise.

Edited January 3, 2016 by KruzPrincess

[Pam in CA]

Something to remember in the future, if you have problems that aren't being resolved, go to the Captain's Circle host(ess). They can get things done.

 

Food is very subjective so I always take opinions with a grain of salt. One person's Yum is another's Yuck.

 

If you have a problem with your waiter, tell the Head Waiter. I assume you had Anytime dining and your experience is one of the reasons I won't do it again. As for bar service, what you describe is unusual.

 

There have been so many problems with the Houston sailings and so many passengers unhappy about delayed sailings, missed ports, delayed returns, etc. that they take it out on the staff as though it's their fault. I'm not surprised that they appear unhappy as some passengers, when they're frustrated, become abusive. Hard to deal with that week after week. That behavior is not typical on a Princess cruise.

 

I really hope you try Princess again. What you experienced was atypical.

[ar1950]

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As for our 2 wake up calls, we never received either, which wasn't surprising.

 

..........................

 

I'm surprised about the wake up calls. Those are automated. We've used the system on several Princess cruises (and ships). Once we have set and confirmed the time we have never failed to get the call no matter how unwelcome that ringing phone is in the morning. :cool:

[chamima]

Can I just say how refreshing it is that everyone has taken the OP's post at face value and no one has attempted to blame him or her for things going wrong.

[Steelers0854]

The breakfast and lunch buffets were simply bad, and the layout isn't the best either.

 

 

Im the opposite of a picky eater, in fact my coworkers joke that I'm like a garbage disposal. While I've never had an issue with the breakfast buffet, the lunch buffet I've always struggled to find good food. I'm not sure if you ever tried the dining room for lunch but we often eat lunch there. Also the trident grill on the pool deck has excellent burgers and chicken sandwiches. The international cafe also has a great assortment of both breakfast (egg my muffin type of sandwiches amongst other items) and lunch options. While I agree the buffet should be better, there are a lot of other options that I hope you were able to find on board. I also couldn't agree more that the pizza is fantastic on Princess.

 

I hope you give the line another shot, your experience in my mind is atypical.

[moki'smommy]

So sorry for your experience. I was on the Caribbean Princess a month ago. I agree that I did not see the constant cleaning, painting, etc, that I've seen on other ships. But I also didn't see areas that needed the repainting, etc. that I've seen on the others. I seriously looked. THe ship was well painted and totally clean when we were on board.

 

I also agree with the Curtis Stone items. Princess did not get a good value on that expense.

 

Now that fog is another issue.....

[24639]

Can I just say how refreshing it is that everyone has taken the OP's post at face value and no one has attempted to blame him or her for things going wrong.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. Thank you for posting this.

[avp1234]

I'm surprised about the wake up calls. Those are automated. We've used the system on several Princess cruises (and ships). Once we have set and confirmed the time we have never failed to get the call no matter how unwelcome that ringing phone is in the morning. :cool:

 

 

We tried placing our wake up calls by pressing the button that puts you to the I'm assuming automated system, but it never went to it. It just rang and rang. So...I called the front desk and they said they would take care of it. This happened each time I dialed that number.

[cynbar]

To the OP, I don't discount your experience at all, the CB is an older ship and there have been so many problems with the cruises out of Houston that I do think it may be bringing down the crew. I'm a little worried, we are booked on the CB in May because we want to do the British Isles and that's the ship sailing that route. Hopefully things will improve, plus we'll be off the ship most of the time. I see your last few cruises have been on Celebrity. We sail both Princess and Celebrity regularly, love both lines and find them comparable although of course some cruises have been better than others. I know you say you won't take another Princess cruise, but if the right itinerary pops up, I hope you'll reconsider. Your description of your cruise is just not typical of the overall Princess product.

[avp1234]

Im the opposite of a picky eater, in fact my coworkers joke that I'm like a garbage disposal. While I've never had an issue with the breakfast buffet, the lunch buffet I've always struggled to find good food. I'm not sure if you ever tried the dining room for lunch but we often eat lunch there. Also the trident grill on the pool deck has excellent burgers and chicken sandwiches. The international cafe also has a great assortment of both breakfast (egg my muffin type of sandwiches amongst other items) and lunch options. While I agree the buffet should be better, there are a lot of other options that I hope you were able to find on board. I also couldn't agree more that the pizza is fantastic on Princess.

 

I hope you give the line another shot, your experience in my mind is atypical.

 

 

The egg mcmuffin type sandwich became our go to breakfast although I did miss the really good breakfasts I usually splurge on vacation. I was craving waffles and asked twice at the breakfast buffet and no go, yet when talking to someone else she said they had them one day. We don't really do the dining rooms for lunch, but the grill did have some good offerings. Like I wrote earlier, our dinners on the other hand were really good with the exception of Curtis Stone items. We only tried 2 - the shrimp cocktail and flank steak. We didn't care for either but food is subjective. We by no means went hungry, just not as good as we were expecting.

[avp1234]

To the OP, I don't discount your experience at all, the CB is an older ship and there have been so many problems with the cruises out of Houston that I do think it may be bringing down the crew. I'm a little worried, we are booked on the CB in May because we want to do the British Isles and that's the ship sailing that route. Hopefully things will improve, plus we'll be off the ship most of the time. I see your last few cruises have been on Celebrity. We sail both Princess and Celebrity regularly, love both lines and find them comparable although of course some cruises have been better than others. I know you say you won't take another Princess cruise, but if the right itinerary pops up, I hope you'll reconsider. Your description of your cruise is just not typical of the overall Princess product.

 

 

Yes, we do love Celebrity and will stick with them for now. I went in trying not to compare them to Celebrity, and not expecting them to, but wow what a difference. The staff on Celebrity are top notch and make you feel so welcome it's hard to say anything bad. I would say the dinners are comparable on both lines. I really didn't want to make this post a Celebrity vs Princess post because we truly did have a good time. It takes a lot for us to have a bad cruise.

[Paula_MacFan]

We tried placing our wake up calls by pressing the button that puts you to the I'm assuming automated system, but it never went to it. It just rang and rang. So...I called the front desk and they said they would take care of it. This happened each time I dialed that number.

 

This is why we always pack a battery-operated alarm clock. I hate trusting an automated system that may or may not work, and we don't always have cell service to use our phones. I will say room service is a great wake up call. In our experience it's usually a bit early. FWIW we were on the CB in November and thought she was in fine shape. I'm sorry your cruise did not meet your expectations.

[Pati]

E just got off the Caribbean princess also. Will agree we didn't see the constant painting etc. did see lots of cleaning. We were thinking that due to the boat getting an update soon, the painting may not be a priority. Our romm inside was perfect. Just the balcony looked weathered. We hadn't sailed in a year or more and did notice little things that seemed lessened. Salad bar no longer had cucumbers, bacon bits, peas, shredded cheddar, etc. the things were good that they had but less of a selection. We enjoyed breakfast and lunches in the horizon, if not we caught a piece of pizza, hamburger or the smokehouse at night by the hamburgers. Didn't have trouble using our wake up system, worked each time we set it. Had a great room steward and our waiters in anytime dining were fine. We'd see them working horizon court the next day at lunch etc and they always made sure they said hi if they saw us. Had no trouble getting beverages anywhere. Laundry service fine. Didn't go to any shows so can't comment on that. Seemed as though no one minded missing Costa maya when Cozumel was added. Had a great day there. Didn't even try going ashore in Roatan, as the tender system was really slow. Like 2 in the aft noon you could finally go out without ticket. Having to be back by 5, thought ummm no....daughter spent 2 hours in line trying to get back in tender line. Belize was fine. Tenders were local so moved quickly. Didn't really notice unfriendly staff with any issues we had. All in all we had a great time, prefer the princess product and I will be elite after next cruise!!!👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 any cruise for me is a great time. I just love to ride and read and relax and is just what I did. The rest of my family felt the same. Didn't care for the the new Curtis stone menu items that much so didn't try more than one. One thing I did notice on this cruise which surprised us was the number of people, mostly young, in short shorts and flip flops at dinner. Or tiny jumpsuits with short short bottoms and deep deep cut down in front. Underwear out everywhere!! There was no attempt to enforce any dining wear requirements. It was just odd. But would I go back next week? Yup!!

[riclop]

I'll begin by saying we did have a good cruise. We love cruising, some have been better than others, but we haven't had a really "bad" one.

 

We cruised on the Caribbean Princess out of Houston in a balcony. The room was fine, yes it's dated but that didn't bother us. Our stateroom attendant Aneel did a wonderful job.

 

I have to admit we were a bit disappointed with the Princess product. Customer service was terrible. Any problems we had, and there were a few, we were sent from one person to another to be sent to yet another. It seemed like they were really understaffed and we really didn't get that welcome feeling like we have on other ships. The crew outside of our room steward seemed unhappy in general. Just a few examples, I asked more than once for tea at dinner and got it maybe 3 out of 7 nights along with missing food items. If you wanted a drink from the bar, you may as well get up and get it yourself.

 

We did miss a port and went to shore excursions a couple of times and there was only 1 guy working with a line at least 20 people long. He was doing his best but I'm sure it was frustrating. We were also disappointed with the food. I have to say our dinners were really good with the exception of the Curtis Stone items we ordered. The pizza was the best we've had at sea, and that became our fallback. The breakfast and lunch buffets were simply bad, and the layout isn't the best either. As for our 2 wake up calls, we never received either, which wasn't surprising.

 

Hate to be negative, but we heard the same complaints from other pax that I'm saying here. It was just so unorganized, lacking service along with an unhappy crew. I know I'm posting this on the Princess board and this probably won't be a popular post, but it's very true. Will we cruise Princess again? Probably not. I'm glad we tried it, just wish we would have had a different experience.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[shredie]

The cruises out of Houston seem to have problems. Sorry you didn't have the best time.

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Thank you for your honest review. That's how it should be.:)

[BabsinTX]

Can I just say how refreshing it is that everyone has taken the OP's post at face value and no one has attempted to blame him or her for things going wrong.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. Bravo/Brava to all!

[mmckm]

I would like to know what was wrong with the Curtis stone food from the MDR. We would like to try on our next cruise but it seems the more I hear the less I'm interested.

[chamima]

I would like to know what was wrong with the Curtis stone food from the MDR. We would like to try on our next cruise but it seems the more I hear the less I'm interested.

 

The beauty of cruising is that you can try it and, if it's not good, get something else.

That's what I plan to do.