New to Princess

[Tayscot]

Having been on c.20 P & O Cruises my wife and I have finally taken the plunge and decided to try something different and have booked an 11 day Baltic Princess Cruise on Regal.

 

Whilst experienced into the ways of P & O we are completely new to Princess. Could anyone kindly answer the following queries.

 

Being used to P & O having 4 Formal Nights we enthusiastically dress up accordingly, in my case the full kilt outfit which is quite weighty. I see that the 11 day Princess Cruise has only 2 Formals and am wondering if it is worth taking the full outfit for only two nights. Is a Formal Night on Princess adhered to with the vast majority dressing up or being more americanised (if this is the case) is there only a partial take up? I thought I could take my old dinner suit but it appears to have shrunk in the wardrobe over the years since I last wore it (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

 

We are in the happy position of being elite tier, Captains Circle despite it being our first Princess outing, due to the P & O points being transferrable (I don't understand why this is only a one way transfer !). Does this make a great deal of difference to the cruise experience? I have heard that with regard to the once only free minibar set up that you can ask the steward to alter the mix of drinks to all beer or all soft drinks which would be nice as neither of us drink spirits. Is this still the case.

 

Lastly we have always enjoyed the entertainment on P & O. How does Princess entertainment compare? We love the theatre co. shows and cabarets and hope they are at least as good or better.

 

Thanks in anticipation of any replies.

[satxdiver]

Not having been on a P&O cruise, I will attempt to answer part of your questions. Your cruise will have 2 formal nights. While the Princess "rules" state one thing, Princess is lax in enforcing them. Formal night will be everything from tux to dark suits to sport coats and even a few with no coat. The majority will most likely be dressed in suits sometimes without a tie. I like your term of Americanized which indeed you will find on the ship.

 

Being "instant" elite, you will have a bar setup in your stateroom. Once you arrive, you can call room service to trade out any items you do not want. You can only trade out liquor for beer or your favorite brand of scotch maybe. Soft drinks and water can be traded out for other soft drinks etc. Liquor can also be traded out for soft drinks but not the other way around.

 

Elite members have free laundry service, evening cocktail parties with reduced alcohol, priority boarding and deboarding the ship, special elite lounge (some ships) and priority tender boarding when leaving the ship.

 

Princess has production shows that are very good as well as comedians, magicians etc. There are many different types of bands in the different bars for your enjoyment. Their production shows are well received among the American cruise lines. How they compare to P&O, I have no idea.

 

Hope this helps a little.

[floridalover5623]

The official answer is that the American cruises are just as formal as those of the P & O although a old dinner suit will suffice. You should be prepared to be held to the same standards as those experienced in the European market.

[john watson]

I have been on a few Princess and P&O cruises and they are similar in a large number of ways. You have not indicated which cruise you are going on but if you board at Southampton the priority embarkation you get as an Elite member means you go straight to check in on arrival in the "suites only" queue. Not sure of the facilities relevant for boarding elsewhere around the world. You also get priority tender embarkation where this is necessary to go ashore.

 

My experience of formal nights on Princess is that they are generally well supported. I did a cruise around the British Isles and did spot two guys wearing kilts. They did not know each other but were somehow drawn together to chat and their wives were chatting too. What did make me smile was that a drinks waitress had gone off, got her camera and had a photo taken between the guys.

 

After you have sat down with your food in the buffet the staff will ask you if you would like a drink and this is not exclusive to alcoholic and soft drink sales you can ask them to make you a tea or coffee, this is not the option on P&O.

 

Entertainment is very good quality in the theatre and show lounges but obviously not aimed at the UK market. It's more aimed at international with an American bias. Sea days might have trivia quizzes similar to P&O but you cant beat Princess' Elevator Roulette or Egg Drop, carpet bowl etc.

 

Regards John

Edited January 24, 2016 by john watson

[skynight]

I have never been on P&O, but here are some comments regarding Princess.

 

Formal Nights: You will find about 20% men in tux, and yes you will see the some kilts. 75% will be in suit and tie, or sport jacket and tie, the balance will be dressed in shirt & tie with no jacket or jacket with no tie and some more like smart casual. Women are normally very nicely dressed, but very few in gowns or cocktail dresses. The few that are not with jacket and tie will not be turned away from the DR. Formal is only for the MDR's. Specialty restaurants are smart casual every night although you will see many dressed up on formal nights. All other parts of the ship are casual all the time. Formal is not a ship wide dress code.

 

Elite: You will have a special check in line and will be one of the first to board. Once on board go directly to your cabin it should be ready. In you cabin you will have letter explaining the Elite perks. The best ones are free next day laundry & dry cleaning. Just fill out the laundry slip, place your clothes into the bag and leave it on the bed in the morning. You should have it back by the evening of the next day, but if there are lots of Elites it could take an additional day. There is a special cocktail hour for platinum/elite/full suite passengers each evening. There are some nice items served, it is ok, not great. The drinks are not free, cast US$5 each. The Buy One Get One for $1 is a better value. Look for it in the Princess Patter.

 

You didn't ask, but here is some dining information:

Large buffet area, one or more sections open from 5:30am to midnight, Never closes.

International Cafe (no charge) open 24/7

Espresso Bar at the International Cafe, Pastry Shop and Princess Live Cafe. If you like espresso drinks check out the Cafe Selects Card, $35.

Alfredo's, open 11am to 11pm, walk in no reservations, no charge, pizza, calzones, salads, other items, waiter served.

Crown Grill and Sabatinis, $25/pp, Crab Shack & Fondues, $20/pp reservations required. Reservations only on board.

[IECalCruiser]

I have found that the itinerary has an impact on formal nights. North American cruises to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Alaska and Mexico are less formal because of the majority of Americans onboard. Maybe 10% in dinner suit/tuxedo, most in a dark suit or sport coat, some with just a shirt and tie and a few even more causal. It has become less formal on these cruises in the ten plus years we have been sailing Princess. I have found our European cruises, Baltic and Grand Med, more formal and the highest percentage of dinner suits/tuxedos on a South American cruise. On that cruise the North Americans were not even the majority. Haven't seen many kilts lately but that is partly due to our recent itineraries.

[kayelbee]

Hi Tayscot, Personally if you either aren't flying or have the room I would take your kilt and accoutrements. On UK based Princess cruises I have seen a higher participation level of men in DJ's/Tuxes than US based cruises. I would say about 50% or so in DJ/Tux/some kilts 45% in lounge suits, 4% trouser and shirt and 1% casual. On US based cruises I would say about 10% DJ, 65% lounge suit, 20% shirt and trousers and 5% casual.

This is a rough estimation but gives you an idea. It really seems to depend on the demographic of the cruise, the more British on board the more formal the dress.

Obviously others may have differing thoughts.

[ellie1145]

A wonderful Elite 'perk' is afternoon tea served on your balcony.

 

They bring sandwiches, scones, cream, jam, pastries cakes and biscuits (cookies) plus tea.

 

We love it!

 

Your steward will change your bar items at any time during the cruise. They must be like for like, spirits for spirits, but you can downgrade them to sodas or water if you don't drink spirits.

 

We found Regal to be quite dressy 3 weeks ago, but entertainment was fairly poor. Trivia quizzes were few and far between but there were some interesting ones. We were disappointed at the lack of them on sea days.

 

Our biggest gripe was that shows such as The Marriage Game were held in a lounge not the theatre, and it was standing room only, plus the design of the room means many seats have no view at all of the stage. Really frustrating when on 2 nd sitting as we just couldn't get there early enough to get a seat.

[floridalover5623]

 

 

Our biggest gripe was that shows such as The Marriage Game were held in a lounge not the theatre, and it was standing room only, plus the design of the room means many seats have no view at all of the stage. Really frustrating when on 2 nd sitting as we just couldn't get there early enough to get a seat.

 

We always dine early & arrive at the lounge very early- directly after dinner for those types of venue's and bring a book/reader to kill time.

[Pam in CA]

We are in the happy position of being elite tier, Captains Circle despite it being our first Princess outing, due to the P & O points being transferrable (I don't understand why this is only a one way transfer !)

P&O used to own Princess Cruise Lines. When Carnival Corporation bought P&O years ago, the two lines became separate and equal entities. Because of the previous relationship between the two lines, their loyalty programs were reciprocal: sail one line and you got credit for sailing with the other line. A couple of years ago, P&O stopped recognizing passengers sailing on Princess. Princess continues to recognize those sailing on P&O. :)

[Shogun]

Hi Tayscot,

 

I would take the kilt, always do has lead to many new friendships.

 

http://www.princess.com/cruise-tips-vacation-ideas/cruise-blog/linked-by-the-sea/clicking-over-a-kilt-on-a-caribbean-cruise.html#.VqUhJn2LTnA

 

 

yours Shogun