First and probably last cruise with Princess

[Jsim2011]

Just back from our first cruise with Princess, (Royal Princess).

 

Have to say we were disappointed, maybe our expectations were too high as I had previously heard and read good things about Princess.

 

The food wasn't as good as I was expecting, although I realize that tastes are different. My husband and I both enjoy cooking, and we enjoy good food. We did have one or two really good entrees (we both liked the Curtis Stone fish stew), but there were more dishes that just didn't pass the taste test. Desserts were especially disappointing, not much choice, in fact most nights I passed on dessert. I did try the soufflé as it is a favorite of mine, but on two occasions it was almost scrambled egg, the third time on the menu though, it was good.

 

We were surprised to find that the dining room closed for breakfast by 9am, we turned up at 8.55am and told we had to go to the buffet. The bacon at the buffet was cold each day I tried it so I opted for freshly made omelet and that was good.

 

We did enjoy the food in Alfedo's

 

We tried the pub lunch one day, opting or fish and chips, it was without doubt the worse fish and chips we have ever tried. The fish was gray and rubbery instead of white and flakey.

 

I know that there will be people that disagree, to each their own.

 

The crew were lovely, nothing but praise for just about everyone we encountered.

 

The photographers were great, paid a lot of attention to detail when taking photos (not all cruise photographers do).

 

The entertainment was hit and miss (again, like food, this is subjective). What we enjoy, others might not.

 

We did like the Movies under the Stars,

 

We enjoyed the itinerary, especially Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Curacao.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our vacation (after all, we were on vacation, and whatever the circumstance, we make the best of it). Met some lovely people, saw some beautiful places, and had some great experiences.

 

Princess though is not for us.

 

This is not to say there is anything drastically wrong, just different strokes for different folks as the saying goes.

[Daniel1313]

You should go back to Royal Caribbean then....

[Jsim2011]

Thanks, I probably will. No need for snark. I tried to give an honest and fair opinion. As I said, we all have different tastes.

[AF-1]

Well at least you had a nice vacation. Some things were good and some not so good. Did you like the ship overall?

[capriccio]

Food is so objective. See this concurrent thread for someone with diametrically opposed opinions of your cruise: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2478314. All that proves is that one person's tastes can differ immensely from another's. I'm glad you found other things to enjoy on the ship and hope that your next cruise on whichever line you chose is better for you.

[eclue]

You should go back to Royal Caribbean then....

I agree - Princess is a bit of an upgrade from royal Caribbean......to each his own....we love Princess - going for our 3rd trip on the Royal next week and then again in May from rome.

eclue:cool:

[Jsim2011]

Af-1 - The ship didn;t "wow" me - and I felt a lot of vibration and more movement than I have on other ships, maybe that is because of the flat hull, not sure.

 

One of my favourite things to do is to take photographs, and I couldn't find many good vantage points for taking photos from on this ship - that said, I am quite short so that didn't help. We did have a balcony and obviously I could take photos from there, but that is limited by where the cabin is.

 

The plaza area was very nice, and I loved the seawalk. The retreat area was also very nice. The spa.enclave was great.

[Jsim2011]

Cappriccio - I did see that thread, and I recognize how subjective it all is.

 

We sat at a table of 8, we didn't know the other people at the start of the cruise only one of the couple's at our table was happy with the food every night. On each of the nights, food was sent back by at least one person at the table.

 

Not all of the food was bad all of the time, but overall it was disappointing. Again, maybe it was because I had high expectations from some of the reviews I had read.

 

We are fortunate to live in city with lots of good/great restaurants - it's all relative and subjective.

 

I am not trying to offend or upset anyone, if someone else enjoyed the food - that's great!! Couldn;t be happier for that person. I am not here to tell them they are wrong.

[GUT2407]

Oh well I guess that's why there are so many lines, one mans poison etc....

[Jsim2011]

exactly :)

[tonit964]

Thanks, I probably will. No need for snark. I tried to give an honest and fair opinion. As I said, we all have different tastes.

 

I didn't take that as snark at all. Since you mostly cruise Royal, you should stick with them. You tried Princess, however it wasn't "your cup of tea" nothing wrong with that.

 

We happen to love Princess, Royal, Carnival and NCL all for different reasons.

 

Enjoy your next cruise!:)

[Jsim2011]

thanks - hope so.

 

To be honest, I had heard that Princess was a step up from Royal Caribbean (as someone else mentioned in this thread), I think that is why my expectations were so high.

 

I don't think that one is higher than the other, just different.

 

HAL's food was better than either Princess or Royal Caribbean, but HAL lost in other areas (for us).

 

I am sure that there is good and not so good with each line, some people love Carnival, but it isn't a cruiseline I am interested in trying.

 

I do want to stress again, the crew were lovely.

[Woobstr112G]

Sorry the cruise didn't live up to your expectations. I hope your future cruises are bettter.....:):):)

Bob

[nanabananna]

Sorry the cruise didn't live up to your expectations. I hope your future cruises are bettter.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

 

 

I agree. Maybe another time and another Princess ship ?

[Cruise Junky]

I agree - Princess is a bit of an upgrade from royal Caribbean......to each his own....we love Princess - going for our 3rd trip on the Royal next week and then again in May from rome.

eclue:cool:

 

Depends on what you're looking for in a cruise.

[Thrak]

I've only cruised with Princess but I must admit that, on some of my cruises, the food was not as good as on others. We actually had a change of head chef during a cruise and the food got a whole lot better so it seems that the "person in charge" can make a huge difference. It also seemed (to us at least) that the two shorter cruises we took had poorer food overall. We've only taken two short cruises. Everything else was at least 10 days or more. (I don't actually consider 10 days all that long...)

 

Bummer that you didn't enjoy your cruise nearly as much as one would hope to do. Hopefully you still had a good time overall.

[perditax]

Sorry to hear it. I was absolutely wow'ed by the buffet on Royal last year--but I was coming from NCL.

 

(Agree about the desserts though.)

[4cats4me]

Thank you for your very honest review. Although we mainly sail with Princess, we have had not so great meals on certain cruises. On the Grand the dining room food was excellent 6 months ago. Last month on the Regal, we didn't even go to the dining room since we love the Regal's buffet so much, and also we like going to the Crown Grill. I had also read a lot on this board that the food in the MDR had been subpar on the Regal. (Not my opinion and not the basis for us not going to the MDR, preferring the buffet on that particular cruise ) However, I have read several reviews since then where people have had excellent food on the same ship. Food really is subjective. Sometimes it just depends on the chef, the cuts of meat, many things. I will say that we have a,ways loved Princess dining room desserts Now, we were underwhelmed with the horrible buffet on the Vision of the Seas, yet we loved the main dining room [emoji2] however, we found the Mariner's dining room food to be lacking compared to Princess, and RCCL had nothing comparable or with the variety of the International Cafe, and we found RCCL's Park Cafe to have very limited offerings, albeit, what we were offered was very good. There are definitely pros and cons to all the cruise lines. As an aside, I think it is very rude of posters who tell reviewers who post lest than complimentary reviews about their favored line to "go back" to their other cruise line. Criticism in a ship review is just as important as praise.

 

 

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[Lucky TGO]

So sorry you didn't like the cruise. I do agree with you about the desserts they are not as good as they were a few years ago . We noticed there are less choices on the menu also. I think the quality of the food is pretty good.

Hope your next cruise is better.

Tony

[cr8tiv1]

I see by your location marker you are from Seattle. There are many great Princess ships that sail the Alaskan season. Maybe if you mentioned what you were looking for, CC members might be able to match you with a better ship. I, for one, don't like the bigger ships and will not sail on the Royal class ships. I prefer the Coral/Golden and her sister ships. Even the Crown and the Ruby are too big for me.

 

Thanks for giving Princess a try. Hope you will try another class. I've ventured out to Carnival, Celebrity, HAL, Norwegian, and even the old Matson Lines. I'll stick with Princess.

[caribill]

We were surprised to find that the dining room closed for breakfast by 9am, we turned up at 8.55am and told we had to go to the buffet.

 

To me that was unacceptable.

 

The closing time is supposed to be the last time new diners can enter the dining room, so if the watches they used showed 8:55, you should have been allowed to eat breakfast there at that time.

[floridalover5623]

You should go back to Royal Caribbean then....

That's kind of what I was thinking although I'm pretty sure they close down their restaurants around the same time also.

Showing up a few minutes before the official close means they have to keep the place open for another 45 minutes for only 1 couple which is a little inconsiderate. :o

[flamomo]

Since OP has experience with a different cruise line, I'm sure his/her expectations were based on what they were accustomed to with that line.

 

I found my thinking to be like that a couple of years ago when, after 20+ Princess cruises, I did a Carnival cruise with family members.

While it wasn't all bad, there were were so many things, service-wise, as well as the overall feeling of the ship, that I was used to with Princess, that were missing. At the end I decided that I probably wouldn't do that again!

[Grego]

So sorry you didn't like the cruise. I do agree with you about the desserts they are not as good as they were a few years ago . We noticed there are less choices on the menu also. I think the quality of the food is pretty good.

Hope your next cruise is better.

Tony

I agree regarding the desserts and menu choices in the MDR. We tend to use the Horizon Court more for dinner when on the Royal Class ships as the choices are fantastic and the quality quite good and there are much more dessert choices in the Pastry area.

[Myrtle Ave. Mayhem]

I don't think there is anything wrong about raising the bar high on your expectations. The Princess of 2017 is virtually unrecognizable from the Princess of 1989, when I started cruising. I still enjoy Princess, but it seems that all the mass market cruise lines are going to a service delivery that I'm frequently not impressed with.