Changes on Princess

[Sanz]

We have not cruised on a Princess ship for 8 years.  We just booked a Mediterranean cruise  on Enchanted Princess.  How has the Princess experience changed, since we were last on one of their ships?

[oskidunker]

What do you think?

[c-boy]

new ship, new adventures  yeeee haw !

[paul929207]

More opportunities to spend money on board

 

[jennybenny]

Love the Royal Class ships!! Have fun!!

[Jeter02]

The royal class ships offer some great loveliness. Oh, and you'll now have medallion as well, which is quite nice. You'll enjoy.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Jeter02

[Sanz]

This will be our 17th cruise overall. Whether you like the food served is subjective.  I've heard from some people that the quality of the food has gone done on Princess and that the menus have become more limited.  I was wondering if others have found this to be true and if there have been any other changes.  On Royal Caribbean, pen and paper has disappeared from staterooms and chocolates from the  turn down service.    There have been other changes on Royal and other lines that I have been on as well. I'm attempting to find out what I might expect on Princess at this point in time, in contrast to what was prevalent 8  years ago. 

 

I've read about the Medallion service and it sounds good.  We have enjoyed  Voom on Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas.. We were able to stream movies in our stateroom. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by Sanz

[Sea Hag]

2 minutes ago, Sanz said:

This will be our 17th cruise overall. Whether you like the food served is subjective.  I've heard from some people that the quality of the food has gone done on Princess and that the menus have become more limited.  I was wondering if others have found this to be true and if there have been any other changes.  On Royal Caribbean, pen and paper has disappeared from staterooms and chocolates from the  turn down service.    There have been other changes on Royal and other lines that I have been on as well. I'm attempting to find out what I might expect on Princess at this point in time, in contrast to what was prevalent 8  years ago.

Princess still does chocolates on turn down service. No idea about the pen and paper.

 

I think there're still plenty of great good options available.

 

Other people have complained that the shows in the evening are much shorter, but I wouldn't know about that first hand since we never go to them. However, so many folks have said it that I think I'd say it's true.

 

Staff is still very nice. Service is still good. 

[Steelers36]

Same ambiance and service levels IMO.  Internet will be way fast for you compared to the old one (you will have Medallion Net).  You are on a OCEAN Medallion ship, so that is an interesting experience.  Yes, the menus are redesigned, but still lots of choices.  The "Always Available" has been down-graded and they don't even mix that up.  Steak replaced by hamburger - however on our most recent cruise the burgers did change as they were variations on gourmet burgers such as "the Ernesto".  That said, something like the salmon is exactly the same every night when they could change that up  bit.  The lido buffet on your ship will be huge with lots of food stations and choices.  You are on a brand new ship so no one has experienced it yet.

 

[voljeep]

no more coffee card ... now it's a coffee package - use it or lose it at the end of your cruise

 

no more carryover a single punch that "entitled" you to free brewed coffee the rest of your cruising life

[famski740]

You mentioned streaming movies.  On the Royal Class ships (and others as they are refitted), they have a new \TV system that has on demand movies.  Some of the movies are older but a lot of them are newer movies.  The movies shown on the big screen at night are usually available on TV the next day.  There are also some episodes of the Love Boat to watch.

[satxdiver]

I measured Medallion Net in the Caribbean at 100 mbps up and down.  Expect a fast internet connection and a more reasonable package offering.  The new layout for the HC is wonderful.  No more traffic jams with the different parts broken up and easy access.  The HC opens continuously at 6 AM and closes at 11 PM on most ships.  Princess has the grill and pizzeria by the main pool on the lido deck which are open from 11 AM to 10 PM and are free.  Room service is free except for pizza ($3).  The room steward will clean the room twice a day, turn down the covers at night and leave a chocolate on the bed.  The IC on deck 5 near the piazza is open 24x7 with changing food offered according to the time of day.  

 

Entertainment wise there are performances in the different lounges, theater and piazza every night and there is the nightly MUTS with popcorn.  Princess has cut the performances in the theater down to 30 minutes or so but some are longer.  

[MISTER 67]

We are Elite with Princess but haven't sailed with them now for 2 years because the food budget was decreased. Food was really bad compared to what we were used to on Princess. I would say that the food on Princess is now about the same as Carnival, a real shame. 

[TriumphGuy]

No more barrel chairs in standard balcony cabins and below, fleet-wide. Deal-breaker for us. We're trying HAL for our TA next April.

[janina]

14 hours ago, famski740 said:

You mentioned streaming movies.  On the Royal Class ships (and others as they are refitted), they have a new \TV system that has on demand movies.  Some of the movies are older but a lot of them are newer movies.  The movies shown on the big screen at night are usually available on TV the next day.  There are also some episodes of the Love Boat to watch.

We love the Royal Class and the TV demand movies is a wonderful upgrade.

[camper49]

12 hours ago, TriumphGuy said:

No more barrel chairs in standard balcony cabins and below, fleet-wide. Deal-breaker for us. We're trying HAL for our TA next April.

We upgraded to a balcony deluxe because of the chair. More $$ of course. 

[skynight]

17 hours ago, Sanz said:

This will be our 17th cruise overall. Whether you like the food served is subjective.  I've heard from some people that the quality of the food has gone done on Princess and that the menus have become more limited.  I was wondering if others have found this to be true and if there have been any other changes.  On Royal Caribbean, pen and paper has disappeared from staterooms and chocolates from the  turn down service.    There have been other changes on Royal and other lines that I have been on as well. I'm attempting to find out what I might expect on Princess at this point in time, in contrast to what was prevalent 8  years ago. 

 

I've read about the Medallion service and it sounds good.  We have enjoyed  Voom on Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas.. We were able to stream movies in our stateroom. 

While the Enchanted Princess has not sailed yet I imagine that the on board experience will be much the same as the Royal and Regal Princess. You should find a very large variety of selections in the World Market Place (buffet). Alfredo's, no charge, is waiter served individual pizza and other selections. It is open every day for lunch and dinner and is a nice choice. The International Cafe is always there 24/7 for a snack or a meal. No charge for food. The espresso bar is always busy. The Crown Grill and Sabatini's are nice specialty restaurants. Believe the Enchanted is also scheduled to have a French restaurant. There is pen and paper in the cabins and you do receive chocolates each evening. To my taste the DR menus are still high end banquet meals. Over the past few years the number of menu selections have been reduced, but I never found it a problem. Always available selections are still on the menus.

The number of live entertainment options are still there from shows in the theater, Vista Lounge, and live musicians in various venues around the ship.

The Enchanted will have the fast Medallion Net internet. It will be available for purchase in the cruise personlizer, or you can purchase on board. If you are Captain's Circle Platinum you receive free minutes. Currently on ships with Medallion Net these minutes can be exchanged for always connected service at a discount. This may or may not be the case on your cruise. With Medallion Net you are able to stream movies onto your device. The TV in you cabin will be on demand with a lot of movie and show selections, but you can not stream directly to it. Some have reported they have been able to connect their device to the TV and use the TV as a monitor. I personally don't know how this is done.

Your ship will be Medallion Class ship, not to be confused with Medallion Net. Search Princess Medallion Class for some information.

 

[patrickmoran]

Small balcony

[geocruiser]

3 hours ago, camper49 said:

We upgraded to a balcony deluxe because of the chair. More $$ of course. 

We have done that our on next Regal cruise only because we had a large credit with Princess of over $1,200 PP from a canceled cruise.  After this cruise unless the price is right for a cabin that can seat two people we are moving back to one of the many other cruise lines that we have traveled on.  I just don't want a "standing room only cabin" on Princess.

[Steelers36]

43 minutes ago, patrickmoran said:

Small balcony

This I have not read or heard anything about.  So, in building Sky and Enchanted there was no change to balcony sizes?

Edited July 30, 2019 by steelers36

[Jeter02]

21 hours ago, steelers36 said:

Same ambiance and service levels IMO.  Internet will be way fast for you compared to the old one (you will have Medallion Net).  You are on a OCEAN Medallion ship, so that is an interesting experience.  Yes, the menus are redesigned, but still lots of choices.  The "Always Available" has been down-graded and they don't even mix that up.  Steak replaced by hamburger - however on our most recent cruise the burgers did change as they were variations on gourmet burgers such as "the Ernesto".  That said, something like the salmon is exactly the same every night when they could change that up  bit.  The lido buffet on your ship will be huge with lots of food stations and choices.  You are on a brand new ship so no one has experienced it yet.

 

As long as they keep my fettuccine alfredo, I'm good!

[voljeep]

the AIBP has been changed to the PBP - Premier Beverage Package - increased cost and a limit of 15 alcoholic beverages per 'Princess Day'

[jasbo49]

You can no longer count on your cabin being ready if you board early. On some ships anyway, they are not ready until 1 p.m.

 

Jim

[SargassoPirate]

17 hours ago, TriumphGuy said:

No more barrel chairs in standard balcony cabins and below, fleet-wide. Deal-breaker for us. We're trying HAL for our TA next April.

We are finishing out our current bookings with Princess and will book future cruises with a line that offers somewhere to sit in a standard balcony.

 

We are Elite, but removing furniture "to make more room" is indeed the last straw.

 

We plan to carry on a folding event chair on our next Princess cruise. 

[janina]

3 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

We are finishing out our current bookings with Princess and will book future cruises with a line that offers somewhere to sit in a standard balcony.

 

We are Elite, but removing furniture "to make more room" is indeed the last straw.

 

We plan to carry on a folding event chair on our next Princess cruise. 

That's one way to take care of the problem!