Too soft mattress

[pedirn]

We have never had a problem with the beds on previous Princess cruises but on our June cruise on the Caribbean Princess the bed was too soft.   So soft that it caused a flare up of back issues for my husband.   This caused us to miss ports and activities as his pain affected his ability to move.   We have just booked another cruise on the Sky Princess and are trying to be proactive ahead of time to prevent issues this time.   What have others done when faced with a bed too soft?  Is there anything that can be done onboard if we have the problem again?   I have looked for a travel bed board but really haven’t found anything that is easily carried.

[geocruiser]

Maybe they have a board to put under the mattress?  You could contact special services and see what they can do.

[GloriaF]

I noticed, and loved, the softer beds personally ~ but for those that suffer from a softer bed, perhaps the mattress pad could be removed.  On the Crown I noticed what felt like a fluffy feather (feel positive it was not feather but down alternative product)  mattress pad under the bottom sheet. If this were removed, it might make a difference, and it would certainly be easy enough for the room steward to do. 

[mtnesterz]

I have read of others here ln CC requesting a board underneath the matteress, so pretty sure they will have them.

Problem is these Princess Luxury beds. They are fairly new in service and already wearing out. Consider too, they weren't used for 2 years. Poor durability for a hospitality industry product. They're a foam top, so people sink in before hitting the supportive layer. Also, like any foam or gel top, sleeps hot. Adjust the thermostat as needed at night. Request light blanket instead of duvet. Hope that helps.

[PacnGoNow]

3 hours ago, pedirn said:

We have never had a problem with the beds on previous Princess cruises but on our June cruise on the Caribbean Princess the bed was too soft.   So soft that it caused a flare up of back issues for my husband.   This caused us to miss ports and activities as his pain affected his ability to move.   We have just booked another cruise on the Sky Princess and are trying to be proactive ahead of time to prevent issues this time.   What have others done when faced with a bed too soft?  Is there anything that can be done onboard if we have the problem again?   I have looked for a travel bed board but really haven’t found anything that is easily carried.

You must have had our cabin on CB!  😳

Ours was actually worn out and soft.  I thought they would have replaced some during the drydock. Evidently not.

I did report it.

Like others suggested, let the cabin steward know right away.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I (and my lower back) like a very firm mattress. A board under the mattress seldom provides the support I am looking for. When the mattress is particularly soft (some of Princess’s are like marshmallows), I have the board put on top the mattress, topped with a comforter, then made up with sheets. 

[pedirn]

Thanks everyone for advice.  It sounds like we can request a board be placed under the mattress if we find it too soft.    Guess we should have asked on last cruise.

[Bgwest]

We've had the entire mattress replaced on more that one cruise. Advise your cabin steward right away and also notify guest services. We've had extremely good luck with quick replacements.

 

No boards ever. But a replacement mattress. 

[nnzz]

57 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

We've had the entire mattress replaced on more that one cruise. Advise your cabin steward right away and also notify guest services. We've had extremely good luck with quick replacements.

 

No boards ever. But a replacement mattress. 

Our first request to our room steward is to remove the mattress top.  There has never been a problem doing so but I did not know about requesting a board.  Its the luxury mattress topper that is the problem for us so using a board would not be helpful anyway.

[arthistory]

Your steward will be able to help you - on a recent cruise our steward changed the mattress, then put a board under it - and moved a larger lounge chair in our cabin.  Also in the dining room, they found a more

comfortable chair for me.  We are looking forward to our next cruise in November as my back is great now.

[1emerald1]

If you want a firm mattress, go on the Discovery.....

[san diego sue]

6 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

If you want a firm mattress, go on the Discovery.....

 On Discovery ours wasn't a mattress, it was a cement slab. Not firm, just hard as a rock.

[rbtan]

We had that issue on our trip to Hawaii in 2020. This was on the Star. Terrible mattress. My spouse had back spasms for months afterwards. We hope our March 2023 on the Emerald is better. If not we most certainly will demand they get us a firm bed.

[Nicole&Pete]

On 7/6/2022 at 4:23 PM, pedirn said:

We have never had a problem with the beds on previous Princess cruises but on our June cruise on the Caribbean Princess the bed was too soft.   So soft that it caused a flare up of back issues for my husband.   This caused us to miss ports and activities as his pain affected his ability to move.   We have just booked another cruise on the Sky Princess and are trying to be proactive ahead of time to prevent issues this time.   What have others done when faced with a bed too soft?  Is there anything that can be done onboard if we have the problem again?   I have looked for a travel bed board but really haven’t found anything that is easily carried.

Hi I only just read your post.
 

We have just come off the Sky Princess and I love a soft bed but I must say the mattress topper they put on the bed (we were in a mini suite) was really soft. I think I prefer a memory foam type topper on the bed whereas this was a pillow top style which I could only describe as feeling like a lumpy marshmallow.

 

There was one large topper across both twin beds and then two individual on each twin bed. However, the large topper and the two individual toppers for each of the twin beds can be removed. I noticed on the last day that the toppers for the interior cabins were much thinner to cover both beds so it may be worth asking for one of those instead. I did look and feel the mattress below and it was on the softer side I would say, not saggy though, still supportive. I think they call it the princess bed which is the same across all ships. My issue was with the toppers on top of the mattress not the actual mattress and I didn’t get any back problems even though I am prone to them. 
 

I have bought one of these in the past which would be annoying to take but maybe worth it to avoid potential back problems; https://www.amazon.co.uk/MATTRESS-SUPPORT-FOLDING-BED-BOARDS/dp/B004Y50ETE/ref=asc_df_B004Y50ETE/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=490375559659&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5374408835969070540&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007033&hvtargid=pla-820839437038&psc=1&th=1&psc=1. 

 

The other thing to note is that the cabins on Sky princess have a kettle so a good trick is to bring a hot water bottle for back problems, use that for 10 minutes on the affected area and then fill a zip lock back with ice (ask the steward to fill your ice bucket) and then use that for 10 minutes after the heat. This trick works wonders for me!!!

 

I would also note that the sofas in the mini suite on the Sky are VERY hard so if you did have that type of room and the bed was too soft the sofa could be another option, it was definitely large enough to lie on.

 

I hope that helps, any other questions let me know. 
 

Nicole

[Sea Hag]

On 7/7/2022 at 12:15 PM, san diego sue said:

 On Discovery ours wasn't a mattress, it was a cement slab. Not firm, just hard as a rock.

Definitely not what I want to hear, but thanks for the heads-up. We're going to be on the Discovery in August, and I've really been enjoying the soft mattresses on Princess ships the last several cruises. 

[san diego sue]

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

Definitely not what I want to hear, but thanks for the heads-up. We're going to be on the Discovery in August, and I've really been enjoying the soft mattresses on Princess ships the last several cruises. 

Some people on our cruise asked for a pad to be put on their mattress and that worked for them. I didn't realize we could get one and we just suffered. We just got off the Ruby Princess and the bed was heavenly. Slept well.

[Steelers36]

I read this with some amusement (albeit feeling bad for those guests suffered a poor mattress for them).  I recall all the threads before the Princess Luxury Bed where the complaints were the beds were too firm and folks were bringing foam toppers, or asking Stewart ASAP for a foam topper to soften the bed.  Along came the Luxury bed and now it seems they are turning too soft too soon.  We thought the new beds were great when they first came out, so it will be interesting to see what the situation is come October on two different ships.  I have asked for a mattress swap once and it was done (in fact, I think they switched both when only one was an issue) and that helped (old mattresses). 

 

Now we have folks wanting to add boards to make the Luxury bed more firm.  Since beds are a personal thing, IDK if they could ever get it right, but seems to me they should get more life out of the new bed before it softens up too much.

 

[Coral]

They used to be as hard as a rock.

I like the new beds.

 

[asalligo]

No Mattress is ever too soft for me. If I laid down and sunk out of sight, I would be happy. Too hard now, that bothers me. 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2022 by asalligo

[Adventures ahead]

We love a pillow-top mattress.

I'm more curious about the pillows.  Hope DH can get a foam-type one, feathers being a no-no for both of us. He swears by the bamboo pillow he uses at home (and has head of the bed elevated couple of inches) but his pillow won't make the cut in our carry on!  lol... don't even think about it! haha!

Apparently, suites get a pillow 'menu'. May need to make a special request.

[rbtan]

We prefer a very firm mattress. The one on our 2020 Hawaiian trip was so soft, Keith had backaches the entire cruise. We know now we could have had the bed changed. Wish we knew then!

[abbydancer2003]

Reading this, I think I just dodge a bullet.  We were on the Ruby in December, and DH asked if he could take the mattress home.  So we decided to order the bed.  They say a 12 week turn around, so we waited until we had about a 2 month break in travel and ordered at the beginning of April.

 

So now mid August, and no bed.  The order status is unfulfilled.  I've emailed a few times, and no answer. 

 

I called today, and apparently Princess has paused the selling of the beds.  Not that anyone told me.  The person I spoke to was very nice, and they are refunding it, as well as the mattress topper and cover that I've already received.

 

I guess it's now time to order the Marriott bed.  Maybe they're still shipping them.

 

[greenumbrella]

So sorry for all the people who don’t like the Princess mattresses!  My husband and I have disagreed on what we want every time we have to replace a mattress but one thing we can agree on is we sleep great on Princess ships.  So we decided to buy the Princess Luxury Bed for home.  I ordered March 7, 2022 and finally got delivery on May 6.  The mattress is made by Sherwood Bedding in Orlando, Fl.  Since I live one hour away, I thought I would get quick delivery.  Not to be.  No response to anything on the Princess Luxury Bed website or phone.  Since I ordered the mattress topper as well (and received it within a week of order!)., I contacted that company retail at SobelWestex dot com and actually had a person answer and try to help.  Apparently the mattress and box were picked up by the delivery company early on, it just took them over 6 weeks to find time to deliver it!  Now that I have slept on it for a while,  we are fairly happy with the mattress.  We are disappointed with the topper.  It should be about 6 inches bigger in both directions and is not as soft as our ship experience.  Since we just spent 2 weeks on the Island Princess, we were able to compare.  The topper on the ship is thicker and as a side sleeper, I was glad to sink down into it.  When I replace the topper, I will look for something thicker.  Also the ship just has the mattress on a frame but we were advised to get the box spring as well.  The too soft mattress problems could also be the frame being worn out but the first thing to make the bed firmer is to have your steward remove the topper as another writer suggested.  Mattress and topper are totally separate items.  Good luck!

[abbydancer2003]

2 hours ago, greenumbrella said:

So sorry for all the people who don’t like the Princess mattresses!  My husband and I have disagreed on what we want every time we have to replace a mattress but one thing we can agree on is we sleep great on Princess ships.  So we decided to buy the Princess Luxury Bed for home.  I ordered March 7, 2022 and finally got delivery on May 6.  The mattress is made by Sherwood Bedding in Orlando, Fl.  Since I live one hour away, I thought I would get quick delivery.  Not to be.  No response to anything on the Princess Luxury Bed website or phone.  Since I ordered the mattress topper as well (and received it within a week of order!)., I contacted that company retail at SobelWestex dot com and actually had a person answer and try to help.  Apparently the mattress and box were picked up by the delivery company early on, it just took them over 6 weeks to find time to deliver it!  Now that I have slept on it for a while,  we are fairly happy with the mattress.  We are disappointed with the topper.  It should be about 6 inches bigger in both directions and is not as soft as our ship experience.  Since we just spent 2 weeks on the Island Princess, we were able to compare.  The topper on the ship is thicker and as a side sleeper, I was glad to sink down into it.  When I replace the topper, I will look for something thicker.  Also the ship just has the mattress on a frame but we were advised to get the box spring as well.  The too soft mattress problems could also be the frame being worn out but the first thing to make the bed firmer is to have your steward remove the topper as another writer suggested.  Mattress and topper are totally separate items.  Good luck!

Interesting, and annoying.  I ordered on March 31, 2022, and never got it, they just cancelled the order.  They also refunded the cover and topper that I ordered at the same time and received.  (And the only reason it's not still sitting in "unfulfilled" is that I callled.

 

I was told that they'd stopped production, but I guess you got in before I did.  I saw an online review for the topper, which said the same thing, so when we order our Marriott bed, and if the topper is too small, we'll just donate it or something.

 

I'm glad it worked out for you.

 

 

[caribill]

3 hours ago, abbydancer said:

I was told that they'd stopped production.

 

So, what will Princess buy now for mattresses?