Cruise Reviews - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[Ken the cruiser]

We were on the CB in May 2022 cruising through the Panama Canal where I also posted our many experiences to a Live From thread in my below expanded Signature area. We will also be on the CB again starting in mid October cruising from Quebec down to Ft Lauderdale followed by a 5-day Caribbean cruise. I will also be posting to a Live From thread on that B2B as well if you would like to follow along. 😁

[Hlitner]

10 hours ago, IndyKid said:

That's interesting. I'm hoping that it won't be too full in early December...

The worst situation happens in some tender ports, which is normally not an issue in the Caribbean.  The other major problem can happen in the main theater with an insufficient number of seats.  
 

Hank

[Gwendy]

On Caribbean Princess at the moment.  Dining room service is slow, but waiters trying hard and food very good.

Everywhere I want to be seems to be crowded and has long lines.  There was a huge line for afternoon tea on first sea day, but that seems to have solved itself, maybe people just not bothering.

Again long line to get into theatre and always packed.

Just seems too many people for facilities.

However as usual we are enjoying our cruise.  It is just a change after Regal and Enchanted.

[voljeep]

11 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We were on the CB in May 2022 cruising through the Panama Canal where I also posted our many experiences to a Live From thread in my below expanded Signature area. We will also be on the CB again starting in mid October cruising from Quebec down to Ft Lauderdale followed by a 5-day Caribbean cruise. I will also be posting to a Live From thread on that B2B as well if you would like to follow along. 😁

we've got the 5 day scheduled and paid for - I'd say we're about 80/20 in still going.  It will be our last cruise on the CB - even if it will be at Port Canaveral ... or not, depending on if we go on the 5 day and how it goes - if it's understaffed again - it will definitely be our last time

[Ken the cruiser]

15 minutes ago, voljeep said:

we've got the 5 day scheduled and paid for - I'd say we're about 80/20 in still going.  It will be our last cruise on the CB - even if it will be at Port Canaveral ... or not, depending on if we go on the 5 day and how it goes - if it's understaffed again - it will definitely be our last time

For us we don't usually book 14-day or less cruises anymore, as we're just settling in after the first 7 days. However, this particular 5-day cruise following our cruise from Quebec which includes a Princess 5-day pre-cruise land adventure, will make us Elite; otherwise we would have passed on it.

 

So far our Princess cruises after it started back up have been great! But then we switch around between Celebrity, Princess and NCL, depending on itinerary to keep things interesting. 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Oxo]

On 8/25/2023 at 11:11 AM, voljeep said:

you're going to get what you pay for, unless more changes come out between now and then. If you are a 'foodie' , good luck - to us anyway, the mdr and buffet is just food for substance.  to us

Food is very subjective. What cruise line do you consider that has the best food in your opinion?

Our experience is you can go to a restaurant at home one day and it is great. Go the next day and order the same food and it may be OK. 

[voljeep]

10 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Food is very subjective. What cruise line do you consider that has the best food in your opinion?

Our experience is you can go to a restaurant at home one day and it is great. Go the next day and order the same food and it may be OK. 

we don't go on cruises for the 'food experience' .. sorry

[IndyKid]

2 hours ago, Gwendy said:

On Caribbean Princess at the moment.  Dining room service is slow, but waiters trying hard and food very good.

Everywhere I want to be seems to be crowded and has long lines.  There was a huge line for afternoon tea on first sea day, but that seems to have solved itself, maybe people just not bothering.

Again long line to get into theatre and always packed.

Just seems too many people for facilities.

However as usual we are enjoying our cruise.  It is just a change after Regal and Enchanted.

Hi Gwendy, good to hear from someone currently on board. Are you doing the eastern or western route? And what about this afternoon tea? I hadn't heard about that. What do they serve?

[Oxo]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

we don't go on cruises for the 'food experience' .. sorry

I didn't say you went in the cruise for the food experience. However, your do eat on a cruise. 

I just asked what cruise lines do you like the food? 

[KKB]

On 8/25/2023 at 9:02 AM, IndyKid said:

I'll start this by saying I'm not an experienced cruiser by any means, the wife and I have only been on 2 RCCL cruises to date.

 

We were looking at doing a Caribbean cruise this winter, and we did the western section on the Allure Of The Seas in 2016 so we thought we would try the eastern section this time. We wanted a smaller ship than the Allure (too big, too crowded) and fewer kids. Our TA recommended Princess, and we picked the December 10th sailing on the Caribbean Princess - we figure that will be not as busy, and the little ones will be in school. 

 

So this morning I decided to go look at some of the recent reviews for this ship and it appears that depending on who you believe it's either one of the best out there or it is closer to a garbage scow. I know that it's an older ship but it went through major maintenance and upgrades a few years ago.

 

So who do you believe? I'm pretty laid back, I don't expect things to be perfect as I know things can go a awry. And it's Princess, not Silver Sea or one of the other super-luxury brands that cater to the 1%. So are some people just too picky or unrealistic about their expectations? And on the other hand, are those who rate this ship 5 stars too blind or loyal to Princess to note the shortcomings?

 

Signed,

Tuco

 

VERY experienced cruiser here (34 cruises in 19 years; 16 of those in the last 14 mos) with most being on Princess.

Sailed the Caribbean Princess for 2 weeks last summer & she was lovely!

 

Regarding reviews--look for patterns. I tend to "throw out" the ones that say it was a 5* experience & those that say it was HORRID. UNLESS A LOT of people are saying one of those things. 

 

Unhappy people are FAR more likely to write reviews than those who are happy--it helps them feel as if they have "done something" about their disappointment.

 

I am a "glass is half full" kinda gal. Have NEVER had a BAD trip. Never had a perfect one either.

Things happen. Almost always situational.

 

RCCL have done 3 cruises--wasn't a huge fan of the 1st one (Mariner), but we won a 2nd one (Allure) playing poker on that cruise & LOVED it.

 

Now we have tried various lines, ships, rooms & itineraries. Other than MSC (won't again...found passengers rude both in Caribbean & Europe--and the reviews often mentioned that), would sail all the other lines we have sailed again. Only NCL has an interior that I find just too small. (but I MIGHT still book one...). Enjoyed Norway, not itching to go back. But UK--already going back.

 

I am 100% of the belief that one's experiences in life are 99% attitude. 

We BELIEVE we are going to have a good time--and we always do. 

Yep, even did on those MSC cruises. 

Issues WILL happen if one travels enough. Expect them, and handle them with grace.

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by KKB

[voljeep]

9 minutes ago, Oxo said:

I didn't say you went in the cruise for the food experience. However, your do eat on a cruise. 

I just asked what cruise lines do you like the food? 

Windjammer

[Oxo]

Just now, voljeep said:

Windjammer

Thank you. 

[KKB]

On 8/25/2023 at 12:24 PM, IndyKid said:

This is exactly why we decided to give Princess a try. We wanted no part of the 20's crowd that seem to gravitate towards Carnival, and had our fill of the zoo on the big RCCL ships. I will plan to do an accurate, objective review of our cruise in December. 

Don't assume Carnival is 20 somethings.

Sailed Carnival for first time in Jan after 16 cruises in 18 years on other lines.

It was the Miracle to Hawaii. 

We LOVED it--great food, service, activities, comedy shows. 

Talking to bartenders, they said just avoid cruises 7 days or less to Caribbean or MX Riviera. They said longer cruises to other places are much better--makes sense as those would get an older demographic & not the "party crowd" that Carnival attracts to short domestic cruises.

[KKB]

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

Food is very subjective. What cruise line do you consider that has the best food in your opinion?

Our experience is you can go to a restaurant at home one day and it is great. Go the next day and order the same food and it may be OK. 

I agree.

I find Celebrity to have the best food, particularly Eclass ships.

THAT BEING SAID. 

I find the food more alike than different. 

I am happy with most things I order...like you said, if I ate out that often at home, with that many courses, occasionally I won't like something, 

OK, no big deal.

Definitely NOT going hungry on a ship!!

(in 34 cruises on various lines, have NEVER felt food was not good overall. Perhaps a course, or even a restaurant/buffet wasn't very good to me, but there are ALWAYS other options. Have never had MDR that we felt we couldn't return to)

[cruisequeen4ever]

If you’ve never sailed on Princess, you’ll probably really be happy because you don’t know what you are missing. Those of us who have sailed for many many years on Princess miss certain things that are gone, feel that some of the magic has waned, and feel the value has been somewhat lessened. Some of us, like me, are still 100% devoted to Princess, though, because it’s still better than other options. Ignore the reviews, and make your own opinion. You don’t have much to lose. You either end up addicted to Princess or decide to go with a different cruise line next time. 

[HBDave]

On 8/25/2023 at 7:54 AM, Pickels said:

We've been on 16 cruises since 2003, and have cruised with RCL, NCL, Princess and Celebrity.  A [cruise] vacation is what you make it.  Some people have outrageous expectations and others go with the flow.  On some of our past cruises there have been some "hiccups", things went wrong, things were broken, things were cancelled but, in all honesty, we always had a great vacation. Some people will always complain about anything and everything. If you read all the reviews of a particular cruise, some will say it was great, others, on the same cruise, will say it was the worse. Who are you going to believe? Have cruised on the Regal Princess and next March on the Enchanted Princess; what we like about Princess is they have The Sanctuary, which we always reserve for the entire cruise.  Can't offer any insight on the Caribbean Princess because we never cruised on that ship.  My take on "Reviews",--- I've read reviews on Trip Advisor for vacation places, I don't go to the Excellent reviews nor the Poor reviews; I check the reviews right in the middle:  AVERAGE.  That gives you the "right in the middle" opinion. 

Traveler rating

• Excellent2,220
• Very Good356
• Average201
• Poor147
• Terrible191

 

 

You're spot on!

 

I had two coworkers go to Hawaii during the same week. One coworker had lots of money and stayed at the Four Seasons. For the other this was a trip that she had to save up for. She stayed at the Best Western. The coworker who stayed at the Four Seasons had nothing but complaints and the one who stayed at the Best Western said it was the best trip she'd ever been on. It's all about attitude. 

[BamaVol]

I’m betting you encountered one really negative post and a number of posts with minor issues or complaints.  A lot of it is “manufactured outrage”.  I’ve never had a bad cruise. But I keep my expectations reasonable. There is an excellent chance you will disembark happy and satisfied.  Some small number of people will have a bad time through no fault of their own.  A larger number will be disappointed and it’s really all about their lousy attitude.  But the vast majority will be pleased and ready to do it all over again. I hope you are in that group.

[cr8tiv1]

Recent cruise on the Caribbean Princess.  I had a grand time.  Nothing wrong with my cabin, my service, my enjoyment.  Except:  Refrigerator never worked and was looked at several (like 5 visits) times.  Someone called it a "cooler" not a refrigerator.  Someone else said it would have to wait until they could get the same size to replace it.

 

Cabin down the hall could not get air conditioner to work.  They had maintenance there several times.  There was some issues with ac in the public areas and yet, the MDR was cold enough to require a wrap.

 

ALL of Princess' ships can not accommodate ALL the passengers who want to go to the theater.  That is a function of the size of the ship AND corporate.  Too many for too small a theater.  Same with tender ports.  You can only transport so many passengers at a time.  The ship is crowded on sea days...no where to go.  Music way too loud.

 

On the bright side.  ALL elevators were operational.  ALL stores were empty of buyers.  Scones could be found in the buffet if you didn't want to do TEA TIME.  Pub lunch was served in the MDR.  Crew was terrific.  Everyone had a smile and were friendly.  Room service was prompt...if you could get through on the phone.  

 

I have cruise other lines and prefer Princess for the comfort of knowing my way around and ease of getting to San Pedro.  It will take a terrific itinerary for a reasonable fare for me to jump ship.  As I age, the ship is the destination.  

 

 

[charliedalrymple]

I've never read so much on Cruise Critic as I have in the last six months or so. We will be on the Enchanted to New Zealand this Christmas, and at times I find myself wondering whether it's even worth it when Princess seems to have so many issues and problems these days.

 

However, I've come to realise that I probably wouldn't even think about or notice 99% of the things people complain about here, so I'm not going to worry.  I'm just letting it all go and I'm sure the cruise will be wonderful.  As AstroFlyer said, we've never had a "bad cruise"--just varying degrees of good!

Edited August 27, 2023 by charliedalrymple