I miss the old Princess

[Cruisintimer]

23 hours ago, macaws2 said:

I just came upon this roll call and started reading out of curiosity, well, the last time we cruised princess was way back in the 2000's before there were any specialty dining or packages to purchase, you paid as you went along and there was only the MDR and the buffet which to be honest for us was just fine, not complicated and personally we liked it that way, not having to try and book any special dining and formal nights were nice evening where everyone dressed up and the dining room was full of passengers that were looking forward to what was on the menu that evening and what entertainment was going to be performed by the dining room staff, and whether you preferred early or late dining etc. We've cruised before and after covid on other cruiselines, the last this past New Years and noticed such a change, on formal nights, individuals were walking in wearing jeans, men with hats on etc, plus we only ate in the MDR and even though we were setted at a table for 6 we were the only ones that showed up every evening. We are booked on a 21 day Mediterranean this coming Aug on the new princess sun and with all the changes, costs etc this may by our last cruise, we're retired and at this point because of all the changes may look at other travel alternatives. We've lived in the pacific when my husband was active duty so had the privilege to experience different cultures and live it. Yes, I know there are alot of individuals that don't mind the changes but I guess we're just old school and like the simple way things use to be. 

We are prior military/old school too but honestly nothing stays the same in life and the value/cost of cruising sure beats hotel and food prices these days.  We board with reasonable expectations and glasses half full not empty and have a great time despite little annoyances that may pop up.  Gratitude changes even a bleak looking buffet choice.  Enjoy your 21 days at sea and happy sailing!

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

12 minutes ago, memoak said:

If all you people hate the “New” Princess so much why do you still sail with the line ?  It sounds like you are expecting a lousy cruise but still book them. 

 

"Hate" is your words and I think you are being rather disingenuous in using  that word in that way. The feeling I get from what others have posted is not that people hate Princess, it is just that they preferred it how it used to be. That is a very different thing altogether.

 

I think that a lot of people are reconsidering sailing with Princess. I am for one and others have said they are also. But that doesn't mean I "hate" them nor does it mean that I won't have a good time. I just feel that it could be better and that I would like to get more value for my money.

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

"Hate" is your words and I think you are being rather disingenuous in using  that word in that way. The feeling I get from what others have posted is not that people hate Princess, it is just that they preferred it how it used to be. That is a very different thing altogether.

 

I think that a lot of people are reconsidering sailing with Princess. I am for one and others have said they are also. But that doesn't mean I "hate" them nor does it mean that I won't have a good time. I just feel that it could be better and that I would like to get more value for my money.

I feel I am getting an even better bang for my buck then I did 30 years ago. I was referring to people who seem to think they should be able to make up their own packages and when they can’t they say  that Princess doesn’t care about their customers  I stay at particular hotel chains on a regular basis but none of them offer me free laundry and mini bar. Maybe I should call them out

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

23 minutes ago, memoak said:

I feel I am getting an even better bang for my buck then I did 30 years ago. I was referring to people who seem to think they should be able to make up their own packages and when they can’t they say  that Princess doesn’t care about their customers  I stay at particular hotel chains on a regular basis but none of them offer me free laundry and mini bar. Maybe I should call them out

None of them are on ships. You cannot compare the experiences in hotels verses those on ships. They are not like for like.

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

None of them are on ships. You cannot compare the experiences in hotels verses those on ships. They are not like for like.

As far as I am concerned a ship is just a floating hotel. If I stay for a week and have a long history with the hotel I guess I should insist on the same perks  I get from Princess 

[macaws2]

31 minutes ago, Cruisintimer said:

We are prior military/old school too but honestly nothing stays the same in life and the value/cost of cruising sure beats hotel and food prices these days.  We board with reasonable expectations and glasses half full not empty and have a great time despite little annoyances that may pop up.  Gratitude changes even a bleak looking buffet choice.  Enjoy your 21 days at sea and happy sailing!

We also board with reasonable expectations and always enjoy our selves just was stating that for us noticing how much the cruise industry has changed and not always for the good that for us just not what we may be doing much of. Our daughter actually use to work for Princess many years ago, she was one of the pier operation supervisors in port everglades, the coral, and sea Princess were her main ships, she also did the grand princess occasionally, she does still have her connections at Port everglades and they have also mentioned that it's not as easy as it use to be even though the job wasn't easy to begin with. When she came to visit us and she had her ships out she literally had 2 phones on her, one direct to the ships cpt and the other to the second mate, whenever there were repairs etc that came up she would have to contact the next port and arrange repairs etc, she loved her job, she actually told us that when the ship was disembarking from the pier and you would see the land staff waving goodbye to you they're actually saying hurry, get going, we've been here since 4 a.m. 😆. So I'm a little familiar with a good part of how the cruise industry is run from a different point and feel privileged to been able to experience that through our daughter, so we're looking forward to this upcoming trip, we're celebrating our 50th anniversary and our second time in the Mediterranean, we have some friends that will be with us and really looking forward to it, revisiting some ports we've been to and ports we haven't and since it's a new ship, can't wait to see what she has to offer.

[DCThunder]

My question for those posting in this thread is how far back do you want Princess to turn the clock?

2019 before the pandemic with in-person muster drills and a more rigid dress code?

2013 to before the Royal class ships debuted and your only dining choices were Early and Late?  Or do you want to go all the way back to the 1970's and the Original Love Boat with lecherous doctors, perky cruise directors, and hip bartenders?  Oh, and Charo, of course!

 

If you're going to go back in time, you have to take the "bad" with what you see as "good" of the olden days.

 

 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

49 minutes ago, memoak said:

As far as I am concerned a ship is just a floating hotel. If I stay for a week and have a long history with the hotel I guess I should insist on the same perks  I get from Princess 

But imo it isn't! 🙂 

The whole purpose is different. There are huge restrictions on a ship that don't apply to a hotel. The risks and levels of risk are different. They can be compared superficially but any comparison just does not stack to to scrutiny when looked at in detail.

Edited March 31 by Snaxmuppet

[memoak]

Just now, Snaxmuppet said:

But it isn't! 🙂 

Then why does it have a Hotel General Manager

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

Then why does it have a Hotel General Manager

Because it has many functions that are comparable. The functions are similar in that you sleep and you eat... the implementation is very different.

[Teechur]

None of us enjoy cutbacks or charges for things that used to be included. With that said, Princess still offers the "most bang for your buck" from my perspective. Each time I shop cruises to different areas of the world, Princess is consistently the best value. Meanwhile, land-based travel has increased in price at a much faster pace.

I have also sailed with RCCL, Carnival, and NCL. None of them provided a better experience.

 

I would try Celebrity and some of the high-end brands just for comparison, but the huge price difference always stops me. Currently, we have 3 Princess cruises booked on the Emerald, Majestic, and Diamond. Can't wait! 👍

[BobandLizM]

I do not think I know the ‘Old Princess’.  I Have cruise 13 times since 2013, before and after Covid.

enjoyed all of them.  When I retire, then perhaps I will sail a lot more.

 

I can see that a lot of people that complain a lot, have many more sea days to their name, perhaps they just remember the past through rose tinted lenses when they enjoyed life more.

 

Some I notice have increasing standards, probably started off with an ocean view, but now complaining that the suite experience is not grand enough.

Perhaps they have outgrown the Princess experience and need to change.

 

I think I would prefer to bump into the people who just enjoy being on holiday and perhaps turn a blind eye to the minor inconveniences.

 

On my first cruise ever in 2011 on star Clipper (four masted ship) sailing out of Singapore I got to know a couple from Yorkshire, they both seemed to not like the ship, they had steak and chips off the menu every night because they did not like food etc, it turned out they cruised twice a year on the same ship.

This confused me at time, now I know there are thousands like them.

 

looking forward to the future, perhaps I will also grow out of Princess, but I really hope I do not become an unhappy cruiser though.

 

 

[MacMadame]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Or do you want to go all the way back to the 1970's and the Original Love Boat with lecherous doctors, perky cruise directors, and hip bartenders?  Oh, and Charo, of course!

🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣

That show was my guilty pleasure in my 20s. 🤣

[IndyKid]

I always get a kick out of reading these types of threads. My wife and I are newbies when it comes to cruising, we've only done 3 of them, 2 before Covid with Royal Caribbean, and 1 this past December on Princess. I don't have any historical baseline to compare today's cruise experiences with the days when Captain Stubing was on the bridge. I do understand that things change, and sometimes not for the better. On our trip aboard the Caribbean Princess we thought everything went pretty well - smooth embarkation, great service, food, etc. I just feel extremely fortunate and blessed that, in this world where many people are homeless, hungry, and suffering the effects of conflict that I have the means and ability to enjoy these vacations. Steak not that tender, lobster tails a bit small? Meh...

 

[macaws2]

I don't think that there's really "complaining" going on, more observations that's all. Individuals talk about comparing cruising as far back as the 90's,,,,wellll, my actually first experience on any kind of ship was wayyyyy back in the early 60's when my dad who was active duty army at the time stationed in Germany, back then the military would bring families and troops back to the U.S. on what was back then a naval ship called the USS America, yup, my first ta and probably my one and only because being 7 years old and out at sea for who knows how many days, we got hit with a bad storm for 2 days, remember being so sick and not really understanding what was going but in all remember it being a good experience, there were sailors that were assigned to different families and remember that there was a day room setup for us children, I do remember being given a sailor hat with the name of the ship on it, what's happened to it no idea with all the moving around but again the comments are just mere observations from different peoples point of view and that's what I'm seeing, so for me yes, things have changed which we may not all like but then it's also everyone's choice to travel how they are the most happy and comfortable with. 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

2 hours ago, BobandLizM said:

I think I would prefer to bump into the people who just enjoy being on holiday and perhaps turn a blind eye to the minor inconveniences.

So we are to just enjoy being on holiday are we regardless of what the experience is?

 

Being charged now for things that were free (included at no extra charge), no longer having the option to have extra courses in the MDR without extra charge, reduced range of sushi in the sushi restaurant, Alfredo's no longer included, OceanNow no longer included, room service no longer included, Churchills removed, rubbish evening entertainment, exorbitant excursions, exorbitant Wi-Fi, exorbitant Spa treatments, no longer any dress code for dinner, significant increase in package prices, reducing the number of drinks in the included mini-bar set up, removal of the turn-down service. All things that have gone or changed significantly recently... I am sure there are others if I thought about it.

 

Now, you might want to argue with me over these specifics then be my guest but this is just my opinion so I won't argue with you over it. Many of those are insignificant on their own but when put all together it makes a difference. Do all those things make my Princess cruise un-enjoyable? Not yet. But it is certainly getting towards that point for me and it shows a pattern of squeezing the customer and I don't like it.

 

The next thing will be ditching the standard fare and forcing everyone to take a package. 

Edited March 31 by Snaxmuppet

[cruisinsince75]

3 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Or do you want to go all the way back to the 1970's and the Original Love Boat with lecherous doctors, perky cruise directors, and hip bartenders?  Oh, and Charo, of course!

 

 

 

 

Can you imagine?  Isaac, can I have another drink please?  Sure, but where is your medallion sir? 🤪

[IndyKid]

3 hours ago, DCThunder said:

Or do you want to go all the way back to the 1970's and the Original Love Boat with lecherous doctors, perky cruise directors, and hip bartenders?  Oh, and Charo, of course!

 

You say that like it's a bad thing...😆

[Ken the cruiser]

First let me say we are retired, in our early 70s, and are definitely cruisaholics, no question about it as we’re usually have around 15 cruises booked at any one time. However, to keep it a fun experience each and every time, we now spread our bookings across Princess, Celebrity, NCL, and HAL, depending on itinerary and net cost.
 

We have also found each of these lines plays their own “gotcha” game when it comes to booking one of their cruises, with rules that have a tendency to change, depending on the demographic they’re trying to attract. The key for us, if possible, is to stay on top of these ever-changing rules of engagement, especially if they might affect us. And thanks to the various Cruise Critic forums, we are usually able to identify most of them. Here are some of the latest ones we have discovered:

 

Princess: Once we made it to Elite, booking with the Plus package was not to our advantage any longer.

 

Celebrity: Having a couple of “placeholder” cruises with refundable deposits in our pocket allows us to book more desirable cruises 18+ months out with only a $100 pp nonrefundable deposit, which includes booking these new itineraries with fares 20% lower than if they had a refundable deposit, without fear of having to later cancel the cruise and losing the full NRD that would normally be required if we didn’t have the “placeholder” bookings.

 

NCL: The math definitely works for us when we book a cruise with their new Free At Sea Plus package, which includes unlimited internet service, more excursion OBC, two more SD restaurants, along with bottled water and Starbucks specialty drinks. However, the math may not work for others depending on their cruising desires.

 

HAL: The earlier we book a cruise, the more Have It All perks we get. In fact, if we book a cruise within 90 days of it being released, there is an additional Mariner Society OBC perk. Then there are the perks that come with purchasing Club Orange, if you book it before all the slots get purchased. BTW I hear singers and dancers are coming back to HAL after being absent for over 5 years! 😁

 

But that’s only part of the cruising game. The other part is taking steps to keep our stress level low once we board the ship. Trust me when I say when we found out we could not use the nonrefundable OBC our TA was giving us to pay the NCL Daily Service Charge for our 38-day Africa cruise, which was a chunk, it did raise some concerns! Luckily we found out about this unique issue from a CC NCL thread and once we mentioned this to our TA, she was able to change their booking compensation to a rebate check.

 

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I realise this is off-topic but I am gobsmacked at the amount of money some people spend on cruising. Totally stunned. I don't mean that as any kind of insult... just an observation 🙂 

[FLAlaska]

8 minutes ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I realise this is off-topic but I am gobsmacked at the amount of money some people spend on cruising. Totally stunned. I don't mean that as any kind of insult... just an observation 🙂 

It’s all relative. I live in Florida and I am completely gobsmacked with the amount of money people willingly , repeatedly pay, at Disney.  We all have our own definition of worth it.

[jennybenny]

All vacations cost money. I have found the older I get, the higher my expectations are for the money spent. I do still like Princess after all of these years, but I also have decided that variety is key. We've enjoyed trying other lines. My new favorite might be Oceania, but with my years of loyalty, I know what to expect with Princess. Has it changed, sure, but I still enjoy it. I am looking forward to enjoying the Suite perks on our next sailing, and will book based on pricing, itinerary and overall price structure (meaning, one cruise might appear cheaper, but if another includes things I desire, it may make that "more expensive cruise" the one I prefer. I have never had a bad cruise on any line, and can always see the pros and cons of each option. 

Happy sailing! 

 

[TheMichael]

On 3/30/2024 at 6:23 AM, NewPennCruiser said:

I think the one constant since covid is that all mainstream cruise lines have changed. As someone else mentioned, if you go to some of the other boards for Celebrity, RC and NCL you'll read the same thing; complaints of food choices, more nickel and diming, less services, etc.

 

Re: restaurants, the same kind of complaints have been springing up about "land-based" fine-dining restaurants.  I recently went to one of the most highly regarded steakhouses in our area and found it lacking in quality. I've also been to a Capital Grille where they forgot something as basic as letting a steak rest before slicing - had a cut served to us in a pool of blood.

 

IMO the rise of the "neighborhood place" is something a cruise ship can never ever mimic. The best food you can get is generally served by a place most people don't know about, and once you find it, you can't hope to have it replicated on a mass scale. As examples off the top of my head, a ship could never serve sushi or teriyaki chicken that could hold a candle to my favorite local places.

 

Again IMO, where most cruise lines can succeed with food is taking the "classics" and doing them traditionally but well. Serve things that are popular, without curveballs. Offer enough choice to be considered choice by most, but don't deviate from classic flavors people expect.

 

Regarding the "nickel and diming," see below...

 

On 3/30/2024 at 9:44 AM, memoak said:

We find it much better now. In the 1990’s we were paying ny the drink and even back then it came to over $100 per day. Now we pay $120 for the plus package and get the gratuities and Wi-Fi included. Since I retired I also retired all my ties. For formal nights I dress in slacks and a long sleeve shirt. For casual nights it is short sleeve shirt and either jeans or cargo pants   

 

This, Cruising is verifiably cheaper in today's dollars than it was 20-30 years ago, which is why so many do it, and also why it includes less service - you can't price things lower, pay your staff commensurate with 30 years of inflation, and expect to make money, even with the scale of today's much larger ships.

 

That means they have to do one of two things: 1) Charge you along the way for everything beyond being on the boat and eating in the MDR/buffet, or 2) Create a package that brings the price of the trip closer to the "real" cost of cruising.

 

Princess has basically made its packages the way of bringing their product up to a certain level of enjoyment by tying things in that you would no longer have to worry about, like gratuities and drinks. And even with a Plus package, a cruise is still a great value. If it wasn't, there wouldn't be record numbers of passengers.

 

Which brings me to my main pet peeve about cruising in 2024: the record numbers of passengers. 😀

[kywildcatfanone]

I wish they would have enough staff to work in the buffet area.  They clearly do not anymore.  Not even to clear tables, much less keep ice available.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I realise this is off-topic but I am gobsmacked at the amount of money some people spend on cruising. Totally stunned. I don't mean that as any kind of insult... just an observation 🙂 

It’s all about Supply and Demand and the various cruise lines have definitely mastered the art of charging what different demographics are willing to pay, especially when it comes to Celebrity's higher-end suites and the luxury cruise lines.