It took 2 years for Princess to reply to my email about what ended up being our last Princess cruise

[lahlah57]

5 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

No one else seems to be the least bit curious about how a partially eaten appetizer was served to you, but I am.  What was it, and how did that come about?

Yeah.....what's up with that? Was it pulled from another table in front of them? Was a bite taken out of it?

That would had me pulling the chef from the kitchen and letting him/her know what was done!

[Kay S]

18 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

No one else seems to be the least bit curious about how a partially eaten appetizer was served to you, but I am.  What was it, and how did that come about?

He talked about it in detail at the time.  There's a thread here somewhere telling the whole sad story.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

That’s hilarious 

Yeah, you just can't make this stuff up.

[ontheweb]

2 minutes ago, Kay S said:

He talked about it in detail at the time.  There's a thread here somewhere telling the whole sad story.

But it must be a very, very old thread by now. To hear the story, we all probably need the OP to retell it.

[voljeep]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Yeah, you just can't make this stuff up.

or can you???🤬 😈

[Iamcruzin]

Pot Smoking? How progressive. I guess that's the new High Tea crowd. This is what happens when you remove the Cigar Bar and replace it with an Arcade.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

or can you???🤬 😈

Exactly

[chill6x6]

WOW! This post sure made me feel better about cancelling the 10 day Princess cruise I had booked and swapped for a 9 day on Holland America.,,,same one you're sailing! I had read about too many inconsistencies that really kinda gave me a red flag... Win you back with a $50 OBC???  LOL that's embarrassing!

[lahlah57]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

Pot Smoking? How progressive. I guess that's the new High Tea crowd. This is what happens when you remove the Cigar Bar and replace it with an Arcade.

Yes very progressive and instead of little sandwiches and petit four cakes at High Tea.....they have a  High Munchie Spanada bar time and serve Doritos with a side of Cheetos!

[Teechur]

On 5/11/2024 at 3:01 PM, lahlah57 said:

Yes very progressive and instead of little sandwiches and petit four cakes at High Tea.....they have a  High Munchie Spanada bar time and serve Doritos with a side of Cheetos!

I had forgotten about Spanada, a crummy excuse for sangria. It ranked right down there with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, and Annie Green Springs wine. Always followed by a barf chaser, LOL!

O.K. Boomer, anyone here remember Sloe Gin, Jungle Juice, or trashcan punch?

Only the strong survived! 🤣 Now we are Princess cruisers!

 

Welcome back Cine Graphic!

Edited May 13, 2024 by Teechur
punctuation repair

[TheMichael]

On 5/9/2024 at 2:01 PM, CineGraphic said:

We were served a partially eaten appetizer from another table in Sabatinis, and they did nothing about the pot smokers on board, despite the posted policy.

 

$50 sounds more than fair for the inconvenience of having to be brought a second appetizer (complaining about encountering pot smokers should get you a tidy $0).

 

I don't see the problem, those are things I'd just expect to mention so they can fix them, not in hopes of extorting a significant reward.

 

Glad you're happier on Virgin (looking forward to trying it myself, have heard good things except for bed quality, which might be a dealbreaker if true). Personally though, leaving a cruise line that I was otherwise happy with for just those two things would effectively be cutting off my nose to spite my face.

 

Edited May 13, 2024 by TheMichael

[CineGraphic]

1 hour ago, TheMichael said:

 

$50 sounds more than fair for the inconvenience of having to be brought a second appetizer (complaining about encountering pot smokers should get you a tidy $0).

 

I don't see the problem, those are things I'd just expect to mention so they can fix them, not in hopes of extorting a significant reward.

 

Glad you're happier on Virgin (looking forward to trying it myself, have heard good things except for bed quality, which might be a dealbreaker if true). Personally though, leaving a cruise line that I was otherwise happy with for just those two things would effectively be cutting off my nose to spite my face.

 

There were lots of problems and they were all spelled out in a live thread I did back then. Feel free to dig around and give it a good read before making any more assumptions or conclusions . Extortion??? That’s quite a stretch.

These problems were mentioned, both on board and in letters to corporate. They were given the chance to fix things, and didn’t. I’m reminded of a woman standing in a long line for guest services during this cruise, and she started screaming F-bombs at the top of her lungs….that’s when I realized Princess didn’t deserve to call themselves the Love Boat anymore. 

[lahlah57]

12 hours ago, Teechur said:

I had forgotten about Spanada, a crummy excuse for sangria. It ranked right down there with Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, and Annie Green Springs wine. Always followed by a barf chaser, LOL!

O.K. Boomer, anyone here remember Sloe Gin, Jungle Juice, or trashcan punch?

Only the strong survived! 🤣 Now we are Princess cruisers!

 

Welcome back Cine Graphic!

Forgot the trashcan punch! Only Boomers can appreciate these cheap branded drinks! 😅😅

[mtnesterz]

3 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

There were lots of problems and they were all spelled out in a live thread I did back then.

You already gave the salient points here. It's from June of '22 if someone wants to search the threads you started. I too enjoyed your posts and threads. Aside from things you found went wrong, tastes change and Princess is changing in a different direction. Happy you found something that suits your tastes. Never say never, as they say, but I think we too have sailed our last with Princess.

[ontheweb]

6 minutes ago, mtnesterz said:

You already gave the salient points here. It's from June of '22 if someone wants to search the threads you started. I too enjoyed your posts and threads. Aside from things you found went wrong, tastes change and Princess is changing in a different direction. Happy you found something that suits your tastes. Never say never, as they say, but I think we too have sailed our last with Princess.

Taste may change, but I do not think anyone wishes at any time to be served an appetizer that someone else has already had a bite from. 😒

[loge23]

Can't really say we were ever Princess apologists, but we were black card regulars, and we were usually quite happy with the operation. As KayS, observed, Princess just didn't come out of the COVID shutdown well. In fact, one of our fondest Princess cruise memories was the entire month of February, 2020 - one of the very last voyages they made.

Celebrity was one of the first back, so that started us on experiencing other options. We were in their Retreat class and we never looked back after that. Lately, we've been booking Viking, Oceania, MSC's Yacht Club, and the new MSC Explora line - we look at those first now. We recently cancelled a cruise on the new Sun, but low and behold we're back on the Emerald in June for our upcoming trip up the coast to Quebec - mainly due to the itinerary.  We'll see, but my expectations are low and I'm far more excited about the Yacht Club and Explora cruises further down the road. We just want to pay one price, whatever that is, and be done with it.

The Sun trip was cancelled because the booking almost turned into a shell game! KeepItSimpleStupid!!

Wouldn't rule out Virgin, but we haven't seen anything interesting yet itinerary-wise - I'm sure we'll be on one eventually. Enjoy, your cruise, CineGraphic!

We also recently had a very avoidable and unnecessary squabble with Princess CS (or lack thereof). It was over a relatively simple question - hours were spent navigating through interminable holds only to get two separate wrong answers from two different reps. Finally, we got one who knew the correct answer. 

It's really a shame. Princess was a great line and it should have, and could have, positioned itself well after the shutdown as many cruisers sought out a more inclusive, upscale experience. Instead they regressed, imo. That's all on Santa Clarita. Now, I think the industry is passing them by. Both Viking and Explora are greatly expanding their fleets and that will siphon off more older folks from the Holland/Princess rolls. 

I'll be back on these pages after the Quebec trip with a more objective take on our experience.

 

 

[Teechur]

10 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

There were lots of problems and they were all spelled out in a live thread I did back then. Feel free to dig around and give it a good read

I searched in earnest through 50+ pages of your posts for your live thread with no luck.

Could you possibly post a link to it? TIA

[Kay S]

55 minutes ago, Teechur said:

I searched in earnest through 50+ pages of your posts for your live thread with no luck.

Could you possibly post a link to it? TIA

Maybe try this one.

 

[Ombud]

On 5/13/2024 at 3:17 AM, CineGraphic said:

I’m reminded of a woman standing in a long line for guest services during this cruise, and she started screaming F-bombs at the top of her lungs….that’s when I realized Princess didn’t deserve to call themselves the Love Boat anymore. 

She was totally pissed that she had to fill out ArriveCAN ranting she was AN AMERICAN as if that mattered. Issue was despite being told to do so before going to the pier & the staff asking ppl waiting in line to board 6 times at least many refused. Add in horribly slow wifi and it had to be done before Victoria. Then she swing at some poor guy!! (I was in piazza and it was quite a show.) Honestly I think those who refused to do so should have been denied boarding until they did it!! I did it at home with better internet connection and got this card the 1st time I was asked