Star Princess - Disappointing

[mek]

I'm one of the people who thinks auto tipping has lead to a decline in dining room service. We just returned from a Caribbean cruise this week ,(not Princess), and the service was not good. I agree with the poster who said that the staff knows they will be getting a tip, so I think on my next cruise I am going to tell my cabin steward, waiter and assistant waiter that I don't do auto tipping and will tip them at the end of the cruise. Yes, I know they will have to pool their tips if I do this, but I am currious to see if this improves the service. Perhaps it won't, but I cruise frequently, so I'm willing to try something new.

[srpilo]

[quote name='SaylorGirl']You don't have to change trains either to/from Stockholm. And it is normally the first 4 or 5 cars that go back from Stockholm. [/quote]


SaylorGirl
Thank you for posting and confirming the [B][U]correct information[/U][/B] , it's certainly appreciated .

Srpilo

[Enigma666666]

Julia,
I think there was a CC get together but i didn't partake. As for Helsinki, we just took the train that circled the city. Took us to all the sites we wanted to see. Did a bit of shopping at the market. Our family ended up buying quite a bit of furs.

[Enigma666666]

Mek,
It's simple human nature plus a lack of incentives. If you don't properly incentive someone (i don't care if its a CEO or a room steward), you get poor performance. People are not going to work harder or have a better attitude if the incentive isn't there. As much as we'd probably like to think the staff on the cruise are there because they love serving us, they are there to make a living. Especially as northender pointed out, they have to put up with annoying passengers and relatively poor living conditions, they aren't going to be excited to put out extraordinary effort if there is no monetary reward in it for them.

I'd love to know how your experience with no-auto tip will impact the service.

[sultan_sfo]

We were on Star Princess 9/02/05 ([B]last year[/B]). In 2005, there were through trains from Nynasham to Stockholm Central. Being curious, I checked Enigma's link and also my bookmarked link. IMHO, the train schedule is now different from last years. So my suggestion to Srpilo is that -- please check [B]this year's [/B]schedule instead of relying on those who took the cruise last year. /Sultan

[quote name='srpilo']SaylorGirl
Thank you for posting and confirming the [B][U]correct information[/U][/B] , it's certainly appreciated .

Srpilo[/quote]

[Juliadlf]

[quote name='Enigma666666']Julia,
I think there was a CC get together but i didn't partake. As for Helsinki, we just took the train that circled the city. Took us to all the sites we wanted to see. Did a bit of shopping at the market. Our family ended up buying quite a bit of furs.[/quote]

Thanks. Appreciate your feedback.
Final question (I think) what hotel did you use pre/post cruise, if any?

Julia

[Enigma666666]

Julia,
We didnt' stay in the city. Given the disaster with the flights, we ended up at the Hilton at the airport. Very nice albeit a tad expensive.

btw...definately try Sabatinis if you can. The steakhouse was far less exciting.

[WeBeGone]

Re the OP complaints (I didn't read all the hijacked stuff about the Baltic)- sometimes I think cruisers expect the cruise staff to be mind readers. :confused: If the water had not been replaced, why didn't you leave a note or speak to the steward? If you wanted fresh towels all the time, you put the used ones on the floor. If the dining service was slow, speak to the maitre de. If casnio staff are rude, speak to the pit boss.

It just gets me when people "suffer in silence" and then complain about it when they get home. Your mouth ain't broken. Speak up so the situation can be corrected while it is in progress.

Off soap box now.:cool:

[Enigma666666]

Webegone,
Actually, I complained to multiple people, including the maitre'd, the pursuer desk, the room steward and even the captain. If things would have been resolved, I would have had no issue. It's hard to rectify rudeness, not to mention its kind of BS to have to constantly complain.

[zaban3]

To add a positive to this discussion. We missed our plane in Chicago due to a thunderstorm and thus missed our plane to Copenhagen. After 10 hours in O'hare, a hotel room, and a 200.00 cab ride from the Stockholm airport to the ship we did have an efficient and pleasant welcoming aboard at the first port. We had a welcome letter and a bottle of champagne waiting in our stateroom.

[mek]

Enigma - I'm really not a terribly demanding person, but I would appreciate not having to ask for something simple more than once, having the waiter come back to see if everything is OK before the dinner is over, and friendlier service. Some really don't seem to care and quite frankly, I would prefer to not reward them with a tip. I know if I tip at the end, they pool their tips, but does anyone know what happens if you tip as you go? I'm thinking of Personal Choice Dining on Princess , breakfast and lunch in the dining room and service in the buffets? If they get tips during the week, do they have to turn them in? I have no idea if this will work. I wonder if anyone has tried this?????

[TWELVEOHONE]

[quote name='spongerob']I'm not entirely sure what to tell you. We had similar thoughts about some aspects of a British Isles cruise on Golden Princess last summer. I brought some dining room concerns to the attention of the Maitre d' and he tried to help and bought us a nice bottle of wine.

Our next cruise, on Grand Princess was fantastic in every way.

I chalked up the Golden to the ship having an off week. I understand having certain expectations based on previous experience, then not having them met. My only advice is to make the on-board management aware of complaints as soon as possible, then give them a chance to make changes.

There is no excuse for such a stupid response from the officer you mentioned.[/QUOTE]

I also had a disappointing experience on the Golden Princess in february, 2006. Although the food was OK as was the service it was a far cry from prior years. Those of us that have sailed Princess before were blaming it on Carnival Corp. They said that right after Carnival took them over it all went down hill.

The buffett are was a mad house with people pushing and shoving just to go from one station to another. The area is too small with the food stations too close together. Getting to the early and late sitting rest. was a challenge going up and down and up. Lots of complaints from other passengers and the Matre'd about people scheduled for the anytime rest not wanting it.

[tejmar]

I reallly don't like the auto tip for some of the reasons already mentioned and the fact that you don't have the personal experience of giving the tip. I also don't trust that the cruise line actually gives all of the money to the crew. Let's face it, cruise lines are not very good employers and have sent crew members packing at a whim. The service crew are the equivalent of undocumented workers in the US and are hired because they will work for any wage. The fact that the cruise line would take away a tip that you give directly a crew member if you reduce the auto tip leads me to believe that the line wants control of all that money (which as someone already estimated is a considerable sum). What makes you think that it all goes back to the service crew. As for the auto tip affecting the service, I think that it probably does to a degree, but I'm sure that they would have a strong incentive to make a good impression since bad reviews or complaints from the pax could mean the end of a job, not just less money.

[Bumpa]

We were on the Star July 12. The staff that I talked to were polite and gracious. I spent a lot of time at the purser's desk and the gift shop. Out luggage was lost by United Air Lines for eight days. It finally came in Tallin. We took the train into Stockholm and did not have to change trains. It took us into downtown and took about 1 hour. We got the 1st tender off the ship and caught the 8:07 train. Returned on the 2:52 from the downtown station.
The ship gave us $100.00 express laundry and formal wear for formal night. Kept us informed that they were looking for our luggage and would inform us when the airline found it.
Our room steward was not the friendliest we have had, but the room was always ready.
As for the shows. This is such a port intensive cruise that we never made it to the theater except for John's talks on the Baltic. He also came to the CC meeting the 1st sea day in the Wheelhouse bar. He is very knowledgeable about this area. His talks are not to be missed. They are on the TV each evening.
We loved this cruise. The fact that the luggage didn't arrive for eight days made us realize that we might have over packed. And the cabin is MUCH larger without luggage and all those cloths.
Weather was great, Berlin was very hot well worth the bus ride.
We are going on the Grand to Norway and the Fjords in July and Greece on the Emerald in Sept. both in 2007.
Didn't take any ship's tours in any port.

[ISABELLA]

We were also disappointed with Star Baltic cruise in May. Food, service, entertaiment could have been better. We sailed with Princess 11 times and most of the time we liked everything. Two years ago we were on Star -Grand Med cruise and it was great. If they are sliding down in quality, maybe it is time to look for another line. Will be going on Caribbean Princess soon, and I will let you know how those two compare.

[Enigma666666]

Isabella,
I really think the biggest issue is the acquisition by Carnival. They are a public company trying to grow earnings every quarter and will cut corners and costs. Perhaps more importantly, I was surprised by the brand positioning by Carnival of Princess. I've always thought of Princess as more luxurious than Royal Carribean or Norwegian or Holland America, but the tagline is now....the value luxury line. I'm very surprised.

Michael

[CalTravelers]

Here's our 2 cents worth. We were on the Star's first sailing after the fire 5-15 Baltics. We generally enjoyed most aspects of the cruise. Staff and crew were very friendly and tried to accomodate all our needs. Our cabin steward was outstanding. We had anytime dining and the wait staff did a good job even though you see different people every night. We really felt that service was a priority for the staff. We felt that entertaiment was adequate - overall good.
The food was good - I don't think you pay top of the line and don't expect outstanding food. They do a good job of feeding large groups.
We did notice a difference in the ship after sailing the Star in the Mediterranean. Colder weather forced poeple to stay inside. On early sail days the ship's eating areas we jammed with people - really felt like a a cattle call. At-sea days were challenging - glad there were only 2!
We tended to travel independently in most ports - using Rick Steves as a guide. Traveling with huge groups is not our style anymore.
Princess is becoming more mass market - I would never travel on a ship that held more than 2400 again. I would like to try Celebrity and compare for our next cruise.

[srpilo]

[quote name='Bumpa'] We took the train into Stockholm and did not have to change trains. It took us into downtown and took about 1 hour. We got the 1st tender off the ship and caught the 8:07 train. Returned on the 2:52 from the downtown station.
.[/quote]


Bumpa
Thanks to you also for once again posting the[B] correct [/B]information.. It's always helpful to get [B]accurate [/B]information.

Srpilo.

[Juliadlf]

Engima666666:
I've received confirmation about the bus $32pp from the port to Stockholm which I understand will drop us off at the Ahlens dept store. Will only give us 4 hours. It is something new Princess has added so viable option for us and will check on this more when we board the ship. Thanks for mentioning it.

Julia

[sultan_sfo]

Srpilo:
And again for the remaining of August and early September the "official" time-table shows that one has to change trains for Nynashamn to Stockholm! /Sultan

[quote name='srpilo']Bumpa
Thanks to you also for once again posting the[B] correct [/B]information.. It's always helpful to get [B]accurate [/B]information.
Srpilo.[/quote]

[TWELVEOHONE]

Princess use to be in the premium class of ship along with celebrity and Holland America.

Like most of you I notice a down hill trend with Princess over the years, it would appear to have started when carnival purchased them. In my humble opinion I think Princess is getting very close to becoming one of the mass market class along with Carnival NCL and Royal caribbean.

The last survey by the readers of Conde Naste they rated Celebrity as number 1 in the premium market and in fact Celebrity was number 1 in 7 of the 10 categories. Holland America and Princess were a distance number 2 & 3.

[PTC]

[quote name='TWELVEOHONE']
The last survey by the readers of Conde Naste they rated Celebrity as number 1 in the premium market and in fact Celebrity was number 1 in 7 of the 10 categories. Holland America and Princess were a distance number 2 & 3.[/quote]

How many people responded to the survey? Did Conde Naste verify that each person who responded had actually sailed on any of the cruiselines?
You'd be surprised how many people submit responses and how inaccurate the reporting on those statistics is. :rolleyes:

PTC

[nrdsb4]

[quote name='Enigma666666']I just got off the Star Princess in the Baltics and I have to say I was quite disappointed. Having sailed with Princess a few years back, I remembered fairly high quality service/food/entertainment. However, on this recent cruise, I found the staff to be at best disinterested and at worst down right rude. The food was awful and the entertainment was mediocre. To make this worse, when I asked a senior officer on the ship about it, [COLOR=red]his reaction was that this iternary was very popular and hence Princess did not need to work hard at making the cruise more interesting with food/entertainment.[/COLOR]

As for the service, I wonder if its the auto-tip. I'm sure it's been discussed here but the service just seemed off. On other cruises, when we missed a meal in the main dining room (with set dining), the waiter/head waiter would inquire to see if there was an issue, but on Star it was complete disinterest. For the room steward, we saw him once when we checked in and once on the way out (presumably for his tip). Our water in the room was never replaced (although the bill for it came immediately for me to sign) and towels were replaced infrequently.

I originally thought this was an isolated experience, but in talking to many other cruisers on the ship, I found many others found the Princess experience to be very disappointing on this cruise.[/quote]

Wow!!! This guy actually said "This itinerary is very popular, so we don't have to make the cruise interesting with food or entertainment?!" Sounds like this guy needs a vacation, and the Princess organization should be worried if this is the way their own officers are talking!

[srpilo]

Never Mind.

Srpilo

[TCF]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=blue]I'm not looking to get into a fight here, but there a couple of things I have noticed and I am wondering if they have any impact upon service, ship cleanliness, crew efficiency, etc.. That said....this is what I have noticed.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]For some ships there are page after page of reviews. In some cases those reviews are pretty evenly split between really good...and bloody awful! Now, some of the complaints are really based upon personal preferences and the only correction for that is not to sail on that ship again...but...in other cases I have noticed...or at least I think I have...that there is almost a 'rotation' of the complaints. A period of really really good reviews followed by a period of bloddy awful reviews. That set me to wondering if the rotation schedules of the crew had anything to do with that. I understand...although I am not 100% sure...that the crews work 12 weeks on and 12 weeks off...with some companies it is double that...and with others it is a mix. But my point is that maybe the bloody awful reviews come towards the end of those crewing cycles???:confused: After 12 hour...six day weeks...12 week rotations I would think that people might just get a little snarly....tired of having a smile pasted on day in and day out.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]I am not saying that this is an excuse for providing lousy service or being rude...I'm just tossing it out as a possible reason.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]I also think there is an impact upon service levels when there is not a direct connection between tipping and service provided. The 'automatic' tipping removes the incentive, to some degree, from crew to go that little extra bit.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]The other thing that came to my mind is that...as I recall..."back in the day"...cruise ships at the end of their seasons in one part of the world would go into home port for a couple of weeks or a month and crews would do a thorough cleaning of the ships, galleys, preventative maintence on the engines and mechanics of the ship...then it would start off on the next place it was cruising. I don't see that happening today.:confused: 2500+ people a week, 52 weeks a year, walking around, spilling stuff, sleeping on mattresses, etc is a lot of 'wear and tear' on anything!:( It could also explain why some folks say things like...."she's beautiful ship, but showing a lot of wear and tear."...and I look to find that "she" is only two or three years old!:eek: [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]These are just things that I have been thinking about.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff][/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=#0000ff]Maybe I need a life?:D Or...for sure...another cruise...AND SOON!!![/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]