Sapphire Princess Disappoints - NEVER AGAIN!

[californiacruiseluvrs]

I am writing this on the last morning of a 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise on board the Sapphire Princess. By way of information I have cruised over 50 times on mulitple lines and have liked Princess enough in the past to have become an "Elite" Captain's Circle member with over 16 Princess Cruises under my belt.

 

Granted the economy is hurting. However, Princess Cruises has nose dived so badly it is akin to staying at a Days Inn short of a few areas:

 

• Dinner and service in the dining room were consistently very good.
  
• Passenger flow was always good with no crowding noticed.
  

Short of the above Princess Cruises has failed miserably. Food and service outside of dinner in the dining room was horrible! Granted my evening service was outstanding as I tipped $100 to the Maitre'd upon boarding and asking him take care of my party.

 

The ship is very dated and 80's like for a 4 year old vessel. The ship was very dirty. Cabins were horrible with regards to towels, sheets, and beds. Our sheets were torn and dirty. Towels constantly had stains. The beds were like bricks. There was no accountability for anything from the staff. Most appeared annoyed to be there. Nobody takes ownership.

 

The concept of providing 2 small towels for the pool in the stateroom and not having a plentiful supply by the pool is an inconvenience, insult, and indignity. Again, likes a Days Inn.

 

Princess advertises one product and delivers another. We were not treated as "guests", but rather as cargo.

 

Breakfast and lunch would have been better at a local Denny's. Room service was not once able to get an order right.

 

Lastly, Princess has succeeded at attracting the dredges of society lacking complete class for reasons I can't figure out. The tattoo to tooth ration was high and the amount of Miller Light consumed in cans was astonishing!

 

If you are looking for a classy cruise experience where you are treated like a guest with dignity consider lines like Celebrity. I know I will in the future. Bye, bye Princess!

 

Ciao for now!

[WeBeGone]

Enjoy Celebrity. Your departure leaves more room for the rest of us.

[johnmik1]

I am writing this on the last morning of a 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise on board the Sapphire Princess. By way of information I have cruised over 50 times on mulitple lines and have liked Princess enough in the past to have become an "Elite" Captain's Circle member with over 16 Princess Cruises under my belt.

 

Granted the economy is hurting. However, Princess Cruises has nose dived so badly it is akin to staying at a Days Inn short of a few areas:

 

• Dinner and service in the dining room were consistently very good.
  
• Passenger flow was always good with no crowding noticed.
  

Short of the above Princess Cruises has failed miserably. Food and service outside of dinner in the dining room was horrible! Granted my evening service was outstanding as I tipped $100 to the Maitre'd upon boarding and asking him take care of my party.

 

The ship is very dated and 80's like for a 4 year old vessel. The ship was very dirty. Cabins were horrible with regards to towels, sheets, and beds. Our sheets were torn and dirty. Towels constantly had stains. The beds were like bricks. There was no accountability for anything from the staff. Most appeared annoyed to be there. Nobody takes ownership.

 

The concept of providing 2 small towels for the pool in the stateroom and not having a plentiful supply by the pool is an inconvenience, insult, and indignity. Again, likes a Days Inn.

 

Princess advertises one product and delivers another. We were not treated as "guests", but rather as cargo.

 

Breakfast and lunch would have been better at a local Denny's. Room service was not once able to get an order right.

 

Lastly, Princess has succeeded at attracting the dredges of society lacking complete class for reasons I can't figure out. The tattoo to tooth ration was high and the amount of Miller Light consumed in cans was astonishing!

 

If you are looking for a classy cruise experience where you are treated like a guest with dignity consider lines like Celebrity. I know I will in the future. Bye, bye Princess!

 

Ciao for now!

 

We were on Sapphire last month(22nd Princess cruise)and thought everything was perfect.I thought the food and service was some of the best we have ever had!

[NevadaHiRoller]

So you think Princess has went down hill, eh? I've been on that ship and it doesn't resemble what you described, except the beds, yes, hard. I loved Celebrity also, but they lost me with their new non smoking on your own balcony rule.

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

The OP had a bad cruise but I did not see any detail about what he did about getting things fixed,

 

on my first Cunard I refused to accept my cabin and was moved to another,

 

on the Sea I refused by cabin until a list of things were fixed and cleaned,

 

I have had poor service and been given free dinner with an officer,

 

in other words give the ship a chance to fix things and they will

 

yours

 

Shogun

[Toto2Kansas]

I am writing this on the last morning of a 7-night Mexican Riviera cruise on board the Sapphire Princess. By way of information I have cruised over 50 times on mulitple lines and have liked Princess enough in the past to have become an "Elite" Captain's Circle member with over 16 Princess Cruises under my belt.

 

Granted the economy is hurting. However, Princess Cruises has nose dived so badly it is akin to staying at a Days Inn short of a few areas:

 

• Dinner and service in the dining room were consistently very good.
  
• Passenger flow was always good with no crowding noticed.
  

Short of the above Princess Cruises has failed miserably. Food and service outside of dinner in the dining room was horrible! Granted my evening service was outstanding as I tipped $100 to the Maitre'd upon boarding and asking him take care of my party.

 

The ship is very dated and 80's like for a 4 year old vessel. The ship was very dirty. Cabins were horrible with regards to towels, sheets, and beds. Our sheets were torn and dirty. Towels constantly had stains. The beds were like bricks. There was no accountability for anything from the staff. Most appeared annoyed to be there. Nobody takes ownership.

 

The concept of providing 2 small towels for the pool in the stateroom and not having a plentiful supply by the pool is an inconvenience, insult, and indignity. Again, likes a Days Inn.

 

Princess advertises one product and delivers another. We were not treated as "guests", but rather as cargo.

 

Breakfast and lunch would have been better at a local Denny's. Room service was not once able to get an order right.

 

Lastly, Princess has succeeded at attracting the dredges of society lacking complete class for reasons I can't figure out. The tattoo to tooth ration was high and the amount of Miller Light consumed in cans was astonishing!

 

If you are looking for a classy cruise experience where you are treated like a guest with dignity consider lines like Celebrity. I know I will in the future. Bye, bye Princess!

 

Ciao for now!

 

OK, I will bite here. ;)

A bit more information is needed (at least for me) on a rant like this one.

First let me say I am sorry you didn't enjoy your Mexican Cruise with Princess.

 

Now, for more questions/answers.

 

Passenger make up will normally be totally different on a 7 day cruise compared to a longer voyage. They sell these cruises at a very good rate and any and all walks of life are what you will find onboard. By your comments, it sounds like you felt far surperior to others, not a good way to start a complaint. IMHO!

 

Did you not read previously on how hard Princess new beds are? Did you ask for an egg crate (as is posted about so often here) to help the problem?

 

Did you notice by the pool there is a cart that will supply extra pool towels as needed? OR did you ask your room steward for extras in the amount you needed or felt you should have?

 

Breakfast and lunch seem under your standards. Did you dine at the buffet for both of these, in the diningroom, or a combination of both?

 

As for tipping that extra $100 upon boarding. Hummmmmmm, that sounds like you were thinking that a bribe would get your party service above and beyond the norm on a ship? Correct in this assumption?

 

Just a few more answers would help me (at least) understand your complaints a bit more.

[kooljamming]

californiacruiseluvrs;

I tipped $100 to the Maitre'd upon boarding and asking him take care of my party.

 

After reading this, I want to say how sad. I have nothing against tipping but I have ejections to bribes when service is involve. This behavior ruins it for people who are going but expect decent and good service without the extra $$$$$! Tip him a thousand dollars after the service and I say how generous, tipping before is self serving and puts a blemish on the service industry.

[kooljamming]

Ooops

That should have been "objections".

[Bruin Steve]

Unlike what seems like most of you here, I get it...

The OP did not enjoy his cruise to the extent he had hoped...he experienced what he felt were deficiencies...

 

I do get it...

 

We all look for different things on a cruise...We have different standards, different criteria, different expectations...Some folks look right be certain flaws, never notice them...while others see the flaws and it has an impact on their enjoyment...

What one cruiser thinks is a great cruise, another thinks is highly disappointing...

 

This guy saw a lot of flaws that impacted his enjoying the cruise...I have no doubt the flaws are there...Every ship, cruise line and sailing has its flaws (of course, some worse than others--but it also depends on what each of us considers as "worse")...

 

I can honestly say my prior Princess cruise was NOT among my better cruises...It didn't keep me from booking another (though it has taken me a few years)...I was able to separate some of those flaws and attribute them to the specific ship--one of the older ones in the Princess fleet at that time...

 

Now I am sailing on the Sapphire in just another four weeks...I certainly hope my cruise experience is better than the OP's...I'm actually expecting it will be just fine...I am not expecting the greatest cruise I've ever been on...I'm not expecting everything to be perfect...I'm going into it with an attitude that I'm not going to look for signs of wear on the sheet and towels...I won't expect the food to be gourmet or the service to be perfect...

 

What I will expect is to have a good time, to get good service and reasonably good food...

 

I am likely not going to see the same "Tattoo to Teeth" ratio as the OP...I'm guessing the higher cruise fares over New Years' will "up" the socio-economic demographic somewhat (And I know it cannot be worse than what we saw on our last Carnival cruise--and when I say "last" I mean that in more than one sense...)...

 

If I find the bed is too hard, I'll ask for an egg crate...

 

I won't give the Maitre d' and extra tip unless I ask him to do some function for me like change a table reservation or accomodate me in some other way...I expect the "extra good service" to be provided merely because I paid for the cruise and am there...

 

If the cruise is terrible, though, I will come back here and post to let you all know what I thought--just like the OP--and you can choose to accept it or disagree or threat it with whatever degree of belief or disbelief you want...

If the cruise is sensational, I'll let you know that as well...

But, most likely, I'll hazard the guess that it will be somewhere in between (and I'll tell you that too)...which is okay with me...Having been on quite a few cruises on quite a few cruise lines, I sort of know what I signed on for...and I also know there's a chance it either exceeds that or falls short...

 

I appreciate hearing the OP's opinion and experience...and I'll still take my cruise and see if mine is any different...Here's to hoping it is...

[Bruin Steve]

A couple of typos too late to edit:

 

...Some folks look right be certain flaws, never notice them...

 

...you can choose to accept it or disagree or threat it with whatever degree of belief or disbelief you want...

 

Should be:

 

Some folks look right AT certain flaws, never notice them...

 

...you can choose to accept it or disagree or TREAT it with whatever degree of belief or disbelief you want..

[dot73]

$100 would have bought a lot of beach towels in Mexico. [sorry, couldn't help mysel] I too have found my last cruise experience on Princess not as good as my previous one. It was a 7-day cruise, during March break, and some of the pax were, to say nicely, a little different from what you find on longer cruises (i.e. much more liquor consumed and therefore different type of behaviour, although not totally over the top as I've seen in all-inclusive resorts). I did find that whenever I asked for something, i.e. bed egg crate, the room service order to corrected, it was quickly done and with an apology and a smile. The great thing about cruising is that there are many cruiselines and if you aren't happy with one, you can always try another and another until you find what you like.

[Host Caroline]

Nothing good coming of this one....:rolleyes:. OP's entitled to their opinion but in this case it didn't take long for it to turn personal so now it's turning closed so OP's comments stay on of record