JValdez

So sorry to hear of your loss; our deepest sympathy at this time--may God grant you peace and comfort at this tragic time.

We thought that the service/menu in Da Vinci on our 10-day Sea of Cortez (November/December) was probably the best we've experienced--anytime, with a wait of maybe 30 seconds before being seated at our preferred two-top. So now it seems like it was the last gasp of the traditional, but we really enjoyed it.

However, the flowers ordered for the first day never arrived, passenger service desk advised that there was no florist on board, and couldn't advise about credit. On day four, a note arrived apologizing for the mishap & stating credit had been applied. On day five, the second arrangement ordered (that was very beautiful) arrived without a hitch; the daily show also highlighted the florist operation onboard; we were clearly lied to.

The A/C was down for four days & was very weak otherwise; the water was down for eight hours one day--welding was being performed on leaking pipes in the corridor; and of course, the toilet experienced it's requisite problems for two days, necessitating trips to public toilets. The techs dispatched were excellent; clearly they are working with infrastructure that seems to be past it's "use by" date. I remarked to my companion that it wasn't much different than waiting at home for the A/C tech or plumber, or wondering what happened at the florist . . . although we were hanging out in a premium balcony, that we loved, even booking the same cabin that we had last time.

I did convey all of this on our survey that arrived before we disembarked in San Pedro; it was one of the fastest we've ever experienced. We definitely did not "Come back new"; it's obvious that Princess is devolving into the McDonald's of cruise lines--predictable, uninspired, non-responsive. It's the "get em on, get em off" attitude expressed one time by an crusty old TA. Truly, no one at the home office gives a damn, because what they want is new blood, first-timers, who will spend more on-board more than those of us with perhaps "too many" days on board. It breaks my heart, since I did experience working those sacred halls in Santa Clarita, but honestly, folks, the thrill is gone--we're probably moving to Oceania from here on out--it was fun while it lasted . . .

Exactly, Mr Flagg--in today's world, there's so little actual "work" being performed, it's always a joy to find men actually doing something physical; I'd invite those who disdain these guys to put in a day hauling luggage . . . at our home port of San Pedro, our guys always go above and beyond on arrival and departure; typically on departure we will be accompanied from retrieval through customs, and out to the car--we both use canes, have 4 pieces, one of which is a large Globe-Trotter® case that is difficult to handle; the $20.00 we give is well worth it to us--we also view the $10.00 paid on arrival more insurance than anything else . . . when in Rome . . . we've found in all of our travels that it's much more the exception than the norm to run into thuggish behavior from service personnel, although it can happen.

I'm wearing my Benrus BN 544 (day/date) purchased aboard Grand Princess in the last century (1999). Has always been a perfect timepiece!

Usual gift card w/note apologizing for unavailability; OBC for order applied in lieu; everything else great as usual!

On board Ruby for ten day Gulf of Cortez; had pre-ordered arrangement for day 1 & day 5; asked passenger services desk yesterday where arrangement was & got vague reply about customs difficulty, there are no flowers on board & no florist--I see arrangements around the ship & individual ones in the MDR; I can't see if there was a refund but have never had this experience before--seems strange--has anyone else had this happen before? Thanx in advance.