Ronnieslady

3 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

I had a very different “True” experience as reported here:

 

Sorry your experience was different. 

Not sure we were even on the same cruise.  It was a petri dish.

I should say the veal we had in club class was better than the veal I had in Sabatinis.  Your high numbers I definitely agree with,  when it comes to the desserts. 

3 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I agree with your statement: This was a bad time for Princess to start sailing almost full on 15 day cruises with No masking.  I was on the previous two cruises (the March one that started with no protocols).  I remained uninfected, but was constantly concerned (not worried).  I was also on the less passengered cruise in October.  That was really nice.

 

I was in Club Class and heard that several crew were either isolated or quarantined.  I was told that lunch was not going to happen on embarkation day.  The others tried to make up for the slack.

 

But my meals were excellent.  Meats were done to perfection.  I was disappointed that the "extra" specialty dish in Club Club was nothing to write home about.  I enjoyed Stardust more than the other two productions.  Entertainment was mediocre to poor.  I was not surprised that the CD caught COVID as did some of the performers/dancers/singers.  

 

It is sad that Princess is not learning from past errors.  It is sad that passengers have to resort to NOT reporting illnesses to avoid being quarantined without support.  

 

My next Princess cruise is not for a long while.  I resumed cruising because of all the FCCs I had and thought it would be safe.  What do I want Princess to do?  I am a stockholder and am conflicted to what Princess needs to do.  

 

The first change should be to remove smoking in the casino.  Or at least limit the days.  What happened to smoke free formal nights?  I like the idea of putting up a partition or build an enclosed smoking area within the casino. Maybe automatic doors?  

 

@RonniesladyI am so sorry your vacation ended with Covid.  Hope you are on themend.

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much. We are stockholders also.   And I agree about the Casino smoking, but there again that bottom line.

3 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I had two separate, unrelated, sets of clients just return from a 14 day sailing on the Emerald Princess.  They echoed many of your comments about service issues, noticeable cutbacks in food quality/presentation, lack of covid preventions/controls.  3 of the 4 have tested positive for Covid, all are vaxxed and boosted.  One couple who have cruised with Princess 25+ times had me cancel their 3 upcoming sailings for the remainder of 2022/23 and have stated they will not be cruising with Princess again. 

 

The cruise lines are apparently putting short term revenue before safety or product quality, endangering peoples health and driving future business away.  Sad

We have sailed with Princess around 20 times all in full suites, so they have us @ around 40 cruises.   Also we never once on this cruise ate in the buffet. We ate every sea day lunch in our suite or balcony.  So that’s 10 out of 15 days. The evenings we never sat with anyone or near anyone in the dining room.  Sadly many people will not cruise if they have to be masked. So Princess may not ever go back to mandatory masking, since it will hurt their cruising numbers.  

My version is a little less glorified.  I realize Princess  has to makeup up lots of lost money, but I didn’t really think  it would be so obvious. Also many passengers  were sailing using their FCCs that will  expire the end of this year.  I will touch on a few things. Please ask if you want more details, or specifics. No embarkation lunch in the MDR.  They said because they were short staffed.  But I thought how did they think they were going to serve dinner❓
   We were in Club Class dining.  There was always many dishes to order,  but most of them was NOT anywhere up to par, or what we were given  last November on the same ship. Many items were room temp that should never have been, like Lamb,  beef sticks , prime rib & many fish dishes.  Prime rib was very gristly & couldn’t be chewed.  Many were talking about it.  Over  half had to be throw out.  The Mahi-mahi was very dry & way over cooked.  The romaine lettuce in the Caesar salad sometimes tasted like it was the core, but there was no core in it, Weird. The chicken you couldn’t chew.  No chicken in the chicken salad they have @ International Cafe .  Just chopped up Apples.  

       Entertainment mostly lacking, but with a few exceptions, like Carlos Oscar, British Invasion & Soul or Motown.  We didn’t go to the other production show Stardust. We already knew it wasn’t our kind of music, but was told it didn’t have any story, just singers singing different songs.   The Entertainment Director did the best he could with what he had to work with.  Most of his helpers were sweet girls, but couldn’t speak very good English & didn’t know what they were doing.  For instance, the poor girl running the golf that was continuing everyday, didn’t know anything @ all about golf. That’s what she told my DH.   The only exception was DJ Lovely, but she couldn’t do everything. I bet she wished she could.  
          I heard this cruise was on the news & rightly so.  There’s no caring or enforcing anything about Covid precautions once you are on the ship.  That’s definitely the feeling they wanted people to get.   It’s a free for all.  By the last few days you could hear passengers with that deep barking cough with lots of phlegm, sneezing,  people holding their throat like they were in pain.  I am sure the crew was glad to get rid of us.  No one would dare report they had any symptoms, who wants to go in quarantine & ruin their fun.  I’m sure about half of the 2200 passengers that disembarked in LA. had Covid or will.   My DH has a nice big cold, but is testing negative.  Me even with all precautions & double boosted has Covid & testing positive.  Never had a cough like this before.   This was a bad time for Princess to start sailing almost full on 15 day cruises with No masking.  
So if you want to get Covid or just plain don’t care if you get sick , then sail, because in my opinion there’s no way to not get it unless you stay in your cabin & not go anywhere. 

30 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Glad to see the guy on the right.  He was "absent" (MIA) during the cruise before yours.

Maybe he had Covid like the Cruise Director has right now, on the Grand  I was told .  That’s why we haven’t seen him since about the 2nd day.  He’s not been missed, the Entertainment Director is great.  Of course No announcement.

On 4/14/2022 at 3:35 PM, wowzz said:

Be careful what you wish for! 

Just came off a cruise with 1100 pax instead of 2000. OK, no chair hog issues, no waits for tables,  but at night, the ship felt deserted. So few pax meant that some bars were virtually empty, sometimes there were more people performing on stage than watching etc!

Bring back full(ish) ships. 

 

Sometimes less can be better if you want a cruise director , ours on the Grand came down with Covid.  The more onboard, the more chance of getting it.

On 3/6/2022 at 10:07 AM, pompeii said:

Does anyone know who is on the Grand currently?

Doesn’t matter he is terrible & so is his staff except DJ Lovely.  She is the only one who knows what she is doing.  The others you can’t understand a word they are saying.  And also they don’t know what they are doing. It’s really pitiful.

The Grand right now is sailing about 400-500 less than full.  But it sure feels full.  

We are in D736 suite is in great shape.  Last November we were in the same suite & there was many issues that we had fixed, knowing we were coming back to the same cabin in April.  Although I heard from someone in a balcony E731 it is bad shape.

9 minutes ago, nini said:

Well,  bummer! I love that chicken salad! I am grateful we do not have that issue in the Northwest.

Yes,  lots of people on theses boards including me love that chicken salad & some might be disappointed now.    
I suppose someone could do a topic on what is not offered anymore, unless it’s already been done & I missed it.

10 minutes ago, nini said:

There are also many supply chain issues. We have a small business and obtaining glass bottles has been a NIGHTMARE!!! That is also one of the reasons why wine is increasing in price too, which we just saw on the news.

You are right. I also remember in So. Cal  (Albertsons owned stores) they had signs at the grocery store saying they are having a chicken shortage.  
That must also be the reason Princesses famous chicken salad @ the International Cafe has no chicken in it.  Just tasty apples.  

43 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

Hmm I just thought it was because we were skipping Club Class. Food is not bad, but not as good as it was in October/November.

Items on the MDR Club Class menu have not been as described.  Also the extra main course that was offered for club class 2 nights in a row was Mahi-mahi.  The 1st nite my DH ordered it, I told him it looks dried out.  He said it is.  Then again the same thing is offered the next nite?? Is there a food shortage, crew shortage & entertainment budget shortage.  

What the H……. is happening to Princess .  I think I just figured it out . these deep cutbacks are probably because, even though this cruise is almost full many people are using their credits. And to Princess this means we are cruising for free.   
On a positive note our Cabin Steward is fantastic.  

For us the food is a little off in the MDR Club Class , than it used to be. Even from this past November on the & same ship (Grand).    Entertainment is off also compared to last November.  
Very few wearing masks & no social distancing.   Just a feeling I have been having is that this ship is hoping that everyone will come down with Covid, because of the kind of activities they are having.  For instance they had a 50s & 60s event the other night @ 8:30 in the Explorer’s Lounge, which was not listed as a party, but was stated so once it started.  (We thought it was going to be a game show).Very very over crowded, (standing room only)  no mention of masking, super encouraging everyone to sing along, pulling people down to the already crowded dance floor .  Also lots of extra doors are closed so everyone leaving or passing in show rooms & hallways are thrown together.  Makes no sense, but that’s just me & my opinion.  Can they save $ if everyone gets a light case of Covid, then they don’t have to worry about quarantining anyone.?  

22 minutes ago, Sarnia 432 said:

is it possible to find out the passenger count for the following cruise - LA to Vancouver?

thanks

I will try to ask the desk to see if they know.  Why did I think they were not going to port in Canada right now for a while.

We are on this cruise.   Thought of going to Walmart ( here in Hilo today  ) with the shuttle,  but the line for shuttle was about 1000 passengers & crew ahead of us.  .We thought we would pass from getting squished in that hugh bus.   
Love the Hawaii cruises ( been many times)but this one feels different for me.  The crew is great, but they are short handed.  Everything on a shoestring.  Don’t get me wrong , it still beats cooking, cleaning, shopping for food, doing my own laundry.  We are grateful to be here in our favorite aft Vista Suite.  
Any questions ?  just ask

5 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

So-so.  We have yet to see our room steward, we need towels and the "Service" page on the app is not working.  I sent a message via Crew Chat 15 minutes ago and still no response.  When I call Guest Services or Housekeeping it rings busy.

 

They are probably overwhelmed by the amount of passengers.  Oh well, we are going back to Vines!

I’m wondering if they are short handed crew wise for the amount of passengers onboard.  Surely they wouldn’t have the same amount of crew as they did when sailing with half the amount of passengers ?  I sure hope not for your sake.   After all , they knew ahead how many passengers would be onboard .  Hopefully they are not trying to save $ that way.

14 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Fully masked 100% of the time. 

Oops, yes you are right, my mistake .  Not sure what happens after 5 days of them being tested.

30 minutes ago, antsp said:

Completely incorrect post. 

Just posting what was told here on CC on the Ruby Princess a few days ago.  

4 hours ago, Aladdin22 said:

Yes I understand that, but all those passengers aren’t on the ship any more and the ship has had a deep clean so why?

Some are still on the ship, but in quarantine, because they let the Back to Backers stay if they wish to.   So that means anyone in the cabin with the positive tester can still roam the ship for the next cruise.  Although the negative person must only eat meals in his or her cabin & test everyday for 5 days.  

28 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

Just an update. Cruise ships have recently reinstated mask requirements because of outbreaks.

 

Of the ten HAL and Princess ships (passenger carrying) listed with the CDC, only the Discovery Princess is green. Seven ships are orange (CDC investigating).

 

Is that a for sure regarding the reinstating of mask requirements ❓

9 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

 

I was on this cruise. 

 

We were not required to wear masks on the Princess Sky cruise until the final day. I never wore one until then.....are you calling me an idiot for following the guidelines?   

Only if you test positive & complain.  I thought masking was optional ❓

On 11/26/2021 at 7:03 PM, ekka49 said:

I hope that you are correct.

But nothing surprises me with large corporations and the almighty $$$

You are right on with that one !!!!!!  More so now than ever before.

42 minutes ago, Cruisingawayfromthesnow! said:

I am surprised no one has been in touch with you.  Hoping tomorrow is a better day!

Shame on Princess for treating you like this!!! I’m really shocked that Princess seemed so unprepared for all this. After all the bragging they have been doing.     They should have flown in extra help that morning in San Francisco .  They had @ least 24 hours notice.  Then off to the pier & started helping wherever they could. Especially those people in quarantine .  They should have assigned one person for every 4 quarantined person to stay at their hotels with them and get whatever they needed .

This does not look good for Princess.   Where the H….. is their PR people.  This was a good chance to redeem themselves.  They blew it!!!!
 

4 hours ago, travellingnana said:

Thank you so much for sharing your ideas. We follow many of them, and we have one more…never hold onto the bannister when going up or down the stairs unless absolutely necessary!

That’s a great idea & I will bring medical gloves for going up & down the stairs. I will throw them away when I get to where I’m going, then put on a new pair for going back to my cabin.  Since I need to hold on when taking the stairs @ my age. With all that glove changing I might feel like I’m back @ work.

28 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I would call the front desk and let them know that you can’t get through and you would like something cold to help your sore throat.  Feel better. 

This could work.  I have a great little thing I do , when I am kept waiting too long @ the Doctors office & I’m in a room. I will open the door & stand in the door way & look around like wondering what’s going on or have they forgotten me.  I usually get their attention that way.  If anyone has to wait that long for a beverage I would certainly keep standing there in the hall & tell them you will wait right there until they bring that soft drink with a bucket of ice .  Or do they want you to go get it yourself ❓ 

I sure hope the OP reads this.