Whats new on Princess over the last 5 years?

Norman Love Chocolate Journeys deserts. Love 'em!

Ditto.....:):):)

Bob

New and improved production shows: https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/entertainment/production-shows/

Like the OP, I have not been on Princess for 5 or 6 years. Sorry to hear they did away with Crooners on some ships. That was one of my hang outs. Shucks. :(

Crooners has not been removed from any ship.

However it does not exist on the two newest ships, the Majestic and the Sky.

Thanks for all the replies so far and if any have been forgotten please post it....I do have a question though, embarkation lunch in the MDR, it used to be advertised but you used to have to fight the staff to actually get in, what's the situation now, the same or has it been eliminated or did the throw in the towel and actually allow what they had previously sold you?

Lunch on embarkation day is available in one dining room from around noon until 1:30 PM. Menu is reduced from what it used to be.

Embarkation day Patter will usually indicate which dining room has it.

No fight to get in once you get to the dining room, but many staff will still point you to the buffet if you ask where lunch is.

Thanks for all the replies so far and if any have been forgotten please post it....I do have a question though, embarkation lunch in the MDR, it used to be advertised but you used to have to fight the staff to actually get in, what's the situation now, the same or has it been eliminated or did the throw in the towel and actually allow what they had previously sold you?

Read the back page of the Princess Patter, it mentions which DR is open. On the Emerald it will most likely be DaVinci, deck 6 mid ship, or it could be Botticelli, deck 6 aft. Go there, you will be welcomed, not turned away. Open noon to 1:30.

Looking for info on what's the latest and the greatest on Princess since I last sailed about 5 years ago as in the best promotions, the newest and best specialty restaurants or venues and pretty much any other inside info on Princess specifically on Emerald Princess but other ships secrets are fine too. I don't read these forums often any longer and haven't kept up on what's new.....thanks in advance!

Hi Sheriff Joe.

Go on the Royal out of LA with us 4/6/19. We booked a year ago two years in advance but at that time they were offering a sip and sale so we did not opt for the all inclusive free package we opted for the onboard credit instead you might want to wait until a sip and sale promo, at any rate. We also booked under a three for free for our October cruise which included prepaid gratuities which is great if you are on a really long cruise plus we got a generous onboard credit plus an upgrade to best category within same classification i.e. paid for the worst position on the ship and got a center cabin

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I do recall reading about the great butter conspiracy on here about a year or 2 ago! LOL And a French Bistro sounds good...is it?

No butter conspiracy. EEldridge andI I were able to have as much as we wanted and that’s been true on the last 10 cruises also crooners is the martini bar and it still exists on most ships but for the new build they proposed French bistro in Lieu of the bar apparently they’re putting in more pay venues and fewer bars sorry for all the miss spellings but blame Siri not me

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I just thought of this. Crown Grill no longer has Fruit Cobbler on their dessert menu. I was so disappointed when I first encountered that about three years ago.

We were on the Emerald Princess just three weeks ago, and there was no problem getting all the butter we wanted. The only time I had to ask for more was when I ordered a baked potato, and, then, I made it clear when I ordered that I would like "lots" of butter. It worked every time. When my potatoes were served there was also the little dish with "lots" of butter.

;p

If you ask the crew which dining room is open, they are likely to try to send you to the buffet. Once you get to the dining room during open hours, you will be seated and served.

If you ask the crew which dining room is open' date=' they are likely to try to send you to the buffet. Once you get to the dining room during open hours, you will be seated and served.[/quote']

 

Do we have to be Elite or can anyone go to the embarkation lunch? Additionally, will be onboard by the opening times i.e. if no status, will we still be sitting in the port lounge waiting as we will be the last level to embark? TIA ;).

Is there any change to buffets? Layouts, foods provided, hours? Thanks.

Is there any change to buffets? Layouts, foods provided, hours? Thanks.

Yes. Caribbean Princess had a remodel of the main buffet which is now called World Fresh Market Place rather than Horizon Court. In addition, the newly added Planks (BBQ) and Steamers (Seafood) venues connect directly at the back of the buffet. They just circle around so if you go into one from one side of the buffet you keep going and come out of the other into the other side of the buffet. At breakfast and lunch these venues are free and are additional extensions of the buffet with different offerings. The regular buffet had pre-made "omelets" and pre-cooked fried eggs that were funky. Planks had made-to order omelets and cooked to order fried eggs. At lunch there were fajita fixings and Ramen fixings. Breakfast was much better than the stuff in World Fresh Market Place and lunch was the different offerings which made it much nicer.

Also (although not related to the buffet) the grill is now called the Salty Dog Grill and had new offerings such as street tacos and the lido pizza place is now called Slice and has additional offerings besides just pizza. These changes, like those I listed above for the buffet offerings, are both on Caribbean Princess. You can now also get Lattes and such at the ice cream place on Lido.

Do we have to be Elite or can anyone go to the embarkation lunch? Additionally, will be onboard by the opening times i.e. if no status, will we still be sitting in the port lounge waiting as we will be the last level to embark? TIA ;).

Anyone can go to embarkation lunch in the MDR if on the ship in time (Noon - 1:30 PM).

Do we have to be Elite or can anyone go to the embarkation lunch? Additionally, will be onboard by the opening times i.e. if no status, will we still be sitting in the port lounge waiting as we will be the last level to embark? TIA ;).

Once boarding has started, those already checked in will board in the following order: Wedding parties, BVE, Suite/Elite, Platinum, Club Class, everyone else.

The everyone else group boards in the order that they checked in. If you are already checked in when boarding starts, you will likely be on board about 30 minutes later.

Imho the changes made to the buffet on the Caribbean are terrible. Fewer choices, a lot repetitive items (Yorkshire pudding 3 times on a 8 day cruise), and the food just didn't even look appealing. My husband prefers to eat buffet rather than the MDR but not since they came up with this International Market concept. We won't sail on the Caribbean again. And since they changed the place to get a hamburger into the Salty Dog they give you a pager and the wait is 5 to 20 minutes. The BOGO happy hour was still there in December so that was a recent change. We don't drink enough to justify the drink package and since they eliminated the happy hour, we just didn't drink! This was our 18th Princess cruise and I'll stop using the line of they put these changes on all ships. :mad:

Do we have to be Elite or can anyone go to the embarkation lunch? Additionally, will be onboard by the opening times i.e. if no status, will we still be sitting in the port lounge waiting as we will be the last level to embark? TIA ;).

The sit down lunch is open to anyone; first come, first served for seating. As to boarding, it totally depends on what time you arrive. Boarding goes fairly quickly, so even with "no status," you won't have a long wait. Some cruises have lots of people with reasons to have priority boarding, other cruises have very few. Yes, those with "status" will board first, then the regulars in order of arrival at the terminal. So if you arrive early, you'll board early. Being on the boards makes it seem like everyone is elite--not true on most cruises. The longer the cruise, (typically longer than 14 nights), the more frequent cruisers there are on board.

Just came off of the Caribbean Princess yesterday and noticed a few changes since the last time we sailed that particular ship a few years ago:

- There is only the coke plus drink package (my dh bought just the coke package before, as he did not drink the mocktails) and this package does not come with milkshakes now. I also noticed that the banana chocolate smoothie mocktail was missing from the list... And it tasted just like a millshake, so there you go!

- No tumbler with your drink package anymore (a bummer, we loved getting those as simple souvenirs of the trip!)

- I could have swore they did the British Pub lunch on more than one day of the cruise before, and this time it was only on the last sea day of the trip. (Am I mistaken?)

- I did not notice breakfast or lunch in the formal dining rooms, which again, I might be crazy, perhaps I missed it, but I know I've had lunch in the dining room before and either completely overlooked it or it wasn't an option.

- Pagers given for burgers on the lido deck, which can be handy during busy times

- Better breakfast options on the buffet line

- Scaled back on-ship shopping, with not nearly as many necessities you might have forgotten, i.e. I didn't even see anything ginger available for sea sickness!

- Sabatini's has gotten a makeover, I never ate at the original, but this one seems very fresh pasta centered.

- Handwashing stations installed in the buffets- not just hand sanitzer towers!

- Captain's Circle Welcome Event was an actual cocktail party with multiple free drinks available throughout the event, but no certificate for one free drink given at the end. The drinks appeared to be standards like beer, cosmo on the rocks, etc.

- Less visibilty of the cruise director, but that could be because our cruise was pretty much rained out!

- I didn't see as many classic silly events like Mister Sexy Legs contest and events like that, it could have been because of the rain though (never in the patter though either)

- WONDERFUL BEDS! Emerald got them first and we sailed on it shortly after. Caribbean just did during dry dock and they are fabulous! My Dad says he's buying one he loved it so much!

- Nice, large flat screen TV's installed with a neat on demand offering. Two personal bummers: no rat pack music playing in the background of the ship info channel anymore and only ONE episode of The Love Boat available! I missed the station that played nothing but episodes of it! :-)

Just came off of the Caribbean Princess yesterday and noticed a few changes since the last time we sailed that particular ship a few years ago:

- There is only the coke plus drink package (my dh bought just the coke package before, as he did not drink the mocktails) and this package does not come with milkshakes now. I also noticed that the banana chocolate smoothie mocktail was missing from the list... And it tasted just like a millshake, so there you go!

- No tumbler with your drink package anymore (a bummer, we loved getting those as simple souvenirs of the trip!)

- I could have swore they did the British Pub lunch on more than one day of the cruise before, and this time it was only on the last sea day of the trip. (Am I mistaken?)

- I did not notice breakfast or lunch in the formal dining rooms, which again, I might be crazy, perhaps I missed it, but I know I've had lunch in the dining room before and either completely overlooked it or it wasn't an option.

- Pagers given for burgers on the lido deck, which can be handy during busy times

- Better breakfast options on the buffet line

- Scaled back on-ship shopping, with not nearly as many necessities you might have forgotten, i.e. I didn't even see anything ginger available for sea sickness!

- Sabatini's has gotten a makeover, I never ate at the original, but this one seems very fresh pasta centered.

- Handwashing stations installed in the buffets- not just hand sanitzer towers!

- Captain's Circle Welcome Event was an actual cocktail party with multiple free drinks available throughout the event, but no certificate for one free drink given at the end. The drinks appeared to be standards like beer, cosmo on the rocks, etc.

- Less visibilty of the cruise director, but that could be because our cruise was pretty much rained out!

- I didn't see as many classic silly events like Mister Sexy Legs contest and events like that, it could have been because of the rain though (never in the patter though either)

- WONDERFUL BEDS! Emerald got them first and we sailed on it shortly after. Caribbean just did during dry dock and they are fabulous! My Dad says he's buying one he loved it so much!

- Nice, large flat screen TV's installed with a neat on demand offering. Two personal bummers: no rat pack music playing in the background of the ship info channel anymore and only ONE episode of The Love Boat available! I missed the station that played nothing but episodes of it! :-)

The regular soda package has been gone for some time now. The Soda and More package is only $8.05 per day including tip. If you want the Choco Banana drink just ask. The mocktail menu doesn't mean a lot and they will fix any drink without alcohol. You can have them make a virgin strawberry/mango/passion fruit margarita if you like.

Pub lunch is variable. Sometimes there are more and sometimes fewer.

I have heard about the sexy legs thing but never seen it on a Princess ship. It's much more of a Carnival type thing. Perhaps I just never noticed.

CD visibility varies with the CD and the cruise. On CB last March the CD was new and not all that visible. (He also had the loudest announcements I have ever heard!) On Emerald last October the CD was great.

I heard that there were many complaints regarding the Love Boat episodes. It didn't bother us at all but many seem to love them.

The regular soda package has been gone for some time now. The Soda and More package is only $8.05 per day including tip. If you want the Choco Banana drink just ask. The mocktail menu doesn't mean a lot and they will fix any drink without alcohol. You can have them make a virgin strawberry/mango/passion fruit margarita if you like.

 

Pub lunch is variable. Sometimes there are more and sometimes fewer.

 

I have heard about the sexy legs thing but never seen it on a Princess ship. It's much more of a Carnival type thing. Perhaps I just never noticed.

 

CD visibility varies with the CD and the cruise. On CB last March the CD was new and not all that visible. (He also had the loudest announcements I have ever heard!) On Emerald last October the CD was great.

 

I heard that there were many complaints regarding the Love Boat episodes. It didn't bother us at all but many seem to love them.

That is all good info to have! Am I crazy about the missing breakfast and lunches in at least a couple MDR's? We've only been on 4 cruises, all on Princess and all within the last 4 years. Didn't they use to offer lunch in the dining room? I didn't see that as an option on this last cruise, but I might have overlooked it... Even though I really looked for it! It could be a Caribbean Princess thing too... But from what they said on the last episide of The Wake Show, they are doing things on the Caribbean that they might eventually do fleet wide and they really want us to fill out the survey emailed to us for our feedback...not sure if that will really matter or not!

Imho the changes made to the buffet on the Caribbean are terrible. Fewer choices, a lot repetitive items (Yorkshire pudding 3 times on a 8 day cruise), and the food just didn't even look appealing. My husband prefers to eat buffet rather than the MDR but not since they came up with this International Market concept. We won't sail on the Caribbean again. And since they changed the place to get a hamburger into the Salty Dog they give you a pager and the wait is 5 to 20 minutes. The BOGO happy hour was still there in December so that was a recent change. We don't drink enough to justify the drink package and since they eliminated the happy hour, we just didn't drink! This was our 18th Princess cruise and I'll stop using the line of they put these changes on all ships. :mad:

Of course food is VERY subjective, but would not classify the buffet as terrible. Sailed on the Caribbean Princess for 24 days, January/February, and this was not our buffet experience at all. We found the buffet selections to be improved, dined there many times at dinner, enjoyed the various sandwich selections for lunch. Standard breakfast selections including the made to order omelettes still available, plus they added the cereal wagon finally with Cheerios. We also liked the new tables and chairs. Found they provided more seating area.

We never had a pager at the Salty Dog. The pagers must be used when it is very busy. In any case I would consider a pager as a positive, so you don't have to just stand in the line. We also found the increased selections enjoyable. Pizza was also improved with additional selections.

Overall after 38 Princess cruises we thought that the Caribbean Princess was well organized. Only glitch we found was the extra early theater arrival times, but we adjusted to the pattern.

So for those reading this posting note views vary widely. Make your own decisions.

That is all good info to have! Am I crazy about the missing breakfast and lunches in at least a couple MDR's? We've only been on 4 cruises, all on Princess and all within the last 4 years. Didn't they use to offer lunch in the dining room?

One main dining room is always open for breakfast. A number of years ago Princess switched from having an MDR open every day for lunch to one being open on embarkation day and sea days only. I've also heard if there is an early departure (1 - 2 pm), an MDR will be open for lunch but I don't have personal experience to confirm that (but I'm sure someone will chime in!). The back page of the Patter lists the hours of all dining rooms and specialty restaurants ever day.

The sit down lunch is open to anyone; first come' date=' first served for seating. As to boarding, it totally depends on what time you arrive. Boarding goes fairly quickly, so even with "no status," you won't have a long wait. Some cruises have lots of people with reasons to have priority boarding, other cruises have very few. Yes, those with "status" will board first, then the regulars in order of arrival at the terminal. So if you arrive early, you'll board early. Being on the boards makes it seem like everyone is elite--not true on most cruises. The longer the cruise, (typically longer than 14 nights), the more frequent cruisers there are on board.[/quote']

 

Thanks, was just worried that the lunch may be over before we are able to board ;).