service

[singelsethc]

we sailed with Princess last year and customer service was poor. we'd read in some reviews others who felt the same way and weren't going to sail anymore. we want to give princess another chance.. ' 10 sailing. i'd like to hear from princess veterans or other recent cruisers..has it gotten better?

[regnig]

Well Catherine I can't say it's gotten better but since I've never had anything less than good service I don't know that it can improve. We've sailed enough that we have some pretty high standards and rare is the occasion the Princess does not meet or exceed them. Granted, there can always be a minor speed bump here or there but certainly nothing that has ever caused us to complain. What was the "poor" customer service you received and could it have been nothing more than an unusual happenstance? If it was sever hopefully you reported it to the correct level of management.

 

You need to remember that a lot of people who post on this board do so only to nit-pick and moan and groan. Most people who expect and get great service rarely post that fact.

[paul929207]

We always book with a TA, so we have little direct contact with Princess customer sevice. I do order flowers for my wife each cruise and they show up fine.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

We have only cruised with Princess five times, and all in the past four years, but customer service has always met or exceeded our expectations.

[LARGIN]

With the exception of one cruise we have had no problem with service...

[Colo Cruiser]

We have had great service on our cruises with Princess. :)

[katisdale]

I have found the stewards and wait staff on Princess to be excellent. I've had little exposure to bar staff, casino staff or the cruise director assts./entertainer staff so can't really comment on them. We amuse ourselves, read, play trivia, eat and watch movies when we cruise. I know the musical shows don't change very often on Princess so we tend to see the comedians or hypnotists in the evening.

[sabookkeeper]

we sailed with Princess last year and customer service was poor. we'd read in some reviews others who felt the same way and weren't going to sail anymore. we want to give princess another chance.. ' 10 sailing. i'd like to hear from princess veterans or other recent cruisers..has it gotten better?

We have sailed on Princess 3 times and we have two more cruises scheduled. I can't say that we have had any complaints with the service on board. With regards to dealing with Princess customer service, we recently had to make changes to a cruise and there were no problems with the changes and the customer service rep was great.

 

Darlene

[MTJSR]

Sometimes people call the treatment they receive from a staff member, service. I find when I treat a crew member nice, I get it back many times over in return. Service quality is up to your interpretation of it and what might make you feel you got shorted, in that regard. The length of time in that particular position (IE:new assignment) makes a big difference too. Unless it is your own private yacht you are sharing this large ship with others and with that comes patience and compassion for those working to help make your trip enjoyable. I find it silly that there are some people who save all year, take the trip they really want to take and then pick it apart like they could never have be satisfied anyway.

[snrlnd]

Sometimes people call the treatment they receive from a staff member, service. I find when I treat a crew member nice, I get it back many times over in return. Service quality is up to your interpretation of it and what might make you feel you got shorted, in that regard. The length of time in that particular position (IE:new assignment) makes a big difference too. Unless it is your own private yacht you are sharing this large ship with others and with that comes patience and compassion for those working to help make your trip enjoyable. I find it silly that there are some people who save all year, take the trip they really want to take and then pick it apart like they could never have be satisfied anyway.

 

I agree. It's amazing how some complain about the silliest things. You are on vacation... enjoy it, be happy. Niceness brings niceness. Maybe if you are complaining all the time the people "serving" you might not be as friendly. We have always found Princess staff (almost) always very pleasant and helpful.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Catherine - Maybe if you tell us exactly what problems you encountered, people could respond a little more specifically. You might get better answers that way.

 

Generally speaking, I have to agree with the others. For the most part, we have had excellent service.

[jean s]

We have cruised on a number of Princess cruises and have always had very good to excellent service from all the employees on the ship. We enjoy meeting the staff and chatting with them during our cruise.

[kooljamming]

we sailed with Princess last year and customer service was poor. we'd read in some reviews others who felt the same way and weren't going to sail anymore. we want to give princess another chance.. ' 10 sailing. i'd like to hear from princess veterans or other recent cruisers..has it gotten better?

 

Service is going to be about ones personal experience and expectation in so many different areas.

 

Precruise: 8/10 - Friendly CSR but not always consistent

MDR experience :7/10 - nothing overly nice but subpar compared to our usual traditional dining (deal breakers)

Buffet: 9/10 - Staff worked really hard to getting tables clean and providing drinks. Poor layout made it frustrating at times.

Cabin Steward: 10+ went out of his way for our family, towel animals were a treat

Bar service: 8/10 service was fine, mixed drinks weak. A 10 would be adding enough liquor so I can taste it:p

Excursion desk: - 7/10 assigned us to the wrong bus, the one to a hotel not the tour and airport. It took a while to get 4 of us on the correct bus.

Excursion staff - 10/10 We were off the ship within 5 minutes of our scheduled time. I was expecting a much longer delay.

Post cruise:- 4.5/10, it took 6 weeks for reply, granted lovely and generous one. First cruise I sent a compliment and never got a response (0/10), unacceptable. Other vacations, even Carnival I received a thank you email or even a call within a week. The photo release request took a week but from Carnival 5 minutes while on the phone.

 

Overall good to great pre and onboard service.

Great evening entertainment but not a service aspect

Gorgeous ship - not service

[ginagirl]

We cruise quite frequently with Princess; and for the most part, service has been quite good. In fact, this year we found only one ship where the service was definitely not up to par and another ship that was exceptionately wonderful.

[beauv]

we sailed with Princess last year and customer service was poor. we'd read in some reviews others who felt the same way and weren't going to sail anymore. we want to give princess another chance.. ' 10 sailing. i'd like to hear from princess veterans or other recent cruisers..has it gotten better?

 

We recently went on our first ever cruise - a 35 night trip on Sun Princess from Sydney to Hawaii and back to Sydney, only got back on October the 17th. It was the best holiday we have ever had. Everything about the cruise was first rate - crew, service, everything - no complaints at all. Still smiling and wishing we were still on board. :):) Princess Cruises will definitely get our custom again.

Ralph

[Ethel5]

we sailed with Princess last year and customer service was poor. we'd read in some reviews others who felt the same way and weren't going to sail anymore. we want to give princess another chance.. ' 10 sailing. i'd like to hear from princess veterans or other recent cruisers..has it gotten better?

 

Just what were you expecting, that you didn't get?

[billet]

I am getting brilliant service on the Star at the moment. I certainly have no complaints. Unfortunately there are always people who want to find bad things and spoil their cruise rather than going with the flow and I choose to ignore their bleats and focus on the positive.

[Crown Prince]

We recently went on our first ever cruise - a 35 night trip on Sun Princess from Sydney to Hawaii and back to Sydney, only got back on October the 17th. It was the best holiday we have ever had. Everything about the cruise was first rate - crew, service, everything - no complaints at all. Still smiling and wishing we were still on board. Princess Cruises will definitely get our custom again.

Ralph

 

RALPH: Like most of my Aussie Friends, you bloaks are so easily satisfied, having such a good outlook on life. Why can't more folks be like the wonderful people from Oz.

 

I get tired of people wingheing about poor Anything, without being specific. Some are just chronic complainers and go through life trying to explain their poor selves by complaining about others.

 

:D:D:cool::D:D

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

We sailed on the Golden earlier this year in January. It was our first 15 day cruise with Princess. The food was very good. The wait staff was pleasant and worked hard. The room steward "Mary" was fantastic..always attentive to our needs, she was fabulous. Every morning we would go and get fresh brewed coffee at the bar (used coffee card) and Amy was the bar tender she was so personable and kind to any and everyone that walked by.

 

In my experience if you treat people the way you want to be treated they will respond in like manner. Princess was definately good enough for me to book another cruise next month. I'm now a repeat customer...:)

[hansi]

We always book with a TA, so we have little direct contact with Princess customer sevice. I do order flowers for my wife each cruise and they show up fine.

 

I think the OP means Princess service on board the ship! We are Elite with Princess and alsways have great service.

[Pam in CA]

You can have 2,500 people on the same ship at the same time and get 2,500 different answers. There are so many variables and everyone's personal experience is different. One person's "slow" service is another's "leisurely" dinner. One person might like a cabin steward who is always visible and loves to chat; someone else might like a cabin steward who does his/her job unobtrusively, and well, and is rarely visible.

 

Every now and then I've had a slow waiter in the dining room but I think that overall, Princess service is just fine; I've had far worse experiences (a couple of them truly awful) with service on HAL yet many people rate HAL's service top-notch. I don't go on a cruise or decide on a ship based on how fast my drink/dinner comes or how early my cabin is made up. Absolutely NO cruise is perfect as everyone serving you is human and no one's perfect, including myself.

 

IMHO, service is very subjective. It really depends on your expectations and preferences.

[bhopal21]

Well stated, Pam.:)

 

Mike:)

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes!! Pam!!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Just off the Island Princess, and it was the best staff we have experienced on Princess (this was out tenth Princess cruise). Good luck whatever you choose.

[sirwired]

I'm not sure a forum like this one is even the proper way to get an answer to such an open-ended question. The best way would be for the OP to simply browse the reviews for the ship and itinerary that they want, and take it from there.

 

Asking a busy forum dedicated to a specific cruise line how they like it is rather unlikely to produce the specific information sought, and the answers will be all over the map.

 

SirWired