Princess was just what I thought and even worse!!!

[Phyldon]

This review may be too long for some readers, but I want to be as thorough as possible so that a discriminating traveller will have an honest point of view from someone who is not an avid cruiser, but who, at the age of 68, chooses the boarding of a ship rather than living out of a suitcase while touring the sights that I have not yet visited as well as those I wish to see again.

 

My husband and I just returned from 12 nights sailing on the Crown Princess around the British Isles. We selected the Crown Princess because of the itinerary (only 2 days at sea!) where it docked for long hours in cities that we had never visited, namely in Ireland as well as Liverpool.

We have travelled to many regions via cruise ship; we enjoy getting off the ship and sightseeing as opposed to just cruising. I never intended to sail on a Princess ship since we prefer smaller ships and gourmet cuisine, but Princess was the only ship offering this rather complete itinerary at this time period...we live in Florida and do not like to be far from home during the summer hurricane season. Some fine cruiselines offered similar itineraries later in the season.

 

Arrival at Heathrow: Princess reps met us after clearing immigration and baggage claim and assisted us to the coach (well worth the extra $$) to take us to Southampton.

 

Embarkation: The process at the port terminal was very smooth and very fast.

 

Cabin: Baja 339 is well located on the 11th deck and midship. Perfect location as far as we were concerned. The balcony was unnecessary for this cruise of inclement weather, gusting winds, rain, hail (at the end of May!) but the cabins of oceanview, mainly on the Emerald deck, appeared to be at either end of the ship or had obstructed views due to lifeboat positions. We also did not want to be situated under a dining room or lounge. When we entered our cabin for the first time, we were overcome by the smell of cigarette smoke and immediately reported this to the steward. By evening, the room had been aired and the carpet shampooed, and the smell disappated, although it was slightly evident throughout the cruise. The only other negative about this cabin was the diminutive size of the shower.

 

Food: The dining room selections as well as quality left a bit to be desired. However, the soup selections were excellent both in variety at each meal and in the quality. The buffet areas on Deck 15 were much too small to allow passengers to explore before making a selection. People were going every which way and rudely bumping into each other. One night we chose a simple fast dining option at the Pizza and Ice Cream Bar by one of the pools....the pizza was as good as any form one of the better pizza chain restaurants. The International Cafe offered excellent sandwiches and salads and desserts, free of charge ( I mention this because Princess is the first ship on which we sailed that nickelled and dimed its passengers!) Coffee in the dining rooms were hit or miss so I now understand why people paid extra money for specialty coffee cards!!!!!!! Having read about this on Cruise Critic message boards, I brought Starbucks instant coffee with me and ordered hot water where possible.

 

Room service: While on the subject of food, we found this service reliable and fast. There was no extra charge except for special items. I always ordered tomato juice for breakfast and when I requested it for later in the daay, I was informed that there would be a charge since it was considered a beverage! During this 12 night cruise, I was put on a restricted diet due to a stomach virus (quite possibly the norovirus...never really confirmed).The room service staff adhered to the doctor's orders and would not bring me anything that was not on the special diet!

 

Excursions: Way overpriced!!! Here's an example of Princess's outrageous charges. When I booked the excursions in March, the one to Dunrobin Castle while docked in Invergordon, Scotland, was priced at $69 (USA) per person. In early May, I realized that I had booked the morning excursion rather than the afternoon, and when I called Princess and had the bookings changed, I then saw on my Cruise Personalizer that we were charged $99 each. When I called and questioned this, I was informed that the price depends on when the person booked the cruise!! It is understandable that the price of gas had increased, and the value of the dollar had decreased but had it done so to cause a $30 increase in price??? I should be pointed out that the original description of this tour mentioned the falconry show. Unfortunate for those who booked the morning excursion, there was no time allowed to see a most impressive show.The PM tour arrives just on time to go down the steep steps to the garden area before touring the castle. After seeing the 2:30 show, there is ample time to tour the castle. Regarding the price of this excursion, perhaps $79 would have been fair! I do not know what other excursions' costs were increased as I left our other two choices alone. $79 to Luss/Loch Lomond Drive was not worth the money. St. Andrews at $69 per person was well worth it for us golfers to see this fabulous course! Instead of paying for the ship's overpriced city tours, we reserved online the hop-on/hop-off buses in Dublin,Belfast and Liverpool. Butler's Coaches in Cobh was so reasonably priced and we had an excellent guide for the entire day to Blarney Castle, Kinsale and Cobh.

 

Medical staff: Unfortunately, I was one of the statistics onboard who was quarantined for 48 hours following my last bout of .......(need I describe it?).Following a drink of Irish Coffee in a restaurant in Kinsale, I became nauseous and got sick on the bus. Several hours later, my symptoms got worse and I called 911 (the ship's emergency number). although the medical office was closed, a nurse met me in the office and after take BP and temp,etc., called in one of the doctors. to make a long story as short as possible, they took blood tests which were taken again the next day for comparison. I believe all of the charges (except for $30 for a one-page report that I could take to my MD at home) were as fair or unfair as the charges here in the states. I am fortunate to have travel insurance to cover these costs which total almost $600. I found the staff genuinely interested in how I was feeling, and they spent as much time as necessary speaking with me, even by phone (no charge for telephone consultation).

 

Cabin steward: Our steward, Tim, was excellent, following all of our special requests. On the days that I was quarantined, he was not allowed in our cabin. Instead, a special team entered our cabin wearing masks and special uniforms and scrubbed and sanitized the cabin. It should be mentioned that room service staff wore masks when delivering on quarantined days. However, they did not have special uniforms and only the special team could remove and bag the dishes and waste from the delivered meals.

 

All along, my husband was free to leave the cabin, leave the ship and eat what he chose, except they requested that he not eat at the buffet and that I not eat there for 2 days following my quarantine.

 

Shuttle buses: Leave it to Princess to probably be the only cruiseline that does not provide courtesy buses from the ports to the cities where it it absolutely necessary to have ground transportation (walking almost impossible). In LeHavre on the last day before disembarkation, passengers paid $12 round trip to go to a city that was closed down due to a holiday....nowhere did Princess inform passengers of this matter.

 

Gratuities charged on account: A charge of $11.50 per person ( another increase since our initial booking) is automatic. We found that half the staff was gracious and half were most unpleasant ( and what do they care if they know that they will receive a gratuity package anyway!). The lack of courtesy was particularly noticed in the DaVinci and Michaelangelo dining rooms where we ate occasionally since we had Anytime Dining. We would have preferred to tip when we dined based upon the service.

 

Disembarkation: The process went very smoothly, and we diembarked earlier than scheduled. Since we were staying overnight at the Heathrow Hilton next to Terminal 4, we were on one of the last coaches. What a surprise we had when walking with our luggage to the departing coaches that none of them were going to Terminal 4!!! How could Princess staff not inform us of this and just place us on a coach going to another terminal? As it turned out, about 8 people were placed on this coach, and with some little persuasion, the dirver was kind enough to drive us to terminal 4.

 

I suppose I have gone on too long and there are many more points to be reviewed. All in all, our impression of Princess is that it is one of the most costly cruiselines considering what they give you and what they don't give you. Their staff, on the whole, appears overworked and stressed...this does not mean that there are not some very pleasant members of the crew.

 

Our future cruises to ports yet to be explored by us will never be on a Princess. This overrules the statement, "You get what you pay for".....

 

I will be happy to answer any questions. Feel free to post or email me.

[hubofhockey]

We are doing British Isles next July on the Caribbean Princess. I understand why you would be upset with the things you wrote about in your review. Unfortunately, they seem typical of any mass market cruise line and not just Princess. We actually considered Azamara's 12-day itinerary which includes some of the British Isles stops and multiple overnights in Rouen (much more convenient to Paris than Le Havre) and Dublin. But we are opting for Princess for the same British Isles itinerary you had and will be staying in a Paris hotel for two to three nights pre-cruise. Like you, we know what to expect from Princess. But the negatives don't bother us. Of course, we don't do ANY cruise line excursions and make our own travel arrangements as well. I am glad that we are doing our cruise in July. It sounds like May in the British Isles can be hit or miss with respect to the weather and you got all miss. Thank you for your review.

[Luvmyrotti]

I'm curious what lines you have sailed to which you are comparing Princess. Azamara? Regent? Understandably, there would be a very different experience on those much smaller luxury lines and a 3000 passenger, mass-market line like Princess.

 

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy your cruise. Perhaps one of the small ships of Princess might work better for you if you choose to try it again.

[Cymro1953]

Hi,

Thanks for your thoughts on the cruise.

Re Weather :- welcome to the British summer. That's how it is here. You can get baking hot or cold and wet next to each other.

The last 2 days we have had temperatures in the middle to high 70's with hot sun. Today it is 57 F cloudy and drizzly. :(

 

We sailed Royal Caribbean 2 years ago and I said never again, our experience was worse than how yours comes across.

 

The excursions both with RCI and Princess we find are much more expensive than we pay the British cruise line we normally use. About 30% more for exactly the same excursion

 

We are off on Star Princess on Saturday on our 1st Princess cruise and are really looking forward to it. We will report back as to how we get on.

 

Berwyn

[isujim]

The downfall of most people on a cruise is lack of research. With only 3 posts they obviously didn't research Princess or their cruise on cruise critic. Hopefully they found some outside source to research, research and do more research.

 

Sorry your cruise did not live up to your expectations. You state you are not an avid cruiser.........cruising isn't for everyone.

 

Regardless, I hope you find the type of vacation that suits your tastes and needs. Sorry Princess wasn't for you.......life is too short not to be happy.

 

Hope you find what you are looking for.

[sirwired]

I don't get it... you said your cabin was acceptable, the food was about what you expected, the service seemed a tad overworked, but courteous and prompt, your steward wonderful. The only large negative was that you thought the shore excursions were overpriced.

 

So where exactly was the problem? You paid far less than a luxury line, and it sounds like you got what you paid for. What were you expecting?

[bandit and babycakes]

I have been on 12 Princess cruises and never had a problem. That being said sorry your cruise was not to your liking. Some of the things you mentioned can happen with any cruise line. Research can save you money on excursions. We however did have an incident that happened when we did not book through Princess and we almost got left at the pier in the South Pacific. So we are careful which companys we use and do use the ones offered by Princess most of the time. If you are spending all of the money to go to other countrys a few more dollars can be in your best interest. On another note we also did a cruise with another major cruise line based on the fact that they stayed overnight in Venice. Your cruise was a piece of cake compared to what we had. Bad excursions, on a 14 day cruise only 3 shows at night and I got noro virsus ( Doctor on ship said take Immodim until you feel better no help there) and came home after 18 days with double pneumonia ( Doctor said take asprin until you feel better).

 

Hope if your take another cruise you will be happier with your choose.

[KaththeTaff]

I am not a Princess flag waver as I haven't cruised with them (yet, just three weeks to go!) but it seems to me as though the OP was always going to encounter thigns that thy found unsatisfactory - after all a Crown Princess cruise is hardly a small ship with gourmet cuisine!

 

It probably doesn't need to be said that all mass market lines will sometimes feel very crowded. We tend to avoid the busiest buffet times for this reason. I agree that Princess excursions seem to be expensive, we have not booked any for our upcoming cruise! Princess, however, are not the only line not to put on free shuttle buses - on NCL in the Med fees had to be paid on them all, whether they were put on by the port or the cruise line.

[commodoredave]

Phyldon:

Sorry you had a bad experience with Princess. DW and I have been on 54 cruises, and only 3 of them have been disappointing. One of those was on a ship going into drydock the next week, while the other two were on very cheap budget lines. We've been with Princess many times, and have always had a good time with them. In fact, Princess is our favourite premium line.

Of course, we prefer the luxury lines when we can afford it. But we don't compare our cruises with Regent, Seabourn and Crystal to those on premium lines like Princess, Celebrity and RCL. We know the experiences will be quite different, but we enjoy both.

Perhaps you were very unlucky and/or the ship was just having a bad week. In any event, I think it's important to put your one bad experience in perspective -- Princess has provided many great cruises and memorable moments to many thousands of people over the years. And that includes people like DW and I who have lots of cruising experience.

Hope you have better luck next time.

[Shogun]

Hi all

 

Have I missed something, I have just spent almost a month on a princess ship,

 

I was not nickle and dimed, I did not buy any, photos, did not us the spa, did not take any Princess tours, did not buy anything from the onboard shops,

 

 

so can some one explain what the issue is, looking at booking

 

another couple of cruises cost is less £50 a day, so i am happy that I am getting value for money.

 

 

yours Shogun

[Mom33]

You title your review as "Princess was just what I thought and worse". What were your pre-conceived notions and if they were negative, why take the cruise anyway?

 

I'm sorry you got sick (along with others) it can happen on any cruise line, and that the weather was bad, ( can any cruiseline prevent bad weather?)I guess these things would make your cruise unpleasant and one you would like to forget. Good luck in your future travels.

[Janet Foster]

Some people just are complainers in life no matter what ther circumstances. Either you like cruising or you hate it.

[Toto2Kansas]

Thanks for your review. It sounds like a few things (weather and illness) helped to sour your opinion of your Princess cruise. I am still not sure I read your review right, as the worst things I read had nothing at all to do with Princess or the ship/staff itself. I hope you enjoy your next cruise vacation, on whatever line you decide to sail on.

[better at sea]

I am sorry you had a horrible trip. After reading your review it seems like everything was meeting your expectations and the issues you were upset about are average across all the larger cruise lines. My DH and I have sailed all most of the major players (NCL, Celebrity, RCCL, Carnival). We chose Princess for the first time last year for our honeymoon and we have been on 3 cruises since have the 4th one coming up in June and have 3 more booked by summer of next year. On Princess I didn’t really feel nickeled and dimed as I have in the pass. As for the staff, they are people too and just like anywhere else you have those that are gracious and those that are unpleasant. I just smile and wish them a good day. If you chose to cruise again I would stick with the smaller more inclusive lines. Good luck with your future travels.

[mizLORInj]

On what line aren't shore excursions overpriced? (ok not counting the lines where they are included, but you paid $10K per person to sail!) :p

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your cruise but yes, your title seems you expected to find things you wouldn't like.

I've enjoyed every cruise on every line, but I choose to overlook things like crowded buffet areas. Every ship has that depending on your timing.

[Mrterryl]

I have been on 27 Princess cruises and 5 Silversea cruises. Based on your review you were looking for Silversea service and pay Princess cruises prices which the difference in cost is about $300 per day per person

[SJ27]

Also no princess champion because have not sailed yet. Also chose our cruise for itinerary and not wanting to live out of suitcase.

However, I think the OP's title says a lot ...."just what I thought" ... sounds like they were expecting to not enjoy it. Attitude makes a big difference!

[KaththeTaff]

Also no princess champion because have not sailed yet. Also chose our cruise for itinerary and not wanting to live out of suitcase.

However, I think the OP's title says a lot ...."just what I thought" ... sounds like they were expecting to not enjoy it. Attitude makes a big difference!

 

Indeed it does! The OP sounds like someone who was expecting to be disappointed and were happy that they were right!

 

Now I am looking forward to my holiday and just being awey from home and work! The relaxation and the beautiful scenery of the Norwegain Fjords are the real reason for going - I can happily live with the nickel and diming because I will choose what I want and what I don't want to spend my money on!

[Happy ks]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise and that you got sick, bummer.

 

We learned for ourselves years ago that ship sponsored excursions just weren't for us and prefer private tours. We plan so we will see what we want to see, when we want to see it and that we will be back to the ship on time. The majority of the time we pay less than half of what a ship tour charges and we get twice the excursion. If it is the same thing as a ship tour, we also check the time to make sure we aren't there at the same time as ship tours...too crowded.

 

I'd be annoyed if I entered a smokey cabin as well. We've been lucky on our 2 Princess cruises and have not followed a smoker in our cabin. My poor Aunt had a smoker across the hall (she was inside, smoker had a balcony) and you could smell the smoke in the hall all week. ot pleasant to walk out to, in the morning especially.

 

I have to admit, though, it does sound as if you went into the cruise looking for what you didn't like with a more negative than usual attitude. That in itself will magnify what you find less than standard. I've been on a couple ships that didn't measure up to others and those are the things I remember most, not always the good parts. After this experience you will probably be more careful in your selection of ships/lines.

 

You're not the first person I''ve read here on CC that the airport drop-off didn't work out. Nor, that the city you visit was having a holiday or other event that altered your visit. The airport thing?? All I cansay is that we learned long ago to use taxis rather than ship shuttles. Faster and typically more economic. That the shore excursion should have known the town would be closed up? You're right, they probably should have known since they are there at other times. That is one complaint I think I'd let on to Princess...have their shore excursion staff do a little more homework.

[paul929207]

It sounds like you went into the cruise expecting it to be poor and found reasons to confirm your expectations. You should have done something else if you expected to be miserable.

[Coral]

My DH and I have sailed all most of the major players (NCL, Celebrity, RCCL, Carnival). We chose Princess for the first time last year for our honeymoon and we have been on 3 cruises since have the 4th one coming up in June and have 3 more booked by summer of next year. On Princess I didn’t really feel nickeled and dimed as I have in the pass.

 

I have also sailed most of the major cruise lines (minus NCL) and I felt the most nickel and dimed on Celebrity. I did a Princess cruise and Celebrity cruise within 2 months of each other and everything on Celebrity was 30% or higher once on ship! With the exception of Crystal (which costs more) - I felt the least nickel and dimed on Princess.

 

FYI - one is allowed to book shore excursions privately. You are not required to book through the ship.

[sunsetbeachgal]

OP,

 

With all due respect, when someone says they are a frequent cruiser and then this very negative review is only their third post, my antenna goes up. Wish you would have said what your other cruise line experiences were-as others have said if it were Silversea, Seabourn, etc. then maybe mass line cruising is not for you. You get what you pay for---we feel and continue to feel more strongly so each time we take a land-based trip that cruising is the best value by far for your money, and we feel that Princess provides a superior value for us. All mass lines nickel and dime, period.

 

And having cruised on a British Isles cruise a few years ago, I would never expect a mass cruise line to provide "free shuttles" to town-would be surprised if RCCL, Celebrity, HAL or any do that. I don;t remember free shuttles anywhere in Europe from the ports to town. Nor would I expect one!

[Iamcruzin]

I have also sailed most of the major cruise lines (minus NCL) and I felt the most nickel and dimed on Celebrity. I did a Princess cruise and Celebrity cruise within 2 months of each other and everything on Celebrity was 30% or higher once on ship! With the exception of Crystal (which costs more) - I felt the least nickel and dimed on Princess.

 

FYI - one is allowed to book shore excursions privately. You are not required to book through the ship.

 

Hi all

 

Have I missed something, I have just spent almost a month on a princess ship,

 

I was not nickle and dimed, I did not buy any, photos, did not us the spa, did not take any Princess tours, did not buy anything from the onboard shops,

 

 

so can some one explain what the issue is, looking at booking

 

another couple of cruises cost is less £50 a day, so i am happy that I am getting value for money.

 

 

yours Shogun

 

I read this comment about nickel and diming a lot on this board and I just don't get it. I have never been able to sail on an all inclusive line because it's too expensive. When you get down to it you are paying either way. At least with Princess and other lines you can pick and choose what you are willing to pay for and not pay up front for something you have no desire for.

 

Coral my wife and I are planning a Celebrity cruise next year and I have been reading the Celebrity boards doing my research. We are going to purchase the premium drink package because after viewing the drink prices that past passengers have posted I figured it would cost more to purchase beverages as we go. I am not a big drinker but even soda and water is overpriced.

[ONT-CA]

Princess was just what I thought...[/b]

 

Then why on earth did you book it?

[hubofhockey]

OP never really stated what she expected.

 

On Princess ships, balcony cabins are small and so are shower areas in the bathrooms. We expect that and it doesn't bother us.

 

I will say that we found the food, for some strange reason, to be better on the Ruby than on the Crown.

 

I can't speak to medical charges or courtesy shuttles to cities. I know that all mass market lines are pretty similar in that regard.

 

As for excursions, I thought they described the itineraries online, including the times and what you see. I wouldn't book 1/2 day excursions and also wouldn't book anything through a cruise line when private, longer, higher quality, less populated, more personal, and highly reviewed excursions are available from private vendors.