How can we help Princess save or make money?

[Dena]

In line with what people were saying about the fliers, the photography gallery bothers me. It seems like a lot of paper and ink for the amount that get purchased vs. get thrown away at the end of a cruise. Like Pam said, I am sure TPTB have worked this out so they turn a profit each time, but I wonder if digital kiosks where you could see/order your pictures for printing would make more sense.

 

This is a great idea!

[robgvic]

I think you will find that the paper is reused. They just somehow remove the picture and then print on it again. I don'r buy th pictures but have certainly seen a lot being sold and having digital kiosks would not give enough viewing. Many people buy photos because they saw if displayed and in many cases would not go and look at teh digital kiosks.

I also believe that the photo stuff is another company.

[fishin' musician]

In line with what people were saying about the fliers, the photography gallery bothers me. It seems like a lot of paper and ink for the amount that get purchased vs. get thrown away at the end of a cruise. Like Pam said, I am sure TPTB have worked this out so they turn a profit each time, but I wonder if digital kiosks where you could see/order your pictures for printing would make more sense.

 

This has been implemented on several ships on other lines.

[caribill]

They did that on RCCL

 

And it was a bad memory of my last cruise with them.

[caribill]

This has been implemented on several ships on other lines.

 

And here is my experience with that technology on RCCL:

 

All pictures taken are printed and displayed in the photo gallery.

 

There is a machine at which you can swipe your cruise card and then see pictures that are of you. I suspect it works with some sort of facial recognition using the image taken for the cruise card when initially boarding the ship. When I tried it' date=' the results were mixed.

 

a) Even though my cruise card was swiped for the welcome aboard picture and the formal night picture taking, none of these pictures appeared.

 

b) Pictures taken at ports appeared

 

c) Some pictures taken of others in our family who had their reservation linked to ours, but without me or my spouse in them, also appeared. Maybe our faces are similar enough?

 

d) A picture of total strangers (to us) also was in the displayed group.

[caribill]

I'm still not finding the Princess product "chipped away."

 

I find lots of chipping. Other lines have chipped away also, so it is not restricted to Princess.

 

Among the things chipped away:

 

o No more welcome aboard cookie in the cabin

o No more free fresh-squeezed orange juice at breakfast

o No more crepes at the Champagne fountain

o No more 24 hour-a-day buffet

o No more fruit and dessert buffet at the Ultimate Deck Party

o Reducing entertainers at night in the theaters from two different 45 minute shows (Princess theater and the rear lounge) to one 30 minute show (Princess theater), a 67% reduction

o No more seafood buffet in the Horizon Court the 1st or 2nd evening.

o No more free cappuccino at dinner

o No more jogging track on many of the ships

o No more specially folded napkins at dinner in the dining rooms

o Value of OBC with FCCs on 10 day voyages and for oceanview cabins on any length voyage

 

Again, that is a partial list.

 

Yes, some of these may seem petty, but together they were a part of what made the Princess experience better than sailing on most other cruise lines.

[eroller]

I agree with you Ernie...but I'm still not finding the Princess product "chipped away." I can still get pretty much what I did in the old days for a basic cruise fare. The on-board revenue opportunities that I might take advantage of only enhance the experience (i.e. specialty dining) and there's really nothing that I've experienced that I have to shell out for to have the same cruise experience I've been having for years. And as you say, Princess still delivers a good product. Now if I burn my feet on Grand Princess' mat-less balconies, I might feel different...

 

 

We are very much in agreement, although some of the service and food aspects of the product are no where near what they used to be. This is what I meant when I say "chipped away", but since I'm actually paying less I can't really complain. If I want food and service the way it used to be in the 80's, I just have to pay extra for a specialty restaurant. In other aspects the product is much better, with more impressive hardware, standard balconies, more amenities, more elaborate entertainment, etc. Of course those extras come at a price, which generally speaking means the ships are much larger and carry 3+ times the amount of people. The food is not as gourmet and the service is not as personal. None of these things keep me from taking cruises, as thankfully I have the option to pay extra for that food which is more gourmet and the more personalized service. Now so long as the cruise lines keep that delicate balance the way it is, they will retain me as a customer. Chip away too much or start charging extra for too much, and it's possible the value proposition will no longer be attractive.

 

Ernie

[Bobed1927]

They could certainly reduce their paper cost but reducing the number of unwanted flyers that get stuffed in Patters and in your mail compartment.

 

AGREE! The first thing that we do is throw away all of the inserts. It bothers me to see all the paper which is being wasted. At least they could find a way to salvage and recycle that paper.

[Dena]

I find lots of chipping. Other lines have chipped away also, so it is not restricted to Princess.

 

Among the things chipped away:

 

o No more welcome aboard cookie in the cabin

o No more free fresh-squeezed orange juice at breakfast

o No more crepes at the Champagne fountain

o No more 24 hour-a-day buffet

o No more fruit and dessert buffet at the Ultimate Deck Party

o Reducing entertainers at night in the theaters from two different 45 minute shows (Princess theater and the rear lounge) to one 30 minute show (Princess theater), a 67% reduction

o No more seafood buffet in the Horizon Court the 1st or 2nd evening.

o No more free cappuccino at dinner

o No more jogging track on many of the ships

o No more specially folded napkins at dinner in the dining rooms

o Value of OBC with FCCs on 10 day voyages and for oceanview cabins on any length voyage

 

Again, that is a partial list.

 

Yes, some of these may seem petty, but together they were a part of what made the Princess experience better than sailing on most other cruise lines.

 

No lunch in MDR on port days.

[eroller]

AGREE! The first thing that we do is throw away all of the inserts. It bothers me to see all the paper which is being wasted. At least they could find a way to salvage and recycle that paper.

 

What other cruise lines do and it works quite well, is one flyer only per day that is tucked into the daily program, and it includes all the ever important revenue producing "specials" for the day. Sure beats the multiple flyers that Princess distributes daily.

 

Ernie

[Putterdude]

AGREE! The first thing that we do is throw away all of the inserts. It bothers me to see all the paper which is being wasted. At least they could find a way to salvage and recycle that paper.

 

Pam, advises that this has been greatly reduced in recent months and I am happy to learn of this.

[PescadoAmarillo]

What other cruise lines do and it works quite well, is one flyer only per day that is tucked into the daily program, and it includes all the ever important revenue producing "specials" for the day. Sure beats the multiple flyers that Princess distributes daily.

 

Ernie

Actually, this is pretty much how it was handled on the Emerald this winter. Generally a shopping handout and a spa handout in the Patter, and then very little distributed in the mail slots.

 

I liked it.

 

BTW Ernie, loved your Celebrity photos. We've not yet been on the Solstice Class of ships, but are definitely going to make it happen sometime next fall/winter.

[Putterdude]

I find lots of chipping. Other lines have chipped away also, so it is not restricted to Princess.

 

Among the things chipped away:

 

o No more welcome aboard cookie in the cabin

o No more free fresh-squeezed orange juice at breakfast

o No more crepes at the Champagne fountain

o No more 24 hour-a-day buffet

o No more fruit and dessert buffet at the Ultimate Deck Party

o Reducing entertainers at night in the theaters from two different 45 minute shows (Princess theater and the rear lounge) to one 30 minute show (Princess theater), a 67% reduction

o No more seafood buffet in the Horizon Court the 1st or 2nd evening.

o No more free cappuccino at dinner

o No more jogging track on many of the ships

o No more specially folded napkins at dinner in the dining rooms

o Value of OBC with FCCs on 10 day voyages and for oceanview cabins on any length voyage

 

Again, that is a partial list.

 

Yes, some of these may seem petty, but together they were a part of what made the Princess experience better than sailing on most other cruise lines.

 

Great list to which you could add:

• the closing of the MDR for lunch on port days
  
• the change in the coffee card policy
  
• the elimination mailing of travel documents and luggage tags
  
• the reduction of furniture on the Caribe balconies
  

However they have added soft-serve ice milk...for free.:)

[bdjam]

I find lots of chipping. Other lines have chipped away also, so it is not restricted to Princess.

 

Among the things chipped away:

 

o No more welcome aboard cookie in the cabin Yeah, I noticed that - but given it was a mouthful and you can stuff yourself in Horizon Court, it's not really a bother to me

 

o No more free fresh-squeezed orange juice at breakfast I think I took advantage of this on one cruise

 

o No more crepes at the Champagne fountain That went away with the advent of the Sun Class in 1995 - last time I remember that was on old Regal Princess. But speaking of Champagne Fountain, who got the bright idea to move it to the first formal night before dinner? That sucks.

o No more 24 hour-a-day buffet With late seating, I never found a need to use the buffet after dinner - as long as it's available for breakfast the next morning, I'm good.

 

o No more fruit and dessert buffet at the Ultimate Deck Party See above - the only thing I did at the Ultimate Deck party buffet is look.

 

o Reducing entertainers at night in the theaters from two different 45 minute shows (Princess theater and the rear lounge) to one 30 minute show (Princess theater), a 67% reduction Is this fleet wide? I thought it was just being tested on Emerald Princess - if this has been put into effect fleet wide then I agree with you it's a chip and should be reconsidered.

o No more seafood buffet in the Horizon Court the 1st or 2nd evening. I believe that this was a specialty on the ships in the Caribbean - it was never fleet wide.

 

o No more free cappuccino at dinner I drink the regular stuff

o No more jogging track on many of the ships I use the treadmills - and by the way, the gyms are pretty well equipped - a step up from the past I believe

o No more specially folded napkins at dinner in the dining rooms In over 30 Princess cruises I never noticed that there was special folding

o Value of OBC with FCCs on 10 day voyages and for oceanview cabins on any length voyage Try sailing solo - then the amount of the credit is the same either way and you get twice as many Captain Circle points. Which reminds me that the perks from the Captain's Circle program have increased over the years, especially at the higher tiers.

 

Again, that is a partial list.

 

Yes, some of these may seem petty, but together they were a part of what made the Princess experience better than sailing on most other cruise lines. If I didn't say so on this thread, I said it on another - Princess was a premium line, but with the adent of the Sun Class, went much more mass market - the product quality bottomed out. It did come back and improved, but it will never be like the old days.

So I think the context of my post was that I didn't find things chipped away. Different things mean different things to different people.

[bdjam]

Just to complete the circle:

Great list to which you could add:

• the closing of the MDR for lunch on port days Never used it
  
• the change in the coffee card policy I can see where this might bother some people, but seriously? The "special" price that people stocked up on coffee cards with is probably the same "special" price offered each sailing. I never have any problem using the whole card
  
• the elimination mailing of travel documents and luggage tags The new luggage tags suck - I've actually gotten a plastic cover that I can reuse for mine - but the elimination of this material not only saves money, but it helps the environment. Most companies in business prefer electronic communication just because it's cost-efficient and practical.
  
• the reduction of furniture on the Caribe balconies I think I need to try it out - I never put on elaborate parties on the Caribe balcony and if the new furniture really degrades the experience I would probably stop booking them. I don't think the change in the furniture is going to ruin my ongoing cruise plans and even though the table is small, it might be adequate.
  

However they have added soft-serve ice milk...for free.:)

[caribill]

However they have added soft-serve ice milk...for free.:)

 

And taken away the ice cream sundae hour in the Horizon Court.

[Putterdude]

And taken away the ice cream sundae hour in the Horizon Court.

 

That was long before my time.;)

....but they have added the happy hour for Platinum and Elites....with free hors d'oeuvres.....hey, I am trying.:)

[Matcodixon]

To actually answer the OP's Post.

1. Book through Princess instead of a TA.

2. Use Princess port excursions instead of going independent.

 

I'm Just sayin'.

 

It's kind of like the "Buy American" crowd that preaches that and ends up shopping at Wal Mart. "support your cruise line!"

[mr green]

To actually answer the OP's Post.

1. Book through Princess instead of a TA.

2. Use Princess port excursions instead of going independent.

 

I'm Just sayin'.

 

It's kind of like the "Buy American" crowd that preaches that and ends up shopping at Wal Mart. "support your cruise line!"

 

Now there you have fond how some cruisers go broke!

[Dena]

That was long before my time.;)

....but they have added the happy hour for Platinum and Elites....with free hors d'oeuvres.....hey, I am trying.:)

 

They had ice cream sundae hour in 2005

[eroller]

Actually, this is pretty much how it was handled on the Emerald this winter. Generally a shopping handout and a spa handout in the Patter, and then very little distributed in the mail slots.

 

I liked it.

 

BTW Ernie, loved your Celebrity photos. We've not yet been on the Solstice Class of ships, but are definitely going to make it happen sometime next fall/winter.

 

 

Very nice to hear Princess is changing their ways in this regard. Honestly I've never received so many flyers as I have on Princess. I always felt they must be killing too many trees for that nonsense.

 

Glad you enjoyed the SOLSTICE pics. These are an awesome class of ship that I'm sure you will enjoy.

 

Ernie

[Putterdude]

They had ice cream sundae hour in 2005

 

 

That was before my time.....:)

[hubofhockey]

To actually answer the OP's Post.

1. Book through Princess instead of a TA.

2. Use Princess port excursions instead of going independent.

 

I'm Just sayin'.

 

It's kind of like the "Buy American" crowd that preaches that and ends up shopping at Wal Mart. "support your cruise line!"

 

People could also stop calling them up asking for price reductions when the price drops. If you were willing to book and pay the higher rate, why do you feel you need to reduce Princess' profit margin by saving money?

 

A couple more: stop bringing on your own wine. Pay Princess' higher price per bottle. Use the cash machines on the ship. They may charge twice as much and give poor exchange rates. But is there really a need to be selfish here?

 

As above post pointed out, while independent excursions might offer more quality, cost less, and be more personable and less crowded, are those really good enough reasons not to give Carnival shareholders their hard earned profits?

 

Here's another great idea. While you feel badly enough for the hardworking and underpaid stewards and give them $10 or more added to the tip, you might feel better using that $10 on Bingo cards where the profits go to the shareholders.

 

Princess customers should stop thinking about themselves first and more about the Carnival shareholders.

[1 HappyCruiser]

People could also stop calling them up asking for price reductions when the price drops. If you were willing to book and pay the higher rate, why do you feel you need to reduce Princess' profit margin by saving money?

 

A couple more: stop bringing on your own wine. Pay Princess' higher price per bottle. Use the cash machines on the ship. They may charge twice as much and give poor exchange rates. But is there really a need to be selfish here?

 

As above post pointed out, while independent excursions might offer more quality, cost less, and be more personable and less crowded, are those really good enough reasons not to give Carnival shareholders their hard earned profits?

 

Here's another great idea. While you feel badly enough for the hardworking and underpaid stewards and give them $10 or more added to the tip, you might feel better using that $10 on Bingo cards where the profits go to the shareholders.

 

Princess customers should stop thinking about themselves first and more about the Carnival shareholders.

 

Boy, are you living in your own world. :D

[hubofhockey]

Boy, are you living in your own world. :D

 

There is no emoticon for a tongue in cheek post. :D