Where is the Princess love?

[imouer]

I am new to the site but it looking around and seeing all the fans and signatures, it seems that Princess is not as well known. I LOVE Princess and cannot understand why this is the case. The ships are clean and the buffets are amazing.

 

Whats more is I see Carnival fans that have been on 10-20 cruises and have never taken another line which is sad because I think they are pretty middle of the road personally and the cost is not that different. Hmmm just saying :)

[Reader0108598]

I am new to the site but it looking around and seeing all the fans and signatures, it seems that Princess is not as well known. I LOVE Princess and cannot understand why this is the case. The ships are clean and the buffets are amazing.

 

Whats more is I see Carnival fans that have been on 10-20 cruises and have never taken another line which is sad because I think they are pretty middle of the road personally and the cost is not that different. Hmmm just saying :)

 

 

Welcome to Cruise critic, I love Princess, so do many others on this forum :)

[zahav1]

I think it's mostly that Princess is not known as a party ship, Princess has millions of loyal customers and also they don't advertise on TV, so not as popular to the masses.

[DShock]

We love princess as well and have taken more cruises on princess than any other line...including some the the "premium" lines. We love the product!

[imouer]

I wonder why they dont advertise? I noticed that too. As far as partying... I think their dancing is great, way better than the Dreams. The clubs were bigger, nicer and more people partying late into the night from my experience. I think its a perception thing. Its more adult and formal too, people dress nicer and stay out longer :)

[Reader0108598]

I think it's mostly that Princess is not known as a party ship, Princess has millions of loyal customers and also they don't advertise on TV, so not as popular to the masses.

 

 

I,m a bit confused Princess is a party ship? I must be sailing on the wrong ships:D Although I love princess I would not call them party ships.

[Colo Cruiser]

I wonder why they dont advertise? :)

 

They don't need to.

Their ships are always full.

[Cruisin' Chick]

TV is not part of their marketing plan -- at least not in several years. I used to work for the ad agency that handled Princess, many years ago. I was not privy to their media plan, as I worked in the print production department (we were in charge of the production schedule, getting the materials done on time at every step from copy to printing, and getting the materials to the publications). Princess ran a lot of newspaper ads in travel sections and ads in senior citizen type of magazines such as Modern Maturity.

 

But I'm not sure what the OP means by his/her original post. Each cruiseline has its group of loyal customers. Including Princess.

[imouer]

I,m a bit confused Princess is a party ship? I must be sailing on the wrong ships:D Although I love princess I would not call them party ships.

 

They didnt call it a party ship.... but I was say that we partied a LOT more and our Princess ships than the carnival personally. The dance floors get PACKED with fun sexy adults after 1130 on a princess ship while on Carnival it seems that dance floor was always empty when we were cruising. The few people that did dance looked like kids that were just sneaking in to me.

[Amuse Bouche]

Welcome to the boards!

 

I don't think that's true necessarily. There are definitely two types of cruisers. And two basic types of cruiselines.

 

this is a generalization, I'm not pigeon-holing anyone. This is just my impression, based on what I like, and what friends of mine who cruise like. I've never been on a cruise with them, and they don't "get" the difference.

 

1, the under 40 somethings who enjoy a day filled with how many plastic hurricane glasses they can collect next to their lounge chair so they can frame a photo later...and want to see if they can score more than 3 subpar lobsters on lobster night.

 

2, the over 40 somethings who want nothing more than to wake up, have a quiet breakfast, read, work out, gamble and see a show. To have an elegantly plated dish that pronunciation has to be carefully maneuvered.

 

Princess and HAL are like #2. Carnival and the like aren't. Destination makes a difference too. I took an extra week off to do the Princess Hawaii cruise because NCL sounds too much like #1. I don't want to do Caribbean or Mexico because my impression is they are like #1.

 

I'm not sure about the other lines, because I like Princess and HAL just fine. :D

 

I might note that if I get the urge to do a little partying, the nightclub is never crowded, and most people have turned in by 9-10. There are advantages to that! :p

[imouer]

Hmmm all I can say to that is that we fell in love with Princess in our early 30s and the dance floors were much more active and far later than the "party" ships. Having peeps on the floor makes for better dancing.

[Canuckleheadd]

Hmmm all I can say to that is that we fell in love with Princess in our early 30s and the dance floors were much more active and far later than the "party" ships. Having peeps on the floor makes for better dancing.

 

I think the atmosphere greatly depends on the length of cruise, time of year and destination. A seven day Caribbean cruise during spring break will have a lot more younger people on average, including Princess. I think Princess actually does a great job catering to all age ranges. Skywalkers has dance music late into the night even if no one shows up. Take a transatlantic and the ship is mostly older people who go to bed at 10 PM (or earlier), so the club is empty except for a few crew members. Also, some cruises are more port-intensive and people get more tired after a lot of sight-seeing, Europe for example. The Caribbean is probably more party friendly because the shore tours are more relaxed.

 

BTW: Much love to Princess.

[OCruisers]

They don't need to.

Their ships are always full.

 

:D True! Need to book early to get the exact cabin wanted.

 

LuLu

~~~~

[timetravler]

My first cruise was in 1999 and it was with Princess. I loved that cruise and so no need to try another. After reading many reviews of all the different major cruise lines, I made a good choice. I have ONLY cruised with Princess. Cruise #14 is coming soon and yes it is with Princess.

[Times Prince]

Welcome to the boards!

 

I don't think that's true necessarily. There are definitely two types of cruisers. And two basic types of cruiselines.

 

this is a generalization, I'm not pigeon-holing anyone. This is just my impression, based on what I like, and what friends of mine who cruise like. I've never been on a cruise with them, and they don't "get" the difference.

 

1, the under 40 somethings who enjoy a day filled with how many plastic hurricane glasses they can collect next to their lounge chair so they can frame a photo later...and want to see if they can score more than 3 subpar lobsters on lobster night.

 

2, the over 40 somethings who want nothing more than to wake up, have a quiet breakfast, read, work out, gamble and see a show. To have an elegantly plated dish that pronunciation has to be carefully maneuvered.

 

Princess and HAL are like #2. Carnival and the like aren't. Destination makes a difference too. I took an extra week off to do the Princess Hawaii cruise because NCL sounds too much like #1. I don't want to do Caribbean or Mexico because my impression is they are like #1.

 

I'm not sure about the other lines, because I like Princess and HAL just fine. :D

 

I might note that if I get the urge to do a little partying, the nightclub is never crowded, and most people have turned in by 9-10. There are advantages to that! :p

I think you would find that the Caribbean cruises on Princess have great options to either party or lay back and relax. We use it for the latter.

[dmwnc1959]

People too often stereotype and generalize without knowing what they are talking about. I saw a post the other day that said they hadn't cruised a particular line because they weren't 'that old yet'. I enjoyed my first Holland-America cruise at the ripe old age of 35, and it was a spectacular NYC-Montreal sailing on the Rotterdam VI. The next time was to Alaska on Volendam, and there were others on HAL. I also cruised Princess to Alaska twice (among other places). My Holland-America experiences were equal or better than any of my Princess cruises. My parents first and only cruise together before my mother died was on Carnival Cruise Lines, and they had a ball. Both were over 60 years old at the time. I took my dad on Princess the following year, he was bored to death. And I have friends that are 50+ years old that enjoy Cunard as much as they enjoy Carnival, NCL, or Disney Cruise Lines.

 

I happen to have had the pleasure of sailing quite a few times (48 cruises so far) on several mass markets cruise lines (Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Holland-America, Cunard, and Royal Caribbean) as well as twice on one small ship cruise line no longer in business (Cruise West).

 

Having a wide spectrum of experiences gives a person a certain type of insight that those who sail exclusively on one line will never have in knowing what is out there, and what they may be missing. But as the old saying goes, ignorance is bliss. If you've only ever eaten at Denny's you'll never know the delight in dining at Morton's or Ruth's Chris. But some people like mediocrity, settle into a comfort zone and know nothing else but dining at Denny's. And that's fine too. It's great that we have all found our comfort zones.

 

My next cruise will be on the new Royal Princess, and that is most likely my last with Princess Cruises unless I book Regal for December 2014. Otherwise it's back to Celebrity Cruises, Oasis of the Seas (already did Allure), Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda, or the new Quantum-class ship due out next year. Or maybe even back to Holland-America for their brand new ship due out in 2015, or NCL's Breakaway-Plus due the same year.

 

The best part is, for those of us open to any cruise line, the opportunities are endless. I enjoy 'different', and not the 'same old, same old' thing year in and year out. For some people that's fine. I, however, like a little variety in the spices of my life. ;)

[imouer]

People too often stereotype and generalize without knowing what they are talking about. I saw a post the other day that said they hadn't cruised a particular line because they weren't 'that old yet'. I enjoyed my first Holland-America cruise at the ripe old age of 35, and it was a spectacular NYC-Montreal sailing on the Rotterdam VI. The next time was to Alaska on Volendam, and there were others on HAL. I also cruised Princess to Alaska twice (among other places). My Holland-America experiences were equal or better than any of my Princess cruises. My parents first and only cruise together before my mother died was on Carnival Cruise Lines, and they had a ball. Both were over 60 years old at the time. I took my dad on Princess the following year, he was bored to death. And I have friends that are 50+ years old that enjoy Cunard as much as they enjoy Carnival, NCL, or Disney Cruise Lines.

 

I happen to have had the pleasure of sailing quite a few times (48 cruises so far) on several mass markets cruise lines (Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Holland-America, Cunard, and Royal Caribbean) as well as twice on one small ship cruise line no longer in business (Cruise West).

 

Having a wide spectrum of experiences gives a person a certain type of insight that those who sail exclusively on one line will never have in knowing what is out there, and what they may be missing. But as the old saying goes, ignorance is bliss. If you've only ever eaten at Denny's you'll never know the delight in dining at Morton's or Ruth's Chris. But some people like mediocrity, settle into a comfort zone and know nothing else but dining at Denny's. And that's fine too. It's great that we have all found our comfort zones.

 

My next cruise will be on the new Royal Princess, and that is most likely my last with Princess Cruises unless I book Regal for December 2014. Otherwise it's back to Celebrity Cruises, Oasis of the Seas (already did Allure), Norwegian Breakaway to Bermuda, or the new Quantum-class ship due out next year. Or maybe even back to Holland-America for their brand new ship due out in 2015, or NCL's Breakaway-Plus due the same year.

 

The best part is, for those of us open to any cruise line, the opportunities are endless. I enjoy 'different', and not the 'same old, same old' thing year in and year out. For some people that's fine. I, however, like a little variety in the spices of my life. ;)

 

 

Great post! Now tell me what I need to do (who who to rob) to be able to cruise like you? ;)

[dmwnc1959]

Great post! Now tell me what I need to do (who who to rob) to be able to cruise like you? ;)

 

Lots of personal sacrifice and lots of overtime at work. ;) But there are plenty of folks on Cruise Critic that cruise more often, and to more exotic locations than I do. Just look at some of those lengthy signatures! :D

[Larlin]

We love to cruise on Princess, and I think that you'll find that on these boards, people who do, are very defensive of Princess. (Even though they vent about it sometimes.) I have noticed that Princess cruisers are more loyal than many other. Just my observation.

 

Princess has a great product, at a great price, and sometimes, to the dismay of many, may eliminate a "perk" in order to keep prices competitive. I, for one, had rather pay for my own internet in a suite, if I were to use it, than pay more for everyone else in a suite to have the priviledge.

 

We rarely pay much attention to the "older crowd", because we are so absorbed in what we are doing; as opposed to being distracted by the "younger children" on many other lines.

[sassyredhat]

True! Need to book early to get the exact cabin wanted. LuLu~~~~

 

I agree......They don't need to, and we always book very early to get where we want.

Our lines of choice are HAL and PCL, although RCI's Radiance of the Seas was my favorite ship.

Our last CCL cruise was last Sept. We always get the 'suites' on the Fantasy class ships to avoid the noise etc.

We are very quiet cruisers--no pools, hot tubs, bars or dancing, and we want to sail with people with similar wants. That's why HAL and PCL fit us. It's more relaxing for us.

Now our grown children find HAL and PCL too quiet. They love RCI's mega ships and CCL.

All the lines have loyal followers. Some lines are just more vocal about it. :D

Pat

[imouer]

Hmm HCL is good huh? I kinda wrote them off my list after sending my mother in law on one and she (who was 60) complained bitterly about all of "the old people" and how they all retired at 9pm. I DO want to try a big RCI ship though I heard the boat was better than the service from a few folks

[dmwnc1959]

Hmm HCL is good huh? I kinda wrote them off my list after sending my mother in law on one and she (who was 60) complained bitterly about all of "the old people" and how they all retired at 9pm. I DO want to try a big RCI ship though I heard the boat was better than the service from a few folks

 

This just goes to reinforce what I've been saying: To each his own, and everyones experience may not be the same as someone elses. I enjoyed Holland-America, where your 60-yo MIL complained bitterly, and my parents at 60 enjoyed Carnival where most on this forum wouldn't be caught dead on one of their ships. My experience on Ruby Princess was nothing like many on one of the other threads cheer about. It was bad enough that I fired off an email from St. Thomas to my travel agent that I would be canceling my upcoming cruise on the new Royal Princess. But knowing Princess is going to pull out all of the stops for this new flagship changed my mind enough to give Princess another shot. I loved Allure of the Seas, wouldn't go back on Ruby if it were free, and prefer Celebrity Cruises over any other cruise line. As far as service, the best ever was on the Allure, worst (both times) on Princess, most recently on the Ruby. Hopefully Royal Princess will be an improvement over the Grand-class clones. ;)

[cruisetrail]

Hmmm all I can say to that is that we fell in love with Princess in our early 30s and the dance floors were much more active and far later than the "party" ships. Having peeps on the floor makes for better dancing.

 

Don'y fall in love with cruise lines.

 

Once you may feel betrayed, deceived and insulted.

Your love is nothing for cruise lines.

They may throw it away like trash.

 

Just look at the Royal Princess.

Can you imagine a new Mercedes-Benz model that looks like Hunday?

Most features you loved about Princess ships is now in a recycle bin.

They are doing their business and don't care of your love.

If they decide that faceless bland junk of decks makes more money than a Princess cruise ship - they will go that way.

Nothing personal.

Just business.

 

"We have no permanent allies,

we have no permanent enemies,

we only have permanent interests."

 

That's my approach to cruising.

I like classy ships that provide true sea travel experience.

I don't care of cruise lines names.

For example, I would not cruise on any of existing Celebrity ships even for free. But if they build a real cruise ship in the future - why not?

Definitely yes!

[gelo7]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

[baldercash]

Don'y fall in love with cruise lines.

I like classy ships that provide true sea travel experience.

Definitely yes!

 

Eating tainted food might be your idea of a true sea travel, some look for higher standards.

I'd rather not walk the promenade heaving and breaking wind or worse.

 

2011 Princess Cruises had 10 norovirus outbreaks, or 20% of total outbreaks, despite only having a 6% market share. That goes to the core principal of the line, as outbreaks are more likely caused by poor food prep.

 

Me thinks your love has blinded you.