I Don't Get It...

[custompcsys]

I thankfully discovered the CC boards about a month ago and have gotten a wealth of great info here from some very experienced cruisers, for which I am very thankful! A group of 6 of us are leaving on the Diamond in a little over 4 weeks, and this being my first cruise in over 10 years and my first ever Princess cruise, I'm happy for the help!

 

The one thing that puzzles me, though, are the reviews. I've read quite a few, and it seems that people on the same ship on the same days have widely varying opinions....and I do mean WIDELY! :) Some write about the worst cruise experience they've ever had and would never repeat, others on the same cruise rave about how great it all was!

 

Human nature being what it is, I understand people have different expectations when they get on board. Is it just that, or does quality and service really vary that greatly during the same cruise? Is it possible that there is some "snob factor" involved in some of these very negative reviews? Personally I can't see going on a vacation like this and letting myself get so upset over the small stuff that it ruins it for me, but that's just me.

 

Bottom line is I think I'm going to have a great time even if the food isn't 5-star restaurant quality, I don't get a soda refill instantaneously, or if the ship is an hour or 2 late getting into a port. It would, however, be nice to know that quality and service is up to the Princess reputation and has some level of consistency. I get the feeling it is, but some of these reviews - wow!

 

Hopefully I will get to meet some of you nice folks on board the Diamond 7/16!

[coiran]

I thankfully discovered the CC boards about a month ago and have gotten a wealth of great info here from some very experienced cruisers, for which I am very thankful! A group of 6 of us are leaving on the Diamond in a little over 4 weeks, and this being my first cruise in over 10 years and my first ever Princess cruise, I'm happy for the help!

 

The one thing that puzzles me, though, are the reviews. I've read quite a few, and it seems that people on the same ship on the same days have widely varying opinions....and I do mean WIDELY! :) Some write about the worst cruise experience they've ever had and would never repeat, others on the same cruise rave about how great it all was!

 

Human nature being what it is, I understand people have different expectations when they get on board. Is it just that, or does quality and service really vary that greatly during the same cruise? Is it possible that there is some "snob factor" involved in some of these very negative reviews? Personally I can't see going on a vacation like this and letting myself get so upset over the small stuff that it ruins it for me, but that's just me.

 

Bottom line is I think I'm going to have a great time even if the food isn't 5-star restaurant quality, I don't get a soda refill instantaneously, or if the ship is an hour or 2 late getting into a port. It would, however, be nice to know that quality and service is up to the Princess reputation and has some level of consistency. I get the feeling it is, but some of these reviews - wow!

 

Hopefully I will get to meet some of you nice folks on board the Diamond 7/16!

 

Yes to all of your questions - personal satisfaction is a very subjective thuing. We have been on 15 Princess cruises and have never had a complaint about food, service, entertainment et al. Bon Voyage and have a great time.

 

Ron

[Karen Carney]

There are some people who seem to always be complaining about something or everything. These people are never satisfied. You get out of a cruise what you put into it. If you expect to have a blast then you will. Have a wonderful cruise!

[massagegirl]

I agree, life is not perfect and people are only human. So go and have a great time. Remember you are on a beautifull ship, being pampered eating non stop and just smile!

[Catnip]

While the above is true, it is also true that several people on the same cruise can have differing experiences & opinions of that same cruise. THey may have different room stewards, different table waiters, etc. One may have had a bad experiecne with a shore excursion, etc. Many different factors.

I read each review and take them all with a grain of salt. Just reading somebody's negative review would not keep me from cruising on that particular ship or cruise line. I would go and decide for myself! ;)

[Ethel5]

I have been on 12 Princess cruises and never had a bad cruise. My adivce is to treat your wait staff and cabin steward with respect and you'll get great service. Don't let petty annoyances bother you and keep your sense of humor with you at all times!

 

 

 

Have a great cruise.:)

[98Charlie]

On our second cruise we sat a a table for six; 3 couples from 3 generations. It was great.

 

The next table over was a table for 2 couple. Our food was fantastic. They (the 2) never failed to send at least one item back to the kitchen each night.

 

Each evening at least one of us had the same meal that the other couple was sending back.

 

As far as reviews, I have seen some reviews of sailings that we have taken and wonder if we were on the same ship! Maybe when I go through the metal detector it triggers something in my brain that just keeps me happy for the entire cruise :D

 

Things go wrong, sure. But, so far, nothing that has caused me to say, "Worst ever", "Never again", "Don't cruise ### cruise line" etc.

 

Have a great time,

 

Charlie (Who will now go clean his rose colored cruise glasses :rolleyes: )

[Mike2131]

I agree with what the other posters have stated and I think your attitude is going to set the stage for a great cruise. Is Princess perfect? Absolutely not. Do they, in my humble opinion, provide a terrific vacation experience and value? I certainly think so. I believe some cruisers might expect a totally seemless product and that is just not likely to happen - on any cruise line. That sometimes is reflected in an over-the-top negative review.

We will sail with Princess anytime.

[naplesam]

There are some---and thankfully not THAT many----negative people in this world. They are always looking for something wrong and even if there is nothing really wrong, they will make it so. You know the type--the glass is always half empty! We have friends (yes, they really are!) who, when dining out, at least one of them will send their entree back probably 75% of the time.

 

So when you have 2000+ people on a ship you are bound to have a few of these people. Ignore them, treat their comments as a game and have a good time. Most of the time things are not perfect. Understanding that will take you a long way.

 

Don't let the ********s get you down! Enjoy! You will have a good time!

[spongerob]

You learn to separate the wheat from the chaff in the reviews. You will sometimes find people complaining about things the cruise line has no control over, like the weather, or disappointed because their expectations were way too high.

 

Sometimes, too, I wonder if the people who write the negative reviews are upset with Princess, or upset with the people who had a fantastic time in spite of the little things that might have gone wrong.

[Coolmama_1]

My mama always says opinions are like a#$holes! Everyone has one! I agree that you have to take reviews with a grain of salt. What might upset someone is no big deal to someone else.

 

As a wise person once said," Don't sweat the small stuff!"

[cnmiranda]

Have done the Diamond twice and so far it's our favorite ship. I was terrified after reading some reviews too. Yes, some people live to complain. I run into them on ships and walk quickly in the other direction, too much negaive energy. Then there are also some people I think cruising is just not for. Not everyone likes the same type of vacation:) That's fine, but some of these people go out of their way to try to ruin it for others too. And finally some people run into specific cases of unfortunate events that sours them against a cruise line. That does not happen very often on Princess compared to other cruise lines. And some, not all, of those people have extremely unrealistic expectations.

 

Bottom line, I think Princess takes care of their passenegers (including complaints) and provides a great product for the money. Don't worry, you will have a great time:D

[Casshew]

It's like when you see a movie and think it is out of this world, then come home to see it being trashed in reviews... how can the opinions be at opposite ends of the spectrum, but it happens. :confused:

[Pam in CA]

If you read the thread about the coffee, you'll see that there are almost as many opinions about the exact same thing as there are people posting on these boards.

 

However, "stuff" happens and sometimes, one's cruise experience isn't the best and there's a legitimate reason for being less than pleased. An example: my daughter and her new husband were settled in their cabin one afternoon for a "nap" and their steward walked in, knocking at the same time as he opened the door. Not only didn't he bow out with an apology but he STAYED for over ten minutes to fix their TV (obviously not a big priority item) while they cowered under the covers, asking him to leave. They didn't let it ruin their cruise but it was a very upsetting experience.

 

Another time, while on the Grand with my daughter, we did not have a good cruise and it influenced me enough that I would never go on the Grand again and Princess Cays will always be a sea day if it's on the itinerary. I won't get into details but it had to do with poor management.

 

Most of the time, one's experience and whether they enjoyed their cruise is very subjective and based on their expectations, but there are times when the people do experience a bad cruise when a lot of things go wrong that shouldn't have happened or could have been avoided. I'm not talking about weather or missed ports -- those happen all the time. And, some people will complain no matter what.

[Northender]

 

As a wise person once said," Don't sweat the small stuff!"

 

And the follow up line to that is:

 

IT'S ALL SMALL STUFF:)

 

Princess certainly puts out a great product. Many things to do during the day, as much as you want; as little as you want. Step aboard with a good attitude and smile and the rest will take care of itself. Never had a bad meal, never had any problems with staff. There is a privacy card to hang outside your door for those "alone times.":D

[Pam in CA]

There is a privacy card to hang outside your door for those "alone times.":D

There was a privacy card hanging on the door -- it was still there when they checked. That didn't stop the steward. Should have, but it didn't. And, it wasn't so much that the steward walked in but that he STAYED there even though they wound up yelling at him to get out. I don't consider that "small stuff."

[Northender]

There was a privacy card hanging on the door -- it was still there when they checked. That didn't stop the steward. Should have, but it didn't. And, it wasn't so much that the steward walked in but that he STAYED there even though they wound up yelling at him to get out. I don't consider that "small stuff."

 

Sorry, Pam - I was just kidding. Just think of them telling the story at a cocktail party after a few glasses of vino.

The last thing I wanted to accomplish would be to upset you, so I apologize if that happened.

 

Adele

[calikak]

I think most of the time Princess is pretty consistent, but on occassion you do see a few bad apples every once in a while, just like any other company. On our cruise on the Sun last month, our waiter/asst. waiter team in the traditional dining room were pretty terrible (and complaints to the Maitre'D didn't fix the problem), but the table next to us were obviously having a great time with their wait staff, they even took pictures with them at the end of the cruise. I'm sure if you compared our reviews, mine would have seemed negative, and theirs would have seemed positive, and we were on the same cruise, eating in the same dining room. But, I think that's the exception, not the rule. On every other cruise, we've had great service and everyone around us also seems to be enjoying the service as well.

[Pam in CA]

Sorry, Pam - I was just kidding. Just think of them telling the story at a cocktail party after a few glasses of vino.

The last thing I wanted to accomplish would be to upset you, so I apologize if that happened.

 

Adele

No problem. It was a pretty serious situation and very upsetting at the time. I didn't mean to make a big deal about it and we all had a wonderful cruise in spite of it. I know that stuff happens and this was a bad apple. Believe me, we let the Pursar and Captain's Circle hostess know as well as put it on the comment card. We didn't come back and say, "Princess sucks!" :)

[cruiseapril]

On one cruise, we found about 90% of the people we met were "cruise-lovers"-the other 10% seemed to be "cruise-crabbies" and interestingly, they were of differing ages. I guess they enjoy crabbing!

[houstoncruisers2001]

Unless the ship started sinking and they were out of lifeboats by the time I got to my muster station...then and only then, would I be alittle miffed and might give a bad review.

 

On our 1st cruise, in 2001, there was this couple who complained about EVERYTHING. Everytime I saw them they were chewing out some poor RCCL crew member. They made fools of themselves. The crew started hiding from them and fellow passengers were mocking them behind their backs. It was funny and sad at the same time.

 

Ditto to all the positive comments about cruising. A cruise IS what YOU make of it.

[Terre]

I think that YOU make YOUR cruise what you want it to be. We've read a lot of reviews about how awful Carnival is. We've been on three Carnival cruises and loved every one. The food, entertainment and ports were all great. Things happen that the line can't help, i.e., rainy port days, poor service, etc. Enjoy your cruise and time away from the world. You can get bad food and poor service in your favorite restaurant at home, but you go back.

 

There are those who just focus on the bad and complain about that, stay away from them! We will be going on our first Princess cruise in October. I've read some bad reviews on these boards about the Star and Princess, but that's not stopping us from going. I love being on a cruise and nothing will make it bad for me.:D Go expecting the best time you will ever have and you will have it. Go expecting the worst and you'll find that, too.

[michmstr]

When I did my Diamond review, I made sure to talk about both positives and negatives, not because I am a complainer or had a terrible time, but because I think that is what people want to hear in the reviews - a true picture of the experience. This board is called "Cruise CRITIC", right? For me, a few negatives were certainly expected and didn't ruin the cruise - overall we had a great cruise! But what is important to me might not matter to someone else and vice versa. For exaple, I don't drink soda, so I have no opinion about soda cards. Some people stay on the ship and don't care about being late to ports, but my family is outdoorsy and we really wanted to see as much of Alaska (and Victoria) as we could, so being late was a disappointment.

 

If you don't expect "perfection", there is no way you won't have a great time on the Diamond! (Like someone else said, barring the boat sinking. :) )

 

Michelle

[custompcsys]

Thanks to all of you for your responses. This gives me a better understanding of where people are coming from. I understand its never perfect, but as others have said in their posts, its not going to put Princess on my black list if there are minor incoveniences.

 

Thanks again folks - appreciate the help as always! :)

[zachnlucy]

We got stuck on a Mississippi River sandbar for 8 hours on our first cruise, missed the only scheduled port (Cozumel), diverted to Key West, hit an awesome storm on the way, and wound up with only 2 hours in Key West. Took a little trolley ride and got back on the ship. We fell in love with cruising.

 

On our last cruise, we hit the pier while docking at Costa Maya and wound up stuck there for 2 extra days while the 45' hole was repaired. The little village closed down because they just weren't ready for 2000 guests to just stay and stay and stay. I spent those 2 days mostly on our balcony pretending we were at sea, reading and drinking pretty rum concoctions. Another fantastic cruise!

 

Like any vacation or really anything, it's what you make of it. Of course, there are always minor annoyances but that's life. Sometimes I read reviews from people who were on my ship and am astounded. Somebody's cruise was totally ruined because they couldn't get breakfast at 11:00 am? My goodness!