How could Princess improve?

[Go-Bucks!]

I haven't experienced the new furniture yet, but I've never had a foot stool on Princess.

 

 

The new furniture is what has the footstools. The old stuff had 2 reclining chairs, 2 straight chairs and the large table. Now they've replaced the straight chairs with footstools. We had the new stuff on our last cruise in July. We always get minisuites (or full suites, but that's different furniture) so maybe the footstools are only on the mini balconies?

[keely62158]

I think you'll enjoy Celebrity and their S class ships. They have their pluses and minuses- but so does Princess. I enjoy both brands, but have secured some excellent deals on Celebrity as of late (free beverage packages as well as generous obc), that my next two cruises are booked with them. I'll still cruise on Princess, but for now X has captured my attention as well as my wallet. ;)

 

Tony

 

I see where Princess has heeded your suggestion, albeit only two ships for now and everyone in the cabin has to purchase it unlike Celebrity. Oh well, it's a start!!

[chrisbu315]

My bed on the Ruby was a rock - even after adding an egg crate.

 

Improve coffee. Even the coffee at the International Café was weak.

 

Take the thermal suite out of a cave and give it some outward views.

 

More enrichment programs.

 

Better ventilation in the casino.

[Woobstr112G]

Heck, after the first 10 glasses, it tastes good out of a shoe.

 

I would have to agree.....:D:D:D

 

Bob

Edited December 13, 2013 by Woobstr112G

[58Piano]

They need to improve the coffee. At the buffet lines offer self serve drinks. Especially juice. We went on Carnival this year. They have better coffee.Tasted fresh brewed not the syrup mixture that Princess uses. Also we liked serving ourselves the drinks especially the juice. Princess pours juice in the glasses. They tend to be warm not cold juice this way. Carnival also has self serve ice cream at the buffet.

Yes I agree the bathrooms are tiny. Carnival showers were huge compared to Princess.

[Minoushka]

Smoke free Casino

No more smoking anywhere indoors

A decent size table on all balconies

lemonade available without asking

More drawer space in cabins

Larger cabins and baoconies

Comedy club with nightly shows ..like on Carnival

Upgraded Casino with newer fun machines ,...get rid of expensive ones no one plays stick to fun penny machines

[Wehwalt]

Smoke free Casino

No more smoking anywhere indoors

A decent size table on all balconies

lemonade available without asking

More drawer space in cabins

Larger cabins and baoconies

Comedy club with nightly shows ..like on Carnival

Upgraded Casino with newer fun machines ,...get rid of expensive ones no one plays stick to fun penny machines

 

I agree. Limit smoking to a small portion of the top deck.

 

I'd add:

 

Decent coffee from the spigots.

Orange juice available all day.

Better prices on the internet, T-mobile is undercutting them.

More small-vehicle excursions.

Accurate maps in the port guides. Come on, what can it cost to get a license from google maps?

Fresher breads, and more European-style.

[negc]

What is Princess' explanation for the lack of interactive TVs on most of their ships? Seems like offering this feature would be a no brainer and would actually reduce their operating costs and would even generate additional income.:confused:

[UpcountryTravelers]

"Lemonade without asking"?? Really? Not everybody drinks lemonade.

[Astro Flyer]

What is Princess' explanation for the lack of interactive TVs on most of their ships? Seems like offering this feature would be a no brainer and would actually reduce their operating costs and would even generate additional income.:confused:

Earlier this year on RCI's Navigator OTS they had an old analog TV so even with the interactive TV it wasn't great. And to pay $12.95 for a pay per view movie that was as old as 25 years wasn't good either. Just like on RCI, it's the cost of retrofitting the Princess system which on the Royal is free unlike PPV movies on RCI. :rolleyes:

Edited December 17, 2013 by Astro Flyer

[negc]

Earlier this year on RCI's Navigator OTS they had an old analog TV so even with the interactive TV it wasn't great. And to pay $12.95 for a pay per view movie that was as old as 25 years wasn't good either. Just like on RCI, it's the cost of retrofitting the Princess system which on the Royal is free unlike PPV movies on RCI. :rolleyes:

 

Most, though perhaps not all, of RCI's ships now have flat screen TVs and most allow guests to view their seapass accounts without making unnecessary and repetitive trips to Guest Services. The savings in paper costs alone would seem to justify the cost of refitting their ships. I doubt that I would pay $12.95 to watch a film while on a cruise, whether it were 25 years old or a recent release.

[Astro Flyer]

Most, though perhaps not all, of RCI's ships now have flat screen TVs and most allow guests to view their seapass accounts without making unnecessary and repetitive trips to Guest Services. The savings in paper costs alone would seem to justify the cost of refitting their ships. I doubt that I would pay $12.95 to watch a film while on a cruise, whether it were 25 years old or a recent release.

On the Royal Princess it's possible to access your onboard account using their intranet on a Wi-Fi accessible device. I'm hopeful that it's implemented fleetwide along with the greatly upgraded TV system. Princess is getting closer to RCI's system & big step forward would be to upgrade all ships to that on the Royal Princess.

 

I doubt if either of us knows whether the savings in paper would pay for a more high tech system but I'm doubtful if it would be cost effective...although it would be a big improvement.

[Nebr.cruiser]

The new furniture is what has the footstools. The old stuff had 2 reclining chairs, 2 straight chairs and the large table. Now they've replaced the straight chairs with footstools. We had the new stuff on our last cruise in July. We always get minisuites (or full suites, but that's different furniture) so maybe the footstools are only on the mini balconies?

 

We just got off the Golden with a regular balcony. Had the awful chairs, one small table and no footstools. Looking down from our Lido cabin, I could see footstools on the Caribe balconies--maybe because they are bigger?

 

I didn't sit out on our balcony much because of the furniture.

[Nebr.cruiser]

They need to improve the coffee. At the buffet lines offer self serve drinks. Especially juice. We went on Carnival this year. They have better coffee.Tasted fresh brewed not the syrup mixture that Princess uses. Also we liked serving ourselves the drinks especially the juice. Princess pours juice in the glasses. They tend to be warm not cold juice this way. Carnival also has self serve ice cream at the buffet.

Yes I agree the bathrooms are tiny. Carnival showers were huge compared to Princess.

 

I actually like being served with juices, water, coffee, etc., since it's much less hassle, although sometimes there was a short wait. If we wanted, we could walk up and get water and juices; I don't drink lemonade, so don't know about that. I just ask for ice if I want it.

[wrm1701]

We were on Golden in Alaska this summer and on the Caribbean last week.

 

I noticed a massive reduction in on board activities and entertainment.

 

Their Internet needs a massive upgrade as well as the Internet Cafe computers.

 

I would like them to offer more sugar free / reduced sugar beverages.

 

Longer times in port - we did excursions and when we got back we had no time to shop in port.

 

I've come to notice that meals are the same in the dining room across multiple ships...really? How about a menu that is pertinent to the cruise we are on.

 

Bring back scholarship at sea.

 

How about better pricing on photo packages? They print so many photos that don't get purchased.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We were on Golden in Alaska this summer and on the Caribbean last week.

 

I noticed a massive reduction in on board activities and entertainment.

 

Their Internet needs a massive upgrade as well as the Internet Cafe computers.

 

I would like them to offer more sugar free / reduced sugar beverages.

 

Longer times in port - we did excursions and when we got back we had no time to shop in port.

 

I've come to notice that meals are the same in the dining room across multiple ships...really? How about a menu that is pertinent to the cruise we are on.

 

Bring back scholarship at sea.

 

How about better pricing on photo packages? They print so many photos that don't get purchased.

 

I agree with a lot of this. Entertainment on our recent South America cruise on the Golden was really lacking and poorly organized. Many times in the evenings there was nothing we really wanted to do.

 

Internet was a joke and the equipment dated. The library pushed to one end of the internet room was small and hard to access. The menus are getting just too familiar, but this is probably because we were on our 10th Princess cruise, and second on the Golden this year. The buffet choices seemed much the same every day.

 

I still think they would sell lots more photos if they were not so expensive; I know we'd buy more and there would be less waste.

 

On a good note, service was wonderful and I thought the beef dishes were improved since last spring. For our cruise, the times in port were good.

[baronessk]

I love sitting on the deck chairs on the Promenade decks. It's so soothing. What ruins it is when people come by shouting and talking loudly, or kids yelling. Maybe, just maybe they could make a section of it a "Quiet Zone", like the library!!!

[Sailingpeace]

Better offer than twice the fare for sailing solo. Instead of a few non-smoking nights in the casino, have it the other way, ie a few smoking nights...

[Cruisin' Chick]

After reading some recent threads about Princess not honoring "Do Not Upgrade" requests, I think that this is one area Princess can improve in. Don't move passengers who have booked a specific cabin without checking with them first to see if they would prefer a different cabin.

[Arwen]

To me, one of the highlights of travel is trying local foods. On Princess, I cannot tell where I am traveling based on the menu. I understand that huge dining operations need to have some rigidity in ordering, storing and preparing meals from standardized menus - but couldn't they include one or two local specialties each evening? A little index card clipped to the standard menu with, maybe, a soup and entrée or dessert from the areas we are cruising through...would that be so difficult? In multiple Princess cruises, I have probably eaten every item on all of their menus, and I am craving something different.

 

I so agree with you on this! It is one reason why we try to select shore excursions where lunch is included; but I have noticed over the past year or two that fewer and fewer shore excursions offer lunches and most just a snack!