Bring Back the Soap Campaign

[jonikal]

We just returned from a 15 day TA on the Emerald Princess. It was a great cruise --- But we had to bring real soap and shampoo from home since Princess stopped providing real bars of soap and shampoo without conditioner.

 

We are sending an email to Princess Customer relations requesting Princess return to providing real bars of soap and plain shampoo.

 

I wonder how many would join us in sending an email to Princess requesting it revert to its earlier policy .

 

The Princess email is: customerrelations@princesscruises.com

 

This is very strange! We were also on this cruise but were nicely provided with soap bars and shampoo w/o conditioner. In fact, our cabin steward brought new soap bars every day even when the old ones weren't used up. The shampoo was in a dispenser located in the shower and was refilled promptly if the level was down.

[Donder1]

Don't see what all the fuss is about over some soap. :eek: We have always brought our own bar of soap for the shower along with our own shampoo and conditioner. It doesn't take up any space when packing. We never liked the scent of the eucalyptus stuff.

 

Perhaps Princess should compensate you for having to pack your own toiletries!! :rolleyes:

 

Blame all the people who daily would ask the steward for more soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion and are now selling it on Ebay. I wonder how long before someone takes the large containers off the shower wall and tries to sell them!

 

Agree! I always throw a bar of Dial in the suitcase. I like an anti bacterial soap on cruises. At the end of the cruise, just toss what's left.

[JF - retired RRT]

Princess ain't dumb...soap/shampoo dispensers in the shower, smaller bars on the sink.

It saves them money by:

1) costing them less with less waste

2) they probably get a great deal on the jugs of refillable stuff

3) many don't like the "new" stuff, so bring their own from home.

4) less clean-up for the steward - no mess in the shower from the bar soap

probably others that I haven't thought of...

[Lobez]

We just returned from a 7 day CB cruise out of Houston. We had a standard balcony cabin and there were the soap/shampoo dispensers in the "spacious" shower. My issue with the dispensers is their placement. They are mounted in the center of the wall opposite the shower controls. If you happen to bring a bar of soap (as I did) and drop it while showering, picking it up can be real adventure. I banged my head on the soap dispensers more than once and hit the dispensers with my elbow on several occasions. I'm not a big person by any means (5'7", 175lbs-pre cruise) and can imagine the problem is worse for larger people. The concept didn't bother me at all, but I think there could be better placement.

By the way, the cruise itself was great and this is more of a comment on the issue rather than a complaint.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I wouldn't mind the dispensers if the soap and conditioner were separate products and, more importantly, were decent and didn't leave my hair looking and feeling like a bird's nest.

 

Ditto. I didn't really like the dispensers, as I thought they were awkward to use, took up more of the already tiny shower space, and took multiple pumps to get enough product, but the worst part was that the shampoo/conditioner combo was so awful.

 

I have never ever used anything on my hair that was that bad--and I hadn't brought extra shampoo and conditioner along as I expected the little bottles, like usual. (This was in December). It made my hair crunchy, tangly and kind of stiff.

 

At least have a decent product! No shampoo/conditioner combo ever works very well for me anyway.

 

I'm not a fan of bath gel either, but we got along fine using the small bar of soap in the shower, and our steward gave us more bars without asking.

 

I'm sure they won't change anything, but I did complain on the survey.

[seamanfs]

I did not use the Shower gel or shampoo. I bring my own shampoo and used the bar soap in the shower. We never needed to ask for it. I will probably start bringing my own soap. I have not been happy with the soap when taking a shower.

 

That's pretty much what we do too. Except we bring a bottle of liquid hand soap for hand washing and then leave it when we disembark. I also have a small bottle of body wash that I like to shower with. Dont like their products at all.

[Loonbeam]

Product can be fixed. That said, it's important to note that the product is also selected to work the best with their water reclamation systems, and much like toilet paper and sceptic tanks, compatibility doesn't always equal quality.

 

While I don't expect them to go back to small bottles, I can easily see them reevaluating the product over time. As demand grows, more companies will start to produce compatible products.

 

Ditto. I didn't really like the dispensers, as I thought they were awkward to use, took up more of the already tiny shower space, and took multiple pumps to get enough product, but the worst part was that the shampoo/conditioner combo was so awful.

 

I have never ever used anything on my hair that was that bad--and I hadn't brought extra shampoo and conditioner along as I expected the little bottles, like usual. (This was in December). It made my hair crunchy, tangly and kind of stiff.

 

At least have a decent product! No shampoo/conditioner combo ever works very well for me anyway.

 

I'm not a fan of bath gel either, but we got along fine using the small bar of soap in the shower, and our steward gave us more bars without asking.

 

I'm sure they won't change anything, but I did complain on the survey.

[bhopal21]

Product can be fixed. That said, it's important to note that the product is also selected to work the best with their water reclamation systems, and much like toilet paper and sceptic tanks, compatibility doesn't always equal quality.

 

I would like to know the source for this statement.:confused:

 

There was no compatibility problem with the previous products.

 

Mike:)

[rtlk]

:(If all of you settle for these changes, and bring your own things from home, when any reasonable motel or hotel supply good quality products for their valued customers then the formally classy Princess Experience will sink even further, just like to Concordia! Princess continues to show little regard for the customer experience and the shills on the message boards that sell and drink the Kool Aid are destroying the special experience all us old timers used to enjoy and make us want to come back. Its time to be more customer friendly and fire the bean counters!! They have already f'ed up the two newest ships with their greedy designs. that's a Billion wasted...eek::eek::eek::mad:

Edited May 9, 2014 by rtlk

[AE_Collector]

Some of these soap complaints amaze me!

 

We just finished 32 days on Pacific Princess. I am almost certain that we used a total of 5 or possibly 6 of the bars of soap in total in 32 days. We are very much recyclers and are very non wasteful so when we changed rooms once during the cruise we moved our partly used bars of soap as they would have created waste if we left them behind. At the end of the cruise we took the two remaining part bars home with us for the same reason. So we probably had equivalent of one bar out of the 5 or 6 left afterwards.

 

These are the same bars that others here say aren't suitable for one shower before being too thin to use again. Huh? Now my wife doesn't really use the bar soap in shower but I do.

 

For environmental reasons we like the dispensers though my wife missed the seperate conditioner from the old little bottles. We had an excellent room steward and after asking him 4 bottles of the old conditioner quickly arrived in our room. I guess they still have some squirrelled away!

 

Terry

[OzKiwiJJ]

:(If all of you settle for these changes, and bring your own things from home, when any reasonable motel or hotel supply good quality products for their valued customers then the formally classy Princess Experience will sink even further, just like to Concordia!

 

I've stayed in 5 star hotels where the shampoo and conditioner was so bad my hair felt like straw and I couldn't get my comb through it. I had to get back in the shower and rewash my hair with my own supplies, which I was trying to eke out to last the trip. On a couple of occasions these were quite well known brands too.

[Loonbeam]

UST - Coral Princess, AK, 2009 - they were talking about how all of the products they provide in the cabins and spa are tested for impact with the water system, as well as cleaning products used in the galleys.

 

This can be construed to mean that the current products are tested as well. Not that this is why they chose what they chose, but its possible some bulk products did not meet the standards needed and thus were not considered. For all we know, whoever provided the previous product changed or discontinued that formulation.

 

I would like to know the source for this statement.:confused:

 

There was no compatibility problem with the previous products.

 

Mike:)

[sept10dsm]

I guess this is pretty recent. On our Island cruise last summer they had the soap and shampoos/conditioners they have had for years. I guess we will be bringing our own in the future.

[bhopal21]

UST - Coral Princess, AK, 2009 - they were talking about how all of the products they provide in the cabins and spa are tested for impact with the water system, as well as cleaning products used in the galleys.

 

AK has its own rules about discharge that are found nowhere else.

 

Mike:)

[elliair]

I liked the bar soaps and shampoos in the bottle. Like a squirrel I would pack them away and take them home. When I accumulated a bag full, I would drop them off at the homeless shelter around Xmas time. They really appreciated getting them. I bring my own shampoo and conditioner. The shower gel in the dispenser works out okay.

[Loonbeam]

Yes, but they don't change shampoo just for AK. Just happened to be where the ship was when the Engineer said that products used on board were tested to be sure they didn't cause extra load or problems with the processing systems.

 

The point was just because people might prefer the line stock drums of Brand X to fill the dispensers, Brand X may not be as easy to clear from the water as others. It's one factor in choosing products, not the only one of course.

 

AK has its own rules about discharge that are found nowhere else.

 

Mike:)

[sept10dsm]

Just wondering, just when did the changes take place?

[bhopal21]

Yes, but they don't change shampoo just for AK.

 

It's one factor in choosing products, not the only one of course.

 

That's for sure. Alaska would certainly not control the fleetwide selection was my point.

 

It's more than evident that this was simply a matter of cost cutting, pure and simple.

 

Mike:)

[bhopal21]

Just wondering, just when did the changes take place?

 

It varied by ship and their supplies.

 

On the Ruby, I think it was in January as we were onboard February 1st and the new products were already in use and there were no leftovers available.

 

Mike:)

[sept10dsm]

It varied by ship and their supplies.

 

On the Ruby, I think it was in January as we were onboard February 1st and the new products were already in use and there were no leftovers available.

 

Mike:)

 

Thanks. I will miss the old soaps/shampoo. I remember when RCCL did this a while back.

[Kinkacruiser]

I loved the little round soaps - never affected my eyes at all. I'll have to take my own Dove this time.

 

I suppose we all have to cut some 'frills' in these days of rising costs. No doubt too many passengers were taking a few home with them. This would certainly add up over the years.

[bdjam]

Always bring my own shower soaps and shampoo and conditioner. Never thought about liquid soap for the bathroom sink..good idea!

 

As far as hoarding soap, I was on a 15 day cruise once and one of our table mates told us how every day she would take all the soaps and things and pack them away and how every day the room steward replaced them without question. She figured she could get away without buying soap until her next cruise. SMH

[caribill]

One of the ways that Carnival Corp is saving money is to use common suppliers for various items among the different cruise brands.

 

I suspect the contents of the new dispensers come from the same supplier as similar items on Carnival, Holland America, etc. However, it is possible the items are differently scented for each cruise brand or have other small differences.

[rtlk]

No scent in either the shampoo/conditioner or the body wash. LOW BIDDER, BEAN COUNTERS ARE DISTROYING THE PRINCESS EXPERIENCE, IT SHOWS MORE EVERY TIME WE GO. VERY FOLISH, THEN AGAIN CARNIVAL ISN'T THE BRIGHTEST BLUB IN THE BAY....:mad::mad:

Edited May 11, 2014 by rtlk

[Loonbeam]

Or could it simply be they realize a lot of people don't like or are allergic to some scents and thus neutral works for more people. You can always add perfume or cologne after, you cannot get off the lavender stench from the soap from the hotel I was just at.

 

I don't disagree that cost was a factor, and this is going to be a trend, just like the airlines. Why? Us. The cruise lines cannot raise fares enough to cover costs, because people stop paying. If you cannot increase revenues, you cut costs and add ancillary fees. This is one way of doing so which actually has some environmental benefits, so good for them.

 

If you are going to complain about cost cutting, stop looking for price drops, bringing your own liquor on board, taking private excursions, etc. You don't get to have both sides of the equation.

 

 

No scent in either the shampoo/conditioner or the body wash. LOW BIDDER, BEAN COUNTERS ARE DISTROYING THE PRINCESS EXPERIENCE, IT SHOWS MORE EVERY TIME WE GO. VERY FOLISH, THEN AGAIN CARNIVAL ISN'T THE BRIGHTEST BLUB IN THE BAY....:mad::mad: