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Royal Princess TV documentary

Happyboating

By Happyboating,
in Princess Cruises

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russnob

russnob

Posted
Posted
Well... Spoiler alert...

 

I think Princess must have relinquished all editorial control as it was typical ITV junk and did NOTHING to portray Princess cruises as the quality, elegant and refined cruise line we've done 13 cruises on.

 

A mixture of old, stuck-up, old, moaning, old, boring, old, annoying, old, over familiar, old, pompous, old, opinionated, old. Did I mention OLD?

 

As for the annoying woman who washes her own underwear and hangs it in the shower... Get a life: you're on holiday, buy more underwear. Oh and get over yourself, mushrooms do not make the holiday! And did she really have a food fight with the Captain on one cruise? And as for planning where to stand in the atrium to get free drinks...:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

 

The production was well photographed and only spoiled by the not at all amusing voiceover by "comedian" John Thomson.

 

If you do manage to see it, turn the volume down, don't expect to see your favorite cruise line but DO NOT show it to your non-cruising friends in the hope to convert them!

 

I would go as far as saying Princess may have a lot more cancellations than new bookings as a result of it!

 

Just my 2c worth... I'll get my coat!

 

 

I've just watched the first episode and totally agree with everything you said. It portrays cruising as everything it is not. It was a load of passengers moaning about trivial matters and showing staff as over zealous pretentious prats. It will certainly not encourage anyone to give cruising a try.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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shredie

shredie

Posted
Posted
We love cruising and my husband has just said he sees it in a whole new light and it has put him off! Not quite what Princess had in mind.

 

I guess this thing must be really bad if it makes people forget their own good experiences on ships.

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TonyLon

TonyLon

Posted
Posted

Quite agree with all the negative comments that have been written so far.

 

This sort of documentary really will just reinforce the old fashioned stereotype of cruising that the cruise companies are trying to move away from.

 

Showing an out of season cruise to the Caribbean where the average passenger age must have been nudging 70 is blowing a hole in Princess's marketing strategy of trying to bring in a younger more diverse client base. Unless the following programmes are substantially different I really can't see Princess being happy with this series.

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sashas_mom

sashas_mom

Posted
Posted
Someone posted on another thread about this last week, about using a service called Holo????

 

Some people had tried it, and could watch ITV over the internet.

 

Here's the link to the above mentioned thread, and it's hola dot org

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2061987

 

Mark went to hola dot org and downloaded ITV and we're watching it tonight.

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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted

I haven't watched the program however apparently my suspicions are true...another exaggerated soap opera drama like all of the other trashy "reality" shows. :(

 

Maybe the other segments will improve but now I'm not as disappointed with not seeing it. If it's so bad it's doubtful if Princess would ever make it available on their website.

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billco

billco

Posted
Posted
I thought it was rubbish - very fast moving with a mocking commentary. Typical reality show where they build up a problem (backlog of laundry on formal night) as if it is going to be a disaster but surprise everything turns out ok.

 

Princess sent me an email today reminding me about the programme. I wonder if they have seen the final version.

 

If I had never cruised before, I would not want to after seeing this.

A lot of mixing and matching. The film crew was aboard for both the Maiden Caribbean and Transatlantic cruises. Yet, the series starts out with the ship departing Fort Everglades. That was a five day Caribbean cruise. I doubt anyone needed to wash clothes in their bathroom. The laundry overload issue was on the 18 day Transatlantic, which was at least a third Elite passengers.

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shredie

shredie

Posted
Posted

Thanks! I got it to work. The problem is that it's not a documentary--it's a silly reality show. They "found" that creature, Mandy, and her dour husband, then gave us the "Mandy says dumb stuff" hour. Of course, my favorite part is when she's going on how about old the passengers are when she herself is not a spring chicken. The lewd joke for the chef was really over the top. The candid shots of the passengers around the pool were calculated to show people at their most unattractive, IMO. I'm not sure how this will play in the long run, whether people will want to try Princess or not.

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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted (edited)
From the Princess website:

 

http://www.princess.com/the-cruise-ship/#.U8DVumt5mSN

 

If you scroll down there appears to be a link for you to watch the programme if you missed it.

Thanks for the link to the article however the shortcut to the ITV Player to view the show doesn't work from the US. A procedure has been posted on one of the many threads about how to view this program which if I understand it correctly makes it appear I'm in the UK. I may have that wrong but I'm not going to make changes to my computer to view the show.

 

I was able to view the crew participating in the show however the contest is only for those in the UK ("The promotion is open to residents of the UK only"). I looked for this program's info on the US website but nothing is there so apparently your link is only for Princess UK residents.

Edited by Astro Flyer
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lexdisic

lexdisic

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the link to the article however the shortcut to the ITV Player to view the show doesn't work from the US. A procedure has been posted on one of the many threads about how to view this program which if I understand it correctly makes it appear I'm in the UK. I may have that wrong but I'm not going to make changes to my computer to view the show.

 

I was able to view the crew participating in the show however the contest is only for those in the UK ("The promotion is open to residents of the UK only"). I looked for this program's info on the US website but nothing is there so apparently your link is only for Princess UK residents.

 

You dont need to make changes to your computer. I downloaded ZenMate (same as Hola) and it can be switched on and off on from the icon on the address bar. Just set it to Uk and switch it off when you've finished. Having said that, the tv programme is a waste of time and probably not worth the effort but Zenmate can also allow you to appear to be from other states so you can view their tv programmes and even special offers specific to the region from Princess and other companies that are location sensitive.

 

I am committed to our upcoming cruise due to flights etc, but if I had seen this episode I would not have booked Princess. I certainly hope it is the usual ITV trash and nothing like the real Princess experience.

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Ewoodspark

Ewoodspark

Posted
Posted

Like a number of others, I am pleased that I never saw this programme before embarking on our first cruise. If there was anything that would put anybody off ever cruising, it was this programme. What a load of posers, all poncing around in their penquin suits and long dresses. It is just as well that at least Norwegian Cruise Line do not entertain this kind of dressing up attitude and remain casual with their own Freestyle Cruising

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The Wilkies

The Wilkies

Posted
Posted

If you are a first time cruiser, like my cousin who is going on it in November, you might actually wonder why you booked it. Wasn't exactly flattering in some scenes.

 

Yes, the ship looked lovely, but at times resembled a floating holiday camp and not a particularly nice one at that. The star was the vet and her husband. An absolute scream.

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Pennbank

Pennbank

Posted
Posted

What a disaster, for Carnival and Princess Cruises Line

If I had never been on a cruise before that programme, then travelling by a Cruise ship would put me off for life.

That woman, was it Mandy apologies if name incorrect, who was complaining about no mushrooms on embarkation day and stating that everyone on board was so old, Made me laugh !! No mirrors obviously in her home. Her partner looked like a toy boy IMHO said nothing, perhaps embarrassed but I would have thought he would have been used to her. When she said she knew were to stand at the One of the Captains Cocktail parties for extra drinks and then took the Michael out of the Elite passengers. She made me cringe, but as we all know we all meet people like her on cruise ships. Luckily very very, few. All her smalls hanging in the Shower. Funny.

The first episode appears to be a joke, even the commentary was tacky. I wonder if that atrocious woman had mentioned it to her friends that she was going to be on TV and what their opinion of her is now if any change ?

Damaging to the Cruise industry the whole episode is my opinion.

 

(Dont usually double post but cold not resist on this subject) :D

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Mrs Moho

Mrs Moho

Posted
Posted

I recorded this as I was out. I met my neighbour this morning who is a staunch P&O cruiser who said if that is what Princess has to offer she's glad they sail with P&O, she wasn't being nasty, just not what she expected. I've just watched it and have to agree with all the comments on here and why my friend felt the way she did.

 

Did Brent the Exec Sous Chef really have to say twice that the passengers 'we're attacking them' as 3,500 went up to eat, did he not realise he was on camera, think he may have thought he was being funny but ........ He's definitely building up his part!!

 

Words fail me on the British lady who had a lot to say particularly about the 'old' people - really???? The comment about Elite passengers being 'extremely snotty' we're nearly Elite and trust me .. we're not snotty. Again, I think she thought she was being funny but it definitely backfired on her and unfortunately has given a lot of people a bad impression of us Brits - we're not all as rude as that nor do we look for 'free' drinks, I'm surprised they never took their Laphroaig out with them, seeing how it was on display in their cabin:eek:

 

Don't know if this is a wise move from Princess but it is only the first one so let's hope it improves and everyone can see what we see and enjoy in Princess.

 

I know some have knocked ITV for the show but they are only showing what is happening/being said.

 

On a final note, we recently went on our first P&O cruise, that in our opinion was not all the bells & whistles that we had been led to believe, it had some good and some bad points - just like Princess but we know where our loyalty lies :):)

.

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Corfe Mixture

Corfe Mixture

Posted
Posted (edited)

I just hope the lady mentioned throughout this thread does not read Cruise Critic. Imagine how we would all feel if we were reading these comments about ourselves and the sudden realisation that many of our friends, family and neighbours would have seen the very programme that these comments relate to.

 

People very often behave very differently in front of a camera than they do in real life and these 'reality' programmes play on that reaction and actively seek out those who are most affected in this way. At some point in our life we will all act or behave in a way we would like to forget and most of us can move on with regrets but safe in the knowledge that it will soon be forgotten.

 

Sadly ITV have chosen to make a public spectacle of this lady, but what is worse, the people who put this programme together are so called 'professionals' and knew EXACTLY what they were doing to the lady's social standing and emotional security but just didn't care. In all probability, the footage shown was probably just a very small fraction of the total video they took of her, but carefully edited to achieve their objective. Indeed, we do not know what the programme producers said to her, to press her start button, immediately before the cameras rolled.

 

One thing is for certain, ITV should be ashamed of themselves, for exposing this lady in this way, and we should all be grateful that it was not us that they chose to be their victim.

 

All very sad and hopefully the programme and the lady's notoriety will soon be forgotten allowing her to return to the relative anonymity we all normally enjoy.

Edited by Corfe Mixture
corrected a couple of punctuation errors - nothing more
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-Lew-

-Lew-

Posted
Posted

 

Thanks for the link to the article however the shortcut to the ITV Player to view the show doesn't work from the US. A procedure has been posted on one of the many threads about how to view this program which if I understand it correctly makes it appear I'm in the UK. I may have that wrong but I'm not going to make changes to my computer to view the show.

Hi Frank...

 

As you've learned, you need to setup a VPN (virtual private network) to make it appear to the ITV website that you're located in the UK. It really doesn't require any changes to your computer; it's just an app that runs in the background. I use Cloak on my MacBook Pro, as well as my iPhone and iPad Mini...Hotspot Shield has a free app for Windows.

 

You also need to register and enter a valid UK postal code on the ITV website. For that, search for a London hotel and use the code from its address.

 

Lew

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