Patters - Why do you need them before your cruise?

[KruzPrincess]

I don't read them a lot because I know what to expect since I've been on a few Princess cruises. Recently, though, I've been trying to see what the current MUTS movies are, so I've been looking for current Patters. Sometimes, I've looked for other info. I do bring my patters home with me so I can try to answer questions for others. Mostly, I think it's nice for people who are either new to cruising or new to Princess. I know I would have loved to see what to expect when I was a new cruiser.

[greenie082756]

Patters have a lot of information in them. Everything from the "sales" to who the captain is of the ship. Actually I'm amazed at how they get all that in the few pages.:D

 

I have kept the ones from the last two cruises and pull them out for comparison too.

 

Especially when you are still new to Princess its just fun to read each day to see what you want to experience.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I'm kind of in the other camp--I don't want to know ahead of time every detail and I like being surprised reading the next day's Patter each night when we turn in. I also don't want to know menu's in advance, even the day before.

 

It would take away my enjoyment to know everything ahead of time, but I certainly am fine with those who do enjoy it.

[bob brown]

I like to read very old Patter's....very interesting to see what shipboard life was like 20, 30, or more years ago...what has changed, and what has not....:)

[cuckoo32]

Why is there such a need for the Patters past and present? Don't these change frequently?

 

I wouldn't mind knowing what the themed nights are to aid with the packing for the panama. anyone got any ideas:cool:

[Lulubelle45]

I like to read them just to get an idea of what is offered and when. I realize the entertainment will likely be different but times of the shows are close. I have sailed 3 times on 3 different lines. Princess in May will be my fourth but first time on Princess. It helps me plan and compare. I have also kept almost all of my previous Dailies to reminisce or to inform friends who ask.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Lulubelle45

[Lulubelle45]

Sorry for the misspelled words. Can't get it to edit

[peppy3143]

I wanted to see where the Zumba class is held to make sure it would not be a problem in the room I booked for our upcoming cruise. It won't :D

[Cruisin' Chick]

It's a good question! I don't NEED to read patters ahead of time, but I do admit that I have - mostly for curiosity sake to see what a typical sea day looks like on an itinerary with several sea days for example.

 

I would ask the same question about why people keep lists of which cruise director is on which ship, or Hotel Manager, Steward, etc. Who cares! (apparently some do!)

 

It's fun to read and research while you wait for your cruise...I guess it's just something to do.

 

I'm the same way. If I see someone posting a set of Patters for an upcoming cruise I'm going, I wouldn't mind checking them out, but really for the sake of curiosity, and not for planning my on-board time. Any planning I do for sea days will be the night before when we get the next day's Patter but even then, I might change my mind during the course of the day. I don't ask ahead of time about movies even though I often use a cruise to get caught up on ones I've missed. I figured that many of the more recent ones released on DVD might be shown. I won't deliberately avoid seeing a movie beforehand on that basis as I don't mind seeing a movie I've enjoyed again (when The Imitation Game comes out soon on Redbox, I'm renting that for hubby who didn't go with the girl and me a couple of months ago -- and I'll watch it again as it was excellent).

 

I do try to keep the set of Patters and for the past couple of cruises did scan each one and put in my trip report. It does involve quite a bit of time to scan each page times 14 days of a cruise, but I did get some thanks from people here. I also try to take photos of some of the menus and food items, but that means remembering during the meal to do so.

 

I do find the cruise director to be helpful for an activity and entertainment full trip. Had the best and the not so involved. There's one that I hope not to be on one of my cruises simply because his reputation is being more focused on holding Bible studies than on getting the Patters out each night. I( did question the person who started the maitre'd thread as he seemed intense about not getting posts at first. Apparently he had dietary concerns and thought he needed this info ahead of time. But I think most who have the same concern (I have allergies to shellfish and yogurt) will either contact Princess HQs ahead of time or talk to the head waiter the first day instead.

 

Why is there such a need for the Patters past and present? Don't these change frequently?

 

I wouldn't mind knowing what the themed nights are to aid with the packing for the panama. anyone got any ideas:cool:

 

Before my first cruise (on Carnival) I asked my then-bf (now hubby) about if there was themed nights to be concerned about -- even though I'm not into dressing for Halloween, etc. He assured me there weren't. The only themed nights that I've heard of were western night on Princess (and I don't recall seeing any evidence about this during a cruise so maybe all the CW fans just meet in Explorers or something like that) and some ships have black and white formal nights.

 

And I don't obsess about what nights are formal and what nights are smart casual. I know the number ahead of time as it's posted on the Princess website and tied in to the number of nights total. But I can glance at the first day Patter once on board and find out.

 

And yes, I tend to be a planner and have that function in our family to research each port and research the travel info (land transportation to the port if we don't want to drive or flight/hotel/rental car info if we're not within driving distance). But I would drive hubby crazy if planning ahead of the cruise for on board activities.

[BabsinTX]

I look at them to get an idea of the sorts of activities that might be available. They often give you an idea of what sorts sales/specials are usually offered as well.

 

We did our first Princess cruise in February and the old Patters were very helpful; they gave us an idea of the range of activities that might be available.