Input about cruising and cruise lines

[Allograft]

Hi all, new member, first post.

 

My family of 5 recently did our first cruise. Golden Princess to Alaska. Baja deck, two rooms, one balcony for lady and I, across the hall stateroom for kids. No real complaints about the boat itself. Anytime dining.

 

A few thoughts though that I'd like some input for the future.

 

On sea days, we were out all over the boat, did raffles, educational seminars, art auctions, walking promenade, all meals out. Basically from 8 am until about 9 or 10 pm we were out and about all day except for maybe an hour combined for changing into dinner clothes or getting ready for the pool on the evenings. Even our youngest (just 3) would nap out with us in the stroller or was often in the day care. Day care was pretty good I have to say, especially for 3 year old. 11 and 17 year olds wanted to hang out with us though. We had coffee delivered to the room in the morning at about 6:30 am for us to enjoy on the balcony most days before getting going.

 

On excursion days, we were basically gone all day until about 15 minutes before all aboard, and then busy all afternoon/evening depending on how much was left.

 

Needless to say, we weren't in the room much. So, hence my issues with other passengers. Particularly given that I was under the impression that Princess is pretty family friendly. We don't drink, weren't having wild sex, and all the kids, even the little one, were well behaved.

 

So our first neighbors were a young couple that basically never left their room, as anytime we walked by, they had the DND on their door. So on the first day at sea, within 10 minutes of coming in the evening to take showers and go to bed, the neighbors of our room on the balcony side, not the older kids on interior side, we hear banging on the wall. We didn't make much of it. And two adults and a toddler were in bed within 45 minutes.

 

On the second day at sea after being out all day, we come back in the evening to change for dinner, and there's like 5 hangup calls on the answering machine. Then, there's more banging on the wall while we're changing. At this point, we're clearly irked. Without confronting, we stopped by the front desk before dinner and let them know what was going on.

 

Well then after dinner, we came back to get light jackets to walk around because it had cooled down and we couldn't do pools or spas because they were drained due to rough water. Anyways, the neighbor runs out and curses out my wife and kids making too much noise. She's screaming about making noise all day long and being really, really foul. I don't engage, rather I call the front desk. I guess they start an investigation.

 

We were late arriving in Juneau, and had an opportunity to chat with the manager of the front desk people. More hang up calls during the day while we were out and on excursion.

 

The next day was Skagway, again out all day again. We got a call during the day from the manager that the neighbors had been moved.

 

All was quiet for a couple of days with vacancy next to us on the balcony side, not by the older kids' room. But I guess that we then fell victim to the cycle of complainers. I guess that complainers are basically shifted in rotation until the end of the cruise in hopes of avoiding a fist-fight. So if one gets the bad luck of being next to a complainer, then one is going to be suffering with complainers throughout because only the complainers are going to get moved around.

 

Then the next people that got moved in while we were in Ketchikan were two women and a baby. Their kid jumped and screamed and cried, which was fine with us. No worries, we figured all would be fine. Well, we guessed wrong. Despite again being out of the room for most of the day with the exception of having all five of us on the balcony for Tracy Arm, we were out and about during the day or on excursions for Ketchikan. Well of course, in the evening of the day at Sea between Ketchikan and Victoria in no less than 30 minutes after we get in and are getting everyone ready for bed, we get a visit from the staff saying that the neighbors have complained.

 

The second thing was the marketing. With every meal being marked by sales of the coffee card or the sodas on the first day to wine every night at dinner to irish coffee in the morning at Tracy Arm....there are so many efforts to hawk at every meal. It's pretty annoying.

 

My thoughts boil down to: our kids are a variety of ages and pretty well behaved. We picked Princess as what seemed like the best balance between the refinement that my wife and I wanted and being tolerant of kids. We didn't want the mad house of a Disney Cruise and knew that the kids couldn't handle Cunard or Oceania.

 

Are whiney, complaining, and annoying neighbors just something that happens a lot on cruises? We live in San Francisco and are used to being tolerant of periodic loudness of neighbors. We're not hung up on tranquility and know what it is to live in close quarters with others. Seemingly others do not from our experience, though I am open to others' experiences.

 

Regarding the marketing, are there lines where you get what you pay for and there are not incessant efforts to up-sell seemingly everything?

 

In a similar line, I had a difficult experience with the tips. I realized that there is gratuity added daily. Okay, no problem. At the same time, I felt like I got a very cold shoulder feeling when we didn't leave extra tips with room service for delivering coffee in the morning or occasional tea at night. Also, the waiters in Bernini or during afternoon tea in Donatello or the waitstaff at Horizon Court seemed perturbed if not left an extra tip. And when we did tip directly, the staff seemed simultaneously appreciative but anxious that others would see. They somewhat awkwardly put the money away, looking grateful, but also looking around to see if anyone saw them. Definitely a strange culture. Are there any other lines where the expectations are more clear such as, the included tips are enough, or where you should feel free to tip directly and not feel obligated for the included tip.

 

I'd like to cruise again, but would like to know more about others' experience if it just my particular cruise experience, whether it is more Princess and less other lines, or whether it is all cruises. Maybe there is a better fit for my family and I, or maybe I just need my own yacht. I dunno.

 

Thanks

[SadieN]

It is customary to tip the room service waiters at time of delivery. Rarely tip the HC or Tea waitstaff.

 

All the mainstream lines offer opportunities to take your money. We just ignore those. Princess is no worse than others. There are a few 'all inclusive' lines. Someone will be along soon to tell you which they are. Every once in a while you can catch a special about an NCL cruise and how the profitability works. It's eye opening.

 

Never had issues with our cruise neighbors. We sail primarily Carnival, Princess and HAL. Many three day and Spring Break cruises.

 

 

 

ETA ---

 

Google

 

“Cruise Inc: Big Money on the High Seas,”

Edited June 26, 2015 by SadieN

[fishywood]

Through 13 Princess cruises I have never seen any server in any venue "perturbed" about not having been left an extra tip. I do tip for room service but have never done so in the Horizon Court. For specialty dining, or a particularly large or complex drink order, I will write an additional tip onto the chit; contrary to others' opinions on these boards it has never been hinted to me that doing so is less desirable than leaving cash. And as for leaving a cash tip in a Main Dining Room: the waiter is likely assuming you have opted out of the auto-tips which obligates them to turn that cash into the tipping pool--which is why it may appear he is anxious.

 

Now in the days before the automatic 15% (up to 18% on some lines) was added to bar bills I certainly saw those servers openly trolling for tips. But now that tipping has been made essentially invisible by the daily hotel charge and the added percent on bar service, there really is no need to carry cash around the ship for that purpose--and absolutely no reason to let any one server make you feel weird for not doing so.

 

As for suggestive selling, unless you chose an all-inclusive line you should just be prepared to smile and say "no thank you". Princess and its corporate siblings I find far less blatant than that other megacorp RCI. The worst I have ever experienced was in a $40 specialty restaurant on X--between every single course the Maitre d' was at our table trying to sell us a cookbook or book the deluxe wine paring dinner coming up later in the cruise; after a few persistent 'no's he switched tactics and pushed the discount for multiple specialty restaurant bookings. As soon as dessert came we just took a couple bites and got the hell out of there.

Edited June 26, 2015 by fishywood

[Allograft]

Thanks, good to know. I tipped extra for the included. Who got a piece of that?

[Shmoo here]

Thanks, good to know. I tipped extra for the included. Who got a piece of that?

 

If you tipped additionally (in excess of the auto gratuity), whoever you gave the tip to gets to keep it.

[Illyria]

 

On the second day at sea after being out all day, we come back in the evening to change for dinner, and there's like 5 hangup calls on the answering machine. Then, there's more banging on the wall while we're changing. At this point, we're clearly irked. Without confronting, we stopped by the front desk before dinner and let them know what was going on.

 

Well then after dinner, we came back to get light jackets to walk around because it had cooled down and we couldn't do pools or spas because they were drained due to rough water. Anyways, the neighbor runs out and curses out my wife and kids making too much noise. She's screaming about making noise all day long and being really, really foul. I don't engage, rather I call the front desk. I guess they start an investigation.

 

We were late arriving in Juneau, and had an opportunity to chat with the manager of the front desk people. More hang up calls during the day while we were out and on excursion.

I would at that point demand to file a security report saying that I feel harassed and scared for my kids' and my safety.

 

I wonder if there was a source of noise in their cabin that sounded like it was coming from the direction of your cabin - but it was coming from somewhere else. Even the whiniest complainer wouldn't be able to hear anything from your cabin when you're not in it. If they were indeed hearing any kinds of sounds during the day while you were in port, it had to be coming from somewhere else.

[cb at sea]

This is not a normal occurrence. Your neighbors were asses. Stuff like that can happen...thankfully, it doesn't happen often!

[BullDawg91]

I would at that point demand to file a security report saying that I feel harassed and scared for my kids' and my safety.

 

I wonder if there was a source of noise in their cabin that sounded like it was coming from the direction of your cabin - but it was coming from somewhere else. Even the whiniest complainer wouldn't be able to hear anything from your cabin when you're not in it. If they were indeed hearing any kinds of sounds during the day while you were in port, it had to be coming from somewhere else.

 

 

This was my thought - that the neighbors had noise they only thought was from your cabin.

 

In our 4 cruises (not many in CC land), on 4 different ships, we've never heard noise from our neighbors or had complaints about us. And we spend a fair amount of time in our cabin.

 

I may know a line to avoid now. I despise nickel and diming. I'd rather pay more upfront and be done.

[Markanddonna]

It sounds like you had an unfortunate experience that obviously wasn't your fault. Your neighbors sound obnoxious. I would try a different, more child friendly cruiseline, maybe NCL or RCL.

[Wayfairers]

I agree there must have been a noise in the neighboring room that sounded like it was your room. We've had neighbor problems only one time when their TV blared 24/7. We asked them to turn it down and they gladly did. We have had one noisy room (sounded like a chain banging on a pipe ) asked to be moved. After unsuccessfully trying to find the cause of the problem the hotel manager moved us. We saw them trying to find the source of that sound for the rest of the cruise.

 

I'm sorry you had a bad neighbor experience. Based on our experiences, that is a rare problem.

[lahlah57]

We cruised a bahamas Carnival cruise a few years back because it was cheap. Well....you get what you pay for! It was a learning experience as to why NOT to cruise Carnival for us. It was impossible to relax in our room cause it was a voyage inundated with kids....aaaargh!!!

We avoid carnival at all costs now......Crystal all the way and no kids....woo hoo!

[iancal]

We have cruised on numerous cruise lines from Crystal to Carnival. We like them all. They are different. We have had two Carnival cruises. Both were good-very good and met our expectations.

 

But, we select our ships and our cruising dates carefully. There are ships on most lines that we avoid for one reason or another.

 

It really comes down to your personal preferences, your budget, and most especially your expectations. We are retired so most of the cruises we book are done so in the final payment window when fares are reduced...often significantly.

 

The best advice I would give to someone is to research the ship, the cruise line, and the itinerary carefully prior to booking.

Edited June 26, 2015 by iancal

[lahlah57]

......and time of year......so as to avoid spring break....winter holiday breaks and graduation june breaks.;) JMHO

[Rala]

Your experience with the neighbors is definitely not the norm.. We sail primarily on Royal Caribbean and in more than 30 cruises have never experienced any thing even close to what you describe. I think your experience was an unfortunate "fluke".

 

As to tipping, on some lines the tips added to your account do not include room service, so a couple of dollars when your coffee is delivered would be appreciated and somewhat expected.

 

I hope your next cruise experience is much better! :)

[lahlah57]

.......it's a game of chance as to when you will come across "crazy" too! With any luck "crazy" will reside far from you! That is all we can hope for and at the very least that they are heavily medicated!:cool:

[fishywood]

When I responded earlier to the original post I stuck to the tipping issue. But as others have come on (more than justifiably) to reassure the OP that having two sets of rude neighbors was an aberration, I felt the need to return with a little devil's advocacy, as I found this original paragraph a little disconcerting:

 

Are whiney, complaining, and annoying neighbors just something that happens a lot on cruises? We live in San Francisco and are used to being tolerant of periodic loudness of neighbors. We're not hung up on tranquility and know what it is to live in close quarters with others. Seemingly others do not from our experience, though I am open to others' experiences.

 

It is not realistic to make the comparison with noise from a neighboring home in the city with the noise that can leak through the cabin walls of a cruise ship. If two different sets of persons in an adjoining cabin make an issue of it--no matter how distastefully the manner--you need to step back and ask yourselves "am I using my 'inside voice' when in the cabin?" Because being in the cabin as infrequently as you say you were certainly would make the sudden burst of volume more noticeable to your neighbors--and likely less to yourselves.

 

On any cruise there are probably a high number of people looking for tranquility--the fact that you consider this a "hang up" speaks more to you than them. And living in close quarters with others should involve asking another to turn down the volume when necessary, not tolerating it unconditionally (one of life's lessons I learned the hard way). I don't mean to be overly critical, but as you did ask if there was a better fit for your family perhaps a more kid-oriented line than Princess should be your next choice.

Edited June 26, 2015 by fishywood

[cbr663]

The nickel and diming can be annoying, but it's the only way that CCL makes any profits these days. The more that they can get you to spend on the ship, the higher its profits.

 

I have experienced the type of service that you mentioned because we did not tip immediately after a meal. I think that the sanctioned and unsanctioned tipping rules are to blame.

 

As for your neighbours, I also am wondering when your family returned to your cabins, did you create a lot of noise? One thing that I find particularly annoying are people with rooms across from each other who have no trouble running back and forth between cabins, yelling and talking across the halls to each other and having the cabin doors banging. Family cruising or not, if you make a lot of noise, someone is going to complain.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I'm also wondering if there was another source of the noise irking your neighbors since both sets in the same cabin complained. (unless I'm reading your posts wrong) Especially if you and your family weren't banging around and talking loudly. My hubby is always reminding us to be careful in closing the cabin door -- if you don't, it can bang shut with a loud noise. And use our indoors voices certainly. Sometimes our girl forgets to talk normally when she gets excited. But we've never gotten a complaint nor have we had noisy neighbors. The one exception was a very amorous couple on our Alaskan cruise. Our girl was 7 on that one so we just gave her a story (kinda like how I described Dolly's House in Ketchikan;) ), but fortunately it wasn't all the time.

 

Just a few corrections for the OP (please don't take this the wrong way): the boat is the tender you might take from the ship to get to shore when anchored in the water. The "day care" is the kids' program area. Your youngest was in the Pelicans. If your 11-year-old goes to the program, he would be in Shockwaves. Remix is the name of the program for teens. You'll find that kids don't like to call it day care (even though my little one would use the term "ship's school" for her first couple of cruises.

 

Most likely you weren't the problem and that maybe there's some noise that the ship's crew needs to figure out at some point if more passengers complain on future cruises.

[Allograft]

Wow, first off, thanks to everyone for the contributions. Very active board.

 

If you tipped additionally (in excess of the auto gratuity), whoever you gave the tip to gets to keep it.

 

So, I actually not only tipped individually, I also upped the general gratuity because I hadn't always tipped room service and waiters, etc. I was actually wondering who gets a piece of that.

 

 

I despise nickel and diming. I'd rather pay more upfront and be done.

 

Any lines that you'd recommend for this, e.g. upfront and done?

 

We have cruised on numerous cruise lines from Crystal to Carnival. We like them all. They are different. We have had two Carnival cruises. Both were good-very good and met our expectations.

 

But, we select our ships and our cruising dates carefully. There are ships on most lines that we avoid for one reason or another.

 

It really comes down to your personal preferences, your budget, and most especially your expectations. We are retired so most of the cruises we book are done so in the final payment window when fares are reduced...often significantly.

 

The best advice I would give to someone is to research the ship, the cruise line, and the itinerary carefully prior to booking.

 

Thank you very much for the thoughtful answer. If you wouldn't mind either posting publicly or PM'ing me, I'd love to know more about your methodology for the research abut the ships and cruising dates. What are some things that you avoid or look for? When is this final payment window when prices get cheaper? that is definitely of interest to me. I'd really love to know more about how you do what you do. I am an analytical person.

 

......and time of year......so as to avoid ....winter holiday breaks.;) JMHO

 

So my oldest is going to college in NYC in the fall and I was thinking about the NCL Gem for 10 days Eastern Caribbean during Christmas and New Year's. Not a good idea?

 

 

As to tipping, on some lines the tips added to your account do not include room service, so a couple of dollars when your coffee is delivered would be appreciated and somewhat expected.

 

Hopefully the ones that I didn't tip directly get some of the augmented automatic gratuity that was left.

 

 

I hope your next cruise experience is much better! :)

Thank you

 

you need to step back and ask yourselves "am I using my 'inside voice' when in the cabin?" Because being in the cabin as infrequently as you say you were certainly would make the sudden burst of volume more noticeable to your neighbors--and likely less to yourselves.

 

 

I can appreciate the devil's advocate viewpoint, and I actually thought about this very carefully (even when dealing with the ship manager) because the automatic prejudice is that people with kids are the noisy ones. While it may be case, I have found that it often not true but people want to blame the people with the kids because of sterotypes. I wrote a detailed letter to the manager about it, and on one of the days in particular when there were multiple hangup call voicemails left while we were not even in the room prior to the first neighbor cursing out my family, I reviewed the day carefully. I was able to piece together that we had all been out of cabins between 8:30 and 12:45, we just me and the little one returning for 10 minutes to change into swimsuits with just the little one, after dropping the little one at daycare at 2 pm, I ran by for all of 1 minute to drop wet bathing suits on the clothes line in the shower, and then we were all gone again until 6:15 pm when we all returned to change for dinner at which point the cursing began. So literally, we were in one room for 10 minutes between 8:30 and 6:15 pm, and the Pelican logs, our presence at the art auction, us being at the shopping presentation, being at gem presentation, etc were all verifiable events that we went to. In addition, the 3 year old was in Pelicans between 8:30 and noon and then from 2 to 5. All those could be easily verified, so I told the manager to feel free to check it out because it doesn't even make sense that the first neighbor repeatedly called and hung up while weren't even in the room. Quite frankly, there wasn't even an opportunity for our inside voices to be used because we weren't in the room. I don't know, maybe it is too much to ask to use one's room for 11 minutes during the course of the time period between 8:30 and 6:15pm.

 

Additionally, I'm a parent, and yes, there have been some times when my kids were annoying. This cruise just wasn't one of them. One of the first things that I told the manager was that I am mature enough to accept if it was really us that was the problem. I've done it before and I'll probably do it again. This just wasn't one of those times.

 

Third, we actually had some nice conversations with our neighbor on the other side, who never complained and were next to us for the duration. Talked to the husband and wife several times: early morning on veranda, actually ended up on the same salmon bake excursion in Juneau and chatted, and did some whale watching together from our balconies between Ketchikan and Victoria.

 

On any cruise there are probably a high number of people looking for tranquility--the fact that you consider this a "hang up" speaks more to you than them. And living in close quarters with others should involve asking another to turn down the volume when necessary, not tolerating it unconditionally (one of life's lessons I learned the hard way). I don't mean to be overly critical, but as you did ask if there was a better fit for your family perhaps a more kid-oriented line than Princess should be your next choice.

 

I must say that this is kind of family focused prejudice that I am talking about. We weren't even in the room during much of the days and certainly not when we were getting the hang up phone calls. And quite frankly, I think that there needs to be dose a realism. The second neighbor's kid was crying at night, jumping up and down on the floor, and screaming in the morning while getting dressed. I know because I heard the moms trying to coax the kiddo into the clothes and trying to calm him while brushing knots in his hair. No biggie, we didn't complain to anyone. Hey, it's close quarters, and we don't have our own private yacht. A cruiseship with 4000 passengers and staff is going to have noise. People above one's room walking around. Cabin doors next to one closing, toilets flushing, showers running, people walking in the halls, and heaven forbid, people maybe having a conversation or laughing in the hall. It's not going to be the solitude of rural Montana or Yosemite, it's just not feasible in small space with thousands of people. It's just like a hotel, there are environmental noises from others that is part of the shared human experience and it's quite unfair to propose that families should be exiled to different lines. Though I have the feeling that we may just have to agree to disagree on this point.

 

I have experienced the type of service that you mentioned because we did not tip immediately after a meal. I think that the sanctioned and unsanctioned tipping rules are to blame.

 

That's unfortunately, It'd actually have been more reassuring if no one else had shared the experience.

 

As for your neighbours, I also am wondering when your family returned to your cabins, did you create a lot of noise? One thing that I find particularly annoying are people with rooms across from each other who have no trouble running back and forth between cabins, yelling and talking across the halls to each other and having the cabin doors banging. Family cruising or not, if you make a lot of noise, someone is going to complain.

 

Absolutely true, and nope, not us. We effectively used the phones to get going and coordinate as needed. We even used the phones to announce that we were crossing the hall so as not to have to knock, though the ones across the hall are 17 and 11. They're pretty self-sufficient and there wasn't really need to go back and forth much. It was more of a phone call in the morning to make sure that they were up and then phone calls checking status getting ready to go to a meal or head out. While I get your point about going back and forth a lot, I think we are actually just lazier on vacation and preferred the phone call to walking across the hall.

 

 

Just a few corrections for the OP (please don't take this the wrong way): the boat is the tender you might take from the ship to get to shore when anchored in the water. The "day care" is the kids' program area. Your youngest was in the Pelicans. If your 11-year-old goes to the program' date=' he would be in Shockwaves. Remix is the name of the program for teens. You'll find that kids don't like to call it day care (even though my little one would use the term "ship's school" for her first couple of cruises.

[/quote']

 

No worries, thanks for the education, I'm new to this. I made a correction in this text for Pelicans. The older two weren't particular fans of Shockwaves or Remix after the first day. They both really enjoyed the talks about gemology and art history as well as the auctions and then strolling the art galleries, watching the performances in the evening, and all the lovely happenings in the piazza, particularly the music and ballet folks.

 

 

 

Again, thanks to all for the contributions

[Talisker92]

Dear Allograft,

Thank you for responding to all the comments above. Many times we see these "one post wonders" who post a complaint and never respond to comments.

It was unfortunate that you had those jerks on one side of you. You did the right thing by not confronting them and going to Passenger Services.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Hi all, new member, first post.

 

 

 

My family of 5 recently did our first cruise. Golden Princess to Alaska. Baja deck, two rooms, one balcony for lady and I, across the hall stateroom for kids. No real complaints about the boat itself. Anytime dining.

 

 

 

A few thoughts though that I'd like some input for the future.

 

 

 

On sea days, we were out all over the boat, did raffles, educational seminars, art auctions, walking promenade, all meals out. Basically from 8 am until about 9 or 10 pm we were out and about all day except for maybe an hour combined for changing into dinner clothes or getting ready for the pool on the evenings. Even our youngest (just 3) would nap out with us in the stroller or was often in the day care. Day care was pretty good I have to say, especially for 3 year old. 11 and 17 year olds wanted to hang out with us though. We had coffee delivered to the room in the morning at about 6:30 am for us to enjoy on the balcony most days before getting going.

 

 

 

On excursion days, we were basically gone all day until about 15 minutes before all aboard, and then busy all afternoon/evening depending on how much was left.

 

 

 

Needless to say, we weren't in the room much. So, hence my issues with other passengers. Particularly given that I was under the impression that Princess is pretty family friendly. We don't drink, weren't having wild sex, and all the kids, even the little one, were well behaved.

 

 

 

So our first neighbors were a young couple that basically never left their room, as anytime we walked by, they had the DND on their door. So on the first day at sea, within 10 minutes of coming in the evening to take showers and go to bed, the neighbors of our room on the balcony side, not the older kids on interior side, we hear banging on the wall. We didn't make much of it. And two adults and a toddler were in bed within 45 minutes.

 

 

 

On the second day at sea after being out all day, we come back in the evening to change for dinner, and there's like 5 hangup calls on the answering machine. Then, there's more banging on the wall while we're changing. At this point, we're clearly irked. Without confronting, we stopped by the front desk before dinner and let them know what was going on.

 

 

 

Well then after dinner, we came back to get light jackets to walk around because it had cooled down and we couldn't do pools or spas because they were drained due to rough water. Anyways, the neighbor runs out and curses out my wife and kids making too much noise. She's screaming about making noise all day long and being really, really foul. I don't engage, rather I call the front desk. I guess they start an investigation.

 

 

 

We were late arriving in Juneau, and had an opportunity to chat with the manager of the front desk people. More hang up calls during the day while we were out and on excursion.

 

 

 

The next day was Skagway, again out all day again. We got a call during the day from the manager that the neighbors had been moved.

 

 

 

All was quiet for a couple of days with vacancy next to us on the balcony side, not by the older kids' room. But I guess that we then fell victim to the cycle of complainers. I guess that complainers are basically shifted in rotation until the end of the cruise in hopes of avoiding a fist-fight. So if one gets the bad luck of being next to a complainer, then one is going to be suffering with complainers throughout because only the complainers are going to get moved around.

 

 

 

Then the next people that got moved in while we were in Ketchikan were two women and a baby. Their kid jumped and screamed and cried, which was fine with us. No worries, we figured all would be fine. Well, we guessed wrong. Despite again being out of the room for most of the day with the exception of having all five of us on the balcony for Tracy Arm, we were out and about during the day or on excursions for Ketchikan. Well of course, in the evening of the day at Sea between Ketchikan and Victoria in no less than 30 minutes after we get in and are getting everyone ready for bed, we get a visit from the staff saying that the neighbors have complained.

 

 

 

The second thing was the marketing. With every meal being marked by sales of the coffee card or the sodas on the first day to wine every night at dinner to irish coffee in the morning at Tracy Arm....there are so many efforts to hawk at every meal. It's pretty annoying.

 

 

 

My thoughts boil down to: our kids are a variety of ages and pretty well behaved. We picked Princess as what seemed like the best balance between the refinement that my wife and I wanted and being tolerant of kids. We didn't want the mad house of a Disney Cruise and knew that the kids couldn't handle Cunard or Oceania.

 

 

 

Are whiney, complaining, and annoying neighbors just something that happens a lot on cruises? We live in San Francisco and are used to being tolerant of periodic loudness of neighbors. We're not hung up on tranquility and know what it is to live in close quarters with others. Seemingly others do not from our experience, though I am open to others' experiences.

 

 

 

Regarding the marketing, are there lines where you get what you pay for and there are not incessant efforts to up-sell seemingly everything?

 

 

 

In a similar line, I had a difficult experience with the tips. I realized that there is gratuity added daily. Okay, no problem. At the same time, I felt like I got a very cold shoulder feeling when we didn't leave extra tips with room service for delivering coffee in the morning or occasional tea at night. Also, the waiters in Bernini or during afternoon tea in Donatello or the waitstaff at Horizon Court seemed perturbed if not left an extra tip. And when we did tip directly, the staff seemed simultaneously appreciative but anxious that others would see. They somewhat awkwardly put the money away, looking grateful, but also looking around to see if anyone saw them. Definitely a strange culture. Are there any other lines where the expectations are more clear such as, the included tips are enough, or where you should feel free to tip directly and not feel obligated for the included tip.

 

 

 

I'd like to cruise again, but would like to know more about others' experience if it just my particular cruise experience, whether it is more Princess and less other lines, or whether it is all cruises. Maybe there is a better fit for my family and I, or maybe I just need my own yacht. I dunno.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

Don't discount Oceania with well-behaved kids. For Alaska and other summer vacation destinations, you'll find families onboard. AND there won't be the nickel-diming of the mass market lines.

[lahlah57]

No do go on a cruise at holidays if that works for you but do take destination in consideration. People with kids will be escaping from the cold to Caribbean destinations.