Even if you love Princess, help them with ideas to improve

[CanTex]

I find that Princess' mark-up on excursions to be [b]significantly[/b] higher that the other cruise lines I've been on recently. After I got back from the CB last week, I compared the pricing to what we saw for several of the same ports on Celebrity or Carnival (all within the last year). My conclusion is that Princess is typically charging around a 80-100% mark-up vs. privately arranged tours, and the other lines are much less than this -- in the range of 30-50%. For that large of a difference, I'm willing for forgo the supposed advantages of booking excursions with the cruise line (especially for ports that we're familiar with).

[CanTex]

I find that Princess' mark-up on excursions to be [b]significantly[/b] higher that the other cruise lines I've been on recently. After I got back from the CB last week, I compared the pricing to what we saw for several of the same ports on Celebrity or Carnival (all within the last year). My conclusion is that Princess is typically charging around a 80-100% mark-up vs. privately arranged tours, and the other lines are much less than this -- in the range of 30-50%. For that large of a difference, I'm willing for forgo the supposed advantages of booking excursions with the cruise line (especially for ports that we're familiar with).

[bdjam]

[quote name='CanTex']I find that Princess' mark-up on excursions to be [b]significantly[/b] higher that the other cruise lines I've been on recently. [/QUOTE]
[font=Comic Sans MS]Maybe this is a way to make some on board revenue to offset some of those very low cruise fares, which along with the price of fuel, must be taking a bite out of profit margins. Even if the difference is significant, all of the Princess tours I've been on have been of high quality. [QUOTE][font=Verdana]The one thing I would say to them, is to stop trying to push people out of their cabins when they specifically book a certain cabin and have a comment of "no upgrades".[/font][/QUOTE] [font='Comic Sans MS']I’m not sure that the few reports we’ve heard of this signify a trend...and it seems the mistake was corrected. [/font]
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[bdjam]

[quote name='CanTex']I find that Princess' mark-up on excursions to be [b]significantly[/b] higher that the other cruise lines I've been on recently. [/QUOTE]
[font=Comic Sans MS]Maybe this is a way to make some on board revenue to offset some of those very low cruise fares, which along with the price of fuel, must be taking a bite out of profit margins. Even if the difference is significant, all of the Princess tours I've been on have been of high quality. [QUOTE][font=Verdana]The one thing I would say to them, is to stop trying to push people out of their cabins when they specifically book a certain cabin and have a comment of "no upgrades".[/font][/QUOTE] [font='Comic Sans MS']I’m not sure that the few reports we’ve heard of this signify a trend...and it seems the mistake was corrected. [/font]
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[kryos]

[quote name='mfinn']11. There is no chocolate milk at the buffet. My DH loves chocolate milk and had to ask for chocolate syrup to put in his milk. Carnival offers cartons of chocolate milk at the buffet.
[/QUOTE]
What ship was this?

I like chocolate milk in my breakfast cereal. I was always able to get a couple of cartons of it in the Horizon Court in the mornings.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

[quote name='mfinn']11. There is no chocolate milk at the buffet. My DH loves chocolate milk and had to ask for chocolate syrup to put in his milk. Carnival offers cartons of chocolate milk at the buffet.
[/QUOTE]
What ship was this?

I like chocolate milk in my breakfast cereal. I was always able to get a couple of cartons of it in the Horizon Court in the mornings.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[MizzouMary]

[quote name='luv2cruise99']We booked the pirate ship tour on our Mexican cruise last year through the same tour operator that Princess used for 1/2 the cost. We were on the same pirate ship sitting right next to the Princess folks who paid double what we paid. I have read similar examples on these boards, but that is the one example that I have personal experience with. You can also usually find similar tours with different tour operators that are either less expensive or offer more features (i.e., longer tour, lunch included, etc.). One example of this would be horseback riding in Matzatlan. On our last Mexican cruise, Princess wanted considerably more for their horseback riding tour compared to what we booked ourselves with Randi's Happy Horses and their tour wasn't even as long.[/QUOTE]

Hi. We are going on the Mexican Riviera Cruise in Jan. Would you mind sharing the name of the pirate ship tour operator? We are interested in going on this excursion. Thanks!

[MizzouMary]

[quote name='kryos']What ship was this?

I like chocolate milk in my breakfast cereal. I was always able to get a couple of cartons of it in the Horizon Court in the mornings.

Blue skies ...

--rita[/QUOTE]

The Caribbean Princess. We sailed on Sept. 3rd. My husband was so disappointed they did not have chocolate milk available. He seen a guy asking for chocolate syrup so he decided to do the same. They gave it to him in a bowl. The next day he asked again and was told they did not have any chocolate syrup for the milk. He asked again the next day and was first told no, then a supervisor heard his request and told the worker to give him the chocolate syrup.

[luv2cruise99]

[quote name='mfinn']Hi. We are going on the Mexican Riviera Cruise in Jan. Would you mind sharing the name of the pirate ship tour operator? We are interested in going on this excursion. Thanks![/QUOTE]

It's Marigalante Pirate Ship. We had a really great time! Here's a link to their website:

[url="http://www.marigalante.com.mx/"]http://www.marigalante.com.mx/[/url]

[MizzouMary]

Thanks, luv2cruise99!

[zductive]

I would like for Princess to not be so "cheap" about their compensation for missing ports. If the port is missed because of a Princess vessel failure, the cruise line should offer a substantial consideration. As it is, the ship doesn't have to leave port and they don't have to give you anything

[tcdtcd]

[quote name='bdjam'][font=Comic Sans MS]Maybe this is a way to make some on board revenue to offset some of those very low cruise fares, which along with the price of fuel, must be taking a bite out of profit margins.
[/font][/QUOTE]


Have you taken a look at CCL's annual report or 10-K? Profit margin? I work for a pharmaceutical company (which many deride for our 'obscene profits') and CCL makes our company and industry look like paupers!! Princess is overcharging for shore excursions because they CAN.

[stacysch]

Good coffee! I would be happy to pay for for a pot delivered to my cabin vs the cheap syrup coffee they use.

Cushions on chairs would be great.

[spiritkat090909]

Make the credit for shareholders benefit combinable with the FCC onboard booking deal, like RCI/Celebrity does.

[cruzin girl]

Coffee is the one thing that I would love to see Princess change.

[Host Caroline]

[COLOR=navy]Trite as it may seem I wish they had Sushi and Asian at dinner.. or sushi as appetizer in dining room.. okay, so I'm a sush-i-holic..that's the one thing I like about Carnival.. lots of sushi and it's good :)[/COLOR]

[mississauga]

[quote name='Host Caroline'][COLOR=navy]Trite as it may seem I wish they had Sushi and Asian at dinner.. or sushi as appetizer in dining room.. okay, so I'm a sush-i-holic..that's the one thing I like about Carnival.. lots of sushi and it's good :)[/COLOR][/quote]


The Pacific Moon on the Diamond had sushi as an appetizer.

[Chip AZ]

[quote name='dbeckett']I will second (or is it now up to tenth?) the idea that platinum and elite should be based on the number of days and not the number of cruises, all they are doing it penalizing people who like to take one long cruise a year.

One thing that Princess should consider is the idea of having a means of calling the Purser's desk from the balcony. Our room steward inadvertently locked us out there, but for the fact we spotted someone on the deck above us looking at the view and asked him to let the desk know we were locked out there - we could still have been there![/quote]

That cracks me up. No tip for that guy

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was looking at this thread and was impressed that there were nine pages already. And then I saw a date on a post and realized this was started months ago.

Here's what I'm adding since my last post (and after another cruise):
1. Free hot chocolate. Also again, free lemonade.
2. Trays in the Horizon Court. You shouldn't have to juggle a glass of water, a plate, and your silverware.
3. That idea about the photos being available on your in-cabin tv (you swipe your card before your photo is taken) is great. there's too much congestion in the photo gallery and you have to look thru many others' photos to find yours. Of course, this gets rid of the humor factor when you look at others'.
4. Another plea for getting rid of the announcements re: art auctions and bingo. If you're really into these activities, you'll remember to go. The free activities are never announced.
5. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE fix customer service. The phone reps should have at least a little training before they start answering the phone. There should be an organized folder in front of them with the basic info. And a knowledgeable person they can ask if they are stumped. All the promos should be listed.
6. If you have a legitimate problem on the ship, there should be someone who takes it seriously. I know a few people who will be nodding when they see this. And post-cruise letters should never be responded to with a form letter or stock reply. This is a service industry and customer relations should be taken seriously.

[DesrtDrmr]

Host Caroline,
I am not a sushi fan, but there was a beautiful sushi buffet at lunch one day on the Island Princess.............there must have been fifty different varieties.......it was gorgeous to look at! :)

[JLC@SD]

[quote name='cruzin girl']Coffee is the one thing that I would love to see Princess change.[/quote]
[SIZE=6]Hey Princess.....Listen Up...[/SIZE]

When you go to all the trouble to prepare a great meal, and then top it off with a luke warm watered down coffee syrup cup of coffee............ it destroys the entire meal experience........;)