Bye Bye Princess

[buchananglasgow]

We have 3 cruis s book starting next week with the Royal Princess.
We are new to cruising but I fully expect to be wowed by her. We choose her because she is modern and new and large.
The next one is on the brand new still being made Ovation of the seas.
Sailing out of Southampton next April. I expect to be wowed by her too.
Lastly but most excitedly we sail next year on the Celebrity Equinox to the Mardi Gras.
3 cruise lines, so hoping to be able to see what one is best but to be honest, for us it's about the ship and where she is going, not the company brand but each individual ship and her crew and the places we will stop at.
That for us is what makes our holiday exciting.

[west coast cruiser]

[quote name='pjrockman']I was avoiding comment on this thread because everyone can choose to cruise on any line of their choice. However, after seeing the above list, I must say that we would not want the crew to touch any of our personal items. I don't cruise to have the cabin steward pick up after us. We have not had a bad steward on any of our Princess cruises since we started cruising Princess. We've been on cheaper lines and more expensive lines and Princess is the comfortable level for us.

Also, we believe that cruising in general is still a good vacation bargain for everything you get.

This is my opinion and everyone is entitled to one, so good luck finding what you seek.

Safe Journeys, Paul[/QUOTE]
I agree. I don't want anyone putting my things away. Years ago on another line, the Steward had gone through my drawer found a night gown and placed it on my bed. I had a fit. To me it was scary and a violation of my privacy in my opinion. I have never had that experience on Princess.

[west coast cruiser]

I have been sailing on Princess pretty much the last few years. I am getting very bored with the ships all being the same. Is it this way now on other lines?

[The Wilkies]

We too are jumping ship for our Caribbean cruise in January. First time with P & 0 since 2003. Getting 14 nights with direct flights from our local airport for almost the same price as 10 nights with indirect flights with Princess.

Will be interesting experience to compare the 2 companies, especially as we had been getting a little disillusioned with Princess of late. Nothing really specific, just a gut feeling.

Having said that we have booked the Emerald in June to the North Cape!

[SoCal Cruiser78]

[quote name='Shogun']...Will still cruise with Princess but price needs to reflect cruise experience so if price is very cheap will cruise with them...[/QUOTE]

I feel the same way about Princess. I doubt this is the image they want to cultivate, but when any company reduces product quality to please shareholders and attract a wider audience with lower prices, image suffers.

[geocruiser]

[quote name='west coast cruiser']I agree. I don't want anyone putting my things away. Years ago on another line, the Steward had gone through my drawer found a night gown and placed it on my bed. I had a fit. To me it was scary and a violation of my privacy in my opinion. I have never had that experience on Princess.[/QUOTE]

Back in the late 1970's I sailed on Home Lines. Every night the steward would place my night gown out on the bed. I was all ways in like a body form. I agree, I did not like it either.

[Oxo]

[quote name='west coast cruiser']I have been sailing on Princess pretty much the last few years. I am getting very bored with the ships all being the same. Is it this way now on other lines?[/QUOTE]

Of course it is. Go to the other forums and you can read the same comments about cruising one cruise line only. Try other cruise lines, this way you can experience many differences. There is no one cruise line that is the best all the time.

[Roses2]

[quote name='SoCal Cruiser78']I feel the same way about Princess. I doubt this is the image they want to cultivate, but when any company reduces product quality to please shareholders and attract a wider audience with lower prices, image suffers.[/QUOTE]


[B][COLOR="Black"][FONT="Arial"][SIZE="2"]Please note: The shareholders to whom you refer hold stock in Carnival Corporation. They do not hold stock in Princess Cruises. Stockholders therefore are invested in: Princess, P&O, Cunard, Carnival, Holland America, Costa, Seabourn, Aida, P&O (Australia), and Fathom.

The price of the stock depends on the performance of the entire portfolio of the corporation[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR].[/B]

[SoCal Cruiser78]

[quote name='Roses2'][B][COLOR="Black"][FONT="Arial"][SIZE="2"]Please note: The shareholders to whom you refer hold stock in Carnival Corporation. They do not hold stock in Princess Cruises. Stockholders therefore are invested in: Princess, P&O, Cunard, Carnival, Holland America, Costa, Seabourn, Aida, P&O (Australia), and Fathom.

The price of the stock depends on the performance of the entire portfolio of the corporation[/SIZE][/FONT][/COLOR].[/B][/QUOTE]

Thanks, but I am well aware of Carnival Corporation's holdings. HAL has cut product quality also; I can't speak to the others as I haven't sailed on them.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

[quote name='geocruiser']Back in the late 1970's I sailed on Home Lines. Every night the steward would place my night gown out on the bed. I was all ways in like a body form. I agree, I did not like it either.[/QUOTE]

Hopefully he/she was just trying to be helpful, but by today's standards it does seem creepy.

[caribill]

[quote name='SoCal Cruiser78']Thanks, but I am well aware of Carnival Corporation's holdings. HAL has cut product quality also; I can't speak to the others as I haven't sailed on them.[/quote]

The others are cutting also.

Carnival, for example, has eliminated table cloths in the dining rooms.

[Shogun]

Hi All

Been jumping around other boards appears experienced cruisers do not appear happy, folks complaining about cut backs, changes to favourite things

as a rough guide

Princess folks moving to HAL

P&O to Cunard

HAL to Oceania

Cunard to Regent

From this I would take that experienced are looking for a more traditional high service experience,

yours Shogun

[Working 2 Cruise]

[quote name='Shogun']Hi All

Been jumping around other boards appears experienced cruisers do not appear happy, folks complaining about cut backs, changes to favourite things

as a rough guide

Princess folks moving to HAL

P&O to Cunard

HAL to Oceania

Cunard to Regent

From this I would take that experienced are looking for a more traditional high service experience,

yours Shogun[/QUOTE]

And, unfortunately, that will be very expensive.... and not necessarily better. However, I agree that every one needs a change every now and then... I'm hoping to do the 14 day cruise to Alaska on HAL... the itinerary is great!

[seapals2]

Think it's also very noticeable when you read reviews. The poor ratings are nearly always from repeat cruisers. Then suddenly a 5 star rating and it will be from a newbie. Getting on a new ship from a different cruise adds excitement and a new experience element, usually a good thing. Then of course the comparisons start and sometimes new isn't always better but at least you won't have seen the main shows before!


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[caribill]

[quote name='Shogun']Hi All

Been jumping around other boards appears experienced cruisers do not appear happy, folks complaining about cut backs, changes to favourite things

as a rough guide

Princess folks moving to HAL

P&O to Cunard

HAL to Oceania

Cunard to Regent

From this I would take that experienced are looking for a more traditional high service experience,

yours Shogun[/quote]

Looks like Princess folk should skip the HAL step and just go straight to Oceania.

And the P&O folk should skip the Cunard step and go straight to Regent.

[satxdiver]

We did one cruise on HAL, a north bound AK cruise. We found the average age on that cruise to be high 70's to 80's. After 9 PM the ship was dead. The music venues had more staff than pax. The ship common areas were all but vacant. We decided to wait until we are in our late 70's to think about returning which is getting closer every day. So thanks but no thanks. I am sure others have had the same experiences from reading posts on cc while other posts have reflected a different experience.

HAL dinner schedule:
early seating - 3:30 PM
late seating - 5:30 PM
midnight buffet - 7:30 PM
lights out at 9:00 PM

[2onboardagain]

[quote name='suzyed']I often wonder when I see folks who seem to sail almost exclusively on one cruise line or another, if it ever gets old. I wonder if they have tried the others and didn't like them?

We book cruises based on itinerary and price and also based on the amount of time we have to sail. We LOVE RCI...we think their ships are just magnificent. We have been going with Princess recently however, because the price point and the itineraries "fit" us right now. We also feel very much "at home" on Princess...it's comfortable. I don't know if that is attributed to the fact we have met so many wonderful people on there and have cruised with them several times?[/QUOTE]

We love the variety of sailing different cruise lines and often think that those folks who sail exclusively with one cruise line really are missing wider experiences. You are right that RCI really pushes the envelope on Wow factor for their ships but there is something to be said for the "traditional" ships of other lines too as sometimes on RCI (especially the Oasis class) you almost forget that you are on a ship. As you said Itinerary should be the very first criteria for selecting a cruise and then mix it up for a more varied experience. Happy Sailing!

[SteelMagnolia9]

[quote name='seapals2']Think it's also very noticeable when you read reviews. The poor ratings are nearly always from repeat cruisers. Then suddenly a 5 star rating and it will be from a newbie. Getting on a new ship from a different cruise adds excitement and a new experience element, usually a good thing. Then of course the comparisons start and sometimes new isn't always better but at least you won't have seen the main shows before!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

I'm not loyal to any one cruise line. I've enjoyed each and every cruise and each and every cruise line I've sailed. My Alaska cruise this past summer on the Pacific Princess, along with a Princess land tour, was outstanding and I will sail with Princess again.

I think the key is variety. The repeat customers who seem unhappy also aren't willing to try something new (I'm not referring to Shogun) mainly because they don't want to give up their 'status' and 'perks' that they have with their preferred cruise line. So their angst continues...instead of deciding to have a different experience the next time.

[geocruiser]

[quote name='SoCal Cruiser78']Hopefully he/she was just trying to be helpful, but by today's standards it does seem creepy.[/QUOTE]

At that time they did it to all PAX. Every night your night gown/PJ's were put out for you. I did not like it and would ask for them to please not to do it.

[elliair]

[quote name='Working 2 Cruise'][COLOR=Red][B]And, unfortunately, that will be very expensive.... and not necessarily better.[/B][/COLOR] However, I agree that every one needs a change every now and then... I'm hoping to do the 14 day cruise to Alaska on HAL... the itinerary is great![/quote]

That's exactly what I meant when I said "what is better or what does amazing mean?" You can spend a lot of money cruising on another line expecting amazing or better and it's not better or amazing. If you want a totally different experience then do it. We may cruise on RC or another line after our Hawaiian cruise. Looking for a different cruise line to Alaska. What is always amazing is the beautiful scenery Alaska has to offer.

[loge23]

It all comes down to the marketing. Ever since Princess was folded in to Carnival Corp., many regular cruisers fretted about the ability of Carnival to distinctively differentiate their holdings. How would Carnival differentiate Princess from HAL other than by personal preferences and loyalty - each of which change over time according to the demographic.

While that observation may be "Product" focused, the "Price" category apparently could not support the differentiation. Thus, the fares became intensely competitive and the quality of the product followed the decrease the revenue per passenger. More ships, more berths, more discounting to fill them. As I type this I see 14 Princess ships listed above - that's a lot of staterooms to fill.

Interestingly, Royal Caribbean went a different way by focusing on product and tailoring the price around that instead of the opposite. RC ships are now the really different ones and they are attracting a demographic segment to match. While this segment is decidedly different than the Princess/HAL demo, it works for RC. Can Princess say the same for their demo? Doubtful. Their long-time client is (no offense here) dying off. Newbies are not noticing an appreciable compelling reason to stay loyal. Prices keep dropping to attract new folks and the product follows.

The new Royal class ships on Princess are telling. Many of the familiar amenities to long-timers have either been eliminated or reduced. Notably, there is no longer a wrap-around promenade deck. There is a water show on the pool deck. While I enjoyed my last cruise on the Royal overall, I can't help but wonder what the line is trying to do - what direction they are going. They seem to be almost desperately trying new things for the sake of new things. Who are they selling to now? Who are they focusing on?

Differentiation, IMO, has to be driving force in marketing with a plethora of similar products all vying for cruisers. Princess, sadly, seems lost in that objective right now.

I think we'll see more smaller lines entering the breach - like Viking for example. We'll probably see a Viking Ocean in the Caribbean soon. I think a line like that will take a chunk out of the Princess demographic.

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Looking forward to Virgin cruises arriving, they have a web site where you can list the things you like want on a cruise.

 

This is the way to design a ship, build it so pleases the greatest number of people.

 

yours Shogun

[iceleven]

Hi All

 

Looking forward to Virgin cruises arriving, they have a web site where you can list the things you like want on a cruise.

 

This is the way to design a ship, build it so pleases the greatest number of people.

 

yours Shogun

 

I like that they will be mid-size (2,800 passengers) but we still have quite a way to await their arrival of 2020, 2021, 2022 respectively.

[Iamcruzin]

Hi All

 

Been jumping around other boards appears experienced cruisers do not appear happy, folks complaining about cut backs, changes to favourite things

 

as a rough guide

 

Princess folks moving to HAL

 

P&O to Cunard

 

HAL to Oceania

 

Cunard to Regent

 

From this I would take that experienced are looking for a more traditional high service experience,

 

yours Shogun

 

Celebrity to Princess for Perry Grant and now formal nights.

[space cowboy]

The cut backs by Princess are certainly unwelcome, but not unexpected as the new economy has taken a toll on all aspects of business. In my job we used to get lots of free items from venders, trips, merchandise, and now that has slowly dried up. Everyone is doing more with less, the cruise industry is no different they made cuts in order to maintain the bottom line, and until passengers put a line in the sand they'll keep reducing expenses till hurts.

 

 

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