Why do we cruise on Princess

[huskerdan25]

Why do we cruise and why with Princess?

 

I can't think of a more relaxing way to travel and go on vacation than cruising! I love being on the ocean and for me, the cruise ship is the destination and the ports are icing on top. Love sea days when I can do all kinds of things or do nothing at all. I can unpack and know that for the next 7 days, my room, my food and my entertainment are all with me. I don't have to pack up and go from place to place. For me, total relaxation.

 

Why Princess? Princess is my first love, the first cruise I ever took back in 2006 after years of dreaming of taking a cruise. It was on the Sapphire Princess and met and exceeded my expectations. Princess fits me like a glove and now that I have taken a couple of Celebrity cruises, I am even more convinced that Princess is perfect for me and my wife. We will cruise again with Celebrity but will always look for a Princess cruise first.

 

Love (no particular order):

veterans OBC (appreciate the love for us veterans)

chocolate desserts

ice cream

international café

specialty restaurants (reasonably priced compared to Celebrity)

pizza

itineraries

ships

always have had great service

good bang for the buck

loyalty program

Edited May 24, 2016 by huskerdan25

[Corinda]

I cruise because as a single woman traveling solo - I feel very safe and comfortable. I cruise with Princess because of the people; the staff and the guests are generally friendly and easy going. I can totally relax....as long as I stay out of the buffet on embarkation :)

[debkaysmith]

Princess suits us with lovely affordable itineraries and wonderful ship's crew that welcome us and help us to feel restored and refreshed. I love it all - the ships themselves, the ports, the food, the bingo, the shows, the balconies, the karaoke, the martinis, and the people we meet. Little glitches never get in our way of enjoying a cruise.

[AF-1]

Very good Thread; after reading through all the posts there seems to be a common theme.

1. Affordable

2. Makes me feel comfortable or at home

3. Crew who care about making my vacation special

4. Nicely appointed ships

5. Something to do onboard that suits every demographic

 

*** will be taking my first Princess Cruise and after reading this thread; I have cause to be relieved that I will have a great time and feel relaxed when I return home. (well traveling with teens; I may not come home totally relaxed)

Edited May 24, 2016 by AF-1
spelling

[billco]

We just returned from a terrific transatlantic cruise on Caribbean Princess. We had a great time. The crew and staff support was terrific. There were a few glitches, weather caused missing a port and the immigration process for the UK was pretty screwed up.

 

However, on our roll call after cruise postings list it as the cruise from hell and several posters stated they would never cruise on Princess again. That certainly may be their view and their choice.

 

We know why we cruise and why we choose Princess. But the criticisms raised by the posters make us wonder why they cruise and why they chose Princess.

 

Perhaps, we are in a very small minority who care less who the CD is and what they do. We do not play trivia or bingo or cruise to be entertained, we entertain ourselves.

 

We cruise to go and to explore new areas, see new things, meet new people.

 

We choose Princess because to us they deliver the most bang for the buck. We enjoy the perks they provide in their loyalty program. We enjoy interaction with the staff and learning about their lives in their home countries.

 

Question: Why do you cruise and why on Princess?

 

P&J

 

 

IMO, most of the negative comments were directed toward the Caribbean Princess - poor material condition, crowding, etc. and not so much Princess itself. As far as interaction with the staff, it is a little hard to converse with your steward when he has 19 cabins, including a suite, to take care of. We did have a great steward who worked really hard. I wasn't about to make his job more difficult by trying to engage him in conversation. Same with the dining room servers. I was impressed by how efficient they were in coordinating 4 or 5 tables. One of our table-mates complained that they didn't learn our names. I don't know how they would have had time.

 

We cruise on Princess, because we are comfortable with Princess. I think Princess has the best perks, OBCs, and air reservation program, but after this cruise (our 24th Princess cruise) I thought it a good idea to start exploring other cruise lines.

[cruisinnorth]

Hi All,

 

Our very first cruise we ever booked was a round trip to Hawaii on Royal Caribbean. The cruise was cancelled by RCCI. In its place we booked the Pacific Princess to Alaska. We fell in love with cruising and since we had been on Princess for the first cruise we went back for the 2nd and so on.

 

I have often wondered what would have happened if the Hawaiian cruise on the Radiance of the Seas had not been cancelled. Would we have stayed with Royal Caribbean or what???

 

Now, being on Princess is like being at home in that it is a very well known commodity, a place were we are comfortable being and the experience suits us very well. I can't imagine what they would have to do to make me change my mind and go elsewhere.

 

Dave

[EZ2CY]

I like both HAL and Princess and have avoided the cruise lines that have "hairy leg" contests. Both HAL and Princess feel "right" to me.

 

I love the Crow's Nest area on HAL ships and the "all the way around" promenades.

 

But on Princess I really like (in no particular order because I'm sort of unorganized....)

 

1) Movies Under the Stars

2) Interesting Itineraries

3) The Piazza area on Regal (and Royal)

4) The International Cafe and Gelato area

5) Inside muster drills

6) Nice cabins at decent prices

7) Lots of comfy places to sit, inside and outside

 

Will be going on both HAL and Princess in 2017. I'm a happy cruiser!

[nasa1974]

We cruise with Princess because we do enjoy feeling at home! Also, we love sailing out of San Francisco. That being said, our next two long cruises will be on HAL. It's all about itinerary. Princess doesn't have anything close to these two cruise experiences.

 

We will be doing a seven week cruise RT San Diego to the South Pacific this fall. In 2017, it will be a extensive seven week Mediterranean and more cruise. RT Ft Lauderdale. If princess had anything close we would be cruising with Princess.

 

Cheers, Denise

 

Denise, Those two cruises sound fantastic. Sue and I have talked about those two areas to cruise but seven weeks would kill us being away from the grandkids that long. :D

 

Have a great and safe experience.

 

Marty

[Esprit]

 

Perhaps, we are in a very small minority who care less who the CD is and what they do. We do not play trivia or bingo or cruise to be entertained, we entertain ourselves.

 

We cruise to go and to explore new areas, see new things, meet new people.

 

We choose Princess because to us they deliver the most bang for the buck. We enjoy the perks they provide in their loyalty program. We enjoy interaction with the staff and learning about their lives in their home countries.

 

Question: Why do you cruise and why on Princess?

 

P&J

 

 

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For the same reasons you do it seems.

 

We prefer to be on a ship with lots of different nationalities too. Stuck on a ship full of Brits can be tough going. I want to sail away from the UK not take it with me!

[jennybenny]

My reason is plain and simply -- we sail on Princess because they sail out of San Francisco! That pretty much sums it up.

 

Cruise Raider, I was loving everyone's reason for why they sail on Princess as they were so similar to ours, but this one is definitely the reason we cruise more often than we have in the past!

[nasa1974]

I have to agree with just about everything said about why Princess. The Diamond Princess was our first cruise (2007) and we did a cruise/tour of Alaska. Loved it. We have done other cruise lines and will try another cruise line or two, more for ship experience than location. But Princess has offered more bang for our buck, as some of you have mentioned, and we just feel comfortable with Princess.

[Steviewonder1]

We've cruised 4 different lines over the years and Princess is our perfect fit. They go where we want to go, like all those places we read about in history and world geography classes, we can now go see in person. We love everything they do and have never had a problem, something I can't say about one of the other cruise lines we sailed on just once.

Likes:

1. Only Penthouse Suites, if you haven't booked one you need to.

2. Suite Perks like Crown Grill for breakfast now that Sabatini's is gone.

3. Platinum status with the Free Wifi and others.

4. First on and off the ship.

5. Love the Cruise Critic Roll Calls and participate in them. This is where some of the really neat stuff is found.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

I have only done three short California and Pacific Coastal cruises on Princess thus far, but I just booked a 10-night Queensland and Great Barrier Reef cruise for March 2018, and I'm super excited. I have only sailed Grand-class ships so far, and I'm anxious to sail Sun-class.

 

Because I am still new with Princess, I have been compelled to compare Princess with my main go-to cruise line, NCL (flame away :p). And while there are some things I prefer about NCL, the features of Princess I most appreciate are: the British Pub Lunch and the Wheelhouse Bar; the cabin configuration, especially the discreet changing area created by the placement of the closet; the Piazza, especially International Cafe and Vines; and the plethora of pools, and the excellent poolside pizza.

Edited May 24, 2016 by Cruiser Bruiser

[ggprincess2004]

Chiming in on a similar theme: We cruise Princess because it makes us feel at home with a comfortable and relaxed elegance. We appreciate the loyalty perks, as they really do meet our needs when cruising. We find the North American ports pretty convenient, and like the variety of itineraries. We also like that we can go just about anywhere in the world that we want on a Princess ship.

 

We tried Celebrity and loved having a butler deliver cappuccino every moring, but Princess wins for loyalty program, for their pizza, for having passenger laundries which are much appreciated, especially on longer cruises and b2bs - even though we now get free laundry. DH makes good use of that.

 

We like that there is almost always something interesting to do on the ship, or we can just kick back and completely relax and try to do nothing when we feel like it. And we have one other reason we love Princess: on virtually everyone of our Princess cruises, at least one crew member has gone above and beyond to do something special for us, whether they realized it or not, intended to or not, it has happened and we remember the many, many thoughtful and kind actions, big or small, that we have been blessed to enjoy.

[Cruiser Bruiser]

We were P&O/Princess cruisers for 30+ years, but the 2015 World Cruise was our last. Since Princess was purchased by Carnival we have noted a steady decline in standards. While aboard Sea Princess we experienced numerous issues with maintenance and the hull resembled a tramp ship rather than a gleaming pax liner.

 

I just booked 10 nights aboard Sea Princess. These comments are discouraging. Didn't she have a dry dock in 2015?

 

Stuck on a ship full of Brits can be tough going. I want to sail away from the UK not take it with me!

 

I'm booked on P&O Aurora in December, with five nights combined in England spread across both ends of the cruise. Are you telling me my 10 nights aboard Aurora will not be like an episode of Downton Abbey? Hopefully my Anglophilia will remain uncured.

[Aquahound]

My reason is much different. I don't like sameness and perks aren't my motivator. I cruise Princess because, well, it's one of the several lines I'll happily book if the itinerary and price is right. :)

[blkspy]

One of the reasons I enjoy cruising is its a great way to relax. I love being on the ship, sailing the oceans. I really love Sea days. The stops made are just a bonus. I'd rather visit a place for one day than not at all since ive retired. Because of this, I love the laid back feel of Princess. No Belly Flop or Hairy legs contest for me. Not looking for Rock climbing or Ice bars or even Robots making drinks. I feel Princess has the best perks at sea for its Elite level. Have met some great folks , cruisers and crew.

 

Every time I board a ship and a crew member remembers me and calls out my name. I do feel like 'They've Been Expecting ME' :) And I've made the RIGHT CHOICE:cool:

[Cruisin' Chick]

It's amazing the number of times that you'll see someone post something about their cruise and say because of whatever happened, they'll never cruise ---- again, but then other people who were on the same cruise will start a thread about the wonderful time they had.

 

Yes, things do happen. But often the complaints aren't because of situations, but because some "issue" that others didn't have an issue with.

 

For example, a few cruises ago, someone from my roll call (who I never met because she didn't go to either of the meet and greets), posted a "review" afterwards with various complaints. One was that there were pineapple wedges with the rind kept on in the Horizon. I read this and was shaking my head because I loved that I could eat the wedge this way by holding on to the rind.

 

I don't have a problem with meeting or not the officers. When I had organized the meet and greets on the cruise I mentioned above (I had joined CC after booking this cruise and started the roll call), I didn't think to invite officers to it. And even now, it's not a major thing for me to have officers at a meet and greet. But it seems to be for some people here.

[MTJSR]

Honestly, because Princess had the round trips to Hawaii from the west coast and once Platinum level came it just became easy. When I sailed on Sitmar, it would have been the excellent food that would have brought me back to Sitmar.

 

It will be Princesses inconsistent and mostly marginal food that will make me leave. Without excellent food, Princess just becomes transportation. Nobody keeps eating at a bad restaurant just because the server is nice.

[GUT2407]

It's amazing the number of times that you'll see someone post something about their cruise and say because of whatever happened' date=' they'll never cruise ---- again, but then other people who were on the same cruise will start a thread about the wonderful time they had.

 

Yes, things do happen. But often the complaints aren't because of situations, but because some "issue" that others didn't have an issue with.

 

For example, a few cruises ago, someone from my roll call (who I never met because she didn't go to either of the meet and greets), posted a "review" afterwards with various complaints. One was that there were pineapple wedges with the rind kept on in the Horizon. I read this and was shaking my head because I loved that I could eat the wedge this way by holding on to the rind.

 

I don't have a problem with meeting or not the officers. When I had organized the meet and greets on the cruise I mentioned above (I had joined CC after booking this cruise and started the roll call), I didn't think to invite officers to it. And even now, it's not a major thing for me to have officers at a meet and greet. But it seems to be for some people here.[/quote']

 

 

Yep never ceases to amaze the family reviews I read for cruises I was on and thought were great.

 

ANd I don't get the fixation on meeting officers, really beats me, had some lovely chats with some officers, but who really cares.

[Steelers0854]

DW and I love Princess because everything just works for us. We have been on 5 different ships and have never had a bad experience. We started cruising in our Mid 20's and really are old souls at heart. I don't want to go rock climbing, I'm not on board to see if I can drink my way to profits, etc. we get exceptional service from everyone from our room steward to dining room staff. We enjoy meeting the staff and hearing about where they are from, and enjoy the same conversations with other pax. Princess cruisers seem to be more into the cruise experience than maybe some other lines that cater to more of a party crowd. There are enough activities to keep us busy, enough food options to keep us full and happy, and plenty of places to sit and relax and have our cares wash away with the tide.

[iceleven]

My reason is plain and simply -- we sail on Princess because they sail out of San Francisco! That pretty much sums it up.

 

Same for us. If we lived in Ft. Lauderdale/Miami we'd be cruising all of the available cruise lines. Of course, itinerary is at the top of the list if making those choices.

[RJGallagher1955]

I chose Princess for two reasons.

 

First, our friend who was a veteran cruiser recommended Princess to us.

 

Second, Princess sails from Los Angeles and we live very close to the port.

 

We have done one cruise in so far, and have one booked for December 2016 and another for September 2017, this time on the Grand to Alaska out of San Francisco, which is still relatively close to us.

 

We could choose Carnival, which is also super close in Long Beach, but I've always considered them more of a party boat for a younger crowd. I may be wrong. So far we are pleased with Princess.

[livinforcruisin]

Oh Princess........my Princess how we love thee.

It is just like going home but the best home EVER. Stepping on board never ceases to be exciting no matter how many times we do it. Their service, their amazing crew and their friendliness, their wonderful high standards and the beautiful ships (prefer gem class though, but still :p). DH and I are simple folk, who just love to kick back and relax. Not big show goers etc and not fussed about who the CD is or meeting the officers. What is wonderful about cruising is being able to choose the type of holiday that fits you perfectly whether a loner or a massive socialiser. Whenever we cruise on another line we are reminded time and again how fabulous Princess is and we miss it.

[lpops]

We are empty nesters (mid 60’s) who have chosen princess for our last 3 cruises.

 

The first Princess cruise was because of the itinerary - we wanted to see Australia and New Zealand. The second Princess cruise (Alaska) was because we got a good price and the sailing date matched our available time frame. Our third Princess cruise (last April – Singapore to Yokohama) was because we like Princess.

 

We have two other cruises under our belt - both with NCL and both enjoyed very much.

 

Princess just seems to feel right – rarely has the food been a disappointment, rarely have we been less the thrilled by the staff, and rarely have we felt that we did not receive value for our money. We have always used princess hotel pre-packages and transfers, and while a little costly, we feel the peace of mind well worth the expense.

 

Likewise we always book directly with Princess and we have always been treated fairly and with respect by their agents.

 

At the end of our last cruise I realized just what Princess had delivered – a truly memorable experience in safe, convenient, and worry free manner. We don’t have vast experience with which to compare with other cruise lines – we just know what we like. We chose Princess