Why do we cruise on Princess

[Viesczy]

We cruise Princess because of the available (and sometimes unique) itineraries and balance of ship board activities.

 

While Princess doesn't offer the 1,200 things to do all at once like some other more hectic lines, you never feel as if you're the cruise director either. There's always something going on and there's a way to escape that something if it isn't your thing.

 

Is Princess the only line we sail? No.

 

Is it one of the first lines we check when planning our vacation? Yes.

[ChuckinSC]

It's hard to explain that "It's where we belong" feeling we have on Princess. :)

Sure, we still cruise on other lines from time to time for cruises of 10 days or less because you never know unless you cruise on them yourself.

You said it well for my wife and me.

[traveling1969]

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

 

 

 

Joyce and I were booked on that cruise and spent a ton of time following the roll call even after we had to cancel. I went back there today and was amazed at the deluge of negative comments. There were also quite a few positive comments which led me to believe it was the old "glass-half-full" vs "glass half -empty" conundrum; i.e. outlook determines outcome.

 

We've been cruising steadily for the past 11 years and have yet to have a bad cruise. Long story short, it's not just a cruise, it's an adventure and Princess does this cruise thing as well or better than any of them. Nuff said.

 

Harry

Edited May 25, 2016 by traveling1969

[newcruzer2]

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

 

 

 

Well normally I would have agreed with you about "care less who the CD is" HOWEVER I sailed the caribbean princess in late Feb/ early March , which happened to be my 1st princess cruise and that being my7th cruise total , find myself literally saying out loud to my DH one sea day "I'm bored". I felt like the daytime activities were poorly timed, meaning there was not one thing to Do all day between lunch and 4pm ....yet there were multiple things at overlapping times between 4 - 6....the time at which I either get dressed for dinner and or have a pre dinner cocktail.

I was worried this was the norm for princess, and was questioning my Dec cruise on the Regal princess.....UNTIL I found posted copies of the patter , from Regal princess and then understood HOW important a Good CD can be.

Did the CD ruin my cruise...Well certainly NOT.

But thanks to fellow CC members posting their patters, probably saved me from rebooking my Dec cruise onto a different cruise line.

I don't need to be entertained 24/7 but I don't go on vacation to bored either.

[geoherb]

DH and I have cruised more times on Princess than any other cruise line because Princess has had the cruises that have fit our schedule, budget, and tastes the best. I still look at cruises on other lines. We'll eventually make it higher in HAL's Mariner Society--at least to 3-star status. I keep looking at Celebrity cruises before booking, but we haven't been on an X ship in over a decade.

[Cruise Raider]

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.

 

[/quote']

 

I have one for you ....

We were on the sailing that started off with the Princess employee appreciation luncheon and festivities. Wow....was it something special. They had a special lunch for the employees and anyone that happened into the MDR after boarding. There was an amazing menu -- the best crab cakes I have ever had and fabulous desserts. Everything was just perfect but the waiters were so busy .... we still had great service.

After lunch, we were treated to carolers in the Piazza ... they were amazing. It was the best embarkation day ever.

So, we arrived at the muster drill a bit early to get a seat and while waiting for the announcements to start, this lady sat next to us and began complaining. The ship hadn't even sounded the horn yet and she was already well into her complaint mode. I asked, 'what's the matter?' (my mistake!) ... she exclaimed that she was never going to sail on Princess again. OK ... my fault again ... I took the bait. 'Why in the world would you say that? Do you not like your accommodations?'. My DH warned me ... 'don't engage' but I was just so curious as to why one would judge a cruiseline when we haven't even pulled away from the dock yet.

Her reason, they didn't serve her a lemon wedge with her crab cake at lunch.

OMG -- really???

[neverbeenhere]

I put the "complainers" in the same category as the "I'm gonna sue" folks. :p

Edited May 25, 2016 by neverbeenhere

[cflutist]

Because they cruise from San Francisco (nice to take public transportation into SF then walk to the pier) and we like the perks (we have been sailing in suites so we traded one of our mini bar setups for two coffee cards).

[scienceteacher]

I love Princess because they have wonderful itineraries. We have sailed on Royal carribean, celebrity, Norwegian, and Carnival. We enjoy them all but think Princess is tops in everything we look for in a vacation. I have never had a bad cruise. I try to ignore complainers.

[namowal]

.. she exclaimed that she was never going to sail on Princess again...

...Her reason, they didn't serve her a lemon wedge with her crab cake at lunch.

OMG -- really???

 

Those bastards! She'll show THEM! (I'm kidding, of course):D

[Cruisin' Chick]

I have one for you ....

My DH warned me ... 'don't engage' but I was just so curious as to why one would judge a cruiseline when we haven't even pulled away from the dock yet.

Her reason, they didn't serve her a lemon wedge with her crab cake at lunch.

OMG -- really???

 

And I bet she didn't even ask the waiter for the lemon. I usually tell the waitstaff at the first meal that I don't like salad dressing, but I would appreciate lemon if "you've got 'em." No problem on my Carnival and Princess cruises getting a plate of lemon slices for that meal (and after taking a couple for my salad, and one slice for my water, I offer the plate to the others at the table), and sometimes the waiter will routinely put a plate of slices on the table for me along side the bread basket.

[Heidi13]

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

 

 

 

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.

 

Yes, Sea Princess drydocked 3 weeks after completion of the 2015 WC

[Cruise Raider]

And I bet she didn't even ask the waiter for the lemon.

 

Exactly!! And even if she did, they were so busy....and it would take a whole series of failures of a lot larger magnitude to ruin an entire cruise.

[tonyweir]

A cruise is what you make of it. Different cruise lines offer different things that you assemble to make your own cruise.

 

Princess has a nice mix of pieces that can be assembled into a great vacation. If you can't build yourself a great cruise, maybe cruising is not for you.

[ontheweb]

I have one for you ....

 

So, we arrived at the muster drill a bit early to get a seat and while waiting for the announcements to start, this lady sat next to us and began complaining. The ship hadn't even sounded the horn yet and she was already well into her complaint mode. I asked, 'what's the matter?' (my mistake!) ... she exclaimed that she was never going to sail on Princess again. OK ... my fault again ... I took the bait. 'Why in the world would you say that? Do you not like your accommodations?'. My DH warned me ... 'don't engage' but I was just so curious as to why one would judge a cruiseline when we haven't even pulled away from the dock yet.

Her reason, they didn't serve her a lemon wedge with her crab cake at lunch.

OMG -- really???

 

And then she probably went to the Purser and had her auto tips removed for this egregious lack of service. Unfortunately, probably true.

[Jilliebean28]

We are now Princess devotees! When the kids were young we loved Disney, tried RC and it was just not the right fit/feeling so we ventured over to Princess and have found the right fit.

We are looking for a relaxing cruise....don't care too much about the entertainment as we are just as happy to sit on our balcony with a glass of wine at night as we are to go see a show. Our days are generally spent at the Retreat pool with a good book and a tropical drink.

We have always found the food to be very good. We love that Princess offers anytime dining so we can choose when and where we want to eat.

It will take a lot to ever pull us away from Princess!

[lovevacadays]

The beautiful ships, the great staff and crew, the wonderful Caribe deck balconies (I have two booked), the aft adult's only pool, the International Café, you can go to your cabin when you embark, the entertainment, bowtie veal pasta:):), all the pasta, the Crown Grill, the wake view from Skywalkers, the free internet minutes I have as Platinum, the promenade deck, oh so many things......