"Hard Sell" on Princess Cruise - is that normal?

[Redwing55]

Hi All

 

Once upon a time cruising was all inclusive,

 

todays model, is the very opposite,

 

very low cruise price to hook your victim

 

then once onboard bleed them dry.

 

yours Shogun

 

I differ on this somewhat. If you choose to spend, one can, but a pretty much all inclusive experience is still possible aboard Princess. Drinks weren't included in the past, as far as I know, so what is it that one has to spend these days that one didn't have to spend in the past? I suspect some room service items, but I'm not thinking there is much else. True, there may be more opportunity to spend, but I think I read a bit too much cynicism above.

[GUT2407]

I differ on this somewhat. If you choose to spend, one can, but a pretty much all inclusive experience is still possible aboard Princess. Drinks weren't included in the past, as far as I know, so what is it that one has to spend these days that one didn't have to spend in the past? I suspect some room service items, but I'm not thinking there is much else. True, there may be more opportunity to spend, but I think I read a bit too much cynicism above.

 

So true, we've come home with a bill as low as $8 and as high as about $7,000. Just depends.

[Marisawrite]

As a great lady was once heard to say, "Just say no!"

 

I did, of course - I didn't buy one single thing at any of the shops, I didn't go to the spa again, I didn't attend any of their promotional activities - but the thing is, surely part of the pleasure of a cruise is the variety of experiences on offer? As a paying customer, I should've been able to visit the spa and enjoy it, I should've been able to buy silly souvenirs in the shops and enjoy it, and there should've been a few activities to join in without being sold to.

 

And TBH I probably wouldn't have minded the hard sell that much if the products had been more affordable but most of them were very expensive.

 

I enjoyed my port days, I enjoyed the shows, but because most of the "activities" were fake, all the shops/services were extortionate, and the formal nights were just a chance to sit in the dining room dressed up rather than an evening out, I felt there was a dimension missing, that's all.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Marisawrite

[Shogun]

Hi redwing55

 

My comments did not refer to Princess but to cruising, my first cruises, officer at

 

every table, free bottles of wine at evening meal, free drinks if invited by

 

an officer to attend crew bar, games like bingo etc no fee to play and good

 

prizes, all shuttle buses free, coffee free, welcome aboard photo etc,

 

now choices were limited, but the over all feeling was different,

 

now its possible to pay your cruise fare today and not spend anything else

 

apart from auto tip, but todays onboard feeling is different,

 

 

yours Shogun

[OzKiwiJJ]

I very much dislike the "vulture" mode demonstrated by the spa employees, especially when one walks thru the area outside the spa, going to and from the open deck. There are usually 3-4 young ladies hanging around out there, trying to make eye or verbal contact with passersby. I find that very annoying. If they work for the spa, they need to be IN there handling customers, not looking like we who are passing by are roadkill and we are about to become lunch.

 

I don't like it any better when they are camped by the aft elevators on deck 15 outside the Horizon Court at lunch time, seeking victims to lure to the spa.

 

If I want spa services, I will go into the spa and make the necessary arrangements.

 

I guess it depends on the ship. Our last cruise was 21 days on Golden and we spent most of our time at The Sanctuary and the Lotus Spa pool, accessing both past the entrance to the spa. At no time did I feel that any of the spa staff were trying to lure me into the spa.

[cr8tiv1]

It's all in your perspective...I did several 3 day to no where cruises. Decided to do something I hadn't done on previous cruises. So one day, I attended the ice carving. On one cruise, I attended every possible spa presentation...just to see. Even gave Acupuncture a try. On another cruise, I went to as many of the jewelry presentations. I even gave Park West a go...twice too many times. You have to have great resolve in being able to say no. I had so much fun, it surprised me.

[Marisawrite]

If you want to mingle then go to happy hour.

 

Everyone is missing my point, I think.

 

I'm not bothered about the mingling with passengers or the free booze.

 

What I liked about the RCC formal night was the festive atmosphere. Everyone dressed in their finery, glass of champagne in hand, I felt like I was at a fancy cocktail party in Hollywood or at the Ritz. It meant there was a real reason to get all dressed up - after the reception (with all the balloons and party music and comic patter), everyone was in a bubbly mood and the dining room was abuzz with lively chatter, and later there were far more people than usual on the dance floor. In other words, the formal night was an EVENT. On Princess it's just a series of photo opportunities so you can show your friends you were at an event, but nothing really happened.

[caber]

Beware of the free "champagne" :eek: My other half had several glasses at one champagne waterfall and ended up missing our tour the next day as he had been ill all night, self inflicted of course.

[limoncello07]

I differ on this somewhat. If you choose to spend, one can, but a pretty much all inclusive experience is still possible aboard Princess. Drinks weren't included in the past, as far as I know, so what is it that one has to spend these days that one didn't have to spend in the past?

 

Brewed coffee? Or has that always required an extra fee?

[Marisawrite]

Beware of the free "champagne" :eek: My other half had several glasses at one champagne waterfall and ended up missing our tour the next day as he had been ill all night, self inflicted of course.

 

No chance of that happening, the waiters were fairly thin on the ground and couldn't get through the crush!

[wishfulone]

No chance of that happening, the waiters were fairly thin on the ground and couldn't get through the crush!

 

Oh dear. You're really not a happy camper are you? If you were so unhappy on your cruise, why not complain directly to Princess? They love feedback from passengers.

[Marisawrite]

Oh dear. You're really not a happy camper are you? If you were so unhappy on your cruise, why not complain directly to Princess? They love feedback from passengers.

 

If you look back at my original post, you'll note I said I enjoyed my cruise, it was just that I felt the formal night and the activities had been spoiled by an excessive focus on commercialisation.

 

The fact that waiters couldn't get around was the direct result of that commercialisation, because so much of the public area had been roped off for photo opportunities (which could just as easily have been carried out on the upper floor away from the crowds, but they obviously wanted them to be "in your face" so they sacrificed passenger comfort and enjoyment in favour of sales).

 

I have no problem with cruises making money, but I felt the balance was better on RCC. Of course it could all have changed since my last cruise. The reason I posted here was to get a feeling for whether this behaviour is normal across all Princess ships.

 

And of course I put all of that information in my survey responses to Princess.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Marisawrite

[myfuzzy]

I would agree with all of you, but I think we are being critical of today's cruising because we are cruisers of years gone by. I remember the cocktail parties with the ships band playing dance music and staff dancing with the ladies, the Captain making a toast, champagne glasses kept full, real canapes, a couple of photographers going around taking your photo, a real, regal party atmosphere.

 

I don't remember "photo ops" around every corner, people crammed into a small area competing for a chair, having multiple things going on at once....the band, waterfall, photos everywhere. Yes, it does seem like "something" is missing now.

 

As for the hard sell, basically NO is NO, but again that's what keeps costs down. I hate getting all those flyers in my patter or in my mailbox everyday. I just gather them up, either have a drawer or shelf for them and on the last full day of the cruise, I put them on my bed with a note to recycle, so the steward takes care of them.

 

We ALL know by now, that the spa is the number 1 "rip off" on the ship. I know, I know, we ARE on vacation and its probably the only thing some splurge on, but a treatment is a treatment, and add on's are add on's and nobody is breaking our arms to buy the stuff, and it could make for a nice souvenir to take home. But, I would opt to take a massage the day before I left home at my local spa.

 

On my earliest cruises, I don't even remember them even having an Art Gallery, jewelry shops, even the "inch of gold", even bingo I don't remember.

 

All that was opted to put on my "paper" boarding pass was beverages and shore excursions.

 

Maybe that's why I can bypass the "hard sells", never had them, don't need them now.

[WISH84]

Am I the only one who tells the spa upfront before any service is provided that I won't be purchasing any products afterwords so "please" refrain from any upselling? [emoji6]

[emmak8]

I've learned not to make eye contact and NO is an easy word to say.

 

The only time I do get annoyed is when disembarking in a port and photographers pressure for a photo. "NO!!!!" works.

[FritzG]

Am I the only one who tells the spa upfront before any service is provided that I won't be purchasing any products afterwords so "please" refrain from any upselling? [emoji6]

 

DH does that, and he's never had a problem with them trying to sell him products.

 

I don't understand why people feel that they have to listen to the sales pitch. If you're not interested just say no at the very beginning, and they generally leave you alone. If you start listening to the pitch you are showing some interest, and they keep going. Some people think it's only polite to listen to the pitch, but if you're not interested you're not doing them any favors--they want to move on to someone else who might make a purchase.

 

Also with pictures--you don't have to stop and let them take a picture when embarking and at various ports. Just say no, excuse yourself and bypass the line. Why waste the paper if you have no interest in the picture. It has been years since anyone tried to convince us to have a picture taken.

 

We never feel any hard sell because we let them know up front that we're not interested.

[moki'smommy]

Am I the only one who tells the spa upfront before any service is provided that I won't be purchasing any products afterwords so "please" refrain from any upselling? [emoji6]

 

I've been more firm than this. I told the that I did not want a sales pitch and if I got one, there would be no tip. This was in the days before the auto-gratuity. I think I could remove that, but not sure.

[COMBOY]

We enjoyed our Baltic cruise on the Regal Princess last month - the one sour note was the endless commercialism.

 

Every day the Princess Patter seemed to have a huge list of activities - but on closer inspection, more than half were just promotional events for the shops, the spa or the art gallery.

 

I had a spa treatment which was quite nice, but was then given the hard sell for two products which cost more than the treatment - she actually walked away saying, "I'll just add these to your account" and I had to call her back to say no. Totally destroyed the relaxing effect of the massage!

 

The first formal night was the champagne pour, which was a joke - instead of the spectacle of champagne cascading down the tower of glasses, we got an endless queue of guests coming up to the podium to add a tiny splash (so they could get their photo taken of course!). We were all crammed into the space under the balconies because so much space was taken up by that queue and the roped-off areas for formal photos. It lost all sense of atmosphere, it was all designed to suit the photographers.

 

Are all Princess Cruises like this?

 

No, all cruise lines are like this, but it can vary from ship to ship from line to line. The reality is that cruise lines make up a significant portion of their revenue with on board sales. People on vacation tend to let go more when they are on vacation and spend more. Nothing much you can do about it other then either just say "no" or avoid reading all the clutter. Some people do enjoy it. The crew either makes their tips off of what you buy or are "incentivize" by pushing goods with certain sales "goals." The cruise line execs clearly know they had a captive audience and it's their ship and they will do what ever it takes to feed their "bottom line." But on the other hand they don't want to make it so bad as for you not to take another cruise.

[myfuzzy]

Actually, adding another venue to spend you $$, that "yard sale" that they have in the dining room the first or second sea day and then the last..to get rid of the prior itineraries goods...like selling the Baltics stuff in the Caribbean.....I did get a great deal...I needed t shirts for around the house, they had a table of Baltics (we were sailing the Caribbean) t shirts 3 for 10...I got the 3, really excited for the deal. Went back for the second day, they were all gone. I guess a deal is a deal and they made the extra 10 that I wasn't planning on spending.

[floridalover5623]

There was chocolate? Darn, missed it!

 

 

Beware of the free "champagne" :eek: My other half had several glasses at one champagne waterfall and ended up missing our tour the next day as he had been ill all night, self inflicted of course.

 

The best part of the champagne waterfall event is the chocolate pops. We grab a few & immediately head out to the show. :D

[MTJSR]

That's part of why cruise lines like "fresh meat." First timers statistically spend double per diem what seasoned cruisers do.

 

They could have tiered marketing then! Continue marketing to new cruisers but then also have marketing aimed at us seasoned cruisers. Certainly they know what we find interesting after so many cruises.

 

Free internet and laundry is nice, but I'd spend my money on preferred shore tours with higher level sites and services. Id also pay to navigate the ship, blow the horn, be co-cruise director for a day, deal blackjack, drive the tender, walk thru the crew area and serve them dinner etc and the list goes on!

 

 

 

 

.

Edited June 9, 2016 by MTJSR

[iluvcruzin]

Everyone is missing my point, I think.

 

I'm not bothered about the mingling with passengers or the free booze.

 

What I liked about the RCC formal night was the festive atmosphere. Everyone dressed in their finery, glass of champagne in hand, I felt like I was at a fancy cocktail party in Hollywood or at the Ritz. It meant there was a real reason to get all dressed up - after the reception (with all the balloons and party music and comic patter), everyone was in a bubbly mood and the dining room was abuzz with lively chatter, and later there were far more people than usual on the dance floor. In other words, the formal night was an EVENT. On Princess it's just a series of photo opportunities so you can show your friends you were at an event, but nothing really happened.

 

The 2nd cruise you take is always compared to the 1st cruise you went on. the 1st one is always special.

 

I've been on both lines many times.

 

RCCL has the captain's cocktail party before dinner in one of the lounges. Princess does the Captain talk usually in the Atrium with the champagne toast. That location can be a bit crowded. And yes, the champagne fountain thing is a little tacky. Both lines make it a big photo opportunity with back drops set up in about every hallway.

 

They both advertise too much stuff in the daily newsletter. They both try to up sell in the spa's.

 

Since your RCCL experience was a European one, don't count on the same experience to be had if you decide to cruise in the Caribbean. More and more people have decided to skip formal night so you will see a variety of dress that evening. Much less formal on RCCL than Princess in this locale.

 

Princess generally has an older demographics. Many times the ship dies down early. On our last Regal Princess cruise we met a few others on board and kept the staff in Crooners entertained as it was practically dead.

 

It has been a very long time since I've seen the days when it was like Hollywood or the Ritz when it came to formal night on RCCL. In the early years of my cruising it was the norm. I haven't seen it in at least 10-15 years.

[caber]

The best part of the champagne waterfall event is the chocolate pops. We grab a few & immediately head out to the show. :D

 

What are those? I must have missed them.

[caribill]

What are those? I must have missed them.

 

Edited June 9, 2016 by caribill

[pablo222]

The first formal night was the champagne pour, which was a joke - instead of the spectacle of champagne cascading down the tower of glasses, we got an endless queue of guests coming up to the podium to add a tiny splash (so they could get their photo taken of course!).

 

Are all Princess Cruises like this?

 

I can remember as far back as the old star -- people

lined up to have their picture taken with the maitre d'

pouring champagne.

 

More than 20 years.