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What cutbacks have you noticed since you started cruising?

Buck Turgidson

By Buck Turgidson,
in Princess Cruises

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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
Posted
I started cruising after the midnight buffet was ended, but would be very happy to give that up for the 24/7 International Cafe. I think that is the best, and a wonderful benefit these days.
On our first cruise on Carnival in 2002 there was still a midnight buffet but as others have said, who can eat that much that late at night and there was a lot of waste. By the time we sailed on Princess in 2004 there were no midnight buffets. The couple of times I visited the HC after midnight the food selection was very limited and because no one was up there the food had been there for a while and it was not very good. I much prefer having the IC open overnight rather than the HC [emoji4]

 

 

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Times Prince

Times Prince

Posted
Posted (edited)

Princess offers great service, even if the stewards are getting stretched to the maximum (19 cabins now, vs. 10 a few years ago).

 

What we miss are chocolate covered strawberries as Elite canapé choices.

 

And there are noticeably fewer live bands on board, and fewer people per band. With a live quartet/quintet, if a song didn't work for dancing, they could cut it short, but now with the canned tracks for rhythm section/background, the singers must trudge through the whole song, while dancers seek other venues.

 

I miss the steel drum or Caribbean bands on deck most of the day.

 

On the plus side, the entertainment in the atrium has gotten much better.

Edited by Times Prince
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truckmaker

truckmaker

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1. That there are now cabin choices that are more affordable than when we started in 1989 on the Carnival Festivale.

 

2. That there are now many many more choices on the buffet than hot dogs, and hamburgers.

 

3. That we have so little to pack since there are now laundries onboard for our use or a service that is complementary. I miss the challenge getting our suitcases to close.

 

4. That there is more than one or two eating places on ships.

 

5. That there was only a single show in the single lounge - so may choices that have to be made today. Although on our first cruise we saw Duke Daniels of the Platters!

 

I guess on the whole we enjoy cruises just the way they are and hope that the adventure continues 'cause we can't wait to see what will happen next.

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taxatty "Live from...." Rare

taxatty

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I miss the computer classes that Princess used to offer--very good instructors and a cheap way to pass time on sea days.

 

RCI still lets you escape young children to have peace and quiet in the free Solarium area. Princess now makes you pay for this in the Sanctuary.

 

The last Princess midnight buffet I recall was on the R Class Royal Princess--maybe 5-10 gluttons actually were partaking. I do remember Eggs Benedict being served at 3:00 AM on a now-defunct cruise ship line in the early '70s--that was a fun way to finish the evening.

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Lucky TGO

Lucky TGO

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I miss the computer classes that Princess used to offer--very good instructors and a cheap way to pass time on sea days.

 

RCI still lets you escape young children to have peace and quiet in the free Solarium area. Princess now makes you pay for this in the Sanctuary.

 

The last Princess midnight buffet I recall was on the R Class Royal Princess--maybe 5-10 gluttons actually were partaking. I do remember Eggs Benedict being served at 3:00 AM on a now-defunct cruise ship line in the early '70s--that was a fun way to finish the evening.

 

I have just one question were you one of the 10 Gluttons :eek:

Tony

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LETS PARTY

LETS PARTY

Posted
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For me it's the Midnight Buffet. I loved going there just to meet all the night Owls like me now no one is up after 12:00 am :eek:

Tony

Who remembers the buffet they had every night after the midnight buffet I believe it was at 1:30 or 2:00 AM............

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SoCal Cruiser78

SoCal Cruiser78

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The HAL midnight buffet had two lines.

One for eating and a second for taking photos....

 

I remember this on Celebrity, also.

 

By the early 2000s, HAL stopped doing the midnight buffets and replaced them with earlier chocolate/dessert buffets around 10 or 11 PM. I was told that midnight was too late for many HAL cruisers ;).

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SoCal Cruiser78

SoCal Cruiser78

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Since we started cruising in the 80's there has been a systematic removal of hours from the day. We used to stay up partying until 3am, then get up a 7am get breakfast, then onto the tenders to party in the port.

 

If you keep sailing westward, your days will get longer :).

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Lucky TGO

Lucky TGO

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Who remembers the buffet they had every night after the midnight buffet I believe it was at 1:30 or 2:00 AM............

 

I started cruising in 1985 maybe before that ? I don't remember a buffet starting after midnight sorry.

Tony

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Jasperdo

Jasperdo

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Who remembers the buffet they had every night after the midnight buffet I believe it was at 1:30 or 2:00 AM............
Our first cruise, on Carnival back in 1991, had a "Mini" Buffet from 1:30AM until 2:30AM:

 

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riclop

riclop

Posted
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I don't see the elaborate midnight buffet ( perhaps it was just a Carnival thing which we haven't cruised in years) anymore and I miss smoking cigars up on the bow or far forward on the ship (not allowed).

 

Folks are often commenting on how cruising has changed over the years so I was curious what changes other readers have seen in this industry

 

Way too many to name.

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trishh

trishh

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Posted (edited)

When my family first started cruising I had a toddler and a 5 year old, and Princess used to set up a few tables for the kids, in the main dining room, and would serve sandwiches for the kids for dinner (most of the time it was all they wanted or needed). Then we were able to drop the kids off at kids club and have dinner alone.

Trish

Edited by trishh
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8dimsum

8dimsum

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circa 1980's - there were special late evening dining room "shows": flambe desserts

 

labor intensive displays of bread art, egg penguins, ice sculptures, cake portraits of famous people. spun sugar famous landmarks... photo op and then midnight buffet noshing!

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yuccaman

yuccaman

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Who remembers the buffet they had every night after the midnight buffet I believe it was at 1:30 or 2:00 AM............

 

Yes! After the midnight buffet, there as a scaled-down buffet at 1:30!

 

After a while, the midnight buffet became the scale of the old 1:30 buffet, and then, poof, gone!

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nickw

nickw

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Our travel agent use to get champagne and strawberries delivered to the room. It seems that no travel agents do this anymore, because they have lowered their commission due to competition.

 

Midnight buffet, as others have mentioned, but I wasn't too upset to see this go.

 

Live steel drum players disappeared, although they are coming back on Carnival now due to popular demand.

 

Tipping your waiter on the last night with an envelope of cash. Now it just gets charged to your card. (Not a cutback, just an advance in technology)

 

Carnival has changed their loyalty programs drastically, as more and more people are moving up the ranks. They seemed to be losing too much money with all of the free perks.

 

Specialty restaurants for a fee. I don't even remember that being a thing on my first cruise or two.

 

Charging for hot chocolate when it use to be free.

 

Charging for fitness classes, dance classes, etc, when it all use to be free.

 

Spa areas become "pay only" areas on newer ships. On the older ships, the sauna and steam room were free. Many still are because of the ship design and their inability to turn it into a 'pay only' area.

 

The pins you received for being a loyalty member have gone down in price and appeal. On Carnival you use to received a pin with the ship name under the carnival funnel. Now they are small, cheapy pins that are generic between all ships.

 

Room service now has a service charge during certains hours. Some lines charge for room service regardless of the hour.

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