Though I am an elite cruiser on Celebrity, I decided to try Princess. Big Mistake.

[CI66774]

OP - you've posted your complaints on several threads. Was that really necessary? You've already received a ton of feedback. Milking it a bit, are we?

[cruiseflyer38]

I am a seasoned cruiser - having been on more cruises than I can count - on multiple

lines including: Carnival, Holland America, Princess, RoyalCaribbean, Celebrity, Cunard, Lindblad/National Geographic, and Silversea. My husband and I are elite members at Royal/Celebrity. I have never written anegative review…

 

...until this past cruise. We didn't mind (much) that embarkation was delayed for a day - which we didn't find out until the night before when checking email at our hotel. We were able to work around the fact that our hotel initially could not offer us another night because we were told Princess was holding rooms, but Princess Customer Service could not help. We didn't need to stay overnight in the ballroom that Princess reserved for guests without reservations. The broken window in our cabin for the first week was eventually fixed. The non-working AC when we first boarded was eventually fixed. These things were annoyances, and not enough to upset us.

 

I wasn't enthusiastic about the mix of passengers - I prefer a broader age range and geographic disbursement. This crowd was primarily American, and older than ourselves - and we are retired. In contrast, I've thoroughlyenjoyed meeting Europeans and Australians and Canadians –and Americans- aboard Royal/Celebrity/Silversea/Cunard, and we have friends across the world because of it! I so enjoy different points of view.

 

Here's what made us UPSET: We could not do what we wanted, when we wanted. Isn't that why we take cruises?

 

ENTERTAINMENT: SHOW UP EARLY OR YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT ONBOARD

* Evening entertainment consisted of a Theatrical Production and occasional Game Show

* The Theater does not have enough seats to accommodate passengers, and with few other options, seats were filled half an hour before show time

* If you do not arrive at the Theater a half hour early, you will not be able to sit with your significant other or maybe not get a seat at all (we were unable to get into three shows, and then stopped trying)

* Do not expect to get somewhere else quickly when leaving the theater. I saw no doors on the Lower Level, and nobody moves until the guests in the upper rows depart (and many don't move very well; re: age and disability). We (twice) waited fifteen minutes to start moving up the stairs towards the exit.

* We read about the Escape Room on Cruise Critic and wanted to sign up. I was first in line, having showed up 20 minutes early (learning from the Theater) and the staff member showed up 20 minutes late and took sign-ups in another location. Since there were only 60 slots, I was LUCKY toget two of them, despite showing up early.

* If you do not show up for Art Projects early enough, there are not enough materials.

* As usual, we enjoyed Trivia and other onboard games, and have many wine stoppers and some water bottles to show for it

 

 

DINING: YOU MUST CHOOSE BETWEEN WAITING IN LINE TO EAT AND SEEING A SHOW, OR NOT WAITING AND POTENTIALLY SEEING THAT NIGHT'S ENTERTAINMENT

* We chose "Anytime Dining" which we renamed,"NOT Anytime Dining"

* To finish dinner early enough for the 7:30pm show, you must be finished dining at 6:45pm - but if you show up between 5:15 - 5:45pm (too early anyways) there will be a long line

* If you show up between 6pm and 7pm, there will not be enough empty tables - and you will be given a pager

* If you eat with other passengers, hoping to meet new people, service takes two hours. You must eat alone if you hope to get out ofthe dining room quickly.

* If you go to the early show (offered some nights) and have dinner after, you miss the Game Shows at 8:00pm, and you are guaranteed a long line because the other Theater goers ALL rush the dining room at that moment

* If you decide - darn it, I'm just going to the buffet and eat quickly - you will have very little diversity of choice. Only half the area is active at one time, and choices are bland and REPETITIVE.

* If you decide - darn it, I'll spend the $29 per person and go to a Specialty Restaurant that IS better. The food is better. You are served quickly. We did that twice. I liked Sabatini's. The Crab Shack was disappointing, but I lived in Maryland for four years - so I know GOOD crab.

 

I CAN'T IMAGINE NEEDING TO GET SOMEWHERE IMPORTANT QUICKLY

* Lack of diversity (in entertainment and constitution of guests) could result in too many people in one spot at a particular time, and could lead to possible injury (my husband being stepped on)

* My husband was trampled during a rush to see a Production Show in the theater, and hurt his foot badly enough that it required an X-Ray.The doctor aboard suspected a bone fracture, and he wore a walking cast/bootfor two days - until a radiologist on land was able to clear him - two days of hobbling around later.

 

AFTER REVIEW OF OUR CONCERNS, PRINCESS OFFERED US TWO $29 SPECIALTY DINNERS AND A BOTTLE OF SHIP WINE ON A FUTURE CRUISE. They did not reverse medical charges of $261, which we asked to be refunded. They did not provide compensation for my husband trying to walk in a boot for two days. It was never about the money for my husband and me - we wanted them to care about the issues we faced. We wanted a CARE FREE vacation.

 

Note: all guests on this sailing were offered 15% off a future cruise due to the late embarkation. We do not plan to take them up on this offer.

 

 

Princess? I plan to avoid it. I cruise 3-4 times a year, and it won’t be on Princess.

Well all cruise lines seem to be going downhill. My experience: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=603318

[Charles4515]

Well all cruise lines seem to be going downhill. My experience: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=603318

 

 

 

I noticed the same. Suite guests and casino losers get big status now. I do think suite guests should get status, they pay for it, and I guess in a sense the casino losers are paying too, but the large cumulative amount we paid over the years by repeat booking does seem to have to have depreciated.

[PurpleHays]

I've cruised Princess enough to be Platinum. It's an older demographic, especially on longer itineraries like the Panama Canal. When we went three years ago, there was *one* kid, and we only saw him twice. We were the youngest on all our excursions (50/58), but we expected it. Most working people can't get over two weeks at a time for a vacation.

 

We didn't make a huge effort to make the shows and did traditional dining, so no waiting. It's vacation, and I'm not in a hurry. Princess went to shorter production shows several years ago, and it's a known fact that they are crowded.

 

Judging a line based on one cruise is like judging a sports team based on one event. My team defeats the defending champions 4-0 one game, loses 7-1 the next. Which is really the team?