Haven't cruised Princess in 5 years major changes?

[RM]

We are Platinum in Captains club and considering returning to sail Princess to Europe. What changes have been made in our absence?

 

Does everyone in the cabin have to buy a beverage package?

Do they have refundable and non refundable bookings?

 

Any help would be appreciated. TIA

[Oh2B@C]

This thread will probably generate tons of varying opinions, some will be important to you and others not. For me, the ONE big change I have noticed may not be an issue for most people, but it is a big deal for me. 5 years ago, the cruise director's staff were much friendlier, much more approachable and much more organized. Plus they spoke much better English. On my last few cruises, the cruise staff has been distant, surly, seemingly not ready to improvise or banter with the passengers, and speak such bad English that you can barely understand what they're saying.

 

On a positive note, the introduction of an Entertainment director has freed up the CD to be more social and visible on the ship.

[skynight]

We are Platinum in Captains club and considering returning to sail Princess to Europe. What changes have been made in our absence?

 

Does everyone in the cabin have to buy a beverage package?

No. but the package can not be shared. Max 12 alcoholic beverages/day. Search Princess Premium Beverage Package for the details and fine print.

Do they have refundable and non refundable bookings?

Assume you mean deposits. Yes, most are refundable if you cancel before final payment date. There are some promos that have non-refundable deposits, so read the fine print.

Any help would be appreciated. TIA

See above plus a few more

Hotel charge has increased

New production shows which are very good, but you have to arrive early

Club Class dining for club class mini suites and full suites

Most ships have had a big makeover of the buffet area

Drink prices have increased

New bedding on many ships

New ships

Less always available options in the DR.

Constant re-make/re-boot of the parties and activities

DR closed for lunch on port days (may have happened more then 5 years ago)

Excursions booked on line in advance must be paid for when booked.

[Diana68]

I've just returned from the Royal Princess, and found the opposite to be true.

 

We hadn't sailed Princess in six years. We had previously done 14 days on the Grand, and 29 days on the Sea, but have chosen other lines because we felt the entertainment was better...and the beds were horrible on Princess. I've been on 49 cruises total.

 

We got a crazy good deal, so we booked, even though I wasn't expecting a great trip. Matt O and his team were one of the best cruise staff that we've ever had! They were everywhere around the ship, and had activities all day long. The shows in the theater have improved (still not as good as the Broadway shows on Royal or NCL), and the food is better than most other lines. The beds are fine now too.

 

We didn't book the beverage package, but I think both do need to buy it. I don't think they have non refundable fares like Royal.

 

I would give them another try if I were you.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[redrightreturning]

Both DO NOT have to purchase the beverage package

 

 

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[Hlitner]

We cruise many lines and think that Princess has not cut-back on things as much as their competition. But there still has been a gradual tendency to cut-back, cost cut, and even service cut. On Princess some of the latest cut-back issues are relatively small (death by a thousand cuts) but obvious. Princess used to have some of the best wine prices at sea...but now they have really boosted wine cost with lower cost wines marked-up over 400%. New coffee cards now have an expiration date (lately it has been 12/31/2018 but there is some controversy as to whether that will be enforced. The "everyday" menu in the MDR has been somewhat downgraded with the previous steak being changed to a hamburger! If you follow this blog, many of us noticed a sudden and big time degradation of the quality of Princess Pizza (the problem seems to be the cheese) although one poster claims that this is in the process of being corrected. The nickel and diming (aboard) is worse then ever and sometimes it can feel like you are in a K-Mart with Blue Light Specials being announced a few times a day. Princess has put some effort into their production shows...but our vote is still pending :).

 

Hank

[voljeep]

and it's 15 max - not 12 as someone previously posted ;p

[skynight]

and it's 15 max - not 12 as someone previously posted ;p

Yes, I noticed I entered in the wrong number.

[CO/AZCRUISERS]

We recently returned from the Royal. Matt O and his staff were fantastic - full on energy and always ready to interact with passengers. All spoke excellent English. Plus, they adjusted on the fly to accommodate an unexpected sea day to make sure the Patter had plenty of activities.

[LB_NJ]

This thread will probably generate tons of varying opinions, some will be important to you and others not. For me, the ONE big change I have noticed may not be an issue for most people, but it is a big deal for me. 5 years ago, the cruise director's staff were much friendlier, much more approachable and much more organized. Plus they spoke much better English. On my last few cruises, the cruise staff has been distant, surly, seemingly not ready to improvise or banter with the passengers, and speak such bad English that you can barely understand what they're saying.

 

On a positive note, the introduction of an Entertainment director has freed up the CD to be more social and visible on the ship.

 

I think it depends on the ship and the cruise. Was on Crown Princess in January and except for one person who was handling deck chairs never ran into what you are talking about.

 

My first cruise with Princess so can't make a comparison with the past.

[canadian9981]

I was on Emerald Princess in the beginning of March for 14 days. I had been away from Princess for a few years trying other lines. This time I found both the food quality and choices in the MDR had gone down from my previous Princess experiences. I usually booked traditional dining so that I could have the same wait team throughout the cruise who know my preference but this time, I didn't get that same level of service. The head waiter didn't even stop by our table once during the whole 14 day cruise and the waiters seem to be very busy all the time and didn't have time to provide more attentive service to the customers. I don't know if Princess had made the waiters to serve more tables.

[satxdiver]

We were on the Emerald for 16 day cruise last month and have switched back to TD from many years of using ATD. It is the luck of the draw as to the service received by the serving staff. Our two waiters were very good but the last day we went to the Botticelli for breakfast and the waiters we had were terrible. I was glad we did not have them.

 

On our November B2B cruise we had an excellent waiter and when asked if we wanted to switch tables for the second part of the cruise we declined. We were at a 6 top and one of the couples who joined us had been on the ship the prior week. They commented about how bad their waiters had been and how nice ours were. It is the luck of the draw. There are really good waiters and really bad ones.

[geoherb]

We've had some bad waiters at breakfast and lunch. Our dinnertime waiters have ranged from good to excellent. I've been less pleased with our headwaiters on our last couple of cruises. They did not deal with DH's dietary restrictions very well.

[RM]

Thank you all. All of the lines seem to have cutback so that isn't a surprise. Thanks for all the info