Potential evidence Princess has made too many cutbacks?

[neverbeenhere]

24 minutes ago, FloaterBoat said:

 

 

If I may ask, what kind of cutbacks did you experience? What did you notice was different, that was unfavorable for you?

Here is a list of some passenger's "cutback complaints" More could be added, We see changes in all cruise lines, some for the good and some for the bad.  

 

A list of Princess changes in the last couple years…

1)      Change in the MDR menu, less options, different options on the everyday menu

2)      Change in the Elite lounge drinks and cost

3)      Apparent increased workload per room steward

4)      Generally Slow elite laundry turn around

5)      They got rid of the red/blue carpet and I can’t find my way to my stateroom

6)      Where are those butter pats?

7)      Barrel Barrel, who’s got the barrel chair?

😎     BOGO $1--- no more

9)      Less Buffet variety on older ships

10)   MDR – can you find an assistant waiter?

11)   Dress code loosening

12)   Coffee package replaces coffee cards

13)    

 

[FloaterBoat]

That is definitely 1 thing I've noticed.  The dress code loosening.  I really don't like that.  We always dress up for formal night.  It's 'Formal Night'.  If you want to wear your casual clothing, I think you should avoid the dining room.  There are plenty of options, and it's just 1 night.  You cannot show up to a black tie event in shorts and jeans.  The same vibe should apply. I miss the days when everyone participated and you would see ball gowns and tuxedos and the children all dressed up.  It's also formal picture night.  You want to take formal pictures in t-shirts and ripped jeans?  Cringe.

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, FloaterBoat said:

That is definitely 1 thing I've noticed.  The dress code loosening.  I really don't like that.  We always dress up for formal night.  It's 'Formal Night'.  If you want to wear your casual clothing, I think you should avoid the dining room.  There are plenty of options, and it's just 1 night.  You cannot show up to a black tie event in shorts and jeans.  The same vibe should apply. I miss the days when everyone participated and you would see ball gowns and tuxedos and the children all dressed up.  It's also formal picture night.  You want to take formal pictures in t-shirts and ripped jeans?  Cringe.

been there, done that, got the picture ... never again at least on a Princess ship in the mdr

[neverbeenhere]

See everyone has their straw (Well at least they used to), now does it break the camel's back?

Edited June 10, 2019 by neverbeenhere

[geoherb]

The $20 steak someone mentioned is for those who want the option of having an entree from the Crown Grill while in the main dining room. There are still some steaks on the menus that don't cost extra, but their quality is not going to be as good as the steaks from the Crown Grill.

 

 

[JF - retired RRT]

21 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

5)      They got rid of the red/blue carpet and I can’t find my way to my stateroom

6)      Where are those butter pats?

5) It's still there only not as noticeable. There are little dots (red or blue) on the edges of the carpet.

6) I got all the butter I needed. Which isn't saying much, because I don't think it's actually "real" butter. It's either a marg/butter mix or really poor quality. Doesn't taste at all like the stuff I use at home.

[Jersey42]

18 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

Here is a list of some passenger's "cutback complaints" .A list of Princess changes in the last couple years…

5)      They got rid of the red/blue carpet and I can’t find my way to my stateroom

6)      Where are those butter pats?

7)      Barrel Barrel, who’s got the barrel chair?

While I agree that there have been continued cutbacks over the years, we had all of the above on our 28 day Star cruise in April. Carpet had red or green dots. We had the barrel chair in our oceanview. Plenty of butter on the table in the MDR.  We also got an extensive log of the cruise on the last day.

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, FloaterBoat said:

So, in the picture, there were 2 chairs on your balcony?  How many are there now?  That would definitely be frustrating.  But, maybe just a mistake.  Maybe you can call and request another? The Emerald is one of the older ships, so larger balcony, correct? I bet you can get another chair. 

No balcony. "We're on the Emerald in an oceanview that had two chairs when I booked it." Talking about the desk chair and what people call the 'barrel chair'. If DH has some work to do at the desk, I would like to have somewhere to sit aside from the bed which DOES hurt my back to sit propped up for very long. Fortunately we cruise from our homeport, and I'm planning to bring a Quad Chair!

[crystalspin]

16 minutes ago, Jersey42 said:

on our 28 day Star cruise in April. ...We had the barrel chair in our oceanview. 

It's gone now:

[mreasier]

22 minutes ago, geoherb said:

The $20 steak someone mentioned is for those who want the option of having an entree from the Crown Grill while in the main dining room. There are still some steaks on the menus that don't cost extra, but their quality is not going to be as good as the steaks from the Crown Grill.

 

T

When we started cruising on Princess in 2003, the always available beef item was a delicious steak. Can't remember the cut but it was either New York strip or sirloin.  Then it switched to beef tournedos.  Not as good but still OK. Now it is a burger. Steaks are only available occasionally unless you want to pay $$$$$.

[geocruiser]

10 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

No balcony. "We're on the Emerald in an oceanview that had two chairs when I booked it." Talking about the desk chair and what people call the 'barrel chair'. If DH has some work to do at the desk, I would like to have somewhere to sit aside from the bed which DOES hurt my back to sit propped up for very long. Fortunately we cruise from our homeport, and I'm planning to bring a Quad Chair!

You are paying all that money and have to bring your own furniture.  That is something that I would never do.  But, if it works for you, that is great.  

[FloaterBoat]

7 hours ago, crystalspin said:

No balcony. "We're on the Emerald in an oceanview that had two chairs when I booked it." Talking about the desk chair and what people call the 'barrel chair'. If DH has some work to do at the desk, I would like to have somewhere to sit aside from the bed which DOES hurt my back to sit propped up for very long. Fortunately we cruise from our homeport, and I'm planning to bring a Quad Chair!

I can't even believe this. That's unacceptable. Spending thousands and having to bring your own chair is not ok. Maybe they took it out to give the room more flow? Open up the floor some more? I think it's still in our suite? I'm trying to remember. I think it's in the corner by the window? 

[sprint180]

This always interests me.  When loyal cruises go to different lines that is.  First I believe all lines are "cutting back"  I don't mind a bit.  I'd rather have lower prices then a log.  Although I've been on three Princess cruises and never gotten one.  I would say the reason you don't notice other lines cutting back is because you haven't been loyal on them.  Check out the boards I'm sure all of them have complaints about cutting back.

[sprint180]

I also don't mind the chair gone.  It took up too much room.

[Sillyjilly]

On 6/9/2019 at 10:55 AM, Cruisercl said:

What is an end of cruise log?

Thx. 😊

 

Something I have always tossed in the trash. lol

[Sillyjilly]

12 minutes ago, sprint180 said:

This always interests me.  When loyal cruises go to different lines that is.  First I believe all lines are "cutting back"  I don't mind a bit.  I'd rather have lower prices then a log.  Although I've been on three Princess cruises and never gotten one.  I would say the reason you don't notice other lines cutting back is because you haven't been loyal on them.  Check out the boards I'm sure all of them have complaints about cutting back.

 

Agreed

[crystalspin]

30 minutes ago, FloaterBoat said:

I can't even believe this. That's unacceptable. Spending thousands and having to bring your own chair is not ok. Maybe they took it out to give the room more flow? Open up the floor some more? I think it's still in our suite? I'm trying to remember. I think it's in the corner by the window? 

I assume they just don't want you to spend time in your cabin, but out on the boat (you could say "spending money" if you were cynical). I'm interested to see what response or notice we get toting a fold-up chair. I'm thinking to bring an older chair I wouldn't miss if they confiscated it, although I just bought a new one with the intention to bring it. 

[Ombud]

3 hours ago, FloaterBoat said:

I can't even believe this. That's unacceptable. Spending thousands and having to bring your own chair is not ok. Maybe they took it out to give the room more flow? Open up the floor some more? I think it's still in our suite? I'm trying to remember. I think it's in the corner by the window? 

I had 2 barrel chairs on the Star in March 2019 + desk chair + 2 balcony chairs. Frankly I only need 1 chair, had 5. On a thread shortly after that I asked people who had recently cruised if they had 1 or 2 chairs not interested in recent rumors of whether there were chairs or not. Almost everyone had a chair. Most said they were still in the room (balcony & above) but some had to ask for a 2nd chair. 

[moonglum]

12 hours ago, FloaterBoat said:

 

 

Can you elaborate on this part?  A regular steak in the MDR?  Or specialty steak on the addendum of the menu?  Not sure I remember this from my Euro cruise last fall.

This was in the anytime dining room Santa Fe,  Pacific Moon etc. As well as the regular items that are on the left hand side of the menu every night steak was not one of these items and it stated you could order a steak for an extra $20.  As far as I can recall the meat item on the left side of the menu was a burger, there was country chicken and Fettuccini as well there.

 

I questioned the Maitre 'D about this and he told me steak had been removed for about 3 years. I do not know if this was unique to the Far east market or not.

 

At least with Celebrity New York Strip is an everyday iteem.

[Ombud]

13 hours ago, FloaterBoat said:

Can you elaborate on this part?  A regular steak in the MDR?  Or specialty steak on the addendum of the menu?  Not sure I remember this from my Euro cruise last fall.

You can get the Crown Grill steak in the MDR for an additional $20. So if 1 wants that steak instead of the MDR steak but doesn't mind not having the full Crown Grill menu and the other is a vegetarian, just go to the MDR

[Geoffa30]

It’s interesting that some posters do not feel the prices have increased. Here in the U.K., a two week cruise on the Sky Princess or Enchanted Princess in the Med admittedly in a mini-suite, the prices are £3,300 / $4,200. Of course these are new ships so prices will be higher but cruises on the Regal and Grand Class ships aren’t too far off this.

 

Going back to the Viking comparison; on top of Princess price, one must add flights, gratuities, excursions, drinks, speciality dining etc. all of which are included in the Viking fare (at least in the U.K.). With these added, the Princess fare would be say £4,500 / $5,700 which is only slightly lower (say £500 max) than Viking charges for a two week cruise in the Med. Plus Viking have at least two chairs in every cabin, have glass shower cubicles and do not charge extra for steak in the MDR. They also have special buffets, alternative dining by the pool everyday, individual bottles of high quality toiletries, i.e. all the things that Princess might have offered in the past.

[pris993]

Our take all the cruise lines have become too similar.  They try to hook us on there product  promoting what ever is the latest gimmick.  We ignore most of it and avoid most it.  We go on board to enjoy time at sea, the ports and our mini suite cabin, relaxation and focus on what we like and skip the rest.    Approaching cruising this way, makes it a very enjoyable way to travel... we don't do the mdr any more, enjoy the buffet, room service and the Crown grill on Princess... take in a few shows,  explore the ports, bring on our own wine and spend lots of time on our balcony and walking the main deck, avoid the newer Princess ships as much as possible.  Next cruises will be on the Coral and Grand Princess.  

[golfb4cruzing]

Making Medallion mandatory would be enough to make me leave. Cruising overall is in a downward spiral with them being more gimmicks than sailing the oceans. We stay with Princess because they don't have Walls, Go Karts or trampolines.

[voljeep]

5 minutes ago, golfb4cruzing said:

Making Medallion mandatory would be enough to make me leave. Cruising overall is in a downward spiral with them being more gimmicks than sailing the oceans. We stay with Princess because they don't have Walls, Go Karts or trampolines.

how did you feel when they switched from room "keys" to those new fangled room "cards" that never seemed to work right and were always getting 'de-magnetized' ?

[JoRoy218]

On 6/9/2019 at 11:44 AM, ceilidh1 said:

Not sure about that....

 

I did a cruise to Hawaii in 2018 - priced out the exact same cruise for 2019 and it was almost three times as much!

Interesting. We were on the Grand to Hawaii in April. That must have been quite a bargain in 2018 if our fare was triple what you paid.  I thought our balcony fare was quite appropriate for a 15 day cruise.