Unfortunate switch to Princess.

[keithm]

We had booked a great 12 night cruise to the Caribbean in Feb. 2020. Unfortunately, Richard got an e-mail about a Hawaiian trip aboard the Star Princess. He then dug in his heels & now we're going on a trip to Hawaii Jan.28. I decided to at least book a Club Class mini suite to get some decent accommodations. I've told Richard to look into the mirror if this trip does NOT measure up. The food certainly will not be to O's standard. Oh well.

[Classiccruiser777]

Live and learn. Think about the “I told you so” opportunities that will inevitably come with the cruise...

[Go-Bucks!]

No, Princess isn't in the same class as O but it doesn't mean that it's like staying in a Motel 6 and eating at Golden Corral either.  😉

 

I've had 8 cruises on Princess, all in minisuites or full suites, with a 2 month long one coming up this January/February. I've enjoyed them all but I'm not a foodie or a high maintenance person. Service has always been great and the food very good, IMO.  I've also spent quite a bit of time on O recently but am still looking forward to my upcoming Princess cruise. 

 

I liked the Club Class extra food choices but they weren't so good that I'd pay extra for them (I was in a full suite so didn't pay extra). What I did like was that we could show up anytime and never wait...but that wouldn't be worth paying extra for, in my estimation. 

 

Some people complain of "nickel and diming", but no one harasses you to purchase anything. Because the cruisefare is much cheaper than O fares, it's obvious that not as many "perks" are included...but with a cheaper fare you can afford to buy things such as a coffee card (for lattes, cappuccinos, and other special items) or a soda card. I think full suites are a good deal because they include many of the perks that others must pay separately for.

 

Personally, I think a cruise is what you make it...so go with a positive attitude and don't compare it to O because they won't be the same, although you can have a great time on either. I hope you enjoy your vacation and the lovely Hawaiian islands!  😎

Edited September 10, 2019 by Go-Bucks!

[Ken the cruiser]

You will have a great time, especially if you like a variety of things to do on sea days, which you obviously will have plenty of. Club Class dining is also very nice and with the CD having up to 6 assistants, all comedians in their own right, there is always something going on. Also, being able to walk outside around the ship on the covered promenade deck is always a nice option to have if you like doing that kind of thing.

[LHT28]

Enjoy the cruise

Just close your eyes to the baseball caps & jeans  at dinner 🤣

Just kidding

You will have more to do  than on Oceania

[CruisingIGo]

In September 2017, we took a 3 night Vancouver BC-to-LA Princess cruise.  No ports.....just relaxing days at sea.  We had a nice room with a verandah.  We thought we got a great deal at $100 per night/per person.  After the cruise, I thought it was "worth" $75 per night/per person.  That probably sounds like we didn't like it....we did...to a point....but it's just so different from Oceania.

[deadzone1003]

The only foods superior to Oceania will be pizza, sausages, and, maybe, pasta.  We came to Oceania by way of Princess.  It has been almost 4 years since our last Princess cruise.  There will be much more ship activities on the Hawaiian cruises than you think.  Just relax and enjoy it - you are on vacation.  Also, during dinner, if you don't like anything on the menu, you can always order a sirloin hamburger and fries even though it is not officially on the menu.   

[Cruise Junky]

Thought you guys had already sailed Princess?  it can't have been that bad if he wants to go back.

[KellyCz]

16 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

Personally, I think a cruise is what you make it...so go with a positive attitude and don't compare it to O because they won't be the same, although you can have a great time on either. I hope you enjoy your vacation and the lovely Hawaiian islands!  😎

You have a great attitude, Go-Bucks!

[bbqoug]

We enjoyed our previous cruises on Princess.

The only thing I didn't like was how they would come around the MDR during the first night's dinner and put on an extreme hard sell for the beverage packages, wine tastings, etc.

The last thing I want to do on my first night of vacation is be a captive audience to someone pressuring me to buy something.

 

That was quite a few years ago, so they may have changed their tactics since then.

 

[Go-Bucks!]

32 minutes ago, bbqoug said:

We enjoyed our previous cruises on Princess.

The only thing I didn't like was how they would come around the MDR during the first night's dinner and put on an extreme hard sell for the beverage packages, wine tastings, etc.

The last thing I want to do on my first night of vacation is be a captive audience to someone pressuring me to buy something.

 

That was quite a few years ago, so they may have changed their tactics since then.

 

 

Yes, they have. Haven't experienced that in many, many years. 

[workstocruise]

We recently sailed on the Royal Princess after several Oceania and Viking Ocean Cruises.  Sailing to Hawaii will be fun but don’t expect the food on Princess to be as good as Oceania.  However, their entertainment is great and the WiFi is better.  The photographers will also harass you at every port and on formal nights, ugh!  Just go with a good attitude and you’ll have fun.  It’s a Cruise!

[JPR]

Princess (as opposed to Oceania) should at least be a great cruise if you’re trying to lose some weight!

[susiesan]

19 hours ago, bbqoug said:

We enjoyed our previous cruises on Princess.

The only thing I didn't like was how they would come around the MDR during the first night's dinner and put on an extreme hard sell for the beverage packages, wine tastings, etc.

The last thing I want to do on my first night of vacation is be a captive audience to someone pressuring me to buy something.

 

That was quite a few years ago, so they may have changed their tactics since then.

 

I sailed on the Coral Princess to Alaska this past June. There was no one at the dinner tables pushing me to buy anything.

 

If you like trivia, the assistant CD's conduct it and they are just hilarious. There will be trivia 4-5 times a day while you are at sea. It's worth going to just to hear the comedy routine that goes along with the trivia games. Also be sure to attend the various game shows that are part of the entertainment. The same assistants are there and they are funny funny comedians.

[donaldsc]

20 hours ago, bbqoug said:

We enjoyed our previous cruises on Princess.

The only thing I didn't like was how they would come around the MDR during the first night's dinner and put on an extreme hard sell for the beverage packages, wine tastings, etc.

The last thing I want to do on my first night of vacation is be a captive audience to someone pressuring me to buy something.

 

That was quite a few years ago, so they may have changed their tactics since then.

 

 

You are not a "captive" audience.  Use the 4 magic words 'I am not interested' and they go away.  The 4 magic words also work when they try to take your picture or when they try to sell you something.

 

BTW - what do you define as an "extreme hard sell"?

 

DON

[bbqoug]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

You are not a "captive" audience.  Use the 4 magic words 'I am not interested' and they go away.  The 4 magic words also work when they try to take your picture or when they try to sell you something.

 

BTW - what do you define as an "extreme hard sell"?

 

DON

As I said, this was quite a few years ago. I'm pretty certain you were not there to know what I did or did not say during the hard sell.

After the person explained the virtues of the various drink packages I said we were not interested. He then went on to tell me that was not a good decision & why. It then started over in trying to get us to sign up for wine tastings.

At the time, money was a lot tighter for us & we could barely afford the cruise itself. I didn't appreciate having to spend time during our first dinner rebuffing what I perceived as a hard sales pitch.

 

As I said previously, we enjoyed our cruises on Princess except for the upselling on the first evening.

I am happy to read from others that they no longer do this. We have moved on from Princess to other cruise lines but would consider them if the price & itinerary were right.

[Paulchili]

33 minutes ago, bbqoug said:

but would consider them if the price & itinerary were right.

Princess price is always “right” when compared to Oceania 😊 and they offer probably more itineraries than any other cruise line due to the number of their ships.

I know we have taken a few Princess cruises because of itinerary when nobody else offered them - like circumnavigation of Australia years before O did it and cruising in Japan before other lines offered that itinerary,

We don’t mind Princess - we know what we get for what we pay and we do not compare it to nor do we expect Oceania experience.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Paulchili

[Go-Bucks!]

20 hours ago, Paulchili said:

  We don’t mind Princess - we know what we get for what we pay and we do not compare it to nor do we expect Oceania experience.

 

That's exactly how I feel...they're different but I enjoy them both. I know what to expect on each and sail on one or the other depending on itinerary, ship or maybe a good sale price. I like having more than one line that I enjoy being on...I like Celebrity too.  Looking forward to trying Regent, Crystal, Seabourn and Viking in the future.

[ORV]

6 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

That's exactly how I feel...they're different but I enjoy them both. I know what to expect on each and sail on one or the other depending on itinerary, ship or maybe a good sale price. I like having more than one line that I enjoy being on...I like Celebrity too.  Looking forward to trying Regent, Crystal, Seabourn and Viking in the future.

I feel the same way about Celebrity or RCL. I went on one Princess Cruise, the Golden, and didn't much for it at all. One of the least enjoyable cruises I've been on. Many people I know do enjoy Princess so I'm sure it was probably a one off. 

[ronrick1943]

If this is your only problem in life, you have a nice life.  What's 12 or 15 days out of a life time, if it makes Richard happy let it be.  You make the cruise anyway, you'll have a great time.  And when you get back home after the cruise, never and I repeat never say "I told you so".😂

[dog]

On 9/9/2019 at 7:29 PM, keithm said:

We had booked a great 12 night cruise to the Caribbean in Feb. 2020. Unfortunately, Richard got an e-mail about a Hawaiian trip aboard the Star Princess. He then dug in his heels & now we're going on a trip to Hawaii Jan.28. I decided to at least book a Club Class mini suite to get some decent accommodations. I've told Richard to look into the mirror if this trip does NOT measure up. The food certainly will not be to O's standard. Oh well.

When I was  on the Star Princess in Feb 2019, crew told me she was being sold and leaving the fleet. I've been on her 3 times and she is showing her age. Lots of good things to say about Princess, although I'm looking forward to my first cruise on the Sirena.

Good call on Club class!

[LHT28]

41 minutes ago, dog said:

When I was  on the Star Princess in Feb 2019, crew told me she was being sold and leaving the fleet. I've been on her 3 times and she is showing her age. Lots of good things to say about Princess, although I'm looking forward to my first cruise on the Sirena.

 

Unless you have sailed on the R ships  it may be a shock 

The size  of the ship is 1/3  the size of the Star  😎

Enjoy

[Redtravel]

Do not compare a Princess to Oceania. It will only make you sad. Once you sail on Oceania or other upscale cruises, sailing on mass market can be disappointing.  You usually get what you pay for. Princess is less expensive. Do not expect the same experience as Oceania. Since you are booked on a Princess, go and have a good time. If you really don’t like it, do not agree to booking Princess next time. 

[dog]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Unless you have sailed on the R ships  it may be a shock 

The size  of the ship is 1/3  the size of the Star  😎

Enjoy

 

Oh, I've been on several cruise lines and on several sizes of ships. I do prefer the smaller ones. My decisions have been based on the ports., and that's why I'm going on the Sirena in Oct. 2020.  Looking forward to it.

[keithm]

We did 1 cruise on Princess in 2016 on the Regal. A very nice ship. The food was quite good. The buffet was the best we ever saw on any ship. The trip was a 14 day B2B. The first week was Superbowl week & I hate to say, but it was a trailer trash jamboree that first week. tons of drunken ill behaved pax mixed with regular pax. Formal nights were very interesting that first week. The second week about 80% of the pax changed & it was much nicer! We're fine with the formal nights. We usually brought sport coats on the Riviera. We'll do that on the Star, along with a few ties. Pricewise our Star trip is only about $500 less overall.

  We are foodies & I've explained to Richard the food will be decent, but not to expect the quality of even the Regal. We will try the Chef's dinner & perhaps the ?? Ultimate balcony dinner?(not sure that's the correct name) The ambience of that should be nice. It's true, a cruise is what you make of it. Personally, I intend to make full use of the Sanctuary on sea days. I really enjoyed them on the Regal.