What’s with the negativity?

[Fincherson]

We just booked out first Princess Cruise (Sun Princess) after having previously sailed only Carnival and NCL. I was excited to get on Cruise Critic and join in on the fun/discussion on a new board, only to find it’s mainly negativity, rudeness and complaining. Am I missing something? Does Princess suck or are people generally more persnickety? Maybe I’m just reading the wrong threads? I’m kind of afraid to post this but I really want to know if I made a mistake giving Princess a try. Is it as mediocre as these posts make it sound?

[OzKiwiJJ]

Some people just like to complain - they take the name Cruise Critic literally.🙄 Then other people resent the complainers saying bad things about their favourite cruise line and so it escalates. 🙄

 

Sun Princess is a great ship, a bit long in the tooth but still one of the nicest ships in the Princess fleet IMHO. Although things like food preferences and entertainment can be very subjective I think Princess does a very good job at catering for most tastes. Yes, there have been cutbacks over the last year or so, and that's why some people are complaining, but all the mass market cruise lines are having cutbacks in one way or another. I think Princess still provides great value for money, comfortable cabins, beautiful lounges and bars, and lots of good entertainment  as well as taking you on your chosen itinerary (weather permitting) in style.

Edited November 4, 2019 by OzKiwiJJ

[peacefulOR]

In January we are taking our first Princess cruise after sailing with four other lines. I have found the roll call to be much less active than Norwegian, for example, but negativity etc. are on all the cruise boards. Some people think that they sound sophisticated when they knock others or a cruise but I'm expecting a very nice class of people onboard and a wonderful experience. Maybe that's why we have always had great cruises and don't post too often. Princess is far from mediocre and I, for one, have had all 3 of another line's cruises have MAJOR mess-ups , so ignore the whiners, applaud those who offer something valuable to you, and let your attitude make a great cruise.

[Ombud]

I do not think Princess is mediocre. I've sailed on a few different lines and this one fits me best. But I do see your point. 

[Ombud]

What cruise are you on? If Australia/NZ those roll calls seem to be less active.

[Northumberland]

We've sailed with Princess, RCCL & MSC and have another Princess cruise booked for March 2020. Haven't done Carnival or NCL. So, I can't compare those ones, but we really enjoy Princess. It generally attracts an older crowd looking for leisure time. RCCL, also a great cruise line is developing into a more family oriented line with water slides, zip lines, surfing simulators, etc. on the newer larger ships and added to some of the older ships. MSC was a one time trial that we won't repeat. 

Opinions are subjective based on your needs and expectations.

Can't speak for everybody, but we've never been disappointed by Princess.

[scott4020]

Thankfully most Princes cruisers aren't on CC and most on CC aren't negative just the ones who are are vocal.

 

I have been on many Princes cruises and have found the passengers on board to be very friendly. I have made many friends that I still am in touch with.

 

Welcome to Princes, have a great cruise. 

[Fincherson]

I meant Sky Princess. 🥴 I’m glad to hear that I don’t need to rebook. We’re really excited to try out Princess. I was under the impression (before coming here) that it’s top-notch. 

[Fincherson]

23 minutes ago, Ombud said:

What cruise are you on? If Australia/NZ those roll calls seem to be less active.

Sky Princess December 28th 2020!

[Fincherson]

33 minutes ago, peacefulOR said:

In January we are taking our first Princess cruise after sailing with four other lines. I have found the roll call to be much less active than Norwegian, for example, but negativity etc. are on all the cruise boards. Some people think that they sound sophisticated when they knock others or a cruise but I'm expecting a very nice class of people onboard and a wonderful experience. Maybe that's why we have always had great cruises and don't post too often. Princess is far from mediocre and I, for one, have had all 3 of another line's cruises have MAJOR mess-ups , so ignore the whiners, applaud those who offer something valuable to you, and let your attitude make a great cruise.

Thank you! I will say, we always have a great time on a cruise ship and are the type of people to overlook most negative things because, hey, we’re on a beautiful vacation regardless. We loved the NCL Getaway and I saw a lot of negative reviews about it. To each his own, I’m just glad to know it’s not a reflection of the cruise line in general. 🙂

[Aus Traveller]

In my opinion, some people can be negative when they are posting anonymously. If you spoke to those same people face-to-face, they might give a different message.

[Ombud]

11 minutes ago, Fincherson said:

Sky Princess December 28th 2020!

I really hope you have Captain Tuvo! I know he's 1 of 3 captains on it. He's incredible.  Your roll call will become active and you'll meet him at the Meet & Greet. He tries to make all of them! 

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Fincherson said:

We just booked out first Princess Cruise (Sun Princess) after having previously sailed only Carnival and NCL. I was excited to get on Cruise Critic and join in on the fun/discussion on a new board, only to find it’s mainly negativity, rudeness and complaining. Am I missing something? Does Princess suck or are people generally more persnickety? Maybe I’m just reading the wrong threads? I’m kind of afraid to post this but I really want to know if I made a mistake giving Princess a try. Is it as mediocre as these posts make it sound?

 It's the internet. I call it keyboard courage.

In person they would run away.  🙄

[MJSailors]

   Sky Princess is the newest Princess ship. It has just started sailing, with the ship doing a transatlantic cruise to bring the ship to Ft Lauderdale for the Winter cruise season in the Caribbean.

   Since your cruise is not until December,2020, it may take some time to get a Roll Call really going. 

   The Sky Princess is of the Royal Class of ship. My DH and I have been on the Regal Princess - a sister ship- twice. We enjoyed both cruise and found the ship to be lovely. The atrium,called the Piazza, is a large,multi deck area in the middle of the ship. Much entertainment goes on in this area during the day and evening. There is a coffee/ bakery called the International Cafe, several bars, a gelato place and a complimentary Italian restaurant ,Alfredo’s as well as shops located in this area. If you thought the chandelier in the atrium area of NCL ships ( Breakaway) was impressive, you will realize that there is no  comparison to the Piazza area on the Princess ship !

  

[caribill]

2 hours ago, Fincherson said:

. I was excited to get on Cruise Critic and join in on the fun/discussion on a new board, only to find it’s mainly negativity, rudeness and complaining. Does Princess suck or are people generally more persnickety?

 

I have found the negativity also on the boards of the other cruise lines.

 

Princess provides a great cruise experience. Many of the posters have dozens of cruises on Princess which shows that they believe it is a very good cruise line.

 

In many cases I find the negativity to really involve cutbacks (which are not just on Princess, but on every cruise line) that reduce the cruise experience that posters experienced in the past. These cutbacks can range from the physical (no walk-around outside Promenade deck, smaller balconies, etc. on new builds) to the on board experience (shorter shows in the main theater, elimination of Happy Hour drink pricing, etc.). Again, this is not just on Princess.

 

Of course there is also negativity when new technology such as the Medallion is introduced with much PR hype, but before really developed to the point it is ready for prime time.

 

But there are also many positive posts about Princess. Praise for the upgraded Internet connectivity on ships that have the Medallion, the newest ship designs having a Princess Live! design that is significantly better than the poorly thought out Princess Live! design on the earlier Royal class ships, a significantly better buffet experience on the newer builds, some of the best service at sea from staff, etc.

 

I think you can look forward to a great vacation on Princess.

[2 cruises a year]

3 hours ago, Fincherson said:

Sky Princess December 28th 2020!

 

I'm sure that you will have a very fun New Years Eve.  Princess does a great job.  It is "tacky" and stereotypical.  And I mean that in a very fun way.  The best part is that not only do you not have to drive home, you don't have to worry about "the other guy" driving drunk either.

Go for it, and come back and let us know how much you liked it.

[2 cruises a year]

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I have found the negativity also on the boards of the other cruise lines.

 

Princess provides a great cruise experience. Many of the posters have dozens of cruises on Princess which shows that they believe it is a very good cruise line.

 

In many cases I find the negativity to really involve cutbacks (which are not just on Princess, but on every cruise line) that reduce the cruise experience that posters experienced in the past. These cutbacks can range from the physical (no walk-around outside Promenade deck, smaller balconies, etc. on new builds) to the on board experience (shorter shows in the main theater, elimination of Happy Hour drink pricing, etc.). Again, this is not just on Princess.

 

Of course there is also negativity when new technology such as the Medallion is introduced with much PR hype, but before really developed to the point it is ready for prime time.

 

But there are also many positive posts about Princess. Praise for the upgraded Internet connectivity on ships that have the Medallion, the newest ship designs having a Princess Live! design that is significantly better than the poorly thought out Princess Live! design on the earlier Royal class ships, a significantly better buffet experience on the newer builds, some of the best service at sea from staff, etc.

 

I think you can look forward to a great vacation on Princess.

 

I agree with this post.

Every industry is trying to be more profitable, cut backs are the norm.  It is easy to complain when you see cutbacks.  But, cruise companies have managed to pretty well not raise prices as much as inflation.  That is the trade off.  Boy would these boards light up if prices increased to just cover the rise in costs to the cruise lines.   For you, it will all be new, and great.  This is what you will judge by, not by what people are complaining about.

[flamomo]

As a Princess cruiser with 46 completed cruises, and numbers 47, 48,and 49 already booked, all I can say is that if Princess didn't provide to me what I consider a great cruise experience on every single cruise I have taken, I would have switched to another cruise line long ago.

Try not to allow the "negative nellies" to make you wonder is you have made a mistake by booking a Princess cruise. Only you can determine whether Princess is the cruise line for you, so do your best to go into it with an open mind and expect to have a wonderful time. Chances are very good are you will do just that.

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, flamomo said:

Try not to allow the "negative nellies" to make you wonder is you have made a mistake by booking a Princess cruise. Only you can determine whether Princess is the cruise line for you, so do your best to go into it with an open mind and expect to have a wonderful time

EOD ...

[AF-1]

Have fun on Sky Princess;  welcome to the Princess boards.  No negativity here;  just love and lots of info to help you plan the best ever cruise

[disneyochem]

9 hours ago, Fincherson said:

We just booked out first Princess Cruise (Sun Princess) after having previously sailed only Carnival and NCL. I was excited to get on Cruise Critic and join in on the fun/discussion on a new board, only to find it’s mainly negativity, rudeness and complaining. Am I missing something? Does Princess suck or are people generally more persnickety? Maybe I’m just reading the wrong threads? I’m kind of afraid to post this but I really want to know if I made a mistake giving Princess a try. Is it as mediocre as these posts make it sound?

We had our first Princess cruise this past May and are currently booked for 4 more!  We had previously only sailed on Disney and NCL.  I think it’s funny what you said about the negativity on this board—I have found that the tenor and the tone is much more negative on the NCL site!  We have one cruise still to come on NCL so I’m monitoring the site but have blocked a number of folks there because of the negative posts.  I like and appreciate constructive criticism and advice but I’m hesitate to post there because of the feedback.

 

We personally feel that Princess fits our needs so will continue to sail on the line.  We loved Disney (didn’t see much negativity on those boards!), but with our kids in college we wanted a different demographic on our cruises.

[Iamcruzin]

I have sailed Carnival, Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Things have changed on all brands across the board. Some for the better some for the worse. The negative posts on any board really don't hold water when they complain and still have multiple cruises booked with the same line. How bad can it really be?  I'm not loyal to one line and if I didn't frequent these boards I wouldn't know what was cut or what was added. Every cruise is a new experience. 

[geoherb]

Roll call participation for Princess depends on the itinerary. I've found that our European and transatlantic cruises have had much greater participation. When I took back-to-back Alaskan cruises this summer, one roll call thread was fairly active, while the other one had little participation. We had a meet and greet on the cruise with the active roll call, which was nicely attended by a couple of dozen people. 

 

Our transatlantic cruise on the Crown this fall has over a hundred pages of activity. We had book club discussions, meet and greet, and slot pulls organized. My upcoming partial Panama Canal cruise has just over a hundred posts to it. Someone is trying to organize a meet and greet. I'll go if there is one.

 

As to negativity, I try to take everything with a grain of salt. The person whose cabin has plumbing issues will have a totally different perspective on a cruise than those without issues. And some times, it's how the crew members deal with issues that colors experience. That's one of the reasons we haven't sailed on a Celebrity ship in over a decade. Our last X cruise was lackluster regarding service. 

Edited November 4, 2019 by geoherb

[Doug R.]

You will find after further experience that many of the most negative are negative about nearly everything. They are upset that cruising is not what it was 20 or 30 years ago when they started cruising. I call them "The Usual Suspects" and you will recognize them after a while.  This is not to say everything they gripe about is not valid, but they harp on it over and over. Some even say they are leaving Princess but seem to always be here for a new complaint. Everything Princess does is not perfect, but all in all it is a great cruise experience.

[Potstech]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

EOD ...

Not likely.