Small Cutbacks Noticed

[Roberto256]

1 hour ago, PrincessLuver said:

…..new management may be forced to increase profits while decreasing service….

Carnival bought princess in 2002.

 

I think I've been hearing this song at least that long.

 

As people are still here singing it, cut backs don't seem to have mattered much...

 

[Kmkub]

8 hours ago, ontheweb said:

There really is a difference between cookies and pens. If you need to write down say what you want delivered for breakfast or what you are sending to the laundry are you supposed to ***** your finger and write it in blood? 

No blood required. When you meet your steward, before you sail away, speak these words. "May  I have a pen, please?"

 

Voila! You'll have your pen within an hour.

 

In the meantime, hundreds of unwanted pens are not handed out automatically.

[Kmkub]

11 hours ago, STCKcruises said:

Absolutely agree with the above and the reduction of waste/landfill. However, I don't think that is Princess's prime motivation - it's just a handy veneer for a cost-cutting/profit-increasing tactic IMHO.

My point is that these are good changes. Handing out freebies that will only be useful to a small percentage of guests is wasteful. Honor don't offer is pragmatic.

[Kmkub]

2 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

Nice sentiments….but it is simply about corporate greed I am sure…. One thing I miss is the tumbler they just recently use to give with The Soda Package but now nada….think how much waste a reusable tumbler with a fixed plastic straw saved in waste…. It is always about follow the money…even some of the crew we have met is complaining about cuts….Princess seems to be going for being the Spirit Airlines of the cruise world…..new management may be forced to increase profits while decreasing service….

Every one of those tumblers we got broke within a couple of months of returning home. 

 

It's more or less single use plastic. This could be a good honor don't offer. After two cruises, we simply left them on the table.

[tawlaw1526]

18 minutes ago, Kmkub said:

No blood required. When you meet your steward, before you sail away, speak these words. "May  I have a pen, please?"

 

Voila! You'll have your pen within an hour.

 

In the meantime, hundreds of unwanted pens are not handed out automatically.

I am the OP and my comment about the pens was that my steward told me he was not allowed to give me a pen or paper but I could purchase a pen in the gift shop.    So for me….it was not a VOILA moment!    

[Kmkub]

45 minutes ago, tawlaw1526 said:

I am the OP and my comment about the pens was that my steward told me he was not allowed to give me a pen or paper but I could purchase a pen in the gift shop.    So for me….it was not a VOILA moment!    

In that case, if I need a pen, I'm calling guest services line and telling them to bring me a pen.  Others have reported here that they had no issue getting a pen by simply asking.

 

 

[Doug R.]

2 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

Carnival bought princess in 2002.

 

I think I've been hearing this song at least that long.

 

As people are still here singing it, cut backs don't seem to have mattered much...

 

....and anytime since the acquisition every time Princess adds something that is vaguely fun the old timers froth at the mouth about the "Carnivaliztion" of Princess.

[Doug R.]

1 hour ago, Kmkub said:

Every one of those tumblers we got broke within a couple of Mine months of returning home. 

 

It's more or less single use plastic. This could be a good honor don't offer. After two cruises, we simply left them on the table.

Mine have lasted for years even with the loving care of my grandkids. I still have the metal ones from way back when,

[4cats4me]

On 4/6/2022 at 2:12 PM, Doug R. said:

How long ago was that? I don't remember that in my years of cruising with Princess since the early 2000's,

 

On 4/6/2022 at 2:22 PM, LACruiser88 said:

We do not remember that either?  We started with Princess in the early 90's.  Now, the Doubletree Hotel had that tradition.

 

On 4/6/2022 at 3:24 PM, stoneharborlady said:

We had a very nice plate of cookies in our mini suite on embarkation day of our first cruise on the Caribbean Princess in 2004.  And a gorgeous all you could eat seafood buffet  for dinner.  

 

On 4/6/2022 at 3:28 PM, Doug R. said:

I guess us humble pesants on balconys and lower did get any cookies 🤪. I do remember the seafood buffet I overdosed on shrimp.

 

22 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

I only go back to 2004 but no one ever had cookies in my cabin

 

22 hours ago, donaldsc said:

 

How much can a few cookies be worth.  I can bring a whole bag of them w me for a total cost of maybe $4.  A couple of cookies would be as much as 25 cents.

 

DON

 

22 hours ago, stoneharborlady said:

Actually, they were Italian baked cookies, and they were pretty darned good.  Definitely worth more than 25 cents.

 

22 hours ago, stoneharborlady said:

Perhaps it was a perk of the mini suite.  Possible

 

22 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

Probably is but not for the one time I stayed in a mini suite.

 

On embarkation day there were butter cookies that had maraschino cherries, along with the passport travel stamp, on the desk or the little tables.  This was in the years between 2005-2011.   We took a pause from 2011-2015, and upon our return, no more cookies .  It is immaterial to me if I get a cookie or not in my stateroom, but since this thread is about cutbacks, just thought I’d mention it.   It was not just for those in mini suites, because we received them in obstructed ov cabins,too.  

 

Edited April 7, 2022 by 4cats4me

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, Doug R. said:

Mine have lasted for years even with the loving care of my grandkids. I still have the metal ones from way back when,

 

Ours too.....we used them on plenty of long cruises and then have them at a summer cabin because they are thermal and require little ice....it is funny how some continually defend everything Princess is doing in regards to so many cutbacks as being good for the sake of mankind and that they have nothing to do with making money at the expense of passenger enjoyment or convenience.

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, Kmkub said:

No blood required. When you meet your steward, before you sail away, speak these words. "May  I have a pen, please?"

 

Voila! You'll have your pen within an hour.

 

In the meantime, hundreds of unwanted pens are not handed out automatically.

I guess I should have put in an emoji as some do not recognize sarcasm.

 

And how many businesses hand out pens as advertising?  

[Kmkub]

10 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I guess I should have put in an emoji as some do not recognize sarcasm.

 

And how many businesses hand out pens as advertising?  

Plenty. How many had zero revenue for almost two years? 
 

if your income disappears, do you continue at current spending levels?

[Roberto256]

4 hours ago, Doug R. said:

....and anytime since the acquisition every time Princess adds something that is vaguely fun the old timers froth at the mouth about the "Carnivaliztion" of Princess.

Luckily we have you to defend princess.

 

[Doug R.]

19 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

Luckily, we have you to defend princess.

Just what is your problem dude? This the second time you have attacked me for having an opinion that does not match yours. Grow up and rebut my opinion rather than attack it.

[PrincessLuver]

2 hours ago, Kmkub said:

Plenty. How many had zero revenue for almost two years? 
 

if your income disappears, do you continue at current spending levels?

 

Princess must have done just fine because they had no problem keeping people's monies for months and months at a time and also brought on new ships.....I really think your poor poor little Princess arguments fall flat.....they are slowly cheapening their product which is OK!  It really is but it does not need to be called something it isn't.  They are still a great cruise line just offering less and less and charging more and more at this time.

Edited April 8, 2022 by PrincessLuver

[Kmkub]

58 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

Princess must have done just fine because they had no problem keeping people's monies for months and months at a time and also brought on new ships.....I really think your poor poor little Princess arguments fall flat.....they are slowly cheapening their product which is OK!  It really is but it does not need to be called something it isn't.  They are still a great cruise line just offering less and less and charging more and more at this time.

K? Congrats to you for being able to do the exact same thing for the exact same price, year after year. 
 

PS. Your bag of potato chips not only got smaller, but also more expensive. True. Story.

[MissP22]

While I can understand that they have to make a few cutbacks in order to compete in the existing market right now, I wonder how it compares to what the other cruise lines are doing to survive ?

 

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, Kmkub said:

Plenty. How many had zero revenue for almost two years? 
 

if your income disappears, do you continue at current spending levels?

What do pens cost them when they buy in huge quantities? I would guess a few pennies at most per pen. And instead you would have stewards wasting their time delivering pens. Seems a waste of resources as they could be doing something more productive.

[Roberto256]

8 hours ago, Doug R. said:

Just what is your problem dude? This the second time you have attacked me for having an opinion that does not match yours. Grow up and rebut my opinion rather than attack it.

 

I'm just responding to a comment where you attacked me over my comment on how long princess credit card processing took.

Since then, I've noticed that you attack many people who express even the slightest negative about princess.

 

It's cute that princess has their own keyboard attack dog.

 

I suggest you block my posts if they bother you.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2022 by Roberto256

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

What do pens cost them when they buy in huge quantities? I would guess a few pennies at most per pen. And instead you would have stewards wasting their time delivering pens. Seems a waste of resources as they could be doing something more productive.

more productive than customer service - isn't that their "job" 🦄

[Princessfan20]

9 hours ago, Kmkub said:

 

PS. Your bag of potato chips not only got smaller, but also more expensive. True. Story.

 

That must explain why some peoples' minds are getting smaller too.  Thanks for the update.

[c-boy]

17 hours ago, Doug R. said:

....and anytime since the acquisition every time Princess adds something that is vaguely fun the old timers froth at the mouth about the "Carnivaliztion" of Princess.

I see what ya did there 😄

[Lady Meer]

On Sky now - no slippers for club mini suites. 

[JF - retired RRT]

5 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

On Sky now - no slippers for club mini suites. 

I thought that was just for full suites??

[Lady Meer]

6 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

I thought that was just for full suites??

We’ve always had them in minis, including last Sept on Regal.