Princess Has Lost Us as Future "Guests"

[Ride-The-Waves]

NOT the great itinerary Princess promised at booking.  “Moroccan Passage” it was NOT.  Third effort to visit the country of Berber, Arabic and European cultures unsuccessful.  Likely no more opportunities.  While the first miss was on me (medical), the second on COVID, this one squarely was on Princess.  CDC currently rates travel to Morocco as “Level One” (Low threat).  Princess failed to insure the ship was covid-clear as it presumably was on embarkation and reportedly was the reason for denying entry to Casablanca at the “last minute.”  Rumors before departure had the ship missing Casablanca…  This was our 5th cruise on a “Royal” class, and the worst.  We really like the layout of this ship class, but Sky doesn’t enjoy the same respect as a ship of its predecessors (Royal, Regal, and Majestic), all of which we have sailed and offered a warm and inviting welcome.

 

The Good:

 

• Embarkation was easy and the “medallion” actually assisted.  Whether it made embarkation faster and more secure (and healthier) is unknown.
• The contract crew were wonderful. The officers not so much.  Standoffish and with an attitude of “don’t bother me.”
• The officers appeared unconcerned over Ukrainian nationals in the crew, of which there were many young men and women.  Little to no assistance.  They suffered similar difficulties like passengers with connectivity off the ship.  One told me she finally found one officer who let her make a call home…

 

The “Not So Good” in no particular order:

• The “medallion” stopped working immediately after embarkation.  Internet off the ship was unavailable.  Intranet (Medallion Net) also was unavailable.  Lines at the help desk were terribly long and answers unforthcoming.  Everything was blamed on “poor satellite coverage.”  Really?!? Pierside Port Everglades?!?  Only Internet access whole cruise was in port from mobile phones.
• Our cabin (R614) never warmed up.  Setting the thermostat as high as it could go made the room barely tolerable.  Stewards were great and respectful of our priorities.
• Food was not up to pre-Covid Princess standards.  Tolerable and edible come to mind.  Breakfast in Sabatini’s was good, as was dinner.  The claimed “best hamburger” at sea from the “Salty Dog” grill is actually possibly the worst on the high seas.
• The ship rides like a 50-year old pickup with no springs over a washboard rutted road.
• Enjoyed an average meal in the Crown Grill first night.  Better steak in the Bistro, with better and friendlier service and view.  Sabatini’s was okay for Italian.  Tried Soleil twice.  US mass-market level fare.  We are NOT foodies, but nothing good calling us back to any of the venues.  Relegated to eating mostly in the buffet for the second half of the cruise.
• Buffet itself was substandard compared to two years ago.  Less choice and fewer options.  The chocolate chip cookies, a spouse favorite, were mostly missing and when present, not good.
• Entertainment in the theater was several notches below what Princess provided in the past.  The comedian’s shtick was to make fun of people in the audience.  Two violists instead of four.
• Trip to the Medical 6 days into the cruise to treat a suspected UTI was as if we were pariahs and disturbing the front office quiet.  Appointment required but door was always locked.  Did eventually get treatment and one pill!
• Officers treated us like 5-year olds.  I’ve spent 30 years in the US Navy and first crossed the Pond in 1949.  Princess’ posture of restricting information is unsatisfactory, and demeaning.
• Princess’ onboard mask policy was a recommendation only - up until a large segment of passengers flying back to the US tested positive for Covid 36 hours before arriving Southampton.  Then mask wearing became mandatory everywhere.
• Washing of hands was monitored by crew at entrances to the buffet, with crew stationed to watch.  No where else.  The “watching” practice made and makes little to no sense and wastes crew man hours.
• The ”medallion” is useless.  Throughout the cruise wait staff had to ask for our room number when ordering/delivering libations.  Had better responsiveness with a cruise card.

 

Princess has seen the last of us, sad to say.  They have become more “Carnival” and really cheapened their product.

[Zombatar]

Wow, thanks for the info. We have never sailed on princess but have booked sky princess in the autumn of next year. Looks like we shall cancel now even though it means loosing our deposit as it sounds as though they have gone the same way as P&O and cheapened everything. Oh well back to the expensive lines!!

[Potstech]

We have travelled on the Sky in the past and experienced none of  the problems this poster has. Same ship different times.  Our trip was to the Caribbean.

[dog]

17 minutes ago, Potstech said:

We have travelled on the Sky in the past and experienced none of  the problems this poster has. Same ship different times.  Our trip was to the Caribbean.

Same here- December 2019. Sky was a beautiful new ship. Oh Jan Swartz was on-board.

[Pink-belle]

52 minutes ago, Zombatar said:

Wow, thanks for the info. We have never sailed on princess but have booked sky princess in the autumn of next year. Looks like we shall cancel now even though it means loosing our deposit as it sounds as though they have gone the same way as P&O and cheapened everything. Oh well back to the expensive lines!!

Please don’t let this one review, that is very confusing to me, put you off.  I’ve sailed P&O and Princess both twice since the pandemic. I agree P&O have cheapened their product, it  just wasn’t as good and too many excuses made.
 Princess was hit by supply issues but was still very good.  Especially Sky Princess,I can wait for my next cruise on her next month. 

Edited April 9, 2022 by Pink-belle

[eclue]

28 minutes ago, Pink-belle said:

Please don’t let this one review, that is very confusing to me, put you off.  I’ve sailed P&O and Princess both twice since the pandemic. I agree P&O have cheapened their product, it  just wasn’t as good and too many excuses made.
 Princess was hit by supply issues but was still very good.  Especially Sky Princess,I can wait for my next cruise on her next month. 

Totally agree with you....Princess strives for excellence - one person's poor attitude should not ruin it for everyone else. WE have taken 38 cruises with Princess, 6 since the pandemic and everyone of them has been great. WE traveled on the Sky one time and it was good.....Kudos to Princess!

[Sprocket]

We cruised on the Sky in 2019 and loved it.  What is Soleil, never heard of it?

 

[PrincessLuver]

2 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

NOT the great itinerary Princess promised at booking.  “Moroccan Passage” it was NOT.  Third effort to visit the country of Berber, Arabic and European cultures unsuccessful.  Likely no more opportunities.  While the first miss was on me (medical), the second on COVID, this one squarely was on Princess.  CDC currently rates travel to Morocco as “Level One” (Low threat).  Princess failed to insure the ship was covid-clear as it presumably was on embarkation and reportedly was the reason for denying entry to Casablanca at the “last minute.”  Rumors before departure had the ship missing Casablanca…  This was our 5th cruise on a “Royal” class, and the worst.  We really like the layout of this ship class, but Sky doesn’t enjoy the same respect as a ship of its predecessors (Royal, Regal, and Majestic), all of which we have sailed and offered a warm and inviting welcome.

 

The Good:

 

• Embarkation was easy and the “medallion” actually assisted.  Whether it made embarkation faster and more secure (and healthier) is unknown.
• The contract crew were wonderful. The officers not so much.  Standoffish and with an attitude of “don’t bother me.”
• The officers appeared unconcerned over Ukrainian nationals in the crew, of which there were many young men and women.  Little to no assistance.  They suffered similar difficulties like passengers with connectivity off the ship.  One told me she finally found one officer who let her make a call home…

 

The “Not So Good” in no particular order:

• The “medallion” stopped working immediately after embarkation.  Internet off the ship was unavailable.  Intranet (Medallion Net) also was unavailable.  Lines at the help desk were terribly long and answers unforthcoming.  Everything was blamed on “poor satellite coverage.”  Really?!? Pierside Port Everglades?!?  Only Internet access whole cruise was in port from mobile phones.
• Our cabin (R614) never warmed up.  Setting the thermostat as high as it could go made the room barely tolerable.  Stewards were great and respectful of our priorities.
• Food was not up to pre-Covid Princess standards.  Tolerable and edible come to mind.  Breakfast in Sabatini’s was good, as was dinner.  The claimed “best hamburger” at sea from the “Salty Dog” grill is actually possibly the worst on the high seas.
• The ship rides like a 50-year old pickup with no springs over a washboard rutted road.
• Enjoyed an average meal in the Crown Grill first night.  Better steak in the Bistro, with better and friendlier service and view.  Sabatini’s was okay for Italian.  Tried Soleil twice.  US mass-market level fare.  We are NOT foodies, but nothing good calling us back to any of the venues.  Relegated to eating mostly in the buffet for the second half of the cruise.
• Buffet itself was substandard compared to two years ago.  Less choice and fewer options.  The chocolate chip cookies, a spouse favorite, were mostly missing and when present, not good.
• Entertainment in the theater was several notches below what Princess provided in the past.  The comedian’s shtick was to make fun of people in the audience.  Two violists instead of four.
• Trip to the Medical 6 days into the cruise to treat a suspected UTI was as if we were pariahs and disturbing the front office quiet.  Appointment required but door was always locked.  Did eventually get treatment and one pill!
• Officers treated us like 5-year olds.  I’ve spent 30 years in the US Navy and first crossed the Pond in 1949.  Princess’ posture of restricting information is unsatisfactory, and demeaning.
• Princess’ onboard mask policy was a recommendation only - up until a large segment of passengers flying back to the US tested positive for Covid 36 hours before arriving Southampton.  Then mask wearing became mandatory everywhere.
• Washing of hands was monitored by crew at entrances to the buffet, with crew stationed to watch.  No where else.  The “watching” practice made and makes little to no sense and wastes crew man hours.
• The ”medallion” is useless.  Throughout the cruise wait staff had to ask for our room number when ordering/delivering libations.  Had better responsiveness with a cruise card.

 

Princess has seen the last of us, sad to say.  They have become more “Carnival” and really cheapened their product.

 

This has been our experience on the Discovery too.....you can just see in sooooo many ways Princess is cheapening their product and all the issues you stated we have experienced.  We keep trying to look the other way or justify the changes but something is just not adding up anymore because of the constant reoccurrence of issues.

 

We are booking an Oceania cruise this Fall and seeing how the smaller luxury brands work.  We were reading an article in USA Today that more and more people are migrating from large mass market ships to the smaller ships.  You definitely get what you pay for evidently when it comes to cruising.  We are also high disappointed in the Covid health protocols onPrincess and our friends who cruise, Viking, Oceania, and Silversea say they are much more diligent in regards to this issue.

 

We have always loved Princess but there may be other boats out there for us to love now too?

Edited April 9, 2022 by PrincessLuver

[dog]

58 minutes ago, dog said:

Same here- December 2019. Sky was a beautiful new ship. Oh Jan Swartz was on-board.

adding:

 

This TA cruise was not what passengers were expecting it to be.

Following along, it was obvious they did not get what they paid for.

 

sorry, to those who endured the worse, as there are some who had a good experience on the same sailing.

[antsp]

2 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

NOT the great itinerary Princess promised at booking.  “Moroccan Passage” it was NOT.  Third effort to visit the country of Berber, Arabic and European cultures unsuccessful.  Likely no more opportunities.  While the first miss was on me (medical), the second on COVID, this one squarely was on Princess.  CDC currently rates travel to Morocco as “Level One” (Low threat).  Princess failed to insure the ship was covid-clear as it presumably was on embarkation and reportedly was the reason for denying entry to Casablanca at the “last minute.”  Rumors before departure had the ship missing Casablanca…  This was our 5th cruise on a “Royal” class, and the worst.  We really like the layout of this ship class, but Sky doesn’t enjoy the same respect as a ship of its predecessors (Royal, Regal, and Majestic), all of which we have sailed and offered a warm and inviting welcome.

 

The Good:

 

• Embarkation was easy and the “medallion” actually assisted.  Whether it made embarkation faster and more secure (and healthier) is unknown.
• The contract crew were wonderful. The officers not so much.  Standoffish and with an attitude of “don’t bother me.”
• The officers appeared unconcerned over Ukrainian nationals in the crew, of which there were many young men and women.  Little to no assistance.  They suffered similar difficulties like passengers with connectivity off the ship.  One told me she finally found one officer who let her make a call home…

 

The “Not So Good” in no particular order:

• The “medallion” stopped working immediately after embarkation.  Internet off the ship was unavailable.  Intranet (Medallion Net) also was unavailable.  Lines at the help desk were terribly long and answers unforthcoming.  Everything was blamed on “poor satellite coverage.”  Really?!? Pierside Port Everglades?!?  Only Internet access whole cruise was in port from mobile phones.
• Our cabin (R614) never warmed up.  Setting the thermostat as high as it could go made the room barely tolerable.  Stewards were great and respectful of our priorities.
• Food was not up to pre-Covid Princess standards.  Tolerable and edible come to mind.  Breakfast in Sabatini’s was good, as was dinner.  The claimed “best hamburger” at sea from the “Salty Dog” grill is actually possibly the worst on the high seas.
• The ship rides like a 50-year old pickup with no springs over a washboard rutted road.
• Enjoyed an average meal in the Crown Grill first night.  Better steak in the Bistro, with better and friendlier service and view.  Sabatini’s was okay for Italian.  Tried Soleil twice.  US mass-market level fare.  We are NOT foodies, but nothing good calling us back to any of the venues.  Relegated to eating mostly in the buffet for the second half of the cruise.
• Buffet itself was substandard compared to two years ago.  Less choice and fewer options.  The chocolate chip cookies, a spouse favorite, were mostly missing and when present, not good.
• Entertainment in the theater was several notches below what Princess provided in the past.  The comedian’s shtick was to make fun of people in the audience.  Two violists instead of four.
• Trip to the Medical 6 days into the cruise to treat a suspected UTI was as if we were pariahs and disturbing the front office quiet.  Appointment required but door was always locked.  Did eventually get treatment and one pill!
• Officers treated us like 5-year olds.  I’ve spent 30 years in the US Navy and first crossed the Pond in 1949.  Princess’ posture of restricting information is unsatisfactory, and demeaning.
• Princess’ onboard mask policy was a recommendation only - up until a large segment of passengers flying back to the US tested positive for Covid 36 hours before arriving Southampton.  Then mask wearing became mandatory everywhere.
• Washing of hands was monitored by crew at entrances to the buffet, with crew stationed to watch.  No where else.  The “watching” practice made and makes little to no sense and wastes crew man hours.
• The ”medallion” is useless.  Throughout the cruise wait staff had to ask for our room number when ordering/delivering libations.  Had better responsiveness with a cruise card.

 

Princess has seen the last of us, sad to say.  They have become more “Carnival” and really cheapened their product.

I was on the same cruise, I've never read so much rubbish in my life

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

 

• The ship rides like a 50-year old pickup with no springs over a washboard rutted road.
•  

 

LOL.  Very descriptive but I'm having a hard time picturing what this is like.

[memoak]

You are never ever guaranteed to teach any port. If you don’t understand that then you have not read the contract you agreed to. Conditions change constantly and cruisers have always had to deal with it. I have had trans Atlantic cruise for years where we missed up to 3 ports and had others added

[Blondilu]

I haven't sailed since the pandemic, but wonder is it possible Princess is just not up to speed yet?  I mean I see supply issues and service issues everywhere.  Maybe we need to give them time.  I hope so as they are my go-to cruise line.

 

I'm afraid I have to agree about the missed ports.  That can happen and does happen to any ship at any time.  Though the reason given is usually the weather.  Covid has put a whole new spin on things.  

 

Anyway, I hope you find the experience you are looking for.   I have been reading good things about Oceania and Viking.  I really don't like the bigger ships and since it seems the wave of the future for Princess I may need to look elsewhere as well.

 

 

[BritRet]

We were also on this TA cruise on the Sky and thoroughly enjoyed the voyage

 Yes, it was disappointing that the port of Morroco was cancelled but the replacement at Gibraltar was very enjoyable!  Unfortunately, I did catch COVID before departure but thought Princess staff were very professional in their handling of the outbreak.

[Astro Flyer]

3 hours ago, Potstech said:

We have travelled on the Sky in the past and experienced none of  the problems this poster has. Same ship different times.  Our trip was to the Caribbean.

 

2 hours ago, dog said:

Same here- December 2019. Sky was a beautiful new ship. Oh Jan Swartz was on-board.

We greatly enjoyed 4 weeks on Sky in the Med & TA in November 2019 pre pandemic shutdown & greatly enjoyed the ship, crew & experience.
 

Currently on the new Discovery & ship is just as good with hardworking crew providing great service. The main negative experience is the unreliable DMW system & the food being diminished. Chocolate Journey without Norman Love is not nearly as good & there has not been any fruit pies…other courses have been meh in comparison to pre-pandemic but that’s merely my opinion.

[gmbhunter]

I agree completely regarding Princess having "cheapened" their offerings. We are Elite on Princess and are ready to change our allegiance.They have become a higher priced Carnival. We were on Emerald in December to Panama Canal and had a number of issues. Medallion worked great.  Dining experince was a major disappointment.  NO DRESS CODE ENFORCEMENT IN MAIN DINING ROOM. Multiple men wearing ballcaps (2 on backward), shorts present every night, one evening a woman had a pool towel draped over her bathing suit.  I asked Table captain to please ask man at next table to remove his hat and was told---- "I can't do that since it might upset him".  I wrote Princess about the situation and got a reply that "all" the people in question were given a "medical discharge" to wear hats----what a PATRONIZING BS answer. How naive do they think we are?  I am still awaiting a further reply. Just came off Celebrity Constellation,,,, happy to say they DO enforce the dress code. Politely turned away guests in shorts and suggested the buffet for their evening meal.  Time to move to a new cruise line.

[MISTER 67]

We sailed on the Caribbean Princess in November and again in December and the November cruise was the CP's first cruise in 608 days and taking that into consideration things were as well as any cruise we have been on previously, so well in fact is why we cruised again in December. Service was excellent, food was very good and we had fine entertainment. Everything was great in the World Marketplace with a wide variety of dishes and desserts available. 

The only thing missing was chocolate mints on the pillow and none of the clocks on the outside decks were working, I wear a watch so no big deal. As far as the chocolate mints, Princess has great chocolate desserts in the dining room, World Marketplace and the International Cafe so the missing mints didn't matter one iota.  

[insidecabin]

Casablanca is not a great port 

 

If wanting the Moroccan experience then this was not the cruise to pick.

 

A covid era TA with just one day in Morocco(poor port) that had a very high chance of getting cancelled was setting up to fail.

 

It's like the people booking Italian ports with expectations of being able to DIY.

[Princessfan20]

49 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Casablanca is not a great port 

 

If wanting the Moroccan experience then this was not the cruise to pick.

 

A covid era TA with just one day in Morocco(poor port) that had a very high chance of getting cancelled was setting up to fail.

 

It's like the people booking Italian ports with expectations of being able to DIY.

We had a great time in Casablanca on a Regal TA.  We also did a private car tour to Marrakesh and found what we saw as very interesting, entertains and educational.  Each to his own!

[Island wannabe]

5 hours ago, Zombatar said:

Wow, thanks for the info. We have never sailed on princess but have booked sky princess in the autumn of next year. Looks like we shall cancel now even though it means loosing our deposit as it sounds as though they have gone the same way as P&O and cheapened everything. Oh well back to the expensive lines!!

but this is one review - why would you cancel based on one review?   People are more likely to post a negative review than a positive.  Take it with a grain of salt unless you see alot of similar reviews.  We were on Sky, pre-Covid however, and absolutely loved the ship.  Of course I understand that post-COVID things may have changed, particularly given supply chain issues.

[Island wannabe]

3 hours ago, Sprocket said:

We cruised on the Sky in 2019 and loved it.  What is Soleil, never heard of it?

 

I think that's one of the AT dining rooms

[dickinson]

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

Chocolate Journey without Norman Love is not nearly as good 

 

What!?!?  Do they no longer have the pistachio dome or the hazelnut citrus bar in the MDR or is it just inferior?  We were on Regal Princess in February.  Had them both but I wasn't sure if the pistachio dome had less pistachio than I remembered from 2019.

[dog]

2 hours ago, gmbhunter said:

I agree completely regarding Princess having "cheapened" their offerings. We are Elite on Princess and are ready to change our allegiance.They have become a higher priced Carnival. We were on Emerald in December to Panama Canal and had a number of issues. Medallion worked great.  Dining experince was a major disappointment.  NO DRESS CODE ENFORCEMENT IN MAIN DINING ROOM. Multiple men wearing ballcaps (2 on backward), shorts present every night, one evening a woman had a pool towel draped over her bathing suit.  I asked Table captain to please ask man at next table to remove his hat and was told---- "I can't do that since it might upset him".  I wrote Princess about the situation and got a reply that "all" the people in question were given a "medical discharge" to wear hats----what a PATRONIZING BS answer. How naive do they think we are?  I am still awaiting a further reply. Just came off Celebrity Constellation,,,, happy to say they DO enforce the dress code. Politely turned away guests in shorts and suggested the buffet for their evening meal.  Time to move to a new cruise line.

Time to make ve to another like be. many are in agreement with you over enforcing rules.

[FlaMariner]

We were also on the Sky Princess TA 3/12 thru 3/28.....

 

This was cruise twenty something for us but first time on Princess. 

 

We've decided we are "one and done" with Princess for some of the same reasons referenced by the OP.

 

Our primary reasons as to why Princess is not for us:

 

• The Medallion.....it's a waste of my time pre-cruise and served no benefit onboard other than to take longer to do stuff
• No Traditional Dining.....we had to beg, fight and plead to enjoy the same table, same waiters in the MDR every night.  We enjoyed the service and the food but we could never go directly to "our" table and it was always a speed bump at the door.  No wine bottle package. 
• Food not so good in other places...Lido buffet Not many choices, confusing lines, where's the silverware?  where's my iced tea?  fried eggs under a heat lamp? shot glass for orange juice (learned to order 2) Salty Dog burgers were not good.  Alfredo's pizza was fine but the wait was horrible at noon.....had to go at 11:30am if wanting lunch.  Never understood the international cafe....people love it but seemed like same food & desserts on lido but you had to buy coffee?  
• Lack of technology....Medallion fetch my drink never worked, Medallion look up of onboard bill never worked, internet never worked, medallion crew chat worked but took longer than waiting in the long line at guest services, no way to pre-order for salty dog or pizza (had to wait in line), door lock would sometimes open and sometimes not, medallion did not work to buy laundry tokens, medallion did not work for charging stuff (bar waiter would ask for cabin #), in room TV would not have current MDR menu sometimes
• No retractable roof on Lido pool deck......Several days of rain made the lido pool useless.  Ship is like a Marriott lobby.  Not our thing. 

 

We did enjoy our cruise......missing Casablanca was understood......we had our doubts we would make it based on reading that they had just opened up for air travel but not for ferries.  The disappointing thing was that princess probably knew that all along but kept acting like we would be stopping there....The announcement that it was cancelled was made by the Captain right as we set sail from the port before Casablanca and in 10 minutes, we had tour available to purchase to the replacement port......they knew it when they left Fort Lauderdale but did not want cancellations...IMO. Also, interesting that we never received a guest survey. 

 

Holland America Line is the cruise line for us and we are glad we gave Princess a try but it is not for us......

 

Enjoy the journey folks.....

[cruiser419419]

Was on this cruise too.

 

Agree the MDR food was bad - I actually assumed it was specific to this transatlantic cruise (because there are fewer ports to resupply, and average amount passengers pay per day is lower, so Princess is trying to protect their margins). Options were clearly cheaper than most cruises, portions were tiny. I actually thought the buffet food was higher-quality than MDR.

 

And I agree communication was terrible. They tried to lie about why they cancelled Casablanca (they blamed "temporary cruise line restrictions", implying it was a new thing... these were the same restrictions that had been in place for over 2 years). They knew when we departed Ft Lauderdale that ships were not allowed in Morocco, but didn't tell us until we departed the previous port. When it was too late for us to cancel reservations etc we had made for Casa, because the internet didn't work.

 

Did I mention the internet didn't work at all, and there was zero communication about this from Princess, apart from a pre-departure letter saying we WOULD have internet but it would cut out sometimes?

 

 

THAT SAID...

 - We were in the middle of the ocean, so I get why internet doesn't work, even if they should have warned us

 - The non-officer crew was great across the board

 - I do think it is a beautiful ship. Nice venues, nice spaces to spend time. There are some weird parts of the layout (e.g., very difficult to get from aft cabins to the pool deck) but can figure those out

 

Ultimately, transatlantic cruises are priced as good deal for a reason

 

So I'm not writing off Princess based on this cruise experience