Princess Has Lost Us as Future "Guests"

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, dog said:

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

???

[JF - retired RRT]

2 hours ago, FlaMariner said:

Never understood the international cafe....people love it but seemed like same food & desserts on lido but you had to buy coffee?  

No. You DO NOT have to buy coffee. The coffee bar is next to the IC, not part of it.

[teecee60]

10 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

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

 

I'm certain that Princess will install new shocks and struts during the ship's next drydock. 🤓

 

We were just on Sky for her transatlantic in November... it seems at least somewhat unusual that we never noticed any of the horrible flaws you described. 🤔

 

We were SUPPOSED to stop in Madeira, Portugal... but I guess THAT must have been squarely on all of those mean-spirited scheduling types at Princess. 😉

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by teecee60

[Eglesbrech]

3 hours ago, dickinson said:

 

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.

Had them both last week and very good they were too in my opinion.

[Thrak]

11 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

  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… 

 

If I had to miss any port I wouldn't mind missing Morocco. Casablanca is not a city I need to visit again. Once was more than enough.

 

As for the complaints about the cheapening of the Princess product... Look to the new president of the company.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Thrak

[Jmanly]

We've been on 3 Princess cruises since July and leave in 2 weeks for another. Are some things different than before the pandemic? Absolutely! Is it nearly as bad as a couple people on here are making it out to be? Absolutly not. The world is different post pandemic. Princess has had to make some cutbacks, many supplies are simply not available or are priced out of budget. While different, still absolutely enjoyable. And if you think the other lines are not subject to the same challenges, reality is going to hit you hard. 

And if you are going to switch cruise lines mainly because Princess is not enforcing a dress code, thank god you are going to be cruising with someone else. 

[JimmyVWine]

56 minutes ago, Jmanly said:

We've been on 3 Princess cruises since July and leave in 2 weeks for another. Are some things different than before the pandemic? Absolutely! Is it nearly as bad as a couple people on here are making it out to be? Absolutly not. The world is different post pandemic. Princess has had to make some cutbacks, many supplies are simply not available or are priced out of budget. While different, still absolutely enjoyable. And if you think the other lines are not subject to the same challenges, reality is going to hit you hard. 

And if you are going to switch cruise lines mainly because Princess is not enforcing a dress code, thank god you are going to be cruising with someone else. 

This. It is a minor miracle that cruise lines are still afloat, pun intended. For me, they get a pass for a while. Get me out on the water, take me to ports of call with cultural sites, and don’t let me starve and I’m good. Especially at current pricing. I seriously doubt that the grass is greener or the ocean is bluer on any similarly priced line. And honestly, one of the biggest reasons we prefer Princess is because of the nature of the clientele. Carnival and Norwegian tend not to mesh with us. Royal used to be fine. The typical clientele are certainly similar to Princess. I just hate the floating cities/amusement parks that turn your attention inward toward Central Park and away from the ocean. Celebrity is fine too, but each time I price out the whole experience, it seems to cost me considerably more. The overall experience on Princess matches us completely. And for that I am willing to put up with post-Covid adjustments. At least for now. 

[SwimCarrie]

13 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!!

Really? You're going to cancel over one bad review? Seems a bit drastic. 

[SwimCarrie]

9 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.

I've never once thought about complaining about what other people are wearing in the dining room. Not once. 🤣 

[Kmkub]

13 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!!

You should probably read more reviews of Sky before making a hasty decision. A product on Amazon can have thousands of five star reviews. The few one star reviews are outliers.

 

The OP felt it necessary to tell us it was the third try, but the first two misses had nothing to do with Princess, so not sure why they factored into the decision at all.

[robbsf]

12 hours ago, eclue said:

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!

I was on this 16 day cruise and have done 63 with princess....The ship was awesome, food good, and staff very accomodating however we experienced many shortcomings and it was an unfortunate situation and we had NO internet for 16 days and 2 ports were skipped....The management did not want to relay truth to the customers so it was dissapointing 

[robbsf]

7 hours ago, dog said:

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

CUNARD is very strict at MDR and will turn people away who dont wear a sport coat for dinner and ladies wear dresses ....

[robbsf]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

This. It is a minor miracle that cruise lines are still afloat, pun intended. For me, they get a pass for a while. Get me out on the water, take me to ports of call with cultural sites, and don’t let me starve and I’m good. Especially at current pricing. I seriously doubt that the grass is greener or the ocean is bluer on any similarly priced line. And honestly, one of the biggest reasons we prefer Princess is because of the nature of the clientele. Carnival and Norwegian tend not to mesh with us. Royal used to be fine. The typical clientele are certainly similar to Princess. I just hate the floating cities/amusement parks that turn your attention inward toward Central Park and away from the ocean. Celebrity is fine too, but each time I price out the whole experience, it seems to cost me considerably more. The overall experience on Princess matches us completely. And for that I am willing to put up with post-Covid adjustments. At least for now. 

Celebrity is good for foodies but Im elite over there but what I do NOT like is the pricing including only basic packages----example: your fare comes with a classic beverage package so if you drink goose you have to pay extra or upgrade your package and if you want internet with web access and streaming its an upcharge for that too....Princess is quite good but I have to say ROYAL is my fave...once you get to Diamond or DP or pinnacle you get 4-6 drink vouchers per day for whatever drink you want.......hot and cold hor deurves in diamond club...just saying....we get what we pay for

princess has the elite lounge but you have to pay for your drinks....

[pris993]

11 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.

I don't really disagree with you, the ball cap on backwards has been happening for some time.  

 

We solved our problems with our disappointment with the MDR some years ago.  We skip it.  We much refer the Crown Grill and if not that, the Buffet.  We dress up no matter where we go, if at the Buffet, we enjoy the view and variety of food offered and could care less what anyone else wears.    

 

By the way, we are elite on both Princess and Celebrity.  Celebrity is not the line it once was either.  We have decided not to cruise with it anymore.  

 

We all have choices and follow the choices that serve you best.  That is what we do.  Happy cruising.

 

 

[pris993]

1 hour ago, robbsf said:

CUNARD is very strict at MDR and will turn people away who dont wear a sport coat for dinner and ladies wear dresses ....

I have seen Cunard look the other way too on a TA.  

[Kmkub]

1 hour ago, robbsf said:

CUNARD is very strict at MDR and will turn people away who dont wear a sport coat for dinner and ladies wear dresses ....

Women who never wear a dress are not allowed on Cunard? How very 1870 of them.

[HappyInVan]

15 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

• 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.

 

Sad. Looks bad for Princess. 

[caribill]

2 hours ago, pris993 said:

 

 

We solved our problems with our disappointment with the MDR some years ago.  We skip it.  We much refer the Crown Grill .....

 

 

Princess (and their competitors) reduce MDR quality in the hopes you will pay extra to dine in specialty restaurants to get the quality that used to be included in the MDR at no additional cost.

[MissP22]

18 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.

Its obvious that Princess is no longer the line for you but on the Enchanted while any style of dressing wasn't enforced, the people were no where's as bad as you described. The worst that I recently saw was shorts being worn on casual evenings. There were a few hats but you really had to look for them.

On formal nights, jeans with a Polo or dress shirt are now acceptable without a jacket.

The dress code of old seems to have disappeared except for what's printed on the top of the daily patter with no signs at the DR doors.

Celebrity does sound like a better option if dressing up is important to you.

[Lady Arwen]

10 hours ago, robbsf said:

CUNARD is very strict at MDR and will turn people away who dont wear a sport coat for dinner and ladies wear dresses ....

Not true.  Women can wear dresses or pants or skirts or capris.  Please don’t embellish your story.

[alanstarr]

14 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

No. You DO NOT have to buy coffee. The coffee bar is next to the IC, not part of it.

But there's still a charge at the coffee bar (if you don't have a beverage package). Its nominal (~1.75 for a large, ~1.25 for a small), but its not free. I went there almost every day on the March 12th sailing.

Overall, I agree with the the posters who think the food was subpar. Not awful, but not that great either. The descriptions always sounded amazing, but the food never lived up to them, either in the MDR or buffet. Things would be described as "jerk chicken", but tasted nothing like the real thing. Buffet dishes weren't horrible (and surprisingly, not overly salty like mass-produced foods can be), but rarely did it rise up mall food-court level. 

 

[Ombud]

12 hours ago, Jmanly said:

The world is different post pandemic.

Not only is the world different but we all are as well. Little things that we rolled with before (itinerary changes, what others wear, number of pistachios in a dome) now irritate us so much that we have a meltdown and stomp off (airplane fights, angry that others mask up, asked to be flexible)

 

We are the lucky ones who don't have to fret about where we are sleeping or when we will eat or if we will be bombed. 

[Ombud]

@FlaMarinerbig IC fan here bc I prefer the upgraded coffee with something lite. Must admit I find the Lido Marketplace overwhelming and have only been there to get a tea bag. (Orange spice). IC is much smaller / more to my liking

 

You do you ... I'll keep doing me

Edited April 10, 2022 by Ombud

[billco]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Princess (and their competitors) reduce MDR quality in the hopes you will pay extra to dine in specialty restaurants to get the quality that used to be included in the MDR at no additional cost.

Comments like this that are not based in fact should be prefaced with IMO or similar disclaimer. 

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, alanstarr said:

But there's still a charge at the coffee bar (if you don't have a beverage package). Its nominal (~1.75 for a large, ~1.25 for a small), but its not free. 

Agreed. Never said it was free. I was responding to the post that sounded like he thought that he HAD to buy coffee in order to get food from the IC.