About face on my Princess Perception

[Kiran]

This cruise has already completely reversed my perception on whether Princess could be good fit for me

 

last cruise on Princess left me vowing to never book another Princess cruise 

It started April 2nd,2022  14 day Caribbean circle trip in Emerald Princess with my husband

In a standard balcony cabin

 

Now Starting April 26 i am on a Caribbean Princess 18 day Panama Canal cruise with my mom, and brother and his wife in adjacent cabin, both HA obstructed Oceanview

 

the crew attitude and effort on both cruises were exceptional but i was still surprised how vastly different the experience could feel on two cruises by same cruise line

 

 

[Kiran]

Food

 

previous cruise in January was Celebrity and I think they have the edge on food

 

so Emerald felt a bit less than

i mistook the butter in the dining room for margarine 

it is actually butter but mass market butter akin to Land O Lakes

Which is what i grew up with 

 

while i  am now a grass fed Irish butter snob

 

blame it on a job in quality control for a candy company to develop your taste  buds

i may not know wine but i can tell chocolates manufacturers apart in a blind taste test!

 

so brought my own butter onboard this trip in case my mother needed it for MDR as she will only eat butter on her rolls

But she is perfectly happy with MDR butter 

 

Whole very happy with food on trip while husband complained bitterly on how hard to eat ketogenic diet onboard

 

[Kiran]

WiFi

 

 

last cruise my experience with wifi was tragic

i shared one device plan with husband

he had ok wifi experience and could watch tv on laptop

 

i wasted several hours a day desperately tapping and scrolling on my phone,

yes several hours a day,  on mostly futile pathetic attempts to use medallion app on phone

 

our cabin tv app whatever was dysfunctional 

i could not use it to order food except once

I could not watch a movie as it reset connection every two minutes or less

and again like a desperate rat pecking a lever for a treat i relentlessly repeated attempts over and over and over and over

 

i gave up and accepted bad cabin tv as did not want to move cabin again same trip

 

husband thought wifi was pretty good but he is more technically competent and can type quickly with both thumbs rather than a one finger tapper 

[Kiran]

Cabin

 

first cabin in good condition and tv worked well however cigarette smoke kept coming into our air vent and AC wouldn't cool the room

 

we complained about cigarette smoke as i have severe asthma and we were moved to another cabin

 

second cabin had no smoke and great AC cooling but cabin tv execrable

 

both cabin attendants Janet and Rose wonderful

[Kiran]

MDR

 

last cruise we were lost, confused  and frustrated using dining my way and we would seemingly make reservations only for them to disappear and dining room changed each evening and you had to go up or down and or across to find dining room

 

this cruise i made sure to book one table at the same time each day in an easily found dining room , Coral , so just off midship 

this very important for HA as elevators needed to go up or down a single deck

 

Dining attendants  wonderful both cruises

so kind and attentive to my elderly mom

[Kiran]

Typed another longer entry but fumble fingered and list it  so will continue later today after coffee

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Kiran said:

Cabin

 

first cabin in good condition and tv worked well however cigarette smoke kept coming into our air vent and AC wouldn't cool the room

 

we complained about cigarette smoke as i have severe asthma and we were moved to another cabin

 

second cabin had no smoke and great AC cooling but cabin tv execrable

 

both cabin attendants Janet and Rose wonderful

Which cabin? In all my 40 plus cruises on mostly every ship in the fleet I never experienced cigarette smoke coming into the cabin through the air vent. Years ago when smoking was permitted on balconies there ware issues of smoke drifting into your cabin if you happened to be next to someone that was smoking., but not since balcony smoking was eliminated. 

[Kiran]

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Which cabin? In all my 40 plus cruises on mostly every ship in the fleet I never experienced cigarette smoke coming into the cabin through the air vent. Years ago when smoking was permitted on balconies there ware issues of smoke drifting into your cabin if you happened to be next to someone that was smoking., but not since balcony smoking was eliminated. 

 

C705 was our cabin

 

A hotel manager lady came to our room and verified smell of cigarette smoke on our second night before moving us

 

my guess is a sneaky smoker was smoking inside room BUT with balcony door open

 

we never saw smoker on adjacent balconies visible

 

have read that leaving balcony door open interferes with ship AC so that would explain also while our cabin wouldn't cool

 

 

[cruzin4us]

6 minutes ago, Kiran said:

 

C705 was our cabin

 

A hotel manager lady came to our room and verified smell of cigarette smoke on our second night before moving us

 

my guess is a sneaky smoker was smoking inside room BUT with balcony door open

 

we never saw smoker on adjacent balconies visible

 

have read that leaving balcony door open interferes with ship AC so that would explain also while our cabin wouldn't cool

 

 

 

We are booked on the Ruby C753 which is more aft than you (last aft cabin on the starboard side).    I'm hoping and a prayin' that the smoke isn't an issue or I'll never get my DH back on a cruise ship!    

 

[skynight]

13 minutes ago, Kiran said:

 

C705 was our cabin

 

A hotel manager lady came to our room and verified smell of cigarette smoke on our second night before moving us

 

my guess is a sneaky smoker was smoking inside room BUT with balcony door open

 

we never saw smoker on adjacent balconies visible

 

have read that leaving balcony door open interferes with ship AC so that would explain also while our cabin wouldn't cool

 

 

So probably an issue with a fellow passenger, not an issue with the HVAC system as a whole nor with this particular cabin's location on the ship.

[mjmalino]

29 minutes ago, Kiran said:

 

C705 was our cabin

 

A hotel manager lady came to our room and verified smell of cigarette smoke on our second night before moving us

 

my guess is a sneaky smoker was smoking inside room BUT with balcony door open

 

we never saw smoker on adjacent balconies visible

 

have read that leaving balcony door open interferes with ship AC so that would explain also while our cabin wouldn't cool

 

 

Actually it may have been coming from one of cabins on the quarantine deck. From what I have heard, they are allowing the people staying in them to smoke on their balconies.

[1emerald1]

8 hours ago, Kiran said:

Food

 

previous cruise in January was Celebrity and I think they have the edge on food

 

so Emerald felt a bit less than

i mistook the butter in the dining room for margarine 

it is actually butter but mass market butter akin to Land O Lakes

Which is what i grew up with 

 

while i  am now a grass fed Irish butter snob

 

blame it on a job in quality control for a candy company to develop your taste  buds

i may not know wine but i can tell chocolates manufacturers apart in a blind taste test!

 

so brought my own butter onboard this trip in case my mother needed it for MDR as she will only eat butter on her rolls

But she is perfectly happy with MDR butter 

 

Whole very happy with food on trip while husband complained bitterly on how hard to eat ketogenic diet onboard

 

I've often thought of bringing my own butter as well.  How did it hold up to travel?

[Kiran]

So

 

called guest services and i should not have brought butter onboard 

 

it traveled in cooler with insulin 

 

Mom happy with butter onboard

i dont care for princess crusty rolls (versus chewy) so dont need butter at all

 

So far they are letting me keep it in room fridge and take back off ship

 

[VibeGuy]

11 hours ago, cruzin4us said:

 

We are booked on the Ruby C753 which is more aft than you (last aft cabin on the starboard side).    I'm hoping and a prayin' that the smoke isn't an issue or I'll never get my DH back on a cruise ship!    

 

Been very near there very recently (E731 for a month, E701 for six weeks).  At night, crew smoke was evident inside the cabin when you first stepped in. 

[Steelers36]

56 minutes ago, Kiran said:

called guest services and i should not have brought butter onboard 

Very true that.  I shouldn't have posted the way I did earlier.  Although IDK why those sealed butter packs would be a problem.  Anyway, there is lots of outside food they do not want, but snacks and chocolate bars are okay AFAIK.  We don't being anything that would be actual food on board.

[cr8tiv1]

Most travel restrictions (boats/planes and ...) restrict raw meats and dairy products.  Some will ban citrus.  

 

Hawaii has some very strict agricultural restrictions coming into the state and leaving the state, especially going from Hawaii to CA.  

 

Safest to bring individually wrapped snacks.  I miss seeing the fruit dog in Ensenada.  He loved backpacks (apples and bananas).  It was my entertainment for the port.

Edited May 1, 2022 by cr8tiv1

[caribill]

16 hours ago, skynight said:

So probably an issue with a fellow passenger, not an issue with the HVAC system as a whole nor with this particular cabin's location on the ship.

 

Princess claims cabin air is only recirculated to the cabin it came from. They say this is why the virus that causes Covid-19 cannot spread between cabins.

[MissP22]

6 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Very true that.  I shouldn't have posted the way I did earlier.  Although IDK why those sealed butter packs would be a problem.  Anyway, there is lots of outside food they do not want, but snacks and chocolate bars are okay AFAIK.  We don't being anything that would be actual food on board.

This is the first time I've heard about not being able to bring certain foods onboard. 

Usually it's only what people want to take off the ship. 

[Kiran]

So i had typed an extremely long post comparing precruise experience but failed to tap submit reply immediately before tapping update button. 

 

 I had booked ihg Mark Hopkins as ihg will allow early checkin and Mark Hopkins an Historic hotel. Knew mim would need to rest in hotel so wanted a nice hotel with views as that was all she would experience of San Francisco. Top of Mark panoramic bar closed due to reduced schedule. My fault for knowing this would be so and then forgetting it.i was very disappointed. No room service in hotel at the moment. Desk suggested Door Das etc. I have never used and didn't want to learn that day. So we ate a late lunch/early dinner and then following early breakfast in hotel restaurant. Great views good menu extremely reasonable hotel restaurant prices great service attention .Little jars of jam and maple syrup provided each diner when might be desired. Oddly their tea was only the color of gingerale when requested English breakfast tea. I added a  Lipton’s tea bag to the pot. Even odder was room coffee set up had little tubs of non dairy creamer coffee mate. This in a hotel with Frette linen in rooms and restaurant. The Avid FLL had half and half this month. How could so upmarket a hotel as the Mark Hopkins be so downmarket for coffee creamer?

[cruzsnooze]

It sounds to me like a mass market cruise line will disappoint you. I suggest you try a more inclusive higher level cruise Seabourn or Azamara.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

This is the first time I've heard about not being able to bring certain foods onboard. 

Usually it's only what people want to take off the ship. 

The keyword is "certain" in your post.

[KKB]

On 4/30/2022 at 5:09 AM, Kiran said:

This cruise has already completely reversed my perception on whether Princess could be good fit for me

 

last cruise on Princess left me vowing to never book another Princess cruise 

It started April 2nd,2022  14 day Caribbean circle trip in Emerald Princess with my husband

In a standard balcony cabin

 

Now Starting April 26 i am on a Caribbean Princess 18 day Panama Canal cruise with my mom, and brother and his wife in adjacent cabin, both HA obstructed Oceanview

 

the crew attitude and effort on both cruises were exceptional but i was still surprised how vastly different the experience could feel on two cruises by same cruise line

 

 

100% agree. 

Before Celebrity Eclass, RCCL Allure & Quantum were our fav cruises while RCCL Mariner was the worst by far. I blamed it on a poor Cruise Director. So best/worst of cruises in the same line.

(PS go try Celebrity Eclass--LOVED it. 2 weeks on Edge last summer & 1 week on Apex this spring. )

 

Wifi is MUCH better than even 10 years ago but never great. Keeps my off my phone! 

(I mostly get on to clean up email each day or message our kids)

NOW I have not tried the Medallion app much yet....appears to  be a work in process.

I could have used my phone for my room key on Celebrity but never bothered.

Guessing I will feel the same about  Medallion--we shall see.

 

The channel selection is always poor on ships so we gave up years ago. When I had severe motion sickness on the Caribbean Princess 10 years ago at least I could watch movies in bed all day.

 

Food--yep, Celebrity is best, hands down. 

But everyone else is GOOD. (well, we have done RCCL, DCL, NCL & Princess)

Like everywhere, sometimes an item or two is not to our liking. I just order something else.

 

Regarding keto, I don't get it--it is SUPER SUPER easy to follow keto on a cruise! Tons of proteins, veggies, cheese. None of the processed crap (that, yes, even I will buy at home). I do bring nuts or cheese crisps mostly to snack on the plane. I'm not sure what he was missing. Fruit is the only thing hard to find--berries are so perishable it's not surprising they choose heartier ones to serve.

 

Having cruised nearly 20 times in the last 20 years on those 5 lines we find them to be more alike than different. Not one was perfect (oh, the Edge came DARN close last summer...18 months of no cruising helped that some, but it was special for a lot of reasons. Captain Kate is fantastic), but even my least fav cruise was still wonderful. BUT I AM a cruising addict....6 booked in the next 15 months.

(I retire this month!!)

[cruzin4us]

11 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

Been very near there very recently (E731 for a month, E701 for six weeks).  At night, crew smoke was evident inside the cabin when you first stepped in. 

 

Well darn it anyway.   We have E731 for the Hawaii cruise in November.     Guess I should have done more research before booking one of the best balconies on the ship....LOL

[VibeGuy]

Hard to tell if promenade aft is  going to continue to be used quite so intensively for crew smoking going forward.  
 

I’m really aware of smoke odours, and it was only an issue for perhaps a minute.  It’s just that weird whiff of “what the hell” for those of us who live in a nonsmoking world. 

[sammyjoanne]

On 4/30/2022 at 4:00 PM, cruzin4us said:

 

We are booked on the Ruby C753 which is more aft than you (last aft cabin on the starboard side).    I'm hoping and a prayin' that the smoke isn't an issue or I'll never get my DH back on a cruise ship!    

 

we was in Ruby c619, no issues at all with smoke, or any smoke smelt in the corridors (california coast cruise 16th april, to 23rd April) . Whomever the smoker was, they should really go to the designated areas.