Open letter to Princess President John Padgett

[malba2366]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Some have non refundable deposits.

Right, and when you book those promotional fares you should know what you are getting into.  

Edited January 20, 2023 by malba2366

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Hey!  Sorry,  but what I described is what we experienced.  Yes, we knew we could cancel and re-book, but it wasn't that simple, for sure.  Believe me, we tried.  Our Steward even admitted problems with that bed.  I am not the only one with bad beef at Crown Grill.   Others have posted actual photos here, which I will not link.  Many others have noted the menu changes.  And, we did find most of the other food to be very good!

 

Facts are facts are facts.  No baggage necessary.

 

Our message was fairly short, with four very specific and titled points.  Skimming thru the first lines of those should get the message across within a few seconds.  Then we added the positives. 

 

My apologies to those who think everything on Princess is perfect.  It isn't.  Nothing is.

 

 

 

 

 

Not perfect, but the sky is not falling either. Many of the complaints of long time Princess cruisers deal with the minutia, not the core of the cruise line.

 

People's tasted vary, businesses change.

[JimmyVWine]

If anyone knows of a mass market cruise line that is every bit today what it was in 2018, please let me know.  But what I see is a whole bunch of people bumping into each other as they cross the proverbial street from their formerly favorite cruise line to the one they are about to change to because they assume it is better.  Bye-bye Celebrity! I am headed over to Princess.  Bye-bye Princess! I am headed over to Royal Caribbean.  Bye-bye Royal Caribbean!  I am headed over to MSC.  Bye-bye MSC!  I am headed over to Celebrity.  And so it goes. 

[cruise2relax]

Princess is not perfect and the are suffering from the lack of good trained customer service and trying to adjust to the post covid world.  For the record, so is every cruise line.  Have you read the other lines board?  The changes to RCCL menus and everyday menu items?  People are outraged.  This is industry wide folks.  We prefer to find anything positive while on vacation not rage against the negative.  Each ship is different.  We have had good food, bad food, great service, good service, amenities, not so much.  But I am not at work and enjoying my loved one -- ALL GOOD.

[DHP1]

My only complete is “lack of Customer Service”.  We have a PVP whom doesn’t return phone calls and never replies to any of our e-mails.  

Prior to Covid, this was not an issue with Princess.  Something happen during and after Covid. What gets me it’s so simple to fix. Hire more trained people. 

The other problems people are facing are “liveable to us”. There not perfect, but what is. 

Edited January 20, 2023 by DHP1

[Knixuk]

Personally would not want to return to two set meal times. Much prefer flexibility over dictated times.

 

I don’t think this letter is that representational.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Knixuk

[malba2366]

20 minutes ago, cruise2relax said:

Princess is not perfect and the are suffering from the lack of good trained customer service and trying to adjust to the post covid world.  For the record, so is every cruise line.  Have you read the other lines board?  The changes to RCCL menus and everyday menu items?  People are outraged.  This is industry wide folks.  We prefer to find anything positive while on vacation not rage against the negative.  Each ship is different.  We have had good food, bad food, great service, good service, amenities, not so much.  But I am not at work and enjoying my loved one -- ALL GOOD.

I Agree.  Haven't been on Princess post COVID, but RCCL and NCL both seem to have a significantly worsened experience.  On Disney any cutbacks were not obvious to me.

[malba2366]

25 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

If anyone knows of a mass market cruise line that is every bit today what it was in 2018, please let me know.  But what I see is a whole bunch of people bumping into each other as they cross the proverbial street from their formerly favorite cruise line to the one they are about to change to because they assume it is better.  Bye-bye Celebrity! I am headed over to Princess.  Bye-bye Princess! I am headed over to Royal Caribbean.  Bye-bye Royal Caribbean!  I am headed over to MSC.  Bye-bye MSC!  I am headed over to Celebrity.  And so it goes. 

 

Disney has done a good job keeping their standards.  Older ship was in outstanding condition, staff was excellent.

[NSWP]

14 hours ago, dockman said:

Letter will likely end up in the circular file.

Or the one way fax @ the shredder, lol.

 

 

[Sprocket]

I have been on 5 different ships and cruised 96 days since December 2021 ranging from 5 days to 30 most recently.

Have there been changes during that time?  Definitely but I enjoyed each and every day I cruised.  Did a modified Chefs table through the Casino Department in August and learned a little about how they order provisions and how they deal with the same supply chain issues we experience.  They are restricted to certain vendors and we were advised orders are placed 6 months in advance.  So IMO they are doing the absolute best they can under the present circumstances.  I also appreciate I can easily make substitutions or alter the size of my entrees in the MDR honestly a half order of fettucine is more than enough for a main for me.  

After the first night on two ships I requested a mattress topper and it was done asap and I was happy to tip both stewards for their extra effort and slept better than at home.

 

We have a B2B in April booked and literally cannot wait to be back on board.  Oh yeah we did experience one disappointment on our 30 day cruise, I could not reach the casino department to extend our time on the Crown by another 10 days or book the Discovery leaving the day after we disembarked.  But my fault I left it too late.

 

[memoak]

18 minutes ago, malba2366 said:

 

Disney has done a good job keeping their standards.  Older ship was in outstanding condition, staff was excellent.

Too many kids, not enough bars and no casino. No thanks 

[memoak]

Have sailed on 4 cruises since reopening and only one was less than stellar. Yes menus might not be as great as before but service is still excellent. Cabins are kept up and bars give great service as I sail along.  What can I complain about?

[malba2366]

8 minutes ago, memoak said:

Too many kids, not enough bars and no casino. No thanks 

Yes there is no casino, and lots of kids...but the Dream, Fantasy and Wish have very nice adults only areas.  The Bars/Lounges on those ships are nicer than on most other cruise lines.  Overall everything about the experience seems like they still maintain the attention to detail that used to be part of the experience on most of the major cruise lines (except maybe Carnival).

[Princessfan20]

3 hours ago, riffatsea said:

No problem with our beds on Princess!

BEST filet my  husband has ever had anywhere found in the Crown Grill!

I truly don't understand c all these complaints!

 

Same with us.  Some people's plates are half full and others are always half empty.  Princess seems to have done a really outstanding job of getting their ships up and running again, integrating new crew and are offering interesting cruise itineraries again.  What's not to like.

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

A lot to like!  Except for the steak we have seen served.  Here is a comment that just came in on one of the major well known cruise Vloggers.

we’re really enjoying our trip, we ate last week in Crown grill and it was awful. We had it booked for this week and decided once was enough the porterhouse was so tough I couldn’t eat much "

 

I know that there might be exceptions.  Maybe different suppliers?

But, honestly, these comments are sounding like a broken record, or a recording on repeat.

[jwattle]

3 minutes ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

A lot to like!  Except for the steak we have seen served.  Here is a comment that just came in on one of the major well known cruise Vloggers.

we’re really enjoying our trip, we ate last week in Crown grill and it was awful. We had it booked for this week and decided once was enough the porterhouse was so tough I couldn’t eat much "

 

I know that there might be exceptions.  Maybe different suppliers?

But, honestly, these comments are sounding like a broken record, or a recording on repeat.

And yet, if you look, there are just as many positive comments too, so...

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Here is yet another.

"Agree about Crown Grill - we were on Discovery Princess during Christmas and except for the bread the Crown Grill was horrible~"

 

My only hope is the Princess finally addresses this. If it can be heard over the cheerleaders.

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Anyhow,  I have no problem sharing my experiences and giving feedback back to Princess.  It doesn't really matter if there are those who disagree.  A very bad steak or a very saggy lumpy bed are what they are.

 

So anyhow, unless we start planning another cruise soon,  then, as Captain Paulo says,  Ciao for Now!!!

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by PRINCESS Sweet Pea

[Sprocket]

So fleetwide how many steaks do you think are served in the Crown Grill nightly?  And the percentage of those jumping on the bash Princess bandwagon? Very low I'm guessing.

 

I may just have a Princess cheer leader t-shirt  made up for our next cruise. 😁

 

[jaycruising]

I’m not a fan of my current PVP either, not really responsive, and I know I could find a TA and I tried before booking this cruise but they were pretty unresponsive as well, and I do like control over my booking. If I call the PVP line can I request a new one?

[Guest ldtr]

1 hour ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Here is yet another.

"Agree about Crown Grill - we were on Discovery Princess during Christmas and except for the bread the Crown Grill was horrible~"

 

My only hope is the Princess finally addresses this. If it can be heard over the cheerleaders.

funny thing is we ate in the Crown Grill on Discovery 6 days ago and it was one of the best meals we have ever had in a specialty venue on a cruise ship. Almost as good as a most traveled luncheon. Crown Grill on the Crown Grill was less so but still not bad.

 

If one made their cruise decisions solely on what people post on CC  no one would ever cruise.

 

CC is to complaints what blood in the water is to sharks.

Edited January 21, 2023 by ldtr

[Lcruiser5356]

I agree with everything said in the LONG letter. We did a 14 day cruise on Crown Nov 2022. Food in DR was mediocre at best - slow, cold and sometimes inedible. Organization at DR entrance - not a bit. For our 6:30 reservation we finally left the line at 7:15. Learned it was best not to have a reservation as they got in first.

Buffet was always out of food in many containers. When mentioned to an attendant she just barked and said she'd get to it. Food was also usually cold.

Our medallion worked occasionally to open the door to our room. Even after getting a new one. Forget setting it up to get the room cleaned.

I agree about the bright light at BR door. Don't carry electrician tape to cover it.

Staff and activities were great, as usual, for the most part. Do miss the old Elite perks.

We  have done 25 cruises with Princess and have one planned for next Nov. If this goes the way of the last it will be our last.

 

[HappyInVan]

2 hours ago, cruise2relax said:

Princess is not perfect... For the record, so is every cruise line.  Have you read the other lines board?  The changes to RCCL menus and everyday menu items?  People are outraged.  This is industry wide folks.  We prefer to find anything positive while on vacation not rage against the negative.  

 

Not sure that I understand your point. Every company may be doing it. But, doesn't mean that it is acceptable to everyone. 

 

Frankly, I appreciate the feedback of a Princess veteran. Before booking, I tally up the plus and minuses. Some businesses won't see me again! I have choices.

Edited January 21, 2023 by HappyInVan

[californiagirl]

Let me begin by saying we are long time Princess cruisers and generally really enjoy our cruises.  However I understand much of what the OP stated.  Just because my experience is different doesn’t mean their’s is any less real.  We have a terrible PVP.  After a significant problem last summer where he was completely useless, I will NEVER use him again.  The prior comment about someone’s PVP liking them better has nothing to do with it.  As in any industry some are better than others.  Live chat has come through the most for me but some issues can not be corrected by going that route.  For whatever reason Princess definitely has a communication problem.  It’s is ridiculous to expect paying customers to wait endlessly on hold or to expect them to make more than one phone call to resolve an issue.  We are 18 months past the return to cruising and Princess should have their act together.
 

If I am paying extra out of pocket for a meal then I expect the service and food to be outstanding.  Our experience in Crown Grill has been that it’s pretty good and generally a notch above the main dining room, but has never come close to true fine dining.  Hence we don’t bother with it anymore.  
 

I would have been very disappointed with the bed. The new beds are wonderful and not to get one would have been unfortunate.  
 

We don’t expect perfection and with very few exceptions have had outstanding service.  However along with poor communication Princess has a problem managing expectations.  They are promising the moon and falling far short.  They are nowhere close to a luxury cruise line yet they try to promote themselves that way.      Just my $.02.

[coloradocruisers101]

We have been on two post Covid cruises 2021 and 2022 and getting ready to board Ruby in a few weeks.  I just don’t understand entitlement.  We found the medallion work perfectly, if we found food we did not like, we didn’t eat there.  The night light is a safety feature for a lot of folks.  Chairs were fine on the decks.  Don’t spend much time anyway.

So my point I am trying to do is a positive rant, but did not want to spend hours as OP did.

Just do you and we will do us!  Live and love life!  Before you know it, it might be over!