The Job could be yours you are the new president of Princess what changes would you do

[Lady Arwen]

12 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

This is us too. Two more (Princess) cruises booked for us, but which line would YOU choose in the future? If you were to start over, no loyalty credit, which line? OK, you've got one star Mariner on HAL or matching on MSC. Maybe you've already got loyalty on other lines too? 

We’re Elite+ on Celebrity, so we’ll stay with them.  3 Star on HAL, which will give us a backup.  So sad about Princess.

[OhioDogLover]

#1 - FIX the Princess website.  Gosh, it is just terrible.

#2 - Have people answer the phone in less than 30 minutes.

#3 - Bring the on board experience quality back to what it used to be.

#4 - Add some smaller ships.

 

Ohiodoglover

[Izzywiz]

On 4/17/2023 at 3:06 AM, Potstech said:

Did not have a kettle last month on the Celebrity Eclipse. Also told not allowed.

All ships that home port in the UK will have a kettle and ‘hostess tray’ in all cabins as standard. The kettles are not fire hazards. I have always received a kettle on request at Customer Services or through my cabin steward when sailing on Celebrity ships in other parts of the world. 

this is a picture of the hostess tray setup on Regal Princess

 

These are the kettles that we received on request when on Millennium in Asia, Infinity in South America

 

 

[jeromep]

19 hours ago, icat2000 said:

Oh I have one other request. Australia/NZ market gets the new ship for first season FIRST.

I think it is coming.  It has to.  That is what we used to say on the U.S. west coast all the time.  Why can't we get a new build every now and then?  And they finally did with the Discovery Princess.  Prior to discovery being assigned to west coast home ports, Majestic was suppose to be home ported on the west coast and I felt that was a pretty fair upgrade over the older Grand class ships we'd been relegated to hosting.  I wish you a new build in your future.

[Dunk]

20 hours ago, jeromep said:

 

 

When I first started cruising Princess had virtually no co-branding.  Everything was in-house.  When you stepped on board a Princess ship you were in Princess' little world.  No Starbucks, no McDonalds, no Applebee's.  It was refreshing, you really were on vacation.  Not that the recent co-brands they have done have occurred with people that are household names, it still felt out of place to have "celebrity" chefs names being attached to a desert section of an MDR menu or on a main dish in the MDR.  Ditching the endorsements, co-brands, and celebrity chefs is a cost cutting measure that shouldn't negatively impact passengers.  I suspect that Princess discovered that these associations weren't really getting them extra passengers or profit.

 

i  recall that, at least 20 years ago if not longer, that some Princess ships’ Internet Cafes were presented by Microsoft. 
 

I work for a company that has maintained corporate alliances like this since the 1950’s. They serve as both advertising for the outside company, and a revenue source for the other one. They also, in some cases, lend a feeling of quality in products served-for example, I’d be much more likely to think that a coffee provided by Lavazza would be better than some generic, no-name coffee I might get otherwise. 

[Kay S]

On 4/17/2023 at 4:02 PM, mtnesterz said:

This is us too. Two more (Princess) cruises booked for us, but which line would YOU choose in the future? If you were to start over, no loyalty credit, which line? OK, you've got one star Mariner on HAL or matching on MSC. Maybe you've already got loyalty on other lines too? 

We have been doing HAL and Carnival lately.  We haven't given up cruising.  I'm very happy with HAL, and we have done some Carnival when we take the grandkids.  Carnival is not as bad as its reputation makes it out to be, and I'm seeing so many Princess changes trying to become another Carnival, I'll take the original, knowing full well what to expect.

[Boatingmom]

Better ads

[loge23]

A little late to this party, but i just got home and had a message on the machine from our "Princess Cruise Planner" whom I have never spoken with before and frankly, didn't know we had a Princess Cruise Planner. Anyway, his message contained the phrase "over $900 in benefits".

So, if I'm the CEO, I'd wipe the slate clean and eliminate all tiered pricing and benefits save for the various room categories (suites, minis, etc). Sell ONE beverage package that includes everything (within reason, but I'm including everything in the Plus and Premier (or whatever it's called) packages) and offer this in only two prices: with alcohol and without alcohol  (mocks, soda, water, and coffees).

Fix the stock-out problems onboard and/or improve the supply chain. Let's stop running out of Irish whiskey in Ireland, for example - or Malbec's in Argentina.

Restore quality ingredients in all dining venues. Change up the menus.

Onboard dining extras can remain, but are standardized. 

Eliminate the chair hog problem by stationing dedicated deck personnel to issue and monitor chaises - this is done in just about every Caribbean beach and it can be done here as well.

The current practice of discounting willy-nilly has to end - replaced with scheduled sale dates and cruises. Frankly, most of us can't even figure out the pricing anymore.

Some have mentioned the itineraries. We think that Princess's itineraries are among the best in the business - that seems to be a strong suit, imo. That said, the current practice of building floating  condo buildings may be limiting the ports that Princess is welcome in. Consider smaller ships.

Respect and embellish the Princess brand. It's been a long, slow slide into less differentiation from other mass market lines. This initiative will require a deep review of the history of the line from its' Sitmar days, through the Italian period, to the present. Let's shine up the past a bit and restore the line's uniqueness. The name "Princess" used to have cache, and that has been eroded under the present ownership.

Finally, along with Holland American, I would explore the possibility of splitting off from Carnival and forming a new corporation apart from Carnival's control. A combo of Holland and Princess, each brand restored to their original identities would be a force in the industry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruise till you drop]

1. When you have a sale, make it a true sale and not just smoke and mirrors (sales that just move around money so you’re essentially paying the same)

 

2. Either fix your website or honor your prices to your customers (can’t have it both ways)

 

3.  If someone books a specific cabin and says no upgrades, don’t move that person anyway (personal experience and pet peeve).  This would never happen with Celebrity.

 

4.  Start sailings to Bermuda

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[cruisequeen4ever]

Take Princess back to its roots rather than follow the crowd. Stand out as the classy line with a high standard of excellence. Train crew to once again take no out of their vocabulary. 
 

All of the nitty gritty things I’d change would fall under the umbrella of the above. 

[voljeep]

Re-vamp the entire TA commission schedule - eliminating 90% of commissions paid to TA's

UNLESS they are 100% dedicated to only repping Princess.  Keep that money in-house - and let the cruisers who utilize TA's for their 'expertise' pay for it - just like consulting fees.

Eliminate ALL transfers to TA's after booking - no 60 days or whatever.

 

Utilize the Princess CVP's - train and pay them

 

popcorn popped

wine in tumbler

[Cruise till you drop]

16 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Re-vamp the entire TA commission schedule - eliminating 90% of commissions paid to TA's

UNLESS they are 100% dedicated to only repping Princess.  Keep that money in-house - and let the cruisers who utilize TA's for their 'expertise' pay for it - just like consulting fees.

Eliminate ALL transfers to TA's after booking - no 60 days or whatever.

 

Utilize the Princess CVP's - train and pay them

 

popcorn popped

wine in tumbler

May I ask why you have it in for TA’s.

 

On top of a useful service, they sometimes offer a better overall deal than the cruise lines as they will usually give a much better OBC vs cruise lines.

 

I guess I’m pretty sure that if TA’s commissions we’re eliminated, that money would go straight into the cruise lines pockets, not the customers 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[voljeep]

59 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

May I ask why you have it in for TA’s.

 

On top of a useful service, they sometimes offer a better overall deal than the cruise lines as they will usually give a much better OBC vs cruise lines.

 

I guess I’m pretty sure that if TA’s commissions we’re eliminated, that money would go straight into the cruise lines pockets, not the customers 

 

 

as it should ... maybe I would qualify some of the restrictions - let the TA's help the Blue's and Gold's.

 

I am very Pro-business - keep the commissions in house and enhance the service, food, etc

[mellon1]

On 4/16/2023 at 12:24 PM, PescadoAmarillo said:

So many valid points here, but a few stand out.
 

Every time I hear, “Well the other cruise lines are just as bad” regarding…you name it:  food, home office customer service, entertainment, etc., I can’t help but think that is another opportunity for Princess to differentiate itself and excel. The goal should not be a race to the bottom.  The goal should be to stand out in a supply driven market. 
 

The entire discount and refund process needs to be re-worked.  It’s only going to work if it requires no human intervention. Cancelling a cruise before final payment works perfectly. In three days, I can see the credit back on my card. It all needs to work so flawlessly. 

 

I would add that whoever thought up DMW should be walked out the door with the current CIO.

 

And one final thought…if the app works fine for people taking a single cruise but is causing people who book $35K+ of business each year to stop doing so, fixing it needs to be a high priority.
 

 

You go Girl...well said.  

[capriccio]

2 hours ago, voljeep said:

i am very Pro-business - keep the commissions in house and enhance the service, food, etc

The commissions would go to salaries and benefits for new customer service/cruise vacation planners and increased advertising costs to replace the current TA advertising of Princess cruises.  If I was a TA company, why advertise for a product that I make no commission on?  

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 

 

3.  If someone books a specific cabin and says no upgrades, don’t move that person anyway (personal experience and pet peeve).  This would never happen with Celebrity.

 

 

 

Amen to that. That seems to happen all too often.

[AE_Collector]

Another vote for restoring or coming up with some new loyalty perks. And add one or two more loyalty levels… like the main competition to Princess 10 years ago (Celebrity) did, they added TWO more levels late in 2013. I thought for certain another one or two levels would have been added soon after at Princess.
 

Loyalty/Rewards programs WORK. That’s why almost every business has one. Whoever at Princess decided that the loyalty program was sufficient topping out at 15 cruises or 150 days is still operating in the 1980’s. At least one could consider the Captains Circle Loyalty OBC starting at 21, then 32, 42 & 52 cruises as additional levels but…. they removed that too. I am shocked how often I’ve heard “we made it to Elite on Princess so with nothing else to work towards we’re starting to cruise with another company”. But I’m in this camp as well. We’re starting to book elsewhere after a decade of nothing but Princess cruises.

[Kay S]

19 hours ago, AE_Collector said:

.
 

Loyalty/Rewards programs WORK. That’s why almost every business has one. .

Princess doesn't agree, based on how they have been chipping away at loyalty benefits in their obsession to lure a younger clientele.

[MissP22]

On 4/20/2023 at 10:05 PM, AE_Collector said:

Another vote for restoring or coming up with some new loyalty perks. And add one or two more loyalty levels… like the main competition to Princess 10 years ago (Celebrity) did, they added TWO more levels late in 2013. I thought for certain another one or two levels would have been added soon after at Princess.
 

Loyalty/Rewards programs WORK. That’s why almost every business has one. Whoever at Princess decided that the loyalty program was sufficient topping out at 15 cruises or 150 days is still operating in the 1980’s. At least one could consider the Captains Circle Loyalty OBC starting at 21, then 32, 42 & 52 cruises as additional levels but…. they removed that too. I am shocked how often I’ve heard “we made it to Elite on Princess so with nothing else to work towards we’re starting to cruise with another company”. But I’m in this camp as well. We’re starting to book elsewhere after a decade of nothing but Princess cruises.

It really is disappointing about all the loyalty items that they've abandoned. It's like they've turned their backs on their most loyal customers while at the Capt. repeaters party they like to boost about how happy they are to welcome everyone back again.... and say it with a straight face. 

[Cruise till you drop]

4 hours ago, MissP22 said:

 at the Capt. repeaters party they like to boost about how happy they are to welcome everyone back again

We don’t even go anymore as it’s basically a lame event 

[MissP22]

14 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

We don’t even go anymore as it’s basically a lame event 

It most certainly is lame but the only reason we still go is to hear mow many of each Capt. circle level are sailing. If you have the drink package there's basically no other reason to be bothered going. 

[kamelia]

On 4/16/2023 at 1:37 PM, fpsphil said:

First: Remove the horrible marketing department obsessing over catchy millennial sayings. At the same time remove the graffiti from the side of the Enchanted

It appears that “the graffiti” is here to stay 😕

 

 

[TriumphGuy]

On 4/16/2023 at 8:54 PM, billco said:

Removal of barrel chairs was a good idea. It caused more people to book deluxe balconies and mini suites. It also made the cabins easier to clean and more accessible.

Removal of the barrel chairs was a last straw deal breaker for us. At 69 and 67, we needed someplace comfortable to sit. Dragging in a balcony chair is ridiculous. Almost every other line has a small settee or chair in their cabins. 
We moved to Holland America where apparently they don't hate their clientele. 
 

[MissP22]

51 minutes ago, TriumphGuy said:

Removal of the barrel chairs was a last straw deal breaker for us. At 69 and 67, we needed someplace comfortable to sit. Dragging in a balcony chair is ridiculous. Almost every other line has a small settee or chair in their cabins. 
We moved to Holland America where apparently they don't hate their clientele. 
 

Also a younger crowd. 

[Kay S]

One thing I have always disliked about Princess is the lack of comfortable seating in the cabins.  I guess some people want to sit in bed and watch TV, but that is not comfortable to me.  The barrel chairs were more comfortable than the newest ones, but not by much.  HAL and Carnival tend to have sofas in ever the lowest category cabins.  We have moved to mini suites and deluxe balconies on Princess.  Remember the Pacific Princess (best ship ever in the fleet)?  Sofas.