I miss the old Princess

[memoak]

19 minutes ago, Pickels said:

Depending on your preferences, there is more of a selection in the buffet.

It’s not the variety but the quality. Also never knowing who has picked things up and put them back. I might do buffet once in awhile for lunch but for dinner I want 3 courses plated at a decent temperature. After all at home I would never go to Golden Corral 

[Pickels]

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

It’s not the variety but the quality. Also never knowing who has picked things up and put them back. I might do buffet once in awhile for lunch but for dinner I want 3 courses plated at a decent temperature. After all at home I would never go to Golden Corral 

Ok, but if you can’t find a menu selection that you like or can eat in the MDR, what are you going to do?  Skip a meal?

[memoak]

2 minutes ago, Pickels said:

Ok, but if you can’t find a menu selection that you like or can eat in the MDR, what are you going to do?  Skip a meal?

Once or twice a cruise that happens and then we just share one plate at Vines

[Lady Arwen]

18 minutes ago, Pickels said:

Ok, but if you can’t find a menu selection that you like or can eat in the MDR, what are you going to do?  Skip a meal?

Like my friend @memoak, we would never eat dinner in the buffet for a number or reasons.  We eat mostly in the specialty restaurants and occasionally in the MDR.  I would rather grab something from the IC than eat in the buffet.  As long as it’s self serve, we’ll pass.

[555]

3 hours ago, Pickels said:

 And since when do they allow guests in the MDR, to come with t-shirts and/or shorts for dinner?  

Since the Covid break.

[HotRoot]

51 minutes ago, Pickels said:

Ok, but if you can’t find a menu selection that you like or can eat in the MDR, what are you going to do?  Skip a meal?

I have ordered all of the vegetables from the main entrees.  No protein, just vegetables.  It works.

[555]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

It’s not the variety but the quality. Also never knowing who has picked things up and put them back. I might do buffet once in awhile for lunch but for dinner I want 3 courses plated at a decent temperature. After all at home I would never go to Golden Corral

Not if you arrive early.

We don't eat at Golden Corral either.😄

 

 

[TheMichael]

On 4/8/2024 at 2:41 AM, Nemanoxer said:

Generally speaking, the procedure of "I hate everything about this and that cruise line but I will book them anyway, no matter the cost" will lead exactly nowhere.

 

The thing is, most of these things have changed because the cost is cheaper.
 

If you’ve been holding prices down for multiple decades while paying staff commensurate with inflation and continuing to build multi-billion-dollar ships, savings have got to be made up somewhere. 

[TheMichael]

23 hours ago, 555 said:

Since the Covid break.

That’s when the cruise lines dropped prices further and cranked up their advertising. They’re specifically targeting people who only begrudgingly dress up for their own family’s weddings.

[memoak]

1 minute ago, TheMichael said:

That’s when the cruise lines dropped prices further and cranked up their advertising. They’re specifically targeting people who only begrudgingly dress up for their own family’s weddings.

Here in Portland we say that the only time you can’t get along with jeans and sneakers are weddings and funerals. Most people don’t even own ties

[Teechur]

8 hours ago, memoak said:

Here in Portland we say that the only time you can’t get along with jeans and sneakers are weddings and funerals. Most people don’t even own ties

I live in Maui, so before my Iceland cruise last September, I had to go buy some long pants. I didn't own a single pair. 😊 On the ship, I bought an overpriced sweatshirt/sweatpants, so now I'm set for Alaska this September.

[MacMadame]

10 hours ago, memoak said:

Here in Portland we say that the only time you can’t get along with jeans and sneakers are weddings and funerals. Most people don’t even own ties

I am going to a job fair tomorrow and I just realized that I don't own any fancy clothes from the waist down. I do everything on Zoom these days so I only dress up from the waist up. 🤣

[Cruisintimer]

On 4/7/2024 at 9:38 AM, TRLD said:

You can always spend a few dollars, bring your own on board and pretend it is 10 years ago.

Nope I don't live in the past, 🤣  content in the present and not having a chocolate on my pillow or not having double entrées changes my mood in the least.  Happy sailing! 

[stevenr597]

Just remember the "Old Days" when there was a midnight buffet every night, with one gala buffet.  When one had several waiters at the table, and if you food was not excellent, the waiter would be quick to replace it with another dish.

Of course you would be expect to eat  your three meals in the main dining room at your assigned table. 

 

 

[MacMadame]

42 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

Of course you would be expect to eat  your three meals in the main dining room at your assigned table. 

And assigned time!

 

I've been thinking about this. From what I see, there are cruise lines that are much closer to the Good Old Days than others. Ones with dress codes that are enforced, ones that have assigned dining times, ones where much more is included. But they COST. They cost more than I want to pay. So my guess is that if Princess brought some of these things back, they'd have to raise prices to the point where many of us wouldn't book with them.

[DrSea]

On 4/8/2024 at 12:14 PM, Pickels said:

Ok, but if you can’t find a menu selection that you like or can eat in the MDR, what are you going to do?  Skip a meal?

I have. I've gone to bed hungry. Helps me to save calories for another night 

[DrSea]

12 hours ago, MacMadame said:

And assigned time!

 

I've been thinking about this. From what I see, there are cruise lines that are much closer to the Good Old Days than others. Ones with dress codes that are enforced, ones that have assigned dining times, ones where much more is included. But they COST. They cost more than I want to pay. So my guess is that if Princess brought some of these things back, they'd have to raise prices to the point where many of us wouldn't book with them.

Why would having assigned times cost more money? If anything it would save more money bc you wouldn't have to flex up the wait staff.

 

I could never go back to assigned times. It's why I favored NCL when they first came out with freestyle cruising. Now it means nothing since almost everyone does it.

[RDJ]

Like some others have said, we miss the old Princess too, but all cruise lines have evolved. They obviously have reasons for changing their business model and we have to adjust and grow with it if we want to keep cruising. We remember even a few years before Covid feeling like cruises already started nickel and diming. Prices have really gone up which is hard, but they have for everything right? We went to Vegas a few months ago and found no servers taking cocktail orders walking around. Lots of things have changed including cruises. We still feel it’s one of the best ways to travel, unpack once, see lots of places, food and entertainment is included, etc. We’ve found if you reach out to make personal connections with staff, they return the connection with personal service. Vacation and travel is all what you make it!

[memoak]

20 hours ago, stevenr597 said:

Just remember the "Old Days" when there was a midnight buffet every night, with one gala buffet.  When one had several waiters at the table, and if you food was not excellent, the waiter would be quick to replace it with another dish.

Of course you would be expect to eat  your three meals in the main dining room at your assigned table. 

 

 

And at your assigned time

[Torfamm]

On 4/8/2024 at 12:46 PM, Pickels said:

   And since when do they allow guests in the MDR, to come with t-shirts and/or shorts for dinner?

I don’t remember seeing anyone try to enter the MDR in shorts before the restart, it certainly may have happened though.

Now it happens on almost every sailing. I see people in shorts turned away occasionally, but more often, they are allowed to enter.

 

No one can predict whether the no shorts or ball caps policy will be enforced on any ship on any given night. It depends on the dining room manager.

[stevenr597]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

And at your assigned time

Yes, eating at a specific time.  But the staff was much more attentive and had an easily time with the means.  

[MacMadame]

12 hours ago, DrSea said:

Why would having assigned times cost more money?

I didn't say assigned times cost more money. I said that cruise lines that still cruise in the old ways cost more money. Assigned times is just one place where things have changed, there is also turndown service, the midnight buffet, all drinks except alcohol, and all activities included in the fare, etc.

[stevenr597]

2 hours ago, MacMadame said:

I didn't say assigned times cost more money. I said that cruise lines that still cruise in the old ways cost more money. Assigned times is just one place where things have changed, there is also turndown service, the midnight buffet, all drinks except alcohol, and all activities included in the fare, etc.

I would imagine that assigned times would actually cost less money.  Put less strain and give more efficiency to the waiters and kitchen in that they would not have to be preparing multiple dishes at the same time. 

[TheMichael]

On 4/12/2024 at 6:26 PM, stevenr597 said:

I would imagine that assigned times would actually cost less money.  Put less strain and give more efficiency to the waiters and kitchen in that they would not have to be preparing multiple dishes at the same time. 

The problem with assigned times is that almost everybody wants early. The average cruise passenger wants dinner at 5:30 and a seat in the theatre for the 7pm show.
 

“Anytime”/“My Time” is a way to deflect blame to one’s fellow passengers, rather than in the cruise line for not building ships in which the MDR would somehow hold 3k passengers. (They already complain that the theater is too small - if some folks had their way, half of ships’ indoor space would be the MDR and the other half would be the Theater.)

[susancruzs]

These threads are always an interesting read.  I've always liked the set dining times, same table, same folks every night. 

 

I don't care about rushing to get a seat in the theater because I've got very sensitive hearing and have my preferred location towards the back.  Seeing the show obsession is amusing, not a priority for me at all.

 

I am curious how the dining will work on the Coral, with only 2 dining rooms.