Princess 20 years later

[KevIT]

Hi, it has been many years since we sailed with Princess (2004 on the Royal Princess). Since then we have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and P&O. I was wondering what is Princess in 2024 like compared to Princess 20 years ago?

[akaCruiser]

Princess has changed just like all cruise lines.

 

I remember in the late '90's Princess like most cruise lines had the midnight buffet, whereas now if you want to have a bite to eat you can go to the International Cafe which is open 24 hours.

 

Dinning was only fixed seating and had either early or late dinning at the MDR. Dress code was more enforced. These days, Princess now has three dining options, fixed, flexible dinning, and open seating. Dress code is more relaxed and suggested than expected.

 

More dinning options and bar venues are the norm now and ship passengers capacity is also greater than in the past.

 

Wifi is a lot better (unlimited and faster) now then in the past.

 

Big thing for me is the availability of the Princess Plus and Premier packages, which is great savings in comparison to what other cruise lines offer. 

[ldubs]

I would say the kind of general changes you notice on RCI and Celebrity over the past 20 years would also apply to Princess.  

 

 

[TW6cruiser]

Hello, 

 

I know many things are subjective, but Princess has changed significantly since we started cruising with them in 2010, and in my mind not for the better.  Many cutbacks are like what you may see at hotels, etc.  

 

The above poster is correct in that the WIFI is much better. Also the packages for WIFI are better in that you are not limited to "minutes" but it's unlimited, either with one device or four devices.  Many things are done via the Princess app also (ie, making dining reservations, etc.). 

 

Things that we used to get on Princess that we don't anymore: 

 

-blue tote bag in stateroom

-bowl of fruit option in stateroom

-nighttime candy on pillow at turndown service

-printed port guides

 

-in the buffets I liked the individual cartons of cereal and milk (those are gone)

-coffee even at the international cafe is served in awful paper cups with paper lids and they only have short paper straws ( I know this is an environmental thing but I still don't like it)

 

On the other hand the good thing is that they don't leave as much paperwork "selling" things in your cabin (ie jewelry sales, art sales, etc.).

 

In my mind Princess is not at all what it once was.  We are trying out other lines. 

 

[Esprit]

Princess is infinitely better than P&O.

Much better than Royal Caribbean too.

It is comparable with Celebrity however.

[Teechur]

1 hour ago, TW6cruiser said:

Hello, 

 

I know many things are subjective, but Princess has changed significantly since we started cruising with them in 2010, and in my mind not for the better.  Many cutbacks are like what you may see at hotels, etc.  

 

The above poster is correct in that the WIFI is much better. Also the packages for WIFI are better in that you are not limited to "minutes" but it's unlimited, either with one device or four devices.  Many things are done via the Princess app also (ie, making dining reservations, etc.). 

 

Things that we used to get on Princess that we don't anymore: 

 

-blue tote bag in stateroom

-bowl of fruit option in stateroom

-nighttime candy on pillow at turndown service

-printed port guides

 

-in the buffets I liked the individual cartons of cereal and milk (those are gone)

-coffee even at the international cafe is served in awful paper cups with paper lids and they only have short paper straws ( I know this is an environmental thing but I still don't like it)

 

On the other hand the good thing is that they don't leave as much paperwork "selling" things in your cabin (ie jewelry sales, art sales, etc.).

 

In my mind Princess is not at all what it once was.  We are trying out other lines. 

 

You will be pleased to learn that the blue tote bags have returned. Sadly, you will still have to gather your own fruit bowl in the buffet and provide your own chocolates.

 

It's great when people try out various cruise lines. You may find one you enjoy more, or you may not. We tried Carnival, NCL, Princess, and Royal Carribean.

Princess was the best fit for us. Happy Cruising!

[TW6cruiser]

1 hour ago, Teechur said:

You will be pleased to learn that the blue tote bags have returned. Sadly, you will still have to gather your own fruit bowl in the buffet and provide your own chocolates.

 

It's great when people try out various cruise lines. You may find one you enjoy more, or you may not. We tried Carnival, NCL, Princess, and Royal Carribean.

Princess was the best fit for us. Happy Cruising!

We had no bags on our recent Emerald cruise. Not a deal breaker obviously….just one of many cutbacks. 

[LACruiser88]

2 hours ago, Teechur said:

You will be pleased to learn that the blue tote bags have returned.

We never understood the fascination over the blue tote bags?  They are so flimsy.  We have never used them and never will.  🤷‍♂️

[Barter123]

3 hours ago, TW6cruiser said:

Things that we used to get on Princess that we don't anymore: 

 

-blue tote bag in stateroom

-bowl of fruit option in stateroom

-nighttime candy on pillow at turndown service

-printed port guides

If you go to Passenger Services they will have printed copies of the port guides.  

[Iamcruzin]

46 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We never understood the fascination over the blue tote bags?  They are so flimsy.  We have never used them and never will.  🤷‍♂️

I don't get it. I have a trunk load of the same type bags that I got at the supermarket that I could bring if I wanted to. Plus do you really want to walk around in port advertising that you are a tourist.   

[TW6cruiser]

39 minutes ago, Barter123 said:

If you go to Passenger Services they will have printed copies of the port guides.  

That was the case on our cruise last summer on the Sky.  We got them either from guest services or the excursion desk.  But, on our cruise this summer on the Emerald they DID NOT have any printed port guides.  And, for two of the Greenland ports, there were not even any on the website or on the APP.   

[TW6cruiser]

Just now, Iamcruzin said:

I don't get it. I have a trunk load of the same type bags that I got at the supermarket that I could bring if I wanted to. Plus do you really want to walk around in port advertising that you are a tourist.   

 Yes, I too have enough tote bags.   I did sometimes use them on the ship.  Just stating a lot of things that have changed.  The original poster asked what is different....I stated many things I've noticed that are different.  Some things matter to some people.  

[sboh]

I think the medallion is the biggest change on Princess. I like it so much better than the old cruise cards. Just walk up to your door and it unlocks. 

[dickinson]

We got tote bags on the Sky in August.  I think if some people don't get them it could possibly be that they are waiting for a new shipment of them to the ship.  There was a thread on here previously about this.  Most people are getting them with some saying they didn't see them.  If they didn't see them then they assume it is a cutback which doesn't seem to be the case.  

[memoak]

1 hour ago, TW6cruiser said:

We had no bags on our recent Emerald cruise. Not a deal breaker obviously….just one of many cutbacks. 

I have no idea what people use those bags for. We have only used them to haul laundry down to the self serve laundry 

[Teechur]

2 hours ago, TW6cruiser said:

We had no bags on our recent Emerald cruise. Not a deal breaker obviously….just one of many cutbacks. 

We boarded the Emerald on June 19th for two weeks, from Fort Lauderdale to Quebec. They were in the closets of our balcony cabins. No real use for them except maybe laundry.  Using them in port screams "easy mark" for pickpockets. etc. I don't consider having them a plus or a minus. I am glad they cut the chocolates.

The bag and the chocolate together must total less than one dollar. I was disappointed that Alfredo's is no longer free.

Edited September 3 by Teechur
Added a line.

[Ken the cruiser]

6 hours ago, KevIT said:

Hi, it has been many years since we sailed with Princess (2004 on the Royal Princess). Since then we have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and P&O. I was wondering what is Princess in 2024 like compared to Princess 20 years ago?

I have posted to a variety of Princess Live From threads over the past few years, to include uploading a variety of photos taken both onboard as well as on the various PCL excursions, if you would like to check them out. But I will say, we have had a lot of fun on them, especially since we book cabins where we can dine in the Reserve Collection (formerly Club Class) dining area.

[memoak]

53 minutes ago, Teechur said:

We boarded the Emerald on June 19th for two weeks, from Fort Lauderdale to Quebec. They were in the closets of our balcony cabins. No real use for them except maybe laundry.  Using them in port screams "easy mark" for pickpockets. etc. I don't consider having them a plus or a minus. I am glad they cut the chocolates.

The bag and the chocolate together must total less than one dollar. I was disappointed that Alfredo's is no longer free.

Last time I was on a cruise when Alfredo’s was free there was an hour and a half to get in   Beepers everywhere so many families just ordering multiple pizzas and leaving tons behind as garbage

[Knickearth]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We never understood the fascination over the blue tote bags?  They are so flimsy.  We have never used them and never will.  🤷‍♂️

Since where we live we get charged for grocery bags, we use the totes for groceries and they were perfect.

 

[Teechur]

5 minutes ago, memoak said:

Last time I was on a cruise when Alfredo’s was free there was an hour and a half to get in   Beepers everywhere so many families just ordering multiple pizzas and leaving tons behind as garbage

We will be on Majestic later this week and they don't have pizza on the Lido deck. My grandsons will have to settle for burgers or noodles, lol. For 6 of us to eat at Alfredo's would cost $90. For that amount, I would prefer to try a pizza parlor in one of the Alaskan ports, along with some local brews.

[Knickearth]

Some more changes,  the activity staff would host boggle, Pictionary, scattergories, etc on long cruises.

 

miss the little bags of chapstick, sleeping mask, and other small items.  Only older ships have free sauna and steam room, now they are part of thermal experience.

[Teechur]

1 minute ago, Knickearth said:

Some more changes,  the activity staff would host boggle, Pictionary, scattergories, etc on long cruises.

 

miss the little bags of chapstick, sleeping mask, and other small items.  Only older ships have free sauna and steam room, now they are part of thermal experience.

I did enjoy the free sauna on the Crown, many years ago, right after a Jacuzzi.

A steam room is a breeding ground for bronchial bacteria. I've learned to avoid them.

[Catherine Claus]

1 hour ago, Teechur said:

We boarded the Emerald on June 19th for two weeks, from Fort Lauderdale to Quebec. They were in the closets of our balcony cabins. No real use for them except maybe laundry.  Using them in port screams "easy mark" for pickpockets. etc. I don't consider having them a plus or a minus. I am glad they cut the chocolates.

The bag and the chocolate together must total less than one dollar. I was disappointed that Alfredo's is no longer free.

I hope to find them in my on the Discovery in Nov. and again in Jan.  I do like using them to go to the pool, etc.  I used them on board to carry ;hone, book, etc.  I always liked seeing them while in Port knowing that there were fellow passengers around.  I never saw them as and "easy mark". 

I agree, that charging for Alfredo's stinks.  We always ate there on embarkation day.  I do not like many of the upcharges, etc. BUT, I always enjoy myself on Princess.  You just have to remember you are on vacation and roll with the punches.  It is still a great way to get away. The chocolate were never eaten as they were not that good anyway.

JMO sorry.

 

 

 

[Catherine Claus]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Last time I was on a cruise when Alfredo’s was free there was an hour and a half to get in   Beepers everywhere so many families just ordering multiple pizzas and leaving tons behind as garbage

It is too bad that some people ruin things for everybody. Like chair hogs! It never ceases to amaze me that people do on a cruise or in a restaurant. I love the blue bags!

[cruisermsoon]

One major change, not just Princess but on all the "mass market" lines, is the incessant recorded music that assails one from dawn to well after dusk in every part of the ship. A few ships have "quiet zones", but these seem to be the exception. 

To cruise on a line, like Azamara, that doesn't inflict this musical nightmare is cruise heaven.