How is the current staffing on Princess ships these days?

[RMS Olympic]

My 2 last Princess cruises in 2022 were way under staffed…on one cruise I was told they were only 70% staffed. Although the crew were working very hard….service was weak. After 26 Princess cruises I was saddened by what appeared to be cost cutting that impacted service level. Again the crew was not the issue.

I started sailing other lines, but broke down and booked the Enchanted for this October. 
In your opinion are ships in the Princess fleet staffed adequately or in need of more personnel?

Thanks for your thought, comments and or observations.

[startedwithamouse]

1 hour ago, RMS Olympic said:

My 2 last Princess cruises in 2022 were way under staffed…on one cruise I was told they were only 70% staffed. Although the crew were working very hard….service was weak. After 26 Princess cruises I was saddened by what appeared to be cost cutting that impacted service level. Again the crew was not the issue.

I started sailing other lines, but broke down and booked the Enchanted for this October. 
In your opinion are ships in the Princess fleet staffed adequately or in need of more personnel?

Thanks for your thought, comments and or observations.

It's not cost cutting in 2022. They didn't have crew to work. It's the same on land, everywhere is understaffed.

[jlawrence01]

5 hours ago, RMS Olympic said:

My 2 last Princess cruises in 2022 were way under staffed…on one cruise I was told they were only 70% staffed. Although the crew were working very hard….service was weak. After 26 Princess cruises I was saddened by what appeared to be cost cutting that impacted service level. Again the crew was not the issue.

I started sailing other lines, but broke down and booked the Enchanted for this October. 
In your opinion are ships in the Princess fleet staffed adequately or in need of more personnel?

Thanks for your thought, comments and or observations.

 

First, EVERY cruise in 2022 was understaffed.  Many cruise employees once repatriated after COVID-19, could not get approval to travel.  Also, a lot of long-term cruise employees were pretty ticked off with the way that they were treated after the shutdown once their contracts ended 

 

In addition, many employees were still getting sick.  I was on. RCCL cruise where not one show in the theater went off as scheduled as half the entertainment staff tested positive.  They were able to slap together some modified shows and bring on some guest entertainers.

 

In the past 18 months, I have not seen much understaffing.  I will say that on some ships, some of the staff are "first contract" people especially in areas like the buffet.  Also, the cruise lines seem to be hiring more from non traditional locations which can cause issues with language and cultures.

 

The biggest understaffing I have seen was on the NCL Epic but that was due to intentional staff reductions 

[Donwoods123]

We were on the Royal in February and on the Ruby in July.  The service was good on both and we did not feel they were understaffed.

[downtheback]

The only areas which felt understaffed on my last cruise was the bars, but I think that is deliberate due to the packages. Other than that, no.

[cr8tiv1]

I have not noticed understaffed on recent cruises.  Yes, right after the startup.  Many had work visas that expired.  Many got other jobs.  Recently got off the Caribbean Princess and that was one of my top cruise!  Service was outstanding.  

[Globaler]

14 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I have not noticed understaffed on recent cruises.  Yes, right after the startup.  Many had work visas that expired.  Many got other jobs.  Recently got off the Caribbean Princess and that was one of my top cruise!  Service was outstanding.  

I can say on our Sun cruise this spring that the casino was way understaffed - crap table had limited hours including closing the table late one night when we had money on the table. Never happened to me before.

[IndyKid]

1 hour ago, Globaler said:

I can say on our Sun cruise this spring that the casino was way understaffed - crap table had limited hours including closing the table late one night when we had money on the table. Never happened to me before.

You'd think that of all places on a ship to skimp on the help, the last place would be a profit center like a casino?

[ldtr1]

Currently on Regal staff numbers are at listed crew occupancy levels for the ship.

 

According to  Captain 1345.

Edited Friday at 07:22 PM by ldtr1

[IndyKid]

16 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I have not noticed understaffed on recent cruises.  Yes, right after the startup.  Many had work visas that expired.  Many got other jobs.  Recently got off the Caribbean Princess and that was one of my top cruise!  Service was outstanding.  

We were on CB last December, I thought that the service was fine, but it was my first time with Princess, so I had no previous history to compare it with. Will be interesting to see how our time aboard the Sun Princess in May compares. 

 

[muffydawg]

We were on Enchanted (April) and Island (October). Prompt attentive service with a smile was our experience. Never thought they were understaffed.

[Cruise Raider]

I’ve been cruising a lot since the restart and haven’t felt the pinch of understaffing in the last two+ years.  Before that, it was quite understandable and only on one sailing, did I feel the service was less than stellar.  

[Hillmom]

On the Emerald now. Yes I would say understaffed. Long line for lunch in the dining room, only half open. MDR dinner is chaotic, though the waiters are working as fast as they can. There are just not enough. In any of the lounges getting a server requires effort. Only the pool bar open in the morning.