Are We Just A Little Too Picky And Why?

[survivor]

You know that old saying "you can't please all the people all the time" well vacations are no different. It all depends how you deal with things. Sometimes our expectations are not met and it is certainly a dissapointment, but not a tragedy. We all want our vacations to be great,but if you sweat the small stuff it will only make it worse. Now if you really want to complain let's talk about the coffee on Princess :)

[geoherb]

I like balanced reviews. A few negatives aren't bad as long as they're balanced with some positives.

 

Here's the first part of my review of our cruise on HAL's Maasdam last Christmas. I think I found a balance between the positives (starting off with "We had a wonderful Christmas cruise on the Maasdam") and the negatives. I tried to focus on the negatives that people could use: like if you want medium rare beef in the specialty restaurant, order it rare; that there's no conditioner in the bathroom, so bring your own if your hair is the type that needs it; and that the buffet doesn't start serving lunch until 11:30, so order room service if you need to eat lunch before then as we did to catch our excursion.

[sjbdtz]

On a slightly different tack, I'm willing to pay a little more to get a little more. Princess could easily improve some services without adding a lot of cost, that would make cruising just a little more enjoyable. I know I could try to find another line that offers things I might appreciate (HAL) but why take a chance when I also know these things have been provided by Princess. The usual pattern for customers is to buy up - how many of us are content with cheaper and cheaper cars for example?

 

You make a good point. So...buy up.

 

There are lots of additional perks to be had in the upper echelon cabins (on any cruiseline)...make yourself into a VIP.

 

Do it through your cabin, or through Cruise Critic, or through the Casino.

 

We haven't been in want of anything on our last 3 cruises.

[spongerob]

You make a good point. So...buy up.

 

There are lots of additional perks to be had in the upper echelon cabins (on any cruiseline)...make yourself into a VIP.

 

Do it through your cabin, or through Cruise Critic, or through the Casino.

 

We haven't been in want of anything on our last 3 cruises.

I started a thread on this very subject a while back. It was something like "If Princess Zigs, Will You Zag?" Lots of good discussion, plus I got called a snob more times than I care to remember, LOL.

 

I appreciate all the comments about silly complaints, but when you become used to certain standards of service for a certain cost, you'd like them to remain. There's an old saying, "If you do all the little things right, you can occasionally be forgiven for screwing up on something big." Or something to that effect. Without the little things, the big things can become mountains and it's darned difficult to make them look like molehills.

[MTJSR]

I like balanced reviews. A few negatives aren't bad as long as they're balanced with some positives.

 

Here's the first part of my review of our cruise on HAL's Maasdam last Christmas. I think I found a balance between the positives (starting off with "We had a wonderful Christmas cruise on the Maasdam") and the negatives. I tried to focus on the negatives that people could use: like if you want medium rare beef in the specialty restaurant, order it rare; that there's no conditioner in the bathroom, so bring your own if your hair is the type that needs it; and that the buffet doesn't start serving lunch until 11:30, so order room service if you need to eat lunch before then as we did to catch our excursion.

 

 

IMHO, thats a perfect use of a review. Clueing others as to what you found during your cruise. For example, for some reason the door knobs on the left side of the ship turn to the right and are opposite on the right side of the ship. Useful information passed on to others. It's the reviews that just sound like 7 days of pure misery I get tired of reading because I know even a bad cruise has its great moments.

[AliceJ]

I have not seen many posts on these boards where people are looking for perfection. Broken elevators, broken toilets which are not fixed for days, sewage smell in cabins, 5 hour embarkation/debarkation, etc are not asking for perfection. It is very easy to criticize people as complainers until it happens to you.

 

I have been cruising for 10 years and have noticed a substantial decrease in the quality of food on cruise lines. Not looking for 5* food, although most cruise lines promise "gourment dining" or "elegant dining". Many people here have the attitude that "as long as there is plenty of it and I don't have to to cook it", it's just fine. And as long as people feel that way, quality will continue to decline. Do you really want a "cheap cruise vacation" where the food is like the $6.95 buffet at the local strip mall? Then just wait a few years!

 

Giorgi:

 

I can't disagree with the quality of food issue. I don't find cruise food to be 5* either, but everyone's taste is different.

 

I do think that it is difficult to provide food for 3000+ people on a ship. Dietary restrictions for medical and religous reasons are nothing new, but it seems now that so many people have dietary "restrictions", many of which are really preferences. Trying to satisfy the actual dietary needs, dietary preferences, and general food "issues" that people have has really pulled food quality really far down.

 

I find it such an irony that although we are a culture that has an entire television network devoted to food, we concentrate more on what we can't have than what we can!!!

[japester]

Maybe Princess needs to have a cruise line/passenger contract that must be sighed prior to boarding that states the “passenger swears to possess a positive and optimistic state of mind and will do everything in his/her power to enjoy his/her cruise”.

 

Brainstorm!

 

This would be easy to do!

 

Just add one additional question to the health form you fill out at embarkation. In addition to communicable diseases, they can ask if you have diarrhea of the spirit ("Will you poop uncontrollably on everything about this cruise?").

 

:D

 

Jape

[jennew]

I always get a chuckle when someone includes "weather" in their list of complaints.

[shepp]

Well, since you asked...

 

I guess I come from a different place than most people on these boards. I went on my first cruise with my mother last year, and am about to cruise with my DDP for the first time, both as a well-deserved vacation and something of an experiment.

 

I have, though, traveled through somewhere around 40 or 50 countries in my lifetime, from Italy and France to Syria and Burma, always as an independent traveler, usually on a limited budget. I've mostly gone with the Lonely Planet ethos: that good travel should change one, that a successful trip is a matter of independence, curiosity, patience, ingenuity, and a sense of adventure. A willingness to take chances. (And I don't mean at a Bingo game.) Even that there's something somewhat soul-deadening about taking a thoroughly guided tour that coddles you in an air-conditioned cocoon instead of immersing yourself in the experience of being Someplace Else. Life is an adventure: Things go wrong, things go right, things are disastrous, things are ecstatic. An adventure, right?

 

Cruising (in its least attractive, to me, aspects) is thoroughly the opposite of that. It's not traveling, it's tourism. Actually, it's closer to being a consumer. You pay your money and everything is done for you, from showing you a pyramid to wiping up your mess. (It's interesting how many of the posts here stress "getting your money's worth," as though travel is something you buy rather than do.) As my mother pointed out, mass-market cruising represents her chance, and the chance of many other middle-class people, to be treated as ruling-class for a week. And when you approach an experience from that viewpoint, you're almost doomed to pickiness.

 

I fully understand that for some people, shopping at Diamonds International in a non-English-speaking country is an adventure every bit as thrilling as hitchhiking through Morocco was for me. I also realize that even my limited U.S. dollars have placed me in a privileged position in many places I've been. Neither do I think cruising is somehow inferior or immoral...after all, I'm on the DP in a couple of months myself.

 

But - and I met some great people on my last cruise and expect to do so again - there's something about the spoiled-brat tone of some of the CC postings that suggest that some people should really get out in the world more - and I don't mean EPCOT. Ride a second-class bus through the Andes or negotiate taking a rickshaw through Calcutta, and then complain bitterly about the quality of Princess' soufflés.

 

And do try not to act like - as my grandfather, may he rest in peace, would say - Madame Fyuffnik.

[Verystormy]

Mmmm - I come also from a similar background as the previous poster. BUT. I have also done luxury holidays on land as well. For us in the UK cruising is very expensive. Last summer i took my partner for 18 nights to Thailand in delux 5 star hotels - my balcony was bigger than most cabins and bathroom as big as some suites. The cost for which was £750 per person. I have just looked as one of the biggest cruise discount websites in the UK for next summer, and the cheapest inside cabin on the Crown is £1588. I therefore feel justified in expecting a LOT when i am on a cruise. I can appreciate that the room will be smaller ect, but i will expect a lot from the service. I will also expect a lot from the food. On land, if i dont like a restraunt i just dont go back, but if the food on a ship is poor then you have little choice

[spongerob]

Cruising (in its least attractive, to me, aspects) is thoroughly the opposite of that. It's not traveling, it's tourism. Actually, it's closer to being a consumer. You pay your money and everything is done for you, from showing you a pyramid to wiping up your mess. (It's interesting how many of the posts here stress "getting your money's worth," as though travel is something you buy rather than do.) As my mother pointed out, mass-market cruising represents her chance, and the chance of many other middle-class people, to be treated as ruling-class for a week. And when you approach an experience from that viewpoint, you're almost doomed to pickiness.

I think this quote addresses the original question quite well. It's all about expectations. Cruising is at the opposite end of the spectrum from the travel you describe. By the way, I'd love to hear your stories. My personal experience isn't nearly as broad, and fortunately, when I found myself in similar circumstances, someone was paying me to be there. :)

 

Cruising at best is a sampler. You won't do much more than scratch the surface anywhere you visit. You can do better for yourself by doing a little research and finding things to do that enhance your own interests. It's one thing to visit Mayan ruins for example, and another to visit knowing the history and culture of the people who built these structures. And it can be incredibly rewarding to visit the same spot where your ancestors left their homeland a century ago, to close the circle so to speak.

 

Cruising is also about luxury, socializing, and making friends. It's a relief from stress, something which most of us have too much of.

 

The thing is, it's all done on a military scale, and when you consider the logistics it's amazing that cruise lines pull it all off as well as they do. I think the one thing people forget, is that it's not just a big corporate enterprise, it's hundreds and maybe thousands of peoples' work to do all this. When one slips up, the common reaction is to blame the entire organization, or use one mistake to judge the entire experience. I think if some of us held our personal selves to the same standards expected from a cruise vacation, it would be very difficult to measure up and most would fall short of the mark.

 

We're truly blessed when we have such small things to complain about.

[Giorgi-one]

Giorgi:

 

I can't disagree with the quality of food issue. I don't find cruise food to be 5* either, but everyone's taste is different.

 

I do think that it is difficult to provide food for 3000+ people on a ship. Dietary restrictions for medical and religous reasons are nothing new, but it seems now that so many people have dietary "restrictions", many of which are really preferences. Trying to satisfy the actual dietary needs, dietary preferences, and general food "issues" that people have has really pulled food quality really far down.

 

I find it such an irony that although we are a culture that has an entire television network devoted to food, we concentrate more on what we can't have than what we can!!!

 

My observations have nothing to do with dietary restrictions. I'm talking more about quality. Here are some examples from our recent cruise on RCL Freedom of the seas:

1. Steaks were terrible - couldn't chew them. When I finished eating there was a pile of half chewed steak on my plate.

2. No longer serve rack of lamb. Has been replaced with lamb shank. I explained to the waiter that the lamb shank is the part you throw away after you take the rack and leg.

3. Lobstet tails were rare.

4. My wife had turkey on the last night. It was turkey roll and bad turkey roll at that.

 

None of these issues really have anything to do with the number of people. By the way, we have cruised on Celebrity three times in the last four years and I food quality was excellent. Steaks were cooked perfectly and tender. Lots of great choices at dinner every night.

 

If you can prepare food for 1000 people, you can prepare the same food for 300o people. You just need a bigger kitchen and more workers. Again, I am not talking 5* or gourmet, just something as good as the local unrated restaurants we frequent at home. I have had better food at Applebees or Friday's than we had on the RCL cruise.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I completely agree with willysgrandmas post and would also like to say that there is nothing wrong with posting a review showcasing both the positives and the negatives. Life isn't pefect and Princess isn't perfect. The answer is not to lower our expecations but to have realistic expectations. There are various categories on board cruise ships and people pay various prices and they can be very wideranging therefore you may have slightly different expectations. Someone who got a discount price on an inside cabin may feel differently about the value of the cruise than someone who stayed in a mini-suite or suite. If you paid $1200 for 2 people cruising you are going to have a different idea of the value of your cruise than someone who paid $4000 for the exact same cruise. Part of it does come down to the dollars and cents of what you paid for the cruise. Yes, it is still a value over most landbased vacations, but we do have the right not to say, "any day at sea no matter what the circumstances is a better day than at work" as justification to except something mediocore on a cruise.

 

One of the big problems when it comes to posting about the food is that whenever someone posts that they find the food okay, not great but good, they get jumped all over. For me personally, my expecations for the food were hit only because I knew that the food was only going to be good and not high end. I realize that Princess isn't a cruise line known for fine dining and that it's very hard to offer fine dining when feeding 3100 at once. Just because I post that the food isn't great doesn't make it a complaint, it makes it an observation and my opinion.

 

I had a wonderful cruise, loved the ports, loved the time with my friends, enjoyed many of the crew. I'm very polite to both my fellow cruisers, wait my turn for the elevators, hold open doors, and am very friendly and nice to the crew. But realistically, I did find some overworked and tired crew members, elevators in the aft that never worked throughout the entire cruise, a terrible embarkation experience, and was not able to use my balcony so in that area felt like I wasted money. Was it my best cruise, no it wasn't, was it a great cruise, yes. I've said this before, prior to the fire my 3/19 Star sailing was by far the best cruise I had ever been on. Nothing ruins a vacation for me, if I can look back and say that the Star sailing was so fantastic even though I had such a horrible experience on it then that should be proof enough about that.

 

I for one, will not lower my expectations, I will continue to be realistic in what a cruise is and realize that there is both good and bad on any kind of vacation. I will also still have opinions, they're not complaints, but opinions on things as well. If someone posts something very negative about their experience than I will except that as well, it's their right, it's their opinion and it's their experience. It's a shame when someone comes on here for the first time and writes a completely negative review with nothing positive in it, but that's okay, maybe that's how they really felt about their cruise. Most of the reviews being posted seem to offer up both the positives and the negatives and for me, those are the realistic reviews!

[Ethel5]

There's an old saying, "If you do all the little things right, you can occasionally be forgiven for screwing up on something big." Or something to that effect. Without the little things, the big things can become mountains and it's darned difficult to make them look like molehills.

 

The company I toil for used to have a saying-"Don't take ONE thing and make it 100% better but take ONE HUNDRED things and make them 10% better." Sadly, as the years have passed, the company is more interested in keeping the stock holders wealthy than in pleasing the consumer. sigh

 

My second thought (and I'm only allowed 2 per day) is that I've never had a bad cruise with lousy service and rotten food and I think it's because I don't go looking for trouble! I treat the crew with respect and I have been rewarded with excellent service. I don't eat gourmet food at home, so I understand that we are not getting 5* food on board but rather, good quality banquet food-there is a difference and it doesn't ruin my vacation or my expectations.

[regnig]

My second thought (and I'm only allowed 2 per day) is that I've never had a bad cruise with lousy service and rotten food and I think it's because I don't go looking for trouble! I treat the crew with respect and I have been rewarded with excellent service. I don't eat gourmet food at home, so I understand that we are not getting 5* food on board but rather, good quality banquet food-there is a difference and it doesn't ruin my vacation or my expectations.

 

Well said Donna!

[Giorgi-one]

The company I toil for used to have a saying-"Don't take ONE thing and make it 100% better but take ONE HUNDRED things and make them 10% better." Sadly, as the years have passed, the company is more interested in keeping the stock holders wealthy than in pleasing the consumer. sigh QUOTE]

 

You hit the nail right on the head. This is exactly what the cruise lines are doing. Dont make one thing 100% worse, just make ONE HUNDRED things 10% worse. Used to be that most cruise lines were privately-owned and satisfied making a decent profit. Then along came Carnivore and RCL. Now they are only interested in maximizing profit. The have a budget for everything. I read somewhere that one cruise line cut their daily budget for food from $10 per person to $7.50 per person (obviously translates into a 25% reduction in quality). Even with tremendous buying power, you cannot buy much for $7.50 to feed a person for a whole day. For evey million passengers, a 10 cent reduction in cost equates to an increase in profit of $100,000. Multiply that by 50 different areas and you have a cool $5 Million profit. You know you are in trouble in any business when the bean counters take over. It no longer is a business or service just a giant money-making machine. And if the passengers have a good time, cut some more - something must be wrong. Even the employees are in trouble. Most cruise lines now require employees to buy their own uniforms, pay for cleaning and pay their own air fare home. Any wonder why they don't walk around with big smiles anymore. It will continue to get worse as long as ships sail full, and there are enough new passengers and people looking for a cheap vacation to keep things going for a long time.

[okbowler]

Quote: by Spongerob

 

I appreciate all the comments about silly complaints, but when you become used to certain standards of service for a certain cost, you'd like them to remain. There's an old saying, "If you do all the little things right, you can occasionally be forgiven for screwing up on something big." Or something to that effect. Without the little things, the big things can become mountains and it's darned difficult to make them look like molehills.

 

I see that many say that the being charged for items that have previously been provided as part of your cruise fee is a way for the cruise lines to keep pricing low. I checked the last three cruises that we took, (2 on HAL 1 on Celebrity, and the cruise we are taking on Princess in Feb.) and find that the cabins we book have gone up each year. We book an inside Guar. and paid in 2003 $63.00 a nite and on the current cruise $130.00 per nite. The other two cruises fell in between these 2 figures. I am not sure this is apples to apples but they are all Carib cruises of 11 nites or longer. I miss some of the little things that we used to get , but we still go as often as we can come up with the dough. In many ways the little things are what makes cruising special. When they are all gone or being charged for in the name of holding down the price whats next, a punch card with dollar amounts that you present when you go to the dining room. When its gone you start paying for meals? Cruising is still a good value, just not as good as it used to be, IMHO. Bill

[shepp]

We're truly blessed when we have such small things to complain about.

 

Well said! And too often, I forget to count my blessings...

[Ethel5]

You know you are in trouble in any business when the bean counters take over. It no longer is a business or service just a giant money-making machine.

 

You got that right! "They" designed a new computer system in my work place, but instead of asking the folks in the trenches what we needed, "they" let marketing and the bean counters design the system. Needless to say, the system is nearly useless because it is "offer based". In other words, we give them what we want/need to sell not what the consumer wants! Outrageous! I guess we are getting a bit off track here but it does apply to the cruise industry too.