Rumors about Princess...

[spongerob]

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Ok, secret sharing time!! Everytime my wife and I try a new cruise line, and decide that we like it, we join their "Alumni" organization, like "Captains Club." It is usually a one time payment of $35, and you are a member for life. With this you get certain "perks," and the more you cruise on their ships, the more perks you get. One of the basic perks that you get after joining, is that on all future cruises, you get Alumni embarkation. That is a simple "special" door that you walk through at the pier, rather than waiting in line, or waiting until your number is called. It's very quick, and usually within 10 minutes of arriving and walking through the door, you are walking aboard ship! What a nice thing THAT is! Zip-zip!! You just walk through the special door (look for it at the pier, and the people walking through it with their carryon luggage.) show you Captains Club membership card, and go to the counter to have your photo taken, and your papers taken care of, and away you go to walk up the gangplank! One of the other perks, is that you get invited to the Captains Club cocktail party during the cruise to meet the Captain and his officers, and have some free drinks and ordurves. This is in addition to the party that the other passengers get invited to. There are other perks too, and a newsletter that is sent to your home every quarter year or so, etc. But the one time payment of $35 membership fee is worth it, just to not have to stand in line at embarkation and wait until your number is called. This is what that couple that was so upset with their embarkation should have done so that the next time they cruised with that cruiseline, they could take the special door. Nancy and I have alumni membership cards for five cruise lines now, and NEVER wait at embarkation. Check it out when you are aboard ship and join.

 

Gene

Princess doesn't do their Captain's Circle program the same way. I haven't seen the secret door either, but maybe that's for Elite. :)

 

Captain's Circle membership is free. You are automatically enrolled following your first cruise. There aren't really any perks until you complete 5 cruises or 50 days at sea, then you get Platinum membership. After 15 cruises or 150 days, you become Elite. The perks are listed on the Princess web site and in numerous threads here. At embarkation, there might be one or two lines set aside for Platinum/Elite/Suite passsengers, but sometimes that line is longer than those that go by deck. There are differences between embarkation ports, so what applies in one port might not be true in the next.

[beachinit]

I had also heard that Princess was suppose to be more upscale. I was just on the Crown the week of Feb 3rd and found that it was not. I have cruised Carnival 5 times and also wanted to see what other Cruise Lines were like. In my opinion I did not see any differences except for little things that I think Carnival does better. (Towels made into animals, etc.). In my opion I feel all Cruise Lines are probably about the same with little differences on the way. I think Carnival has a bad rap for the Ships of the late 70's and 80's as being the biggest Drunk fest. That is no more; yes Carnival is Fun but so is Princess and I am almost sure Royal is as well....Cruising is all what you make of it !!!!

[wards04]

This is my first Princess cruise but everything I read said all the ships are wonderful. We're sailing on the Coral in October and am looking forward to it. The only other cruise line we've sailed on (many many times) is Celebrity. Celebrity is more upscale and everyone said Princess is comparable. Without ever sailing on Princess, I wouldn't hesitate to book a cruise based on everyones opinions.

 

Lynn:)

[cbpanda]

Well, there is a special deck on the very top of the ship that is reserved for topless sunbathing. You go up a small stairs that puts you at one of the highest points of the ship, and there are chaise lounges up there to tan topless on. There is a sign posted at the bottom of the stairs warning you that there is a topless tanning area at the top of the stairs, so you don't go up it accidentally without knowing. Perhaps that is what he meant by "privacy." Although I have seen European women, ususally French, who have sunbathed topless down by the main pool too. Noone raised a fuss about it, and went pretty much about their own business. I have seen this more than once on different cruiselines. So I guess, the word "privacy" is a relative thing to where you are from. If you are embarrassed by it, don't look.

 

Really? I didn't think Princess allowed topless tanning? I know Carnival does, but didn't see it on the CB last year (and believe me we were everywhere on that ship).

[PTC]

-------------------

Ok, secret sharing time!! Everytime my wife and I try a new cruise line, and decide that we like it, we join their "Alumni" organization, like "Captains Club." It is usually a one time payment of $35, and you are a member for life. With this you get certain "perks," and the more you cruise on their ships, the more perks you get. One of the basic perks that you get after joining, is that on all future cruises, you get Alumni embarkation. That is a simple "special" door that you walk through at the pier, rather than waiting in line, or waiting until your number is called. It's very quick, and usually within 10 minutes of arriving and walking through the door, you are walking aboard ship! What a nice thing THAT is! Zip-zip!! You just walk through the special door (look for it at the pier, and the people walking through it with their carryon luggage.) show you Captains Club membership card, and go to the counter to have your photo taken, and your papers taken care of, and away you go to walk up the gangplank! One of the other perks, is that you get invited to the Captains Club cocktail party during the cruise to meet the Captain and his officers, and have some free drinks and ordurves. This is in addition to the party that the other passengers get invited to. There are other perks too, and a newsletter that is sent to your home every quarter year or so, etc. But the one time payment of $35 membership fee is worth it, just to not have to stand in line at embarkation and wait until your number is called. This is what that couple that was so upset with their embarkation should have done so that the next time they cruised with that cruiseline, they could take the special door. Nancy and I have alumni membership cards for five cruise lines now, and NEVER wait at embarkation. Check it out when you are aboard ship and join.

 

Gene

 

Are you the one selling "memberships" on Ebay?

Although I have seen European women, ususally French, who have sunbathed topless down by the main pool too. Noone raised a fuss about it, and went pretty much about their own business. I have seen this more than once on different cruiselines.

Sounds like wishful thinking on your part.

PTC

[Scooter-n-GB]

A vacation is highly subjective, and it ultimately becomes what you make of it. Whether you've heard downhill, or otherwise it could just be a matter of one opinion based on one bad experience. :)

[bardgal]

HAL & Carnival do towel animals. I may be the only person on the planet that thinks towel animals are annoying, but I do. I think they're cheesy, and they don't add to my feeling of elegance while aboard. (No need to scream at me, a lot of people think they're the highlight of their cruise.)

 

Princess does suite perks better than HAL & Carnival combined. The towels in the suites could never be used for towel animals because they're too thick and fluffy.

 

I've only been on one HAL ship (Oosterdam) and two Carnival ships (Pride & Elation) and from my experience, Princess ships are far and above more beautiful, elegant, and better designed than either HAL or Carnival.

 

Carinval does pizza better than anyone except CPK.

 

HAL does the best grapefruit cosmo EVER. Every bar on the planet needs this recipe.

 

NONE of these ships can make a decent margarita. They all are SWEET and gross. They must get their marg mix from the same distributor. HORRID.

 

Princess and Carnival have a better wine list than HAL.

 

They all have the basic same activities (bingo, wine tasting, galley tours, etc), however, Princess limits the number of children on each cruise. You find more abandoned empty glassware lying around elevator landings, on top of random counters, and on the floor on Carnival ships. On HAL they have weird daytime activities (like Trivia) at 10pm in lounges where you'd expect dancing or jazz (very strange.) Carnival has the most annoying ship-wide loud announcements all day long.

 

Princess has freshwater, heated pools which are open 24/7. To my knowledge, everyone else has seawater pools that close at night.

 

The things I miss about Princess (and haven't seen on any other line that I have sailed on): Tableside flambé desserts. Tableside fresh Caesar salads (okay they did this at Sterling on the Tahitian Princess.) Tableside fresh pasta creations nightly. And when I say tableside, I mean they bring the cart to YOUR TABLE. I realize this is much harder with so many larger ships... but it's something I miss. There, I've said it.

 

On the other hand, the casinos and spas have gotten MUCH BETTER, as have the ships themselves. Even the cabins have improved over time with better linen, safes, mini-fridges (HAL & Carnival have minibars instead which is super annoying), in-room TV, and BALCONIES.

 

so .... even though I miss all the individual attention in the dining room, overall, I think Princess, and cruising in general, has actually improved over time.

 

:D

[Oxo]

-------------------

Ok, secret sharing time!! Everytime my wife and I try a new cruise line, and decide that we like it, we join their "Alumni" organization, like "Captains Club." It is usually a one time payment of $35, and you are a member for life. With this you get certain "perks," and the more you cruise on their ships, the more perks you get. One of the basic perks that you get after joining, is that on all future cruises, you get Alumni embarkation. That is a simple "special" door that you walk through at the pier, rather than waiting in line, or waiting until your number is called. It's very quick, and usually within 10 minutes of arriving and walking through the door, you are walking aboard ship! What a nice thing THAT is! Zip-zip!! You just walk through the special door (look for it at the pier, and the people walking through it with their carryon luggage.) show you Captains Club membership card, and go to the counter to have your photo taken, and your papers taken care of, and away you go to walk up the gangplank! One of the other perks, is that you get invited to the Captains Club cocktail party during the cruise to meet the Captain and his officers, and have some free drinks and ordurves. This is in addition to the party that the other passengers get invited to. There are other perks too, and a newsletter that is sent to your home every quarter year or so, etc. But the one time payment of $35 membership fee is worth it, just to not have to stand in line at embarkation and wait until your number is called. This is what that couple that was so upset with their embarkation should have done so that the next time they cruised with that cruiseline, they could take the special door. Nancy and I have alumni membership cards for five cruise lines now, and NEVER wait at embarkation. Check it out when you are aboard ship and join. Gene

 

Are you talking about the old Celebrity Club? They use to charge $35.00 for a family, one time fee. Now X does not charge anymore. We are Diamond on RCI, Elite on Princess and Celebrity, and pay no fees. There is no door that I have seen that you call the special door on any cruise line that we are aware of in our over 50 cruises. If you know about this, be specific and either tell the facts or keep your secrets to yourself. LOL

[Sandytoes]

I really can't see a Cruise line "Going Down Hill" :rolleyes: especially when they are building new ships all the time. They must be doing something right.

 

One has a right to one's personal preferences and choices. :)

[firefly333]

Princess has freshwater, heated pools which are open 24/7. To my knowledge, everyone else has seawater pools that close at night.

 

The things I miss about Princess (and haven't seen on any other line that I have sailed on): Tableside flambé desserts. Tableside fresh Caesar salads (okay they did this at Sterling on the Tahitian Princess.) Tableside fresh pasta creations nightly. And when I say tableside, I mean they bring the cart to YOUR TABLE. I realize this is much harder with so many larger ships... but it's something I miss. There, I've said it.

 

Iv recently been on both the Princess Grand and the Caribbean Princess and can tell you that the pools are NOT open 24/7, maybe that was on a cruise to Hawaii you mentioned, but is not on other Princess cruises.

 

I couldnt get traditional dining on one (we tried to sign up too late), and on the other my cruise mate didnt want it so there were no tableside foods that you mention in the anytime dining room. We were wait listed and I heard that they got this if you got in the traditional dining room. Those of us who didnt get in never get this. This trend toward anytime dining on Princess has changed the things you claim they have on all cruises for Princess :(

[hbeard]

I will be cruising on the Caribbean Princess in March - 2007, and this will be my 10th cruise, 2nd on Princess. I have also cruised on Celebrity, HAL, RCCL and NCL. When I was on the Star Princess in 2005, our last cruise, I thought she was the most beautiful ship I had ever been on up to that point. It is a very nice cruise line, and I have no idea what they mean by "going down hill." I would highly recommend it. That's my two cents.

 

Gene

 

If you got to know your way around Star, than Caribbean Princess will be like coming back home pretty much...except for the addition of MUTS...and there will be more people (an extra deck of passengers), but that didn't really bother us...just come a bit earlier to the shows to get your favorite seat.

 

hbeard

[hbeard]

I had also heard that Princess was suppose to be more upscale. I was just on the Crown the week of Feb 3rd and found that it was not. I have cruised Carnival 5 times and also wanted to see what other Cruise Lines were like. In my opinion I did not see any differences except for little things that I think Carnival does better. (Towels made into animals, etc.). In my opion I feel all Cruise Lines are probably about the same with little differences on the way. I think Carnival has a bad rap for the Ships of the late 70's and 80's as being the biggest Drunk fest. That is no more; yes Carnival is Fun but so is Princess and I am almost sure Royal is as well....Cruising is all what you make of it !!!!

 

I think the towel animal thing comes down to the individual room steward...we had them on 4 different days last august on Carribbean Princcess. Here's one example.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/HBearDave/CaribbianCruise/photo#4968910605610909714

[harrynterry]

As has been mentioned, a cruise is what you make it. The best way to find out what cruise line suits your needs is to try the various ones and look at everything objectively and not through a magnifying glass as I know some people do. If you let the small things bother you, then you will not have a good cruise experience. We met a couple on our two week cruise who, at the end of week one, were still bothered and talking about their bad experience with embarkation. They had enjoyed the cruise so far but still could not let that bad experience go and it was ruining what should have been a good time for them. I'm not a seasoned cruiser and have only been on Celebrity and Princess but we will always choose Princess. It's not perfect but we feel it suits our needs and budget. The ships are beautiful and the staff are courteous and helpful.

 

I agree, we sailed Princess first, then tried Celebrity. Both were wonderful, but we just felt we were a better "fit" with Princess. We went back and get on a Princess ship every chance we get! There is no bad cruise, only a bad attitude! Like others have said, a cruise is what you want it to be, you can pick it apart or you can go to enjoy. We choose to enjoy!!! I hope you all will to!

[Hippygirl23]

I wish the Caribbean Princess did 9-11 nite cruises...7 nites is too short! :D

[Times Prince]

-------------------

Ok, secret sharing time!! Everytime my wife and I try a new cruise line, and decide that we like it, we join their "Alumni" organization, like "Captains Club." It is usually a one time payment of $35, and you are a member for life.

Gene

I'm not sure what cruise line Gene is talking about but it isn't Princess. No charge to get in the Captain's Circle - just sail one time. And some of those perks are not available until you've had five cruises.

 

But back to the original questions - Imbossy, Your cabin selection can influence the privacy you have when on your balcony. Grand Princess has a tiered balcony where the Aloha, Baja decks are fully enclosed, Caribe is partly enclosed, and Dolphin is fully exposed -and the enclosed is relative to visibility from a deck higher in the ship. Inside the cabins is completely private.

 

I've never seen that topless sign if it exists on Princess, and never have had any problem that would affect having any of the family on deck.

 

If you're planning on sailing Princess out of Galveston ( a great cruise ) do it this season, as Princess is changing their home ports next year. We really enjoyed being able to drive to our cruise in Galveston.

[pg.]

I hate the towel animals.
I consider them cheesy and basically pandering for extra tips. I also hated the way the staff are treated on Carnival(we have done Carnival 2x 2 x Princess , going 3rd on Princess in a few weeks) made to dance around like every night is party night, well may be it is for you, but for them, I find it sad. Singing the same damm songs every week , smiling to get you all gushing, YUCK..
Serve the meal, a little small talk if they are so inclined, but, I do not expect the waiters or cabin stewards to be my slaves or new best friends.
I really really hated ( and this was the final straw for Carnival for us) the way the waiter begged us for only excellant ratings or this stupid rating card saying he would be fired if we even gave a good rating. I don't even care if that is true or not, how unpleasant either way.

Love the low key but attentive service on Princess . Love the softer colours and softer lighting.

[Cruisin' Chick]

[quote name='bovs']Well, there is a special deck on the very top of the ship that is reserved for topless sunbathing. You go up a small stairs that puts you at one of the highest points of the ship, and there are chaise lounges up there to tan topless on. There is a sign posted at the bottom of the stairs warning you that there is a topless tanning area at the top of the stairs, so you don't go up it accidentally without knowing. Perhaps that is what he meant by "privacy." Although I have seen European women, ususally French, who have sunbathed topless down by the main pool too. Noone raised a fuss about it, and went pretty much about their own business. I have seen this more than once on different cruiselines. So I guess, the word "privacy" is a relative thing to where you are from. If you are embarrassed by it, don't look.[/quote]

At first, I figured you were pulling our collective legs with this and your other answer...but maybe you're not. First of all (as pointed out by others), Princess and many other lines have never charged for joining their past passenger groups. And second, Princess doesn't have any "topless" decks, but I remember that some Carnival ships do. So maybe you should check out the info before posting. I still don't know what the OP meant by his privacy question...perhaps it doesn't have anything to do with nudity. He could be addressing the issue of the names on the door for all I know.

[bardgal]

[quote name='firefly333']Iv recently been on both the Princess Grand and the Caribbean Princess and can tell you that the pools are NOT open 24/7, maybe that was on a cruise to Hawaii you mentioned, but is not on other Princess cruises.

I couldnt get traditional dining on one (we tried to sign up too late), and on the other my cruise mate didnt want it so there were no tableside foods that you mention in the anytime dining room. We were wait listed and I heard that they got this if you got in the traditional dining room. Those of us who didnt get in never get this. This trend toward anytime dining on Princess has changed the things you claim they have on all cruises for Princess :([/QUOTE]

You need to go back and reread my post as you completely misunderstood what I said.

I've never sailed on a cruise to Hawaii.
Every recent Princess cruise I've been on, 5 to Mexico, 1 to Tahiti, have ALL had pools that were open all night (SEA, STAR, SUN, TAHITIAN, STAR-again, DIAMOND.) Each pool was probably closed for cleaning one at a time during the course of the evening, but I've had many a midnight swim and hot tub. If this has changed in the past year, I'm not aware of it.

I was also very specific that tableside service was a thing of THE PAST. I haven't experienced that since 1985.

[bardgal]

[quote name='pg.']I hate the towel animals.
I consider them cheesy and basically pandering for extra tips. I also hated the way the staff are treated on Carnival(we have done Carnival 2x 2 x Princess , going 3rd on Princess in a few weeks) made to dance around like every night is party night, well may be it is for you, but for them, I find it sad. Singing the same damm songs every week , smiling to get you all gushing, YUCK..
Serve the meal, a little small talk if they are so inclined, but, I do not expect the waiters or cabin stewards to be my slaves or new best friends.
I really really hated ( and this was the final straw for Carnival for us) the way the waiter begged us for only excellant ratings or this stupid rating card saying he would be fired if we even gave a good rating. I don't even care if that is true or not, how unpleasant either way.[/quote] I agree with this 100%. It's horrid.

[quote]
Love the low key but attentive service on Princess . Love the softer colours and softer lighting.[/QUOTE]
One of the many reasons I love Princess.

[Momeof3]

I have read rants and raves on most lines and prefer not to take them to heart. I have been on Holland America, Carnival and RCI and yesterday booked with Princess for the first time. The only opinion that counts for yourself is your own opinion. I have learned this from the past. I have asked questions about places and people have ranted about them and when I went I had a completely different experience. Dh, Myself and our group liked Carnival better than RCI because we are party people BUT we felt the decor on RCI was nicer than Carnival. I have been on Holland 2x but as a teen and still had a great time, tho at that point being a teen we were interested in drinking, having fun and making new friends and not focusing on much about the ship.

The only way to truly know is to just try it. As the saying goes "Try it you might like it"

[papermans]

I don't know about going downhill, but I don't care for Princess. I have tried it twice. Both were very disappointing. Love Carvival and Royal Caribbean.

[bdjam]

[quote name='papermans']I don't know about going downhill, but I don't care for Princess. I have tried it twice. Both were very disappointing. Love Carvival and Royal Caribbean.[/quote] [FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR="Black"]Why do you prefer Carnival and RCI over Princess? It would be interesting to know.[/COLOR][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][/FONT]
[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=black][FONT='Comic Sans MS']There are a lot of people who say that RCI and Princess at least are pretty much the same. But there are enough who prefer one or the other to lead me to believe that the differences between the two cruise lines are considerable enough to point to them not being pretty much the same. [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black][/COLOR]
[/FONT]

[Richard Stein]

I have elite status on Princess, 20 cruises over 250 days since the 80's. I am booked on two Princess cruises this year. I come back for the benefits, price, where they go and the treatment. I have elite status on Celebrity, Diamond on RCCL and a red Pin on HAL, but keep coming back to Princess. Don't mess with the benefits any more. I just wish they had a complementary air change like Celebrity. It cost me $200 to get on an earlier flight for my next cruise when Orbitz showed the same price.

[papermans]

The food on RC is so much better that Princess or Carnival. The staff on Carnival and RC are much better than Princess. Carnival and RC have a much more relaxing environment and a "will do" attitude.

[bdjam]

[quote name='papermans']The food on RC is so much better that Princess or Carnival. The staff on Carnival and RC are much better than Princess. Carnival and RC have a much more relaxing environment and a "will do" attitude.[/quote] [FONT=Comic Sans MS]Thanks for the additional information. [/FONT]