Pacific Princess fell short of Princess standards

[Parrot Mom]

We were on the same ship but a different sailng/itinerary... and the general opinion on this board is as you can see.. DO NOT BLAME PRINCESS..PRINCESS IS A PERFECT LINE... Yes, we have had face cloths on other lines in the public restrooms (Celebrity), our anniversary cake on the other line was delivered when requested..On the PP I think there is a shortage of personnel and the Pursers Desk leaves much to be desired. It is insulting to suggest that you use the stairs. So, my suggestion.. after your October cruise....or maybe before..switch to a different cruise line where service and attentiveness to the little things is a priority.. I can tell you right now there are at least three posters who are apologists for Princess... and one telling you to show your "black card" is an absolute insult.

[whale-watcher]

From a public health standpoint, I am glad to see facecloths eliminated from public restrooms...

 

Otherwise, I think the OP's complaints are valid, and while these might not be dealbreakers for me, I can see where they would be annoying to the OP.

 

We are big fans of the small ship experience (had two weeks on the Tahitian last year and plan 12 days on the Royal this year) but with the smaller staff it is a different experience, and not one that everyone enjoys.

[coo359a2]

Our first Princess cuise (3rd overall) was in 2004 on the Pacific Princess for 21 days through the Islands of World War II. We had never been on a small ship, had no idea of what to expect, did not know about CC before booking - we just booked the cruise. We had a terrific cruise and really enjoyed being on that size ship. Liked the ship's European decor (that's what it reminds me of), for us the food was good, enjoyed the entertainment (had nothing to compare it with) and had no problems with any of the ship's personnel. We were on the Pacific Princess last March/April for 28 days and for us we enjoyed it just as much as we did back in 2004 and found the ship's personnel to be helpful and pleasant to deal with. We've always asked our steward or waiter etc if there was something in particular we wanted. I had marked our Cruise Personalizer with our anniversary dates and forgot about doing that. Were we ever surprised when our anniversary cakes were brought out to our dinner table. We've had "cruising hiccups" along the way but nothing that was bad enough to post on CC that Princess is a terrible cruise line and stay away from Princess. Isn't it nice that there are so many different cruise lines that if you had a bad first cruise (or whatever number it might be) and were really unhappy with your cruise, you don't ever have to sail Princess again. I'm not a Princess cheerleader - just a contented Princess cruiser.

[ShibaInuMom]

We leave June 11 onboard the PP out of Seattle. This will be our first time on a smaller ship (except for the Big Red Boat and it was completely different). We are hoping this will be a great experience since it goes to ports that others do not. Princess has been good to us in the past. When we celebrated an anniversary on the Island Pricess, our waiter reminded us that our anniversary was the next night and our table celebrated on the correct date. Also - at that time Princess decorated our door free of charge. I understand they charge for this now. I'm sure times are tough for all cruse lines however - service should not change. I am surprised about the glasses and staff in general. We are hoping for a great time - and since this will be the 3rd sailing for the season hopefully things have improved. We will post a review on the PP June 11 thread once back in town. Thanks again!:)

[Katie333]

As someone who has sailed several different types of Princess ships but never the smallest ones this can help put them into perspective. So far, Princess is indeed the line for us.

 

Some of the things Judith mentioned I could care less about (washcloths and elevators) but it would be annoying if I had to follow up to get shore excursion tickets every time I ordered them. We've always had wine glasses provided by the room steward if we ask for them and never had a problem. In my experience room service is always stressed to the max, I'm sure they are experiencing cutbacks. I try to avoid asking them for anything but meals, but maybe that's just me.

 

Overall though, I don't think the smallest ships are for me either. It would have to be an amazing itinerary that would get me onboard.

[Parrot Mom]

As someone who has sailed several different types of Princess ships but never the smallest ones this can help put them into perspective. So far, Princess is indeed the line for us.

 

Some of the things Judith mentioned I could care less about (washcloths and elevators) but it would be annoying if I had to follow up to get shore excursion tickets every time I ordered them. We've always had wine glasses provided by the room steward if we ask for them and never had a problem. In my experience room service is always stressed to the max, I'm sure they are experiencing cutbacks. I try to avoid asking them for anything but meals, but maybe that's just me.

 

Overall though, I don't think the smallest ships are for me either. It would have to be an amazing itinerary that would get me onboard.

 

YES,our itinerary (the Amazon) was incredible, the ship was small and delightful.. we are fans of small ships.. As for the elevators.. yes.. it could be frustrating if seeing the average age of the passengers on two week cruises be asked to walk up three or four flights. We never use room service so I can't judge. On the other hand we had no sooner booked an excursion when we found the tickets on our bed. I disliked the idea of not having a pitcher of water in our cabin..

[California Native]

and one telling you to show your "black card" is an absolute insult.

 

 

Seriously, if you are going to comment on MY post ...

Please actually read the whole thing

I said to get the Elite benefits you SHOW your black card.

You used to get an invitation in your cabin for your complimentary wine tasting.

You used to get tender tickets in your cabin for priority tender tickets.

etc etc ...you don't get those anymore ...

For those that are Elites you just show the crew member at the door of the dining room or tender operation your black card.

Very simple, very ecology friendly.

My comment to show your black card was helpful PROTOCAL not an insult for an newer Elite member.

It's great that their are so many cruiselines in the world to choose from! Enjoy your cruises one NCL and Celebrity.

[OnVacation11]

We will shortly be boarding the Pacific Princess in Seattle for a 2nd cruise on her. We will see if things have changed from our Med cruise last year. We usually pick our cruises for the itinierary 1st and then the ship. We enjoyed our Med cruise very much and at this point can't recall any issues so let's hope this Alska cruise will be fabulous as well.

One thing we miss on the smaller ships is Anytime dining which we love, but we are willing to overlook it for the great ports of call !

 

Let's hope Princess keeps the smaller ships so we can all have choices !!!

[SwKnight]

We'll be sailing on the Pacific Princess 6-25-09. She will be my first under of about 90 tons on any cruise line. So I wonder what "the small ship feel" will do to me. Again thanks for the thread - and like many of you, red tape is just something to get around. ;)

 

Cheers,

[JudithLynne]

Let me answer some questions:

 

Chamina…I did not get a good look at the other balcony cabins. However, I showed our cabin to several members from our CC roll call and we talked with the lovely English couple next door several times as we were next door neighbors who spent a lot of time on our balconies. They had been on this ship before. The feedback was consistent that the aft balcony rooms are actually slightly larger than the side balcony rooms! The cabin was incredible, it has a 180 degree view. We are so grateful for the upgrade and to have it fall on our 35th anniversary was very special.

 

As far as showing our Elite card, the MD told us specifically that we would get an invitation to wine tasting….we didn’t. We are glad that he let us in anyhow (with our cards) because our room was not on his list.

 

We did get the wrong shore excursion tickets for one port and had to make a trip to the excursion office to have that corrected. That has never happened before.

 

I am limited on using stairs as I have a bad right knee for which I wear a brace.

 

When you divide these things out into separate issues, it really is “nitpicking,” but when it is one thing after another, you start to anticipate the next problem.

 

Everyone has their own decorating taste. We got tired of being in a turn of the century Victorian England sitting room. I would have liked a more muted, neutral dining room rather than the garish bright pink rose spread wallpaper and drapes. Just a personal opinion.

 

It would embarrass me to ask for my own anniversary cake, again that is my personal opinion.

[California Native]

Let me answer some questions:

 

 

As far as showing our Elite card, the MD told us specifically that we would get an invitation to wine tasting….we didn’t. We are glad that he let us in anyhow (with our cards) because our room was not on his list.

 

.

 

Please, let me ask ...did you receive your other Elite benefits?

The list of Elites comes from the main office. On the smaller ships The Captain Circle Host is the same as the Future Cruise Consultant.

Did you ever speak with them on your cruise? If you got your other benefits and didn't get your invitation or information indicating just to show your black card then it was the Captains Circle/Cruise Consultant that dropped the ball. If you didn't get your mini bar set up, black card at check in etc etc...then the main office dropped the ball.

I realize you didn't want to ask for your cake, but you did let Princess know it was your anniversary..so essentially you were already asking for it in a not so direct way

There's been a poster in the past that swears I'm a cheerleader, but I'm not. I've had Princess mess things up for me and on my honeymoon

What I am is a cheerleader and advocate of everyone doing their homework on the ship they are traveling on, the ports they are visiting

and overall taking the initiative to make sure they are having the best vacation possible and

sad as it is, in this day and age you can't assume

that others will do that on your behalf.

[DonnaJD]

I went on the 2wk Pacific Princess cruise to Alaska--first time on Princess.

I loved the small ship, it's wonderful for people who aren't able to walk long distances.

There is a longer review by someone else in the roll call section and a few comments by myself as well so won't repeat here.

Positives: easy to get around ship, terrific cabin size (mini-suite), best entertainment I've had on any cruise, easiest access to tenders, Sammi is a great cruise director, of course the itinerary has no equal as noone else does 2wk cruises--however next year HAL is going to do 8 of them.

Negatives: staff seems subdued, fearful, uninformed, strangely not helpful; food is lackluster, not good variety, quality not tip-top. Dinner buffet was particularly poor.

You can't expect a small ship to duplicate a big one I realize that. However, I expected tip-top service, great food. Especially on a "connoisseur" tour.

Donna

[gooch47]

A lot of "nits" adding up to a major frustration on a cruise is something we are familiar with.

 

We cruised on NCL in Hawaii last July. Only one thing was really bad. They lost the reservation for my husband's sister and BIL's 50th Wedding anniversary helicopter tour. And they were sold out so we had to go out and find a replacement on our own for $$$$$$. But after that it was just one small thing after another until we became so dissolutioned with NCL that we were quite upset.

 

But not upset enough to turn down the free 4-night NCL cruise my hubby received from Harrah's Casinos.

[elsje]

There's been a poster in the past that swears I'm a cheerleader, but I'm not. I've had Princess mess things up for me and on my honeymoon I read your honeymoon experience and could not believe what all had gone wrong..:eek:

What I am is a cheerleader and advocate of everyone doing their homework on the ship they are traveling on, the ports they are visiting

and overall taking the initiative to make sure they are having the best vacation possible and

sad as it is, in this day and age you can't assume

that others will do that on your behalf.

I totally agree and well said.

[FLACRUISER99]

I can tell you right now there are at least three posters who are apologists for Princess... and one telling you to show your "black card" is an absolute insult.

BTW the OP was Elite and said she did not get an invitation to the Wine Tasting which is an Elite benefit, I told her to just show the black card and she would be let in, what is so insulting about that??:confused::confused::confused:

[JudithLynne]

We did receive our Elite benefits and were very appreciative, however, and here I go again, the complimentary canapés that we ordered arrived hours after the time we requested.

 

On the positive side, we did receive our official Elite membership cards and pins on the last evening of the cruise as it was our 15th cruise. It was so exciting after counting down the cruises for this occasion.

 

We did let Princess know of our anniversary date twice. The first time when we booked, and the second time when there was an error in our dining arrangement and I spoke with a representative directly. It was correctly listed on our travel summary from the date of booking.

 

I am thrilled to hear some of you mention that HAL is doing a 2 week cruise beginning next year. We have done B2B Alaska with them twice and really enjoyed it. We like HAL very much and will surely cruise with them again, but Princess is our favorite. We cruise Alaska frequently as we live on the west coast.

 

 

Judith

[shellbeachjim]

The list of Elites comes from the main office. On the smaller ships The Captain Circle Host is the same as the Future Cruise Consultant.

One tiny correction here. We were on the (new) Royal Princess in November 2007 and the cruise had both the Future Cruise Consultant and the Captain's Circle Host on board.

 

We love the "Renaissance-class" ships and avoid the larger ships if we can. It all depends on the itinerary, and all things being equal, we'd go with a smaller ship rather than a larger one.

[Pia1913]

One tiny correction here. We were on the (new) Royal Princess in November 2007 and the cruise had both the Future Cruise Consultant and the Captain's Circle Host on board.

 

We love the "Renaissance-class" ships and avoid the larger ships if we can. It all depends on the itinerary, and all things being equal, we'd go with a smaller ship rather than a larger one.

 

Did you have Sylvain? He's the BEST!

[shellbeachjim]

Did you have Sylvain? He's the BEST!

No we didn't. There was actually a hand-off on the Captain's Circle Host from a woman whose name I don't remember (sorry) to Roberta (awful). The Future Cruise Consultant was Cindy and she's very good.

[Pia1913]

No we didn't. There was actually a hand-off on the Captain's Circle Host from a woman whose name I don't remember (sorry) to Roberta (awful). The Future Cruise Consultant was Cindy and she's very good.

 

I know Cindy from another ship. Yes, she's very good. This is not the first time I've heard about Roberta. Thankfully it was Sylvain who was covering for Roberta when we were on the Pacific. I know she's back there now and Sylvain has gone to the Tahitian.

[California Native]

I love LOVE Sylvain...

Sadly.....Roberta has definately created a reputation for herself

each time I've been on the small ships there's always been 1 person, but as we all know ..things can always change

[California Native]

There's been a poster in the past that swears I'm a cheerleader, but I'm not. I've had Princess mess things up for me and on my honeymoon I read your honeymoon experience and could not believe what all had gone wrong..:eek:

 

What I am is a cheerleader and advocate of everyone doing their homework on the ship they are traveling on, the ports they are visiting

and overall taking the initiative to make sure they are having the best vacation possible and

 

sad as it is, in this day and age you can't assume

that others will do that on your behalf.

I totally agree and well said.

 

That wasn't the WHOLE Honeymoon experience...that was just a few of the highlights! :eek:

it's only fair to repeat that.... Princess did apologize profusely and extend a real olive branch to both of us, especially my DH

it's a memory that we will always have...

but now we've gotten to the point of just laughing....

what I was hoping to convey to the op..is that as big and disappointing as it feels to him now...

it's not what matters, so many people get caught up in everything being perfect for the proposal, wedding and honeymoon that they take their eye off the ball....

the ball is the life you are creating together as a couple

Down the line as a couple you will have adversity of such BIG STUFF ...it's best to learn what battle is worth fighting and where to save your energy.

[NSWP]

I would have thought your BIG UPGRADE would have negated all the little things that went wrong. I would be over the moon if I were to get an upgrade, never had one in 212 cruise days (10 cruises.)

 

As for Pacific Princess, I have been on her 3 times, thought she was the best.

 

I fear the upgrade fairy does not like Aussies!

[chamima]

Let me answer some questions:

 

Chamina…I did not get a good look at the other balcony cabins. However, I showed our cabin to several members from our CC roll call and we talked with the lovely English couple next door several times as we were next door neighbors who spent a lot of time on our balconies. They had been on this ship before. The feedback was consistent that the aft balcony rooms are actually slightly larger than the side balcony rooms! The cabin was incredible, it has a 180 degree view. We are so grateful for the upgrade and to have it fall on our 35th anniversary was very special.

 

As far as showing our Elite card, the MD told us specifically that we would get an invitation to wine tasting….we didn’t. We are glad that he let us in anyhow (with our cards) because our room was not on his list.

 

We did get the wrong shore excursion tickets for one port and had to make a trip to the excursion office to have that corrected. That has never happened before.

 

I am limited on using stairs as I have a bad right knee for which I wear a brace.

 

When you divide these things out into separate issues, it really is “nitpicking,” but when it is one thing after another, you start to anticipate the next problem.

 

Everyone has their own decorating taste. We got tired of being in a turn of the century Victorian England sitting room. I would have liked a more muted, neutral dining room rather than the garish bright pink rose spread wallpaper and drapes. Just a personal opinion.

 

It would embarrass me to ask for my own anniversary cake, again that is my personal opinion.

 

Judith

I do agree that when one thing after another goes wrong you do start looking at EVERYTHING (even things you might otherwise ignore) differently.

 

And it's very different to ask for a cake on line from the Personalizer than to walk up to the Maitre D' and ask for a cake in person. I would be embarrassed to do that also, but would still miss the experience of getting the cake.

 

As to the turn of the century look. I happen to like it. It reminds me of my grandparents and parents houses but if you're younger you probably don't have those memories. :D ;)

 

 

I have another question about the room (sorry). Was there a couch in your room? Someone on another thread said the afts didn't have them but the rooms on the side did. :confused:

Thanks again

[JudithLynne]

There was a couch in the room, actually a love seat. The room was very attractive and comfortable but small. I do not care about a room being small, I always say "they can put me in a broom closet as long as I have a balcony." At first we questioned that there would be enough storage, but as it worked out, there was more than enough. The other nice thing about the room, was the sliding door to the (large) balcony, you could open it easily, and lock it it in any place you desired.

 

We lucked out in that the thermostat worked perfectly in our cabin. There were many passengers on board who complained about their cabin temperature being either too cold or too hot and that the temperature would not adjust with the thermostat. I do not know much about this, but I kept hearing those in the know saying that the filters needed to be replaced as they were probably so dirty that they were clogging the system. I felt sorry for these folks, and they were numerous, because the ship was not responding to their needs.

 

I have the same memories as you do about my grandmother and in fact, have one of her Queen Anne chairs in my living room mixed with more contemporary furnishings. It is one of my treasured items. I actually like antiques and have several family momentos and furniture. BUT ...I felt that the dining room was overdone in this style and that it was not a relaxing environment, just a personal opinion.

 

Judith