My review of CB 7/8-7/17

[Nuyawkr]

Thanks for the review. I was also on the same sailing and I pretty much agree with the review. I have to add that I was at the Sanctuary on the last sea day and yes, a verbal argument occurred. I arrived at the sanctuary at 6:40AM. The attendants arrive at 7:00Am and informed us how many lounge chairs were available for the day. I was #7 on line and there were 26 lounge chairs available. I was going to reserve 2--1 for me and 1 for my mom. Well, all of the chairs were gone by the time he would have gotten to me. The first party which consisted of 2 people reserved 6 chairs. The next person reserved 4 chairs. The following 2 people reserved 6 each. One person out of the six people in front of me reserved 2 chairs. I must add that 1 person was reserving the chairs for parties of 4, 6 etc. There were people on line who started to verbally abuse the attendant. The attendant informed us that this issue re: reserving numerous chairs for people has come up and he clarified it with his supervisor and yes, it was OK to reserve numerous chairs even though all of the people were not present. Some people continued to scream and yell at the attendant. I interrupted these screaming people and told the attendant that it was not his fault and he told me he appreciated my understanding. I felt so bad for the attendant who was only trying to do his job and follow policy. Maybe Princess should re-evaluate the policy in that 1 person can only reserve 2 chairs. By the way, the man after me on line wanted to reserve 18 chairs if you can believe it!!

[Love Boat Dream]

Thanks for the review. I was also on the same sailing and I pretty much agree with the review. I have to add that I was at the Sanctuary on the last sea day and yes, a verbal argument occurred. I arrived at the sanctuary at 6:40AM. The attendants arrive at 7:00Am and informed us how many lounge chairs were available for the day. I was #7 on line and there were 26 lounge chairs available. I was going to reserve 2--1 for me and 1 for my mom. Well, all of the chairs were gone by the time he would have gotten to me. The first party which consisted of 2 people reserved 6 chairs. The next person reserved 4 chairs. The following 2 people reserved 6 each. One person out of the six people in front of me reserved 2 chairs. I must add that 1 person was reserving the chairs for parties of 4, 6 etc. There were people on line who started to verbally abuse the attendant. The attendant informed us that this issue re: reserving numerous chairs for people has come up and he clarified it with his supervisor and yes, it was OK to reserve numerous chairs even though all of the people were not present. Some people continued to scream and yell at the attendant. I interrupted these screaming people and told the attendant that it was not his fault and he told me he appreciated my understanding. I felt so bad for the attendant who was only trying to do his job and follow policy. Maybe Princess should re-evaluate the policy in that 1 person can only reserve 2 chairs. By the way, the man after me on line wanted to reserve 18 chairs if you can believe it!!

 

I was talking to Mark, the attendant, later that day. He was very upset and said this was one of the most difficult cruises for him because people kept getting angry at him because they couldn't get in. It is not up to him to change the policy and he did check with his supervisor about allowing people to reserve more than 2 chairs. The supervisor said if they pay for them, they are allowed to do it. Mark was going to bring it up again because he agreed it wasn't fair to the others in line. It is amazing to me that you were #7 in line and you couldn't get a spot when there were 26 available! And, I was up there for most of the day and I would say that maybe a third of the loungers were unoccupied most of the time I was up there!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Wow...great review...thanks...you are an excellent writer!

[Punchie]

The ports:

St. Thomas: instead of the ship's snorkeling tour, we booked our own and it was fantastic! This catamaran holds 6 passengers plus the captain and the first mate and a cute dog named Hinckley. But, we were the only passengers! We went to 2 stops in St John for snorkeling and swimming. The first mate took my son snorkeling personally. We were also served a delicious lunch. If you want to snorkel or see the St John beaches, check out: http://www.simplicitycharters.com/index.html

It cost the same as the ships tour but it was so much more intimate!

 

Would you recommend Simplicity Charters? Did you do the 3 hr or the 6 hr excursion?

[Love Boat Dream]

Would you recommend Simplicity Charters? Did you do the 3 hr or the 6 hr excursion?

 

YES! I highly recommend them. Captain Charlie and First Mate Josh treated us like royalty.

[SueseaQ]

Thank you for the excellent review! My niece and her friends were on the June 29th sailing on CB, and is still raving about the great time they had (even though they missed Bermuda that sailing, her favorite island).

[AAAAmerican]

You well know , as I do too..how it may be resolved.

 

I M H O, Princess Cruise lines will do the best thing in there own benefit.. RAISE COSTS to be in the Sanctuary. It is always what the markets shall bear..

 

It gives them the cause/reason to do so now.

 

Making more revenues while ( whilst ) keeping this customer service active.

 

Cruisers, some, do feel great getting pampered and sprayed.. much like a spa does but no hard sell etc... those little extra touches and care ..

 

Supply and Demand always works best for the firm when there is much more demand than supply.

 

So my question is now what do you feel the cost of a voyage will rise to, as well as daily or half/days too?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was talking to Mark, the attendant, later that day. He was very upset and said this was one of the most difficult cruises for him because people kept getting angry at him because they couldn't get in. It is not up to him to change the policy and he did check with his supervisor about allowing people to reserve more than 2 chairs. The supervisor said if they pay for them, they are allowed to do it. Mark was going to bring it up again because he agreed it wasn't fair to the others in line. It is amazing to me that you were #7 in line and you couldn't get a spot when there were 26 available! And, I was up there for most of the day and I would say that maybe a third of the loungers were unoccupied most of the time I was up there!

[DEEMAR]

Yes it was. And she was very good and played almost all the requests.

[Love Boat Dream]

You well know , as I do too..how it may be resolved.

 

I M H O, Princess Cruise lines will do the best thing in there own benefit.. RAISE COSTS to be in the Sanctuary. It is always what the markets shall bear..

 

It gives them the cause/reason to do so now.

 

Making more revenues while ( whilst ) keeping this customer service active.

 

Cruisers, some, do feel great getting pampered and sprayed.. much like a spa does but no hard sell etc... those little extra touches and care ..

 

Supply and Demand always works best for the firm when there is much more demand than supply.

 

So my question is now what do you feel the cost of a voyage will rise to, as well as daily or half/days too?

 

 

I think expanding the size of the Sanctuary may be a better idea. If they could accommodate 100 passengers instead of (around) 50, I think they could still give the service but make more people happy. There is space on the other side of the gate that could become Sanctuary space.

 

It wasn't that long ago that people were saying "who would pay extra money to sit in there" but now people are lining up 2 hours in advance to get in!

[zacc]

Guess you didn't have any ideas for Boston.....glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[prg2101]

I think expanding the size of the Sanctuary may be a better idea. If they could accommodate 100 passengers instead of (around) 50, I think they could still give the service but make more people happy. There is space on the other side of the gate that could become Sanctuary space.

 

It wasn't that long ago that people were saying "who would pay extra money to sit in there" but now people are lining up 2 hours in advance to get in!

 

 

If u expand it then you would have more people complaining that you have to pay to lounge on the upper deck that the SANCTUARY COMPLETELY TOOK OVER!!!! People already complain about the mini golf being gone...:p:p You know what I mean,,,,;)

[Caribbean Sunsets]

Thanks for the well written and detailed review!:)

[jennifers490]

If u expand it then you would have more people complaining that you have to pay to lounge on the upper deck that the SANCTUARY COMPLETELY TOOK OVER!!!! People already complain about the mini golf being gone...:p:p You know what I mean,,,,;)

 

 

i hope they don't expand it, that's my favorite area on the ship to relax and not have to pay for the sanctuary :)

[Jennygirl]

Based on your review my husband has delegated me to run up there upon embarkation to reserve our two seats in the Sanctuary!! He said "NO FOOD" , go get the seats!! We remember the Sanctuary on our Crown Princess cruise a few years ago and beleive me - we will not miss it this time around. It was sheer heaven. I really enjoyed your review. You, like me, do not put too much stock into negative posts. The cruise is what you make of it. I'm not a demanding person - I rather go with the flow.....I'm so looking forward to our August sailing. Ahhhhhh peace and quiet - a good book, a nice drink and leave me alone...... We're heading to Cananda/New England.....thanks for all the nice tips even though you were at the opposite end of the world. :)

[cruissett]

Please, tell me what the sanctuary is? Haven't sailed Princess in many years but will be on the Caribbean Princess in 2010.

Can anyone tell me, when you board do you get the WOW factor by being right in the atrium area, or is it just elevators? Is there an indoor pool at all?

The review was great and looking forward to this sailing.

[napunani]

We are new to PRINCESS (sail 6 Nov) - please provide details on SANCTUARY. Is that the spa??

Mahalo!

[RickEk]

Please, tell me what the sanctuary is? Haven't sailed Princess in many years but will be on the Caribbean Princess in 2010.

Can anyone tell me, when you board do you get the WOW factor by being right in the atrium area, or is it just elevators? Is there an indoor pool at all?

The review was great and looking forward to this sailing.

 

When you board, you do embark into the Atrium, just turn right instead of left to the elevators. No indoor pool on the Caribbean Princess.

 

We are new to PRINCESS (sail 6 Nov) - please provide details on SANCTUARY. Is that the spa??

Mahalo!

 

Here's a link for y'all...

 

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/activities/daytime_activities/day_sanctuary/index.html