Princess Cruise was a Big Disappointment!
Jul 29th, 2005, 11:30 AM
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Princess Cruise was a Big Disappointment!
We recently returned from our cruise on Golden Princess (Classic Southern Caribbean-Roundtrip San Juan from 2/6/05 - 2/12/05) and we were extremely disappointed with the substandard service and overall experience. This was our 4th cruise on Princess and the level of service provided was unsatisfactory and fell far below the service that we received on Dawn Princess in 2/04. In fact, the service standards and cruising experience provided by Princess on our first 2 cruises (1993 & 1999) was much superior to the services being offered today. I suppose some of this is due to the changing times in the cruising industry. Listed below are some examples of the unsatisfactory service we received on the Golden Princess.
Room Service
·Room service failed to deliver my breakfast 2 mornings in a row. On the first occasion, I called room service to inquire about my order. They apologized and delivered my breakfast 25 minutes late. I signed the original order ticket that I had hung on my door the night before indicating that the order was 25 minutes late. The next morning, I waited 45 minutes and, once again, my breakfast failed to arrive. This time I contacted the Pursers Desk to advise them of the situation. They had room service contact me and I received my breakfast 1 hour late. Once again, they presented my original order ticket and I noted that breakfast was delivered 1 hour late. That afternoon, we received a call from the Matre'de apologizing for the poor service. He asked us to contact him when we arrived in the dining room that evening so that he could apologize in person. When I spoke with him at dinner, he suggested that I might not have properly perforated the order form and hung it on my door correctly. I was insulted by his implication that I didn't know how to hang a room service order on my door. If I hadn't properly hung the order on my door, then room service wouldn't have been able to present my original order ticket for me to sign on each occasion. I felt as though the Matre'de didn't want to accept responsibility and wanted to push the problem back on the customer.
Wheelhouse Bar
·We entered the Wheelhouse Bar on the first evening of our cruise and sat in the smoking area. When a waiter didn't appear after many minutes, I went up to the bar and asked if they had waiter service and was told that someone would be right over. I pointed out where my boyfriend was sitting and told her that I was going to the restroom and that he would place our order. Upon my return, he still hadn't been approached by a waiter. Once again, I went up to the bar and asked for someone to take our drink order. A waitress finally came over a minute or two later and took our order. I was shocked to see that my Diet Coke was served in a plastic tumbler. Serving beverages in plastic is fine in the pool area, but I don't appreciate receiving my drinks in plastic tumblers in the lounges and other areas of the ship. On top of that, the soda was flat.
Service
·Overall, the staff was less professional than on previous cruises. We felt that 50% of the staff that we encountered was experienced and polished, while the other half was obviously less experienced. We got the impression that many employees were very new to their jobs. Unfortunately, we didn't encounter any staff members that we felt should be recognized with an extra tip on the last evening. On all of our previous cruises, we had the pleasure of meeting a few exceptional staff members and we recognized their services with additional tips.
·We encountered a rude cashier in the casino and one employee at the Purser's Desk was impatient with me when I requested specific change from a $100 bill. The store employees were less than friendly. We had never experienced rude staff members on Princess and were very upset by these experiences.
·On many occasions we noticed trash (discarded napkins, empty glasses, etc.) on the floor in the lounges, restrooms, and elevators.
·When entering the theaters or lounges after a show had just ended, the tables would be covered with empty glasses, napkins, and dirty ashtrays. The tables wouldn't be cleared until many minutes after we were seated.
Theatres & Lounges
·Overall, the ship felt overcrowded with passengers on many occasions. Seating capacity in the theatres and lounges wasn't large enough to accommodate the number of passengers attending the shows. We ended up standing in order to see many of the shows. We witnessed overcrowding and people standing at all venues. Many of the events (i.e., Island Party, Sail Away Party, and Champagne Fountain) offered limited seating and required that many passengers hang over the railing on a couple decks in order to participate. We just weren't pleased with the layout and size of the public areas of the ship relative to the number of passengers.
Cabin, Dining & Entertainment
On the plus side, the size and layout of our inside cabin was good. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of entertainment presented on the Golden Princess. The Cruise Director and his staff did a wonderful job. We really enjoyed Anytime Dining and the food and selection offered in the dining room was very good. The disembarkation process ran very smoothly.
You can bet that our next cruise won't be on Princess!
Room Service
·Room service failed to deliver my breakfast 2 mornings in a row. On the first occasion, I called room service to inquire about my order. They apologized and delivered my breakfast 25 minutes late. I signed the original order ticket that I had hung on my door the night before indicating that the order was 25 minutes late. The next morning, I waited 45 minutes and, once again, my breakfast failed to arrive. This time I contacted the Pursers Desk to advise them of the situation. They had room service contact me and I received my breakfast 1 hour late. Once again, they presented my original order ticket and I noted that breakfast was delivered 1 hour late. That afternoon, we received a call from the Matre'de apologizing for the poor service. He asked us to contact him when we arrived in the dining room that evening so that he could apologize in person. When I spoke with him at dinner, he suggested that I might not have properly perforated the order form and hung it on my door correctly. I was insulted by his implication that I didn't know how to hang a room service order on my door. If I hadn't properly hung the order on my door, then room service wouldn't have been able to present my original order ticket for me to sign on each occasion. I felt as though the Matre'de didn't want to accept responsibility and wanted to push the problem back on the customer.
Wheelhouse Bar
·We entered the Wheelhouse Bar on the first evening of our cruise and sat in the smoking area. When a waiter didn't appear after many minutes, I went up to the bar and asked if they had waiter service and was told that someone would be right over. I pointed out where my boyfriend was sitting and told her that I was going to the restroom and that he would place our order. Upon my return, he still hadn't been approached by a waiter. Once again, I went up to the bar and asked for someone to take our drink order. A waitress finally came over a minute or two later and took our order. I was shocked to see that my Diet Coke was served in a plastic tumbler. Serving beverages in plastic is fine in the pool area, but I don't appreciate receiving my drinks in plastic tumblers in the lounges and other areas of the ship. On top of that, the soda was flat.
Service
·Overall, the staff was less professional than on previous cruises. We felt that 50% of the staff that we encountered was experienced and polished, while the other half was obviously less experienced. We got the impression that many employees were very new to their jobs. Unfortunately, we didn't encounter any staff members that we felt should be recognized with an extra tip on the last evening. On all of our previous cruises, we had the pleasure of meeting a few exceptional staff members and we recognized their services with additional tips.
·We encountered a rude cashier in the casino and one employee at the Purser's Desk was impatient with me when I requested specific change from a $100 bill. The store employees were less than friendly. We had never experienced rude staff members on Princess and were very upset by these experiences.
·On many occasions we noticed trash (discarded napkins, empty glasses, etc.) on the floor in the lounges, restrooms, and elevators.
·When entering the theaters or lounges after a show had just ended, the tables would be covered with empty glasses, napkins, and dirty ashtrays. The tables wouldn't be cleared until many minutes after we were seated.
Theatres & Lounges
·Overall, the ship felt overcrowded with passengers on many occasions. Seating capacity in the theatres and lounges wasn't large enough to accommodate the number of passengers attending the shows. We ended up standing in order to see many of the shows. We witnessed overcrowding and people standing at all venues. Many of the events (i.e., Island Party, Sail Away Party, and Champagne Fountain) offered limited seating and required that many passengers hang over the railing on a couple decks in order to participate. We just weren't pleased with the layout and size of the public areas of the ship relative to the number of passengers.
Cabin, Dining & Entertainment
On the plus side, the size and layout of our inside cabin was good. We thoroughly enjoyed the variety of entertainment presented on the Golden Princess. The Cruise Director and his staff did a wonderful job. We really enjoyed Anytime Dining and the food and selection offered in the dining room was very good. The disembarkation process ran very smoothly.
You can bet that our next cruise won't be on Princess!
Jul 29th, 2005, 09:04 PM
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I wouldn't call a cruise from Feb. recent and I wonder why you're reporting this now? We sailed this ship in June of this year and had none of the complaints listed here.
I am sorry you encountered poor service, that never happened during the time we were on the ship. But to complain about the "overcrowding", to me that is totally unfair.
The Dawn Princess is a Sun Class ship that carries just under 2000 passengers. The Golden is a Grand class ship that carries 2600 passengers. That information is readily availible on Princess' website, and to us even with a full ship with 2600 passengers the ship never felt crowded to us and we were on it for 10 days. If you do not care for more passengers that could have been easily taken care of beforehand by sailing on another ship.
We have sailed Princess 4 times, all Grand class, and each time we had to arrive early to get seats for shows. If you weren't happy standing that could have been easily taken care of by showing up earlier to get your preferred seats or go to the second show that evening, again showing up early. Seats fillup completely for shows on the 9 cruises I've been on, also including RCCL and NCL.
Again, I'm sorry you had bad service but I don't agree with a lot of the comments that you've made. Simple research on the cruise before sailing could have told you a lot about what to expect. Mega ships aren't for everyone.
I am sorry you encountered poor service, that never happened during the time we were on the ship. But to complain about the "overcrowding", to me that is totally unfair.
The Dawn Princess is a Sun Class ship that carries just under 2000 passengers. The Golden is a Grand class ship that carries 2600 passengers. That information is readily availible on Princess' website, and to us even with a full ship with 2600 passengers the ship never felt crowded to us and we were on it for 10 days. If you do not care for more passengers that could have been easily taken care of beforehand by sailing on another ship.
We have sailed Princess 4 times, all Grand class, and each time we had to arrive early to get seats for shows. If you weren't happy standing that could have been easily taken care of by showing up earlier to get your preferred seats or go to the second show that evening, again showing up early. Seats fillup completely for shows on the 9 cruises I've been on, also including RCCL and NCL.
Again, I'm sorry you had bad service but I don't agree with a lot of the comments that you've made. Simple research on the cruise before sailing could have told you a lot about what to expect. Mega ships aren't for everyone.
Jul 30th, 2005, 06:49 AM
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Sorry your cruise did not meet your expectations. We were on Sun Princess (Southern Caribbean 10-day cruise) in April and every aspect of the trip was great. We had nothing that came even close to substandard service at anytime. Granted the Sun carried 2000 passengers vs. the Golden's larger capacity, but still everything was just great on our cruise.
Jul 30th, 2005, 09:49 AM
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Not a good experience! I had similar experiences (not on Princess) and that is when I swore off the large mega ships. Since then I've had nothing but fantastic experiences on ships that carry a maximum of 600 passengers. You may want to try some of the smaller ships. The difference is night and day!
Aug 1st, 2005, 05:47 AM
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Your posting is very detailed. You may wish to just make a copy of it and mail it to the Customer Service department at Princess.
I would not wait however, just as one other poster responded, the line may not think you're very serious about your concern since this was six months ago. I'm sure they'll respond back to you about your concerns. Sorry you did not have a good time. Hope future sailings are much more enjoyable.
I would not wait however, just as one other poster responded, the line may not think you're very serious about your concern since this was six months ago. I'm sure they'll respond back to you about your concerns. Sorry you did not have a good time. Hope future sailings are much more enjoyable.
Aug 1st, 2005, 11:03 AM
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I'm also wondering why you felt the need to report a bad experience many months later. Have you contacted Princess already & either not received a response or received an unfavorable one? This sounds a lot like revenge.
Nevertheless, you might want to send (or re-send) your original letter to the management. I'm sure they would want to know where they fell short.
Nevertheless, you might want to send (or re-send) your original letter to the management. I'm sure they would want to know where they fell short.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 10:25 AM
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Panda,
I appreciate your review of your Golden Princess cruise. As someone eagerly looking forward to a first-ever cruise (although not on Princess), I'm enjoying doing my research into the good, the bad, and the ugly of cruising. I feel that a review written five months after a return is fairly recent and the passage of time allows one to reflect on the entire experience. I like that you discussed various aspects of the cruise and pointed out the positive as well as the negative.
You liked your accomodations, the dining, the quality of the entertainment, the cruise director, and the disembarkation process. Overall, however, your Feb 05 cruise was unsatisfactory because of poor service and overcrowding. The size of the ship, in my opinion, is irrelevant. A large ship should be designed to accomodate its passengers comfortably. Having to constantly stand or hang over railings at all events indicates that the public areas aren't as well-designed as they should be. And room service and drink service should be reasonably promt (45 minutes late is NOT reasonable). As for rude staff, there is never any excuse for rudeness.
From my research, Princess seems like a nice line. Your detailed review will be just one of the many I'll consider to decide what line/ship to cruise next.
I appreciate your review of your Golden Princess cruise. As someone eagerly looking forward to a first-ever cruise (although not on Princess), I'm enjoying doing my research into the good, the bad, and the ugly of cruising. I feel that a review written five months after a return is fairly recent and the passage of time allows one to reflect on the entire experience. I like that you discussed various aspects of the cruise and pointed out the positive as well as the negative.
You liked your accomodations, the dining, the quality of the entertainment, the cruise director, and the disembarkation process. Overall, however, your Feb 05 cruise was unsatisfactory because of poor service and overcrowding. The size of the ship, in my opinion, is irrelevant. A large ship should be designed to accomodate its passengers comfortably. Having to constantly stand or hang over railings at all events indicates that the public areas aren't as well-designed as they should be. And room service and drink service should be reasonably promt (45 minutes late is NOT reasonable). As for rude staff, there is never any excuse for rudeness.
From my research, Princess seems like a nice line. Your detailed review will be just one of the many I'll consider to decide what line/ship to cruise next.
Aug 3rd, 2005, 06:06 AM
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To Roundtrip,
I hope you'll consider HAL. Their Vista class ships carry 1,800 passengers & 800 crew. We took our first cruise last month on the Zuiderdam from FLL - Western Caribbean. Everything - food, service, ambiance - was perfect. The ship never felt crowded. The waitstaff, after the first meal, remembered our drink preferences. Room service was right on time & done perfectly.
We plan to book another cruise with them in April when their newest Vista class ship sails from NY to the Eastern Caribbean.
I hope you'll consider HAL. Their Vista class ships carry 1,800 passengers & 800 crew. We took our first cruise last month on the Zuiderdam from FLL - Western Caribbean. Everything - food, service, ambiance - was perfect. The ship never felt crowded. The waitstaff, after the first meal, remembered our drink preferences. Room service was right on time & done perfectly.
We plan to book another cruise with them in April when their newest Vista class ship sails from NY to the Eastern Caribbean.
Aug 3rd, 2005, 07:18 AM
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To Roundtrip: Have you discovered the following sites for more detailed cruise info?
www.cruisecritic.com
www.cruisecrazies.com.
Good info; We will be on Princess for the 1st time later this mo. BTW
www.cruisecritic.com
www.cruisecrazies.com.
Good info; We will be on Princess for the 1st time later this mo. BTW
Aug 3rd, 2005, 08:57 AM
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To Jacketwatch:
I have been to cruisecritic.com, which is an excellent site. But not "crazies." I'll have to check that out. The more info and variety of opinions the better. Hope you enjoy your Princess cruise. I'll be on Cunard later this year but I'm planning my spring 06 cruise and Princess is looking like a good match for me. I chose Cunard specifically for the perceived old-time ocean liner experience; we'll see if that's the case. Please post a report on your trip.
I have been to cruisecritic.com, which is an excellent site. But not "crazies." I'll have to check that out. The more info and variety of opinions the better. Hope you enjoy your Princess cruise. I'll be on Cunard later this year but I'm planning my spring 06 cruise and Princess is looking like a good match for me. I chose Cunard specifically for the perceived old-time ocean liner experience; we'll see if that's the case. Please post a report on your trip.
Aug 3rd, 2005, 10:42 AM
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Good luck on Cunard. I'll bet it will be wonderful. They have been around for a long time. They purchased the White Star line (i.e. Titanic) many moons ago. A TR will be forthcoming. Cheers, Larry 
Aug 5th, 2005, 07:53 PM
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We will be cruising on the Golden Princess on Aug. 20th doing a 14 night Transatlantic cruise. We did a Mediterranian cruise last year on Star Princess and loved it! This is the reason we chose Princess again....no problems at all. I will be sure and post how our cruise goes....looking so forward to the getaway!!
Aug 11th, 2005, 05:23 PM
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Princess was one of the lines we were considering for our next cruise but a friend reported experiences similar to yours - so we are going on NCL again. I have never had to stand for a show on any of my NCL cruises. I certainly am not prepared to pay more money for a cruise and encounter 'standing room only' situations and rude service people.
Aug 12th, 2005, 07:12 AM
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Panda attributes at least some of the negative experiences he had on Golden Princess to "the changing times in the cruising industry." Can anyone elaborate on that? I know the ships are larger and there's been much consolidation of lines, but why should this lead to poor service, if indeed that's the case?
Aug 13th, 2005, 05:15 PM
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We did the Golden Princess and LOVED it..
We fell in love with Personal Choice dining..had great service from our cabin steward and terrific service from the regular Personal Choice dining room...
Did not like Sabatini's specialty dining room as there were not enough waiters for the "exceptional service" you were supposed to get--only 2 waiters for the entire dining room....
Everyone was complaining after dinner in there. BUT it did not ruin our cruise at all..
We had a blast and would DEFINITELY go on Princess again...( and we had not been on Princess in over 10 years since we heard that the food had gone down the tubes...NADA--it was very good.
And we are Celebrity die-hards...
We fell in love with Personal Choice dining..had great service from our cabin steward and terrific service from the regular Personal Choice dining room...
Did not like Sabatini's specialty dining room as there were not enough waiters for the "exceptional service" you were supposed to get--only 2 waiters for the entire dining room....
Everyone was complaining after dinner in there. BUT it did not ruin our cruise at all..
We had a blast and would DEFINITELY go on Princess again...( and we had not been on Princess in over 10 years since we heard that the food had gone down the tubes...NADA--it was very good.
And we are Celebrity die-hards...
Aug 17th, 2005, 07:49 AM
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To Enigma1100,
We will be on Golden Princess on August 20th as well. I gave some thought to and did research on the clothing issue. Here is what I found out: The temperature will vary between 58 and 72 (with mid 60th most of the time). Half of the days will be with showers/rain. We will be crossing the Atlantic in cold weather as well. The only summery weather will be with us in Zeebrugge, Rotterdam and Le Havre. So, most of the time, no shorts/open tops/etc. As far as evening – no real formal for us. Just elegant and classy, but no tuxedos/gowns – the time for that is long gone, unless cruising on New Years.
See you in Southampton.
We will be on Golden Princess on August 20th as well. I gave some thought to and did research on the clothing issue. Here is what I found out: The temperature will vary between 58 and 72 (with mid 60th most of the time). Half of the days will be with showers/rain. We will be crossing the Atlantic in cold weather as well. The only summery weather will be with us in Zeebrugge, Rotterdam and Le Havre. So, most of the time, no shorts/open tops/etc. As far as evening – no real formal for us. Just elegant and classy, but no tuxedos/gowns – the time for that is long gone, unless cruising on New Years.
See you in Southampton.
Aug 17th, 2005, 09:32 AM
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We've cruised with Princess for many years. Everything wasn't always perfect, but this last time the dining room service diminished as we cruised.
Next to last night, my birthday, forgotten. We had ordered a "celebration." The baloons were at our cabin, but no cake or candles in the dining room. Service was extremely slow. The last night we were never served coffee. So I wrote a letter to Princess - no response. Sent it again - no response. Finally, I sent a copy certified to the CEO of Carnival which owns Princess. It took two months for the response. They apologized and offered me $25 ship board credit on my next cruise if booked within the year.
This year we're going back to Royal Caribbean and pray they have their act together.
Next to last night, my birthday, forgotten. We had ordered a "celebration." The baloons were at our cabin, but no cake or candles in the dining room. Service was extremely slow. The last night we were never served coffee. So I wrote a letter to Princess - no response. Sent it again - no response. Finally, I sent a copy certified to the CEO of Carnival which owns Princess. It took two months for the response. They apologized and offered me $25 ship board credit on my next cruise if booked within the year.
This year we're going back to Royal Caribbean and pray they have their act together.
