Your thoughts on Princess?
 

Hi,

We've just returned from a Mexican Riviera cruise on Princess, and both me and my folks weren't too impressed with them...we've sailed on RCCL a few times as well as Celebrity and definitely thought that Princess was a step down from both of them...just wondering what sorts of experiences others have had on them???

Thanks,
N674UW

I've been on them five or six times, and the Mexican was certainly the least inspiring trip we have had with them. I don't know if they are just more laid back, or whatever, but if it was my first experience I wouldn't have been thrilled to go back.

They certianly have had some cost cutting and the rest with the lower fares and the Carnival purchase of them, but I would still rank them someplace in the middle of the mainstream lines, below the other lines you mentioned.

So, yes, your observations are probably correct.

We took a Princess Mexico cruise from Long Beach about 6 or 8 years ago and that killed the idea of cruising for us. It was awful. There is no way that I would ever get back on a Princess boat and there would need to be a serious reason for us to consider any other.

My uncle was on the Caribbean Princess for a week starting on 09/11 and it was atrocious. Had he not been on RCCL previously, he and his girlfriend would never consider a cruise again!!! AS a matter of fact, he just came back from spending a weekend at the Embassy Suites in Tampa and said that this was 1000 times better than any part of his Princess esperience!

we took 1 princess cruise...hnl-osaka, because of the itin....many people who were multi princess cruisers were saying that it was being carnivalized, not near what it used to be.

however, we got into the routine and enjoyed the trip [most of the 24 days] on the pacific princess [600 pax]. the stops were midway, marshals, solomons [guadalcanal], rabaul, guam, saipan, drive by iwo jima, okinawa & osaka.

there was free internet for people w/ 5 trips on them...we'll never get there.

We went on a Western Caribbean cruise two years ago on Grand Princess (before Princess was bought by Carnival) and had a blast. We had a great time : the food, the people, the facility ... they were all pretty good. Having said that, we've never been on it since it was bought by Carnival though, and I've heard ao many bad things about Carnival. Now I saw the thread, maybe I should give it a second thought about taking a Princess cruise trip again around X'mas. Maybe I should check RCL or Celebrity. Which one has better food, anyone knows?

We did a cruise of the Baltic on Princess a year ago, and it was okay. Nothing outstandingly great or outstandingly poor. The price was right though, and it got us to and from St. Petersberg, which was the whole point of the trip. I don't think I'd go out of my way to use them again, but I wouldn't necessarily avoid Princess either if one of their ships was going where I wanted to go at a price that was reasonable.

Princess is owned by Carnival? When did this happen???

In answer to your question, both of them are about the same to me, but we've sailed on RCCL more than Celebrity and RCCL has always been greatly accomodating to us...

N674UW

My wife and I cruise frequently and typically cruise 5 times per year. This year we did 2 Princess cruises. We rank the mid priced cruise lines as Holland America, Princess, Celebrity, and Royal Caribbean.

For more info on cruises, you might read the "rec.travel.cruises" newsgroup.

On April 17, 2003, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL) and P&O Princess Cruises plc (LSE: POC) merged via a dual listed company structure (DLC). Subsequently, P&O Princess Cruises plc has changed its name to Carnival plc.

It depends on the cruise
 

We really enjoyed our Mediterrean cruise on the Star Princess this summer. If you are interested I would be happy to tell you more. We enjoyed the itinerary Barcelona to Venice. We enjoyed the minisuite. It was a good value for us and meant a nice varied trip to Europe with out schlepping our suitcases and hoping on trains. We were so relaxed. I think that cruising is a great way to see a lot of different places easily. We hope to use cruising to see some more out of the way locales. There is a trip from South Africa to Sydney that really gets me interested. So far Princess has been fine at an affordable price point. It is a bit like a Hilton or Hyatt not a Four Seasons or Aman resort. :-:

Consider river cruises, we have been on river cruises in France, Germany, and China and loved each one. Tiny little places a huge mega ship can't even dream of going to.

Star Princess
 

I agree with ijkh. We did the exact same cruise this past summer on the Star Princess (July 3rd sailing). It was pretty much what I expected. We're a family of four and had 2 mini suites next to each other. I thought the cabins were okay and the staff was pretty responsive when ever we needed anything. Since the Star Princess is a large ship (roughly 2,600 passengers) I didn't expect any personalize service from the staff. The price was decent, especially since my mother-in-law was our travel agent and kicked her commission back to us. You just have to keep in mind that Princess is a middle of the road cruise line. It's not Seabourne or Crystal Cruises.

What ship were you on? We were on the Diamond in Alaska and had a great time (staff friendly and responsive, food excellent, but would have preferred a smaller ship), but I haven't sailed on RCCL so I can't compare.

We were on the Diamond as well...our biggest gripe actually was the food...a major step below RCCL...the portions small, not enough variety in the menu, waiters didn't know how to handle special requests (which havent been a problem on RCCL)...

N674UW

First time cruiser now shaking
 

You folks have me scared now. We are planning a med cruise next summer on grand princess and what I see I am not sure it will be fun. Our issue is we have 3 kids with us so seaborn, silversea, raddison are out of the question from what I read on the web sites. Is the service/food better in the med as the mexican cruises? Or has carnival destroyed this line which from the brochure looks great for kids. :confused:

We took an Alaskan cruise years ago on Princess on one of the original love boats. This was way before Carnival bought Princess. We have taken a number of cruises, and this was one of the worst, in terms of food quality and service. Some may disagree with me... Carnival provides a better value today than Princess. At least you go into it with fairly low expectations, so are usually pleased with what you get for what you paid.

That's too bad. Our tablemates at dinner were the queens of the special request and had no problem getting whatever they needed. I think, like everything in life, it's hit-or-miss, sometimes you have a great waiter and sometimes you have a terrible one.

Were you eating in the anytime dining rooms or in traditional? On another board, I've read tons of complaints about the anytime dining room menus being way too limited. In traditional, I thought the menu was OK, plus we occassionally got menus from the anytime dining rooms too, which added to the choices. It's not like going to a restaurant, though, where you'd get 10 or 15 different entree choices. Do other lines have more choices?