For those of you who just want a summary for your trip: Prices are up, service is down. Staff was completely overwhelmed, and the responsibility falls directly on Management. As stewards of the company that we are all stakeholders and shareholders of they should be ashamed. This is not the Princess Cruise Company that we know and love. They didn’t even give you a glass of cheap champagne to toast the New Year in with them on, opting to sell you bottles instead. Why pay the premium to go on a cruise during the holiday?
Now for the long review. I have each section separated in Bold characters so if you want to skip to the section that interest you hopefully that makes it easy. Specific staff shoutouts at the end so if you are going on the Enchanted between now and April make sure to look for these folks!
About Me (Am I qualified to review?)- I am an avid cruiser and a platinum member of Princess. I am a young professional in my mid 30’s and my wife and I are a DINK couple. We generally go on Princess because we like the relaxed atmosphere, less crowded ships, better food and drink options. We aren’t looking for rock walls and roller coasters when we are on a ship. We have cruised many other lines as well however, and have had various experiences, but have always come back to Princess. I started cruising in the mid-90’s back when the standards for crew and passengers were a lot higher (I remember the Mairte D stopping my father from coming in during a formal night until he flipped his cumber bun on his tux the “Right way”). Some things have changed for the better, some for the worse in my opinion.
Pre-Trip and Boarding- When we cruised on this ship November of 21’ it only took me 7 minutes from the time we got off the transfer to get on the ship (Platinum line, please remember). This trip my mother got 2 different medallions in the mail and my cousin got 4. We called in, they said no problem, just bring 1. That was wrong. They had issues getting that medallion to work, so they gave us an old school card. Well my mother is an elite member, and the card doesn’t denote you status Tier. When we tried to get her into the elite lounge one of the employees became down right hostile and started an argument with me in front of all the passengers. I even showed her on my moms phone what her status was and this lady continued to try and argue. It was only when I reached the point of being so hot every other passenger in the very crowded room took notice that another employee with a cooler head came over and calmed things down. After that we boarded the ship, but here is the thing about the medallions- They are used for EVERYTHING, so if it’s not working none of the technology works. While they were having welcome drinks I took their medallions to guest services to get them fixed. It took me 5 trips over 4 days to finally get their medallions working properly. Also, if you haven’t cruised in a while don’t be surprised when they don’t offer you any champagne or hors d'oeuvres when you first get on the ship. Instead, they will have lots of people with things that you can sign up or pay for. Nickle and dime, all the time!
Rooms- We had a deluxe balcony, and they had a standard. Rooms were nice, and standard balconies are a little tighter than they used to be, but it was acceptable. Room stewards were great at their job, very hardworking people. Beds were comfortable, closet was large, bathroom was standard cruise ship size. All those little niceties however, the towel animals, the chocolates on the pillow, all gone with the wind. Things that made Princess special were the small things, and for the most part they are gone.
Standard Dining- The food itself impressed me. It was great, top notch. I’d put it right there with a 4-star restaurant. Double baked goat cheese souffle is like heaven. The issue with dining was the service, but it’s not fair to say it that way because that makes it seem like it was the crew. This poor staff was literally running around the dining room. They worked as hard as they could. There simply just wasn’t enough of them compared to us. For that reason, dinner averaged 2+ hours a night. Once again, this failure falls strictly on management.
Specialty Dining-
Sabatini’s- Can’t say enough about this one. With the fresh made pasta, the specials, the obvious care that goes into each dish it’s probably the only specialty dining worth paying the upcharge for. There is honest-to-god pride in this food. Between the 4 of us we had pretty much everything on the menu, and not one of us regretted our orders.
Crown Grill- The food was great- depending on what you ordered. The service, well this once again turned into a 2:45 meal. They were so short staffed they were pulling in bar staff to help. The place wasn’t even full! My waiter was a great guy, and he tried to warn me. Everyone else at the table got surf and turf. The filets came out perfect. The lobster tail was delicious. My porterhouse came out wayyyy overdone. They really wanted to make it right but by this point we were over 2 hours into dinner. Instead, the next night they sent us the surf and turf to the room to eat on the balcony. It came out absolutely amazing and made for a great evening, so I give them a lot of props for doing that to make it right.
Bistro Sur La Mer- This was our first time eating here. The food was really good, and the service was excellent. Do I think it was worth the upcharge or in our case paying for the Princess Premium? Not really. It’s the kind of food that used to be standard in the dining room.
Princess Beverage Packages- While we are on the subject of food and drink, let’s talk about the Princess Packages. We did opt to take the premium package. The selling point of the premium package is that you get the high-end drinks, two nights of specialty dining, unlimited photos, and can play princess prizes. I’m going to break this down, but if you are looking for a summary THE PREMIUM PACKAGE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT WORTH IT. If you want a drink are order it from a server instead of going to the bar expect 20-25 minute wait times per a drink which is what we averaged.
Drinks- If you have the premium package and you go to the bars you can order the premium drinks. The problem is the bars that had the premium drinks on the menu don’t carry the premium spirits!!! We were told over and over again only good spirits could make a certain drink. Examples- Wakeview Bar had the Premium Salted Watermelon Margarita on the menu but didn’t have the premium tequila. The Casino bar had the Amaretto Manhattan on the menu and didn’t have the PCL label Woodford. Funny story here, the bartender actually argued with me that the digital menu was wrong and handed me the actual hard copy menu for the casino bar. Guess what, that menu had the drink too!!!!! If you are getting this package expecting to get premium drinks across the ship you will disappointed. If you are expecting a wide variety of premium drinks you will also be terribly disappointed.
Specialty dining- For the price of the package, just get the regular and pay for the charge per a person. As stated before, I only think Santarini was worth the extra charge. I wouldn’t bother with the others again.
Photo Package- This was cool, but still not worth the price of the premium package. We couldn’t get the photos to download from the app like they are supposed to. Went to the photo shop to see what they could do and asked them give it to us on a thumb drive since the app was broken. They told us we had to buy one of their USB sticks to get our photos. So, their app doesn’t work, and we have to pay for it. Nickle and dime, all the time!
Princes Prizes- A gimmick like any carnival game. That’s all I have to say about that.
Ports and Excursions-
Excursions- Pretty much every excursion the ship offers locals offer for less than half the price. You expect to pay a little more as the cruise company does have overhead and admin cost they have to cover, plus their margin, but it’s really getting high up there. The advantage to booking through the ship is that you never have to worry about being left behind.
Ports-
Princess Cays- One of my favorites. A very laid-back day and your drink package works on the beach. Only negative I can say is that they serve the same food there they have been serving for over a decade. A little variety would be nice. Other than that, beautiful island, well kept, fun beach day.
Puerto Rico- The island is rich in history and has a lot of things to do. It’s one of those staples of most east/ southern itineraries so if you are a big cruiser like we are chances are you’ve been here enough to see all the touristy stuff. It’s nice to mingle with the locals or just have a day on the ship when it’s not so crowded. If you are new to the port go out, see the history, drink the rum!
Tortola- One of the favorites of the trip. Island paradise, super friendly locals, lots to see and do. We took a cab and went to the rum distillery and beach, had a great day, met a local contractor who gave us some great tips. Really a good stop.
Guadalupe- Not a favorite. Crowded, dirty, locals were not extra friendly. We took a cab to the beach which happened to be at the Club Med. Water was absolutely gorgeous so if you are looking for a beach day make this one it. I would not feel the most secure letting family members walk around the shopping/downtown areas.
Martinique- Also not a favorite. We got off the boat for a few minutes, looked around and decided a ship day would be better. You’ll have to look for reviews of the people who did the excursions.
Saint Maarten- The absolute favorite, and one of my top places in the Caribbean. Friendly people, great beaches, good snorkeling, awesome food. If you need a cab when you get off the water taxi look for Miss Veronica. She’s very sweet and gives a great tour as you drive around the island.
The Lotus Spa- When we were on the ship in November of ‘21 we got several treatments here. We opted not to this time since the prices had just gone up by too much. For a couple of treatments you could go on another cruise, and I’d rather spend the money on another 10 days at sea rather than 150 minutes worth of massages. I did get a haircut out of necessity and my wife got a mani-pedi. They really do nice work. Don’t forget, they add a service charge (tip) to your treatment then still leave a spot for additional. Their hope is that you won’t realize the service charge was in there and still provide additional tip so they can use that as staff incentive. Nickle and dime, all the time!
Accessibility - One of the reasons we have cruised so much is my father had ALS for many years and cruise ships tend to be easier for someone handicapped to be on for a vacation. For this reason, I always keep my eyes and ears open to how accessible the ship is. I have to say this one is by far the most wheelchair and handicap accessible ship I have ever been on. I can’t comment on the stateroom as we don’t use those anymore, but the public areas are very easy to get through. You may have some trouble in the casino- but most people will come to expect that.
Overall, the ship is gorgeous, and the technology is great when it works. We needed to get away and did manage to do that. The staff was absolutely phenomenal and tried their best, despite the obvious conditions they were working in. Unfortunately, between the increase in prices, the decrease in service, and the practice of charging additional cost for every little thing that used to be included in these higher prices, the value proposition of going on a Princess Cruise is not a very appealing one. Even with status, they give so little now it makes it worth it to start looking at and trying other cruise lines.
Staff Superlatives (the only reason we may come back)-
Raymond- Bartender, Wake view Bar
Honey- Bartender, Wake view Bar
Putu- Bartender, The Retreat
Christine-Server, Take 5
Christine- Waitress, Santarini
Gavrilo- Server, Crown Grill
Jorge- Server, Sabotini Dining Room
Heinrich- Room Steward, Emerald 110
Mario- Server, Crooners
If you are going on this ship, I sincerely hope for your trip they have the issues ironed out. The potential is absolutely there, which is part of what makes it frustrating for people like me. If you have any questions or would like some tips please feel free to send me a message!