Princess Cruises is not truthful about the capacity of the ship. According to its website, the ship has 1,830 cabins and a 3,660 passenger capacity. That's totally misleading and that's why there's so much overcrowding in the dining areas and a lack of tables. The 3,660 was computed at two passengers per cabin but that's wrong, especially during holidays and summer vacation, when there are a lot of families onboard occupying three or four to a cabin. If experienced cruisers notice this, how much more should Princess Cruises, which is in the business of cruising, should know this. A simple calculation will tell you the actual passenger count could be close to 4,500 or even 5,000; thus the overcrowding.
And be careful of the picture packages and digital copies sold by the Photo Gallery. The digital copies are only about 1MB big each and this resolution doesn't give good quality 10" X 10" or larger pictures. Problem is the staff doesn't tell you this.
Princess cruises is not truthful.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Did not download nor use the Medallion app. The other passengers who used the Medallion app for check in probably made the line shorter for those who opted for the traditional check in.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
Compared to previous cruises on comparable cruise lines, the taste, selections and quality of the food are noticeably below Celebrity and Holland America. And the ship is so big with over 4,000 passengers, you can’t find a table at the buffet restaurant during peak times.
Onboard Activities
1 out of 5
I can't rate because I didn't use them.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
No Broadway style large ensemble type show.
Children's Programs
1 out of 5
My grandchildren were signed up but found the activities boring.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
The servers were trying their best but service was still slow. There were no knowledgeable wine stewards in the main dining rooms. And the restaurant seating staff assigning tables to walk-in guests had a very difficult job because the Medallion app was not always functional when using the cabin TV to make dining reservations.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The ship is clean and beautiful but it seems the amount of space allocated to the main dining areas and the buffet are not proportional, thus the extreme difficulty of finding tables during breakfast, lunch and dinner. And there's this overcrowded feeling in the main public areas.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
It’s okay but the balcony is so small compared to those on Holland America and Celebrity ships. When the balcony chairs are reclined even just half-way, there's no walking space to get back to the cabin. This cabin is not a mini-suite. It’s a large balcony cabin with the enclosed space enlarged at the expense of the balcony.
Ship tip
Don’t book a cruise on this ship if you want a relaxing and enjoyable cruise.
The Yellow Cab taxi drivers are scammers. They take advantage of your situation: new to a place, carrying luggage, have a schedule to meet. They overcharge a significant amount and refuse to use the meter, accept credit cards and to issue a receipt so there will be no evidence of what you paid. I was quoted and paid $20 from the Amtrak station to the Sheraton Grand Seattle and $35 from the cruise port to the Amtrak station. When I got back from the cruise, I calculated the fare based on the tariff to be only about $12 instead of $20 and $21 instead of $35 from the cruise port to the Amtrak station.
To squirrelking: According to this website, cruiseline.com:
"Premium cruises occupy the space between affordable mainstream lines (Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian) and high-class luxury lines (Crystal, Seabourn and Regent Seven Seas). This is most evident in the price point as premium sailings are more expensive than a mass-market cruise, but won’t give you the sticker shock of luxury sailings costing upwards of $400 per night, per person. Premium ships tend to be much larger than luxury ships (think 1,500 to 3,000 passengers) but come with bigger staterooms and a higher crew-to-passenger ratio. Amenities such as beverage packages and WiFi are either included as part of an early booking bonus or purchased at a lower rate than mass-market lines. With the slightly higher price tag upfront, premium ships generally have a minimal number of children on board with the exception of some multi-generational families traveling together during school breaks."
As you can see, those NOT mentioned are the premium cruiselines like Celebrity, Holland America, Disney AND PRINCESS.
Princess is therefore a premium cruiseline.
To yk07us: You are right, the ship will not take on passengers in excess of the maximum ship capacity. But 100% occupancy is different from maximum capacity. 100% occupancy is number of cabins times 2 per cabin. Maximum occupancy is if all the berths in the cabins were occupied. Some cabins can accommodate a third or even a fourth passengers.
To Lisa kitty: Cruiselines calculate 100% occupancy based on double occupancy of staterooms. 100% occupancy is very different from maximum capacity, as some cabins allow for triple or quadruple occupancy.
This is from Discovery Princess ship stats:
PRICE: $$$$
SIZE: L
TOTAL PASSENGERS: 3,660
TOTAL CREW: 1,346
PASSENGER TO CREW RATIO: 2.72
BUILT: Mar 2022
NUMBER OF DECKS: 15
TOTAL CABINS: 1,830
CABIN CATEGORIES: 35
It says "total passengers: 3660." That's why it's misleading because some cabins have triple or even quadruple occupancy.
Thanks fir sharing. You should not compare a lower level cruise lines to those that are higher. If you want luxury cruising,(Holland and celebrity) then you should not cruise princess(premium), or carnival or royal(budget) cruise lines.
All cruise lines calculate their "maximum capacity" as total number of guest cabins at double occupancy. This is industry standard; it's not just a Princess thing.
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