I had high expectations after my last Princess Cruise from L.A. to Sydney and an identical ship. I've outlined the differences above. It also seems as if Princess is looking for petty pricing increases onboard. Receiving a menu with surcharges is inappropriate for the regular dining or the specialty dining. You purchase a package to prepay the experience. I can only assume the plan is to sell the Premier vs. Plus, by making show seating difficult if the cruise is full. Charges for The Sanctuary that you can't access? Last year it was free and first-come-first serve.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
They lost my medallion, so the embarkation took forever. Once I was finally able to get to the room, the twin beds that had been requested were not set up. I was told it would have to wait until morning, but Guest Services did get it fixed that evening.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The crowds made the buffets very difficult. I was unable to find any seating at all on two different occasions.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
I took a 26 day cruise last October and enjoyed The Sanctuary and looked forward to using it again. Unfortunately, you decided to close it based on reservations and fees, so I couldn't get a cabana booked. It was very disappointing.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Rock Opera was the best show I've ever seen on any cruise ship. That's the only reason I gave four stars. I would have preferred a piano or jazz bar in a dedicated space. (That was the case last October on the Majestic Princess). enjoyed the Irish music in O'Malley's, but the venue was too small. You advertise the "Take 5 Lounge" but it was never opened. Very disappointing.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Excellent service from all staff. Joylynn in the Juneau Dining room deserves a special shout out.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Served its purpose. I would have preferred the option to control the motion activated lighting. For light sleepers, the light can wake you up.
Ship tip
Book a specific time for dining and stick with it for the duration of the cruise. It became impossible to handle the crowds entering the restaurants at all times. I would also suggest avoiding the buffet at peak times.
Only one disembarkation ramp meant a significant delay for everyone. My connecting flight was late so it didn't really matter to me, but there were multiple complaints.
It seems every business has an up charge for this or that, most cruise lines do this now. But if you aren’t looking to eat lobster, you probably won’t pay any surcharges in the dining room. Or fresh squeezed OJ vs not. We like the Princess Plus package because it includes everything we want-Specialty coffees, juice bar, drinks, and gelato plus all those service charges. We love the service too. Thanks for your review!
Sorry you couldn’t enjoy this trip. I think all cruise lines offer up charge items on MDR menus now. You don’t have to pay it of course. I’ve been on 15 Princess ships, the Sanctuary has always cost. You must be remembering that incorrectly.
Sorry it wasn’t everything you wanted. We always book same table, same time. Works sooooo well. Lots of things to navigate. Some things are more important to us than others.
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