Feedback from M. Mohabir Baja 208

This was my fifth cruise but first with Princess Cruises. Previous four

cruises were all with Royal Caribbean Voyager class ships which are similar in size.

The things that exceeded my expectations are:

The Cruise director Paul Chandler-Burns and assistant Kaylee were the highlight. I would give them a 12 out of 10 if I could. The other entertainment staff easily get 10 out of 10.

The food around the ship gets 9.8 out of 10. The dinners were excellent in taste and presentation. We had anytime dining but ate around 5:30 pm each day. We had different wait staff and some were better than others, but overall they provided great service. Only disappointment was that there was a small fee for teas and coffees at the International café.

Our room attendant Marlon had our room fresh and inviting throughout our cruise. Nothing disappointing there so he gets 9.8 out of 10 just because there were no towel animals to greet us as Royal Caribbean does.(Never mind he walked in on me when I came back to use the bathroom in the middle of the afternoon!!)

The daily ship-board entertainment (Trivia, games, classes, demonstrations, etc., gets 9.5 out of 10. Only disappointment is that they should wait a few minutes for passengers who have to get from one event at one end to another event at the other end of the ship. Always got to my next event right after they started. One thing I can say about Princess that is better than Royal Caribbean is that Princess' entertainment team is never tardy.

The things that were good were:

The evening shows in the Princess Theatre were good. Most evenings were performances by the Princess team of singers and dancers. the booked acts like the magician, the comedian and the acrobatic team were so-so. Nothing too spectacular. I expected more. 8.5 out of 10.

The cleanliness of the ship was also good. Passengers reserving deck chairs with towels and then disappearing for the rest of the day was noticeable, but I did see one Princess staff removing them so other passengers could enjoy them. 8.5 out of 10.

Boarding and disembarking the ship were hassle free. It gets a good rating. 8.5 out of 10.

Poolside entertainment could have been a lot better, such as live bands, contests and games. 7 out of 10.

The major disappointments were:

The running/walking track is waaay too small and poorly designed. You have to walk 16 times around to do a mile. I don't want to see the same person every 30 seconds. On the Royal Caribbean ships you do a mile in just over two laps. It's so disappointing hardly anyone bothered to use it. Rating 1 out of 10 just for being there.

The mini golf was unplayable because of its condition. It need a complete redesign and has to be more attractive than a faded strip of green. 1 out of 10 just for being there.

The itinerary was not the best. On a 7 day cruise you would expect way more shore time. I calculated that I was just able to spend about 12% of the 168 hours ( 7 days)on shore. Of course I knew that when I booked but still it's disappointing. 3 out of 10.

The senior staff was inconspicuous. Never saw the captain and officers out and about as you would on any Royal Caribbean ships where you meet them all at the sail-away party. Didn't even see the person in charge of my dining area. Rating 3 out of 10.

The crew were mostly from the Phillipines. I work with Filipinos year round and I enjoy their company. I found the service staff around the Princess, except for room attendant, mostly uncommunicative and some of the service I got was not good. I would only give them a 4 out of 10.

I did feel I was always being pushed to buy things on board. I did do a little shopping but I felt that I was being pressured a bit by all the messaging directed at the passengers. 5 out of 10.

If I didn't mention anything else then I guess I can't think of it right now. Thank you.

Mr. M. Mohabir