Last Princess Cruise For Me

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 23

Review summary

Unfortunately, this cruise was one disappointment after another. Our first issue was our dining experience. We had booked a nightly reservation for traditional dining, and during our 1st dinner, our waiter told us that traditional dining had been “abolished”. I told him I was sad to hear that, he mentioned that I could request him and ask to be sat in the same section each night, which we did, and I will say they did their very best to accommodate. The disappointing part was that service was incredibly slow, taking close to 2.5 hrs every night, making it difficult to get to other events. When we ordered room service, we experienced similar delays, averaging 1.5 hr waits, which is not what I’ve been accustomed to on previous cruises. Further disappointment, on April 5th the captain announced that we would not be stopping in Roatan due to unsafe conditions. I would have been 100% OK with this explanation, safety should come first, but I had just literally watched another Cruise Ship dock in Mahogany Bay from the top deck! I later found out that we were the only ship scheduled to dock in Roatan on 4/5 that did not do so. If the conditions were so unsafe, why would the other ships dare attempt to dock! I expressed this concern with one of the ships officers, she was kind and explained that ships were like cars…I asked her if we were the (Cheap Car) of the seas, and all the other ships were Ferraris. She said she wouldn’t say that, but also said the captain is the one that has to make the call and be comfortable with the conditions. So, moving on to the next day, as you can imagine, we’re all anxious to get off the ship in Costa Maya. We’re late, and all anxiously waiting to hear what’s going on, and the captain announces that a second port will be skipped. During his first of two announcements he stated that “Port Captain” had closed the port and that it would be closed to Cruise ships. This statement was in fact not true, and was absolutely infuriating. You see, I was in contact with my local guides in Costa Maya, asking about the port and local conditions, and we were informed that other cruise ships were in fact docking, it was confirmed to me that shortly after we left, two other cruise ships safely docked in Costa Maya. I again met with the same officer to express my concern. She just said that it’s up to the captain and can’t comment as to why he chose not to dock. She did say that it was the captain’s call, and the captain in a later announcement did state that he had made the call to move on. It was this inconsistent communication, and lack of honesty, that is frankly inexcusable. Lastly, I'll share my customer service experience: 4/6/2023 – I sent an e-mail at guest services recommendation from the ship to customer service, and received an automated reply that it was received, but that due to a “large volume” of messages it may take longer than usual to respond. It further stated I had the option of reaching out to “1-800-774-6237” 4/14/2023 – I still hadn’t heard from Princess, so I placed my first call, and was told that I needed to call the same 800 #, and enter extension – 13028. I did so, this extension is not valid. I call back to share that I was not successful, and I was put on approximately 30 min hold, and when the rep came back, she said I needed to call the same 800 # that I had just called, exasperated, I said this is the number I just called. Realizing this, she put me on another hold. When she came back, I was told to take my concern to Costco Travel, and that there was nothing else they could do. I said my Costco booking experience was flawless, and again she said there was nothing else she could do. I decided to try one final “Hail Mary” and call the corporate office. After dialing, I was prompted to select #1 for previous cruises, and customer service, and upon doing so, it states the menu item has changed and that I now need to call 800-774-6237…I think I literally laughed out loud. I call back one last time and was able to connect with an operator. Ultimately, I was connected with Cindy, who was kind and tried to work with her management to see what consideration could be offered due to such a terrible experience. Sadly, her requests fell on deaf ears and I was told that I would have to work with yet another department. She forwarded my concerns, and I never heard back. So, the moral of the Story? Choose your cruise ship wisely, they are not all created equally. The Ruby of the Seas is either an Inferior Ship, or its crew/captain is inferior…that’s all there is to it. Also, when you spend thousands of dollars on a vacation like this, don’t expect Princess customer service to hear your concerns. Instead, expect dishonesty, finger pointing, and a run-around. As for me, I will continue to cruise, but this was my last Princess sailing!

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Children's Programs

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Galveston, Texas

Cozumel, Mexico

Disembarkation

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