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I know it is a bitter pill, but you might be better off just losing the 600 pounds and booking a much cheaper one-week cruise. IMHO cruises are exceptional value for money compared with land based holidays. Small compensation, but when a ship drops a port, you are refunded port fees. Yes, it feels like a bottomless pit of money I am throwing my money into when Princess have changed the goal posts and I just have to suck it up, I just need someone to change my mind before I hit the cancel button....be gentle. For a restful night, aboard Caribbean Princess your best bet is a cabin on deck 9 (Dolphin), 10 (Caribe), 11 (Baja) or 14 (Riviera). Up top, passengers will also find an expansive Fitness Center and the adults-only Retreat Pool – an interior space tucked away ahead of the forward elevator bank.
How much does it cost to go on Caribbean Princess?
But you really don't need all that stuff to have a good time. The buffet isn't the only space where there are traffic flow issues. Most main corridors in public areas are difficult to navigate, due to the number of other passengers making their way through. Shows in the theater are often standing room only, as are many events in the ship's main lounges. Plus, the ship's design doesn't include a central stairwell servicing all decks, so passengers are forced to either walk all the way forward or aft or wait, sometimes several minutes, for an elevator.
Princess November 2025 Cruises
It’s the perfect complement to the additional-charge Sanctuary on Deck 18 forward, away – but never out of reach – of the well-designed World Marketplace buffet restaurant on Deck 16 aft. Shops and specialty restaurants make up much of the rest of Decks 6 and 7, along with entertainment venues like Princess Live! For a full comparison between the two cruise lines, read Princess Cruises vs. Royal Caribbean International. Lowest pricing is based on our 3rd party pricing supplier and valid as of April 22nd, 2024.
Night Caribbean - Eastern CruiseDetails
It can be very easy to let the dollars mount as you upgrade cabins, buy packages, add excursions etc. Just say “no” to expensive alcohol packages, onboard sales, spa treatments, and bingo. Our costs before we even step on ship are £5k approx without the Plus package or any up selling which will occur either closer to the time or on board. With the exception of its buffet, which is fine but nothing special, dining throughout the ship is wonderful. Even if you never venture outside of the main dining rooms, you'll find enough variety to satisfy all your tastes.
Princess Cruises Tips, Activities, and Overview
Australian cruise passenger numbers up, average age down - Cruise Critic
Australian cruise passenger numbers up, average age down.
Posted: Tue, 16 Apr 2024 16:15:39 GMT [source]
Unfortunately, on our Royal Princess Alaska sailing, OceanMedallion didn't live up to the hype. Spotty Wi-Fi hindered ordering drinks using the app in most locations or finding our cabinmate using OceanCompass. Similarly, bartenders or waiters rarely consulted iPads; most interactions used our room number, like always. The MedallionNet internet, billed as strong enough to stream, was inadequate to download email. The hotel director told us the system works better outside Alaska, but at least passengers on our sailing seemed to enjoy wearing the Medallions, even if they eschewed pulling out their phones. First, you have to pay a higher rate in order to tuck it on, and then it costs money on top of that.
The Sky Princess Cruise Ship Caters to First Timers and Seasoned Cruisers Alike
The customer experience is something I feel really strongly about as I've worked in customer experience my entire life and this felt like an absolute kick in the teeth and sod the customer. I even spoke to them online and although I don't blame the online agent as they are bound by what they're allowed to do, they didn't want to know, first fail in my book, but they still want more money from me, you can see where this is heading. I totally get they can't just hand out freebies for something that is probably outwith their control but if you want more money from me, I feel I want something it appease my initial disappointment first, is this unreasonable? This experience has tainted the entire cruise for me as I feel I'm just a cash cow right now for Princess when they should be pulling out all the stops. Our only area of disappointment on Sky Princess was the service, which wasn't as good as we've come to expect from Princess.
Sea Hag
Special meet-up groups are offered onboard for solo and LGBTQ+ travelers, while support groups like Friends of Bill W. Also free of charge is the extensive World Fresh Marketplace buffet on Deck 16 aft and Gigi’s Pizzeria on Deck 6 that whips up fresh pizza creations daily and is often packed during the main Noon lunch hour. A large casino is situated on Deck 6 forward of the atrium, while Take Five – a most surprising jazz lounge – takes up a small space adjacent on the port side of the vessel. Princess does an excellent job of ensuring cleanliness in areas such as the buffet, where traffic is monitored by crew members who ensure that everyone uses hand sanitizer before entering the line. Read thousands of Princess Cruise Reviews from cruisers like you.
Cruisers are well to do and educated, and appreciate the relaxed atmosphere onboard. Princess cruisers tend to be avid trivia players, buy out every spot in the adults-only Sanctuary within the first cruise day, love live music and pack the theater every night for shows. With the length of three American football fields and lots of open spaces both indoors and outdoors, Sky Princess rarely feels crowded despite its passenger capacity of 3,660 guests. There are enough sundecks, loungers, hot tubs, pools and restaurants for the vibe to be busy but not overcrowded. Thankfully, there’s no wandering aimlessly around the buffet looking for a table, or from one deck to the other in search of a chair.
On shorter sailings, you'll find a slightly younger demographic and a significantly higher number of kids. Most Grand Princess passengers hail from the U.S., but you'll also find Canadian, British and Chinese contingents onboard. What cruisers won’t find aboard Discovery Princess -- as with all Royal-class ships -- are standard Oceanview staterooms. Only interior staterooms, balcony staterooms, and suites are offered onboard, along with just six "Deluxe Oceanview" cabins located all the way forward on Deck 17 that feature floor-to-ceiling glass windows overlooking the bow.
But the shows, games, main dining room, pool, etc are available to you. Cruise Critic is not a booking agent and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners who list cruise pricing on Cruise Critic are required to provide prices for cruise only or cruise packages, per person, double occupancy, and are based on specific cabin types and sailing dates, and may not be available for all cabin types/sailings. Rates are in USD and valid for US and Canadian residents only. When you book with one of our partners, please be sure to check their site for a full disclosure of all applicable fees as required by the U.S. It definitely is a bottomless money pit - as long as you keep throwing money into it.
Yes, Princess wants you to spend more but they are a business... Our job, as customers if you like, is to only spend what we are happy spending. A shame though as I think you and your family will get hooked on cruising if you did give it a try. You yourself has said this experience has tainted the entire cruise for you.
Cruising is not for everyone and if you decide not to cruise then that is a perfectly good decision for you. For some people they only need the bare basics of accommodation, food, water and entertainment to make a cruise a wonderful holiday especially if the stops are places they want to visit. You normally don't need to spend a small fortune on excursions... However, others want the extras of drinks packages, wifi, and many love the ship excursions or health spa services, private cabanas, speciality dining.
We encountered small snafus throughout the cruise and many crew members were not quite as friendly as we expected. The exception were the bartenders who were using the OceanMedallion onboard technology system to surprise cruisers by calling them by name, even when they'd never met before. The ship also layers on more modern features that attract more Gen Xers and even older Millennials.
We rarely go on ship excursions and only go to the speciality restaurants with OBC (on board credit). I would recommend canceling as I think your attitude isn’t likely to improve. Eat the non refundable deposit, book something else on land and forget cruising.
From loyal past passengers who have been sailing with the line since The Love Boat first hit the small screen to millennials and multi-generational families, expect to find a good cross-section of America setting sail. Discovery Princess deck plans also include a spectacular pool deck area on Decks 16 and 17, with the requisite pools, hot tubs and oversized Movies Under the Stars screen – another cruise staple pioneered with Princess when the line launched Caribbean Princess in 2004. Crown Princess generally skews toward a slightly older crowd, with several couples and groups traveling together and young families in the minority, while still attracting a variety of ages and nationalities. To serve the multinational passengers onboard, you'll find several tour options available in languages such as Japanese and Spanish. Many, many people go in cruises every year and don’t buy anything more than the basic travel and they have a wonderful time.
It would be nice if you added location to your profile, but I had not read very many words at all before realizing you are from UK. It is unfortunate the travel rules there - or one PCL takes advantage of or has a contrary policy - mean your deposits are non-refundable. Overall, Sky Princess does a great job of bridging the gap between the line's more traditional offerings and a much-needed infusion of modern style and entertainment. Above all, what you'll get with Grand Princess is an affordable cruise on a well-worn, casual-yet-elegant ship that's great for young retirees and multigenerational groups departing from the U.S. Cabins on Discovery Princess are among the most varied in the Princess fleet, thanks to the addition of two top-of-the-line Sky Suites situated overlooking the pool deck on Deck 18 forward. Discovery Princess is a ship that may not rock the boat in terms of design – but one that still provides a quality cruise experience at a great price.
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