Reviews
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The itinerary was very good. The shore excursions were well organised but the Tour Leaders talked too much. There were not enough indoor public seats or enough sun loungers for the number on board .
Reviews
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Excellent ship the only let down was a lack of seating in all communal areas which gave the feeling of being overcrowded.
Most staff were excellent, in fact there were only 2 which marred a 5/5 score.
Our cabin attendant was excellent and dining staff were superb.
Two bar attendants were offhand and appeared to dislike the Medallion App.
Reviews
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The ship was beautiful the staff were fantastic cabin staff were so helpful
Nothing much too do on board disappointed as no shows were done by staff
Food was lovely but not enough normal dining too much fish / nuts ingredients were too fancy
Excursions were very displeasing far too expensive and if going alone
docking and coach were too far away from any where so far to walk very disappointed
Reviews
![Customer Review]()
On Monday 28th March 2021 we travelled to Southampton for our cruise on Sky Princess.
We arrived at 12:15 pm for our embarkation slot 12:30 to 13:00 hours and joined the end of a very long queue and stood outside in the cold (Medallion class ships quickest embarkation of any cruise line - see their web site).
No member of staff spoke to anyone in the queue until 14:15 when a staff member gave a short talk stating "the delay was due to an operational issue", and asked "if we were green lane on the app". When asked stated “there was no water or drinks available in the terminal due to Covid protocol"
There may not be water / drinks in the terminal but why weren't they available from the ship even at a cost?
We eventually got to the front of the queue at 14:45 to be informed that we had to have had a Covid test within the last 2 days, 3 days being too early, (not according to princess website for fully vaccinated passengers with booster jabs) so we went for another test.
We entered the terminal and had to sit away from other people (row next to the isolation area for ones with positive results - "we take Covid seriously"?) until our results came through.
Unfortunately my wife's result was positive and had to speak to a member of staff, and she was moved into the isolation area at 15:15.
The staff who ran this area had non existent customer service skills, and some to the point of being rude. We were given the standard letter for non sailing and one of the staff went off to get our bags. At 17:30 we were informed that our bags would not be unloaded as the hold was now closed. Our bags will be shipped to our home address when the ship returns in two weeks. (One bag was delivered after 19 days the other one is still enjoying its cruise after 42 days it could possibly be home after next Saturday or it could go on its fifth cruise). When do princess admit that they have lost it?
We were not offered refreshments, or any other assistance as listed in their protocol on the web site, we had been without food or drink since breakfast. I cannot believe the arrogance of the staff who are supposed to be part of princess care team.
We had a very long journey home, if we had known that the bags were not being offloaded we could have been on our way home 2 hours earlier!
Princess have never been the cheapest, but one of the best cruise lines available.
Now their customer service is atrocious, trying to get in touch with a complaint is almost impossible.
Reviews
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Overall an excellent cruise but dining room/ bar staff where somewhat overworked due to there being a shortage of them.
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Mayhem Mayflower Pier Southampton as ship was riddled with covid when it came across the Atlantic and had to be cleaned . In a queue for 3 hours waiting to board. No water was offered to us which was unacceptable.
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Reviews
![Customer Review]()
A lovely ship with some nice features but Princess really struggled to provide adequate service; long queues and waits, particularly for the bar and an obvious shortage of crew throughout the entire ship. Having already taken an impressive staycation cruise on Sky last year with limited capacity, it certainly disappointed. Princess stated that head office knew the problem!
Reviews
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They were a bit short staffed so service could have been better but overall it was a great experience
Reviews
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It was just a short staycation cruise. The covid rules were handled efficiently. It was my first with Princess, overall the cruise was excellent. The balcony cabin was more spacious than other similar cruise lines. The show in the theatre was very good. Generally the food was good in the main dining halls. I think they could have varied the menus a bit more. We found the best food to be in the cafe. The only grouse I had was the ‘afternoon tea’ which was diabolical, dried up sandwiches and a few uninteresting cakes, even the scones were hard. Apart from that the cruise was very enjoyable and I would go again.
Reviews
![Customer Review]()
Poor compared to numerous previous.
Balcony tiny compared to previous a Princess ships - will not be booking any Royal class ships. So narrow, Cannot even sit facing out to sea - have to sit side wards.
Main restaurant reduced choices on menu.
Why is everything ‘chocolate’? Sauces, ice cream, brownies, cookies..... Reduces choice even more.
Medallion app ordering waste of time: either does not arrive or takes forever.
Reviews
![Customer Review]()
I havent actually been on the cruise i had booked. It is scheduled for the 28th May, I booked 2 cabins, a balcony for my partner and myself and a mini suite for our daughter, son in law and 2 grandchildren aged 3 and 1. This would have been my 30th cruise so i am not an inexperienced cruiser. I was having problems with the Medallion class app so phoned them to ask if I could revert to the old fashioned paper documents, no problem I was told, everything can be done on departure day, but what about booking my grandson into the kids club and pre booking a cot for my grandaughter ? pregnant pause ..... how old are they , when i reiterated their ages, which was on my booking form anyway, I was told they had changed their Covid requirements and everyone including under 5s had to be vaccinated, we don't vaccinate under 5's in the uk, so the cruise was cancelled i was distraught, yes my full money was refunded, but how disgusting that it took me phoning regarding their app, to be told we wouldn't be able to go. I am absolutely disgusted, other family cruisers beware. I now have had to arrange an alternative holiday in a short space of time and pacify my grandson who was so excited to be going on a big ship, my fault I suppose, I had told him so much about cruises and how wonderful it would be, and we will not even get to go. Shame on you Princess cruise lines, you let us down big time.
Reviews
![Customer Review]()
We did a seacation due to testing at took a fair time to board and although we had a group of staff clapping us onto the ship we were then trying to find someone to help us but after this little glitch we really enjoyed the cruise lots to do, entertainment staff were great, and worked hard to keep everyone happy the food was excellent but the medallion app didn't always work, we went for afternoon tea which was really rushed, before I had taken a bit of the first sandwich they were serving cakes, so not the best. The shows were great, Cassy the guitarist and singer was brilliant and fortuna luck on the deck playing computer games was very enthusiastic all in all a good cruise. Something to bear in mind is you have a limit of 15 alcoholic drinks a day on the all Inc. Not that we got anywhere near that nice staff wherever we went on the ship
Reviews
![Customer Review]()
Went on a 3 night Seacation 3rd to 6th September. Thought we'd give Princess a try after hearing many recommendations. Not sailed with them before but this was our 12th cruise. The Medallionclass app seemed easy enough but had trouble completing all the pr-boarding steps. Had to uninstall and reinstall to get it working. Also had issues with it whilst on board. Princess need to get this app reliable if they are going to rely on it as the future.
Boarding process was smooth and fairly quick despite the Covid protocols which have had to be imposed. We were on board within abut an hour of arrival which isn't too bad.
The ship is beutiful and the public spaces are really impressive. Plenty of bars and lounges (although the ship was only two thirds capacity).
The cabin was nice with a comfortable bed and huge wardobe area. I didn't like the pillows which were like huge inflated balloons and your head seemd to bounce off them The duvet was far too thick for an air conditioned space and had a peculiar sheet-type sleeve wrapped round it which snagged your feet. There was very little space my side of the bed. The bathroom was probably the smallest I have come across on a cruise. The loo was in the way of the shower tray and whoever decided to put the loo roll at the far end underneath the sink and the tissues next to your elbow needs their head examining. The balcony was a good size with two comfy chairs and a table.
TV service was limited but there were some helpful features.
Quality of food was very varied, mainly from adequate to awful. As soon as we had boarded we headed to the World Marketplace (buffet) to eat. There were very limted food options and most of it looked like it had been there for a week. Very disappointed and it didn't get much better throughout the cruise. Dinner in the Estrella restaurant (main dining room) that evening was a disaster. The food was not particularly tasty neither was it particularly hot. The standard of service was abysmal. We were waiting ages for things like bread rolls, then the butter to go with it. We went in at 7.00pm and came out at 10.30. Drinks were few and far between depending if you could ambush any of the waiting staff to get them.
The only really nice meal I had during the three days was Saturday lunch in the Estrella. I asked for Red Snapper to be told they didn't have any but they had Barramundi. OK, I thought, never had that before so I'll give it a go, as I love seafood. It was delicious. That was the standard I would have expected the whole trip.
The drinks selection was quite good with some nice beers and cocktails, except the Pina Colada which tasted neither oif rum nor coconut. In fact the two we tried were completely tasteless. Theynare clearly mixed to a fixed recipe but surely they can get that right?
I have seen a couple of rave reviews about this trip but everone we spoke to was disappointed with either the food, the service, the Medallionclass app or something else. Some of these people had sailed with Princess many times but all seemed to be of the same mind.
If anyone were to ask us if we would recommend a Princess cruise, I would be very hesitant. Maybe after an 18 month layoff due to the pandemic they are out of practice but they should have been trained up before they set sail.
They have got to get their act together, and fast, to retain the reputation they had before.
The other downside to this trip was the weather. We set sail from Southampton on Friday afternoon in lovely sunny weather and then spent the next 2 days blanketed in thick fog. We sailed across to the Channel Islands, round the Brittany peninsular and into the Bay of Biscay and back to Southampton. The foghorn was sounding every few minutes for two days solid, day and night. We heard that the south coast around Brighton and Kent was enjoying lovely weather, so why hadn't we sailed that way?
If anyone at Princess reads this, I hope they act on our experience.
Reviews
![Customer Review]()
Went on a 3 night Seacation 3rd to 6th September. Thought we'd give Princess a try after hearing many recommendations. Not sailed with them before but this was our 12th cruise. The Medallionclass app seemed easy enough but had trouble completing all the pr-boarding steps. Had to uninstall and reinstall to get it working. Also had issues with it whilst on board. Princess need to get this app reliable if they are going to rely on it as the future.
Boarding process was smooth and fairly quick despite the Covid protocols which have had to be imposed. We were on board within abut an hour of arrival which isn't too bad.
The ship is beutiful and the public spaces are really impressive. Plenty of bars and lounges (although the ship was only two thirds capacity).
The cabin was nice with a comfortable bed and huge wardobe area. I didn't like the pillows which were like huge inflated balloons and your head seemd to bounce off them The duvet was far too thick for an air conditioned space and had a peculiar sheet-type sleeve wrapped round it which snagged your feet. There was very little space my side of the bed. The bathroom was probably the smallest I have come across on a cruise. The loo was in the way of the shower tray and whoever decided to put the loo roll at the far end underneath the sink and the tissues next to your elbow needs their head examining. The balcony was a good size with two comfy chairs and a table.
TV service was limited but there were some helpful features.
Quality of food was very varied, mainly from adequate to awful. As soon as we had boarded we headed to the World Marketplace (buffet) to eat. There were very limted food options and most of it looked like it had been there for a week. Very disappointed and it didn't get much better throughout the cruise. Dinner in the Estrella restaurant (main dining room) that evening was a disaster. The food was not particularly tasty neither was it particularly hot. The standard of service was abysmal. We were waiting ages for things like bread rolls, then the butter to go with it. We went in at 7.00pm and came out at 10.30. Drinks were few and far between depending if you could ambush any of the waiting staff to get them.
The only really nice meal I had during the three days was Saturday lunch in the Estrella. I asked for Red Snapper to be told they didn't have any but they had Barramundi. OK, I thought, never had that before so I'll give it a go, as I love seafood. It was delicious. That was the standard I would have expected the whole trip.
The drinks selection was quite good with some nice beers and cocktails, except the Pina Colada which tasted neither oif rum nor coconut. In fact the two we tried were completely tasteless. Theynare clearly mixed to a fixed recipe but surely they can get that right?
I have seen a couple of rave reviews about this trip but everone we spoke to was disappointed with either the food, the service, the Medallionclass app or something else. Some of these people had sailed with Princess many times but all seemed to be of the same mind.
If anyone were to ask us if we would recommend a Princess cruise, I would be very hesitant. Maybe after an 18 month layoff due to the pandemic they are out of practice but they should have been trained up before they set sail.
They have got to get their act together, and fast, to retain the reputation they had before.
The other downside to this trip was the weather. We set sail from Southampton on Friday afternoon in lovely sunny weather and then spent the next 2 days blanketed in thick fog. We sailed across to the Channel Islands, round the Brittany peninsular and into the Bay of Biscay and back to Southampton. The foghorn was sounding every few minutes for two days solid, day and night. We heard that the south coast around Brighton and Kent was enjoying lovely weather, so why hadn't we sailed that way?
If anyone at Princess reads this, I hope they act on our experience.
