I just got off of the Crown yesterday July 11th and it was a nightmare. I usually sail RCCL and Norwegian but wanted to try Princess' new ship out of NY.. Nightmare.

Had to miss Grand Turk Island because they messed up on the fuel. The service was abyssmal.

As I understand it, they gave each passenger a $200 credit for the missed port. Is that correct?

It is certainly un-Princess-like for them to blow it on fuel loading and so forth. Princess has always struck me as a line that is quite a stickler for details and schedules.

quote:

Originally posted by Dave56:
As I understand it, they gave each passenger a $200 credit for the missed port. Is that correct?

It is certainly un-Princess-like for them to blow it on fuel loading and so forth. Princess has always struck me as a line that is quite a stickler for details and schedules.

Dave,
My one and only experience with Princess (Regal Princess, inaugural season) - we missed a stop at their "private island" (don't remember the name) and all we got was free drinks for the afternoon on deck by the pool. Whoo Hoo!

They are usually quite professional. We'll be on our 5th Princess in October, the only port we missed was Grand Cayman due to 15' plus waves at the shore. Now I understand why ChucksOK doesn't like Princess. We didn't get free drinks or any credit because it was not their fault. We also didn't get to go to their private island on that cruise (Princess Cay) because of the hurricane destruction, still didn't get any credit. So for that cruise, we got 2 out of the 4 ports. However, we still had a wonderful time and our service was extraordinary. There were A LOT of VERY UNHAPPY people on that cruise, but not much you can do about mother nature or even mistakes. I will grant you that I would have been much happier with some free drinks, but I drank anyway. Still went to the casino, and still reveled in the fact I wasn't at work or cooking dinner or cleaning house. We've had oopses on almost every cruise we've taken, except the first Princess (Sea) cruise. Sorry y'all had such a bummer of a time on Princess. I guess I'd be happy on a cargo ship if I were in the Caribbean Can you tell I need a beach fix?

I spent over 20k on this particular cruise and missing the island was just the cherry on top

1. Casino- two hours with not one wait staff coming by the table. When I finally called the bit boss over they got a waiter.. 45 minutes later when we were about to leave the table the waiter was still walking around with our drink... We caught him on the way out and still had to pay for the drink.
2. Speak Easy Cigar lounge- 45 minutes for a drink.. Was done with Cigar when it came.
3. Called about my phone being broken and they fixed it 4 days later.
4. Food on the main pool deck. On one occasion we went to the kids pool and there was pineapple,watermelon,pizza and sauce spread out all over the deck and not one deck personell came by in the 2 hours that I layed there and watched my kids in the pool.
5.The greeter that brought me to the Lido deck to show me to my room snickered,rolled his eyes at me.
6. The excursion person "Ernie" was pushy,grumpy and had a bad attitude.. I told him that I was going to report him and the rest of the line clapped.
7. The buffet had no service and we had to stack plates on the floor becuase the tables weren't clean.
8. I ordered a drink for movie under the stars and the waiter came back 50 minutes later to tell me that they don't have melon at this bar. I had to get up and go get it.
9. Had martini's at the martini bar and one of them didn't come out right so I went up to the bar to ask them to make another one or a different one. The service person told me that I didn't know enough about martinis and if they made me a new one that I would have to pay for it...
10. I would say that 80% of the crew did not have a smile on their face.
11. If you asked them a question, they had no idea what the answer was..
12. Every time you called down to passenger services you would have to wait so long that the phone disconnected.So, you would have to walk down to the pursers desk.
13. My cabin steward in 9 days never answered his phone.
Just a short list.

Looks like your cruise is not going to happen. The Crown just limped into Port Canaveral after experience steering problems. Many passengers were hurt, some seriously. They have a triage type set up at the port to take care of the injured. They also have 10 ambulances standing by to take the injured to local hospitals. Since it is the 18th of July I would be on the phone with your travel agent or the cruise lines ASAP, to find out what is going to happen. Maybe they will transfer you to another ship. BTW, a friend of mine was at the inaugraral and really loved the ship. Oh well.

Mary

News

7/18/2006
Crown Princess Statement


Updated 5:30 pm EST
After departure from Port Canaveral at approximately 3:25 pm eastern time today, Crown Princess experienced an unexpected list to the starboard side as she began sailing north towards her final port of New York.

Initial reports are that a number of passengers did sustain serious injuries. There are also numerous reports of injuries such as cuts, bruises and fractures. We are currently assessing the full extent of passenger injuries, and have returned the ship to Port Canaveral to transfer the more seriously affected passengers to a medical facility ashore.

We deeply regret this incident, and are doing everything we can to make our passengers as comfortable as possible under these difficult circumstances.

We are also investigating the cause of the ship's sudden list, which is unknown at this time. We can confirm that the watertight integrity of the ship has not been compromised, and it is safe for passengers to remain onboard while the ship is alongside in Port Canaveral.

The cruise will be terminated in Port Canaveral, and arrangements are being made to return the passengers home. A full refund will be given to passengers, together with a full reimbursement of any additional expenses.

We will provide details about the next cruise after we are able to fully evaluate the situation.

Crown Princess is currently on a 9-day Western Caribbean sailing, roundtrip out of New York, with calls at Grand Turk, Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman. Port Canaveral was the last port of call before returning to New York.

For further information, contact 1-800-PRINCESS.

Back >>

I'm new at this. Somehow my name got on Mammothsales message. I don't know how. but, for the record, I did not quote that message.

I have to say that after reading Mammoth's comments about spending 20,000 and having such a bad experience that that is so very unusual for Princess. We have sailed with Princess several times, most recently 16 days from La to Hawaii, and our experience was great, the food was fabulous and the service was impeccible. In fact, we got sick of people asking us if we wanted a drink. I am worried that Carnival buying out Princess is why some are experiencing a less than perfect cruise. Princess has always been know for their attention to detail and world class service. I believe Carnival is cutting, cutting, cutting and what several of you are seeing is the beginning results of those cuts.
Let's hope not, for our sake and Princess's sake! Keep Cruising!

Splur-

I expected the same service that you speak of and was looking forward to. My travel agent has told me that they are getting several letters regarding the service of the Crown Princess for my July 2nd sailing. I could not find wait staff on deck,casino,etc..
As I said the crew was telling me that they didn't know there rolls or just in general couldn't answer my questions. They told me that they did not get to go on the ship until the day before it was sailing because they were so far behind schedule in Italy on finishing the ship. The food was excellent but the service was comical.
They hired first time job seekers for there first contract.
Not there top notch crew.

Maybe by the time you leave for yours everything will be in order. But they have a LOOOOONG way to go. The complaints were endless from passengers.
Ironically if you stay on Deck 5 at the International Cafe/Sushi Bar/Wine Bar you will enjoy the service.

Mammoth