Anyone with experience on Princess?

[jujubiee4]

Thanks! She does look lovely from the pictures and videos I've seen. I'm super excited about this one!

Please please come back and give a trip report. For those of us left thinking about trying something
new it helps to hear from a forum veteran.

 

[Dug720]

Please please come back and give a trip report. For those of us left thinking about trying something
new it helps to hear from a forum veteran.

Of course! Granted it's 333 days away (not that I'm counting or anything...haha), but I for sure will!

 

[pangyal]

Congratulations on booking what sounds like a wonderful trip !

We actually just "jumped ship" for our first-ever cruise next May to Alaska, from DCL to Princess based mostly on advice from this forum. For the same price as the Disney cabin with just a window and no balcony, we are getting a suite on Princess with lots of perks, a wraparound balcony, and three times the space. So it seems that the vacation dollar does go quite a bit farther with them.

 

[RedSox68]

No cruise line is as aggressive as Disney about handing out wipes. Princess, HAL, and RCCL all had those automatic sanitizer dispensers at every entrance to the MDRs and buffet, but not the specialty restaurants. Maybe half the people use them. That's just the industry in general. I'd love to see other lines emulate Disney, but they don't want to annoy the guests, I suppose. The ship certainly seemed clean, and folks were out cleaning all the time. I think the basic advice is wash your hands regularly and eat as little with your fingers as possible, especially in the buffet.

Unfortunately, this I strongly disagree with. I forgot about the ridiculous (and unnecessary) procedure on the Royal Princess that they required (demanded) passengers to do (maybe I blocked it from my memory LOL). The worst forced "sanitation" we've ever experienced. Embarkation day, they had crew members at the door blocking your entrance to the restaurant until you washed your hands -- yes, stepped into a tiny cubical with two sinks, one entrance in and out, and washed your hands. There was a purell station right behind them, but they would not let anyone use it. So we thought, well maybe this is just the first day form of sanitation for the buffet. No, it continued every single day you tried to use the buffet -- to the point where someone was trying to pass through the area to get to the other bank of elevators and the crew member actually put his arms out and blocked them and said no, no, no -- you MUST wash your hands first. By the fourth day, many were getting rather irate and some walked past the crew member and insisted on using the Purell station. The washing station was very tiny and only had one door and out and it caused a horrible traffic jam. In 15 cruises before that, I had never seen anything like it. It was (we thought) insane when people could have moved along and just stuck their hands under the purell machine.

Now I touted earlier how much I loved their buffet and the food and the cruise -- so much so I guess I forgot about that one OCD ridiculous situation. So I'll take DCL handing me hand wipes anytime rather than stand in a line to the elevator waiting to wash our hands in a tiny wash area behind a wall!

 

[dani24]

Unfortunately, this I strongly disagree with. I forgot about the ridiculous (and unnecessary) procedure on the Royal Princess that they required (demanded) passengers to do (maybe I blocked it from my memory LOL). The worst forced "sanitation" we've ever experienced. Embarkation day, they had crew members at the door blocking your entrance to the restaurant until you washed your hands -- yes, stepped into a tiny cubical with two sinks, one entrance in and out, and washed your hands. There was a purell station right behind them, but they would not let anyone use it. So we thought, well maybe this is just the first day form of sanitation for the buffet. No, it continued every single day you tried to use the buffet -- to the point where someone was trying to pass through the area to get to the other bank of elevators and the crew member actually put his arms out and blocked them and said no, no, no -- you MUST wash your hands first. By the fourth day, many were getting rather irate and some walked past the crew member and insisted on using the Purell station. The washing station was very tiny and only had one door and out and it caused a horrible traffic jam. In 15 cruises before that, I had never seen anything like it. It was (we thought) insane when people could have moved along and just stuck their hands under the purell machine.

Now I touted earlier how much I loved their buffet and the food and the cruise -- so much so I guess I forgot about that one OCD ridiculous situation. So I'll take DCL handing me hand wipes anytime rather than stand in a line to the elevator waiting to wash our hands in a tiny wash area behind a wall!

I wonder if they had experienced an outbreak (or the start of one) on the prior sailing. I've never seen them be that extreme on any of the Princess sailings we have done. I'm pretty sure it's not a standard policy for them.

 

[RedSox68]

I wonder if they had experienced an outbreak (or the start of one) on the prior sailing. I've never seen them be that extreme on any of the Princess sailings we have done. I'm pretty sure it's not a standard policy for them.

Other people have told me that they never experience this on any other Princess ship, but had not yet sailed on Royal Princess. It seems like a norm only because they had that washing station built into the wall at both entrances and there was no avoiding it. We found it annoying, but just got used to it. What became uncomfortable was the loud and aggravated grumbling and audible comments that passengers started making as time went on, some even shouting. That did not help at all.

I will say that we found Princess to be a nice sampling of all ages -- not just "old people" or "stuffy" as some say. We never felt that. Even on HAL we never felt that, but there were considerably more seniors on HAL than on Princess. But then again, I'm one now so who am I to talk

 

[lucas]

Haven't read the whole thread. But, just wanted to add that we love Princess!

ETA: The hand washing station is only on the Regal and the Royal. I much prefer it than the sanitizing gel feeling on your hands.

 

[cruisehopeful]

1. Norovirus. Princess has had 15 outbreaks since 2011 (tied with another line for most outbreaks). I've heard cruisers (both on this thread and elsewhere) saying there is no enforced hand washing or sanitation when you enter the buffet area. That's insane!!

Seems a lot of other posters already posted about this, but I did want to say that on my cruise in March on Princess, the hand sanitizing was required at the buffet each time you went through (even if you were getting seconds or thirds). There were hand sanitizing stations anywhere there was food, including the on the pool deck ice cream station, pizza place, etc. I saw much more hand sanitizing options on Princess Star than I have on Disney ships.

With that said, Princess has a generally older crowd and I think they don't know what they are doing in the restrooms. The public restrooms were constantly out of order due to people flushing stuff other than toilet paper. I can see why the ships with older passengers have more noro outbreaks. The probably forget to wash their hands if they can't even remember that only toilet paper is allowed to be flushed. It really was a constant issue all over the ship.

 

[RedSox68]

Seems a lot of other posters already posted about this, but I did want to say that on my cruise in March on Princess, the hand sanitizing was required at the buffet each time you went through (even if you were getting seconds or thirds). There were hand sanitizing stations anywhere there was food, including the on the pool deck ice cream station, pizza place, etc. I saw much more hand sanitizing options on Princess Star than I have on Disney ships.

With that said, Princess has a generally older crowd and I think they don't know what they are doing in the restrooms. The public restrooms were constantly out of order due to people flushing stuff other than toilet paper. I can see why the ships with older passengers have more noro outbreaks. The probably forget to wash their hands if they can't even remember that only toilet paper is allowed to be flushed. It really was a constant issue all over the ship.

Wow, age discrimination much? I find your generalization offensive. I'm in my 60's and when we sailed on Princess through the British Isles there were far more families and teens and middle-age people than older crowds. And most of us pretty much know what to flush down the toilet and how to wash our hands. HOWEVER, I've seen many of the college students where I work trying to flush non-toilet paper items and screwing up our toilet systems on a weekly basis -- and half of them NEVER flush the toilet at all (disgusting)! AND I've seen countless of them leave the restroom without touching soap or water.

 

[RedSox68]

Haven't read the whole thread. But, just wanted to add that we love Princess!

ETA: The hand washing station is only on the Regal and the Royal. I much prefer it than the sanitizing gel feeling on your hands.

Interesting that it's only on those two ships.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Wow, age discrimination much? I find your generalization offensive. I'm in my 60's and when we sailed on Princess through the British Isles there were far more families and teens and middle-age people than older crowds. And most of us pretty much know what to flush down the toilet and how to wash our hands. HOWEVER, I've seen many of the college students where I work trying to flush non-toilet paper items and screwing up our toilet systems on a weekly basis -- and half of them NEVER flush the toilet at all (disgusting)!

Sorry if that offended you. I didn't mean it to be offensive. It was my experience that the captain had to continually announce on the loud speaker that nothing other things we already ate and drank and toilet paper could be flushed down the toilet. Even with the constant announcements, public restrooms were often closed, or only one toilet would be working. Since I've never experienced that on Disney cruises, it was completely unexpected. We attributed it to be the older crowd, which were much older than 60's, based on our personal experiences with the aging population. At any rate, I will try to be more sensitive in my posts.

 

[RedSox68]

Sorry if that offended you. I didn't mean it to be offensive. It was my experience that the captain had to continually announce on the loud speaker that nothing other things we already ate and drank and toilet paper could be flushed down the toilet. Even with the constant announcements, public restrooms were often closed, or only one toilet would be working. Since I've never experienced that on Disney cruises, it was completely unexpected. We attributed it to be the older crowd, which were much older than 60's, based on our personal experiences with the aging population. At any rate, I will try to be more sensitive in my posts.

I'm sure the announcements got annoying, but even on our two HAL cruises -- which is often touted as a geriatric cruise -- we did not experience that many older older people nor toilet issues. Maybe their plumbing was having issues Sorry you had to experience that, I just didn't want the generalization put on us oldies that we blew up the septic system or are the source of Norovirus

 

[lucas]

Interesting that it's only on those two ships.

They added it to the newer ships.

BTW, the Regal and Royal buffet area is huge AND fantastic! Like nothing we have ever seen before on a ship. So, if they want you to wash your hands, it is well worth it!

 

[lucas]

Sorry if that offended you. I didn't mean it to be offensive. It was my experience that the captain had to continually announce on the loud speaker that nothing other things we already ate and drank and toilet paper could be flushed down the toilet. Even with the constant announcements, public restrooms were often closed, or only one toilet would be working. Since I've never experienced that on Disney cruises, it was completely unexpected. We attributed it to be the older crowd, which were much older than 60's, based on our personal experiences with the aging population. At any rate, I will try to be more sensitive in my posts.

I'm sure the announcements got annoying, but even on our two HAL cruises -- which is often touted as a geriatric cruise -- we did not experience that many older older people nor toilet issues. Maybe their plumbing was having issues Sorry you had to experience that, I just didn't want the generalization put on us oldies that we blew up the septic system or are the source of Norovirus

In 13 Princess cruises, I have NEVER heard the captain (or anyone else) announce anything about what can or cannot be flushed or even mention toilet paper or what you already ate! IF something like that were to be announced, I'm sure the captain would have someone else do it - not himself. But, if there is a big issue on the matter, they may post something in the restroom.

BTW, Dh and I are the older crowd - we are both older than 60.

 

[Simba's Mom]

So glad to see all the positive reports on Princess. DS was an entertainer on Princess for about 4 years (yes, the evening shows). He never sailed the Ruby, however. And just a note-Princess goes to extreme steps to stop the spread of Norovirus-in 4 years on Princess, DS never got it-when he did have a slight fever one day, he was quarantined for 24 hours-Princess policy.

 

[lucas]

Anything you ever wanted to know about Princess can best be found on the Princess section of Cruise Critic:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

 

[RedSox68]

They added it to the newer ships.

BTW, the Regal and Royal buffet area is huge AND fantastic! Like nothing we have ever seen before on a ship. So, if they want you to wash your hands, it is well worth it!

Yes, agree. The Royal buffet was like nothing we had seen on 15 previous cruises -- so much food and variety and so fresh! We never went to the MDR that whole cruise!

 

[Dug720]

Anything you ever wanted to know about Princess can best be found on the Princess section of Cruise Critic:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=197

Yes, I'm aware of it and am on there. I just wanted thoughts from others who have cruised on Disney and not necessarily "All Princess All The Time" cruisers. Since they don't want to change the RCCL board to "All Other Cruiselines" (I get it...DU only books Disney and RCCL, but still), if we want the opinions of those who have also cruised Disney, this board is the best shot for that.

 

[JBeaty0507]

I'm loving this thread! Me and my husband are avid Disney Cruisers (even have a Disney Dream cruise planned in a few weeks! Yay!). However, we are going on the Star Princess at the end of this summer to Alaska. After reading and reading and reading up on Alaska, we decided that princess was the way to go in Alaska. We have a cruise that will visit the Hubbard Glacier as well as Glacier Bay, so we can't complain. I have been a little bit worried however knowing that we are "spoiled" to Disney standards. Though I had convinced myself that Alaska is about the scenery, not the boat, I am glad to hear that the boat should be good as well.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I'm loving this thread! Me and my husband are avid Disney Cruisers (even have a Disney Dream cruise planned in a few weeks! Yay!). However, we are going on the Star Princess at the end of this summer to Alaska. After reading and reading and reading up on Alaska, we decided that princess was the way to go in Alaska. We have a cruise that will visit the Hubbard Glacier as well as Glacier Bay, so we can't complain. I have been a little bit worried however knowing that we are "spoiled" to Disney standards. Though I had convinced myself that Alaska is about the scenery, not the boat, I am glad to hear that the boat should be good as well.

I hope you have the same captain we did on the Star last month. He was a hoot.