Princess Cruise - Page 5

Sister Alvear · #41 02-27-2011, 12:40 PM

I went on a cruise with some friends...it was one of those Singing at Sea...it was nice.

Talking about dying we could all die anywhere...just being ready is the most important thing...and that was sad that Brother ....passed away on a cruise but am sure he is in a better land.

CC1 · #42 02-27-2011, 01:51 PM

I love cruises but mine have almost all been either Atlantic or Pacific "crossings" so not the typical cruise with lots of ports of call.

1. 1976 - Greek Island cruise from Athens to Mykenos, Santorini, Crete, and Rhodes. I was a teenager. Don't remember the cruise line but a small ship. Had a great time.

2. 2002 - Transatlantic crossing from Harwich England to Boston, 7 nights on a beautiful brand new (6 weeks old) RCCL ship, Brilliance of The Seas. Even getting caught in the edge of Hurricane Gustav with 80 mph winds and some 40 foot waves was an adventure. Love RCCL, Brilliance.

3. 2006 - Transatlantic crossing from New York (by way of Bayonne NJ) to France then England. 8 nights. Celebrity Contellation. I didn't think anything could be better than RCCL And Brillaince but Celebrity is amazing. Incredibly classy ships, great service. Wonderul voyage.

4. 2008 - Pacific Ocean from Honolulu to Los Angeles. Last voyage of the NCCL "Pride of Hawaii" before it went in to be transformed into another name to work the Mediterranean market in Europs. It was only a two year old ship so very nice but did not like as much as the RCCL and Celebrity ships we had been on. Service was atroucious. The Hawaii based ships are the only ones with American crews because the ships were flagged American. I don't know if that is the reason service was terrible (I have read it was the issue) or if this being the ships last cruise as Pride of Hawaii and heading for drydock for redecorating meant we had an inexperienced crew. Probably won't be sailing NCCL again unless the bargain is just too great to resist!

I have not cruised with Princess but my daughter did on her honeymoon and said it was great. I also would like to try Holland America. They are kind of old fashioned but so am I.

RandyWayne · #43 02-27-2011, 02:04 PM

Did you tip on the Hawaiian ship? This was our first cruise but many have commented that service has taken a nose dive ever since tips started being spread evenly. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is.

ThePastorsCoach · #44 02-27-2011, 02:10 PM

We have been on over 20 cruises and we love them. We go to relax, sit in the sun, read, eat anytime we want to at many different places on the ship and to have fun with our friends. We have a blast and have enjoyed ever cruise we have taken. We rarely leave the ship anymore as we have been to just about every port several times and enjoy the quite and peace of many being off the ship for a few hours.
We dress up at night and sit at the same table with the same waiter and order 2-3 entrées and try everything. We do not drink so we don't have to worry about the coke cards or the high alcohol prices. I think they should charge a lot for the alcohol as the ones that drink it usually become very loud and obnoxious about 30-40 minutes after they start eating. There is always so much food to choose from and I cannot imagine anyone being upset about the food. Most have pizza places and hamburger grills on the ships. Maybe you just did not know how to find the right eating places or was with the wrong people!
We LOVE Cruises! My wife sells Cruise Vacations and specializes in groups, Pastors & Churches and have only had ONE complaint from one couple in many years. They were negative to start with and had a nickle & dime mentality. Strange that they are now wanting to book another cruise! LOL
I would suggest a smaller ship if you do not like the crowds or pick a time to eat when there are no lines! It works for us!
Again, We LOVE cruising and look forward to our next one and a 30+ day one in the future! Happy Cruising!

CC1 · #45 02-27-2011, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RandyWayne

Did you tip on the Hawaiian ship? This was our first cruise but many have commented that service has taken a nose dive ever since tips started being spread evenly. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is.

I don't remember for sure but I think NCCL had started that new thing where they bill you directly for the tips then distribute it evenly among the crew which is terrible because there is no incentive to give good service if they know their tip is going to be the same no matter what effort they make.

In 2002 with RCCL you could either tip yourself in a little tithing type envelope they provided or you could specify how much you wanted to tip each person and have it charged to your account. The tips were not shared evenly.

I think with Celebrity in 2006 you couldn't pay them yourself but you could direct how much each person got. I know for sure the tip was not split and shared.

RandyWayne · #46 02-27-2011, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC1

I don't remember for sure but I think NCCL had started that new thing where they bill you directly for the tips then distribute it evenly among the crew which is terrible because there is no incentive to give good service if they know their tip is going to be the same no matter what effort they make.

In 2002 with RCCL you could either tip yourself in a little tithing type envelope they provided or you could specify how much you wanted to tip each person and have it charged to your account. The tips were not shared evenly.

I think with Celebrity in 2006 you couldn't pay them yourself but you could direct how much each person got. I know for sure the tip was not split and shared.

This is how it works at the all-inclusive resorts we've stayed at. The tip money is included in your package price and then distributed based on how your rank the servers on your last day. This does make a definite difference in the average employees desire to please you.

Also the food is generally much better since you have individual chefs putting far more attention into every plate versus a row of white hat workers putting together thousands of the same dish. We stayed in both Jamaica and Dominican Republic. Both were VERY nice resorts although we'll be going back to the DR far sooner than Jamaica on account of the drug violence which seems to have broken out during the past couple of years there.

Oh yes, and ALL drinks (alcoholic and otherwise) are included in the package price and for some reason there was not a problem with obnoxious drunks at all.

RandyWayne · #47 02-27-2011, 02:42 PM

A few pics from our stay at the Excellence resort in Punta Cana in the DR.

View from our balcony.

Resident parrots who had a run of the whole resort.

The walkway to our room.

Just one tiny section of a huge pool that just kept going and going and going like a snake all through (and even under) the resort.

RandyWayne · #48 02-27-2011, 02:45 PM

By comparison the cruise ship felt like an extremely efficient dairy farm operation.

BeenThinkin · #49 02-27-2011, 02:50 PM

Have been on 3 Carribean Cruises, 1 Mexico Cruise & 2 Alaska Cruises. The first Alaskan cruise was 3 days on the ship and then went inland on railroad. Quite unique and different. The last Alaskan cruise was with the Gaithers 2 years ago. Fantastic.

The first cruise would have probably caused some Pentecostals to backslide. All the girls on the cruise that wanted to participate gathered one day at the swimming pool in their bikinis. (Didn't see any Pentecostals, and by the way I only risked one eye!) Someone dumped a bag of ping pong balls in the pool. The girl that placed the largest number of ping pong balls in her bikini won a bottle of wine. (You wanna see a video of it?) Oh, go ahead and pray for me!

It was all in fun.....and everyone there seemed to have fun! Just saying'

BeenThinkin

RandyWayne · #50 02-27-2011, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeenThinkin

Have been on 3 Carribean Cruises, 1 Mexico Cruise & 2 Alaska Cruises. The first Alaskan cruise was 3 days on the ship and then went inland on railroad. Quite unique and different. The last Alaskan cruise was with the Gaithers 2 years ago. Fantastic.

The first cruise would have probably caused some Pentecostals to backslide. All the girls on the cruise that wanted to participate gathered one day at the swimming pool in their bikinis. (Didn't see any Pentecostals, and by the way I only risked one eye!) Someone dumped a bag of ping pong balls in the pool. The girl that placed the largest number of ping pong balls in her bikini won a bottle of wine. (You wanna see a video of it?) Oh, go ahead and pray for me!

It was all in fun.....and everyone there seemed to have fun! Just saying'

BeenThinkin

There are a LOT of pictures I took but have not posted here. LOL