Princess Cruises
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Princess Target Demographic Gets More Elderly
Princess I believe has lost their way and may be out of business in a decade unless they change their target audience approach. We took a Princess cruise back in 2016 and nothing much has changed (except for the excellent new Medallion Class system), especially that the target age group is increasingly more elderly. The median age on board this cruise must have been 75 with many people well into their 80's and 90's, which is fine if one is in that category, but not so great for younger couples or families. The evening entertainment targets this age group with acts repeating the same material, including Honeymooners, Archie Bunker, Jimmy Durante, Lawrence Welk, James Cagney, ...well you get the picture. Three separate acts during our cruise all did Johnny Carson impressions, which were very good and at least somewhat relevant to me as a 60 year old. However, anyone 5 years younger may not be so enthused. They will need to change their entertainment approach ASAP to attract even a 55 to 65 year old crowd. The entertainment during the day-time was appallingly poor with just trivia games and sales pitches targeting your $. Too much trivia focused on UK & British items. Unlike Princess, everyone is not so enamored with the British Royal Family. Movie under the Stars is a disaster IMO. What was a decent experience in 2016 is now downright poor. Aside from a couple decent football games shown during our 2 week cruise, most of the movies/material was pretty far out of date, way past box office expiration. Also, the movies shown during the day-time interfere with relaxation and activity around the main pool deck. The Air Conditioning on the ship is spotty and was terrible in our stateroom. We had the air conditioning pegged on the lowest level, and even then, when the sun was on our side of the ship it became pretty uncomfortable. Apparently, based on other reviews this is a known problem for the Sapphire Princess, with cabins on Decks 9 and 11 receiving the most complaints (we were on Deck 9). When we contacted Princess maintenance/guest services, they said nothing was amiss with our A/C, and did not acknowledge they've had numerous complaints. A couple on our floor had to be moved about midway through the cruise. Specialty dining is almost non-existent on a ship this size. The main dining room food and service was good, although the individual dining rooms were dated and lacked a grand scale feel. The Horizon buffet on the Lido deck had average food quality and quantity of selections. The main problem is that the buffet has very tight quarters and is difficult to maneuver around. I must say that the desserts everywhere on the ship are outstanding. Best cruise line in this class/category for desserts.