Princess Cruises
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A mixed bag.
We’ve just returned from a British Isles cruise on the Regal Princess, sailing from and to Southampton, so here are the pros and cons in our experience. Pros: Embarking and disembarking are the best we’ve ever experienced, very slick, we were on the ship and in our cabin in about 25/30 minutes and off the ship and in our car in 15 minutes. Tip, self-disembark if you can, it’s quicker and easier. The staff during all voyage were first class, professional, friendly, helpful and the cabin was kept spotless and in good order by our steward David. The food was excellent, plenty of choice, well cooked and presented. Entertainment was as good as any cruise we’ve been on with guest artistes getting on and off, the entertainment general staff worked hard and were universally cheerful, just right really. On the occasions we had to contact guest services they sorted the problem out immediately. The medallion system and app worked well for us and means you can easily keep abreast of spending, some spurious expensive phone calls appeared on our account which we wouldn’t have known about on an older ship until we’d been charged, with the medallion app we were able to get them deleted while still on board. Princess ships are not as crowded as some others like MSC, the public areas are spacious enough to allow everyone a seat and the dining tables are well spaced, there were always available sunbeds on deck. We cruised once with MSC and it was just the opposite. Cons: The excursions are hideously expensive so we didn’t go on any, it wouldn’t be difficult to double the price of the cruise if you went on a lot. Drink too is prohibitively expensive so we didn’t drink much, $46 plus 18% service for a £8 bottle of wine and $7 plus 18% service for a half pint bottle of grolsch is a bit stiff. Princess also levy $16 per person per day as “staff appreciation” which would have added $384 to our 12 dat cruise if we hadn’t learned that with a quick visit to customer services desk you can get it removed. We like to tip as we go along and for good service, not have it forced on us. Princess do not make it clear that it’s voluntary, we found out from a friend who is a regular customer. Would we sail with them again? Probably yes.
