Princess Cruises
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Unsafe food for allergies, pregnancy and any dietary requirements
Princess has really gone downhill, which is a view shared by at least two senior members of staff onboard. Honestly, you couldn't pay me any sum of money to go on another Princess Cruise. Quick overview: my next few paragraphs are issues around food safety. After that it's what I wish I'd have known before I booked. Food safety My main issue is around food safety. IF YOU HAVE ANY DIETARY REQUIREMENTS, PRINCESS IS NOT SAFE FOR YOU. Please also note if you're vegan, there are no vegan dishes available. I am pregnant and allergic to dairy (to be specific, milk products like cream, cheese and butter). I told Princess on the app and on the online portal before I boarded. I told my booking agent when I booked the cruise. The first night, there was no meal for me. Instead I ended up with a dry piece of meat with some vegetables, served after everyone else had eaten. Thereafter I was told to order my food 24hrs in advance, which I always did. Yet every single meal had food that was unsafe for me to eat and each time it was me who noticed the issue. I even had issues in the speciality dining restaurants. When I was served food I couldn't eat, I often got a poor attitude from staff such as "oh it didn't say that on your ticket" as if I was the one who wrote the ticket and they just seemed really annoyed with me. I then had to eat by myself, as my family had all finished eating. Every day this happened. They did eventually make me a separate dessert, which I had no choice in, but it was the same one five days in a row and again later than everyone else at my table was served. They wouldn't serve everyone else the same food every day, so I don't understand why it was ok for me. Despite me asking them not to, a chef came out to talk to me about my dietary requirements and pregnancy on the restaurant floor, where other diners could overhear what was being said. He promised to take care of my food and ensure it was safe going forwards, but then admitted he didn't know what pregnant women can and can't eat. I similarly had a waiter argue with me about safe food and later apologised to my husband, rather than to me. He then asked me to teach him what pregnant people can and can't eat. Frankly the lack of training around this is shocking. I complained to Guest Services on board, who apologised every day. I was told every day the chefs would be told and that it wasn't good enough, and yet nothing ever changed. I was told I'd have a meeting with the Head of Catering, but that didn't happen. I raised my concerns after I left the ship, and was told it would be reviewed and they'd give me 20% of the cruise value back. It's really not good enough. I ended up ill on the cruise because, despite my efforts, I still ended up eating dairy. I dreaded meal times every day and it it ruined the holiday for my family too. I also tried eating in the buffet, but food is either not labelled or labelled incorrectly, and room service kept getting my order wrong. Princess don't seem to take seriously that if someone has a severe allergic reaction to a food, this could cost them their life. Thankfully for me, it just made me ill. Onboard amenities. There are not a lot of places to go on the ship during the day. We headed to Alaska, so it was often too cool to sit outside. Inside areas during the day were mainly limited to the buffet area and the atrium, which was always packed and difficult to get a seat in. There was only ever one restaurant open for lunch. Even with reservations, there were often long queues. Disability We travelled with my in-laws who are deaf. There's really not a lot of provision for deaf people. They can't hear announcements, or the door bell, or answer their phone when it rings (or for them to know it's ringing). Again we told Princess ahead of time. They weren't on our booking, so they looked like separate travellers. Luckily they were travelling with people who could hear or they would have missed important information, like disembarkation at the end of the cruise or where to go each day on the ship to get off the boat and go ashore. Wifi It doesn't work out at sea. You can, however, still use the Medallion app without paying for wifi to do ship related things, like make table reservations and find where other members of your party are on the ship. Medallion App This has to be downloaded before you board the ship. You need the app to be able to access Wifi (and make table reservations etc). If it's not working, sign out of it and then sign back in.