Overall Cruise Quality & Ease of Doing Business Onboard
1. There was some initial concern regarding safety briefings given to passengers upon embarkation. It was much more casual and and less informative that briefings experienced on all earlier cruises, including several Princess cruises.
2. While no exact ratio is known, the ratio of life boat seats to passengers and crew should be reviewed published, to ensure that there are enough in an emergency.
3a. After paying in full for cruise and excursions, using American Express, there was a general inability to use this credit card on the cruise for small incidental charges aboard ship (much less than $100). The root cause appears to be the inability of the cruise ship to process on-board credit card transactions with standardized secure chip-reading technology.
3b. As a result of this, I was forced to use the foreign currency that I brought aboard for shore excursions to satisfy additional incidental charges placed on my bill, and not chargeable to American Express, the same card used to purchase the cruise, and cover related costs on land. These additional charges included the daily crew appreciation charge, as one simple example.
3c. I was forced to use the forign currency obtained from my bank at standard exchange rate of (1.26) on the cruise ship to cover the crew appreciation, instead of American Express, and at a very unfavorable exchange rate of (1.15). This proved to be more than a mild inconvenience.
3d. My card continued to work fine on shore with merchants using standard secure chip readers in England, Ireland, Scotland, and France. While I carried a backup card, I didn't want to run the risk of corrupting the second card, since I kept it in reserve for emergencies.
4. Unlike Viking, and several previous Princess Cruises, Princess seems to be transitioning to more of a "nickle-and-dime" approach to doing business, with the inability to charge in secure ways like most merchants, without modern, secure on-board chip-reading technology. This capability should be adopted by Princess for the benefit of their customers. Extra care is advised in regard to customers wanting/needing to use on-board, secure chip-reading credit-card technology.
5a. Another unrelated observation, but very important post pandemic, is that most soap and hand sanitizer stations on our ship were empty. This is particularly disturbing.
5b. We knew one couple on board who did become sick on board, and found treatment drugs on board to be priced very high.
6. On the positive side, the shows staged on this cruise appear to be of higher quality than on previous Princess cruises. The ship had outstanding vocalists and orchestra, with a great repertoire. The performers were outstanding.
7a. Cabin crew work very hard and generally due an outstanding job. Cabins were kept neat and clean, and all of these staff are friendly and welcoming. This is one of the best features on the ship.
7b. Some hosts and hostesses in more formal dining fooms seem to be a little arrogant and condescending, which makes dining experiences less enjoyable than they would otherwise be.
8a. Windows with scenic view on Horizon deck were very dirty, which detracted from the overall ambiance of the trip. These beautiful views are one of the most salient features of the ship.
8b. Carpet in cabins seem worn and dirty in some cases.
9. Customer service calk-back is generally unreliable. After cruises are paid for, communication for followup help seens extremely difficult (or impossible) to get.
