Princess Cruise Lines - Reviews and experiences

hang on, something’s off. Turned out there really were two different cruise offers running at once — who knew. Folks from the US were saying they paid a small extra for the second cruise and were happy as clams. We, however, shelled out way more — long story short, I ended up effectively paying over two grand for what boiled down to one drink a day. Ridiculous, really.
My husband and I are pushing 80, so the idea of “extra fitness classes” or “premium desserts” didn’t exactly sell themselves. Two desserts a day? No thanks — we’d be queasy and wired on sugar, not relaxing. The package rules meant if one of us took it, the other had to too, and that’s how I wound up paying for something we mostly didn’t use. I’m not about to change my one-drink-a-day habit at this age, no way.
Phones barely worked, which was annoying but manageable — we sneaked a couple emails in at the computer lounge, old-school style. My husband’s a veteran and we expected the usual courtesy; we only saw one veterans’ payment applied even though the billing made it look like two trips. We had to sort out the casino bill ourselves because of the split-cruise situation — awkward.
On the upside, the crew were lovely, really. Friendly, helpful — big kudos there. That’s partly what kept me from writing them off completely. We’ve sailed with this line before and honestly, pre-Covid trips felt more generous; no freebies, no upgrade, nothing — that stung. Also, no church services on Sundays when we had hoped to drop in, which was a small disappointment.
So yeah — sceptical at first, mildly irritated through most of it, but warmed up by the staff. Still waiting on the promised follow-up from the company, fingers crossed they actually read this. Overall mixed feelings.

I've been a loyal customer of the cruise company since 2007 when my family and I went on a two-week Mediterranean cruise on the Sea Princess. We've been on many voyages to different places like the eastern Mediterranean, Baltics, Norway, South America, Asia, and the Caribbean. But it's sad to see that the experience on board has gotten worse over the years. What used to be a luxury is now full of extra charges for things that used to be included, like room service, dining options, and even things as simple as Alfredo's pizza. It seems like the company cares more about making money than making customers happy, with more pay-as-you-go restaurants and bigger ships making the cruise feel less special and more like a business. The customer service has also gotten worse, with calls going to call centers in the Philippines causing problems with communication and making customers frustrated. The whole experience before the cruise starts is also not great, with issues with prices and refunds not being very clear. Overall, my recent time with Princess was really disappointing and frustrating. Unless they make some big changes to improve things, I won't be coming back for another cruise.