Marmaduke

Believe me, these are just a few of the disappointments.  there were lots more.  The smell off sewage onboard.   Deck attendants taking bribes to keep sun loungers back for people.  Staff failing to enforce rules such as "no diving or jumping" in the pool - Infact , what happened daily was a jumping competition from 10am until around 4pm by all the kids using the pool - some even performing somersaults.  
Sorry everyone - Promise I won't moan anymore.
Long live RC     😂 

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Believe me, these are just a few of the disappointments.  there were lots more.  The smell off sewage onboard.   Deck attendants taking bribes to keep sun loungers back for people.  Staff failing to enforce rules such as "no diving or jumping" in the pool - Infact , what happened daily was a jumping competition from 10am until around 4pm by all the kids using the pool - some even performing somersaults.  
Sorry everyone - Promise I won't moan anymore.
Long live RC     😂 

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Wow, that certainly puts some of the complaints we see on here in perspective.

Thank you for explaining in detail. It brings your decision to life. It differs from my one and only Princess cruise, but I would probably be done with them after that as well!
I'm glad that wasn't your first cruise and we're happy to have you sailing on Royal and participating in the Royal Caribbean Blog message board.

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Perhaps we just got unlucky - since getting back home I have had a call from Princess apologising for what they have admitted was a sub-standard cruise. Nice to get an apology but it doesn't help when we had spent around £9k, which is a lot of money for us.
Whilst I fully understand that mid summer cruises are extremely busy and I do not have any sort of issue with that, Princess have admitted that they were extremely short on sun loungers due to a very large quantity being broken.  We are not sun worshippers but do like to sit outdoors when we can.  Most of the passengers (including us) didn't get a seat outdoors the whole 14 days.  I felt desperately sorry for some elderly people who had resorted to sitting on towels on the deck.  Princess have also confirmed that they were very short staffed!  This perhaps explains why the staff were mostly unengaging and appeared stressed and unhappy.   The ship itself definitely doesn't have enough seating areas inside either (not when it is at full capacity anyway) and a lot of guest ended up just walking from venue to venue trying to find seats the whole evening - to no avail.
Overall we found the food very disappointing.  Presentation of the meals was beautiful but most dishes were extremely bland. 
The entertainment was well below par.  No "shows" like RC, just single singers or comedians.  Their main show "rock opera" displayed good singing...but for me it wasn't a "show".   When we were on Indy the entertainment was top notch with musicals, musicians, singers etc.
As I say, perhaps we were just unlucky with the staff shortages and the severe shortage of outdoor seats, but I would have expected Princess to have their seats fixed and available for a summer vacation.  There were many guests very upset and unhappy with their cruise.  One lady I spoke to said it was her 29th cruise and the worse she had ever been on. 
For us personally we feel gutted that we saved so hard for the cruise and were left wishing we had stayed at home.
As I said.... we will just have to save like mad again and stick to RC. 

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Sorry you had a bad time on Princess, but glad to have you back in the fold!

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.

Hi all, I used this forum/message board 4 years ago when I took my first ever cruise.  It was so incredibly helpful and we had a fantastic family cruise on Indy.   Unfortunately we do not have the finances to cruise often, but we saved up and went on another family cruise this summer.  Unfortunately the date of the Royal Caribbean sailings didn't fit in with the dates we had free (sailing from Southampton UK) and we therefore chose a Princess Cruises sailing.    What a horrible experience!   If Royal Caribbean was a 10 out of 10 on our last cruise then this had to be a 2 out of 10.
I know you are all dedicated RC cruisers and I just wanted to say......I can see why now!  Unfortunately it is going to be a couple of years before we will be able to afford to cruise again but when we do then I won't consider any other Company.
Stick with Royal Caribbean.