After many cruises with P&O and alarmed by their declining standards we sailed with Princess Cruises for the first time, a five night cruise on Sky Princess to Oslo and Skagen.
Things got off to a bad start when all the dining reservations we had made in February were wiped from the system about ten days before sailing without explanation – others had similar issues.
Four weeks on we still await a reply to our e-mail of complaint.
Once on board we were eventually able to get this sorted although none at our preferred time.
Prior to sailing we had looked at on board pricing which seemed high particularly after the addition of an outrageous 18% service charge on top of $17 per day gratuities! We concluded the Premium Package offered best value as it included both of these additional charges as well as other perks even if costing around double our typical level of day to day on board spend.
Things did quickly begin to look up.
The meals were excellent, much better than P&O.
We used the buffet a couple of times for breakfast and lunch and the choice was far beyond our expectations.
Entertainment was also very good, We were disappointed the balcony was so small although the cabin was very comfortable with plenty of hanging and drawer space, also there is no Promenade deck as such, just a couple of short stretches of open deck.
We enjoyed the ports although having been to both previously they were of less importance than the cruise experience.
We were also impressed with the Port Lectures – one of those thigs P&O no longer see as necessary, and they even provided printed port guides.
Service of drinks was a bit hit and miss as was the much heralded medallion system – sometimes worked, sometimes not.
Disembarkation arrangements were excellent, the only down side being having to have all luggage out by 22.00.
All in all a very enjoyable cruise experience, just a shame about the pre cruise issues, and that a small but painfully visible minority thought shorts and tee shirts appropriate as Smart Casual wear.
We will be trying other cruise lines in the months to come – Cunard and Fred Olsen – but based on this experience Princess are very much a ‘contender’ to replace P&O as our preferred cruise line.