We recently took a one week cruise on the Dawn Princess to the Mexican Riviera, it is a cruise we have taken many times with a variety of cruise lines including Celebrity and Holland America. This time we went with Princess, a line which we have used on 12 different occasions, most recently a two week Caribbean cruise in 2005.
To say we were disappointed would be an understatement!
Apparently, Princess's parent company have changed the positioning of the brand and is now putting it in the same category as Carnival. While none of the changes was a major thing, the combined effect was unfortunate. To begin with, they no longer issue tickets--you must go on line and fill out a series of forms to get your e-ticket. Since the web site is not particularly well designed, this can be frustrating. Next is the on board experience. Gone are the welcome aboard drink, cold towels upon return to the ship from excursions, lobster night (now shrimp and lobster night)etc, etc, etc. As I said, none of these is a big deal by itself, but they all combine to make for a definite downscaling of the experience. Even the flatware in the dining room was shabby and worn out.