Princess Cruise Food Complaint

Here is a shot of our ship, the Crown Princess in the harbor at the Greek island of Santorini. Beautiful ship, great accommodations but as a hotel/restaurant it was poorly managed.

With reference to the complaint below, I talked with another Princess Cruise guest who took a cruise to Alaska and her comments were the same -- nice ship, but the food was only average, and the timing of the entertainment was not passenger friendly.

As with my cruise, all of the good cuts of meat and fish were reserved for the additional pay restaurants, and the food in the regular restaurant was average at best. Like me, she had taken many cruises and the shipboard food was always magnificent. This time she said she may as well have eaten at Denny's, T.G.I. Fridays, etc. The steaks were no better than those at Ponderosa.

What really bugs me about this entire situation is that we already paid for the food as part of our trip package. Princess, however, is trying to bleed as many dollars out of the passengers as they can by shipping most of the better quality food to the pay restaurants. So, if you spend $50 per couple at the pay restaurant, you must remember that you have to add the amount from you fare to that total This just doesn't seem right to me.

Remember, I don't argue with the fact that they open pay restaurants, I am arguing with the fact that just about all of the better cuisine is available there, and not in the restaurant you would normally go to.

Are the other cruise lines doing the same thing? I don't know. If you do, please add a comment to this post.

Princess Cruises -- Rip Off Pro

It's bad enough to have to pay the ridiculously high prices that cruise lines demand in their shops, bars, etc., but Princess has let greed take them one step closer to becoming a pirate line rather than a cruise line.

First off, cruising is an expensive proposition, and I understand that completely. But when you start cutting back on the quality food in your restaurants to put them into the pay restaurants, then it's time to say wait a minute.

Princess, and other cruise lines, too, have added specialty restaurants to their pay as you go menu, so to speak. On my last cruise to Europe, Princess had several specialty restaurants that were from $20 to $25 per person added to your food bill. Remember, folks, this is in addition to the price for food you already paid in the trip package.

Princess also went further by taking the much higher quality food out of the standard restaurant, where most people eat, and put it in their specialty restaurants. In the past, the food in the restaurant was the best -- better than any restaurant you could find ashore. Now, however, the food is no better than at your average restaurant back in the good old U. S. of A.

I would say the food quality was one small step above Denny's, The Olive Garden, or one of the restaurant chains that feature average fare and lower prices. Where was the better food? At the specialty restaurants. I can understand taking some of the specialties away, but Princess took them all away. The biggest difference between Princess' Cruise Line's restaurant and Denny's or the local steak house or spaghetti shop? You can get out of there in an hour. It took the waiters at Princess two hours to serve us.

One Year

September 8, 2010

We had some fun, didn't we
Just me and you, and you and me.

Those were the days, it was easy to smile
We'd hug each other, at least for a while.

But today is one very difficult day
The anniversary of your going away.

I'll try to remember the good times we had
And forget those times when life was bad.

You were always there when I needed you,
But now you're gone, my Linda "Loo".

I hope you're happy...your family with you
They love you so much; I know it's true.

But today I'm lost, I'm sad to say
It's one year since my girl went away.

While I know you watch me from up above,
I long to see you, My Girl... My Love.

-- Your Boy

Last Night

On September 8, 2009, I had to say goodbye to my love, Linda Louise (Loo) Spinelli. Last night, February 8, 2010, I was working at my computer and had what you may call a paranormal experience. I wasn’t doing anything special or important, just moving from one project to another giving things a simple glance or a quick read instead of serious thought. While I had been thinking about Linda earlier in the evening, I was doing “stuff” that, at least temporarily, blocked her from my mind. Suddenly I was enveloped by an incredible sense of warmth and love, and the scent of perfume filled the air around me. It wasn’t any perfume, but my wife’s perfume – Odyssey by Avon. The perfume had a unique scent when Linda wore it. It was the same as from the bottle, and yet different…something unique to her. I’m sure chemists would say that subtle changes in odor are due to the perfume’s reaction to body chemistry and other factors, but when you are with someone for nearly 20 years (married 16+), you notice these little nuances. I basked in the moment for some seconds and actually said aloud, “Oh, you’re here.” I felt love… her love, something that I had missed for more than five months. It was an incredible experience, and it is something I sincerely wish that everyone who lost someone close to them, like a spouse, a child, or brother or sister, could experience. Why that experience occurred last night, on the same day and at the same time as when I lost her, I don’t know… but I sure hope it happens again.

Last Night You Came Home

February 8, 2010

I wasn’t thinking of you when you stopped by.

The girl that I lost, and still wonder why.

I wasn’t dreaming, as too often I do,

But when you stopped by-- I knew it was you….

Again I had that feeling of joy and of love,

A gift not of earth, but from God up above.

Your perfume did surround… it enveloped me.

Your presence I felt, but could not see.

Five months ago today you left those you love,

And went home to your parents, and to God’s love.

But you came back tonight… at 10:02,

The same time I lost my Linda Loo.

Yes I knew you were there, right at my side

My girl, my love, my friend, my bride.

Yes, my girl came home to me last night….

And for a brief moment, everything was all right.

But those feelings left as quickly as they came,

My loss would return… life was still the same.

But your perfume, it lingered; that part was real,

Reminding me of the joy, and the loss I now feel.

So, Linda please stop by in the day, or even at night

For it gives me great peace… to know you’re all right.

And while we can’t touch, I know that you care,

It’s your presence I feel, and the love we still share.

I treasured your visit, though it was too brief.

It came as a whisper, and left as a thief.

And while my heart remains empty and broken in two,

It beats with a longing for my Linda Loo.

And for one moment…one shining, glorious moment

You were here…

And I was happy again.