I got an email from Hayley encouraging us to write about a summer activity or getaway so here it…read moreis. I am right now very busy and have been busy the past 6 weeks booking for my daughter upcoming cruise, wait it's tomorrow! her family of 4 will go on a 1st cruise and a difficult one to Mediterranean from/back to Barcelona, she waited till 7 weeks before to book as a result, it cost a ridiculous amount like close to $18,000! it's only 7 days. I used to get such a cruise for $5200 for2.
I meant to write a review for Princess a long time ago but never did till this email from Hayley. I grew up watching "LOVE BOAT" it was an innocent show, the only TV show I watched as I usually was so busy taking care of my parents and worked full time. I dreamed some day to go on the love boat which was a Princess cruise ship, we did take a cruise to Tahiti/Hawaiin Island on the Tahitian Princess, a small boat of 700 passengers, sister to the Pacific princess used in the TV show. They revived the show, it is beyond STUPID w Joshua Jackson, I tuned out after 15 minutes. The original show was sweet reflecting Americana, our culture and way of life.
My upcoming cruise is in August on a megaship the ENCHANTED PRINCESS, brand new going to the usual suspects LOL ! Aruba, Cozumel, etc.. Since I have done 55 cruises, I'm a cruise expert, addict or cruise diva, maybe all of the above, My brother made fun of me saying it's boring, NOT AT ALL, I love being pampered, hit the AYCE buffet 3x daily! it's called HORIZON COURT on this cruise line, then go to a Vegas like show in the evening, sitting in a jacuzzi to relax, watch a movie under the stars while breathing the cleanest air.
I am so sad for Princess, I wish somebody would ask for my recommendation, the Carnival corporation that own princess cruises cannot seem to get it right. Royal Caribbean (RCL) was a baby when princess already was a mature company yet RC stock skyrocketed to close to $400 and Carnival (CCL) stock price languished under $25, they nearly went bankrupted they had to borrow $100 million from China to stay afloat during the pandemic. It makes no sense to have every Princess cruise ship look 100% the same, just new carpet, new paintings on walls, where is the excitement?, none exist. RC has a new class every few years, their new class ICON of the seas is so hot I finally managed to book a cruise for Thanksgiving, IT'S 100% BOOKED FOR YEARS in advance. RC also invest in Broadway shows, aqua shows and holiday on ice shows. Why would I book w Princess if supposedly it's boring vc RC? well, Princess has exotic destinations, they are the only line going rd trip LA to hawaii I have done this twice, totally amazing, they also have more cruises to SE Asia.
I caught Hong Kong flu in 2015 on a Voyager of the Seas and found out RC did not invest much in the medical dept, if you get sick, you are out of luck, I could not believe they were out of Kaopectate, etc.. their Dr was a joke, he spoke such bad English, I asked if he spoke French, so we spoke French, he was from Cameroon, he didn't even wear a white jacket, he was totally useless. I'm still grateful Princess cruises saved my life, I fell down 12 steps trying to take picture of the Captain champagne fountain party in the Piazza, landing on the hard granite, I literally thought I was going to die had I land on my head, I used my hands to protect my head, my hands were bruised for a week. I was impressed they had a real hospital w GERMAN DOCTORS speaking perfect English, I had an EEG taken, my brain was OK, I was bleeding out of my nose and eyes scaring the heck out of everybody, I was all bruised up, I got rid of my fake Louboutin high heels, they even made a house call to my cabin and sent flowers, it was top notch service/care as in Cedar Sinai. I heard RC was quick to ditch you the next port. Princess was worried I'd sue them, I'm not like greedy Californians sueing everybody, it was my fault so I told them not to worry.
Princess also has the most cruises to South America, leaving from LA to Chile, very convenient going to Machu Pichu etc. their buffet has longer hours, they used to have better food but after covid, all the cruise lines have cut their food budget, there you have it the difference between the 2 biggest lines. Fuggedaboud Cunard, it's all old folks, many are snobbish drinking afternoon tea! they demand you to wear a suit to dinner, it was insane well, that was a few years back, not sure they still do, RC and especially NCL, anything goes, wear whatever you want except birthday suit, LOL! I'll post pictures in a few days, it's 6am here and I'm still YELPING LOL!