I’ve felt a little lost on our Princess Cruise. The Princess App has the schedule of events, but the view for it is cumbersome to use. I asked Brian, “do you think this is just a bad app design or is it just designed for a different demographic than us?” He said both. The app lists all the activities in a timeline view. Only a couple things are ever listed at one time and you have to scroll horizontally and vertically to see more information. There isn’t a way to get a list view. It feels a bit like dropping your coin purse in the car and everything falls under the seat. Your hand reaches under the seat and every time you find a coin there is a little bit of delight followed by the lulls of frustration for finding it all. I think to myself, everyone must be reading the paper flyer that gets delivered each night. No one voluntarily deals with the app on a daily basis. The Princess event listing flyer makes things much easier to read, but it only lists out a title for each event. For some events, it’s hard to tell what the title really means. Based on conversations with people and everyone out and about enjoying the cruise, this seems like a me problem and not a system issue, but seriously how do people know?
This morning I saw an event called, “Panama - Colon and Limon with Destination Expert Veni Shykin.” I thought about the demographic on the ship and thought maybe this is how people know so I went to the event. The theater was absolutely packed!! Veni talked for an hour about Panama in terms of culture, history, and what to expect when we visit. It was very educational and I felt in the know. One hour later he started to wrap-up, and then began the next topic: Costa Rica. Seriously, another hour?! Nearly everyone stayed for this one too, but after 15 more minutes my head was filled with knowledge and I needed a break. During this lecture, the destination expert mentioned that this information would be available on our TV. Interesting, I thought.
The first thing I noticed when I went back to my cabin was the TV. It wasn’t something we had used yet because I can watch TV when I’m home. We go on vacation to explore and unplug from technology. I turned it on and found the destination videos. They record an hour long presentation for every port!! No wonder I felt so lost. The TV was the holder of all the knowledge. Additionally, I found The Wake Show and all of a sudden it clicked. Where does the 70ish demographic get their news? Live from the morning news. Princess has their own ship-specific morning news program! Our cruise director comes on every morning to talk about the upcoming events of the ship and usually has another person from the staff with him. This program is available on-demand from our TV. The secret to being in the know is to read the morning Princess paper, tune-in to The Wake, and watch the destination videos. Now that I’m in the know, it’s really a lovely setup.
My son and I spent the afternoon in our Caribbean Princess cabin. The ship was moving at top speed in rougher water so walking around the ship was more difficult than normal. After spending time at the water table, we needed to lay down. We rested and decided to order room service. We weren’t hungry yet, but room service usually takes awhile in general so I ordered early. The fastest room service ever!! I didn’t time it, but it seriously would have taken longer to walk to the buffet. My son received a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with French fries and I got a Caesar salad and shallow mason jar of key lime pie. The food was really good!
After lunch, Colton wanted to play the ship games. There are screens throughout the ship with interactive games. He was on a hunt for pieces of virtual broken pottery. We zigzagged the ship and collected them all.
It was Italian night for dinner, but they also had plenty of non-Italian options. I had the peach Bellini soup which was a delicious cold soup as my appetizer. I then had Fettuccini Alfredo for my entree and a coffee/chocolate dessert.
Comments