A Family Love Affair with Cruising
Justin and daughter Mikayla share a love of cruising.
August 28, 2012
by Lorena Jordan
I’m a lucky gal. Ten years ago I married my best friend, who just happened to be one of Princess Cruises’ youngest most-traveled passengers. When I first began dating Justin, I hadn’t been on a cruise. The thought of cruising never crossed my mind, really. But, at the tender age of 27, my new suitor had already been on more than 20 cruises with Princess alone.
Growing up, my family had traveled a lot around the country but we never ventured aboard a boat. Justin’s family, however, had many generations of cruisers. His paternal grandmother helped launch his love of cruising at a very young age. As he grew up, he was very fortunate to see many countries, cultures and ports through his many voyages with Princess over the years. Cruising was in his blood,
and he wanted to share that love with me.
I’ll be honest. I was a bit apprehensive at the idea … but a few months after we started dating, I joined Justin for a short five-day Mexico cruise out of Los Angeles. I really wasn’t expecting to like it. But, once we left port, something happened. That sea air and those wide open waters stirred my soul. The music and entertainment enlightened my spirits. The ports of call were intriguing. The food was fantastic, but it was the camaraderie with other passengers and the personal time spent with my loved one was what truly filled me. I was officially hooked!
Justin and I have been blessed to be able to cruise several times per year – sometimes to celebrate special occasions (such as our honeymoon or birthdays), but most often just to celebrate the simply joy of cruising.
We love meeting people from all over the world, trying new foods, and experiencing new cultures. We get to see the world with all the comforts of home. We get to leave behind our busy schedules, iPhones, conference calls, and carpools to truly get away from it all and just “be”.
This year, as we celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary, I’m just a few cruises shy of joining my husband at Elite status. I’ve gotten my cousin addicted. And, although life doesn’t allow us to cruise as much as we’d like to anymore, I’m proud to say we’ve passed our love of cruising on to our five-year-old daughter, Mikayla. She’s definitely inherited the cruising bug and is poised to enjoy her third cruise this year. She wants to get an Elite card, just like her Daddy. And, I think if it was up to her, she would get it before she’s old enough to drive.
Thank you, Princess, for providing such a wonderful cruising experience for our family. We look forward to many more travel adventures together.
Lorena, Justin and Mikayla live in Rancho Cordova, California. Justin has taken 30 Princess cruises, Lorena has taken 13, and Mikayla has been on two … so far.
Lorena, thank you for sharing your story! Here’s to many more cruises for you, your daughter and the next generation!
Recommend you update captain circle policy so that children can get done rewards or recognitions for starting their love of cruising. Seems like a ripe opportunity to build and cultivate brand loyalty if they can show that they’ve been around the high seas instead off starting over when they’re older with the dreaded blue cruise card. Keep up the excellent work Princess. We’ve taken our daughter on two cruises now and she loved pity, except the different colored cruise card from her parents.
I believe the cards stay blue for security reasons, but on Princess they do earn cruise credits. On Celebrity they do not. Our daughter has completed her 11th cruise and is prepping for number 12. She is 14.
Liz Holtzclaw, Hughson Travel
We totally agree. Our girls are 6 (twins) and are about venture in their 4th cruise! It most certainly won’t be their last.
We agree too! My daughter is 11 and is about to experience her 13th and 14th cruise with Princess over the Christmas holidays and March Break this year. We are both Elite members and she is still “stuck” with the “dreaded” blue card too! I agree with security, but could they not punch a hole or add a mark/sticker to a Junior Elite Card…hey Princess…give some thought to it…it has a nice ring to it!!!!!
Lovely story Lorena
we recently went on the clipper had a blast my daughter won a trip to canada looking forward to taking that trip we love cruise there awesome sos the food and copany on it looking forward to spending time alone with husband whos been ill for a long time cruises rock
Traveling with family is the best! When my niece turned 18, she received a Platinum card based on all the cruises she had taken with her parents when she was a kid. She was thrilled!
Hope you and your family many more cruises together!!
Oh, so our daughter’s current cruises are still being tallied and counted toward getting a gold or black card in 12 years?
Bob – yes, that was our experience. However, I checked online at princess.com and this is what it says:
Question: Are children eligible to receive the Princess Cruises Captain’s Circle benefits?
Answer: Children under 18 years old are not eligible for membership into the Princess Cruises Captain’s Circle. Children will accrue a cruise history and will be properly recognized beginning with their 1st cruise after turning 18. Children under 18 are not eligible to receive the Circle benefits.
Good news for your daughter!
Thank you. Sounds like the “properly recognized” means that she’ll be able to get her platinum card by then (since we better get two more cruises in in the next 12 years). She doesn’t need the benefits now since the Pelicans provide all the fun.
We just took our family on a cruise this summer and my children loved it! I know we will be cruising again soon! Thank you Princess for the one of our best family vacations!
My Husband and I will be taking our 4th. cruise to celebrate our 60th wedding Anniversary.
Our 3 daughters and son-in-law will be coming also it will be their first cruise ever. I know they
will have a great time!
Sorry, but out of all the cruise lines we have used, Princess was by far the worst! Beautiful ship, great food, but the staff were the most inconsiderate, rude, and disrespectful people we have met! We wrote Princess Cruise Lines about this problem — but of course, never heard a word from them. We’ll continue to cruise with RCL and NCL, on which we have never experienced anything like the staff on Princess! I’m sure you will not post my comment, though.
Sorry William…but your’re wrong! I’ve cruised Royal Carribean, Norwegian and Princess. My Mum ALWAYS preferred Princess till the day she passed. Her last cruise was a Princess cruise. She was, till the very last, a consummate “Platinum” Princess cruiser! She loved the way they treated her and we, who were her caregivers on so many of her cruises, couldn’t have agreed more. I myself cannot think of one time I was disappointed in the food, the staff or the cruise itself. The staff went out of their way to make sure my Mum had what ever she wanted, whenever she wanted it. They greated her by name in the hall, the dining room or our room. Never have I seen a better group of people. I praise them all for the times they made my Mum feel special in all her years of cruising, but especially her last. Thanks Princess…job WELL done!
Totally agree. My husband & I cruised with NCL last June & found the staff to be arrogant, the food was o.k. but the entertainment was lacking in professionalism. The cabin (although a balcony suite) was cramped & passengers were treated as cattle when either embarking or disembarking from ports. In December we cruised with Royal Caribbean for Xmas & New Year believing them to be better but had the same scenario – this time the ship was well past it’s use by date ( has now been refurbished I believe).
Mail sent to both companies regarding issues were never resolved.
From now on our loyalties will remain with the cruise line we know best & can trust P&O/ Princess.
I just wish all cruise lines made it more affordable to cruise with large families. We have 4 of our own kids and plan to start fostering and it is expensive because we have to get multiple rooms on all the lines unless I leave half the kids at home. We typically cruise carnival cause of the prices and the kids club but every once and a while my husband and I go alone and take other lines.
Dear Lorena, I’m very happy for you. May you and others have carefree, happy times at sea with whatever cruise line you chose.
However, Ms. Joni Smith, I believe owes Mr. William Eaton an apology. You may have had only wonderful experiences but that does not apply to everybody so you should not tell someone else that they are wrong. We have cruised with 4 cruise lines and had good times…but not all experiences were perfect. In 2007 on the Crown Princess, my wife and I were “FORCED” by Princess staff to reschedule accommodations and flights because they believed we could not make our airline connection in San Juan. One individual was Roberto from Mexico, the other a Mid-Eastern chap. We went to the pursers’ desk with our disembarkation form and they said they would not allow us off the ship. They were prepared to contact security with our names to disallow our leaving. We knew we could make the connection because my wife and daughter had done the same cruise twice before. We were not using Princess transfers and even offered to sign waivers. My wife was to meet our daughter in Detroit, then fly to San Diego the next day to take a Princess cruise of the Mexican Riviera while I was driving home from Detroit. My wife had to reschedule and fly alone through Atlanta to San Diego while our daughter had to fly alone the next day from Detroit to San Diego. I had to book a hotel and stay in San Juan alone. They also charged the cost of the phone call to reschedule with the airline to me but reversed it when I presented my argument. All of this cost me an additional $700 U.S. (approximate). I wrote a 6 page letter of complaint to Princess post cruise and received a letter of explanation from Mr. Ryan Boyer, Specialist, Customer Relations rationalizing why it was necessary and right. I also copied President and CEO, Mr. Alan Buckelew but received no reply. My wife and I have discussed many times how Mr. Buckelew should go on “Undercover Boss” and see first hand some of the nonsense that goes on.
All is NOT perfect. We have had other issues but none as costly as this one and most of them were resolved satisfactorily. We did this same cruise one year later on the Caribbean Princess, avoided the pursers’ desk and make our connections just fine with hours to spare.
We were originally excited and looked forward to the food on Princess but over the last several years have complained to them as the quality continues to decline but it is a cost-cutting measure and will not change unless the market drastically improves. Plus, they have such a large customer base that it doesn’t matter if one or two couples are not completely satisfied. Carnival Corp. is #1, RCI (including Celebrity) is #2, NCL is #3 based on sales, etc.
Why do we continue to cruise Princess…itineries. They continue to go to the ports where we want to go.
Please understand that all is not negative. We have had wonderful and exciting cruises with Princess and will continue to cruise with them.
Hello William,
I’m sorry you had a bad experience with Princess. It’s the only line I’ve traveled and I love it. I have noticed that some voyages have friendlier staff than others but in general I have always enjoyed myself. Keep an open mind all the ships are staffed with people – some good, some not so good.
Hi William, I am absolutely amazed at your findings. Having sailed many times with different lines we find Princess is definitely our line of choice, The staff are the most friendly and proffesional we have come across. We recently cruised the med with Carnival and how we realised what we were missing. The quality and quantity of staff was very obviously lacking. Back to Princess for us next year!
You are entirely wrong about Princess. We have always been treated Royally with them for over 30 years and look forward to our upcoming cruise with them . How can you possibly compare NCL with Princess. RCL, maybe, but NCL, yuk. We are an Elite member and my son and family will be an Elite next year when we, again, cruise as a family, for the Holidays! Oops, noticed you mentioned excellent food, and beautiful ship what more can you ask for than that! The staff can be replaced after their contract expires…so give them another chance and you will be satisfied
I have just returned from another (104 days) World Cruise & enjoyed it thoroughly & have booked again next year. Never knew my retirement would be this good. Princess & their loyalty program is world’s best & I intend to cruise until I can no longer. Ask anyone on board & they will say how they dislike flying & the chance to put your bags away & settle back & do as much or nothing at all is the ultimate passtime. The most exciting & interesting places to visit and the lectures/”Scholarship @ Sea” programs I enjoy very much. I travel alone with absolutely no problems & the past 48 cruises have all been with Princess & there are others who have done many more! Can’t wait until January for a circumnavigation of South America!
Hi Jill, I too am retired and love taking cruises which I do at least 3-4 times per year. I have been using Celebrity Cruise lines. My question to you is how does Princess handle people cruising as a single. Do they afford you a special rate or do they as other cruise lines just charge you double the cabin price. I always get a balcony cabin so as you can imagine the cost is outrageous. Perhaps I will run into you on the high seas.
Please advise.
Tim
JILL if you are traveling alone,,,then you must be paying a two person rate..and on a world cruise..wow…I wish they could accommodate single cruisers more…but glad you can do it..I could not.
I have now completed my 21 cruise with Princess we leave on the 17th of october from Rome 47 days back to Sydney and have 3 more cruises booked we just love Princess great ships service and food they have the best loyality program of any cruise line and are recommended to our friens who are now joining Princess keep up the good work
Oh William, how sad! We have cruised 56 times and over 1000 days, with Princess alone, as well as many other cruises with other cruise lines.
The Princess Crew are exceptional! Never once have we had any complaint with any one of them! Even noting when they have had difficult people to deal with, they do so with courtesy and respect. One of the main reasons we keep returning to Princess is their absolutely fantastic crew.
I agree 100% re crew Yvonne
I too have done numerous cruises and note that princess has the best loyalty program, however when you have done all the itineraries out of Australia and you hate flying, you have t choose other cruise lines. I am considering flying to Sth America but cabin allocation as a single is not great and airfare is outrageous. Must admit these long cruises are a bit quiet as most people are in bed at 10pm so sme of the activities promoted do not occur as there are no takers. This is my experience on cruising from Australia on voyages over 14 days.
I have taken a lot fewer cruises than some of these folks with webbed feet, cousins to deep sea sea gulls. But I have cruised enough to be designated Captain’s Crcle and cannot think of a single privilege large or small that comes with it. Katy Hese says that Princess has “the best loyalty program?” If so, I hate to think what the 2nd best might be like. I can’t help but wonder what “best loyalty program” is based on fact-wise? Please advise. Informed consumers want to know. PS Since I don’t know that I will be able to find my way back to this message wall, may I note that it’d be nice to have my question answered by email by the company so I can count on some sort of a response. Y’think? Thank you.
My husband and I enjoyed our first Princess cruise earlier this year after encouragement from my son who has taken two cruises with his wife and two other couples, on Princess and Carnival).
Now I have a goal of all our children and families taking a cr.uise together one year, when the youngest grandkids are just a little older.
Princesses has always been a great time. Staff is most curteous. I have to think that maybe you were the problem!!
My husband and I have cruised on RC and NCL before we went on Princess. After our first cruise with Princess, we knew that was the ship for us! Everything about the ship was great: balcony room, staff, food, entertainment. We will always sail with Princess now and are looking forward to our Panama Canal Cruise in March, 2013.
Our first cruise,with daughters and granddaughters, was on the Crown Princess. We were all thrilled with our experience! I returned from that cruise and immediately booked another one.That was almost four years ago and we’ve sailed with Princess,Cunard and RCL. Enjoyed them all-however Princess is the top of our list! We’re booked on the new Royal Princess 12 day Med cruise next September 15th and can hardly wait! Anyone reading this booked on this date?Would love to hear from you!
Love your story Lorena!! Our daughter experienced her 1st Princess cruise at 14 years of age, after sailing twice with Disney, at 9 and 12. She loves the whole experience, and that Princess is very cool with handling her food allergies. She’s definitely hooked on cruising, as we have been for years. Hope you enjoy many more cruises with your family, and maybe we’ll see you some time on a Princess ship, as it’s become our favourite line to sail with:)
i love princess. i am a platingham member well on way to being elite
thank you i look forward to my next cruise, any good offers would not be refused