CineGraphic

Pathetic is a good word too 😁

Our last sailings with Princess were b2b sailings on the Ruby out of San Francisco in April of 2022. These were the worst cruises we’ve ever taken. Among other things, they were taking reservations for both specialty dining rooms but only opening 1 each night. We were served a partially eaten appetizer from another table in Sabatinis, and they did nothing about the pot smokers on board, despite the posted policy. Since then, we’ve been very happy sailing with Virgin Voyages, in fact we’re sitting in a hotel in Miami at this very moment as we are boarding the Valiant Lady tomorrow for our 6th sailing with Virgin since October of 2022. I just received an email from Alvin Stokes, the new head of customer support for Princess in which he apologizes for the delay (2 years) and as an offer to win me back, he’s offered us $50 OBC. 🤣 Needless to say, I think we’ll pass. So glad we unloaded our CCL stock too. I hope they put that $50 to good use instead of digging a bigger hole for themselves.

Anyone booked on deck 13 post drydock have been reassigned elsewhere. Make of that what you will.

The Mega Rock Star offer sold out quickly....even without an itinerary!

Pam and I booked the Canada to Miami leg.....back in 2017 we did a north-bound version of this itinerary on another line and loved it. Our friends wanted to join us, but they always sail as Rock Stars and balked at the price. I was surprised to see that the 16 day PC sailing is $1K less for a sea terrace than the 13 day Canada -Miami sailing. I thought the canal tolls would make the price higher.

Another reason why it pays to have an agent. I was up at midnight Eastern Standard Time and at first, only the 3 Mermaidens were available, then around 1AM we were able to see the other sailings.

No announcements, no cruise director, no art auctions, and no EFFY! Food in the dining rooms is cooked ala' minute, instead of being cooked hours ahead of time and held in a food warmer.

The don't offer it on highly discounted rates, and I had the First Mate (travel agent rate)

I normally get the premium wifi as a perk with Deep Blue Extra and the speed/quality is usually excellent, however I recently did a 4 day Caribbean sailing without any perks, and the regular free wifi. It was only good enough for basic surfing and email. Many of my apps had a hard time loading, so when in port, I turned off airplane mode and used the cell connections on shore.

Our T-Mobile plan includes free international data....I think many of their plans include it. As for language, I use the Google Translate App. It's a life saver, and it's free!

May 8th

I saved over 50%

Since you are spending the night in Barcelona,here's our favorite Wine Bar, "Cellarer" We loved the it so much that for our next trip, I booked a hotel that's just a 3 minute walk away. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187497-d10456682-Reviews-Cellarer_Wine_Bar-Barcelona_Catalonia.html

This is a favorite bathroom of mine on board, and one of my favorite selfies. 🤣

I don't remember if the bidding page stated that my bid was "Poor" or just "OK", but there were quite a few Gorgeous Suites available, more than the other suite categories, so I didn't go nuts. To be honest, we've always preferred the aft, and were hoping to win a Cheeky Corner suite, but there was only 1 available.