talkorpi

Hi everyone, Looking forward to our first Princess cruise coming up in just a few weeks (April 2nd can't come soon enough!) and I saw that Princess used to offer a behind the scenes ship tour. I am a total ship nerd and would LOVE to do something like this experience - I did it once back on the Carnival Breeze in 2017 and it was one of the coolest things ever! Does anyone know if Princess has resumed this? I know that a lot of the cruise lines shut this down during the pandemic but most of them have started them back up again. Is Princess doing the Ultimate Ship Tours again?

I’m just not sure if that is the right Sabatini’s menu. There’s two of them on the Princess site and one looks a lot better than the other. Trying to figure out which menu will be on Ruby in April.

Crown Grill and Bistro Sur La Mer are $39 pp from Feburary 20, 2023. Sabatini's is $35 pp effective the same date.

Off-toipic, but speaking of vines, is it true that there is free sushi included with a glass of wine?

LadyL1, thank you for confirming this. Appreciate it. Have a fabulous rest of your cruise on Royal!

Thanks for the comment. Was thinking about the lamb if we chose Crown Grill. And yes, I know that the Salty Dog grill and Salty Dog Gastropub are different. I should have been more specific - I am specifically talking about the upcharge Gastropub. Can easly see how it could be confusing, especially for first-time cruisers, but I am trying to do my research 😉

Thanks for the comment! Just curious - what is the current menu for Sabatini's? I've seen two very different ones floating around, both of which also appear on the Princess website. I would assume the one that is $29 a person and not $25 is the current menu, but the $25 menu is marketed as the "new" menu so now I'm confused. They are two pretty different menus with very different offerings. I hope its the $29 menu as it looks more appealing...

Gotcha, thanks. I saw some of the dinner menus on those videos but I believe there were a couple that were skipped and if I recall correctly they never actually ate in the MDR to see the food.

Hi everyone, Leaving for our first Princess cruise in a couple weeks. We are Princess newbies and very excited to be trying the line. We got a lot of onboard credit with out booking and I frankly don't know what to do with it since we already have Princess Plus. One of the things that I wanted to do was try one of the specialty restaurants, but we only want to go to one for the entire cruise. Since we are on Ruby, our options are Sabatinis and Crown Grill. (Not interested in Salty Dog - but does anyone know if Salty Dog is open for lunch?) Anyone have any opinions on which one is better? I know it's a matter of personal taste but I wanted to get some people's opinions of which they liked more. Right now we are slightly leaning towards Sabatini's but both look like good options, and at only a $4 difference, the price doesn't make much of an impact on my decision. Thanks!

Thanks for your comments. Going on Ruby in a few weeks - it will be our first cruise on PCL. Do you happen to have any photos of the MDR food or menus? To my understanding, Princess changes the menus a bit from homeport to homeport and I haven't found any for Ruby out of Galveston yet.

It is pretty expensive to stay on the island, and I know that a lot of the hotels that used to offer free "cruise parking" with a one-night stay no longer offer it post-COVID. My advice would be to stay in Kemah or Texas City for the night. The Kemah boardwalk is fun and less expensive than pleasure pier. Not sure how transportation would work for you since I am Texas and always drive myself there. However, I believe it is generally cheaper to rent a car one-way and drive to Galveston yourself rather than try to find a rideshare or taxi. Someone who is familiar with flying in should be able to give you better advice. That being said, if you do want to stay in Galveston, I would reccommend the Harbor House hotel. It might be a little mor expensive but if you have the money it is well worth it. It is literally in walking distance to terminals one and two (but not the new RC terminal) and also right down in the strand. I much prefer it to the beachfront hotels - has a classy nautical atmosphere in a historic building within walking distance of great restaurants and shops on the strand, and you won't have to deal with the awful traffic on Harborside drive the morning of your cruise if you are staying there. I believe parking in their lot is $15 a night, so for 7 days, it is comparable to most of the cruise-specific lots. Have a great time in Galveston! I love it and would move there in a heartbeat if I could.

Completely new to Princess and wanted to ask for some advice regarding dining times. We were watching a video of some folks who were on the same ship and itinerary as we are just a few weeks ago and they said that there were only 5:00 and 9:00 dining times available since they did not pre-book their MDR times as soon as they boarded. This makes me nervous - we have always cruises Carnival and with YTD there, we could just check in at dinnertime every night and would be seated after a 10-15 minute wait no problem, even at 6:00-6:30 peak times. So now I am wondering - what is the best way to do dining with the new app? We liked the flexibility of being able to make reservations on the same day, but I don't want to get stuck with just 5:00 or 9:00 times like the guests in the video did. Do you really have to pre-book every single night when you get onboard if you want to eat in between 5:45 and 7:30? And, if so, what is the ideal time to book dining so that you can still see all the evening entertainment? For context, we are on Ruby out of Galveston on April 2. Right now the cruise barely looks half full, so I didn't expect this to be a problem, but for the video I watched (they sailed mid-January), it was. Appreciate the help.

You can go to this website and they have pictures of the windows from most cabins. Look for room numbers for the Sapphie and Diamond Princess as they should be the same. If you have the ability to choose your cabin, you might be able to snag an "obstructed view" that isn't really too obstructed! That's what I did for my upcoming cruise on Ruby and it was a great way to save money. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/ov.php?ship=Sapphire-Princess&cabins=E600-E633

Been on exclusively Carnival cruises but recently booked Princess out of Galveston. The stars just kind of aligned - the one week that I had open vacation time, coupled with the right price. Not going for the itinerary (I am getting so tired of the same 3/4 ports that are the only standard offerings out of Galveston) but I have always wanted to try Princess. Really looking forward to it and seeing the comparisons. I have always felt like I am more of Princess' target market, but I always picked Carnival for the price. However, Carnival out of Galveston has looked crazy expensive lately, and this Princess cruise was actually a little cheaper, even with Princess Plus.

Update - I bid on a premium balcony. Called a very helpful Princess rep who told me that they could move me to any available cabin if my bid is accepted and if I didn't want to move I could keep the same cabin I had. Honestly, any balcony is better than no balcony, though, and I would be saving over $600 through an accepted bid rather than if I had booked the same category directly. Shall see how it goes!

Looking for a more relaxed excursion in Cozumel that isn't a beach or a bar. I saw this reccomendation on a different thread but it seems relatively new. Has anyone ever done the Mayan Bee Sanctuary during a port stop? I don't see it listed on many shore excursion websites and I'm wondering how we are supposed to get there from the port (Cruising on Princess so I am assuming we are going from Puerta Maya). It looks interesting but since we don't speak Spanish and don't really want to rent a car just to drive here and back I'm wondering if they run taxis from the ports to this location. Anyone have any experience with this tour while stopping in port for the day?

Was hoping that someone with experience with the new upgrade bidding system might be able to help answer my questions. I got my email offer to upgrade today. I am in a cabin that is one of the best locations for its category but I would like to upgrade to a balcony. However, I have two pretty specific questions before I’m ready to bid: 1) If I am trying to bid for a deluxe balcony, but I only want to be in an AFT-FACING balcony and not one of the ones midship that just have bigger balconies, is there a way I can do that? Has anyone had any luck getting upgraded to one of these cabins OR with calling Princess after bid acceptance and getting moved to one of these cabins? 2) Is it possible to pay for these upgrades with a gift card? I have one leftover from Christmas and while I understand that you have to put in a credit card while bidding, will it also charge a card? Or when it gets accepted can I use the gift card as a payment method? Additionally, do you think it is better to bid earlier or much closer to sail date? Wondering the advantages / disadvantages of both. Very new to this and still figuring things out. Edit for context: on the Ruby Princess. Still plenty of cabins available in all categories. Answers appreciated, thanks so much!

Going on the Ruby in April. We have plus but my traveling partner was wondering about the non-alcoholic included options, specifically smoothies and milkshakes. Anyone know the availability / menus for those items on Grand Class ships?

Paid for my cruise in full today through my TA. I meet all requirements to upgrade. When I click on the "bid to upgrade" link in Cruise Personalizer, it says I am not eligible. Princess live chat was totally useless and said that they "didn't know how to help me since they don't know how to access it." How long after final payment does it usually take for the system to let you make a bid? I booked an oceanview but pretty quickly after decided that I wanted a balcony. Our sailing is less than 50% full and only 60 days away so I know there are plenty of cabins available. What the heck is wrong with the system?

I just booked the Ruby Princess on her second to last trip out of Galveston. I wasn't really planning on cruising during this time, but I have always wanted to try Princess and the price was right. I've been on five Carnival cruises and I know that the lines are pretty different. This will also be my first time in a cabin without a balcony... but I got one of the "not really obstructed" obstructed oceaview staterooms, so we will see how that plays out. Was wondering if anyone has any experience with the new room upgrade system (I have never recieved a cabin upgrade before or participated in a program like that before) and how much I might expect an upgrade to a balcony cabin to cost. If nobody knows that's fine - I'm just new here and not sure myself! 🙂 Just wondering what kinds of things one should expect coming in! What are the big differences from Carnival? Very excited to finally try the line I have been wanting to sail since I was ten years old!

Thanks for the tips everyone. I still haven't booked yet as I'm pretty hesitant but this is helpful.

I am considering booking a solo trip on Ruby out of Galveston next month. The price is nice and I could use a break at that time. However, I have never cruised solo before. On top of that, I've also never cruised with Princess before. Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect for both? I'm a relatively quiet person so I'm not looking for all the craziness found on Carnival or similar lines. Princess looks attractive to me but I would like to know what to expect both from the line and as a relatively shy solo travleler before I book.

Not a fan of the Vista either. Was my least favorite of the ships we have been on. Had great crew, but a terrible layout. Feels so cramped and has a terrible PSR. Also incredibly ironic that it is named “Vista” yet has so few windows in public spaces.

STOP TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT THE HILL COUNTRY!!! We are getting too big and it is quickly being ruined!!! ☹️

^^^ This. I actually started a thread in the MSC boards discussing this. It is mainly European people making judgemental comments about Texans, though, so didn't pick up the type of discussion I assumed it would.