Traveler1977

Enjoyed your comments, they were very concise and informative. Thanks.

Do the early self walk off. Customs is usually no problem for the early walk off crowd. Get a cab or Uber and head to MIA. You should have no problem with Miami traffic at that time of day on a Sunday. You will have plenty of time. Once you’re at MIA and you clear TSA, look to see if there is a La Carreta Cuban Restaurant near your gate. Order a cafe con leche (Cuban coffee and milk) and a guava pastelito.

You didn’t mention what day of the week it would be. Even with an early port arrival and ship disembarkation, trying to get from Port Everglades to MIA during weekday rush hour traffic is a nightmare at best. If you’re talking about a flight that leaves 15 minutes too early for Princess to provide a transfer, you probably won’t make it. As other posters have mentioned, try to fly out of FLL. It’s a significantly smaller and easier to navigate airport than MIA.

I’ve been quietly following you on your journey through Alaska. My wife and I will be on the Majestic doing the same cruise and a similar land tour in a few weeks. You gave a great review and provided loads of tips and suggestions that we’ll be adding to our list of things to do. Thanks.

Shortly after I read an announcement in May that The Catch by Rudi was available on the Majestic, I tried making a reservation for my July cruise on the Dine My Way app, but The Catch wasn’t available to select. I called Princess and they made the reservation for me. The reservation now shows in the DMW app.

Prefect time to take a Caribbean cruise. Temps mights be a little cool, but it never gets cold. You’ll be able to walk around the ports without being covered in sweat. If the cruise includes a stop at a private island or beach resort, you’ll be comfortable lounging around the various beaches. Unless you have kids, try not to go during the winter break that schools have.

Are you cruising out of Port Canaveral or Port Everglades? The two ports are approximately 200 miles apart. As another poster mentioned, Port Canaveral is near Orlando and Port Everglades is minutes away from Ft. Lauderdale.

I’m on the Majestic in July. I couldn’t make a reservation in The Catch by Rudi on DMW, so I called Princess and was able to make a reservation that way.

We will be doing a similar cruise a little later in the season. We will be following your thread for your comments and tips. Our cruise is southbound and we finish in Vancouver where we will be staying a few days on our own. We are especially interested in hearing about the Vancouver tour you booked.

I’m not saying either line is better, I personally like variety and enjoy trying different cruise lines. I’ve had many great cruises on RC. Princess actually has two new packages, Plus and Premium. Plus is $60.00 pppd and covers drinks up $15.00, gratuities and Wi-Fi on one device. The Premium is $90.00 pppd and covers drinks up to $20.00. If the drink exceeds that you only pay the difference. The Premium includes gratuities, Wi-Fi on four devices and two specialty restaurants. it seems to me that the packages on Princess give you a lot beyond just alcohol. I’m not looking for people to say, just cruise on Princess. What I would like to see is RC offer more value in its package(s). There is a price point for everything. Whether one chooses to purchase a drink package is a personal choice based on the price they are willing to pay and the value they expect to derive from the purchase. Happy cruising.

All I was pointing out is that $83.99 is a lot of money for just drinks.

The deck plans for Majestic still show the Bistro Sur La Mer restaurant on deck 7. In early May 2023, The Catch by Rudi replaced that restaurant. You would think the deck plans would have been updated by now.

Recently booked a RC cruise for later this year. The alcohol package is $105 a day, per person; purchasing the alcohol package pre-cruise saves you 20%, making it $83.99 a day, per person. You get alcoholic beverages, speciality coffees, sodas and bottled water. I have a cruise on Princess in a couple of months and Princess’s Premier Package is $90.00 a day, per person. The big difference is that in addition to the alcohol, specialty coffees, soda, etc., the Princess Premier Package also includes pre-paid gratuities, Wi-Fi for up to four devices, two specialty dining restaurants, and a few other less significant items. Am I missing something?

We live in South Fla and many of our cruises are out of PortMiami, which means we can easily take a lot of extra things with us; no flying. This includes a medium sized, clip-on, rechargeable fan. In addition to using the fan in the cabin, we take the fan with us to the beach or resort that is included in many Caribbean cruises (Perfect Day at Coco Cay, etc.). Clip it onto the umbrella and always have a nice breeze even on the warmest days at the beach.

After reading this thread, I changed my medallion order. I was going to have it shipped to my home, I thought this would save time at embarkation. Based on the comments posted here, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Plus since we’re flying, it’s one less thing to worry about packing.

I waited about a week to hear, but it’s not confirmed until you pay.

Not being a big gambler, I was wondering…. how much does one need to gamble in the ship’s casino on a cruise (or multiple cruises) to qualify for a free casino cruise? I BET from my question you could tell I’m not a big gambler.

I have an upcoming Alaska cruise on the Majestic in July. I had already made SD reservations for the Crown Grill and Harmony. I was not even aware Catch was going to be available until I read it on this thread. I tried changing the reservation from Harmony to Catch on the Dine My Way app but couldn’t even find Catch as a possible selection. I called Princess and they made the change for me. Definitely looking forward to dining in this new seafood restaurant.

Thanks for posting the link.

I like to board as early as possible and in addition to having a bite to eat, I like to start exploring the ship. Especially if it’s a ship I haven’t been on before. I prefer taking the stairs and don’t want to have to lug a suitcase around with me. The elevators on embankment day are always very busy. I do carry a backpack with a few essential items.

We did it several years ago on a cruise ship excursion. By the time we arrived there were already several cruise line motor coaches already in the parking lot. The wait was well over an hour but we did it. As others have said, you hang upside down at a precarious angle and lean in to kiss this stone. The line reminded me of a slow moving DisneyWorld que except it was inside a real castle. There was still plenty of time to explore the gardens. Glad we did it, wouldn’t do it a second time. I think the concept of having tourists pay money to hang upside down and kiss a rock must have been conceived by a bunch of fun loving Irish “tea totalers” sitting around a pub drinking a few Guinnesses. They must be laughing their rear ends off. Which brings up, if you go to Dublin, tour the Guinness Brewery. The view from the pub at the top is amazing.

Thanks for the clarification.

First time Princess cruiser. I’ll be on the Majestic Princess in a couple of months In Alaska. I’ve read the Sanctuary is a good place to observe the glaciers on rainy days. Is the Sanctuary on the Majestic the same as other Princess ships? Is there a charge? Do you need to make a reservation?

Almost all cruise lines have similar policies of allowing one bottle of wine per person on embarkment. Wanted to share something that happened a few years ago at PortMiami while going through security to board a “Fun Ship.” A group in front of us were not only trying to bring on board several bottles of liquor (tequila and rum), they also had a blender in their carry on bags. Yes, a full size, kitchen style blender. Everything was confiscated. As we passed the group to board the ship, we heard them pleading their case that drinks are too expensive on board. True story. I’ve often thought that if it wasn’t for the blender, they might have gotten away with it.

We faced the same dilemma for our upcoming cruise In Alaska. We are experienced cruisers, but we wanted this cruise to be something special. It will be our first time in Alaska and our first time on Princess. It’s a cruisetour and as others have pointed out Princess owns their own lodges. That was one of the deciding factors for us choosing Princess.