KKB

Booking We booked this as 2 legs (16+12) to take advantage of Shareholder's OBC for both cruises. Not sure that extra $100 was worth moving... I booked via an online TA we have used before. I sometimes book direct, sometimes with a couple online TAs during their big sales. Particularly on longer cruises this can be very advantageous. (I do compare prices direct before booking) We secured $900 extra OBC by booking with them! That plus the $600 OBC Princess casino offer & $350 Shareholder OBC, we had a nice chunk of change to fund our gambling! (oh, and weekly laundry!) We originally booked interiors (which we are fine with) but I was able to upgrade the 1st leg from INT to OBS BALC by calling our TA after prices dropped. We still bid on upgrades & for about $300 more for each leg, we were upgraded to obstructed deluxe balcony rooms. MUCH less than we would have paid had we booked them originally. 1st room was E715--LOVED this location. It is deck 8 aft so easy walk to deck 7 & all the fun. Plus we had Allegro dining deck 6 aft, so also an easy walk. Plus aft elevators much less busy than MID or FWD. 2nd leg we moved just down the hall to E521. UNFORTUNATELY when we got back to the room for bed on turnaround day, there was a LOUD mechanical hum. I put in my earplugs & thought no big deal. But in the AM while getting ready, it began to trigger a migraine. I thought, oh, boy, I need OUT of here. Could even hear the humming in the hall...and could tell when I walked out of the area where one could hear it. And I realized the RELIEF I felt when I did. We knew I couldn't stay in this room. So headed to Guest services & they said they weren't sure if they had any deluxe balconies open. I didn't care if it was an interior (and I had seen some with no names)--no way I could stay in that room. Well, Fernando was great. By the time we came back onboard from Portland, they had a room--M102, OBST DLX BALC FWD deck 15. WAY forward--we were directly under the bridge!! HUGE balcony. Was a trek to this room, but did not care one bit!

I WISH I was the person who could do a live TR...I've tried. I just get SO busy on a cruise, I never get to it! Yep, even a 28 day cruise! OK...this is my 13th Princess cruise & 42nd cruise in 20 years. Sailed with DH & a couple from home we have cruised with before. Originally just booked the UK (I sailed it solo last year & fell in love); but then we saw the TA & decided that is preferable to a long eastbound flight. It was to ease DH into the idea of longer flights (longest he had done was 6 hrs SF to HI)...then we booked a Europe cruise for last October & he had to fly his longest flights both ways, lol! I learned last summer that bulkhead is the way to go for my 6'2" DH...he said, that is a pretty good way to go! DH also wasn't sure about 7 sea days (most he had done was 5 days to HI). Needless to say, he thought 3 intense port days in a row was more difficult! I will break things down by category more than by date. Let me just say there was VERY little to complain about & PLENTY to rave about!

Just got off the Regal last Friday after 28 days. Our 1st room steward explicitly told us no door decorations. We moved for the 2nd leg (twice actually, due to very loud mechanical hum in 1st room of 2nd leg). Neither of those stewards said anything. THAT BEING SAID--I saw plenty of door decorations.

Sailed Caribbean, Discovery, Sapphire & Ruby 2022-23. Food always good. Just got off 28 days on the Regal & food was FANTASTIC. Sailed with 2 foodies & they agree. Arguably the best MDR food we have had on ANY line we have sailed. So perhaps reply earlier that says they are stepping up their game is true! (Buffet was solid if a bit repetative)

OK trying to do this now... I have submitted but it has been loading on the VV site for 10 min... Trying again...I hit "upload file" & it shows text of the Screenshot below the Upload File button. Cannot see the actual screenshot. Still loading & loading. Tips?

Sailing our 1st VV in July. Got an upgrade offer & it says "Select beverages on us" Can anyone tell me when, where & what beverages this includes? Is this at all bars, all hours (or certain bars/certain hours? DH mainly drinks beer & frozen drinks...would we still need a bar tab? It says it also includes Richard's Rooftop. We really enjoyed something similar (Retreat) on Celebrity (tho not the price--and we got a "deal"!) Is this open late, or does it close early? Thanks! Very excited to try VV!!

We were offered a free casino cruise this summer & I am wondering the casino game offerings. We are not slot players. TX Hold Em poker is our preferred game, followed by Video poker. We will play table games; we particularly like those of the poker variety. Can anyone speak to the availability of such games on this particular ship? Thanks!

Yep, that is Dunes. Just got off the Regal & had MANY of these at Crooners!

I have ordered omelets in the MDR, requesting what I want on Princess. THAT BEING SAID--we sure found out that Princess seems to have site-based management. Let's just say many things were handled differently on the Island in Oct than the Regal last month. Didn't make or break our cruise, but we sensed serious micro-managing on the Regal. International Cafe has always had cookies on our cruises--do ask, they may have them behind the counter. Good to know about your room service cookies; our friends ordered a burger from the app & it was AMAZING.

I cannot speak to the Enchanted, but we find Princess beds to be the most comfortable at sea. Now, it depends on your preferences, of course. We find RCCL & Celebrity beds to be bricks. MSC was far too soft on both my sailings. (felt as if it needed to be replaced)

Sorry to hear this! Alfred & Seymour were on the TA leg of the Regal last month & we thought they were hilarious--some of the best comedians we have seen at see. They are a unique show to be sure.

Very similar to our experience on the Regal last month for our TA out of FLL. Looks like a great trip so far! (I made some specific notes to your Day 1 report w/in the Quote)

Realize the MyVegas discounts are currently ONLY good on 2024 sailings.

Guessing not but thought I’d ask

Interesting…I was going to expect in the future!

Not true on our Sept 2022 Discovery Princess sailing! See my post above.

That is what I LOVED about Princess in Alaska (RCCL didn't change). Over the course of the week, they served several different KINDS of salmon...they obviously got it at each port. OMG it was SO SO good.

Personally I'd stick with what you have. A Premium balcony room is EXACTLY the same size--only the balcony is bigger. I don't see that as worth much extra. A Deluxe balcony is larger & has a loveseat (tho you will lose some storage in the desk). A mini-suite is larger still. Now, I am a big fan of the upgrade process. I have had pretty good success. I usually bid just a bit over minimum. Very simple. Have a great time--Alaska is so majestic!

I bought a travel fan on Amazon--maybe 5"x5".Works quite well if it is directed right on me.

I understand the cost of a cab is 25-30E from the pier--can anyone confirm? Will they be able to hold 4 passengers? Are they readily available? MUCH cheaper than the ship "on your own" excursion into Dublin. I realize the train is less expensive, there is so much we want to do in Dublin we want to maximize our time--will a cab do that? Thanks!

Oooh...that's not good. You need to contact AARP. I just opened mine & it went straight to it.

Odd. Just bought 2 this week from AARP....when you open the gift card from the email, the gift card is on it. I have just given my phone w/ the screenshot of the gift card to the rep at guest services; no one ever needed a printed copy.

I finally was able to get online using my phone (not on laptop for whatever reason...) $79 for Shellac to prebook--plus tip? I'll get it done here & cross my fingers!

They don't do acrylic

$60-$18 tips-$25 Wfit=$17/day for drinks (I consider free delivery/casual dining extra perk). Heck that's 2 alcoholic drinks...not to mention specialty coffees, sodas, water. Best deal at sea, imo.