BamaVol

Slightly off topic. I used one last week and the Princess rep my TA was speaking with took the $100 and split it between deposit and OBC 50/50. It took calls to 2 more reps to get it handled properly ($100 deposit with $50 bonus OBC). I acquired it in September and the lady at the desk was very clear about the 1 year expiration.

I don’t care to listen to the tales even if they’re true. I don’t enjoy drunks. But maybe I’ve been lucky because I haven’t encountered any on 2 Princess cruises to date. Just ladies and gentlemen. And maybe that’s what I like even more than the ships, the crew, the activities and facilities. I think I like Princess passengers. Because boy, can the wrong passengers ruin a cruise for everyone else!

Do you have an app to measure the speed? Just curious.

I was able to arrange that with the DR host(ess) on our last cruise. She assigned the two of us a window 4 top after the second night.

I can not speak for the cruise industry. But staffing shortages are generally temporary. It was nothing I experienced on her in March. But we may frequent different venues. Currently my local Walgreens pharmacy is short staffed. I will keep my distance until it’s resolved. But I don’t plan to permanently seek out a less convenient alternative. Still, nothing wrong with playing the field. In this world, loyalty is increasingly for suckers.

I would not say there’s been a lot of negativity. If you measure it by original posts, maybe. But if you read the responses to the negative posts, most passengers had few to no issues. I’ve observed CC posts often start as questions, complaints and rumors. When someone asks a question, many of the answers will agree, but not everyone gets it correct. When someone posts a rumor, it often takes on a life of its own. Most fizzle when it turns out they aren’t true. When someone posts a complaint, most of the responses appear to be rebuttals. Some are outright denials and a few are supportive. Every week, 3,000 or more sail on the CB. One guy says he saw bugs. Probably true. Someone else had a backed up toilet. Probably true. A cruise reportedly experienced power issues. Probably true. Also probably true of every ship in every fleet. The line corrects the issues that are brought to its attention (notable exception for Princess IT issues). And most passengers have a great cruise. It’s the internet. There’s a lot of exaggeration here. And happy customers generally don’t make original posts. YMMV. In fact, it will vary. Odds are very good that you will have a far better experience than the few who posted complaints. I personally had a good cruise on Caribbean Princess in March. Let that count for something, even though I didn’t shout it from the rooftops.

They did the same thing to us on Sapphire last month. 4 out of 7 nights were switched from 6 to 6 and from Savoy to Savoy. Apparently there is a portal to another parallel, identical universe at the entrance to the MDR. Everything was exactly the same. It was eerie. I’m sure most people don’t notice it.

Ship: Sapphire Princess Class: Gem Deck: Aloha (12) Cabin: A420 Category: BB P/S/F/A: Port midship Accessible: No Quiet: successful upgrade bid. I was initially concerned about being across from the main staircase and elevators. But it was never an issue. There was some occasional noise from rolling carts above, headed to the buffet perhaps. Balcony size: standard (tight), fully covered, 2 chairs and a small table View: unobstructed Privacy: more an issue for balconies below. Not connecting. Wind: none Soot: none Problems: everything functioned as it should. I would book this cabin again.

That raises a question I haven’t thought about since I got off the ship three weeks ago. My regular breakfast is often a bowl of Cheerios with fruit and almond milk. I know I can get nondairy milks at the IC for coffee. But can I order nondairy milk with my cereal in the MDR? I’ve never seen it on the menu or in the buffet either. My other regular breakfast is eggs, home fries and bacon or sausage. And I am happy to order that all cruise long.

I’m not a vegan. But I must avoid dairy and will often choose vegan dishes because I can count on there being no dairy in them. I welcome this menu. I will try a dish or two on my next cruise.

Three movies a day (morning, afternoon and night) on my Sapphire sailing to Alaska. We book through the cruise line and independent. You can probably figure out whether there’s much risk of missing the ship depending on the excursion. Some are the same but you pay less booking directly. Example: Great Alaskan Lumberjack show was $3 less at the door with no risk of missing the ship barring a chainsaw accident.

The problem was solved through live chat with a Princess rep this afternoon. My TA entered my birthday incorrectly. Instead of 1-12-65 (I wish), she entered 1-2-65. She made me 10 days older, which is totally unacceptable! But easy to see how it was done through carelessness. The rep saw it, she fixed it, and then she tried to upsell me. I’m willing to forgive her because I was able to get into my booking. Interesting that Princess requires a birthdate for the booking and it isn’t cross checked against your profile. I’m sure I’m not the first one this happened to.

100% agree. I got “full advantage” without touching one of those gross desserts or drinking more than 4 alcoholic beverages a day. I used the internet daily. I incremented my crew appreciation with cash. A couple coffees, lots of bottled water and a couple pricy glasses of wine and I’m over breakeven. I have no idea how well other people can do math and I don’t care.

That was not a prediction, nor did I read it here or see it on YouTube. And I will never say “I told you so”. But I’m allowed to think it occasionally.

Some people won’t be happy until the price actually goes up. They are just waiting for the chance to say “I told you so”. Even if they have to wait 3 years.

Can you give a few examples? Is it like summer camp? How much adult supervision/ interaction? I’m taking a 12 year old and 8 year old next June. The 8 year old likes tabletop activities. She’s into crafts and art and learning to sew. The 12 year old has his face in a tablet when he’s not physically active. I think they’ll both be in the same age group.

This was on Sapphire Princess. I believe I have heard Mario is retiring before year end. After something like 60 years with Princess.

They (Mario and Luigi) were there every night, for at least a few minutes. They also made the rounds in our dining room each night. They stopped at our table, asked questions and listened to our responses.

Princess never met a revenue opportunity they didn’t love. The numbers at the table dwindled over time. I think the first 2 or 3 nights, the table was at capacity (12 I think). By the final night, there were only 8.

Me too, although not sailing on her until June. to the OP, many legs of a cruise are not designed to be sailed directly at full speed. There should be lots of time for delays and adjustments to the schedule most days. Unlike an air flight, a cruise ship is as much destination as transportation.

That was not my intent. I grabbed the wrong patter. Here are 2 more: embarkation day and first sea day.

Priced according to demand, for sure. For us, MCO-YVR COST $250 to upgrade. But coming home, ANC-MCO was only $120.

We were seated next to the Chefs Table 5 nights out if 7 on our last cruise. I couldn’t hear everyone at the table but what I did hear was very off-putting. A bunch of guys bragging to strangers. No thanks.

This is my day 2 Patter. You can see 3 movies (Shazam: Fury of the gods, Call of the wild and Avatar: the way of the water), as well as other Sea Day activities. Maybe this helps with your question. I hope you can make things out.

All good points. The new TA said she was using the file created by the old TA. That had the correct BD and worked fine. I will call Monday to see if she can figure it out. After all, that’s what she’s there for. I am getting emails from Princess asking me to buy air and excursions. At least they got my email correct and know I’m the guy that just booked a cruise with them. I’m not gonna do anything with my daughters booking. She will eventually tell me whether she got in and accessed it. I can log in to Princess.com. So I can look at my profile. I will do that next.