BamaVol

In September, we arrived about 11:00 and were onboard in about 45 minutes. There are multiple flaming hoops we had to jump through despite having had medallions shipped to our home. I recorded a lot of steps that day. As I recall, there were two other ships in port, but both were smaller than Sapphire Princess.

That would be Coral on CB. IIRC, that’s where breakfast was served as well.

Has that been true at all of the MDRs?

Any specific change that has you looking at other cruise lines? One size doesn’t fit all, but none of the lines have gone unchanged in 20 years. All of them charge more and most have unbundled things that you might have taken for granted as being included in the base fare. And lines that haven’t done so were always and remain much more expensive than Princess.

Just don’t take it with you to the men’s room.

You’ve hit on my main objection to the buffet. I am very noise sensitive. The MDR breakfast is a peaceful, quiet, orderly experience.

What did people do before cars? Or antibiotics? Or spellcheck? Life was lived differently. And it wasn’t necessarily better. Before reliable internet was available on cruise ships, some people would have stayed home. How wonderful that reliable communication channels make the experience available to them now!

I don’t think an MDR breakfast for us has ever taken more than 45 minutes. We have had prompt service and the MDRs we’ve selected were never full. Never a problem with food temperature either. Sorry your experience was so different.

LOL. That reminds me of an odd moment last month on Sapphire. I was coming down the steps in the piazza and a woman approached me, asking me if I was wearing a brown belt and could she take a picture with her phone. I’m glad she explained that it was for a scavenger hunt. Or maybe it wasn’t …….

IIRC, it was fairly late in the afternoon on Sapphire Princess last month. 3? 4?

Good luck. Let us know so we can celebrate your success with you.

I’m no electrician, but wouldn’t you have to rewire every cabin to accomplish this? Maybe in any ship under construction or on the drawing board. I always have a spare card to slip into the slots in European hotel rooms.

Sea day Patter. Take your pick.

I have only ever purchased third party insurance. My understanding is that the 2 Princess insurance plans are 9% or 12% of the cost of the cruise. The higher level plan would add $144. Whatever you do, please don’t start a thread titled “Plus package price increase”.

Different situation, but when I reached the 30 days to go mark without success, I bumped my bids up a notch and heard within 24 hours.

First, let me say I’ve never walked in your shoes, I hope I never do and I’m sorry you are facing this challenge. True customer service feels like a thing of the past, especially when it comes to telephone representatives. I avoid them, and when I encounter a particularly bad one, I hang up and dial again. Cruising with Princess is more than a single phone call. Perhaps when you’ve calmed down, you’ll rethink this decision. If not, I hope you’ll overlook whatever shortcomings you encounter when dealing with your replacement line of choice and just enjoy the good times. I wish you a short and successful fight.

And an acknowledgment that YMMV. Others on the same cruise are reporting an internet that functions adequately for all that the OP wants to do. I too have an issue with thread titles that predict doom and gloom for all of humanity when the issue turns out to be limited to one cabin and one cruiser’s experience. It’s admirable to post warnings. But be very certain of what you’re posting.

For my wife: yoga, tai chi (if offered), line dancing (if offered). For me: walking the promenade, watching wife exercise, naturalist presentation (Alaska).

$75-100 for a 7 night cruise. Takes effect day 1. I’m paying for 2 cabins, 4 adults, so it’s $150-200 depending on which plan.

Easily avoided by waiting to order/pay until on board.

I was told the same thing by a dining room manager.

I’ve seen multiple non dairy milks there. I’m lactose intolerant but only have non-dairy milk on cereal or with iced coffee. So far, have avoided any milk while cruising.

I don’t think anyone is expected to complete a meal in the MDR in 60 minutes although it is possible. My meal is pre-ordered, we don’t eat dessert, don’t drink coffee after the meal, bring our own glass of wine to the table and Mrs BV eats only a main. So 60 minutes is doable for us. In this instance, there were 2 hostesses and one had sat a party at the table the other was holding for our 6 PM reservation. Had they skipped coffee and dessert, it might have been ready at 6 or perhaps shortly thereafter. So, it was likely a miscommunication issue. We did not have an issue the remainder of the cruise and always sat at that table at 6. The point I intended to make was that the MDR cannot guarantee that a table is available at a certain time unless they don’t fill it until you arrive. You can schedule using averages, even add a standard deviation, and there will still be times when people won’t get up from the table until they’re damn good and ready.

Is there a shortage of seating for events? I don’t spend time sitting unless there’s something to watch but I don’t like the idea of ships being remodeled to add cabins at the loss of public areas. We all know what happens when airlines add seats to aircraft. We fly for hours with our chins resting on our knees.

Even with reservations, there’s a risk. Last month on Sapphire, we showed up on time for a 6:00 pm reservation. The hostess apologized that “our table” wasn’t ready because the 5:00 people were lingering dessert and coffee. We agreed to come back in 30 minutes rather than take an inferior table and she held it for us. But I’m sure a 5:00 reservation would have been doable that night. I am verrrrrry nice to the crew that seats us in the MDR.