wowzz

The MDR will do a full English. But, the service can be leisurely!

We drink more or less the same on a cruise, as at home. Probably less on a cruise, as we have to be up early for shore excursions. Even so, we will still have 6 or 7 alcoholic drinks per night.

Good point. We pay for Princess Plus, but it shows up as a complimentary gift from our TA on our Princess account. Anyone who thinks their TA will gift them $60 a day for the Plus package is misguided.

Good to see that Nicole had her assets on show tonight ! Kudos to Gary B for not hogging the limelight during the Take That finale. Highlight of the night - Steve (Stevie) Windwood sounding as good as ever, and transporting me back to 1965 . Shame he didn't sing "Keep on Running" - a classic.

Indeed, but you were not on the cruises I have been on.

Amen to that!

Thanks for a great post. Made me feel glad to be a Brit. Your comments about allergies, intolerances etc were interesting. Even our local pub will ask about any dietary issues. It is virtually always the case that you will be asked about any allergies when ordering a meal here in the UK. I guess that because it always happens, we tend to gloss over it.

You are my kind of cruiser! So many people seem to have a flow chart, timed to the minute, telling them where to be. Just seems to ignore any thought of spontaneity.

Indeed, we did that recently. We were led to a very nice 6 top. And we sat, and sat, and no one joined us. In the end, the waiters took pity on us, moved us to a two top, and we ordered. We love sharing with new people every night, but somehow it seems that increasingly people want to just hunker down and eat as a couple. Such a shame.

That is not freshly squeezed Orange juice.

Yes, sorry if I came over more blunt than usual !

And no one has ever taken any notice of it whatsoever.

Well put. The package works for us, but it won't for others. End of story. But, I do object to being told that I am "falling " for some sort of scam, (see @Expat Cruise post) when that is blatantly not the case.

Whole lot of assumptions there, none of which apply to us. When we go ashore, we eat and drink as we wish, regardless of the package. Still have 6 or 7 alcoholic drinks each, during the evening.

I do think that the packages are not for everyone. But just to blithely say that they are not worth buying, even for drinkers, is plain wrong.

Yet again it shows that @Expat Cruise is wrong.

We use Santander Zero card. Free withdrawals from Santander ATMs.

I think it has been agreed, more or less, that on UK and European cruises, the shows are later. Just because shows in Australia are at 7:30 does not mean that the same times are adhered to throughout the world.

If we did not have the Plus package, our bar bill for a 14 night cruise would be over $2500. So, buying the Plus saves me $1000, even before taking the included autotips into account. Explain to me exactly how I am falling for purchasing the package ?

We watched a film, "Nobody" last night. Can't beat some good old fashioned violence, similar to the Equaliser movies !

Not an excuse.

Much as we like the minisuites, I agree with you. But, on our Sky cruise in July we have a deluxe cabin with a bigger balcony than the angled minisuite balcony, at a lot less cost. We'll make do without a tub !

I was within 10 metres of Prince Andrew at an exhibition in Barcelona. He seemed a bit hot and sweaty.

Thank you for an excellent post. In an ideal world we would meet up in Vines to discuss further, but I will give a few thoughts, and some generalisations that I am sure will be challenged ! We now live in the UK, and normally never spend more than £10/ $12 on a bottle of wine from one of the major UK supermarket chains. That gives us options from Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia, and obviously Spain, France, Portugal etc. Strangely, there are very few US offerings other than Gallo. Say no more! I have to say, that when we have been "snow birding" in Florida we have never seen the same range in a store such as Publix. When on a cruise, chatting in Vines, US cruisers always seem to stick to US wines, rather than exploring other options. (Sorry - just an observation). Perhaps the issue is that they are unaware of other options, and will inevitably opt for Silverado ! We also lived in Spain for 10 years or so, and consequently got accustomed to, how shall I say, a more robust wine when out and about ! Perhaps I am wrong, but for some reason Rioja and Malbec do not seem to be common in the US, but I would happily drink an average Rioja over a good Cab every day !

I assume you can still buy a daily package ? The OP would probably be better off getting the Plus package.