tampabrat22

Thank you so much everyone! You are all so helpful! We did not book Princess Plus as this was a special First Responders & Healthcare professionals deal they offered and that was not an option (but our cruise was 50% off).

I just submitted my request, I almost forgot until I came across this thread. Our cruise is 12 days out so I hope I didn't wait to long. We sailed on the Carnival Mardi Gras Dec 2021 and my credit was denied so I'm crossing my fingers for this sailing.🤞

Hi everyone,

We will be sailing on the Sky Princess Feb 19th for my birthday! We're avid cruisers but have spent the past 20 years on Disney, Royal & Carnival with our kids and extended family. The kids are grown now so this cruise is just for us, first cruise without a crew with us. I've been dreaming of sailing on a Princess ship since I was mesmerized by every episode of the Love Boat as a child.🥰  I am enjoying all the helpful posts here but have some questions and I'm hoping someone may know the answers.

-What nights are the dress up nights on a 7 day?

-Is there a bar/lounge that might be playing sports (All Star Basketball game)?

-Do I need to reserve my dining times now? We don't want a set time, we'd like to choose when to go each night.

-Is the Ultimate Balcony Dining canceled right now (for breakfast)?

-Are we allowed to bring a bottle of wine onboard?

-Do they sell a day pass to the thermal suites?

We have downloaded the apps and are Green Lane ready, our Medallions are on the way and I've submitted my shareholder benefit request via email. I just need to figure out the small stuff. Any tips would be appreciated.🙂

We’ve visited GC about 6 times and we don’t really care for it, so I wouldn’t even care if it was removed from itineraries.🤷‍♀️

4 hours ago, voljeep said:

did the 'no email yet' posters enter the "contest" a couple of weeks ago by email sent from Princess ?

I doubled checked to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, found my confirmation email. Fingers crossed we hear something soon.🤞

No email here either…waiting (not so) patiently 😂

I'm here searching for info about Mariner because I was invited to the test cruise on Aug 11th. I only have 13 C&A points.🤷‍♀️

We upgraded two regular balcony cabins to the extended balconies on our last cruise, it was nice to have that extra room but I wish we had been lower to the water and I wasn't a fan of the lifeboats being right there under us. Guess it just depends on what you prefer.

To each their own. Personally I am a movie lover, I hate sitting thru commercials so movies are mainly what I watch when I have time to relax or go out. We frequently go to the theater, at least once a month and for IMAX the cost is about $16. One of my favorite things to do on board is watching the movies on lido, we will definitely try the IMAX and love that there is an option for it.

On our 2015 Carnival Conquest cruise a couple was having full on sex in the hot tub, right in front of everyone during the Dive in Movie. A Disney movie was playing and kids were everywhere. I was shocked, could not believe they were doing this with kids right there (including my own) so I politely asked them to take it to their room, the girl got all rude and after that she kept looking my way to make sure I was seeing what she was doing. Things like shaking her boobs, pulling down her top and bikini bottom etc. My brother in law finally flipped and went and told the guy to take his skank to the room, security had to come and break them up and the pool had to be closed, drained and cleaned. Everyone around us was cheering and clapping, lol.

And then in 2016 on Royal's Brilliance of the Sea we saw a couple sitting on the edge of the pool and he had his hand in her bikini bottom and they were making out. I think the were oblivious that there was about 100 people watching them. But the worse thing I've ever seen was on this same cruise, me and my friends were having drinks by the bar that is above the lido area and a group of people were having a good time off to the side of the ship. One of the guys went to go down the stais that lead to the lido and lost his footing, he tumbled all the way down and hit the lido so hard he was knocked out cold. My friend ran to help, I ran to the bar to tell them to call for help and his friends were so drunk they just kept asking if he was ok and telling him to get up. Poor guy later ended up having to be air lifted off he was in such bad shape.

Does anyone know if you can add an open bar to the reception for the onboard vow renewals?

Not sure if I am understanding the new pricing. Are they seriously charging $2500 for the 15 minute ceremony and now the reception is all an additional expense? I understand increasing prices but that is a huge increase and I dont understand why the ceremony would cost that much? I've been to 3 weddings on Carnival and the ceremony decor is very minimal and it's a super short ceremony.

So after the $2500 ceremony you now have to pay for the food and drinks seperately? Is that correct? So there would be an approx. additional $1000 cost (depending on party size of course). Am I reading all this correctly?

And I know these prices are still relatively inexpensive for a wedding but dang it man, I was only considering a cruise wedding because it was so affordable. Does anyone know how these prices compare to the otehr cruise lines?

Thanks for all the great suggestions everyone. Based on the reviews we are going with either Blue Kay or Maya Chan (who ever has a spot available).:D

I upload my faves to a Facebook album to share then I make Shutterfly photo books for each cruise. I frame ship purchased images and enlarge and hang my very favorite ones around the house. I also hang some on my bulletin board in my office 😉

Hi all, we will be in Ft Laud Dec 11 for one night pre cruise, staying at the Hyatt Place on 17th.

Would love to have dinner on or near the water/beach, something with a view and family friendly! I've tried to read thru this thread but there are just too many pages, my head is spinning :p...any recommendations?

I would call the hotel. I also booked with value trip and received no response. After calling the hotel they did have a confirmation for me.

Thanks for the tip, not sure why I just didnt think of that myself, lol. BUT I did call the hotel and sure enough they had both of my rooms reserved for me and I was able to get the confirmation numbers. So we are all set!! Thanks again!:D

I sent in a request about 6 weeks ago, never heard anything. I regularly checked my email & spam folders, I figured they must have not been able to accommodate our dates. Is it normal for them to not respond if they do not have any rooms left? :confused:

Great, honest review, I enjoyed it very much! And I agree 100% on almost everything you said. This past April I sailed on my 2nd RCCL cruise, I was hoping to redeem the bad stuff we encountered on the first RCCL cruise, but that didn't happen. Same rude clientele, non interested staff, and horrible MDR food and service. I witnessed the drunkest, rowdiest and brazen crowd of any ship we've sailed (people on lido getting it on, a drunk dude fell down the lido stairs and the ship had to divert course so that he could be airlifted off and teens stealing phones right off people's loungers). It was crazy, I was sailing with 3 friends who were new to cruising and the whole cruise had me quite embarrassed, no way I will ever recommend them to anyone ever again.

Great review, thanks for taking the time to post! We are sailing on the Brilliance in a month and I was really worried I would be let down but the ship looks amazing!! :D

Thanks for the great review. We are debating between a back to back on the Victory or one more sailing on the Breeze before she leaves to Texas, this has helped a lot! :D

I'm betting on Miami and agree that with the expanded "Havana" features it would be the perfect location.

Our last 3 cruises were on the Breeze & Sunshine. After only spending 5 mins in the Havana bar on the Sunshine, I was wondering why it wasn't on the Breeze. With the huge Cuban/hispanic population in South Florida it just makes sense! I am Cuban and LOVED the Havana bar, spent every day there for lunch and almost every night for the music, dancing & drinks.

So fingers crossed it comes to Miami and send Gavelston the amazing Breeze.:D

The OP, sorry to hear you were given instructions that led to this happening.

We have cruised out of Tampa quite a few times and getting off is ALWAYS a nightmare (but getting on is always smooth). The port workers are rude and most often wrong information is given to passengers, we hear it almost every time. But we have sailed enough that we know the drill and can find our own way even if we are given wrong information.

And just a side note, IMHO you should be respectful of all others unless they give you a reason not to. Being respectful isn't something someone should have to earn from you, it should be a part of your character, regardless of the year. ;)

Like others have mentioned.. the cove balconies! Love them! The Dream class is my favorite class so far, love the open feel of the outdoor spaces and I just love the flow of the ship. We will be on the Sunshine in less than two weeks so I may have an even better answer when we return. :p

Deck 11 facing the big screen on the couches, because it's just 1 deck above lido, in the shade, just a few steps from smoking area ( hubby is the smoker); love to people watch and read ; but also in the mix of things being able to watch everything going on the lido deck below.

I agree! Deck 11, watching the big screen and people watching. Its in the shade, in the heart of all the action and the seating is so comfy!;)

We had coves twice, both mid ship and yes at night when the ship was really hauling booty there was a slight mist. And yes most mornings there was salt on the rails etc. I may be one of the few but I actually love it! I can't wait to get a cove again (next few cruise ships we are going on DONT have them).:(