zanderblue

Hi,

looking for some advice from experienced Princess cruisers please.

We are booked on Regal Princess out of Galveston in a couple of weeks. I have completed all the requirements  in the app and have 2 green ticks, and a notification that we are blue lane.(whatever that may mean?)

My problem is that I can’t see anywhere what time I should be arriving at the terminal or which terminal is being used. Appreciate if anyone could advise or point me to where I can find the info.

thanks in advance

That crab shack pop up sounds right up our street, which day was it and where was it at?

how was it advertised?

thanks in advance

You’ll only go a few miles into Canada. Get off the train at the station at Fraser and pick up the bus there to take you back to the ship. 
They prepare the bus manifest at Fraser then the bus driver hands it in at the US immigration/customs post at the roadside. Passengers don’t need to get off the bus.

Try and get a seat on the left hand side of the bus, you will then look across to the railway side of the valley.

Thanks for your thoughts @SusieAV8R, you mention “wanting caviar at spam prices”. Wonder no more; I can assure you that this is absolutely not the case. If you’d read post #10 in this thread, you’d have seem my comment about being prepared to pay more for a quality product.

I agree with your comment about leaving staff out of it. I never mentioned getting staff involved in my posting. 
Whilst I appreciate some folks like eating in OV it is not for us at dinner. Different folks, different strokes, I guess.

3 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

I've been following the daily MDR menu's on current Connie cruises for several weeks.  Wow, they certainly haven't gotten to the part about better menus yet.  Tonight's (Thursday) entree offerings are:  Sauteed Tilapia Filet; Oven-Roasted Turkey; Butternut Farrotto (farrotto is a type of wheat); Gnocchi; Pasta Pomodoro; Grilled Chicken Breast; and Grilled NY Sirloin.  Other than the regular chicken and sirloin (no salmon tonight), the only actual gluten-free menu option is tilapia??  Boy, do I ever hope the Connie gets all their swell tilapia, wheat, and pasta, pasta, pasta (thinking hamburger, hamburger, hamburger) reserves used up by November.  Mmmm....  Earlier, someone suggested that perhaps X is trying to drive people to OVC for dinner. Significantly lower prep and staffing expense = another hidden service cut.  I think there is probably some truth to that.

Or drive folks to paying for the premium items listed on the same page of the menu!

I didn’t see this happening around us last week on the Infinity, but I did see it happen several times on the Solstice in August.

5 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’m all for people being heard but it just gets so repetitive from the same people and the same comments.  Getting kinda boring to be honest

then don’t read the postings. Fell free to ignore me, that’s what I’ve done with you.

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

And that’s exactly what Celebrity offere

Yes, that’s what they offer, but have not delivered! 

35 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Absolutely agree that food quality have gone down significantly.   X just like people everywhere is trying to control food expenses.

The good ol  days are gone.

As for criticism,  on our recent cruises there were a HUGE number of first time cruisers.  They were pretty happy.

Also I note after cruising with HAL and Princess recently.  Their food quality and selection has gone down as well.

Will a bunch of long time cruisers leave Celebrity?  Probably,  but the problems are the same in all mainstream cruiselines.  Thus maybe they will stop cruising.

Sorry

I don’t disagree with you.
We have already cancelled a 10 day south Caribbean for February next year and will probably move upmarket for future cruises.

It makes me sad that Celebrity have gone down this road. Personally, I would have been prepared to have paid more for a quality product, but it seems as though they have joined others in the race to the bottom.

Sorry folks but I feel I need to vent a little. We had a poor experience on Solstice a couple of months ago, but the Infinity was worse.

Just off the Infinity this morning in Lisbon. Food choices from the menu in MDR were very poor.

Most evenings for appetisers it was 3 soups and 2 salads or vice versa, with possibly one other item; eggplant caviar and salmon tartar spring to mind. The usual ever present onion soup, shrimp cocktail and escargots disappeared randomly through the trip.

The entrees fared worse I thought. The menus changed late in the day with the substitute items poorly thought out. One night we had braised shin of veal on the menu, to be told at table that it was not available and was replaced by steak Diane. Only problem there was we were then left with…..

Steak Diane which was grilled sirloin steak with mushroom sauce

Steak n chips which was grilled sirloin steak with fries

and

New York strip which was grilled sirloin steak with vegetables

Most entrees came with green beans, carrots and mashed potato. Although one night broccoli replaced the green beans.

No beef wellington to compete with the lobster tail and no prime rib on final night, although it had appeared on the menu, only to be replaced with braised short rib at the table.

I do appreciate that food can be subjective, but my gripe is less to do with food itself and more to do with the removal of dishes and the overall reduction of choices.

There is no way that these changes are an enhancement. The wait staff were mostly embarrassed by it all and were encouraging folks to mention it in the survey.

In addition to this we experienced issues being seated consistently in same section. We were allocated to 5 different sections during the 9 nights and had to wait more than 40 minutes on 2 separate evenings, this was despite having reservations made for the same time every day at time of booking. We were only a 4 top and were never difficult in trying to get seated. 
I did note that select dining was allocated the larger lower dining room instead of the usual mezzanine upper level and did wonder if the additional select numbers might have been the cause???

The ship is in reasonable condition overall, although there is some general wear and tear due to age.

We did enjoy the cruise in spite of the MDR issues, but probably won’t be back with Celebrity anytime soon, unless there is an improvement. So sad and disappointing!

We were on same itenary a few weeks ago. Decided that the timing just didn’t work for us and we stayed on board. MDR was deserted.

also worth using the free port valet service, bags don’t need to be our until 12:00am.

We were on Solstice in August. The ship is in good condition.

We found the changes to the menus in the MDR very disappointing. So degraded, in fact, that we are in the process of moving our business away from Celebrity.

6 hours ago, Mark_UK said:

Hi everyone, sorry for not updating. It's been a hectic and tiring day. 

 

So they have abandoned the cruise and are collecting an emergency passport in the morning from the British Embassy and then flying home on Wednesday. They will therefore miss Apex when she sails tomorrow and have been advised they can ask for a "no show'" letter once the sailing is over. 

 

We are speaking to Celebrity about getting their booking transferred onto the same cruise in 2 weeks in the same category of cabin (ocean view) and identical itinerary, but Celebrity are trying to charge £4000 (~$5000) for that (the original fare was £2500), along with losing their promotional onboard credit. I've emailed the CEOs office to ask if they can help. 

 

The passports were in a pouch that they had been wearing all day whilst travelling with cash inside also, which is now missing so quite certain that they have been stolen and not misplaced. 

 

The hotel was the well reviewed P&T Athens Manor Houses, which is "outstanding" on Hotels.com but recent reviews on trustpilot mention stolen valuables and passports. The room next door to them had the same thing happen that evening. Seems like an inside job as there was no sign of forced entry.

 

Sigh. 

Im sorry to hear that this has happened to your parents. Whilst X is not responsible for the situation you’d like to think that they could show a little compassion?

Would this not be an instance for your parents travel insurance to help?

Elite

Already cancelled one future Celebrity, so now looking elsewhere

We’ve decided that it’s time to move on from Celebrity. Getting close to 20 cruises with them over last 15 years, so reckon we’ve had the best of it.

Dropping standards in MDR, along with high pricing just don’t deliver on value for us anymore. We are on Infinity in a few weeks with friends, so found it difficult to cancel, but have cancelled next February on Silhouette.

I expect we’ll give Viking or Regent a go next.

6 minutes ago, Smmessineo said:

I would cry, too! My husband and I never go out to eat at home, so we love the experience of the MDR every evening, just talking and enjoying the food. Please tell her this is not the norm. We had a bad experience on the Equinox years ago....new wait staff, food wasn't great, bar service nonexistent. We thought  "uh-oh, Celebrity is going downhill". We sailed on her again two months later and it was glorious, as it usually is. 

Sometimes a bad mix of staff, bad ideas by management and bad luck all come together. I hope you are enjoying the rest of the cruise and that wonderful stateroom!

Unfortunately, this may well be the norm nowadays.
There are multiple posts here about the MDR dining experience on several ships now. Primarily, related to reduction in choice and quality.

From what I understand they have had a shake up of the menus, which has resulted in this situation.

We experienced this first hand on the Solstice a couple of weeks ago. 
I am following this thread closely since we’re on infinity in 4 weeks. We had another cruise booked for February on Silhouette which we cancelled yesterday, pretty much for this reason!

We are just off the Solstice last week after Alaska. 
Identical issues experienced. So disappointing!

MDR staff are aware and encouraged us to comment appropriately in the survey.
We’ve got 2 more trips booked, we’ll give them a chance to redeem themselves on the next one and then look at our options.

On 8/20/2023 at 3:48 PM, zanderblue said:

we are currently on Solstice. My views are very similar to original post.

Sorry to tell you that apps are not much better. We have always ways liked the Caesar salad, unfortunately the last 2 nights they have come with no dressing (or so little dressing that you can’t taste it or see it)

Second time I asked for more dressing, which eventually arrived after we’d eaten our entrees. Can’t say I blame the wait staff for this, they were just run off their feet.

just a bit of follow up. We disembarked the Solstice this morning. 
MDR food improved slightly, but IMO still noticeably worse than before the latest changes.

Staff in MDR are aware of issues and asked us to voice our dissatisfaction in the survey.

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said:

Did I miss if the apps were good?  The soup and/or the salad?  I would be happy with a good app and just the protein of the main.  Many times the carb served has been not to my liking - mashed potatoes, pasta, rice, boiled potatoes...

 

Thanks.

we are currently on Solstice. My views are very similar to original post.

Sorry to tell you that apps are not much better. We have always ways liked the Caesar salad, unfortunately the last 2 nights they have come with no dressing (or so little dressing that you can’t taste it or see it)

Second time I asked for more dressing, which eventually arrived after we’d eaten our entrees. Can’t say I blame the wait staff for this, they were just run off their feet.

I’m currently on Solstice in Alaska.

Day 3 and I’m disappointed with F&B in MDR.

reduced selection, particularly entrees

meat is mostly fat

no dressing on Caesar salad

slow waiter and wine service

orders mixed up with next table

Ship is in great shape, but dining is a big letdown.

We have 2 more cruises booked in next 8 months and if there is no marked improvement, we’ll be considering what to do going forward.

I hope it’s ok to post this link? All the info u could want.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trusted-travelers/1066899-global-entry-us-citizens-lprs-first-time-applicants-timelines-information.html
 

Avoid the Hoppa at all costs. Never run on schedule and they are expensive. 3 cases might be too much for the public bus, Sofitel is attached to T5 terminal, there is a hotel at T3, but I can’t remember what it’s called.

13 hours ago, kathynorth said:

Last Aug we were on Summit in Iceland. A letter was in the cabin with the priority tendering meeting place. We went there and once the hostess had a group of 20 she brought us to the tender boarding area where they had a separate lane for suites and priority tendering. Going in this lane effectively let you cut the line without being merged with the tender ticket line. It was quick and easy. Have fun in Iceland, we had. Great trip and hope to return in Oct to see the rest of what we didn’t see last year 

That was exactly how it worked for us at Grand Cayman earlier this year. I reckon we were ashore significantly sooner than general line, given the amount of folks waiting.

11 hours ago, bigAWL said:

Should I be wary of canceling an excursion in order to rebook for a discount, if it is currently sold out?

 

I did just this. OBC refunded instantly, but excursion was still showing sold out. I checked again couple of hours later and there was a banner stating “last 2 places available”! I rebooked and saved myself $130 😊

I’m a regular flier with BA. They have struggled post pandemic with staff shortages, although they are improving. They have also had reliability issues with their A380 aircraft, so I’d be inclined to try and look for flights operated by other aircraft types.

One other point to consider is Heathrow airport, which has a poor reputation for delays/strikes. 
On the day BA can be very good if everything clicks, but they do struggle to recover from any hiccups.

We still use them because the alternatives from our home airport are pretty limited, but I think I would move away from them if that ever changed.

Thanks everyone for their input.

we will be flying domestic. I’ve got the option of a direct flight at 11:30 or 1 stop at 1:30pm. No significant difference in fare.

Based on above, I think I’ll err on the side of caution and go for the 1:30pm and look to use luggage valet service.