Qextor

14 hours ago, IrishWhisperer said:

Overnight they repositioned us, we are in a shipyard in North Vancouver now, close to the ironworkers memorial bridge.

Not surprised - others ships probably needed the dock.

5 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

I'm guessing it won't make a difference as to the requirement of both in the cabin having the same package

No - there is only one adult assigned to each cabin, so only that one adult needs to pay.

On 4/20/2024 at 3:26 PM, jean87510 said:

An hourly wage is a salary, isn't it? Or am I missing something?  I had an hourly wage which I referred to as my salary.

A salary is earning, for example, $40000 per year.  It doesn't matter whether you work 40 or 60 hours a week, you still only get that 40K.  An hourly wage is based on how many hours you work.  More hours, more pay.  

The easiest way to do it is wait until you board to buy Princess Plus. It costs the same as buying it ahead of time. Then just have your medallion program for both doors.

Bring a refillable water bottle along, and give the shipboard filtered water a go.  I enjoyed it, myself.  You can always buy bottled water if you need to, but try the water stations in the buffet first; I think you'll be pleased.

16 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

I must admit that I have never ever been in a MDR for lunch on Princess ships.

You should try it.  It's quite nice, especially on embarcation day.  Much quieter than the buffet.

6 hours ago, jean87510 said:

The reason you don't tip them is because they have a salary

I agree they aren't tipped positions, but they don't earn a salary.  Just an  hourly wage.

I agree with as well.  If you can cruise the Caribbean with just a birth certificate and driver's licence, you can cruise with a valid passport, even if it doesn't meet the 6-month rule.

2 hours ago, mil76 said:

NorthStar observation arm (free sessions are hard to come by)

Yes - if you want the free in-port sessions (which don't go over the side of the ship like the at-sea sessions do) you should book those as soon as you board the ship.

Nobody is going to say you can't have 5 people in your suite; just get your husband a key to your room from Guest Services.  However, the sofa bed only sleeps 2 people - where will the third kid sleep?  another thing to keep in mind - your husband might well have a different Muster station than you.  It's a very remote chance, but if there's an emergency, your husband wouldn't be with you.

24 minutes ago, harryfat1 said:

Is it my imagination or does the cloud in the middle look like Donald Duck’s face?  The cloud next to that seems to be some sort of arch.  Or maybe my coffee isn’t strong enough and I’m still sleepwalking?

I can sort of see Donald duck in that cloud myself, so you're not too crazy.....

38 minutes ago, Sianli said:

What if only one parent is sailing?

This is when a passport is required, not just the better option.  A letter from the other parent stating the kid is good to travel without them is helpful too.

34 minutes ago, Softball20 said:

I know we can walk off first thing, but what I'd love to know if we can just walk off later than 8:00 w/o having to turn in the luggage the night before?

It shouldn't be a problem.  Nobody is going to be pushing you to go any earlier than that for self-assist.  Leaving your room by 8:30 is a courtesy for the room stewards to get the rooms clean for the next guests.  You can then take your luggage up to the WindJammer buffet and have breakfast before you leave the ship.  That's what we've always done.

On 2/10/2024 at 8:23 AM, Mum2Mercury said:

I do really like the ship's lemonade, but I asked a WIndjammer staffer to let me see the back of the container he was mixing up, and it's Nestle's brand -- chock full of sugar.  

This is why I dilute it... it's normally way too strong.  I just need a little bit to flavour the water.

You've only just noticed this?

7 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Your "short" weather season would see me in double thermal layers!

We have good summers, around 72-85 degrees F.  Certainly warm enough to go swimming at the beach (I live within an hour's drive of many beaches, which is fun.  We'll often go in the late afternoon for swimming, and then get fish and chips for dinner).

19 hours ago, perfect match said:

By the way, Harry, I couldn’t view your Effectors videos on my iPad. I could see your other videos, but for some reason not these. I have no idea why. 🤔

I had to right click and choose 'open video in new tab' (Windows 10/Firefox) before it would play.

1 hour ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

Noticed no shorts on the list.

Yeah - forgot about the shorts.  I live on the West coast of Canada, so we don't cruise the Caribbean often.  It's not usually warm enough for shorts.

On 1/27/2024 at 12:00 PM, Orange jeep said:

Hi to all you on Icon!  Any pics of inside handicap accessible cabins would be appreciated.

Here is a Youtube video that has some footage of a balcony accessible cabin - it's towards the end of the video.  I know it's not an inside, but chances are it will be similar.

My carry on list, for a week:

1 jacket

2 light light hooded jackets

8-9 tshirts.

1 pair of jeans

1 pair of pants

8-9 pairs of underwear

8-9 pairs of socks.

1 pair of pyjamas

2 swimsuits

1 dress, with a light sweater and dressy sandals.

The rest of  my stuff (meds, sunglasses, phones/charge cords, etc) all fits in my backpack, which is small enough to be considered a personal item.  I like keeping my stuff with me, and lugging it around is better than the worry that it will go missing.

Looking forwards to the ride  I always enjoy a good (formerly known as) CheapoDad trip review.

On 11/18/2023 at 6:17 AM, Ride-The-Waves said:

Do you think that is intentional on the part of RCI?  Trying to "encourage" you to move to the larger ships which are likely less costly to operate per person per mile.

I think it's more the law of unintended consequences - less money is allocated to maintaining smaller less profitable ships, so they show their age more.  I try my best to steer away from conspiracy theories; ignorance and incompetance are usually more accurate theories.

15 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Did you have to wait like that “every night?

There was one night we had no wait. Most other nights, yes.  Part of the issue is we were a party of three; too big for a 2 top, not big enough for their 6 or 8 tops.  So, they would usually push two 2-tops together for us, which meant waiting for not one but two tables to be ready. 

1 hour ago, lovevacadays said:

I haven’t cruised Princess in quite a long time.  Do you have to reserve dining reservations in advance now?  

Yes, you do.  On my last cruise, in September on the Majestic, people without reservations were being turned away from the Concerto restaurant, and even with a res, we waited 10-20 minutes or so to get a table. Reservations are important.

14 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

Hopefully you can get both shareholder and Veterans OBC

They ended that a while back.   You now need to choose which one to use.