HaveDogWillTravel

Hi there! 😊Next time say hello. Would love to connect.

Hi! I am sadly not in a full suite on Emerald right now (but am loving the mini). I will ask if this ship has a concierge for full suites and what they can/can’t do though. We were in the Grand suite on Diamond Jan 30 to Feb (9th? 10th?) this year. On that sailing I received a call from the loyalty and events person introducing themselves as the suite concierge. I went down and chatted with her and she did take care of a service issue I was having difficulty getting resolved. At that time it was just pilot program and her hours were pretty limited. I gave some feedback on the program and I will be interested to see how it’s morphed since then. Sorry your thread got off track. It can be frustrating…..

There was a sign and there was a person who said it as you entered the security line. I hate to say it but it all happened so fast. I had my one allowed bottled of wine, some distilled water for sinus rinses and some fresh cherries in a see thru ziplock. All were in a bag clearly visible as it was open and not closed in anyway. I was put thru so quick I didn’t have time to react. I’ve never heard of these restrictions and was still processing “What?….What?….. What?” And done. None of those items were taken or remarked upon. Perhaps folks who showed up later had a different experience? IDK.

I loved the Diamond this past January/February. Embarkation at pier 92 was a bit different than the usual pier 93 but it was effortless. At 10:13 we gave our bags to the porter and in 45 minutes we were enjoying our first glass of wine at Vines. The elite lounge was well stocked with juices, coffee and pastries. They were making sure you had an elite boarding pass to stay there. The elite boarding passes were given out one per cabin so all in the same cabin could wait in the lounge together. There was a big notice that ONLY CARRY ON SIZE LUGGAGE WAS ALLOWED THRU SECURITY. I wanted to take a photo of the sign but the line moved too fast. Also a sign that no liquids or food allowed. The selection of whites and reds at Vines is actually great. First time I’ve said that since forever! Aldrin, the vines bartender and his assistant Jaymes are an incredible asset to Princess.

I would love to. But I’ve got 34 days on the Sapphire this Dec that has severely drained my budget.

We’ve been onboard just over 24 hours now. @CruiseRaiderand I were saying how really lovely everything has been that “we” should start a “live from”. So here we go. The crew has been simply outstanding. @CruiseRaiderand I had a bet about who would reunite with a crew member we knew first. crew you what’s ap with don’t count! I won, lol. Within a minute of being on board I saw Michael. He was my Outrigger bartender on the Sapphire Hawaii sailing I took last November. He was so kind and treated us just like family then and of course now as well. We had dinner in crown last night and the lobster, sea bass, steaks and sides were excellent. Service was exemplary. DH and I are in a mini suite. It has fresh carpet, the tub looks brand new, the shower curtain still has the folds from being taken out of the package. It’s really a spotless room in excellent repair just like the rest of the ship. we went to MDR for breakfast this morning and DH had the eggs Florentino. The eggs were true poached eggs. I wanted pancakes and asked for blueberry pancakes even though they weren’t on the menu. Our sweet waiter did not blink an eye and I had an excellent plate of ham steak and blueberry pancakes. It was like being in Sabatini’s for suite breakfast. We’ve been lazing the afternoon away at the retreat pool. Order now on the ap is working great! It’s quiet and the padded loungers are super comfy. I’ll post more as we go!

Last December I had to cancel a cruise for a covered reason 7 days before sailing. I use an annual insurance plan from Allianz. They paid all the non-refunded costs in about 2 weeks. They never asked how I originally paid for anything. Gift cards did not matter. The fine print of my Chase sapphire card says my trip is covered as long as I pay a portion of the costs with that card. Only rental cars require full payment with the sapphire card to be covered.

DH just got the double MOBC email today too. It says it’s not combinable with shareholders.

The crew members’ nationality is on their name tag. I always take pictures of the crew who stand out so I can be sure to get names, positions and nationality correct when I write my survey post cruise.

No one (at least not passengers) knows how common tipping above and beyond the auto grats is. What I do know is that crew really, really, really love to be treated kindly….. with respect…with a genuine interest in how their day is going. Contribute to them having an easier job vs a more difficult one……say please…. Say thank you…. Make eye contact…. Use their name…. Learn a phrase or two in their language and watch them smile. These are the things that are most important. If you do this you are what the crew will call a “Gem” pax. Crew talk.

Excellent point! I’m not military. However he just checked and did not see it. Sometimes these things take a few days to get around.

I love your posts and contributions! I am so happy I could be helpful.

I have been helped tremendously by posts on CC. I am happy to contribute when I can. Very glad it worked out!

I did not get the same email from Princess that @Ken the cruiseror @Bwana Tom, @nasa1974and others did recently confirming what my CVP emailed me when I started this thread. My DH did have to email twice to get his SOBC applied with his MOBC before today’s deadline for a Dec sailing. He did get it after the second request. I’ve screen shot the Travel summary as I’m traveling and can’t print it at the moment. If his SOBC disappears I will definitely contact my CVP to get it reinstated. We hope to find time to spend it on shore excursions really soon as there actually are several we are interested in from Princess on that sailing! I’m glad there were at least a few folks (besides myself) who could take advantage of this early warning to get their SOBC applied while they could.

Free laundry had been a full suite perk since at least May 2016 when I sailed in my first one on the Island.

Yes breakfast daily and lunch on sea days. Enjoy!

I really hope this is true! But I do empathize with veterans who feel their service us being equated to shareholders. Yes there are younger veterans. My son is only 42 he served 8 years. He spent one year getting shot at daily in Afghanistan.

To answer your question, when I have felt an additional tip was warranted in Reserve Class I have asked the head waiter how they handle this. I have been told that the team pools all the tips and splits up the total. When this is the case I give an envelope with $ and a thank you card to the head waiter on the last night. There’s a smaller team in RC & they really do all seem to fill in and help all tables as needed. Now on different ships with different teams this may not be the case. That’s just been my experience. If I may ask, how did the topic of tipping come up? If HW brought it up with no prompt from you I would be disinclined to leave an additional tip.

Even if someone posted a wine list that is from a ship they were currently on it would be absolutely no indication of what wine is actually behind the bar. Nor would it be any indication of what would be on any other ship or even that ship on any upcoming sailing. The only way to know what wine (or alcohol) is actually on the ship is to get on board, go to every bar and ask the crew to put all the wine bottles on the counter sorted by Plus, Premier and higher price. If you board early before they are busy they don’t mind. Chatting them up and being nice is always welcome.

Suite perks are very different on the Royal class ships vs the Grand and Coral class. On Royal class ships there’s a dedicated Concierge Lounge aft Riviera deck. This lounge has cans of soft drinks and bottled waters (still and sparkling) 24/7. Every evening (from 5-7 pm in my experience) there’s an open bar with very good liquor…..Bombay Sapphire, Gentlemen Jack…Tito’s vodka….Jamison’s….. There’s mediocre wines and decent selection of beers. Additionally, the concierge immediately offered to have Jamison’s in the morning when I mentioned I liked Irish Coffees in the morning occasionally. This is enough for me that I don’t get any drink package when I book a full suite on a Royal class ship. None of this is available on the other class ships. At least since February of this year. Only you know if the rest of what comes with Premier is worth it to you or not.

We sailed this March on Riviera. We ordered martinis on 3 separate evenings from 3 different bars, Horizon, Casino & Martini bars. Each time it came to us in a margarita glass. It was really weird and we did not care for this presentation. I asked it to be changed once into the correct glass so I know they had them.

I don’t post trivial information. I don’t post rumors. If you took a minute to look at what I post you’d find I only post when I feel I genuinely have something credible to add to the conversation that’s worthwhile. My Princess CVP is a long time veteran with a stellar reputation that I’ve worked with for many years. The New Yorker in me has more to say but the Californian in me will stop here.

This is what my Princess CVP replied regarding this question"

I found Ephesus shuttle on another CC thread. They have about 1500 5 star reviews on trip advisor. And the rest are ( like 100) 4 star. They are reasonably priced. I’ve booked a full day private tour for 2. $240.

This is what my Princess CVP replied regarding this question"