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I'm assuming there's only one and it's difficult to get a spot on the WPT Texas Hold 'Em table. Am I correct?

Treat them as disposable, for house projects, like mixing mortar or epoxy or whatever. That said, sand castles are a good option too!

@memoak I enjoy your posts and value your insight. Yeah, I probably jumped the gun, but I wanted to get reservations at Catch; and having never sailed on a ship with that venue, I was concerned about availability. Live and learn I guess...

Well said and on the money. Whether I jumped the gun or not, I did the following: Suite-freebie first night dining: I used the call center. Got it booked with no charge. Freebie 360 reservation: call center was useless; chat was useless; so I used the email to customerrelations@princesscruises.com and was very simple straightforward with the request. I provided my name, booking number, sail date, the persons dining, and a first and second preference for dining dates/times. Got an answer and my first choice within 2 days. Insert editorial comment: it shouldn't be this troublesome to do something so simple. Maybe establish a fleet-wide pre-sailing suite concierge or something....or even better, adjust the software so that we can make these bookings without incurring the initial credit card charge.

My wife loves the lounger, sun, reading thing. She had the Sanctuary on our last Princess cruise. She didn't think it was worth it to book for a 7-day sailing. (I was kind of shocked actually). She's OK with the loungers by the Retreat pool, or above the Retreat pool. They're close to the pool and the hot tubs and steps away from the bar.

Three sea days in warm climate? Oh boy, rush to the Sanctuary as the place will be in demand. (If you don't get spots, don't fret. There are loungers nearby the adult-only retreat pool; and you can always get drinks and food delivered to you via your app if you want to use that option).

You need to identify the cruise date and destination. Read: warmer weather sailings get booked extremely fast, cooler climates not so much. Good luck.

Sorry about the bad vibes this cruise is giving you. I think you should cancel. IMHO, there's a giant disconnect between what appears to be your unrealistic expectations and what Princess can provide you and your family. Good luck. Hope it turns out well for you.

This is what we use. We are like the @memoak couple. Pocket for me. Wife clips to her bag.

The wearable Medallion as a door-opener, ID device, and location tracker is a good thing. This tech, and even more innovative technology, is here to stay and reverting back to key cards is looking backwards. The Medallion, yes, does help measure utilization of spaces, absolutely helpful for future improvements in services and ship design (and, sure, Princess revenue opportunities)....and no, you can't just simply count numbers of drinks sold at a bar, lounge, Piazza, whatever, as it doesn't tell the full story of numbers of people hanging out and reading and relaxing without buying anything. The (poorly named) Medallion app is helpful as well, for scheduling, ordering, reviewing your folio, etc. Me? I don't use it throughout the day as I don't want to carry my phone around. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate it. I do reference it when I'm back in the room, to check any number of things, like when my excursion is scheduled or when my next dining reservation will be, etc.

@HBCcruiser I can't say definitively, but my money is on you needing to go to the Concierge to get the refund. Given past issues of a similar, but not exact, nature, such refunds don't happen automatically.

That's terrible. Women need menstrual products. Chiming-in as a man: having no opportunity to buy -- or even get a low quality freebie -- is not a good look for NCL. It could be argued that such products are deemed nearly as essential as toilet paper. At many colleges, universities, and other residential/public venues they provide such free products. Geez, how about a machine in one of the larger public women's rest rooms? That would be a step in the right direction.

That's terrific on the work to get your feedback, but I'm sorry, what am I missing? How was he undercover if he was in a chef's outfit?

Huh? The vast majority of us get this done without an issue. The OP is unfortunately an outlier. She should share a screenshot or explain the error message a bit better and we can attempt to assist.

Totally agree. The best places have some type of piped-in music, even at low volumes...just to cut down on the blare of silence.

Also, if you have the app up and running, and you have a booking, just scroll through the events calendar...

Retreat pool:

Totally respect the OP's opinion and others of the same mind who don't want one for whatever reason, but Princess, in my opinion, is absolutely spot-on by using this technology. I'm not clear if they fully utilize the information, but they can, for example, glean utilization trends for lounges, lido deck, bars, etc. so they can better customize services, ship amenities, and future ship designs.

Is the 50+ year old crowd Princess' marketing demographic? Maybe, but I'm not so sure about that.

Thanks for time and effort for posting this report. As fellow gambler, it's one of the best play-by-play live reports from the casino experience perspective. Your bounce-back offer is very good. Heads up that it takes a while (4+ weeks) for the booking agents to see that offer in their 'system' should you want to jump on it soon. Recommend you use a Cruise Vacation Planner to help push the offer along.

Yes, it's a rather unfortunate fault of many cruise lines that Tabasco is the ##)$@! "hot sauce" they offer. A small thing, I know, but for a lot of us it's WAY more important than butter.

@Crusin Karen Hello from your neighbor down the Northway. I came exclusively from NCL to Princess and enjoy the contrast, sort of more upscale ship, more adult-oriented experience. Nicer pools and better drink package. Speaking of which....despite the one-off naysayer, it's a no-brainer to buy the Plus package if you enjoy cocktails. In addition to the drinks, the Plus package allows you free specialty coffees, water, and juices. Enjoy your cruise, although your leaf peeping is probably better around Sacandaga!

Confirming that any old plastic loyalty card will do the trick.

It's doable. Departed POM, walk-off with luggage, last January and got to FLL by 8:30am. Too early to even check our bags for our 11:45 flight. Granted, it was a Saturday, but I still like your chances even on a Friday. Just get your butt in line early to get off the ship.

Your first cruise? And it's a 10-day cruise. And you're from Nebraska. And it's the middle of winter. Um, my suggestion it that you should treat yourself to a balcony and bid on one to a price you feel comfortable paying. Once you are sailing in warm waters, you'll want to spontaneously spend some time, even if only 5 minutes, enjoying the sun on your skin, the warm air, the view of the ocean, the expanse of the ports you visit....mere steps from your bed. Can't get that at home or in an interior cabin. Interiors are a fine affordable option, but based on my own experiences staying in them, I felt like it was staying in a cave, especially at night.