Itchy&Scratchy

On 4/24/2024 at 1:52 AM, beshears said:

Many good points posted here. I believe I mentioned we just got off the Princess Regal in February, and did purchase the Premier package. My son said, "Just as well purchase this package, instead of being nickel-ed and dime every time you turn around," which in the long run, I realize was true.

not really true - we usually sail without any packages and the only ship we felt nickeled and dimed on was MSC Seascape.

In any case, you could have purchased Plus package instead of Premier. It's cheaper and more cost effective for most people.

On 4/23/2024 at 3:04 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

if you optionally purchase their Princess Plus package for $60 pp/day, you get free drinks, gratuities and unlimited internet.

not free. 🙂 You literally pay $60 pppd day for them.

39 minutes ago, gatour said:

  If I book a Celebrity cruise does my RC ststus mstch start on the first cruise or the second cruise.

you can call them in advance of your cruise and get the match. We did that for me and my husband before our very first X cruise earlier this month. So, on our very first Celebrity cruise we were already Select.

there will be other young people onboard, if she is an extrovert.

My 13 yo loves Princess, even though he is an introvert and doesn't do kid's or teen club. He is never bored.

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

Pitaya or Blue Key? 

Blue Kay.

We are very low key and would simply like a few chaises in a shade for a price that is not exorbitant.

Before the pandemic they charged $12 pp and that included 2 drinks of your choice and a chaise. I can't find any info about present charges.

On 2/18/2024 at 1:07 PM, BamaVol said:

We will be there mid-June on Enchanted Princess and have the same questions. We arrive at 7 and depart at 4.

we'll be there right before you with 5 people (June 1 sailing). 

Been there before the pandemic, at Blue Kay beach club. We really liked it then...

I hope they didn't change much or start charging a ton of money pp, but we are willing to try them again. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Man, their website is glitching big time. It's back to $60/$80 just 10 minutes later.

That, and the 3/4 person which is supposed to be free, is so not free. Not even close.

6 minutes ago, reedprincess said:

They haven't changed the price.

It's 60/80.

not what their website says right this moment:

when did Princess change the price to $70/$90 pppd?

I could swear it was just $60/$80...

2 hours ago, Louby-Lou said:

How much does a teen's plus package cost? 

there is no such thing as a TEEN plus package. It costs the same for everyone. $60 pppd.

2 hours ago, Louby-Lou said:

I assume you have done your costings, ie daily gratuity charges, wi-fi connection, drinks and room service charges (which are now not 'free') for each teen.

We don't even get the Plus package for adults, let alone for our teen.

17 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

I know you have been to Blue Key in the past. I didn’t think it was so rocky in that area of the bay?

No, it wasn't. We did Blue Kay on our own a couple of times before the pandemic. We really liked it. I have been looking at cc to see if there were any newer reviews, and so far they are not promising. They probably raised prices as well. Pre-pandemic it was a reasonable $12 pp, with 2 drinks of your choice included. I guess we'll find out next month. 🙂

As for the Beach Escape ship excursion, I was just looking at the excursions for our upcoming Enchanted cruise to Costa Maya out of sheer curiosity. When I saw this particular excursion, I thought - for $50 pp with alcohol included, how bad could it be? Well, it had as many 1* reviews as it did 5* reviews, that's how bad. People's reviews said the beach they were taken to for this Beach Escape was horrible. It was not Blue Kay for sure. Oh, and the kid price is $45!!!! Ridiculous.

5 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Yeah as I said we enjoyed salads in the past too but on our 2023 & 2024 cruises we haven't seen any. I don't disagree they were available back in 2022 😀

I will be able to check that next month! 🙂

When people say "on our last few cruises" I really can't tell how much time may have lapsed. For us it's 2-3 years. 🙂 And 2022 was only 16 months ago.

2 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

The Island does unique itineraries so if you want to go to those places then that's the ship, IC or not 🙂  Also on our last few cruises we haven't seen any salads in the IC.  I used to like the salads there too but haven't seen any in awhile.  On our last cruise (January, Regal) the offerings appeared pared back from what we've seen and were primarily sandwiches and desserts.  

IC had salads in Nov 2022 on Enchanted:

Not that I personally care about salads.... Sigh.... This is what I was there for:

these were heavenly:

and in the morning they had these small egg muffins, like broccoli cheddar, ham and cheese, and mushroom and cheese which were beyond delicious.

4 minutes ago, Guera53 said:

We are looking now at the Enchanted Princess and it’s listed!

of course, it is.

1 minute ago, BDevilCruiser said:

The Red arrow points to the space where "Number of Guests" pull-down filter was until the past day or so.

if you say so. I search for 3 people and didn't notice its presence or absence either way.

55 minutes ago, BDevilCruiser said:

I typically search using my computer rather than phone (I can view things easier!)

 

Using Google Chrome, the option is not there on the web site

I used Chrome today, and the option for 1 was definitely present.

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

I wonder if the shows in the Theater will change anytime soon?

I am seeing Rock Opera and Spotlight Bar...  (which I might also skip based on the comments)

Any other shows/entertainment to note?

we loved both of these. Will definitely watch them all again next month. Don't skip based on somebody else's opinion. 🙂

No, the main production shows do not change for years. Headliners and guest performers do.

On 3/27/2024 at 2:06 PM, c-leg5 said:

I am not sure which beach club you went to?

just an FYI - Princess is offering the same excursion to the same beach, and it has as many bad reviews as good ones. Rocky shore lined with chaises so close to each other and the water that no one can even play in the sand...

37 minutes ago, HeidisCruises said:

I booked a D4 Premium Deluxe Balcony for 2 of us on Discovery with the description: "Choose this premium option of a Balcony stateroom with a larger balcony to take in the spectacular views." Of course, I cannot choose the cabin. And I notice that many D4s do not have a larger balcony. So am I guaranteed anything?

you are probably guaranteed a Premium Deluxe balcony for 2 somewhere on the ship.

if you have a chance to snap a pic of the Sushi place menu, I'd really appreciate it. Especially if it shows the items included with Plus/Premier packages.

3 hours ago, negn said:

There is minimal shade so we try to get there as early as possible.  I know you can rent clam shells but don’t remember umbrellas.  Also don’t remember waiters coming around for drinks,had to go to the bar.  They do supply towels.   You can grab one as you go to the tender,or get one the night before

I've read on this forum that umbrellas for a fee were added only recently. I would gladly pay for them, since shade is very hard to find on Princess Cays.

It's very nice of RCI to provide them for free on Cococay...

8 hours ago, mevs904 said:

Another thought:  We bring water shoes as parts of the swimming area floor can be rocky.

we find them to be a must, since our kid sliced his foot open on a hidden rock on the beach. I've suffered several cuts as well. 

2 hours ago, EbayCruiser said:

We are now leaning towards Utopia!

 

delete

2 hours ago, CU64 said:

If you want a Wow factor from the ship environment ( age 51) it will not be Princess. No bells and whistles. For that one person, RCI might be it.

I just turned 50, and believe me, newer Princess ships provide plenty of Wow for our entire family. My 13 yo's favorite line is Princess. For example, Enchanted is a fantastic ship, and we are really looking forward to sailing on her again next month and then next year.

This will be our second time in Belize, but the first time with both our kid (who didn't even exist during our first time in Belize) and my parents.  I would love to go cave tubing again - it was a lot of fun, but my dad can barely walk, so a 40 minute walk would be impossible....

I'd leave him on the ship and take my mom with us (she is in better physical shape than I am), but I am sure she is not going to want to leave him on the ship alone. I probably wouldn't want to leave both of them on the ship alone either, although my mom tells me it's fine....

Which brings me to the next question - is there a nice beach not too far away (umbrellas or palapas are a must) that we could take a taxi to? How much would a taxi be for 5 people? Is it relatively safe to venture out on our own?

I searched this board for any info on beaches and came up with pretty much nada.

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

Many public schools schedule spring vacation the week before or after Easter which is April 20th next year. Our daughter teaches in Fairfax County, Va and their 2025 spring break is the week of April 14. 

and around here it's usually last week of March - first week of April. And my BFF's Chicago school's spring break was March 23-30.

Interestingly enough, this year there were 500+ kids on Celebrity Reflection on the sailing during the last week of March, and only 200 or so during Easter week when we sailed during our spring break.