spearmint

My experience is that you pay the bill upfront using credit card. Then you get home and settle with the insurance company.

 

Regards John

That has been our experience, also.

However, when my sister needed medical attention, my brother-in-law went to guest relations and asked if there was any way that his insurance company could be contacted. They allowed him to phone, and after the usual interminable wait-time on the telephone, he gave the company his information and they took over. The bill was settle with the cruiseline then and there.

Bill

Very nicely said, NJFred.

I wouldn't. Last April, I, a Canadian, "cashed" a 5 pound note that I had had for years. I received, with apologies, a little over $7 for it, even though it was worth about $12 by then. So the "charges" were quite large. Whether this will apply to you, I don't know. But if you can pre-buy the US$, I suspect that you might get a better return.

Bill

On Regal, the menus are posted near the aft exits from the Horizon Court as well. Don't know about the mid-ship exits.

I agree re: souffles. As our waiter said, "Princess makes damn good souffles."

We were loyal Celebrity cruisers for 22 cruises (although we did have two RCCL cruises, too). Finally, the drop in what they offer was too much. The menus have declined so much from our first cruise in 1999, that finally, in Nov. 2015 I had enough, especially when my wife who eats almost everything, began to totally agree with me.

I was/am a finicky eater who actually enjoyed trying new things with the fabulous Michel Roux menus. I morphed into one who chose some things with the Jaques Van Stadden menus but often chicken or salmon from the everyday menu. Finally, I was ordering the chicken, salmon and, once, the sirloin from the everyday menu almost every night. I don't know who replaced JVS but it is not good. When even the chicken came out unrecognizable in shape and somewhat tough, I had enough.

Last April we tried Regal Princess for a back-to-back and did the same in November 1016. We have just booked Royal Princess for ten days in February as the cost of a mini-suite was too good an offer. Even between April and November, the everyday Fettucine Alfredo is no longer served in that wonderful parmesan basket, and the sauce was slightly different, too. The same was true in Alfredo's (restaurant) with the great veal ravioli.... the sauce was somewhat different and I wondered if it weren't the exact same sauce. I raved over both dishes the first time and thought that they were OK the second time and will have them again, I think.

Celebrity used to brand itself as a "premium" line and, despite two RCCL cruises, and not having tried other lines but having followed Cruise Critic all along, I was sure that they might very well be "premium". They have dropped so many "little things" over the years, and with the noticeable decline in menus, they certainly are no longer in the premium category in my opinion. At this point, we are very happy with this class of Princess ship.

As an aside, I believe that Regal is a most lovely ship in its public spaces. It's ambience has that elegance that the early Celebrity ships used to have before the more modernistic Solstice class came along. And it is so nice to dance in the Piazza instead of the bottom of a stairwell with the band in the elevator shaft!

As often noted on these boards, food is subjective. That is true. But, so many members with different tastes are not wrong when they all note how much in decline the menu choices as well as the quality of those offerings have become.

Bill

Thanks, cynbar and pattidee; that is exactly the information I wanted. From the information herein re: club class, I wondered if there were a different dining option with mini-suites, and obviously there is not.

Bill

Looking forward to hearing from those who have actually had a Club Class Mini Suite.

We have one booked so are quite interested.

We,on the other hand, have booked a mini suite (guarantee) because Princess sent an offer with a very good price; but we have no idea just what the difference is from a normal balcony room. I assume that the room is a bit larger, but is there anything else that is different?

P.S. I don't what to hijack this thread into some other topic, but we just don't know the difference.

Bill

Isn't coffee and tea available all day (for free) in the Horizon Court?

Yes.

chrysalis: I must not be very observant! :eek: Have been taking cabs to PE for over ten years and have never known that there is a minimum charge. Now,I know and will look for the signage. I rarely take taxis other than Fort Lauderdale. Thanks for the explanation.

For those of you who don't mind being overcharged, no matter what the amount, that's fine. All that "poor" overworked cabbie had to do was point out the signage, and I would never have given it a second thought, no matter what the meter read. Instead, saying "that will be $10" threw me off completely as that was a first, and therefore, an oddity.

Has anyone else been ripped off? This is a first for us. The taxi in question was one of several basically white with a wide blue stripe on the sides, ours being a Crown Victoria.

On the conclusion of our first Princess cruise last April, we took a taxi, from the ranks outside the terminal, to the Hilton Marina, which hotel is really close to Port Everglades. After loading the luggage into the trunk, and us into the car, the driver informed us that the cost would be $10, so I agreed although I thought it odd. We were already loaded into the vehicle, it was the first in a line of similar cabs and I figured that the driver was (correctly) counting on us not to get us and our luggage out of the cab and take the next one. Upon arrival at the hotel, the meter read a little over $5. I tip, but not that much.

Related question: How much is a normal tip for a cab? I have never known. For everything else, one tips !0-15%. Even at 20%, the guy only deserved a bit over a buck.

We are back on Regal next week, and now wonder if it is going to happen again. Is this cab company noted for overcharging the meter?

Bill

We sail Regal next week. I surely hope that the fettucine alfredo is available with (preferably!) or without the parmesan basket; it was soooo good. It was my go-to meal when nothing on the menu suited. So on our first Princess cruise (b2b) last April, I had it more than once each cruise. I looked forward to the original again:).... until now, when I discovered this thread.:eek:

Bill

Wow!! Now I can sleep a lot better knowing that the Royal Princess finally has a midship staircase. Oh boy happy happy happy :) :). Let's all start complaining about the Regal Princess now.

Tony

YYYYYEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! :rolleyes::D:D:D

We sailed first time with Princess on the Regal, April last. It is all that the folks so far on this thread have said, and we are on again in two weeks. The ship is really beautiful in the Piazza levels and we spend time there....:). I have even learned a few things that I did not know from this thread, too, so thanks for starting it.

Bill

We decided to book the cruise immediately proceeding a cruise we already had booked. We have never been on a b2b cruise... but it seems everything will be rather seamless. We do have one question will any OBC left from the first cruise be placed on the second cruise or does Princess refund the unused amount from the first cruise?

Are you able to keep the same cabin for both cruises? That is nice. But if not, it really isn't a huge hassle either. You should check this out though.

Bill

Know bugger all about the cats and laws, but from #114 have got the post re: using the sleeve. And it's a chuckle for sure///

 

Never order "4" when getting bacon for room service breakfast. I wanted 4 pieces of bacon, what I got was enough for 4 bacon-crazed people! D'Oh!

Isn't it just awful how one gets such poor service ! :eek:

Isn't it nice to be back to the OP's topic?:)

We have stayed at Comfort Inn and Suites, 1800 South Federal, not far from Embassy Suites a few years ago now, when prices were around $80-$90 per night. Had shuttle to and from the airport and Port Everglades. Now, they are over $300! This might be Canadian pricing, but is still totally ridiculous.

The following prices are U.S. $.

Also have stayed at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina the last few cruises. It is right down on the water on the other side of the 17th Street bridge. Close to restaurants as theirs is Asian Fusion.. yuck. They do have a nice menu at the poolside bar, though. No shuttle. Their prices can skyrocket like the other hotels at prime time. For our Nov. 6 cruise, the price was $264/night, up from about $161 in late October. Which is why we are trying the Courtyard Fort Lauderdale Plantation. They have a shuttle to and from the airport and cruiseport, for about $170. Recommended by our TA who stayed there in Feb. last.

Post cruise for two days, we are staying at the Embassy Suites for $160

My advice, is to check out travel websites, check for Fort Lauderdale hotels, and see what prices are being put out there. In the last few years, those hotels have held all of us cruise passengers to ransom!!! Peak times are horrendous.

Bill

Yes. And these people reproduce, vote and live to an old age! :eek: And yes, some are found right here on CruiseCritic. :rolleyes: What is so very sad, is that they look just like the rest of us!

And I booked a port side cabin but when we parked I faced the sea, never again.

Love this one!:D It's so true.

Well, I certainly miffed. :mad: At the crowded Horizon Court, on a busy morning as I was looking around, a waiter had me come with him to an empty but littered table. He actually had me sit down and then wait to give him my order while he commenced to clean up the mess. That was insult enough, but then when he finally brought me my coffee, milk and juice, and I had to tear open my sugar sachet, add it and milk to my coffee, I had had enough. :eek: I will never sail Princess again. Needless to say, the Maitre d' did hear and head office will hear about this!

I saw photos of Majestic Princess and my first thought was that maybe it was a design meant for the Asian market since that is where she will sail. I am sorry to hear that they are adding it to other ships. At least it is not quite as tacky as Norwegian; they are really bad. There is no way that elegance can be indicated with such "fun" stuff plastered on the bow and down the sides.

The powers-that-be must have decided that style isn't to be in their lexicon any more. But that doesn't fit, as Royal/Regal certainly have style and elegance in their piazzas, dining rooms and specialty restaurants. Their theatres are another matter, however....

We always let the Credit Card make the conversion for the reasons stated. Everyone on Cruise Critic suggested that to us many years ago when we asked a question just like yours. :)

When our dollar was (almost) at par, we opened an small account in our bank in U.S. dollars and did not use it much. There is still some cash in there, and, with the horrible exchange rate today, we now use it to pay for onboard expenses; we take what we think we will need. If we run out, we put it on our credit card. This has helped a bit in saving that 35% dollar difference. If the dollar comes close to par, we will try to add to the account for future use.

Bill

We definitely believe things have changed and are changing. Little things have been omitted over the years, but in the last few years, as noted, things on Celebrity have been degrading... food quality for one.

(As an example of the "little things", also try another thread ]entitled "What do you miss about Celebrity?".)

We have about 21 cruises with Celebrity, since 1999, and we used to praise it constantly. We have three cruises with Royal Caribbean, as well. Last April, we decided to try Regal Princess for a back to back after my sister was so complimentary about it. We are doing the same thing again in November, as we really like the public areas of Regal. They remind us of the C-and M-class ships on Celebrity.... elegant and classy, unlike Solstice which we find,not so much ugly but trendy, and plastic-looking.

We no longer care about the itineraries.... been there.... but we do love being on board ship. We found the food was better in choice and as good in quality as our last cruise on Silhouette (several on this ship) last fall. We also found casual entertainment .. like a string quartet..not only to be in evidence as used to be on Celebrity, but to be very good. The production shows have been superior to most of what Celebrity offers now, including the singers (I realize that the singers would be personal choice).

Recently, a good friend said that after many years, her husband had agreed to go on a cruise with her. (He hates travel, and she does it alone, with a friend or her daughter.) She was really surprised when I told her we prefer Princess at this time, because Celebrity was just another line as far as we could see, and some things just didn't compare. I think she was thinking of Celebrity herself since we had been lauding it for so many years. She has been on 2 RCCL, and 1 Holland America cruises.

I miss the Elite perks, but they can only keep one loyal for so long in the face of declining quality. I will keep looking on the boards here to see if there are any improvements noted; I won't say we won't sail Celebrity, but for now, neither of us wants to take further chances with the Canadian dollar being so devalued these days. With Equinox being kept in the Caribbean year long, I was sorely tempted to sail on that new itinerary, as the initial pricing was improved over others. But, my wife reminded me that we just were not happy these last few years with the degredation of the dining room offerings. So, we passed.

Bill

Unless you are in a full suite or are at elite level, then your mini bar will be empty.

Our first cruises ... b2b... were this past April, in a balcony cabin. I was surprised to find the fridge empty when I went to put in our wine bottles.

Bill

I miss the ocean liners restaurants on the Millenium Class. They were beautiful and special. In my opinion, replacing them with the generic Tuscan Grill was a great loss. For some reason, the bone headed cruise line execs think all the ships in the company must be the same. No they don't!

 

Dave

I have been away! You mean no Olympic on Millennium, no Normandie on Summit, no Ocean Liners on Constellation etc.? We were on Silhouette b 2 b last fall, and went to Murano both times. The first cruise, Murano was like the old days, in service personnel and food. The second time was as if we were on a different, much cheaper line... think tramp steamer and here's your stuff, the people next table have much more money than you do! That will be the last time, for sure, even in the unlikely event that we go back to Celebrity. So, have all these fabulously styled restaurants been turned in Tuscan Grilles? Who in hell is running Celebrity now anyway?