enfuego4cruising

Thank you for taking the time to post during your cruise. We appreciate your positive and upbeat style. It was fun to read along as we sailed along with you. It was even better to meet you and your DH. We look forward to seeing you on our upcoming sailings. Cheers and safe travels.

I was on the October 1st sailing, in a CC balcony, midship on deck 9. The Premium Wi-Fi NEVER worked inside of our stateroom. It worked fine most of the time in the public spaces. Such as, when I was waiting in line to speak with tech support at the Internet Help Desk. I visited them each of the first three days, and was told each time that a work order would be generated. I was actually told on the first day, by an I-team member, that the "cabin was not designed to receive a Wi-Fi signal". Huh?  Well, he was factually correct about the not working part. Finally on day 4, after zero follow up from the Internet No-Help Desk, I went to customer service and received a full refund of my prepaid Wi-Fi package. As for the app, it worked fine on my Android phone, when I had a good wi-fi signal in the public spaces.

Thank you for your review. We were on the same sailing and had an overall very enjoyable experience. Agree with much of what you wrote about. Just to add on if I may, here are some of our observations and experiences:

This was only our second cruise with Celebrity (first in 2006). We are Diamond with RCI so we were able to enjoy Elite benefits while onboard the Eclipse. We are also Elite with Princess.

We were in a CC balcony, midship on deck 9. I mention the cabin location because the Premium Wi-Fi NEVER worked inside of our stateroom. It worked fine most of the time in the public spaces. Such as, when I was waiting in line to speak with tech support at the internet help desk. I visited them each of the first three days, and was told each time that a work order would be generated. Finally on day 4, after zero follow up from tech support, I went to customer service and was offered a full refund of my prepaid Wi-Fi package. As for the app, it worked fine on my Android phone, when I had a good wi-fi signal in the public spaces.

We found the buffet area a definite upgrade in terms of food quality and layout when compared to any current class of Princess ships. Also enjoyed the quality of the MDR food, but as has been mentioned, the selection and portioning was very underwhelming. We enjoyed two dinners at La Petit Chef. Each night was a different menu and "show". The second menu was on a formal night, so that menu included lobster and filet mignon. Both excellent. It didn't' hurt that our server dropped by with an additional lobster tail and filet. The Tuscan Grille was very hit and miss. An extensive menu and you could order anything and everything that you wanted. The big downfall was the 1/2' thick ribeye steak. Very disappointing. The filet mignon was also meh. Big thumps up however to the lemon cheesecake dessert paired with house-made limoncello.

We enjoyed our Elite happy hour drink benefit, but having to hurry though the two hour window (actually a one hour window when dinner is at 6) is not as enjoyable as the way RCI now serves their drink benefit.

A fully non-smoking casino!  What a plus. This should be mandatory throughout the industry.

Found the ship to be comfortable and in very good condition overall.  The crew was very friendly and helpful (except for the internet no-help desk). The Captain was very informative with his daily updates. It was also nice to see that a cruise line still puts out a quality daily newsletter. Very well designed and informational. I also now know which cruise line still has the nightly pillow chocolates. 

Cutbacks are obviously everywhere in the cruise industry, and we definitely noticed differences from our previous Celebrity experience (no Le Grand Buffet Magnifique, no midnight chocolate buffet) among other touches that once put Celebrity in a category above RCI, Princess, et all. 

Thanks again to the OP for initiating this thread.

We were  onboard the Emerald Princess this past May when the ship diverted toward the coast to meet up with a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter inbound from San Diego. The Captain made announcements to keep everyone updated and informed. These announcements included staying away from certain decks and stateroom balconies. He also advised that any sort of photography was not allowed.

The Coast Guard personnel effected a perfect medical evacuation, as demonstrated by body cam footage which THEY released to the public. The footage demonstrates their skill, bravery, and tender patient care. The patients face was blurred and their privacy was protected. It is entirely possible that a release was signed, but that is speculation on my part.  If the Coast Guard can press release video documentation of their work, including images of those involved, then the hand-wringers should take it up with them.

Bravery in action:

https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/3408757/a-coast-guard-helicopter-aircrew-medically-evacuates-a-3-year-old-passenger-off/

We had B739 on the Royal last year. We asked our cabin steward to open the door to avail ourselves of the extra space. However, the door was designed to open only to a fixed 90 degree position. It did not swing open a full 180 degrees and lock against the divider. Therefore, it actually created a visual barrier when viewed from inside the cabin. We said no thanks, had it closed back up, and greatly enjoyed our aft view balcony without the extra space.

This should not imply that you spend the entire transit on your balcony of course. Get out and appreciate all of the available vistas.

We were on the Emerald in February for a full PC transit. We had an aft facing cabin on the Dolphin deck. Being back there during the transit was excellent as it puts you right at the action and offers a 180 degree view. 

The icing on the cake was having the balcony breakfast delivered while we were in the locks. It was perfect and very memorable.  Highly recommended.Since you have one of the few aft facing balconies in existence on the Island Princess, I would say hang on to it.

5 hours ago, billco said:

a lot of trouble to post something childish and not very funny as an April Fool joke.

...and turn down that music!!

5 hours ago, billco said:

a lot of trouble to post something childish and not very funny as an April Fool joke.

Get off my lawn!

No foolin'?

We were on the Emerald and saw that the Gem was following along. What a great cruise paired with outstanding weather. Thank you for posting your nice pictures of "us". Our first ever PC transit.

Here our some shots of "your" ship. In the Gatun locks, at the Centennial bridge, and approaching the Pedro Miguel locks. Hope that you enjoyed your cruise as much as we enjoyed ours.

We are booked on a full PC transit for February 1st, on the Emerald Princess. Currently, Nicaragua is still listed on our itinerary. However, in looking at Princess full transits for the months of November and December, Nicaragua is not listed. Might just be a matter of time before we are notified of the same?

5 minutes ago, John Reid said:

Pinnacles?

Carnies

On 6/14/2022 at 7:20 PM, ghgeckos said:

Do you know if they have the wine makers dinner? 

We sailed on the Majestic this past April and they did indeed have the winemakers dinner,  hosted by the impeccable Maitre D'  Neville Saldanha.

We were recently on the Royal Princess for the restart cruise to Alaska. The old club six space has been modified. The forward part of the room is now a "sports bar". There are a few large screen tv's showing a very limited choice of live sporting events (the same event on each tv, with no ability to change them). There is also a live sports ticker running above the bar. The other half of the room is now a tentacle of the casino, with several rows of slot machines. They were not getting much use anytime that I saw them.

Sabatinis was closed for "technical issues". We were first told that they had hoped to open by day 4 of our 12 day cruise. They never did open for dinner. However, they were serving  breakfast for suite guests.

Passengers with direct to Vancouver airport transfers are being tested in the Vista lounge today, provided by Princess.

The arrive Can requirement has been an exercise in redundancy. We flew into Vancouver from the U.S. Our arrive Can was completed ahead of time and was presented at the airport for approval. 

When we were checking in for embarkation in Vancouver, we were told that we needed to fill out a new arrive Can prior to boarding. Ok. We did, but nobody asked to see it as we boarded

Before our arrival in Victoria today, we were told that we needed to fill out yet another arrive Can update. OK. Nobody asked to see it today when we left the ship to visit Victoria.

Curious to see if we will need to provide it again tomorrow in Vancouver. We are on a Princess transfer direct to the airport. An arrive Can learning curve for the cruise industry?

It has been a great cruise. Some restart hiccups. Crew has been stellar. 

We were on the Discovery in late March and Swirls was excellent. Enjoyed several visits.  On the Majestic one week later and  Swirls was noticeably poorer. Mostly in the texture. Not nearly as creamy. One and done.

2 hours ago, TonyInSeattle said:

Out of curiosity - what is the Best By Duration on those packets?  If I buy a box of 200 for upcoming Cruise, summer camping, etc - do they go bad or expire?  Thanks!

I recently bought the 200 count box. They have an expiration date of October 2022. I have read that they will last well beyond the expiration date if refrigerated. Time will tell...

1 hour ago, lizinindy said:

We had our 2 aft dolphin deck cabins taken away (got the call in February) for our July 3rd cruise. The stated reason was that the cabins were for quarantine. We got bumped up to mini-suites but much prefer the aft cabins in Alaska. No wind, expansive views…..not happy campers about the move.

That is a real bummer. I would not have been happy about that move at all. Aft cabins are great, especially for Alaska. 

They moved you with a lot of time still to go. Maybe an aft cabin will open up on another deck for you. Which ship are you sailing on?

17 minutes ago, DiRonT said:

Thanks so much for this info.  There has been some confusing posts in the last 24 hours.  One said the entire Dolphin deck was closed for quarantine cabins.  Another one said Dolphin deck, all port side.  I am hoping your post is correct as my cabin is D726 (port - aft).

The information is accurate. I walked the Dolphin deck within the last hour. Hopefully the quarantine zone is not expanded for future sailings.

Quick correction to my post:

The Dolphin deck is closed on the PORT side, midship going forward for quarantine. 

Best to all on this sailing who have tested positive for covid. Blessings.

We are onboard the beautiful Discovery Princess for her inaugural voyage. The service has been excellent in every regard. Very friendly staff and crew. Shows and entertainment have been great. Food quality has been uneven, with the buffet being at the low end of the quality scale, especially for breakfast.

Random observations and thoughts:

The Dolphin deck is closed off for quarantine on the starboard side, from mid-ship forward.  The aft cabins/suites are unaffected by closures.

The medallion internet has been excellent, but the medallion app has been an abysmal onboard failure, save for the ability to order drinks and have them delivered to your current location.

On the  masking situation. I like having a choice. If you believe that masks work, then you are safe around the maskless. If you or someone you know contracted covid, despite being a diligent mask wearer, then perhaps masks are not all that effective. Also, not all people who cough have covid. And not all people who have covid, cough. 

Glad to be disembarking at 93. That is going to save a lot of grief for everyone. I am guessing that Princess lobbied for pier 93 when they analyzed the cost of bussing folks  and hauling luggage down to berth 50. 

On 2/18/2022 at 12:04 PM, LACruiser88 said:

We are currently on the Emerald and we always bring our favorite hot sauce with us (Chalula).  Our waiter keeps it for us at his station.

Cholula hot sauce is also our favorite. I buy it in single serving pouches and bring a generous amount on board.

Thank you Cali-girl

Thanks for that info. Are you currently on board?