Rick&Jeannie

To the OP @Greytgrey...remember what I said back in Post #2? 😄

I made a few posts regarding our experience at The Catch. It was great! Starting at post #7: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2942454-enchanted-princess-new-dining-venues/#comment-65544967

Yes, we did this one last year. DW and I both agree that it was one of our top 5 cruises ever. Berlin was probably our favorite excursion. We *almost* did not take it because of the long (3 hr one way) train ride...but it wasn't bad and you really get to see the German countryside. I highly recommend it! Here is the "Live From..." thread I did: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2884490-live-island-princess-oktoberfest-cruise-sept-27-oct-7/

I do the same thing. I can't remember names!

Yep! But after we booked our traveling friends booked as well, but not via the group, and not Reserve so we'll likely be foregoing much of the group activities. Oh well...

I don't blame you! 😄

We are not big drinkers...but we prefer to book the Plus package mainly because it bundles the things that we would be doing anyway. We will generally not drink much at all if we are "paying as we go" but since it's included we will branch out and experiment a bit with drinks that we've never tried. I will ALWAYS go for the internet...we're going to do the gratuities and that pretty much covers it for us.

Food is ALWAYS very subjective...so you really can't say that anybody is "right or wrong". We have not sailed since the big hoopla over the casual dining charges...but will be in 2 days. In our experience though, we have very much enjoyed Alfredo's (on the ships that have one) and have usually eaten there 2 or 3 times for a 7 day cruise. We like it. I'm sorry your experience was not great for you. I *hope* that is not what is to be expected now with all of the changes that Princess has roiled out.

First of all...be prepared for a firestorm! This is one of those topics that absolutely get people riled up. We pay the gratuities as part of our cruise fare and then (almost always) pay our room steward an extra (nice) tip at the end of the cruise (assuming he/she did a good job.) We can't possibly support (directly) all of the people who work in the background...so we just trust Princess to "do the right thing" with the tip pool. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. (I hope they do.) But yes, the tips are supposedly pooled fleetwide. (I don't know the detail of how that works.)

While not the same scenario as the OP asked (Puerto Rice), earlier this year on a partial Panama Canal transit we di a river raft excursion in Jamaica. I was VERY surprised that we had no issues at all with insects.

Perhaps this will "put this topic to bed"! This is directly from the WhatsApp website: Problems connecting to WhatsApp If you can’t connect to WhatsApp, it’s usually because your device isn’t connected to the internet. To ensure you have a working internet connection, follow these steps: Make sure you have a data plan on your mobile provider’s network, or a Wi-Fi connection with internet access. Make sure that the signal strength of the Wi-Fi or data network is good and the device is connected to the network. Open a webpage in your device browser to see if it loads. If it does, your device is connected to the internet. Reboot your device.

With our "one and only" experience with Club Class (it was still named that at the time) we experienced what we considered to be much better than normal service and attention in the MDR (in the section set aside for this.) This was on the Sky last year. We have another booking leaving in 2 days on Caribbean Princess and we will be doing Reserve Class for this one.

WhatsApp depends on access to its main servers to facilitate its functions. It does not have the capability to make a "direct call" to a device on local wifi.

You should look into purchasing a pair of FCD while on board. (Future Cruise Deposit) Don't waste your cruise time investigating a future cruise (UNLESS they just *happen* to offer you some kind of a GREAT DEAL.) One FCD (you need 2 if travelling as a couple) is $100 and serves as a cruise deposit even if that particular cruise's deposit is normally more. You *also* get $100 OBC. It is good for one calendar year, and if by some chance you do not use it by its expiration date it is refunded back to your original form of payment. So...you actually *gain* (the OBC) when you use FCD to book a cruise.

You could have had bragging rights with the group had you just played "The Great Carnac"! 😄

You'll likely get many opinions on this...but the only one that counts is the one from Princess. Call or chat ASAP

I was going to state that...but they seemed *certain* that they had done so!

But the medallion app does not have an interface to such antiquated technology... 😄

WhatsApp requires the internet.