Rick&Jeannie

EVERY ship we've been on (admittedly we've not been on EVERY ship) has had a European style 220v plug behind the bed. I use a CPAP and just carry a couple of different styles of adapters (NOT converters!) to insert inline with whatever is plugged into the outlet. It is usually the wiring point for one or both bedside lamps. I carry an adapter that plugs into the wall (2 pin European) and has 2 additional 2 pin outlets. That way you can plug the lamp back into one socket and now you have a "spare" socket which you can use to feed a 110v adapter. No need to ask the steward for an extension cord. Did that once...never again! We were constantly tripping over it as it had to run all the way around the cabin, in front of the balcony door and then across to the desk. Of course...you could always just plug/unplug the cord every evening/morning. (HAH!) Nope...just pull the bed out about a foot and you should see the wall socket. The biggest issue for me now is trying to get the CPAP to stay in the very limited space available on the nightstand since the lamps are bolted down...RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE!

We were on the Island for the cruise just prior to the Northern Lights Cruise. They had the choir on that sailing.

Feedback on my previous post... I purchased a single $500 card from AARP for $450. Received all info via email within about 15 minutes. Forwarded the info to TA early evening and was applied to our booking the next morning with a new booking confirmation sent. Absolutely no issue, but I would still recommend to keep ALL emails for both the purchase and the TA. Call me paranoid....

USPS Informed Delivery is great! I get an email every morning with an image of the envelope/mailing that is arriving that day. It's free! https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm

This is the one I've always used...

360 sounds very much like a continuation of John Padgett's influence from his Disney years...

Yes...they had it on the Discovery and the Island within the past 4 months

This is one item that has never been disputed...whether or not port fees are refunded. They *HAVE* to refund if the port is not visited.

I wish to goodness that there was a way to share some of this information as far as TAs are concerned...but given that CruiseCritic is owned by TripAdvisor... And...I will not be surprised if even *this* post is deleted!

Nope...I keep a fairly close eye on that for my AMEX. Right now the best "deal" that I can find is on the AARP website. They are discounting Princess gift cards by 10%. In other words...you can purchase a $500 card and only pay $450. Not bad. Not sure if you have to be an AARP member or not.

There's absolutely NOTHING magic about the name that is shown on the medallion. Assuming you get your medallions in the mail prior to cruise you could scratch that name off or (maybe) paint over it with nail polish or something like that. Now, this does nothing as far as how Princess lists the name on the account...it will still pop up on their tablets as whatever shows on the booking. If it's strictly the name on the medallion that is causing concern...easy fix. If you're trying to shoot for complete wipe of the old name on passport and/or booking....I think you're in for a big hassle being "under the gun" timewise.

We have become totally and completely spoiled with Delta One after our son got us a great upgrade deal on a return flight from Paris. The only problem with being spoiled like this is (probably) the same as becoming enamored with a full suite on board...that pesky little item of having to PAY for it!

And...of course you can always just tell them "they must have gotten lost in the mail".

I think I've got about a dozen "un-opened" lanyards...we never use them. Bidding starts at $10 apiece.

Yes, they are now arriving as you say. As @PacnGoNowstated...very cheap! If you put pressure on the middle of the medallion it will pop right out.

Sorry you had to experience this. I got it just a couple of days off the Discovery after an Alaskan cruise back in August. These days you can pretty well guarantee that: 1) somebody got on the ship with Covid 2) someone brought it back from an excursion 3) a crew member has it and they have not yet caught it via they're testing regimen. (And I'm just *assuming* that this testing is still taking place for the crew. I would hope that this is not just lip service being doled out by the marketing department!)

This is what I was going to suggest... As long as the medallion has not shipped you *should* be able to do this.

The medallions I received for our Island Princess cruise about a month ago are the same size as they have been since they came out. The reason I can confidently say that is because we kept the old-style "clear plastic wafer" style of holder that was in use at the very beginning. Every cruise we've taken I swap out the previous medallion for the one for the upcoming cruise. Every one has fit. I can't speak to issues with bracelets because we've never bought/used them. We prefer the old style (especially me) because the carrier adds just enough dimension that I can find it very easily in my pants pocket where I always carry mine. Jeannie likes it basically for the same reason in her purse.

Don't get too bent out of shape as far as a boarding time. NOBODY "checks" your boarding time at the pier. This is/was just somebody's idea of a way to spread people out so that they don't all show up at 11:30 (or whenever the earliest boarding time is). I'm not advocating that you absolutely ignore this...if you *can* select a boarding time by all means do so...but don't lose any sleep over NOT being able to select.

Stanley was on the pier greeting everyone as we departed for excursions in Copenhagen...

We were able to experience our first Winemaker's Dinner on a transatlantic cruise. We were not familiar with this but the organizer of our Roll Call just happened to be doing a B2B and the TA was to be their second half. She "took names" via the roll call spreadsheet and turned in the entire list during that first leg. As far as I know, everyone got in on that dinner! They very well may have had more than one WD given it was a TA...but it sure was nice to have it pre-arranged by someone already on board. Note: This was *after* the pandemic restart...

Various people have posted in other threads that this is not the case. This "fact" has been floating around CC for a couple years now. I cannot speak from experience but whenever the topic has come up invariably someone posts to dispute this notion. Some have said that you can't open the drapes at night because it affects the bridge personnel. Others say what was said above...you can't go out on the balcony except in port. I'm only passing along what's been posted previously...but it really doesn't make a lot of sense that you cannot fully utilize a balcony that you have paid for... One *possible* exception...for any ships that might have a helipad on the front (don't know for sure if this actually applies to Princess ships or not), I personally have heard that they ask everyone to stay inside during the emergency airlift...but I may very well be thinking of a different cruise line here!

It's very possible that they oversold the "guaranty" cabins...and are now scrambling to accommodate all bookings. If they can relieve some of their "self-imposed" pressure by offering a moveover...then that's what they're going to do.

Princess is not doing very well in the "communication to the customer" department lately... You really have to keep close tabs on your bookings and such.

Each ship may very well be different...but on the 5 ships we've been on since the restart they just delivered it every evening without being asked.