wilycoyote76

Thanks for offering to answer questions.  If you have the drink package how does ncl do it out of Galveston? Did you notice if they are selling vibe passes at customer service or somewhere else on the ship on embarkation day?

21 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Do you really need the key at that point if you're skipping one of the most bang for buck perks of the key?

Fair point but it was only 35 dollars more than the internet I was already planning to get and I think I get enough value out of the other benefits.  

First time Royal cruiser and will be on Mariner of the Seas and I have both the key and the ultimate dining package. From my research I’ve heard mixed reviews on the key embarkation lunch in the dining room. It appears that Jamie’s Italian will also be open for lunch on embarkation day, would it be better to try and eat lunch there instead?

1 minute ago, Haljo1935 said:

And having stayed in a Terrazza aft for 2 weeks, I can say it goes from Ghostown during the day when it's restricted to full after 7 when it's open to all.

Thanks for confirming that it’s full at night.  My quick research also said they use that space for public events too which makes sense since it’s more wide open with no aft infinity pool like Havana and the hot tubs being more on the sides too in the terrazza than aft like Havana.

Also researching interior terraza after loving interior Havana on sister ships but don’t like the no pool in the terraza just the 2 hot tubs and they allow access to everyone after 7pm unlike Havana being exclusive at all times.

I was in room Havana interior 5225 on panorama and my room vibrated when the band was playing. It didn’t bother me because I’m not noise sensitive and I stay out late but if you’re a light sleeper and go to bed before midnight it could be an issue.  I personally loved Havana and would do it again, I got a daybed on a sea day at 2pm, you’re never doing that on the lido.

On 6/29/2023 at 4:00 PM, susantx3 said:

Anyone else successfully book with Valuetrips for a hotel room in Ft Lauderdale.  Sent in the form, followed with email and a phone call, so far nothing.  Have they gone out of business? (Also called Hotel and no reservation shown)

Yes, I made a reservation on the website 6/15 and got confirmation on 6/23.  This is my 3rd time using them. Have you checked your spam filter? The previous time I made a reservation, the confirmation went to my spam filter.

Booked my first cruise on Hal and thinking about upgrading to elite because of the 15 total drink limit on the sbp.  I drink a lot of bottled water, sodas etc and dont want to think about how close I am to 15 total drinks. If they just did the 15 alcoholic drink cap other Carnival owned lines did I wouldn’t think about upgrading.

I will check the other links posted earlier in this thread to see if you can still upgrade to elite from the sbp in the HIA for 10 dollars a day plus service fee on embarkation day.

Just now, memoak said:

We were able to get Grey Goose on plus package last year

I assume you mean regular Grey Goose, I’m talking about the flavored ones.

Just off the Ruby and there are spirits that were premier that are now included in the plus package since the plus allowance went to 15. The grey goose essences are an example and they are still listed at 14. 
 

I do wonder if there will be a correction to bump those up to above 15 to make them premier only again.  All of the drinks that were plus before are still plus now and that was the main concern people had about the new packages.

22 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I guess the 25 bucks gets you a couple of drinks to tide over until they are free.  I wonder if those two count towards the 15 max (just kidding).

Funny enough the Princess t&c on the website implies that 15 is not a hard cap, it’s at management discretion and you might be able to purchase drinks after you hit the 15 but haven’t seen any confirmation anyone has done this.  I know on the Carnival ships 15 is a hard cap.

They’re still doing it since I have it for my upcoming 3/5 cruise, it’s called a voyage goodwill credit. I actually thought it was a gift from my big box travel agent since it was not communicated anywhere but saw some videos and Facebook posts confirming what the other posters in this thread are saying.

17 minutes ago, memoak said:

Buffalo Trace is a very common bourbon here in PNW. It is usually my go to under the plus package. My go to at home is Elijah Craig but I have never seen it on cruises 

My last carnival cruise on Panorama in December ‘21 they had EC small batch.  Don’t want to derail the thread too much since this is about Princess but their selection was surprisingly good, not sure that is still true with the supply chain issues and demand.

7 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

Last year, we were able to buy several bottles of it in the shops onboard, so I know what you mean.  It came to about $60 a bottle when we purchased it but if you can find it for under $100, I’d still say that was a great deal.  Trouble is finding it … what an extremely great marketing campaign they have with limiting the supply and the horses all having a separate letter. We e looked in many of the ports for it as well … it’s just nowhere to be found.  

Thanks to you and havedogwilltravel for posting about the new drink menus, getting on Ruby this Sunday.  The bourbon prices are crazy,  I saw Blanton’s at the Fort Lauderdale airport duty free shops last December coming back from Celebrity Beyond and they had plenty of bottles… for $139 a piece. On Beyond they had Buffalo Trace and Eagle10 and that was exciting for people since they’re getting hard to find.

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Our cruise from Galveston in in 35 days. We are both Green, all documents are there apparently. However, there is no QR code or anything else resembling a boarding pass on the app. I have already printed off our Travel Summary from Princess.com and I will be sure to have that in my hand when I show for check in.

 

Remember when things were so much simpler....like before all these apps made life "so much easier and convenient" for us?😒

 

 Doug

I’m also sailing from Galveston in 21 days and I had to select my boarding group and you will then see your QR code in the app. I agree it’s confusing because it looked like I was set but I hadn’t chosen an arrival group and it didn’t seem to prompt me to do that, I had to dig around in the app to find it.

Following this as well, going on Ruby Princess in a month. Want confirmation but it sounds like Carnival and Princess are doing it differently even though they have the same parent company. Carnival doesn’t charge you for cheers on embark day so I assume you’re paying for any drinks alcoholic or otherwise until day 2. It sounds like Princess offers a limited menu until you hit international waters. I’m paying for the package for all 7 days on Princess so that would make more sense. If that’s wrong please confirm otherwise.

11 minutes ago, conandrob240 said:

We are sailing on Valiant Lady with “a bit” over half. Service is impeccable at all restaurants. A few nights we waited maybe 10-15 to get seated (short line) Other than the pool at 2pm on a sea day, nothing feels crowded. I never saw the Galley very crowded and there are tons of servers/ staff up there.

Thanks for reassurance that the overall experience is good.

On 12/11/2022 at 9:42 AM, _tacocat_ said:

This sailing had 2,200 and the galley was kind of a disaster at times.  We opted to do a lot of the ready made/counter options in there vs waiting to be served.  Not the end of the world.

For you and op as well was the overall service in the dining rooms/activities/feel with that many people on board acceptable in your opinion? I saw a YouTube video of a guy on the same sailing that said the ship was broken with that many people on board. I’m not getting that same impression from you or op, just wanted to confirm. I’m thinking about going on the same sailing this December.

1 minute ago, cw2go said:

Thank you!

 

My DH who is a boring meat and potatoes guy say's "Let's Just Roll With It" 

 

Patty

No problem, they did have a filet on my menu and I’m sure you can get the fancy sauce on the side. The atmosphere is quieter and there are 2 sets of doors so you feel separated from the rest of the ship.

1 hour ago, cw2go said:

 

I decided to book because I really want to enjoy new experiences... But this one might be too "interesting" 

Not real familiar with french dining. 

 

The food isn’t really french, it’s a mix. My amuse last week on my cruise was a middle eastern dip. I had a peanut shrimp appetizer with a thai green curry sauce and had a lobster risotto for my main. I enjoyed it and thought it was worth it. I booked the standard 3 course meal but they let me order 2 apps so I had the amuse, 2 apps, main, dessert and they also brought petit fours and a little basket of beignets with dessert.

Forgot they also give you a complimentary glass of champagne. They gave me vueve yellow label but I saw some other guests got Moët.

On 10/25/2022 at 12:26 AM, dreamer321 said:

I'm also planning on eating in Le Grand Bistro for lunch on embarkation day. The offer Pan seared Dover Sole, with lemon butter caper sauce, and boiled butter potatoes for $30+ for their Plat du Jour. I'm going to start with escargot and lobster bisque. The lunch is a little pricey but  I figure it's worth it to avoid the embarkation crowds in Oceanview Café and I really like fine fish.

I hope it’s open for your sailing, I had the same plan last week for my Beyond cruise and it was not open for lunch day 1 even though it was listed in the app pre-cruise. When I got on board it was no longer listed as being open for lunch day 1, raw on 5 was the only specialty restaurant that was open for lunch that was available for me. I did try it for lunch on one of the sea days and it was very good.

Just got off Celebrity Beyond and had a wonderful time. First time in Celebrity after doing just Carnival and @kwokpot was right about the food being incredible.

Booked a half cabana for my first sea day and they are first come first serve. There are 4 of them and 1 and 2 are located by the elephant sculpture and 9 and 10 are close to the mast grill.  I was in cabana 1 but I noticed cabana 2 has a partially obstructed view that is blocked by a full sized towel rack. Cabana 10’s view is also partially blocked by a half sized towel rack and is missing the full L-shaped seating, it’s only a bench.  This seems like an unfortunate byproduct of turning the cabanas towards the pool rather than the ocean on previous E-Class ships.  It does not apply to the full size cabanas I only noticed it with the half cabanas but 2 of the 4 half sized cabanas have obstructed views which I’m sure will be upsetting for some people if the view of the pool is important.  My advice is to get there early for your pick or see about getting more people to get a full size cabana.

5 hours ago, gizmodog said:

Didn’t even know there was a magic carpet dinner. Must not be too popular. What is the cost?

It’s listed at the regular price of 129 + gratuity for my upcoming Beyond cruise. With the 7% pre-cruise discount it’s about 140 with the gratuity.

Has anyone tried it? It was hard to find any reviews about it like the other specialty restaurants. I saw one of the cruise YouTubers I watch had a screenshot of the menu but didn’t try it because of the price.

Good review, I’m sailing Beyond the week after Thanksgiving, my first non Carnival cruise. Also thanks for confirming that the bourbon selection is pretty weak, its surprising to me that’s one area Carnival seems to be better than Royal/Celebrity.