snoozecrooze

(My responses above are in italics) Any other stark differences? Well, to start off with, the Royal is simply a larger vessel so things will seem smaller on the Crown (like the Piazza and the buffet -- all of which you'll experience quite a size reduction). But since you've already been on the Ruby, you should actually be comparing your time onboard Ruby to what you've researched about Crown for a more analogous comparison. Differences between these two vessels are basically that: - I believe Crown does not have the Good Spirits bar - And the shore excursions and Captain's Circle desks swap spots between the Ruby and Crown And that's basically about it!

Just another peculiar notification, courtesy of the app.

I don't have any proof right now but precedent and my gut instinct tells me Star and Sun will be doing exactly what you have said you don't want them to do: slotted together in Port Everglades. Royal and Regal were paired together for those few years when they were the only two Royal-class 'crown jewels' around. Port Everglades is also Princess's home more than anything else and they would largely be unrivalled in having the largest ships regularly homeported there (not including the Oasis-class). However, I will say something about Port Canaveral. Often times, their travel agent seminars include a lot of "reading between the lines" hints and I think they will treat Canaveral just like Galveston, as long as demand is healthy. By that I mean, as we all know, they'll be bringing in Regal to Galveston (some initial port schedules shows this continuing until at least 2026-2027) following Princess's return to the port with Ruby this past season, and when discussing Galveston, they had the same implications that they've been teasing with Canaveral -- if they feel they can sustain the momentum they want to build, then I can easily see at least a Royal-class ship going there. The introduction of Majestic Princess to Florida beginning in 2025 for a taster seems to be a strong harbinger of what may be to come.

Hey @Rick&Jeannie! Thanks for starting this unintentional impromptu live thread for all of us to collectively vent and bond about our experience that we can all share onboard Sky! It was a cruise filled with some dashed hopes but still many beautiful memories, and I fully agreed with your perspective on not holding any of the challenges against anybody. You're so right that this gives us another wonderful reason to come right back. Hope you have an amazing rest of your sea day and have a safe trip home!

I can definitely tell you that you won't be embarking via tender. There may have just been a miscommunication somewhere. I also can't remember how strict Seattle is with their groups but other ports I've embarked from have hardly checked the app at all, so YMMV. I'd just get there early for peace of mind and then ...go with the flow? I know that sounds totally counterintuitive but that's what keeps me calm on the first day.

No sports bar onboard, and no place to just watch only sports, unfortunately (unless you stand around in the casino watching some of the TVs lol). It could be in the Vista Lounge or on MUTS if the cruise entertainment staff deem it significant enough (you can look through the app's JourneyView at this time for your cruise). Sport24 is also an available channel on your stateroom TV, which covers the biggest sports events.

Possible? Yes. A bit more unlikely though, considering that the ship and its designated 7-day itinerary is meant for families. You will definitely still have many opportunities to relax, like getting into the empty dining room for reading, using The Catch by Rudi's unused dining area during the day, or lounging in the couch area behind the back glass windows of the buffet. These are some niche areas I listed. But crowding is very likely and you may have to strategize for some of your other favorite spots. I'd suggest considering the following alternatives in addition to the Discovery: the Crown out of SF this fall if you have the time, or even the Celebrity Eclipse from LA.

Max Anthony Poor dude ended up having to be stuck in Isafjordur for at least three days after we arrived, according to the ED on the Wake Show, due to flight cancelations from the storm.

...do they happen to be ParoDeeJay? 😊😊 so excited they're finally traveling across the pond this summer! Please have tons of fun! The itinerary is one of my favorites even though there's barely any time to catch your breath, and I hope the Regal also treats you well. Looking forward to reading the rest and welcome to your first Princess cruise!

You can request bathrobes in your cruise personalizer (...or maybe I'm getting it messed up with the app, but you should be able to indicate your request on both?). Even if it doesn't show up, your steward will be happy to accommodate. And also, you will not have to give your card for a towel or blanket (like on some other lines); you can feel free to grab as many as you think you'll need on the first night before most people know about it or think of the idea and then you'll have them ready on a chilly morning on the balcony, for example.

Oh dear, not 2014 being considered "old" 🤯🤯🤯. What does that make us?! She is a lovely vessel. Go, book, and have all the fun.

Adding the current list of officers from the May 13 sailing to put some faces to the names. For the CD, Paul Chandler-Burns is leaving after this sailing. Dan France takes over on the 27th. Paul will be headed to the Enchanted "from late-July onwards". Other tidbits: Former CD-now-ED Matt Barnard is quite hands-on in administrative work (lots of PAs/tannoys) and pretty visible so if you're a fan of his, you'll still hear him lots. Andra Fusca (Loyalty - position formerly known as former Captain's Circle Host) described herself as relatively new to the position and the industry, so it seems like that this particular "new staff" situation for the position previously addressed in a separate post in this forum is rolling out quickly. From my POV, she seems very kind and eager to learn so I hope people give her grace as she grows into the role.

I read the letter again and I can see how it may be interpreted that way, but I think that section was meant to imply that the FCC "could also" be used on the following [x, y, z], etc.

In the rockiest of conditions, the ship has been sort of wibbly wobbly and you might lose your balance if you're not paying attention or perhaps doing some line dancing, but all in all, it's not that bad; I have found the Royal-class to handle rough seas well. Still bring your tablets because you'll never know how you will feel once you're here. Norway was great for us (may change for you once you're on your cruise) but it's obviously the waters around Iceland that have been the most cumbersome for this cruise, and particularly the wind chill outside.

Can confirm. Our steward went to great lengths to retrieve a box for us and it's made us feel terrible for them. Reykjavik was definitely one of the ports we needed to replenish some supplies and now we won't have those things lol. The Wake Show had the ED on and he talked a bit about how not hitting Reykjavik has been quite a snag on his end as well.

Right, which is also where my mind went to when I first read it, but that hasn't been the case for me in my 7-day jaunts (still got 3 shows). Perhaps this is a ship-specific situation, but regardless, it's a bit appalling that a comment like that was even made and OP is rightfully confused and unhappy that, as a first time cruiser, this is the impression they were being presented. Hopefully things turn out for the better.

I'll be honest, this statement you were told by an officer, and the reinforcement of this, really confuses me. We've done the usual 7-day jaunts that Princess does and by no means did we feel entertainment offerings were being sacrificed compared to what we've had on longer itineraries, especially on the larger Royal-class vessels (which would be a more appropriate 1:1 comparison to the Bliss). I'm curious to know what specific plans you were looking forward to that were advertised but are essentially not happening?

Very unfortunate experience you're having 😞 I can understand not coming back to Princess if your time doesn't improve. Seems to be a bit unlucky that you've just run into those annoying persistent staffing and/or training inconsistencies across the industry that Princess has certainly not been immune from. I hope you can continue being flexible about the remainder of your cruise and also that things do turn around for you soon, regardless.

is it? I believe it's already been pretty well established we're skipping it.

I'm not the tagged poster but I can speak on this. It was Billy Kidd. She said she hadn't really done cruise shows before and well, it kind of showed, though one also wonders if she'd done any show before. Which I feel bad about, considering I have seen her other work before on other programs, but this felt like such an anomaly. It was just sort of a cringe-fest.

Adding onto the above answer, they used to just call people up by their ticket numbers but lately they're doing fun names nowadays, so like your tickets might be named after cities or animals, etc. Whatever the case may be, you and your party have to assemble together as a group because they take that seriously (from my experience). You'll also have to wait in a public area because you won't be able to hear the announcements for your group otherwise and well, you'll want to make your directed pontoon on time. You will get instructions on your nightly paper newsletter from the night before your tender day, and don't be afraid to ask guest services for a rundown if anything still worries you about the process.

I was debating whether or not to start a Live thread last night to discuss what has transpired onboard but decided my head was spinning enough lol - first, two days ago, Seydisfjordur was announced because Akureyri would be pushed back while Isafjordur would be canceled - then, Grundarfjordur and Reykjavik was announced as canceled to the shock of a silenced ship last night after another shocker of a magic show in the theater (a whole another story), so then Isafjordur was revived once again - and then Akureyri knocked off this morning at 8AM It's really quite sad and unfortunate, especially since the trip is like a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us, but...I don't really fault the captain at the end of the day. The weather has been petulant and forecasts do show the western side of Iceland will be slammed, as Captain Fortezze has said. And those in my traveling group made it out to the open deck this morning shortly after the captain's announcement and the winds were definitely howling -- it's easy to understand why docking was canceled. Still, you wonder what could have been had this low front just not decided to whip itself into a frenzy. Alas. But we're still on a cruise in a majestic region of the world! Beats cubicle life any day and the scenery has been wonderful regardless.

Do some research on YouTube. There's a series done by someone who goes by the name "LeggLife" who went on the Royal Princess from Vancouver to Anchorage last year and I thought it was a nice vlog series done from the perspective of a first-time Princess cruiser (they were veteran Disney cruisers); it's fun to see a cruise line you know so well viewed from a first-timer's once in a while. Keep an open mind, I'd say. The Royal Princess is from 2013 so it's not the new girl on the block anymore like she was when she first debuted but it still has all of the Princess hits and the ship is still full of life. Don't expect the same vibes you had on the other lines; instead, go with the flow and form new ones.

She's got some new itineraries coming. Check this new press release just out: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-debuts-first-ever-summer-colonial-heritage-voyages-featuring-yorktown-va-plus-new-departures-from-boston-as-part-of-expanded-2024-canada--new-england-season-301826935.html

Yes, you can bring along a non-Elite/Plat guest with you. It's just a party of niceties, small talk, and some "insider info"/"feeling special" vibes, especially for the first few times... but you're not really gonna get any actual insider info most of the time unless your captain is more forthcoming.