snoozecrooze

I watched the press conference (someone livestreamed it on YouTube) and this was another hint they were dropping, especially if numbers turned out healthy. And there is past precedent - Galveston getting Regal after Ruby just recently revived their presence in the port.

I have to admit I am a bit relieved, having seen the speculation grow stronger that Caribbean would be shuffled out to sister line P&O Australia. She's old, but she's really not that old, so it's nice to see Princess make an actual fresh expansion for once. Really reminds me of that hint that one of the execs was dropping in one of Princess's travel agent seminars a few weeks back about its future Caribbean schedules.

Definitely not a fan. First, I guess I should've seen this coming, considering the rebrand of that whole "Future Cruise"/"Captain's Circle" area on the newly drydocked ships to "GO Princess" -- seemed a bit tacky, but sure. But I've had to use their assistance and ask them questions before for myself and/or parents, and you could see the passion in those who have worked their way up to that position. Those who have been there for the long haul know exactly what you're talking about when you have something very specific to address. Some of them have truly been gems to work with. Now, with them being shuffled out means years of institutional experience and rapport going right out the window. Penny pinchers win again!

Hello, welcome! All interior cabins for Ruby Princess that can accommodate 3-4 people will have upper pullman beds that your room steward will fold down from the side of the wall. Whichever bed that will be used will be right on top of one of the twin beds against either wall. Stewards can try to make a queen bed for the two passengers who will not be using the pullman but I've been told the usual policy is to separate into twins for safety reasons (and also ease of use, honestly). The steward will usually fold the pullman bed back up in the morning service and then fold it back down during the second service later in the day but you can let them know if you don't want that. Just let them know anything you may need.

Thanks for sharing with us. I did see earlier in the week that Discovery did have Starlink but really appreciate your first-hand experience. Please come back and update us if things change in the midst of your cruise (like if things just conk out suddenly,...which seems to have been a common theme on the older system). Really curious as well about how it's continued to be sustained while in Alaska. Hope you're having a good cruise! I think it would be boneheaded to do this because it would direct a lot more ire at Princess, especially in such a tech-forward era, but pessimistically, I can see this happen if the powers that be at Princess want to create more cash-grabbing opportunities. Pretty sure all the cruise lines are throttling to an extent.

Potentially; I can't be sure of the bookings. But it's also because of whether or not the ship has any newer (or malfunctioning) technology by the time you sail or not, etc. Lots of varying factors or just luck of the draw.

It wasn't bad this prior winter. Totally usable. But your question should probably be a bit more Emerald-specific rather than just being one that's just route-specific.

Normally, the answers to your questions would be that yes, you do pay for the Sanctuary and as referenced from the thread's original premise, reservations are mandatory as spots are highly sought after. But Majestic Princess does not have a Sanctuary. It has what's called the Hollywood Conservatory and it's open to all passengers without charge. It's a completely different layout from the Sanctuary and doesn't have any "private service" like seen in the Sanctuary.

Indeed; thanks for the webcam link!

Yep, also agreed with all of these, although I think there's a chance Island could be positioned to do something even more unique (like being in Reykjavik or in Boston...we'll see, I'm just putting it out there lol). Emerald has been spotted in a few port listings here and there as well. We also can't forget that Sun's new sister is still scheduled to come out in spring 2025, so this will all be a huge jolt in capacity. My opinion is that if Princess is really committed to broadening its European network, then stationing a ship in the Adriatic/Aegean area for a full summer season should at least be one of their priorities and I think this can finally happen in 2025, given the chokehold that Royal and Celebrity currently have in the area.

Thanks for jogging my memory because I remember seeing this plush frequently but just couldn't remember the name! Great review; thanks for coming back to share with us all. I don't mind anyone who just shares an assortment of bullet points from their trip and I'm glad you enjoyed your 80s throwback! Hoping to read more from your future adventures!

If it's not too personal, I'm curious to hear what the lie entailed. Unless the issue is serious enough, I feel like Armando probably isn't going to go anywhere because cruise entertainment staff (with experience) has taken a beating from the pandemic. This is totally shocking and really sad. I'm going to chalk it up to faulty management and rushed/lack of proper training. Was on Royal at the beginning of the year and that was not our experience in the least but I mean...it's Princess and it's 2023, so I guess I shouldn't be shocked, ya know? Hope you have a good Alaska cruise if you do come back!

Yep, Princess will never ditch The Love Boat. It's sort of like asking United Airlines to ditch Rhapsody in Blue. It's just a unique thing they have for nostalgic and branding reasons and to throw away all of that after decades of association and capital they've dedicated to the connection wouldn't be wise. But the criticism that Princess could be more creative or meaningful with their Love Boat association is legitimate. The slogan/hashtag "I Love This Boat" / #ILoveThisBoat is generic enough that it covers a lot of bases if someone says it, but is now "connected" to Princess, it's trying to appeal to millennials/Gen Z, and still conjures up the Love Boat connection. But at the end of the day, it's still really vague and soulless, and in my mind, ironically less romantic than their "Escape Completely" or "Come Back New" eras.

Every ship can have propulsion issues; they're something passengers like us certainly can't anticipate. I don't think Crown has been demonstrating those issues recently after the dry dock last year, based on some recent reports, so I wouldn't make that the "make it or break it" factor in your consideration at this moment.

Also a bit of a new corny name for the Captain's Circle and Future Cruise desks on deck 7 ("GO Princess"). Other than the aforementioned changes, the deck plan also doesn't seem to indicate any possible new structural changes (such as enclosing Sabatini's) or anything similar. We'll just have to wait and see.

I have somewhat of a niche contribution. Are you a frequent buffet eater or even just buffet visitor? If so, the Emerald is by far the better vessel. It has the new buffet design only seen on this class of ship on Emerald and Caribbean. A much more modern layout and a considerably larger variety of seating options. Personally, I do prefer the newer World Fresh Marketplace buffet concept compared to the existing Horizon Court concept so I would just go for the Emerald. Otherwise, there aren't many other distinguishing features between the two.

Thanks @Coral for generously sharing the info with us once again!

I'm opening this thread so that any gracious posters who have access to the itinerary reference files, etc. can share if they would like to (please!). Princess has posted information on one of their travel advisor Facebook pages recently about the deployment release and I've attached the following information: My comments: - It's a nice surprise to actually see Coral come back to her home. - Also quite interesting that the usual 10-day partial transits will become 12-days and Caribbean is not one of the ships, so we still don't know what she'll exactly be doing! - The trips to NY gives some hints as to how the Canada/New England 2025 season may or may not shape up.

There was a feasible chance Princess could have given John Chernesky a type of brand ambassador role, not unlike John Heald or HAL's Seth Wayne. But after Seth Wayne was unceremoniously sacked (done quite tastelessly IMO) and Chernesky never appeared again after being "promoted" to his vague VP emeritus role, I felt like that was the end of the road for him because corporate was clearly trying to cut its losses (and thus his LinkedIn actually demonstrates that). Glad for him that he has a new job now with his decades of experience and I wish him well.

My guesses have also been Star or Sea. Princess is clearly trying to recycle its vintage names for nostalgic reasons and that's fine. As for home port ideas, if she doesn't get delayed, then I'm pretty sure she'll have a European summer. I've seen that Sun will be in the Med again for summer 2025 so I'm making the prediction Star/Sea will be homeported in Southampton for the summer, not unlike what P&O's Iona has been doing. Competition and demand are both rising from there, so it seems fitting. And then I'm guessing it will join Sun in Port Everglades and they'll become the sister duo cruising to the Caribbean, just like what Royal and Regal did for many years.

Hello and welcome! Dave has been with Celebrity for several years now. He's there with his wife, Angela (another fellow cruise director and Princess alum who is now with Celebrity). He's usually the Activities Director, which is a slightly different role from the Cruise Director onboard their ships. If you want to share further feedback, I recommend you posting it on the Celebrity Cruises forum instead.

Because the 14-day is not broken into any segments, it will just be that one contest.

I don't want to detract from the entire wonderful thread here, but I did want to ask @Honolulu Blue how your 80s cruise is doing! Have you had fair winds and calm seas? Is it Captain Mario now? Hoping everything has gone off without a hitch on the Ruby and that you've had a good cruise!

TO UPDATE THIS LIST: DO NOT push the "Quote" button. It creates a copy that the next person cannot properly update. DO select and copy ALL of the text (including the instructions and the list) up to COPY TO THIS LINE . . . from the most up-to-date list (the most recent reply with the list).  Go to the bottom of the latest post, to the "Reply to this Topic..." box to create a new post. Paste your copied text into that box. Make your modifications to the list. Add change notes at the bottom. Click the "Submit Reply" button just below the list you are modifying. Confirm that everything is correct! You can edit for up to 20 minutes. SHIP CAPTAIN CRUISE DIRECTOR ENTERTAINMENT DIRECTOR DIR, RESTAURANT OP's CARIBBEAN Vincenzo Lubrano Fernando Cunha Robert Boyd George Drugan CORAL Diego Perra Kelvin Joy Joachim Rothe CROWN Tony Ruggero Olivia Guthrie Michael Kujawski Mariusz Czemarmazowicz DIAMOND Stefano Ravera Sophie Gideon Mikiko Ikemoto Samantha McDonough Silvio Zampieri DISCOVERY Craig Street DuVaul Gamble Matt Thompson Catalin Ionel EMERALD Martin Stenzel David Frost Geof O'Rourke Enache Popescue ENCHANTED Nick Nash Gary Golding Duke Christopher Francisco Patricio GRAND Christopher B. Lye Jayson Douglass Callie Smit Giuseppe Francina ISLAND Paul Slight Andi Sanders Daniele Rosafio MAJESTIC Tony Draper Kristoff Greyling Marissa Wurms Douw Steyl REGAL Aldo Traverso Allie Ambriano Martyn Moss Nicola Furlan ROYAL Andrea Spinardi Armando Merin Ruth Sandell Claudio Giuliani RUBY Michael Reitano Tim Donovan Jacques Ghennai SAPPHIRE Paolo Ravera Osman Lazo Ben Powney Francesco Ciorfito SKY Marco Fortezze Paul Chandler-Burns Madison Adams Ciprian Hoidreag Changes made: - Ruby: Captain? Steven Lewis has reportedly left. Is it Mario Tani again? - Emerald: ED Lauren Meyer has left. Geof O'Rourke is, I believe, new to Princess and should be the one who's joined since he was being "trained" by Lauren before she departed. - Island: Removed Mark Gillespie - he was supposed to have left mid-March. Updates from the WC? - Coral: is the CD Karen Rogers? Anybody know? Future moves: Caribbean - CD Jody Miles returns for the April 22 voyage. Discovery - Captain John Smith reportedly returns in May. Regal - CD Aaron Hawkins (possibly?) joining when ship is in the UK. Royal - CD Corinne Steel returns for the April 16 voyage. Sapphire - DRO Mario Propato reportedly plans to return "in a few months" (reported February 2023) Sky - CD Matt Barnard reportedly returns in May.

It's the whole old Horizon Court set-up that just has to go, though I'm surprised Grand was outfitted with the sinks for quite some time. The problem is really with compliance as well. No one feels like they need to wash their hands so they don't and crew are essentially powerless, that is, if they even have someone staffed by the sinks.