snoozecrooze

Yes, I believe folks recently onboard Ruby were able to confirm this. It'll probably be done in Portland. Don't have your hopes up for any significant "refurbishment", however.

It's so negligent of them to sell itinerary after itinerary with San Juan del Sur on it when they know they're not actually going to go back. Anyways, we got Puerto Vallarta as a replacement and then a sea day took the spot of SJDS, I believe. This cruise was in December and itinerary was without Cabo.

Of all of the changes we were asking for or expecting, I sure wasn't expecting this. I found this posted on social media about a day ago from the ship in the Palermo shipyard. It's a small change, I know, and won't affect the actual cruising experience onboard. But I'm still going to firmly say that I definitely do not love this! I'm hoping someone on the April 15 sailing can actually confirm if what I'm seeing is really happening. I know it's their tag line from their current ongoing marketing campaign (as referenced below) but to be painted on the hull like that just looks so goofy. A bit like low-cost airline airplane liveries.

Caribbean itineraries come out on April 19 for non-Elite folks. Check out the sailings posted below in the dedicated Caribbean thread: No word on Panama Canal or West Coast yet.

I can't speak to the degree to which the whole competition is set up or not, because I've never done the thing and never will lol, so you could either tell your daughter to treat it casually like so, or don't inform her of it at all so that she can feel like she's just in the zone. What I will say is on the final day in which everything is done live in the theater, most of the time the winner really is the one that has either gotten the crowd going, put them in a 'feel-good' mood, or simply transfixed them through the power of their voice (there is an undeniable amount of winners who simply sing "You Raise Me Up" - sorry, not sorry to the spoiler alert for those out there). So then the whole show appears to finish with a good atmosphere. But on my most recent cruise, the vibe was actually the complete opposite; the theater almost quite literally uttered a gasp when one of the judges didn't choose who most all thought was a total shoo-in for the winner (this is before the audience gets to vote) and I overheard many comments reflecting this poor sentiment well into the rest of the night. So, all of this is just to say, from my perspective, I still think you should give an earnest performance that reflects what you would really want to show, because I'd rather give a show that I want to leave feeling good about instead of forcing something I'm entirely uncomfortable doing to "coerce" the crowd (considering your "opponents" would have similar ideas anyways). But just don't get overly personally invested in the result because I would hate for that to affect your daughter's cruise if it might; in the end, it's still all for fun. I hope all of this made sense lol.

My gut tells me yes. It's really random but there's a Regal listing in the Grand Cayman schedule for October 2025 that corresponds directly with the date in which it appears on the Fall 2024 transatlantic sailing from Southampton to Galveston. So for now, that's my instinct. I think summer 2025 could actually be quite a large soup of ship swaps with the introduction of Sun's sister, but Regal will probably still do the British Isles.

I loved the rant because I've thought the same exact thing too. It's shocking to me how banal the itineraries are for Regal. It's clear Carnival Corp is trying to position Princess to be more family-oriented than a Celebrity or HAL but what young family would also choose Regal Princess over Harmony of the Seas? The only reason with which I can justify their itinerary choices is to galvanize the aged-out Carnival/Royal cruisers to try something new with Princess, hopefully get them to like the brand, and then they'll be lured to check out the rest of their offering from Florida, etc. Hopefully it works out well for them. But I still don't know why they couldn't add a different port in a 7-day, like you've said. I know they're also trying to make this #LovePrincess slogan a thing to galvanize the brand's "romantic aura", but it's....not happening. Frankly, the marketing campaign (or lack thereof) is so vague and uninspiring. After the Real Love Boat flop, it's clear their creative juices are empty. When MSC comes and eventually plows through Galveston, Galveston would have to become a loss leader for a comparably niche brand like Princess, wouldn't it? (as if it isn't probably already with the solo supplement dropped this year for Ruby) Also peculiar to me is the choice for Carnival Corp to give the interesting itineraries from Galveston to Carnival Miracle for Journeys cruises. You would think Princess would be the go-to but I mean...obviously they've done all the market research from years of operating from Galveston, so they know better than we do, but still. Hmph.

Yes, every cabin, including inside cabins.

Courtesy of live report here: Additional notes shared: Captain Steven Lewis will be leaving on April 9.

I think we can guarantee Discovery will be in LA at that time. It might do a Hawaii trip or two. Here's what's unaccounted so far: - Ruby (most likely stationed in SF) - Emerald (most likely Panama Canal) - Caribbean (most likely Panama Canal partial) - Coral (unaccounted for after fall 2024 dry dock; will probably be in Asia until returning to Aus in mid-2025) - Sapphire (I'm guessing she will continue to do South America/Antarctica, but there can be some Hawaii/South Pacific sailings from LA before she goes there) - Majestic (between the conclusion of her Alaska season and her first Caribbean sailing in January, I'm guessing she will likely spend some time in LA as well before circumnavigating South America) - Grand (this leads me to deduce that Grand will be the main second LA ship) In my mind, I could feasibly see Grand, Sapphire, and Coral all being interchangeable in my head right now in terms of port combinations.

Yeah that's fair. Basically that and/or adding capacity to an existing homeport in their network. Can't expect too much out of Princess for the time being given CCL Corp is still in a world of debt right now.

If anyone wants to sit through today's replay for an overview of the live FB presentation from Princess's VP of Sales (Carmen Roig) about the new deployments (Caribbean & Australia/NZ), the link is here. Skip forward to 7:15ish for the beginning of Caribbean overview. 14:47 for beginning of Caribbean deployment ship-specific discussion (I thought it was interesting the man said "for the time being, we still have 2 homeports" -- very peculiar; if you read between the lines, they were really trying to spill a few hints there for a potential future expansion). 16:15 for Sun from Port Everglades (no mention of what those few days that Sun arrives early in October are for) 23:30 for Enchanted's 10-day route 25:25 for 14-day Circle Caribbean 26:47 for Galveston Skip to 28:15 for the beginning of Australia/NZ overview (the guy they invited to present this part was recently poached from Royal Caribbean -- he's only been at Princess for 3 weeks) 41:38 for transpacific Opening dates for booking:

Do you hear yourself?? The deployment gods are looking down on you right now! I swear it is your calling. And good call on the choices you would've made; this would've been a great alteration to your ill-fated itinerary.

@talkorpi I know you said to not apologize for anything since I'm here at my home just reading your thing but I feel like I have to apologize anyways to you for having such an unfortunate first-time Princess experience (not their fault, I know). It's honestly tragic how bad the weather has been for y'all to be snuffed out of two ports! I'm sending you and your mom all of the good vibes (and to just calmly avoid the spirits of those around you who've been....y'know, less than pleasant). Already hoping you get to sail on another cruise soon, one that will hopefully be seamless and "pain-free". You deserve one!

Well, you've come to the Princess board so I think you'll hear from many of us who think that you should go with Princess. But if you're looking for an alternative to all of this, did you consider HAL as an option? I think a smaller ship might be better for cruising Alaska, but that's just me. Royal Princess doesn't have a true pub but she has a lot of live music onboard and hopefully that can satisfy your craving on that front. I also respect Princess's Alaska product and the rich assortment of enrichment opportunities. I will say that the Encore has her own Observation Lounge and that's an unparalleled venue (between your choices). Similarly, Quantum has 270 in the back, which is also unparalleled. If you want Glacier Bay, you can't do Quantum. If you want a more comprehensive Alaska product, I'd recommend Princess. Ultimately, if you just want a good time, I'd say to go with whichever works best for your budget.

Yep, this isn't really new news, but they're clearly just trying to drum up publicity. Credit to @help32250 for all the leg work they have done behind the scenes for months on end, talking with Princess and navigating the bureaucracy to suggest changes to the Discovery itinerary and add this option on the Emerald as well.

But if you're asking about November 2025 to Spring 2026, then no one has an answer to that yet.

Were it not for COVID, Ruby would've probably gotten the same changes that Emerald and Caribbean got (new buffet being the biggest change). But I don't think there will be many changes this time besides routine maintenance. Perhaps they'll surprise us, though.

b-but.......you don't love it when they scream, "Can you feel it?!" I've seen the show probably more times than I'm willing to admit over the years and just ran through the set list in my head when you brought it up lol And sorry to hear about your chairs issue for March Madness. We've experienced this before and a crew member was kind enough to unbuckle the chairs and lay them out for us. Also, a request: do you mind sharing a picture of the senior officers board? Thanks in advance! I humbly ask you to please do more live blogs on future Princess cruises if you come back! It's been a fun read to see a first-timer's POV.

Caribbean Princess

You can get dropped off inside the port area in the aforementioned crescent-shape drop-off zone. Or you could skirt the traffic by getting off just a few steps away on the Embarcadero instead and then just walk about 2-3 minutes into the port building. You will be asked to have your passports ready, so just have it in your hands before entering. Then you will take an escalator into an area in which you will immediately scan your bags and go through the metal detectors. After that, you will be directed to a check-in counter where they will verify your info; if you have the medallion with you, that will accelerate the process. If not, you'll be guided to a table on the side to pick it up. Once you're done with what should be a 5-minute check-in process, you can sit in the suites area and wait to board. Pier 27 is only 9 years old in the form that it's in. Completely rebuilt at the time, so the building is nice and modern. There will be bathrooms, and they've been clean, in my experience.

I'm pretty sure she'll go back to doing the 10-day partial Panama Canal transits? The PC deployment hasn't been released yet. At least that's what I've sort of gleaned from a tentative port schedule. Or perhaps she could open up yet another homeport for Princess. She's scheduled to be back full-time in the Caribbean in summer 2025 though.

hey @talkorpi! also stopping by to tell you to not give up on your dreams! would love to see a fellow CC'er make it into such an exclusive bunch within the industry. thanks for sharing your cruise with us onboard the Ruby! i thoroughly enjoyed the vessel the last time i was onboard and hope you also have a good first experience with princess!

Seems a bit hard to see that happening though if we're to believe the schedule posted, with Regal doing a full Caribbean season in Galveston.

This will likely come next year or late this year. Europe 2025 release is a long ways away.