Kay S

The UK (where John is from) has different laws about this.

I haven't checked the Virgin board. Anyone over there promising to switch to Princess? This really is a silly conversation, isn't it?

Those short ones are iffy. I'm surprised by the marijuana smoke. I thought the Texas ports were strict about that (ships, planes, trains.)

Emmett is a cutie. We had a cat who made it to 21. He used to get in the suitcase when we tried to pack for a cruise.

I guess to make it truly balanced, someone needs to do a thread on the Virgin board praising Princess.

So why is it necessary to criticize Virgin on a Princess forum? I have a couple of bookings on HAL. Will I see an unflattering video of that on this board, too? How about an unfavorable video of the Mouse line? Since there are more than a dozen alternative cruise lines available, can we look forward to "anti" videos of those, too? Is there perhaps some personal grudge hidden under all this Virgin hate? It's not a crime to dislike Princess.

Right there under the OP's name it says Norway. Under yours is says US. Under mine it says California (which some people think is its own country. 😁)

I have done a couple of TAs on Princess. The activities are pretty much the same as on any other cruise. Bingo, Piazza games, trivia. If there is a lecturer on board, there might be some programs in the theater. Sometimes there are movies during the day in the theater. MUTS at night. Once when we had an astronomer on board who did star gazing. The television will have a good selection of movies. Walk for the Cure once. We were never bored.

"Immersive dining" sounds kind of...well, sticky. 😁 It sounds a little gimmicky, but that's just me. Go for it, if that's your thing.

Chair hogs are everywhere, not just the pool.

Elevator roulette is an acquired taste. 🙂 I suppose it might be more entertaining if the people got off the elevator and then walked over to the railing and dropped eggs into the Piazza. 🤣

If you don't get the device by mail, you can pick it up at the desk in check-in at the pier. I had one sent to the wrong address (their screw up) but got a new one before boarding. It didn't take much longer than the old way of picking up the cruise card.

Thanks for the confirmation. Yes, the wait staff had red, white and blue vests. I wish I had a picture.

I'm no help, but I do sympathize. The "new Princess" and their "new staff."

The lobster in the Crown Grill is better than the one in the MDR.

I really hate to burden my busy steward with more on the first day, and the phone at room service will be busy all day. I wait until the next day to do an exchange. Works better for me.

Not hard to figure that out and it's not you. Cruise Critic has a guideline about "stalking." It might not hurt to report that kind of thing.

The original Love Boat did a lot of good for Princess. In fact, it was still doing it a lot of good when some teenaged executive decided old stuff was bad for business. People are still excited to meet the original cast members when they appear on a ship. Ted Lange did not need some wanna-be to remind people how much they loved Isaac. (One wonders what Gavin MacLeod would have made of the reality show.) I have mentioned before the 2015 Princess Anniversary cruise on the Pacific Princess, two weeks repeating (modified) the Mexican itinerary from the old show. All of the original cast members were there, and Jack Jones sang the theme song at sail away. That cruise was sold out for literally years before it sailed, and those of us who were lucky enough to be there knew it was something special. (caribill has a great photo of the cast along with Sammy, the world's best Cruise Director.) I always wondered why Princess didn't use that cruise to advertise, but maybe the "new Princess" was already in someone's mind. Well, that was then. This is now. Princess decided it didn't want to run on nostalgia (and the old people it attracted.) It seems their reality show stunt hasn't worked out, but I have faith that the "new Princess" can find something even worse to attract the demographic they really want.

Good news. DH loves the things (when he can still sit upright) 😙 but he didn't think to ask specially for it last cruise. At home, he does straight up 007s. On a Carnival cruise, he had to explain to the (very young) bartender how to make one. After that, the bartender called him James Bond whenever we passed by his bar. Just cuz it's in a martini glass doesn't mean it's a martini--quoting DH.

There is a whole new system called Dine My Way and you have to make reservations on the Medallion app. The old system of Anytime and Traditional is long gone.

HAL lobster is better, IMO, than Princess lobster.

I will find out in two weeks. Do you remember if it was open for breakfast and lunch on port days?

I hope you can still get it with a chicken breast or shrimp.

I was on a cruise where a lady insisted it was ham and not beef. From the processed taste and texture of my cut, I thought she had a point. It was not a fresh cut of meat. I quit ordering it after that.

This thread is an oldie but goodie. Pam in CA? Blast from the past.