Kay S

"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.

And that's a very good thing!🙂

I hope so. Our experience on the Majestic (when all of this was new) was a nightmare of long lines, missing reservations and harried staff. A lady collapsed waiting in line for such a long time. The staff brought her a chair. After some decades of a seamless dining experience, I was not happy about the fiasco. Maybe Princess will eventually get the kinks worked out. They have another chance with me in the summer when we burn through the last of the FCC. BTW, you are more expert than "so-called expert" around here, and yours is an opinion I respect.

Carnival does tend to get a bad rap. In my experience, there are two Carnivals: the short trips and the longer ones. It's those 3-day booze cruises that get the most attention. I have seen my fair share of those sailing out of Long Beach. That's where you would more likely see the fabled fist fights and vomit in the elevator. The longer cruises (7-10 days) tend to be more civilized. There will be fewer families with kids and more old folks like me. I actually prefer the food on Carnival over Princess. The decor will be more colorful, but decor isn't my number one concern. Princess is not really "stuffy." The decor is more Versailles than Vegas, but the etiquette police are not following you around issuing sneers. If it's just the two of you looking for romance, Princess is probably the better bet. (I would choose HAL, but that's not the question you asked.) 🙂

These are the best balconies on Princess. The covered part is good if you have iffy weather. They are large enough to spread out and invite friends over (take the chair inside out to the deck). They provide some privacy from the decks above, so you can do whatever unseen. 😉 The Royal class ships have no balconies that compare (as far as I know.)

All of this uncertainty is why we're in Club Class next month. It seems a shame that what used to be the Princess experience, no lines, same wait staff, "better" food, now costs extra. I really do feel "forced" into it. However, since it's all FCC (good-will credit) we're doing it on Princess' dime. (Doubtless some local "expert" will chime in and tell me I'm all wrong about this. 🤣)

Call me cheesy, but I always watched the egg drop. Then again, I was a fan of elevator roulette, too. I guess I'm easy to entertain. 😜

The TBGCS (haha) is not like the dessert souffles (which are pretty blah.) It is moist throughout and incredibly rich. I can't eat a whole one, so I split it with DH. One thing it is not is tasteless. Very cheesy.

Formal night isn't non-smoking anymore? I seldom visit the casino, so I guess I didn't notice.