rbtan

We didn't see any loungers on the extended balcony in the penthouses. The only penthouse suites that have the loungers are the 2 wrap around balcony Penthouses at the rear end of the ship. We booked an extended balcony PH directly below us for next Feb. but did not see any loungers on it. If all goes well(waiting for Kidney transplant)We'll ask to have 2 put on the balcony. if not there.We did see loungers carried by staff to one of the PH extended balconies near us, so I know it can be done.

We were in 8162. No loungers there

Yes. It is table service now. We were on the Vista for the 1q2 night Jan.19 cruise.One of the reasons is it removes a lot of the crowding in the area. You place your order & they bring it to your table. Another thing is it helps prevent pax from taking the food to the loungers by the pool, where some klutzes have made a mess on the loungers.

Not in Concierge class.We had one in Jan. Easily could have fit 2 longers, this causes issues when the wash the balconies, however. Next year we're in an extended balcony in Penthouse.I wanted one of the 2 wrap around balconies, but they were sold out. We should have loungers in the normal extended PH balconies.These balconies are considerably larger than other PH balconies. I will make a point of requesting them if they are not provided.

I'll address this on the new Sun Princess. The Suites & Reserve class get their own "private" restaurants. Obviously, the food will be the best in the suite level.(pay more,get more) We cruise both Princess & Oceania. Being in the food industry, Oceania is among the best when it comes to food. Princess has been really criticized when it comes to food quality.Doing the "Ultimate Balcony Dinner" shows what Princess is capable of providing(especially in Reserve & suites) If you have preference to entertainment & shore excursions, Princess is better. We've booked a Cabana Reserve mini on the Sun next Feb. We also have a trip planned in Feb. on the Oceania vista as well(just did that ship less than a month ago) Food was outstanding, but really got annoyed when 2 ports got cancelled because weather was not just right. Late this summer will come our decision which one to take.A lot of Pax on Oceania as of late are Celebrity & Princess refugees. The Sun will not be able to get into a lot of the ports that Oceania can get into, due to the size. A tough decision awaits.

I thought that was an interesting necklace.

We really prefer the order system. It reduces sloppiness & hogging at the same time. We vacate when ordering from Waves. I'm not about to slog it down in order to get back to the chair.

Ok....No one ever takes 20 min. to have breakfast or lunch. You reserve a lounge at 7AM & we are expected to believe you get everything done in 20 min? I've seen balony stories in my day & this is a good one. Basically anyone who leaves for 45 min. loses their right. to the chair. My spouse does a couple of tricks: Check the drink & see if its still cold or see if the chair is damp.If not he'll remove the books that most hogs swipe from the library & we'll move in. We did this several times on our Jan. 19 trip. People came back normally after we had been there nearly an hour. Not one said anything(good for them) We leave to do the following: Swim/rest room/relax. When we want food we just pack up & leave.We are not so rude as to bring food back to the chair. Nothing like seeing a mess where some slob spilled food on the lounger. Seen it a few times..

Considering you might get in trouble, I'd recommend not using one. They can get really quite hot. We use them in Sous Vide.

Nota very good looking Filet Mignon. The Lobster tail is likely prepped on shore,frozen & heated on board. Looks like one of the Sysco variety I see frequently.

I'm referring to an electric kettle that you plug in..

No they do not. Too many pax want to get their packing done.

Tea kettle will NOT be provided. Too much of a fire hazard for SOLAS to allow.

Yes it was. Was by far the best meal on our cruise.

Works better in a minisuite,but still a little tight.

We did this pretty often,as the food at times was pretty bad. The steak/lobster comes from the specialty rest.pantries on board. They are not "holdbacks" in the MDR kitchens. they will be prepared to your liking. You'll notice the difference in Lobster tails(not New England, Caribbean Lobster)from the specialys rest. You'll find them quite a bit larger than the ones in the MDR during the last formal night.

I guess if pax want to include the gratuities as part of the cruise. That's fine. Just be aware the price will go up to (now) $20/day or more. Either way we'll still tip extra to those who go over & above. If you're in the hospitality fields like us, we like to take care of our own.

Yes we reward extra to those who directly interact with us. We leave on the gratuity. There are those who pocket it at the end of the cruise. You'll see loads of them skipping the last night(presumably to pack) Though for some reason they are crowding the guest services desk.hmmm.

They were not my family. They were relatives of some great friends who introduced us to cruising(first cruise was on Cunard) Personally we couldn't stand this couple(mother & son)When they bragged at what they did, they were booted out of our table. There were 50 of us. Called the "Cruisin' Cousins". The 2 I mentioned were pariahs to the extended family long before this incident.

Fabricating?

Have you not "read" the Princess policy on the gratuities? The line "knows" who opted out. There are cameras everywhere. Don't think they can't see what goes on. Most who opt out, unfortunately just "pocket" the money On our first trip on the QM2 years ago, a family did just that.They bragged about it at dinner.We kicked them out of our dining table in Britannia. & nearly made them not take the charter bus home. They to this day pretty much are banned from family get togethers.

Sorry, but pretty much everything you said is flat wrong! Any tips GO to the staff, NOT to Princess. The fees are broken down as to what each staff member gets.The bar staff do NOT share in the tipping pool, as they are tipped from each drink you buy. Not sure where you got all this wrong info.If you remove the auto tip, any money you give to a crew member then has to go into the "pool". As long as you leave the auto tip on anything you give over & above may go to the staff of your choice. We always give extra to our attendant & assistant. They get to KEEP that.We do not tip in the diningroom as we do anytime dining & they all share in the auto tip. I suggest you learn to properly document your statements rather than saying it's well documented.

We moved up to Bronze & yes we got the credit a few days into our trip.

Never liked this ship yard. There are constant delays. Also the quality lacks. Was just on the Vista. We had tiles popping off the pool area & a sheet of them fall from the ceiling in the sauna. We noticed 2 window "crackle" up likely from wave action. I feel the ships are not built as sound as they could be. The vibration from waves should not be popping off tiles & breaking windows. The window breaking in Horizons was from the ship shaking in the waves. Not a good sign for ship longevity. The same happened along Waves grill as well. Look at the QM2. It never had that problems to this effect..

Yes. My spouse & his brother one of the larger catering co. in New England. That being said it's what the client wants that determines their food budget.If it's the Moon & Stars, that's what they'll get. If it's a burger & dog cookout that's what that client gets. It always amuses us when a customer wants a very high-end wedding, but is only willing to pay for a very simple meal & then gets upset when what they want is Prime grade Filet Mignon, but are willing to pay for what would be burgers/dogs & bbq chicken. Really amazing.We saw the Sysco truck off loading at the pier for our trip. Now like us, Sysco is only limited by the cruise lines' budget. You would never see O's level of food on Carnival except perhaps in their most expensive specialty rest. Sorry that my review was rather :scattered". We just arrived home & I decided to do the review. I was annoyed that the review section would not allow me to write it properly. I'll try again.