InTheDrink

Is X leaving Puerto Rico? I don’t see any departures after December 2024.

While there still is lots to choose from, I will miss the larger, rotating menus of starters and mains- looks like it is only soups and salads that are changing every night. My husband is going to have a much harder time picking mains, as many of his favorites are gone. We have cruised nothing but Celebrity from 2011 until this year, when we took a Princess cruise. I didn't think the food compared as well to X in quality, temperature (food was rarely hot, though always at least warm), or presentation, but it was still good. Loyal Princess cruisers have complained about cutbacks as well, but I did like the selection on their menus- I will probably be back to try out their newer ships. Their speciality restaurants were quite good and about half the price of Celebrity's, so I didn't mind paying extra for a couple of nights. We are on the Beyond this December. If the food quality is as good as it was on the Edge last May, I will probably be happy to work around the lack of choices and book more upcoming cruises on X, but if it isn't I will start looking at other lines to explore.

Can’t help you- I sailed in June, on a ship without Alfredo’s.

I don’t know what you mean by “casual” dining. It included 2 meals pp at a specialty restaurant, but these cost a lot less a la carte than spending an extra $20/pp to upgrade!

I didn't mind the menu on the Solstice class ships, but it was a little limited. I don't love the one I see for the Beyond. I was just on my first Princess cruise and much preferred their Good Spirits at Sea bar. In fact, I preferred most of their bar menus to Celebrity. I didn't think the food was as good, but given how much cheaper it was than Celebrity (and I love the medallion app- to have a drink from any bar delivered!), I might be jumping ship!

Here are links to the drink menus (2023): https://profcruise.com/celebrity-bar-menus-2023/

I haven't been on the Equinox for some time, but I remember the hours being very limited. It is around the corner from the pool bar, on the starboard side (I think) near the doors to the Solarium.

I think you might like the Slush Bar on the Equinox and Eclipse- I wish it was on more ships! You could always see if bartenders have the ingredients for these. On the whole, I have been less impressed with Celebrity's drink menus recently- I think they are trying to be too "hip," with lots of crazy ingredients that do not always result in a well-balanced cocktail, especially at the hands of certain bartenders. I recently too my first cruise with Princess and LOVED their bar menus and found that their frozen drinks were not overly sweet. I'm going to write down some of my favorites before my next Celebrity cruise and see if a bartender can make them for me onboard.

You certainly can make reservations on the Beyond- just finished doing it for our upcoming cruise!

On the Edge, there was at least one table for 10 in each restaurant and with a set time, you will be in the same restaurant. Make sure that your reservation numbers are linked so that you will be seated together!

As someone who is about to try Princess for the first time, on the Emerald, I thank you for your comments- they are helpful to me as are the suggestions made by others to mitigate your less than ideal experience. I look forward to hearing if things get better for you as the days go on!

There was a vegan menu posted in the app on our Edge British Isles sailing last May.

Thanks! I did a search but didn’t find this thread 🙄

Does anyone have a recent copy of the children’s menu for the MDR? Thanks!

I’m new to Princess and wondering how far in advance the daily schedules and menus get loaded in the app. Thanks!

I have done several Caribbean on X, including 3 Christmas/New Years as well as a Med out of Italy and a British Isles. I have worn the same sparkly black (short) dresses on all three. My husband has always worn a tux (until the cruise lines discontinued the rentals post-COVID), so he did without on the British Isles and just wore a long-sleeved dress shirt and tie. While there were some men in jackets/tuxes, most were dressed like DH. In Italy, the Europeans were dressier (tuxes/suits and long dresses) but the Americans tended to be less formal- luggage constraints. Short answer is, you will see everything and everything, so dress in what you feel most comfortable for formal nights.

That’s odd- I have made reservations with friends we have linked with despite having separate TAs. Regardless, if you go to see the Maitre’d on the first day right when you board, you should be ok- we did that with a group of 10 on another X ship.

It’s going to depend on how full your ship is and when you want to eat. If you want prime times (6:30-7:30), it might be tricky so you might want to pre-book as a backup.

If I remember correctly, each restaurant had larger tables. How many are in each might vary, due to dining room size.

On the Edge last summer, we booked in at all four to see which one we liked best. This will be subjective, but we liked the decor in Tuscan the best- it felt like an upscale, contemporary restaurant. Cyprus was a little dark for our liking, and the other two felt like regular MDR (pretty, but nothing special). I also really liked the pasta dish in Tuscan, though as someone has said, you could get it in any restaurant. We also had the BEST service ever on a cruise in Tuscan and were able to switch our reservations to our preferred time in this server’s section for the rest of the cruise. We did have the luxury of a half-full ship though. I would suggest booking all four for the first days of the cruise and seeing which one you like best. I really enjoyed having smaller MDR with different “feels,” even when the menu is essentially the same.

Thanks!

Thank you! Do you know what they charge for water?

I’m on my first Princess cruise in June. I have seen the drink menus but there are no prices for waters or fountain sodas. Can someone let me know what these cost? Also, what brands of sparking and still water are available?

I know the app is notoriously messed up, but I am wondering if anyone knows how to fix this: When I sign into the app, I see our upcoming cruise but no reservations. My husband can see everything on his app. The app tells me the only person I am linked to is myself, but when I try to add my husband, it says that I have exceeded the number of reservations I can link to (I haven't linked any). Any suggestions? I really do not want, as the app suggests, have to go to Guest Relations when I board! 😁