ChristiCruising

Was on Discovery a few weeks ago and the MDR was still using those softened white pellets of unsalted butter that helped me curb my appetite for dinner rolls. Back on Discovery and bad news for my diet- the MDR is serving good ol’ squares of salted butter again. Hope this revert sticks and is good news anyone else who didn’t like “the other stuff”.

Sorry if this caused confusion. I see that OP is planning to travel on Caribbean Princess. I was referring to changes that I have experienced on various ships in the fleet.

We were on the last cruise for Star Princess in early 2020 (came home March 13th) and we’ve cruised Princess quite a few times since. There haven’t been any huge changes to our notice. Like everything else lately it just feels like you are paying more and getting a little less. As mentioned above, making more casual restaurants pay to eat. I’m also not crazy about the class system being implemented on Sun Princess. We really liked that all of our friends and family have access to nearly all amenities on the ship regardless of which cabin type they choose to stay in. But, the great news is we can still all travel together on other ships like Caribbean Princess. Otherwise, cruising Princess still feels very similar to me in 2024 as it did in 2020. Otherwise, I wouldn’t keep coming back.

Technically…It is within their rights to move you and it is mentioned in the fine print confirmation email and elsewhere (I just can’t remember where else I read it) that there may arise a need to change your cabin. The booking email does not guarantee an upgraded cabin, so they may feel that they are already doing you a favor by upgrading your category. It still doesn’t hurt to ask if there are any other cabins or options available to you. They likely want to retain customer satisfaction so you will want to return to Princess in the future.

To pre-order online go to Princess.com and sign in. Go to your booking and click on “Check-in” then click on “Dietary Requests”. There is an option for distilled water there.

Just off Discovery for the third time on 02/19 and headed back on her in March. Discovery is a great ship. There is plenty to do in the way of activities but the crowds IMO are not rowdy. I like their game show location, Princess Live better than the alternative on some of the other ships like Royal Princess which is too cramped to enjoy the trivia and games. We’ve had excellent service aboard Discovery as well. Definitely recommend Discovery if you’re looking to sail out of the San Pedro area.

It helps to let Princess know your mobility device dimensions (using the form posted above) especially if you will be using Princess transfers or going on accessible excursions through Princess. You can also email the access office if there are accessibility concerns you do not see listed on the form and they are quick to respond. They are not as strict as P&O in requiring the form be submitted for all passengers traveling with a mobility device. I have forgotten to fill out the access survey plenty of times and thankfully have never been met with any issues boarding.

Couldn’t get logged in at all yesterday. Tried logging in just now and it took a minute, but I’m in!

So far, I’ve never had mine confiscated. Perhaps they are using “flat iron” to refer to a clothing iron or press? As, there are some who use that term for clothing irons That, or security just has bigger things to worry about than my hair straightener.

I find doing it over chat to be the least painful way to do it. Although, recently a chat agent refused to cancel a cruise which was well-within the full refund cancellation period for someone who was planning on traveling with me and had a change of plans. They were told only supervisors can cancel cruises. I don’t believe this is a recent policy change as I’ve had recent success cancelling a cruise over chat. So, it might depend on who you speak to, even over chat. I still think it’s better than calling the call-center.

We bring games or other activities that we personally enjoy on board with us for cruises with many sea days. We might bring as many as 4-5 different games or even a puzzle but we try to keep them small for packing purposes. On one of my last cruises, I brought jewelry making supplies. Not professional quality, but something fun to pass the time. We also bring along any books we have been wanting to read. We’ll often do a day or two in the Sanctuary or buy a thermal spa/enclave pass for some relaxation on sea days. Maybe throw in a massage or spa treatment. We attend the Princess hosted enrichment lectures and day-time games hosted by Princess. If all else fails, I usually download a couple of movies we’ve been wanting to see in case we find ourselves looking for something to do but we rarely get to the point of watching them.

That is so strange! We were just on Royal 2 weeks ago and we had good coffee, although not very hot, in our balcony stateroom. Maybe we got lucky. Or maybe we were just so tired from our excursions the day before that we thought it was good 😝.

Just off the Royal and we got the good stuff with room service in the morning. Not sure if it’s fleet wide though.

Thanks for the excellent answer! Obviously, it’s not a decision anyone else can make for us but I do enjoy hearing other perspectives. Great input about the space in the room for hosting family and ordering from the MDR. I had not thought about those aspects. It would be nice to have the extra space to have them join us in our room when we don’t feel like being in public spaces. Thanks for the quality response!

We have a full suite booked for an upcoming cruise but we will be traveling with family who are staying in a balcony cabin. Since we we will want to spend our time with our travel companions it is unlikely we will take advantage of most of the suite perks such as reserve dining and specialty breakfasts. Looking for opinions whether it is worth it to spend the extra money on our full suite for the space when we won’t be taking advantage of many of the additional perks? We need a wheelchair accessible cabin and the only other option available is an interior cabin which is half the price but I do get a little claustrophobic. Has anyone stayed in an interior cabin lately and have any comparison to a suite and whether it be worth the savings to stay in one for the cabin alone?