CruizinSusan70

That's a below average day for me and my DH. 😁

We were on the Majestic for 14 days in May & June, had the Plus 40 and we were able to get drinks up to 15 with no problem.

Enjoy the Brilliant Lady.

Why do you think it's so expense to cruise on the NCL POA? Because of the wages they need to pay and the fact that the workers are maxed at a 40 hour week so there's no overtime pay.

Not really, you pay for 7 days with either of the packages and the morning you leave is day 8 so you're not charged.

Now, are you sure you were always housebroken? Even after the occasional bender that you were praying to the porcelain god? 🙏

It would somewhat nip it in the bud. But, more importantly, it would alleviate some of the deluge of people that will be inundating customer service with demands of what is going on.

Guest services are going to be swamped with so many people. The line will be massively long.

No, disembarkation morning is day 8, and free.

We're happy with Plus and will gladly pay 120 per day. It's 88 per day after factoring out grants. Don't really need wifi, so that's gravy. So, for 44 pppd we get the drink package which is cheaper than the drink package on all of the other main stream US based lines. We're upset about the Alfredo's changes, but it is what it is.

I fully understand. Have not read anywhere that anyone has received an email from Princess letting currently booked cruisers know about the changes. Only a miniscule amount of cruisers are active on CC, so there will be many upset and disgruntled cruisers when they read the letter that I assume will be waiting for them in their cabin. And if course if they don't read it or hear about it on the ship, they will find out about it first hand when they get charged the $5.00 for room service, the $14.99 activation fee or the changes at Alfredo's.

If you like the older ships in the Princess fleet, HAL would possibly be a better fit since their newest ships are only 99.5 K tons. If you like the newer ships in the Princess fleet, then the Edge Class of Celebrity (Edge, Apex, Beyond, Ascent) would be a better fit. Both lines have standard passage available with no packages.

When it comes to getting gift card refunds, Carnival used to go to the expense of sending hard cards via two day FedEx, for each one. Then they went to sending it via email with the card number and the 4 digit code. The last time I got a refund, it was back to hard cards again. No rhyme or reason, but obviously the hard card option via FedEx costs them a lot more, even if they get a fantastic discount on the shipping.

Besides Allstate, the only place I have ever bought Carnival GC's was once on Newegg. They had $200.00 cards for sale and you could only buy one. Had no trouble redeeming it since I would infer that Newegg obtained it directly from Carnival so there were no problems with the redemption.

If you order your room service via the app, after paying the one time $15 charge, instead of picking up your phone, you will not incur the 5.00 room service charge. Alfredo's will either be 15.00 for a prix fix meal of appetizer/pizza or pasta/ dessert or you can get items a la carte. It's been reported that on the older ships with the limited menu, pizza is 8.50 and it's 12.00 on the newer ships with the expanded menu. If you have the Plus package, you are entitled to two visits per person to any casual dining venue over the entire length of your cruise, whether that cruise is 4 nights or 21 nights in duration to enjoy the prix fix menu.

It's in the terms & conditions that things can change. You can always try other lines, but the grass may not necessarily be greener over on X or at HAL.

That's why there is vanilla and chocolate. Not everyone is Elite and has earned the perks you have, while others prefer to enjoy their adult libations and will pay for one of the two packages. Some people will only cruise in a balcony or better cabin, while others are happy with an inside and will get one of the packages and still come out ahead price wise. From reading this and other threads there are many Elites that have never considered the packages, only cruise in an inside cabin, and prefer the older ships in the fleet. Nothing wrong with that thinking but it's nice that we all have choices as to what we think is the ideal way to cruise.

Would be nice to have an inkling as to when in 2025 she will be debuting. And which port in FLA she'll be home porting from.

Why not? Are you against saving 10%? The GC can be used for everything associated with your cruise. Deposit, balance, shore excursions prior or during cruise, Cheers, specialty dining, gratuities, any gift shop purchases. The list is endless. If you prepay everything, bring 300 in GC, apply them on board and only spend 145 the remaining 155 is sent to you as a new gift card. The same exact things are able to be applied using the Princess or HAL gift cards as well. We have first hand experience with the Princess cards and currently have over 10,000 worth. Have never sailed on HAL, but through reading posts on CC have found out they work the same. Celebrity cards are only good for 2,000 max per cabin and on your initial deposit only.

HAL and X are the most comparable lines. Research their boards, listen to the complaints from their long time cruisers, then research the ships and itineraries. Mixing things up is a good thing. We'll be on six different lines in 2023.

I'd recommend HAL. X will cost you more the majority of the time. Oceania and similar lines will cost you more and the entry level lines could be cheaper but will not give you the same level of service.

Nobody is twisting your arm to buy one of the packages, you can always cruise with the standard fare. And if you think the grass is greener elsewhere, do your research. Peruse the boards of competing lines on CC, compare prices and make an educated decision.

Old time Princess cruisers that like the older ships in the fleet may like the offerings from HAL. Celebrity would cost more most of the time. Other lines would either be a step below or a step up.

If you're on a 4 or 5 day cruise, your investment to upgrade from plus to premier is 160/200. The two nights of specialty dining is worth 156. So for the additional 4 or 44 dollars you would get all of the other peripheral items included with the premier package. For cruises that are 6+ days only you can determine if spending an extra 84 or more dollars over and above the specialty dining cost is worth it or not and how much value it is to you.

The 15 drink maximum only is applied to those drinks that contain alcohol, which of course would also include any coffee drinks with alcohol or spiked milkshakes with alcohol. All of the non alcoholic drinks such as soda, bottled water, energy drinks, etc are unlimited.