CruizinSusan70

Are we talking about the Champagne Tower or my DH?

Since you're on two different ships, it's called a side to side, not a back to back which is two consecutive sailings on the same ship. I would also use Lyft or Uber since it's a short transfer and a taxi driver would be stuck going to the back of the line after dropping you off.

Totally different experience on Princess. The MDR is open on embarkation day, which I would highly recommend and also on sea days. The Princess buffet is a slight step above Carnival, but Princess doesn't have all of the other included lunch venues on board like Carnival has. If you just want a slice of pizza, it's available up on the Lido deck at Slice, but it's not as good as Alfredo's. It's nice that the MDR is open every day but port days for lunch. On port days, it's either the buffet, Slice, the grill or the international cafe. The IC is where late night snacks can be obtained or prior to 1100 pm you can get food delivered to you via the medallion wherever you are (like Good Spirits).

I say the same thing about my DH.

Alfredo's was previously free and was always crowded on sea days for lunch. Now, with the charges, there have been some saying that it's crickets most days. You will get two visits included with the plus package. A lunchtime visit would include an app, an entree or pizza and a dessert. They have a calzone that is very good and you can swap out ingredients.

I hope you're still bringing the monkey's tux.

Best bar on Princess. We did 14 days in 2022 on the Discovery and another 14 in May/June this year on the Majestic in Alaska. As you know we primarily cruise Carnival, but Princess has supplanted them as our favorite. The Plus package is the best value at sea in our opinion. The Good Spirits at Sea has a special bar menu that is only good from 530-closing. About 18 upgraded craft cocktails that are great. The Sandia en Fuego is made with Don Julio Reposado, muddled watermelon chunks and serrano peppers. The Barbados Swizzler is a rum based drink that is also very good. All of these drinks are covered by the Plus package.

Same here. Even won a 10.00 card on the scratch off game about a month ago and still haven't received it

I know. That was my entire point of view. Between Carnival, Royal, NCL, MSC, Celebrity and Princess, the drinks package portion is cheapest on Princess. It's a la carte on Carnival and Royal and possibly packaged on the other lines with Princess being the cheapest once you factor out the other costs of the components of the package.

Similar to how things changed with the Escape, which was the first Breakaway Plus Class ship, which of course was slightly larger than the Breakaway & Getaway. (145 vs 165)

We have experience on the entry level lines, Carnival (27) NCL (8) RCI (7) MSC (2). As well as upgraded Celebrity (7) Princess (4). Each of the groupings are more similar than different. They all have their pluses and minuses. Comparing Celebrity and Princess, the Edge Class on X is nice, but Princess brings the most value to us now comparing these six lines and we're really looking forward to the two Sphere Class ships coming out. Because of this, we currently have 7 future cruises booked on Princess over the next 21 months.

I give up with you. You just can't wrap your head around the fact that the drinks package on NCL is already factored into the price. If you decide to accept it, you're charged the 22 per day for gratuities. The actual cost of the drinks portion is already factored into the basic rate that you pay. On Princess, you take the 60 for plus and after factoring out gratuities and wifi, you're left with 29. If you subtract the 22 you'd pay on NCL for the gratuities on the drinks package, you're left with 7.00. You better believe that NCL is charging more than 7.00 for the already factored in drinks that is already part of the base rate. So, Princess is charging less for their drinks package in the long run than NCL is. Plus, with Princess their drinks package includes bottled water and espresso based coffee drinks. Neither of these items are included on NCL as part of their drinks package. But, you do you and if you think NCL is a better deal because you think you're only paying 22 a day for their drinks package, enjoy cruising on them. I've cruised them 8 times and have another one booked in 2025, but I am familiar with their games and don't have blinders on. I'm not delusional to think their drink package is 22 pppd.

Royal doesn't have any sit down pizza restaurants. Sorrento's is garbage pizza to go.

Obviously the water consumed across the pond is different than on this side. Plus is 60 in US dollars currently and is the best value at sea with everything that is included, in our opinion. What brings value to you obviously is different than what brings value to me. If you don't think the overall package that Princess provides doesn't bring you value, you always have P&O, MSC and other value based lines to cruise on. Still can't believe that you actually think that NCL gives you the drinks package for free. What was that quote that PT Barnum said back in the day? 🤔

Maybe he used to work for Royal. 😉

As others have mentioned, it all depends upon the size of your table and how you communicate with your server. We are a table of two. Never needed to talk to our server to rush things, even if my DH enjoyed two apps while I had one. In general, we were seated about 545 and out by 700, giving us plenty of time to make the 730 show

That's a total crock. Our Princess app worked on my DH's Android (Google) with zero problems for 14 days on the Discovery in 2022 and 14 days on the Majestic in 2023. Not expecting any problems during our 28 days booked during 2024 between 14 on the Enchanted and 14 on the Sun.

You've drunk the NCL Kool aide. The 22 pppd covers the gratuities. The additional cost of the package is built into the cruise fare for all to pay. And if you don't believe this, I have some ocean front property in Iowa for sale.

We're not loyal to any specific cruise line, but this change on Celebrity combined with the increase in price between their classic and premium drinks packages and the fact that both occupants of the cabin must now purchase the upgrade if only one wished to in the past has caused us to no longer book any future cruises on Celebrity. If my DH wanted to upgrade in the past, it was 10 per day plus 20% grat or 12 per day. The difference is now 20 plus 20% times 2 people or 48 per day. If you don't have the premium package, you can't order any of the specialty drinks at Eden, the World Class Bar or the Martini Bar. And of course the daily gratuity charge would also be added onto the bottom line cost. This combination results in Celebrity no longer being a value purchase for us.

Should infers that it's a suggestion. If it was "men must bring", that would mean it was mandatory.

I had mistakenly assumed then that you wore one since you utilized the Haha emoji multiple times in posts that I mentioned the wearing of baseball caps effects the ambiance of an establishment. The Haha emoji is nice when acknowledging a humor filled post, not so nice when the post contains no humor.

There could always be construction delays plus there are always growing pains for the first 4-6 months and delays with shows like on the Viva or with game shows like on the Prima.

No, it's the exact opposite for many people so Carnival is printing money. Many Carnival cruisers like to hit the ground running so to speak and probably drink more on the first day than on subsequent days. Since Cheers doesn't kick in until day two, that means all those drinks are being paid for at individual prices plus 18% gratuity.

Out of curiosity, when you dine in your local favorite steak house do you wear your baseball cap towards the front, back or side?

Would that boozy desert be the Sahara, Mohave, or the Gobi? 🤔😉🤔😉