MacMadame

I was planning to use my phone for the time-lapse. I never thought of a GoPro (or equivalent). 🤔

IMO they should have a policy with signs that chairs that are unoccupied for more than X time (where X is more than reasonable -- say an hour) will have their contents removed. This will not stop "those people" who think the rules don't apply to them but it will stop a lot of us who are rule followers and/or may push the rules but will be okay with being called on it.

I don't think that's accurate. This is what Princess says: All of the Crew Appreciation and Service Charge payments made by all guests on all ships in our fleet are pooled, net of credit card transaction fees. The pooled funds are distributed throughout the year in the form of compensation, including bonuses, to crewmembers fleetwide who interact directly with guests and/or behind the scenes throughout every cruise, including those in the Bar, Dining, Entertainment, Housekeeping, Guest Services, Galley and Onboard Revenue areas. There is nothing in there about the IT people located off-ship. It goes to the people you'd expect and not some random dude who works in Marketing or IT or the CEO. Also, the reason they are pooled is because the employees asked for that. The ones on itineraries that attracted a non-tipping crowd (i.e., Australia) were getting less money than the ones who got a lot of Americans with our crazy tipping culture (i.e., the Caribbean) and they wanted it to be fairer given that tips are a big part of their compensation. Personally, I have always found the old way of tipping stressful as I wasn't sure how much to give to whom. This way, all the guesswork is taken out and if there is someone who gives extraordinary service, I can always tip them personally on top. I presume that extraordinary workers will get the bonuses, but this way I can be sure they get extra. Also, crew have reported that to get these bonuses, it helps to be mentioned in the survey we get when the cruise is over. So if someone gives me great service, I will be sure to mention them even if I also tip them on top of CA.

This is disturbing as I am a big fan of cosmos and other vodka martinis. I don't like the taste of alcohol so I need the fruit juice to disguise it. Hopefully, by 2025 when we sail, they will have better cocktails!

There are cans too. And it seems like they've added them to the drinks package lately.

You can still wear it! Me, I'm hoping it goes away as I don't look good in white and sometimes gold isn't that great either. LOL

It's the internet! 🤣

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I didn't realize I hadn't pulled out the items until I got on the plane and was rummaging through my purse looking for a protein bar. 😉 IME the TSA doesn't treat the liquids rule very seriously. This is probably because they are well aware that liquids aren't really that dangerous. As is yours. 🤷‍♀️

1) It isn't that strictly enforced. I have accidentally brought "liquids" in my purse onboard without showing them to the TSA when I forgot they were there (Chapstick and sunscreen count) 2) Not all rules are good rules.

I think they are security theater and stupid.

Disagree about the exercise classes. I plan to take some because I will most likely be training for something and will need to keep up my fitness. I can jog on the Promenade but I will want to do a spin class and maybe a strength training class (depending on what equipment they have). I am sure they appeal to some even if half of those people won't actually take a class but just think they will. Agree about the desserts though because even if you loved them, you aren't going to eat two a day!

When you make a thread, don't you follow it automatically? That's what happened to me with my threads the one time I checked. 😕

Does it have to be binoculars? I love my monoculars. I got them at REI to do birding. They are 8x and worked quite well for that.

I'm doing this cruise but in Jan 2025! Except in my case the Coral is stopping in Cartegena and a similar cruise at the same time is going to Aruba. My rationale for picking this cruise is that I absolutely wanted to go through the Old Locks. Plus, I prefer a smaller ship. (I don't go on a cruise to race go-carts and all the other newer extras. Well, I wouldn't mind some water slides. LOL) Finally, I didn't want to go to Aruba but I wanted to go to Cartegena. Because of Romancing the Stone. Yes, I know it's silly, but there you go. Finally, our cruise ends in SF and that's where we live! It just makes everything simpler to not have to get ourselves home when the cruise is over. Plus it feeds into my fantasy of re-creating an immigrant moving from the East Coast to SF via the Panama Canal. (When I learned about the PC in Elementary School, that is the picture that came to mind and I decided right then to go through the Panama Canal one day.) Coral Princess is scheduled for another refurbishment in the Fall of 2024 (Oct, I think). So just in time for my cruise! The others have answered about Crooners. And the Aft Balcony cabins not existing (that made me sad). I think there is a Roll Call thread for the April 2025 cruise that you might want to check out.

I've seen lists of classes that include yoga. (And possibly Zumba but I'm less sure about that.) Maybe it depends on the ship? They have spin classes too. I particularly remembered that because that's the class I would want to take. 😄 You are confusing the beverage package with the fare package that includes the beverage package. The beverage package costs more ($76.70) than the fare package that includes the beverage package ($60). I know, it's weird. They obviously don't want people to buy the beverage package. 75%. That's what Princess tells people. And they don't pull numbers out of the air. They pull them out of a spreadsheet. LOL (Actually, it's probably more sophisticated so a computer model.)

Thanks! I would expect that so it's good to hear. I like the pink stuff in my tea. I think it's got a bit of a sharpness to it that goes well with the taste of Black Tea.

No Sweet n Low? (The pink stuff)

I am thinking about this bag: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9Z9BG6G/?coliid=I12RRBA95QCA01&colid=ELIG6WTKTQ75&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1 Or this one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1725611-REG/national_geographic_ng_e2_5168_camera_backpack.html I want to use it as a carry-on and add a swimsuit and change of clothing as well as the camera equipment and a MacBook Air and both bags seem like they are set up for that.

And yet Princess offers doggy-bags without being asked. I think they are better equipped to judge this than either of us.

That's what the mini-fridge is for. Also vvvvv So I guess Princess doesn't think it's a health hazard after all. 😉 It's tasty on a sandwich.

Your first bag looks like what I used to lug around with me. 🤣 I have looked into the Point & Shoots and my iPhone 13 Pro is just as good, if not better than most of them. So I'm going to use that (or something newer if I upgrade between now and then) for my knock-around camera and bring some sort of DSLR (well probably a mirrorless one with an adapter, but they don't seem to have a hand acronym) to put my long lens on. Now I just have to figure out which of the bazillion Canon mirrorless camera bodies is the best for my needs.

I'm taking a cruise in a little over a year and we have no excursions for Puerto Vallarta either. It's weird as all the other stops have them. My theory is that they are negotiating a contract of some sort and the excursions will magically appear once everything is signed.

No, it's not that simple. No matter how careful you are only to order what you think you can eat, sometimes there is food left over when you are done. Anyway, why shouldn't you take it with you? The food is included and you can eat as much as you want. So what if you eat half your steak at dinner and half for lunch the next day?

About to go away for the weekend. I'll check and get back probably on Tues. Anyway, this deal isn't as extensive or revolutionary as people are making out. It just says if you buy a cruise within a particular time window (which ends this month), they guarantee the cruise won't cost less later. There is nothing about if you buy it outside of that window or for cruises in 2026 or this is the way things will be forever. It's a short-term deal probably to juice up the bottom line for this quarter.

Yes but normally when I go to a restaurant, I get an iced tea which is apparently included. My husband will get a soda which is not. Don't drink beer or wine. When I am at a place like Disneyland, I will have one cocktail a day. Will I do that on a 16-day cruise? I don't know. Probably not unless there are lots of cool specialty ones I can't get at home. (That's why I get them at DL -- they have seasonal ones for a limited time only. LOL) Even then, that's a lot of drinking for me. At this point, I'm thinking that if I stick with my Plus package, I won't have to worry about whether or not I'm spending too much and should have just gotten the package. Instead, I can worry about whether or not I'm getting my money's worth. 😄