anywhereiroam

36 minutes ago, jeromep said:

Your travel agent has no bearing on the cabin or packages that you purchase with Princess.  No need to mention them.  The travel agent is... well... an agent, reselling what Princess offers.  I am glad you used an agent for your first cruise as they can be helpful if you have any needs between now, when you booked the cruise, and when you embark.  I'd rather deal with an agent who I know their name and number and have some relationship with them than trying to deal with Princess' call center.  Princess' call center is a nightmare.

 

That said...

 

Since you have booked a full suite (not a mini-suite... bad naming and marketing, mini-suites are not suites), you are comped one specialty dining meal on embarkation evening.  All you have to do is to call the Dine Line when you get on board and get a reservation for the venue of your choice.  That would either be the Crown Grill or Sabatini's, in the case of the Grand Princess.  I like Italian, and on our cruise last year Sabatini's was on fire.  Loved the menu and the dishes.  We did Sabatini's 3 times when on board.  That is a record for us.  If you aren't into Italian, then the Crown grill is also excellent.  It is modeled after higher end steakhouses with typical steakhouse fare.

 

The two "free" speciality dining meals are part of your Princess Premier package.  Those you'd want to use on the remainder of the evenings on board.  In total, you have 3 comped specialty dining meals, one that is part of your suite and only good on embarkation night, and two more for any remaining night on board.

 

 

Room service breakfast, from the main dining room menu, is a full suite benefit.  Just ask your cabin steward for the daily MDR menus and then you'd call the dine line to order room service.  This is only available when the MDR is open and serving that meal.  This applies to lunch and dinner.  As a full suite passenger you have a special breakfast venue only for you, which is held either in Crown Grill or Sabatini's.  It is usually in Sabatini's if the ship has that venue.  You will receive documentation on board letting you know of some or all of the additional benefits you get as a suite passenger, including where suite breakfast is served.  The menu is slightly different for suite breakfast compared to MDR breakfast.  Plus they do short order cooking for suite breakfast.  Feel like an omelet, they can do that.  Want a whole mess of bacon and toast, they can do that.  LOX, on bagel, no problem.  Fruit and oatmeal, no problem.  French toast, pancakes, waffle, no problem.  Plus they do mimosas, espresso based coffee drinks, and so on.  So you had better check out suite breakfast.  No dress code either.  Just throw on any old thing after you get up and head down.

 

 

The Grand Princess does not have the Concierge Lounge, that is only a space on the newer Royal Class ships... and the new Sun Class ships.  However, there is a separate service line at Passenger Services in the Piazza on all ships, and if you are calling passenger services they know you are calling from a suite and you tend to get prioritized.  My goal is to have as little to do with passenger services as possible, and so far, I've been successful.  Best way to avoid any lines with passenger services is to frequently check your on-board folio during your cruise to ensure that all charges that show up make sense and if you see something that you didn't do on your folio, report it as soon as possible.  You can check your folio through the Princess app very easily.

 

It appears that you have Princess Premier as your all-inclusive package, so you should have few on board expenses.  Your gratuity is covered in Premier, along with two of your specialty dining meals, along with any casual dining venue meals, specialty deserts, juices and just about all beverages (up to $20/each).  If you use the spa, that will be additional cost, along with shore excursions purchased through Princess.  You are on a Grand class ship, which has the older thermal suites.  Thermal suites should still be complimentary to suite passengers.

 

Hope this helps a little.

OMG! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond! Seriously, very generous of you. This helps so much. I really appreciate it. 
 

thank you thank you!

Hello all!

My apologies if this question has been asked multiple times -- I searched and could not find it.

We are going to Alaska on our first cruise! Its grand princess cruise, we didn't book it directly (I know we can not say through whom). Its a penthouse suite, and as I understand it it includes additional speciality dining/amenities? I tried looking in my reservation but I am unsure what is included vs what has to be paid extra. I was on the call with the travel agent but they also could not get the answers. I am hoping I can get answers here!

We have booked "penthouse suite" and have "premium plus" dining. 

• As I understand it, we get two speciality dining free? In the app it only shows "crown" as speciality, and mentions there is a cover charge for me.
• Can we book room service breakfast, is that included or charged? I think its showing $45 in the app, I thought I will check if that is correct or a mistake.
• A separate conceirge line -- just for penthouse/suite guests? 

Are there are other amenities/included things I am missing? I remember small other small things too like speciality desserts and  2 gym lessons.