Cruise Raider

It was a long time ago and the kids couldn’t use their cell phones. Not sure if I even had one at the time.

We went on a ‘spring break cruise’, Pacific Coastal, on another line and there were only a handful of teenagers onboard .. that was the extent of it. We went to the Cruise Critic meeting where officers and the CD were present to answer questions from the group. A couple of people asked why they were confiscating everyone’s wine when clearly, it wasn’t a spring break crowd. They all got their wine back shortly after the meeting. So, we were up in the observation lounge while anchored in Monterey, watch the whales play right in front of us. There were two mothers next to us and 3 teenagers came in and said, “we can’t even call our friends, this is unbearable”. Haha .. I laughed so hard! They obviously hadn’t sprung for the internet for their kids. I mentioned they could be watching whales but they just rolled their eyes at me. 🤣

Yes, I can laugh over it now, 7 years later and where they’ve totally made up for it without us ever mentioning our disappointment to those that spoiled us rotten a few years later. Since the staff can now see special dates on their order screens and capacity was so limited, we are not expecting them to really go out of their way like that ever again. We certainly took advantage of those cruises, perks and pricing since the pandemic. I knew we were lucky and the time and that couldn’t go on forever .. we were right!

We couldn’t even get a seat on our 25th anniversary in the MDR for just the two of us. So, we opted to go to Alfredo’s instead. Nope, think again, it was closed because the pizza oven was broken. The buffet wasn’t really where we wanted to spend our 25th anniversary so, went out to the grill and slice outside by the pool and they were irritated they had to open back up. I think it must have been only 6:30 but the last night of the cruise and they already finished cleaning things up. It was a memorable evening, alright! Then, after the pandemic, we were treated to a suite upgrade, fresh flowers, special bottles of wine and champagne, a medallion bracelet, etc. They just could not do enough for us, so all was forgiven!

Now that I think about it, I probably am being a big hypocrite in what I said. I can’t stand it when people wear really strong perfumes and colognes, even though it must make them happy. I kind of rolled my eyes over the ‘assault’ comment but now I take that back as I feel like I am assaulted when someone’s strong scent triggers a breathing issue and instant headache for me. I imagine some people enjoy a nice quiet dining experience, as well. So, again, my apologies for even mentioning anything about what may annoy others. I get it!

Not necessarily. People in balconies may bid on a mini suite or suite and so that opens up a balcony cabin. Also, people don’t show up for the cruise for one reason or another or people will sometimes take a move over offer if the cruise ends up being sold out. While bidding oftentimes delivers no results, there is still a chance for you.

I may sense some sarcasm there and that is certainly your right, if that’s what is how it was meant to be interpreted. If I misinterpreted it, my apologies in advance. We also been on numerous cruises and have many more planned over the next 12 months. Each and every time, we enjoy seeing smiles on other’s faces when something is done to make them feel their special occasion is being recognized. I don’t particularly enjoy the hoopla when it’s directed towards us but we certainly join in with song and clapping for others when they are clearly celebrating something that is special to them. I especially like the way that ‘anniversary’ is pronounced when they apply it to the happy birthday melody. We even say it to each other that way every year ‘happy anversry’ when it rolls around.

Is it still a better deal than just booking a balcony outright? We bid on a premium balcony one time and the prices dropped to where it was just cheaper to book the one we wanted. And, if your picky about location, just know they may out you way up front or under a noisy public deck.

Ahhhh .. let those that enjoy their special day have some fun and don’t worry about it. While we try to never announce it, your fellow passengers may love it. Some people cruise so infrequently and want it to be made very memorable. Try out some enthusiasm for them instead of criticizing the practice.

You can use your OBC if you purchase the transfers back onboard but we always leave our options open. A couple of times, we’ve had a limo service offer us a flat rate, the same as a taxi so nabbed it. We’ve also been offered cruiseline transfers at half price .. of course, we took it but just didn’t mention it to anyone on the bus.

If it’s past final payment, I’ve found they only allow you to book if you book a higher priced cabin or fare. My CVP will usually get it rebooked for us if not past final payment.

You can just put it into the app as a special occasion. They won’t necessarily do anything for you in the dining rooms but you will see it posted on the digital screens around the ship when you pass by.

On the Discovery and the Crown, we were able to switch out the set menu a bit with the premier package. We didn’t ver take advantage, just swapped out an extra appetizer for the dessert and they were fine with that. I think they will allow you to order within reason.

The shows in the Princess theater, with some exceptions, mainly on the last night, are at 7:30 and 9:30 PM. We find that tables with two guests only, you should be good if you eat around 5:45 for the early show. Larger shared tables just tend to take much longer for dinner. You will probably want to get to the theater at least 20 minutes early to secure a seat, as they’ve been very crowded lately. The later show in the theater is usually less crowded if you prefer eating dinner later in the evening. They do have 2 or 3 comedy shows at staggered times through the evening in the Vista lounge and cruise director activity shows in Princess Live at 8:30 PM and further into the evening. There will probably be a band playing as well in the piazza, which alternates with the piano player or other entertainment in Crooners. There will probably also be music in the Wheelhouse bar adjacent to the Crown Grill. Just of note, Princess refers to their ships by name and then Princess unlike other lines where they state the cruiseline first followed by the ship name. So, it would be the Royal Princess.

We’ve been on a few so called spring break cruises, as a matter of fact, we went on Easter Day this past March on the Discovery and there were a lot of kids onboard but, not rowdy college kids but younger children, preteens and some teenagers. It was a crowded sailing but it never really felt that way. It wasn’t a rowdy booze cruise atmosphere in the very least. We’ve also noticed that the Mexico and Caribbean sailings tended to have a bit more of a booze cruise atmosphere but, the Pacific Coastal itineraries, not so much! I seriously doubt you will have any regrets with your decision. You have made no mistakes and I hope you and your family have a wonderful time.

I know it states a minimum age but I have had a friend that booked for her and her granddaughter for a mani pedi that was accepted. Her granddaughter is about the age you are stating for your daughter. Not sure if they booked it ahead of time but, it was done. So, you may just want to wait until you are onboard.

Just about any cocktail other than ones like a mudslide or a martini and such, can be made without alcohol, although sometimes, that means it’s just juice. I actually love a good Bloody Caesar / Mary without the vodka and then with some added horseradish. If there weren’t so much salt in them, I could drink those all day. also, there is a chocobanana which people seem to like that doesn’t have any alcohol in it. I think it’s like a dirty banana without the rum. I’m not a fan of sweet drinks but sone friends seem to enjoy them. I like club soda with just a splash of juice and some lime. Now, if they could make a decent tasting non alcoholic wine, I’d be in my heaven.

We took part in this on the Discovery, one as a gift from a dear friend. It was spectacular .. dinner and a show, the show being the highlight of the evening. I wouldn’t do it again as I don’t think our experience could be beat. But one time, it was truly amazing!

We’ve cruised on several cruise lines and it used to be that Celebrity was our favorite but Princess cruises out of our home port of San Francisco, the majority of our cruises have been on this line. We had a completely paid in full cruise on Celebrity with a lot of onboard credit because they canceled our cruise for a charter a couple of times so, in April 2023, we decided to take it out of Los Angeles. Since we were already a down there, we also booked a side by side cruise with Princess. Celebrity, while it had its share of positives, was just a bit disappointing. When we walked onto the Discovery, we both just commented that we felt like we were ‘at home’. What we missed on Celebrity: Bright and airy feeling open public spaces The Medallions and app (we use Ocean Now regularly and it always works for us) Daytime activities, games and events, even on sea days The complimentary room service with the package Casual dining venues without going to the buffet / pool deck for lunch (international cafe, Alfredo’s, Ocean Terrace). While Celebrity has Cafe Al Bacio, I don’t care much for sweets. Reasonably priced specialty restaurants Snacks in the PES lounge (we make dinner out of it on Princess and at least on the cruise we were on with Celebrity, no more hor d’ourves were being passed out) Open closet design Super comfortable beds and pillows On demand movies on the stateroom TV Starlink WiFi (on celebrity, the WiFi was absolutely worthless) Things I really loved on Celebrity: No indoor smoking, not even in the casino All glasses in the MDR and bars are Riedels, even the water glasses All cabins having a seating area Bathrooms have that dimly lit nightlight mirror as well as tons of storage space Apple Store onboard (where we each got new tax free iPads with all our onboard credit) Things I thought were equal on both lines: Food quality but my DH would have given this one to Princess Friendly and excellent service Not such great wine choices within the lowered priced packages Specialty coffees Outdoor seating areas All in all, we were just kind of bored on Celebrity and it felt too dark in the indoor public spaces. We felt like the side by side comparison was very telling as we felt so much more enthusiastic about being on a cruise once we were back on Princess. We also feel that the Royal class ships offer much better dining offerings than the Crown/Grand class ships do.

Yes, they will open up your 2025 bookings (at least the first half of it) in November for applying your OBC.

I want to be at one of your parties! ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I am happy to report that @JAT0303 gave me a solution to my problem! I wasn’t as concerned with them returning the money to my original form of payment as I was not being able to see which card # my refund ended up on. I just wanted to see my balances and like I mentioned, that issue was solved, thanks to the fine folks here on CC!

Yes, that is where I’m getting my error, as well. I’m going to try this method. uodate! That worked .. thank you for the link!

We have actually befriended a few of the ones onboard and they are wonderful people. We have time to enjoy a couple of visits outside of their work duties and even keep in touch with a few of them while we are at home.

You are correct. While I was onboard the Crown earlier this year, I asked one of the future cruise consultants to specifically tell me about the promotion. I was very upfront and open to the fact that I just wanted to know about what was entailed and I had absolutely no intention of purchasing it. I really just wanted to hear about it so that I could answers questions right here on CC in case anyone had questions about it. He respected that we weren’t going to purchase it but did put in some subtle hints on what a good deal it was. We explained that while we love to cruise, we rarely fly far enough to use a hotel before or after the fact. His boss from corporate, however, who we met up with later, really tried the hard sell tactic on us. Truly, it really isn’t a deal for us as we just don’t stay in hotels and we tried to explain that to him but he argued the fact that we needed to try it. Well, that was a complete turn off to us. Just because we really just like to cruise from our own home port doesn’t mean we don’t love to travel .. we just do our travels differently than others. Anyway, then when we returned home, we started getting phone calls from the Princess promotions. The first one, I had explained we knew about it and because we just never stay in hotels, it just doesn’t work for us. Oh my goodness, that’s all it took and she was fine with my answer. The next one, I explained he was the fourth person to try to sell atht to me and he politely agreed to take me off the call in list. The third fellow to call, actually said he was replacing as my booking agent over my long time CVP for a month. Huh? He was polite and friendly enough, if not a little over the top with surprise with how many bookings we had. I explained that we like to choose how and through whom I book my cruises. I called my CVP and put me back as one of her guests. I guess that was part of their agreement at the time. So strange. Anyway, long story short .. no more calls!