Cruise Raider

I love it just the way it is now, too. That noodle bar is my fav and I am actually one that loves Harmony, as well. I think moving the Catch to the location of Harmony is true and opening Sabatini’s up at the location where the Catch currently resides is true. I heard this directly from the F&B manager. Of note, the Discovery has a noodle bar in the buffet .. and it’s just as good as the noodle bar outside on the pool deck on the Majestic. I was so happy to see it. It’s obviously a super secret because there was never a line. Hopefully, they will do the same on the Majestic if they replace the Noodle Bar with slice. 🤞 I think they had to have free pizza somewhere onboard since GiGis / Alfredo’s was changed to a casual dining venue.

I loved having the Royal here in SF and took advantage of that as often as possible. Although we’ve loved our cruises on the Ruby and Crown, mostly due to the crew, I would still love to see. Royal class ship home-ported again in SF in the future … any one of them would be fine with me.

Excellent! So glad that worked for you. Some of the phone reps are good, many are not. I had one bad experience on the chat line so haven’t used them since that time.

Everyone is different! It’s one of my favorite things to do while on a cruise. We never get a chance to watch movies while at home.

I’ve only tried the chat line once and after an hour, she just disconnected. I think I’d try the phone line .. at least you can keep them on the line until you get your new invoice to ensure everything is right. You can also express you want no changes to anything else .. just the room change.

Then, I would go for it since it is a cabin you really want.

I would only trust the 1-800 number if you are making a cabin change within the same category.

The funniest thing I’ve ever received is ketchup with my quesadillas I ordered .. not once, not twice but three different times. Were they out of pico de gallo or was there just a misunderstanding in the room service galley?

A factory sealed box of cereal should be absolutely fine.

We did the planetarium experience on the Discovery while on the Total Solar Eclipse cruise. The thought of offering this is great but it is not for anyone that has any physical limitations, as we all had to lay down on yoga mats and some people didn’t want to share the space on the floor. I think it held about 25 people at a time. While we are not normally outward vocal about any physical limitations we have, we were surprised this was offered without any alerts to this. We couldn’t stay. It would be perfect if the put lounge chairs inside the planetarium and would have loved to see more of the show. Maybe they will consider this in the future, as it really seemed to be pretty amazing.

We’ve seen people bring Boudin’s sourdough bread onboard in SF. We’ve also seen a Boudin’s sandwich get tossed. I would think the bread alone would be fine but, I don’t make the rules.

Even though we live close to the port, we were quite loaded down on our last cruise out of SF. It was a B2B, so we brought enough goodies for two weeks. We probably won’t bring that much stuff for the crew again and we certainly don’t take much at all when we have to fly to get to the port.

I take the Ghirardelli chocolates, too but for the crew. I always leave some on the bed for our room steward and give them for anyone bringing our food/ beverage delivery, along with cash. They are always much more excited about the chocolates. I agree that chips take up to much space .. we’ve found the individual packets of beef jerky they sell at Costco are compact but also a favorite of many of the crew. We do take nuts and protein bars for those that prefer that over candy.

I usually bring a small bag of pretzels so I have a little something in my stomach to take my vitamins in the mornings.

Personally, I think the plus package is worth it on Grand/Crown class ships but prefer the premier package on the Royal class ships. It comes down to the varied dining venues for that decision.

You sound a bit miffed and that was never the intent of this post. It was to help out those that might otherwise may waste their time on money on bringing food to the terminal they might not be able to bring onboard. Whatever rules Princess comes up with for rules and policies for the crew, that is their business and it may not necessarily be the same as that for passengers. @MsSoCalCruiserwas kind enough to post this letter in another thread and I shared the last paragraph for others, as I’ve heard this policy previously but then saw it in writing. Whatever level of enforcement occurs at every port is yet to be seen.

Im not really sure this is a very recent change. We brought a homemade meal a couple of years back for a birthday party for one the staff and her coworkers. We asked if we could do that again last year and were told it wasn’t possible. I totally understood their reasoning once it was explained to me. They don’t want their crew to get sick off of meals made in kitchens that might be questionable. It was also brought up that that the transport to the port may not adhere to their strict regulations. We now just bring gifts and individually factory sealed snacks and chocolates. I’m sure yours for personal consumption will fit the guidelines.

What I am reading is a lot of people saying they always bring whatever they want on to the ship and because they have done so, it will always be that way. The reason for the post is because I’ve been told they are looking into enforcement of this policy and you may not be able to do it in the future. Just because you’ve gotten away with it this far, don’t be surprised if you are asked to follow this guideline later on down the line. You may or may not be so lucky next time. I’ve already seen it enforced on cruises on the west coast. Los Angeles has certainly been the strictest in my experience. They haven’t even let people enter the terminal with any food or drink not meeting the guidelines.

They even have potato chips on the room service menu. I get them sometimes on my plate even though I never order them. They are my weakness and if I don’t see them, I am not tempted. But if they are there .. well, I hate wasting food. Fries are the same.

I think it’s about food safety in bringing meals onboard when they can’t monitor food safety protocols, especially with transporting it. I know we’ve bought food for certain crew members while out in port before when they couldn’t get off the ship. A friend of mine has wonderful cherries from her tree that she took onboard for some of her favorite crew members. We had no problem bringing a hot meal back onboard and my friend had no problem bringing fresh cherries onboard but have now heard it’s against their policy to do so. I have seen prepared restaurant food dumped in both LA and San Francisco recently, though. While it is possibly not enforced at all ports, other ports more can be very strict about it.

I have seen a whole full can of it at security in both LA and San Francisco. Some poets are pickier than others. I would be pretty sure they are more stringent during a spring break cruise than a 21 day transpacific cruise.

I’ve occasionally seen questions about bringing your own food onboard the ship and this pretty much mirrors what we have heard from a couple of F&B directors over the last couple of years. Thanks to @MsSoCalCruiser for this info from a letter from Princess. For your safety, any food/drink items you wish to bring onboard must be non-perishable, must not have reached the expiration date before the cruise ends, store bought, and factory sealed in their original containers and packaging upon boarding. Items requiring refrigeration must be transported in a cooler on ice in order to maintain proper temperature. Mini refrigerators are readily available in all staterooms. Items brought onboard must be stored in the stateroom and we cannot assign crew members to assist with the preparation. No meats, fruits, vegetables, homemade food or restaurant food will be allowed. Although we may allow certain items onboard, local port authorities may override any approvals we give. Once onboard, due to local agricultural regulations, food items may not be taken ashore.

Good info! I am going to copy a portion of this letter regarding brining food onboard. I’ve seen questions about it lately and this mirrors what we’ve been told. Certain ports are really picky about this and while you may get away with it, they will stand behind this if you complain they’ve tossed your food you bring onboard.

There are some cruises which you can book onboard at a discount (the future cruise office has listing of their offerings they will share with you at times). You can only book the standard fare and upgrade to one of the fare packages only once onboard. The cruises are also have a nonrefundable deposit and you are unable to get any other promotions with it or use a future cruise deposit. I think stockholders and military OBC are the only ones that can be added. There are several one way and repositioning on the list as well some Canada New England for the summer months. Nothing too far out in the future was on the most recent list I saw.

Im still not able to do it for cruises that are paid in full.