Cruise Raider

My absolute pleasure. Like I mentioned, it sounds like such great group that’s following along and no complaints .. anything to make someone else have a better cruise experience is my goal here. Other happy cruisers make it so much more fun for everyone, including us!

Wow .. today is so busy downstairs in the piazza. I happened to have looked over and a table opened up in front of my eyes .. I couldn’t believe my good fortune! so, we happened to get a nice little snack for breakfast and a nice seat near the center of the piazza for the activities. They are having a towel folding demo in a bit so we are going to hang here to watch that. We may never get another seat if we give it up now. Last night was a tribute ‘concert’ of CCR and The Eagles by Jumari. Wow, it was so awesome! We had such a great time and didn’t find out about this amazingly talented artist until just yesterday. If you’re lucky enough to cruise with him, find him early rather than what we did .. way too late in the cruise. Also, the cruise director and staff are so good. The CD, Cole and Asst. CD, Josie are such a great team .. they mesh so well with one another. Another one of the activities staff, Javi, is so funny and energetic. He’s the perfect choice for running the games. His sound effects will have you rolling on the floor. plus, you have to watch the ‘What the Puck’ tile hockey game. And the ‘IceHole’ challenge is hilarious. It’s formal night and the captain’s party tonight .. can’t decide if we’re going or not. If so, it will be early and we will eat very light as we have plans to meet up with some friends at the GastroPub later tonight, where will also go just to eat very light. We will take our a bottle of the Chardonnay we bought to share with them.

We just happen to be sitting right here Below are the breakfast offerings today. There were some delicious egg and veggie burritos the other morning. The egg muffins are quite good as is the toast selections with toppings, the smoked salmon, the avocado and egg, roasted veggie. (PS .. I see the egg burritos in the case with the danishes) I will try to remember to take photos the lunch/dinner offerings. I seem to be in my happy zone so may forget … but I promise I will try.

That is exactly how I feel about many of these threads … just a few very vocal complainers posting several times respecting the same complaint. If we see one of the guest service staff today, I will ask them about the suites and room service charges. I was on the Emerald last month and during the meet and greet, several officers showed up and allowed us to ask questions. They were toying with the idea of adding a concierge for the Grand Class ships. Seeing we so rarely book a full suite cabin, I am unsure if that ever happened. But, again .. maybe I can find out the answer to that.

We haven’t gone to the MDR for dinner as of yet and may not end up going. We have gone up to the PES (Platinum, Elite, Suite) event for happy hour and they have had some great nibbles up there in place of dinner. There is a nightly buffet in both the Horizon Court and the Caribe Cafe that have been really good. The Caribe Cafe is just aft of the Horizon Court and has a more ethnically themed menu, for example, one night we saw all Bavarian food and one night, it was Indian food. Be sure to check out both buffets. As noted, the room service menu seems to be more limited than just a couple of weeks ago. It does still have some great options, though. The International Cafe is one of my DH’s favorites for lunch. I like it more for breakfast for some lower carb options, though. I’m not really impressed with the wine options onboard although, have been able to snag a bottle of decent Chardonnay at a 25% discount. Vines, Crooners and Good Spirits are all great bars due to their great staff! Skywalkers in the evenings also has such wonderful staff and some fabulous views!

Sorry I do not have an answer for you about the suites but if I find out, I will respond on this thread, I’ve signed onto the OceanNow feature on the app and have ordered food and only incurred the one charge of $14.99 regardless of how much food I have ordered. My DH is also in the cabin but he avoids the app like the plague so he hasn’t been charges the activation fee for OceanNow.

Of note, we both received the $16 pp in port charges for Juneau on our folios today.

I don’t really care for the Botticelli dining room. Although all the food comes from the same menu, it is in the very aft of the ship and we oftentimes travel with those that can’t do the stairs. So, if we meet at vines, we have to go up to deck 7, walk to the aft and head back down to deck 6. Then, the waiting area to be seated can oftentimes be wall to wall people. To top it often, there is so much more vibration back there .. I’ve seen the silverware scoot its way across the table. That’s not a relaxing dining experience in my opinion. My first choice would be the Michelangelo and next, the DaVinci .. the reason being the proximity to Vines so I can take a nice glass of wine to dinner.

I know, I felt foolish when I realized how close we were to town after thinking we docked at the furthest dock. What a gorgeous day for a nice walk!

Yesterday was an amazing experience in Glacier Bay with the most gorgeous weather! Glorious sunshine and even whales and calving of the glacier was on the agenda. they had a beverage stand set up outside with Bloody Mary’s, coffee, etc. And, all the trimmings were included .. shrimp, celebrity, bacon, onions, olives, limes … just no napkins. a roaming photographer took so many photo down on deck 7. Seems like everyone congregated on the paper decks while deck 7 was relatively free of crowds. a few people came out to smoke, though. Seems so contradictory to such natural beauty. Today, we are once again being blessed with the gorgeous weather today in Ketchikan, sunny and in the low seventies. YES! I think we’re docked at the furthest dock from town today. I’ll figure it out once we get outside. We finally lose our hour tonight that we gained earlier in the cruise.

To purchase internet onboard, simply go to the app and go under packages, folio, etc on the menu. You can just sign up on the spot and your 50% discount should be applied. It should only be $7.50 per day per device. if you purchase it ahead of time, you will most likely be charged full price and the discount will be applied as refundable OBC to your account. We e gotten the package ever since it’s been offered so am taking that info from other’s experience.

You are spot on! While people that don’t purchase the packages because they don’t drink, probably won’t be lured into getting them because they will get free room service and free pizza. However, they are definitely making them more attractive by making dining options available. The premium has the photos, prizes, specialty dining and unlimited casual dining. Of note, many new cruisers were surprised to learn that Alfredo’s and GiGis and even room service had no extra charge. We’re going to probably see that push to attract more of those new cruisers that pay the fees without being ‘outraged’, ‘furious’, ‘feeling nickeled and dimed to death’, etc .. words that I’ve seen some passengers use over the recent changes. The ones that are disgruntled about change are probably the least desirable passengers for profitably and survival of the company. Personally, I think of everything that was not included 40 years ago for same price as what I’m paying now to cruise. It’s hardly kept up with inflation and is more of a bargain now than before if you exercise some flexibility in your bookings. What won’t change is that some people are always opposed to change. Some just will always see the glass as half empty instead of half full and just not seeing the added value. I’m getting way less for lot more $$ in my everyday life .. while cruises, even with the packages or the small incidental charges are still quite a bargain.

Your supposition is a bit silly .. Just look to see what other cruiselines are doing in terms of charges. Princess may take a some time to catch up, but they will get there eventually!

I actually do believe the app and medallions do live up to the hype as they’ve worked out pretty well for us, as well as for many others. I was merely commenting that adding customizations to the menu items on the app via a comments box would probably be a disaster and lead to so many more troubles for the staff. There already are some customizations that can be accomplished on the app through check boxes for what condiments are on your sandwich, what side orders you wish to include, what kind of milk you wish to have in your coffee, what dressing you want on your salad, etc. So, although you don’t like it, it has become necessary for those that want customized beyond the customization buttons to call in. Now charging for that privilege is merely an example of Princess keeping up with industry standards. I actually think they have exceeded industry standards in that you can order via the app. We cruised on Celebrity recently and we really missed having the app for ordering food. It was room service via a phone call or not at all. Plus, each order incurred a $12 fee which was charged regardless of when you booked your cruise. What Princess is now charging is pretty nominal in comparison.

That’s not the point of the app .. never has been and never will be. As a matter of fact, now that Covid does not pose nearly the threat to the majority of the population as it used to, they are actually making moves to decrease the choices on the app as it has become overwhelming with the cruises now sailing at full capacity. Like it or not .. that is what it is! They simply don’t have the staff for people that want every possible dish that can be prepared or customization. I would rather have a fair number of options as is than none at all. If you want your custom orders, just call in and pay for it.

No app will ever be able to replicate what you can describe when talking to someone in person. I don’t think a comments box would actually help the situation but rather, it would complicate things even more. Thus, if at all possible, I would just be happy that I still had that option and now you don’t have to pay the $15 activation fee for ON.

This is the right answer! If you do not use, you do not get charged! Personally, we find great value in paying the one time charge for ordering food via the app. But, if you don’t use it, you won’t be charged. Also, because the Ruby doesn’t have an Alfredo’s, I wouldn’t find it imperative to upgrade or buy a package if you don’t imbibe. Of course, they have a Salty Dog GastroPub which now has an a la carte menu and it is at a lower cost than what was previously offered. So, that’s a positive!

Aha .. now you just made my point for me! I think they are trying to get away from customizations to every order! That still requires extra resources. Adding that to the app would open a whole new can of worms! Extra resources = an extra charge .. that’s exactly what they’ve done!

I haven’t forgotten anything! So, living in California, inflation has outpaced the prices of the cruise industry by at least 3 times! I know you are trying to make a point by arguing every single comment I am making but, it’s obvious that when they added these additions to the packages last week, the prices of the packages have stayed the same. While I believe the packages will also increase in price around the beginning of next year, I still believe they are a great value.

Bravo!

I’m not suggesting anything except for people should realize that if they want something, they should expect the charges for it. If they want to save the money, that option is available, too. It’s just that simple.

But, the packages have not increased in price, although, I think it’s inevitable that they will. the only charge that is new if you don’t have a package is for room service, which has been a long time coming, as well at the sit down pizza place .. also a long time coming, IMO. There is still free pizza if you wish to use your feet to go get it. There is also an abundance of food it you use your feet to go get it! If you wish to pay for the sit down experience or delivery service, you will now pay for it. It’s as simple as that. If one wishes to be disgruntled about that fact, so be it! But in reality, those people are only cheating themselves by focusing on the glass half empty vs the glass half full.

If one person activates the the OceanNow feature on the app, it is a one time charge of $14.99. lt actually makes me believe that a lot of kids or family members each were actually using that privilege, ordering one soda at a time.

We just boarded a few days ago … so easy and quick! No lines whether you had your medallion or had to pick it up on the port. Lines for both were less than 2 minutes!

I don’t think so … hey, but that’s just me! It’s a small change to keep up with industry standards and inflation. To me, it’s much ado about such a small charge.