Paula_MacFan

Today we visited Copenhagen and took the Princess tour Mighty & Magnificent Royal Fortresses. We left a little earlier than scheduled as everyone showed up early which was nice. There were around 30 on our tour which was sold out, but the bus was only about 2/3 full so we had plenty of room. We had a good guide and driver, and the tour matched the description exactly. We visited Frederiksborg, Kronborg, & Fredensborg Castles. All were fascinating and different. Lunch was a traditional Danish meal served family style at a historic inn from 1740. At the end of the day on the way back to the ship we stopped for the obligatory Little Mermaid photo. Back to ship by 5:15, right on time. We had lovely weather today with temps in low 70s and partly cloudy. We've been very lucky with weather the whole cruise so far. We noticed maintenance painting on several balconies as we left port this morning. So far our only complaint is they ran out of our favorite beer on day 2 and won't be replenishing until we return to Southampton. Fail Princess. We have the drink package too 😕

Today we visited Aarhus, Denmark. We didn't take a ship excursion but walked to Den Gamle By on our own, a pleasant 20 minute walk from the ship. There were reps at the dock with maps and info, but we had already purchased tickets in advance and had a general idea of where to go. We walked along the canal to the complex where we spent the whole day. It's an open air museum with buildings and homes from the 1500's to the current times. There are people there in period dress doing demonstrations, preparing foods, & giving carriage rides. We had a great day and were glad we didn't do the ship's tour here. At sailaway a local marching band serenaded us for about 30 minutes. Everyone was out on their balconies clapping & cheering. That was a first for us, and really fun.

Day 7 patter

Day 6 patter. Also a word of caution not to pre-plan too much based on the Journey View function of the app prior to your cruise. Several things that were listed as recently as last week on the app have changed now that we are on board.

We attended the 2nd captain's party after dinner. Here are the stats: First timers - 616 Gold - 416 Ruby - 282 Platinum - 537 Elite - 313 Total - 2,165 Most traveled 74 cruises & 1,250 days Total Elite & Platinum combined 101,422 days or 278 years at sea 😮

We thoroughly enjoyed the Bayou Steakhouse tonight. We had early reservations and got right in with a nice window view table. We both had lobster cake appetizers, hubby also had sea scallops, nice basket of cheesy bread rolls with butter, and filet mignon. Hubby added lobster to his entree for surf and turf. The steaks were cooked perfectly and were delicious. We took our caramel cheesecake to go for later. The service was prompt and attentive. We are happy they switched the menu over recently to more closely match the Crown Grill on other ships. There were around 8 tables when we left around 6:30. I have some general comments about our fellow passengers but will reserve those until the end of the cruise. I'll report on Sabatini's later in the cruise 😊

The Island does unique itineraries though, so if you want to do them that's the ship. The itinerary we're on is only offered twice a year in the fall. I'm currently sitting in my mini-suite enjoying a calm day at sea, perfectly happy. Beats a day at work 😉

Yesterday we took an all day Princess excursion called Scenic Berlin. We met in Explorers at 7am but were delayed getting off the ship until 8am due to slightly late docking. They hurried 500+ of us off the ship to meet the chartered train cars on time. No disembarkation photos set up yet due to hurry 😊 The train ride to Berlin was 3.25 hours despite the tour description of 2.5 hours. During that time we had a host who provided info, water bottles, iced coffee, and snacks. The trip across the countryside was pleasant. Once in Berlin we exited the very busy train station according to our groups. There were several different Princess excursions offered that all take the same train. We had a competent guide & driver who led us on a city tour of the Reichtag, Berlin Wall, CheckPoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate, and other local sights. We made several stops throughout the day. Lunch was at a traditional beer hall with German food & beer, served family style in a lively atmosphere. After lunch we had a River Spree cruise, followed by a quick shopping stop on the Kurfurstendamn. We left from a different but just as busy train station around 6pm to make the train trip back to Hamburg. We arrived to the ship around 9pm and left shortly after. It was the longest excursion we've ever taken but felt it was worth it. We sat on our balcony and enjoyed the moonlit sail down the Elbe River. The captain said the river is about 81 miles to the sea and one of the busiest shipping ports. It was a lovely evening and we called it a day around midnight. Glad the next day is a sea day to relax 😊 So far our evening food has been: Day 1 - buffet Day 2 - Lido pizza Day 3 - MDR Day 4 - room service/late arrival back onboard Day 5 - Bayou Steakhouse reservation (tonight) Day 10 - we have Sabatini's reservations scheduled

We're having a great time so far. Both my husband and I have remarked this trip has had the calmest seas/least movement of any ship/trip we've been on. Which is rather surprising given the ship size & itinerary. Speaking of itinerary, as I mentioned earlier we pushed back another year to get the original schedule which includes Paris & Aarhus which weren't offered last year. We're glad we waited as we enjoyed Paris a lot and are looking forward to Aarhus tomorrow. We tend to cruise for the ports and experiences, and treat the ship as a floating hotel. We will partake in some evening live music or the occasional comedian, but we usually don't go to the MDR much if at all, don't usually go to production shows, and spend a lot of time on our balcony for sailaway or sea days. So far the weather has been lovely and on our first sea day there were even people in the outdoor pool swimming.

Here is the patter for day 5. 8

You're welcome! We did not attend the pop up Alfredos but we talked to several people on our excursion today who did go and said it was very good & worth the money. They said they had nice salads, a choice of several different pizzas, & tiramisu for dessert. Normally we are Alfredos people but we were just busy doing other things during the time it was held.

Port shuttle information and nightly buffet themes. Both were delivered to our cabin on day one.

Here are the patters for days 1 - 4 so if anyone is interested they can see show times etc. Princess is doing this itinerary again in October. BTW the patters have been delivered each night without us requesting them.

Yep, looks like it was 7:30 & 9:30. I posted wrong times earlier. That was the running time & not the show time. My apologies, we didn't go as we were totally jet lagged. Obviously maybe I still am 😊

LOL my husband has on the same thing. However I'm simply commenting on the overall tone in the MDR because I keep reading on CC how it's so formal from Southampton. Not true here.

England, Australia, & US. It's night 3 so people should be unpacked. The people next to us are currently having a loud face time call with their family at home. Not a real formal atmosphere.

Currently standing in line waiting for a table on formal night. Didn't realize they did away with the beeper system. That is unfortunate. I can also report I've seem tons of athletic wear, tennis shoes, khakis, and non formal wear. I was prepared for coat and tails the way people carry on here, but I can tell you unequivocally tonight it is very casual. In fact as I stand here waiting I see no coats, and several people in Under Armour branded shirts. It is 6:21pm ship time.

Night one was comedian at 7:30 & 8:15. Night two was Showtime Music Beyond Language at 7:30 & 8:15. Tonight is formal with Encore at 7:30 & 8:15.

Thank you! We initially booked this cruise back in 2018 to sail in 2020. Then of course covid hit and it was pushed back to 2021, then 2022. We opted to push back another year to 2023 to get the original itinerary including Paris & Aarhus. So it's been a long time coming and we're just happy to finally be onboard 😊

We've been aboard a couple days now. Our first full day was at Le Havre and we took the Princess excursion to Paris with Seine lunch cruise. It was wonderful and totally worth the time & money to go. We had superb guide & driver who both made the day special, and everyone on our tour was pleasant. So far we are enjoying the ship and are finding her in good condition. The first day they swapped out our balcony furniture for new. The staff has been very courteous and gracious. Absolutely no complaints so far! Our first time on the Island but we've sailed on Grand & Royal class in the past many times.

Great, so glad to hear it and we are doing the same train excursion in Germany 🙂 Sorry OP, didn't mean to take over your thread.

Under the search box there's another option with '+More Search options' where you can filter by specific words or phrases, and other options. That might help you. I can't personally comment on the Catch reviews, but I do know that fairly recently there was a thread asking which specialty dining venues were recommended, and there were several comments there about Catch specifically.

Same for us. We have loved Alfredo's in the past and usually eat there 2 or 3 times on a 7 day cruise. Last time on the Regal we had embarkation day lunch there, and then ate 2 evening meals there later in the cruise. We're leaving for an Island cruise tomorrow so sadly we won't have any Alfredo's, unless they do a pop up lunch. However, we are booked on the Regal in January and are looking forward to Alfredo's again and don't plan to let the new pricing scheme stop us. I just hope it's as good as we remember 🙂 Edit to say we are flying to London tomorrow for the Oktoberfest European Capitols cruise. Didn't you guys do that last year? I seem to recall a review you did. We've been looking forward to this one for a long time, initially scheduled back in 2020 but was postponed several times, obviously.

Agree with this 100%! Also dislike all the unnecessary packaging when medallions are sent to your home. Otherwise we really like the technology and features.

I'm sure the room issue varies ship to ship and I don't dispute your comments. We were able to get as much boxed water as we wanted from any bar during the cruise.