Lady Arwen

Honestly, nobody was turned away. Backwards baseball caps were not an issue either. It made me cringe, but things have changed a lot on Princess. It felt more like a Carnival cruise. We’re Elite, but we decided that would be our last Princess cruise. Back to exclusively HAL.

My husband prefers to wear casual slacks and a long sleeved shirt on casual nights with no tie and on formal nights he wears dress slacks and dress shirt with a tweed sports jacket and usually a tie. He wears jeans during the day. Just his preference. He’s a Brit so I think this is why he likes to dress for dinner. However, jeans in the MDR are perfectly acceptable on casual nights. We just returned from a Princess cruise and many men wore shorts, tshirts and ball caps to the MDR even on formal night. Usually accompanied by flip flops. Apparently, dressing up for dinner is a thing of the past.

I think you’ll be very happy with your decision. It’s a terrific cruise and you are going to have a fabulous time for 14 days! Enjoy!

We sailed August 24 to 31 on this itinerary and literally no motion whatsoever. We commented that it was like being in a hotel instead of a cruise ship.

We’re just two hours NW of Toronto in Thornbury and this weekend has been very hot! Like you, a few of our bushes have already started to dry out and the leaves look ready to drop. I doubt we’ll see a vibrant fall season. I wouldn’t suggest to anyone to take a Canada New England cruise just to see the fall colours. In Canada, especially, it’s very difficult to predict from year to year. On many Thanksgiving holidays in southern Ontario we’re still using the bbq and sitting outside and our neighbours in the Maritimes are shoveling the snow off of their driveways. You just never know.

We booked Rotterdam TA for October 2025 with this promo. We’ve been eyeing this sailing for sometime and yesterday we decided to pull the trigger. In Canada, our normal deposit would be about $900.00 for. 15 night cruise. Unless something extreme happens, we’ll be going. We just returned from a Princess Canada New England sailing and decided that after 20 yeas of Princess we were not going back. So, HAL is our first choice and we love the Pinnacle class ships. This promo just gave us the final push we needed.

Just got off Enchanted and we had the Sanctuary for the entire cruise, but most people had it for half days or occasional full days. You can book whatever you choose IF it’s available.

Good advice. We’re currently in our cabana enjoying the weather and our new friends on the last day. Sometimes you just have to know when to fold them, know when to……..well you know the rest.

Duh, of course you mean entertainment director. I will find out for you.

I don’t know what you’re referring to. My old brain is drawing a blank!

Happy cruising, Mark. I wish you well. We are vastly different people, but that’s okay.

Your empathy is staggering. However, most crew will not engage on a personal level with passengers they feel are not approachable. These guests just blindly go about their day without really seeing anything else unless it affects them. If it’s not about them, it doesn’t exist. My husband and I have spent a lot of time in the Sanctuary this week and the awesome staff have become like family. On slow days in port, they sit and chat with us for ages. Two young ladies have boyfriends that work in the MDRs. They have confided in us on many issues because they know we care and they trust us. They know most people see their smiling faces and assume that all is right with the world, when some of them struggle with being over worked and ill prepared and in many cases unappreciated. So we’ll continue supporting them and listening to them and letting them know that indeed we care and we see them.

I’m sure Princess will pull through just fine. My concern is not for them but for their employees. Guests need to be kind and patient while the staff are in their learning curve.

We don’t eat in the buffet, but passed through it the other day and I agree with your assessment. Tables were stacked with dirty dishes and guests were carrying their plates searching for a clean place to sit. I guess we’ll see how this plays out in the coming weeks.

Obviously, no one, not the waitstaff, nor Princess nor us knows what is going to happen with this new rollout. I just wanted to share the valuable opinion and the feelings of a couple of crew who are directly involved. Clearly, this is not a fleet wide nor scientific commentary on what is currently the thoughts of some crew. I would imagine if these two are apprehensive, then likely many of their peers are feeling likewise. I think it’s important to respect their frustrations and their anxiety looking towards a potential, if only temporary, challenging impact of their jobs. Yes, they will get through it and eventually come out of it the way these amazing people always do. They are strong resilient people, but at least we should try to show some empathy rather than dismissing their valid concerns. Everyone who is saying that’s it’s no big deal, is not walking in their shoes. The waitstaff is the backbone of our cruise enjoyment and instead of making comments that are dismissive, and in some cases doubting their validity, we should be doing whatever we can to understand and support their current misgivings. Not just the two we spoke to, because if there’s two willing to share their frustration, you can bet there are many more. Don’t just say it will be fine, don’t worry, say you support and respect their feelings, regardless of what YOUR feelings are. Until you walk a mile in their shoes you have no idea how they feel. If they want to vocalize their uncertainty, then listen and tell them you understand and support them. Kindness is free and goes a long way.

💯

True, but much different to move from buffet up to MDR. That’s challenging.

First, these young people spoke perfect English. Secondly, you have no idea where we were when we spoke to them. I don’t give a flying fig if you’re not convinced. I’m just the messenger, here. I have no reason to either disbelieve or doubt what they told us. And, when did I say it was scientific?

Problem is that buffet staff are only getting three days to navigate the MDR. I suspect many are way in over their heads.

It was very foggy in Bar Harbor and even worse yesterday (Wednesday) in St. John, where it rained and was chilly all day and into the night. Very typical of Maritime provinces weather. It’s either good or bloody awful! lol

Actually, buffet staff are being moved to MDR and MDR staff to SD.

Yes, I’m quite confident that they will ensure your dining experience is not impacted. You paid a premium and you should receive quality service.

We’re still enjoying ourselves, thankfully. We don’t eat in the MDR and the service in the SD restaurants is still very good, but the waitstaff are pushed to their limit. Every night we tell them straight away not to worry about us because we have nowhere to go and to take their time. Those going to the shows are a little more pressed for time and get a little antsy.

Good point!

Try explaining that to the waitstaff currently finding themselves in positions that they haven’t been trained for. The servers in the buffet are not ready to take on positions in the MDR. Our server said that it started last night and the mistakes being made are pretty bad. Guests are getting frustrated, but trying to go with the flow because they know it’s not the servers faults. I tend to believe the info coming straight from the horse’s mouth. In theory your idea works fine, but not necessarily in practice. Only time will how it works or doesn’t work.