arxcards

Haven't seen one for years, as we often do the steakhouse on the last night.

I just tried this via Microsoft Bing's AI search. Randomly picked, I asked: Can you find me a cruise that goes to Lautoka, Dravuni Island & Port Vila? Answer: I found a Fiji Adventure Package offered by P&O Cruises Australia that goes to Lautoka, Dravuni Island, and Port Vila. The package includes a 10-night cruise that departs from Brisbane and visits Mystery Island, Lautoka, Port Vila, Lifou, and Brisbane. It also provided this link I424 | Fiji Adventure Package | Cruise Deals | P&O Cruises Australia (pocruises.com.au) The more exotic the ports, the more chance of missing a target. Also I don't know if this is the only itinerary that fits 100% or if the search excluded other potential hits.

P&O is worth a try if you haven't cruised on them since 2015. Still the same limited menus breakfast lunch and dinner (minus a N/C eggs benny). They are OK enough, but not when the dining room feels like groundhog day each time you board. Apart from that, they are decent value for money on familiar ex-Princess ships. Quite a few friends loathe Carnival, while quite a few others loathe P&O Australia equally. P&O has disappointed us the most recently, but maybe Carnival will trump them in December. We have used a chunk of our sizeable OBC towards the steakhouse as a food insurance policy.

I disagree. Every year they will spend a packet trying to foster brand loyalty. The recent changes haven't touched their Captain's Circle status tiers. In recent years, I can only recall the loss of free internet minutes being replaced by a discounted package and some tinkering of milestone qualifications. That tells me that loyalty is important to them, although they are prepared to churn a few rusted-on passengers in the process (you can't please all the people all the time). The PR on these changes was about spinning that everyone was getting more in their packages and designed to get more people buying them - fair game. The part that fails is not about the passengers on standard fares, but the ones that had already booked with these packages last year. The other side of loyalty has nothing to do with status tiers but is about goodwill and how their brand is spoken about in 3rd party referral or by social media influencers. They are copping a bashing, and that leads to less blue medallions.

I don't know if it an accidental error or a clever pun, but I have been seeing the new Prix Fixe menu being referred to as the new Price Fix menu. 😂

That makes sense Donna. $15per day each definitely adds up more than it does for our $10 x 2 on a 3 nighter. Even then, we need Alfredo's and the service charge each just to break even, and I would likely just try a smoothie for the sake of it. I think we will just avoid ordering with the app and skip Alfredo's for embarkation lunch and keep our $60 anyway. It is so confusing, that some of the bigger T/A's are only just starting to come to grips with the changes. Ours saw the page that showed us as already upgraded, unaware that it was a false lead. Then they were other pages saying that suites have complimentary room service, knowing that this had also been changed. They have now removed most references to the word complimentary, but there is no mention of a charge either.

Ahh, yes. The table dancers in the dining room. A bit on the strange side, but probably more entertaining than a Baked Alaska parade.

Indeed. If it is part of a premier package, it needs to be an option every day and not just lunches. If it comes to it, prix fixe menus could be made available to order via International Café.

I see the $3 chocolate truffles, which might be nice with an afternoon tipple.

Some of what I have been reading is that they can drop a pop-up menu into a section of the buffet or dining room on any given day - could be Planks one day, sushi another, Salty Dog another. This could be a solution for ships like Coral & Island.

For anyone with the premier package, unlimited would be disappointing at 1 per week, or even just sea day lunch each day. Other ships with dedicated Alfredo's are open early to late and a genuine option. On the Coral Princess page on their website, it mentions that Crab Shack will be coming back for their Alaskan voyages, so that isn't a solution either. Surely, they will have to add something else.

It is a deal from Princess, and they have it direct for $1999. Most T/A's will be a few bucks cheaper. https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=6401&fareType=BESTFARE T/A references are short lived here and outside what this site allows.

Yes, Alfredo's and Vines are the options on Grand, price is the $US version.

They have a pop-up lunch with Alfredo's menu in Sabatini's. That is the only "casual dining" available on Coral.

It does some sort of nibbles, a charcuterie board pairing for your wines and some truffles. I can't recall if that is an option on Grand as it was for Majestic, but will check.

We Aussies must be a bit behind. Definitely a slight majority that fit the no package category down here, partly because our typical cruises are 10 - 14 nights. The longer the cruise, the more expensive the package. Diamond loyalty and the suite concierge lounge on Royal doesn't require us to buy a package at all, as there are plenty enough drinks to go around. The bean counters need to be careful not to bite the hands of the people that have made them what they are today. Next cruise was booked last year - suite & premier. Is it great value - yes, undoubtedly. Then why would you think I feel squeezed to be paying an additional service charge and for Alfredo's when I already paid for those to be included when I booked? Why do you think I would be negative about an "upgrade" to a package which doesn't actually give us anything extra, but requires us to pay extra just to keep what we already had?

Thanks for your candour. Vomiting Pink Donuts 😂 I won't be able to unsee that when we board on Boxing Day. I think kitsch describes Carnival décor well. I sort of know what to expect with Carnival, even though it has been a while. I am looking forward to some of the features, including the late night comedy followed by late night pizza, a sleep-in, then sea day brunch. All of this is very different to how we usually spend a sea day, in line with the way Carnival is different to our preferred cruise lines.

Thanks. It isn't letting me do that at present, as the upgrading link on the personaliser is currently mung'd.

Nuts indeed, but I won't be paying for premier on a 57-night half world cruise, but a single service charge is encouraging.

Popcorn will still be free for Plus, with special caramel popcorn & reserved seating for premier. 😉

I have no problem with the pricing of plus, or even premier on shorter cruises. Great value for us, but for most it isn't about comparing the price of packages or specialty restaurants. What about the people, and I figure it is still a large %, that are not Plus fare kinda people. The ones that don't drink much, or won't drink much because of the prices. The ones that just want the inclusive stuff when they board. The ones that had a coffee card so they could drink inclusive coffees and teas without getting their card punched. The ones that used to get free internet minutes for their elite status. The ones that will no longer dine at Alfredo's or get room service because there is a charge. The ones for which cruising becomes a less inclusive holiday year-by-year. The ones that could get service without a phone in their hand. These are the loyal elite status cruisers from the past generation for which other cruise lines are looking more attractive with each of these changes. Thanks for your loyalty.

Hopefully a ship in Japan will have decent sushi, if not spectacular.

November seems to ring a bell.

Yes, I know the package prices are more than favorable than most of the opposition, but passengers without packages (or last years' packages) will be paying for what was included at the time of booking. So be it, but then the Princess PR spin says they are giving you more, which is absolute bollocks to those that are getting less. There are winners and losers. We have 3 Princess cruises booked: 1st - Majestic Princess with last years' version of premier. Alfredo's was free and Ocean Now charges didn't exist when we booked. We lose on this, or we pay extra to upgrade to the current premier price/package to keep what we thought we already paid for (they can keep those diabetic desserts and fitness classes) 2nd - Coral Princess with this years' premier package. All included, but it already was when we booked. Priority boarding would be an added bonus, if not already in a suite and elite. 3rd - Half a world cruise in 2025 on Crown, with the current Plus package. We gain either 2 or 4 Salty Dog meals, depending if it is applied for the whole cruise or by sector. No big deal, but it is an extra that somewhat reflects the PR spin about this. An earlier comment about Carnival Corp realigning their brands makes no sense if Royal & NCL start to look more attractive.

Do you think they want us to ...