Projunior

Having done it half a dozen times, picking up medallions on embarkation day seems to me to add all of about 45 seconds to the check-in process.

Money isn't "spent" in the casino; it's wagered and you either lose or win. The fact that you consider the gambling part of your $6K as "spent" money that you "paid" to HAL would seem to imply this outlay of cash might be better described as "losing money in the casino". Any chance that a bad run at the tables or slots colored your impression of your cruise?

We just returned from a Symphony of the Seas sailing out of Cape Liberty. There is no T-Mobile cell service at the port, as in zero bars on the phone. This means if you are expecting to call an Uber to bring you to the airport after the cruise you are pretty much SOL. I say this from experience. I am not sure about other carriers besides T-Mobile, but one of the workers said because the site housed a former military base there are no cell towers in the vicinity (not sure of the veracity of that).

I find it strange that Princess, who has traditionally played up a linkage to Italian food, wine and culture, does not offer a single Italian white or red wine by the glass on either the Plus or Premium list. Hard to believe they can't find an inexpensive chianti or sangiovese to offer.

Just spitballin' here, but it wouldn't surprise me if whichever MDR is designated for Traditional Dining ends up having fewer diners show up in flip-flops, ball caps and shorts. Further, on Formal Night it might look, dare I say it, a tad more formal there.

I have no earthly idea where you came up with that take, but rest assured, it's 100% wrong.

When the cabins aren't selling count on the Princess Players Club to fill up the ship by giving them away to casino denizens.

Bid on a Club Reserve minisuite on our early February Regal cruise. Had zero expectation of success since ALL minisuites and suites were listed as Sold Out for weeks before the sailing. Imagine my surprise when an email arrived saying my bid had been accepted less than 72 hours before sailing.

We have been on the Regal Princess three times in the last 15 months and will be sailing on the Enchanted in early April. Your experience at having difficulty playing at the Hold'em table echoes our exact experience on the Regal (minor correction: WPT Heads Up Hold'em is licensed from Galaxy Gaming and is in the casino on Carnival Corp lines/ships while Ultimate Texas Hold'em licensed from Shufflemaster is on RCCL/Celebrity ships. The games are very similar). There were no sign-up sheets on the Regal and so people were forced to stand and wait and wait and wait at the table for an empty seat. I saw one man stand and wait almost five hours for a seat. People would sit down in the afternoon and play until closing without even going to dinner. Total insanity. I have asked about adding a second table more times than I care to count. I point out the need to address this on every survey. I have talked to multiple casino management people. Invariably they respond with some form of shoulder-shrugging and the implausible argument that "there's nothing we can do". Nor do they ever have an explanation as to why the Ruby Princess, a Grand class ship with a smaller passenger capacity (3080) than the Royal-class Regal (3660) has TWO of these tables. Sounds like more frustration ahead for our April cruise. Bummer.

I like Italian red wine. It is surprising and disappointing to me that there are none by the glass on either the Plus or the Premier list.

Just off the Regal last week. Nothing in the Patter but quite a few passengers seemed to be participating in "Slob Night".

I'd like them to offer unlimited casual dining (Alfredo's) for Elite instead of the current cheapo two per cruise. This won't cost them any more then it did before they changed the Plus package.

I was on the on the Regal in early November. I ordered a double scoop of coffee gelato in a sugar cone at Gelato in the Piazza. I asked the server and was told there would be no charge as I have the Plus Package. Indeed, no charge appeared on my account.

I am currently sailing on the Regal. Yesterday I ordered a double scoop of coffee gelato in a sugar cone at Gelato in the Piazza. I asked the server and was told there would be no charge as I have the Plus Package and, indeed, no charge appears on my account.

We docked in Moorea on the Tahitian Princess way back when. We prebooked an Avis rental car and circumnavigated the island. Made various stops along the way.

Curiously enough, Princess sent an email today that included this which answers the question...

I was wondering if White and Gold night takes place on a formal night. Searching for an answer yielded conflicting results with some people saying yes and others saying it's a separate night. Can any recent cruisers clarify?

Princess should make Alfredo's free for Platinum Captain's Circle and above. This might be a small step in the right direction for those who (rightfully) think that current CC perks are on the meager side.

This has not been our experience on any of the 12 Princess cruises we have taken. I don't know if the announcement you referred to is over the PA system or in the Patter, but we have never once encountered either type. We are familiar with the Wheelhouse Bar and typically enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail there. However, on our last two cruises, both on Grand class ships, Ruby and Sapphire, the music in there was so undanceable that requesting anything seemed pointless.

As it turns out, tango lessons are not quite as unlikely as you speculated. This is from my Sapphire cruise in Alaska in August...

Just to be clear, two were legit freebies from the Plus package and the other two were due to screw-ups in billing us.

Yes, four free visits.

My experience... We were on the August 2 sailing of the Sapphire in Alaska, the cruise that kicked off this whole brouhaha re Alfredo's. We, DW and I, both ate four lunches in there. The first one, price fixe, never showed up on either of our portfolios . The second showed up as individual a la carte charges for the appetizers and pizzas, but no listing at all for the desserts we had. When I noticed this that evening I went to Guest Services and explained to them that we had ordered from the price fixe menu and that we had the Plus package and that we were under the impression that this meal should count as one of the two free ones. She said she would contact Alfredo's. When I checked my portfolio the next day, the charges had been deleted. Before I was seated by the host of Alfredo's prior to the third lunch, I asked if he could check to see how many of my two free meals were left on my and my DW's accounts. He returned and said, "Two". I decided not to dispute that. So four freebies in all. When casually chit-chatting with any different host or server, I made it a point to throw in an aside that, "I liked this place better when it was free" under the assumption that any and all pushback can't hurt. Over the four lunches, two on sea days and two on port days, Alfredo's was deserted. There were never more than four tables occupied, including ours.

Liquid soap is (barely) satisfactory in the shower, but sometimes I just want to wash my face at the sink with soap and water and for that I want a bar.

We are Platinum on Princess and Elite Plus on X. To us, the Princess buffet is inferior.