I Fly

Thanks for all the helpful comments.  I plan on coming prepared with what I want in terms of dining reservations and show reservations and will act quickly as we should be in the first group of sailors getting onto the ship.  Hopefully, we will be lucky enough to find a rockstar agent in the waiting area.  

I’m understanding from the title of this post and the initial question, is there anything special about taking an inaugural cruise.  We have taken two inaugural cruises and in terms of “special activities” or things like that, nothing really to speak of at all.  As mentioned, the naming ceremony and cruise associated with that cruise, might have more pomp and circumstance, but generally as there are many VIP’s on those cruises, sometimes the service isn’t as good for everyone else.  The potential for some issues can happen as the crew isn’t fine tuned at that point and still figuring out what works and what needs to be adjusted.  
Would I take an inaugural cruise again?  No!  Taking a cruise a month or two after all the kinks are worked out, is so much better.  You still have a brand new ship, but by that time, the cruising experience is much better than on the first revenue cruise.  But after saying all of that, if the excitement of taking the inaugural cruise is something you always wanted to do, there is still a wonderful feeling for being one of the first passengers to experience a new ship and even better a new class of ship.

We have just booked our first cruise on Virgin Voyages yesterday and we sail in less than 30 days.  We booked a Brilliant Suite and understand we will have a rockstar agent (concierge?) to assist us during our cruise.  As we have booked so close to our sailing date, most of the restaurants are completely full for reservations, or a few have around 10PM available.  I understand from reading other helpful posts that one option is to immediately after getting on the ship, go onto the app and make the reservations we desire, as a percentage of spaces are left for onboard bookings.  My question is would I be able to ask one of the rockstar agents to assist me with making our dinner reservations?  I don’t want to find out that I should have rushed onto the app immediately after boarding and made my bookings instead of waiting for the rockstar agent to do it for me.  Sorry for the long explanation, but there are so many experts on these boards and finding out before hand is so much better than finding out what I should have done. 😊

THANKS!  Sounds so logical, but never thought of that.  🙂 In the old days you got your sea pass at check in.

Haven’t sailed on Royal for several years.  How do you pay for drinks or anything on embarkation day before the rooms are open and you can get your sea pass card?

I agree with the several comments about airfare costs being another concern to be considered.  Taking that out of the picture, if you can decide and commit to an Alaska cruise closer to 90 days out, instead of what seems to be 60 days out, cabins seem to become available right before and around final payment date.  (even 75 days out, could give you a few more options) There used to be an unofficial grace period just following final payment date when unpaid reservations were still held a few days further before being re-released for sale.  I wouldn’t count on that, but the likelihood of cabins becoming available right around final payment date for any Alaska cruise might be your best time to book which would push your commitment out as long as possible.  

24 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

I would think that the UDP would be available for your cruise by now.  

Thanks, that’s what I would have thought too.  Might they offer it for sale once we get on the ship?

How far in advance can you book the unlimited dining package?  We are sailing on the Mariner on May 12, 2023, and so far the unlimited dining package isn’t being offered.  Might it become available closer to the sailing date?  

How far out is the unlimited dining plan offered before a cruise begins?  Our cruise sails on May 12, 2023, 8-night cruise, and they aren’t offering Unlimited dining package.  Might it be offered closer to the cruise departure or just not offered on our cruise if it’s not offered yet?

We are currently on the Grand Princess for the 12-night Vancouver round trip to Alaska.  The Captain made a very early announcement well before we departed Vancouver (yes seven hours late) and he specifically said, RECOMMENDED not required, in terms of mask wearing.  We have been on cruises when masks were required even after Princess’s policy changed to recommended and we always got a letter delivered to the cabin.  There has been no letter delivered to our cabin with any instruction requiring masks indoors.  Many people are wearing masks, at least 80% maybe even higher, but there are some who are not.  I could have missed an announcement about mask wearing, but I can certainly attest that no letter was delivered to our cabin.  Just as another update about our cruise, as we departed Vancouver seven hours late, we will skip Icy Strait and have an entire day in Juneau, after an additional sea day getting up to Juneau.

14 minutes ago, phabric said:

Yes, you have to log into your Princess account to  get the price on August 9.  If you don’t log in on August 9, the itinerary will show but not the price.
 

I don’t know the time the prices will  show.  Princess offices in California open at 6PST.  I just keep checking.  

Thanks so much!!!

On 7/28/2022 at 10:15 AM, phabric said:

If Elite, if you log on August 9 the prices will show up.  If not Elite, the prices will show up on August 10.

As new to Elite, my understanding is after logging into my Princess account on August 9, I’ll be able to book these new itineraries?  Is this correct?  Does anyone happened to know approximately what time the bookings open?

We are on the Caribbean Princess right now and both of those restaurants are closed.  We are currently sailing with 1700 passengers.  

Thanks so much for your help.  I have another question related to dress.

We are taking a 13-night “Trans-Atlantic” from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona, so not the typical QM2 Trans-Atlantic.  It might be better called a repositioning cruise.  I understand the difference between Gala nights and the other nights that are more “casual” Cunard style.  Formal nights are pretty self explanatory, the informal nights are where I have a question.  I’m assuming in the QG, people may be dressier, and I’m certainly fine with that.  If dressing up were a problem, why would I sail on Cunard?  How dressy are the non-gala nights?  How many gala nights should we expect on our 13-night cruise?  It’s August and traveling from Florida to Barcelona.  Do they still do theme nights?  I guess I just want to get a feeling of what to expect from people who have sailed before on Cunard.  
 

Thanks again in advance.

We are also new to QG and our first cruise will be in August on the QE.  We are not new to cruising as we have sailed several hundred days between other cruise lines.  We are looking forward to sailing in QG, but after reading many of the posts, there are a few additional questions that come to mind.

1.  Having a pre-assigned table in QG sounds very nice, but there must be some tables that are more desirable than others.  Having a table by the window sounds best to us.  Is there a way of requesting that prior to sailing?  We will be sailing in a Q5 aft corner and wondering whether Q1-Q4 grades get first choice, or at least “better” table locations?  It’s always better letting someone know our preferences prior to all the tables being assigned and then asking to be moved. 
 

2.  Is caviar something that is served in QG?

3.  Are there any QG perks that are offered to Q1-4 grades, which are not offered to Q5-6?  Somewhere I recall priority port disembarkation being exclusively offered to Q1-4.  Also, relating to this, are there embarkation times assigned at the beginning of the cruise to QG passengers, or may you arrive at your leisure?

Thank you in advance for any advice you may be able to offer.  Any other advice in general is ALWAYS appreciated.

Prices updated to 2/13/2015 Equinox Sailing

Thanks! I really appreciate that updated laundry price list.

Steve

Maybe the customs officer thought she was leaving on a trip and not returning home. I can't imagine a person who goes through luggage as a profession would be surprised to see dirty laundry when someone is returning from a trip. Either he was joking or just seeing what her reaction might be. Some people might fold their dirty laundry neatly, while some might lump it together in a big bag, but the idea of being surprised of seeing dirty laundry in a suitcase is just ridiculous!

Steve

Thank you for writing your review. While I know many negative reviews are written stemming from one or two unpleasant experiences, it is still hard to ignore them completely. Each time I read a positive review, like yours, I feel better and more assured that our upcoming cruise on the Infinity will be excellent.

Steve

Unfortunately, this price list is out of date. I just returned from a Solstice cruise and have a copy of the current list. I can't seem to post it, but everything has increased. Socks and underwear are $2.50. Dry cleaning a suit costs $15.00. Most items have increased $1.00-$2.00.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised that the website is out of date. We cruise in two weeks and I guess I'll find out the new prices at that time.

Steve

Regular service, picked up before 9AM, is returned next day. For same day service, picked up before 9AM and returned same day, add 50% express service surcharge.

Laundry Services

Item Price

Jacket $5.95

Pants $4.95

Long Sleeved Shirt $4.95

Short Sleeved Shirt $3.95

Sweater $4.95

Shorts $3.95

Dress $7.95

Skirt $4.95

Pajamas $3.95

Handkerchief $1.95

T-shirt $2.95

Undergarments $1.95

Swimsuit $2.95

Socks, pair $1.95

Dry-Cleaning

Item Price

Suit $12.95

Jacket $7.95

Pants $5.95

Long Sleeved Shirt $5.95

Short Sleeved Shirt $4.95

Sweater $6.95

Shorts $4.95

Dress $12.95

Skirt $5.95

Necktie/Tie $3.95

Pressing Only

Item Price

Suit $5.95

Jacket $4.95

Pants $3.95

Long Sleeved Shirt $3.95

Short Sleeved Shirt $2.95

Sweater $3.95

Shorts $2.95

Dress $5.95

Skirt $3.95

Hey Steve,

Just saw Arno's post about this subject on another thread. ;)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=45729335&postcount=46

 

Arno, thank you for the Luminae updates. Keep them coming! :)

Thanks Sallie. Hope to see you again on another cruise.

Steve

Sorry but Miami really is not the right source for information.

Many passengers have already reported back and have photo evidence to back up their statements.

 

The new Luminae is not being used as yet. Phase two of the project will involve moving some of the present galley elements for the exclusive use of Luminae.

I will try to post a picture before we leave on Saturday. I will ask the Restaurant manager about the unveiling which should take place next week.

Since work started on Equinox a week earlier, someone there might already have pics...

Arno,

Are you still dining in specialty restaurants every night? Thank you for all of your updates. Your information is priceless and so appreciated!

Steve

Purelle is good, but is not as effective as the Clorox brand that is used through out hospitals. It is 99.9 percent effective and is bleach free. A bit expensive but worth the money!:)

I've been using Purell VF-481 for several years now, which is the type that is used on Celebrity. This version of Purell has been shown in tests to be effective against Noro Virus. Just recently I've switched to Zylast. A product that seems to remain effective for up to six hours, compared to just killing the germs on your hands when applied. Of course washing your hand in warm soapy water is still the best method to get rid of the noro virus on your hands. I do both. I wash my hands and then apply my alcohol product. Of course, noro virus is very contagious and no matter how careful you may be, you still may get it. You just try your best and lower the odds.

Steve

I can think of something that could be added at the 1500 point range. Balcony discounts. We cruise mostly with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and I do appreciate the balcony discount on Royal which can be combined with any special rate. This would encourage people to book a balcony instead of an inside/OV which we do more often on Celebrity then Royal. I do not like the free beverage program as the price is inflated and as an Elite Plus we enjoy the happy hour and then select the wine of our choice that we will enjoy at dinner.

 

Johanne

That IS a perfect example of a benefit that has a real value, is something to strive for, doesn't detract from anyone else's cruise experience and doesn't create crowding. Great answer!

Steve

While I am no where near attaining Zenith, I'm well into Elite Plus. I'm very happy for the very top Zenith cruisers getting all the perks that they are offered. Someone that has cruised 100+ cruises should be given special treatment. My concern is that if they start adding an Elite Plus Plus, or Zenith Minus, and offer perks that cause over crowding, the added perks become less appealing to everyone. If they are able to offer perks that seem more attainable and at the same time not take away from everyone else enjoying the cruise, that would be wonderful. We don't need any more priority tendering, now offered to more than half the ship. Cocktail parties so crowded that they have to split things up by cabin deck assignments. Thinking about it, I can't think of anything substantial that they could offer in a level between Elite Plus and Zenith that would be worth striving to achieve.

Steve