5:00_Somewhere

Those are not crawfish but "chicken" or small (1-2 lb) lobsters, which are very common for New England Lobster and Clam Bakes. You can tell by comparing them to the length of the full ears of corn next to them. I live in Boston, by the way, and have been to many a Bake with lobsters that size. Nice and sweet. 👍🦞🤤

They still offer the option, on all ships to the best of my knowledge. But, unfortunately, it's highly sought after and competitive these days. You literally have to run up there as soon as you board (no option to book before boarding), and even with Elite status, it's hit or miss whether there will be any spots available by the time you arrive. We have waited in lines for more than an hour on recent sailings, only to be shut out or to get a spot for a single half-day. Even on our May Alaska cruise on Discovery, it was booked up. We got 2 half days, but it was sad to see how many people had reserved but never showed up. If passengers don't have the courtesy to officially cancel the reservation, the crew cannot release the spots, even if no one ever shows up. Plus, in my experience, if you're on a ship that's doing the 7-day eastern/western Caribbean itineraries, there will be a lot of people doing back-to-back sailings for both weeks, and they are permitted book their week 2 during their week 1. We find it nearly impossible to get a spot on a 7-day Caribbean sailing these days, for this reason. And this is especially true of Royal Class ships, as they have fewer loungers in the Sanctuary than on the Grand Glass ships, especially loungers in the shade. If you're willing to spring for a Cabana, you may have better luck, but that gets expensive. Sorry to be a wet blanket, but wanted to share our experiences. Hope the information is helpful.

The Lawn Club Grill and The Porch are the main reasons I would choose the Silhouette or Reflection over any other S-Class ship, if I have the choice. 👍

Last December for our B2B on the Sky, they were offering a discounted couples week pass for the Enclave if you purchased before boarding. If memory serves, we received an email about this and a few other "specials" a few weeks before embarkation. In the past, we had been able to purchase the discounted couples pass once on board so we decided to wait. Unfortunately, once we boarded we were told that the couples discount was only available if purchased prior to boarding. Once on board we had to pay the full individual price for each person. Because it was a B2B we were able to go online and purchase the discounted couples pass for the second leg of the cruise. I do not know whether Princess offers the couples discount at all anymore, but thought I'd share this information in case it's helpful.

OMG, that is FANTASTIC! I'd love to know where you found them. I tried Amazon and found something similar on Etsy, but not as eye-catching. Congrat's on your neg tests, and fingers crossed for your flights. 🤞 Safe travels.

Not in the free steam rooms located in the changing/locker rooms. There is an "aromatherapy" steam room with Eucalyptus within the Thermal Suite on the Ruby, but there is a charge for entry to the Thermal Suite.

I really like that feature on newer Hilton properties. I recently stayed at a new Hilton Garden Inn on a business trip and used all those functions, as well as checking out on my phone right before leaving my room so I didn't have to wait in the long line of people at the front desk. Ain't technology grand, sometimes? 😉 Enjoy your stay. 👍

Thanks. I'm also looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip, as I'm looking forward to doing our first TA in the not too distant future, and also want to visit Iceland. Our first cruise on the Summit was also in 2019, and then our first cruise post-Covid was on her again last August, just after the restart. There were only 320 passengers on that cruise, which was a little eerie, but also pretty amazing, especially after going nowhere and going nothing for nearly 2 years. She's a lovely ship, with a fantastic crew both times. Although, like you, I do miss some of the other features and venues of the larger X ships. Glad you enjoyed Boston. I'm originally from the Pacific Northwest, but moved here for Grad School, fell in love with it and never left. That was 30-some years ago, and I still enjoy it to this day. One of my favorite things is just walking through the Public Garden and the Common, and down along the Esplanade. It never gets old to me. Thanks again, and happy sailing. p.s. - you're probably already up on this, but the one thing we found a slight "challenge" about the ArriveCAN app last spring when we cruised Alaska was figuring out which pier to use when it asks for an address. When you enter the city, it offers several suggested options - at least for Victoria - and we only knew to research the topic in advance (so we could fill it out prior to boarding) from people here on CC, so thought I'd pass that along in case you didn't already know.

First of all, my best wishes for an uneventful and uninterrupted trip this time. Second, thank you - as always - for sharing your experiences. I'll be following with interest, and will appreciate any insights you may offer regarding the ship, crew and especially the Canadian ports. We board the Summit on 9/11, in Retreat Class, and are very much looking forward to it, partially (but only partially) because Boston is home for us and we're happy not to be flying to join the ship. 😉 It will be our 3rd time on the Summit, and we've found the ship and crew to be exceptional in the past. Happy sailing! 👍

We sailed in D726 on Sky Princess last December - which is the same cabin and location 2 decks lower - and it was absolutely AMAZING! The views from the wrap-around balcony are spectacular, and will be extra special for Alaska! We had read similar concerns about our cabin on Sky Princess, but never once smelled any cigarette smoke on our balcony during the 2 weeks we sailed her, and we were 2 decks closer to the Promenade than the OP's cabin. Hopefully, this will not prove a problem for them.

We absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED our Celebrity Suite on the Summit last summer but, yeah, the bathroom entry was a bit odd. Wouldn't stop us from booking one again, though. It's a wonderful cabin. 👍 Oh, and I would note that on the "revolutionized" Summit, they have removed that big piece of furniture at the foot of the bed, so it's not such a tight squeeze.

Just so you know, it's not a scripted TV series like the original Love Boat. It's just another of the endless line of "reality dating shows". We have friends who were just on the Regal a couple weeks ago and saw them filming several times. Here's a link to the description from Variety. The Real Love Boat

We have mostly sailed in non-suites on Princess (including Club Class), but I have only ever seen umbrellas the few times we have sailed in full suites on Princess. Other cruise lines, such as Celebrity, provide umbrellas in more categories of cabins (if not all).

Actually, on the Majestic, Sky, Enchanted and Discovery, they added a number of deluxe balcony cabins forward and aft on Dolphin Deck that are very much like the Caribe Deck balconies on the Grand Class ships: larger than average, and 1/2 covered by the balcony above and 1/2 open to the sky. They are our favorite! 👍

Circling back, she did not announce the sailings we are looking for. 😒

Agreed. Unfortunately, because they added a hot tub smack in the center of the window area, and these odd - barely used - "conversation pit" sitting areas on either side of that, there are really only 2 regular loungers on either side of the hot tub that are fully under the covering, and 2 more that are sort of just under the edge of the covering, but they do get sun, depending on the position of the ship. I'm attaching a couple of pictures as reference. The first includes the hot tub and the Port side of the forward Sanctuary area. You can't see the "conversation pit", but it's on the other side of the hot tub. In the second (pardon my feet) you can see the 4 loungers under cover on the Port side and a bit of the "conversation pit" to the right of the loungers. And, again, the other side (behind the camera) is a mirror image. Also, as others have noted, because the covering is a sort of mesh and has gaps where lashed to the struts (again, see the picture), there really is not full sun protection in the Sanctuary, except in the Cabanas. Hope this is helpful.

We've been waiting for Nov-Dec 2023 Caribbean and Mex Riv sailings to be announced, as well - patiently so far - and our wonderful Princess CVP posted on her Facebook page yesterday that she has a surprise announcement coming by the end of the week that many of us have been waiting for, but I have no certainty it's about these itineraries. If not, I'm about at the point where we'll start looking to Celebrity instead, as well.

@zitsky I literally just had this conversation with my husband over coffee this morning. I'm a little stressed about our upcoming travel plans, as well, and not thrilled with the idea of being moved from our Sky Suite to a cabin with no fresh air. But, we do not have to fly for our next cruise, and it's "only" 10 days. We will follow the same protocol as our last 4 pandemic era cruises: self-isolate for at least 2 weeks before boarding, test 2 days before boarding (whether the cruise lines drop that requirement or not), once aboard stay outdoors in the open air and away from crowds as much as possible indoors and out, enjoy our balcony (which we do a lot anyway), avoid elevators, mask in all crowded indoor spaces and on any public transportation for excursions, etc. Sort of a variation on @Ken the cruiser's recommendation. This has served us well on 4 cruises thus far (5 if you count our B2B as 2), and at home for the past 2.5 years. We are 2 of the few people we know who have not yet contracted Covid, including after our recent Alaska cruise on which we knew and interacted with several people who ultimately tested positive and became ill. Hoping that following this personal protocol will keep us healthy at least during the cruise and/or minimize the numbers of days we would be isolated on the ship if we do become ill. Then we can simply drive home afterward. So ... 🤞 To be honest, though, if we had to fly to embark and/or fly home, I might well consider cancelling. The stress of dealing with all this, especially with the BA.5 variant running rampant, sort of negates the relaxation I'm seeking from a cruise vacation. Your mileage may vary. Just a few personal thoughts to the extent they may help.

In years past the pass was good for the entire duration of the cruise. But you have to be careful to know how your cruise is actually structured by Princess. For instance, a back-to-back is actually 2 separate cruises, though sold as a single itinerary. And I know there are other itineraries that are structured in a similar manner. I say "in the past" because I've seen people on hear commenting that these passes may not be for the entire duration an some longer itineraries. I can't comment on that as our recent experiences were on 7-day cruises where the Enclave couples pass was for the entire week.

Regarding the couples pass, beware: they only offer the discounted couples pass pre-cruise. We discovered the hard way on our Sky Princess B2B in December that, unlike on past cruises, they no longer offer the discounted couples pass once you board, and you can only buy individual week-long passes at full price.

We have flown out of MIA several times when cruising out of Port Everglades, and frequently chose a 12:30 flight that used to be available for our destination. We never had a problem, and were even able to take the ship's transfer and still make our flight. That said, if you are concerned, as others have said, you can do self walk-off and should not have any trouble making it to MIA in time for your flight. It's about a 45 minute drive and, while the airports are pretty crazy when multiple ships "turn around" on Saturdays and Sundays, the roads aren't that bad in my experience. Hope that's helpful.

We absolutely loved this ship and the cruise. We've sailed Princess more than 30 times in the past 22 years and, of the newest ship design, this is probably my favorite. And she's brand new. And the itinerary was wonderful. We've also done a more extensive Alaska cruise in the past, but this was a very nice 7-day trip that afforded the opportunity to see the highlights. That is a great price for a solo balcony cabin. I'd grab it. The only negative was that the wifi was terrible, and there continue to be glitches with the Medallion app, but those were not deal breakers by any means. Hope you have a great trip.

Just replying to add that we used the Seattle Port Valet program when we disembarked Discovery Princess in May and it worked flawlessly, just like Princess' "EZCheck" and Celebrity's "Luggage Valet" that we've used in the past. The only fee is whatever your airline may charge for checked bags. I would recommend checking in and registering your interest with the Guest Services desk early in the cruise, though. I had signed up for the service through the Port Valet website and "assumed" the ship would automatically be notified. But, when I happened to ask about it when I was at Guest Services (for another reason) they had no record of it, so I had to fill out the paperwork again on the ship. Not a big deal, but I'm glad I checked in or might have missed out on the chance to take advantage of it. Happy cruising. Discovery is beautiful, the ports are wonderful, and Port Valet is awesome. 👍

I also want to thank you for taking the time to share your journey with us all. We were actually originally booked on this cruise, but chose for various reasons to put it off a year. Just got notice that we will not be doing to overnight in St. Petersburg next year, either, so our itinerary will be similar to yours. We are in a Sky Suite, and I'll be watching with interest. Hope you have a wonderful cruise. 👍

I have been getting massages - and other spa treatments - on Princess and Celebrity for the past 20+ years and have never had a male massage therapist aboard ship, but have had almost universally excellent massages. In fact, last August on the Summit I made the mistake of "judging a book by its cover" when this tiny little Filipino woman introduced herself as my massage therapist and I found myself doubting whether she would be able to give me the deep tissue massage I was hoping for. Boy was I wrong! She was fantastic! The only bad part is the inevitable sales pitch at the end, but that happens at every spa on every ship. Do you know when this was? I've had excellent massages on the Reflection in March and, as mentioned above, on the Summit last August, among many other times over the years.