skynight

I don't see food items listed in the prohibited item FAQ list.

3 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

If I order a drink onboard and I have no drink package, the charge for the drink includes an auto gratuity for the bartender/server.

 

If I order a drink onboard, and I do have a drink package, is the auto gratuity amount still on the drink?  So the bartender/server still gets the same gratuity?

 

 

If you have the plus or premier package there is no additional service charge per drink for alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages. The service charge is included in the package. With both packages if you order an alcoholic beverage that is over the packages menu price limit, $15 or $20, then you will be charged the difference plus 18% of the difference service charge.

I was on board for 24 days with the plus package. Each day I had numerous non alcoholic beverages, under 15 alcoholic beverages, and never went over the $15/drink package limit. I was never charged one cent for a service charge.

What ship are we speaking about? Within every class of ship the interior size and design of all balcony cat. cabins will be the same as are all mini suites. Full suite sizes vary.  It will be the balcony size that can be different for some cabins. If you are trying to determine which balcony cat. cabin has the largest interior size, don't bother.

Example A 709 on the Ruby Princess is 45 sq ft balcony + 226 sq ft interior = 271 sq. ft. The total sq ft may not be this exact number, but it's with 5 or so sq ft.  

If they are trying to look good they would have been better off not offering anything then $50. I recently received $300 FCC, not OBC, for a plumbing issue that lasted a few days. 

15 hours ago, Normantdpt said:

Thanks for the info. 
 

if I go line up around 930am, what are my chances of securing dinner at 6pm every night? 

I don't quite understand you question. There will not be anyone at the DRs at 9:30am. There will be one DR open on boarding day from noon until 1:30 serving lunch. You could go there and speak with the head waiter for information. There is usually a time posted in the events listing where you can get in line and meet with the Mait're' d and discuss your evening dining.  You could show up at 5pm at anyone of the 3 DRs and discuss your dining preferences. I will mention from experience that 6pm is a difficult time to enter the DR. Most DRs fill up by 5:30. Another option is to call the dining line and discuss with them.

Regarding boarding: Every person must show up, provide their passports, and have their photo taken. It's an easy and quick process. What is slower is that you will have to go through security and U.S. Immigration before you get to that point.   

1 hour ago, stephenSJ said:

This might be about to change. Take a look at the latest carnival shareholder benefit page

https://www.carnivalcorp.com/shareholder-information/shareholder-benefit

 

and note this line

" This benefit is non-transferable, cannot be exchanged for cash and cannot be used for casino credits/charges and gratuities charged to your onboard account."

This has been the text for at least 15 to 20 years. Shareholder OBC has always been consolidated with other OBC in the onboard account. All onboard expenses including casino, and gratuities net against the OBC as they occur. If a change is coming to Princess then it's not because of a change of the text in the shareholder benefit. While not directly transferrable, when accounts are linked against the same credit card, ie husband/wife, the two accounts balance together. Expenses or credits on one will net against expanses and credits on the other. 

7 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

Question related to using OBC for booking Sabatini's onboard...can one person treat a family group to dinner there paying for everyone using their OBC? Or is everyone charged individually? I have enough OBC to treat our group of 8 but don't know how or if they will do that. 

You can request that the entire charge be placed onto your on board account where it will net against any credit (OBC) balance. 

13 minutes ago, 555 said:

We always got 4 bottles (16.9 oz.) at a time to keep in the cabin fridge. 

I thought they charged extra for the larger 500ml bottles?

No. Included with the plus/premier fare. 500ml bottles are the standard U.S. pint bottles, just under 17 ounces. You are probably thinking about the 1 liter bottles. 

6 hours ago, nhraformula00 said:

Going on the Emerald in 11 days for our 1st. Princess and our 23rd cruise over all. This is good to hear. ????? Are the beds comfortable. Hope they are not hard.

Very comfortable, nicer than my bed at home.

2 hours ago, Lady Meer said:

I am sure the OP was referring to a P & O cruise on Aurora in ? February this year. It was well documented by Selbourne on the P & O board at the time.

I guess it was posted on the incorrect board.

7 hours ago, molly1995 said:

I keep reading reviews on how terrible the food is on the Ruby Princess and now I'm getting cold feet and buyers remorse.   The pictures of food don't look good either. Any have anything good to report. Also heard the pickle ball court was too small to play on.

Food is very subjective. Maybe the most subjective part of any cruise vacation. Those that don't like the meals seem to complain about it more than the reverse. I was on the Ruby a few months ago. I found the food to be good to excellent. There are lots of selections, some very good, some not so appealing. What's not so appealing to me, can be very appealing to someone else.  If you are looking for DR dinners to be cooked to order you will be disappointed. It's not possible to cook individual dinners every night for 3,000 people. I ate specialty meals in the Crown Grill and Sabatini's and both were very good. I enjoyed all the casual food from cereal & fruit in the Horizon Ct., burgers, fries and pizza by the pools, and the offerings throughout the day at the International Cafe. If you have special diet restrictions Princess will take care of them. 

When I look at a cruise I see food as maybe 10/20% of the total enjoyment. Other activities and relaxation fill the other 80%.  

I did not say it, but I cruise to be on board, enjoy sea days. Princess always has active sea days and when a port is missed they adjust the schedule to add activities. Food on Princess is fairly good with lots of different venues. 

4 hours ago, Old Coastie said:

I am planning to book my flights, on United, with EzAir, using my United Explorer Card.  That card provides 1 free checked bag with each reservation but will that work with a booking through EzAir.  Has anyone had experience in doing this?

The answer is no. You have to book direct with United and you have to pay using the Explorer Card. It has happened to me. Even though I paid Princess EZ Air with the Explorer Card it was not enough when I checked in. United only sees that they received payment from the consolidator, EZ Air. 

I don't get it. What Princess ship are you speaking about? 

Did not require a boarding pass for recent cruise. Showed passport, that's it. I was blue lane. Had to detour 5 minutes to get my medallion. If you are green lane, medallion in hand it's all you need. 

My 2 cents, stay where you are. You could be decks and half length of the ship apart if you get upgraded. 

Ditto here. Yes. Of course if you have the plus or premier fares gratuities are included in the fare.

Princess does not sail to Labedee. You always had to be cautious in Nassau, but your ship is not going there. Same for Belize, it's not on your itinerary.

Roatan Island is a beach stop basically. There are some places on the island some cruise ship passengers go.

Cozumel???

D616

9ftW x 6ftD uncovered

Diamond Princess size and interiors very similar to Majestic

All mini suites on deck 9 have uncovered balconies. Mini suites on deck 8 aft, 12 of them, have covered balconies. I don't think of this as a pro or con. It's just as it is.

You might consider a reserve class mini that comes with special anytime dining.  

It's nice Princess is going back to San Juan. One issue with San Juan was flying passengers there from around the country. If I remember correctly sailing time was late evening. 

As stated it would be expensive, and in my opinion not workable. 4 passengers in 3 cabins would mean solos in two of the 3 cabins. Solos pay basically double fare. What ship, and what cabins? Most balconies on Royal Class ships are 9ftW x 4ftD and can just barely fit two people with no room for eating. Grand class ships have 9ftW x 5ftD for most cabins. Port & starboard balconies on deck 9 are 9ft x 9ft half covered. There are some exceptions for aft cabins, bump out cabins and so on. You would have to examine the deck plans for the ship you plan to book. If you check the connecting room box on the Princess.com deck plans you can find cabins that have connecting interior doors in case you want that. 

You have to send it to the port agent, and time it to arrive at the port agent latest the day before the ship's arrival. What ports? What ship? What dates? If it is a U.S. port you probably can send it by overnight courier. If a non U.S. port it will probably take a few days or more. You would have to check with the courier service.

If you booked with a travel agent then I would call them first. If not, I don't know of any way other than to call Princess to get all the specific details. Unfortunately customer service may not have the answers.

Things to look for:

Medallion replaces the cruise card.

If you book a reserve class mini suite you will get reserve class dining. This is walk in dining with little or no wait in a special section of a DR. Have you checked cabin availability. reserve class go quickly.

If you book a full suite there are additional benefits. 

Look at the plus and premier fares. These fare benefits do not really overlap with full suite benefits. There is a lot of discussion about the fares. For me the plus fare makes sense.

Ruby has two casual dining locations, that's all. Salty Dog Gastropub in the Wheelhouse Bar and Vines Wine Bar which has cold veggies and meats. I was on the Ruby b2b this spring. Tried the Gastropub. It's fine, fit my expectations and not too filling especially when you are on board a long time. I enjoyed the cream soup with sun dried tomatoes.  I did not try Vines, not something I would enjoy. The Ruby never had an Alfredo's. Alfredo's (Gigi's) is on every Royal Class ship except the Majestic, the new Sun and on the Grand and Sapphire. There is also a pop up Alfredo's on the Coral. It has not been removed from any ship. 

No forward views. Aft views from the promenade deck and upper decks. Side views from the upper decks.