WisCruiser2

Frkiends gave us a couple of magnetic utility hooks - they went on the wall right after the closet area and medallions were hung on them as we walked into the room. I suppose you could put them on the back of the door to really make sure you don't forget them!

See the recent post about "New Dining Room Changes Coming Fleetwide?"

I wonder if they've found that offering everyone a variety of set times to reserve just wasn't working out? We had 7:00 reservations on the Enchanted in February, and the first two nights had a LONG line of people with a 7:00 time. After the first night, we were able to book our same table for the rest of the trip, but had to move to a 7:15 time. Hopefully, this will be more efficient. I also remember that on our last cruise pre-Covid, when it was still Traditional or Anytime, besides the aft DR being Traditional, there was an Early seating in one of the mid-ship DRs, that became Anytime around 7:00 or so.

It's been YEARS since there was anything in the fridge!

Sounds like a wonderful event! Funnily, my daughter and her family went to friends in Carmel and had an awesome view of the eclipse there 🙂

@Nemanoxer, if you have liked the Solstice class ships on Celebrity you might try a Royal class on Princess - unless you are thinking of going on the Sun because of itinerary. Re the "extras," we were on a B2B (10 days each) in February, did the Standard package. Due to the OBC we had (some of it due to missing Princess Cays each time) our final bill was way less than what we would have paid for the Plus upgrade! I was going to also mention the Military OBC tha Princess does, but I think that's only for U.S. passengers...

To answer your question about the dining rooms - there are 3 MDRs (2 midship and one aft on 6). Their decor is slightly different, but basically all are the same. If you want to splurge for a birthday dinner, see if you can book the Chef's Dinner (held a couple of times during the cruise) or even the 360 Experience. Also, for a fee, and if you have a balcony, there's the Ultimate Balcony Dinner -- wonderful! I'll leave it to others to address your other questions.

Glad you enjoyed the Catch, I hope either Glenn or Ronan was your waiter! I don't remember if I posted this earlier here, but if you like jazz, don't miss the trio in Take 5 (and the House Band playing there a couple nights is very good, too).

It looks like you're doing the 13-day cruisetour. Yes, you will have one long bus day but Copper River is worth it! The bus stops several times, so you're not sitting the whole time, and you'll get to see a lot of the Alaska interior -- you may even get to go from spring to winter and back to spring on the way!

We've always paid with a credit card! Maybe it's different for UK passengers...?

We were on a B2B in February (our first cruise since Feb 2020) and really enjoyed the Enchanted! Have been on the Royal and Regal, and like the change in Princess Live to more of an open lounge. We also loved listening to the jazz trio in Take 5 each night. If you splurge on The Catch (highly recommend), see if you can have Glenn as your waiter - he's awesome!

No seltzer (flavored or not) onboard, wish they had it besides (or instead of) club soda. We sail out of FLL, always pick up a couple cartons at Publix, CVS, or Walgreens (depending on where we're staying the night before) to have in our room.

@Nily D "no jeans" is requested on formal nights, other nights they are fine. Also, on pirt days you may want to eat lunch in port, but depending on the timing of your excursions you can always go back onboard and eat, and then go out again if you want.

One of the things we like about cruising is that you can do as much or as little as you want! With three ports and Glacier Bay you'll only have two sea days. Besides the Enrichment lectures noted there will be trivia and other game-type shows, a number of music options (more so in the evening), hot tubs to soak in, and time to just relax (DH and I like playing cribbage on our balcony - or elsewhere if it was too chilly). And unfortunately, on the last sea day you'll have to spend some time packing up...

Are you looking for an excursion or just a beach to snorkel from? We've liked Secret Harbour (resort) on St Thomas, but in February the snorkeling was not as good as we've had before, didn't see as many fish. Coki beach is also one you can snorkel from, and I've read that Sapphire beach can have good snorkeling, haven't been there yet. We've also been to Little Divi Bay on St. Maarten - first time good snorkeling, this last time not so much. You might want to check each port forum in the Caribbean section of Ports of Call, you should find more info and activity there

Can you drop off a rental car at the Port? The couple of times we've had rentals we had to go back to the airport to turn it in, then took a shuttle provided by the rental company to the port. However, it was quite a few years ago...

Sounds like it may have been Valley Beach?

@PescadoAmarillo maybe you can give her the benefit of your experience in inside cabins?

If you and others in your party all have wi-fi it's easier to communicate via Messenger, WhatsApp, iMessage, etc. The Locate Your Companions (or whatever it's called) is nice. When we would be meeting up with friends, could see if they were on their way (or if they were waiting for us!). Never used Ocean Now. Crew Chat was handy for questions for Guest Services that didn't need an immediate answer, although they were pretty quick to respond.

I wonder if it matters whether you're using Android or iPhone? Had to use booking number with Android app.

We were on the two sailings before yours (in a Deluxe then a "regular" balcony), and had a wonderful time! Unfortunately, we couldn't dock in Dominica (due to swells) so we didn't get to do the whale watch tour we'd booked. On Martinique we took a taxi to Balata gardens and enjoyed them very much, too. If you are a fan of jazz at all, you missed a great trio in Take 5, along with the house band playing there a couple of nights. Each night they played a different set -- such as Duke Ellington/Cole Porter/20s jazz, 60s, including movie themes, and more "modern" Dave Brubeck/Herbie Hancock/John Coltrane. We were disappointed in Crooners, while Simon had a great voice, he was a bit to "cheesy" for us.

Sorry, did not mean to debate. I didn't think the amount of space around a bed was that big a deal, but realize that to some people it is. My apologies. It's a good thing there are options, then.

Do you need more than a foot and a half on either side of the bed?

Yes, checking with Medtronic (DH's ICD maker) confirmed that as long as it was at least 6 inches away from the ICD, no problem. The included lanyard was plenty long to do that. I would suggest anyone with concerns to check with their device manufacturer or their cardiologist.

Based on our experience recently at Port Everglades, while people were divided into two lines outside the terminal according to whether we had our medallion or not, once we got up to the doors, everyone funneled into the same line to wind around until we got to Security. It really didn't matter which door you went in. After Security, the Blue Lane people had to check in and get their medallions, while the Green Lane went right to the waiting area.