sunviking90

So glad your MDR situation has improved. Ours on the Koningsdam in January was similar. Our waiter seemed indifferent and I think was put off because we didn’t want to order dessert with our starters and entrees.. I find it so strange that they have started to do this. We always said weren’t sure until after dinner if we want dessert. The concept of coffee WITH dessert also seemed to be a challenge. They never were together. We’d finish dessert long before coffee arrived. The last night we just left after our entrees. I guess this is all a result of short staffing, but doesn’t make for a nice dining experience.

Bon Voyage!

That’s awesome! Congratulations.

Here’s a thread: We’ve bid twice (minimum only) and won both.

I agree on Sitka. It is also our favourite port in Alaska. We were fortunate last year to take an 11 day Princess cruise round trip from YVR which included Sitka.

We’ll be on the Royal Princess crossing the date line on our 35th anniversary this year. We’re heading east so we’ll have 2 days to celebrate!

I was also very apprehensive of using Stockperks, but it went very smoothly. I “skipped” all the personal info questions and uploaded our brokerage statement with more personal info (other investments, our address) blacked out. 3 days later got the email that it was accepted, went into the app to redeem credit, and it came through the next day.

Agree on the crowded Lido. We are also no really buffet people, but do go occasionally. We found it surprisingly crowded on the Volendam last year and the ship wasn’t full! Everyone is trying to eat in the same very short windows of time. We would look at the menu and it looked like they had a lot of great options, but just so unpleasant to be in there. Really enjoying your reports so far! Thank you for taking the time.

I was wondering if you meant HAL. We always have them empty it too. I prefer Princess’s empty fridge for sure. No issues with unwarranted charges.

So sorry you had this experience. I think the worst part was the stress of being told you’d be kicked off before you’d be able to get your Medical info. @SCX22raises a good point, but It would be nice if the ships had a crew member assigned as a liaison to ensure people in this situation are not just “dumped”. If you do not hear anything from Princess in 4-6 weeks I would encourage you to go higher up. I have done this in the past when I had had no responses after months. Email for Collin Steinke (director of customer relations) is csteinke@princesscruises.com. CC customer relations when you do. Be specific and if you want some type of compensation, say so.

Yes, I remember some years ago my mother took a Baltic cruise from Dover, so they used to have some UK departures.

This past Black Friday we booked with free Crew Appreciation, but without HIA.. Not sure if that might suit you better.

Hair straighteners are allowed, so we can iron our hair, but not clothes!

My .02 CAD (so it’s worth less, lol): The main reason they are not readily in cabins on cruises out of the US is that it’s just easier not to have them and most of those cruisers will not want or need them. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than that. As mentioned Princess has them in room on cruises out of the UK (and some have said Australia), but they are stored away when the ships leave those itineraries. When requested they have happily provided them to us. I was also offered a kettle by my room steward on Celebrity, when he saw me taking the RS hot water carafe back to the buffet for more hot water. (He was our best ever and knew what we wanted before we did!) This was a Mexico cruise out of LA. He said they have lots “but we put them away after repositioning”. HAL has very little presence in the UK with most North European cruises originating in the Netherlands, so they’re just not as accommodating of the UK cruisers. BTW, we were on one cruise that had multiple rice cookers confiscated!

We don’t gamble, but the one that seemed the largest that we’ve seen was on the Majestic. The ship was designed for the Asian market, and the casino reflects that with more specialized sections from what we could tell.

We had Fred on our Panama Canal cruise in August. He’s a wonderful speaker and so passionate about astronomy. He makes things so interesting and accessible to all.

I would recommend Uber rather than taxis in PV. We were quoted $20 usd for a ride to town, and Uber was $3.00 cad.

So true! HAL “can’t” charge for room service, because even at certain hours in the daytime there is no other food available, save burgers and fries. Situation is a bit better on Koningsdam and her sisters at least. @BermudaBound2014 you do know how to spend a sea day! Enjoy!

We stopped here on the Emerald Princess in fall 2022 and there was a FREE shuttle bus to Soulac sur Mer. It’s a very pretty little beach town. They said the ride would be about 20 minutes, but it was only about 10-15 minutes away.

Thank you @Tigerlily75 for continuing on with your report. I’m glad enjoyed your cruise. Looking forward to reading more about Tokyo. (No pressure).

Last June we were able to buy 2 FCDs and apply them directly to a 50% off cruise booking for the fall. It sounds like they are as consistently inconsistent as Princess!

They used to deliver a printed summary NYT of about 8 pages. It would be left outside. It had a bit of news, some sports and the crossword. They also had a Canadian news one that could be requested. They stopped delivering, and then they were available at guest services. They had a stand with the various “newspapers” on it. The news was current. They likely received the summary edition overnight and printed them up. These days with everyone glued to their phones I guess it was decided to be unnecessary. (Edit) I see Ruth beat me to this answer!

We booked a “sale sheet” cruise last summer while onboard, paid in full and were able to add our ccl OBC when we got home. No issues.

Yes, I miss it too. They still print the crosswords thank goodness!

That’s pretty poor to hear nothing when you agreed to a counter offer. Enjoy your cruise regardless!