bdjam

You're going to have to give me another hint...The only Jack Callahan I can find in CT is married to Sally. Is that you??

Yes I am!

Hey Jack and Andy! Look forward to meeting you...I'm Brian

Anyone on board? Solo cruiser this time and hoping to meet up with some fun people.

Good question - one also has to wonder why they decided to decrease the size of the balconies on the new ships.

Personally, I think it is to move people from "cost free" activities, like enjoying a pool or a balcony to those which increase onboard revenue. But then people call me a cynic.

What would you suggest that fits the Royal theme?

Why does it have to fit the "royal" theme?

Unless I was eating at the buffet, or watching a movie on MUTS, I don't wear shorts after 6:00 pm. I would never change out of my dinner attire into shorts to attend a show in the theater or go dancing. Neither would my husband. What you choose to do is your business.

Amen sister.

That was the clear suggestion before I asked for clarification. One poster asked what was wrong with shorts in the evening other than in the dining room, and the response was that shorts are not "smart casual"- implying that smart casual standards applied outside the MDR.

I don't think that was the implication at all - shorts aren't smart casual just like there's no such thing as a short sleeved dress shirt. That's all that was implied. It is interesting to note that people who tend to dress overly casually, are the first ones to get all sensitive about what they plan to wear.

I've sailed both ships - either would be a fine choice. They are both at the usual excellent Princess standard.

That being said, I would choose Star Princess over Ruby due to the conservatory (covered pool) area and the fact that Star Princess has fewer passengers. While that might not make a difference from the standpoint of the ship - especially if the weather is good and everyone is out on deck - but it does make a difference getting on and off the ship. Maui is a tender port and Hilo always has long lines to get onto the ship.

It's supposed to be a relaxing vacation and dealing with 500 less people in my mind makes it more relaxing...

I believe it was a chosen name that Asian cruises polled picked.

The article indicates the name was chosen by Princess' "global" employees. I doubt, however, that the employees simply submitted random names - there must have been a list. Since they are designing for the Chinese market, they could have named it something that represents China or the Chinese culture.

She won't be in my backyard, but as I say...sometimes I wonder about Princess.

Seriously? Majestic Princess? Sounds like a rotund middle aged woman. Sometimes Princess amazes me.

Theo, welcome to CA. Someone has to pay for all the wonderful free services and medical care offered to anyone crossing the border. :)

Please continue to buy in port and on the ship in port while you're in California. One of the reasons people come here to live from all over the United States is because it's an exceptional place. Your tax dollars help.

Sincerely,

A Native Californian

So my problem with not getting receipts is the extra tip that I add on above the 15% - you can't do that if you don't have the paper receipt. I know that it means the tip goes into the pool and not to the server (like if you gave them cash) but I'm not going to carry around a wad of bills with me.

On Golden Princess, one of the server said that their tips were appreciably reduced due to the lack of receipts. So I ask for one when I order and then fill in the additional tip.

The Princess Messenger's onboard account feature updates as soon as the transaction is registered and you can check what's on your account anytime and you don't need receipts. If there's something there that's not right, you can dispute it right away.

I don't know what I would change about it.

 

We were impressed with the facility this month. Very nice restrooms centrally located and designated seating areas for general, pse as well as an area for those needing assitance.

 

Our porter on embarkation could not have been any nicer, on disembarkation we carried our luggage due to an early flight and we were at SFO by 910 and through security.

 

Mike:)

I agree. I thought the new facility worked extremely well. We arrived at noon and there was plenty of seating available and no lines outside, so I think arrival time definitely has something to do with it. But as far as the inner workings of the terminal, it was excellent.

Just off Golden Princess and the main dining room was open for lunch and we ate there! If the experience of being turned away really happened in October 2014, then I think it's safe to say that things have changed.

I don't pre-tip either, and I really don't know that you'll get any extra special service for pre-tipping, unless there's something specific you ask for (a full ice bucket is part of the job).

That being said, if you want to tip early and/or often, go ahead. There are so many people that complain about having to tip that I think it's great you're looking to give a little extra. Who cares when you give it?

I find that each ship does things a little differently so the answer to the same question might be different dependent on the ship you're on.

I used to work in a call center and most of the answers to questions are scripted so the agent can refer to the script when unsure of the answer. Depending on how the question is asked, a whole different script might be used based on how the agent understands the question.

Even with the issues, Princess' call center has been rated the best in the business...so it could be worse.

Hope you and bdjam found each other on the ship :) Maybe I should ask "how could you miss bdjam on a ship?

You bet we found each other - lovely first lunch on board in the dining room, a dinner in the Crown Grill and Mike and Jamie turned us on to a great Indian food place in Skagway of all places! I even tried to rub Mike's back in the casino for luck...sorry that didn't work out too well Mike!

Jimmy and I tried Tracy's crab cakes - very good...filled with crab with just the right amount of heat to make them adventurous. Mike, you would have thought them bland ;)

I guess that depends. Food trends are evolving. My kid (who doesn't wear ball caps) has never stepped foot in an Olive Garden or Chuck-E-Cheese, but has been to dozens of restaurants that make "Top 100" lists. There is no doubt that we would want to try whatever new Specialty Restaurant Princess rolls out. At least once.

You have a very lucky kid. As I say, I just got off a cruise to Alaska and the majority of passengers on board wouldn't be looking for upscale food opportunities.

Sigh...how I miss the original Sun Class ships. I wish Princess would send some of the big girls down under and bring them back to us. Thanks for sharing your pictures and your experience.

I've heard about these three hour visits to ships when docked including a tour and lunch for a small fee. How does one find out about them? Or are they for invited Travel Agents only?

 

HLR

HLR - there are the three hour visits called Bon Voyage Experience which are available at certain ports on certain ships. Check with your travel agent or Princess on availability. The cost used to be $39 and included a short tour of the public areas of the ship and lunch with a glass of wine included.

PS - I forgot to mention that I was invited to the Most Traveled Passenger luncheon. When people say that Princess is only looking for new blood and doesn't appreciate it's long-time passengers I shake my head. While this luncheon isn't as over-the-top as some might like, it's a very nice, classy affair. We had great conversations with our table mates that continued a number of times when we would run into each other after the lunch. The service was brilliant and the food - that used to leave you feeling entirely stuffed - was just right for a luncheon. Highly impressed and highly enjoyed.

Hey Mike – just returned from the same cruise :D Where you on board?

I will have to agree with your observations about Golden Princess and the excellent cruise. The staff and the crew couldn’t have been any better. We also greatly enjoyed the food offerings and you can’t beat an Alaska itinerary.

My traveling companion has encountered mobility issues recently, so we changed to an ADA cabin and arranged for a scooter rental for him. Our travel agent took care of all of the details and all was perfect. During embarkation, we asked for a wheelchair at the curb and one was there within minutes. They whisked us through check in and we waited for about 10 minutes as we were transferred from shore-side wheelchair handling to ship wheelchair handling. We were brought immediately to our stateroom where the rented scooter was waiting, all charged up and ready to go.

I had only seen an ADA cabin once on board, but found this to be incredibly functional. The bathroom was well thought out with a roll-in shower, shower seat and all the grab bars one could need. There was also stand assists for the toilet and the sink and counter was tall enough to accommodate a wheelchair rolling up to them. There was a ramp into the bathroom and while there wasn’t one from the room to the balcony, one could be requested. The room is right sized for scooter and/or wheelchair use and my friend was able to maneuver easily in the room with the scooter. Of course the larger size meant incredible storage space – but that is frosting on the cake.

Since his ability to walk any distance has been compromised – even with the walker he brought along – the scooter was a Godsend. It allowed him to navigate almost the entire ship (note, there is no elevator that goes to the Sanctuary deck) and except for a couple of steep ramps at doorways (where he just had to ‘gun’ the scooter to get over them) the entire ship was at his disposal. Staff and crew were more than accommodating in ensuring he was well taken care of. Since we had no tender ports, he was able to get off the ship with the scooter – and with its 9-mile capacity per charge, we were able to explore Ketchikan and Juneau as we wanted.

I was incredibly impressed with Princess’ handling of my friend’s situation. The only snafu was during disembarkation – what we were told to do was different than what was in the disembarkation instructions, which were correct. So as I always say…read the instructions! Still Princess accommodated us and our disembarkation was only about 15 minutes later than it should have been.

As I say, the rest of the trip was the usual excellent Princess cruise. The Alaskan ports are brilliant and the offerings of things to do in each port outstanding. I went on a visit to a summer dog sled camp and my friend an I attended the Lumberjack show in Ketchikan. Both were excellent.

Golden Princess’ public areas are beautiful but I did mention on my survey that a little refreshing in the staterooms was in order. While I realize our cabin has extra wear and tear due to equipment use, there were some cosmetic issues that could have been resolved. Still it was comfortable and we were well taken care of by our stewardess.

I love this San Francisco itinerary and the 10 day cruise length with the five sea days (if you include the Glacier Bay cruising day) is perfect. Highly recommended.

Just returned from an Alaska cruise so I’m just catching up on this latest development.

First, it’s nice that so many of you already don’t like the concept – maybe that will make reservations easier. Given the “share” is between members of a single party of people, it’s difficult to believe that allergy or noro virus concerns are warranted. I mean do you really think Princess would shoot for a concept that ignored these issues? And if you do, do you at all feel safe sailing on their ships considering what else they might have ignored?

Second, I think they should replace Adagio on the big girls rather than Sabatini – I like the Italian restaurant and Adagio is always empty.

I think the concept renderings of the dining room look fresh and modern. Of course concept renderings and the final product seldom are exactly alike, so those who are already denying the design are acting a bit too soon.

I guess it would be interesting to know how many anti-communal diners currently use Crown Grill or Sabatini. I have during solo trips where I normally dine alone – and have gotten single seating in these locations. If I really wanted to try Share, then I’d need to be willing to try the concept as well as the food. But really, how many solo diners go to Sabatini? I’m glad a previous poster referred to the Princess video – it certainly explains the “share” concept better than those on this board who are jumping to conclusions…and seems that it would be easily adapted to a single diner.

One poster compared Sabatini to Olive Garden. Seriously? I haven’t been to Olive Garden for years because it’s inferior, but Sabatini is nothing like it. And right, these restaurants at sea are meant to be more generic than authentic. Look around at the passenger load – how many of the people who currently cruise Princess know authentic Italian from Olive Garden? The fact that there will be an adherence to Stone’s menus might just be what ends this trial – Ma and Pa and the brood of t-shirted, ball capped kids aren’t going to go for a concept of high end food for sure.

So for me, the special dishes in the Main Dining Rooms, the Chef’s Table option and the restaurant sound like interesting additions to the cruise line offerings and I’m looking forward to trying all of them.

In relation to naming the new ship 'Sky Princess' we have already had a ship sailing to Australia under this name.

I have done some delving on her past and she was previously known as -

Fairsky (1984) -1984-1988

Sky Princess - 1988-2000

Pacific Sky - 2000-2006

Sky Wonder - 2006-2009

Atlantic Star - 2009-2013

Antic - 2013 -? after been sold to Turkey

Sky Princess 1 was sent to Alang and scrapped. She was the last passenger ship built with steam engines.

Not passing judgment but Princess has re-used a lot of it's ship names - Sun, Dawn, Regal, Crown, Royal (twice), Ocean, Star, Golden, Pacific, Island, Sea are all repeats...so I would venture to guess that Ocean or Sky would be the front runners for the new ship.

On the Grands with covered pools, the bar in that area (Calypso, right? Or is it Neptune? Can never remember which is which . . .) also had an espresso machine and, at least on my cruise, was open early. Probably earlier than Crooner's. Can't say for sure that this is still the case, but it's another possibility.

Crooner's seemed to be open in the morning - one of those places where the Bloody Mary clan hangs out - but then again, morning for me on a cruise is after 10:00...

United will be giving me reasonably priced Wi-Fi on a transatlantic airplane tonight. That seems rather harder than a cruise ship.

Let us know how that works for you - last time I flew United the Wi-Fi that was promised did not work.