2theship

We don't even discuss it anymore, we just head to whichever MDR is open for lunch on embarkation day. On our last Princess cruise on the Majestic, it was listed on the Patter we received at check-in. We'll both have small bags with us but there's always a place for them. We usually sit at a table for six or eight and have a lovely relaxing lunch while we wait for our cabin to be available. It's such a pleasant way to start the cruise.

Yep. Always.

This also works on an iPhone. Put the phone in airplane mode and turn the wifi on. If you have a limited wifi plan from the ship, you might have to log onto the internet before you call and remember to log off when you're done. You don't want to burn up all of your internet minutes while you phone sits in your pocket.

We booked this cruise before it became the "Conjurers Cruise" so I think we'll skip the packages. I know that there a lot of magic fans in this group so I'm sure they'll find an audience for it.

Since we usually fly Southwest and get two bags free, we do the same thing. Just pay one fee. It’s great to not worry about our luggage in the morning.

Probably two hours prior to your sailing time.

We used this on the Ascent in January (Port Everglades), and it worked perfectly. We flew Southwest, and since we only had two bags, we only paid one $29 fee.

Even when booking with EZAir, you have control over the exact flights you are taking and you have the advantage of being able to make changes without penalty within a certain time frame. Do some research on connecting airports and develop some knowledge of the airlines that serve your city and go from there. After you book, monitor your flights for any changes, don't depend on the cruise line or airline for timely updates.

Thank you for starting the topic because I think it’s something that Cruise Critic needs to consider. For our next cruise, a social media roll call is much more active than CC but I find it harder to access it when I want to read it. I have mentioned CC often on social media but, obviously, not the other way around. Semi-related, a gentleman posted a cruise review on social media today saying that he had submitted it to Cruise Critic two weeks ago and it had yet to be published. I wonder what the problem was there.

We’ll see you onboard - we also took advantage of the great deal that happened many months ago and will be in a Sky Suite on Deck 10. Our only port plan is to go to lunch in Cozumel. See you on Sunday! Pam

There used to be an Elite gathering on most evenings from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in a specific lounge on the ship. There were beverages available from a set menu and servers offered an assortment of snacks. Then, on cruises where there were a lot of Elite passengers, you were given coupons redeemable at many bars for the same set menu of drink choices. In more recent years, they’ve done away with the coupons and, if you were Elite, you could choose order from the menu between 5:00-7:00 p.m. at no charge. Now, Celebrity is saying that on a couple of nights, they will have a lounge similar to what they used to have. We always enjoyed the Elite cocktail event, we got to know a lot of nice people during them.

The OP noted that they were sailing in Blu which is always smart casual, never formal although some people choose to dress up on formal nights. I thought that the specialty restaurants were always smart casual.

We’ve cruised in Aqua Class a number of times and I can remember extended waits twice. Usually it’s been a few minutes at most. If you’re a larger party, they may try to accommodate a planned seating time.

I enjoyed sitting in a deck chair or at a slot machine and just telling the app what I wanted. It always seemed to work in a reasonable amount of time.

I got into trouble on a certain social media platform in September because I complained that none of the servers on the Majestic Princess knew what a Chairman of the Board was, even at the Elite/Platinum happy hour. I was accused of being an elitist snob for expecting special service at the happy hour (it's been a standard drink there for years) or for not just telling the bartender how to make one (we never saw bartenders, all orders were taken by servers who collected them from bars that were sometimes floors away). The darn thing blew up and had hundreds of replies in a couple of hours. Someone a Princess must have been reading it because from that point on, EVERY server knew what a Chairman of the Board was. Still can't order it from the app but, you know, baby steps. Anyway, the Chairman of the Board is my favorite martini.