SargassoPirate

3 hours ago, BVILady said:

that is just ridiculous, the itinerary I am looking at is $ 50299.00 per person double-occupancy but $ 113000.00 for single occupancy. Sorry Oceania that is just not acceptable.

I agree.  That's one reason I went with Princess.  My solo, inside cabin,  WC, 111 days, is $43K with the Plus Package.  Nice mix of port and sea days too.

It all depends on what one's expectations are and how they mesh with your budget.  A WC being a nicety not a necessity.

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Slim to none,

with none being a big favorite to win out.

 

I usually bet fat or slim when it comes to chances. Fat being my big favorite to win out.

When I was traveling during covid and saw things in hotels disappearing - such as my complimentary morning paper "due to covid" I always pushed back and asked how many cases of covid were attributed to newspapers.

Didn't help, but made me feel better - just like asking food servers why they are wearing plastic gloves and when did they last change them?

1 minute ago, nelblu said:

We found that table for 2 works best as the waiter does not wait for anyone else to take orders. 
 

On Oasis presently and sit at table for 6.  if table-mates are a bit late he asks if we want to wait or order our meals. 

The two top also eliminates the slow eaters/fast talkers that hold up the courses for the entire table.  It took a couple of cruises when we first cruised to figure that one out.  

I generally look at the Plus package with my pencil in hand.  To me, the question is if it's whether I want to fly coach or pay the extra for first class?  I'm flying anyway, so how much extra is it to sit up front and is it worth it?  Factor in fewer crying babies and kids kicking the back of my seat, in first class and it's worth the better  experience.

Same thing on a cruise.  How much extra is the Plus over ala-cart if I don't drink much?  A couple of wee drams in the evening is about it.  I don't do bottled water.  Specialty dining isn't all that special anymore.  Mainline beverages work for me. 

It's a personal choice and if it produces a good revenue stream for Princess, they will count it a success and move on to other ways to impose "shrinkflation" on the customer in order to keep their bottom line healthy.

Fortunately, there are lots of choices for cruising and WE hold the purse strings.

Elite is not all that it used to be, but if you really want to get there, perhaps a short cruise on Princess before your June cruise would help.

I take a more low-key approach to cruising and have found that it works for me.  When it comes to dining, I avoid the crowds by eating breakfast early in the buffet or the MDR, lunch in the MDR, and hardly ever eat dinner in the MDR since the buffet is less crowded and more quiet.

For entertainment, I enjoy the strings, guitar, and piano music around the ship in the evenings while enjoying a wee dram or three.  If I feel so moved to see a production show, I take my wee dram with me and stand or sit at the back.  If it's overamplified or the singers are screeching, I beat a hasty retreat for s stroll on the promenade.

Fortunately, there are lots of options and many ways to enjoy being at sea.

Cutbacks rankle me as much as the next person, but there are lots of choices for cruising and there seem to be fewer reasons to be "loyal" to any one line.  My first cruise was on Royal, and in the 50-some cruises since I've been on Celebrity, NCL, HAL, Viking, and Cunard so far, and have a cruise on Oceania booked.  Even a mediocre day at sea is better than a good day at the office, so I make do with the benefits and amenities available.  It also helps not to take cutback issues out on the workers who provide personal services.  A ready smile and some conversation goes a long way and can put one ahead of the entitled complainers that they deal with.

If something really bothers me - a fire safety issue from scooters and wheelchairs parked in corridors or a food sanitation issue for example - I seek out and speak to the appropriate management official.

Any questions?  See my signature line below. 😉

2 hours ago, caribill said:

 

I do not think this was cost cutting.

 

Princess removed those items to help stop the spread of Covid since at the start of the pandemic it was unknown if the virus could easily be transmitted by people touching those items.

And what are the chances that things removed "due to covid" will return.

BTW, I couldn't care less about handwashing enforcement.  I take care of myself with rigorous handwashing, and sanitizing after touching common surfaces.  I depend upon me to keep me healthy.

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

The cabin stewards wear blue disposable gloves and clean toilets,make beds replace towels,empty bins etc wearing the same gloves so they are more likely to spread germs.

Most days the cabin steward was nearby and handed me towels etc.

I was particularly careful in just picking off his trolley what I needed if he was in a nearby cabin and not touching anything else.

Most of the time the trolleys are unattended in the corridor.

Sit and watch food handlers wearing the same gloves while they touch multiple surfaces.  There is a HUGE misperception that rubber gloves do something special when all they do is keep the wearers hands clean.

2 hours ago, teddie said:

It may help with the immediate sick stomach, but wouldn't prevent me from getting seasick. Appreciate the ideas, but no..

Teddie

All I can say is it works for She Who Must Be Obeyed who can get car sick if she's the passenger in a car backing up.  She starts ginger capsules several days before the cruise and has been fine.  

Mythbusters by tested seasick remedies on their TV show several years ago by spinning people in a motorized office chair and timed them until they hurled.  Each remedy was tested.  Ginger capsules won, hands down.

Just another nicety that will disappear "due to covid", never to reappear.  I guess we can also include personal service in the "shrinkflation" that we are experiencing.

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If you have already ordered the medallions, there will be no shipping charge.

 

If you have not ordered the medallions yet, there will be a shipping charge if you do not order soon.

My guess is Princess got tired of paying the shipping cost per medallion from China.  More cost effective to get them in bulk and let those who want them earlier than boarding day pay the extra.

Wonder why they can't figure out a way to use the medallion to eliminate chair hogs on the Melanoma Deck? 

Looks like they are trying to sell the sizzle without the steak.  I sometimes add the plus when the overall cost including the price of the cruise makes sense.  I'll really have to put the pencil to it now that ala cart is looking better.  I usually have a couple or three drinks a day and couldn't care less about wifi, fancy desserts, or specialty dining.  I can trade out my mini bar setup for chi chi coffees if I want to. Yes sir, ala cart is looking better.

Somebody let the kids sit at the big table on this one.

17 hours ago, loman said:

I dont do insides either,  always book balconies for the 10 minutes per day that i use it. 🙂

What does that balcony cost versus inside figure out to per minute?

An addition to my comment above on norovirus and how it's spread - it's the fecal-oral route. Thus, it's easy to prevent by washing your hands and also easy to tell who doesn't wash their hands - they get sick.

  From the CDC:

On 12/1/2022 at 1:47 PM, Coffeeluvr05 said:

If you travel a lot you should check into an annual travel policy to save money.  I think Travel Guard is a common carrier.  We have used the Princess insurance and have had to file a claim before.  I like to have travel insurance.

Agree on the annual policy.  I have one through AIG. And it has served me well on several occasions - especially such as in March 2020 when I got stuck in a foreign country and my cruise home was cancelled.  I encountered a lot of out-of-pocket expenses to get home.  AIG paid.  Up to now I have never taken the cruise line insurance and figure that after 50-some cruises I have saved quite a bundle.

However, I have a very expensive cruise booked for 2024.  I checked into the insurance offered by Princess to protect the cost of the cruise and found that much of the other coverage duplicated what my annual policy already provides. I then checked the insurance offered by big box and found the insurance I needed for about half of what the Princess-affiliated company was offering.

As with anything, especially travel-related, it pays to put the pencil to it.

5 hours ago, antsp said:

Good news on the mask wearing, not so much on the hand washing 

 I don't worry about other people washing their hands - except for the food workers - as I treat every surface as contaminated.  I'm fastidious about washing my own hands and I re-sanitize my hands after touching the ladles in the buffet, the bottom of my chair to pull it in, and if I touch any other common-touch surfaces such as condiment containers.  

I love insides.  I only use it to shower and sleep. Once I step out of the inside cabin, I'm on the same ship as those who paid a lot more for their cruise. 

54 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

the same people who did the same with the crepes last week on Enchanted. They piled ALL the toppings on one poor crepe... Monstrosities, indeed.

And then we wonder why there are so many "fluffy" Americans and the life expectancy is declining. 

I'd have to look at me cruise list for an exact count, but we've done several transatlantics and several transpacifics to avoid flying one way or the other in combination with land travel.  Ports along the way are incidental when the goal is simple transportation to get there or get home.

Either way, we love the relaxed pace of sea day after sea day instead of port port port port port.

6 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

A recent news article just reported that only 1 in 20 haven't gotten COVID.  Count yourself as the minority.  

 

https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2022/11/27/just-1-in-20-people-in-the-us-have-dodged-covid-infection-so-far-study-says/

Count me among those who haven't had it yet, I've only worn a mask when required, and been on numerous flights and five cruises since the restart.  

As with any "enhancement" or "for your convenience", it's wise to put the pencil to it with big consideration to your own personal cruise style.  Sometimes I do Plus and others it's steerage since I get a mini bar setup anyway.

1 hour ago, NownZen said:

We have never been asked for an ID when getting back on the ship. The cruise card (and now the medallion) scan brings up a picture. We do however, carry a copy of the passport with us .

In my experience it's been port authorities that require photo ID and it's usually in third world or totalitarian countries.