ldubs

I can see that happening. Mrs Ldubs and her sisters do an excellent job planning things. Pretty much everyone is on board before they are on board (Haha, see what I did there!).

To be fair, nothing in my post suggests every minute must be spent together. In our case, we generally will gravitate together, but there is no issue for anyone who peels off to do their own thing.

If someone doesn't look forward to doing a lot of things together with travel companions, then why on earth would they travel together? We travel together because we are a tight group of family/friends who enjoy each other's company.

Not items from a previous or future day's menu, but on just about every family group cruise we have been on we are provided dishes that are not on the menu. Always served family style. Only once that I can remember was the offered item not provided because the kitchen was too busy.

I understand and agree. Even if the rep were familiar with actual practice I'm not surprised if they are required to stay with the "official" written suggested dress.

Island with 2200 passengers is about 2/3 the size of Sky. Still compared to Star Legend's 300+ passengers, it is very large. Whichever you decide, enjoy!

I've also read the negative comments about the renovations to Island Princess. Based on our experience, I would not hesitate to go Island Princess again. Island Princess is among the smaller ships in the Princess fleet but still contains all the bells and whistles. It is a lot larger than Windstar Star Legend. If you like really small ships, that could be a difference. Additionally Windstar is considered an upscale line compared to Princess. Not having been on Windstar I can't really comment. The Island Princess itinerary is more varied and includes a couple sea days. The larger ship will provide a variety of options to enjoy sea days. For the Windstar Itinerary, the two days in Livorno are a nice feature if you want multiple excursions from that port (like Lucca, Florence, Pisa). And, like you say, you would get to see Barcelona without having to get a hotel there. The Windstar embark/disembark ports are more convenient travel points, at least for me. That could make a difference if you are traveling just for the cruise. To me a big difference between the two is the ship size and what will likely be two different on-board experiences. I like the larger ship experience for the more varied and vibrant atmosphere. Many others prefer the small ship experience. No help I'm afraid.

The issue is not the location of the call center. It is the poor training provided to the customer facing staff. Other than overblown linguistic issues, the results would be no better if the call center were populated with untrained people somewhere in America.

I think you are failing to recognize the customer service component of this. Why it would be an issue is beyond me, unless one needs to have an issue that is.

It is easy to get angry with the customer facing people at the other end of the phone. Let's not forget it is Princess management who is not providing the needed training and who should be blamed for these kinds of mess-ups.

Just call them jumpers then all is good. 😀

If they had sequins then it is all good. 😆

I suspect we are witnessing the rough transition from a full staffed customer relations/reservations desk and one done primarily via Apps or website tools. Sadly, customers shouldn't suffer with catastrophic mistakes like the OP's.

It was a big running gag with Jack Benny. I'm 72 and still think of being a kid when I think of him. I had just watched a video of Jack Benny getting caught up on his age on the "You Bet Your Life" show (Groucho Marx). Pretty funny stuff.

We have made a late-morning flight out of SeaTac but it was a dicey thing. I think you made a good choice. Now you can take your time during disembarkation. Have a leisurely morning and plenty of time to make the flight. Enjoy!

On our most recent Alaska cruise, it seemed polo shirts were the norm. Whatever the case, any of the old school concerns about being underdressed no longer apply. Dress neatly and there will be much happiness!

Looks like you will be catching a short regional domestic flight. I sure wouldn't waste any time. Additionally, I would consider a taxi over a shuttle bus. Our experience at the Seattle pier with a cruise line shuttle was not good. To be fair it was so long ago it is really no longer valid.

All I know is I have a ton of T shirts with Cozumel printed on them! Haha.

Thanks. It seems coverage parts are different in our two countries. In my country, homeowners insurance coverage wording is fairly standardized. I'll preface my following comments with I agree completely one should always check with their insurer. Here, if a contractor caused a covered loss, the insurer would remedy the loss with the policyholder, then the insurer has subrogation rights against the contractor. Additionally, even if the OP's TA problem were considered covered under the policy for theft, which I doubt, a relatively low internal limit would apply. I just don't think a typical American homeowners insurance policy would respond to a situation like the OP experienced.

The Jack Benny number!

2*2*2*3*7 = 168!

We have used Celebrity, Princess and RCI extensively in Europe. All are terrific cruises. Have another booked this year with Princess. Have yet to try NCL but the group is looking at one for 2025.

I think folks have nothing to worry about whether in their cabin or public spaces. Collection of marketing or sales data on a cruise ship is pretty far down the list of things to be worried about.

This is interesting. Is this legal assistance coverage available for any legal issue or for those relating to a covered peril? Our typical personal liability coverages provide legal defense but only if it is for something that is covered by the policy.

Thanks. Certainly if a flight changes then a rebooking is needed. But in this case the original flight had not changed.