HappyCruiserettu

11 hours ago, dog said:

I do not want other passengers seeing where I am. (female, alone sometimes)

Huh?

11 hours ago, dog said:

 

On 9/24/2019 at 9:39 PM, Thrak said:

 

I hate those little tables. They don't work well with my physique. (I'm too dang fat.)

I'm XXL too, and they really don't fit me. But, I don't hate them. I just don't use them.

On 9/19/2019 at 9:26 AM, vampiress said:

i never had issue son my hawaii trip finding seats int he theater, but we did arrive 20-30 minutes early.  but the vista and explorer's lounge show were always hard to find seats.  i guess the shows in those venues were way more popular than the stage shows on that cruise.

Not necessarily. Those venues are a lot smaller, so they fill up quickly. And those shows are generally only presented once.

17 hours ago, MissP22 said:

I believe this is common practice. 

Leave one, take one. 

Yes, for the "donated" shelf. Never for a "Property of Princess Cruises" stamped book.

On 6/2/2016 at 8:45 AM, msg74 said:

Sadly, I have a difficult time reading pre-owned books out of fear that someone has read it while using the toilet.

 

 

"Jokes for the John," maybe?

On 5/31/2016 at 7:31 PM, dmdiver said:

When we take books on a cruise, we tend to donate them to the library - no point in taking them back home unless we already know someone who wants them. Carnival ships also have a dedicated area for donating your books or looking for something else to read. If we take a book from that area & don't finish it, it goes home with us.

Sounds very much like the Princess Book Exchange. That's what I do.

On 9/23/2019 at 6:38 AM, ontheweb said:

We have normally cruised in insides. DW discovered on our very first cruise that she slept well with the total darkness.

 

This coming summer we will be on a Norwegian fjords cruise on the Crown. The price for an OV was very close to that of an inside cabin especially since it also included extra OBC of $50 each compared to an inside. Our TA also mentioned when I said we were considering the OV that it was a larger cabin.

 

But, it has now been mentioned to me that we will be in the "Land of the Midnight Sun". So my question is will there be a blackout curtain to make it dark at night.

In my experience, all cabins have blackout curtains (except inside cabins, of course.)

On 9/23/2019 at 7:06 PM, WisCruiser2 said:

geoherb posted the drink menu in his current Live From review on Crown Princess. It looks like the one I remember from the Regal this past year, and Gosling's ginger beer is listed under non-alcoholic drinks. It's also used as a mixer.

We drink alcohol only on occasion, but we love the Gosling's Ginger Beer. First experienced it in Bermuda. (Don't get the diet; it's awful!)

On 9/22/2019 at 4:46 PM, NavyVeteran said:

You can book the entire flight with the stopover using EZAir. Select Copenhagen and the appropriate date for your destination. Then select the option to add a stop, and put in the arrival and departure dates for Edinburgh. This is a relatively new feature with EZAir, so I haven't heard from anyone yet who has used it, but it looks as if it could be perfect in your case.

Two years ago, we were booked on Majestic, Athens to Barcelona, 14 nights. We used EZ Air and flew Atlanta to Rome, spent three days, then flew on to Athens on morning of departure (using Princess transfer to ship.). After the cruise, spent two days in Barcelona, then flew (NOT part of EZ Air) to Dublin for six days in Ireland. Then we flew (using EZ Air again) from Dublin to Atlanta. About $600 pp.

I believe there is a limit of one stopover in each direction. That is why we had to book Barcelona to Dublin separately. (Cost less than $100 pp as I remember. On Aer Lingus.)

On 7/23/2019 at 9:03 PM, CruiseVA said:

 

You may want to look at the Pacific - very small ship 🙂

I didn't care for the Pacific. (14 day Holiday Caribbean). I can't quite explain why. Wasn't the size. Had a great 19 day TA on Oceania's sister ship. The Pacific just misses a few things we enjoy. The International Cafe comes to mind.

On 7/23/2019 at 9:35 AM, JimmyVWine said:

One of the best things about the current state of the cruise industry  is that new, state of the art ships are being introduced (or announced) monthly, or so it seems.  But with the introduction of all these new ships, it causes older ships to be pushed into the shadows and suffer by comparison.  Coral Princess was launched in 2003.  It can never measure up to the shiny new toys in terms of technology and condition.  On the other hand, the shiny new ships have long abandoned features that made Coral Princess desirable, which is outdoor space and passenger-to-space ratio.  When choosing a cruise, the ship should certainly play an important role, as should itinerary.  But when choosing a ship, don't let "condition" and "newness" be overriding factors.  One should strongly consider "appropriateness for the itinerary" as well.  Pairing Coral Princess with an Inside Passage itinerary is about as perfect a marriage as one could hope for in a cruise. 

 

For me, there is no way that I would ever  choose Royal over Coral for an Inside Passage cruise.  We practically lived on our balcony, the wide Promenade and on the open decks (on Sapphire) when we went to Alaska and the thought of doing the same on Royal is laughable (and in some situations, impossible).  Think of it this way:  Royal has "new" bells and whistles and Coral has "tailor-made-for-Alaska" bells and whistles.  If I were going on a port-intensive cruise in the Med, maybe Royal's bells and whistles would win. But in Alaska, Coral's win every time--irrespective of the age of the ship.  Her classic design is purpose built for what you want to do and see.   "New and shiny" is only better when "new and shiny" matter.  In Alaska, balcony size and deck space matter.  Five years from now, when you look back on your cruise, what will you remember more, watching glaciers calve or the omelette that you got at the buffet?  If your goal is to see Alaska, then choose the ship that better affords you that pleasure, irrespective of its age.  

This is a wonderful, insightful, and thoughtful post. Thank you so much for this great comparison.

5 hours ago, elliair said:

My nickname for the Star Princess is the "sausage ship."  We took a 15-day cruise on her to Hawaii a few years back and I'm not exaggerating, 85% of the dishes on the buffet line were sausage....sausage....sausage, every single day.  One day in particular I was surprised to see a meatloaf with a hot dog down the middle of it.  I've never seen that before.  The next day it was on the salad bar served cold.  WTH!  Well, we're on the Star to Hawaii in November, I'll pack some protein bars and call it good.

We took the Star Hawaii trip last year. I didn't notice all the sausage. I do often  take a couple links with my breakfast, if I'm not in the mood for bacon. (A rare happening.) LOL.

8 hours ago, scottca075 said:

 

The buffet is fine. Salmon (lox) is normally not on the buffet in the morning, but you can request it.

I find the salmon on the buffet every day. I think it's by the bagels. You can also request it as an ingredient in your omelet.

We eat mostly at the Buffet. Occasionally we have a Room Service breakfast. One day a week we may have an MDR breakfast.

On 9/2/2019 at 7:56 AM, skynight said:

 

I have seen salmon, but don't know the quality or if it is always available. You may find salmon in the DR for breakfast.

 

 

I always get some salmon at breakfast (in the Buffet). If I have an omelet, I generally ask for salmon in that. I don't do both on the same day.

On 8/16/2019 at 8:28 PM, victory2020 said:

Just got back from my first HAL cruise in 15 years. I found it to be far superior to my 20 plus Princess cruises. Loved the smaller size ship.

Princess has smaller size ships, as well.

I would guess that many of the glass doors mentioned are not really glass.

The mini-bar setup is apparently provided for every cruise. Discussion on another board stated that full mini bar was provided for the spring/fall one day repositioning cruises between Seattle and Vancouver.

6 minutes ago, crusin'k said:

 

 

How "dressy" do we get for formal/chic nights?  Don't want to dredge up pros & cons of same.  We don't mind dressing up.  Just don't want to bring to many fancy duds if not needed.  How many dressy nights would you estimate we might have (first & last segments are 15 nights each, middle segment 28 days)?

 

We plan on doing our laundry self-service so we can pack a little lighter.  Am I correct that we cannot do laundry on the turn around/embarkation days?

 

Any other useful info would be appreciated!  Thanks

Welcome back! Come on in, the water's fine.

"Smart Casual" is all you NEED to be admitted to the MDR, even on formal nights. The written policy recommends more, but enforcement is not an issue. Therefore, you will be well within the norm with the SC. 

I'm not aware of a laundry restriction on turn around, etc. Maybe an environmental issue?

2 hours ago, austenfiend said:

Sheesh!  It's cheaper to just buy new underwear and socks!  Other cruise lines launder your clothes "whatever you can fit in this bag".  I guess I'll be stalking the laundry rooms.  Do you know if there are specific hours you can use the laundry room?  I would imagine so, so you don't bother people that are in the rooms surrounding.

Good luck buying a pair of sock for $1.25. Maybe at the Dollar Store.

Those passengers with Elite status get free laundry service. Probably, with the mini bar set-up, the best perk of being Elite. 

No, we're not better, or really special people; it's just Princess' recognition of loyalty to those who cruise frequently.

2 hours ago, The Mikado said:

Yes, they also suspend the use of paper cups, etc, while in the Tracy Arm.

Why on earth? It's not like we throw them over the side. I don't get it.

On 8/25/2019 at 6:48 PM, jennybenny said:

With an Alaska cruise there are days that the laundry cannot be used.  

Huh? Why is that? (Our Princess Alaska cruise was many years ago. On the nearly new Regal (the former one.)

On 8/22/2019 at 1:13 PM, dara90210 said:

  I think every staff member we encountered attempted to steer us to the buffet and lied about a dining room being open (we knew better!).  We finally said we were in search of an open bar and were directed to the International Cafe bar and low and behold found the DaVinci dining room that was opening for lunch in about 15 minutes.  We had a lovely lunch and my husband got his coveted shrimp and avocado salad!  Since it was our anniversary, we ate in Crown Grill on the first night.

We go directly to the cabin on boarding. I pick up the Patter and look on the back page for dining hours. That will always show one MD open for lunch, like 12:00-1:30. We go there, share a table with nice strangers, and have a good lunch. They generally offer Beef Tenderloin on the menu.That is my go-to dish. It's sometimes my favorite meal of the cruise, except for Crown Grill.

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

It should appear automatically on turnaround day.

That's been our experience.

We were on five Princess cruises last year, on four ships, (two medallion) and never heard announcements or commentary through the tv, bridge cam or other. I remember having that capability on earlier Princess cruises.

On 8/22/2019 at 6:03 AM, MissP22 said:

I'm still waiting for them to include a DR menu on one of the channels for lunch & dinner each night. 

 

It should be possible. We were on RCs Ovation in May, and the tv had all the menus from all the food venues (pay and free). Nice feature.