stevenr597

3 minutes ago, Carol28 said:

I'm confused.  I booked my cruise before April 23, 2024. On the website it says if you book after April 23, the Premier Package is included in your booking.  However, I received an email saying we have been upgraded to the Sanctuary status (We booked an Owner's Suite) which is supposed to include the Premier package.  Yesterday, I did a chat and was told we do not have the Premier Package.  Today, I called and was told the Sanctuary status includes the Premier package and it says on our summary that we have Sanctuary status.

 

Do we have the Premier package? The Princess rep on the phone said yes.  Can anyone here tell me if this is true? I hope my writing isn't as confused as I am!

I believe that individuals who have booked rooms which are listed as "Sanctuary" will be grandfathered in at no additional cost for any of the benefits, including the Premier Package.  

We have booked a Reserve Class Mini Suite for March 2025 and were told by Princess that we are now Sanctuary Mini Suite and our Plus Package has become Premier. 

 

My wife and I had been scheduled to cruise on the Nieuw Statendam this October which included the Mediteranean and Israel.  With the start of the unfortunate hostilities, Holland American wisely decided to cancel any stops in Israel.  

We elected to take the option to cancel the cruise and to rebook for October, 2025 on the identical cruise.  

But recently we are seeing that tour groups are starting to cancel stops in Israel, even at this early  date.

We would like to know the feelings of the viewership.  Do they believe that Holland America will decide to take no chances, and cut out the Israel segment of this cruise well in advance of the date.  

As an alternative we are considering a cruise around Japan.  

1 hour ago, FLAlaska said:

I heard that if you already had a reserve cabana suite, you would be grandfathered in, which is what shows on one of my bookings. New bookings would be excluded. Did that change?

I contacted Princess yesterday evening.  We have already booked an M1 Mini-Suite and I was told that we were grandfathered in. 

Haven't been formally notified by my Travel Agent or Princess, but I did contact an agent at Princess last night and she told me that our Reserve Class Mini-suite was now Sanctuary Class with the added benefits.

Good news. 

11 minutes ago, 555 said:

When we were working we just didn't mind eating at 6PM but being retired but now we like to have our main meal at 2:30 PM and have the rest of the evening to relax or do other things. 

12 minutes ago, 555 said:

When we were working we just didn't mind eating at 6PM but being retired but now we like to have our main meal at 2:30 PM and have the rest of the evening to relax or do other things. 

Even when we go to the theatre, we generally do not like to eat before, although we may have a cocktail and some finger food to go along with it. 

2 hours ago, 555 said:

I'm just curious but are you still working. 

 

Yes

On 4/14/2024 at 11:33 AM, cruising.mark.uk said:

That might be the case for US cruisers, but I'm almost certain that it won't be for UK and European cruisers who make up a good proportion of Princess' passenger base and generally eat their main meal quite a bit later in the day than 5.30 in the UK and much later than that in many other European countries.

 

So, I sense that on UK / European sailings and North American sailings that attract a good proportion of non-US passengers, there should be be a fairly good split between passengers seeking very early dining and those that are happy to dine after 7pm.  Perhaps the sailings on which this is more likely to become a problem are the shorter North American ones that attract predominantly US passengers?

We prefer later dining.  

14 hours ago, Kay S said:

That would be me.  I'm waiting to see if they are serious about TD before I book Princess again.

We used to love "Traditional Dining" but, especially on Princess, we like to book a Reserve Class which gives preferential seating.  We often take in the Early Show in the main theatre, getting there fairly early so we can find good seats, and then eat dinner afterwards. 

We were book for Israel via Holland American this coming October, but cancelled the cruise after H.A. cancelled port stops in Israel.  

We rebooked and hopefully will be able to do stop in Israel for October, 2025. 

2 hours ago, MacMadame said:

I didn't say assigned times cost more money. I said that cruise lines that still cruise in the old ways cost more money. Assigned times is just one place where things have changed, there is also turndown service, the midnight buffet, all drinks except alcohol, and all activities included in the fare, etc.

I would imagine that assigned times would actually cost less money.  Put less strain and give more efficiency to the waiters and kitchen in that they would not have to be preparing multiple dishes at the same time. 

2 hours ago, memoak said:

And at your assigned time

Yes, eating at a specific time.  But the staff was much more attentive and had an easily time with the means.  

Just remember the "Old Days" when there was a midnight buffet every night, with one gala buffet.  When one had several waiters at the table, and if you food was not excellent, the waiter would be quick to replace it with another dish.

Of course you would be expect to eat  your three meals in the main dining room at your assigned table. 

 

We are looking forward to a week cruise on the Sun Princess next March.  We traditionally book Club Class/Reserve Mini-Suite which we did for this cruise.

We are three people, and we have noticed that that the vast majority of Reserve Class Mini-suites will only accommodate two people.  Those that will be set up for 3 or 4 passengers are usually connecting cabins.

We have heard some horrible things about cabins which connect in that they can be quite noisy.  However, we have been in hotel rooms which are connecting with no problem.

Any comments about these cabins on the Sun Princess?

On 3/31/2024 at 3:34 PM, jean-lynd said:

 

We had Princess Plus…but to be honest, we had so much food that either between lunch and dinner, or late at night we just had tea and a chocolate chip cookie. 

On 3/30/2024 at 8:25 PM, lorri111 said:

The pics I have seen of the speciality desserts look a bit much - are you able to substitute anything else for them? I seem to recall someone mentioned gelato- is this true of all ships and where is the gelato bar (Royal specifically).

On the Regal Princess, we asked the server if we could just have 1 or two scoops of ice cream instead of the Speciality Desert.

His answer….no problem.  

We have book Reserve Class Mini-Suite during March, 2025 on Sun Princess.  We are a party of three and found out that most Mini-Suites are limited to two people.  The majority of Mini-Suites available for three people are connecting.  

We have heard that connecting cabins are usually noisier.  

Any comments about this?

On 3/9/2024 at 12:44 PM, KeithMoon said:

We have 2 connecting Reserve mini suites for next summer. We had a hell of a time finding connecting mini suites where one room sleeps 3. I had assumed that the sofa converts to a bed. Does anyone know if they do? Or when there are 3 in a room, does a bed pull down from the ceiling?

I believe that the couch converts into a bed in the mini-suites designed for 3 or more. 

Wow!!!!  We are booked, Reserve Class, Sun Princess, March, 2025.  Hope that they get these problems sorted out by them. 

I believe that Princess has done away with “Coffee Syrup” and now uses Lavazza Brand Coffee both in the Buffet and in the main dining room.  .  In the “atrium” one has the choice of a variety of different types of coffee, also from Lavazza. 

8 hours ago, truckswain said:

It is unfortunate that has been your experience.

 

We just returned from a 7 week cruise on the Ascent, Aqua Class, and this would be one of the best cruises we have had (we have have been cruising for 30 years).

 

The food in Blu was exceptional along with the service.  The service on the ship, entertainment and other food venues were outstanding.

 

The price was approximately $800 more than our Apex, Aqua Class cruise in 2022 (we were on the Beyond in 2023, but in the Retreat).  Given inflation and sailing on the newest Celebrity ship, I believe the increase was reasonable.

Glad to hear that you had a great experience.  Perhaps it was because you were on the “Edge” Class.  When we sailed on the Reflection, some of the crew told us that Celebrity was putting much effort into this class. 

Our experience was not limited to Celebrity, or even to cruising.  We have noticed higher prices and generally less service in hotels and restaurants.  We do feel that it will be some time to fully recover from the effects of Covid.

But like I said, a bad day cruising is still better than a great deal at work.  

Just read today the food riots have broken out in…..Cuba.  The State Department has issued an alert for, of all places, Nassau, about crime.  In Granada a retired couple had their boat hijacked and they were killed.

Sadly, the Caribbean is not as safe as it used to be. 

10 hours ago, truckswain said:

So last Celebrity Cruise was late 2019, early 2020.  So not on a Celebrity Cruise in 4 years but in your opinion they have slipped back.  Can't fathom how you have come to this conclusion, but it is your opinion, which you are entitled to.

 

 

 

Sadly, since Covid many things are "not the same."  Prices are up, service is down; whether at home, or on a cruise. 

We have noticed on Celebrity in "Blu" that the variety of food on the menu is more limited, and actual size of portions have decreased.  On Princess we noted relatively slow service in the morning "making up the cabins."

But despite this, we are glad to be back at cruising, whether on Holland America, Celebrity or Princess.  

A bad day at sea is still better than a good day at work. 

 

On 3/13/2024 at 10:10 PM, Liao said:

Is that equivalent to a SS or CS?

I think the Minisuite Reserve Class is not easily comparable to anything at the same price on Celebrity. 

RCCL has announced that they are stopping, for at least one week, at Labadee.  

26 minutes ago, zitsky said:

What did you like about it?  Is there a good variety of restaurants?  What about entertainment?

 

I ask these questions not to be rude (as one poster told me I was) but to show interest in your experience.  

I am happy with Celebrity in Aqua.  But I do see that the Sky Suites are expensive.  So I am getting prices for other cruise lines.  At current prices I think we’re happy in Aqua though we have one more SS booked on Celebrity.

We like Celebrity, but recently we have decided that Princess is a better value.  We usually book Reserve Class Mini-Suite on Princess.  But we are also scheduled to sale Holland America a during October, 2025.