latebloomer56

11 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

We haven't had to do that even one time since the restart and the Dine My Way craziness. We've booked same time every night with another couple, same time every night sharing, and same time every night table for two, etc. Even when booked for same time every night sharing we were able to get a table for two the few times we wanted to eat alone.

 

Don't get me wrong - I would love to have Reserved seating but I won't pay the extra fee for the privilege.

It will be a new thing for us so looking forward to this. Disappointed only pizza not pasta at Alfredos on Grand lime the Sapphire, but will give it a shot as a casual dinning venue. Think it's only this and Vines so who knows on the casual thing.

We tend to book Princess because it meets our needs. Wish they had more northeast  cruises but still tend to check Princess before other lines. I like the calm older ships though truth be told Regal was my favorite nudging out Ruby.  Always enjoy our cruises but find Princess more geared to our comfort zone.

7 hours ago, TRLD said:

Not sure since we never boik non refundable.

 

Point is refundable or not, Princess made it more difficult to refare  even refundable bookings about that time. Making more offers new bookings only which would require cancellation of even a refundable booking before final payment and a new booking made to take advantage.

I never do either so was surprised if this is our TA of 25 years wouldn't have said this. I need to check then call her on Monday about the one I booked but haven't transferred to her yet.

Thanks everybody.

11 hours ago, TRLD said:

With Princess in the US you can book with refundable deposits or at a lower rate with nonrefundable deposits. About the same time that they added the nonrefundable option they also tightened up on the ability to refare.

 

They also made some cabins only nonrefundable and tightened up booking 3 or 4 person cabin with only 2 people.

You would think our TA would have said something if non refundable 😢. I have health issues so never book non refundable she knows this. The trip for 2025 I grabbed because she was off and aft or the very forward go quick on Panama full transits. I didn't see non refundable. Do you know where I would look?

1 hour ago, TRLD said:

It has gotten a bit tighter since they added non refundable bookings. Prior to that one could refare and even thought it was basically a cancellation and rebooking under new terms, most thing remained in place. Now you pretty much have to fully cancel and rebook.

What is non refundable bookings? I have cancelled without issue in the past and nobody said my two bookings for $198.00 each was non refundable. Maybe I better star asking this question. I know with Carnival I had to pay a higher deposit to get a refund if I had to cancel. Nobody said anything like this about Princess.

2 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

No, they do not know whether or not you are watching the video. They do not know where you are. They know where your medallion is. Your medallion has to be in the cabin while the video is playing. You don't have to be there.

Sorry that is true they track the medallion.  Mine was with me checking something out, food related I'm sure 😁.

16 minutes ago, cruisinsince75 said:

Like the Rockwell tune.  I always feel like somebody's watching me 🤪

Yup, drove my husband nuts every time we went to the elevator showed our anniversary notice. He never even looks at the cabin statement I get it a few times during the trip, but last time he was always checking to be sure nothing on there not ours. He will be better this trip.

1 hour ago, princeton123211 said:

Typically the cruise line hotel packages are dramatically more expensive than what you can get the same hotel room for on your own...

Yes but I like everything I can do on one charge. Only thing we no longer do is EZair unless to Europe. We like going from a smaller airport near home and cruise air on all of them is from Logan.

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Reserve dining is not really unique. It is a portion of one of the MDR’s. The good things are no wait, personal service and one extra entree the rest of the menu is the same as the other MDR’s

Just not having to go into the site and book every day is a treat for me 😉. Plus who knows may be worth the extra for the mini that includes this for the future.

Thanks

On 5/7/2024 at 5:39 PM, Calker said:

 

 

Thank you - princeton123211 - CruiserBruce - KeepCalmBear0 -

 

from your responses I can tell planning a cruise/Aluani trip to Hawaii is going to be very different from planning a cruise trip out of Fl.

 

This trip will only be for my husband and I as we are celebrating our 50th anniversary.  We are thinking of a one night stay at an easily accessible port hotel the night before we board the Pride of America for a b2b cruise. Then we are planning a 4 night stay at Aluani before flying home.

 

a hotel under $500 a night would be nice.

 

plans only include a dinner at this point,  but timing of our arrival into Honolulu (and other planned activities) are up in the air as airlines don’t have schedules available this far out.

 

 

 

In 2018 we enjoyed POA and took their package adding an extra day we stayed at Marriot City View right on Waikiki was very nice. Was disappointed not facing Diamond Head but on the other side but we were lucky and sat on the balcony and watched the fireworks from another hotel down from us. NCL also took us to this hotel on a transfer and would have taken us to the ship but we booked a Robert's tour prior to boarding. For us letting the cruise line handle our transfers works other prefer uber it's your choice, what your more comfortable just letting you know this was available before.

35 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Concierge Lounge

Well, for us, on the Enchanted this past February, we were way too far away from the Concierge Lounge to make it worthwhile or even a destination. (Read: don't need extra food, already have sodas in the minibar, already have drink package, already socialize with others at other places).  We did find that for tendering, the lounge was the meeting point for priority tendering off the ship.

 

Snacks in room

We did take advantage of this.  I would routinely ask for the fruit bowl to be restocked; and I did indeed request the canapes on a daily basis (doubled-up on the sushi, skipped the other stuff).

 

First night specialty dining

I was needlessly worried about pre-booking The Catch on night one, so much so I called the 800 number in advance to make the reservation.  In hindsight, as others have said, you don't need to. The place was kind of a ghost town and anyone could've walked in and got a spot.  I've found that to be the case on other Princess cruises we've been on while staying in a suite.

 

Laundry

Yes, take advantage of this perk.  We did.

 

Breakfast in Sabatinis

We're not breakfast people, so we did this only once; and it was excellent.  The service was top notch.

 

That's pretty much it. There aren't a ton of perks with being in a suite given the very high upcharge.  Maybe it's the space in your room.  There's a lot of it!

 

 

Your right about the cost on Princess our cabin of choice is always a mini for the added space. Got a good deal for this upcoming cruise so took it. The suite dining perk will be interesting for me, so will see how this plays out.

19 hours ago, skynight said:

On the Island Princess your muster station will be on deck 7, promenade, starboard side. Forward, midship or aft depending on the location of your cabin. When you board while waiting to go to your cabin just pass by. You will see crew with yellow hats. If you are at the wrong one they will direct you. Once at your muster station you scan your medallion and you are done with that step. You then watch the muster video on your phone, device or cabin TV to be totally done. I watch the TV when unpacking.

And they know if your watching the video, they track this on your medallion. We went to muster on way to cabin first medallion cruise then my husband turned on the video as instructed when we entered. I left the cabin for something and later got a message I needed to watch the video. I checked and customer service said maybe I left the cabin while but played earlier 😊. They know where everybody is at all times.

On 5/2/2024 at 11:53 AM, princeton123211 said:

I agree with the other poster that you are going to be very disoriented from a time perspective if you are coming from the US East Coast. We do this trip several times a year and the 11 hour flight always wipes us out. 

 

I agree to with Bear to look at Roberts but I think you are going to run into the same issue you had getting back later than your sailing time. The ONLY way to do what you propose to do is to rent a car which can be easily done in Waikiki and returned back there.

 

It's a nice drive up to the North Shore and then down along the coast back to Honolulu but it will take all of your day. If you didn't stop at all it would take you about 3-4 hours of straight driving (and obviously the point is to make a few stops and see things). The other thing to consider is if you are going to other islands (which I assume you are) you can get a very similar experience there. 

 

To be frank, you will be much happier with yourselves if you just stay put and enjoy Waikiki. Rest up, grab breakfast, walk on the beach, go for a swim. Enjoy being in Waikiki-- because if you do anything else you proposed theres no actual point in staying in Waikiki to begin with. 

 

If you did want to hang closer but still wanted to do something cultural-- go to see the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor or to the former Royal Ioloni Palace in Downtown honolulu. Either of those things are short, easy Uber rides and let you still enjoy some time on Waikiki. 

We were at the Married City View in Honolulu for two days prior to our 2018 cruise. Flying from Boston we did need the first day of rest on beautiful Waikiki. On cruise day we booked Roberts Stars and Stripes tour they were great and dropped us at the ship with our luggage a couple hours before we sailed. You also need to consider your luggage. If you leave it at your hotel you need to retrieve it then head to the ship all time consuming. 

We have in the past gone on the Star of Honolulu in the evening but want something different this trip in Oct. I was checking a glass bottom boat tour and saw Ka Moana Luau near the pier. See on first post this isn't a great experience? Anybody else attend this event? We are not going to Pearl thus trip but doing an easy North Shore excursion for the first time so go here for the evening sounded like a nice time.

Thanks

8 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

It wasn't just the suite benefits that resulted in no EXTRA tip. He was the worst steward we had ever had in 25+ cruises (and that's saying something). 

Why should I have to fight to get the benefits that were on the list? If I hadn't had the list with me, we would have not got any of the benefits.

We were lucky on the Regal our cabin steward help us out greatly. He did get a little extra.

Our only suite on Princess was the Regal Baltic cruise in 2016. We did get the Enclave and loved it, I would pay for a week of this. The room service for the main room dinner was great on the night we had been in St. Petersburg all day. However careful what you order everything comes at once, also it was raining so at inside a little crowded so plan. Didn't understand about the separate lounge, but it was a bust the young lady at the desk didn't belong there. Absolutely no help couldn't run the coffee machine 😊. I am grateful for this posting. We got a good deal to sail on the next cruise from when we planned on a Vista suite on the Grand. We were last on this ship in 2010 on one of our TA's.

Thanks

10 hours ago, reedprincess said:

You don't need to pre-book the embarkation night dinner. Slots are held at the specialty restaurants for suites.  You can have the concierge book it for you in Royal if you want, or call the DINE line once aboard and book your time and choice..

As for Thermal Suite - that's only in older Grand/Island /Gem class ships.  Royal class ships have the Enclave. And it's not a suite perk (clearly excluded on the suite perks listing). Same for Sphere class, BTW, ie Sun/Star.

The Enclave is wonderful - I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Definitely check out the concierge, there will be a couple hours of free drinks, snacks available all day, make sure they show you how to get a soda or water when they're not there (open 24/7, not staffed 24/7),

Suite breakfast is fab, they'll make just about anything you want, ingredients available.   Personally - eggs benedict, side of crispy bacon, mocha and mimosas.  Every single day, lol..  the French toast is divine also...

 

Enjoy!

I was told no Thermal Suite on the Grand? Would you know where this is located or is it just part of Lotus? Thanks

Our OBC from our Princess Visa didn't show in 2022 so I called. Was confirmed but told it wouldn't show until first day. The 700.00 did show but we had a lot left as most things we purchased prior to boarding. They mailed us the balance a few weeks later.

2 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

Yes.

A passenger in a full suite has access to Reserve Collection dining whenever the MDR is open - breakfast every day, lunch on embarkation and sea days, and dinner every day. You don't make reservations - you just show up and are quickly seated.

You also have access to the suite breakfast in Sabatini's or another specialty restaurant every morning. No reservations are needed. This breakfast is prepared to order in the small specialty restaurant kitchen, and it was one of the best suite perks.

You will have complimentary specialty restaurant dining on embarkation evening. You will need to make a reservation, but you can wait and make it onboard. They reserve enough space for suite passengers for that evening.

Note: These answers are assume you are in a full suite. A mini-suite is NOT a suite.

Thank you yes we couldn't get our cabin of choice an aft mini. TA called with a deal on a cruise two weeks later in Oct. a Vista Suite for a couple hundred more so took it. It's not over our actual anniversary but still Hawaii 😁. Plus a suite which isn't something we generally look at to be honest on Princess. Getting excited this reserve dining sounds unique.

On 5/11/2024 at 7:15 PM, NavyVeteran said:

A mini-suite does not have any dining priority. Everyone in inside, oceanview, balcony, and mini-suite is treated the same. Only a Reserve Class mini-suite or a full suite has any advantages in arranging dining.

So we got lucky and have a suite in Oct. does this mean I don't need to go in the site to choose a venue and time for the MDR?

Thanks

1 hour ago, HotRoot said:

Yes, as of three weeks ago.  Also, avocado and bay shrimp.

Would you remember the hours they serve lunch on the first day?

11 hours ago, suekel said:

Drop your luggage...go back later.  I'm going to do that next time I sail out of LA and go tour the USS Iowa.  

We did this once before worked out nice.

On 1/2/2024 at 10:09 PM, vino100 said:

too funny…… that is exactly what I order on embarkation. Great way to start my cruise. 

That lunch sounds wonderful. Is that just the first day? We have never had lunch the first day in the dining room, on any cruise. I think because we are always boarding later in the day.

2 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Typically, if a direct cash tip is given to a crew member, they have to turn it in, and if the passenger has removed the auto gratuity it goes into the pool to be shared.  If the auto gratuity is not removed, the cash tip is returned to the crew member you gave it to.

 

 

 

 

That's what we understood as well, thank you. I like to auto tipping so never remove it. Always worried I missed someone before 😊.

In addition question for those who have enjoyed this venue recently. What is the current dress code? My husband likes smart casual (chinos, shirt with a collar no tie) is this how acceptable.