GulfShoresCruiser

Just got off the Sky Monday and this was our first cruise on Princess so can't answer "improved food" but can tell you this....

• MDR excellent (great service but you have to beg to be able to sit at the same table each evening and wonder each night if you will get it, loved the selections, great meats and fish)
• Lido Buffet horrible (just getting silverware and iced tea was a challenge, and fried eggs under a heat lamp? just how does that salad bar line work?  hope you like all grilled veggies..LOL  I could continue)
• Alfredo's OK (go by 11:40am or no tables until 1, pizza is pizza...nothing to get excited about except it is a different venue to enjoy)
• Salty Dog mediocre (let's serve school fall festival hamburgers and bread with little pieces of pork BBQ and make people stand in line to order instead of having that on Medallion app to order and pick up)

Between the food and the medallion (and a few other things) we did not buy a FCD and don't think Princess is for us. 

On 3/12/2022 at 9:26 AM, skynight said:

We placed ours in our pocket. No issues.

I did this also.....I also lost it and went to guest services for a replacement and they gave me one the size of a credit card......even better.

I cannot imagine buying Princess jewelry to wear it but perhaps that helped with the business case.  It is only a keycard and ship ID and does nothing else. We just got off the Sky Monday and we never used it for anything else but that.  

So we just got off the Sky Princess Monday after the 16 day TA......

This is our Enclave Experience....

• We purchased the 7 day pass pre-cruise (a 16 day pass was not available)
• When we arrived at the spa on embarkation day, the spa ladies looked us up and placed what they said was a "one week" ticket on our medallion.  A tiny piece of paper taped to our medallion.
• We used the Enclave daily.....and they never expelled us after 7 days or charged us for continuing to visit the Enclave after 7 days. 

My suggestion is to buy the 7 day pass pre-cruise and never look back.....

(Also, for those that have used Holland America's hydro suite, the Enclave is much smaller (even though ship is much bigger) and has less features)

I'm the OP and I am circling back with what happened.....for whatever it is worth....

Our goal was to sit together and not pay for seats after paying a fare....this was accomplished with no effort on our part......

24 hours before departure I went to "check in".  I was unable to check in or select a seat.  The reason was that I still had to provide my Covid stuff and complete a USA required location finder form.  

We arrived at the airport and completed all our stuff and we were assigned seats together.  We never paid any of those tribute prices for seats.  We were in steerage class....center seats in the center section.....Enjoyed lots of free wine, good food, tea and some great movies on our London to Miami flight.  The flight was full (good to see again) and I now know why they are called airbus....because they are.  

That better work.....

We have a 2:15pm flight out of Heathrow (to USA) after getting off the Sky on 3/28.  We booked Princess transfers and we need the Covid test also.

Since all was booked with Princess, I'm considering this all doable. 

On the October Rotterdam TA, they had tea at BBKings.   The Billboard Onboard piano lady played the Steinway and we had tablecloths, tiered trays of goodies, our own tea pots and gloved waiters.....A nice time had by all.

Did you check with your county health dept?

We are in Florida and we are leaving Saturday for a cruise.  I scheduled an appointment online...arrived at 9am and results emailed by 9:30am today.   FREE.  No wait. And no appointment was really necessary.  

We live in the boonies....The county only has 18,000 folks but the state of Florida continues to do a great job. 

we preferred the shorter length......less room to catch something on and fits tighter to the luggage...if that makes sense......

Just watched the you tube of the sea shells...Hilarious and yes!

Agree.  I've looked over the Princess contract and it is not there.  Nothing to worry about here. 

If the suite passengers need an escort to find their cabins, I'd be glad to assist.  

Seriously?  I can see this for any passenger who needs help (even those of us in steerage) but really?  Oh my.  

True. 

I'll be fine waiting on the curb until they let me in.

2 hours ago, Bgwest said:

Gee, I miss the $1.58/gallon I was paying for unleaded gasoline in the fall of 2020!

ah the good ole days......look at us now.....I hope the cruise lines bought at least 4 years of fuel futures back then!

I'll be enjoying the thermal pool Saturday on the Sky and will be glad to give a first hand account once I return.

13 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

If Princess did this, it would be a show stopper for me to ever sail on them again.  I'm another one unclear why this is not in the NCL board...

Exactly.  Get this out of here....This references cruising with NCL....LOL.

That's good news!!!!....Last I heard us cruise passengers and our $$$ were not wanted in Santa Barbara....and they were starting to treat us like the welcoming, open people of Key West.

Things are looking up and that is great.  Thanks for sharing the article. 

No need to be concerned with boarding times and changing boarding times......From our October 2021 and December 2021 HAL cruises, we arrived around 11 and were immediately cleared and were onboard by noon.

I think our boarding times were 2pm and 3:20pm...or some other obnoxious after lunch times.  

They will be glad to see and welcome you on board very efficiently.

Good Luck!

I just signed up for internet using the medallion app....

On the home page, scrolled down to MedallionNet and they conveniently had my charge card listed and boom, I bought it.  Perhaps only clicked 3 times....LOL....They have no problem selling you stuff on that thing....getting my reservations in the MDR, a different type of experience!

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Yes you will need a mask to board and you will need masks in several ports. Some islands require masks both indoors and outdoors

Heading to Europe and looks like it's "no masks"....Yippee.

For those that have boarded (Port Everglades) since the good news regarding no masks required...3/1.

Am I required to wear a mask while in the pier area going thru embarkation?

If yes, do they have them for you if you do not have one?

If no, yippee!

(We have not worn masks since required on our December cruise and we tossed them all and have no interest in buying a mask)

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

Like @jimmiegmentioned, always book the least category you’d be willing to stay in.  

I'm the OP and I agree.  That's the way we roll.  Totally fine with our obstructed view balcony.  Just curious about how how it all works with Princess and what their upsell opportunities look like.  

Find it interesting that Princess has no upgrades for a sailing that we know has lots of empty cabins also.  

We have yet to find a bad cabin on any ship!

Appreciate the guidance and experience from the Princess vets!

15 minutes ago, WAvoyager said:

To the OP - there are a lot of people lacking reading comprehension skills on this board.  It was pretty clear you weren’t disappointed with your assignment, or expecting better than you paid for.

Thank you!

I tried hard this time to make that very clear but alas, I should not have bothered because even with my disclaimer, I still got the wrath!  It's all good!

These are good.....We bought them after running thru some that were difficult to work with the plastic strap.  Plus, these are made in the USA. (and not China).  Surprise!

+2

More time is Stockholm or anywhere else in Sweden would be a bonus.

I think they are the folks that opted out of the Covid drama? and they seemed to be just fine....Seems like smart people to me also so better place to spend our travel time and $$$$.