Jo and Rob

I suppose you could always ask any bartender or barista to check it for you.

So can you get freshly brewed at any bar? We are quite a distance from the International cafe and it would be good to get unlimited coffee on deck.

If you prepay pre-cruise for a beverage package it is embedded in your cruise card. No sticker on the card. If your cruise card becomes demagnetized your replacement one will have all the information embedded as well.

 

Issue I had on Royal Princess was not with the beverage package but the Enclave pass, which is a sticker on the card. I managed to not demagnetize my card (by putting it in the same pocket as my magnetic sunglasses--a mistake I am doomed to make the rest of my cruising career I guess) until the last day. When I went to guest services they told me I should just hang onto the old one as well for admission to the Enclave. What would have happened had I lost the card, who knows in this instance. But if you lose your card with the PBP embedded it is down to the bartender for not comparing the photo when swiping.

So does it say on the card you have the Unlimited and More soda package and coffee card or do you just trust it will work when buying a drink? We normally buy on board so this is new for us. We are used to the stickers.

What happens if you have prepaid for beverage packages and you card no longer works. Do guest services has the sticky labels? Or is it all digital now?

I'm surprised how many people feel they could never drink 15 coffees or teas in one week. Do most people only have one coffee a day?

 

I don't really drink (an occasional cider), but I love good coffee and tea. I know I'll have no trouble using my coffee package. I'll start the day with a cappuccino, and I"ll have another later in the day, or a nice tea. That's 14 hot drinks, with one leftover for another day.

 

What I DO wish is that Princess had a beverage package similar to Celebrity's Premium Non-Alcoholic option. I always get that when on Celebrity, as I can have unlimited specialty coffees, great teas, AND San Pellegrino, bottled water, juice, mocktails, etc. I don't like pop/soda, so I have no interest in the soda packages Princess offers.

I agree the package on Celebrity is brilliant. It has everything you want. Even the classic has unlimited speciality coffees.

There was no sticker when we were on the Sapphire in June and July. The staff scanned your cruise card as they do for other purposes. If you just wanted a brewed coffee or tea they sometimes skipped the scanning but that varied with who was working and how well they knew you. They always scanned for specialty drinks and could tell you how many “ punches” you had left if you asked. Did not really slow the process in any way.

So it is on Sapphire. An earlier post suggested it wasn't. How can you tell it is on your cruise card?

Yes, according to posts from people who have experienced it. it will be on your cruise card, at this time medallion does not apply to Sapphire, so no worries.

 

What is on the U.S. Princess site:

 

The New Grounds Coffee Package has gone digital(which means on your cruise card)for voyages beginning in June 2018.

Thanks that's a relief

Multiple threads on here...it's been talked to death.

EVENTUALLY, all ships will be using medallions instead of cards. The roll out has been bumpy and they're still trying to fine tune and get it to work.

You will almost certainly will still have a card. What ship will you be on?

We are on Sapphire Princess sailing out of Southampton to the Norwegian Fjords and Arctic Circle. It is still described as a coffee card on our travel summary.

Do you mean it will be on the cruise card? I'm struggling to understand medallion

They have salts!

What are salts?

Yes, what is your desire? HP Fruity or HP brown? We now use chili on our chips. Just ask for the HP sauce as they have it.

I'm not talking about sauce from a bottle! I'm talking about a béarnaise sauce, a peppercorn sauce, a chasseur sauce that you pour over your steak. In England we serve steak with a sauce. Or we might have some mustard with a steak.

They put it on our medallions. I’ll let you know how it goes. How are you. Are you sailing this year. I want to do a door decorating contest!!

 

Maureen

We sail in 12 days! What medallions?

Now that the Princess paper "coffee card" is now a thing of the past, how is the new "digital" plan working out? I have purchases many cards and uses them on multiple cruises, being that I don't have coffee's every day, it worked out well for me. For my next cruise, I purchased the "Celebrations Balcony Breakfast" which includes breakfast, two mugs, and a coffee card months before the new program rolled out. When the digital plan rolled out and saw I could not use additional "punches" on my next cruise and don't want to waste money, I canceled the package and went with just the breakfast.

 

Has this also deterred others from purchasing the "digital package"

 

Do you think that now that they have gone digital should Princess be offering various levels? 15 coffees' for a 7 nighter is a LOT of coffees'. Maybe 6, 12 and 18 depending on your liking.

 

So at this point they lost a $49 on a sale from me, how many others have also started rethinking their purchases.

How is it digital?

We were on the Sapphire a week ago on the Norway cruise. Some nights it wasn’t Sterling Steakhouse it was the crab shack. (Although I do recall it was the steakhouse on the last night)

Thanks for the warning. I don't think Rob would see the Crab Shack as a birthday treat. Do you have a menu though just in case?

You should have no issues boarding early. We just completed your cruise in July. Had a BD balcony as you noted in earlier post. You will love the cruise and ports. Hope you all get along well as 4 of you in a room will require some cooperation.

We've always been in the same cabin but Princess cabins are small compared with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and P&O so it is going to be a little cramped. I will miss the sofa as it gives the cabin valuable space to land apart from the beds. We got a free upgrade to a balcony from an outside so I'm not complaining. ;)

We did this cruise June 23. Our formal nights were 1st seaday, 2nd seaday, and then the short port day in Bergen. Your sea and port days match ours so I suspect your formal nights may follow the same pattern.

We were surprised that the 3rd was not on a sea day as well. Hope that helps.

Yes thank you it does. It's my husband's birthday in Bergen but we don't want to miss a formal night with the children so we will probably book for the last night.

Is it possible to ask for a sauce with the steak? I'm surprised there are no sauces on the menu.

Sterling Steakhouse is a pop-up restaurant held in a section of the Horizon Court. Reservations are not taken until onboard.

 

Here is the ship-specific amenities page for Sapphire Princess. Scroll down and you will see that Alfredo's Pizza is part of 'included dining' plus the info for specialty dining:

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/sa-sapphire-princess/index.html

Thanks for this.

Do you find out when the formal nights are on the first day of the cruise? I don't want our booking to clash with a formal night.

Sterling Steakhouse menu: https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/Onboard_Experience/Sterling-Steakhouse-Menu-Sample.pdf

Great that was just what I was after. Thanks

Open closet:

 

 

Great pictures really helpful thanks.

Sterling Steakhouse is a pop-up restaurant held in a section of the Horizon Court. Reservations are not taken until onboard.

 

Here is the ship-specific amenities page for Sapphire Princess. Scroll down and you will see that Alfredo's Pizza is part of 'included dining' plus the info for specialty dining:

 

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ships/sa-sapphire-princess/index.html

I couldn't understand why I couldn't find it on the deck plans. That makes total sense. Thanks for the link.

I can't find a price or any menus.

We will be four in one cabin with our teenage children. How much storage space is there? I'm mildly panicking that there won't be enough room to unpack everything. The children are older now so their clothes are bigger and will take up more room.

Is the wardrobe doorless? I always find these sorts of wardrobes can take more clothes.

Do the toiletries get replenished during the cruise? Am I right in thinking I don't need to pack shampoo, conditioner or shower gel?

Also can we get bathrobes?

Alfredo's is included in the cost of the cruise, so it's "free".;)

We like the word free! Do they take bookings or do you just turn up?

Typically yes

 

 

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That is excellent news thank you

Our cruise personalizer only offers the option of pre-booking Sabatini's is this the only dining available other than the MDR and the buffet? For the pizza on the Piazza is that complementary?

many thanks

We sail on Princess on 18th August to Norway and the arctic circle. Our official boarding time is not until 2.30pm as we are on Caribe deck however as we have a priority boarding pass (platinum loyalty tier) does this mean we can board at 12.30PM?

Thanks for the great review

Please can you tell me more about the Steak House. Only Sabatini's is available on the cruise personalizer and I thought it was strange to have only one specialty dining venue. What is the name of the Steak house? Where is it located?

Do you have a copy of the menu? What is the cover charge?

Formal nights

Please can you tell me when the formal nights were? Was there a formal night in Bergen?

We are doing the same cruise on 18th August so you replies will be much appreciated.

We are looking to do the Trondheim Tram but I can't see how many zones are covered on the trip and so I can't work out how much it would be. Any advice as to where to catch the tram in the centre, how far it is from the cruise port, or alternative activities would be great.

We are looking for a budget option and thought a ride on a tram might be quite fun.