vampiress

oh wow, that is fast!  i don't normally try to get to room until after lunch in the mdr.

ah the xs is a nice phone.  i only upgraded to the 11 pro because bf needed to update his phone, and didn't care about the camera in the current model, so he took over my xs, and i got an 11pro. both take really nice pictures, but i'm still looking to update my digital camera for my alaska cruise, because im a picture addict, and the phone just is not quite flexible enough for me.

you can, but why.  i've always had my luggage by muster or just after. i suppose if you get to the port late walking on seems to make sense, but if you are getting on before rooms are ready at 1, i honestly do not see any benefit.

apple to apple is super easy, when i upgraded, everything copied over, apps installed.  you will likely need to log in on the new phone.

but if you are concerned, the fruitstand(apple store) can help you set up new phone.  make sure current phone is backed up to icloud.

well, i just made a payment with my ta, let's see if this works. 

oh yeah commercials would be horrible.  i've only witnessed sports games or concerts during the day.  i'm not a sit by the pool type of gal, so it doesn't normally register much.  i seem to always pack multiple swimsuits with intent on swimming, and then never do because i get caught up in other activities. 

2 hours ago, victory2020 said:

For all of you that have "branded" Amex cards - just checked my Macy's card through the "backdoor" & offer was on it.

i can't log into the backdoor with my macy's amex.  how exactly did you do this?

there is ample room in the closet if you do have trouble. 

also, if your room has a bed in the ceiling, under the bed will be stored the mattress for the bed.  i discovered this last time when i tried to slide my suitcase under my side of the bed.

i am able to see mine on the bottom of the onboard services page, but you have to scroll way down.  but you have reminded me i seem to be missing some onboard credit, so i need to call and find out about that.

i've never seen lettuce on a street taco in la, cilantro and onions. and cabbage not lettuce on fish tacos.  in any case, i have never seen tacos on princess. but i might just ignore them because i have several delicious trucks and stands with in 2 blocks of my home, thank you los angeles for tacos trucks on every corner 😄

fascinating that several of the things mentioned here are things i love. MUTS specifically, i thought it was silly before we cruised princess, but i love it.  i also like the chocolates on my pillow.  i don't always eat them and take them home and eat them there.  they aren't godiva, but a different brand i can't think of right now.  i'll be sad if they go away.

i could do away with the casino and smoking, but i know this will not make me any friends.  i don't actually mind the casino, i just mind the smell and on how some ships it is hard to avoid walking through the casino.the smell gets into my clothes and hair and it is so hard to get rid of.

wowo some of the comments.  i've never been denied anything i've asked for, which were all along the lines of a pb sandwich or a side salad.  that must have been a weird day or something else going on.

while i have not been on the grand, i do know you can and should get to the theater early.  you can bring a drink and they will have waitstaff as well.  i always bring a small wip bag and work on my knitting while i wait.

lol.  i'm over here like, ship leaves at 12:30?  i'm still going to be in my cabin on my balcony.  but i'm not into beach/resort days.

i almost missed ship in hawaii because of a bad storm/accident affecting the only road in town.  i has left 2 hours to return car and then do some dockside parking, but that did not work out for me.  i wasn't the only one affected, i believe one of the tours was also affected as the island pretty much shut down.  i had a panic attack about being left in hawaii.  granted hawaii is the united states and i could get home, but it would still have been super inconvenient. 

i did this, took the circulator to the queen mary stop and walked over the to cruise terminal.  our cruise left on a weekday morning, so taking the circulator wasn't a problem, it was lightly peopled and there wasa a second couple doing the same thing

i typically choose to stay in long beach.  it's not far, maybe 20 minutes in the morning by lyft.  but i choose long beach because there is so many more options for hotels and things to do.  more restaurants stay open later, some shopping areas, the free circulator bus downtown.  i've stayed at the hyatt in the pike shops, the westin, courtyard marriott.  all great options, all a block or less away from the bus and easy access to shopping and food options.

san pedro is closer to port, but few things stay open past 5.  i stayed at the crowne, it was ok, my toilet stopped flushing in the middle of the night, so they gave me a second room key for a room across the hall to use the bathroom.  i could have moved rooms, but it was like 3am in the morning and i didn't want to wake my partner. san pedro is lovely and quaint, but it just shuts down early, so if you want any entertainment, you are out of luck.

satxdiver is correct.  because the taxi/uber/lyft area is so new, they are still working out the kinks. all three options are in the same area and you take the same bus to get there. fair warning, there is a lot of walking when you get to the pickup area.  i had injured my foot while traveling and i found this new area was not really great for limited mobility.

if you land during a busy time, there could be lines. i will say, the airport was staffing the area with a lot of people, so it was easy to get help if you got confused about where to go or how to use the ride sharing apps, because the pickup line function was a bit different from normal lyft pickup.

100% take the passport, there is a vons a couple of blocks away form the passport at broadway and atlantic.  i've always purchased my sodas for the cruise here and taken the circulater back to the hotel.

ah yes, i did bowling on the ncl pearl.  that was "interesting"  it was mostly gutterball because the ship movement made the ball behave weirdly.  was fun thing to have done once at sea

i have learned you always say yes to the souffle.  there is also a curtis stone hazelnut chocolate layered thing that is yummy.

i concur about the ice cream.  sometimes i just order a few scoops of ice cream with chocolate sauce.

we also order a cheese plate to share.  i miss the cheese plate when i am not onboard.

my experience in october.  we got on early, 11:30ish.  i had prepurchased the wifi.  i tried to connect, no luck.  it seemed it took them until around 12:15-12:30 to do whatever magic switch there was to register the new wifi setups. i assume there is some cleanup/closing out between sailings for them to do.   i didn't even need the card in my room, but when i got to my room around 1 after lunch in the main dining room, the card was there.

that said, i did have trouble with my 1 device internet switching devices.  i could have gone to the internet manager desk, but never found the time.  i only had wifi so i could cover some on call shifts.  despite being a totally connected internet nerd 24-7 on land, on the ship, i'm always seeming to be engaged and find i don't internet as much.  keep that in mind when buying internet.  your habits might be different onthe ship.  i'm not saying don't get it, just consider you may be otherwise occupied.

i worried about it on my second cruise, but then realized, it doesn't matter if i have seen it before, the benefit for me is being under the stars with a drink and some popcorn.  its the uniqueness of the activity i find enjoyable.

i have also received an email from princess with a small list of movies before.  maybe check your spam filter? 

i've mostly cruised older ships, and only once on a  royal class.  i've not had any issues with ships being dirty or ill maintained.  we do still prefer the grand class because of the promenade.  the royal was nice and i liked the bigger piazza and alfredos. 

i guess i find after reading complaints here, i'm a fairly self contained passenger, i don't expect a whole lot, i rarely get to know the cruise director personally. i enjoy the craft and trivia sessions, and do attend the shows. i find a nice place to sit and read or knit.  so maybe i'm not the best person to answer your question.

doesn't bother me any if they go up, makes sense.  i'd rather they make them mandatory and a part of the cruise fare as advertised, but *shrug* 

even though i live near port, i arrive the night before and stay in a hotel near port.  then i wake up have a nice breakfast and then take a lyft/uber/taxi to the port.  i consider this day before ths start of my trip and decompression day, so when i board the ship i am already relaxed.  i do not drive to the portt the day of because los angeles has ridiculous traffic.

when i have cruised out of miami, i have family in palm beach, so we generally return our rental car to the airport and use one of the shuttle van services to pick us up form airport and take us to port.  again, i aim to be there around 11. 

i've always been on board before noon and never sit in the terminal too long. obviously i've been lucky and can not guarantee you will be on board by noon.

i like a nice mix of sea and port days.