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We'll definitely put Beerenberg on our taste list, thanks. Just curious: Is their hot tomato sauce much different, or is it more of the same but just hotter?

--- Yes we will have a kitchen, but without an oven; there is a two-burner hob and microwave. So if the pies need to be warmed up I figure I'll try the microwave-paper-towel-covered-pie-til-warm (then) toast-the-pie-top-and-bottom-on-non-stick-pan method. So yes, I can pick up sauce at Woolies/Coles/Aldi. Interesting: The Choice review I linked above actually said that the Beerenberg sauce in the article is considered low salt and is the lowest of all the sauces reviewed. ---

--- Hi all, For those of you who like a good tomato sauce on your meat pie (and perhaps sausage roll), could you please let me know your current favorite tomato sauce for your pie? Lower Salt? And regardless of your favorite, is there on the list below that you might recommend (if looking for lower sodium items for just an 8 day visit 🤔) : https://www.choice.com.au/food-and-drink/groceries/sauces-and-dressings/buying-guides/tomato-sauce (29 October 2019) [We'll soon be in Sydney for 8 days (The Rocks), certainly sampling many meat pies on our visit.] -- Thanks in advance for any of your responses! ---

--- Yes, the only problems we had with the Australian ETA app was in getting it to read the chip on our 2 U.S. passports issued two years ago -- both of us using our own android smartphones. Each of us tried for almost an hour [with no internet connectivity problems] until the app accepted both of our chips, within a couple of minutes of each other. ---

---- It's interesting that there's no Regular Balcony shown under the cabin types. ==> One BIG win (FINALLY) among all the stateroom types depicted, including the oceanview and interior cabins: Sofas (balconies & oceanview) Love Seats (interior) ! 👍 Premium Oceanview: Interior: -----

--- https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=3757 "During your cruise, if you're having trouble at any time with OceanCompass, MedallionNet or other MedallionClass features, stop by the OceanFront desk, dedicated to all things OceanMedallion, where navigators will help open the door on the future of travel." --- . . . [ 😶. . . . Holy Mackerel -- what a line! 🙄]

--- --- Images from Cruisedeckplans: Princess Live! Café (just outside of Princess Live!) on Discovery Princess: --- Inside Princess Live! on Discovery Princess: --- Inside Princess Live! on Discovery Princess, facing out starboard towards walkway (and across walkway: seating and windows looking out on promenade [tender area] ) -----

--- On our cruises we usually bring our 40-ounce thermal container to fill with coffee in the morning. On Discovery at the buffet beverage stations there was no problem for us getting the container refilled with coffee every morning. If a crew member was at the station he or she usually did the refill for us. If we were early before any crew was there, we did the refill ourselves -- taking a clean cup from the station and filling cup by cup into the thermal container. ---

--- And in my experience, those who are Blue Lane who have not been able to pick an arrival time can show up as early as they want! (And the Blue Lane people may be in a much shorter line -- or sometimes no line; this has happened to us every time we were Blue Lane.) ---

--- Agreed. On our last 8 Princess cruises (on Grand, Ruby, Majestic, and Discovery) from October 2021 to April 2022 we absolutely have never been checked; we have not spoken to anyone else on these sailings who has been checked either. ---

--- Crew would be stuck ashore also! I've been out and about seeing lots of Princess crew including officers partying at Mandala Los Cabos around 3 in the morning. 😇 ---

--- On some overnight stops, we have stayed off the ship in a hotel when it makes sense for us to do so -- especially to experience something special that we would not be able to do by staying on the ship. We have done this in: [Posted above ] Cabo San Lucas: Balcony overlooking the church in San Jose del Cabo's colonial old town, on a Friday night full of locals' festivities Rio de Janeiro: Oceanfront on Arpoador Beach, next to Ipanema, to watch and enjoy the incomparable Arpoador sunset with real Cariocas (Rio natives), and in the morning have a beach buffet breakfast with all the fresh tropical fruit and freshly baked pao de queijo (cheese bread) that I could eat Buenos Aires: Balcony on the grand Avenida 9 de Julio, immediately in front of the Obelisco de Buenos Aires Valparaiso Chile: Took a bus to Santiago to stay in a balcony room overlooking the vibrantly busy downtown streets, so that after an incredible late dinner we could walk around the Plaza de Armas Puerto Vallarta: On a Christmas Eve -- Downtown oceanview balcony, to enjoy the Christmas Eve observations (bucket list item at the time -- to celebrate Nochebuena in Mexico) and to have a long extended rooftop dinner at the incomparable Hacienda San Angel, then after dinner having their 13-person mariachi band serenade me to my favorite canción Veracruzana Note: On this trip the ship left Puerto Vallarta the same night, and we rejoined the ship the next day in Manzanillo. (I secured Princess' preauthorization a few months in advance to do this.) [Upcoming] Honolulu: For my milestone birthday -- Waikiki Beach oceanfront balcony overlooking Queen Kapiolani Beach to enjoy the sunset, with a full Diamond Head view to watch the sunrise the next morning FOOD note: All the above overnight stays included [will include in Honolulu] wonderful dinners (and some breakfasts) with local specialty dishes that we would not get from the ship. -----

--- On a simple overnight in Cabo San Lucas, you DO NOT need ANY authorization to stay off the ship. On 10/29/2021 we stayed overnight in San Jose Del Cabo. -- Note: If we know we will be overnighting off the ship and not returning until later the next day, we usually tell our steward beforehand, as a courtesy FYI. --- Pre-COVID, typically the Cabo San Lucas tenders ran all night, though with less frequency (perhaps every half hour). Occasionally we didn't leave the ship until after midnight, returning around 4 or 5 in the morning; the tender would be at the pier waiting for passengers, sometimes returning us to the ship without waiting for more people. Post-COVID, some ships stopped the tenders in the late-night hours, starting up again sometime early in the morning. This may still be the case. Even then, you can stay off the ship all night without authorization. Hopefully all Princess ships eventually will resume all-night Cabo tenders, if they haven't yet. ---

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--- I was reading the "Princess Now Soliciting Families w/Children" thread, and realized I have not yet seen a single comment about the most recent Princess Cruises commercial I am seeing now. I commented in that thread: I found a 30-second clip legally available to share, and thought I would post a link here if permitted, for those of you who haven't seen it yet. . . LINK: https://ispot.tv/a/bHim TEXT: Dreaming of escape? Glamour Retreats World-class Dining Gaming Room service anywhere Award-winning Entertainment Princess takes you to Riviera Flamingos Palms and Sands Escape with Princess where the neon is real and everything else is too. Because what happens here stays with you forever What happens here stays with you forever ---

--- -- LOL -- Have you also seen the latest Princess commercial that premiered around the time of the ESPY Awards (approximately 7/20/2022)? The commercial still is airing now, at least in my area. In the 30 second clip I know of, there's not a single family nor kid shown there . . . nor a single senior either. --- --- This! --- -- I'll see if I can dig the commercial up and post the link in a separate thread (if allowed), so that others can comment on that other demographic. ---

--- FYI, 556 reviews of the Duke's Waikiki breakfast buffet on Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/dukes-waikiki-honolulu-2?q=%22BREAKFAST+BUFFET%22 ---

--- Duke's Waikiki (in the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort) has a breakfast buffet option: Menu: https://www.dukeswaikiki.com/menus/breakfast-buffet/ (And after breakfast you're free to enjoy the heart of Waikiki Beach, with your luggage still stowed safely at the hotel until it's time for you to leave for the airport.) ---

--- Referring to the 2nd photo: This was on the third sailing of Discovery Princess, in a cabin with the largest extended angled balconies on the hump -- and yes with one of the tiny balcony tables. When I ordered the tea, room service told me that they did not have a larger table for the balcony. My steward borrowed a second coffee table from another deluxe balcony cabin for the afternoon. So, under the single tablecloth is a grouping of three tables: In the foreground are the two coffee tables, side by side. Behind the two tables is the tiny table, with one of my nightstand drawers turned upside down and placed on top of the tiny table to function as a riser for the wine and glasses. This workaround performed very well. ---

--- When we order elite afternoon tea we also always have requested a tablecloth. Perhaps because of the tablecloth, the attendant has offered to set the table and we do take the offer. We also always have brought our own sparkling wine to have with the tea, to make it a sparkling afternoon tea; each time the attendant has offered to open the bottle and serve the wine before leaving the cabin. (We open the bottles ourselves after the server has left.) ---

A cruiser posted this from another review site [ . . . . /ship/navigator-of-the-seas/review/540996 ] : --- 4 Night Catalina & Ensenada (Los Angeles Roundtrip) Sail date: June 20, 2022 Ship: Navigator of the Seas Review summary Horrible brawl on last evening. Continued way longer than it should have. Received minor injuries as innocent bystander. Little to no security response. Not in a bar but at the promenade with elderly and children. Felt like rc was not concerned with safety of the guests ---

--- The difference with Discovery Princess -- at least on its third cruise embarking from San Pedro on April 10, 2022 -- is that the ship played the Love Boat theme about 6 times (that I recall) as it left the port and made its way down the channel. 🙂 ---

--- Between Majestic and Royal for Alaska, I would pick Majestic because it has the Hollywood Conservatory for no additional charge -- giving you one additional no-additional-charge area that Royal doesn't have, to view the scenery. Given that -- and although I have not been to Alaska on these ships, I have been on each of these ships multiple times -- Royal, Majestic, and Grand. For Glacier Bay specifically, I always would pick Grand over both Majestic and Royal -- especially because Grand has a true full promenade to view the scenery, compared to Majestic's and Royal's pitifully short, almost non-existent promenade viewing areas. BTW, in our opinion, Grand's service, crew, and management are 1 or 2 levels above both Majestic's and Royal's. Also, if you prefer a traditional dining experience, Grand knows how to circumvent the ugly Medallion Dine My Way constraints, whereas Majestic absolutely has NOT been able to give us a traditional dining experience using Dine My Way. ---

--- We completely agree; Majestic's noodle bar over Royal's outdoors pizza any day. ---

--- Since the restart we also have ordered the Elite Afternoon Tea on Grand and Discovery. Grand Princess (1/1/2022, C738 BD Balcony) Discovery Princess (4/12/2022, E410 DW Deluxe Balcony--extended angled) ---