pppatpc2

On 6/27/2024 at 5:38 PM, dreaminofcruisin said:

 

 

Here's the link for downloading it or ordering it:

 

https://www.princess.com/brochures/?track=footer&trackId=free-brochures

 

Oops...I guess the link is for 2024/2025....

Thank you for this!  Let the dreaming begin.

We just returned from a cruise that hit a few stops in Spain and Portugal and we laughed because there was always “the loneliest Princess employee”.  The guy at the folding table responsible for logging confiscated bottles.  I have never had a bottle of wine confiscated when coming back from port. Usually my husband will put one in his backpack and I will put one in mine. Many of the ports had the xray machines in the port terminal (rather than at the ship entrance) in which case Princess has no idea what is in your bags.

We side with the 10:30-11am group.  We have taken almost 30 cruises, but it is part of our Princess ritual.  We stop at Bellini’s or Good Spirits and get a Prosecco to toast our journey and then we have lunch in the dining room at 12:30.  I always get the chicken cacciatore.  Our last cruise in July, we were on board in 15 minutes.  Just my two cents.

We received one on our last cruise on the Island this month.  It had a different design and was longer than wide, but very similar.

We were on the Enchanted last fall and could not sit in Crooners in the afternoon because of the loud obnoxious activities in the Piazza, when there was no activity the music over the sound system was frequently “screaming guitar” type.  I am happy to report that we have just returned from the Island Princess and everything was at a reasonable volume and the piped in music was appropriate IMHO.  Think Buble, Norah Jones, Harry Connick Jr., etc.  I’m sure not everyone is a fan of this type of music, but I was in my glory. 

I took one for the team.  The Plus “generic” Sauvignon Blanc is awful.  The bartender said it was St Helena but he could have meant Morpho Helena which is the cabernet and merlot options.  None of which I shall be drinking.  Pinot Grigio is Canyon Road.  
 

if I want white, I spend the extra $1 on Chalk Hill.  
 

There are 5 sommeliers on board and I will be trying to extract info on what the thinking is for the future of the wine program.

I am happy to report some of the niceties of pre-pandemic Princess are back.  The nice cocktail napkins with the logo are easy to come by and we received a newly designed princess bag.  There was also a nice summary of all of the transportation conveyances for each port, which is a nice touch.

I am currently on the Island Princess and am happy to report that there a few more acceptable (IMHO) options on the Plus package.  The Footbolt Shiraz is back as well as the Renegade red blend by Ancient Peaks.

Gotta go research the whites….work, work, work.

i am also uploading photos of the dining room wines by the glass.

We are on the Island and as previously posted, I had pre booked the chef’s table.  As suggested it was listed on our paid services, although I don’t believe our card was charged, I believe they posted it to credits.  A few days before it disappeared from our account.  
 

When we boarded on Friday, I called the dine line at noon, and today, two days later, received confirmation. 
 

I’m happy as a pig in slop, because all’s well that end’s well, but don’t assume the reservation is the end all.

18 hours ago, Aggie83 said:

On which ship(s) is this the price for Chef's Table?

Chef’s table on the Royal Class is more expensive because of the Chuhuily centerpiece, lol.  One the regular ships, it is $100.

3 hours ago, Indiana Rob said:

So, I asked Princess to email me a copy of the summary so I would have proof of the booking.  Lo and behold, it has since been removed from my cruise summary.  When I inquired about it, they said it can only be booked once on board.

Like they, if it’s too good to be true….

38 minutes ago, Indiana Rob said:

If I can, I will try and update you on the situation once I am onboard. We board tomorrow.

Thanks Rob.  You can always count on the Hoosiers.

On your advice, I made a reservation on our cruise leaving the 26th.  Haven’t been to the chef’s table for a long time.Hope it works, but I will call the dine line when I board to confirm.  Good luck to both of us!

5 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

If I were CEO for a day...I would allow a guest with Premier to select any bottle they want from the wine list that has a price tag of $85 or less and let them have the whole bottle for 6 credits divided up any way they want. (6 for 1 person; 3 each for two people in the same cabin; 2 each for 3 people in the same cabin).  It doesn't make any sense to me why the server has to go back and forth from the MDR to the bar to get 6 separate glasses of Silverado Cabernet during the course of dinner for 6 credits, but isn't allowed to bring the full bottle to the table so that the guests can pour the wine themselves.  It would be easier on everyone.  And if Silverado Cabernet at $81 per bottle can be acquired by the glass, why can't Siduri Pinot Noir at $79?  If the reason is that they don't want to be left with half-open bottles of 50 bottles at the end of the night (a legitimate concern), then make certain bottles "full bottle only for 6 credits" and don't pour it by the glass.  That way, if the bottle is half-finished by the end of the night, the risk of oxidation and degradation falls on the guest and not on the bar.   

Exactly!!

17 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

I was pretty excited to see this link.  However, I doubt that this list is still in use.  It has been a while since we have been able to cruise on Princess, but that list was introduced in, I am going to say, 2018 or 2017.  Now if somebody has actually seen this list on a recent cruise--say, in the last year--I will be very pleased to hear that I am wrong.

 

Anecdote:  I was once chatting about wines with the headwaiter in one of the specialty restaurants and asked if he'd ever sold a $5200 bottle of Petrus.  (Way out of my league.)  He told me that once a group of Asian men ordered two bottles.

I believe this wine list to be pre-Plus package, right after the restart.  If this was the current wine list, I would be ecstatic, but I don't this so.  I am on the Island in 14 days and will try to report back. 

We were on the Enchanted in November and they still had the Errazuiz Carmenere and one decent white by the glass in the plus package.  We would usually pay up $2-3 a glass for the Seghesio Zin or Silverado Cab.  Life is too short to drink anything named Tini, Coastal Vines, Papi, etc.

7 minutes ago, memoak said:

We usually order bottles at dinner so no problem with top offs. If you have a package you get a 25% discount. Much better wines and huge list much better then even wines by the glass at Vines

I've said this on another post but I don't see why we can't get some of the lesser price decent bottles off that list by the glass on the package.

20 minutes ago, VaCruzers said:

While this is possible, it's also possible to stop by Vines and pick up a glass, even a double pour if you think you may want a couple glasses during dinner, on your way to the dining room. I suspect if you are in the dining room closest to Vines, there may be greater willingness to fetch wine from Vines. 

I always choose a dining room in close proximity to Vines or Crooners and get a glass (or double) before going to dinner.  I want to save my favors from the waiters, they have enough to do.

25 minutes ago, t&atravel said:

@pppatpc2  Try this.

 

https://princessluxurybed.com/products/princess-topper

https://www.princess.com/en-us/ships-and-experience/onboard-experience/wellness/princess-luxury-bed/science-behind-the-bed

Thank you very much.

I read on one the threads that the Princess beds are manufactured by Sherwood and sold by Mattress Firm.  We went to try to get one and the salesman said they are comfortable because of the toppers they put on the beds.  Does anyone know what kind of toppers they use ( gel, memory foam, pillow top, etc.)?

On 7/4/2024 at 8:38 PM, Ombud said:

Discussed Elite benefits: 

> mini bar

> 10% off excursions, photos, some store items

> laundry 

> PE Lounge 

> priority disembarkation lounge

 

Priority Water Shuttle: when I was in Maui last June I was off & while others were still trying to get to a water shuttle. Just walked into Deck 5 midship restaurant, had status checked, asked if my party was complete, and taken down a separate elevator to almost the front of the line with other elites. Cut wait time from hours to 10 minutes. 

So true, makes it much easier to arrange private excursions.

On 6/1/2024 at 3:49 PM, Kay S said:

When I turned Elite, I forgot where the laundromat was!  Free laundry is the best Elite perk and I hope it isn't gutted like the Internet perk was.

The laundry is what keeps me coming back to Princess.  I hated spending my vacation in the laundromat and trying to find an empty machine.  We do not buy expensive clothes and they usually look better when I bring them home than when I pack them in my suitcase.  I am grateful for the laundry room staff for providing me with clean clothes.  Especially since you will not see me and DH in the same t-shirt every day, like some of our fellow passengers.

On 6/25/2024 at 2:40 PM, voljeep said:

Clay Creek Cab - BOGO - $17.99 - Is that a PLUS or Premier package wine?  4 pours ...

Is Clay Creek offered?  I would be quite pleased if it was, same with CS Substance, and Clay Shannon.

On 6/25/2024 at 12:09 AM, memoak said:

We just buy bottles at dinner with the 25% discount for dinners. Some Prosecco late morning and maybe plus wines in the casino. Vines still has an excellent Zin within the i

plus package 

Which Zin is it, may I ask?

I think there should be an option to PAY 25% of the bottle cost and 5 chits off your daily drink package.  Or else,  take any bottle on the regular wine list and divide by 5, if that price is $15 or less, you should be able to get the bottle for 5 drink chits.

18 hours ago, loge23 said:

The wine program on Princess has greatly deteriorated over the past decade or so.

The Wine Spectator magazine once awarded Princess with its Award for Excellence for the wine list and service - but that was long ago now. Back then, the line was rolling out the then innovative Vines Bar dedicated to oenophiles and the wine curious. Nowadays, the line has been eliminating the Vines from its new ships - and eventually all ships. To be fair, I suppose it's a market-driven reaction. I don't think the Spectator reviewers would be too excited about the Princess wine service these days. That said, we used to only order wine from the Vines, but then you have to schlep it into the DR in the juice glass, unless you and the bartender had an understanding that you will return the glass (some tenders did, some didn't). A good Assistant Waiter would run back for refills - not sure if that's still a thing.

Princess used to offer a wine-by-the-bottle discount in the DRs in the form of package - no more.

Specific to this thread, the Plus package, as everyone probably knows by now, doesn't even identify the wines offered, instead listing the varietal only: i.e.: Chardonnay, Cabernet, etc. I have never seen this anywhere else outside of a sports bar! (You have any wine? Yeah, I have red or white!). Not sure this qualifies me as a wine snob, but there's absolutely no way I will order a blind label wine - life is indeed too short for that! What may qualify me as that snob is the fact that we prefer imports across all varietals - and those are in short supply on Princess. 

And yes, there are terrific bargains with imports too.

Someone mentioned the Italian heritage of the line. Very true. We started on Princess when the entire DR staff were Italian. During the good wine years, Italian wines were heavily marketed onboard and packages of premier Italian wines were sold. That's when we first tasted such classics as Ornellaia and Luce - sold together as a part of a three-bottle take home package.

Back then, one could also cart on a case or two with no problem, but - as also pointed out - now there's a check-in desk at the entrance (at least in Fort Lauderdale) to pay your corkage.

Also noted is travelling in Europe, there's no problem at all carrying on bottles - go figure.

It all adds up to who's doing what in Santa Clara - whomever is overseeing the wine program does not appear to be a wine aficionado, and that's why we have unlabeled box wine b-t-g these days. 

As noted previously in this thread, if you want even a decent glass of wine on Princess, just take the Premier package or simply pay the upcharge from your Plus package. It still won't be great, but it's a whole better than whatever is in those boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for this very well said, detailed post.  I agree with all you have said.  I think the wine program is the weakest link on the Princess fleet, of course it is something that is important to me. 
 

I was hopeful on the Enchanted last November that they had 4 sommeliers on board and I asked one if they were going to bring back decent wine and he claimed they were allegedly going to revamp the wine list in December.  I guess I should have asked him December of what year. 😂

I have never had a problem getting a decent wine glass, I do make the deal with someone in Vines or Crooners to return them and they give me a good glass.  Of course, my husband is the one that returns them after use. If we have a good waiter in the dining room, I request a good glass and the last four cruises our table was set with nice glasses each night.  In that case, I would bring the “juice glass” and the assistant waiter would pour my good wine into the nice one.  
 

I hope everyone who is tired of the mystery wine posts on this thread and I can make a point of forwarding it to someone at Princess.  They are advertising “Best Cruise line by Food and Wine Magazine”,  I don’t know about that.

2 minutes ago, lhsail said:

I believe this was the exception rather than the rule. Corkage was $15 for many years. We always took ours on board in roller bags, and yes, sometimes they wouldn’t say anything. However, if not properly tagged when we took it to the dining room we were usually charged the corkage then. Now with the packages that include other perks and the increase in corkage it’s not worth it to us to haul it on. 

I agree. With the package we drink whatever is decent, but usually buy one bottle in port if we are in a good wine-producing region.  I just wish Princess would have more decent wines on board.  I know they are playing catch up from covid, but it is really not acceptable to be pouring generic wines, although I see lots of people ordering them without problem.

7 hours ago, XBGuy said:

 

 

So, you are saying that you could bring wine aboard without paying a corkage fee?  That was certainly a very friendly policy for wine drinkers.  How long ago was that?  My first Princess cruise was in 2011, and it seems to me that they had a $15/bottle corkage charge when I first started.  Of course, it was raised to $20/bottle a few years ago.

We started with Princess in 2010.  I never did it myself, but I heard a few people say they did.  They had a stated corkage fee, but sometimes looked the other way.  I think it was people bragging about it on CC that put an end to it.

  I think it's nice that you can still bring a bottle on, some cruise lines do not allow it at all.  I can still remember snagging a bottle of Amarone at a convenience store in Livorno for 20E.