voljeep

4 minutes ago, Lucky TGO said:

Your right 😁 I check it out every couple of days just to make me feel better knowing I’m almost ready to go.🛳

Tony

yep ... will look for it soon

2 minutes ago, idahospud said:

Well, darn. I really thought you won something! I did the training too but didn’t get a special Medallion. I've already done six Medallion cruises and have six more coming up this year so maybe they figured I didn’t need any extra Medallions.

deleted my thought ... I should prolly do that more often instead of posting ...

7 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

After sailing on both the Royal and Regal during their inaugural seasons, I couldn't justify paying a higher fare just because it's a new ship.

we're paying about $ 5pp more per day (Cat BD - balcony) on the 3 day inaugural ... than we did for our S-4 suite

upsell on the CB in May ...  but, ...works for us

not saying it ever intentionally happens ... but ... if you should happen to bribe/tip a server/waiter/bartender ... then just maybe ... who really knows/keeps up with who gets charged when having the PBP unless you limit out ???

humans, huh ?  ... but, yeah - we check fairly often, but the most aggravating is getting a 'final bill' the last night

... reviewing ... going to bed ... then seeing a bogus charge on the bill slipped under your door during the night, and having to go to customer service on disembarkation morning ...

35 minutes ago, MTdreaming said:

Does the 3 for free include transatlantic?  We are looking at one under the landmark sale but might wait.  

why not book now with a refundable deposit , get the cabin you want,  then refare if 3FF works out better for you ?

2 hours ago, We_like_to_cruise said:

Good morning,

Have been searching the boards but can't seem to find a definitive answer.

This question only has to do with the availability of freshly brewed coffee, which I understand is unlimited with the package.

Can that coffee be obtained at the MDR and buffet if you have the package, or is it only available at the IC?

Thank you.

Andy

maybe someone can/will post a 'coffee menu' that you are given in the mdr after your meal to have with dessert ?

2 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

There's a small glassed in kitchen in vines, and next to it is the Vines Store, which sold candy, liquor, and stuff like toothpaste and laundry soap.

I remember that 'kitchen' preparing the tapas for Vines ... didn't see pizza ...

3 minutes ago, Mapu said:

There was a Pizza 🍕 oven and tables near Vines on that side of the ship. People brought salads from the IC to have while they were waiting.

I sure don't remember that area in May ... and we were in Vines at least 3 nights of our 4 night cruise

Maybe it was removed during the wet/dry dock ?

6 minutes ago, polmcs said:

I have a 3 day Vancouver to LA cruise at the beginning of November. When I booked the cruise the PBP was definitely available in the cruise personalizer, but a few months back it had disappeared. As the T&Cs stated that it was available on a 3 day cruise, I figured that I should be able to buy it upon embarkation. 

 

I guess I’ll find out Nov 1 

maybe check again ... it just came back available on our 3 day cruise in December less than a week ago ...

10 minutes ago, mum and son said:

. I found the deal around midnight and became an amateur contract law expert over the following few hours.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/company-advertising-price-wrong-responsible-mistake-73117.html

1 hour ago, mum and son said:

I'm with you 100%. Checking cruise prices is basically my hobby. I often book myself on a cruise at a good price and then start researching the ship and the best cabins. By watching pricing and inventory I usually tend to end up in a "sought after" cabin. The best deal I ever found was a "dropped digit" cruise fare, on a cruise I was already booked on, and managed to get 8 members of my family booked into 4 full suites at $600pp instead of $6,000pp. For as long as human error exists, I'll keep checking for it! It keeps me out of trouble...

 

 

which cruise line ... certainly Princess would never honor a clear mistake like that ... maybe a little OBC ...

50 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

They may charge you the $15 extra for that second bottle.

Maybe not. 

This

will be following ... do you have any coffee cards with unused punches you will be trying to use ??

just asking because 8/31 is the "deadline" for all unused coffee cards and want to hear first hand experiences

24 minutes ago, treasurer said:

We will be on Caribbean Princess soon and see that rain is predicted for some ports.  Should we bring our umbrella or are they provided in the minisuites?  

why not bring some disposal rain poncho's ?  they only cost about a buck at any $ store, pre-cruise

23 minutes ago, cougaraz said:

Friday August 16^th, At Sea

 

Hello Loyal Readers! Thank-you for tuning in to hear about our adventures at sea…

 

All in all, we continue to sail under very fair conditions.  Seas remain slight, but the breeze is fresh an is producing some small whitecaps.  There is blue sky breaking through the clouds and on the sunny side of the ship temperatures are very comfortable.  Over the past 24 hours the ride has been gentle and mellow.

 

 

 

Yesterday was a very relaxing and enjoyable sea day onboard the ship.  I have to say that the Princess Patter was so full of interesting activities that we had to make choices and miss some events we might otherwise have attended as there were simply a finite number of hours in the day and we love to spend time eating, reading and napping as well.  Our first breakfast of the cruise was a treat especially as we arrived at 715 to a nearly empty dining room! There is something so luxurious and decadent about being waited on at breakfast.  We were surprised to learn that as an additional benefit in Club Class, Giovani is now making omelets to order at breakfast, with a wide selection of fillings to choose from.  Melissa opted to start with a melon plate, while I had a bowl of Raisin Bran.  I ordered the Mexican omelet which came from the kitchen and Melissa ordered a ham a cheese omelet which Giovani made just feet away.  Both were very tasty and as expected, a very nice selection of fresh pastries were available as well.  I think that the small luxury of fresh baked pastries, breads and cakes at every meal can get lost in the overwhelming food choices on a cruise, but it really does add such a nice touch to every meal. 

 

 

 

To answer a question that has been swirling on the Princess boards, I did walk through the buffet yesterday morning and indeed omelets made to order are available there.

 

 

 

After breakfast, we ventured up to Club One5 to join of fellow Cruise Critic users for the meet and greet.  The group was small, but we had a very nice conversation and the views from One5 are very hard to beat.  It is always nice to put faces and real names to the avatars from online.  We took some time to catch up on emails and other internet business before heading off to lunch.  The internet onboard remains fairly consistent with what we have experienced in the past on Princess.  The WiFi connection in our stateroom seems to be strong and has been reliable across multiple devices.  Other notes on our room, it is pleasantly cool, but we have kept the thermostats set to the lowest available temperature and according to our digital thermometer that maintains a very pleasant 70 degrees.  In a perfect world, I would like the coldest setting to be too cold and have a little extra capacity, but as we are sailing through a cool part of the world, we are a just a door opening away from temperatures in the low 60s outside on the balcony.  The water pressure is very strong and the hot water is available at any desired setting between luke warm and ‘burn the dirt off’ hot!  My only complaint about the bathroom is that I think the lighting is a little lack luster.  The three overhead lights are sufficient, but only just barely.

 

 

 

We opted to take our lunch in the dining room again and were treated to a fantastic meal.  There never really was much doubt about where we would dine, because they were serving Chicken Korma and it is one of Melissa’s absolute favorite Princess dishes.  Our meal was enhanced by sitting next to a very friendly couple from the Bay Area who are very experienced cruisers and world travelers.  I love hearing stories of people’s adventures and adding locations to my growing list of places to visit.  Melissa started her luncheon with pea soup, another of her favorites,  and I had an appetizer portion of the fresh pasta which was a tomato sauce with garlic, tomato, sage and some red chili…absolutely delicious!!  We both had the Chicken Korma, accompanied by a dizzying array of condiments for our main.  The flavors were spot on and the dish was more than generous on the portion size.  For dessert, Melissa had butter pecan ice cream and I had the rice pudding.  Rice pudding is interesting, because it is such a classic comfort food dessert that my Dad used to love, but it hit the spot with just a few bites of sweet to close out the meal.

 

 

 

After lunch, Melissa and I separated, she headed to the Lotus Spa for a massage and I was off to the Wheelhouse Bar for the Veterans get together.  We had a very nice group of veterans assembled, including a Marine who was wounded on Iwo Jima.  It is always great to have all who have served meet and share in the brotherhood.

 

 I will relay Melissa’s assessment that her overall spa experience was a 6 out of 10.  The women’s locker room had no functional lockers as none of the dials or locks worked resulting in all the females having to change and then carry all their clothes/valuables into the actual treatment room. The Spa Staff didn’t even try to pretend the locks worked but no notices were posted in the locker room. She said her bamboo massage treatment was okay but the female massage provider was definitely not an expert. Finally, she subjected her to some rather unrealistic sales pitching, including a recommendation that for her ‘health’ she return for some medi-spa work, products totaling $250 and 2-3 other treatments.  I do feel that on this particular cruise, the Lotus Spa sales and marketing is a little over the top and honestly for the quality of product they are delivering, they are overpriced.  This isn’t to say that you can’t have a nice treatment or experience, but I think they just push too hard and under deliver. That being said, Melissa said she did enjoy some down time on the cruise and feels blessed to be able to get a treatment.

 

 

 

What does one do after a massage and a big meal?  Of course, one takes a nice long nap!  The relaxed motion of the ship is better than just about anything invented by modern pharmacology and when paired with a full belly and no work to be done, it makes for a powerful sleep aid. 

 

 

 

After showers and dressing for dinner, we opted to skip the event in Club One5 and instead visited the Wheelhouse Bar for a pre-dinner drink.  I really like their revamped cocktail menu, focusing on some classics and expanded offering of craft beers.  I was very surprised to see a Sculpin from Ballast Point on the menu and for less than I could get a bottle at home in San Diego.  There was some very nice live music from Holiday Dreams, doing jazz and dance standards.  Our cocktails, a real daquiri and a Sidecar, were very nicely prepared and the dark wood, brass and green tones were a great setting.

 

 

 

As we have come to expect already, dinner was a parade of flavors, highlighted by the deft touch of Giovani with the pasta.  We arrived at dinner at 730 and the Davinci Dining Room was hopping.  Both Club Class and the rest of the room were busy and there was a lively atmosphere that was contagious.  The dinner menu was both broad and deep in its offerings.  I have read some recent reviews that menus on Princess were smaller in their offerings, but empirical evidence does not bear that out.  The menu featured seven main course offerings, including a pasta, a vegetarian option, two seafood options, a poultry option, the Curtis Stone Crafted pot pie and a beef entrée.  With the addition of the always available options, there was an additional pasta, seafood and beef offering, plus a burger.  For those dining in Club Class, there was a futher pasta selection offered and an additional seafood main.

 

 

Melissa started with a nice lamb and barley soup coupled with a delicious dinner roll, while I went with the mushroom tart.  I found the creamy sauce to be flavorful and absolutely bursting with great earthy flavor of mushrooms.  Giovani’s pasta of the evening was spaghetti with tomato sauce, herbs and shrimp.  I would say it was delicious, but I don’t think that would do it justice.  In fact, we asked both Giovani and our waiter exactly what type of negotiations would be necessary to take him home with us.  Melissa’s main was the Shrimp Americain offering and I had the Curtis Stone pot pie.  Melissa got the better of the arrangement, her grilled shrimp were perfectly cooked and not over sauced.  The pot pie was okay, but a bit too much butter and cream and not enough leek and seasoning.  Dessert for me was a souffle, because well, why would you not?  I mean honestly, I am not going to make myself one at home and none of the restaurants in my neighborhood have it on offer.  Melissa built her own Sundae, which looked good, but we all know she is just saving up for a Volcano.  All in all, we are more than impressed with the dining room food service thus far.  The menus are varied and our food and service have been spot on.

 

 

 

After such a full day of relaxing, we were exhausted and did manage to get to a fairly early bedtime.  It was a perfect first sea day, we are fully into relaxation mode, we have met some great people, have been eating delicious food and having a great time.

 

 

 

As an added bonus to today’s update, let us spend a moment to talk about passengers behaving badly onboard.  Specifically, let’s talk about bare feet and their appropriateness for public places, quite simply, they just aren’t.  I am willing to give a free pass to a woman who put on shoes for dinner only to discover that they were simply murder on her feet and needed to make it back to her room for a change.  It isn’t exactly polite, but I think everyone could understand the situation and it was temporary to achieve some obvious relief from pain.  However, intentionally removing your shoes, while in a bar on the ship and then choosing to sit such that your feet are actually on the chair is never okay.  In fact, putting your feet, bare or not, on furniture in a public place is never okay. 

 

 

 

That is all for now folks! Appreciate you tuning in as we sail north to Alaska!

 

 

And if you see Melissa out and about, wish her a Happy Birthday today! 

Thanks

20 minutes ago, idahospud said:

And the most important thing to know about the sale:

Deposit of 10% per guest for bookings made under this sale are non-refundable.

which it looks like is going to be the new normal ... gotta call your TA or Princess to get the Refundable rate

19 minutes ago, 1emerald1 said:

Mind you, I check my bookings every morning and act immediately.

is this the only way you found out ??  no email, no call ?

3 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

With regard to your "fine print" question and remember we are talking about cruise lines here, I am sure that the fine print says in effect that they can sc**w you coming and going and you have no recourse.

and you have accepted those terms ....

5 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Everyone is missing or ignoring the point.  Regardless of what we may think, the OP does not regard the change as an upgrade.  He wants his original cabin back and he should get it back.  

 

DON

errors and omissions insurance ...IF ... the OP told the TA to mark it NO UPGRADES

wonder what the "fine print" actually states Princess has the right to do regardless of how the cabin is marked ...

8 minutes ago, janina said:

We love the freedom that Anytime dinning gives us.  We see what shows are playing and plan our dinner around them.  Or if we're really tired from a shore excursion we can rest and eat late.  Usually if you share you'll get seated faster.  Some days it is nice to be at a table of 2 and not be social.

seated quicker .. but the meal can take longer depending on the speed of the other tablemates

a table for 2 makes it easier to control the pace of the meal if you let your servers know when you sit down ... within reason, of course

with balance issues, not a fan of the shower/tub combo at all ... but do like the aft locations

10 minutes ago, pablo222 said:

 

Regal was long before Caribbean.

 

The global innovators were unable to complete Regal before it left for the summer in europe,

so they carried on innovating on Carribbean.

 

There are a billion posts here:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2550311-status-of-ocean-medallion/

 

Looking back, I'm puzzled what was replaced with ***** in a lot of medallion posts.

Medallion certainly deserves some bad words, but I don't remember any being posted...

 

 

OM was what was nuked ...

7 minutes ago, nini said:

We knew the names and cabin numbers

uh, how ???

14 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

The main advantage is that you are working with the same person instead of whoever answers the phone that day.

I/we've had some pretty decent luck with re-faring by first calling the 'whoever answers the phone that "call" '

Pretty good at knowing what they 'should' offer ... but sometimes you can 'luck' into someone "special" who states ...

"let me see what I can do, do you mind if I put you on hold/" ... why no, that will be fine ...

never had anything good with assigned PVP's ... I've 'fired' a couple, and the last one 'fired me' ...