Alaska Lily

Thank you for that information.  We never want to cut the all aboard close!

We just booked the 4 night Reflection cruise for 9/9.  We’d like to go to the beach at Resorts World. Does anyone know if there is any advantage to booking with Celebrity Shore Excursion or should we purchase when we arrive on Bimini.  The difference in price is approximately $30 for the two passes to purchase through Celebrity. Not a huge difference but if it is exactly the same experience no reason to buy on board. Also would appreciate any comments about the resort. Thanks for your insight!

Just realized I replied from my husband’s profile. 🙃

Thank you again!

Hello - we haven’t sailed on Celebrity since 2022 and this is our first short cruise.  Does anyone know if they give you a beach/tote bag to use at the beach?  Last cruise we received a nice gray one.  Thanks!

11 hours ago, MissP22 said:

They do a great job to convivence most of their passengers to buy into on of their packages. Some folks can't bear the thought of sailing without it even when the cost can be up to 1/3 the cost of the cruise alone.

I think you expressed this feeling earlier in the thread and someone addressed it there as well.  I'm not sure why you think your fellow cruisers are so gullible and uninformed.??  Everyone has a different vision of their vacation.

Wow!  I have really enjoyed reading this thread.  I don’t have much to add..but we came off The Sky on 2/3 (with a package 😉) and had a wonderful time.  The OP had concerns about customer service. I just wanted to share that our experience is that the customer service ON the ship is far superior to any customer service when you contact Princess prior to cruising. Bon voyage you will have a wonderful time!

1 hour ago, pilot said:

What date is your departure?  On January 27 Sky will dock at Terminal 21 and on Feb 3 at Terminal 2. 

Yes - I realize that I got it backwards!  Thanks to everyone for their thoughts.  The Cruise Critic community is always helpful!

Thank you.  Actually, I did have it backward!  We leave from 21 and return to 2.  

That seems like a good suggestion. It's just so easy to have your car at the port upon your return. Thank You!

Hello - we are sailing on Sky this Saturday (7 days).  The ship is embarking from Terminal 2 and disembarkation will be at Terminal 21.  We don't live very far so we usually drive to the port and park our car.  Obviously our car will be in the "wrong" garage when we return.  Princess said they will have shuttles to return us to the Terminal 2 (Palm) garage.  Has anyone had experience with these shuttles?  Also, if we decide to Uber instead do you recommend reserving the Uber ahead of time?  Since we have not done that I'm not sure what availability is like.  Thanks very much for any advice!

MY DH & I came to cruising a little late. We have our third Princess cruise coming up on 1/27 on Sky from Ft. Lauderdale.  We haven't yet become loyal to any cruise line that we've cruised (Princess, Holland, Regent, Celebrity. NCL)...but we've loved every cruise for different reasons.  Last Princess cruise 3/2023, we had wonderful service.. especially with Rocky and his team at Vines and in the main dining room. Our room steward was terrific.  I don't think service scores 100% all the time but that's unrealistic and I think our last cruise on Sky would earn way higher marks for service and hospitality than some recent land vacations.  I'm writing this attached to this review because I loved the OP attitude. Happy cruising!

20 hours ago, BamaVol said:

A PRIEST, A MINISTER AND A RABBIT WALK INTO A BLOOD BANK. The rabbit says, “I think I might be a type-O.”

This just cracked me up! 😂

Snoozecrooze….the rant is spot on. Keep it going. I’m onboard!

30 minutes ago, snoozecrooze said:

They're trying their own riff on the gourmet milkshake trend that exploded all over social media several years back. I just don't think this makes any sense on a cruise line like Princess; it would sell much better on a Carnival or RCI. It's a really polarizing dessert; you'll find as many influencers shilling the product as much as there are people who cannot imagine needing to lick or chew off the edge of a glass just to enjoy part of the dessert.

 

Mini-rant: As far as "premium desserts" go, I still personally can't believe this is a "perk" Princess is trying to sell as something special in their packages. It's so unorganically gimmicky, and I don't think the pictures on the menu make it look appetizing at all. And yet they can still manage to run out of ingredients for cookies in the buffet over the duration of a cruise. Rant over.

Any of the above. 😉

I appreciate Princess trying to give “added value” to “plus” packages but… is it just me or does this whole “premium dessert “ thing seem like a bad idea?  

Enough?? I personally find this all very interesting.

As I mentioned in my OP...I was concerned that we had not gotten our test results back.  They did come this morning but prior to that I called Celebrity and was told that if we got to the port and could prove that we had the test in a reasonable amount of time and did not have results that they could provide us a test.  I had also located an urgent care (affiliated with a local hospital) that could provide test results within 30 min.  Thanks again for the help!

Thanks to everyone for the advice!  The "Cruise Critic Crew" is very appreciated!  I'll let you know how it goes.

We are set to sail on Equinox tomorrow.  We took Covid tests yesterday morning at CVS.  Said results 1-2 days.  Received a text at 1:15 today that read Your test is at the lab and we will have our results soon (1-2 days).

We tested at CVS prior to our March cruise (2 day) and had no issue.  I'm hopeful it may still come in time but could someone tell me what the procedure is if it does not.  I'm sure this has been addressed before but I couldn't find it.  Thanks for any info.

I was assuming that the bottle would be upright for several days prior to decanting. But your concern about it taking longer for the sediment to settle in a 1997 vintage is probably valid. 

If you can give it to the sommelier prior to dinner it would probably have proper time for decanting.  Personally I like the experience of opening it and decanting it myself.  I would be nervous about sending it as luggage and wouldn't bring it. I'd wait to enjoy it at home.  I bring some wine to enjoy but like George C...we bring something a little more "pedestrian" 🙂  Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy some delicious Spanish wines! 

Great info.  Thank you!

This may be a little off OP topic… the wine situation sounds precarious and I love my wine. We have a premium package and can bring 2 bottles per guest on board with no corkage fee.  Can I drink this wine in the MDR or is it for cabin consumption only?

Thanks :)