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My sister is a HAL Mariner. I am still trying to get a grasp on a Neptune Suite. From all accounts (my understanding), is that a Neptune Suite is not really a suite, but more likened to a Princess mini suite. You will get more perks in a Princess Grand Suite. The Diamond won’t have a lot of bells and whistles, but a smaller ship feel. HAL ports right next to the Yokohama Intercontinental Grand Hotel. Princess offers a free shuttle from Yamashita Park or a taxi ride. Princess will offer a paid shuttle into the city. Don’t know about HAL. Princess will have a destination expert presenting port lectures. Have you been to Japan before? I was there years ago and recently on the Diamond. I wasn’t interested in touring castles and shrines. You will have to weigh more ports/more excursions, verses stateroom choice. I’ve been told that the fall foliage in Japan can be spectacular. I hit Cherry Blossom time perfectly. Start looking for local guides. Japan has something called Goodwill guides for (sort of) free. Plan on spending a few days in Yokohama. Lovely city. Eat as much of the local foods as you can.

Will all of your family members be in a suite(s)? 99% of the time, if your steward gets the laundry bag down to the correct station by 9 AM (you need to check the express box in the upper right hand corner), you will get it back in the evening. Safest to leave it on your bed for turndown service the night before. Everyone one says “first and last time” in a suite. You’ll be back.

The Grand went into dry dock recently (April 2022 ?}. Much of it was cosmetic. The lamps have USB ports. I am not doubting your comparison between decks, but that does seem really odd. The difference between the Grand and the Ruby: The Grand has Alfredo’s and 400 less passengers. The staterooms and balconies should be similar.

Are you currently booked as a single and wanting to add your sister? Are you working with a Travel Agent/PCP from Princess? I don't know how you could book her into a accessible cabin now...but have to wait via email to change cabins?

There is a GF option. Speak to your Assistant Manager for details.

You are correct, Premier has nothing to do with dietary wants. Yes, you may order as many appetizers/starters as you would like in the MDR. A little trickier for the specialty restaurants since you are "supposed to" choose one from each group. But, given the right waiter + being "really" nice, they may accommodate your modifications. A vegetarian/pescatarian cabin mate joined me at the Crown Grill. Obviously, it is a steakhouse. Cabin mate was able to get an extra servings of all the stuff that could be eaten (extra mushrooms, more asparagus, any available topping for the baked potato....etc). Similar at Sabatini's.

Thank you @redtop101. After all these years, it still brings joy and happiness to me when I watch these Crew Directors doing what they do best. Today, I don’t think that department is as well manned. The CD position was divided into front of house CD and back of house ED.

I just tried to book dining reservations for a summer cruise. Got the same error message. I have all the loyalty levels so that shouldn't be a. problem for me...haha. If I do get in, I get the other error message. No availability. Princess forced me to delete the old app (no longer supported).

Were you able to make reservations for Reserved Collection MDR (formerly known as Club Class dining)? Or did you make reservations for the Main Dining Room? I didn't think it was possible nor necessary to make reservations for Reserved Collection MDR. AND, as usual, app is non-responsive today so I can't "book" dinner reservations on an upcoming cruise in Reserve Collection MDR (just to see).

You WILL pay for bags if it is a North American flight (US to Vancouver) on several airlines. Internationally means off the continent. Since you have over a year away, you can look at this year's fares. Keep in mind that if you made a direct with airline purchase, you would have to pay for the flight outright. I know there are sites that will send you fare updates. I don't know.

I hope you were the one that won $4000. For me, it was a waste of my cruising leisure time. But then again, I lose any raffle, bingo, slot game I play.

Just a regular Jackpot bingo ticket. You can usually walk in toward the end and skip all the previous games. Only good on a certain day/time. In my opinion (I'm not a bingo player), it is worthless.

Which ship? I don’t recall them ever publishing show ahead of time. thanks @Host CJSKIDS. Brings back such fond memories.

I wish, your attempt to clarify, you would give us a little more to work with. Dole Plantation on Oahu has a tram. Maybe letting us know which region of the world? Or even temperate zone might narrow down suggestions. You say you don’t recall what product was grown. Exactly what are you wanting to know? I am afraid that a tour 22 years ago may not be available now and/or production technology may be so different that it may be unrecognizable. Good luck. There’s a one in a million chance that another passenger on “your” itinerary/tour will recall which plantation.

One of the last crew shows I saw had CD David Cole. This WAS, by far, the best entertainment on the ship. What a glorious memory on the last night. Too bad it was only one show...too bad it has gone by the wayside. And the best part for Princess...was it cost them little to nothing.

No, you can only catch Princess transfer day of cruise. You will have to find your own way to Southampton if you arrive early. I hired a private car service. Some have taken the train or National bus....company

We ported (last summer) where all the container stores are. It seemed to be their "main" pier. Port Saint John, NB. Near the corner of Water Street and Duke Street.

I don’t recall the details (on auto-pilot) …lol On the TV, it pops up when you turn it on. Can’t get past it until you watch. I think….you watch it through your app. No need to connect to internet. But you will have to connect to ship’s intranet. It’s pretty intuitive. You’ll figure it our. Won’t take you more than 15 minutes.

If you are unable to get into your room early, find a nice spot to sit and watch the drill on your personal device. You could even watch it after you order your lunch (in the MDR) and before it arrives. This is a good start to your tour. “Find your muster station.” You can do either/or first. Just be sure each of you signs in on separate devices. You both can watch it on the stateroom tv.

They "used to" have a ship's tour included with the Bon Voyage Experience. Sadly, that was discontinued way before the pandemic. Part of the "fun" of exploring a new ship is to do your own tour. There really are only 4 main decks (Lido, Plaza, Fiesta, and Promenade). The outliers are aft Deck 6 (far removed MDR) and Skywalker/SPA on opposite ends of the ship. The Grand/GEM class ships are very easy to get around. Use Deck 7 as your "highway". Do a YouTube search and you will find many video tours.

I just returned from the islands with 2 medium sized suitcases, 1 carry on, one CPAP, and one under the seat bag. I don't know how to pack light. Granted....most of it was food from the islands and other "stuff" to restock my pantry with or give away. VERY little (one packing cube) was clothes. Total weight of everything? Probably close to 100 pounds

Go to MDR as you normally would. After dinner, go back to your cabin, change, pack what you wore, THEN place your suitcase outside the door. Normally, they do not remove luggage until 9 or 10 PM. Or just wear what you are going to wear off the ship.

That's a really broad spectrum. Oahu, Hawaii - Hawaii Plantation Village (not a working plantation/more of a museum). http://www.hawaiiplantationvillage.org On my bucket list was Williamsburg. I was slightly disappointed since I was hoping it was more of a "working" plantation with "real life" exhibits. What type of plantation are you interested in? The ones I visited are accessible by car not along a shoreline.

You can join the ship in Alaska....IF.... You booked by EZ Air and missed the ship. They will/should guarantee that you arrive at the next port AND they should pay for the PVSA. If you didn't use EZ Air, be prepared. The immigration line could be as long as 1 to 2 hours to get through at the airport. Then it is another 30 minutes to Canada Place.

Don't need a luggage scale. As I age, so has my strength. If I can lift it, it is less than 50 pounds. There's something to say about getting "weaker". My "scale" has been pretty accurate. Off by a couple of pounds (less). I can get pretty close to 45 - 49 pounds. On a more serious note. I understand that with baggage fees going up, that more and more people are trying to squeeze their life into a carry on. I think the problem lies more with how to transport the carry on (train, bus, shuttle). Some won't have places to store a larger item and therefore still will need to be "checked" ahead/place out for pick up. If traveling as two, maybe one suitcase can be shared (half and half) and the other sent to the ship. 17 inch maximum is pretty small.