beg3yrs

Decent is certainly a subjective. However, on our last cruise in June of 2023, I found Maker's Mark and Woodford Reserve were both within the $15 limit. Yes, the specialty coffees and pop are included. Not sure about the juices but I think so.

Yep, cash advances on credit cards is generally a no-no. Debit cards where funds are taken directly from your bank account are the way we do it.

Do NOT use ATMs operated by currency exchange operations like Travelex. They aren't banks and give you a crap rate. Look for ATMs with a well known bank's logo.

Half off the cost if you can refrain from jumping over the desk and strangling the complainer. Or is it the opposite?

Take a look at your Travel Summary. Under Special Services you will see something like: or: Drinks purchased under the package don't show on your folio. If you want to know your count, you have to ask.

You mean like Marty McFly's mom thinking his name was Calvin Klein?

Oh Rhett!

We felt it was worth it but ... we generally only had two dinners at each lodge. Reservations were taken care of by our escort (who was fabulous BTW) and we always got the time we requested. I had the impression that he had some kind of priority for our group. Because of the flexibility in reservation times we never felt restricted. No evidence that the Connoisseur group got better rooms. Some lodges we had better rooms than others (Kenai Lodge was our absolute favorite with exquisite rooms that are more like cabins and outdoor dining with an unmatched view). Other members of our group kind of felt the same way.

Your imagination is far from reality. Back in the day (pre-COVID), Chef's Table participants were treated to a tour of a working galley before they partook of appetizers and eventually made their way to the actual "Chef's Table". We were fortunate enough to see the galley in action multiple times. No way are offerings pre-plated. Orders come in, usually from the Junior Waiters and there's an array of sous chefs preparing meals on the fly. There are so many variations people request, pre-plating is not efficient. You can be sure your dinner plate was prepared with you specifically in mind.

DW has had celiac for over five years now. We did the 17 day Escorted Connoisseur Tour in 2022 (ten days on land - all five lodges) and she had zero trouble getting excellent food she could eat. Salmon, steaks, chicken, crab, whatever. It can all be prepared at the lodges gluten-free. Just notify your escort and he or she will take care of this. Not to worry!

This is probably the case, issuing a new one. But, if you lose it on the ship, why doesn't Guest Services just look up where it is????

I can think security might grab a time-tagged photo whenever the door is opened. If there's a claim of theft from the room, there's one more bit of proof as to who has entered. Medallions can be stolen and they have the passenger's name on it. Sure it's a bit of work to figure out which cabin the medallion is matched up to but it's possible. Also besides your cabin steward, there are other crew that have access. Overkill? Try and purchase a tablet with the functionality Princess requires that doesn't already have a camera. I'm sure with the quantity purchased that Princess got a great price on these. Personally when I realized what they'd done for the door displays that it was brilliant choice. So functional and versatile.

TW6cruise's "guess" is correct. On several of our last cruises there were specific colored luggage tags just for individual debark tours. Disembarking in Buenos Aires last February we never even saw our bags until we got to the airport after our debark tour. DW was worried but all was good. There was a specific spot where the tour bus dropped us off at the airport with all the bags being guarded by a Princess representative. Nicely done.

As far as no cameras in the cabin corridors goes, I have to disagree. Every one of those displays used on the cabin doors are actually Samsung tablets in a nice case that also houses the medallion reader used to sense your approach so your door will unlock. All those tablets have a camera in them. You can look closely and see the lens opening. That said, I don't know if Princess does anything with that video but the capability is there.

The six-month before expiration passport rule is to enter some but not all foreign countries. I'm not sure Canada is one of those countries. The US State Department web-site should give you more specifics. As long as your passport isn't expired, you can use it to get back into the USA, there's no six-month rule for that. So, you should be able to still use your passport for this particular sailing. However if not wanting to take your passport for other reasons (like sending it out for renewal), yes, you can use a certified birth certificate and a government-issued ID.

I for one had stopped ordering steak (especially the Cowboy Steak) in the MDR as I found the cuts I received to be of poor quality and tough. On our last two cruises (June 2023 Caribbean and Jan 2023 Sapphire) though, I saw DW's steaks and they looked great. I broke my rule and was happy to find that the quality had improved immensely.

Yep! I spaced out on cabinmates rather than shipmates. Sorry about that Chief!

The generally accepted answer to this has been no. However things are changing, mostly for the better. Many recent embarkations have been so quick and easy that priority boarding is practically meaningless. I suppose if you arrive before boarding starts the priority lounge would be nice, but that's a no for non-eligible passengers. Some will tell you that the folks at embarkation don't do a thorough job of checking but, sometimes they do. My personal preference is to just show up about an hour after boarding starts and just whiz onto the ship in less than 20 minutes or so. It's become that easy.

Well then I'm stumped too. I'd be calling Princess as painful as that is.

This ^^^ Restricted fares have to be paid in full immediately and are not refundable. Flexible fares must be paid in full with the cruise final payment but are refundable until 45 days from flying. Oddly enough, most times one will see Flexible Fares are lower in price than Restricted Fares. There are exceptions. Restricted fares are ticketed immediately, Flexible Fares are not ticketed until within the 45 day window. There is a reservation, just no ticket number. This sometimes causes with seat assignments on some airlines.

With those balconies, it's either put the table out there and stand inside or leave the table at the door and squeeze onto your balcony. Just not enough room! 😣

But, Hapag Lloyd does not allow the passengers to choose itineraries that are illegal or impossible to achieve.

Might help to brush up on Italian curse words ... even though the language on the bridge is supposed to be English (I think) I suspect in a situation like that, one's native language prevails for cursing.

Even to my untrained eye it's very interesting how the two approaches differ. I noticed the aft tug was on the port side in a push mode on the first approach and had to skedaddle when it became clear an allission was imminent. On the second approach it looks like the aft tug, now on the starboard side, has a line attached and is in no danger of being crushed. Hmm ... Still, my eye is untrained and with only a couple of views I see differences but don't understand why ...

I for one (and I'm certain there are others) very much appreciate both NavArch64's and chengkp75's knowledgeable contributions to this thread and to Cruise Critic in general. How much fun would it be to have the both of them together in a bar? I bet neither would have to pay for their drinks.