Wishing on a star

Just a quick question. I remember hearing some comments. Can anyone here tell me if the Hollywood Pool is usually chilly (when outdoor pools are warm enough)

Yes, 360' is called 'Experiential Dining', and does cost extra. Casual Dining venues are an upcharge unless you have a Plus or Premier Package. Two visits with Plus, unlimited with Premier. Specialty dining has 2 visits included with the Premier Package. There are differences in dining between the two ships. Enchanted: Experiential Dining 360' Dining experience in an almost 360' production venue Specialty Dining - up to 2 visits included with Premier Package Crown Grill - Princess Steakhouse (standard on most all ships) The Catch. by Rudi - Seafood Specialty restaurant. Sabatini's - Princess Italian (is more open to the Piazza and the music/noise on Enchanted) Casual Dining - Up to 2 visits included with Plus Package, unlimited with Premier Affredo's. - Best Pizza onboard. Very Popular. O'Malley's - Irish pub with Pub fare, offers Irish sing-a-long folk performances Bars Crooners (but no Vines Wine Bar) Majestic: (This is subject to change March 2025) Specialty Dining Crown Grill The Catch. - This is more open to Piazza on this ship. Harmony - Asian Fusion. (Should be changed out for another restaurant in drydock) There is a Noodle Bar instead of a Pizza counter on the pool deck (again, should be changed out) Casual Dining Alfredo's Bars Vines wine bar on Majestic. (No Vines on Enchanted) There is no Crooner's on Majestic

You might get a good idea of 360' by searching on places like YouTube. It is a special venue, with almost 360' screens around... the dishes and drinks served go along with the whole production going on around you. And, a little 'magic' going on at your plate at the table too.

Enchanted might have production shows that you have not seen on Regal. These are set, as the staging and cast are in place. As far as other entertainment and activities, they can vary. The Magician that you saw on Regal might be on Sky, or Discovery, or another ship. Ships band (Party Band) also changes out. Bands and entertainers take breaks or change ships. I do not pay as much attention to these kinds of Love and Marriage shows. I think all the ships will have some version of this??? Maybe somebody else can chime in. Last time I was on Regal, the food was really good!!! The Executive Chef and staff onboard can make a difference. Look for 'Live from' posts here to see how the cruises before yours are going!

I do not know about the UK, but yes, there are many times where this seems to be the case. Sometimes, maybe depending on expected demand, these will show for two guest.. But, mostly not.

Two questions. Are any on the lower decks available? When will you be sailing? Yes, it will be possible to get more motion that far forward above the bow of the ship. And, a factor that might be bigger is how high you are. This could be affected by high winds. The second question is when will you be sailing. We have been on a ship in the Caribbean twice, where there were high winds shut down the retreat pool and Sanctuary. This was associated with strong cold fronts that can sweep down that far in the middle of Winter. Of course, nobody can predict the weather. But, I believe there is a higher chance of these fronts with high winds at this time of year. We are looking at Enchanted for early Spring. The first time, we had to change our booking closer to sailing, and had to accept a balcony on Deck 15 Forward. Ohhhh My!!! We were happy to spend time down on lower decks and the Piazza when we encountered that. The second time, there were even higher winds, but no cross-wind... And the ship handled it well. These are pretty big ships.

Enjoy!!!!! We would do it in a heartbeat if there were not a couple of things that my husband or myself can not have, or just do not enjoy. I am hoping that they decide to encourage the 'Chef' to leave his ego onshore and add a few options to choose from. Doesn't have to be extensive. But, this is very very limiting.

Exactly, a mid-ship balcony could be upgraded to a far forward deluxe balcony. A Deluxe or Premium Deluxe balcony could be upgraded to a Mini-Suite with a very small balcony. Or a cabin over a noisy venue... etc. There could be pros and cons to an upgrade. Some people who are particular to a certain location and cabin try to have their booking marked NO UPGRADE.

As you might see, the change to the new SANCTUARY class did recategorize these AFT D0 cabins. They cost a LOT more now. It is not a gimmick. This will be an exclusive ship-within-a-ship concept now. And this is very significant. Yes, they are the same Deluxe Balcony interior layout as all others... They have the same extra-long extended balconies as the other Premium Deluxe Balconies like this. But, you should be very very happy!!!! There will be no other adult-only area on the ship now that they have made the entire Sanctuary are exclusive access only. And, you should also receive dining access. Princess is changing up a LOT. They will be moving the restaurant venues around so that they will have the Signature/Sanctuary dining room. Do not be confused... Do not let that cabin go...

Uggghhhh... That is exactly what I was thinking their approach would be. Well, tables are sitting empty. So, the "**** Michelin Chef" might have to adjust his ego????

We understand, brockmom! But, you need to know that the answers might be very different, depending which ship you are booking. In any case, you will be assigned a cabin in that Category or a Higher Category. Location could be anywhere onboard. If they have to do upgrades, then the next higher category from a Premium Deluxe Balcony would be a Mini-Suite. And, these do not have the larger/deeper balcony or that AFT view. Also, again, if you are booking for the two of you, you might be seeing the RESERVE only because Princess can hold these cabins back, and only show them available for 3 or 4 guests. Let us know which ship, and even which sailing... Did you select Premium Balcony or Premium Deluxe Balcony? ('Deluxe means slightly larger, with a little two seater mini-sofa) Then we can give you more specific answers. Older ships, for example, might have Premium Balconies that are often located on Deck 10 (Caribe) The newer Royal Class ships have Premium Deluxe Balconies that are often located on Deck 9 (Dolphin) If a wake-view is what you hope for, then know that inside of the cabin will be standard. The outside balcony is deeper/larger on some decks than others. Check deck plans. Yes, they could be sold out, as these are in demand! So, the odds of getting a wake-view might be against you.

I do not know your plans, but I wonder if you are seeing an issue with the way Princess holds back Deluxe Balconies for more than two guests. (this could be Deluxe OR Premium Deluxe) If this is what you are seeing, you can pull up your cruise, like you are making a new booking, enter three guests, and see if it will then show you which Premium Deluxe balconies there are to choose from. Sometimes the two of us have just booked a standard balcony... But we have also done a 'work-around' to get one of these when it was important to us to have a cabin in that area.

Another thought... the TA might be a good time for Princess to have workers onboard and start making these changes. I don't know if the short VIP and TA cruise that has been scheduled, before Oct 14, is still going to sail? They could use this time to work on these changes.

This would be good news for us if The Catch gets a better venue, and a full menu. I believe that the menu offers a bit less than on other ships? In fact, I think there are several 'favorites' that are just not offered on the SUN. Another question that Princess is still working on... LOVE by Britto. What a bad and disorganized concept. Anyhow, they have cut the upcharge drastically and made it 'Premium' dining. Tables are still empty. Reservations available at almost any time. I think that the set, price-fix menu is one of the big reasons. While I am sure that the people who put this together were just so excited about their special oyster, and the mushroom cappuccino. I think there might be many people who just do not prefer, or can not eat, oysters or mushrooms. I am hoping that they update the menu with a few options. We would book it now, and give it a try, if it weren't for the limited menu.

At first this makes sense, because Princess needs a restaurant big enough for all of these new SANCTUARY Class guests. Two things come to my mind... Could there still be, somehow, a Signature dining room for Signature Suite guests. There are many SANCTUARY Class guests who are not Suite guests? Also, do I not see pictures where the Chef's Table is located back there? It appears that there are semi-sheer drapes. Maybe they hope that they can do enough to make this area good enough. If anything is obvious at all, it is that Princess has really had big issues with rolling out this ship, and then trying to make changes, major changes, just weeks after that. There are some real problems going on.

This ship is different than other Princess Ships. It was designed to sail in Asia with Asian guests. On the pool deck, instead of Pizza, there is a Noodle Bar. (which seems to be quite popular) One might get Pizza at the Buffett, or Alfredo's - which might be an upcharge if not covered by a Princess Package. One of the Specialty Restaurants is an Asian Fusion venue called Harmony. Both of these are being changed out. The dry-dock is scheduled for March of next Spring. Not sure if any changes would happen before your cruise, or might affect your cruise. The other big difference is the forward pool deck areas. They are completely covered and enclosed. There is a glass non-retractable roof over the pool. Where, usually, this area is not covered and is the adult retreat pool area and the Princess SANCTUARY. ( I think the assumption is that Asians are not usually keen to spend a lot of time in the open sun.) These areas have not really been adult-only. While it might not be possible to change out the structure of the ship, they could make changes to these areas, and how they are used. These changes could be either good, or bad, depending on a person's viewpoint.

I am of no help... But, I think this issue is more common than one might think!!! Given you are familiar with this visit to St. John, you might want to re-consider doing it on your own. Or, is there possibly ANY other operator offering these transfers? We did the Princess excursion to Trunk Bay on St. John. And while it went smoothly, the time on the island is woefully short! I do not remember checking the time when we returned, but I do think it was a bit later than the Excursion Description. Yes, the customer service is almost laughable... but is NOT funny. A serious problem. No, I have no problem at all when people use the latest common social terms and phrases.... As long as they are valid and not just name-calling. It happens... So what...

If I can also piggyback here... I wonder about the hours of O'Malley's on other ships? We would much prefer Lunch. Do the Musicians perform during lunch?

Great posts and photos!!! This is wonderful that you are able to go with the flow and switch things up. That is just evil about that tour cancellation... We had expensive air flights totally cancelled on us like that, and then later suddenly reappear at nearly twice what we had booked. That is interesting about Kotor... As it seems it is often being switched to Bar... (probably several reasons for this.. winds, cruise ship limitations, etc...) If I were on a sailing like this, I wonder if it would be possible to book a boat cruise up the Bay of Kotor and back? That would be nice! Different than on an upper deck of a cruise ship... But another option.

I don't think I am finding a gap, dry-dock? Anybody have any idea when or if one is scheduled?

Assume you are prepared for the heat!!!!!

I am wondering if we can hope for any advance notice. Princess has NOT been good about things like this lately. Not the same Princess I think we knew in years past.

Yep, I like your thinking.... The packages for longer cruises add up FAST. When you get all the perks, like the Specialty Dining, that's when it is a no-brainer. (dependent on a persons individual tastes in dining and alcoholic beverages)

The last two, for me. I would have a greater interest in Italy and Greece, and the Italian ports in the last two seem better. Rome or Barcelona to spend more time along with your cruise, is a personal preference. As just mentioned, Rome and Barcelona would be preferable to Athens. Too many preferences, like you said, only you can pick!!!

These 'glitches' can mean that something is going on. We are thinking of upgrading to Premier on one cruise, and deciding whether to go ahead and book a package on another. Might want to do that now? The voice out there is telling me that Princess is messing with these numbers... for some reason... and increases could be coming. Hopefully if they do this, they will announce it a few days before the 'new pricing' goes into effect. But, I would not make that assumption.