CU64

Our experience is:

o Some passengers attend only on formal evenings

o Some passengers attend only on smart casual evenings

o Some passengers attend every (or almost every) evening

o Some passengers never show up. (I think in some cases they are new to cruising and a TA did not explain options properly so they were assigned to TD without realizing what it was. (I remember one post on Cruise Critic about a couple that never went to the dining room because they thought it was an extra charge each night. They ate in the buffet every evening.)

Lines, lines, lines. Reservations only for 5:30 and 7:30. We are going back to traditional. People think they can go to ATD whenever they feel like it even if they are booked in traditional.

We too just got off the Ruby....great cruise but two of the cabins in our party had a terrible problem with the toilets,. The toilet in R706 did not work for 5 days...they fixed it every day and it would stop working again after one flush. And the toilet in C 706 had to be fixed about 5 times too. And no hot water one day. We thought it might be the 706 cabins but I was in C706 and no problems...but everything else was great.

E724 cabin/ great & good location/ no problems, could hear thrusters really well & some light base shook bed from band below until 12PM.. no big deal/ bed & PILLOWS comfy but did not see much of cabin steward. One duvet on bed with no top sheet/ hope they wash them every time/ rang for steward to ask/ no reply and no one else showed up, so let it go...figured it had already been near my mouth...

### talked to woman last day who had similar poo problems in BR on deck 12 with constant complaints and no real satisfactory results

best thing on ship: International Café; Pop Star nights; Deck 15 hot dogs!

2 tables open for blackjack, only one with hand shuffle/terrible odds.....not good for this many passengers. Black Jack tournament most fun all week!

Fab weather; so very grateful, even tho some rough beautiful sea in SB channel

thought Ruby would outdo Diamond, Sapphire, Coral...it was beautiful but prefer X

No disagreement here!! The Crown Grill is the best. We went to Sabatini's a couple of times and finally gave up.

No price break for sp rest ANY night, including the first. Crown Grill 1st night/ok filet and just ok side dishes/service very good/ ...not motivated to go back

Sabatini's Night #2....understaffed.....reservation at 7 had to wait about 10-15 for him to get table for 2 but a very nice table...

got spiced shrimp & she brought lobster trio...should have gotten these main dishes first as it took too long & we got too hungry...my risotto was best food all night.........

again, not motivated to go back as $50 charge + bottle of wine which seems the thing to do = 100

Adagio before dinner/waitress standing at next table for 5 min talking and "did not see us" until DH went to bar. I ordered call martini, dirty grey goose.....I would have gone back to bar tender & asked what she put in drink as I felt nothing....usually with little food, I can tell I am drinking a martini....

we did not go back there the rest of cruise. Again, not inspired!

Sounds like Princess. No party atmosphere. No rock climbing walls. No water slides. We've sailed Star Princess twice and even though she has a capacity of 2,600 passengers and a crew of 1,100 we never felt crowded.

my experience with them has been good: 12 day Baltic (the best on Constellation); 12 day Med on Equinox, 7 day Pacific Coastal on Century.....

for what it is worth, I never go an any cruise for less than 7 days...I believe the passenger composition is different as well as the organizational patterns of the crew....

You really don't need to pack anything all that special to protect a bottle of wine. That glass is very strong and it takes a large amount of force to break one. I've dropped one on cement and it simply cracked a bit and did not shatter. Whenever you see someone hit with a bottle on TV to great breaking effect, that is actually edible candy glass!

 

I've transported bottles around the world back to the US (from Portugal, Italy, Australia, etc.) in my checked luggage and never had one break and would not be nervous at all about having a bottle in my luggage as it heads onto the ship. I just pack it in the middle of my luggage where it isn't likely to take any direct hits.

I bought one of those wine holders from a travel co and had it sitting with a bottle of red wine inside. It fell 1 ft from the top of a box where I had it resting onto the wood floor and shattered. Nothing hit it. The red wine seeped out of this so called wonderkin of a wine holder and got onto the wool rug. Luckily, it was wool and was able to be cleaned by me & then the rug Dr.

Would NEVER put wine in suitcase!

We were also on this cruise and had I known that they would accept lay volunteers I am quite certain I could have done a better job and conveyed more of the solemnity the occasion deserved.

 

 

FOR THE OP:

 

If you are going to be in port, especially in Ensenada, I expect that all of the local churches will be having mass and would be more than pleased to have you join them.

this may be the best option

anyone know if there will be any?

$5 drinks offered were El Mejor Margarita, Chivas Regal Rob Roy, Chairman of the Board, Mojito, Brezza Marina, Japanese Slipper, Cosmopolitan, and Pimm's Cup. Then they were repeated. The pre-dinner hors d'oeuvres were also repeated after 8 days.

I often think that a "call" drink made with preferred brand is far superior Re: taste and quantity than these $5 specials; therefore, we usually get one from the bar that makes the best martini's....or whatever your pleasure!

I have the same equivelent mini booked on my cruise next month on the Ruby E731....It is the best mini onboard. When I first booked the cruise it was not available, but it appeared as available a couple of months later, so I called my TA and had her snag it for me. So if you don't get a certain cabin at first booking...keep checking available cabins on line. A lot of people use their FCC to secure a certain cabin on a cruise they are just considering, then drop out before actual payment is due.

About 5 weeks before sailing from LA RT Pacific Coastal, we were not certain we had secured dog boarding...since no flying it was possible to reserve late. For months, the covered minis on Emerald Deck were all gone but on the day I finally reserved, E724 popped up....could not believe it! Called right away & got it ......my guess, someone upgraded to a Suite & this one became available!

To my knowledge, all D/E balcony staterooms on Voyager and Freedom class have the bed by the balcony.

thought so

sorry to all but can't find the chart

Are all by balcony, if not Cabin 6332 or 6632?

Thanks.

Bates is the valet. Mr. Carson is the butler. (It is true that I have no life.) :D

me too

Plenty of advice already... I would get an earlier flight or a hotel room but for whatever it is worth there is a blogger by the screen name of pescado amarillo and she and her husband spent the night at the FLL airport on February 9. You can check her experience here:

 

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2015_02_09_archive.html

Why on earth would anyone want to start a cruise or any other time off in this manner?....the sleepless night and stress will take 2 days to recover ?????

Going North in March/April from LA can often be foggy and cold, as can SF...

you may not be sitting out on your balcony much unless it is sunny while docked, even with partial cover to protect from elements.......

I would always take mini as it has a very nice balcony. If you can snag a mini on Emerald, (12 of them) your balcony is fully covered.

Although we have sailed into the bay under the Golden Gate Bridge several times I've never been awake to check it out. I don't like getting up early. :rolleyes:

April, 2014......Celebrity Century Calif Coastal RT LA...arrived SF about noon with the clearest sunny day one could imagine....when it is like this, nothing beats it!

I suspect that I will open myself up to some form of criticism since I am griping a bit, but that's par for the course, I suppose.

 

Did a short cruise out of Los Angeles on Golden Princess in November. Generally, we had a nice time and enjoyed the cruise and the service by Princess.

 

Unfortunately, there were plumbing issues that resulted in no shower, toilet or water the final evening and next morning. So I wrote a polite e-mail discussing the issue and also generally praising Princess otherwise.

 

Received a letter maybe 10 days ago, which referenced the wrong cabin number, the wrong ship (Diamond Princess), misspelled my name, and offering a $50 credit per passenger that expires in a few weeks, at the end of the current month.

 

I sent a quick note back mentioning these issues and wondering if they had confused me with an entirely different passenger. I also mentioned that I wouldn't mind a slightly higher credit, as not being able to use the toilet or shower was inconvenient.

 

Received in reply a copy of the same error-filled letter with a cover letter telling me that they were sending a new copy for my "puresul" (should be persual).

 

Not a huge deal, and again I did have fun, but I thought the response was a bit of a fail. Don't ya think so?

I find snailmail letter on white good quality paper gets a better response.

Emails just don't have the same impact.

Even though it doesn't have the thalassotherapy pool like Carnival and HAL have, we think it's totally worth it. There's 5 heated stone beds and multiple showers and steam rooms. It's down on the lower level of the spa so it's quiet down there and feels semi private. I think we paid $129 per person for a 10 day cruise. You get a small price break if you sign up the first day. We went every single day, multiple times a day on sea days. We absolutely love it and plan to book it again on the Star in April on our 10 day cruise.

just sayin' .......usually &99 single for week around 179 couple for week nut

it is included in any spa treatment......

There are rules that everyone must follow & expecting a non-refundable deposit to be refunded is ridiculous. Next time you & your broker need to read the restrictions & no matter how much you protest Princess shouldn't refund the "non-refundable" deposit. :rolleyes:

 

You refuse to follow the rules so Princess refuses to return your deposit & just because you have 6+ Princess cruises doesn't mean rules should be waived. :rolleyes:

Of course, it is my responsibility to read fine print and not make any assumptions. "6+" has nothing to do with rules being waived, only that I do have some experience with the way Cruise Lines operate, including Princess. I have now learned to be more careful with these promotions. Thank you for your admonitions.

July 2014, Booked 15 day RT LA-Hawaii...4/4/2015

Deposit $200.......thought it was Brokers' cost for cancellation (they offer excellent OBC for promotions) but it was Princess,nonrefundable deposit, + brokers' $200. Cancelled (work related)before final payment, yesterday,3 months out and Princess refused to give up deposit as it was a RX6 promotion!

Foolish of Princess, IMHO: would rather have given an ordinary deposit with usual refunding before Final Payment. Won't do that again. Broker waived their fee because I was furious about what Princess was doing (have used same Broker twice for Europe cruises). Princess will get a snail mail letter from me after 6+ cruises with them. My cabin was a coveted mini-suite that will be gone in a second which I hated to let go!

They could have used the SPA shower which handicap accessible. Certainly would have been inconvenient but what can they do. I still think 25% was a fair offer.

use the wonderful showers in SPA....there are ones for handicap

FYI: write a snailmail letter to CEO of Princess, describe problem, ask for nothing...keep the attitude out of letter....you WILL be compensated

What's the big deal with Skywalkers? I've cruises many times with one but the alternate on The Grand, One Five serves the same experience, in my opinion. Please tell me what I am missing in the experience.

 

I enjoyed the Grand. We were on her three times last year. Twice on 15 days to Hawaii and one 10-day to Alaska. The crew were fantastic and we loved the captain...yet at the moment I cannot remember his name. A light-haired youngish British gentleman. He was out and about and very approachable and a keen sense of humor.

 

The Grand has Alfredo's (greatest pizza) which several of the others do not. The entertainment is pretty dull but it's the same on all Princess ships.

 

And as for demographics and age of guests, your longer cruises are going to have older folk regardless of which cruise line you chose. I find it a bit tiresome each morning trying to find a spot in the Zumba class because so many of those "Old" people are taking up a spot. :D There must be 75 or more 70+ year old people in those zumba classes. The young folk are still in bed and sleeping off their hangover.

some of the complaints about response of crew in ER seem valid.

The other incidents seem to be just a mirror image of the current culture!

Loved my JS on Oasis, Nov 8.....nicely done, good location, walk-in closet, BT,

lounges on balcony and worth the price....

Crown Valley Hotel in Redondo Bch/ not too pricey and can walk to restaurants and ocean

Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach is boutique hotel & pricey but can walk everywhere & Ocean + plenty of action

Hotel Hermosa/ not too pricey and ok for getting around

If I were visiting LA, I would stick with the Beach communities unless you

wish to see downtown and Valley/ Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are dense

now with too much traffic

Loved the JS on Deck 7.......will ALWAYS get that again if traveling on RCCL...

we paid some discount but locked into a Travel Agent out of Florida for my Duplicate Bridge Cruise. I did mock sailings (after final) and got the JS when RCCL dropped the price: if I had waited until next day, would have saved $300 more!!!

That being said, the walk-in closet was the best, great storage in main cabin, BR same as Suites with bathtub.......nice balcony with 2 lounge chairs,

walked right onto ship at 1PM, no lines, cabin ready, walked everywhere.

ONLY way to goooooooooo!

Worth the extra cost over balcony, IMHO.