JimmyVWine

This has been our experience. Traveling with three adults, ordering in virtually every bar and lounge, both from servers and bar tenders, sometimes together and sometimes separate, or having one person use the app to order three drinks delivered to us, despite all these variations, at the end of the cruise the drinks have been evenly distributed amongst us with none of us maxing out our allotment. We never had to instruct, explain or cajole. It just happened. The ordering was never precise as to who ordered what. For example, a Martini ordered by my daughter might have ended up on my wife's folio while her glass of wine ended up on my daughter's, but in the end, none of that mattered. This is not an issue that I would lose a minute of sleep over. Just check your account on the app periodically to see if the ordering is askew. Chances are, it won't be.

Plus at $40 was such an insane deal that it is a mystery how anyone could have ever sailed with it and not gotten to at least the break even point. I am loathe to fall for all-inclusive packages or offerings. In fact, aside from PCL, I have NEVER purchased one. But when I had an offer to get Plus at $40 and get a Specialty Dinner thrown in there as well, as hard as I tried to crunch the numbers, I couldn't figure out how this could be a bad deal. And in my post mortem analysis, I came out way ahead. And then on my next cruise I had Plus-$50 and I still came out ahead. Now at $60, it starts to inch closer, but since they started charging for Alfredo's/Gigi's, the math continues to work for us. In fact, on our next booked cruise, we are going all in for Premier because there are so many Sea Days that the drinking and casual dining opportunities will increase dramatically and we are likely (definitely) going to do at least 2 Specialty Dinners with or without a package. On a port intensive cruise I would stick with Plus. But when over half the cruise is Sea Days or an "overnight in port" day, I'm pretty sure that I can give Premier a good working over.

You're welcome. And I do need to correct (or explain) an anomaly with the math I did. I assigned a cost of $4.50 per day for the desserts. That assumes that over the course of the entire cruise, one is going to order two of those monstrosities. But in fact, a Plus guest is entitled to 2 per day!! If one maxes out the value of Plus and really does order and eat 2 per day, the real value of that "perk" is closer to $24 per day. Every day. So one can achieve full value of Plus without ordering a single alcohol-based drink. But were one to do that, it would give new meaning to the term "Plus guest".

This one is purely subjective and may depend on what travel arrangements you can work out in terms of flying into and out of ANC. That said, my preference is to sail Northbound, as each day brings you deeper and deeper into Alaska and the wilderness. Purely a psychological thing, but I prefer the cruise to take me further and further away from civilization rather than having each day bring me closer and closer to Vancouver. The Northbound itinerary also puts your Glacier Bay day of cruising toward the end as something to look forward to instead of having it hit you up front and then be over. Again, this is purely my own psychological (psychotic?) preference. This one is not as subjective. Unlike most cruises where the ship travels in several directions, often opposite of one another (such as a round trip from/to Fort Lauderdale in the Caribbean), this cruise goes all in one direction. So if you travel Northbound, east and the rising sun will always be on the starboard (right) side and west, and the setting sun will always be on the port side (left). Are you a sunrise person or a sunset person? Also, along the Inland Passage there will be land on both sides of you, so the scenery will be similar. And that land will be mountainous. As a result, in the morning, it will take a while for the sun to creep over the mountains to the east, so the starboard side is often case in shadows much longer than the port side which can receive the warming glow of the sun while the other side still looks a bit gray. Here is an example of what I am talking about. This photo was taken in the early morning off of a west-facing balcony. The sunshine was bathing the middle and tops of western mountains with light. If you were facing east, everything would be in the shadows as seen in the bottom of the frame of the photo. This next picture was taken facing north from the bow. You can see how to the left (west) there is light from the rising sun, and to the right (east) there are shadows. This is going to repeat pretty much every day, except when the clouds and fog get in the way, which can be frequent and tends to level the playing field. So in choosing which side of the ship you want to be on, first choose which direction you will sail, north or south, and then decide if you want to see morning sunshine on the mountains, (choose to face west) or prefer the darkness of the morning shadows, (choose to face east). But don't stress it. By 10:00 a.m. any advantage that one side has over the other will be gone and you are going to be out of your cabin, either up on deck or off the ship for most of the day.

No. He hands you the drink and says: "Here you go." You say "Thank you." End of transaction. If you order a $16 drink, the same thing happens. Only, when you look at your billing statement, you will see a line item that shows the name of the venue where the drink was ordered, and you will see a charge of $1.18. ($1 for the overage, plus the mandatory 18% gratuity.) As has been noted, the breakeven point for Plus is around 3 drinks per day, but that assumes that one is going to get value out of most of the other features of Plus. A very conservative approach to Plus would look like this. Wi-Fi (1 device per guest) -Value is $15 per day Crew appreciation-varies, but assume $16 per day Plus Beverage Package (drinks up to $15 each) Unlimited juice bar-Assume that there is no value here to you, but the Princess price spread over 7 days is around $4.50 per day Premium desserts (2 per day)-Assume that there is no value here to you, but the Princess price is $4.50 per day Fitness classes (2 per cruise)-Assume that there is no value here to you, but the Princess price is $4.50 per day NEW 2 casual dining meals per guest-Value spread over 7 days is about $4.50 per day NEW OceanNow® delivery-Assume that there is no real value here NEW Room service delivery-Assume that there is no value here to you, but the Princess price is $2 per day Grand Total of everything major (Wi-fi, gratuities and casual dining) is $35. So if you pay $60 per day, you are paying $25 per day for up to 15 drinks priced up to $15 per drink. On the other hand, if you plan to use most if not all of the features of Plus, your total value climbs to $51 and your daily drink cost goes down to $9 per day. So let's assume both a best and worst case scenario simultaneously. Best case for you, worst case for your mother. You are going to knock it out of the park and use everything that Plus provides. You mother is not going to utilize a single feature other than pay her gratuities. Two Plus packages will cost $120 per day. You are going to use $51 per day in non-drink offerings and your mother is only going to use $16 (for her gratuity.) That brings you to $67 per day in non-drink expenses. If you drink $53 per day (roughly 5 drinks) you are in the break even range. From this best/worst case scenario model, just subtract out of the $67 per day the things that you don't think you will use--desserts? fitness classes?. Every dollar that you subtract out gets added in to the "how much do I have to drink" total and you will have your answer. Skip desserts and fitness classes and you move $9 per day into the drinks column raising it to $62. You now have to drink 6 drinks per day to come out even. Conversely, every item that your mother chooses to use will cause you to add money to the non-drink expenditures and decrease your drinks total. So if she will go to 2 casual restaurants, then you move $4.50 into the total and you lower your drink total by half a drink. Have fun doing the math! 😁

At that price I would book it without hesitation.

I think this is right, (as is the observation made by @ldtr about the three tiers of experiences offered by Carnival Corp's three mass market lines.) I tend to look it like this: When it comes to grabbing a market share of the family cruise sector, there are families who take their family vacations going to Cedar Point, Six Flags Parks or Wolf Lodge Water Slide resorts and there are families who take their family vacations going to museums in Paris, horseback riding in the Waipio Valley and snorkeling in the Virgin Islands. And there are families who do a mixture of both. Or stated differently, there are families who go to Disney World and stay at the Grand Floridian Resort and families who go to Disney World and stay at the All-Stars Movie Resort. And some who mix it up each time they go. All are great options depending on what one is looking for. The point of all this being that just because Princess is trying to grab a slice of the family cruise market, we shouldn't assume that it is trying to move Carnival cruisers over to Princess or somehow downshift the overall experience that we have come to expect. There is nothing whatsoever that is incompatible with Princess keeping up its current standards and also focusing more on families. "Family" ≠ "Disruptive Rabble."

Assuming that you are disembarking on a weekend, if you are in a taxi/uber/car by 9:30 you could expect a drive time to LGA of about 30-40 minutes. One hour would be extraordinary at that hour. So yes, getting to the airport by 11:00 would be easy. But that assumes that you are in the vehicle with the doors closed and ready to depart at 9:30--not walking off the ship at 9:30. As for a comparison between a car service, taxi or Uber, I don't have any first hand experience. I assume that taxis are readily available but others will know. A couple of things to note. First, good 'ol yellow taxis are a better option in NYC over the Uber option. Taxi drivers are pros who know the area and the best strategies for avoiding traffic. With Uber, you get what you get, and it could be someone who started driving for Uber yesterday. I'm not disparaging Uber. I use the service all the time in almost all areas. But in NYC, I have found that professional taxi drivers are better equipped to get you around. Uber drivers simply follow whatever route the map on their phone gives them and they have no way of knowing if there is a garbage truck that broke down on 43rd Street clogging up traffic. Taxi drivers know these things. They have dispatchers giving them real time information. Second, if you do want to use Uber, you can book your ride in advance and avoid the problem of trying to connect with one at a busy hour only to learn that it will take an hour for a car to arrive. Just use the app to pre-arrange a 9:30 pickup and plan to be ready to go at least 10 minutes early. Every time that I have pre-arranged a ride with Uber the drivers have been early. As for a car service, I assume that that is a viable option with professional drivers and nice cars. But it will be the most costly option.

Were they green or gold? Sounds like a dumb question, but under a certain light, the gold medallions do not look gold at all. Here is a photo from a Cruise Critic article. The gold medallion on the bottom row can be a bit deceiving in certain light. Comes off almost as chartreuse.

You left out the Premier League! I have to believe that a real sports bar/sports book is coming and that the future state includes a dark bar with a mystical, magical theme as being in addition to a sports book bar and not instead of one.

No. They are anecdotal experiences. Very, very different.

Seems like a lot of effort (and perhaps cost) to add a modest amount of gaming space for a single cruise. That said, I’ll bet we will start seeing sports book lounges popping up soon given the popularity of FanDuel and DraftKings. Also, we probably need to start getting used to ships with fewer watering holes. Until recently, bars and lounges were the highest and best use of square footage to generate revenue. But under the more modern approach of Plus and Premier, the ship already has your money in its pocket and bars no longer generate as much revenue. They are simply an order fulfillment station that doles out that which has already been purchased. Indeed, once the ship already has your money, it does better by squeezing you out of the ability to drain down the liquor inventory. Before: The more drinks you order, the better they do. Now: The fewer drinks you order, the better they do.

I prefer the old ink stamp!

I always check EZ Air for overseas flights, but have yet to book one. With my loyalty status on AA, I can book the cheapest economy ticket that they sell which comes with no perks, (free seats, early boarding, free checked bags) but still get all of those perks due to my status. EZ Air has yet to offer me a seat that is cheaper than what I have been able to achieve through AA and its international partners. Were I to book the next ticket level up (Premium Economy), EZ Air would have been cheaper almost every time. But Basic Economy so far has beaten EZ Air every time. But I will keep checking each time I book a cruise! Can't hurt to try.

Have I become set in my ways? Yes. Have I become "too" set in my ways? I don't think so. Allow me to explain. For decades we have been promised that technological advancements would make our lives easier. Anyone think that this has happened? A convenience afforded us in one direction is accompanied by increased complications in the other direction. 15-20 years ago I could plan a vacation/cruise with any number of providers and there would be a certain sense of fungibility to my choices. That said, when I researched and booked my first Princess cruise (after being on Cunard, RCI and DCL), I registered here to read reviews and learn as much as I could about the Princess product. Were I to choose another cruise line now, I would repeat the process and learn as much as possible about that line and the specific ship. However, the complications that have been created by cruise line "improvements" and technological advancements would make my learning curve way, way steeper. I would need to learn about unfamiliar apps, dining and drinks packages, countless additional dining options, entertainment venues, skating rinks that convert into swimming pools. Restaurant experiences where they turn off the lights. Secrets to getting into limited access venues. And I'm only beginning to scratch the surface. Can I do all this research and absorb all of this learning in order to make the most out of my cruise on an unfamiliar cruise line? Sure. Do I want to? Nope. With PCL, I know where to get an espresso. I know what the adult only pool area is called. I know the procedure for securing a spot in the Sanctuary. I know the menu at Sabatini's will appeal to me. And on and on. (Caveat: Some of this knowledge is going to become obsolete when we sail on Sun Princess next year, but I only have to learn about one ship, and not the entire workings of a an unfamiliar cruise line.) I really don't have the time or patience to become a quasi-expert on another cruise line at this stage of my life. So am I set in my ways? Yes. Too set in my ways? I don't think so.

1. The value of the wine is irrelevant. Can be a 5 Euro bottle or a 500 Euro bottle. 2. At ports during the cruise, personal consumption volumes of wine ( a bottle or 2) placed onto the security x-ray belt, appear to be ignored. You collect them at the other end of the belt and take them to your cabin. 3. If you take those bottles to a dining room, a server may or may not look for a Princess "stamp" on the bottle. If a stamp is present, the server knows that you have not yet paid a corkage fee and will add it to your bill for the evening and the charge will appear on your account. 4. If the server does not look for a stamp and just pours your bottle, then there is a good chance that you will not be charged. There is no way to predict this part of the equation. 5. So the bottom line is that consumption-volumes of wine do not get confiscated. If you plop down a full case onto the security x-ray belt, your results may vary. 6. Whether you pay to drink the couple of bottles that you brought on at the port of call is an unknown until you try. Expect to pay. Don't complain if you have to. If you are not charged, be grateful.

My experience as well, both pre- and post-pandemic. This would be called a "screwage fee". 🤣

Your computer will definitely have a “Print to PDF” option. There is nothing that either AARP or Princess can do to override that.

I have been able to keep my Wordle streak going, even with slow speeds!!

Reasons for choosing a cruise: 1. Itinerary 2.. Compatibility of the cruise line's lifestyle to my lifestyle. . . 1,003-Color of socks worn by the waitstaff 1,004-Brand of sheets on the bed 1,005-Number of links on the chain connecting the main anchor 1,006-WiFi speed 1,007-Quality of viewing of the Perseid meteor shower . .

I was going to say that now they can use Ocean Now to order remotely. But if I do, I am sure that I will be told that children should not be allowed to do that because they will be taking up valuable delivery time from the servers who should be working on adult drinks to be delivered to people who want to talk about sexual conquests. 😎

And at a poolside bar in the afternoon, you will get a different reaction.

First: The question was about lounges, which I interpret to be the Wheelhouse, Crooners, etc. The answer to that question is not in doubt. Children are allowed in those venues to listen to music and drink the soft drinks that are included in whatever Package they may have. Second: The statement quoted above is not true, at least not true categorically. Many children have beverage packages. When my daughter was a minor, she always had the Soda and More Package complete with the reusable plastic cup. Children can go to any bar, walk up or sit, and ask the bartender to fill their cup with a non-alcoholic beverage that comes with their package. They (or their parent) has paid for that privilege. I've never seen a bartender at the Mermaid's Tail at 2:00 p.m. say: "Here you go. But you have to leave. You can't drink that here." I know of no such rule. Now, would the result be the same at the Wheelhouse Bar at 11:00 p.m.? I don't know. In this latter scenario, I would think that common sense would prevail over rules. My minor child would not be hanging out on a Wheelhouse Bar barstool at 11:00 p.m. but not because the ship says so.

Thanks for the info. We usually use rubberized wristbands that hold AirTags. But if they are going to give me a clip, I'll look it over and see if it is of any use.

C 414 is our favorite cabin on these ships, and R414 would be the same cabin, only higher up. This is how far the 414 balcony extends.