JimmyVWine

All of the balconies are at least partially covered except for the Mini-Sites on Deck 9. Those extend outward, are very large, but are open to the sky above. (I love them.) The Balcony staterooms on Deck 10 also have very large, extended balconies and those are partially covered. Those two decks are the only ones that make up the "wedding cake" aspect of the ship, and all other decks sit one right on top of the other so that each balcony covers the one below it.

Yes. You do not specifically assign the OBC to casino play. You just charge to your on board account. The charge will net against any credit or debit balance. What you posted makes sense, but the Terms and Conditions of the Shore Excursion Credit state as follows: $100 Shore Excursion credit per guest. Offer is applicable to all four guests in a stateroom. Offer is only applicable on bookings with Princess Plus and Princess Premier fares. Guests with single occupancy will receive double the per guest credit amount. Shore Excursion credit may be used on a single voyage only, is not redeemable for cash, cannot be used in the casino, expires at the end of that voyage and is not applicable during the land portion of cruisetours. So when we blend everything together it would appear that the Shore Excursion Credit is a unicorn in that it is non-refundable OBC that cannot be used in the casino.

There are also a number of purpose-built cases for checking wine below the plane. The ones in this website are the same types of cases that media folks use to check video and music equipment. They are essentially Pelican cases with specifically built foam inserts. I use the 8 bottle carrier shown in the upper right of the pictures, but I can only use it for domestic travel. If we sail out of Europe, I can't bring 8 bottles through customs. https://winecruzer.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwvNaYBhA3EiwACgndglr-p5fYQbcLjg3EPUQFXeqgF3r8kQbYRXxrit5SqyjxroZpqKRCkhoC7BcQAvD_BwE

Especially when they used "Voted Best Wine Bar At Sea" in their promotional materials. Announcer: "Hey Princess! You just won "Best Wine Bar At Sea." What are you going to do to celebrate? Princess: "We're going to tear it down and build a hot dog stand!"

Perhaps a travel professional who posts here knows the answers. In looking at the terms and conditions, it reads to me like it is non-refundable OBC. You have to have Plus or Premier to get the credit, so crew appreciation, dinks and coffee ore already taken care of, subject to any overage. So it looks to me as if they are calling it an excursion credit as they figure that is the most likely place for guests to use the money. (Since the introduction of Plus, I really don't covet OBC the way I used to as there isn't much for me to spend it on.) Since the T&C say that the credit cannot be used in the casino, I read that as implying that it can be used for other onboard expenses. Otherwise they would have said so instead of carving out the casino specifically. The old grammar adage that exclusion of the specific implies permission of the general. And since gifted OBC has traditionally been non-refundable, I assume the same is true here. These are just my guesses.

I know that there are many satisfied EZ Air users here and I don't question their stories. But I have never been able to get it to work for me. Most recently, we booked a Southampton to Southampton cruise for next Spring and the best fare EZ Air could give me was $880 per person roundtrip from either Boston or JKF to LHR. This was for flights on AA and/or BA depending on which flights I selected. On the AA website, I found the same flights for $560 per person. Booked direct with AA. Not the first time I have seen the same price discrepancy.

I don't think you, Pam and Mr. Padgett will all fit on your balcony hammock! 🤣

Your question is phrased as “get away with” which suggests that you are aware of the rule and are wondering if you can circumvent it. The answer is: No one can predict the outcome. I wouldn’t risk the chance of having a pricey bottle of wine confiscated and left behind at the port. And if the magnum is a cheaper bottle of nondescript wine, they have plenty of that on board included in the Plus Package.

Agree 100%. The jumping off point though was someone complaining that sharing drinks cause the implementation of the 15 drink maximum which ruined things for the rest of us. I still maintain that the maximum is not unreasonable and frankly out of reach for the vast majority of cruisers. 8 to 10 is only half way to two-thirds the way there!

It’s not a question of holding one’s liquor. It’s a question of how many hours there are in a day coupled with one’s itinerary. If one goes ashore from 8:00-4:00, that leaves 8 hours on the ship. Hard to pound 15 drinks in that time. Heck. It’s hard to be served 15 drinks in that time let alone drink them.

But this actually proves the point. That is an ambitious day of drinking (8:00 am start), and it just gets one to 15 drinks. Where someone is going to slide in a 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th drink (without giving any away to others without a Plan) is hard to fathom.

Your server was right on the mark. Those are all the same wines that I would recommend to a friend if asked.

I don’t necessarily think that rest of us are “paying for it”. The only change that was implemented was the 15 drink cap. So the “right” that we lost was the ability to order and consume a 16th or 17th (or more) alcoholic drink in a day. The percentage of people who would have done so is certainly measured in single digits and that hardly equates to “the rest of us”. And if that 16th drink is so crucial, the option to purchase it still exists. I think that if someone consumes 17 drinks in a day at a cost of $16, (or $41 if you factor in the weighted daily value of Plus), that is still a pretty good deal.

I sent an email to the address provided by euro cruiser and received a response that there are no in and out privileges allowed with the single day ticket. To leave and return you must have an annual pass or purchase a second ticket. So I guess we will be having lunch on site.

Not sure what it is like for bookings with 2 people but I priced out a future cruise I have booked under the “Kids (Third Person) Sails Free” promo and the current Love Boat sale comes out to be $600 more than I paid. When I booked, I sensed that I had found a very good deal and I think this is proving to be true.

Thank you both for your thoughts. I will send an email and report back.

You're welcome! 😁

We are planning a self-guided trip to Pompeii and for planning purposes, I'd like to know if the tickets allow in and out access. I am trying to figure out if we can visit, leave the park for lunch, and then return. I understand that Pompeii can be visited all before lunch if one gets there early enough, but I will be accompanied by my "Masters Degree in Classical Archaeology" daughter on this trip and I know that she will want to spend waaaaaaay more time at Pompeii than the typical visitor. I have searched and searched and cannot find the answer. Hoping that one of you knowledgeable folks might know that answer or have a contact who might know. Thanks.

Yes, that is it. The site I saw it on had a slightly higher price, so you are ahead of the game. You will have inconsiderate chair hogs at your house in no time!!

Correct. Once our daughter turned 21, we have been sailing with three free bottles per cruise.

I suppose I am looking bigger picture and logistics. If I wait until the midpoint of my B2B to get my cheaper bottle, then on the first half of my B2B I did not have the benefit of that bottle and had to purchase drinks from the bar. I am guessing that: (7 days of bar drinks + 7 days of self-made drinks from Gift Shop bottle) > (14 days of self-made drinks from room service bottles) Of course, if one has a drinks package, then neither the bar drinks nor the self-made drinks matter.

If the goal is to have the alcohol delivered to your cabin for immediate consumption, you can just order a bottle from room service and have it delivered. You can order online in advance of the cruise and a gift card will be delivered to your cabin and you can call room service to have it delivered before sailaway. Conversely, if the goal isn’t to have the bottle delivered for immediate consumption, then it doesn’t matter when in the cruise the bottle is delivered. Incidentally, are the prices in the gift shop low enough to make it worthwhile to buy bottles there to take home as compared to duty free shops in ports? I’ve never compared but I’ve always assumed that there are no bargains or unique offerings on board.

No. Sealed cans only. 12 per person max.

In relation to what they have delivered so far, there is not doubt about it. That said, IF, (and that is the world's biggest IF) they can get the functionality up to the point where it really does what it is hyped to do, it will be transformative.

Interesting. Still shows up for me.