kathy49

Having two overnights in Egypt is a real plus....so much to see there. Enjoy.

Celebrity is not taking their ships into a war zone...one ship that actually had excursions out the Nieuw Statendam has alerted all passengers back to ship and heading out. There will be no tourist ships in port for the near future.

A state of WAR has been declared so Celebrity Apex lucky to not have reached Haifa yet. They will divert to Cyprus, Turkey or Greece and fill the port days. Planning to go to Israel is always risky and cruise lines always have a plan B. Israel which is well known for very effective security really got caught asleep at the wheel on. this one. Major retaliation is guaranteed. This will impact any travel there for some time.

Curious Princess has had no end of promos in the last few years...including the Porsche affiliation and a few others that I recall. Of course that will come with cruise perks for them as a group. I have to wonder if sailing on smaller ships or even Celebrity if they cater to so many groups?

If you are flexible and want to change I would call back and speak to someone higher up...or do you have an agent that can help you with this? That is almost 25% of the passengers for this one group.

I hope that Princess at least gives you some options if that is the direction you choose. Often people don't have much flexibility. I consider on a very large ships maybe a group up to 200 might not have an impact...but 800 will.

Boy that is a tough spot and one question I learned to ask years ago...any very large groups at this hotel or on this ship for our planned time? I would try to switch the week if you can. Since Princess partnered with Porsche they will pull out all the stops to cater to this large group and no matter what they tell you that will impact the atmosphere on board the ship and yes close venues. While they have no obligation to tell you in advance I think if this is of concern they should work with you. Good luck and glad you found out in advance....many will not.

With tender ports on this cruise or upcoming CP I would be more concerned about Hurricane Lee which is now heading north and while not expected to hit land will impact the seas at some of the ports. As for the CP worst thing that I see said is she is old and due for an update. Most are happy and she seems to run full each voyage so people experience lines.

Actually some of us prefer the simple entrees. I think they attempt to cater to all tastebuds or you have the option to dine elsewhere.

I think premium means different things to different people....from your criteria above up to this point I would say yes it was. Not sure what direction they are going but it seems that step up from mass market but still less than lux is not selling like they want so new leadership is choosing a different direction. Up until now most with Princess etc experience mention quality of food on Celebrity as being better and in general a better experience. But if that is not making money for them...well here comes the changes. I think many will just go to the next level..pay a bit more and probably get what they want.

The amount of food waste makes me sick. Many order more than one entree or desert just so they can take one bit out of it. Some vloggers order virtually everything on the menu and I am sure they send most of it back...no one could eat that much. I often wonder what the crew( many of whom come from places in the world where not everyone has enough food ) think.?

In general if you book a cruise is the fare guaranteed at that time? Is it protected from increase only at final payment? I realize you can refare for lower fare. Thank you.

Agree on HAL better chance of good food at included restaurants. On princess that simply is not the case. Same with Celebrity you may pay more but at least get more for it.

"Spin sesseion webinar" oh that is so true!!!! Sell packages no matter whether it works for your clients or not or they will be relegated to the Blue Line.

Bad info

I am disgusted to think of all the 1/3 eaten glasses that must be sitting around from those that are just taking it because "it is included". Really a poor choice to include. Also as described above 1/2 eaten pieces of stale cake as I doubt that is served often enough to keep fresh. Seems like some feeble attempt to cater to their sugar addicted clientele? Most are reporting that the standard deserts these days are not quality and not interesting anymore.

This problem will go away when they use the crowd thinning strategy of charging for chairs. Rent a chair for one hour/two etc. Yes that is coming too.

Great that you are excited about changes that will reduce the crowds in the venues you frequent. In fact that idea may backfire as more are going to buy these packages. Odd reasoning but glad you are happy...small group of you!!

I say tip the captain too!!!

those shops are subcontracted and not part of this tip pool. Do you tip a shopkeeper at home when you go in to buy something? This "tipping" craze is out of control.

Don agree with that thinking....I am okay with the pool but not the fleetwide deal. No question I would rather pull it off and directly tip those that have made my week (or more) a great one. This is a real game and apparently all cruise lines operate this way?

It reminds me of what has happened in air travel. Delta has extended so many perks to so many that priority boarding is over 1/2 the plane....so many have membership to the "Sky clubs" that they are completely overrun,...and on and on. Loyalty programs seem to now offer little.

Wondering what people think that worked to achieve a status such as "Elite" and now does that status really afford you the perks you expected? Now you can buy so much and packages are being pushed. For example some report elite boarding lines are longer than regular. It seems any priority that Elite could get is not available to many more passengers.

I think that coffee can be ordered on the hanging card and don't that is subject to the fee..I may be wrong.

from the schedule Ship Voyage# Date Sapphire Princess H323 August 2, 2023 Enchanted Princess N327 August 12, 2023 Royal Princess 1329N August 12, 2023 Regal Princess G327N August 12, 2023 Discovery Princess X335 August 13, 2023 Caribbean Princess B328 August 14, 2023 Diamond Princess M330 August 14, 2023 Ruby Princess R323 August 15, 2023 Crown Princess 3320N August 15, 2023 Sky Princess Y325 August 19, 2023 Grand Princess A329 August 19, 2023 Majestic Princess 8327 August, 19, 2023 Emerald Princess E321N August 21, 2023 Island Princess 2315 August 25, 2023 Coral Princess 6315 September 20, 2023 Looks like Sapphire is the test case. maybe it will be so confusing they will abandon the whole idea?