curious_st

Is there a Los Cinco Soles at the shops on the pier in Progreso?

Thank you! I didn’t realize that NOLA is also a port of call.

Sounds like we’ll be on the same cruise!

It will be after. Mardi Gras sounds spectacularly fun, but the prices and crowds do not.

I will be sailing out of New Orleans in February 2024. This will be my first visit to NOLA. How long do you recommend for a pre-cruise stay? Is a couple of days long enough to catch the highlights?

If you like seeing the menus for breakfast and lunch on the app, then make reservations in the DaVinci dining room. We had good service in all 3. The Boticelli dining room is aft, and you can feel more movement and vibrations back there which I didn’t like. DaVinci always seemed a little busier than Michaelangelo, so we stuck to mostly Michaelangelo when doing walk-in seating.

Here’s a few things: 1. The cabin bathrooms are ridiculous. When I read the shower was small, I assumed they were like the older Carnival ships but was wrong. I’m 5’9” and only have an inch or two of clearance under the shower head. To lather my hair, I have to step outside of the shower, because of the width of the shower does not allow me to raise both arms at once. Not sure how I will shave my legs. Some extra towels would be nice… 2. Cabin steward - I asked for an extra blanket, and was flat out told no. I asked for extra pillows, and was told maybe tomorrow. I asked for extra towels, and one arrived (we were back down to 2 towels in the bathroom the next time he serviced. (I found an extra duvet under the bed myself. He put back away the next time he serviced, and then made a comment about it to my husband.) 3. Room service and the canned coke package - I’ve spent over an hour on hold with room service, along with a crew chat on the app and a visit to guest services (who only called room service for me for room service to only hang up the phone on me) to get my canned Coke package sorted. It’s day 4, and they’ve finally delivered part of that order. 3. Entertainment - the bulk of the schedule is unhosted events, shopping, or gambling. The live music has all been horrendous, and I suspect made even worse by the ship’s sound system. We walked out on the comedian the first night because he wasn’t funny, and he is the theater entertainment tonight. We caught a few minutes of the first show of Rock Opera last night to see if we wanted to come back. It has potential to be good, but the ship’s sound system really took away from them. 4. Food - the food is terrible, we had a couple of decent dishes in the MDR, but even most of that has been bad. We’ve tried the pizza, grill, buffet, and IC. Carnival has much better food. And, we literally saw leftovers from the buffet lunch being served at the buffet dinner yesterday. I could go on for a quite a bit more, but I’m nursing a headache now. The crew started doing some kind of work that involved hammering, etc near my cabin right around 8 AM, and I can’t even think straight now.

Currently on my first Princess Cruise on Emerald, and pretty certain already (it’s Day 3) that I will never take another Princess cruise. The only true positive so far was the easy embarkation in San Pedro, which I’m not sure Princess even plays much of a role in. I think a lot of people are unfairly giving the OP a hard time, because I am on this ship feeling like I’ve been ripped off by this overpriced and underwhelming trip.

I have a mental image of a passenger “borrowing” a lounger from a public area, just rolling it down the hallway to their cabin 🤣

I sail in 3 weeks. Scheduled events started showing up a couple of weeks ago. But, it’s still only showing a handful per day, so definitely not the full schedule.

Thanks everyone! I just knew the CC folks would know about this drink!

Someone recently told me that they cruised on Carnival in the late 90’s/early 00’s, and that they loved the Big Bird drink. It was bright yellow, contained alcohol, and was apparently delicious. Does anyone remember this drink? Is it still around, or maybe called something different now?

I’m glad you made it out in one piece 😂. (Sharpening elbows now for my June cruise.)

I’ve carried on whenever I only had one rolling suitcase and a tote. It had only been a hassle when we boarded way earlier than cabins were ready, but was still manageable. When I sailed out of Seattle, we checked 4 bags at the port. The first arrived to the room a little after 3 pm. The last one didn’t get there until 6 or 7pm.

How does everyone pack medication on long trips? I won’t have any of the “good stuff” like narcotics. The bulk of mine are vitamins and other OTC, with a few prescriptions in the mix.

I have seen dirty water coming from the sink tap before. Ive also had cabins on a couple of ships where the toilet flushed when it wanted. Meaning, it occasionally wouldn’t flush or was delayed in flushing when we wanted it to flush, but it would also randomly flush itself.

They may not trust Americans to know how to use a kettle safely and correctly. We are pretty guilty of using microwaves to make tea or instant coffee.

Awesome review! This is extremely helpful.

I am set to do my first stay in through the day use website in June in LA. So, I can’t give first hand experience yet. From my research, it’s a legitimate website/business. I did not have to put in my credit card info to complete my reservation, so I don’t feel like I’m risking much even if they aren’t a great service.

I am aware of the laundromats, and had intended to only pack enough for about a week. But, I am getting paranoid because of all of the reports that I’m reading on here and in my Facebook groups about the laundromats being closed due to Norovirus and/or Covid.

Is it better to book online direct beforehand, or just book when we arrive on port? Is there a price difference? Do they ever sell out?

I’m also very interested in responses. We sail to Hawaii on Emerald in June. This will be my first Princess, but I have sailed other lines. It’s hard enough to pack for a 16 day cruise already. Then, when you factor in flying, it gets more complicated. My husband would rather leave the sports coat at home if he would not look out of place without it.

I’ve sailed other cruise lines, and those lines had a few signature cocktails and mocktails that they do exceptionally well. Is this true for Princess? What’s your fave drink - cocktail, mocktail, coffee concoction, etc?

I don’t have first hand knowledge myself. But, I’ve heard that many strip clubs give change in $2 bills as a way to increase earnings for their dancers. Of course, most banks also have $2.

Even with a drink package, I usually tip extra for drinks. For room service, I like to tip also. For a small room service order, I tip a couple of bucks. For a larger order, I tip $5 or $10.