Thrak

I have seen folks go through 5 or 6 glasses of the stuff being carried around on trays. It's not real good stuff but it (probably) won't kill you! We cruised with folks who don't book with a package and the wife makes good use of the free bubbly at that event and many of the morning and afternoon events at Effy. I don't think they will be cruising anymore and we will miss cruising with them a lot. Good folks.

Be sure to check your spam folder. Some folks have had the emails marked as spam. Once you get the email you must click on the link in the mail to actually go to the site with your card. Once there I use the "belt and suspenders" mode. I use "snip" in Windows to grab a copy of just the card and paste it into a Word doc. I also use the "Print this card" button and select "Print to PDF and save the card to my computer that way. I then immediately go to the site to verify the amount on the card. Go HERE and then click on Balance Inquiry. Enter the card number and the PIN to verify the funds are showing. I have bought quite a few cards and, when I check the balance, all have shown the proper funds associated with the card.

D'Oh! We also make our dinner reservations at that time for the same reason. We sail in 13 days. Just checked the schedule and our shows are at the "usual" times. I would be peeved if they had been scheduled for 7 & 9. Perhaps you can get earlier dining once you board - if that works for you. It can't hurt to ask.

The last time we did 70's music trivia on Princess we were blown away as to how poorly we did. Of course that was due to the trivia being run by the DJ who seemed to think 70's music was almost exclusively disco. GAH!!! Not only did we not listen to disco but didn't know anybody else who liked that dreck. We listened to music pretty much constantly back then but apparently, at least in the mind of the DJ running the trivia, our music wasn't important enough to recognize.

The 80's was the era of the big hair bands and was when MTV actually meant "Music TV" and had lots of music videos. We used to watch them with the kids. Never wore platform shoes or bell bottom pants. Absolutely hated Disco.

The idea that a 7 day cruise is the "regular cruise" or the norm doesn't work for us. We don't generally book 7 night cruises unless they are part of a B2B or connected to another cruise on another ship right away. 7 days is too dang short.

A big difference between Coral and Sapphire is the Piazza. I have never been a fan of the layout of the Piazza on Coral. It's just weird with the steps in the middle. I do like having the buffet all the way forward though and, as I said above, we absolutely love those aft Baja OV cabins. We've done the old locks twice on Coral and both times booked that cabin.

Do not sign up for the Marriage Match Game!

Sapphire also has the extra-wide Promenade with room for loungers and walkers rather than just for chairs and walkers. Love to hang out reading in the Conservatory - the covered deck space above the covered pool. If booking Coral we would book an OV on Baja Deck - B731 or B732. Love those cabins and the huge observation deck with loungers just steps away. Seems like having a huge balcony. (Window looking onto the deck right near the door.)

This.h As stated above the "normal" times are 7:30 and 9:30. If there is going to be a change due to port schedules it will be listed in the Patter and announced by the Cruise Director both at shows in the Theater and on The Wake Show.

Nope. If you book with the Plus or Premier fare the Medallions are sent to you free.

Don't know if you drink alcohol but, if you do, my wife highly recommends the drink Sailing Through Orchards. She gets it on the rocks and it is only available at Crooner's. (It's not really my kind of drink but my wife discovered it on our last trip and absolutely loved it.)

While one can dress more casually at dinner these days one will never be "overdressed" if you dress up on a Formal Night. If you like to dress up feel free to do so.

On our first couple of Alaska cruises we booked inside cabins and were fine with them. We went up on the high decks forward so we could see everything on both sides. I would watch for the glacier to calve and would hear "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" from the folks behind me looking the other way. I would quickly turn around just in time to see a bit of splash but basically miss it. While I was looking that way in disappointment I would hear, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" behind me again from people looking the way I had just turned away from. You get the idea. Still, we enjoyed it greatly and, once I figured out I was too dang slow or whatever to catch the calving it was fine. Like others we retreated to the Promenade deck and had more comfortable viewing that was great. On our last Alaska cruise I booked a balcony and we enjoyed both Glacier Bay and Hubbard Glacier from the comfort of our balcony while sipping a drink. We had our own, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh" moments even though we didn't see any calving.

To us the difference is basically $20 per person per day. 😉 We book Plus and it's all we want or need. We don't use the fitness classes. We don't eat the fatness desserts. We don't need the better wines (although they would be nice to have!) nor do we need the liquor that is more than $15. (The $15 liquor limit includes the liquor I drink and my wife only drinks a few types of mixed drinks so we are fine with that limit.) We don't really book the Specialty Dining venues such as Crown Grill and Sabatini's, etc. as they serve waaaaaaaay more food than we can eat. (Unlike many others, we are fans of smaller portions in the main dining room.)

The shows on Princess ships are normally 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM.

We have sailed on Princess over Thanksgiving twice. I don't understand how one can totally muck up Pumpkin Pie! It is, by far, the easiest pie in the universe to make. (Heck, it's nothing more that Squash Pie and the flavor is determined by the spicing. I've made it from banana squash and, aside from the color, it was indistinguishable from Pumpkin Pie. How Princess manages to ruin it is a mystery. We find that we get a "better" Thanksgiving dinner in the buffet where we can choose what we want. They have the same items available but you choose how much turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, etc. that you want. You also get to see what the sides look like before they arrive on your plate.

If you are booked on an excursion through Princess the ship will wait for you even if there is an issue that causes the excursion to get back a bit late. If you are on a third party excursion and get back late you may find yourself waving goodbye to the ship as it sails away. Don't be late. Take the advice given above. The "all aboard" time will be given in the daily Patter, announced over the PA (multiple times), mentioned by the Cruise Director at any show in the theater the night prior to port, and also be mentioned on The Wake Show on the TV if you happen to watch that show. (It will be on around 10:00 PM every night but is actually a morning show that is "meant" to be watched first thing in the morning. The one at night is actually the one for the next morning.) In addition to all of these reminders there will be a sign where you exit the ship to remind you once again of the time to be back on the ship.

I am confused. There are no "bump out" balconies on Dolphin (or any other) deck on Coral Princess. However, all mini-suite balconies on that deck are fairly large and you could, if you wish, book the Balcony Breakfast or Balcony Dinner. (These do have an extra cost.) We've done the old locks twice on Coral and the new locks once on Ruby. I'm happy you have selected the old locks for your trip as it was, at least to us, much more interesting. You should enjoy your Reserve Class dining as it truly is just "walk up and be seated" as opposed to the regular dining where one has to make reservations and, if you don't have one, wait to be seated. You should also get an "extra" entree each night that isn't available to the rest of the dining room. If you have any balance issues please be careful exiting the tub/shower as it is a "step down" that many (including me) don't like. It shouldn't be a problem as long as you take note of it and don't just step out without thinking.

Should be plenty of room to store it, folded, in the closet. You may want to let your steward know that, in the event of a major emergency, you will need assistance to evacuate the cabin and board a tender. I know they offered this for our son when he has sailed with us but can't remember if we set it up in the personalizer or not. I "think" it was once we were on the ship and they asked us but can't be sure as it's been a fair number of years - since 2012.

There will never be any matches available anywhere on the ship. Fire is frowned on big time.

Meanwhile anybody can play your money on the machine. Of course the wins or losses will be yours but I would prefer to make my own foolish wagers.

Generally deck 6 midship but no reason to avoid that dining room. Be aware the Allegro Dining Room is on Deck 6 aft and you can't just walk to it. You have to use the aft elevators (or stairs) to get down to that dining room.

Oh, my bad. I thought you were asking about the land portion since I figured the onboard dining options were pretty easy to understand. Breakfast, Lunch (on sea days), and Dinner in MDR are included every day. International Cafe, Lido Deck Pizza, Lido Deck Burgers/Hot Dogs/Chicken Sandwiches/Tacos are included. The Buffet is Included. Soft Serve Ice Cream on Lido Deck is included. Popcorn for Movies Under the Stars is included. If you go to dinner in MDR and want to see a show but won't have time for dessert and still make the show you can have dinner, leave and go to the show, and then come back to MDR and just have dessert if you like. If you are very hungry you can order as much as you like in MDR. Have 2 or 3 breakfasts, lunches, or dinners if you like.