LACruiser88

Getting to know your headwaiter can make a HUGE difference in your dining experience...

This Topic has been Sooo Over-discussed, BORING...

Funny...:):):)

Great Upgrade! Congrats!

The Dolphin deck mini's are completely uncovered and the folks above you can see down onto the balcony. For Alaska, you never know what kind of weather you will have but rain is almost a given at any time.

 

For me, I would not change from what you currently have.

I concur...

That's not our business, how Princess pays is their business. You got your gratuity paid for you so leave it at that.

That's harsh!

Using a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) makes more sense...

I believe shorts are only allowed in the MDR on Formal Nights for those passengers sharing the AIBP, and going to the Anytime Dining instead of their

assigned Traditional Dining time. :p

:):):):) And you must wear your Cruise Card around your neck, especially if it's a Black card!

I guess we are old fashioned, Formal night means "Formal." My husband ALWAYS wears a nice black suit with a tie. If you don't like formal nights you should go to the specialty restaurants or the Horizon Court on those nights.

Polo shirt not appropriate for Formal Night, just saying... Come on folks, dining on a cruise is not like going to Home Town Buffet!

We have walked to/from Waikiki from the ship, but is a LONG walk!

Princess usually docks at Aloha Towers. Plenty of Taxi's to take wherever you would like to go. You can also catch the City Bus to Waikiki...

The IC next to the casino is a HORRIBLE location. In the mornings, we could smell the cigarette smoke from the prior night. The IC is one of our favorite locations on the ship but stayed away because of the location.

As far as the Grapevine Wine Tasting, if you know anything about wine you will not enjoy it. It is the most basic wine "talk" and the wines are bottom of the wine lists wines...

The Maitre'd Wine Tasting is a different story but that is not free...

We were told by a Hotel Manager onboard that the process of changing the mattresses on each ship will take time to implement. There is not enough time in a dry or wet dock to do an entire ship at one time. That explains the comments that some passengers on the same ship had the new mattresses and others did not.

It could take up to 6 months for a particular ship to change out all the mattresses. They are being changed in dry/wet docks and while at sea.

Usually the shorter the cruise, the younger the crowd. On 30-day cruises, you would be amongst the youngest passengers...

We have "Free Gratuities" on an upcoming 28 Day cruise to Hawaii/Samoa/Tahiti. We will still tip our Room Steward, Dining Staff, and any other "great service" as we normally do.

42 Princess Cruises, 528 Sea Days...

Dining in the Dining Room is always the highlight our cruise. We book Traditional Second Seating, so there is never a wait. You have the same table and waiters for the entire trip. They get to know your likes/dislikes and over the years we have made great friends with the wait staff.

We have been on both the Regal and the Royal, As great as the Buffet is on these ships, we would never take a pass on the dining room for dinner!

42 Princess Cruises, 528 Sea Days...

We live close to the Los Angeles port of San Pedro. For San Pedro departures, we arrive no earlier than 3:00 pm and always walk right on to the ship, no waiting at all.

That's good that they're using technology for these things but wonder how they will keep track of our remaining specialty coffee drink "punches"?

 

Old cruise cards are invalid on another cruise but they better be usable for any remaining coffee drinks on other cruises.

Good question, I don't have an answer???

We were told recently by a Hotel Manager onboard that by the end of this year, Princess will eliminate all beverage stickers and coffee cards. The beverage packages/specialty coffee packages will still be available, but they will all be on your cruise card account. The servers will swipe your cruise card for each transaction and your account will reflect the package that you have purchased.

The current and old coffee cards will still be honored until they are all used up...

We will pay extra to be able to select our own cabin. Have not had good luck with Princess picking for us...

Love Plaza deck..... so close to everything.... :)

Also our favorite deck if the ship has the International Café on Plaza... We do Outsides and Insides on Plaza over other decks.

OMG! What a bunch of nonsense, leave the auto-tip and then tip additionally for great service. Don't be sooooo cheap!!!

22 princess cruises, traditional late is our preferred choice, only thing better is the Crown Grill for us, the $50 up charge is well worth it.

42 Princess cruises for us and we are Traditional Late Dining For Life! Not only do the waiters get to know your likes and dislikes, but because there is no one coming in after you, you are never rushed.

Sorry to hear about your situation, that really can ruin a vacation.

A tip for the future, we always place our wallets and valuables in the safe upon boarding. The only time we take our wallets out is to go off the ship and then we remove all the cards/etc that we will not need off the ship.