Montrealais

Since gratuities are voluntary and optional (not a part of the fare) then for all who feel wronged by the increase just tell passenger services to reduce or eliminate the auto tip on your account. Problem solved. Personally, I won't be doing that, but, for others the option is there. Just sayin'.

This comment is too concise, reasonable and clear :)

Somebody will blame you for it for some reason :rolleyes:

Besides your face masks, don't forget to wear your surgical gloves as well when out and about the ship. Bring several pairs with you.

 

Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

In Japan, people wear face masks when they are infected to protect other people.

Surgical gloves might be a good way of avoiding germs in the laundry room.

Pork belly when cooked correctly is divine. Unfortunately the Curtis Stone version doesn't work very well when cooked in bulk. It has to be slow cooked at just the right temperature so that the fat renders out, the meat is moist and the skin is very crisp. It wasn't, it was fatty, the meat was unpleasantly dry and the skin was rubbery.

 

We seem to have some different options on the Aussie-based ships. Chicken and leek pot pie and osso buco, neither of which looked appetising.

 

Our tablemates had the chicken and leek pie on a couple of occasions. Both times the filling was more like a soup, and the pastry looked seriously undercooked.

 

DH had the osso buco. He said it was OK but nothing special. Unfortunately it wasn't served with gremolata (a classic sprinkle of lemon zest, parsley and garlic) which would have provided some contrast and lift to the dish.

The lack of gremolata would be reason enough not to even try the osso bucco!

This is tricky as Princess is a corporation registered in Bermuda, and is part of Carnival Corp that is registered in Panama.

 

Other posts indicate that ships calling at US ports must be ADA compliant, but I have not seen this requirement on itineraries that are fully outside of the US.

 

Finally, so often the Marketing Dept of cruise lines dreams up a new twist on selling cabins and cruises and, sadly, is seriously short of thinking it all the way through. They leave that to the overcharged and underserved passengers.

Get a lawyer and fight them for years! Just calculate the pros and cons $$$$! :eek:

Its not the locals that are bombing things.

Yes I suppose some Turk's could be on Erdrogan's side and hold some sort of animosity toward the US.

I travel to Istanbul/Kusadasi regularly, the latest was in April/may this year.

IMO..........

Have always been welcomed warmly in both Kusadasi and Istanbul.

The fact that "locals" will welcome you "warmly" does not mean that the "non-locals" will not "bomb things" like your excursion bus for instance :eek:

Erdogan is warming up with Putin these days. Animosity toward the US you say!

Glad I visited Turkey three times when things were "warm" and not "hot":rolleyes:

I also was shocked on my first Princess cruise! :eek:

Shocked by the fact that I had not booked one before! :D

I have filled out a review of my recent Japan cruise to Hokkaido with Nebuta Festival on the Diamond Princess. It has been published on the reviews page and is now visible for all to see if people are interested.

 

I was very happy with Princess and enjoy sailing on the Diamond Princess and am right now trying to find another sailing on the Diamond Princess for next July to Japanese ports that I have not been to. They really are doing a good job in that area and it is a welcome treat to enjoy Princess as it should be with no changes or deterioration to the service.

 

One issue I did encounter despite disembarking on the 4th August there are still pre-authorisations on my credit card which is really annoying. I had 15 pre-authorisations on disembarkation day which makes it hard to track fraudulent transactions on the credit card.

 

I am not going to take this anymore and for all future cruises I am going to load my on board account with pre-payment of everything I possibly can either by card pre-cruise or by loading cash onto it. If anything annoyed me it is this financial constraint on my card clogging up my access to credit funds whilst travelling.

 

Before my cruise departed I did pre pay for all my gratuities and loaded some funds in for on board credit. However by the end of the cruise I had such a good time that the card needed to be billed. I wont be making this mistake again in the future and with all cruise lines I travel with now all gratuities and even excursions will be pre-paid as this has really ticked me off big time not being able to see what authorisations will turn into actual bills 7 days after the cruise has ended. For a big company like them they should be more professional.

 

As for Diamond Princess it is still one of my favourite ships due to its size and it is well looked after in Japan making it hard to believe it is one of their older ships. In fact I would happily sail on Diamond Princess over their newer ships any day.

To you this must be clear but I did not understand what this credit card issue was all about :confused:

As for the Diamond Princess she is our favourite ship and we have 3 cruises booked: Asia and Australia & New Zealand and Tasmania.

By the way, we were in Japan on the Diamond in September! :)

People try that logic every day with the AIBP. Doesn't get them anywhere. Though a sympathetic barista may respond to a little largess. So who knows?

All my 4 next cruises are SIP & SAIL!

Problem solved! :)

OP - Totally agree with you! It's why we booked 3 cruises in a row with Celebrity! I wish Princess would expand it's itineraries. All 3 of our cruises with Celebrity are to places that Princess just doesn't go anymore AND we get all those great perks!

Which places?

I love and I mean love when my wife gets all dolled up in an evening gown or party dress for formal nights. I owe her the same respect after she goes thru the hair and makeup and beautiful outfit so I always have a tux or nice suit to wear as well. Enjoy your cruise!

Why not dress up 3 or 4 nights in a year! My DW enjoys it and if you know your way around packing it's no big deal.

You can definitely order drinks in the MDR using the beverage package. You can also order wine by the glass (inside or outside of the MDR) -- you just cannot purchase the entire bottle of wine for no charge. But, if you do purchase a bottle with the discount, the wine can be shared with others that don't have the package. No sharing allowed with single drinks if you do have the package and the other guest(s) don't.

And yes, you can always carry a glass of wine into the dining room with you but you will be able to order it in there as well. The only place you cannot use the beverage package is through room service -- from what I know. I am not sure about the private islands if you are sailing in the Caribbean.

You must be or have been a teacher at some point! :)

I talked to Princess representative and asked if they read CC and he said.

Tony

.. he said :confused:

Oh my. I got a moveover offer. Which, due to my job, the MONTHS of planning and some personal visits to friends in the ports and my husband's precarious (good for now but who knows about tomorrow) health, we can't take. Never said no to what amounts to $10K before. It hurts!

Princess is extending a special offer to guests booked on the Aug 19,2016 Regal Princess sailing. Move to another sailing of your choice up to 14 days and receive:

* 100% cruise fare refund (as refundable onboard credit)

* Free Stateroom upgrade!

* A one time complimentary dining in any of our specialty restaurants onboard

* Air change fees up to $300.00 per person

* Princess air program will be protected

 

This offer is only available by calling 1-800-243-7342 x30741 but please act quickly as this offer will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

* Travel agencies will receive a 50.00 bonus per cabin if offer is accepted.

PASSENGERS

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I found the offer made by Princess which my ignorance and other reasons (Refer to my post #40) made me refuse! It was under a pile of other papers. I wonder why!

"IMPORTANT NOTICES

Princess in contacting guests traveling on Diamond Princess 9-day Northern Japan voyage departing on August 28, 2015 with a special limited time offer! We are extending the opportunity to move to an alternate voyage, receive a cruise fare refund and take a different cruise for Free up to 15 days! If accepted, guests can receive up to:

*100% cruise fare returned (in the form of refundable onboard credit

*Take any cruise worlwide as replacement up to 15 days in length for free.

*Receive a complimentary stateroom Upgrade (pending availability).

*Up to $800 per passenger travel change fees covered! (Princess air covered).

This offer is only available by calling 1-800-243-7342 x 30744 but please act quickly as this offer will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

*Travel agencies will receive a $100.00 bonus per cabin if offer is accepted.

Thanks for your attention to this notification."

That being the second leg of a cruise, I could have kept the same plane return ticket and visited Japan on the bullet train!

That would probably have been cheaper than the cruise fare (returned) and we could have chosen a cruise up to 15 days to anywhere FREE.

Live and learn!!!!!!

Dryer sheets make me physically ill. I would love it if they were banned as an air pollutant. Those things reek of chemicals. I would use DEET. Yes, it has a smell but nothing compared to the toxic fumes from dryer sheets. As a side note they are not good for your dryer. I used to do appliance repair. Those things coat the lint screen and clog it up and cause the dryer to overheat.

We don't plan to have anymore children (and we couldn't even if we wanted to) but I admit I do look somewhat like I'm pregnant but that's just because I'm too dang fat. :rolleyes:

Especially if people are too lazy to clean the lint screen after each load :rolleyes:

Hi Cruisers,

 

I'm heading out on the Diamond for their 16 night Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand cruise march 11, 2017. I'm a novice to that area - what can't I miss?

After two cruises in that part of Asia (Azamara Quest & Diamond Princess) the following were my favourites:

Singapore (your days 1, 6, 17); the "perfect" (to some) city! I would add pre or post cruise days.

Nha Trang, Vietnam (your day 10); interesting cultural visits.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (your day 11); a mix of communism and capitalism! Be ready for a long day!

Bangkok, Thailand (your day 14); after 3 days I did not have enough! (To each his own.) Be ready for a long (full) & tiring day!

Have a nice cruise! :)

OP's post is so hard to read - one big paragraph. I'll take everyone else's word for it.

Actually there are 7 (seven) paragraphs but no empty lines to separate them!

:cool:

This is our first cruise, and my mil told me that if you bring any medications or vitamins on board they need to be in the original bottles. Is this true? It seems a bit excessive.

In some countries (Japan, Singapore, etc.) they have very strict regulations and laws. Even over the counter products (for us) can be prohibited!

Exactly. I have nothing to do with HW's nor do I want contact with them. They provide little value to me.

The head waiters have reached the highest level that they will ever be at!

Unless they win at a lottery!

They are there to put some pressure on the waiters and sometimes deal with special requests or complaints.

The brand new app available for all types... Pencil, Paper, and keeping receipts. :)

You forgot the eraser ;)

Most of them are in the Bermuda Triangle on their own cruise ship :)

Tony

They will not last long! :D

Buy a shot of bourbon. Shoot it down. Get a refill. There is no "time limit" but they will watch you if you buy a pina colada, walk off, come back in a couple of minutes and get another because they will assume you are sharing the package. If they catch you sharing you can lose the package and be charged for all of your drinks.

Is this from personal experience?

My DW and I each have the AIBP pacckage for our next four cruises (included in the fare).

From what I read somewhere in CC the bar employees are very glad to see you gulp them down because they get their 15% on each drink! ;)

It sounds like they want to keep it more organized than the cruise we did earlier this year. They told us that anyone with no checked bags could disembark as soon as the ship was cleared. While it seemed like a bit of a 'free for all' it went quickly and smoothly. Thanks again everyone!

Off the Regal in Barcelona we did not check our bagages and we could get a taxi right away.

Friends of ours who had checked their bagages (the bags outside your cabin at night routine) had to wait to get off, find their bags and wait to get a taxi for 45 minutes!

Of course you have to be able to handle your suicases down ramps and/or stairs if the elevators are full. :(

Here it is:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coral View Post

I have even heard of someone negotiating 2 free great cruises for accepting a move over on another cruise.

 

Here is what we gave up:

- 1 balcony for a 10 cruise to Indonesia (rountrip Singapore) on the Sapphire.

 

Here is what we received:

- 1 10 day cruise anywhere in the US, Mexico, Caribbean, or Canada in a full suite

- 1 15 day cruise anywhere in the world in a full suite

- change air fees to $300 (SA refunded our tickets in full)

- full cruise fare back in refundable OBC

 

Bonus

- They added another $500 on the ship (we have no idea)

- Extra dinner in the Crown- above the suite benefit.

 

It was really too good to pass up.

 

BTW- We have sailed the two cruises and everything that that Princess promised, they delivered plus more.

Am I wrong in thinking that the free cruise was one of the two but not both cruises.

We got a similar offer but we did not take it. Our TA had mistakenly mixed this with an ordinary upgrade! But I had a copy of the offer and I should have read it more carefully!

Besides, our plane tickets for Asia (expensive) had already been bought and were not refundable.

Plus: my DW who is not too adventurous did not want to change our plans.

A bit like throwing away a winnig lottery ticket:eek:

If we ever get an offer like that one it will be "an offer that we can't refuse!" ;)

How is the tip included for Sabatini's breakfast every day?

"To simplify the tipping process for our passengers, a discretionary gratuity charge will be automatically added to your shipboard account on a daily basis. The daily gratuity amounts are $13.95 per person for mini-suites and suites, and $12.95 per passenger in all other staterooms per day (including children). This gratuity will be shared amongst those staff who have helped provide and support your cruise experience, including all waitstaff, stateroom stewards, buffet stewards, and housekeeping staff across the fleet"

ALL WAITSTAFF

Question.

 

Is a Mock-Martini a glass of cold water with an olive?

Yes! And for a Mock-Gibson replace the olive with an onion :D