mtnesterz

On the Grand and Coral Class, yes, but as of March the syrup changed from Douwe-Egberts to Nescafe which was a substantial improvement. Consider Starbucks Via in the two box set from the big box stores. Now that's a cup of instant to rival good brewed coffee.

The Princess ship with the most in the way of Asian places to eat is the Majestic. There's a noodle bar, and a Chinese restaurant called Harmony. It is additional charge and gets mixed reviews. Some claiming to have walked out... that bad. Used to have a Boba bar but that is gone. If you are a first timer with Princess, on the Ruby, almost every day they serve Jook (congee) in the buffet at breakfast. Since you used the word Oriental, I'll include that most every day on every ship I've been on, there is an Indian dish in the buffet. Frankly, I wish they'd start an Indian restaurant onboard ships. The Indian food is that good.

On more recent cruise of the two, went out sometime after Canary Islands. Returned one day out from Ft. Lauderdale, so days, not hours. Some say there are issues with the Princess' satellite provider currently. Near polar latitudes and trans-oceanic though, folks never seem happy. Hope you can work something out so you can feel untethered to the internet and enjoy your trip.

Do not have direct experience for the Sky Princess but we've done two TAs and internet went out both times about 3 years apart. I don't know much about satellites but it would seem this is common from other posters too. Maybe they don't place communications satellites for full Atlantic coverage? Hope someone with more knowledge posts, but just saying, you're not alone.

Article from Cruise Industry News on this topic: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/27964-carnival-pandemic-ship-moves-23-ships-have-now-left-the-fleet.html

L.A.local here. Much prefer the suggested option of taking air service instead of a bus, Southwest is a budget carrier with very frequent service from Las Vegas to LAX. Five to six hours on a bus vs one hour on a plane. First of all, you don't know where the bus is going to leave you. Could be downtown Los Angeles. A long way from San Pedro with no help getting there. Long Beach Airport can be a good option, but personally, we opt for Princess airport transfers. If this is your preference, Princess only serves LAX. You say you don't drink much alcohol and if this is the case, it makes no sense to go Princess Plus. That leaves tipping. Here in the US, tipping is much debated and in the UK, not common to my understanding. I think you'd call what Princess does a, "tronc scheme." This is automatic, but you can adjust the amount up or down at the Passenger Services desk. I think you should be comfortable with whatever you choose to do about that. If you prefer, Passenger Services gives out envelopes at the end of the cruise and we see some hand out envelopes. Whether this is instead of, or addition to, I don't know.

I think get8way2go and others, including myself, would be interested to know where. Princess figured out that if you are circling the Promenade, sitting in Skywalker's on Grand Class reading and watching the sea, or managed to find the Wakeview bar on Diamond or Sapphire, or sitting quietly enjoying the view or the sea from the buffet on the Coral Class, you are not spending money. These are gone from the Royal class. As Princess moves to ever larger ships, would be good to know for those of us who enjoy that. Thanks in advance!

Less reliable. Before Covid, these were booked through Apostleship At Sea and Princess no longer partners with them. But you may view what they offer now. http://www.aos-usa.org/ I believe HAL is the only consistent offering, other than some lines book around the Holidays.

Too many people have forgotten how to take a vacation.

Elsewhere here there has been talk of the 360. This may or may not be a pop-up restaurant within Sabatini's, or have nothing at al to do with, "Something Extraordinary." Just a guess.

You didn't mention if you had been on the Coral or Island before. There is a lot to be said for enjoying a meal in the quiet of your cabin. The Island, and Coral, have a forward facing buffet with a great view. Our favorite place to eat on all Princess ships. FWIW.

Don't have a ship name yet, but a creditable source names Cordelia Cruises of India as the buyer. They are a new startup from 2020 and have one 32 year old ship. Whether buying a second ship or upgrading to something 12 years newer, I don't know.

OK. The answer is that you are asking something about a symptom, but not the cause of the problem. To my mind you are correct, it does not, or should not matter what you or anyone else wears at the table. Well, within decency, I think we would all come to mutual agreement on that. But what it comes down to is Princess policy. Princess is a business and like any shoreside restaurant, they can set their policy on what is acceptable wherever they want. The ambiguity of their policy leaves us passengers in a lurch and the cause of dissent here on the board. You show as located in Anaheim, so let's say someone invites you to the Magic Castle in Hollywood. You have a choice to wear a coat and tie and go, or don't go. You will not be admitted without them. I see Princess as a business with British roots.(was part of P&O) Dining tends to be more formal. But in their wording and that they don't hold to policy consistently across the fleet, that's the problem. I'm fine with relaxing the requirements. But set policy limits consistently, they should.

L.A. local here. You should be fine on time leaving in the early afternoon. About 30 minutes to LAX. To explain the above picture posted by EDVM96, on the far left below the number 1 is where you will dock. On the far right is the outline of a ship, the Queen Mary, an orange dot and a jetty. That is where Carnival ships dock; the Port of Long Beach. They are miles apart. Suggest using Princess transfers. Yes, they allow luggage on escalators. Lastly, food is very expensive at the airport. Suggest having a go-all-day breakfast on the ship before disembarkation, even if you're not usually a breakfast eater.

Making an assumption that Slimline is the name for Schweppes low calorie offering where you live. They just served regular Schweppes. If you must go no sugar, you can bring cans, not bottles, onboard. It costs more, but see if you can find Fever Tree sugar free in cans. Best G&T I ever had.

Which, since you are able to remark what everybody wore, means it was a success as, "Dress to Impress." An utterly meaningless phrase. Anyone can wear anything if it makes an impression. Not saying what anyone should or ought to wear, only that the phrase itself is a joke.

Don't know, but a good place to check would be the sticky at the top about ship's crew.

How was the sound? I'd imagine people talking at other tables in a round room would make for an annoying din of sound bouncing around while trying to talk at your table.

Possibly posters just read the title, sort of like those that read just the headlines in the newspaper.

On the Ruby, they're part of the locker room area and no charge. Newer Royal class ships are set up different and a charge

Because clothing is a topic everyone can understand. Someone posts their favorite ship food and we're all there. Post something arcane and you get crickets. Answer a poster's question about an itinerary that you've been on and answer their need, you feel good about yourself. Point is, it's all about entertainment and some people enjoy being disputatious about what to wear. Though I'm sure someone will argue with me about that last bit.

Keeping the Medallion in a Farady cage keeps the Medallion from being read unless held to the wall panel. This makes repeated entries fairly quick, just time for the door to cycle. Personally, I wouldn't bother to do this, so I don't care to mention it, but keeping the Medallion in a metal mesh teaball or some such, does the trick. Wish anyone good luck.

Since Medallion Masters is no longer visible, someday, someone might wonder what your post was about. Being a tour guide at a museum, one thinks of these things. Medallion Masters was an effort by CC to have someone, ostensibly an expert with Medallion Class, to address problems with the App, a bug riddled fiasco. I don't think much if anything got solved. Thanks to CC for good intentions.

Being down now, hard to say but good place to keep an eye out would be the sticky at the top, Princess Senior Ship Staff, Including Cruise and Entertainment directors.

My guess is it's the James Beard recipe or variation to meet the needs of bulk preparation for the ship. If so, here it is. Challa=brioche If it's not the one, it's really good. https://www.jamesbeard.org/recipes/challah-french-toast