items no longer given/offered

[Reader0108598]

17 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

I respectfully disagree.  I do a lot electronically, but I still "buy" greeting cards, notecards, and use good old folder paper (age showing) to write my correspondences. Don't get me started on educational gurus who have decided that cursive should be removed from the curriculum.  Letters have always been a "primary source" in history.  The same for digital photos.  Where will history get all of its informatio (documentation) and data?

 

 

Agree My husband has no clue how to turn a computer on still carries a flip phone!

[1980dory]

1 minute ago, Reader0108598 said:

Agree My husband has no clue how to turn a computer on still carries a flip phone!

I do know how to turn on a computer but I also have a flip phone.  It makes calls and receives calls and it only cost me $35.  I just don't need anything else, much less the latest $800 dollar telephone that costs a small fortune to repair or replace.  A side benefit is that I never have my nose buried in it and I am usually aware what is going on around me.  Unlike the Millennial who hit my friend on his Gold Wing and nearly cost him his life.  The friend did lose a leg though.

In addition I can still spell with about 98% accuracy.  And I can usually write a complete sentence with correct spelling, punctuation, syntax, etc.  How many nowadays can spell accurately at the fifth grade level?

[Saint Panda]

Hello,

 

We just got off The Majestic Princess and had a lovely cruise, we did noticed a few things different to previous cruises. Definitely sugar dispenses as opposed to sachets, no toothpicks, no popcorn handed out at the movie under the stars we went to (had to sign for blankets which was new to us), no escargot on the menu, no straws at the main dining room but Alfredos happily handed out the paper ones.

 

Suite perks that had changed included two small red foiled covered (as opposed to the normal blue) chocolates on formal night - no chocolate covered strawberries or small chocolates. No same day laundry unless you wanted to pay and no umbrella (although this had been hit and miss). We did get bottled water but only on the third day after asking if it was still available.

 

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by Saint Panda

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, Saint Panda said:

Hello,

 

We just got off The Majestic Princess and had a lovely cruise, we did noticed a few things different to previous cruises. Definitely sugar dispenses as opposed to sachets, no toothpicks, no popcorn handed out at the movie under the stars we went to (had to sign for blankets which was new to us), no escargot on the menu, no straws at the main dining room but Alfredos happily handed out the paper ones.

 

Suite perks that had changed included two small red foiled covered (as opposed to the normal blue) chocolates on formal night - no chocolate covered strawberries or small chocolates. No same day laundry unless you wanted to pay and no umbrella (although this had been hit and miss). We did get bottled water but only on the third day after asking if it was still available.

I've got an 18 day Majestic Princess cruise coming up this fall so I'm wondering if they gave a reason why. Did they also eliminate the elite laundry benefit? Or just the same day laundry? 

[Saint Panda]

12 minutes ago, Ombud said:

I've got an 18 day Majestic Princess cruise coming up this fall so I'm wondering if they gave a reason why. Did they also eliminate the elite laundry benefit? Or just the same day laundry? 

 

The room steward told us when he saw that we had ticked same day service that we would have to pay the 50% surcharge if we wanted it back that day. Next day laundry was still free so we just changed it to that, just wish we were told earlier in the cruise as I would have put the washing in earlier. We did check with the concierge and she rang the laundry to confirm as it was new to her as well.

 

Not sure if this is a new policy or a way of dealing with having a lot of elites and too much laundry on board - there were about 300 from memory, not sure if that is a lot?  I imagine but can't confirm that it was the same conditions for elites.

[geoherb]

I'm on the Caribbean Princess right now and it's taking 48 hours for our complimentary Elite next-day laundry to come back. On my Crown transatlantic, it came back after 72 hours. My friend on the Sky's transatlantic said it took four days to come back because of the number of Elites on that cruise. Tomorrow is the last day on this cruise to send it out, but I did my last batch this morning. The cruise ends Friday.

 

I took a photo of the new sugar shakers in the buffet. They're using the same style in the dining rooms.

 

[c-boy]

those don't look so bad. Just like what I see at starbucks

[vampiress]

i'm fine with sugar shakers.

i'll happily take anyone's blue bags, i use them for grocery shopping as we don't have plastic bags for free around here anymore.

 

i really find the food comments super interesting.  i've not liked my mdr dinner before, but mostly chalked it up to not liking that style of dish.  sometimes i find the food too fussy, i'm a much simpler diner, and prefer quality showcased ingredients to heavy saucing and lots of "stuff" put together.

my favorite game to play is imagining what the meal will look like from the description.  i have never won.

 

honestly i miss silly perks, like playing cards. 

 

i'm worried about the little pocket maps they give you on embarkation.  i love using them to do my own scavenger hunt.  i find even on shops i have been on before, there are still areas i keep finding on the ship.  i take the room pen and mark off once we have visited an area.

[Sanz]

4 hours ago, vampiress said:

i'm worried about the little pocket maps they give you on embarkation.  i love using them to do my own scavenger hunt.  i find even on shops i have been on before, there are still areas i keep finding on the ship.  i take the room pen and mark off once we have visited an area.

I like them too.  Especially when I am not familiar with a ship. It's not heavy to carry, unlike my smart phone encased in an Otter Box.  However, one of the best things about it is, if I "misplace" it while at the pool, I am not out a thousand dollars. 

 

  We take a lot of tech "stuff" when we travel, but I still use a pen and paper/post-it to send my steward a message.  It's just too  hard to get the duck tape off  my smart phone/tablet when I attach them to the mirror.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Sanz

[BigJohnL]

Twin beds pushed together to make a "queen" bed with a very thin topper that did little to prevent you from falling into the crack. Sure do miss that. (NOT!)

[BigJohnL]

7 hours ago, geoherb said:

I took a photo of the new sugar shakers in the buffet. They're using the same style in the dining rooms.

 

 

Are they also eliminating packets of artificial sweeteners? If so, how are those sweeteners being handled? I was on the Regal from Oct. 31 through Nov. 10 and by the 8th or 9th there was not a packet of Splenda to be found on the ship. Maybe there was a secret stash somewhere "in the back" that your server could get for you if you knew the secret handshake. I had to settle for Equal those last couple of days. I know ... yet another first world problem 

Edited December 16, 2019 by BigJohnL

[doctork]

"Too many elites" so Princess punishes them by removing benefits"  That strikes me as odd to punish your best customers!

 

I guess we should all be trying out different lines, which I have been doing anyway.  In fact my first and thus far only Princess cruise was just such a trial.

[SharkieRools]

23 hours ago, Saint Panda said:

 

The room steward told us when he saw that we had ticked same day service that we would have to pay the 50% surcharge if we wanted it back that day. Next day laundry was still free so we just changed it to that, just wish we were told earlier in the cruise as I would have put the washing in earlier. We did check with the concierge and she rang the laundry to confirm as it was new to her as well.

 

🤔 Was same day service for Elites ever actually an included perk?  On the Captain Circle membership Benefits page on the Princess website it specifically says "Excludes same-day service."  Before all the alarmists start shrieking about another benefit being taken away - I looked at several previous years via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine and can see it's had this disclaimer for years.  For example, here is the benefits page from 2016: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20161111031710/https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/membershipBenefits.page

[I Love Cruising 3]

On 12/16/2019 at 6:31 PM, BigJohnL said:

 

Are they also eliminating packets of artificial sweeteners? If so, how are those sweeteners being handled? I was on the Regal from Oct. 31 through Nov. 10 and by the 8th or 9th there was not a packet of Splenda to be found on the ship. Maybe there was a secret stash somewhere "in the back" that your server could get for you if you knew the secret handshake. I had to settle for Equal those last couple of days. I know ... yet another first world problem 

We just got off the Regal & yes there was a shortage of Splenda for some reason. In the early mornings you would see it but as the day progressed it got harder to find. Very strange.  

[pms4104]

2 hours ago, I Love Cruising 3 said:

We just got off the Regal & yes there was a shortage of Splenda for some reason. In the early mornings you would see it but as the day progressed it got harder to find. Very strange.  

Maybe other pax are hoarding for later onboard or home use

[I Love Cruising 3]

1 hour ago, pms4104 said:

Maybe other pax are hoarding for later onboard or home use

That could be but why only ones specific brand of sweetener? 

[HappyCruiserettu]

On 12/11/2019 at 4:00 PM, cruzrbachoua said:

What happens for those of us who use the 'non' sugar packets....does that come bulk to put in a shaker...i personally use the pink packets. 

As do I. Need to find out before my Grand cruise 1/27,

 

[I Love Cruising 3]

24 minutes ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

As do I. Need to find out before my Grand cruise 1/27,

 

They still has the regular non sugar packs on the Regal as of Sunday. One of the crew did say they were going to switch to dispensers soon. 

Who knows when. 

[I Love Cruising 3]

24 minutes ago, HappyCruiserettu said:

As do I. Need to find out before my Grand cruise 1/27,

 

They still has the regular non sugar packs on the Regal as of Sunday. One of the crew did say they were going to switch to dispensers soon. 

Who knows when. 

[Ombud]

On 12/12/2019 at 10:43 PM, Sanz said:

Is there a pen in the stateroom?

Star, Royal, Caribbean, & Golden all had them in 2019. Also just looked at the notepad and it says Princess Cruise  just not the name of the ship so I can't tell which cruise it's from 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Ombud

[Ombud]

On 12/14/2019 at 4:30 AM, MissP22 said:

Do you believe the confiscation of coffee card money to me minimal?

Yes bc you got it in trade for the minibar. It was not money spent but a freebie gifted to you. Unless you intended to sell them on Ebay . Then you lost revenue 

Edited December 24, 2019 by Ombud

[MissP22]

2 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Yes bc you got it in trade for the minibar. It was not money spent but a freebie gifted to you

So I didn't have to buy them ... so you say. 

Anyway I'll get to use them up on my next cruise so they all don't go to waste. 

[Ombud]

You have stated in the past that you traded for them

[MissP22]

Just now, Ombud said:

You have stated in the past that you traded for them

Some I did & some I didn't. It's still stealing my money either way as I paid good money for them when I could have taken something different.  

[Thrak]

On 12/15/2019 at 2:54 PM, 1980dory said:

In addition I can still spell with about 98% accuracy.  And I can usually write a complete sentence with correct spelling, punctuation, syntax, etc.  How many nowadays can spell accurately at the fifth grade level?

 

Most these days just don't got no grammar. My local newspaper is a morass of misspellings and grammatical errors. It's sad. I know you also mentioned the loss of cursive. That's bad enough but young people have no idea how to use an analog clock. It really annoys some of them when you use terms like "a quarter to" when referring to time. That simply doesn't fit into their digital clock world.