talkorpi

Princess just posted a rendering of "The Signature Lounge" on their Instagram - description is of a two-level suite lounge. Looks like this is the venue at the aft on decks 15/16. https://www.instagram.com/p/Co7p-xssiRt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Just saying that if the Terms & Conditions expired yesterday, perhaps there are changes going into effect today that are not yet on the website. I could also be wrong, but usually when T&Cs expire something changes the next day.

Well on the website under all of the packages it has this caveat which is why I was wondering if someone could update today if they saw/heard anything different: Obviously as today is the 20th the listings are no longer guaranteed. Perhaps the prices listed are the same but since it is now past that date just not 100% sure.

I think I saw somewhere that the drink package prices have increased substantially. Can anyone who is currently onboard verify?

I started this thread originally asking if it was back as I have been unable to find any information about it post-pandemic. Unfortunately it seems like it is still not being offered at this time 😞

Well, we've finally arrived at the dreaded "price hike day" where all of these announced changes are going into effect. Wanted to start this thread so that people who are boarding / onboard can report all of the new changes, additions, and price increases. If you are able, I'm sure we would all be curious to find out about the new things like the juice bar and fitness classes. New prices on drinks, new drink package costs, etc. Hoping this can be a good resource for everyone to collaborate on!

Maybe the price is going to increase with all the other changes coming effective Monday and it is just causing IT issues while the program it? Just a wild guess

Does anyone have any food pictures from the new menus? Most of what I see online is outdated. Share away!

Does anyone remember when that venue used to be Fish & Chips? Those were the days...

Hoping the Dirty Banana is available in Galveston upon embarkation...

Can we PLEASE get a better itinerary variation out of Galveston? I've done the math - it's possible. So tired of the same three or four ports being offered from every line here with nearly zero variation. I really think that Princess' niche here could be itinerary variation - offering slightly longer sailings (8-10 days) that don't only use Cozumel/Belize/Costa Maya/Roatan. I literally have a spreadsheet that has possible itineraries that account for cruising speed/port times/etc. - Princess really needs to get better Caribbean itineraries from Galveston. More calls to Grand Cayman, please!

Oh my gosh, don't get my hopes up! When we did it on Carnival many years ago I think I got a baseball hat and a group picture. I am a home cook so getting a Chef's Jacket with the sea witch would be an absolute DREAM come true!

Thank you so much for asking! What a bummer. Hoping it will miraculously be back by the time I set sail in April... Enjoy the rest of your time on the Diamond!

Hi everyone, Looking forward to our first Princess cruise coming up in just a few weeks (April 2nd can't come soon enough!) and I saw that Princess used to offer a behind the scenes ship tour. I am a total ship nerd and would LOVE to do something like this experience - I did it once back on the Carnival Breeze in 2017 and it was one of the coolest things ever! Does anyone know if Princess has resumed this? I know that a lot of the cruise lines shut this down during the pandemic but most of them have started them back up again. Is Princess doing the Ultimate Ship Tours again?

I’m just not sure if that is the right Sabatini’s menu. There’s two of them on the Princess site and one looks a lot better than the other. Trying to figure out which menu will be on Ruby in April.

Crown Grill and Bistro Sur La Mer are $39 pp from Feburary 20, 2023. Sabatini's is $35 pp effective the same date.

Off-toipic, but speaking of vines, is it true that there is free sushi included with a glass of wine?

LadyL1, thank you for confirming this. Appreciate it. Have a fabulous rest of your cruise on Royal!

Thanks for the comment. Was thinking about the lamb if we chose Crown Grill. And yes, I know that the Salty Dog grill and Salty Dog Gastropub are different. I should have been more specific - I am specifically talking about the upcharge Gastropub. Can easly see how it could be confusing, especially for first-time cruisers, but I am trying to do my research 😉

Thanks for the comment! Just curious - what is the current menu for Sabatini's? I've seen two very different ones floating around, both of which also appear on the Princess website. I would assume the one that is $29 a person and not $25 is the current menu, but the $25 menu is marketed as the "new" menu so now I'm confused. They are two pretty different menus with very different offerings. I hope its the $29 menu as it looks more appealing...

Gotcha, thanks. I saw some of the dinner menus on those videos but I believe there were a couple that were skipped and if I recall correctly they never actually ate in the MDR to see the food.

Hi everyone, Leaving for our first Princess cruise in a couple weeks. We are Princess newbies and very excited to be trying the line. We got a lot of onboard credit with out booking and I frankly don't know what to do with it since we already have Princess Plus. One of the things that I wanted to do was try one of the specialty restaurants, but we only want to go to one for the entire cruise. Since we are on Ruby, our options are Sabatinis and Crown Grill. (Not interested in Salty Dog - but does anyone know if Salty Dog is open for lunch?) Anyone have any opinions on which one is better? I know it's a matter of personal taste but I wanted to get some people's opinions of which they liked more. Right now we are slightly leaning towards Sabatini's but both look like good options, and at only a $4 difference, the price doesn't make much of an impact on my decision. Thanks!

Thanks for your comments. Going on Ruby in a few weeks - it will be our first cruise on PCL. Do you happen to have any photos of the MDR food or menus? To my understanding, Princess changes the menus a bit from homeport to homeport and I haven't found any for Ruby out of Galveston yet.

It is pretty expensive to stay on the island, and I know that a lot of the hotels that used to offer free "cruise parking" with a one-night stay no longer offer it post-COVID. My advice would be to stay in Kemah or Texas City for the night. The Kemah boardwalk is fun and less expensive than pleasure pier. Not sure how transportation would work for you since I am Texas and always drive myself there. However, I believe it is generally cheaper to rent a car one-way and drive to Galveston yourself rather than try to find a rideshare or taxi. Someone who is familiar with flying in should be able to give you better advice. That being said, if you do want to stay in Galveston, I would reccommend the Harbor House hotel. It might be a little mor expensive but if you have the money it is well worth it. It is literally in walking distance to terminals one and two (but not the new RC terminal) and also right down in the strand. I much prefer it to the beachfront hotels - has a classy nautical atmosphere in a historic building within walking distance of great restaurants and shops on the strand, and you won't have to deal with the awful traffic on Harborside drive the morning of your cruise if you are staying there. I believe parking in their lot is $15 a night, so for 7 days, it is comparable to most of the cruise-specific lots. Have a great time in Galveston! I love it and would move there in a heartbeat if I could.

Completely new to Princess and wanted to ask for some advice regarding dining times. We were watching a video of some folks who were on the same ship and itinerary as we are just a few weeks ago and they said that there were only 5:00 and 9:00 dining times available since they did not pre-book their MDR times as soon as they boarded. This makes me nervous - we have always cruises Carnival and with YTD there, we could just check in at dinnertime every night and would be seated after a 10-15 minute wait no problem, even at 6:00-6:30 peak times. So now I am wondering - what is the best way to do dining with the new app? We liked the flexibility of being able to make reservations on the same day, but I don't want to get stuck with just 5:00 or 9:00 times like the guests in the video did. Do you really have to pre-book every single night when you get onboard if you want to eat in between 5:45 and 7:30? And, if so, what is the ideal time to book dining so that you can still see all the evening entertainment? For context, we are on Ruby out of Galveston on April 2. Right now the cruise barely looks half full, so I didn't expect this to be a problem, but for the video I watched (they sailed mid-January), it was. Appreciate the help.