KKB

I have done 2-20 day cruises in Interior cabins--2 last May on MSC to UK/Norway & last month on Carnival to New Caldonia/NZ. We are of the POV that a cabin is for sleeping & showering--otherwise we are out & about the ship or on port. Now, I DO find when I am traveling solo I sometimes crave a quiet corner to read or pop in earbuds & watch a movie. On some ships that can be challenging. Sometimes my room was my only sanctuary--admittedly, I PREFER a room w/ a window or balcony, BUT I love a good value, so if I can see these places & save a ton, that makes me happy. I forgot how GREAT one sleeps in an interior cabin--pitch black w/ nothing to wake me? Oh, MY! One nice advantage to Princess--GREAT selection of movies & TV shows if you do want to hunker down. Plus on Princess, a quiet corner seems to be easier to find than some other lines.

NOPE--I also have learned that if there is an excursion you want--BOOK IT as soon as you can! You can always cancel!!

(Surprised no one has started this thread already...) Sailing the Regal next week & have seen the Thread on Regal banning Door Decorations AND saying it is a new fleet-wide policy. I find it interesting that there are no posts saying this from other ships. Curious--is it REALLY a new fleet-wide policy? My take is whoever decided this on the Regal (perhaps a knee jerk reaction to Princess corporate boarding this last weekend?) told the crew it was a fleet-wide policy so that is what passengers were told. ("Hey, not our idea...sorry!") Obviously this is just a theory--but the fact that no one on other ships has complained about this here is surprising. Curious if anyone sailing other ships can concur. Thanks! (Funny...I don't even do door decor...but curiosity & all...🫠)

OK, my 1st TA isn't until next week... But I did UK the beginning of May last year. It was forecast to be rainy & cool the whole time...it was actually lovely most days (no jacket needed), except 2 very rainy days. I took a puffer vest to wear under my rain jacket & only needed it once. I have been told it is typically quiet nice out of FL & across the Atlantic until you get north of Portugal or so. So you will need to pack a variety of clothing--prepare for warm weather early, cooler later, ALWAYS with a chance of rain. I had waterproof sneakers (POURED in Amsterdam...feet stayed nice & dry) as well as waterproof Sorel Chelsea boots. Umbrella & hooded raincoat--wished I had a brimmed hat on rainy days as I wear glasses. And clothing I could layer--merino wool is the workhorse of my travel capsule wardrobe. Merino wool pieces: 3 s/s tees, 3 l/s tees, 1 crewneck sweater, 2 cardigans, dress, large scarf (serves as a blanket on plane). This plus 2 pair of Skechers Go Walk boot cut yoga pants (they go from activewear to dinnerwear)--I did a month with a 19" carry on & backpack!

We leave April 5. I had someone respond who did FL-Portugal last March & said it was quite nice the whole way. Sounds like leaving from FL or other southerly port to Portugal tends to be nice. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW--could get rain, winds or inclement weather. So bring layers!

Jaynay, I have done a number of solo cruises the last couple years (DH is an avid golfer so if I want to cruise during golf season...well, it's solo if I can't find a friend or family member to go!) There will be plenty to do on sea days, but I had many books & shows downloaded on my iPad to fill the times when nothing hit me. If you like trivia, ask a team if you can join them. If you are social, start up conversations with those around you at a show, on deck or at the bar. There will likely be a Solo gathering (possibly daily) listed in the daily planner. I find those vary greatly--sometimes well attended...other times not at all! DO go to the Meet & Greet for your Roll Call. Last month I met a gal & we hung out a lot over the course of the 20 days onboard. (not all sea days, lol)

OMG--I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU!! BBQ & fish are 2 things that do NOT belong together!! Every time I see that menu I am put off.🤮

I relate! I just never knew if/when it would work!!

NO doubt. Celebrity 5 day spring break cruise w/ 75% FSU students--TOTALLY different vibe than usual Celebrity cruises! Carnival--1st was 14 days so very few kiddos. Last month 8 day New Caldonia on Carnival Splendor--this is like the Caribbean for Australia. FULL of young adults & kids. 12 day NZ cruise right after, totally different vibe.

Goodness NO! MY POV. We have sailed 40+ cruises over 20 years on most mainstream lines. We sailed Carnival for 1st time in January & all we heard was how much we would hate it after sailing Celebrity, Princess, RCCL, etc. We LOVED it! Now, crew said the key to Carnival is longer cruises--7 days or less, particularly in Caribbean or MX Riv are booze cruises. NOW--I had Venezia booked out of NYC in May...then I started to see a pattern of complaints for those cruises (I ignore complaints in reviews until I see patterns). LOTS of complaints of lots of poorly behaved unattended children. Decided that was NOT one I was willing to check out for myself!

Have sailed Eclass 5x since 2021. Took my Dyson on the 1st 4 of those & then just gave up. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it would work for a while. Sometimes it didn't work at all. No rhyme or reason.

Along for the ride again--entertaining & interesting as always. Have a wonderful time!!

We did Deluxe OV on Beyond & loved it. It is just as big as the balcony (IV) rooms. Great location on deck 3 midship--easy access to so much! If the Deluxe is just a few $ more, I'd take it as those 20+ sq. ft are awfully nice.

I CAN happen but it is rare. Have done 3 sailings in IV (albeit the Caribbean), never once locked. If you are concerned, change to a Sunset Veranda or Suite. One nice thing about IV is the floor to ceiling windows letting in lots of light.

We did a Sweet 6 cabin some years ago & it was unusable...large water puddles on the floor at all times. Fully covered, not private as cabin above us looked over us. (covered just our 2 decks). Loved Aqua when we did it--no contest, imo.

Thx for your review! We have done Edge & Beyond 2x plus Apex, with Ascent booked for Dec & can't wait! We have only done Retreat 1x (Beyond) & enjoyed it but have decided that unless it is an exceptional deal, we will stick w/ "steerage" Can't wait!

Interesting. it was the only thing I could think of! Princess had no idea when I called.

We are doing a TA/UK 28 day cruise next month. (booked as B2B) Interior guarantees booked. Price dropped after final payment for 1st leg & was able to call TA & upgrade to obstructed balcony at no extra cost. Bid on Deluxe balcony for 1st leg (just over min bid) & was awarded it 6 weeks prior to boarding. The ODD thing...was never able to bid on the 2nd leg. Said not available for bidding. (I checked MANY times) I suspect it has to do with the coding of a B2B as it shows up on our app as one cruise. Oh, well, 2nd leg is port intensive so won't miss the balcony much anyway.

Appears everything else has been addressed. Stockperks--if you own 100 Carnival shares, you will get OBC (varies depending on length; 7 day is $100). Stockperks was fairly easy to use--I did not submit any personal info (blacked it out on the screenshots). Mine are in ETrade & I think I had to choose a different firm...but it worked well & was on my account w/in days. Much faster than when we had to email a request. If you are going to use Wifi on the ship, Princess Plus is the way to go. Wifi is $25/day; Gratuities $18+/day--that means for $17/day you get sodas, specialty coffees, mocktails, cocktails. DH's aunt & uncle cruised w/ us in 2022 & didn't think it would be worth it--"We just don't drink that much" I talked them into it & they realized it takes very little to get value from it!

NCL does that too--a specific menu to start. Princess gives everyone w/ a package a $25 credit to buy drinks until we are in international waters. Interesting that Carnival & Princess do it differently since they are the same company.

Curious--you couldn't play Pickleball anytime? Have sailed Princess & NCL out of Galveston--each time the drink package began as soon as we were in international water, an hour or 2 after departure. Is Carnival different?

Absolutely no way to know... One never knows when these rewards will go...or return...or when they will extend the dates.

LOL it shows that you have not tried other lines! Have done silent disco on Celebrity, Carnival & RCCL. We LOVE it--I can dance to the song I like & DH the one he likes. And just as much fun to watch as dance...always interesting group dynamics. Thx for this review--we have the Sun booked in 2 years. I booked a cabana mini-suite as I got an incredible price...strange, tho, I'm certain I clicked Princess Plus, but NOT on the reservation! So will likely switch to a cheaper cabin. Not sure we would like that set up either.

Still do announcements in several languages. Agree, overall, food wasn't that great (huh--I LOVE food in Italy!) Except pizza--AMAZING. Chairs are usually fairly packed in on most cruises... Service--other than some dinners, happy to say, I had exceptional bar & server service. Chatted them up; they knew I was solo--they took care of me.

Good question...having sailed MSC, I'm not sure what they mean either...