Mud_Shark

So did we! booked during the online TA's 3 day sale in June.

Personally, absolutely love it. Great Burger. Great onion rings or onion soup. Battered fish and chips is also solid. Not a place to go when on a diet, but I would eat there over the MDR twice per cruise, but DW isn't as big a fan.

I had COVID in October 2023 on the Royal Princess. The FCC showed up at the end of July. I had never put much concern over it as I was well fed and cared for during my isolation and it was not the fault of Princess, but I had given up, thinking they had ended the policy of refunding for days in isolation. Yet one day, it showed up. Maybe they have streamlined the process and your experience might be quicker?

I am having this problem as well. Will follow the same advice.

These cabins are usually the same price as a standard Balcony. We had one once for two weeks. It was fine, but I think I would prefer the balcony for the same cost. There is less storage space in these rooms, though we are not heavy packers so we were fine with that. The little extension with the slanted full size window is like a solarium. It can get very warm in there. Fortunately there is a heavy curtain to separate that area from the rest of the room. My wife loved that area when it got all warm, but it was not for me. She would set up her chair and table in there and read and browse the net. We sailed the Caribbean. Maybe if you are sailing Northern Europe (or in your case - transatlantic) it might be preferable to a standard balcony. We did not experience any motion issues.

Couple things: 1) Last price rise for internet was actually January 20th 2024. I know because I pre-paid one day prior to the deadline for our 2024 cruises. 2) On the Enchanted in the Caribbean in March and April, internet was good mornings and evenings, but very slow from lunch to diner time. Wouldn't load some sites, spinning wheels etc. 3) If it jumps in price again, it will likely price us out of the market. Even with the 50% off, if sailing for a month it is already almost $400 for one device. Choke cough. We like to sail for about that duration and may just pick up internet for one day every week or so if no port calls.

We just use band aids, which we bring along anyway.

Amen!

I am buying these! Thanks Edited - 2 minutes after posting - I have purchased these! due to arrive in one day. Unfortunately, we don't sail for almost six months 😞

We had our grandchildren with us on the Enchanted back in April. We assumed the retreat pool was age restricted, so stayed with the main pool - which they loved anyway. But another onboard pointed out that there are no signs restricting the retreat pool to a certain age. Not sure myself.

In 2025 we sail back-to-back (well, I guess side-to-side) on MSC Seaside and then Star Princess. Sounds like it will be my mission to sample both pizzas and determine for myself who is #1!

I guess the one wasn't really a beach, just roadside parking lots with a bit tricky access points into the water. They probably have names, but we just stopped where we saw diving groups stop and swam out from there. It is difficult to get in and out though. The easier spot was right beside the large salt pier or whatever it is. It is by the salt flats. The beach there has easy access into the water. We saw a couple turtles and others said it was a common spot for snorkeling with them.

Kind of tells you that "sales" will not be reduced fares (before final payment) but rather, OBC or other perks that would not have to be matched by this guarantee.

This has become very annoying. It started as excursion prices being inflated for a day or two before being offered on sale for 20% off (back to the original price). Now they are far more inflated and in my case, they seem to be remaining so. One excursion we had planned on has changed from $59.95 to $89.95 - hmm that's like a 50% jump. It has remained high for over two weeks. Not sure if it is coming back down this time (cruise is still 7 months away). If these inflated prices remain the norm, it may spell the beginning of the end for us. We still cruise for the destinations and like to do more Princess excursions than anything else, but that will not remain if these kind of prices persist.

We arrived at Port Everglades (Blue Lane) and at check in they did not have our medallions. It took an extra couple minutes and they printed us the old cruise cards to board with, and told us to check in at guest services on board and they would get us medallions. Had to wait in line a few minutes at GS but got the medallions and on with the cruise.

We did this excursion last year (2023). For us, it was just over 4.5 hours from start to finish. We did our own thing, walking to Salomon beach with our own snorkel gear (there is a little bushwhacking involved to get there). Not a particularly sandy beach, but walking distance, off the road network, and uncrowded. We had "enough" time, but not a lot of time to enjoy there. Was a good day. I think if you take a taxi to another beach on St John from Cruz bay, the time waiting to travel to and from the beach will eat into your limited time, and you may feel a little rushed.

But it would be interesting to see - do people prefer the Sun over the Royal class? When we first started cruising, the Royal had just come out. We cruised on any ship - (itinerary over ship) but loved the Royal class. Over time, our booking preference shifted and we tend to avoid the older class in preference for Royal class now. I wonder if people will begin to feel like that about the Sun class over the Royal class? If you have sailed Sun - do you feel it is better than Royal class? How much better - enough that you would now seek to book Sun class only? We are booked on the Sun for January, and the Star for Oct 2025.

If booking in advance, you will pay full price. Once on board, you will see a credit back for the value of the 10%, but I believe it is non refundable OBC. You can use OBC to book in advance. For us, goodwill credits were listed and used exactly like all other OBC so we were able to use it in advance to book excurisons. If you cancel an excursion, the refund will come first to OBC. For example, say you had $100.00 OBC each and you booked two shore excursions, both costing $100 each. You would have used up your OBC booking the first and would have paid by credit card to book the second. Then later you decide to cancel one of the excursions. IT does not matter which one, as soon as you cancel the first one, your OBC will be returned to your account (no credit back to your credit card). If you then also decide to cancel the remaining one, that would then trigger a refund to your credit card.

Yes, same cruise for us (23 day Enchanted TA Nov 2026). This sale works for cruises far out on the timeline but not so good for our 2025 cruise plans, but I am satisfied with those deals already. Cabin wise, we will be close to you as we also got the same BW mid-ship with the extra sized balcony. We always go for these cabins on Royal class ships.

For our plans, this sale has worked out (at least for now). We are looking at a Nov 2026 cruise - so it is far off at the end of the posted Princess schedule. AS this itinerary has just come out, it is reasonably priced. And then add the $1200 additional OBC and it is a very good deal. Only thing is the non-refundable deposit. We are using our FCD's - so that adds more OBC. Will be fun trying to spend all this credit.

Today I noticed that for my January 2025 cruise just about all excursions ( a few exceptions) have jumped in price 20%. I figure this is a prelude to them sending me some exciting news about excursions being on sale for 20% off soon. In reality, the handful that did not increase will be the only ones with any real discount - and they are not very appealing - hence why they might be going on sale.

Hmm - is there no sale at all if not booking Princess Plus?

This is only true for those from Australia/NZ. You have to book through the Princess Australia site for this to apply. Us North Americans book through the US Princess site and still pay the daily gratuity.

Unique to Alaska, I often notice significant price reductions last minute (2 months out or so), but they usually only involve inside cabins (maybe some obstructed oceanviews). It seems the demand for balcony and above for Alaska is higher and I have rarely seen those room categories or above discounted. So, if you are okay with an inside, there can be some very inviting last minute deals.

I certainly hope not! Otherwise steer clear of gifting yourself or anyone else OBC that you actually pay for - you would never get it refunded if not used, unless you don't spend all the non refundable OBC as well. That would make no sense.