Honolulu Blue

Here's my best guess. New and shiny cruise ships have always been able to command a premium rate and fully book relatively quickly. Look at Icon OTS and the NCL Prima for recent examples of this. The only time they couldn't get that premium was during and immediately after the industry shutdown. Also, if I understand correctly, the cruise ship financing is mostly held by the shipyards, and their financing terms were relatively generous and flexible. After all, if the cruise line goes down, they're also in deep trouble. It's a balancing act between current cash outlay and potential future rewards.

You're welcome. The camera's not so hot and the cameraman is worse, but thanks for the kind words. I think I'll keep the outtakes to myself. 🤪

I attended this seminar this morning and will report on it here, because promises are for keeping. Only about 15 people attended in a lounge that could hold far more. A gentleman named Mario hosted. He covered the Medallion and its app, how to set it up (for both Apple and Android devices), and how to navigate the various sections of the app. Here are some slides that I found especially helpful: Mario actually fixed a setting for me on my phone. My phone MAC was defaulting to random and he changed it to device. I didn't notice any difference after that, but maybe it will prevent some problems down the line. Overall I thought it was worth the 45 minutes of my life it took up. Maybe take a look for it on your next Princess cruise?

Not as recent as others, but I did this December. Both bookings were online direct on the Princess site. It was fairly easy, though not as easy as Carnival (there you submit proof of a lower fare and they'll either give you the new fare or give you OBC in the amount of the difference). Refund was within a few days.

Hi. I'm on my way to the ship - this ship. Breakfast looks yummy; I hope to have something like it at least a few days this week. I'm happy to hear about the playlist. 👍 I'm less happy to hear about the quantity of B2B passengers. 👎I hope they're not the ones who spent an inappropriate amount of time at guest services. 🙏

I'm glad you're excited about something! I hope it lives up to your expectations!!

I'm going to those same ports on my cruise that starts tomorrow! I'm not worried about them.

I don't know why you're not getting The Voice on your cruise, but our schedule shows two nights of it. My view is I'd rather watch the tribute bands and the comedian.

Thanks for the heads up! I've had others say kind words about them, but it's always nice to hear more. P.S. On my other 80s themed cruise on the Regal 1 1/2 years ago, we got Slippery When Wet. They were pretty good; about as good as a BJ tribute band can be, IMHO (I'm not a fan).

I've done a couple of cruises in the Caribbean relatively recently on Celebrity ships with both plans. I had the premium on the Millie in November. No Starlink. Speeds varied from 0.3 mbps to 3 mbps. I had the basic plan on the Summit in February. We had Starlink. It seemed that that plan was throttled to keep users from going over 1 mbps as I tested between 0.88 and 0.94 the whole trip. Even with the slowest speed I saw, you shouldn't have much trouble downloading a single .pdf. It might take half a minute instead of the eye blink you're used to at home. If that's all you have to worry about, then I'd risk the basic plan. But YMMV.

I actually had something like this happen when I was boarding the Millie in November. As I was boarding the ship, I was greeted by a couple of employees, one of whom was a striped officer in uniform. The officer asked to see my card, noted that the muster station wasn't far from where we were, and offered to escort me there. I suppose I could have refused, but I learned long ago that when someone in authority offers to do something, you decline at your peril.

Thanks for sharing this. They actually said some nice words about our cruise in two days: Sailing on April 9, Ruby Princess will embark on a five-night ’80s-themed Caribbean getaway, transporting guests back in time with various themed events, music, and activities. The cruise will feature live music sets from a Journey tribute band, a Bon Jovi Tribute band, and a Prince tribute band. Passengers can also enjoy ’80s TV shows in their staterooms and watch ’80s blockbusters by the pool. Other themed activities include an ’80s deck party, live music, dances, trivia, costumes, and dress-up night. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I think we're going to miss this show during our upcoming cruise. See above for what's going to replace it.

Welcome to Cruise Critic! I'm sorry your cruise didn't turn out the way you planned it. Sadly, I think the refunds you've already gotten are all you're going to get - unless something else bad happens.

Thanks! I'm surprised they parceled it out to the penny, because all the Princess cruises I've taken have the total port fees as an even amount (e.g. $119).

Thanks for sharing. Cozumel is infamous for its pier runners, and it looks like you're going to have a few today. Have fun! 🙃

Navigator OTS

I was on the Summit in February. It was a charter, but I don't think that mattered. The cabin was serviced twice a day - regular cleaning in the morning, turndown in the evening. I was not offered a choice. BTW, on the Royal cruise I had last month (another charter), the service schedule was actually the same as I described on the Summit above - morning cleaning, evening turndown, no options given. YMMV. You're welcome.

I was on the Summit on a charter. I'm not a wine drinker, so I wouldn't have encountered her. Good luck. I hope you find her. She has a cool name.

Hi @talkorpi and all on the Ruby... If you want to satisfy my curiosity, try to find out what the port fees for Mahogany Bay & Costa Maya are, or were. Don't forget to back out the $75. Thanks!!

I've considered heading to Toledo, if I do anything at all. No cruise for me, though it does sound like fun for those who are into that sort of thing.

Richard and Arnold agree with you. FDR and LLP are joining their party sooner or later.

You're right, and thank you for the clarification. Two points before I leave this: Three of Celebrity's ships are expedition ships, which are far smaller than any other ship that they or Princess have. Princess doesn't have any expedition ships. Princess has a ship scheduled to start cruising in 2024 and another one in 2025. I don't know Celebrity's new build schedule other than the Ascent.

So many memories! I'll start with my January 2019 sailing on the Horizon. This is the only time I've sailed on a ship that was less than a year old. Some of you may recognize the guy in the photo; he had a substantial fan club back in the day: The next one is the last SOAS I won on my last sailing on Carnival in January 2020. The CD served up an easy trivia question and I knocked it out of the park. It was during another Morning Show. I could serve up memories, some with photos, all day, but I have other things I need to do. But I do like reading everyone else's. Thanks for sharing.

Welcome! I've booked a bunch of cruises, all solo, and haven't come across this. In fact, most of the time, I've seen the opposite - the price for a cabin for one with a full single tax is slightly LESS than the cost for two, because of fees and gratuities. Obviously, don't book anything that's unfair to you. Perhaps go through a travel agent and they'll set you straight on why this is happening.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Rob, the robot bartender on MSC Virtuosa.