BamaVol

RE: giving money to Princess in advance. For a 7 day cruise for 2, I give Princess $840 for Plus. I can earn 4% interest in my money market account. That amounts to $2.80 for every month Princess holds my money. I don’t worry about numbers that small when I’m paying thousands for the cruise.

I book with an auto club TA that does participate.

Avoid the Strip Loin. Tough like Shoe Leather. But it is the steak that shows up most frequently.

At least go back once and get the names of the offenders for your post-cruise survey.

The kitchen is preparing thousands of dinners every night. They won’t miss you if you decide to eat elsewhere on a whim. In all likelihood, your meal will not be prepared until you arrive and sit down. Most of the ingredients are interchangeable and will be used elsewhere and turn up on someone else’s plate. You need not feel guilty at all. There is much more general food waste on a cruise than on land because it’s already been paid for. People will order multiple dishes and try only a bite. Some will leave heaping piles of untouched food on plates in the buffet because their eyes were bigger than their stomachs. Avoid that and you have nothing to worry about.

Two points that may have been overlooked. Both passenger one and two in a cabin must be on the same FARE. So if you select the Plus FARE, so must your cabin-mate. A single individual may purchase the Plus beverage package at no obligation to others in the cabin. This is why it MAY make sense. If you pay to have your medallion shipped, but purchase Plus fare on board, you may contact Guest Services to obtain a $10 OBC refund.

Hahaha. You don’t think people will show up at the wrong dining room, sit where they don’t belong and demand to be served?

Only reservations for cruises departing Septmber 14 or later will be cancelled. My June 15 reservations will stay. one of the YouTube cruise bloggers ran an unscientific poll last week and got 3,000 replies. Only 18% want traditional dining. I project an imbalance.

I don’t think you can receive a paper check anymore. The option wasn’t offered when I started collecting SS. Old rule - New times.

I miss some aspects of my job. But there’s a lot I don’t miss. Typically retirees spend conservatively to start out. After 4-5 years, they realize they’re not immortal and draw from savings to live it up a little. Then health issues reduce travel and spending goes down for a while. Finally the health issues get serious and spending ramps back up. I’d like to think I’m set for all phases - just starting phase II. YMMV

And if I do have to abandon ship, at least there are a couple bars handy for what might be my last drink.

Let me try a slightly better shot. It clearly indicates with icon and print that my muster station is the captains circle loyalty desk. It looks odd and it might change. But that life preserver is pointing to a location. Does anyone show something different or is that a placeholder we all see until on board?

This is Enchanted Princess.

On the app, I was looking at the “explore the ship” diagrams and noticed that in addition to restrooms, I could identify “muster station”. It only shows one, even if I switch to a different deck it takes me back to the same spot. Captains’s Circle loyalty desk is where it takes me every time. Will that be our muster station? If so, can I check in on my way up to my cabin (or lunch or the bar, depending on when we embark)?

I have no idea what the majority wants, but I can predict chaos for the roll-out. I’m glad I’m not sailing the first week.

Same with our 6/15 Enchanted departure. At one point, it showed “board games available” starting at 10:00 am daily, but that disappeared a couple weeks ago. All that remains is an invitation to book excursions.

I just read another thread here on when the laundry is least busy. One poster recommended between 10 and 11 at night. The laundry rooms are technically not supposed to be used between 10 and 8 am IIRC. But I’ve never encountered a locked door.

This is because they changed the rule in February. And they allowed those of us who made reservations prior to the change to keep them.

I wasn’t condoning theft. I would not personally take something that wasn’t mine to take or share something that wasn’t mine to share. I was merely pointing out to another poster who seemed ok with it, that it would be impossible to steal some things, difficult to steal others and that there consequences if one was caught.

You said the teen got all the Plus benefits without the alcohol. They don’t get crew appreciation. WiFi, yes. Room service, yes. Ordering with the app, yes. They can use a parent’s Plus for those. But not alcohol or crew appreciation, casual dining, exercise classes. Soda, desserts, water, coffee are possible if you share and don’t get caught.

Using the OP’s approach, a package is a no brainer for me. On land, I drink alcohol, drink lots of coffee and water, dine out regularly (and tip generously), I spend hours on the internet. Why would I suffer without those things on a cruise?

The final bill always comes to zero. If it is a credit balance, it is referred to the finance department to cut a check. If there is a balance owed, your credit card is charged. I wonder if most of us get a check. I ended my first princess cruise with a <$10 credit balance but never saw a check. Hardly worth the effort it would have taken. My second Princess cruise we ended with a small debit balance that was accurately charged to my credit card.

I’m told the policy changed in February. I made my reservations before final payment. But under the old rules in January.

I’ve yet to dine at a buffet on land or at sea where each dish was labeled with ingredients, including possible allergens. Occasionally, I go to a potluck in my community where one or two dishes have ingredients labeled. I figure those were made by someone who has an allergy and they are being thoughtful. “Fried rice” implies two ingredients. I’ve never seen fried rice with only rice and oil involved in the preparation and it seems people with allergies would be aware of that and ask before helping themselves.

What about crew appreciation?