BamaVol

53 minutes ago, ian441672 said:

Hi

 

Quick question, if you please.

 

We are on a 20 day Caribbean cruise on the Enchanted in March 2026 (made up of 2 x 10 day cruises, although we have booked it as one as it worked out cheaper and we kept the same suite).To help me make a decision whether to upgrade to the new Premier unlimited SD (we already have the 'basic' Premier, with 2 SD plus the suite first night meal), are they likely to repeat the same first 10 day menu for the second 10 day element of the cruise, or would it be 20 days of different menu's?

 

I have been on several B2B before and they have just repeated the menu on the second leg, which doesn't always work in my favour and get get repetitive and boring, so the option of unlimited SD may be appealing if they repeat the whole cycle of the menu again half way through our overall single cruise?

 

Thanks.

Expect the menu to repeat on the second ten days. 
 

But, with 5 or 6 entrees on the menu each day, that’s 50-60 over 20 days. You will only be able to eat 1/3 of what’s offered. Unless you order and eat 3 each dinner. Even then, no repeats. 

There are many organizations in the US that collect blood besides the Red Cross.  I have donated to Treasure Coast Blood Bank in So Fla and Medic in Tn . There are two in my current area. One Blood has never issued me a physical card nor have I seen one online. I suppose I could log in and show my blood type and date of last donation. 

On 8/22/2024 at 12:33 PM, Beamafar said:

Thank you for that.
 

I’m not keen on giving a TA/cruise company any more money upfront than I need to.  Final payment for us is 15 weeks prior to sailing. If I wait til onboard, my credit card bill for onboard spending won’t be due for payment til the end of February.  I’d rather have the money earning interest in my account than in theirs. 

 

I’ll keep an eye out for any news about Plus cost being increased;  I’ll consider pre-payment if and when that happens. 

If you are earning 5%, that’s $12 for a 7 nighter. I’ve never seen it, but theoretically packages can sell out.  That is even more likely with the new Premier90.

O’Malley’s featured an Irish duo playing a mixture of traditional Irish music and contemporary tunes with an Irish twist while I was aboard.  They played, I think, 3 sets a night.  It was always packed.  I don’t know that there is a guarantee you will hear something similar but it is an attempt at authenticity.

The two trivia games I attended featured large screens.  In fact, a blind passenger would have been unable to compete as what was shown on the screen often was the question.  Example: 10 scenes from 70’s movies.  Identify the movie.

Assuming a table for two and a mid ship MDR, I’d say go for it.  We had a table for 6 in the aft DR and arrived at shows on Enchanted with sufficient time (theater all the way forward) each night we chose to attend.

We could never get a table.  But stood in the piazza outside and enjoyed the music.

BTW, your title has gotten an auto parts chain jingle stuck in my head.

We sailed Sapphire last September and loved the ship.  It had everything we needed.  Our favorite spaces are Wheelhouse bar, Vines, Good Spirits, Crooners and International Cafe. The size is perfect.  We had all the room we needed.  A walk around promenade deck is a big plus for us. No issues with decor or facilities. Some of the nicest and best crew we’ve encountered, although most have surely moved on. You don’t mention cabin, but IMO a balcony at a minimum is a must for Alaska. We had one on the Aloha deck and were pleased with it.

We sailed her mid-June.  While I did not notice the more egregious examples cited by the OP, it did appear there was a shortage of crew which would explain the shortcomings.  About the worst I saw was a server using a dirty napkin to smear food all over a cocktail table instead of wiping it down with a sanitized cloth. When he brought our drinks, we moved to another table nearby. Which probably wasn’t any cleaner but the evidence was less obvious.

Fully staffed ships aren’t necessarily clean.  But short staffed ships are definitely not clean.

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

If that is the case I will propose having a bunch of folks take premier for a short cruise and using no specialty dinners to jam the MDR would that send them for a loop ?

If they don’t create more SD space, there will be unhappy Premier purchasers who are unable to take advantage of their package benefits.  I would expect Princess to attempt to please cruisers who paid an extra $90 a day over those sailing with standard or Plus at $30 less.

7 hours ago, memoak said:

Then where do you put all 3 types of MDR dining ?  I book suites so I am guaranteed no wait dining. Also the ambiance of the MDR should not cost as much as Crown Grill

So maybe half an MDR.  If Premier purchasers aren’t using the dining room, it will be available to generate revenue.

12 minutes ago, dog said:

I usually book standard and appreciate that princess still allows purchasing water and bringing soda on board. 
I expect the MDR will be less crowded and less noisy. It maybe even more difficult to get a specialty restaurant dining time we want. Casual restaurants will have line ups. Delivery will take longer. Line ups at bars. And the Crews are overworked even more.

If the drinking gets to be too much like the Carnival party ships, I’ll find a new vacation. 

I wouldn’t be surprised to find one of the MDRs on each ship converted to multiple specialty and casual dining venues to handle increased demand from Premier passengers. 

My projection of increased benefits with the next Plus price increase:

Unlimited mega-desserts

16 drinks per day

2 device Wi-Fi

Party hats for everyone 

7 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

While the safe money is always on betting on price increases, here, the price increase to Premier came with a fairly significant change.  I doubt that they will roll out a price increase to Plus without also adding an additional perk or two.  It's not likely that they are working on a press release that says: "Pay $10 extra for Premier and get unlimited everything!  Pay $10 more for Plus and get bupkis!"  So if an increase is coming, so too must a change. What do you suppose it will be?  2 included SD visits?  

We don’t bother with casual dining, specialty dining or mega-desserts.  Room service might be once per cruise.  We buy the Plus package for drinks, internet, crew appreciation, lots of bottled water and a couple specialty coffees a day. Not many of our drinks are over $10. It saves us money.  But there is nothing we lack. I don’t want to pay more for more that we wouldn’t use.  

27 minutes ago, whitecap said:

I didn't see any post by "Karen", must have missed it.  I did see a post where someone voiced their opinion about desserts.  Here is what I wish Princess would get rid of:  smoking anywhere on the ship; any animal that has not been certified as a "Service Dog" with proper paperwork from a medical official; guys like me, fat, ugh sorry, obese wearing speedos; people who use so much cologne/perfume their presence is smelled long after they have gone; and people who standing a food line, eating and handling food utensils.  Just to name a few.  Now back to the original topic.

All that is coming in the future.  It’s called the Karen Package.  No price announced yet.

Those who have been pining for the days of all inclusive cruising should be pleased.  This is a move in that direction.  I was planning on booking Plus after embarkation for our April trip.  I think it might be wise to go ahead and book it now.  I smell a Plus price increase coming.

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I can certainly understand why someone would feel the need to suddenly flush a crack pipe or coke spoon but the other stuff, why just why?

I assume the toothbrushes were clumsily dropped by cabin attendants who were merely rinsing those belonging to their least favorite passengers. 

I have 10’s and 25’s. The 25’s will hold binoculars and heavier items. Sometimes I can accomplish the same with two 10’s. I think heavier is better. 

On 2/4/2024 at 12:24 PM, Daisyloo said:

Princess needs to get rid of the Grand. We were on her about 10 years ago and she was in rough shape then.  We were in the mid aft area and our whole area lost power for a few hours several times.  There were leaking pipes in our hallway, with multiple buckets catching drips. They had big industrial fans blowing to dry the carpets.  The whole area stunk of sewage.  We said then that we would never sail on the Grand again.  

10 years ago Grand Princess was 16 years old.  If Princess had to get rid of every ship before it reaches the age of 16, that’s half their fleet.  Cruising would get pretty expensive that way.  Ships go to dry dock periodically and come back in better shape.  You may have sailed through “the perfect storm” of delayed maintenance issues, of which you listed two.  I’m not canceling my April cruise on Grand up the US west coast. Of course, a/c will not be as critical then and there. I hate reading about bad cruise experiences due to equipment breakdowns but I know they happen. So far, not to us and I prefer the older ships. If Princess gets rid of them all, I will follow them and sail the line that purchases them, at least until they turn down the volume in the Piazza on the new ones.

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Enchanted Piazza was so loud, starting at 9 am.  But, so was the Crown and the Sapphire.  It’s their new thing to crank up the volume, and maybe people will clear out?  😆 

We’ve spoken to the sound man on these ships, but doesn’t seem to matter.  Even Guest Svcs couldn’t hear me. 
 

I purchased expensive ear plugs for our next cruise.

 

I love music, but would like to have a conversation and hear the waiter when they speak to you.  We too, retreated to our balcony…many times on our long cruises. 
 

If it’s a trend, I’m disappointed.  We experienced the high decibels on Enchanted in June but Sapphire was quiet as a mouse in September last year.  Our next cruise is Grand in April.  If it’s noisy in the piazza, I’m switching to HAL. 

I don’t eat sweets.  But my go-to late night snack is a tuna salad croissant from the IC.  In the morning, I always look for wedges of fresh grapefruit.

I feel like I’ve just finished a good book. And the sequel hasn’t been written yet. Very much looking forward to the next one.

2 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

What would you do if you had the “Privacy Please” sign on and your room steward stood outside the door and phoned you? This has now happened twice and both times he woke me up.

 

To me, do not disturb means do not disturb and not “call me!”

What did he want?  I would probably slip him a note under the door telling him to go away and stay away unless the ship catches fire. 

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Have you ever tried the Three Wise Men? I found a bartender who is passionate about whiskey and he told me about it yesterday. Today I went for it! 
 

The three wise men are Jack Daniel’s, Jim Beam and Jameson. Serve with ginger ale and a twist. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to walk or make coherent sentences after this but it sure is good. My dad would shake his head at me!

 

 

Does it count as three drinks on the plus tally board?

After 3 pics in a row, I thought maybe you had found the 69p shop. Which I don’t suppose is a real thing. 

2 hours ago, Muckyduckway said:

Sorry that your 'first' Guinness was sullied. Are you normally fond of stouts?

There are many combos made with Guinness and I'm of the opinion that most were created for those who want to like Guinness but don't. Holds hand up in embarrassment 😳 

I actually love the name recognition and international cultural association that Guinness has developed - it's almost always the first thing people say back to us wherever we are on the world when they find out where we're from.

I'm old enough to remember when it was an old geezers drink or prescribed as a "pick me up".

Amazing what a good marketing campaign can do!

I do love a dry Irish stout but am not partial to Guinness.  However I can drink Black and Tan after Black and Tan.  I’m sure an Irishman sees that as an abomination, but I like what I like.