BamaVol

I lived in East Tennessee for 10 years and became a Volunteer fan (despite having gone to Clemson). Years later, I found myself with a job offer that I couldn’t turn down in East central Alabama. I felt like a fish out of water for 7 years there. We returned to Tennessee but my daughter stayed and married a rabid Bama fan. She’s partially converted and has two kids - one says Roll Tide, the other says Go Vols. Now, the family is split across Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Iowa and Oregon. I remain a Tennessee fan. One Caribbean Princess feature I didn’t mention is the full promenade deck walking/jogging track. There are strategically placed benches and occasional deck chairs if you just want to sit. We still aim for 10-12,000 steps a day, taken at a leisurely pace. Warning; it goes up and down stairs at the bow. The staircases are narrow and sometimes you have to wait for other walkers to complete the climb/descent but everyone is nice about it. I like that there are multiple places to sit and enjoy being at sea without sitting around the pool. She has several in addition to the track, including one specifically for wake watchers.

Princess will be an older crowd compared to Royal Caribbean. Games and activities will be similar. I like Princess MDR food better, but it’s been a long time since I’ve sailed RC. We were on Caribbean Princess in March and were very satisfied with the condition and layout of the ship. Very friendly crew. The ship is not designed to please active families with teens and young children: no water slides, no go karts, no rock climbing walls. I assume at 80+, this is not what you seek. We have our first guarantee cabin coming up in September. I think you have to believe that the cabin location you receive will be less desirable than one you might select yourself. That’s why the price is lower. You will be further forward or aft, possibly under a nightclub or over a theater. But we felt like Princess cruisers go to bed earlier than other lines we are familiar with so noise at night won’t be a big issue.

Do you mean craft beer? I’m not sure what a premium beer is. Lagunitas IPA and Sam Adams Lager are generally found on US sailings.

Same here. But no one asked as it passed through the X-ray machine in my carryon. My backup is a multiple USB port that plugs into an outlet. All we need to power are phone, watch and iPad chargers.

Last week, at 90 days out, I booked 5:30 dining times for all 7 nights of our Alaska cruise. It was just as easy for our 10 night March Panama Canal cruise. We skipped the shows but could have been ready for a 7:30 performance 9/10 nights had we chosen to go. Are you scrolling through times? It may show 8:40 but spin that dial for earlier times.

I currently have an ocean view guarantee on the Sapphire. My upgrade options include these cabins and a regular balcony. The minimum is $15 and $320 respectively. I’m taking a shot at both.

Right now, I’m being told boarding won’t begin until 12:30. But this is 85 days from now. If true, what hours can I expect the MDR to be open for lunch on embarkation day? In March, on CB, I couldn’t find the right DR and used my medallion to order a chicken salad sandwich. It may have come from the International cafe. It was good but took 45 minutes to find me.

Throw it overboard and go ask for a fresh one.

Cost. My wife and I have had passports for years. Three of my four children have passports. I am taking my adult daughter, her husband and their two children on a cruise. I am paying. I would describe the couple as “working poor”. They get by but just barely. The likelihood of them leaving the country other than this one cruise is minuscule. If they needed passports, it would be up to me to pay for all four. The cruise isn’t booked yet, but it will only visit two ports in the Bahamas. I’m willing to pay for the cruise and they are grateful. If they had to pay for passports, they would have to decline. I’m already over budget but committed because I’d like my grandchildren to experience a cruise once in their lives. It might even inspire them to a higher level of financial achievement than their parents. If I had to pay for their passports on top of fare, gratuities, drinks, souvenirs for the kids, etc, I probably wouldn’t make the offer.

Yes, what Princess does consistently is behave inconsistently. Except when it comes to naming things.

We went from 3800:to 2000 to 1800 or 1350. The last one was the painful move because: no garage. I had boxes of mementos. The boxes had one-way openings: things went in but never came out. I went through each box and photographed anything interesting. I texted the pictures to my kids. Then I tossed it. We donated what others might want. It’s just stuff. Most meant nothing to anyone but us. I like living with less.

Ours came in separate boxes. But your solution would work.

You get a discount and Princess gets a kickback. Probably better to negotiate a cash price if you are interested.

I saw several shops at the port in Falmouth Jamaica with signs. But I have no need for overpriced jewelry.

We sailed the first week of March and there was no obvious short-staffing. We did have conversations with a few crew members who were getting close to the end of their contracts, but that’s normal. I did think the MDR was slow the first night, but only the first night. That seems to be common. I have no idea why.

And done either at night or during turnover.

I’ve only sailed three lines, but my experience has been the same. You’re either comfortable taking a shower in a phone booth, or you’re comfortable paying a lot of money for something bigger and better. I have not been in an “accessible” cabin. That might be an opportunity for the OP.

Good to know.

Just because you don’t see roaches doesn’t mean they aren’t there. One = hundreds, none = zero isn’t likely. One may represent one. Zero could also represent hundreds. I think they’re everywhere. They thrive in the tropics. In fact they thrive everywhere.

Yes. I was making light. Cockroaches are very resourceful and virtually impossible to eradicate. And, of course, it’s not like an apartment building where you can have your apartment treated so the roaches move next door. I always assumed there were roaches and rats on every ship I sailed, as well as a program designed to keep the populations in check and keep the survivors out of sight for the most part. I live in Florida. They are a fact of life.

Me too. I had assumed they were all eaten by the rats.

I live in a 55+ community where name tags are distributed and we are encouraged to wear them to events. More than once, I have spotted someone wearing their name tag upside down. Or worse, wearing a spouses name tag. When you tell someone here that you’ve forgotten their name, a common response is “hopefully you still remember your own”. I think the medallion has your name so you grab the right one, and not your cabin-mate’s. I don’t know how close you would have to be to read someone else’s.

Not so much a fault as a misunderstanding. When you click on an activity and say you’re going, it isn’t creating a reservation. It has no purpose that Princess has shared with us.

I think it is still something that might attract new cruisers which is something Princess is focused on and needs to focus on.

I clicked on a link posted on CC to get to the coupon book. I would say there is no control over use of the coupons.