BamaVol

21 minutes ago, Grego said:

Good advise seeing that we might have Nassau on our July 27th voyage depending on how ready the western Caribbean is for ships at that time.  I'm just labeling that voyage as the "Mystery Itinerary" instead of Western Caribbean. Not a problem wherever they decide to take us because it will be safe and the ship is the destination for us this cruise. 

Good luck and enjoy. 

18 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

I do this quick trip every year (including this one - see you on the ship). You can drink the second you set foot on the ship. I actually buy Premium on this short one as it includes two specialty dining and unlimited casual so I never have to go to the buffet or MDR...lol.

 

I’m guessing you’ll want to make those reservations early.  You may not be the only one who figured this out.

John Watlings Distillery is a worthwhile visit in Nassau.  In a big old building at the top of a hill.  It was maybe a 1 mile walk from the port.  Best frozen pina colada I’ve ever tasted, although walking a mile uphill in the heat might be the reason. Like you, Nassau was long ago checked off the list. After 5 stops there, I don’t believe I’d leave the ship.

1 minute ago, cruisinsince75 said:

How did it taste? 😄

Terry-ific. 

3 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

With us it wasn’t so much the size of the group but the behavior was too much to handle. Please let me know if you find that website. 

Oh, there was a behavior issue. Major clash of cultures.  
 

That website might be the holy grail. Maybe I imagined reading about it here. 

I’m probably oblivious but I can’t recall seeing QR codes anywhere. Only paper menus in the MDR and bound drink menus in the bars. But we only started sailing Princess in March 2023. 

13 hours ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

I was on a 3 day Princess cruise to Ensenada and unfortunately there was a kickball group onboard. Their behavior was just awful! There were probably over 1,200 in the group. They were all trashed the entire time. Sailaway began with them bouncing a blowup doll around the Lido deck. When we got to Ensenada they all wore Santa Claus suits. One of them told us that way if they were missing someone at the end of the day they could tell them to look for Santa.  Worst cruise ever. 

That rivals our NCL Epic Mediterranean cruise with 2,000 Chinese cosmetic saleswomen. 
 

I need to find a website that warns of large cruising groups. 

Dammit. My only future booking has gone up $24. I want in on all this fun. 

I have one future cruise booked at standard fare. My offer looks different. 
 

13 minutes ago, Throwdownmyace said:

Nope  lived there a couple years but I’m in Texas and my profile in Princess is Texas so it’s not that 

My mistake. Was the cruise currency USD?  

21 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

They fake values of items all the time.  

Actually it’s explained by the fact that the OP is from Australia. 

19 hours ago, Throwdownmyace said:

So you can’t trust what you’re booking online? It’s just a scam?

To me, it looks like Plus is free because you were already quoted a Plus fare which includes the package.

what puzzles me is the crossed out $93.  Shouldn’t that be $60? Was there an offer to upgrade to Premier for $20?

40 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Did the birthday cake made out of towels have a candle on it made out of towels? We had that on our river cruise this past spring on DW's birthday (as well as cake and singing).

 

Oh, and with that towel cake, there was a bottle of wine, something we have never received on an ocean cruise, a few of which we have celebrated a wedding anniversary

Candle, yes. Wine, no.

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

We've been onboard for a couple of anniversaries - and on cruises very close to anniversaries - and we don't tell them. We once, foolishly, listed my wife's birthday but we really don't need singing or any extra desserts. Nope, nope, nope.

I lie about it. Our first 2 Princess cruises were anniversary and birthday celebrations. Except they weren’t. I made the dates up. I did request no singing. And we didn’t eat the dessert. But I did get a birthday cake made out of towels. 

2 hours ago, wallyj said:

 

Our sailings were over 100% double occupancy at about 4100 passengers each sailing. I believe 3660 is 100% at double occupancy. I believe we had less than 300 elites each sailing.

 

 

I would bet your 4,100 is close to the mark.  We sailed her 6/15 and I walked multiple decks looking at screens by the door.  I could not believe how many cabins showed 3 and 4 names.  Most appeared to be Princess virgins or gold, saw very few platinum/elite. We were told by a fellow passenger at the Crown Grill bar that she heard there were 700 minors on board. Many of them would have been 3rd and 4th beds. It sure felt like well over 100% capacity.

We didn’t use the laundry but my daughter used the laundromat and had to look on several decks to find an empty machine. Sounds like you had excellent service.

@geoherb thank you for the appropriate title on your post. Your comments follow the title. I sometimes see posts with titles like “Don’t ever sail Island Princess”. 
 

First of all, I don’t take orders from anyone. 
 

Second, even the cruiser with the worst experience ever can acknowledge that their experience isn’t universal. They just got unlucky. Your post is a warning of what can happen. Add all the posters with issues and subtract all the posters who had the best cruise ever and you have a balanced sense of what to expect. 
 

It does sound like there are problems that need to be fixed. I guess I’d be leery if I was one of those sailing between now and dry dock. But probably not leery enough to cancel. I’d just keep my eyes open wide and be ready to advocate on my behalf. 

I suspect this situation is an idiot proofing measure to prevent people from making changes to future cruises when they meant to make changes to their current cruise. Or vice versa. It’s meant to keep the lines shorter at the CS desk. I could be wrong. But sometimes a bug really is a feature. 

We agree on the large ships. We’re going back to Grand class for our next cruise. I love a wooden promenade that circles the ship and for me the forward stairs are a bonus. 
 

I always travel with a 13 gal garbage bag for laundry - land or sea. 
 

If we like our waitstaff, we ask to be seated in the same section every night. Usually the same table. That request has always been honored. 
 

I’ll pass on the gelato. No dairy or sugar for me. You can have mine. 

Shower gel isn’t for men?  When was the last time you shopped that aisle in a big box store?  
 

Sadly, understaffing is a common theme this summer. We had the same experience on Enchanted 2 weeks ago.  I put it down to a full ship. I’ll be looking for a review from someone sailing at less than capacity to see if it holds true.

Any particular reason you didn’t sail for 10 years?  It does give you a different perspective from someone who sails regularly with the same line.  10 years is a lot of change to absorb all at once,

Ship Enchanted

Class Royal

Deck Aloha

Cabin# A205

Category mini-suite

Port/Starboard forward starboard side

Connects n/a

Accessible no

Quiet Yes, past forward-most stairs, no through traffic

Balcony Size standard (cramped)

View looks down on extended balconies 2 or 3 decks below, looks forward to the starboard bridge extension

Privacy Issues none

Wind yes, but not unexpected while in motion

Soot no

Problems minor issue with no cold water at the sink, just hot or lukewarm.

Comments we bid on a suite, but were happy not to receive one as our daughter’s family was in an interior cabin directly across the corridor. We specifically booked this category to provide them with a little extra space. At the right price, we would book this cabin again but are usually satisfied with a balcony or ocean view. 

I was disappointed to miss it on Enchanted a week ago.  I never saw it listed in the patter -either paper or on-line.  My granddaughter was looking forward to it. 

As of last year, the classes we took for free with Plus were priced at $30 without. 

We are booked on Grand Princess for a 4/8 west coast sailing and I have no worries whatsoever.  I used to live in Panama City Beach.  You do not want to be there during Spring Break in March. The other 11 months are fine, although families do crowd the Redneck Riviera during the summer months..

10 minutes ago, paddingtonbear said:

Have you written a cabin review to help others avoid that cabin problem?

I read all those reviews before I book. 

I don’t think I did.  E307 on Caribbean Princess, specifically. But really any cabin facing a big “empty” space on the deck plans has that potential.

I am getting ready to add my review for A205 on Enchanted Princess.  No issues at all with that one.