Sundiego

We have sailed Alaska on all 3 cruise lines. Our most recent was Sept 2022 on the NCL Bliss. We are big fans of NCL but honestly, the Bliss was not that great for Alaska. It's a great ship, but also a big ship and was docked far from the ports. We kept saying how relieved we were that we had been to the ports before because getting off the ship and "into town" was a hassle and I imagine some first time cruisers were surprised and disappointed by that. I recommend Princess and if you have a choice of ships (and I'm guessing you will), the smaller the better. Enjoy! Denise

@no1talks and @RichYak I was able to confirm that info you gave me regarding earned points expiring. You are correct and thanks so much for bringing that to my attention. Decision made. I'll let status expire. Too many other cruise options out there to jump through the hoops to keep it. Thanks for all the helpful feedback! Denise

Wow! That seems really unfair. We have status with other cruise lines, some of which we haven't cruised in quite some time and those aren't affected so I had no clue this would happen. I'll check further but thanks for bringing to my attention! Denise

Thanks for this! I over-looked that benefit. I did double check and the discounts also apply to silver & gold. We have "earned" gold status so even if Diamond expires, we would still get discounts. Denise

When I said "we would only cruise the YC" I meant that IF we were cruising the YC, I'm not sure the Diamond status matters. We have no problem with steerage. It's the "grab a 3 day cruise" that's an issue. Traveling from the west coast to Florida coast can get pricey, plus there are no direct flights for us so it's not so easy-peasy. I'm just trying to think through the pros & cons of DIAMOND before we let it expire. Thanks. Denise

We are Diamond through a status match since 2018. We haven't sailed MSC since pre-Covid (Sept 2019). Before then, we enjoyed 3 Yacht Club cruises, including a transatlantic. Our Diamond status will expire at the end of October, 2023. Our dilemma... should we try to squeeze in an MSC cruise before the end of October? Since we would only cruise the YC, I'm not sure if the Diamond status really gives us much benefit. If we lose the Diamond status, I don't think we could get it back through a match because honestly, it was easier to qualify back in 2018. So, expert advice needed 🙂 Should we scramble to keep that Diamond status or not bother? Thanks!! Denise

I don't know why there's so much criticism of @RocketMan275 method. I do the exact same thing. My TA discounts the fare (especially for Princess cruises). Sometimes the larger "umbrella agency" she works under has free gratuities on top of discounts. She can quickly view any casino perks I might have and applies them. She ensures the Veteran perk gets applied. If we want to upgrade as prices start dropping after final payment, she willingly helps with that. If I need to reach her, I usually just send a quick email and she gets back to me quickly. Someone on this site gave me the name of my TA about 5 years ago and we use her for every cruise, regardless of cruiseline. ~Denise

Hi there! We spent a number of days in Dublin a few weeks ago. Friends recommended Darkey Kelly's and it did not disappoint! The food was good, the bar prices reasonable. It's by the lobby of the Harding Hotel. Great music later in the day, but sounds like you won't be there past lunch. Temple Bar (the actual bar) is crowded and pricey. Locals don't hang out there. The Temple Bar area can be over-the-top touristy so if that's not your thing, I'd wander away from it. Denise

Just to give you a real-world example, we just flew back from Dublin where you clear US customs in Dublin (as opposed to arriving in the United States). Although the Global Entry kiosks would have breezed us to the front of the line, there was no line 🙂 so it didn't make a bit of difference. On the other hand, my sister and her daughter came back from a European trip and cleared customs at IAH (Houson). They were in line for over an hour after a long fight and tiring trip. She would have gladly paid $100 for that one global entry had she known. ~Denise

We just spent a week in Dublin so I have some recent first hand experience. 1. Do it yourself, don't use a ship's excursion for Dublin. The transportation system is reliable and super easy. Use Google Maps and clicking on the transportation option you'll see the DART is a straight shot into town. 2. We were somewhat under-whelmed by the Guinness Storehouse. They no longer brew the Guinness there so we found the tour to be over-the-top touristy. Unless you're a huge fan of Guinness, I'd skip it and have your Guinness elsewhere, like at The Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub. Or Darkey Kellys if you want to add an order of small bites or lunch. 3. Our favorite "touristy" thing in Dublin was the Irish Whisky museum. You can book it online directly through the museum. It is very central, across from Trinity College (Book of Kells). Hope this helps! ~Denise

Question... DH and I each have plenty of OBC. I booked an excursion online a few weeks ago for a September cruise. On the Princess site, it shows the excursion as booked and paid. But looking at our OBC, I don't see where it's been deducted. I know it hasn't been paid via credit card. Is this typical? Thanks! ~Denise

No physical limitations. We had a similar "walk" with a Neptune suite on HAL and it's actually a good excuse to get a few extra steps in 🙂 Thanks for the feedback! Denise PS ... it's A102

Thanks for posting this question! We just booked a premium suite (S5) on the Regal for a Sept British Isles cruise. We have cruised A LOT but only a handful of times on Princess. Can someone who has been in one of those forward facing suites comment on the best deck? We booked Aloha (deck 12) thinking that would be the "shortest" walk to the Concierge lounge on deck 14. Thoughts on the bridge overhang or anything else we should consider? Thanks!! Denise

OP here... thank you! If they do indeed have Bushmills, that will work 🙂 Denise

Haven't cruised Princess in awhile. Husband likes Whistle Pig but I don't see that or any other rye whiskies. I did find this list on another site. Does it look like a pretty accurate list of his options? Thanks! Denise

Some helpful person in this thread told me to call instead which I did. The lady I talked to was awesome and sorted everything out. Only a certain percentage of reservations are open prior to sailing, I believe one of the dates was not available but once onboard, our concierge desk was extremely helpful in doing everything we needed. Denise

Just off the Escape. I would visit the "restaurant reservation people" shortly after boarding to get this checked off your list so you can get on with enjoying your cruise 🙂 Restaurant reservations are located at the far end of the Guest Service Desk (left hand side). They have all the menus available if you want to look at them before choosing a restaurant, but it sounds like you've made your choices. Have a great cruise! ~Denise

Just off the Escape transatlantic. At one of the officer Q&A's, the question was asked if the "Behind The Scenes" tours were coming back. The answer was yes, very soon they will be back. ~Denise

@KateQ22003 summed it up nicely. This thread is sure to take a turn into "do you tip extra". My answer... we typically tip our room steward extra on the last day because on just about every cruise we feel they go above and beyond to make our trip better. We don't always tip bartenders extra, but if we enjoy a particular bar we make it a point to tip the servers and the bartenders each time we go. We like to stay in the Haven which does include tipping the concierge and butler separate from the daily service charge. Enjoy your cruise!! Denise

Gary, you are so funny, thanks for the laugh. Roll Tide 🙂 Denise (native Californian temporarily transplanted to Huntsville, AL!)

I totally agree with this 🙂 I'm an Excel junkie who is also a control freak and and my husband appreciates this because he's the opposite and feels blessed to have someone with the patience to do the planning. To me, planning is half the fun and tracking the pesky details isn't work, it's satisfying. Enjoy your posts, Gary!! Denise

^^^This. We were on the Bliss last month and our little one-cup coffee maker was on the top shelf of the closet. We put it on the desk and asked the room steward to keep us stocked with coffee. No problem. 🙂 Denise

Spreadsheet peeps unite!! Denise

This was my experience! At @Sthrngarysuggestion, I phoned them. The gal was super helpful. I'll elaborate a bit for the benefit of people who have a similar situation ... we have 5 specialty dinners (2 platinum, 3 package) and due to itinerary changes, some of the ones I had booked months ago weren't a fit anymore. I know they only have about 25% of restaurant time slots available for reserving pre-cruise and she tweaked what she could. But most important, she was forwarding requests to the onboard Concierge who will finish things up 2 days prior to boarding when he has access to the full reservation system. Then she went through the list of other preferences. We've stayed in the Haven before but I had never taken advantage of this so thanks for recommending. It was nice to get this off my to-do list and not have to bother the Concierge day of boarding when I'm sure we'll both be busy 🙂 Denise

Question about requests made to the "pre-cruise Concierge" via email. We're on a 16-day transatlantic leaving Rome Nov 1st. We have 5 specialty dinners but my reservations are a mess (nobody's fault). So I emailed the pre-cruise Concierge last Friday with what we had reserved so far and what we wanted tweaked. I got the automated reply saying I'd hear something in 48 hours and I've heard nothing. So... should I follow-up, maybe with a phone call, or just let it be and go to the Concierge once we board the ship? This isn't a huge deal to us but it would be nice to get it squared away. Thanks! Denise