OnVacation11

I will be going on my 3rd solo Princess cruise in October. Like the other poster, I like anytime dining so I can decide when to go to dinner and to share a table. Many times I keep getting seated with the same people if we tend to go to the dining room around the same time. On sea days I like to go the dining room for breakfast and lunch as I am not a buffet fan.

This upcoming cruise has many sea days so I am bringing my iPad, books and craft projects. I have no problem being by myself. If I feel like company, there should be many activities during the day or I can get a cup of tea in International Café and people watch.

On the upcoming cruise I am doing a mix of ships excursions, our roll call excursions and on my own.

The only think I dislike is the high single supplement :mad:

Enjoy your cruise.

Wonderful pictures ! Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise with us.

I have had this happen a few times to me. I found out that it only happened when I was trying to pick my seats on the flights I selected. When I finally just booked the flights without picking seats, it would go through with no problem. I would then go back (sometimes a day or two later) and pick my seats and enter my frequent flier numbers. You might try that.

Thanks for the suggestion. This worked for me. I was getting the error this morning but now went back and selected the same flights without the seat assignments and the reservation went through.

Now let's see how much United wants to charge for an isle seat :mad:

Thank you for doing a Live From. This was one of may favorite cruises and I fell in love with Norway.

I hope the nice weather hold out for you as it did for us. The North Cape was hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky.

Enjoy your cruise !!!

On my recent Diamond cruise not many men wore tuxes. Mostly sport coats with ties. I had 2 Aussie gents at my table - one wore sport coat and a tie and the other had on a dress shirt with a tie.

The Japanese ladies were much more dressed up than us, westerners. Mostly black cocktail dresses with a few lovely kimonos.

I recently returned from my 1st solo long cruise after my mom died last year. I spend 16 days cruising Japan on the Diamond Princess with 2 days in Osaka before the cruise.

Yes, it was far away but Japan will never get closer to US and I will get older ...

Yes, it was expensive but I was lucky and got upgraded from Inside to Balcony.

I loved Japan so I am planning another cruise to southern Japan and Taiwan next May.

I discovered that I really enjoyed traveling by myself. I booked excursions that appealed to me and decided which at which ports I like to do my own thing. If I wanted alone time, I hang out on my balcony and if I wanted to socialize, I hang out in the common areas.

Diamond only has Traditional dining so I had the same dinner companions for the 16 days. On several nights I brought food to my cabin so I could eat on the balcony and enjoy the sunset or passing scenery.

We had exceptionally nice weather so on sea days I usually grabbed a chair by the Terrace Pool in the back of the ship. The same people were there each time so we got to know each other.

It was a great cruise and I can't wait to do another one. If my job gets eliminated in September and I get my severance pay as expected, I am treating myself to the LA-Hawaii-Tahiti-LA 28 day cruise and I am going by myself again.

My advice would be to give it a try and see what happens. If you don't enjoy traveling solo, you don't have to do it again :)

I did post a review of my cruise.

On the Diamond Princess on every sea day in the Atrium there was an Art Auction from 2-4pm. There is no IC on that ship but still it would be very nice to sit there relaxing with your coffee or tea if not for those loud art auctions :mad:

Great to hear, are you going to write a trip review? Are you able to give us any info on what you did at each port?

Do you get the feeling I am just a little bit excited about going to Japan and as I am an over planner anxious to get all the info I can on ports.

I did write a trip report and it is now posted on this site.

I loved Japan, the people, food and culture. I did all Princess excursions except for Hakodate and Otaru which I did on my own. I tried to pick different excursions to experience different areas of Japan. One of my favorities was the rope suspension bridge at Oboki gorge from Kochi. It was a fun adventure plus we got to see a lot of Japan countryside and had a beautiful drive through the mountains.

It is a great cruise. Enjoy !!!

I just came back from a 16 day cruise on the Diamond Princess. This ship does not have Anytime dining so I chose early sitting at a table for 6. All my dining companions were from Australia - a married couple and another married couple traveling with a friend. I enjoyed dinners with them on many nights.

Several times I brought food back to the cabin and enjoyed dinner on my balcony watching the sailaway or a beautiful sunset.

I just came back from 16 day cruise around Japan on Diamond Princess. In all of the Japan ports there was free WIFI available at the dock. In some ports they even had a tent with chairs for the passengers and crew to use. The WIFI was reasonably fast for sending e-mail with photos.

Thanks for the tip as I will be on the Diamond in couple of weeks :)

For my upcoming Japan cruise I did not get a refund but was able to get an upgrade from Inside to Balcony. I do have a TA.

It never hurts to ask.

Good luck !

Thank you for your great review. Makes me look forward to my upcoming Japan cruise on the Diamond even more.

Please enjoy tour cruise. I went on my 1st solo this past Christmas on the Royal Princess after cruising with my mom for the last 15 years.

After having a bit of a cry during the sail-away, it turned out to be a very nice cruise. My mom was with me in spirit every day. When anyone asked if I am by myself, I said "Yes" without explaining why.

Now I am looking forward to my next solo cruise on the Diamond in Japan.

Bob Voyage !

All of the Princess ships have a library shelf designated for a passengers book exchange. People leave their read books and pick up any that they are interested in. I have done that on many of my cruises.

Highwaydude,

 

Thanks for your review! And your help with my Enclave question.:D

 

One more question.....do you know if American was one of the airlines that allows you to check luggage at the pier?

Yes, it is. I used this service with American to PHL for the 1st time in December 2015 and it worked flawlessly. The best $20 ever spend on a cruise :)

Do not do the Sancturary on the Royal They put it on a deck that has hurricane winds on sea days. Instead there is a nice bar area just outside the buffet deck on the front of the ship. We hung out there a lot and just read.

Also when you go to MUTS at night the fountain does a pretty water show but it wets everything down. Royal was my least favorite ship of princess

Another nice, quiet areas are on the faux promenade deck in the back of the ship (enter by the doors before the Vista lounge). They have comfy padded teak loungers. Not many people are aware of it so it is very quiet with most people reading or napping :)

We enjoyed Voice of the Ocean on the Royal's Christmas cruise.

I thought it was very well done. We had 7 talented contestants with the Hotel Director, guest comedian and band singer as judges.

Several of the singers indicated that they participated in the Pop Star contest on previous Princess Cruises.

It was something different and for me more enjoyable than another 3rd rate comedian, magician or even worse, a 'mentalist".

During the Christmas cruise on the Royal, Alfredo's had a special 50th Anniversary pizza one day - wild mushroom with truffle oil ! It was excellent.

Just back from the 10 day Royal Christmas cruise.

I tried the Curtis Stone Mahi Mahi 2x when I did not see anything to my liking on the main menu. The dish was not very appealing visually - beige fish, beige cauliflower with brownish plantain chips. No other garnishes on the plate.

Mahi Mahi itself was not dried out but very plain, just salt and pepper. Cauliflower pieces were rubbed with curry powder and tasted OK. Plantain chips were soggy and greasy. The menu listed pomegranade mustard as an ingredient but I did not see it on the plate (expecting something in the pinkish/red family). The waiter explanation was that the mustard was 'under the fish'....hmmm.

The dish did not improve the 2nd time around so I would not order it again.

It made me think of a dish you would be served at a diner that was trying to elevate its menu.

We cruise every Christmas and give our room steward $20 and a bag of chocolates. Nothing for waiters as we always have any time dining.

Santa will arrive in the Atrium on Christmas day with presents for the kids. There will be fun activities for the kids like crafts, gingerbread house building etc. during the day.

There is usually a special Christmas show with crew and passengers participating.

Going on our first Christmas cruise and wondering where do they hold the Midnight Mass? Thanks.

It is no longer a Mass but Inter-denominational Service lead by a crew member and it is held in the Theater.

Chris,

I am enjoying your great Live. I will be on the Christmas cruise and also have an Inside cabin. I am thinking about bringing a string of lights and running them around the mirror above the desk. Is there a plug for the lights near the mirror?

Thanks and enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Never. Dont feel the food is worth the upcharge

Same here.