CanuckCurlers

We are doing the Rome to Barcelona section of this cruise in September so will be with you all the way to increase our anticipation. Can you tell me what the * means on the menus please.

What a lovely journey you took us on. You have a wonderful way with words. We are taking the around Britain tour next summer on the Regal and the excursions just came out so finding your review on some of the ports has been very helpful. We are taking the Enchanted in September from Rome to Barcelona so hope you have a blog on your Athens to Barcelona that I can find. I love your pictures, some of the best I've seen on CC and have been wondering what camera you have. I have a very good Nikon that takes great pictures but am debating if I still need to take it on our cruises. It is heavy and with its case becomes a big packing issue these days. My son is saying his phone has more pixels and takes great pictures but I'm not convinced that they would give the same quality of pictures when printed. I like to have my pictures on more than just the computer.

We have two cruises booked before all this curfuffle for next year so I shall be very pleasantly surprised if all these still exist by then.

I agree with this and I think they realized their loyalty customers were ageing and not purchasing the expensive drink packages. The older Millennials who were maturing and having children were leaving Carnival and choosing Royal Caribbean. In my opinion Carnival is now using the Princess ships and their new packages with a cheaper drink package and more WIFI options to attract this clientele group. Look at the plans for the new Sun. Up until now multigenerational groups were pretty much the only children you saw on board and my guess is that Grandpa and Grandma were footing the bill. I can see why the poster is liking the new packages, they are the clientele that Princess marketing is trying to attract. They won't mind if the previous loyal Princess cruisers switch to Celebrity, the money still goes in their pocket.

I can not find any information about coming back from Oia by water taxi. Am I missing something? We do not want to deal with the cable car lines or walk down the steps.

I think this is the bottom line. Princess had a drink package that was expensive and they came to realize they had become a cruise line for the aging population that doesn't drink in excess. The younger groups want to party or they want family activities. They were not choosing Princess unless it was a multigenerational group. The full packaging which includes the drink package is much more attractive to the group they are trying to attract. The new additions to the Sun are an example of trying to attract the families. Time will tell if they are successful and if those of us who were Princess regulars will choose to jump ship.

We got the plus package because there is no coffee card now and specialty coffees were my holiday treat. We were to become elite after our next September cruise but I have no expectations now that there will even be an elite category by then. Princess is after a different clientele now.

Thanks for the responses but I put LOL because I'd be surprised if Princess would honour anything with all the new changes. We've lost all the Platinum benefits and will be elite after our September cruise so I expect those benefits to be gone by then too.

We haven't cruised since before Covid. We have a coffee card with drinks still available. Do you suppose they would honour them on our September cruise? Yeah right. LOL

Thanks so much for sharing. Your reviews were excellent. We are doing this cruise next year this time and your reviews will help us plan our days. We've been on the Regal so aren't expecting to have too many wrong turns. There were no sensor lights but we always take a touch light to leave on in the dressing area so will see how it suits us. Like you I miss the Skywalker lounge. Your pictures are lovely and are helping to convince me to keep taking my good camera. Everyone is saying the phone cameras are so good these days that that is all you need but I really don't want to risk it. We've had a few frantic non-Princess excursions where the stress levels maxed out so now just pay the big bucks to Princess. Thanks so much for your wrap up comments.

Thanks so much for taking us along with you on your cruise. We are doing the same one a year from now and will use lots of your info in choosing our excursions and planning our days. Sorry you caught the Covid hitchhiker at the end and hope you're felling better now.

If you choose to wait and book onboard you can transfer it to your personal TA when you get home.

No one has mentioned that you can also get cartons of milk, white and chocolate, at the morning buffet and take them to keep in your fridge. Sometimes you can get a server to get you one other times in the day if you ask nicely. You could also keep juice from the morning buffet if you were to bring a vessel to keep it in or reuse a water bottle. Ice tea and lemonade are also available on the pool decks from the servers.