XBGuy

Thank you for the follow-up.

Apologies, @HaveDogWillTravel, but that lamb looks perfect to me. My prejudice notwithstanding, I agree that they should ask the diners for their preference. I get wrapping iced wine bottles with towels, but I am struggling to recall ever seeing red wine wrapped in a towel for service. Heck, I want everybody in the room to see the label of the wine that I am drinking. I am getting older every day. Maybe those are more memories that I have lost. 😁 Your comment about the expertise of the sommeliers does not surprise me. However, all a Princess sommelier really has to do is find the guy in the dining room who "knows" that Silver Oak is the finest wine in the world and fawn over him. Actually, it will not be necessary to find him. He will have the sommelier summoned.

Are you visiting Sitka on this itinerary? There is currently a "Live From" on the Sapphire Princess and several posters commented on how great their stop at Sitka was.

wBearded Iris started blooming in the front yard a few days ago. Quite a few blooms yet to open up. I liberated these small lavender colored ones from my mom's yard some years ago. It turns out they really like the Diamond Bar microclimate. I have some other ones with much more spectacular flowers--similar to the ones pictured by @ottahand7 and @Quartzsite Cruiser--but they don't seem to do as well. I am pretty sure the the very dry winters that we have had the last few years inhibited them, That being said. the very wet season that we had this year may encourage some of those other ones to bloom.

@Thad409 You do not indicate what line you will be cruising with, but you might want to go over to the Princess board and check out a couple current threads where posters are reporting their real-time experiences on various AK cruises. This one is quite comprehensive and includes reports from multiple cruisers.

USS Titanic? I'm sorry. That is incorrect. The correct answer is RMS Titanic. Thank you for playing our game, and we hope you enjoy your lovely parting gift.

To amplify @caribill's reply a bit, the "new" offering is called the "Caymus Winemaker's Dinner. This is a five course dinner paired with five wines from the Wagner Family of wines and will be offered in the Crown Grill specialty restaurant. This new offering will be rolled out to all the Princess ships/ As you know, the announced price for this new offering is $140 per person. The announcement of the Caymus Winemaker's Dinner was not well-received, at all, here on Cruise Critic. I think I was the lone poster who thought that the menu looks very attractive. I had to agree with the consensus that the wine selections are not terribly impressive. The "old" Winemaker's Dinner for $40 per person is available only on Royal Class ships and is offered in a special area in one of the dining rooms. It, too, features a multicourse meal paired but with wines from a single brand. Most recently, I have read about one featuring the Silverado Winery, and in the past I can recall reading about M by Mondavi being featured. I have never attended on of these events. However, from reports that I have read here on Cruise Critic, the menu does not seem as grand as the new offering in the Crown Grill, but there is no doubt in my mind that the modest price makes this a very worthwhile event. As @caribill states, it is not clear whether this version of a Winemaker's Dinner will continue once the Caymus Winemaker's Dinner is rolled out.

Good idea. Moving that table would provide more room. We happen to like it for "stuff." Again, the great thing about cruising is that we all get to customize the experience. You're saying that Princess removed the chairs from the balcony cabins because the XBGuys do not spend enough? I'll be darned. Now all the posters on Cruise Critic who bemoaned the removal of those chairs know who to blame. There are only a couple people out there who know my real identity. Now, they will be able to extort me for all the money that I did not spend on cruises.

I doubt if anybody hear definitively knows why Princess removed those chairs. However, after a 40-year corporate career, I would be willing to bet money that it was a cost saving measure. You have to believe that there is cost involved with having to repair these chairs. Also, spares have to be available while repairs are in process. When we walked into our balcony cabin (A201, our regular choice) for the first time after the chairs had been removed, Mrs. XBGuy, who, unlike me, does not visit Cruise Critic daily, and, so, was unaware of the change, remarked, "Ooh, there's so much more room." When we wanted another chair--Mrs' XBGuy absolutely loves Room Service--we would just pull in one of the ones from the balcony. It worked fine for us.

As others have already mentioned, you can ask your cabin steward for a corkscrew. Like @Steelers36 we just use the cork to close up unfinished bottles. However, we don't take chances Every suitcase we own has a corkscrew stashed someplace in it. 😉

@LawDog61--or anybody else who might be on the Majestic Princess--there is another "Live From" thread active, right now, from the Sapphire Princess, also cruising to Alaska. I read a report in that thread that there is a Sommelier in the dining rooms. It has been, I'm guessing. ten years, or so, since I have seen a Somm in a Princess dining room. Has anybody seen one on the Majestic Princess?

Over the years I have read numerous reports here on the Cruise Critic Princess board about bottles of port or sherry being confiscated at the pier. Happily, these bottles are returned at the end of the cruise. The Princess policy is clear, and their previous practice of confiscating fortified wine indicates that they do not subscribe to the argument that "fortified wine" is the same as "wine," When I read reports here on Cruise Critic that a poster was able to, for example, bring a six-pack of beer on board, I have to shake my head. Personally, I think, "That's pretty cool." However, my next thought is, "Why are you broadcasting this violation of Princess' policy for all to see rather than just keeping your mouth shut and enjoying your beer?" I know that Princess executives are not reading Cruise Critic to seek guidance on how to run their business. However, I can see a scenario where some low-to-mid level manager reads such a claim and decides that he will show his boss some initiative by putting out a memo that policy is not being followed and Princess is losing revenue, and, so, procedures need to be tightened up at various ports. Is such a scenario likely? Maybe not, but it is not impossible.

We have taken multiple AK cruises, but only one of stopped at Icy Strait Point. It is a terrific port. Mrs. XBGuy booked the Whale Watching tour--outstanding--and what I assume is the same Brown Bear Expedition that you are on although at the time it was called a "Bear Search." It was even more fun that the whale watching, and, yes, we did find some bears. Bon Voyage.

🤣🤣🤣

@lizardcruisemom The accommodation of food allergies for the Chef's Table varies depending on the ship's management (presumably, the Executive Chef). Over they years I have seen multiple reports where food allergies, such as seafood allergies, have been accommodated. However, I have also seen reports stating the exact opposite. I have attended two CT experiences. For the first one our invitation letter was accompanied by two documents for my wife and I to sign attesting that we had no food allergies. We turned in the signed waivers to the Maitre d' when we met him to begin our evening. For our second CT we were not asked anything about allergies. I do not recall any of the participants getting a special dish for any of the courses, and, so, I assume that nobody made a special request. Here is my advice to you. Make your request to attend the CT as soon as you board tour ship. If you do receive an invitation to attend, contact the restaurant manager whose name will be on the invitation and make an inquiry about accommodating your allergy. He will provide the ultimate answer that you are seeking. Please do not just attend assuming that you will be accommodated. Also, I assume that your allergy is not so severe that you cannot sit next to another guest who is having a seafood dish. I've known people who are that sensitive.

OK, I'[[ give it: U.S. Navy fighter being CATapulted off the deck of an aircraft carrier.

There is an obvious caption that can be added to the second one.

Measure one quart of tap water into a microwave-safe container. Place in microwave. Turn on microwave to "Nuke" until you see bubbles coming up. This technique works because it is not a pot that you are watching.

I think we also have an LG, and the ice maker failed a few years ago. We never even attempted to get it repaired. Mrs, XBGuy, a chef in her working days, has an excellent recipe for ice. Let me know if you need it. 🤣🤣🤣

When I read this my first thought was the same as @CruiserBruce. "Most of us don't know what the mark up it on cruise line stuff," However, if you are a wine person, I can offer this observation. If you see a bottle of wine on your ship's wine list for about $40, there is a good chance that the "street price for that wine is less than $15. Obviously, the cruise line paid even less than that. The markup for lower priced wines is egregious. However, the markup on the higher priced wines is much more reasonable. (The same rule of thumb applies to land-based restaurants.) I have only seen this once and I doubt that I will ever see it again, but Princess was once offering Penfold's Grange, a wine whose street price at the time was about $600, for $480. So, if you are a wine guy and want to enjoy a special bottle of wine with the lowest "gouge factor" look for something over $100.

A few weeks ago somebody posted the menu for the Super Tuscan Dinner that they attended, and I'm pretty sure that it was on a fairly recent cruise. Sorry, but I do not recall the title of that thread.

I'm sorry folks, but I did not see anything in the Princess announcement that says the $40 WMD was going to be discontinued. Maybe it is and maybe it isn't. I would not be surprised if there are people (probably not on this board) who would attend the WMD in the dining room one night and the Caymus event in the Crown Grill another night. I have never attended one of these WMD events, but my understanding is that there is a special area in one of the dining rooms for this. Is that area used for anything else? As long as we are all speculating here, are there any ideas regarding the future of that area if the WMD dinners are discontinued? @JimmyVWine asks a reasonable question about the profitability of this $40 WMD event. My gut feeling is that it is profitable. However, my gut feeling is also that this would be a good time for Princess to raise the price to $50 or $60 pp. I can also see them repricing the Sabatini's Super Tuscan Dinner that I attended a few years ago from $60 to $80 pp. To add another personal comment, I would be surprised (pleasantly) if I found the Caymus event to be the equal of that ST dinner.

@richstowe, I have sent back a steak only once. Just my preference. I would rather not sit uncomfortably while my wife either uncomfortably starts her entree by herself or sits uncomfortably waiting for my retry to be presented. Again, this is just me. There is no need for anybody to jump in and tell me that I'm wrong. You have presented me with the opportunity to tell this story. On a visit to Crown Grill I ordered a Porterhouse Steak requesting it to be "blood rare." When my steak was presented to me, the server asked me to check it to see that it was prepared satisfactorily. That was a bit unusual. In numerous visits to Crown Grill, I just could not recall the server asking me to check my steak. It was then that I looked back and saw the head chef (I really don't know what the head chef of the Crown Grill is called. but he wore a tall toque and was, clearly, not a line cook. I had seen him on previous Crown Grill visits, and we somewhat stiffly greeted each other when we encountered each other out in the public area one afternoon.) and the headwaiter were both standing behind the server. Well, feeling that I couldn't just brush off the server, I picked up my knife and fork and sliced my steak. Obviously, the look on my face gave me away. I did not say a thing, but the chef elbowed the server aside and swept my plate away. I do not recall if my wife started on her Mussel Pot as we waited or if she waited with me. When the second try was presented, I was again asked to check it. This time it was perfect. I am no dummy. I put on my happiest face, gushed about how great it looked and thanked them profusely. @JimmyVWine, I had composed an epistle explaining the Wagner Family of Wines somewhat similar to yours, but my computer decided I really did not want to post it, and, so, it shot my masterpiece into the metaverse, @suzyed hit the head right on the nail. These events are being called the "Caymus Winemakers Dinner" and not the "Wagner Family of Wines Dinner" because Caymus is a well-recognized brand whereas there are not that many people who have any idea what the Wagner Family of Wines is. I had never heard of the Sea Sun label. I was wondering if this announcement was an April Fools prank perpetrated by students at California State University, Northridge--CSUN or "Sea Sun."

First observed on Emerald Princess May 2019, and then on Royal Princess September 2019 when we tried it.

Ooh I like the way you think. Since you are going late in the season, there should not be as many cruise tourists in Juneau. So, that may reduce the crowd at Tracy's. However, I have an additional idea. In Juneau, go for lunch at Deckhand Daves--139 S, Franklin St. Amazing fish tacos. Then have dinner at Tracy's. On a cruise several years ago I noticed an Alaska Fish Co. truck delivering to our ship. The next day we were in Juneau and had dinner at Tracy's. However, when we arrived back at the ship people were raving about the King Crab that was served in the dining room that evening. On our next AK cruise I saw that our ship was again being resupplied in Ketchikan. Sure enough, the next day in Juneau King Crab was on the dining room menu. So, Mrs. XBGuy and I decided to try it. Unfortunate mistake.