XBGuy

Have a great cruise. I am envious.

Wind on the balcony is the exact problem we were avoiding. Another popular workaround is to have the UBD on your balcony while in port. We prefer to be at sea, but also the port schedule has never worked out for us. I agree that your 2024 experience on the Sky Princess should be very good.

Excellent job, @Steelers36, giving a rundown on the UBD. Of course, I have to add a couple comments. I always order the beef tenderloin entree, and Mrs. XBGuy always orders the lobster tails. One time the person taking our order specifications really tried to convince me to go for the Surf 'n' Turf. I turned him down, but he persisted. Finally, I explained that I knew that Mrs. XBGuy would not be finishing her lobster tails, and, so, I would, in fact, be getting some. Anyway, I am pretty sure that in all my UBD experiences--four going back to 2013--I have received two of the beef filets. I would characterize them as "average" size. I always ask for my beef to be prepared rare. In four tries it has come to me medium four times. Oh well. Some people have real problems. For our cocktails we always order a glass of wine--Chardonnay for her and Cabernet Sauvignon for me. It's not very good, but we down the glass (we're too cheap to toss it) and then pour from our stash. Of our four UBDs, we have only had one on the balcony. The one time we had it on the balcony we were in an aft suite, and, so, the balcony was protected from the wind. Also this was a Mexico cruise. So, it was it was very comfortable being out there. Our other UBDs have been in balcony cabins. We find it to be very comfortable inside. We have never felt cramped at all. We once requested that they not send the photographer. That did not work. Minutes after the waiters set up the table for us a photographer knocked. I was not going to chastise her. We just posed as she requested In a few minutes it was done, and we were able to start on our Champagne. One of our UBDs was scheduled for a Formal Night. We decided to go ahead and dress up. When the server knocked she was absolutely thrilled that we had done so. She seemed particularly attentive that evening. Lotsa fun, and I learned something.

Coincidentally, we were on the Star Princess Los Angeles-Hawaii itinerary departing Los Angeles mid-January 2020. We had five dinners in Sabatini's and two in Crown Grill. We made lots of friends in the front of both of those rooms by sharing some of our wine. We had three or four dinners in Vines enjoying a couple servings of the Tapas and Sushi. We ordered from room service a few times. Mrs. XBGuy loves room service. She enjoys Tuna Salad Sandwiches, and, then, a piece of Chocolate Cake for dessert. Since we had a suite we ordered room service off the Dining Room menu once. I have no idea what we ordered. I visited the Dining Room four or five times for breakfast (Mrs. XBGuy sleeps in every morning), but we never visited for dinner. I have often raved about the Ultimate Balcony Dinner here on Cruise Critic. I'm glad to hear that you enjoyed it.

I would like to offer another opinion. It sounds like you using "quality control" to mean consistency. While I am OK with consistency, I also enjoy "variation on a theme." Let the executive chef demonstrate his own creativity. If not, then why have an Executive Chef? It would not take much talent for somebody to check off boxes to make sure that every plate meets every corporate specification. The other thing to remember is that there is no guarantee that every ingredient for every dish is available on the ship. Sometimes deliveries are not made, or they are short, or the delivered product is of unacceptable quality. If seven days into a 15-day cruise the last of the Romaine Lettuce is used up, and the dinner menu for the eighth day calls for Caesar Salad, the galley will substitute a different green and Caesar Salads made with Iceberg Lettuce, or Frisee or Kale will be delivered to the dining room patrons. To me this seems like reasonable workaround to a difficult situation.

That certainly sounds pretty good. I would, however, make these adjustments Hold the Sweet Potatoes Hold the Cheese Hold the Macaroni 🤣🤣🤣 I do have a T-Shirt that says "Fueled by Bacon."

I was pretty concerned about this until I realized that I, generally, go by my middle name. So, in social situations I introduce myself as Einar. However my first name--on my passport, my credit cards, and according to Princess--is Massimo. Whew, that was a close one.

I find the bar soap thing to be a bit humorous. Many years ago Mrs. XBGuy started packing a plastic jar of liquid soap prior to every cruise. She prefers it to the bars. I keep insisting that the great thing about cruising is that everybody gets to customize their experience.

Tikka Marsala? That sounds like Indian-Italian fusion cuisine. My apologies, but I couldn't resist. I am, in fact, enjoying your reports very much.

Before a cruise I always make sure that I buy two of Mrs. XBGuy's favorites-a big package of Peanut Butter M&Ms and a bottle of her favorite ranch dressing. No, we don't take the ranch dressing with us to dinner. One of our favorite afternoon noshes on the balcony with wine is raw vegetables. She usually does not like the dressings for dipping that come from room service or the buffet.

I can pretty much guarantee that your ship will encounter dolphins. Whether or not you will see them depends on how much you watch the ocean. My guess is that encountering whales is much less likely. Another highly likely encounter would be flying fish. Again, there is no schedule, you have to be watching the ocean.

The Daily never lacks for cat cartoons. I don't know if this one has ever appeared here. Mrs. XBGuy sent it to me last night. . This morning my coffee shop buddy mentioned that there is a tropical depression in the Atlantic that is expected to reach hurricane strength, and, while it may be early, it is projected to hit Florida. So, please be aware and prepare, folks.

Thank you for your comments. I guess I'll be the tie-breaker. 😄

It was a six-course meal. Nobody ever left hungry. I agree that SHARE was monumentally unpopular among the Princess demographic, but it did have its fans. We thought that it was the best public dining experience on Princess. The food was superior, for wine buffs the wine list was amazing--a very good selection the poorest priced of which had very reasonable markups and. incredibly, at least one wine, Penfolds Grange (note this @JimmyVWine), was marked DOWN from street price. The staff was exceptionally well-trained, and, since it was not particularly popular, the room was never filled anywhere near capacity. This meant that we would receive attentive service from the headwaiter, our server and the runners. It also meant that the room was fairly quiet so that my wife and I could enjoy our conversation while never feeling that we were part of the conversation in nearby tables. (For the life of me I never understood why "high energy" dining venues became the fad in the late 20th Century.) Aiding this was the fact that the tables were well-spaced on the floor. I remember responding to a Cruise Critic poster that his handicapped son would have no problem navigating his wheelchair between the tables. Yes, SHARE is gone. I understand perfectly that Princess wants to make every effort to respond to the wishes of its passengers. Apparently, that response is the Salty Dog. My brother is leaving on a Discovery Princess cruise in a few days. At breakfast this morning we discussed a venue called Bistro Sur La Mer. I will be interested in hearing his report.

I am going from memory. I am pretty sure that you are correct, and the cover charge for SHARE was originally $39 pp. However, after a year, or so, it was reduced to $29,

We sailed in B101 on the Royal Princess. Mrs. XBGuy will tell you that was the best cabin we ever had. Lots of room and lots of storage space. Under the forward-facing windows were, for lack of a better description, waist high storage cupboards. Ours was an Alaska cruise, and Mrs. XBGuy loved sitting on these cupboards looking out the window searching for wildlife. There was no notice in the cabin about keeping the curtains shut at night, and nobody said anything to us about it. OP, I understand that my post does not address your specific question. I felt that others had provided very informed information to you, and I just wanted to let you know that I am jealous. I hope you enjoy your cabin as much as we enjoyed ours. Bon Voyage.

We are big fans of the UBD. We've done it multiple times, and, yes, it is quite a bit of food. I have always ordered the beef tenderloin entree, and Mrs. XBGuy has always ordered the lobster tails. Without exception she has not been able to finish her lobster tails, but I, being the noble gentleman that I am, have always been able to finish them off for her. Similarly, I have often had to finish off her dessert. After dessert you're leaning back in your chair, sipping your coffee, thinking you are done, and the waiter appears with another platter. These seem to vary. Sometimes it's cookies. Sometimes it's petit fours. The good news is that these keep for days. So, one of my UBD tips is to try to have it earlier rather than later in the cruise so that you have a few days to finish off that last platter. We never eat lunch. So, that is our strategy for enjoying any dinner -- especially, a special event such as the Ultimate Balcony Dinner.

Like many, I was unable to log on, yesterday. Today started out similarly, but then I thought of changing browsers. That worked. Obviously, I am now not using my favored browser, but I am able to "Like" peoples' posts.

FIFY

We just think it is more a banquet environment than a dining environment. Servers scurrying around with multiple covered dishes stacked on trays. Tables much to close together. It is much too easy to eavesdrop on the conversation at the table behind me. I am not crazy about the server taking the order of the neighboring table and, then, without moving his feet, looking at us and asking for our order. Servers sweeping away my salad plate with their right hand while in almost the same motion dropping my entree in front of me with their left hand. We like to linger between courses. The OP asked if we had any views that might be deemed unpopular or unusual. Based on my readings here on Cruise Critic the three comments that I made seemed to be minority opinions. Also, though, I am really appreciative of the OP for starting this conversation. It supports a point that I have made multiple times, here on Cruise Critic. The great thing about cruising is that each individual passenger gets to customize their experience. Just because I do not enjoy something does not mean it is not enjoyable for anybody else. On any cruise that I have enjoyed, there have been many activities in which I did not participate and many venues that I never visited. I would be willing to bet a fair amount of money that the vast majority of Cruise Critic participants have the same experience. I, of course, also would never say that an activity or venue should not be included on any cruise because I do not care for it. I do really enjoy seeing smiling passengers taking part in the activities that they enjoy.

I would like to thank @Hlitner and @shipgeeks for illustrating my point. They explained how they can customize their cruise to give them maximum enjoyment. I think I should also make sure that I cover one additional point. Please do not consider any of my comments to be a complaint. They are my opinions based on my observations. Opinions are a bit like belly buttons. I have mine and you have yours. The worst cruise I have ever been on was wonderful. I have no problem fully enjoying myself on a cruise. Like you, @Hlitner, we enjoy wine with dinner every night. Here is my strategy for ensuring good wine service on a cruise. The first time we visit any of the ship's restaurants on any cruise, I will bring a bottle of my own wine. Without exception when we are seated the headwaiter will inspect my bottle. While he will, generally, offer a complimentary comment, we all know that he is inspecting the wine to make sure that the corkage fee has been paid. More often than not he will start to leave with the wine list. I stop him and ask that he leave the wine list. If I brought a red wine, we will purchase a bottle of white wine off the list. My wife, generally, prefers white wine. More often than not, if we bring a white wine, I'll order a bottle of red wine for me. I can't recall that we have ever finished off both wines. We may ask them to store a partial bottle for us, or we may take the partial bottle back to our cabin, or we may leave a partial bottle on the table for staff. In 100% of our experience, we have received excellent wine service on subsequent visits to that restaurant.

We just think it is more a banquet environment than a dining environment. Servers scurrying around with multiple covered dishes stacked on trays. Tables much to close together. It is much too easy to eavesdrop on the conversation at the table behind me. I am not crazy about the server taking the order of the neighboring table and, then, without moving his feet, looking at us and asking for our order. It makes me feel that we are all in the same party. Servers sweeping away my salad plate with their right hand while in almost the same motion dropping my entree in front of me with their left hand. We like to linger between courses. The OP asked if we had any views that might be deemed unpopular or unusual. Based on my readings here on Cruise Critic the three comments that I made seemed to be minority opinions. Also, though, I am really appreciative of @Drew B 58 for starting this conversation. It supports a point that I have made multiple times, here on Cruise Critic. The great thing about cruising is that each individual passenger gets to customize their experience. Just because I do not enjoy something does not mean it is not enjoyable for anybody else. On every one of our cruises, there have been many activities in which I did not participate and many venues that I never visited. I would be willing to bet a fair amount of money that the vast majority of Cruise Critic participants have the same experience. Of course I would never say that an activity or venue should not be included on any cruise because I do not care for it. I do really enjoy seeing smiling passengers enjoying their experience because they are able to participate in the activities that they enjoy.

When I looked at the deck layout for the Discovery Princess and saw no Vines, I was disappointed. Then, I saw the space for the Salty Dog. What? I've had one experience with the Salty Dog--in a corner of the Wheelhouse Bar on, I believe, the Emerald Princess. One and done. "What are they thinking?" I thought. "Do they think they can make more money selling Mac & Cheese or Poutine than they can by selling wine?" My logic may well be faulty. I am reading more comments in "Live from" threads about people who have been raving about the Salty Dog--especially, the hamburger. I have always carried a small stash of my own wine onto our cruises--a sparkler for sailaway on the balcony, three still white wines for Mrs. XBGuy and three still red wines for me. This stash was supplemented by numerous bottles purchased off the Princess wine lists in the restaurants or in Vines. I guess I'll have to increase the size of my stash.

I don't care how fast the wi-fi is on the ship. I'm fine with 0 BPS. I'm OK with no USB ports in my cabin. Eating in the dining room is not "dining." Fortunately, every cruise we have taken since 2004 has offered alternatives that we have enjoyed. Prior to then, alternatives were not available, and we convinced ourselves that the dining room experience was wonderful.

I have never previously heard that comment that "the remaining 25% could be nearly any liquid. I have heard of winemakers adding water to reduce the alcohol content. I don't think this is a widespread practice. You are correct in that U.S. wine labeling regulations require that varietal wines be made from at least 75% of a single grape variety. The other 25% can be of any other grape variety, and, as you indicated, does not have to be disclosed. If a winemaker made three barrels of 100% Chardonnay wine and added one barrel of water, the resulting wine would still be 100% Chardonnay. Also, as an aside, individual states can set higher standards. For example Washington (and, possibly, Oregon) requires that a varietal wine consist of, at least, 80% of a single grape variety. The laws regarding European wines are varied. They may have national laws, but, as often as not, are also subject to strict local regulations.