HaveDogWillTravel

And there’s a poorly marked (read lightly used) restroom just inside the door leading inside.

Shhhhhhhh! Lol. It depends on which the ship is heading and time of day. I had shade on a few afternoons.

I agree the MDR menus were not where I expected them to be on the tv. I eventually found them by clicking around. I forget where I found them. It’s been 68 days since I stepped off the Ruby. I’ve ate and slept since then and it’s all a distant memory.

All guests in full suites can order off of the MDR menus anytime it’s open. They deliver it all at once. When you first meet your steward let them know you’d like the MDR menus daily. You could look at them on the tv but I enjoy sitting on the balcony and reading them. When you pay the $$ for ultimate balcony dinner it’s served course by course. I don’t think it’s worth the money to have UBD every night. I order from MDR menu. I order my salads and once they arrive I call down and order our mains. We don’t usually eat dessert. Ordering like this from MDR menus has always worked well for us. I do hope you’ll try the specialty dining breakfast at least once.

I’m glad you moved this to its own thread. Thanks again for all your work.

I’m excited for you and all that are lucky enough to be on that sailing. I am sure you will have a really fulfilling experience. I know what you mean about not wanting to take any chances on getting a great spot to see the eclipse. Things routinely sell out 2 plus years in advance. As others have posted about their previous experiences on a Princess eclipse cruise I feel more and more confident that Princess will make this more than just being in the path of totality. Princess is pretty good at getting great guest lecturers and providing elevated experiences. Notably Panama Canal and Alaska were impressive when I did those sailings. I’ve also traveled Queen Mary 2 which is a whole other level. I wrote begging Cunard to sail the eclipse but to date they have not put out that itinerary. If we see your ship we will wave! Congratulations on getting your spot secured!

Well it is a little better. But if I’m leaving from a US port I may not scroll down far enough to see this addition. Voyages Departing, Arriving or Visiting Canada which finally does have the correct information. Seriously. I am befuddled at why Princess is finding this so hard. It. Just. Isn’t. Well here I go again, emailing my CVP and Princess management.

@Steelers36Thats really impressive. Thank you for doing this. I saw those Sunny With A Chance Of Flowers wines (rise and Sauvignon blanc) on the Plus package by the glass menu. I happened to be in Pacific Grove all this past week and after seeing they were from Monterey county I picked up a bottle of the rose. The store I was in didn’t have the Sauvignon blanc. I looked the winery up on line and read that these wines are only 9% alcohol, with Zero residual sugars and only 85 calories in a 5 ounce glass. Ok I’m intrigued. I paid $9.99 and am back at home drinking a glass of it as we speak. I would describe it as not offensive. There is really nothing to it in terms of flavor or finish or mouth feel or really anything. But it is not offensive so one can drink it. If I paid $53 (I think that’s how much Princess is charging for a bottle over the spread sheet) I would however be very offended. I have been on two wine tasting trips so far with a visit to Paso Robles region coming soon. Retirement is sooo much fun! I’m stocking up on some lovely wines quite reasonably priced even with corkage considered. I’m also getting some of my treasured Alsatian Whites to bring on board. I’m with you….. BYOW is going to be the way to go for me. I think those who drink reds will have an easier time of it finding suitable wines by the glass.

@polmcsthose repositioning cruises such as yours from Rome to FLL have always been much cheaper than any other cruise I’ve priced out. I sail this route quite a bit and considering inflation & it’s still a year and 8 months out I’m actually quite pleased with how reasonably priced this is. The cabin I booked is the same price as it would be to sail it now based on a preliminary quote my CVP gave me (for a cruise this year) before the bookings opened up. Not to mention did you see those prices I posted above for the only other (so far) ship sailing the eclipse? I can’t believe people paid that! it’s going to be great experience. We have a roll call going if you’re interested in joining.

Thank you for doing this! Much appreciated.

The Canada government website is extremely clear. I provided the relevant quote in my earlier post along with the link. Regardless of your entry port if at any time your ship stops in Canada you must have a test. It must be 72 hours prior if PCR. They actually spell out an example. If your boarding group starts at noon Monday your test must be noon or later Friday or anytime Saturday, Sunday or Monday (as long as you get results in time). No link is provided for the previous reference contradicting this in ArriveCAN and I simply cannot find evidence of it. It will be fine once on board. Safe travels.

Princess website is wrong and it’s curious that they have gotten away with it. Canada requires testing regardless of where you board , US or Canada or where ever…., if you get on a ship and it goes to any Canada port at all A quote From the link provided: Pre-embarkation COVID-19 testing All travellers 5 years of age or older must have a COVID-19 test to board a cruise ship in Canada or to board a cruise ship that will dock in Canada at any point on the cruise. You must provide proof of one of the following accepted types of test results: Proof of a professionally administered or observed negative antigen test taken no more than 2 days before you’re scheduled to board your ship the 2-day window does not depend on the time of day the test was taken or the time that you board for example, if your ship is scheduled to leave on Friday, you could provide proof of a negative result from an antigen test taken any time on Wednesday, Thursday, or on Friday it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth online service the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained Proof of a valid negative molecular test taken within 72 hours of your scheduled boarding time for example, if you’re scheduled to board at 11:00 am on Friday, your test must have been taken any time after 10:59 am on Tuesday it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth online service the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained Previous positive molecular test result: you no longer have symptoms and provide proof of a positive molecular test taken at least 10 calendar days and no more than 180 calendar days before you board. Counting starts the day after your test. for example, if your positive COVID-19 molecular test was taken on January 1, then January 11 would be the earliest scheduled date you could board a positive antigen test result is never a valid test result for boarding a ship and can’t be used as proof of a previous infection

Can it be that Princess is the only major cruise line doing a total eclipse cruise? I checked Cunard, Carnival, Royal, Norwegian and viking. I found a small company that specializes in eclipse cruise. They are almost sold out. The prices are astronomical! https://eclipsetours.com/2024-baja-california-total-solar-eclipse-cruise/ If anyone knows of another ship doing an eclipse run would you mind sharing? I’m wondering how busy it’s going to be out there along centerline.

Without counting exactly, I’ve sailed around 60-70 days on the Ruby since last November. In everything from a balcony to a full suite. Every sailing I’ve experienced this level of attentive, professional service. The exact details differ from sailing to sailing but the crew is exceptional. I am a very happy, positive person who is polite to the crew and express my appreciation regularly to them. I imagine you are the same. Crew are so happy to work with happy passengers they definitely step it up I think. I’ve witnessed horrible behavior by passengers and the crew have always stayed professional albeit a bit less enthusiastic. When I witness poor behavior by a passenger I make it a point to compliment or thank the crew member (in front of the sourpuss pax) for doing such an outstanding job.

Thanks! I’m looking forward to meeting you at the meet and greet as well.

We won’t be going into port probably at all. We’ve done the Mexican riviera more times than we can count. While I do love the ports (especially Mazatlan) this sailing it’s all about that eclipse and that balcony. And the suite comes with so many things I’ve never done before , Enclave, Ultimate balcony breakfast and ultimate balcony dinner to name a few. I heard from @CruiseRaiderthat they started a roll call for this sailing. There are so many of you I’d love to finally put a face to. This is really going to be so wonderful. I’m looking forward to the meet and greet already.

Okay. I put a hold on m108 (my second choice) as I wasn’t sure if my CVP would be able to get my first choice, S310 or if the price for it would be within the range of what we considered reasonable. My CVP did get S310 and the price did fall in the range we’d pay so M108 is going to get released in the next couple of days. My CVP will call me either Thursday or Friday to finalize all my bookings and at that time the M108 will be released. Boy yesterday was a crazy day.

If you’re interested in M108 email me at jacqueline dot faris at yahoo

I’ve been bugging my CVP since I returned from the 2017 total eclipse in Oregon to keep telling anyone at Princess who would listen to make sure they did an eclipse cruise. He really came through on our booking. There’s only 2 of the cabin I wanted on Discovery and he was able to get one for me. We also booked the 3 day cruise before this for a total of 13 days. The next total eclipse in North America is August 12 2045. So who’s going to start the roll call?

Thanks for posting about your cruise. I’m glad things are off to to good start. Bon voyage 🛫

Unless you are talking about the “other” small bowl of yellow on DH plate with the eggs in the glass bowl over cubed potatoes. Yes that is hollandaise. OMG I have to make my own breakfast this morning. My cheerios are not going to taste very satisfying after all this!

It’s whipped butter for the waffles. It’s quite yummy. It tastes like they freshly whipped heavy cream and made it into butter. I always ask for no hollandaise. .

Yes it is. At first I was worried there would be poaching water sogging up the waffle, but the chef was careful. The waffle was crispy and egg was poached perfectly. Also these are real poached eggs in MDR and even club class you get an egg cooked in a cup and they are often cooked either over or under. In specialty dining breakfast I order poached eggs most days and chef sent only perfectly poached eggs.

Thank you for posting these.

Vines tends to have a more extensive by the glass offerings. While some wines are only available by the bottle in MDR or other bars, vines might have them by the glass. Nikiara is very good.