HaveDogWillTravel

If there hasn’t been enough information shared regarding the reality of what’s actually happening on board by September I might do a live from. As you know I’m really all about reports that are first hand what’s going on right now on board ships. There’s some CC friends sailing on both my Sept cruises so I’ll have help if it’s needed.

Thanks for saying what I wanted to say but was too tired/lazy to actually write.

@PhotoGal07. Thank you for such a comprehensive and well written review.

@prmssk thank you for getting back to me. I am not surprised by the confusion over what is and isn’t covered. I’m sure it will all get sorted out over the next few months. I am sailing twice in Sept. The first sailing is bare bones ……no plus no CC. The second has both. I’ll probably be able to decide if the package is worth it for me now after those two sailings. I don’t think the premier is a good fit since all I care about is grats and wine. I don’t even need internet. @PacnGoNowthank you for trying to help me. I believe that earlier post you linked is a preliminary menu and they changed since posted

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your holiday to share this news with us. If it’s not too much of a bother would you mind terribly asking exactly what the Plus Wines are for the Sauvignon blanc, Rose and Pinot Grigio? I understand these will probably change from cruise to cruise and from ship to ship but it would give an idea of the basic quality of wine they are serving in plus now.

The sanctuary on Discovery has its own hot tub. The hot tubs just outside your sky suite are used by the general population. I sailed Discovery in April on a warm weather sailing and used the sanctuary daily so I walked by your suite multiple times a day. On that sailing those hot tubs were almost always filled with 4-6 people. I even saw a man on his tip toes looking over the divider to your balcony. The front balcony is completely exposed to everyone on deck below.

My experience has been the same as @symuisailing out of SF. This month I also brought on two 750 ml bottles of Amalga distillery Gin and one 750 ml bottle of their single malt whiskey in Juneau. Security saw it in a bag that was wide open and did not take it. Many more times In the past I’ve brought on bottles of wine as well in port and not asked to pay corkage. One thing I have noticed in SF since the restartis they really do make sure you go to that wine table. Pre pandemic that table was never set up before 11:30 am. Now it’s there when the first folks go thru security. I’ve gone thru embarkation at SF once or twice a month since November with the exception of March. I’m prepared to pay the $20 but they keep charging $15. I don’t know if other embarkation ports are the same or different.

My 8 day sailing in May 2023 cancelled months ago well before final payment. But I have also had others that did cancel or change ships after final. Just sayin……

Yes see my post #7. It’s been getting progressively worse. I’ve sailed quite a bit since the restart. On my May 20-30 Ruby sailing there were only 2 bottles of Whispering Rose on board. Only 2 bottles Nikiara a nice Paso Robles red. I could go on and on. In all likelihood this is because they will completely change the inventory. Then there will be no price comparisons. Can’t say the price went up when all the wines are different.

With the lack of decent dry non Chardonnay and rose wines lately I’ll be bringing my wine on board. Buy a coffee card and a few cases of bottled water pre-cruise. The OBC pays for corkage, internet and auto grats and an occasional crooners cocktail.

I am sorry you had this experience. I sailed the Ruby for the 20 days prior to your boarding……..May 20 thru June 9th. After sailing every month on Ruby for 7 to 20 days each since November I noticed a HUGE improvement. They opened the 3rd dining room May 20 and what a difference that made. I ate 18 out of 20 nights in Michelangelo with Kieron as the restaurant manager. His professionalism and level of service was on par with the Maitre D’hotel I loved from the before times. I sailed solo but sometimes ate with another CC friend couple. The two tops in Michelangelo were nicely spaced as were all the tables…..MUCH better than when only 2 dining rooms were open. Kieron and his assistant managers Albert & Pablo took care to space guests apart. The food was absolutely outstanding. Of course I had a couple of misses but they were quickly replaced with another choice.

I’ve sailed 81 days since the restart with Princess. I was on the very first sailing last July on the Majestic and most recently got off the Ruby 5 days ago after a 20 day B2B. I always kept up to date with all vaccines and boosters. I took the precautions I felt I needed to take under the given circumstances on any particular sailing. I am healthy, 65 with a strong immune system. I had a blast on all sailings. No Covid for me.

I ate dinner every night - well 18 out of 20- in Michelangelo and I have to give a shout out to Kieron the restaurant manager, Albert his assistant manger and the entire team. This was the best non club class dining experience I’ve ever had. They were amazingly accommodating, friendly and professional. Flawless service, tables spaced further apart, food served fast and hot, drinks arrived quickly.

These little muesli GF bites with chocolate were crazy good (in the IC and new for the Alaska sailings). They were gone by 8 am.

I didn’t take pictures of the Alaskan beer and cheese soup but I really loved it and ordered it twice. I also can’t seem to find a picture of the wild Alaskan seared sockeye salmon my friend had. She said that was good too.

Here’s the hot smoked Alaskan steelhead cocktail and the plaice. I was tempted to lick the plate clean. But refrained lol.

Here’s a few pictures of items some friends ordered that I didn’t taste. There’s the Alaskan seafood stew and a fish I don’t remember what it’s called.

This is the Alaskan cod served first night on both legs. It was really excellent.

I just finished 20 days in Alaska on the Ruby and enjoyed many of the new offerings. Here are some pictures of my favorites. this is the halibut. I ordered it with sides from other dishes on the menu this is the lump crab cake. It’s really croquettes with some crab. It was really delicious.

And as I sit here looking at the port side of the ship I’ve seen 8 people on 8 different aft aloha deck balconies. Hmmmmmm those fire doors to aft aloha deck have been shut for the last 10 days. It’s only 9:30 so these are not new passengers/crew. And several are almost assuredly passengers. Hmmmmmmm. a CC friend sent me a screen shot last week showing these cabins for sale on the upcoming cruise that leaves today. Hmmmmm

So waiting in line and chatting to folks three more complaints came up. 1 no clocks in the spa 2 not enough trash cans on upper decks 3 sewage smell somewhere on lido deck (wasn’t clear where exactly, I never smelled it)

Thanks @tcdcruiser I believe it’s safe to say the vast majority had a great sailing. Masking was common but not universal. The Princess response reported here of treatment when testing positive has been encouraging. There was so much wildlife on this leg and I’m hoping for a repeat on the next leg. The best bit for me was watching an eagle flying around the bay in prince Rupert hunting , coming down talons first back arched, grabbing a fish and flying away. Loved those new binoculars. The game shows were packed, the dance floor was hopping in explorers when the SuperSonics played, crooners was crowded ……….so pretty much back to normal! I don’t go to production shows and I watch the enrichment lectures on the TV so can’t speak to that. I am shocked to report that I never had a bad elevator experience. I always use the aft or forward elevators unless it’s 6 am and I’m coming back from IC. No crowds of people bum rushing the doors. I never had to get off because it was too crowded. I averaged 12 flights of stairs a day, down a little from my April cruise where the elevator behavior was horrific. The only complaints I heard were regarding food and internet. Somebody will always on every cruise on every cruise line complain about food. Feeding this many people this diverse a menu almost guarantees there will be a few misses. My expectations in the MDR are what would I be happy with if I went to a restaurant and paid $30 for a meal. I’d expect decent food, nice plating and reasonably fast, pleasant service. That’s what I got on this cruise. I asked my server what was coming out nicely, if I didn’t like something I gently requested something else, my meals took 45 min when ordering 2 courses. Add a third and I was there an hour. The IC, lido deck grille and pizza were great. Room service picked up except for 3 times when called in the heart of the busiest times. Everything I ordered came correctly and quickly

They have been varnishing the hand rails on promenade deck and they are just gorgeous. The aft promenade was open today. This is the second day I’ve found it open. The fish and beef I’ve had on this sailing have been very nice and much to my liking. Can’t seem to post pictures now. Will try again or send to my dear defined @CruiseRaiderto help.