justafem

Does that mean Brian and Rowena have finally retired? Or I'm guessing Brian's leg has gotten worse. What kind of crafts? I make a feather lei every time I do the Hawaiian and bring them with me on the Hawaiians. Have 9 so far and want more! We are for sure on the April 4 sailing, but I may grab another in the time frame. Nice to meet you!

You can substitute a regular sundaes, scoops of gelato or slices of cake instead of the 'monster desserts' .

There's a reason they come from China. They are manufactured there, along with the packaging, which means there's no import fees. And the MOST important reason; it costs almost nothing to ship e-packet from China. I'm talking pennies, much less than the cost of what we can mail within the US. Post office actually loses money on these shipments. Boxes are cheap to produce when they're ordering in that quantity, I order 300 personalized silicone bracelets for every cruise for about $60 shipped or $0.20 each. If I ordered 50, the cost would be the same. But if I ordered 100,000 the per cost goes to $0.05 and I'm sure it would go down even further with the quantities princess needs to order. I'm guessing, with manufacture cost and shipping, it's about $3.50, price falls when they ship 2 in the package. They're making a profit on shipping medallions.

There's a reason they come from China. They are manufactured there, along with the packaging, which means there's no import fees. And the MOST important reason; it costs almost nothing to ship e-packet from China. I'm talking pennies, much less than the cost of what we can mail within the US. Post office actually loses money on these shipments. Boxes are cheap to produce when they're ordering in that quantity, I order 300 personalized silicone bracelets for every cruise for about $60 shipped or $0.20 each. If I ordered 50, the cost would be the same. But if I ordered 100,000 the per cost goes to $0.05 and I'm sure it would go down even further with the quantities princess needs to order. I'm guessing, with manufacture cost and shipping, it's about $3.50, price falls when they ship 2 in the package. They're making a profit on shipping medallions.

I always take my roomie with me to fancy munchies. I was told many times that as long as I'm elite, it's fine. Just like throwing in roomies laundry into my bag. But I've stopped going to fancy munchies since they stopped giving printed menus. Hate showing up and it's guac and chips, but always used to show up for steak tartare (said in my best klingon voice). Now it's exactly the same food that can be had in the buffet, so I stopped going.

I'm just over the same sea days since the restart. I sure do miss 700 pax and 900 crew! I have noticed changes in the service and the food quality. So we made adjustments. We no longer eat when everyone else does. We go later, so the crew isn't nearly as overwhelmed. We ask for the same table with the same servers every night, instead of utilizing walk up service. Mostly, we try to go when demand is lower and we get more individual service. That's our work around.

Princess hasn't fallen as far as carnival. It would still be a large drop for that! Several of us were discussing the differences between the lines. For me it was, on princess you'd be hard pressed to find somewhere to put your trash, on carnival, you're expected to bus your own table.

For that reason, we keep getting the plus package. Internet $15 per day (yeah, I know there's a discount if you've traveled enough) Grats $16 per day $31 Which leaves $29 per day towards the cost of beverages. Zero-Alcohol Drink Package is $29.99 per day PLUS 18% gratuity, total $36 per day. Internet $15 per day Grats $16 per day $31 plus $36. $67 per day. Even if the discount on the WIFI is figured in, it's exactly the same price. And there's the opportunity to have a booze (or 7) if you want with plus. Plus works for us.

Dining room yes, regular coffee only. International cafe no. Room service, free with breakfast only.

I do this itinerary multiple times per year. Slacks and shirt are fine for any sit down dinner. Heck, even nice jeans are acceptable. Don't sweat the small stuff, just enjoy your cruise.

There's always covid on ships. There's always RSV on ships. There's always noro on ships. Just like the real world.

If you're also on the Aug 5 SF Alaskan, the room upgrades aren't great for any balcony. Only complete forward and aft. Hubs and I booked an obstructed view, absolute midship (3 doors from midship elevator) and are happy with our room. First time we're not going to bid.

Here's my experience. Princess transfer is $40 per person, taxi is $60. So if you have 2 or more people in your party, it's cheaper to use a taxi. And you don't have to wait for the entire bus to fill, or wait until the entire luggage compartment is emptied.

I'm elite, hubs isn't. He gets to use my in room benefits like priority tendering, elite lounge, laundry, minibar and munchies. But if we make a purchase, we use my account.

Earplugs!

You can also change the gelato to another flavor than the vanilla they come with. I chose chocolate and mint.

For us, the plus package is worth it, even if one of us doesn't have alcoholic beverages. I'll drink heavily several days of a cruise, then take a day off between. I rarely drink on the last day of the cruise, the early morning thing messes me up without a potential hangover. I can drink my weight in butter pecan lattes and grab bottles of water whenever I want. Hubs not so much, but he enjoys his nonalcoholic beverages. I WANT internet, hubs can take or leave. So for us, plus makes sense.

We can get any of the premium sundaes, cake slices, regular sundaes or scoops of gelato, 2 per day with the plus package, unlimited with the premium package. We got 3 total in a 15 day cruise.

We did that B2B in April 2022 at pier 35, yup it was a cluster. We waited for hours outside just to get into the building for the first leg, then it was reminiscent of a 1970's airport lounge. Funniest part was when we were walked off the ship for the second leg and watched a drug bust going down. DEA, FBI and SFPD and SFSO with 2 people in cuffs and a (small) pile of white bricks. Exciting! That was my only experience with 35. And YES! I absolutely agree about the traffic on the Embarcadero on cruise days. We get there really early, before they close down the light, so it's not terrible. But as the day goes on, it gets more clustery. And it's worse on Carnival. Don't understand why Carnival has such a hard time loading pax, but they sure do. The little things matter, which is why we cruise Princess as often as possible.

That's why those of us who are smart and don't want to pay cruiseline booze prices use rum runners! BAHAHAHAHA! Blender!

That was a very short time when cruising restarted. We were on the first cruise out and they hadn't gotten their shirts in yet and on our next cruise 3 months later, they were out of shirts. But we still had fun trying all the drinks! Sandia en Fuego was my favorite, watermelons on fire!

$550 is onboard, $300 casino cash. Hoping we get the stock credit. I cancelled our Aug 7 Alaskan on carnival (and lost a $200 deposit) because, well, it's princess!

Our stock is in the entire families names. If we book separate rooms, we submit separate stock statements for each room. If we travel in a single room, we submit once. Works really well for minibar and laundry too as all of us aren't elite, so all rooms get those perks too. Yeah yeah yeah, I'm taking advantage of the system.

I have 3 more scheduled this year, but will probably get at least another 2 in. I'm aiming for once a month, no boredom yet! Cruise often!

Been on 4 cruises this year. 2 with old pricing, 2 with new pricing. 2 with old pricing were after the 2 with new pricing. We didn't utilize any of the new juices on any of the cruises. We did get a couple of desserts on each cruise. We weren't charged for the desserts on any of the cruises, although we should have on the B2B with the old pricing. Drink prices changed mid-cruise to $15 on our Feb cruise. There was never an additional charge for our normal booze drinks, but we don't drink the high end wines or liquors. Soon enough, nobody will have the old pricing and it won't be an issue. Cruise often!