justafem

Here's my take. Autograts was supposed to take the thought out of tipping. It hasn't. There's always going to be those that tip more and there's always going to be those that remove autograts. That said, gratuities are optional, or they'd be called manditories and the cruise lines would have to pay the crew differently. Current system works for now. I'm sure it'll change again. Heck, we could go the Disney way, where they hand you envies, where you're supposed to put the slip of paper that says exactly what your daily grats go to that specific person. You hand EACH person their envie. Those envies guilt people into leaving more cash. SIGH! If that's not tip-manipulation, I don't know what is. I'll keep cruising my way by keeping my nose out of someone else's wallet.

Check your accounts. A new set of cheap/free cruises just dropped yesterday for any casino players. All of them go to Alaska Dates go through April 30 to Sept 4 2023. These are different than casino offers past. These require a $200 NONREFUNDABLE payment per person, which is turned into refundable onboard. We paid $1160 total for an obstructed view after FFD, inside would be $400 cheaper. And received $550 onboard *and should get our $100 onboard for stock* (YMMV), which we'll use to pay for plus while one the ship. So, if you can cruise from San Franciso, Vancouver or Anchorage during those dates, go for it.

I've bought AARP GC's while on the ship, when I know I'm going to have a balance. I take my email to customer service, where they do their magic and it's applied to my account, either immediately or sometime in the middle of the night. Happy cruising!

I've always been given laundry tokens (while elite). Never seen a charge for them. I bet I have about 50 of them in the bottom of my suitcase!

We've done the winemakers, doubtful if we'd do it again. I'm not a snob, hardly even a foodie, but I was disappointed with the cook on the steak. 1) I ordered blue, hubs ordered med-rare. I got mine at med, hubs got his at med well. Yes, we told our host. Yes, it was apologized for, but we were not offered remake and truthfully, we wouldn't have accepted. 2) The ceiling dripped the entire time on my arm, a couple of times on my head and the floor. Not constantly, intermittently. But enough that I finally said something and there was a puddle to the right of my chair. Yes, I told the host, yes it was apologized for. It was probably a singular occurrence, but at $40 per person upcharge, I'd rather sabitini's or crown. And at $140 per person, that's a huge nope out of me!

I looked at comparables. 16 day Hawaiian for April 2024. Same room type (window). Princess $5000 all in, and $1000 onboard credit. HAL $10,000 all in and $100 onboard. Princess wins!

Thanks for the public chastising. Always nice to know there are people who disagree with another's opinion.

They're normal gift cards. And like any gift card, they don't have to be spent at one time. But I'll never have a problem applying the entire amount for a cruise, even if I have to add it while on the cruise!

We got white for our upcoming April B2B cruise. We got normal colors for our cruise 2 weeks ago. I think they're pretty neat and it'll be a different colored magnet for the collection on the fridge. I also think that it's a great idea, no more picking people out by medallion color! BAHAHAHA!

I've been elite for a couple of years, while none of my travelmates are. We put our combined laundry in bags and I don't think a thing of it. Never been asked not to, never even been questioned. Heck, I've even gone and gotten free tokens and used them for stuff I didn't potentially want to shrink. I don't feel bad about utilizing this perk for both of us.

I just looked at HAL for the first time. I can't afford HAL! OUCH!

We enjoy the heck out of the plus package. It takes the psychological 'hit' of buying booze drinks away. I can drink my weight in butter pecan lattes and grab bottles of water when and wherever I am. Heck, I can even have all those things delivered to my room at 3 am, without any kind of charge. I have days where I drink, days where I drink heavily and days I don't drink booze at all. But I will have at least 4 butter pecan lattes a day, possibly 8 and a minimum of 6 bottles of water. I'm happy with the pricing. It's also a heck of a bargain compared to other lines. I even enjoyed a couple of the monster desserts during our last cruise. Shared all of them as I sure couldn't eat a whole one, but I sure tried!

I bought 2 AARP cards, one from home and one while on the cruise for March 12-27 2023 . No problems either time. I went to the service desk two different times and had them applied to my account. Planning on buying more for an April 2024 cruise. I'll gladly save an additional 10%! Thanks to everyone for convincing me to buy them.

Currently on board the royal. Monster desserts are easy, take a little time, but delicious. Also have the option of a Sunday or a fancy piece of cake.

I agree, this isn't a 'sale', it's not even a discount. I'm also waiting to book 2024. Probably booking at the black Friday sale, unless something much better comes along before.

Thanks to everyone! I just bought my first discounted princess GC from AARP. I would have never known about the discount and would have paid full price. Thanks again!

I'm 200 miles north of SF and the weather this year has been the weirdest. We've gotten snow 3 times this year. Last time we had snow was 2019. I'm driving down to SF this Sat for our cruise on the 12th. I'm giving myself a couple extra hours just in case the rain beats us to have to drive slow. I expect to have to wear a jacket, possibly raingear for the trip out. I've done this cruise multiple times at this time of year and normally need shorts, but this year... YIKES!

Almost the same menu we had last month, couple of minor changes. That's what's nice about the medallion, we can look ahead and decide if we're going to the MDR or make other arrangements if we're blah about choices. Never had a problem getting into crown or sabatini's on any day after speaking to the staff. And we do a lot of upcharge dinners, chefs table, winemakers, tuscan, etc. Then there's the good old buffet, which we thoroughly enjoyed on the Royal. Food venues are varied, food tastes are just as varied.

On every cruise I've been on since the restart, there's been covid. Some cruises higher than others. I've learned the signs, the door to the 'covid' wing closed, OR the small tables outside the rooms for food delivery. Crew is still very closed mouthed when it comes to covid or noro or anything else for that matter. I don't know that masks truly help. I'll wear them if I'm required, but given a choice, I'll forgo. But I am an avid handwasher, and learned as a child not to touch my face (as frequently as normal people 16-24 times an hour) because of allergies. I have gotten covid on one cruise. Knew what it was from previous experience and did the right thing in going to medical. Tested negative. Came home, q-tipped my nose and it was positive. I'll get my boosters, just like I get my flu and pneumonia shots, just another one to add to the yearly mix.

I tried carnival for the first time. I heard it was the WM of cruises and I told correctly. BUT they keep giving me really cheap cruises, so I'll go. That's the thing, we LIKE princess. When it's hubby and I, we've decided princess is how we're vacationing. When it's me and a friend, it's all about cost. I'll take the carnival cruises or jump on a couple low fares from princess. The friends I travel with don't have the vacation time of year limitations that hubby has. There's also a limit on the cruises we take. We only leave from San Francisco and, so far, only princess and carnival leave from there. Well, they're the only cruise lines that are within our budget. I'm definitely one of those budget shoppers and have cashed out in the casino when I have to. So I'll keep cruising princess.

No. You pick your embarkment time in the medallion app. It's under Ocean Ready, under personal information, then arrivals

You do it in the medallion, or when you're checking in.

That's a good trade! If we could get onboard for the minibar, we'd spend it somewhere. I wish that were available!

We've stopped going to crown. We were disappointed all 6 trips post covid. I can get better ribeye at Safeway and equivalent at Foodmaxx. It's too fatty, grisly and bland. And they stopped the chocolate dessert. And I feel bad for saying this, but I can get the same dessert on carnival every night in the dining room, exactly the same dessert, but on a cheaper line, in the dining room. I'm also temped to stop Sabatini's, the lamb appetizer has gotten so thin, it's always well done, which isn't how lamb should be served (to me). I don't think I'm getting jaded, I really think the quality has decreased enough to be noticed.

Do you really think the lobster comes from the US?