justafem

Nothing to hack on the medallion, there's nothing personal on it. We use them as refrigerator magnets. I'm hoping to cover my fridge some day. Right now there's only 8, sniff.

I've taken the smaller ship several times. To me, it's more than worth the money. So close, so very close. Oftentimes there are pods of whales following the smaller ship. Really, following and waving at us. I think it's their 'people zoo'. But we normally book insides, well, free insides, taxes and port fees.

If anyone want's the 2023 coupons, here they are https://static.cdn.responsys.net/i2/responsysimages/content/princessus/ShipwideSavingsCoupons2023.pdf?cid=om_email_promo_internal_precruise_precruise___shipwidesavings&eccn=EHCZTQ5CCWVLM4GW45AJURVR6E&rrid=8567731587&mi_u=8567731587&custId=EHCZTQ5CCWVLM4GW45AJURVR6E&mi_ecmp=

We were FINALLY able to get a boarding time for our 20 days out cruise. I've been trying for 2 weeks and it kept timing out. Made the kid do it and it worked!

I booked our March 12 cruise about a month ago, paid the $60 per person per day and was still charged $10 to have our medallions shipped. Yeah, I got in on the $100 price. But it still pi55es me off that I paid for the plus package and was still charged to ship. No I haven't called princess. No I probably won't, but dang it, small things...

First drink is always a butter pecan latte. Travel days are hard and I need the caffeine. Then it's off to wherever the booze hides.

We had a similar experience happen 2 weeks ago on the Royal. Fruit plate looks so appetizing on the app. Abundant and overflowing with multiple fruits. Reality, 3 thin slices of melon. I have the pictures somewhere. And we fell for it, repeatedly. So we learned to go to the buffet before they closed and make our own fruit plate. Disappointment averted. Didn't help at 3 am though LOL.

I'm entirely too skeptical of someone who joined CC the same day to sing the praises of a known scam. Like I've said before, this *princess promotions* isn't a new thing. And you'll kind of get what you paid for, just not what you expected. They're going to show you fabulous hotels, with stunning views. You can get that hotel, but it's an upgrade. The hotel you're staying at, at the price they offer is 30 miles from anywhere you want to be. They'll show you pictures of a newly built cruise ship. You can take that ship, but it's going to be an additional charge. The ship you're on will be an old, sold multiple times, barely floating crowded party boat. Then there's the dates. You have to give them 3 dates you'd like to sail. None of those dates will be available at the price you paid. Give them more money and you might get that floating barge for 3 days. Even more money might get you a 5 day carnival, on the oldest ship they have. I took the bait over 20 years ago. Prepaid everything. Never went on the cruise. Never got my money back. And it was too late to do a credit card chargeback. And the name of the company will change every couple of years, once they've gotten so many negative reviews. They start over with a clean slate and keep scamming. As an update: Oh look, they've already changed their name (again) from Princess Promotions to Princess Packages.

And sometimes the price of snarky remarks is the same.

That's why our doggo has the current nickname of 'last dog'. As much as I enjoy the security of a big, deep bark to keep trouble from our yard and home, she's the last we'll have due to travel.

I referred a friend who took her first princess cruise with us Jan 31. Neither of us received the promised $25 onboard. No I haven't called. No, I'm probably not going to, but it's disappointing.

Mathing it out, it's foolish to get the Zero-Alcohol Drink Package at $47.19 per day (when 18% is added to the $40), when the plus package is $60 and includes grats, WIFI and the rest of the 'new' items. Just the $16 grats added to $47.19 works out to $63.19.

A 4 day coastal and 2 10 day Alaskans. Miracle. Do I need to say more? And silly me has 2 more Alaskans this year on the same Miracle. I'm a glutton. But free cruises. Yeah, glutton.

I strayed to (gulp) carnival. Definitely the walmart of cruises.

On one of our cruises, we took a friend with us to specialty dining. When we booked the dining, we told them that we wanted to pay the cover charge for everyone. We were charged for her dinner. I also took another friend to the spa and told them I would be paying for both. Charged correctly. I have no experience with paying for another rooms excursion(s), but hopefully it works the same as it did for specialty and spa. Good luck!

Here's my breakdown in US dollars Grats $16 per person per day. WIFI $15 per person per day. $31 per person per day. Plus package $60 per person per day. So the drink part is $29 per person per day. Yes it covers unlimited specialty coffee, bottles of water, juice, soft drinks, virgin cocktails, etc and up to 15 alcoholic beverages per day. 2 alcoholic drinks will cost about $30 after mandatory 18% gratuity. So if your wife drinks anything but the basic included beverages, it's worth it (to me at least). Photos will run about $20 a sheet. You can book the booze package as a stand alone at about $80 for just one person in the room. But be aware, this doesn't cover grats or WIFI at an additional $31. The cost for all combined would be $111, why not get both the plus package for an additional $9 per day? I would JUMP at the chance to get Premier at Plus price. Just for the specialty dining. Let alone the 5 free hard copy photos and unlimited USB loaded photos. And of course princess prizes (Ehhh, to me). And that's my opinion.

We got Robe (waffle, not plush) Apron Photos as a group and individual with captain. Personalized pad Picture Frame Autographed Cookbook Fresh Flowers And weirdly enough, $50 spa credit. We didn't tour the spa. But hey, I got my nails done pretty!

Just got off the Royal last week and will be back on her in 3 weeks for the March 12 Hawaiian. Horizon court and Horizon bistro were the best buffet we've ever experienced on a princess ship. Small batches, made according to need, instead of huge industrial pans. 3-4 bite sautéed shrimp compared to the 2 bite shrimp cocktails in the MDR, replenished frequently in small fresh batches. All the food seemed fresh, well seasoned and cooked by people who truly know how to cook. All the food in the buffet was made in small batches, directly in front of us. Cooked onsite, instead of some hidden location. Portion sizes in the MDR are much smaller, which I appreciate. I can try more things without feeling like I'm wasting food. Desserts have changed, there's no more Norman Love, so the desserts are different, not bad, just not what was expected. Hubs enjoyed the international cafe enough to keep going back. Haven't been on the Royal for Hawaii, so it's going to be a treat when they serve Hawaiian foods. Looking forward! There are 4 places to get specialty coffee on the ship. New grounds on deck 5, attached to international cafe and good spirits bar. Deck 7 bar, on the way to the princess theater. Deck 16 in horizon bistro and, great, I've already forgotten. Oh, room service. There is no coffee and cones, it's just cones. Alfredo's has the expanded menu. Salads, pasta, pizza and dessert, with beverage service that's missing on the grand class ships. So good, we ate there 3 times. Sabatini's was disappointing to me. I know I misread the description, but I expected a better taste when I ordered the prosciutto wrapped pork. My fault for thinking it would be a bone-in pork chop. But it was overcooked, stringy and bland. The lamb is now in smaller, flatter pieces, so it's overcooked, with none of that rare center that was so enjoyable previously. But the beef cheek pasta and zabaione were outrageously delicious. We didn't get a chance to go to crown as we also did chefs table, captains table and wine makers.

Absolutely. I spend about half of what the cruise would cost in the casino. I get hours and hours of entertainment and the other perks at no additional cost to me. I'm happy with my vacation spending, the cruise line is happy and the casino is happy. It's a no-brainer.

My point was that luxury lines don't pay their employees much more than the base pay from main-line cruise operators. Especially at the $18,500 'starting' wage. That's the same BASE starting wage as carnival. The increase in cruise fare is NOT going to the customer facing employees. The lowest level employees are actually making less money on Seabourn.

Seabourn doesn't pay their employees more than other cruise lines. Average wage is $32k - $63k (Estimated *)$45,862, with starting wages at $18,500. And remember, gratuities are included in Seabourn fares, so there's no additional tip wages. Then remember, Seabourn frowns on additional tipping. 70+% of the crew smokes. You just don't know it.

And I so agree. I will not cruise with a line that doesn't allow smoking in the casino. 13% of the US smokes. 25% of the world smokes. And we spend money in the casino. Lots of it. Which is why we get free cruises, free drinks, free specialty dining, free spa treatments, free transfers, free excursions, etc. And of course, free casino cash. I'll bet well over 25% of the pax on a cruise never step foot in the casino.

Just got off the Royal Princess 3 days ago. Total cost for 4 cartons (buy 3 get 1 free) was $144. So $48 per carton when bought single or $36 per carton utilizing the sale. Gift shop told me this was the price across all carnival brand ships (contract). If you are buying menthol, buy the first or second day. They run out of those FAST!

We are also basing that 'low' wage on US standards. Typically 3rd world countries earn less than $500 US per month, with Mexico being one of the highest at about $450 per month. Philippine's is much, much lower (about half of Mexico). So those 'low' wages everyone talks about is 3-6 times their countries average wage. Then add tips. I just got off a 10 day Royal princess cruise 3 days ago. We figured the attendant for the smoking room made $800-$1200 in cash tips just from the smokers in that 10 day period, in addition to the daily gratuities. Not everyone tipped cash and not everyone that did tip, tipped every time. That was just in singles. No telling how much he received the last day of the cruise in additional tips. Don't tell me customer facing crew are underpaid. They all knew the base wages they'd receive. And gratuities are optional. gratuity noun gra·tu·i·ty grə-ˈtü-ə-tē -ˈtyü- pluralgratuities Synonyms of gratuity : something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service especially : TIP added a gratuity for the server