Z0nker

That’s how they do it on the Ruby. They assign you a table and waiter the first night. After that, you get right in.

HOHOs tend to be more hop off than hop on. We’ve had long waits to get a trolley with open seats in Balboa Park (San Diego) and Stanley Park (Vancouver). Too bad because those are both fabulous places to see.

International Cafe

I’ve heard the signage is still there. I’ll be on Emerald this fall, so who knows?

Does this mean they're bringing back Plank's and Steamers? I was told those no longer exist.

I see what you mean now. No paper receipt

What does this have to do with medallions? Medallions actually make it harder to lie because your photo and cabin number show up on the POS screen.

I’ve been on CC for years and have noticed a change in the reviews. I think the pandemic turned a lot of people into “Karen’s” by leaving them with too much idle times on their hands. Any perceived slight and someone must be blamed. Cruise lines are an irresistibly big target. Before COVID, there were some bad reviews, some for good reason and others out of sanctimonious self righteousness. Now, I agree that reviews overall, and especially the Top Ten forum, have gotten savage. We’ve cruised five times since cruising resumed and other than a few misfires on our first sailing, things have been fine for us.

Cribbage board

We were on the Royal in April and Ruby the previous September. Everything seemed to be back to pre-covid normality. Food, drinks, entertainment and cabin service were first rate. The Royal cruise was spring break and they were (allegedly) letting kids sail free if they bunked on their parents cabin. The Royal strains a bit with 4000 pax.

I have been in ports on the West Coast that limit the number of bars the ship can open while docked, but never a complete prohibition.

We’re sailing on the Royal Princess in April. Medallions arrived today. Blue seawitch on white background. We are platinum level.

We sailed on Solstice just before the pandemic in a veranda room. Best cruise ever. Nothing felt second class. Celebrity included a generous amount of OBC and drinks/gratuities/Wi-Fi so it was a first class experience all around.

I usually say the name because in a noisy room, B, C, D, E and G sound too much alike.

Pretty sure Star Princess is now Pacific Encounter at P&O Australia.

We had the same experience on Royal Caribbean in 2017.

On demand Love Boat episodes are a treat! We always watch a few.

The Princess Plus package is a big improvement. If you can score some OBC in addition, you’ve got an all inclusive experience. Also, the flexibility of the MDR scheduling is much improved. In the old days, they assigned you a table with strangers at one of two available times. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.

Have you considered taking a break from cruising?

We’ll, with an attitude like yours you’re never going to have a bad cruise. 😃

We sailed the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska in 2019. Everything was top notch. I highly recommend giving them a try. Best of the four cruise lines we’ve sailed by far. If Celebrity did more on the West Coast, we’d be on it.

We sailed the Carnival Miracle out of SF last May. The demographics were similar to Royal Caribbean. Younger, more diverse crowd than most other lines. Lots of activities especially on the pool deck. Good bar scene for mixed drinks and craft beer. Hit or miss on wine quality but you can bring on one bottle per adult. Food was solid in the MDR and buffet. Excellent service. Sea day brunch was a treat, don’t miss it. Guy’s burgers and fries were good and the taco joint was decent. Casino was hopping. Pizza Pirate made to order pizza was good, too. The seafood corner that you pay extra for in the buffet is best avoided. The balcony room was spacious.

We sailed the Celebrity Solstice to Alaska the summer before the pandemic. Everything was top notch. If Celebrity did more on the West Coast we would eagerly sail with them again. Most of our post-COVID cruises have been Princess because they homeport in SF so we can just drive to the Embarcadero, park, and be out to sea. Princess is nice enough and a good value. Also took one cruise out of SF on the carnival Miracle after giving carnival a ten year timeout. They’ve improved and we had a fine time, but we definitely prefer Princess overall.

Sorry for your loss. I know it’s hard (I was a widower in my 40s and even then it was tough.) My dad passed in the fall of 2020. Mom resumed cruising in fall 2022, taking a 7 day out of our local home port with my wife and I. Mom got her own balcony room. Single supplement was around 20-25% on Princess at that time, but I think it’s gone up since then. She had a blast and will be cruising with us two more times. Best of luck to you.

When we booked an April, 2023 cruise last fall, Princess Plus was still $50. When the price went to $60 they told us they’d honor the old price but “no desserts for you!!”