seagunthera

Thank you for the review! My teen will be on the couch and am wondering if you had anyone sleeping there? If so, how comfortable is that sofa/pull-out bed? Also, when you say soot on the last two days, as in the balcony was unusable during that time? TIA!

I booked one of the two Owner's Suites for an upcoming Discovery sailing to the Mexican Riviera. I've never stayed in this suite (E729) and am interested to hear input from anyone who has. It's a rather large suite at 879 sq ft and is situated over the Vista Lounge (should I be concerned about noise?). 

I've read social media posts about and seen pictures of very empty Gigi and Alfredo venues. Nothing was added to the menu when they decided to start charging and many are simply boycotting the change.  

I'm taking my two teens on an upcoming NYE sailing on the Discovery and am curious as to what options there are for breakfast. We're in an Owner's Suite and have access to breakfast in Sabatini's and would love to hear what you've ordered there in the past. My daughter loves a good Nutella crepe and son would love steak and eggs every now and again, are those items they would be able to whip up? I usually just get a simple egg dish and specialty coffee so have zero idea how much latitude there is for ordering off menu. Thanks!

10 hours ago, Sea&SkiCruiser said:

We are booked in a full suite on an upcoming cruise and was also concerned about some benefits disappearing.  I found the following under FAQs: Onboard Experience/Stateroom Services:

"Mini-suites include a welcome glass of sparkling wine, two televisions, a sitting area and a spacious closet, while full suites offer all of these premiums plus complimentary laundry, and use of the Lotus Spa® Thermal Suite (on select ships, excluding Discovery Princess℠, Sky Princess®, Enchanted Princess®, Royal Princess®, Regal Princess®, Majestic Princess®, and Grand Princess®), one-time free mini-bar setup and use of our Disembarkation Lounge."

Notice the exclusion of Discovery Princess, etc.

Thank you...I may have to rethink things!

On 6/27/2023 at 11:23 AM, MJU said:

I was in the starboard Owners Suite on Discovery last June and never heard anything from the lounge.  The room is huge and the balcony is as well.  Would book this room again in a flash!!!!

Good to know, thanks! Just booked it for NYE this year. I was worried about the noise...

On 9/19/2023 at 1:58 PM, pool_lounger said:

Sort of related to your question, I noticed that the suite amenities that are now listed on the website look a little different from when we reserved our suite earlier this year. For example, the info sheet I have from earlier this year, has Complimentary Lotus Spa and Thermal Suite access on select ships, but I'm not seeing that on the current list of benefits. Does anyone know if that perk is still available or if it has been phased out as a suite benefit? 

I just booked an Owner's Suite for NYE on the Discovery and am interested to know the answer to this as well. For $10,000+ for a 7 nighter, I'll be annoyed if spa access has been taken from me!

Thanks so much for the fabulous info!

55 minutes ago, Lorabelle said:

We did it last summer with Island Wings.  It was wonderful.  For us, it was the very beginning of the salmon season, so the bears were not abundant.  We had to wait over an hour for a bear to appear.  Two bears finally showed up, and it was amazing.  Just like the videos you see, the bears got in the water and began fishing.  They caught several.  The bald eagles showed up to get the leftovers.  Sadly, we had to leave after a short time, because we had to go back and catch the plane.  But I still feel that we got our money's worth with what we were able to view.  It's a beautiful walk through the forest to get to the platform and a beautiful (but short) flight to get there.

 

I would recommend that you bring some binoculars if you have them.  

Thank you for the advice! When did you go last summer? We are set to be there the first week of August. 

We have a short call (6AM-1PM) in Ketchikan which caused me to book an excursion through Princess (I usually prefer to hire locals but the times are tricky and make me a bit nervous). I'm doing the float plane to Traitor's Cove to their viewing platform to see bears. Has anyone done this and if so, was it worth the cost of admission? I've read mixed reviews and would love to hear from our trusted CC family!

Have a room booked next week at the Sheraton Grand on 6th. Has anyone stayed there and can offer insight into what's around (restaurants, etc.). Also, we have a room with club lounge access and I'd love to hear what the food/drink offerings are if anyone has experience. Thanks so much!

Investigate using Kyte- they drop off a rental car at your hotel and come pick it up whenever you schedule. Also, use Port Valet for your luggage (go to the website and see if your airline participates) that way you will not have any large checked bags to tote around!

3 hours ago, DVC Calif said:

We just got off the Royal Princess yesterday, after an amazing Alaskan cruise, and there was no regular afternoon tea service in the dining room, let alone any Royal Afternoon Tea being offered. 

 

We were very surprised because we thought tea service was a daily standard on Princess.

 

There were a few scones, cream, and jam available in the Horizon Bakery but not really the same experience. 

 

On a bright note, afternoon tea is available to Elite CC on request and we were able to enjoy that in our cabin.

How very disappointing that afternoon tea is no longer offered even on sea days! It is something I was looking forward to on my upcoming July 29th sailing on the Royal...boo!

Can anyone share with me the process for Reserve Class boarding protocol in Seattle? Is there a separate sitting area for Reserve/Club/Platinum like there is in Los Angeles? Do you get to board after Elites? TIA for any help!

54 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I assume it's still there. My DH always used it in the past but it's been a while. 

It's showing as still there- I'm wondering about the availability/hours, etc. if your hubby can recall. Thanks!

53 minutes ago, Mike45LC said:

Virtual shooting range.  When I tried it, shotguns.  Not well sighted.

My teen son will want to do it- do you recall if it was open often or did it have limited hours? 

Does anyone have any information on this? I see it listed on the deck plans. TIA!

On 6/23/2023 at 5:17 PM, donaldsc said:

 

Every night?  $30 per day of extra optional tipping.  That is ridiculous especially as I assume that you are leaving the automatic gratuity on.  

 

DON

Hold onto your hat, it gets even better- on my last 10 day over the holidays, in addition to the extra $200- $300 in tips I gave to the Club Class crew, I slipped the manager a $50 when he surprised my teen daughter with an invite to the 360 experience. We had a blast!

2 hours ago, memoak said:

What you are paying for with a club class mini is location, no wait dining and awesome service plus extra entrees not tipping

Yes! Also, priority boarding (if not already Plat/Elite, canapés on formal nights, and maybe things we can never truly confirm. For example, I always get a few seats at either the Chef's Table or the WInemaker's dinner (or both). 

No matter, I think tipping is not a one size fits all. There have definitely been times when I did not feel the service at a particular meal was tip worthy and so I did not tip. This shouldn't be such a hot topic IMHO. 

2 hours ago, david63 said:

Not wishing to fuel the debate/argument around tipping but on my recent cruise on Sky I did not see anyone (be they American or any other nationality) leaving a tip in the Reserve class area of the restaurant.

I have seen plenty during my dozen or so CC bookings (which is what gave me the idea). 

I used to wait until the last night to give an additional tip but since the restart, I started leaving a $20 on the table after supper and a $10 after lunch (we typically don't do breaky that early, but would prob leave a $10 as well).

I feel good about my new system and I know the team SO appreciates it. The service has always been great in Club (ahem, Reserve) Class but I feel like they do the extra little bits when they know you are tipping nightly. Just my two cents (ha!).

P.S. having the head waiter mention tipping is something I've never encountered on my 20+ cruises and would be a bit off-putting IMHO. 

Enjoy your cruise (I'll be on in a month) and thanks for doing a LIVE Most appreciated!

Does anyone know if I can take my 16-year-old or is it 21+?

12 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Google found this Youtube video:

 

 

I've stayed in this cabin and it has positives and negatives. In this video you can see where the furniture has been tied down by the cabin steward. This happened to me as well- he would tie it up each evening and then I would have to untie it in the morning if I wanted to sit out on the balcony and have my morning coffee. It was a bit of a pain. The other negative is that you cannot see over the railing when you are seated so if seeing the ocean roll by is important to you, I would pick another cabin without a solid steel balcony. The final negative is the wind tunnel that is created when the balcony door is open. When deliveries arrive or someone returns to the cabin, you absolutely MUST make sure the balcony door is closed. All that said, M108 does have an interesting layout and a large balcony. 

I have attended several CT's during port days but have never seen it listed on the app. I love a good CT but it's always one of those things I must rearrange plans around once I am formally "invited" as staff typically can't even tell me upon embarkation on which day(s) it will occur.