rdcruisin2

I've done with many times.  Just ask your cabin steward to open the balcony connection.

I read somewhere that Princess has discontinued the silver wine card and would probably do away with the gold level also.  Can anyone who recently cruised verify whether or not the wine card is still available or not.  Or does anyone know when or if the gold level will become obsolete.

I would recommend one of the shuttle services. It should be under $20/pp. Believe the Princess shuttle is more like $29/pp plus you have to wait for an entire bus to fill before it leaves for the airport.

That is the same with the private (i.e. Super Shuttle) services. They make you wait until the van is full and you may not be taken directly to the airport.

I've only had Dom Perignon once and didn't really care for it. Of course it was the cheapo Dom at only $89 a bottle (45 years ago). I'm sure it's more now even for the low end.

Hmmm . . . 45 years ago, I wasn't allowed to drink alcoholic beverages, so it probably wasn't my drink of choice then. ;p

Am I the only one who actually LIKES the gourmet burgers in the MDR? They are so much better than the ones at the outside grill.

Of course, I have some pretty strange tastes. One is my favorite Valentine's Day dinner traditions is a cheeseburger and a bottle of Dom Perignon. Go figure . . .

I had use of a Concierge Lounge on an RCCL ship with a full suite and the best thing about it was the hosted happy hour with great hors' deveours in the evenings. Unfortunately, Princess does not offer that. Maybe someday . . .

I would have kept the Emerald deck cabin because of the covered balcony.

FYI----Texas, like Florida, has no state income tax. That is why Texas has a 6.25% state sales tax. Texas cities can add up to 2% sales tax if they choose for a maximum total sales tax of 8.25%. I have lived in many states in my time and they all are hungry for money. Some states' politicians choose to have an state income tax so they can buy the votes of the poor by redistributing the earnings of those who earn more.(pretty much the opposite of the equal pay for equal work philosophy). It also insures that the citizens of those states pay more in taxes while out-of-state visitors pay less. Every state I lived in that had a state income tax also had a sales tax. Other states' politicians choose to have a sales tax instead of an income tax. That spares the citizens of those states the time and expense of filing a state income tax return and taxes them on what they spend rather than on what they work for and earn. It also lets out-of-state visitors pay more of the cost of state government.

Is there any U.S. cruise ship port that doesn't have a sales tax?

Astoria Oregon.

I see that same post on my roll call for an upcoming cruise. The OP really cruises a lot -- or at least wants to:D

During an Alaskan cruise last summer on the Grand, they served crab cakes at the Trident Grill ...that with a side of onion rings while watching a movie at MUTS. Wow!! Happy, happy, happy!! Oh...and then came the popcorn. LOL

Oh! Wouldn't that be wonderful! Unfortunately, I'm on a Hawaii cruise. Maybe they'll surprise us with Spam musubi ;)

Darn! I was on the Ruby in November and didn't try the Trident Grill BBQ. The menus look really good.

Does anyone know if the Grand has a similar set up? I will be sailing on her next month.

I'm thinking you're comparing a mini on Emerald with a mini on Dolphin, correct? For years I booked minis on Dolphin and the uncovered balcony did not bother me one bit. Then I snagged a covered balcony mini on Emerald and really liked it much better. On my next cruise I hit the holy grail and snagged a covered mini on Emerald with the extended balcony.

I think the only minis with a shower only are the handicapped cabins, but I could be mistaken.

On the last 2 cruises I booked as a solo, I did receive the promo OBC for the full stateroom amount (OBC for 2 passengers). So that was nice, but being booked on my next solo cruise, which is a 3 for free promo, I will only get credit for one free gratuity and one specialty dinner. So in that respect, I lose out after still having to pay for 2 passengers. So you win some, you lose some.

It is. They typically do not have open bottles of champagne for obvious reasons. If someone wants a glass , they get the split for $7.25 . If they want a full (750ml) bottle of korbel then it's $25.

 

 

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Thanks so much. Now I get it

In the description - "(187ml bottle)" is the split.

That's what got me confused. The poster is saying a "split" is less than $10.

Yes. As you can see from below, the split of Korbel is less than $10 so it is included in the AIBP. You can ask for a bottle, but ask them not to open it. And if you can do this at one bar, I don't see why you can't do it at 4 different bars at 4 different times. I've never purchased the AIBP, so I don't know what they do to keep track or purchases. I suppose with computer technology, there would be a way to "freeze" your card from further beverage purchases for a period of time so that the "One Drink At A Time" rule can be enforced, but I don't know if they bother.

 

 

 

Well...that depends. If you find Korbel to be a fair substitute for the Champagne that you would have brought on board, then yes. But seeing how one bottle per person can come on board for free, then the cost to bring on board a better bottle is zero. At $7.50 per split, that Korbel is running the equivalent of $30 per bottle. Onshore, $30 will buy you something much better.

Where does it say on this wine list that a split of Korbel is less than $10? From what I read, a split of $25.

Thanks for the info Astro Flyer. I went online and my Princess cruise charge DID NOT show up as an eligible purchase. I was hoping to not have to call to do the redemption, but I guess the system is not operational online yet. My payment is not due until January, so I may just hold off and hope for the best.

Thanks again for all the great information.

Has anyone had any luck with this Princess Visa card bonus problem? I have just put a cruise final payment on my card and was wanting to use my accumulated points to get the bonus and was hoping the system is working correctly now.

You do not need to use your coffee card for the regular shipboard coffee , whether you get it from the Horizon Court or from the I.C.

 

...VTX-Al

I always thought the IC had fresh brewed coffee instead of the syrup coffee used in the Horizon Court and you got it for free with the coffee card? When I was on the Ruby a couple months ago and asked for a cup of coffee at the IC, they always asked to see my coffee card.

I was on the Ruby in October and experienced the new Bingo tablet availability. I still got the paper cards. The tablets definitely won most of the games, but the problem I had was since those tablets require no attention on the part of the players, the Bingo caller simply called numbers with no interaction with the players. What fun is that!!?!??!

So, even though I have played Bingo on every cruise (30+) I've been on, sadly I've decided to forgo it from now on.

My thinking is that this is a good feature, not a problem. I do not wish to hear constant alert tones while I'm on vacation.

But even a vibrate would have been useful.

It's the Princess@Sea. No app to download. Once onboard, just turn your cell phone to airplane mode. Turn on wifi. Open your browser and connect to ship's intranet. Do the same with your companion's. Follow instructions on text messaging. Messages are checked manually. If you want to have instant notification, you need to use the ship's internet for a fee.

I used the Princess@Sea app on my last cruise and liked some of the features. The only problem with the messaging feature is that the recipient does not get any audible notification that they have a message, so unless they keep checking the app visually, they don't know they have a message.

I seem to be in the minority here, but the embarkation picture is the ONLY one I purchase. It gives me a quick visual reminder of the date, ship and itinerary of the cruise. I sometimes don't look my best, but I'm always smiling because I'm about to go on a cruise!!

My last cruise in RCCL was in a suite, and I do not remember any area of the buffet being reserved. The reserved theatre section is in the back and not that great of area anyway and the Concierge Lounge was only a small area on the ship. I was on the Grandeur.

I have done crossings on Princess, HAL and Oceania. With Oceania you have the smaller ships and I found the food excelled over Princess, HAL and RCCL.

I've been Elite on my last 2 cruises and did not receive the upgraded bathroom accessory bag. Didn't even know about it. Probably wouldn't use it anyway, but it's nice to know.