SiliconCruiser

We had it on the Ruby in July. It was on the day (last sea day?) when there was no menu on the Medallion app for the Da Vinci dining room for lunch. We were in the area so out of curiosity we went to check to see if it was going to be open for lunch. That was when we saw a short line at the door, and posted on the menu board was the menu for the Pub Lunch.

On the Royal class ships, if the whole buffet is used, there is greater variety to be found than in the MDR for breakfast. ... and you can pig out on bacon and smoked salmon without judging eyes 🤣

I'm sure this will be useless information, but we had a relative who was in Ft. Lauderdale and they met us at our turn-around to go explore a few places. But we had already been in FLL for a couple of days before we set sail the first time, so we took them around with them providing transportation. We were in the same cabin for the b2b, so there were no logistics involved. My only encounter was with a sheriff's deputy who had a very old traffic vest on, and I commented that I had the exact same vest (with Police printed on it) from the early 90's. We both mentioned that neither of us had used it much in the past 17 years ... 😂

It has always been their practice to refund the port taxes, since they are taxes and not revenue, and sometimes they even offer amenities for the inconvenience. But it remains to be seen with the post-Covid Princess policies.

I think it has become an important and significant safety requirement as the pre-flight safety briefing on airline flights (which are also now on video.)

Reminds me of the time that I called Social Security and used their callback option. When I didn't get a call back in a couple of days, I just called back and waited in the queue for about 20 minutes. The original call was made in August (I forget which year,) and I actually got a call back ... in December! When I told the agent that I had made the call in August, he simply acknowledged that it was received in August ... 😲 But I suspect that may not be the case with people using the call-back option with Princess, and their call-backs may take a bit longer 🤣

The people in Japan think that we're the ones with the foreign accents. Actually they think it odd that we can't speak their language in their country. While many Japanese can speak some English, they're hesitant because they don't speak it fluently. Contrast that with most Americans of Japanese descent speak English without a hint of an accent, especially those who were confined to prison camps during WWII, though their numbers are dwindling.

Port taxes are always refunded. It is not money that Princess is empowered to keep, but given their financial situation, you may encounter excuses or even a few fibs. A few years ago, we even left a cruise before the last port and they refunded us the port fees for the disembarkation port. On a Caribbean cruise we missed a port because of weather, so they refunded us the port fees for that port. Wish they would have given us even more credit for having to endure an extended stay at Princess Cay ...

Specialneedsatsea also caters to the mobility impaired market near Pier 27 in San Francisco. I'd also suggest getting an ADA accessible unit so that there will be enough room to move around and space to charge the scooter battery.

There is a point when the captain has to make a life and death decision. If a crew member or passenger to be evacuated by helicopter, it is a potentially life threatening situation. If there are a bunch of passengers ignoring the captain's order in their self-righteous right to know, and they are potentially at risk if something should go wrong with helicopter evacuation, the captain has to make a decision. Losing a bunch of Kens and Karens verses the threatened life of a crew member or passenger ... easy choice even if it means potential damage to the ship itself. 😉

Seems that I had to delete the Medallion app and install it again (it probably kept the information from our last cruise.) After re-installing the app, I could only log in with my booking number, not with the user name and password from my Princess account. I'm thinking this app may not be ready for prime-time.

We've always done that, including our very first Princess cruise, when we were advised by my SIL to that rather than dealing with the buffet. Up until now, we've never encountered a 6th Fl. MDR not being open for lunch on embarkation day. On one occasion we were near the forward elevators and the crew member adamantly told us that we could not take the elevator down to the dining room (because it wasn't open) and that we had to go up to the buffet. We just ignored him and took the midship elevators down to the 6th fl. dining room.

DW is in a motorized wheelchair, the stairs are not an option. Though I do use them frequently if I'm alone. Often faster than waiting for a elevator.

I have never been handed a flyer. Not sure what part of that you didn't understand. But yes, I will ignore remarks about having to go to the buffet or directions telling me that I have to use the same set of elevators that everyone else is pushing and cramming into.

They wouldn't actually ship them to the port (Santa Clarita is a long ways from Long Beach 🤣😄.) Guest services has lots and lots of blanks, they just associate the ID of the medallion to that of your profile. Only takes a minute or so, but that adds up to a long delay if there are hundreds of people without medallions.

That wasn't our experience on the Regal in Copenhagen, they just told us that it wouldn't be open until Noon. But in Port Everglades (also on the Regal) we were specifically told that it was not open, but we went there anyways. I think it there may also have been a relevance to demographics.

May I suggest reading before posting?

It's been my experience that they just say that the MDRs are not open (regardless of whether they are or not.) This may be by direction of their supervisors, or just so that they don't have to keep track of time. Regardless, it is a disservice for the sake of convenience. That being said, on the Royal class ships there may be a greater variety in the buffet to appease a more diverse audience.

I have to use an elevator as I'm a caregiver for a person who is limited to a mobility device. I hope you never have to be in such a situation. But if you are, I'm sure you're going to be disappointed when some morbidly obese person in a large mobility scooter goes dead center into an elevator blocking anyone else from entering. Maybe they'll even antagonize you with an "ADA" rant.

Wow! I've never seen that flyer and I've sailed out of Pier 27 many times when the Grand was ported here.

It's social media. Being judgemental without cause or provocation is a requirement 😂🤣. It is very possible that the crew that may be providing misleading information may very well be doing so under direction from their supervisors (who may also not have understood their instructions either.) That being said, fibbing is fibbing, and ultimately Princess needs to accept responsibility. But I'd be curious as to how this compares with customer experiences on the other Carnival brands.

HRM Elizabeth II has been the monarch of the British Commonwealth for most of my life as well. Today, the world mourns with the British Commonwealth, as her passing is a loss to the entire world.

British Commonwealth. Which does indeed include Canada.

If you are in North American waters and have a phone that is capable of wifi calling, they you can receive calls on your regular number (be sure it is in Airplane mode to avoid shockingly high charges.) If you're outside of North America and have purchased the WiFi package, get one of the many web based calling apps (I like Google Voice because it also enables me to make international calls from both my regular cell number as well as Google Voice for pennies per minute.) You can receive calls on your Google Voice number anywhere in the world as a domestic call from North America.

This has pretty much been the case on every of the cruises that we have been on, Panamax, Grand, Crown, and Royal. In most cases I'm sure the crew are told to direct everyone to the buffet. I think it was on our second or third cruise when I asked if the 6th Fl MDR was open for lunch as was specifically told, "It is not, you have to go to the buffet." So we went to the 6th fl MDR for lunch. I stopped asking after that cruise. I think it was on the Regal out of Copenhagen that we were just told that we were too early and that the MDR would not be open until Noon.