Torfamm

The time and the location can vary and it is available on every evening except the nights of Captains Circle parties. On the Caribbean Princess in the spring it was from 5-7 pm and in Skywalkers. The food was really good - sushi, stilton wheels, some things you don't see elsewhere. Last month on the Caribbean Princess it was from 4:30 to 6:30 and in Club Fushion. The food was okay, but nothing too unique. I understand the location was due to the large number of P & E onboard. They had four Captains Circle parties as almost half the passengers were eligible on that sailing.

Glacier Bay would be the deciding factor for me.

If it’s not possible to add a land tour to your cruise and you decide you don’t want to rebook you could consider a separate tour. I did a Princess Lodges rail tour that was completely separate from my cruise and loved it. There was no bus travel nor were there lots of organized group excursions or planned meals. We could pick the excursions we wanted at each lodge or book something on our own. To me it was the best of all worlds - hotels, train tickets and transfers arranged, leave luggage outside your door each departure morning and find it in your room at the next destination but spend each day as you wish. To me, traveling every leg by train was way better than doing half by bus on a land tour. https://www.princesslodges.com/alaska-rail-tours/learn/

Charges in error are, and always have been, something that can happen. Before packages, before that app etc. It's usually very easy to resolve by using the Crew Chat function in the app rather than standing in line at guest services.

If you buy a bottle of wine at dinner, the server might pour for them or look the other way if you do. They won't be able to order wine themselves for sure.

I remember hearing in the past that you couldn't order pizzas to go or even get leftover pizza boxed. The only way to get it was eating at a table or room service. I never tried it myself though.

You can call and ask to be moved to another cabin in the same category but it’s of course based on availability. If you’re sure that any cabin in the new category would be worth it, it makes sense to bid. For example, a lot of people would bid $50 a person to move to a deluxe balcony from an inside even if it’s a bad location. Sometimes you can also predict location because that category is so limited.

I recently got one and ended up in a really terrific cabin. Got the upgrade, had a look at what other cabins were still available in the new category, phoned and grabbed it. That said, I would never bid unless I was sure that any cabin in the upgraded category would work for me. However, there can be a lot of shuffling around of cabins as the sail date gets close, especially if many people are moved as bids are accepted. We’ve had good luck with it.

If it is on a ship where it’s open to the piazza I’d pick a back corner near the windows at the end of the space closer to the elevators than Bellini’s

I believe they can see that information if they were to check. I don’t think it matters to them in which order you do those two things though.

That is only true if you add alcohol in my experience. I’ve never heard anyone else say they’ve had all coffees counted as one of their 15 alcoholic drinks allotted per day.

You are correct, but we were a table full of people who already had drinks and were eating the complimentary starters. It would have been pretty disruptive at that point. I just ordered two starters and made the best of it. If that sort of thing had happened at a typical restaurant with a la carte pricing, it wouldn't have bothered me the way it does when the meal is prix fixe.

I thought it was a beautiful space on the Enchanted and the service was fantastic. The food was okay. If I’d known ahead of time that my first two choices for a main course were unavailable, I’d at least have had an opportunity to cancel. I was very frustrated at paying that premium for a meal I didn’t want. Hopefully my experience was a rare exception

In an interesting twist, I tried to look at the web version of the app out of curiosity yesterday. I couldn’t open it.

I’ve seen it outside of formal nights but it’s usually on the second formal night

My first cruise on Carnival 40 years ago cost over $1000 per passenger for a tiny room with a 12 inch porthole. The same 7 day Caribbean itinerary today can easily be booked in a balcony for less than that on Princess. For that amount in today’s dollars, about $3200, I could choose an experience similar to what cruising was in the past but I choose Princess and don’t expect it to provide that for 1/3 of what it used to cost.

I think it’s similar to cruising. Both are far less expensive today than in the past, but we’ve given up some things in exchange. Neither are the luxuries they used to be.

It's probably just me, but when I'm on a cruise speed of service is not my We waited 90 minutes for our food to arrive when we ate there last winter. I was far too hungry to enjoy anything about the experience. I assume it was a staffing issue since 3/4 of the tables were empty. We even ended up getting our own drinks at Bellini’s since servers were never around. I love a leisurely meal but the service shouldn’t be slow, just well- paced

I think that’s true for all types of insurance, at least in the US. Many people don’t have any idea of what coverage they actually have whether it’s auto, medical, long-term care or travel

Good point! I would only rely on it for trip delays, lost luggage etc

We have an annual policy with GeoBlue along a MedJet membership. We feel we get adequate coverage from our credit card for non-medical expenses to make it reasonable to not get additional travel insurance

Those features are definitely available on Celebrity’s newer E-class ships. You can just scroll across the icons at the bottom of the app to find them. I am not sure if all of the older ships have been updated. The key feature is very much like the digital key in a hotel app, it has to be selected and held near the lock. It’s not quite as convenient as the medallion.

I’d pick Sabatini’s. I think the location of Bistro Sur La Mer is unappealing, too loud and too many people walking around. I haven’t especially enjoyed the food there either.

Celebrity also has an app. I love being able to use it for check-in, unlocking my door, checking menus, making reservations, booking shore excursions etc. Like Princess, passengers aren’t required to take advantage of it, but for many of us, the convenience is a real positive.

1. You watch a muster video on your personal device or cabin TV and check in at your muster station once onboard the ship. 2. One bottle of wine can be brought aboard at no charge by each passenger. Additional bottles can be brought onboard but there is a corkage fee of $20 per bottle