Torfamm

Vines generally serves in Reidel glasses and they don’t like to have them taken. They are very happy to pour in the glasses used at the other bars if asked. I have seen them use standard glasses with the Plus package wines as a default on the Caribbean Princess this week though.

They are doing extra cleaning and B2B passengers have to leave the ship from 9:30 to 12:30 today. The usual Noro precautions are in place - everything served in the buffet; rolls and butter served, not placed on the table in the MDR no salt and pepper shakers, etc Passenger laundry facilities were all closed but reopened Thursday

There are normally 3. Your travel summary will show the exact information for your itinerary. The general information is here https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/onboard/dining-and-nightlife/

We checked in at Terminal 2 Saturday. There is a separate entrance door for Priority Check-in - Suites, Elite, and Platinum. It is marked by a banner. Once inside there are 2 green lanes with one marked for priority boarding. Boarding group numbers are handed out on arrival in the waiting area. Elite, platinum, and suite guests board with the first groups

Currently on the Caribbean Princess and all passenger laundry rooms are “closed until further notice”. Lesson learned about boarding a ship expecting to do laundry right away from the land trip prior.

It’s not a fun process and even less so if you are ill and just being discharged from the hospital, but yes, it can be done. It’s a calculated risk any time someone chooses to travel without a passport. I feel like the more likely scenario is needing to get home in case of an emergency with a family member. I’m always surprised that it’s such a rarely mentioned concern.

The problem would come when it is time to return to the US after being discharged from the hospital in Canada. It’s not possible to fly back to the US without a passport. Options could be pretty limited

I’ve never heard of a wine card either. Whatever it is, I probably want one!

The formal night dress code isn’t necessarily observed only by the British and on cruises out of Southampton. It’s easy to forget that there are many places where Princess cruises beyond North America. It could be that the cruises from North America are the outliers. We don’t hear as much on this site about Asia, South America, or even Australia, New Zealand, and Europe as we do the Caribbean and Alaska. That doesn’t mean we should assume they are the norm. Maybe they are just completely different from the rest of the world?

On our cruise in January it was replaced with a sea day

You can see it in the app as soon as you connect to the ship’s intranet. If you board very early though, you might be at the muster station before they are ready to start checking people in. I’ve only had it happen once

Vines has a few bench seats near the windows. I find them very uncomfortable though. There is lots of comfortable seating in Skywalkers and it isn’t too busy which might make it easy to find a place for a scooter during the platinum/elite cocktail hour

If you want to keep your cruise and do you own land tour Princess offers an easy option. 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/ I chose this unescorted 6 night tour from Fairbanks to Anchorage and would highly recommend it. https://www.princesslodges.com/alaska-tours/itinerary-3ts/?from_search_query=dG91clR5cGU9ZXhwbG9yZXImc2VhcmNoT25seT0w#3TS

There’s no doubt that the vast majority of men on European sailings wear the requested dark suit, tuxedo, or dinner jacket. A very different story than North America itineraries. Studies report that fewer than half of American men own a suit of any kind much less a tuxedo. Unless the cruise lines go back to offering tuxedo rental, it is probably impossible to expect to see everyone comply with the requested dress code on formal nights.

It is definitely not a requirement to wear formal wear or a dark suit on formal night. The percentage of men who will varies a lot. In my experience the number was lowest on Alaska and Mexican Riviera sailings - maybe 10 - 25%. On cruises in Europe it could be 75%

Travel document requirements are here. https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/

Thanks for the encouragement! Maybe I’ll give it a try one day. We are elite on Celebrity so we do each get a bag of laundry each cruise. Up until now I’ve only sent socks 😎

Absolutely an individual choice. I am just too afraid of having things damaged by hot water or commercial dryers. For anything up to two weeks, I am with you. I generally just pack enough that laundry isn’t an issue regardless.

Not sure how long your cruise will be but one thing that hasn’t been mentioned is that Princess offers self-service laundry. I think it’s and advantage on longer trips. We hate sending our laundry out

If you are near Canada, Nexus is a cheaper option with the same advantages

You are right, the packages do not include gratuities on Australia cruises since they are included in the cruise fare. It’s spelled out on the terms and conditions https://www.princess.com/cruise-deals-promotions/plus-premier-cruise-packages/

My understanding is that Princess requires the entire party to have passports anytime a minor travels with only one adult. Even if it were possible to enter Canada without a passport using another document, I would expect them to require it for boarding.

You both must have a passport. https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/

One potential negative that never seems to be mentioned is the cold. On an Alaska or Antarctica cruise for example, many people enjoy bundling up and sitting on their balconies to enjoy the view and watch for wildlife. I have to imagine that the cabin would get really cold, essentially if the heat turns off when the window is open.

I have no doubt that there were people who hated the switch from actual keys to plastic cards too. Change can be hard. It was a genuine adjustment for people to have to remember their cabin number rather than just look at their key.