Torfamm

I remember my first cruise in 1982 on the Carnival Mardi Gras. It was 7 nights in a cabin with a tiny porthole and no electric outlets in the cabin at all. There were though fabulous midnight buffets, terrific food, and lots of entertainment. Everyone dressed up every night. The cost was $1250 per person, which would be $3,950 per person in today’s dollars. A similar cruise today on Princess is under $1,000 per person. I feel like cruising and airline travel have both become much cheaper but much less “glamorous” over time.

On my cruise in 2019 it was only salmon and hamburgers. The menu and the food were both pretty bad on that cruise but it may not have been typical. I was willing to give Princess another try. My experience on cruises after the restart have been much better.

Yes. I think chicken and salmon are much more appealing choices for dinner than a hamburger so I see it as an improvement.

I think so. Even though it’s not as much as it used to be, you still see more. For me, it’s the better choice.

My last cruise before COVID was Norway and Iceland on Princess and it had menus very similar to what I’ve seen since the restart. I remember being pretty surprised that the Princess Favorites section of the menu offered a hamburger every night as opposed to the steak offered nightly by Celebrity. I think changes started well before the pandemic

I agree that the food was better on cruise ships in the 80’s and 90’s but cruising was also much more expensive than it is today. I suspect that if we were all willing to pay more, we would get more.

And they were exactly what was available in the MDR

I see your point. I was thinking more about how this could disincentivize going to specialty restaurants. I can see people thinking -,Why pay the specialty charge when you can order a similar item at half the cost in the MDR?

Why does it disappoint you to have extra options available?

Here is our menu for tonight

Heard about the price increases from the Maitre d’ but nothing about menus changing. Bistro Sur La Mer also went up $10 and is now $39 and I think he said that the Chef’s Table increase was $20

I have seen it with the ham. It made me sad because I really didn’t enjoy it. I prefer the original version with duxelles and pate. I never order it on cruises, it seems to me that the pastry is always soggy.

I found some interesting walking and food tour options for our trip this spring that seemed like a good complement to a more traditional tour on https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/tour/street-food-of-istanbul-picnic-tour/euisfoodpic https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/tour/old-and-new-istanbul-walking-tour/euisoldnewlk https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/tour/hidden-istanbul-walking-tour/euishidistwlk

The menu in the first post was served on my cruise last night. Here are tonight’s options for those who would like another example. It is a formal night

That is still true. There is almost always always a fish option in addition to salmon and sometimes shellfish.

I think it depends on your embarkation port. It certainly isn’t true anywhere outside the US that very few people are without medallions since only US residents can receive them ahead of time. Things won’t change much in those areas. In US ports, a lot will depend on how many have the Plus or Premium packages and chose to have medallions shipped . My guess is that it’s a pretty significant percentage of passengers. I’ve been on a cruise out of Port Everglades a few months ago where no one had a medallion as there was some issue that caused them not to be ready in time to ship. It added maybe five minutes to the check-in process even that day when everyone had to get them at the port.

That’s the easiest way to look at the Plus Package and how I always look at it. Thanks for the simple explanation. For us, the Plus Package does make sense. I figure we are at a minimum of $63 a day for drinks on a port day. Even the cheapest bottle of wine will be at least $35, so with gratuity about $42 at a bare minimum for wine and another $8 or so for sparkling water so we’d spend at least $50 at dinner. (More likely more) The remaining money gets eaten into pretty quickly even if we just get a coffee in the morning and a bottled water each day as we head off the ship. That’s another $13 a day. Knowing what you typically would spend makes the decision making process pretty straightforward.

Yes, it is the dinner menu for a single evening. Many other options on other nights including at least one seafood choice in addition to the salmon that is available every day Also, shrimp cocktail, traditional Caesar salad, and French onion soup have been on the menu almost every night and can be requested if they are not.

The photos are from the Apex deck 9 or 10 a couple of cabins away from the center of the ship

I tried one once on a Solstice class ship and hated the uncovered balcony. It was always too hot for me. I much prefer a deeper hump cabin on Solstice class ships. The Sunset Verandas on Edge class ships are fantastic though. Big enough balconies for lounge chairs and partially covered and they beautiful, large cabins

I agree. The MDR is a much better choice if you have time for table service.

It’s not uncommon or anything new to pay for extra or priority service when traveling. Many airports offer offer it. Sometimes it’s called VIP or concierge service. You get help with your luggage, priority lines, and sometimes access to lounge spaces. Airlines offer the same to passengers who pay for first class or business class tickets.

Still using numbers today.

It’s not something that interests me, especially since they aren’t even desserts available with meals in the MDR or specialty restaurants. I can’t imagine myself ever going to get ice cream twice a day. An upgraded main course at dinner would be much more appealing even if it were once or twice a cruise.

I can’t say enough positive things about Christelle and the Pile et Face tour we did with Karambole Tours. She is very knowledgeable and engaging and the food and drink items offered were terrific. It was a great combination of food tour and island highlights. No time sitting in restaurants or bars, but still getting to sample a good selection of local flavors. Christelle’s background as a teacher is probably one of the things that held make her an extraordinary tour guide. If you are stopping at Martinique, I would definitely recommend her tour! https://www.karamboletoursmartinique.com/en-GB/offers/pile-et-face.html