CruzeQueen2

Yes. Recent change. Believe it. Different ships rolled out the changes on different dates starting mid August. Changes initiated from corporate...not individual ships' decisions. Alfredos is no longer free without a Plus or Premier package. The charge varies for three courses, or just a pizza, or appetizer, or dessert only- if you paid the standard fare. @Saint Greg I am only the messenger. Trying to help you.

@Saint Greg Previously Alfredos did not have a charge. Now, there is a user fee. Plus includes two visits to casual restaurants. Alfredos is one of these. I think Vines is also now on the list of casual restaurants and it is for the tapas offered there. This also used to be included without a charge. Changes came about this year...recently.

@dlh015 Exactly! I was there with you, until Hawaii. Seventeen days on board. Not nearly enough!

@jwattle Reserve Dining Room alert. Be sure to listen for the "fireworks" audio. Camille and the other servers have really mastered this presentation. Have you had your anniversary celebration there yet? Enjoy all the fun. Fireworks and all! @c-boy Be sure to catch Kevin Brando, the piano guy at Crown Grill bar. He played the evening sets there. I noticed one of your art pieces has a piano...hope you like his music!

Beautiful! Love the smiles...and the formal attire. Thanks for posting 😄

Same. Enjoyed it as well!

Nor for me, either. Anticipating something special... or wild!

@c-boy I'm so happy to hear that! Please say hi for me, from Vancouver. Hugs to Luigi, Tomy, Dumming and Taesha (sp?) as well. You are in good hands.

If it's happy hour for you there...you will have more options! Enjoy. Sigh. I remember that time of day, fondly.

Good luck in opening up the heavy fridge door... enjoy a cold something...or some hot tea? @jwattle

@charliedalrymple @jwattle Here are some photos from my dinner at The Catch in September. Yes, the langoustine was part of the Three S offering and I had pics of the de-boning of the SOLE. We enjoyed ALL of it! Hope no one minds...just adding to the thread...where appropriate. Sorry the photos are blurry...guess I got over-excited! Or maybe had a few too many glasses of wine before the main courses arrived. It was lovely!

@jwattle Looks like a great start to the cruise! All the usual food groups showed up for the first day/ embarkation lunch and dinner. Avo shrimp appie, salmon and orange souffle at lunch. Tale of citrus, my personal fave, and the langoustine and mussels...at The Catch. I think you sat at my usual table! Nice touch to see the opera house. Keep smiling!

@Radio I enjoyed reading about your time on the Regal Princess. You mentioned that the shuttle to get to IAH from the ship upon disembarkation was to take 2 hours. In reality, was that time accurate? I will also be taking a shuttle to the airport (IAH) when I disembark. Thanks again for all the information that you shared.

Love seeing these smiles for embarkation day. 💖 Priceless!

@jwattle and @c-boy Bon voyage to you - today is your boarding day! I look forward to hearing all about your "ship" encounters and experiences. Here's to smooth sailings ahead for you. Enjoy the "suite" ride...and the concierge lounge and those wonderful breakfasts at Harmony AND The Catch! Aaahhh - great times await you! Can those smiles get any wider? I know exactly how you feel as you embark on this sailing. I also grin from ear to ear when I "run away to sea"! Thank you for taking us along.

@Ken the cruiser Thanks for this wonderful thread! Good observation on the listed inclusions for the PLUS and PREMIER packages. I look forward to hearing from you about the Casual Dining updates, if any! Also missing - listing of the OceanNow delivery and Room Service delivery...that was included with the recent changes. Still showing up on my future sailings as included. Waiting to hear from you...not holding my breath though! Thank you for sharing the information with us. I appreciate all the time that you spend to keep us "in the loop."

@CU64 Is there a concierge lounge on your sailing? The dedicated lounge really provides you with a lot of extras. That space is such a wonderful respite from the crowds. If your sailing is on a ship without the lounge, then you are mostly getting a larger room, larger bathroom facilities AND a preferential dining area for lunch and dinner, and a specialty restaurant for breakfast. Again, away from the crowds. If you want to be out with the masses, then keep your mini-suite. If you like the idea of having dedicated dining and not lineups, go with Reserve Collection dining as suggested above. Depends on what your priorities are. Booking a suite on a ship that has a concierge lounge really gives you as much personal service and space as one could ever want. That is what I found from my recent experience.

That's enough from me, for now. I can't wait to hear about your experiences coming up. Wishing you safe travels and smooth sailings ahead. I anticipate your upcoming joys as well!

@jwattle @c-boy There were five different martinis on offer at the event. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time in the lounge for trying all the varieties. On my sailing, the happy hour started at 4:30 and went to 6:30. Fabulous appies also served.

@jwattle Yes, Darko and his team exceeded our expectations at every turn. He offered his attentive and professional service to us throughout. I am spoiled for anything that comes after, .enjoy! Be sure to attend all of the special events that are offered there. Martini night, themed happy hours, etc!

Enjoy every minute, every morsel. Thank you for taking us along. I do believe your concierge is THE BEST in show, IMHO. Your fondness for the beautiful Majestic is shared here, by moi, The Catch and all. Kevin Brando who was playing the late night sets at Crown Grill bar in Sept/Oct is also a star. He is scheduled to be onboard till early December I believe. I look forward to your thread.

@reedprincessThank you. Makes sense. Princess live has the coffees available from 7:00am onward, day 2. Perfect.

@Radio Thanks for sharing the reports of your experiences on Regal. I will be on this ship in the new year and am contemplating some of my options. Is there a Salty Dog Gastropub on this ship? I don't see it on the deck plans on-line. I notice from the Patters/ Events listings- that there is only one location for getting specialty coffees before 11:00am. IC, of course, but not at Princess Live? Perhaps the Bakery section on Deck 16 will also have early options; that would be as expected. Thanks for looking into this for me. My cabin is closer to the deck 7 location! Please keep the photos and first-hand reports coming. The food from Sabatini looks great! I am enjoying the anticipation for this trip - following along with you! 💖

Currently on Majestic. The space beyond the Princess Theatre heading aft is indeed a small area called the Arcade, with a few machines. Beyond that, in the space on the port side is a quiet spaces called VIP Double Down Bar. I'm pretty sure that is where Take 5 would be on other Royal class ships. It is set up like a sports bar with multiple large screen tv screens. In May, there were some intimate style game activities scheduled here during the day. Last night a new piano player played some very nice music. She told us that this was her first contract and that she was a classically trained pianist. She may have a chance to perform in the main theatre at some point. Many servers circulate through this space and drinks can be obtained easily from the bar here. That's what I see ...