travelin.sisters

check to see if the settings got changed somehow?

I booked a cruise this summer & my TA (& the Princess rep she was on the line with) could not see the rooms that I had picked out (I could still see them)...it was so strange

It will usually be 7:30ish, & go quickly (they have not done any customs questions in several years even before covid & now use facial rec scanners) but we have had cruises with disembarkation delays for various reasons (one INS had to remove someone with an outstanding warrant before they started letting anyone else off...it was maybe an hour or more delay)

for now, & the foreseeable future, we shall choose to continue to wear masks, avoid over full elevators, & take other reasonable precautions to reduce the likelihood of getting anything...others with fewer risk factors, higher risk tolerance, or a myriad of other reasons will make their own choices...wishing each of you safe seas & happy voyages

if you upgrade (the option is 1 or 4 devices--so no 2 device option) it is $5/day if you are Platinum or Elite or $10/day if you are not...the price goes up onboard, but I got the precruise price on the Sapphire in Sept by going into the app as soon as we boarded but before we sailed (I needed to be able to use OBC up) & yes you can share the other 3 with anyone you are willing to share your cabin # & DOB with

you probably couldn't order the steak to the MDR, the app shows different things to order based on your location

one last update for those who have followed along: only one of us ended up with covid (that would be the one who was least careful about mask wearing) & is now recovered, fortunately the rest did not get it on the cruise or in the house after coming home so are still novids--thank you to everyone who wished us health & again to all who followed along & participated--next up Hawai'i on the Crown in March!! My posts in this LIVE: pre-cruise musing—post 1 photos of berth 46—post 2 ready to go—post 23 onboard & ready to report—post 60 embarkation day—post 67 embarkation photos—post 68 embarkation lunch photos—post 70 & 72 exploring the ship—post 80 ship photos—posts 82, 84, 88, 89, 100 & 101 day 2—at sea—post 102 day 2 photos—posts 109, 110, 111 & 112 answers to questions—post 123 Cabo San Lucas—post 126 Cabo photos—posts 147, 150, 153, 154, 160, 162 & 163 La Paz—post 164 La Paz photos—posts 178, 179. 180, 181, 182 & 183 Loreto—post 189 Loreto photos—posts 191, 192, 194, 195 & 196 more answers to your questions—post 206 possibly helpful information—post 223 3 sea days!—post 224 sea day photos—posts 255, 256, 257 & 258 San Diego—post 259 San Diego photos—posts 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 266, 267 & 268 home again—post 269 home again photos—post 271 papers & Patters—posts 274, 275, 276, 277, 281, 282, 283, 284, 287, 288, 289 290 meals & menus—posts 297, 305, 308, 318, 328, 329, 333. 334, 335, 358, 359, 360, 361 wrap up—post 385 extra photos (& videos)—posts 386, 387, 389, 390, 391, 392, 393, 403 last thoughts—post 405

the $5 might be for the 3rd 'complimentary' lanyard?

on the Sapphire they served mini baked Alaska domes rather than the slices that they used to ...thought that was a nice change even though I never order it

They really are...DH will do great in 'ukulele classes & even someone with basically NO musical talent will be able to learn to play (I am proof of this) Tiki Dave is able to teach in a way that an absolute novice can learn, but a really experienced player will also enjoy the classes...Leialoha is also a great instructor & you can even join the hula classes from your chair (my knees only make it through the first day of hula class)...she also does craft classes (there is a fee for these, but not the 'ukulele or hula) which are tons of fun...AND don't miss his port talks, lots of great info

Loreto last month, there were stands selling things, but no one following you down the walk telling us their stuff was "almost free" or insisting it was now their turn if you came out of someone else's shop..it was a very enjoyable walk (except so hot/humid my sister almost passed out waiting for the tender)

on the two cruises I took they checked them out for the whole cruise so people could practice between classes (I borrowed one from my BIL)

I picked 6.20 because it is not too early, but they won't put anyone at your table before that because it is not enough time...if you pick 6.40 they will have a first seating at the table & then you will have to wait for them to finish (one of the hiccups we encountered).

you can be green lined way earlier (I am for March 2024) & you can do dining without being green lined while I don't doubt others experience as shared here & other places on CC, we have never had a problem getting the same table/waitstaff each night...we have cruised 3 times on 3 different ships this year & it has worked with minor hiccups on each ship, so while there can be problems, it is not guaranteed that there will be.

all of the MDRs will serve the same menu each night, the only difference is location. You can reserve a time before sailing (we do because it is important to have the same servers each night because of food allergies) or you can wait OR you can go ahead & reserve now & change when you get onboard or cancel for one or several nights. some people like just deciding day to day when or where they want to eat. They also have a very nice pizza place, Alfredos which should be open for dinner also the grill on the pool deck (which maybe isn't what you would want for dinner). You can also do room service or the international cafe is open 24/7 if you want sandwiches & desserts. We always have been content with the menu's & variety in the MDRs & never went to any of the specialty dining places until they wee included as a perk from our TA, they are nice, but we would not pay extra for them (many people would disagree, that's the great thing about cruising, you get to do it the way that works for you). There is also tea in the afternoon which can be fun. The ship should have things going pretty late, I don't know what you mean by really early, but I would expect a 9PM show in the theater & probably in another venue...when we were on in Jan/Feb the DJ was doing stuff late & some other music. We were only 30% full so many things were scaled back but should be going with everything by now. I would agree with the encouragement to check out @harryfat1 AKA Cheepo Dad's trip report, he covers so much & has great photos of their cruise.

I asked my BIL who has been playing for years & has a collection of them from the beginner ones to the very fancy ones & he said $150 would get you a good beginner "uke & you could get a nice Kala for that price, but maybe Tiki Dave will be by in a bit with more recommendations, they may be on a cruise currently. On one of our 'ukelele cruises (yes BIL is that into the instrument) one of the instructors worked for "the Ukulele Site" (they are in Hawai'i) doing setup of 'ukes before they were shipped, so you might think about buying from an actual 'uke retailer who will do something like that for you & might even be able to talk you through the purchase rather than a big general seller?

@Eluashould have some good answers for you, I know he covers what is a good price range to get an 'ukulele that is worth playing (an instrument, not a toy) but still affordable & the differences in the sizes. Do you have a local 'ukulele shop or club...if you were here in So Cal I could make some recommendations of places, but maybe someone could help you with a place in Texas...you can order but trying several might help you chose.

we saw a lot of whales & dolphins (or porpoises--marine biologist BIL wasn't sure) of the port side while sailing into Cabo 2-3 weeks ago...hope they are out for you to enjoy today

thank you for this lovely summary

glad you enjoyed your cruise...we got off on the 4th & also thought the crew was delightful & were impressed by how hard the restaurant managers were working at training & doing actual work to make things right...saw Mario the head of rest operations all the time in any venue we were dining in he runs things really well & is so friendly Bryan & Rowena were scheduled to board on the 4th

yes, I got a whole list of semi contradictory reasons on the Sapphire--ie: this ship had old equipment, it's all ships, it's the hurricane (was bad before the hurricane), it's the area (was good in Jan in same locations), it's all the ships, look it loads these websites so it's fine,--this was all in one conversation which ended with a refund of what I had paid to upgrade to a 4-device plan (I paid in OBC so that was how it was refunded & I got to keep the plan)...I tried loading things in the middle of the night & all times with no difference

I generally think Princess crews are so good, but the Sapphire crew were absolutely delightful & even when they didn't quite know everything they should or were a bit slow they were trying so hard & so pleasant doing it. And I think Captain Ravera was wonderful...so much better than many of our cruises at keeping the passengers informed as things came up or adressing problems (we were on a month ago for the RTS sailing so you should have a lot fewer of those early issues). Have a wonderful trip.

thank you for doing this, we are already missing the Sapphire. have a wonderful trip & I do hope you get to Puerto Vallarta (although I was not sad when we switched to San Diego because of Orlene...this has been a rough month or so for that area, Roslyn is the 3rd in maybe 5 weeks!)

I don't know if you can change the payment after the cruise, but I have never had trouble getting a reservation at the specialty dining after boarding (just go or call the first day) & you can only use OBC for medallion net if you purchase after boarding which may be more expensive (I did it in the app after boarding but before sailing & got the pre cruise discount, but don't know if that would be true for everyone/every ship)

thank you...beautiful photos & I get to experience things I missed on the cruise, but I want to be able to have a buffet omelet & pastry & food that someone else is responsible for again