travelin.sisters

thanks for the update...hope you enjoy Hawai'i

we often switch who sleeps in which cabin for various reasons & have never had any problem, you can go to CS & just ask them to allow the Medallion to open both rooms (which we do even if every one is staying in the room they are 'assigned'...let your room steward know... I thought the wifi etc can be purchased for more but the 3rd & 4th maybe only get sodas & not alcohol? but I really am not sure, hopefully someone else is able to help with that question did son & DIL have package with drinks, can you move Mom's booking with him & still have him sleep with bro/cousin? hope it all works out & you have a great family trip!! OH I have absolutely no idea how any of this would work on the land portion of your trip

Sapphire has the International Cafe--was basically the same as on the Grand in January except they have some new menu items & have removed some we loved. & yes Swirls ice cream (no coffee or drinks there just ice cream)

ok time for less talk & more food dinner day 2--this was the only night we did not get our same table & servers as there was a computer glitch, after this we had the same spot every night (even the night we were over an hour late because our excursion didn't come back on time) I know there are a lot of threads & comments about DMW not working for people if you want the same table, same time every night..,it has with a few problems, worked for us on three cruises, three different ships since January. I chose a private table at 6:20 in the dining room we want (not the back one you have to go up & down to get to because of mobility issues). 6:20 because when I chose 6:30 the computer thought they could serve another seating before us & on our first cruise we waited 2 days while people who came at 5 lingered & lingered (once almost an hour!). Then the first night I ask the head waiter (now called restaurant manager), the hostess & if I see him, the Maitre'd (head of restaurant operations) if we will have the same table/servers each night. I explain that we have allergies (my shellfish is pretty easy to self-manage because they list shellfish in the ingredients, however. my sister's pepper intolerance is very hard as these are often used as garnishes or not listed in the ingredients) which need their assistance. Every cruise since I started doing that we have had the headwaiter monitor our orders & usually bring the menu from the next night to pre order so that if anything needs to be made specially it can be done ahead--sometimes I have 2 photos of the same dish one with any peppers & one from the special kitchen. but I promised less talk & more food so here we go dinner day 2 duck liver pate--my sister said it was very good, but it was much prettier in a post form another ship french onion soup--not as good as in the past & where is the lovely topping of cheese that flows over & bakes to the side of the bowl? it was not bad & I did have it again when there was nothing else I wanted or could eat, but not the special dish I remember crab & cheese quiche (did I mention that BIL is so pleased that Princess now has enough seafood dishes that he can have pretty much everything but dessert as fish/seafood?) Ceasar with a pile of anchovies (more fish for BIL) red snapper beef tenderloin (the regular version & the special one with no peppers) my favorite of the chocolate journey desserts: chocolate hazelnut

It doesn't actually sound like you are missing anything, you are having a lovely time that suits your style. But here are a few things we/I have enjoyed (it seems to me that different cruises I want different things depending on the itinerary, but even more on did I leave home rested & full of energy or did I drag onto the ship ready for quiet & relaxation): I always watch the daily show the night before (after 10ish) to see what they are highlighting if its a new-to-me ship I try to wander all the public decks the first day before disembarking (one ship--the Grand, BC--had a short tour with the cruise staff on embarkation day (not the expensive sihp tour they used to have) soduku & puzzles available daily in the library music classes--I am very non-musical but enjoyed 'ukulele on Hawai'ian cruises, steel drum, glockenspiel--didn't enjoy harmonica on Alaskan cruise but that was the instructor I have done egg-drop & other contests but only if I'm in the mood this last cruise, my sister decided she wanted to collect all the free charms for the charm bracelet so we did that (not my personal favorite, but it made her happy) I like the crafts (although now have done most & don't go to the ones that aren't worth repeating) port talks, especially if they are not mostly about shopping (these are now available on the TV after the presentation) enrichment talks, if it's something interesting to me (also on TV after) joining the CC roll call & going to meet & greet food-wise: International Cafe, the pizza (either on the pool deck or inside), poolside burger place, Pub Lunch but I don't know if that will be back, embarkation lunch in the MDR because it makes me feel like the cruise has started, chocolate cake from room service.

I am glad you had great internet. After the first few posts I literally wrote my posts on my word processor then copied with no photos added & it would take multiple attempts: closing down my browser, clearing cache, completely shutting down the computer, refreshing, going away & coming back after dinner to try again, to get anything to post on CC. My dropbox of photos I had to completely pause until I got home where it synced in just a few minutes. That is why I didn't really answer people's replies & questions individually while on the cruise. Sometimes even 'liking' a post to multiple refreshes to happen. Photos were even more of a challenge Didn't have any of these problems on our January cruises to Hawai'i & then Mexican Rivera, so I don't think its my equipment or techniques

thank you for the La Paz info, no one had added that & it will be very helpful to future cruisers--it is harder to get info on La Paz & Loreto as they are less frequently sailed, which makes them less like every other cruise port. it is possible that it is still the best wifi at sea, I haven't sailed other lines in forever, but the best of barely usable is still barely useable. please add any other comments as they are always interesting, helpful & pertinent (& kind, I really like people who can express their opinion while still being kind)

I have a USB drive with all my old photos & the vintage photos that I am gradually scanning & sorting into folders by date for future generations--it is a tiny one that lives in the port & barely sticks out at all so that I can add new photos as I take & sort them (my current computer has almost no storage)

no Princess will use the non-refundable OBC first & then the refundable--this has always happened for us & most recently on the Sapphire which ended last week

When I spoke to the Internet manager (whatever his title actually is) I got a whole lot of contradictory information: the ship had different info than other ships I was on earlier in the year; it's bad on all the ships; it's not actually that bad; it was the area (coast of Mexico--where I had great internet in January); the hurricane did it...anyway a lot of nothing, but the one thing he did say that I believe is true is that the provider they are using doesn't have the capacity to supply what they have promised to everyone that wants it & everyone they have sold it to & it is not possible to provide what Princess is selling with their advertising (& he gave me a refund)

for anyone is stuck in blue, don't panic if you can't get to green, you will just have to talk to someone to help fix it...they will do that at the port without problems...just one more line & a little slower to board but you will still get there back when you still had to answer about being in another country in the past 14 days, we got an email with a too good to pass up deal when we got home from our Hawai'i cruise & so did another in like a week...the previous cruise of course had a stop in Mexico so we had to say yes & were blue, just had to wait for the ship's medical to clear us (asked where we had been & looked at our test results which were still required then) it was only slow because the Coast Guard did a surprise inspection that day & everything was slow.

oh, I realize I am not certain...they only time we haven't spent it all was this past cruise on the Sapphire, the woman at the CS desk told me it would go on the CC (however she failed to tell me about the 'if it was over $25 part'...just told me I could either get it back the morning we disembarked or it would go to my CC) but they had so many new crew that she might have not actually known...the final invoice before I got our cash back said it "would be forwarded by mail"...I guess I should have left it at, you will get it back some day, some way...sorry about that!

I know that many (probably most) people have not done outdoor muster drills on Princess & maybe it was never routine, but we did, here is a photo of my sister trying to get her life vest all put back together after it was over so she wouldn't trip on the straps & we could go back inside & return to our cabin...trust me, we weren't just randomly wandering the promenade deck with life vests before the ship sailed for the fun of it...

We actually had to line up on the Promenade deck on the Ruby Princess & practice putting on our life vests on my first Princess cruise in 2015. It was a pretty miserable experience standing outside in a line waiting for everyone to arrive so that they would begin & I was glad when that changed.

thank you for sharing all the Majestic photos, I took so many but never figured how to share them in a way that seemed accessible to someone that had never been ...I really appreciate the way you include the deck plans...great memories of being on the Majestic in January thanks for your detailed, amusing & informative report

bear USB drives, at home & waiting for a new cruise

yes we (& my 'ukulele playing BIL) will be on the Crown with Elua March 2nd & then on the Discovery in March of 24 (don't know who the Hawai'ian ambassadors will be for that one yet). They are so good we sailed with them in Jan on the Grand & or previous Hawai'i was with them too...we almost got to do Hawai'i Tahiti & Samoa with them in March 2020 but you know what happened to that adventure. Hawai'i is obviously our favorite itinerary.

is the cruise right away? we got a last-minute deal on the Majestic in Jan where it was cheaper to get two balconies with 1 person in each than to share one.

oh my! those are good reasons to always lock...I guess it is good I let my sissy have her way on this!

I hope it shows up quickly...two good things to know about the military OBC: 1) it is refundable so if you don't use it you can have it as cash if it is less than $25 or credit to your card if it is more 2) it should automatically show up every time you sail with Princess in the future once you have done this (you don't have to reapply each time you cruise)

there are a lot of variables in that situation that probably would be best addressed by your TA or an insurance person

...we lock because it makes my sister feel more secure, but I once left my luggage keys in my car when flying to Atlanta, & when I got there the bagage person had a whole ring of keys & easily opened them for me, so I don't feel like they make them very secure...& as @PacnGoNowsaid, with a TSA lock they can get in to search if they need to (or someone else could)

once my sister gets a goal in her sights, there is no stopping her, but I'd rather have done it now than on our next one to Hawai'i where there are 'ukuleles to play & hulas to dance (sitting down because my knees can't handle it) & leis to make... I'm enjoying your Alaska with your sister, thanks for doing that report

dinner day one I do apologize, I have a hard time getting photos of menus, so these are the best sauteed garlic prawns and the no pepper, made special version of sauteed garlic prawns & I had the disappointing alfredo posted earlier rum infused pina colada soup (couldn't taste any rum, but BIL said he didn't taste any in the bar pina coladas either)--I liked it better when it came in a glass with a straw linguini & clams (as an appetizer) seared mahi mahi with pineapple mango salsa hawai'ian luau pork (didn't taste very luau like to me...we were on the Hawai'i menus for the cruise even though it was going to Mexico) dessert (sorry I missed the menu) the strange & sad love boat dream thing from the last post pineapple creme brulee (pretty good, but not much pineapple taste & they didn't get their brulee very cracky) flourless chocolate cake (delicious)

have a lovely trip on the Sapphire, the captain & crew are lovely...Hawai'i is our favorite as we love sea days we were there in January as they were just opening up (first ship to arrive since the 'pause')