travelin.sisters

I saw all the suites were gone & almost all the insides (we do a balcony & inside across from each other) thought of you when all the window suites were gone...you are right about sticker shock!! it is way expensive but booked & have almost 2 years before any payment to see what Princess does & how the prices hold...

definitely get your medical records before getting off the ship...you may (likely will) need them for insurance claims & getting them later...well you know Princess...

oh no! hope you are truly recovered by the time I get to today's posts, I am so sorry you caught it & hope it stays mild & doesn't impact your asthma!

the room service chocolate cake was my favorite cake & one of my favorite desserts on board...😞

so excited to find this & sail with you (even belatedly)...I've been off in the desert putting on a family reunion/60th anniversary celebration so it will be fun catching up on your cruise...looking forward to it!!

thank you...it will be so confusing what to order how...I will probably just activate it on my app for our whole group as I am the only one who actually knows how to use the app (15 day cruise, I think I can swing $1/day)

that was actually where my confusion started because in the first cell of the table it talks about the activation fee even for complimentary housekeeping items, so I read it as I either have to call housekeeping or see the room steward, but hopefully your reading of it is correct (& it's only $15 for the whole cruise if I do end up having to pay it)...again thank you for taking the time to answer

does he need multiple devices connected at the same time? if not, it is very easy to switch back & forth from one to the other & he can use your plan when you are not using it...

thank you I really appreciated the response...but it does say there is a charge to activate Ocean Now for housekeeping items even if they are complimentary so that led to the question about if it is not a thing delivered to you but an inquiry, do they still charge that activation charge for crew chat? I guess I will eventually find out

so I have a couple of questions that I'm not sure anyone can answer but here they are: is there a charge for crew call if you don't order anything...like asking a question or there is a problem in your room...on our 3 cruises over the last 2 years, they wanted us to use that rather than calling or going to the CS desk, but if there is going to be a charge I will wait in line or on hold is there a charge when you call for Elite tea or hors d'oeuvres? that seems unfair (although this whole thing is a little maybe unfair isn't quite the word but certainly annoying after them pushing all these things as new benefits of the medallion app for our last 3 cruises...so clever how they worded this...not we are now charging for things that were free, but we have NEW things for the packages) anyway, any thoughts would be appreciated

ours shows the military benefit OBC in addition to the TA OBC & future cruise deposit OBC

if it is a marinade probably not, my sister can barely eat anything in Sabatinis since they have changed their red sauce to have peppers which she is allergic to...in the MDR if you have dietary issues you can speak with the headwaiter & they will give you the menus for the next day so that they can alter dishes for your needs, we have not had success with that in the specialty dining restaurants.

yes, it will use all the OBC before starting to charge your credit card...I do this every time we cruise so that I can monitor all the accounts for random charges that we did not make (I usually check on the app every day so that I can get it fixed asap)

my BIL who is a marine biologist & picky about his fish & the way its cooked really enjoyed it

your lives always show me new ideas for what to do at ports, thank you for all the info & the gorgeous photos

it is a very personal choice, I liked the previous menu better than the one they changed to in the past year, but many people love the new menu...it also depends on which ship you are sailing on...these are from the Crown in March (I did a longer review on my live...link in signature)...

I fill a glass from the dispenser & use it to pour into my bottle thank you...the Discovery apparently has the kind of dispensers that are specifically designed for refillable bottles where you put the bottle on the base well below where the water comes out & push a button to fill

you have already gotten most of the info but a few other things...there is a fridge in your cabin & the steward will bring you ice twice a day if you ask (I always tell my steward when I see him/her on embarkation day that I really like ice), I bring a refillable bottle & either fill it at the dispenser in the buffet or sometimes will ask the waiter in the MDR to refill it (the water from the sink is fine to drink too I just like those other options), I haven't been on the Discovery yet but I saw a video tour & they actually had a station near the buffet for refilling those bottles like in airports...I usually get pineapple juice for breakfast (you usually have to ask for it in the buffet although maybe with the bigger buffet on the discovery they will have it out) & they usually have some small glasses of smoothies in the breakfast buffet too...there are occasional events that serve free drinks (maybe the first time cruiser event, sales at Effy [jewelery] & art gallery, champagne waterfall)

I really liked the different lands & wished we had gotten there when it opened to have more time...I would go again even though it is not inexpensive...so yes for what you want it should work well

the issue is if your cruise is only in Honolulu for one day you have to be back to the ship in time to sail & the PCC is minimum 1 1/2 hours away but closer to 2 & might be longer if there is traffic or construction, also I don't know how easy it would be to get a taxi out in Laie, you could try taking the shuttle from the PCC & a taxi from the drop off point to the ship but it might be close or miss your sailing...we did a ship excursion because of the guarantee that the ship won't leave you (but then we ended up staying an extra day so it wasn't an issue)...it is a tough decision & you would need to do your research & decide what fits your personal risk tolerance & priorities (someone on another thread suggested that there might be other tour companies that would pick up at the pier & return you there so you could check that out too)...all the best & have a wonderful trip whatever you decide is best

we did the Polynesian Cultural Center in March...they sold us a pkg with the luau but then switched to the buffet (which was very good food & a much more extensive menu than at the luau but not the luau experience...it is also much less expensive than the luau package but they did not lower our fare) the problem is by the time the excursion that left a half hour later than our noon scheduled departure got us there there was not enough time to experience even a fraction of what is available...the other problem was that our driver told us to leave the evening show (which was the best part) half way through so that we could get back to the ship (not to divert from this thread, but I did several posts with tons of photos of our excursion on my live from March)

I have bought a number of air tag holders for our medallions, the only issue was with one that had rhinestones around the edge, sometimes they couldn't scan the medallion in the MDR. I have a silicone one that clips to my cell phone, DS uses one on a lanyard & BIL just sticks it in his pocket

this is the best cruise! I know you proclaim your cruise reports are "just the facts" & not witty, but I always enjoy them & your granddaughter is making this one even better! thank you for sharing with us! (it is nice to have a summer trip to Hawai'i between 2 March ones)

they start switching out to breakfast items around 3am in my experience, cookies you can get most anytime but if they run out of them in the morning they will have more baked by 11 or noon. Oh & depending on the ship they either have a toaster oven or panini press to heat sandwiches etc for you...some ships they do that automatically, the last one I was on they didn't offer but if you knew to ask they would.

I never met a cookies & milk cart in the Piazza at 4pm or any other time...my life is saddened! Definitely cookies (currently my favorite is oatmeal, but it varies by ship...used to be peanut butter), pistachio croissants, the little egg muffins they used to have (like a mix between souffle & a bread muffin not the egg sandwich on an english muffin)...something new that catches my eye...