Itchy&Scratchy

how is her immune system? I hope 144 lbs in 3 months is a typo.

it's actually being discussed on Celebrity board right now:

Long Island iced tea is just alcohol mixed with more alcohol. 🙂 "The Long Island iced tea, or Long Island ice tea, is a cocktail, typically made with vodka, tequila, light rum, triple sec, gin, and a splash of cola. Despite its name, the cocktail does not typically contain iced tea, but is named for having the same amber hue as iced tea." Tokyo Iced Tea is 2/3 alcohol and 1/3 not. 🙂 So, yes, by definition, the alcohol is all you'd taste. I hate those drinks... Not a drinker here at all. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

if not a big drinker and do not have to have top shelf alcohol, to me personally it wouldn't be worth getting Premier over Plus. Heck, we don't even get Plus because we do not drink more than maybe one alcoholic drink a day, and we usually have a little OBC which covers my guilty pleasure of specialty coffees (iced) at International Cafe and then some. We get the Classic Soda package for the kid, which includes sodas and mocktails and it's more than enough for him.

we loved using it.

no, but they are not calling themselves or others TOP anything, do they? When I provide my opinions on CC, I definitely preface them with "I am a glutton and will eat just about anything, so beware." like I said - does it look like someone likes to exaggerate? I mean - aside from the itinerary and lido pizza, EVERYTHING WAS HORRIBLE? The food overall was awful, even putrid, but the food at the buffet was just horrific. a major communication problem between the crew and the guests The language barrier is really frustrating to overcome. everything else was just so awful I did an up-charge steak one night and it was terrible. Entertainment sucked. It was pathetic. Mechanics. Everything is broken on that ship. I mean - I was just on MSC in steerage class, and some things were just awful and some were frustrating, but, surely, not ALL of them.

I am sure they do. That is not what I questioned. The company I work for also provides non-customer facing technical experts on Princess ships. However, their technical expertise has nothing to do with food, nor do I ever regard their opinions of the Princess food as that of an expert food critic. Heck, I provide plenty of my own opinions on cruise ship food (just look at my CC reviews which are heavily centered on food), but these are my own subjective non-expert opinions. So, when someone who's been on one Princess cruise tells us that the TOP IT guy on the ship regarded Emerald Princess' food as the best in the fleet, one can't help but wonder - what is a TOP Princess IT guy doing installing wifi on ships? Maybe, a certain someone likes to exaggerate some things?

wow, Princess sends their TOP IT guy to install and maintain the ships' wifi and to tell passengers that Emerald Princess has the best food.... Sorry to tell you this, but.... you know what, never mind. Please disregard. Enjoy Celebrity!

why would somebody in Princess IT dept sail on every Princess ship for weeks on end? is that why everyone is complaining about their website quality? Not enough programming, too much sailing? My hubs is in IT as well, and he also has taste buds, but I wouldn't use him as an expert food critic.

so will we. 🙂 I guess I'll have some points to compare between X and Princess. not anymore. We are under 50, always cruising with a kid who loves Princess even more than we do, and Princess caters to us just fine. We were getting really tired of the old production shows on Princess, so Enchanted definitely delivered with their new line of highly entertaining material with modern music in 2022. I think you might have a rather biased opinion on Princess, the one you developed before you even sailed on a Princess ship. I would encourage you to try a much newer Princess ship and you may discover a lot more that you like about Princess.

we had been on many cruises before I joined CC. We started cruising in 2009...

you won't be! We loved Enchanted in 2022 and we are sailing on her again in June. 🙂 Don't forget to check whether they still have crepes to order in the buffet in the evening. That was just a cherry on top of a wonderful cake, I mean - cruise. 🙂 It did have some hiccups, as you can see from my review, but we were not disappointed and in several cases - more than pleasantly surprised. And we don't even get alcoholic packages, so nothing to drown any sorrows in. I definitely put our Easy Plus drink package on MSC to good use to drown plentiful sorrows.

not according to the latest Celebrity reviews in X subforum. when did a random IT guy become an expert on food quality across the entire Princess fleet?

we've never been on Carnival, so I thought Venezia was an old ship. I had to look it up and it's actually newer than Horizon, so this would be a very tough call for me personally. Since 1 year difference is really negligible, on one hand we have 10 days with nice ports for less money, and on the other hand, ABC islands(!) but 8 days and more expensive. Tough call. This year we are doing 2 cruises to ABC islands, so in this case I'd pick Venezia as our next cruise. But then, I do love Italian food.

never had that. we have been on RCI, NCL, Princess and MSC. Our cabins were never cleaned every time we left the cabin. That's an unreasonable expectation.

sorry, but I find that hard to believe. well, when somebody is coughing their lungs out without even covering up (Seascape Thanksgiving cruise), it doesn't matter whether their hands are clean and sanitized. I doubt that they are, given that people didn't bother covering up their coughing and sneezing at all, and with their hand in the best case scenario... 😞 I am shocked we didn't get sick on our cruise. My parents, however, managed to get covid here at home right before NYE, just doing their regular non-travel routine... as well as 6 months ago (no travel involved).

not all the time. We were on Enchanted in 2022 for a Southern Caribbean itinerary. It was great! we are doing this one for Spring Break 2024, and it's not twice the price, however, we are in the inside cabin. 🙂 It's actually the same price I paid for Enchanted's 10 day Thanksgiving 2022 Southern Caribbean. $2,600 for 3 of us, but Reflection is older than Enchanted. if you look at the other cruise lines' subforums, you will see that ALL of them suffer from inconsistency.

we tried Caribbean Princess back in 2016, found her to be old and tired even then, decided against sailing on old ships again. The food was good in both MDR and buffet, with the exception of the MDR kid's menu (it was plain awful). The buffet was very obviously not as varied and large as Royal class ship's buffet, but the food was good. We weren't totally unhappy with that cruise and didn't say "never again on Princess" (probably, because prior to that we had been on Regal Princess and were super happy), and that voyage introduced us to the ABC island itinerary, which we have fallen in love with. Yes, Royal class and newer serves brewed coffee in the buffet (machines).

so, you've actually brought this upon yourself? I am sorry. We choose newer Princess ships on purpose and couldn't be happier. my kid is happy to cruise on Princess and was happy to see and take a pic with the bear. And he is almost a teen.

but not too bad. It still felt less crowded than Princess Cays with just one ship (twice now). First time - Harmony and Indy, second time - Oasis and I think Navigator. Just skip the first part of the Chill Island to your immediate left and the more sports and youth oriented part of the South beach.

MSC.... No other ship or cruise line did this...

doesn't Premier come with like 4 devices pp? Why would you need to purchase separate internet for another person?

they are the monstrosities no one needs unless one is trying to induce a diabetic coma. 🙂 my understanding is that they are usually available at the International Cafe. But no - they are not a part of the MDR dining. Princess food is usually wonderful, so I wouldn't get Premier just for desserts and premium spirits. They were introduced between our last Princess cruise and our next Princess cruise (both on Enchanted). We won't be needing them. Yes to your question about Casual non-free dining options.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/57-st-martinst-maarten/ you may want to check out Ports of Call section.

absolutely untrue. We didn't spend a dime at Coco Cay! We love Coco Cay. It's stunningly beautiful and a very relaxing beach day for us. Make sure not to stay at the Chill Island beaches, if there are 2 ships in Coco Cay that day, unless you want to snorkel first behind the rocks (lots of fish). It gets crowded because it's the first beach people go to and stay at. Last time I discovered a "secret" path from Chill Island to the South beach, and took it several times. It's so serene.... Free chaises and umbrellas for everyone? Yes! We much prefer the Breezy Bay part of the Chill Island beach - less crowded than the first beach to the left. You can see more photos if interested in the links in my signature (they say Coco Cay). The free food in the Shack is wonderful (beats Princess Cay buffet any time). Oh, and the funnel cake!!!! OMG. Free and super delish. The free buffet looked pretty good as well. The only thing we didn't like about it is that in the last 2 years the water was freezing both times. But, alas, nobody has control over that. 🙂