Itchy&Scratchy

True. And that's why I said - to each his own. Thank goodness, we haven't been on a $4K cruise yet.

Gala dinner, 6th night, MDR Would definitely recommend. 🙂 Cured salmon appetizer was terrific: an amazing combination of textures and tastes. Should have had two. 🙂 I also had Escargot, but didn't take a pic. I like Celebrity's and RCI's escargot better - theirs is more like butter, garlic and parsley, and Princess has more spices in theirs, which I like less. I didn't like the seafood bisque, most likely because of the tomato base. I don't like tomato sauces or soups. Other than that, it was good. DS had the ravioli and they were simple, but very good: DH had the duck and it was ok: it definitely looked better than last time DH also ordered the surf and turf, and the funny man that he is, he asked for it without the lobster.... Lol. I said - absolutely not, I will eat his lobster. 🙂 There is a $10 charge for an additional steak/lobster. Sooo... this was his: and this was mine: My parents both had the snapper and the mushroom crepes, which were all amazing: I also had the crepes, and yes, they were definitely wonderful. Dad enjoyed his sugar free cherry trifle: And DH ordered a pistachio dome: and then we went to the buffet to have Nutella crepes. 🙂 Which are the best, but weren't offered every night. Why, Princess? Why???? Please, we beg you - every day!

Day 5 dinner MDR This was by far the best dinner of the week. Well, for me personally. 🙂 Seafood Vol-Au-Vent was flaky, creamy and delicious: This was Oxtail soup! I didn't realize it would arrive encrusted in bread, although "En Croute" should have been a hint. Dad really liked it. And it was an unusual presentation. 🙂 A salad is a salad. Mom liked it. Now, the STAR of the show! My absolute favorite twice baked goat cheese souffle! It used to be an appetizer, but now it's an entree. Weird, because the size is the same, and since they are small, I ordered two. OMG! Still the best. My parents also had one each and loved it. Mom also had salmon (very good as always): And dad had the rack of lamb, which was amazing (if you like lamb): DH really enjoyed his beef wellington: DS loved Fettuccine Alfredo (and what's not to love? it's great!): and I also ordered the pasta alla carbonara special of the day, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the flavor: it had an unusual flavor, which is hard to describe, but it was neither the cream and bacon flavor, nor egg and bacon flavor. I didn't even finish it... Oddly enough, DS didn't like the chocoholic cheesecake, so we finished it for him. French vanilla creme brulee was scrumptious:

we never even got to it on this cruise. Wanted to go to O'Malleys but the line was pretty long every time, and we would have wanted it for lunch only. We did get some interesting drinks at that bar, which I will cover later. Long lines at Gigi's as well, but nobody wanted to go there anyway. On port days we didn't need lunch because we were off the ship having fun, and there were only 2 sea days, and just not enough time in them to fit all the eating venues into. 🙂 It's ok, though. We never ate at Gigi/Alfredo's when it was free. sounds like you stayed on the ship on port days. Unless we have a dinner at 5 at one of them and a late dinner at 9 at another, there is no way we could eat there twice a day on port days. We didn't even manage once a day because we eat dinners at MDR. we don't want to share when there are 5 of us, because my parents don't speak English and would feel completely left out if we were seated with English speaking strangers. When there are 3 of us, we wouldn't mind sharing a table with someone else, since we all speak English. But with MTD, it's kind of difficult to arrive at the same time with another party, also willing to share... And sometimes sharing a table goes comically wrong. Many years ago an elderly lady dominated the conversation at a table for 10 for the entire dinner, not letting anyone else get a word in... The rest of the tablemates immediately asked for a reassignment when dinner ended. that's awful. It was like that for us in 2022 on Enchanted - we somehow ended up at the same table every night, and the service was horribly slow. We even involved the dining room manager. thank you! We have to get my DH a prescription mask or contacts, otherwise, he is pretty blind without his glasses. We've been thinking about doing that for a while, just never got around to ordering them.

I totally realize it because I was extremely poor when I immigrated to the US. Same with my future DH - very poor when he came to the States. No vacations for us for many years. We are good now, but the humble beginnings are never forgotten. Even poor people need vacations. Do you not see the difference between needing something and not being able to afford it?

Hmmm, not exactly an apples to apples comparison. We are talking about buying a Premier package for the kids along with the parents, so please report after you burn $240-320 in your fire pit. 🙂

well, I dunno, we all need a vacation, otherwise, we'd burn out. And as far as vacations with food go, cruising is actually better and cheaper than doing it a la cart elsewhere.

4th night MDR dinner Eggplant Parmesan was very good: Seafood antipasto salad was great: Prosciutto and melon salad was wonderful: Minestrone soup was good: Bellini soup was fabulous: DS had Mama's lasagna and it was wonderful: Grilled rockfish was delicious: DH also opted for the $19 filet mignon, which was "very good" according to him, and amazing according to me (I had a bite and it melted in my mouth, and the sauce was actually really good, probably, because it was mushroomy, and I love mushrooms). I opted for the free striploin steak, sans chianti sauce, but it would have been better if it hadn't been served with beans. Ugh. I should have gotten the filet mignon. Sauteed shrimp and scallops were amazing! Tiramisu was great! But the lemon meringue cheesecake was better (as good as the last time): I hated the amaretto creme brulee (I shouldn't have ordered it because I don't like almond flavor, so somebody else might find it delish): and the sugar free mochaccino semi-freddo was very good:

correct. The service was super slow.... it took us over 2 hours to finish dinner, with 20 minute involuntary breaks between dishes. We got a different waiter for the rest of the cruise, and he was a newbie who was trying very hard, so our dinners lasted 1-1.5 hours, especially when we told him we had a show to catch.

Third day MDR dinner I forgot to preface my food review with my usual full disclosure: I am a glutton and love pretty much all food, except for onions, celery, blue cheese and beans. On cruises I prefer beef and seafood. DH has a more refined palette, he is not a glutton, and on cruises he prefers fish, followed by beef. DS is into familiar favorites, loves pasta and caesar salads. Our favorite restaurant at home is Longhorn. DH also cooks and grills at home, and his dishes are usually mouthwatering. Please adjust your expectations accordingly. 🙂 Everybody got potstickers and liked them very much. They were just your regular potstickers. Crab and corn chowder was good. Mom enjoyed the Asian salad: DS loved spaghetti bolognese: Fish and chips were unremarkable, but filling: Yummy pasta alfredo is still the best: Ribs were fatty, but juicy and flavorful: We didn't see any desserts we liked, so we didn't order any.

Second day MDR dinner Crabcakes were excellent, as always We all love gnocchi, especially my DH. So, we all got them. They were good, but not as good as the last time. DH complained that they didn't have enough potato taste, but I am all about the sauce, and it was good. The portion was smaller than I remember. I am very particular about my beef dishes and do not like gravy, jus, sauce, glace, demi-glace or anything else on the beef. I always get it plain and medium. The tenderloin was tender and delicious. The red snapper at MDR was much better than at Rudi's. To my dismay, Princess chose to serve beans with a LOT of MDR entrees this year. It was strange. And I hate beans. My parents also opted for always available salmon and it was great: Mmmm, dessert... Dad opted for sugar-free semolina tart and apparently it was pretty good: Chocolate hazelnut bar was superb as always. This is my favorite. Lychee Rose mousse. I don't know... I didn't taste much lychee which I love. peach Melba was yummy:

also forgot to say - Catch by Rudi also had a separate drink menu, but, unfortunately, I didn't snap a photo of it, so I can't remember what drink I ordered. It was super pretty, but I hated it.

in the words of my husband it tasted like dirt/mud, not spices

DH, DS and my dad ordered the Catch of the day. Dad gobbled it up (he'll eat anything, so...), but DH and DS didn't like theirs. I don't even remember who ate DS's red snapper. Filip also brought out all of the side dishes to share: Fingerling potatoes were fabulous, everybody really liked ratatouille as well (I didn't try it), buck choy was good (it's not even on the menu), parmesan fries were great, but all of us thought the cauliflower puree was weird. It didn't taste good (nothing like cauliflower which the whole family loves) and the consistency was rather thin. The fancy dessert was the highlight of everyone's experience: Mom and I ordered a lovely strawberry Pavlova: my mom super-duper loves meringue We ordered Berries for dad: DH had a fantastic and gargantuan Berry Composition souffle, and everybody got to try a bit of it, and there was still so much of it left: it's huge! and DS got a wonderful Rudi's Artistic face:

Onto the food!!!! The most important part of sailing with Princess for us is the food. My DH and I were a little disappointed in the offerings this time compared to our Nov 22 Enchanted sailing. Our kid was fine either way. My parents are just happy to cruise. We both felt that the offerings were not as numerous, varied or great. Our biggest disappointment was with the specialty dinner. Prior to this cruise we never tried specialty dining, in part because it's expensive, and in part because MDR and buffet offerings on Princess in general and on Enchanted in particular have always been great. Since we had a Premier package, we all got 2 specialty dinners. Our DS has been on a sushi streak lately and was really looking forward to unlimited sushi (casual dining) on Enchanted, but every time I offered to go to Ocean Terrace, he refused to go. Just didn't feel like it, I guess. So, on our first night I managed to score a reservation at the Catch by Rudi for all 5 of us. We had a lovely dinner, but neither my DH, nor DS liked their catch of the day entree (red snapper). Well, it was expected in DS's case, because he doesn't like seafood and didn't even want to go to the Catch by Rudi, but I was surprised that DH was very disappointed in his chosen entree. He loves fish and makes great fish dishes at home. Our waiter was Filip, who was wonderful and attentive. Free prosecco was brought out for all of us (except the kid). This spread was brought out before the appetizers, and it was delicious: you are supposed to mix it all together and then spread it on a baguette. We really loved our appetizers. 4 of us ordered the crabcakes and loved it (a little spicy): Mom ordered Tale of Citrus and loved it as well: For the main course, I ordered Triple S Platter and enjoyed it: I must say that it looked rather unusual with that creature hanging above the plate: My mom ordered Sole ala Minute and loved it, especially the presentation and the fileting by the table:

Belize We haven't been in Belize since our very first cruise back in 2009. We did cave tubing that time, and after some ports of call research, we decided to do it again. Of course, my dad is in no shape to walk through the jungle, so we left him on the ship. We bought the tour through Butts Up, saving $10 pp by booking a couple of weeks in advance. So, the price for cave tubing alone was $40 pp, which included a small lunch at the end. All in all, totally worth the money. They also had tours which included both ziplining and cave tubing, but it's for healthy and fit people, which we are most definitely not. Their email instructions differed from the order confirmation, so we split the difference and decided to show up at 8:30 am. Ship arrived at 7 local time. I got the tender tickets on my way to breakfast (ended up with group 7), so when we were done with breakfast and ready to get on the tender boat, we were waved right onto the tender. It departed soon after, and we were onshore at exactly 8:30. It took another 5 minutes to find and follow the signs to Terminal 1 exit. We were taken to the bus (a short walk) right away, but told that we were still waiting for another group. We took a picture with the Belize sign and got on the bus, which departed immediately. I was a bit surprised, but we just drove around town for about 15 minutes, accompanied by an interesting narration and arrived back in port to pick up the group we were waiting for. After an hour long drive, full of music and instructions, we finally arrived at the preserve. Do apply sunblock to exposed parts in advance. Do wear a hat if you are pale/burn easily and don't want skin cancer. You can tuck the hat into your swimsuit or shirt later. The tour guides said that the jungle walk was going to be completely in the shade and that we would only get some sun at the end of the tour, and not to bring any hats. NOT TRUE! The entire walk was in the sun. It was awfully hot and sunny, and the air was full of smoke due to wildfires. At least we didn't have to haul our own tubes on the walk, only helmets and life vests. When you get your helmet, make sure it fits your head. Oh, and, apparently, they are required to provide you with a helmet, but you are not required to wear it while tubing. If you want a fun, talkative, "crazy" guide for your tubing experience, do not pick Felix. If you are ok with a quiet guide with minimum talk, Felix is the guide for you. We didn't get to pick, though, and simply went with whatever guide took our tubes down the river. The cave tubing was a very good excursion. At the end you float a little through the jungle, and it's just so beautiful and serene... I brought my phone in one of those water-proof pockets, and unfortunately it overheated once we got out of the caves and floated through the jungle in full sun. No worries, it just had to shut down, but it still works. After the tubing part, we drove for a couple of minutes to a different location and had a small lunch - a small chicken tamale per person. Small by American and cruise standards, and not small by any other standards. The tamale was very flavorful and not too spicy. Even my mom could eat it. My kid ate his as well (he is not very open to trying new things) and liked it. They warn you to let your picky eaters try YOUR tamale first before unwrapping their own, because if they don't like it, they can exchange their unopened tamale for a more bland food choice. Maybe, chips and guac? They also had nice hot sauce available for your tamales, and my DH and other people really liked it. You can bring your drinks with you (we brought water and some coke in a Contigo tumbler) or you can buy them - local Fanta and Coke/Sprite and some beers. We then drove back to the port and arrived way before the last tender boat was scheduled to depart. We had a great time, and for my mom it was a once in a lifetime experience. Some photos from the jungle part of the tubing. Please understand that all the photos were taken "blindly" since it was so bright outside, I couldn't see anything on my phone screen. as we are exiting the caves

Cozumel We were docked in Puerta Maya this time, so the taxi for 5 people was $60 each way to Playa Palancar, our go to beach location in Cozumel. While the taxi was more expensive, to my surprise we didn't have to wait for an hour in a very long taxi line like we did during our last visit to Cozumel at a different port (whichever one MSC docked at). We walked out and the taxi was immediately available to us. Playa Palancar now charges $20 entrance fee per person. At least this time they gave us a tiny welcome drink which didn't taste like it had any alcohol in it and didn't give us any buzz. A little steep for a beach day, IMHO. However, DH is absolutely enamored with this beach club due to its beautiful beach and waterline. I used to like it because it was inexpensive, pay as you go, with a nice sandy beach for the kid (when he used to play in the sand) with umbrellas and loungers. I still like it because it's exactly what we want in terms of a beach break. You also get loungers and umbrellas for the fee. Since we got there early enough, I think we were first to arrive, so we got to choose from all the loungers. These photos are from a couple of years ago, but it still looks the same. Still no wifi. Large margaritas and daiquiries are $12-17, and non-alcoholic ones are $7. Last time I got a mango daiquiri, DH got a mango-strawberry margarita, and DS got a mango/strawberry smoothie. Yummy as always. This time we were a bit hungry, so we ordered fish tacos for me, chicken tacos for the DS and cheese nachos for DH, and the food was actually good. $9-12 each. And unlike in Costa Maya, there were 3 tacos per order (in Costa Maya - 2 tacos per order). Do not touch the wildlife, unless you want to get expensive rabies shots. Plus, the racoons and cats on the premises looked very sickly this time and had what looked like ringworm or a similar dermatological affliction.

it's nice, but we couldn't enjoy it fully because it's was too small for 2 ships and too crowded. Princess Cay hosts one ship at a time and is much bigger. Yes, we have to tender to it, but the place is much bigger and now has umbrellas for rent. My teen is begging me not to go to the same beach next year. He doesn't like crowds.

We haven't been to Costa Maya since before the pandemic, so we didn't know what to expect, since everything has changed so much in other ports. We chose to go back to Blue Kay beach as before. They no longer charge $12 pp as a cover fee, they just want you to buy food and/or drinks. It would have cost us $60 for 5 people in the past, but would have included 10 drinks. This time food and drinks were $46 and I added $5-6 grats. They give you an arm band for bathroom use. The bathroom is still questionable, but usable. Chicken tacos and chicken burrito were below average to average, but edible. Mango daiquiri was awful (it had powder consistency, as if the flavored powder didn't dissolve). Pineapple juice was bad (unsweetened and powdery). I'd stick with canned/bottled drinks (beer and sodas) if I were you - they were standard. We got there before 10 am, so we had pretty much any available chaise to choose from. Some had a matt on top, some didn't. We picked the ones with matts and covered them with cruise beach towels, and all was good. I was surprised some people chose to sit directly on the wooden loungers... Some more people showed up later, but it didn't get awfully busy. Several large parties have arrived throughout the entire time we were there, but I am not sure what happened to all those people. It didn't look like they stayed long. Maybe, they had a separate area for themselves. There was natural shade and shade from wooden roofs. The place didn't change much, except for adding many more chaises, tightly packed together in rows. The water was clear but had some of that prickly seaweed in it. Easily ignored. Water entrance was rough - lots of broken shells and rocks, so I'd recommend water shoes if you have sensitive feet. I do. There were some rocks in the water, but once you are a couple of yards into the water, the floor is sandy. We spent most of our time in the water and that's exactly what we like. There were a lot of boat tours "parking" very close to us, which was at times stinky and unnerving, since they passed very close to us. All in all, not too troublesome. There were many vendors walking by and offering stuff, but I am sure it's like that everywhere. BEWARE of some of the "taxi" drivers at the port. One of them asked if we needed a taxi, we said - yes, to Blue Kay. He started telling us that BK now charges $90/pp (!!!) and was all inclusive and belonged to the cruise line. What? None of that made sense. He said he'd take us to a different beach club for only $20 pp, which had bathrooms and shade. We insisted on BK, so he lost interest immediately and sent us towards real taxis which are just outside the port gate. Most of them are large vans and hold 6+ people. It's $4 pp to Mahahual beaches. On the way back the staff called a taxi for us (5 people) and some other folks. The pier walk was super long and very very hot and tiring. There was no trolly service in the morning. Once you enter the port, you can use the shortcut through the gelato store. Take a photo with flamingos, and after the flamingos you will see the gelato store. The taxis are outside of the port entrance. We were all sweaty and miserable by the time we got to the taxi stand... There was a trolly in the afternoon, running the length of the pier back to the ship for a tip. There were 3 ships in this port: Enchanted Princess, Harmony of the Seas and NCL Breakaway, so all three - quite sizable. Let me know if you have any questions. We have the same itinerary next year and wouldn't mind going to Blue Kay again, but we'll stick to ready made drinks. Pre-pandemic the drinks were great, but not anymore. New management... Blue Kay - good for swimming and lounging, but, perhaps, not for food or specialty drinks anymore. right middle this is my kid swimming. It was shallow. the man in the middle sleeping on the lounger is my dad. We had 5 of them in a row in a shady area. our loungers are right behind these: left: the longest pier in our cruising history: you can see the trolly all the way back. It runs from that spot to the ships.

Before I post all the food pics, I am going to quickly mention ports of call. This was our first time in Mahogany Beach in Honduras. We've somehow always ended up in the other port (Coxen Hole?) and went to Infinity Beach Club (not free). This time we docked at Mahogany Bay for a "free beach" day. Hmmmm. Let me tell you - if you want a lounger in the shade or a lounger in general - get up early, get off the ship early and "reserve" them with towels or bags. There were two ships in port that day - Enchanted and a Carnival ship. It was bad. Good grief, I don't remember the last time we were in such crowded situation before. A small beach completely swarmed with people - on the beach and in water. And many of them were smoking everywhere... By the time we got to the beach around 9, it was full. FULL. It was awfully hot and humid that day, so by the time the 10 minute walk to the beach was done and we then searched for a couple of loungers for another 10-15 minutes, I thought I was going to faint or have a heat stroke. I had to drop everything and go into the water, and it cooled me down very nicely. These yellow umbrellas and green shells were for a fee - $30, and they were almost fully sold out by 9 am. It was this busy by 9:30 am The walkway through the gardens and the nature trail were lovely. Lots of photo opportunities. We got an airlift "excursion" for my mobility challenged dad and he loved it. The rides are unlimited. You can purchase it with your OBC in advance, or you can pay for it at the kiosk. For those doing it for the first time like us - if you buy it in advance, go to the kiosk, stand in line with everyone who is now paying for theirs, exchange your excursion ticket for an arm band, and then go stand in line for the lift. We didn't know what to do so we went to lift line first, then back to the kiosk, back to lift line, and then back to the kiosk because somebody finally explained it to us. Many people dropped their phones and other belongings into the water as they were riding it, so please - keep everything secure. A guy dropped his phone into the bay right in front of us.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3013243-3-people-in-room-only-2-have-plus-package/ all of it has been thoroughly discussed over the last couple of days in this thread. You can pay as you go or you can add a Plus package for your DD as well. You can share your wifi plan with your DD. Honestly, if you don't drink alcohol, I don't see the value in having Plus package. We don't drink, so we don't get Plus, and just buy a Soda package for our teen and maybe one wifi plan to share among all of us on some cruises.

My parents' original cabin was inside and next to us, but they won a balcony bid and moved up one deck, but still in the same area, to A622. Thank goodness, they were so close to us. It made it a lot more convenient to meet up. Their cabin was fine, the cabin attendant very nice, but she forgot to provide a bottle of lotion until the last day of the cruise. My mom didn't realize she could ask for it, because she didn't think it was provided. Here are the balcony views from all the angles: The neighbors kept their balcony light on all the time, which bothered my dad who sometimes slept on the balcony.

A quick review of our cabins. Three of us were in an inside cabin, B716. All the way aft, quiet, A/C in the cabin worked fine, but the hallway outside and elevator bank area were always super hot. I always wipe hard surfaces in the cabin with lysol wipes, and this time was a good idea. To our surprise, our cabin was ready when we boarded. We left our backpacks in it and also discovered that our safe wasn't closing (we couldn't close the safe door so we could lock it). We told the cabin attendant and he got the supervisor to come out and fix it right away. We always use the upper bunk above my bed because DH is taller. More prone to hitting his head... We bid on a balcony, but the cruise was fully booked, so no luck. We didn't spend much time in the room anyway, but I do love having a balcony to read on and dry our beach attire. Needless to say, none of our stuff dried well until I started using my parents' balcony to hang them up. One annoyance about this room was the hallway light that came on randomly throughout the night. The sensor was taped shut and nobody was even up and walking around. We were all sleeping, when the light would just turn on and blind us. One of those times all the lights in the cabin came on in the middle of the night, not just the hallway light. A couple of days into the cruise our DS's medallion stopped opening the door, so we had it replaced at Guest Services. The cabin attendant sometimes forgot to give us 3 towels, so we got 2 of everything: hand towels, bath towels and washcloths. He was friendly and we saw him every day. I requested a bar of soap the first day and he supplied it. If you like soap bar, you should bring your own. It's been awhile, so I couldn't remember whether Princess supplied soap or not. The liquid soap in a pump bottle was very nice and smelled of lavender. We mostly used our own body wash and shampoo. We once again became intimately acquainted with the shower curtain.

A word of caution: DS tried getting something off the kid's menu on our last Enchanted cruise a couple of years ago and it didn't go well. The pepperoni pizza in MDR was awful, according to him. He really likes the pizza from Slice on Lido deck, though. Chicken nuggies were also a no go. We do try to get him to try different foods on a cruise, and most of the time he is happy to try different pastas (he loved all of the Enchanted pasta dishes), and familiar favorites like potstickers, caesar salad, fruit salad, etc. what we did in the past is run by the Slice on the way to MDR and get a couple of slices of pizza for him when there was nothing on the menu that he would agree to try. That way he still eats with the family, but it's something he likes. Now he always finds something he will agree to. Of course, he gets to look at the menu in advance just in case.

Disembarkation, EZ-check and misc info Other than the two flyers below, we did not receive any info about the teen club schedule. Our 13 yo is not interested anyway, so... My DH actually won $25 in door prizes. Some lucky guy won a cruise on Enchanted in a balcony cabin (the main prize). EZ Check Disembarkation info