Ombud

I'm only going to address 2 lines I highlighted in red. On my Emerald Princess 5/27-6/17/23 and Royal Princess in Apr 2023 there were erroneous charges. I went on MedallionClass Crew Chat and told them (1) glass of wine wasn't mine (2) it was tea not latte. Both were immediately removed. Oddly the tea charge never showed up. The MedallionClass app Crew Chat works. Plus I can see my totals with exactly what it's for anytime. So no, you will not get any charges without explanation. Zoo like atmosphere at the buffet. I don't like the buffets. There's no pushing, just gluttonous ppl. I go to International Cafe instead where I can get a few small bites (almond croissant OR sandwich, dessert, cookie -- I'm a dessert & ice creamaholic) Now on a side-note, I did not feel overcrowded despite the ship being oversold. There's always a quiet spot. And it really helps now that I can get specialty teas at 2 places.

@PacnGoNow makes sense business-wise for PCL to ditch them then. I'll be trying out O'Malleys

Thats a shame. Salty Dog Cafe has nothing for us vegetarians. But at least O'Mallys has the vegetarian onion soup & dessert ....

On the Emerald Princess last week the Salty Dog Gastropub was a la carte. Is that now the norm? Specifically wondering about the Enchanted Princess

Got it -- no table.

Look your room up on https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/deckbydeck.php?ship=Discovery-Princess&deck=15 . When I looked I saw a table on the forward facing balconies

@lindafromns great idea!! I usually just use it in / near port as I can do everything on the MC intranet onboard. Then buy 1 day at $7.50 if I really want to check into my flight home (or do that while waiting to disembark). I don't drink much alcohol (traded minibar for a bottle of wine on last cruise then poured 1/2 bottle out when clearing out room). Oh and I can get hot water at IC to steep my favorite tea bag in.

Just to add a little: in addition to trading like for like (alcoholic / nonalcoholic) you can trade all of it for a bottle of wine. On the Emerald Princess last month they said it's value must be under $50 but they let me trade for one listed at $61. So there is flexibility

So I came across something similar a few months ago. Paid in full (before final payment date) then repriced flight resulting in a credit. It required my CVP to 'check a box' and then I got it the next day

Thats a shame!! I had the vegan menu on the Enchanted Princess l st September

Discovered that I could get 16 oz disposable hot cups, lids, sleeve on the Emerald Princess from the Mix (Deck 15) and IC. The Mix will hand out several whereas the IC hands out singles. Makes it easy to get a to go cup of coffee or cocoa from MDR or hot water to make tea at IC!! No longer need good coffee from IC Just need to pack favorite tea bags

Robes on the Emerald Princess are also enormous!! Too big to be useful

I did not need my QR Code to enter SF terminal 4/16/23 so I doubt it is mandatory.

Well my cruises for the balance through 2023-2024 is just Europe, UK, then Australia to Japan so I won't run into DCC until 2025. And yeah, charging someone an extra 10% to use an ATM isn't fair

Oh!! Good thing to watch out for! Because my bank has branches in the UK & Europe I was only charged a withdrawal fee which was refunded a few days later. That said, I will look for the dreaded DCC when I pull out 100€ in November. Is DCC in Australia? I forget if I was charged more than an ATM fee there.

I will look for that but the ATMs I've used (including at 7-11 in Korea & Japan) just give me the option to withdraw local currency. Then they charge me a fee which my bank refunds. So I get local currency at current rate. Dbl check your bank as it might be the same as USAA (& Schwab -- used that once) @jennmaybe just as suggestion as saving every penny might help.

You can also use the OBC (refundable & nonrefundable) to upgrade from Standard to Plus

Why not use an ATM there?? So much more convenient. Figure out what you need + 10%.

Wow this is going down a rabbit hole!!

@ldtr I've noticed 1 more change: Elites can now ask for free laundry tokens. So either I can do my laundry or the ship can .... I do most myself as I can use cool or warm water instead of hot. Takes 1 hr total. Got more tokens on 1st 1/2 of B2B

Sorry. I saw it when getting off but I had just found out about my dtr so I was just focused on getting home ASAP

@Happiest when cruising I apologize. I thought we were on the same ship.

I switched the light off on the Emerald Princess last week with the switch next to the bed. Hope that works on the Royal Class ships (especially Enchanted and Royal). I like the light, like it even more when I can turn it off after getting back to hed

Fair enough. I was on the Emerald Princess and used the tender to Lahaina Maui on June 9, 2023 at 9:30 am. Staff walked all 12 of us (only 12 waiting) down to the front of the line to fill out a tender filled with those on excursions. Worked great for us!

Martin Stenzel retired Saturday 6/17/23 after 49 yrs!! (Emerald Princess)