mmpgoodtogo

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

Coca-Cola products

Thank you! I’m a Diet Coke gal!

Not to hijack this thread, but is Princess a coke or Pepsi ship?

20 minutes ago, Tiggipaws said:

Hi On the link it says 800+ have signed up for the cruise already

Princess Cruises to host inaugural PCA National At Sea in December 2023: Reservations open March 8 | The Porsche Club of America

I have no idea about the PCA one, I just mean the Fuji one on the first half of your trip is likely not a giant group. 

12 hours ago, antmaril said:

I discovered a couple of months ago that the cruise we are on in January on the Sky is a polka cruise.   My travel companion was kind of freaking out, but the folks on my Roll Call seem pretty chill about it.  The group will probably use the Vista Lounge most of the time.  Hopefully, it will be fine.  We haven’t made final payment yet, but we really don’t want to cancel or change the dates.  So, we will take a chance.  If it wasn’t this 500 people, it would be another 500.  Maybe some areas of the ship will feel less crowded when the group is gathered in another area.  We shall see.  

I actually kind of love the idea of a Polka cruise.  I grew up in an area where every weekend Germantown would host dances and people would go and listen to polka music, dance and socialize. It was kind of neat and it seems like it is a dying genre anymore. I bet you will be able to strike up some interesting conversations as well as see some extra entertainment. Maybe make a drinking game where whenever you see or hear an accordion you do get a drink? That might go south quickly though.  🙂

18 hours ago, Tiggipaws said:

Fabulous. Was really looking forward to this cruise. not so much now

On the bright side, I don’t think it will be 500 people or anything, I’d be surprised if it was…. And if we get attacked by pirates, then we have a bunch of people who can go all Liam Neeson in Taken as they all have is “a very particular set of skills…”

Jokes aside, most people that my husband has interacted with over the years of training, and many in the sport aren’t people who will be disruptive from a personality perspective or be obnoxious. At least for BJJ, it is a really disciplined sport, and many people train for years and years with no greater desire then to maybe do amateur competitions and just learn the skills to achieve black belt, which for BJJ can take 10-12 years of consistent training.  Heck, my husband is 41 and didn’t starting training until he was an adult.  He is considered “old” in the sport but he keeps training and working towards that black belt!

Perhaps you are already aware, but there is also a group on the December 2-9 portion your dates.  It is for Fuji BJJ/Judo/GTMA adventure cruise, which is also via a partnership with Princess Though we are booked on it, I have no idea of the group’s size. At this point we have not seen a schedule of workshops or events, but based on reviews from an earlier group cruise, I assume they will be closing some areas at times due to workshops, training sessions, group dinners, etc. It also sounds like they will have some activities in PC on the beach and so some areas could be roped off there at times.  If I receive any sort of itinerary of events, I can certainly share it with you. 

What I would like is boarding before 2pm. It is a real pain to find something to do between hotel checkout and ship boarding. 

For those of you who bid on room upgrades, how soon did you hear?  We are booked at end of September and are already mega rockstars, but had the option of upgrading the suite. We bid but haven't heard anything yet. I was just wondering what others have experienced with this process.

I wondered the same thing on mine.  We have double the loot and I have only given my referral to one person and didn't use any when booking.  We are mega rockstars, if maybe that makes a difference?

Thanks for the review.  We sail in September! I noticed the comment about capacity and have seen that a few times.  Any idea on if they are limiting capacity or is it kind of just sailing by sailing it varies?  

In Hamburg, which part of the port did you leave out of?  We are doing a similar itinerary in May and are beginning to make plans!  So I appreciate the info you posted on excursions. 

On 3/24/2014 at 10:21 PM, Danbee46 said:

Thanks, Skier. That was a big help. We booked 15033 this afternoon. It will be our second YC1 cruise.

 I know it’s been awhile but was that room a third configuration or any larger? 

18 hours ago, jules815 said:

 Throughout the week we received different treats in our stateroom in the evening at turn-down.  Macaroons, etc.  We think some of these were because of the Black status we matched to.

We also revived treats, macarons and chocolate covered strawberries and we were matched to gold.  So maybe it is just a YC thing in general?

On 1/10/2019 at 5:10 PM, Aloha 1 said:

Jules;

Thanks for taking time to do this! Here's a couple things I think a lot of us would like to know about. First, I assume you booked before 11/18 so verify that they are honoring the included gelato, crepes, and chocolate drinks for free at Venchi. Second, verify exactly what you get with the YC drink package and if you can upgrade to the Premium Plus. Finally, FOOD! Please tell us what you think of the YC dining experience. Thanks in advance.

I am not the OP obviously but I’m on this sailing in the YC.  I have had no problems with venchi being included on drinks or gelato.  I haven’t tried to get crepes b/c I don’t want them.  YC dining room has been great.  Randy is our server and is very nice and attentive. I’ve gotten all drinks included other than one at the champagne bar which was like 19.00.  We’ve not been told anything is outside of the packages we booked with before the changes unless it was an obviously expensive item.  You can buy up to premium plus and we discussed it but found it wasn’t going to really add much for us to do so. Waiters in YC are attentive as well. Heard a few people say they love the cruise.  Heard a few people say they hate MSC. We’ve successfully hijacked the elevator for priority use several times. (We are those jerks).  And the wait staff at the champagne bar have been great. We did tip but found them to be great even prior to our 5$ gratuity we ended up giving at the conclusion of each visit. YC food has been good. Husband loved the Osso buco.  The deserts have been tasty.  The fruit tarts=yum!  My biggest food complaint is as that my toast was a bit burnt for my tastes.  YMMV.  I’ve seen a few sour faced people look pretty sour each day and I think they are having a sour trip.  But I think it’s more about them then the staff. Oh our butler is Alessandra.  She’s been perfectly acceptable and attentive though we haven’t asked for much past an extra blanket, in room breakfast one day, and a bag of laundry.  She’s keeping the fridge stocked with diet cokes as requested.  

That's too bad.  We kind of felt that way after our NCL Haven trip.   I'll keep my fingers crossed that they have some kinks worked out in the next 34 days. 🙂

Thank you!! I hope had a great trip.

We will be on Seaside in January, in the YC.  Anyone know if they do french press coffee in the YC or any other restaurant?  Thanks!

Thanks for posting the beerprov info.  I think that will be awesome! 

15 minutes ago, Até said:

I'll assume you paid full price.  I'm fine with the Haven/suite experience on NCL, a nice product that unfortunately has seen some cutbacks.  Back when I last sailed there was a minority of upselling.  That has changed and NCL does all it can to hide the fact that now a majority got there through Upgrade Advantage bidding.

We did pay full price, but I wanted a very specific room/deck combo.  So from the standpoint of paying for the room we got, it was worth every penny. But it did seem like a lot of people were talking about the bidding on the roll-call.  I wouldn't have risked it though since I knew exactly what room/location I wanted. 

I am looking forward for our MSC YC trip in January, so I can't actually compare it, yet!  We were in the Haven in May on Getaway and it was ok.  There was nothing bad about it, but I just never felt like the experience was equal to the cost.  We still had a great vacation so I won't complain too much.  More than anything I didn't like the ship itself, the layout was just odd.  I will say that the aft balcony cabin was spectacular.  I think I have better aligned my expectations with the upcoming MSC cruise. 

I actually heard about YC and MSC in the Haven on NCL.  Some other passengers were comparing and made it sound like they actually preferred YC.  So after some research, we booked MSC two weeks after coming home.  🙂

I've seen a lot about the stage/production shows...but lets talk about comedy.  I assume they have a few comedy shows?  I know it all depends on what comic you get, but how were they?

53 minutes ago, jules815 said:

Thank you for your review.  We'll be on Seaside in YC next month (1/12), our first time sailing with MSC.

 

Really getting excited for this cruise.  With the holidays coming up, I have a feeling the time is going to fly by.  🙂

 

I agree, same situation with us and on the same sailing and I cannot wait. 

OP, thanks for the review!!

Thanks for the replies everyone. We will be completely happy without in room dining other than the normal things like breakfast/room service.  

Our last cruise was in the NCL Haven and one night we enjoyed dining in the room since it was giant and we had a full table.  The Butler took the order and brought the items to our room.  Does YC (Seaside) have this option as well?  The rooms are substantially different, so I am not sure if it is even feasible beyond normal room service/snacking in room.

I appreciate your thorough review!  Especially the info on the spa.  We are also in the yacht club, but weren't sure what that spa perk actually entailed.  Thanks for the review!