Grburkart

1 minute ago, dchip said:

 

I am on the Royal Princess right now. The chairs are gone. 

 

Denise 

I’ll stand corrected. 

Glenn

51 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2631010-chairs-removed-to-make-more-room/

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. 

Glenn

To edit this, I would expect Princess to put out some sort of statement seeing their rooms aren’t as advertised. 

I am so looking forward to my Princess cruise. I’ve learned to be wary of the naysayers so the negative connotations will be in the back of my mind and not a deciding factor to my decisions. 

Glenn

I’ll weigh in here by saying my internet options are still in minutes, 680 being the top. 

I sail on the Emerald in October from Barcelona so I expect things to change on the website. I’ll hold off on ordering until closer to sailing time. 

FWIW, 680 minutes for my 22 days cruise is $200.00 (usd)

Glenn

First of all, my condolences to you and your family. I am always sorry to hear of such sad news.

For what it’s worth, I’m on a 22 day Mediterranean cruise in October (Princess). I am a solo traveller and in my research I have found this cruise to be very accommodating to my needs. I’ll be on the Emerald Princess, which is for 3000+ passengers, plus the timing for such a cruise is temperature friendly. 

The ship has several amenities that are solo friendly including “The Sanctuary”.  

Good luck in your search and happy sailing!

Glenn

4 minutes ago, Obsi said:

Since our group is an International one (Red Hat Society), the last cruise we did we had a meetup advertised in the patter.  Mostly as a way to get us all together, but also in case there were others onboard who wanted to meet with us  (sometimes we find other members who just happened to be at the same place).  We had 2 ladies who had seen us around and were interested in joining came to chat to us, so that was nice.  I'll try and see if we can do that again.

But the main communication we'd be needing is things like if some of us decide to go to the nightclub one night, or to a certain show and would like to let others in the group know to join them - things like that.  Something that could be easy to arrange if we all met up for breakfast/dinner,  but if we decide it during the day or don't catch up for breakfast then it might be tricky to spread the word around other than just telling whoever you meet during the day and hoping it gets around.

We do have a few clusters of cabins around the ship, so I think the idea to assign someone (trustworthy) to be a message point in each of those areas - and they can hang a small noticeboard on their cabin door - might do the trick.  For those chapters who have several members coming, they can sort out amongst themselves who can keep the others in the loop.

Some of us will probably use the onboard messaging app - but realistically trying to get 100 people (some of whom aren't net savvy) to find their ID numbers to then give out to everyone in the group, would be a nightmare.  If there was a way to set up groups beforehand it would be handy, but the way it's designed isn't really practical for a large group like us.   Also not all of us have smartphones or will be wanting to carry them around all day.   But if we can try and hook some people up (especially those in charge of their sections), then that can help spread messages around as well.

In my opinion you’re asking for too much by trying to change things up on the fly or “off the cuff”. If everybody has a detailed itinerary including onboard activities pre cruise, then they can plan for things like nightclub activities. If you decide last minute to do something that involves the group, you’ll be asking for the impossible. 

Just trying to help. 

Glenn

Wow! Your task ahead isn’t for the faint of heart but good for you for doing this. 

I have experience planning events and I like to have full control over the planning stage or it becomes like herding cats. Peoples inputs are important but you’re not going to be able to please everyone at the same time. 

I could go on and on about the infinite amount of things you have to do with such a large group. Time will be your best friend. 

Personally, with a group this size, I would drop the TA and deal directly with Princess. 

Glenn

6 minutes ago, voljeep said:

a prime cut, properly cooked steak doesn't need to be covered up by salt of any kind folks

Yes! We are of the same opinion. Having said that, in a steakhouse setting, I’m open to suggestions. Here in Canada, a wide range of steak places use Montreal Steak Spice. I hate it, hate it, hate it!

My kingdom for a good horseradish!

Glenn

3 hours ago, Coral said:

Saltworks.

 

https://www.seasalt.com

 

They are not Princess labeled but the same thing. This is where Princess orders theirs. They are a great company to work with.

Thanks for sharing. I’m particularly interested in the peppercorn but what salt would you recommend? 

Glenn

8 hours ago, floridalover5623 said:

Currently on the Regal, no more salt & pepper shakers on tables. They will shake it on your food or in your hand when requested. 

Geez Louise!

Is it me? Or is this getting out of hand (no pun intended)? 

Surely we can’t be that diligent. I’m not against hygiene and proper hand washing, etc. but in the real world we interact with people, shaking hands and the such. 

In this case, touching a salt/pepper shaker is cause for concern. I say phooey to that. We’re not putting our hands in the salt and pepper, just dispensing it. 

Plus we have what’s known as an immunity system built into our bodies. 

What’s next? Will we not be allowed to touch the eating utensils? In which case we will have to be fed manually. 

Glenn

It happens often when they do site maintenance. Patience is the word of the day when it comes to that. Sorry. 

Glenn

I agree with the glove sentiment and using the hand sanitizers, wash basins and what have you. But sit back for ten minutes and watch the people that use the buffet and you’ll realize hand sanitization is the least of our worries.

Glenn 

On 11/17/2018 at 8:03 PM, ctompkins said:

 

Thank you so much for your speedy reply!  Princess EZ flights for our Oct 13, 2019 Cruise open up I believe, Nov. 29th!

Just wanted to drop a quick note to say hello. I am on the same cruise for a 22 day adventure. 

Glenn

38 minutes ago, wheezedr said:

Sorry Glenn but lots of misinformation above.  

Yes you may bring multiple bottles on at embarkation and the first two per cabin are free of corkage.  But should you bring them to a dining venue you would then need to pay corkage, no fee to drink them in your room.

Wine purchased in port can be taken to your room as well.  It should be subject to corkage but they do not always have the table set up.  We have purchased wine in Alaskan ports and brought it aboard for personal use.

Wine packages are only available on cruises of longer than 10 days, so usually not an option in Alaska.  Also the wine selection is often limited and they are known to run out of certain popular vintages.

Thank you for enlightening me to my misunderstanding. I stand corrected. 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=40

Glenn

You’re allowed to bring unlimited amounts of wine onboard. You just have to pay a corkage fees beyond the first two bottles. 

From what I understand is any wine you get in a Port gets held my the ship guys until disembarkation. 

There are wine packages onboard that will significantly reduce the financial aspects. Personally, I would go that route. 

A disclaimer though... I’m just relaying what I’ve read and interpreted. I’m new to the cruising world so my advice is questionable. 

Glenn

I’m travelling on the Emerald Princess in October. It will be my first cruise since 1978 so I have no answer to your questions. 

Having said that, I opted to go the route of getting my shore excursions from the cruise company because they have a guarantee return to ship policy. As a newcomer to the region I don’t want to take a chance. 

As far as getting a “bad apple”, you take your chances with any tour private or otherwise. 

Glenn

10 minutes ago, Ombud said:

If you go into the cruise details it states that you'll walk 3520 yards (2 miles) all day long (10.5 hrs). Can you do that? 

Thank you for pointing that out! For some reason I missed that. 

Yes, I can do that. 

Glenn

I have nothing constructive to add only to say that I admire the artists that do this craft. I’ve always been in awe watching them work. 

Glenn

Thank you to all for the advice and tips. I’m an advocate of having the best footwear possible be it at work or at play. I bought a pair of hiking boots for the events. Not that I’ll need something that robust but it’s the ankle support that I’m interested in. 

I’m on a 22 day cruise of the Mediterranean with 15 ports of call. I have all of the excursions booked now, 4 of them being classed as strenuous. I have confidence now that I’ll be fine. 

Just for kicks and giggles, and I had a spare $80.00 (cad) floating around, I bought a “Stick Chair”. I’ll use that as a back up. It just might come in handy. 

Glenn

If you run behind a car you get exhausted but if you run in front of a car you get tired. 

Glenn

40 minutes ago, h-sar said:

You’ve been given some good feedback, Glenn. Tours in large cities are strenuous only in the amount of walking that is required. However, with the large size of the Princess groups (main reason we don’t do ship tours) and the inherent crowds in a tourist destination, the walking will be pretty slow paced. On the other hand, come join me and my jr high students on our spring break trips where we’ve averaged 18 km a day (26 in Madrid!) in very fast paced walking tours 😁.

 

As others have said, good walking shoes (better quality runners) with decent grip are an absolute must. It’s easy to turn an ankle on those uneven cobblestones.

 

From your various posts on this board, it’s obvious to see that you’re doing a lot of prep for this cruise, asking all the right questions. You mentioned elsewhere that you start and finish in Barcelona. Four visits there in 6 years will tell you that it’s one of my absolute favourite places!

Thank you very much for the words and advice. I actually bought some hiking boots specifically for the big city tours, those being Athens and Rome. I also spent the large by choosing the small group tours in hopes of not being overcrowded. And to add to it, I bought a “stick chair”. If you’re not sure what that is, look it up. The pictures of people using it aren’t flattering but it could be a useful tool. 

My concern is my weight. I need to lose a lot of weight before my trip. 

I’d take my bicycle to work everyday but it’s too hard to get in the trunk!

Glenn

I’m a doubles guy. That probably wont work either. My solution to that would be to tip generously and hope for a strong pour. 

Glenn

If you had a group of people, I would consider a helicopter to Valdez. It’s one of the most majestic parts of Alaska. So beautiful. There’s an airport within a couple miles of town. 

Alaska by air? That’ll be a highlight of epic proportions. The wallet will be lighter and the end of it though. 

Glenn 

6 hours ago, Monica887 said:

I usually sail NCL, but have also been on RCCL and Carnival. I'm considering a summer Mediterranean cruise on Princess with an 8 and 5 year old. I'm not familiar with Princess, and wondering what it's known for, what the vibe is etc. Thanks!

With no intention to be a negative nelly, an 8 and a 5 year old in the Mediterranean summer heat... hmmm could not necessarily be a great idea. Just sayin. 

Glenn