Dani24

I love Riesling (I'll take it dry or sweet). While I typically gravitate towards Rieslings from Germany, I have seen the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling on some of the Princess menus. I live near San Francisco and wine country, and this is a common offering at high-end restaurants. It's a solid wine, though it won't blow you away.

I've been on 5 Princess cruises, all on different ships, over the last 20 years. I've also done one Disney cruise. People tend to rave about Disney cruises, but in my experience we much preferred Princess for their food, service, and value. Not that Disney was bad -- just we felt we get a much better experience on Princess overall. Even our daughter loved the activities on Princess for kids on our last cruise. We have sailed ships that were brand new, and ships that were very old. When we went on our last cruise on the Grand I saw a lot of complaints from people about the condition of the ship, to the point that I was becoming concerned that we were going to have a bad time. After 10 days on that ship I did see some signs of wear (some couches that looking a tiny bit "lived in", and one day we noticed a small leak near the photo area that was quickly rectified. Otherwise the ship looked fantastic for her age and I saw crew constantly working on her upkeep (as I have on ALL of our Princess sailings). In no way did we feel like the ship was unsuitable, or detracted from our stellar experience. We'd sail her again without question. What I have learned: In general, people are more likely to come back and complain about something than praise it, and are more likely to repeat their complaints over and over and over (making it feel like there are more complaints than praises). People who are apt to be nitpicky and complain about things in regular life are just as likely (if not more so, because they feel entitled because they "paid for" it) to complain and be nitpicky on their vacation. They'll find things to criticize that others would never care about. Some people just like to be the victim, or have entitlement issues, or like the attention when they complain, or can never be satisfied with anything. I can't speak for how you tend to approach things, but personally I have no qualms about sailing on any Princess ship. I expect that older ships will have some challenges, but I also expect that Princess will be on top of it as they always have been in my experience. I hope you have a wonderful cruise, whatever you decide is best for you!

Certainly, nobody is required to keep a tally, even if they're a la carte.:) If you know that you aren't likely to spend as much as the package costs, or you feel your financial circumstances allow you to indulge past the package price but the cost difference is immaterial to you, then there's no need to calculate and compare. For others, it's helpful to do those calculations to see if a la carte or a package gives better value, or better meets their needs. I think whatever floats your boat (or, ship) and helps you have the best time is the way to go!

We last enjoyed this amenity in 2019, when it was Club Class dining (since renamed Reserve). It was a really awesome perk, and we're excited to enjoy it again on our next cruise. Reserve dining is limited to Suite passengers and those with Reserve Collection Mini Suites (note that not all mini suites are Reserve). They are able to dine in a dedicated section of one of the dining rooms for dinner. There's usually a separate entrance just for the Reserve seating. You can walk up any time without reservations. On our 10 day Alaska sailing we never waited more than a couple of minutes for a table (usually we were seated immediately). We had the same waiters every night, so we got the benefit of getting to know our wait staff (and them getting to know us and our preferences), while also being able to dine when we wanted without a reservation. There was always at least one special menu item (sometimes two) each night, just for the Club Class guests. Sometimes these were even prepared directly by the Head Waiter. On our sailing, we were able to dine in the Club Class section for lunch in the MDR as well. I don't know if that's still the case, or if it's offered on all ships. But there was sometimes a special menu item for lunch. You don't have to eat in Reserve every night, or at all. We certainly enjoyed specialty restaurants and such on other nights. If you make or have friends onboard who are not Reserve dining guests, and you wish to dine with them, you cannot eat with them in the Reserve section, but you can eat in the regular MDR, or meet them for one of the Specialty restaurants. If you happen to be a Suite passenger, definitely don't miss the special suite breakfast (usually in one of the specialty restaurants). This was one of our favorite things! They would make us almost anything we wanted, provided they had the ingredients (but also had a different menu from the MDR breakfast). It was uncrowded, and the service was stellar.

We've only enjoyed a suite once so far, with Club Class (now Reserve). We really loved the experience. We had the same staff every night, and their service was impeccable and very personalized. But we also enjoyed showing up whenever we wanted and they pretty much always had our table waiting (I think once or twice on a 10 night cruise they sat us at a different table, but we still had our same wait staff). They were super sweet with my daughter as well. One night, one of the waiters presented her with some really cool origami animals he had made! Another did magic tricks for her. The head waiter, Giovanni, made some fantastic special dishes, and was so kind and accommodating. He had a sweet nickname for our daughter, and treated her like a princess. We still talk about them 5 years later -- they really went above and beyond. We gave them all nice extra cash tips and submitted comment cards for all of them because they truly earned it.

Ugh, that sounds obnoxious. I don't recall there being any tie to any spending related venues on the ship for what Princess did. If I recall right I think there was a place you went to each day to get your next packet. Pretty sure it was in the Piazza, since I recall cracking open our next packet by the International Cafe, and seeing several others doing the same. They did have a charm bracelet giveaway on that cruise, where you had to show up at certain stores or demonstrations at certain times to collect the charms. I ran around to collect them for my daughter, but it was a tad annoying fighting crowds in the jewelry store or whatever for the next charm.

You guys are cracking me up! 😂 The High Seas Heist was a bit like a murder mystery. You got a packet of evidence/clues, and then more were revealed over the next several days. You'd have to try to figure out who did it, and then submit your answers at the end. They had everyone gather in one of the lounges for a final presentation (with crew acting out several of the characters) and reveal. There were prizes for getting it right. It was super popular, so I'm sad it might not be a regular thing they offer. Though, as I think about it I guess it would be hard to prevent people from sharing the clues/answers with others after their sailing.

On our 2019 cruise to Alaska on the Grand they offered a really fun High Seas Heist activity which spanned several days, and an Escape Room game you could book (it was in the wedding chapel, with other guests). We're sailing on the Caribbean Princess later this year. Do they still offer any activities like these? Or other unique activities outside of the usual things we should look out for? We love games, educational lectures, interactive activities, etc.

We're in a suite on our next cruise, so definitely taking advantage of the Reserve dining. On our prior suite cruise we had a section of a dining room with regular anytime diners in the other part. Just curious if they'll pair the Reserve section with traditional, reservation or walk-ins. I don't know that I care where they place us, just curious about the logistics of it all. 🙂

Curious where the Reserve/Suite dining will be among these three rooms? Or will they adjust based on the popularity of any particular option? Which also leads me to wonder if there are caps on any of these choices. Will you need to preselect if you want traditional, reservations, or walk-in? And if the demand for one of those options on a given cruise is more than what that particular dining room will handle, do you get forced into another category?

I've been playing with a similar analysis the last couple of days, and think I've talked myself into Premier. We currently have Plus. We're staying in a Suite, with our daughter as a third pasenger. She's too young for the package, but even just for the two of us it works out accordingly: $60/$80 x2 for 8 days = $960/$1,280 Tips at $18/day = $288 (this, of course, doesn't include another $144 for our daughter's gratuities) Wifi at $45 per day (multi-device), with 50% off for being platinum = $180 (although, someone correct me if the discount doesn't apply to multi-device packages, in which case we're looking at a $200 charge instead for two single devices, plus another $100 for our daughter's device) OceanNow service = $15 (we'd definitely have at least one of us pay this) Room Service = approx $20 (at $5 per order, assuming we use it about 4 times, which feels right for us... though it could easily be more since we have a big, aft balcony and anticipate spending a lot of time on it) Medallion shipping - $10 Casual Dining - $60 (we'll easily want to try at least two of them, so $15 each x4, but not including our daughter's fee, assuming they charge kids if the parents have the package) Specialty Dining - $78 (we get one specialty dinner on embarkation as suite guests, and we'll definitely want to do at least one more) Premium Dessert - my daughter will want to try at least one of these, so we'll for sure get at least one at $12 Unlimited Photo - we always buy at least a couple pictures on our cruises, sometimes more if we really love them. I'll assume the 5 print and digital package for $89 here, but we could certainly extract more value out of this if the pics are great. I'm not going to calculate the value of things like fitness classes, juice, Princess prizes, medallion accessories, etc. because if we didn't have a package we would not purchase them. Although with the package I definitely see us taking advantage of several of these things. So, not accounting for any drinks, that puts me at a "spend" of $683 against the Plus package $737 against the Premier package If I assume an average of $12/drink for the Plus, or $15/drink for the Premier, we'd need to each drink 1.5 drinks per day for the Plus to pay off, or 2.25 drinks each a day for the Premier. Between a glass of wine with dinner, a drink by the pool, and a drink in the evening, we've covered the package. 2-3 drinks a day seem very reasonable for us on such a vacation (though we'd never hit that 15 drink cap). Then add in the value of the other things that we'll likely use, but wouldn't pay for independently, plus the value of not having to think about how much we're spending at all and feeling free to try new things without fear of wasting money, and suddenly I've convinced myself Premier is the way to go... 🙂

Based on my prior experience with the embarkation dinner for suite passengers, I'd book the two specialty reservations you want on non-embarkation days now, and then book your embarkation dinner on the first night. The speciality restaurants don't seem to be that busy on that first night and it's probably a lot easier to get a table than on another night.

I have the same issue. I can log in, but really need to change my password. It won't let me -- gives me the same error. The password reset email never comes through even though other emails from Princess do. I've tried putting in a ticket with Princess but so far I've received zero response.

Good to know! Then we'll definitely take advantage of that on the CB, if we decide to stick with our current booking. 🙂

The Penthouse Suite on the Sun is sold out. It's either a Signature Suite, or spending $1400/day more for an Owner's Suite. Our credit card points are offsetting the cost of the suite by quite a bit, but not that much! 🙂 However, as I consider it more and more I think I'm leaning towards keeping our CB reservation, but booking a cruise for another time on one of the new ships, and I'll definitely check out the Penthouse Suite. The Signature Suite just isn't impressing me at all, except for the suite amenities.

Is the only difference between the Sanctuary on the CB/older ships, and the Sun/newer ships, that they have a dedicated pool/spa within the Sanctuary? On the CB, I think I'd be inclined to just hang out on our balcony since it's large, private, and has two nice loungers. Although I am eyeballing the option to get massages in the Sanctuary one day. I assume the experience would be pretty similar between the two ships for that feature though.

This is a great list -- thank you! Is the Signature Restaurant like the separate area of the MDR on the CB (I think it's called Reserve Dining now, but previously was Club Class), where it has the same menu (with maybe a few additions) and dedicated staff and no wait? Or is the Signature Restaurant a totally different menu/experience?

Not that work with our schedule and get us to San Juan and St. Thomas, unfortunately. 😞

We just booked a Dolphin deck Vista Suite on the Caribbean Princess for an Eastern Caribbean 8 day cruise this upcoming December for us and our 12 year old. However I was doing some poking around and saw the new Sun Princess has a 7 day sailing at the same time, and we can get a Signature Suite for the same price. Looking for some input on whether I should stay put or switch. Both sailings hit St. Thomas and San Juan, which are our two most important stops for this trip (trying to get Junior Ranger badges from the National Park sites). We've never been to the Caribbean at all before, so everything else is new regardless of which we choose. Caribbean Princess: The Vista Suite is bigger and has what appears to be a much nicer balcony. One extra day of cruising (8 vs 7). We'd also get to visit St. Maarten and Grand Turk. I love the wrap-around Promenade on the Caribbean (and other Grand class ships we've been on), and this is actually a significant draw for me (I love taking daily walks on them). The layout/amenities are all very familiar -- which is a pro and a con. On the one hand, we'll acclimate quickly and be much more inclined to just relax (and even enjoy our suite balcony more). On the other hand, it'll feel more "been there done that" and less exciting than a brand new, revamped ship. That said, I am fully aware of some people's complaints about the CB and other similar ships being "old" and "tired". We sailed on the Grand a few years ago and saw all the same comments and concerns, yet had a phenomenal time on our cruise and didn't feel like its condition was a hindrance at all. So I'm also not concerned about the CB feeling "dated" or "worn" or anything, as long as it's clear it is being maintained/cleaned. Sun Princess: New ship with all the shiny new bells and whistles, and LOTS of new amenities, food, entertainment, etc. to explore. This means I'd be inclined to want to do EVERYTHING and not rest as much, which my husband may be less enthused about, and might add a little extra stress. The Signature Suite looks more modern, although I kind of find the room decor a little boring, so that's not a huge draw for me (though the pics I see of the rest of the ship do look beautiful and enticing). The balcony on the Signature Suite looks more like a standard size balcony, and far less enticing than the Vista Suite balcony. It would visit Princess Cay instead of the other two stops on the CB. I'd prefer to see the two others vs. Princess Cay, I think... but I've never been to any of them, so who knows... We'd be in San Juan on NYE and would get to stay there 4 extra hours compared to the CB. Only 7 days instead of 8, so one less day to cram in all the new stuff... 🙂 I'll add that while the Sun looks like it has some cool stuff that might appeal to my daughter, I think she'd be happy either way. She has only been on one Princess Cruise before (on the Grand), and it was 5 years ago so it'll all feel new and exciting to her regardless. Also, this is our first cruise since the pandemic, and I'll admit I'm a little "crowd shy", and eager to spend more time outdoors or away from tons of people on the ship as we ease back into things. Sailing the CB seems like it would make it far easier for us to do that because I'd be perfectly fine skipping things like the theater shows and other activities, or having our dinner served to us on our balcony some nights. If we were on the Sun the FOMO would be too strong and I'd want to do it all, but at the risk of triggering some anxiety. Any pros/cons that I missed? I don't know a ton about the new ship other than what I quickly perused on the Princess site. Maybe I'm overlooking some amenities, suite perks, etc. that might be a strong sway one way or the other?

We stayed in one of the window suites on the Grand in 2019. We're very sensitive to cigarette smoke and had absolutely no issues at all. These suites had a private hallway, with doors that closed at the end, and that kept any smoke from getting into the hall. We really loved these particular suites and would book them again in a heartbeat. Even though we didn't have a balcony, we could quickly pop up to the promenade on the stairs and have a huge "balcony" and fresh air whenever we desired.