wendellman

12 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Unfortunately the HDMI wasn't an option on the Enchanted in our balcony cabin in March. We were using the bottom center toggle control and not a universal remote, not that it would have made ay difference. 

Possibly other decks and cabins might still have access to HDMI but on Emerald deck it was blocked. It's funny that some of the ships have it blocked while others don't. 

Yes, it was a tight squeeze to plug in any cables but I still managed it with an extension my husband made to give extra cable reach.

We have been on Majestic and Discovery. Majestic has the bottom center toggle switch allowing you to change inputs. Discovery does not have this switch as we found out on our cruise last August. We were just on Discovery again and with the Universal LG remote we were able to change the TV inputs. We have not been on Enchanted, but if TV are LGs, I believe the universal remote would work.

Just off Discovery and using Universal Remote for LG TV from Amazon we were able to change input and use HDMI inputs. Placed TV on Bridge Cam and then using universal remote was able to change inputs. HDMI plug is accessible although having Trumpian hand size would be beneficial. I would assume Enchanted cabin TVs would be the same.

Is the Masters golf tournament currently available on Princess cruises?

5 hours ago, billco said:

a lot of trouble to post something childish and not very funny as an April Fool joke.

Yea, @deultgen why aren't you working on world peace, like the rest of us!

7 minutes ago, deultgen said:

 

I have already negotiated "unlimited flushes for life" if they use the idea

Smart. Glad you thought a head!

4 hours ago, deultgen said:

When Princess corporate steels this idea, I hope you are able secure your share of the program's flushing royalties! Well Done!

3 hours ago, billco said:

a lot of trouble to post something childish and not very funny as an April Fool joke.

You must be fun to cruise with! It's just a well done April Fool's

6 hours ago, Qextor said:

The cruise is on the Discovery Princess, a 4 day no-port repo from LA up to Vancouver, whereupon it will continue onto Alaska.  I had booked an inside, aft, on deck 14. I love my afts, because they are near the restaurants, pools, and such, especially since my mom has mobility issues. Received an email today congratulating me for my upgrade to M103, a deluxe balcony, obstructed.  Special notes say 'balcony access only while in port'.  Whomp, whomp.....   You win some, you lose some.  We at least will get the big picture window (the sliding glass doors), and a larger room. My parents will also love not having the top bunk deployed (I will sleep on the couch, which is what normally do on holidays)

Forward facing balconies are always accessible, although can be breezy depending on weather conditions. The balconies are large and deep, as such the balcony partitions block most of the wind if you stand nearer the cabin. They are fabulous when sailing slowly in and out of port. 

45 minutes ago, jwattle said:

The Sun will have a two-deck Suite Concierge Lounge Aft with beautiful windows according to the plans 🥰. We'll meet y'all and @wendellman there for evening cocktails!

@jwattleThank you for invitation! My wife and I remember RCCL's Allure of the Seas had an aft Concierge Lounge similar to this description, but that was some time ago. If we are on the Sun, or even in the neighborhood, we'll be there!

@XBGuyI will ask about the Super Tuscan Dinner when I visit Sabatini's on embarkation day. It's actually one of my first stops on my 360 Experience begging tour. I also understand Sabatini's introduced a new menu.

@TN-MountainsUB Dinner is now $110 per couple and UB Breakfast is $50 per couple. Considering that the specialty dining is now nearly $80 per couple, I think the UB Dinner, with all it includes, looks reasonably priced.

10 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Instead of Fantasy Football, I think I'll make my Fantasy Cruise roster 😁

It would definitely have @XBGuy and Mrs. XBGuy, as well as the @wendellmans on it. 

I can think of some others as well. Oh, can't forget my other half, @c-boy! 😂😍

This could be a new thread, 'Make your favorite cruise roster"!

 

Royal Class/Lido Deck/Forward Cabins/Port to Starboard? We're in!🚢🥂🎉

@XBGuyThanks for the information and pictures regarding the UB dinner. We have scheduled it early in our cruise, as our night in San Francisco is the only evening we will not be at sea by 5 pm. We will skip lunch and try to be as hungry as possible. Is it as much food as the Chef's Table? The night we did that we slipped into a food/champagne coma. Between your advice and @jwattle I think we'll be as  prepared as we can be for the gastronomical event. I especially like your recommendation to bring a nicer bottle of wine, although the closest I'll ever get to a beautifully cellared '79 Heitz is a well-pantried Heinz 57!🥂

@jwattleI'll let you know if I finagle the 360; but no details, as I understand there is some sort of blood oath of secrecy involved. Happy cruising!🥂🚢

13 hours ago, jwattle said:

@wendellman Hi! We haven't been on with the 360 yet, but hope to soon! We will be back on Majestic in Australia in November ❤️

You do remember correctly about the wines. We took a case, some of our Wattle Creek, some other assorted nice ones, including a beautifully cellared 1979 Heitz Cellars Cabernet . We also enjoyed some of the ship's inventory a well.

For the UB dinner, we enjoyed our last one on a late port evening in Hawaii (I think that it was Maui). We had a large balcony, but the size is NOT essential, just the company 😊. We started with the cocktail, then champagne, and went with their suggestions, the full nine yards and it was perfect! We engaged our head server in conversation and it made for a very pleasant evening. My best suggestion is just sit back and enjoy; that is our favorite part of any cruise, and the UB dinner is a most special part of that. I am so glad that you remembered! If you have any questions, please ask! 😊

I admit to being the queen (or countess) of the details to get us to and from the cruise, but once we're there, it is just being "on holiday".

@jwattleAh yes, the WCW butterfly collection, now I remember. We envy your Australian Majestic cruise. Although Discovery is a beautiful ship, we preferred Majestic's layout, especially Vines and the "free" Sanctuary. We are looking forward to the UB dinner on our more than ample forward facing balcony. We are in the same cabin we had for our Alaska cruise where we would have 10 family members gather on our balcony as we went slowly in and out of ports. We even enjoyed the northern lights one very early morning when the Captain woke everyone up at 2 am! We hope that our Pineapple Express Winter will be over by our SF evening. With respect to the 360 experience, I will continue to politely pester people until I pester the right one.😉 We will follow your advice and "sit back and enjoy". I am the detail man for our cruises; but, we invariably find that some of our best cruise memories are completely unplanned, like seeing the northern lights! WCW🦋🦋🦋🥂

@jwattleI remember some of your posts when we were first considering forward facing cabins on Princess Royal class ships. We have since been on a Coastal on Majestic and an Alaska on Discovery in forward cabins. Not sure we would consider any other location now. Great location on the Lido deck and a great value (Category DW). We now look forward to another Coastal on Discovery this April. We are looking forward to  testing the UB dinner the evening we are in San Francisco late. If you have any comments or recommendations regarding the UB dinner, they would be appreciated. I remember you appeared to be experienced Princess guests. Have you had the chance to experience the 360 dining event? I'm lobbying for that but, given that we are not in a suite, doubt our chances. But, we will continue to ask and hope! Do I remember you correctly for bringing some very nice wines on your cruises?

I emailed form 5 days ago. How long is it currently taking for credit to post?

1 hour ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

They will call you to discuss the menu. Previously on a different cruise, we didn't want a salad so that was omitted. On this cruise, I asked for wine rather than a half split champagne and they substituted that. They are pretty good about asking for your preferences. There are multiple courses starting with canapés and ending with dessert ( a wonderful trio of chocolate mouses with chocolate wrapped around it).  There has always been surf and turf (lobster and steak) for the main course.

 

Yes there were flowers though it was a small rose arrangement in a vase rather than the previous centerpiece with mixed flowers.  The photographer was very late (supposed to come early on) and the supervisor had to ultimately call him at the end of the meal, but he took more pictures than ever (maybe due to being late).  We had the Premier package and we got all the digital files of those pictures whereas previously we had always gotten just one printed picture.

 

We usually do it each cruise.  We like the private dinner and since we usually have a balcony overlooking the wake it is very large and private and a special time. Have fun!!

Thanks for the feedback. We are looking forward to the UB dinner. We have done specialty dining many times and the Chef's Table, but given what we have heard of the UB dinner it seems that it is a great value. We also have a large balcony, forward facing on Discovery's Lido deck. I think we'll also request wine instead of champagne split.

9 hours ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

We booked two weeks ago right after we had boarded.  They did not bring a table for breakfast, but we had a large balcony at the very back (aft) with a small round table that worked fine.  They did bring a table for UB dinner.

@Mary Ann 2We have booked the UB dinner for our April cruise on Discovery. Any comments or recommendations? How did you select menu? Are flowers and a photo still part of the package?

FYI. We had forward facing cabin on Discovery last August in Alaska. They are fabulous!

4 hours ago, Cessna140 said:

Hi, looking to book a cabin on Regal. First time on this class of ship. On the Grand class the balconies on the Caribe deck are bigger and have a partial covering. Can anyone tell me if the Regal has these types of balconies, if so, which deck? Can't upgrade to a suite so I'm specifically looking for balcony categories.

Thanks in advance. 

Check out the forward cabins on the Lido and Marina decks. Massive balconies and great location.

3 minutes ago, wesport said:

I know this has been asked before, but I cant find it with the search option. If I have 200 in OBC for shore excursions, does that have to be used specifically for excursions, or does it go into the general pot.?

4 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

You'll probably have an overnight in San Francisco.  That is what the Ca Coastal cruise prior to yours is doing. 

Regarding the 4/8 Discovery sailing, Princess made plans with Santa Barbara at least two weeks ago for the Discovery to be in Santa Barbara on 4/12 from 7am to 4pm.

04/12/23    Discovery Princess - 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, capacity - 3,660

https://santabarbaraca.gov/things-do/waterfront/cruise-ship-visits

5 minutes ago, candy4040 said:

I just received upgrade to E420 from an interior room (Lido deck). The deck plan shows the balcony is partially angled and on Emerald deck.  Category is BW balcony obstructed view.  I bid minimum bid on two categories - one w/o balcony obstructed view and one with balcony obstructed view.  I'm very happy with this as it looks like it may not be as obstructed as others on that deck.  Does anyone have any first hand knowledge of any obstructed balcony views on Emerald deck?  Thanks for your help.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2619538-regal-room-e420-obstruction/

Discussion of E420 "obstruction" on Regal, sister ship to Sky, so cabin would be same.

No "obstruction".

We have been in those cabins on the Lido deck and if weather is nice you might consider this option:

Ultimate Balcony Dinner For Two$100.00

A sumptuous four-course meal, including succulent lobster tail and juicy steak, beverage of choice, hors d'oeuvres, all served right on the balcony by our dedicated waitstaff.