SwimCarrie

Just now, RD64 said:

Problem solved - just book and pay for the actual category that you want. Then you won’t have to stress starting 85 days out whether or not you will get the upgrade you are hoping for - but not willing to actually pay for.

My choices are free (casino rate inside), $1600 if I book the cabin I want (balcony) or a bid at $610 for a balcony. You see my dilemma?  🤣

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

This appears to be the third time you've asked about an upgrade location.  Here's what I posted on your other post:

 

You're rolling the dice.

 

We don't bid - we book guarantee and always end up with an A or B placement. 

 

Be prepared to have a great location or a not so great location.  You need to be happy with anywhere - will you be happy with deck chair movement at all hours?  Only you can answer that.

Sorry, just trying to get a different perspective on a casino offer since I forgot to mention it. 😁 I can delete the others, if necessary? That's why I said "last question". Lol. 

3 minutes ago, negn said:

Check first to see the cost to upgrade to balcony.   Often cheaper then budding

It's actually $1600! Guess I didn't gamble enough. Lol. 

Last question of the day...

Has anyone who had a free cruise from the casino "won" an upgrade bid? Was it in a good location? Please share where from and where to. Right now I'm trying to go from a midship inside to a balcony. Not sure what the odds are if I turn my "free" cruise into a not as free cruise. 

Thanks!

If you don't like it and you want to go back to the same category, is it specific, like "inside, mid" still or just any inside? 

Just now, behappy11 said:

Does the minimum bid reduce as the cruise date gets closer?

Great question! Does it matter? 

2 hours ago, CruiserN1 said:

That chile rellano is beyond pathetic. I have never seen one that small! It's my husband's favorite Mexican dish so I will be sure to tell him NOT to order it when we're cruising Alaska this summer.

It's like they forgot the entree. Lol. 

I'm contemplating doing an upgrade bid from a perfectly good mid ship interior to a balcony for a minimum of $610 total. I'm worried, though, that they will assign a cabin at the very front of the ship, below the pool, or above a theater. Beggars can't be choosers, right? A sailing that costs $3000 normally and the offer is $610 isn't going to be the cream of the crop, right? What has your experience been? 

It finally opened. Bummed I couldn't bid for a premium balcony from an inside. Lol. And $610 minimum bid for a balcony. I'm just worried about the location on the ship. 

30 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

If the cruise is overbooked you might not be offered a chance to bid for an upgrade.  Many cruises are now sailing at capacity.

Oh, I didn't even think about that. There are still some cabins available in each category, so I'm not sure? 

3 minutes ago, Shippy said:

what is a PVP ?

Princess vacation planner through the cruise line.

We're supposed to be able to bid for an upgrade 85 days out on voyages 6-24 days, but I'm getting a message that it can't be done. I booked through a PVP...shouldn't it be open?

1 hour ago, cruzin4us said:

Puppy time!

Do you get to hold them????

13 minutes ago, memoak said:

What are you going to do go on a hunger strike ?

All fired up and ready to speak to the manager. 😂 Kidding. I hope that's not what they mean.  

18 minutes ago, cruzin4us said:

Tonight was Italian night. 

 

Originally I was going to go Tracy’s Crab Shack and get some Alaskan King Crab Legs.  However the price was $89/lb and the line was long so I just decided to head to the MDR instead.  

 

Today I thought it would be fun to do a comparison of 3 items I ordered on the Diamond Princess in January that were being offered tonight (prosciutto & melon, Veal Marsala and lemon meringue cheesecake).  The first pics are of the Diamond and the second pics are from the Ruby that I had tonight.   

 

Sandia en Fuego Cocktail

 

Prosciutto & Melon - the melon was underripe and the prosciutto was hard (not like prosciutto I’ve ever had) - didn’t care for this one and I love prosciutto & melon - compare to Diamond pics.  There was no comparison.   

 

Mushroom & Truffle Arancini - This was really good even though I didn’t taste the truffle.  It was a little deep fried rice ball stuffed with mozzarella and mushrooms.  Served nice and hot and the cheese was melted in the center.  Really good, would order again 

 

Penne Pasta (special that wasn’t on the menu) - it was basically penne in a spicy tomato sauce  and it was the best pasta thus far.  It was nice and hot, and a little spicy.  Yum

 

Veal Scaloppine, Marsala Wine Sauce - It was ok, the veal was a bit on the tough side and the green beans & onions were way over cooked and mushy.   All the veggies have been overcooked thus far.   The only person I know that likes overcooked veggies in this day and age is my grandma.     

 

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake - not my favorite.   It was very dry and tasteless.   Not lemony at all. 

 

It’s interesting how different two ships can be when serving the same item.  Presentation is very important because people taste with their eyes too. The Ruby needs to up her game in the presentation department and fixing off the soggy vegetables.   Diamond is doing it right.  

Wow. I can't believe the difference in the presentation. I'd have eaten it either way but Diamond definitely wins on presentation. 

2 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Wow!  We sailed the Discovery in February and April and had no problem switching out our Elite set up (other than it taking two days to get someone to do it).  We will be on the Royal in June so will see what happens to us then.

Same on Discovery in February and March. It took longer but wasn't an issue. 

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

Screenshot this just in case but trying to change for OBC on my 5 day - wine on the 16 day (B2B). It was changed a few months ago when coffee card omitted and crew call chat added

 

So this is the current policy?

35 minutes ago, ldtr said:

The minibar setup is the perk, the swaps have been allowed but are technically not the perk.

Good to know. Thanks. 

1 minute ago, ldtr said:

Or it might be that by the time they got the swaps completed the cruise be over. On Discovery the swap did not happen until day 3, Regal was a little better. On the second leg of the B2B I called room service what I wanted and they used that for the setup instead of doing the normal setup and then swapping it.

I don't doubt that they're extra busy and swapping on a 3 day would be time consuming, but if it's offered as a perk, they should honor it. I had Princess Plus, so I didn't care, but I won't on my next sailing and will want to swap. We'll see how it goes! 

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

That's weird!! I was on the Royal Princess 4/16/23-4/23/23 and swapped the entire mini bar for a bottle of wine

I feel like they were going to try to see how it went on a 3 day...piss people off but they're getting off soon enough? 😂 Like testing how people will react before the Alaskan season. See above about their weird interaction regarding my CPAP. 

On 5/8/2023 at 8:32 PM, ldtr said:

What ship?  We swapped for all soft drinks on Regal last week.

I was on Royal. The room steward also said she had to take my CPAP to "check it in". I was like, physically take it? And she said yes, but then came back with it a few minutes later saying nevermind. It was a strange start, that's for sure. 

I'm enjoying your recaps so much! So exciting following along and living vicariously. Thank you. 

2 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Wait!   What?  They wouldn’t switch out anything?  

This is a biggie.  If you don’t use all these different liquors, etc…

Wow!  I miss the coffee package…now this?  What month was this?

 

I really hope it was just the Royal or a supply issue and not fleetwide. SMH

 

 

 

Just got off the ship last Wednesday. They wouldn't swap anything. They said Princess isn't swapping anything anymore. Hoping that's not the case. 

Can you please post the patter from today when you retire for the evening? 

11 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I was marked no upgrade. You can still bid, but you need to be ok with accepting whatever you get. 

Thank you.