cruzin4us

5 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

That's fantastic we have tons of those of well.

 

Do you check it when you fly...never used these strong of ones before not sure what protocol is? 

I have 12 of them......and I check them on the plane.    Never had an issue in the 12 flights I've had in the past 2 years.   I use them for everything.    I hang the shoe holder with all our bathroom, meds, misc. stuff on the ceiling using 4, another gets hung on the door with our lanyards (then we drape them over the door handle so we don't forget them.   1 holds a backpack, another holds my purse, and we use one for a beach bag and my husbands hat.  A couple get used for hanging itineraries, etc. and what ever is left get used to keep electrical cords/wires out of the way.   Sometimes I even use them to put the curtain tight up against the wall so no light pops thru the window when we are napping.   I love the things 🙂

33 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

how do you store them while traveling..my current ones that are WEAK I just toss in a ziploc bag.  Do you check them in your checked bags or carryon...not sure due to the magnet which is the right way?

 

thank you for your quick response

Kind of found this technique/method of storing them.   I have an old eyeglass case that has a magnetic closure.   The magnets stick to it, and it works great.

14 minutes ago, cruzrbachoua said:

Looking into getting these...how easy are they to remove from wall?  Read online due to strong hold it can be hard to remove them...what is your experience with them..thank you

They aren't too hard to get off the wall or ceiling, but there are dang near impossible to get them apart if you get them stuck together.   

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

No. If you order Room Service using the telephone in the room there is a fee of $5 each time. If you pay the one time fee of $14.95 you can order to your room using the App. The fee "activates" your Ocean Now feature - which is what they call having food or drinks delivered to wherever you are. They consider this different from "Room Service".

Everything Thrak said above is correct.  The additional fees for items such as pizza and cookies would be on top of the $14.95 (or the $5 if you call by phone).

For example you call by phone the price would be $5, plus $8.50 for pizza and $4.99 for a cookie.    If you paid the $14.95 for access to Ocean Now the price would be $8.50 for pizza and $4.99 for the cookie

1 hour ago, dides said:

 

Just heard from some passengers who got off Island Princess that Princess won't be doing the pop-up Alfredo's pizzas at Sabatini's on sea days any longer to make space for paid-for Sabatini's lunches.

Can you confirm? I know the package changes have just kicked in on Island Princess in the last couple of days and that was the only casual dining offering that might have been impacted.

 

I took a trek down to the front desk to ask.   I was told because we ONLY have 3 sea days this cruise that they weren't going to have any lunches in Sabatini's.   He said normally they do.   I must have looked like a deer in the headlights when he said ONLY 3 SEA DAYS.   Crikey, how many sea days do they need?    I said "ok", then how are you compensating us that are expecting the 2 pop up lunches that replace Alfredos/Gigi's or Gastropub.    He didn't know how to answer my question (not good enough).   I said how about 1 dinner at a Specialty Restaurant (seems fair to me).   He is referring me to a "Higher Up" to get back to me......we'll see.

Apparently, I'm not the only person that has addressed this issue.   I'll keep you posted if/when I ever hear back from anyone.

1 minute ago, Ombud said:

Thanks. My 3 go-tos are still there (Greek + green salad to get 1 like I make at home & key lime). Strange that chocolate chip cookies are $5

Right?   $5 for a cookie is absurd.

My biggest beef is there is no free food choices (IC cafe) for us late night gamblers.   If the Island had something else open I wouldn't mind so much.    The fruit plate thru room service is very large (looks like the picture on the app).

Regarding the Specialty Desserts on Island:

Specialty Sundae's are offered at Swirls (deck 15)

Specialty Cakes:  Displayed in Horizon Court but only offered at dinner time in MDR and you need to ask specifically for it.   Nothing mentioned on the menu

Room Service Menu as of 8/25/23:

Appetizers:

Antipasto Assortito di Magro:  $4.99

Burrata Cheese & Tomato:  $4.99

Cheese Plate:  $4.99

Fruit Plate - Free

Hummus Dip & Veggies - $4.99

Italian Meats & Olive Platter - $4.99

Loaded Cheesy Fries - Free

Maki Calif Roll - $12

Maki Shrimp Roll - $12

Maki Spicy Tuna Roll - $12

Shrimp Cocktail - $12

Greens & Soup:

Ceasar Salad - Free

Chef Salad - Free

Chicken Egg Noodle Soup - Free

Greek Salad - Free

Mixed Green Salad - Free

3 Bean Chili - Free

Hot Food:

Burger - Free

Hot Dog - Free

Agnolotti Gratinati Alla Piemontese - $12

Grilled Chicken Sandwich - Free

Spaghetti & Meatballs - $12

Steak Frites 8oz fillet - $19

Veggie Burger - Free

Kids:

Cheese Quesadilla - Free

Chicken Fingers - Free

Classic Grilled Cheese - Free

PB&J Sandwich - Free

Sandwiches:

Double Decker Club House - Free

PB&J - Free

Egg McMuffin - Free

Roast Turkey - Free

Tuna Salad - Free

Vegetarian - Free

Sides:

French Fries - Free

Sweets:

Chocolate Cake - Free

Jumbo Choco Chip Cookies - $4.99

Key Lime Pie Verrine - Free

Traditional NY Cheesecake - Free

Just now, Ombud said:

@cruzin4us is the key lime still available on the app?? Otherwise I'll add 3 of it to Elite Tea  ....

yes, just posted it right above your post

8 minutes ago, dides said:

 

Just heard from some passengers who got off Island Princess that Princess won't be doing the pop-up Alfredo's pizzas at Sabatini's on sea days any longer to make space for paid-for Sabatini's lunches.

Can you confirm? I know the package changes have just kicked in on Island Princess in the last couple of days and that was the only casual dining offering that might have been impacted.

 

I'll try and check for you.   I know the Bayou Steakhouse was open for lunch but it had the same dinner menu and cost.

Room Service Menu as of 8/25/23:

Appetizers:

Antipasto Assortito di Magro:  $4.99

Burrata Cheese & Tomato:  $4.99

Cheese Plate:  $4.99

Fruit Plate - Free

Hummus Dip & Veggies - $4.99

Italian Meats & Olive Platter - $4.99

Loaded Cheesy Fries - Free

Maki Calif Roll - $12

Maki Shrimp Roll - $12

Maki Spicy Tuna Roll - $12

Shrimp Cocktail - $12

Greens & Soup:

Ceasar Salad - Free

Chef Salad - Free

Chicken Egg Noodle Soup - Free

Greek Salad - Free

Mixed Green Salad - Free

3 Bean Chili - Free

Hot Food:

Burger - Free

Hot Dog - Free

Agnolotti Gratinati Alla Piemontese - $12

Grilled Chicken Sandwich - Free

Spaghetti & Meatballs - $12

Steak Frites 8oz fillet - $19

Veggie Burger - Free

Kids:

Cheese Quesadilla - Free

Chicken Fingers - Free

Classic Grilled Cheese - Free

PB&J Sandwich - Free

Sandwiches:

Double Decker Club House - Free

PB&J - Free

Egg McMuffin - Free

Roast Turkey - Free

Tuna Salad - Free

Vegetarian - Free

Sides:

French Fries - Free

Sweets:

Chocolate Cake - Free

Jumbo Choco Chip Cookies - $4.99

Key Lime Pie Verrine - Free

Traditional NY Cheesecake - Free

13 hours ago, Thrak said:

I ordered Street Tacos on one of our last cruises. Instead of the two street tacos I received a small bowl with a cold tortilla in the bottom and a bit of salad on top. They guy insisted this was a taco. I live in California and grew up eating tacos. I later ate a zillion street tacos (not what we made at home when I was young) and am well aware of what a "street taco" is. This was absolutely nothing like a street taco (other than having a small tortilla) and was also nothing at all like the street tacos I have previously had on Princess ships. (Okay, I'll admit that the Princess version of a street taco, even at it's best, falls short of what I'm used to but it's normally at least a fair approximation. What I received was nothing like a real taco.) I dumped it in the nearest trash and got a slice of pizza. I can't believe that Princess has people serving "tacos" who have obviously never even seen a taco in their lives.

I'm like you and know a good street taco.....the Island had tacos which weren't exactly "street" but they were pretty darn good.  The chicken was spicy, they arrived hot with a lime a little bit of lettuce and drizzled with a bit of crema.   They were nothing at all like the ones I ordered on the Ruby.   

We just began our 2nd leg of the our B2B cruise.    Everyone not on a package has the $14.99 charge to access OceanReady (I know you already know this), but what has also changed is the room service menu.   There are a couple of choices (for a charge) from Sabatini's but the worst thing is they removed the chicken tacos.  I know this is probably trivial to many of you, but the chicken tacos were good and I'm a So Cal girl who eats tacos at least 2x a week, so I know my tacos 🤪    

Overall, the food has been very good on the Island, a zillion times better than was on the Ruby the past couple of times I've sailed on her.   (I'm talking MDR).

What we also found weird however is tracking down the Specialty Dessert Cakes.   First we tried Horizon Court (which is where they are displayed) but were told we needed to go to Swirls......we treked on over to Swirls which is where they serve the Specialty Dessert Sundae's......they told us that the cake was served only after dinner.    Seriously?   We were never offered it at dinner.   Anyway, no one ever wants to track it down and they send you on a wild goose chase to find it.   Me, not giving up, finally spoke with a Food & Beverage Gentleman, who also really didn't know where to get the cake.   End result was they found us some cake, but boy they sure don't want you to order it, even though they pump it in their package.

I know many of you don't care for the Island, but we've found her to be a comfortable small ship (casino is dinky).   Food has been much better than my last few cruises on Ruby and Discovery.   

If they'd just bring back those tacos on room service, I'd be a happy camper.

I received strawberries (weren't that great), some chocolates (not that great), a bottle of champagne  (not that great) and at the end of the cruise I received a JENGA game (pretty cool), a sipper cup (nice). 

Tip:  Ask your host after you've gambled a bit if you qualify for a free dinner and/or massage.   I usually ask when I reach around 5,000 pts.

I didn't go to the party (wasn't interested), and I never saw anything at the pier to indicate Priority Boarding (San Francisco).

The drawings in the casino are like winning the lotto (slim).   Most of the drawings are $50-$200, they did have a drawing a couple times for a better prize (see post above) but even that was rigged against you.

Bottom line, if the cruise works for you time wise do it.   Just don't expect too much. 

Make sure you don't have anything else in your cart.  I vaguely remember having the same issue and it was because I had something in my cart (it had been there for weeks) but I hadn't paid for it.   Once I deleted it, I was able to add something else.   Not sure if this is the case for you, but you might want to check.

5 minutes ago, SalishSea said:

 

Yikes! What ship was that?

Ruby in May

I don't think it matters what ship you are on.....if you are going to Hawaii out of SF, you need to like sea days.  If sea days aren't your thing or you get bored easily, then I wouldn't book any ship to Hawaii.

For me personally, I love the sea days almost more than the port stops.  My husband gets more antsy and needs land under his feet so the Hawaii cruise isn't his favorite.

I always request the hand held shower head (10+ cruises) and have never gotten one on any ship (Ruby, Diamond, Majestic, Discovery).   It really isn't that big a deal.

All that being said, I'm also on the Crown February 22nd to Hawaii out of SF......as a solo 😁.   

A couple of young adult males were dropped off in Skagway in May.   They got in a fight (that's not the point here).     They were each charged $750 (don't quote me on the exact amount).   They then had to take a ferry to Ketchikan and catch a return flight home.   

Well, remember my Murphy’s Law???   Well, my Uber driver got pulled over for speeding right as we entered the airport.   Now I’m sitting in the car waiting for the driver and the policeman to get done with the ticket process.   Tick tick tick tock.  My driver can’t find his insurance card. Tick tock tick tock.   I can’t make this s$&t up

Was off the ship and in an Uber at 7:58 am.  Now I can relax because I should be at the airport by 8:35 or so.   I didn’t enjoy waking off toting a heavy bag, a purse and 2 small carry ons.  I was a huffing and a puffing when I got to the Uber line.    
the line for the elevator was insane once off the ship (well on the ship as well) so I opted for the escalator.    That’s an accident waiting to happen with people hauling more luggage than they can manage.  Once I made it down the elevator I was home free

customs didn’t use facial recognition this cruise (they did 10 days ago) but the line went super fast.  

Tomorrow is debarkation day and I’m in group A which is the first group to walk off in the morning at 7:50.  I’m need to high tail it to the Uber line because SW Airlines changed my flight to 10:50 which is too early for my comfort zone.   
 

Hopefully the stars line up and it will be problem free.  I’m thanking my lucky stars I got TSA pre check last month.   I forgot it was a holiday weekend so my panic mode is starting to set in.  
 

There was a lot of plumbing problems on the ship this cruise.  One group I met was without a functioning toilet for 5 days out of 10.  I didn’t have any issues but I heard a few guests did.  
 

more later…..

On 5/23/2023 at 9:22 AM, that said:

May I ask how was the casino this last ten days?  Any luck with your freeplay?  Any fun?

The casino finally ate me alive and spit me out for good measure.   I played Buffalo Chief for 80 cents.  It was entertainment and I knew I wasn't going to get rich doing so.   I don't chase jackpots, I play to have fun and try to earn free cruises that include the Princess Plus.   That's my goal.   I don't try and strike it rich although it would be nice.    The first cruise I earned about 13,000 pts and this cruise it was a bit over 8,000 pts.  I spent a total of $2,000 in the casino between the 2 cruises.   I held my own for 3 days, and then it slowly just decided to chomp away at me.  The funny thing about gambling is when you've had enough it is like a light switch turning on/off.   Today I reached that point.   The casino won't get another dime from me.    Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun and met some great people in the casino, but today I was over it 🙂

11 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Thanks for posting all of this great info and pic's!!   We will be on the Ruby starting this coming Saturday. 

 

We received word, third-hand, from someone on the Ruby 3 or 4 weeks ago that the wifi was so bad we should just skip the wifi package.  Our use is basic contact with family back home and maybe posting some pics.  We are accustomed to the typical cruise ship wifi.  

 

Reading your comments, and judging from your posts while onboard, it sounds like the wifi is working OK.   I take it you feel the wifi package was worth it?

 

Again, thanks for the enjoyable read.    

Well, it has its moments.   Most of the time I've been able to access things like CC, bank accounts, FB, Google.   Netflix streaming and uploading pictures has been more difficult when more mountains are on all sides of us.   Tonight is an example of where I'm able to do the bare minimum.

However, it's still way better than last June when I was aboard the Ruby.   It's also better than the Discovery most of the time.

Uploading pictures or watching Netflix is almost impossible when we are in the mountain areas, we are currently headed from Juneau to Ketchikan and it's not working so great.   It's good enough to post but I'm not even attempting uploading and pictures.   Netflix is a no go tonight too.

There was however many times when it worked very well and I could watch a movie, upload pics, and do pretty much everything I tried.   FB Messenger seems to work fairly well at all times (phone calls are hit and miss).

I switch between my laptop to my iphone (Laptop when I'm in bed at night, iphone during the day).   The phone seems to work better (don't ask me why, I'm not a techie).    

I would probably purchase the wifi pkg if it was me.....but I wish to keep in contact with my husband back home whenever I want to.   If he was cruising with me, it wouldn't be such a big deal.

I wasn't much help, was I?