snoozecrooze

I think you won't really have a hard time getting a seat if you, say, reserve a 7:30-8PM spot in the dining room. Lots of people tend to want to eat earlier on Caribbean cruises and 6PM tends to have big log jams (even 5PM can be a hassle, especially on night 1). Just note that dining later may or may not affect your evening plans, given whatever your ship's evening entertainment schedule is, but if you don't mind, then it won't matter. I think if you do choose a specialty alternative, then you can easily give that a try as well at the pay venues like Crown Grill, Sabatini's, or The Catch. I've never done this as I prefer MDR on night 1, but I've heard it's a nice way to kickstart a cruise.

Before anybody else tells you anything, just know that you're not obligated to use any external technology when you have the Medallion. It's essentially the same as a cruise card but in small little disc form. It will unlock your room door as you walk near it and that's really the main selling point. You will also use it to embark, disembark, check-out/check-in at all of the ports. You will use your Medallion to also pay for anything. And that's it -- if you don't have any other needs, you can just exist on the cruise with the provided Medallion and not bother with much else. Everything else introduced by the Medallion and formerly done online or in a separate venue is now funneled through the Princess mobile app. That includes (in theory, but as we know, cruise tech is very finicky): checking in for the cruise (can also be done online, or basically in-person at the port) ordering food and drink from wherever you are without any delivery fees chatting with guest services on the app's chat finding your shipmates' location (the Medallion is a tracker) watching the safety video for the muster drill (can also be done on your stateroom TV) arranging dining room and specialty dining reservations (must be done through the app to start; can be modified once onboard if needed) reading the dining room menus buying and logging in to your Wifi package reading the daily program for each day of your cruise (your daily program listings on the paper they give you each night is more accurate though) And a lot of other various things and functions. Again, it's basically a cruise card but not in the shape of a card. Every ship is also outfitted with a ton of touchscreen boards where you can interact with the ship's deck plan/maps, play games, and bookmark daily events for yourself. If you have any further specific questions, feel free to ask.

If you can wait until 2025, I'm pretty sure Island and Coral Princess will be making their return to the Last Frontier. Grand-class ships are great, but if you strongly prefer the Island/Coral twins, you'll want to hold out for those.

There has been a lot of recent discussion on this forum about Caribbean Princess. Check the following thread for some discourse:

Ratings on Cruise Critic or wherever mean nothing for cruise ships. There's no such as thing as an objective ratings rubric for cruise ships. The itinerary for Ruby is a 10-day Panama Canal partial transit and the prices they're charging seem on par with history and how demand is. Port fees are also substantial for all Panama Canal cruises so I think the way the fare is laid out still makes it a good value. Caribbean is doing 7-day East/West Caribbean, which is the standardized, family-targeting itinerary and demand is high for those.

This thread is pretty dormant now. Follow the attached thread for updated Starlink data:

Believe me, just park yourself on a bench on the promenade listening to the ocean or in a seat wherever on the aft facing the wake.....you won't regret it at all. To me, the ship serves that simple purpose very well.

I believe Captain Tuvo was your captain for the Seascape, based on his social media activity? AKA Captain Bye-bye of Sky Princess fame, who unceremoniously bounced to MSC from Princess rather randomly? Anyways, quite disappointing at his absence of leadership, according to your experiences, but at the end of the day, corporate leadership (or more specifically, the positive workplace culture) seems to not be there.

Yep, endorsing the above response. It's called "Cruise Shipmate & Excursions" and the logo is of a blue outline of a cruise ship from the front. It's run by "cruiseline", which is sort of technically a rival website to Cruise Critic. Just download that and you'll get a ton of past itinerary data you can peruse. It's designed to be like a cruise-centric social media platform where you can also buy and research excursions as well but you don't have to do any of those things and don't need to willingly publish any personal details if you don't want to.

Princess will be slightly more formal than Royal, but significantly less formal than Cunard. Leave the shorts, flip flops, and caps in the room before dinner if you want to avoid any questions being asked, but there's no requirement for ties, vests, suits, gowns or anything of the sort; the waiters and hostesses won't be judging you like that. Bring a windbreaker or a water-resistant jacket with a hood for the off-chance you'll need it. Things can get blustery with the weather in December. Wind is a certainty, at the very least. I also share with anyone the tip that you should grab a few pool towels and blankets from the Lido pool deck on the first night when the movies are showing on the big screen. That way you'll have them at the ready for your next pool outing, the sea days on your balcony, if the morning is chilly, etc. And you won't have to sign them out either like you do on Royal.

Yes to both (but always worth reading your daily program to get clarification, or just ask one of the hostesses in front of the dining rooms). Should be 10PM. YMMV. The food offerings will always be free to anyone at the International Cafe, with or without packages. Plus package should also cover the coffees and teas you'll get; you can always verify with the baristas there. I didn't know they were actually reviving these eateries yet post-pandemic (staffing issues); perhaps someone else recently onboard can update you on if they actually are open or not. IIRC lunch isn't a thing in both of these venues as they just become an extension of the buffet. Dinner rarely got crowded in either restaurant when they were in operation because they were not promoted very well (this is a pre-pandemic memory). Perhaps things have changed...? You can get your own alcoholic bevs at the bars outside the buffet on the Lido pool deck. There will be crew milling around in the buffet as well and they can assist with your order. No physical bar inside the buffet, though. There are existing threads in this forum about must-have Princess drinks. Premier desserts should be included for Plus, yes (just 2/day). I think they also close at 10PM? YMMV again. Unsure of when they open, but it should be early enough, but if you want your coffee fix early, head to the International Cafe anyways. Don't miss Skywalkers Nightclub at the very top of the aft of the ship. No other ship in the fleet has this design anymore (with the propped up spoiler-looking aft). Walking up the travelator is such a unique experience for a cruise ship at that level. It's a perfectly nice spot to lounge during the day as well. I don't really have a particular meal to recommend - most of the food has been good for me before, and I hope you have good food onboard as well. Perhaps try one of their cold fruity soups in the MDR? Just something a little unique there. Otherwise, I hope your cruise goes off without a hitch and welcome to Princess!

This comment isn't about an inaugural cruise specifically but this is a thing I've gathered from reading regarding an overall inaugural season (though it could be wrong, so anyone can feel free to correct it) You should simply expect more creaking and weird noises in your cabin or elsewhere, because according to some engineers, the rigid modules simply need time to adjust to the waxing and waning of the ship's hull out at sea. Not that older ships don't also have their unique creaks, although this is what I have gathered about newer vessels. Considering the numerous comments I have seen about Celebrity, Norwegian, and Princess's newest ships (not necessarily exclusive to just those 3) all having these "creaky" sentiments, I'm inclined to agree.

Got it. I see what you mean now. I think you can check these videos out for just a slight analogous example: Carnival Mardi Gras has typical-looking interior cabins that you see on the deck plan (as shown here for room 5235): And then you have numerous "square" cabins that are basically just wider but narrower in length (as shown here for room 9483): They're supposed to be the same/similar square footage, but basically configured differently, which can give you the illusion of more space based on how things are positioned in the cabin (example: closet)

I believe there are only ladders, unfortunately, at least in the renderings I remember. Believe it or not, the average square footage on the insides for Sun compared to Discovery, for example, is actually 20 sq ft less. Or maybe it's not so unbelievable since that's the industry trend (cramming cabins and people on ships). Your best bet for a "cheat" is maybe one of the very few oblong shaped interior cabins sprinkled throughout (like 12102).

Basically just a row of tables and chairs outside of Alfredo's and The Catch by Rudi. No other elements. Not frequented during inclement weather. No smoking allowed in either area.

I'm really hoping you're still onboard the cruise so that you can speak to Guest Services about this because that's quite a bit of "anonymous" money you don't recognize.

I read through your other responses and can definitely vouch for the itinerary you really want to partake in. It's a great combination. If you want to push it back by another year, the Emerald Princess will cruise several Iceland/Norway itineraries in 2025. I did look through Holland America's options and noticed Rotterdam (ex: July 6, 2024) and Nieuw Statendam (ex: July 1, 2024) all hit Iceland and have more immersive itineraries than through Princess. Celebrity also has several options next year as well. Whatever you do, though, just get yourself to Iceland; you won't regret it. Wishing you all the good planning vibes!

I'm not quite sure what this turn of phrase means regarding "flavors". But Iceland is a wonderful destination and the Caribbean's itineraries next year are very good, IMO. Sky is also offering almost identical ones if you are weary of the older vessel. Next time, I might actually pursue an itinerary that has an overnight in Reykjavik and/or has more stops in Iceland (I believe Holland America is an example). CB has been the unfortunate stepchild, I feel, in terms of norovirus and engine issues, but I really think the itinerary can dictate the vibe you have and encounter on a cruise, so what your friend may have experienced on a cruise in the Caribbean won't be what you get in Iceland (and we'd hope those pesky engine issues are long behind us by then). FYI, there's another thread here on the forum about the ship and 'positive reviews' and that might give you more insight you're looking for.

You can find your ship and sailing in these subforums here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/63-princess-roll-calls/

I would recommend speaking to a TA or a CVP because only they have the ultimate answers regarding what cabins are really available. There have been a few threads on this topic recently [#1 / #2] but there are no real conclusions to gather for why public access to open rooms has narrowed so much, other than the assumption that it's just another potentially shrewd money-making move (many people have their own assumptions as to how the calculus comes together).

If smoking is your primary concern, choose a port cabin. Neither restaurant allows smoking in the al fresco area but there is an outdoor smoking section on deck 7 starboard aft for general use.

Two of the biggest things onboard that have changed since pre-pandemic: muster drill (now an independent responsibility) and dining room scheduling (now done using the Princess app and it eschews the "traditional" and "my time" dining presets by allowing you to choose your own desired times in whichever dining room). Also, no more trinkets (this means notepad, pen, blue bag, after-dinner mints, pillow chocolates, etc). Your elite bathroom amenities have also basically been eliminated. Minibar is still there. And no more coffee cards and what not, because Princess has introduced new drink packages (along with the introduction of Princess Plus and Princess Premier!) Staffing is a continued issue so we've all learned to pack more patience because institutional knowledge went out the window when a lot of veteran crew basically left the industry. It does not mean the current crew are any less hardworking, though. Princess is still relatively free-flowing in terms of vibe, but with the new Dine My Way dining organization, things are even more free-flowing than when traditional dining was a thing. It doesn't mean cruisers won't still find ways to clog the theater for shows or the buffet in the morning, but everything is still what you make of it. And lastly, Princess is making as big a push as they ever have to reach out to families with kids and embracing even more multi-generational parties to cruise, as can be seen by the features onboard Sun Princess (debuts in 2024). The last thing you should do is not accept that that's the industry trend as that'll just put you in a sour mood before the cruise.

The drydock was between April 19 and May 6 of this year. No real big changes other than rebranding Bistro Sur La Mer with The Catch by Rudi, a new seafood specialty restaurant (and even that wasn't a very big change in terms of physical decor). There's an old thread discussing the recent dry dock on this forum somewhere.

I don't think it will be for an upcharge (but that could obviously change). As much as they're integrating a few "ship-within-a-ship" concepts here and there, much of the ship's public areas actually seem quite open. We'll see how it goes when the ship comes out. As an aside, P&O doesn't charge for their evening dome shows either and I feel like Princess and P&O tend to be on similar wavelengths.

Given that you said you sailed the ship a couple of months ago, the ship's not likely to undergo drastic changes in terms of entertainment offerings (we would hear the people go wild on this forum if that were the case), so you can expect something similar but with a more Alaska-specific focus in terms of some of the content but also the scheduling. There is a set of Princess Patters from a May Alaska sailing that a user published in the Cruise Critic review section for the Discovery; you can look at those and determine if they meet your entertainment needs.