Arizona Wildcat

Customer service has them.

Luggage - probably expedited. Likely luggage drop off starting fairly early - 10ish or before. Interestingly have found dropping luggage early does not equate with first to cabin. We bring a carry on with us so we have swim suits and a change of clothes. Separate "area" - yes. You will board first or on arrival. Want to board really fast - come around 12:30 - likely walk straight thru with no waiting. Have not found boarding to be a big hassle with the prechecking and green lanes today.

Best part of Blu is service. Never a wait. Staff that knew what we liked and choice of Blu or MDR selections. Food better? Sometimes IMO. Definitely personal.opinion. Thus am I willing to pay more for Aqua? As someone who is Elite+ and will never reach Zenith, maybe $50 a day pp.

Agree with one exception. CSRs are put on the phones after a very few hours of training. As soon as you sense a CSR does not understand or the conversation is going in circles - speak to a supervisor. CSRs are trained for the basic ordinary situations and sadly try not to ask others when they do not know the answer(s). Not ignorance, but lack of training/ trying to go the extra mile as a CSR when saying I don't know would be best. Thus I ONLY call CVPs or my TA. And I note it took 4 TAs to find an excellent one. Found on board at a Cruise Critic get together. Good luck. Hopefully common sense will prevail.

This thread is all about MDR in any "type". Nothing else.

As of today Princess has not started canceling reservations. Likely that will happen maybe in May. Just received notice this morning my reservations will be canceled for October 2024 and September 2025. Gonna take time. Am sure things will be tweaked as time passes.

I set up my credit card with a specific limit - usually $500 - they text me for EVERY foreign purchase. Over $500 - requires me to authorize the purchase by clicking on the text. Or I can click and say "not mine". Use this as scammers usually try a charge under $10 first

Sometimes the token machine was empty and they gave you tokens. Other times $3.50 I think. Water on board is very soft with no minerals. It is basically desalinated water. Used detergent sheets or pods just fine

Unless on a TA or TP cruise you will likely have a port call about every other day. Pretty simple to use the WIFI in the port. If you gave a family emergency, just ask Guest Relations to help. They gave us free daily for a week when 95 year old MIL was hospitalized.

Will only address the buffets. Be sure to ask. If you do not getan immediate and clear response ask another staff member. Have had servers answer who did not really know if GF. Dining companions usually pre-ordered dinner, but a couple times waiters suggested a choice off the regular menu.

Am seeing a lot of unhappy people about not being able to book pre cruise. Can again share only one fact - a significant number of seatings are not released until boarding day. Thus asking nicely and being flexible as to times will likely solve your mental anxiety. Talking about demanding a refund will probably be less successful per the cruise contract. Whether for the exercise classes that my DW was told were always full of wanting the brownie dessert and Princess being out of brownies day after day; we sadly live in a World where more and more people are polarized in their working together and feeling entitlement. If you booked Premier primarily to receive 2 specialty restaurants, possibly canceling that now would result in less stress

Usually. Relax and see them right after as you board. Pretty simple with X number of seats to sell and you added lots of people looking to book already pretty full restaurants. Compensation? You are not on board. Our last cruise was told all full pre cruise. Ate in specialty 4 nights. 2 of the times not perfect. Others demanded reservations. I simply asked politely and said I was flexible and got multiple reservations every cruise.

Yes, you could book the same dining room, same time each night; but now in one MDR Everyone will be on the same schedule. This is simply going back to what was done some years ago.

Significant change? Absolutely not. Princess is going back to pretty much what they did some years ago - am sure more details to come.

Sad you disembarked before challenging these. Calling a customer service rep will likely only raise your blood pressure. Sorting via email usually a couple weeks to a month+. Without the coding from your bill doubt anyone could tell where they came. The possible shuttle charge - your rep CVP or a TA? - shuttles are not included in any cruise fare I have ever seen. No guess on the rest. I would dispute the charges with your bank (never heard of direct billing to a bank - debit card?) or credit card company. Stating the facts clearly and succinctly. Give booking number, dates, ship name. State the total and amounts of charges you are challenging. Detail the dates of calls and hopefully names of who you spoke to (at least number of calls and their response). The other charges could be restaurants or likely the spa. Good luck. Hopefully a lesson learned for the future.

The Princess tour could be later depending on the day of the week, holidays etc. Remember at least 2+ hours to check in at LHR. Check out your roll call too. Lots of discussion on the ports thread.

Take 2 Ubers and still under $50 !

Anytime dining has no reservations. If you want a specific time or a different time each night you will need to rebook after June 17th if cruising after September 14th. Same if you want traditional dining. Not complicated. Only difference from years ago is the ability to set up a different time each night.

Guess lots of you missed the beginning of this thread and the press release that there are new dining reservations setup. Thus anything after 14 September has been cancelled and bookings will open on June 17th. Oceanlover - you and everyone else will need to wait for MDR reservations

Cruise Compete is a great place

Duh. Having a production show with a theater that seats far less than half the passengers? As one who has cruised lots on Celebrity with always live music for shows it was sad to see live music largely gone on Emerald.

There is no dedicated cruise parking that I am aware nearby. I would fly in and then use BART to the pier or UBER from SFO. Then fly home. Less stress and probably about the same cost as parking will be very expensive. Not sure why you are concerned about arriving passengers. Customs mostly uses facial recognition and moves very quickly. Boarding will go quickly and likely very easy.

Hmm. We did a 14 say fly drive before our cruise in 2022. I note we missed one of two ports on the cruise. Absolutely suggest doing at least a week fly drive. Roads are good. Drivers polite and accommodation in midrange with bath and breakfast excellent. We liked NW Iceland the best as VERY rural and scenic. Isafjorder great for a couple nights. Reykjavik was nice and if you are a walker that is all you need. Taxis hard to get and incredibly expensive. National Museum was our wrapup. Took 3 hours. Really should see the countryside and meet the people without the hordes in Reykjavik and the Golden Circle.

No. You needed to have customs and immigration clear you and your bags at YVR on my last flight in 2022. Everything is done in Canada.

DW and I can get our clothes for as long as we travel in a 26" case and a carryon. Usually send laundry out once in a 7 day cruise as can wear many things more than once. If we run short - usually underwear - easy to wash in the sink using a bit of shampoo (it rinses out easily). Put a clean towel on the floor, roll the clothing up in the towel and walk on the towel. Then hang on a hanger. Almost always dry over night. Jeans 2 nights.