Arizona Wildcat

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.

Suggest a mini suite if you can do it. They can have their space and you don't need to be always bumping into each other. When we had teens - 15, 16, 18; they had their own cabin across the hall. Usually saw once during the day and mandatory for both off ship and dinner. Was great.

I think you missed where I stated my post was not about Princess. Many Celebrity ships, for example, had ONE and only one MDR. Some still only have one. Princess with at least 2 or 3 venues can easily manage seating except for the early dining rush that is inevitable

Have cruise on various ships in their first few weeks. From Princess in 1990 to 3 Celebrity ships, there were lots of issues that were sorted over time. Not worth flogging the shortcomings as over a few months the green crews and officers learned to work together as a team. I note that cruising today is different as labor changes have made hiring experience workers worldwide difficult. On board probably a year to get new workers really sharp and probably a third leave before or at the end of their first contract. That and things like attendants that used to have 8 cabins, then 10, then 12 and now ???; makes for a "new experience ".

Too soon to see the entertainers. You can bring canned sodas on board at embarkation- a 12pk per person. No glass. No plastic. In ports a can or two was never an issue

Not hard to organize. Pick a meeting place on the morning of the first sea day. Bring some name badges, a couple Sharpie markers and announce at your roll call. We also set up.a sailaway. A top deck with a bar. Just need time and location. Again on your roll call.

When is your cruise? If after September 13th your will need to wait till June if not in a suite. New dining schedule coming

Agree about doing it immediately as you leave port. Keeps the winds down.

Is it different than the last time fixed dining was offered? One or more nights we used either the buffet or specialty dining but were assigned fixed seating. For those that want flexibility, the change is the opportunity to book times night by night. The difficulty is going to be early dining times will be booked really fast. Would think changing a reservation on board could find most times unavailable.

In 22 X cruises have seen 3 helicopter evacuations. For those arguing, does it matter if winched or landing? Also 4 or 5 missed ports and a couple others where we went toward the nearest land and the transfer was made either at sea or pulling up to a pier - sort of a touch and go.

On a recent TA was closed about 1/3 of the time. Almost always when in port. Remember when window is open your climate control - heat/ac - are turned off.

Since this is a new booking you also might want to contact a couple TAs to see if they have group fares. Then switch and transfer at the same time. There is a website where you can list your cruise and have TAs Compete for your business. Usually a saving of about 5-8%.