rbtan

10 hours ago, chamima said:

 

 

Yes, but the "chefs" on cruises are cooking/baking for thousands of people. Not sure they have the freedom or impetus to make something for the tens that might be vegan.

I think they're very careful about life threatening allergies but this isn't that - and my husband is a vegan for his health so we'd be thrilled to have more choices but don't expect them on large cruiselines.

I agree the chefs can't really venture too far.Virtually almost nothing is made from scratch.Now scores of arm chair chefs(suzy homemakers) will disagree. We've seen the Sysco trucks on the piers servicing Celebrity, Princess, & even Oceania.The budget will determine how good the food can be. A talented chef can do surprisingly well even with low quality, wears a poor chef can ruin even the most expensive ingredients.Most Vegan meals come on board prepackaged. Same with Kosher meals.As I said many will disagree, but unless you're in the field(like me) they don't understand.

Any good chef can make a vegan cake. You just use Almond flour & preferably a good EVO.

On 3/1/2024 at 6:28 PM, Sdancer said:

Oceania Sirena skipped the port of Cozumel and refused to refund port taxes to the passengers. It means that Oceania financially benefits by skipping ports since Oceania keeps port taxes for skipped ports paid by passengers for themselves. It is very wrong!

Princess and Carnival automatically refund port taxes for skipped ports to their passengers.

 

Oceania Ticket Contract pdf has 29 port tax mentions but nothing about keeping (not refunding) skipped ports taxes.

 

It might be a small number per passenger but multiplying by the number of passengers and number of Cruises it is a substantial amount.

 

P.S. I just got back from our 10th cruise on Oceania Sirena with no intention of coming back to Oceania for a few significant reasons.

We had 2 ports skipped on our Jan cruiseCosa Maya & Cozumel. Rain in Costa maya that cleared off 30 min. after we skipped the port. Cozumel due to wind though several ships were visible. Never got a refund either. We have a 10 night cruise in late Jan. If we skip ports next cruise, we'll be going back to Princess in Reserve class, Which offers more perks(though the food is not as good)

On 5/11/2024 at 12:08 PM, vipro said:

My guaranteed A4 cabin was assigned at #10003, and then today I read from someone that the same cabin number in Marina is blocked by the searchlight (which i am not sure if the same goes for Vista), so I am thinking of paying for a possible upgrade to the next category A3, which is still in the available status. (that means I can choose this time)

 

However there are not many choices left. One is the #9022 that is right next to the concierge lounge and a handful in the foward of deck 7 (in the range of 7000-7005)

 

Two questions:

1. From the deck plan I don't get what is in front of the 7000 cabins, i guess that is the ship's core infrastructure. and then I look at deck 6 but i again can't work out what is below of those deck 7 forward cabins. Is that the ceiling of the stage of the Vista Lounge? If so, would that be noisy at the front or above the stage? Will the shows finish early at night?

 

2. The other choice is #9022 which is right next to the concierge lounge. Is that going to be noisy if ppl watch TV all night (assuming that is open 7x24)?

 

Any advice is welcome as we are light sleepers and also do not want an obstructed view.

 

Thanks.

Take 9022.If you're at the absolute front of the ship, the noise from smashing into waves can be annoying.

On 5/5/2024 at 7:16 PM, Sew Creative said:

We are sailing on the Marina soon and opted for the concierge level for the first time.  While planning to take advantage of the 3 free bags of laundry, I am wondering if I can trust that my clothes will come back in good shape.  Commercial dryers use high heat and I'm worried about things shrinking and fading. Has anyone experienced any issues when sending out their laundry? 

Never an issue. We do some ourselves nearer to cruise end, as it may take up to 3 days to get it back.

They kind of make your life easier by doing things for you such as reservations to the various dining salons, excursions etc.On Cunard ours brought my spouse Caviar every night.Not sure if Oceania's will do that.

4 hours ago, gfkcruiser said:

Just booked February on the Majestic.  Have a mini suite with plus package.  Trying to book main dining but no reservations found.  Is this usual?  Only 2nd time in 12 years or so on Princess.  

Did you do just a mini-suite or did you do reserve? Reserve has no wait to speak of. Being in a mini should also put you ahead of standard diners.If you get nowhere, upon booking go to the MDR you are assigned to & meet with the Maitre D. He/She should be able to accommodate your choices. Please tip about $20 for their service.

2 hours ago, memoak said:

Why are there so many comments about non Princess ships on a Princess thread ?

Comparisons. Princess steakhouses pale compared to those on Celebrity & they all pale in comparison to Polo on Oceania.The culinary director on Oceania is Jacques Pepin.We did do the Ultimate Balcony dinner in our Club Mini. & the food was outstanding.It held its own against Oceania dining. Of course it's standard on Oceania & $100 surcharge on P.At least it's nice to see what P can do. For those in the suites & Club(now Reserve) It should be interesting to see how the Sphere class does.

On 5/5/2024 at 11:39 AM, Mary loves to travel said:

We're looking at a Princess land first then cruise Alaska tour.   In reading the luggage details, each person is allowed ONE handheld item onto the tour bus with them.    Is the CPAP machine that one item?

What have other CPAP users done?

 

Thanks,

Mary

CPAP is considered medical equipment & not included in the hand held item category. Hopefully you have a battery back up not all transports have sockets.

The cuts of meat are USDA "standard" grade in the MDR. USDA Select(no longer choice)in the specialties. Only the Chef's table has USDA Choice/Prime. If you want better try Oceania. They have USDA Prime. Princess will tell you they have "Premium"(there is no such grade) My husband is the food buyer for his company. When you shell out millions each year, you get a pretty good idea what purveyors have to offer.

  I do recommend the Chilean Seabass. Do make SURE it is actually that. Most lines use Sea Bass. Chilean Sea Bass (Patagonian Toothfish) is actually not in the Bass family. It's like calling Founder "Pacific Dover Sole". This fish does NOT exist. It is a fake name spawned by fish vendors.There actually is NO type of Sole in the Americas. You need to go to Europe to find Sole.

Ground up chair hogs😝

37 minutes ago, true45 said:

Terrible chair hog issues on Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (our most recent sailing a few months ago) — seems to have gotten worse recently.

 

The cruise lines seem unwilling to enforce policies.  They could put down timestamped cards and collect them along with belongings (I’ve seen apples, flip flops, books, etc) after reasonable Timelapse, perhaps 45 minutes.  The belongings to be deposited on a vicinity table.

 

As long as the cruise lines ignore this, the passengers will suffer — just not right.  It is not quite as much fun if we need to be circling the outside lounges like trying to find parking at the mall during the holidays— oh, and am paying thousands for the privilege onboard.  

As we've said many times. If you walk around a bit.. Look to see how many are in the pool. Are the drink glasses full of water & no ice. At that point we just move in. My spouse just takes the belongings( mostly books/Mags & tosses them on the towel locker.As I said no issues on our Jan. Vista cruise. The captain & most especially the cruise director spoke often about it. Princess/Celebrity were terrible & my spouse got into a few times, telling one guy if he'd like to see the water close up, my spouse would oblige him.Most cases a call to security moves the hogs away quickly.

My spouse asked a crew member on our Jan. cruise (Vista)about the chair hogs.The policy was changed due to really snotty pax getting in the pool butlers faces.You'll see cards scattered about & the cruise director was really insistent on his morning announcements that hogging was not to be tolerated Same in the theater.We saw staff enforce this in the theater.Once on Celebrity this occurred... A woman saved a dozen seats & we just walked right past her & sat. She got snotty & my husband told her to P/O.It worked. Others came to sit in the are as well & it wasn't her group of friends,ether. Someone always has to make the first move..

On 5/1/2024 at 8:04 AM, Redtravel said:

On my first cruise many years ago in 1988, you had an assigned teak deck chair.  Your name was on it.  You picked your chair location as you checked in.  Every afternoon, they served tea on the deck. We dressed up every night. In the dining room, we were assigned to a table. You could eat all 3 meals at your table. You could also come for the midnight buffet in the dining room.  Your waiter knew what drinks you liked and had them on the table when you arrived. It was very elegant. Those were the good old days. 

Sounds a lot like Cunard. Even there the chair hogs abound. That's when we started doing the Grills. You had a restricted area for Grills pax only. Never a chair hog issue there.

10 hours ago, CO 2000 said:

I will indeed follow your advice. Thanks for the reply

You're welcome. Sorry I messed up saying "site" I meant to say suite.

We cancelled our Reserve Cabana mini for next Jan.We rebooked the Vista on Oceania this time doing a PH.We did book a reserve mini on the Majestic for 2026. It has one of the rather odd but larger balconies.Any comments on this type of cabin would be appreciated.

16 minutes ago, vlthom said:

I'm not a fan of the Bulgari products due to their strong scents.  My husband enjoys showering in the spa and loves that they have L'Occitane products there.  He usually brings some back to our cabin.  I suspect that if we requested them from our cabin attendant, they'd be provided.  But if not, they are available in the spa area.

Then make the request. Are you in a site? If not they may or may not provide them. As you said they are available in the spa area.We've been happy except I don't care for the shampoo. My spouse is fine with all of it. He especially likes the soap that is provided for the sink area. We both hate bath gels.

Well, you get a larger cabin. You have a Reserve class only rest. (at least on the new Sun)

7 hours ago, ORV said:

I've heard them, right out in front of the bar on one of the R ships. Fellow seemed to think everyone needed to hear his playlist. Unfortunately, most of it was rap & hip-hop. Obviously he really wasn't Oceania material on more than one front. 

 

No one said anything to him. 

My spouse certainly would have, if it was loud.

3 hours ago, PoppyVelvet said:

I was reading earlier in the thread about people playing their bluetooth speakers in public places.

 

I'm a little late to this party... but we've just booked our first cruise so I'm avidly reading all the boards here at CC...

 

I'm autistic and can't stand music in certain situations. My DH has been known to (very politely) ask people to turn off the sound or use headphones and they have always complied. I find it strange that no one would do this in these circumstances?

I have to say that we've not heard speakers being used on board.

3 hours ago, goletans said:

My spouse has tossed "clips" of some of these pax.

 

Is this like a carefully aimed rubberband at the concert-goer who blocks your view at a concert - especially aimed at that the person in the front row that stands for the whole show?? Haven't resorted to this yet, but do think about it.

 Not at the pax. Just tosses them in the trash. Though, Keith says he likes your thinking😆 For those who claim how rude to toss someone's belongings, we're talking about  less than 50 cents here.

 My spouse says he remembers this line from somewhere: The beatings will continue until the morale improves.

My spouse has tossed "clips" of some of these pax. If he sees them reserve them while he is on the deck & they are gone for an hour or more the clips get tossed & the belongings get dropped on top of the pool towel boxes. If we want a lounger, we'll not waste too much time.We'll usually have a few drinks a few dips in the pool & then vacate.

2 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

We also moved stuff used to save the chairs....

 

When the woman returned in the aft, after being gone all morning, she was livid that we had done that.  She proceeded to gather all kinds of people known to her and began shouting all kinds of insults at us. She did this the whole time we were there, about an hour and a half, till we finally left to do other things. We left by saying, it is all yours now.

For the rest of the cruise, on the Vista, she pointed us out to others, as the low class people that took her chairs.

Who needs this kind of behavior on a cruise.

Wish O could do something.

You could have stood up for yourselves & told them to !@# off.We had that happen once & my spouse told the party(perhaps same ones you encountered?) One more remark & we'll call security & have you  thrown off the ship. Shuts them up real quick. Never suffer a ..wipes. Throw the insults back.Start with I don't see your names stencilled on the loungers & you have NO RIGHT to reserve & hog chairs.If they continue kick it up a notch.Low class pax don't expect good come back insults.

On 4/5/2024 at 6:28 AM, Muffinz said:

We booked our cruise in February 2024 for December 2024, as part of their 'love boat sale' with $99 deposits

Now we've received an e-mail from Princess about a '7 day sale'... and you guessed it, our cruise is now cheaper than what we paid for it (we booked directly with Princess) - it's about $300 cheaper overall

 

When we first looked at the cruise it was quite cheap, but had gone up a little bit by the time we booked it.... the person on the phone at Princess said as the ship starts to fill up the price also goes up accordingly.... but now it's on 'sale'.

 

Is there anything we can do (contact Princess) to get the cruise at the cheaper price - or do we just have to suck it up?

 

Call Princess & ask for the lower price in OBC. They should grant it. Next time use a T/A & save the trouble.