CalTexCruiser

Interesting question...I did not think I had a choice to decline the upgrade once I won it. I wonder what would have happened had I not paid the upgrade bid amount--it showed as a balance due on my account so I assumed that if I had not paid I would have lost my entire reservation. Seems like they could have just taken my credit card number at the time of bid, and charged it automatically when I won the bid (like Celebrity does) to make the process more seamless. I also think that sending rejection emails to all bids except one is unnecessary--they could have just sent the one email notifying that we won. I had initially just assumed I lost all my bids when I received the 6 rejection emails.

UPDATE: so about 80 minutes after receiving the 6 rejection emails indicating we did not win 6 upgrade bids, we got our 7th email saying we won our bid to the Window Suite. We are booked in an MF mini-suite, and bid close to the minimum $605 pp for the Window suite. Truthfully, I did not expect to win any our bids because I submitted close to minimum bids and our cruise showed unavailable in all the suites (Oct 8 Discovery Princess). I've never stayed in a suite on Princess so not sure whether to jump for joy at getting the Window suite or wonder what the heck am I getting that someone else did not want.

So we submitted bids on 7 upgrades on our Oct 8 cruise: club class mini all the way up to owner's suite. We just received 6 separate messages indicating we did not win our bid. None of the 6 messages indicate which bids were rejected, so I don't know which of the 7 has not yet been rejected.

LOL

Yes I think you are right. It is 1/36 of $ 50, or 1/72 of $ 100 (50 each on pass line and don't pass line).

I'm a big fan of the ship within a ship concept, but I don't feel over riding an elevator ride is right. I don't even feel comfortable with Celebrity's multi-color seapass card system where different cabin levels get different color seapasses. I'd much rather the cruise lines just implement the multi-service levels as unobtrusively as possible to avoid class antagonism.

If pit bosses do not care how you bet just the total amount, wouldn't betting $ 50 on both Pass line and Don't Pass line on each throw of the craps table provide better odds for the player than doing the same on black/read in roulette? The only time the player would lose is if a 12 is thrown on a come out roll.

Is that a picture from a cruise ship or from the local insane asylum?

Thanks. I also wonder if the suites will have butlers. Princess is going to have to up its game to match suite offerings from the likes of Celebrity and NCL.

I can't seem to find information on what the suite areas are like. I assume there will be a restaurant dedicated to the suite passengers, but will there be a lounge and sundeck with pool similar to the Celebrity Retreat on the Edge class ships?

although couched as a question, all 8 of your points are correct. this is identical to Celebrity's Moveup program.

And to answer the OP's question, yes you get free access to the thermal suites in the Edge Villa. We went to the thermal suites everyday when we stayed in the Edge Villa...nice and large and very few people in there on our sailing. There is a circular stairway that leads from deck 15 (where the EVs are) directly to the spa lobby area on deck 14.

I got comped for Mexican Riviera but excludes drinks, Wifi, and tips. Besides, we are already on Princess' newest ship Discovery on a casino deal on the same itinerary. The Princess discounted casino rate with all included (drinks, Wifi, tips called Premium Plus in Princess lingo) came out to be the same if we were to add all included to our "comped" Celebrity cruise.

You can see Luminae's menu with the Celebrity app in the weeks before the sail date (don't look too far ahead as sometimes those early menus are inaccurate). Then when the shoreside concierge contacts you 2 or 3 weeks (sometimes 1 week) before the sail date, you can ask the shoreside concierge to book your first two or three specialty dinners. Then once you are onboard, your Retreat Host (i.e. butler) can make the remaining dinner arrangements, and by that time you can be sure the app will have accurate menus. And yes, for the most part, your Retreat Host or the Retreat Concierge can most likely get you a reservation in a specialty dinner even on short notice--I have never been told no even when booking a specialty dinner on the day of. But of course never say never.

Yes unlimited specialty dining. We first look at Luminae's menu to determine the entrees served each night, and skip those nights that we don't fancy. I think it is good to mix it up a bit. The service provided by Luminae is great and we quite enjoy meals there as well. On one cruise we tried the specialty dining every night and got tired of specialty dining after night 4, and spent the remaining three nights in Luminae.

Good advice above. Edge Villa specific info: 1) the plunge pool is heated when initially filled, but cools down after a few hours. Let your room steward know ahead of time when you want to use, and he/she will fill it up for you. 2) thermal suites access is complimentary and you have easy access down the circular staircase from deck 15 directly to the spa entry area on deck 14 (or you could use the regular stairs next to the elevators) 3) there is a private entry from the hallway outside your suite straight to the Retreat lounge...you don't need to enter through the main entrance of the Retreat lounge... very convenient to grab drinks/h'orduvres. Don't bother with setting up tea time with your butler, as it's more convenient to just pop in the Retreat lounge to grab whatever you want that's not already in your suite fridges (there are two of them) 4) the second floor (the bedroom floor) door to the Retreat sundeck is great and easy for accessing the sundeck, and more importantly, the Retreat sundeck bar where the great bartenders can make cocktails of your choice for you to take back to your suite/private plunge pool to enjoy

Holy crap. I'll have to ask our butler for "crackers" on our next cruise. I'll be disappointed if all we get are crackers. 😉

I was just trying to offer some suggestions to hopefully help turn their experience around. Why make yourself miserable with unmet expectations when you can take practical steps to make the rest of the trip more enjoyable. On our last cruise our Retreat Host had to cover 18 suites. The cruise before that the Retreat Host had to cover 14 suites. They try hard but they are not super-humans.

For breakfast you can order using the breakfast order form that you can hang outside your door the evening before. You can write in breakfast menu items not listed, and they'll likely prepare it for you unless it's not available. For tea, ask your Retreat Host to bring an electric key kettle and tea bags, and you can make your own tea whenever you feel like it.

Has a cruise ship ever lost a collected passport? Out of up to 3,000 passports collected, I can't imagine that they have never misplaced a passport. And if so, what happens to the passenger of said lost passport?

Don't forget the gym...it's got a nice expansive view upfront across the entire front of the ship. What better way than to enjoy sailaway then on an elliptical while staring ahead at the beautiful view.

So back to the OP's OP (original poster's original post), will you really go to one of the nicer specialty restaurants on the ship in a short with built-in underwear? And do you own open-toed sandals to accessorize? And do they sell such sandals with built-in socks?

I lived in East Texas for a bit...tractor pulls are popular among the trailer dwellers and other like-minded folk, who also like to yell "yee haw" for no apparent reason.

Not that fancy...my $ 20 swim trunks from Walmart have built-in underwear. And even a back pocket to hold my wallet for those times I just can't be bothered to change after a swim.

Hope the Harmony captain does better in docking a ship in inclement weather than he did in Jamaica. Fingers crossed for everyone on board.