WAvoyager

Does anyone know what (if anything) is in the “Experience Center”? There was talk of an escape room experience being put in, or some type of laser-tag type of game. Headed out for the Mexico cruise in April, so trying to plan activities with the kiddo.

I get that frustration, but if the cost/benefit no longer makes sense, then it’s time to boycott the package. If I don’t like sushi, should I spend the time espousing all of the reasons I think sushi is nasty when others are discussing the new sushi restaurant on the Discovery? It’s probably just me, but I don’t understand the need to share my personal preferences when they’re negative. Other people have different tastes and needs. My personal negativity doesn’t (shouldn’t?) need to impact others

We’re on Discovery on the 15th - we’ll try to keep our 6 yo. reined in! 😉 Honestly though - I really don’t get the poster’s complaint. I haven’t seen anything from Princess which has implied a greater push for kids. Princess’s ships are not designed for kids, onboard activities are still essentially the same, no changes in dining. The other lines are running family oriented promotions, which Princess has not really copied. Princess not clamping down on improper behavior (use of adult only areas) is a shame. But otherwise, blame the parents. Kids behaving badly is really the parents fault.

Are you assuming that the glass is room temperature, or chilled? I’m assuming they’re chilled so they the chocolate solidifies, and the ice cream inside helps to maintain that temperature. But you could be right. Either way, I’m not sure why so many people who have no intention of trying these are spending soooo much time making up their negatives. I don’t like white wines - wonder if I should start a “why do they offer white wines” thread. 😃. (Actually, I do like almost all wines - guess I’m just a “the glass is half full - of melting ice cream” type of guy).

Same goes for the lollipops and bottles they’re sticking in the ice cream itself!

The inside of the glass is filled with ice cream (or gelato?) so it won’t melt any faster than a chocolate covered ice cream bar.

Just break the chocolate off the glass, and you have yummy little chocolate bites to eat! kind of like the chocolate on the outside of a covered ice cream bar, but it won’t all break off and fall into your shirt.

Sorry that this is off topic - Martinitime, have you looked at the PRS 516’s on Jomashop? I’m guessing better pricing than on ship. (Former Livermore resident, and avid watch collector, so I had to comment)

I know I’m in the minority here, but I’m looking forward to ordering “The Godfather” it’s basically a brownie sundae. Smaller piece of brownie, certainly, but ice cream, brownie, chocolate sauce, and some cookies for crunch. My daughter will quickly pick the marshmallows off the side, I’ll (quickly) pick the whiskey bottle off the top, and we’ll save the lollipops for later. It’ll definitely be a once or twice a cruise thing, but none of the things on the ship are a “must do it every day” thing for me. I’m glad for something besides booze as a benefit for Plus. Similarly, when I’m at an all inclusive resort, I usually don’t have to use the sail boats or kayaks or tennis court every day to feel like I’ve gotten a good deal.

This sounds like a great option for our next cruise. Can you give us your daughter’s number to arrange the pickup? 😁

I know these aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I think they’re a nice addition. I’m guessing there’ll be boozy and non-boozy versions. And I can definitely see sharing a non-boozy one with my 6yo. I am hoping there will be some way of keeping the lollipop handles from getting sticky, so they can be a treat for later. These are a little over the top, but not that far from Black Tap’s milkshakes (at $20 each), and they seem to sell okay. I definitely want to see the final versions though. Bailey, Amaretto, or Kahlua over ice cream are all pretty good. Gin, and vodka? 😜

My daughter and I got sick on board our Mexico cruise last year, and stayed in our cabin during this port. headed back in a couple of months, so we might try for this again.

I never indicated it couldn’t be done. Just providing the reasons Princess probably has decided not to (as someone asked earlier). I’m glad that you don’t see any smokers where you live (I rarely do either). My guess is that’s also why you don’t hear anyone complain. I would just suggest we all try to understand the other side of any argument before we decide that our side of the argument is a “win-win”. Majority may rule, but that doesn’t mean the minority opinion doesn’t exist/matter.

Not making any comments about honesty, but on the last two cruises we were on, we were told that the MDR was not open. On one of the cruises, it was. Not sure about the other - we were too busy getting situated (3 generation trip) that we weren’t able to check. Maybe people are unaware, maybe it’s easier to follow a pat answer, maybe people might think the buffet is easier (can seat/service tons of people vs. limited MDR throughput), so guests will be happier if they go to the buffet. Who knows?

It’s nice to know that they are addressing some of the issues with the app. That always seemed like a no-brainer to have included, but I guess it was a non-MVP feature.

As a former smoker (and avid gambler), it’s definitely not a win-win. I no longer smoke, and would prefer a smoke free casino, but part of the opposing view is a) smokers enjoy smoking when they’re playing, b) it’s really not convenient to stop, go to the far end of the ship to smoke, and go back… especially when you’re on a good streak, and c) for the casino, business drops significantly when smoking bans are in place. The last one is probably the key to why it’s not banned. In cases where bans have have been considered or implemented in casinos on land, overall business takes a significant hit. Non-smokers don’t suddenly go to the casinos in greater numbers, but smokers do stop going, or limit the amount of time they spend there. And a high percentage of smokers gamble. it’s hard to say how much of this is ‘chicken and egg’ - especially percentage of smokers amongst gamblers. And as the general populace’s number of smokers shrink, it will become more likely that they’ll change to non-smoking. several casinos in my area had gone all in on accommodating non-smokers. Larger amounts of dedicated non-smoking areas, separate enclosed rooms, even a whole separate building. Many of those ‘improvements’ have been rolled back, proving that the economics still don’t favor outright bans.

Three cruises since the start up and no one has ever asked/checked. We’ve always been in the first boarding group. As others have said, they might check in the future, but doesn’t seem to be something worth worrying about. I have seen reports of them checking in some ports early on in the startup. Long lines, and not wanting to have crowds inside of the building, makes sense they would have enforced it. One item to note - once you choose your boarding group, there isn’t a designated way to check which group you’re in later (unless they’ve changed it since August). In order to see which group you’re in, you have to go through the same steps as if you were trying to select it. When you get to the selection screen it’ll show you which group you’re already in.

I wish we could get away as much as others on this thread! Alas, only so many vacation days, and limited number of days away from kindergarten before our DD is considered “truant”. ☹️ We had to ignore the stream of “free” cruise offers from the casino since our spring sailing, and only went on our two planned trips: April - Majestic - Mexican Riviera June - Crown - Alaska Inside Passage with Glacier Bay We had a great time on both cruises - definitely saw impacts from restart challenges, but that’ll make us appreciate future cruises even more.

We’ve never been able to upgrade to a suite. We’ve been told that the casino has certain upgrades available, and if the category isn’t available, then they can’t apply the promotional value to the upgraded booking. We’ve upgraded from inside to balcony, and several upgrades from balcony to mini suite. We’ve been told club class mini, and suite weren’t available on the sailings we’ve done.

Have you checked your spam folder in your email?

In other countries this is a fairly common scam - don’t know what to think in this situation, but years of international travel have trained me to never continue a cab ride when the meter isn’t working.

Usually they only comp the veggie tray cabins! 😉

Kanaka is another term for someone of native Hawaiian descent. And kama’aina is correct, but you only qualify for kama’aina discounts if you still live in the islands. 😔

Wwe booked a comped cruise last month (via casino reservations line), and there was no problem in getting a specific room assignment. Hope this isn’t a new policy, because I’m pretty picky about cabin selection. Too bad we have no in-scheduled vacation time for 2023, or I’d book another cruise to find out!

It usually depends on the upgrade. We’ve been told that the Casino is provided specific quantities of rooms to offer in the promo, and also specific categories of allowable upgrades. If you’re trying to upgrade into one of the categories which they have available, they’ll have a discounted rate for the upgrade. If you’re trying to upgrade to a category they don’t have access to, they can’t provide a discount on the upgrade, and they also cannot apply the original promotion value to the booking. we’ve found the mini-suite, and suite upgrade options are usually available, but Club class mini-suites are not.