DCThunder

I won an undyed canvas bag with the Princess logo on it as a door prize at a CC Roll Call M&G on my last cruise along with a mini-bottle of gin and a can of tonic water. Unfortunately, that seemed to use up my luck with the PowerBall. 🤷‍♂️💲😒

I'm not sure you should count on airfares going on sale for Black Friday.

Just to note, the "reserved seats" for Premier people only apply to the production shows and not for a guest singer performance , or one of the alleged "comedians" they book. @MissP22, one of my pet peeves is people who are up in the aisles and leaving the theatre BEFORE the show is over and the cast takes their bows. I find it rude to the performers and inconsiderate to those of us who want to stay until the end as our view of the stage is blocked. I understand why people do it, but harrumph, I don't like it! 😉

I finished a Transatlantic cruise in FLL last year. Since it was the first time the ship (Regal) had been in the US that season, the entire crew had to clear customs and immigration. And CBP only had 3 agents available for the entire set of passengers AND crew. It was horrendous. Fortunately my flight wasn't until the afternoon, but if I'd had a morning flight, I'd have been screwed.

The medallion comes with a lanyard, but you can buy all sorts of holders for it.

I did a eastbound transit (original locks) on Oostedam (HAL) this spring. We entered the locks on the Pacific side around 7:00 am and were out on the Atlantic side by 5 pm. They give priority to the cruise ships as they've reserved and paid for the slots years in advance, or so said the canal pilot doing the narration of the transit. Also, going into the first set of locks is very cool, but after that, the whole process becomes fascinating, but somewhat tedious. Towards the 5th set of the six locks (going down) I was on the Promenade deck so close to the side of the locks that I could have touched them. There was only about a foot of clearance on each side of the ship to the walls of the lock.

Picked mine up in Southampton this summer and as said up thread, the "delay" was 2 minutes or less. Am picking up in Civitavecchia next week, and I expect the same.

I've heard that there's a bit of a controversy over on Carnival about showing the movie "Oppenheimer" on their outdoor movie screens. What are the thoughts of the giant throbbing CC brain on showing it on MUTS on Princess ships this season?

Vegas has the over/under on the length of this thread at 5 pages.

Yes, get their booking number, input it into the correct place on the app and you can book reservations together as well as being able to find your friends on the ship.

Another vote for the Moxy. It's right across the road from the Carnival UK HQ so you can pop over and say "cheerio, old boy" to the staff. Also, the Moxy is a Marriott affiliate, so you get (or can use) Bonvoy points. Also, look up Andrew Wheeler (wheeler-tours.co.uk) if you're interested in guided tours of Southampton and environs. We did a "Titanic in Southampton" tour with him this summer and it was great. We toured a great exhibition at the Seacity Museum and then walked around the town to various other Titanic themed places. Andrew was a great guide and he also does ours to Winchester, the New Forest, and other places.

Maybe he was "putting on the Ritz"

Thank you. I don't disagree with a word you wrote, and I know that even first hand observation won't change the opinion of those dedicated to certain media coverage and narratives.

Serious question, did you feel at all unsafe or unwelcome in Kusadasi/Ephesus due to the situation in Gaza and the pro-Hamas demonstrations that have taken place in other parts of Turkey? I'm on an Island cruise that calls in Kusadasi on 11/27 and there are people on our Roll Call who are extremely nervous about getting off the ship there or even having a port call. I'm not worried myself, and am looking forward to visiting Ephesus, but since you've just been there, I thought I'd pose the question to you.

@ ombud, also, I've been picking up Medallions at the port. It's quick and easy and relives the "medallion delivery angst" that you're feeling. Plus it saves ten bucks if you don't have the Premier package.

I was on Island for 30 days this summer doing Norway/Iceland/Greenland. It was fine, except the fitness center was like a dungeon as it was totally inside. Otherwise it's a nice, smaller, older ship. I think it's got a drydock coming up in 2024 and that should help spruce her up a bit.

Nope. Island.

When I've sailed out of Southampton, I observed that many British men did wear tuxes (or Scots in full kilt and the rest of the kit) mainly because they didn't have to fly to the port. If you're crusing from Florida and will need to fly to the US, I'd heed the advice upthread and forego the tux/ball gowns unless you really want to show off.

@Ombudare you sailing on Island or Enchanted?

It's usually $150 for each $100 of FCD, but I think it actually varies depending on a number of factors such as what promotion may be offered at the time of booking.

My bad. My reading comprehension is obviously off today.

I read the OP comment as the balcony was cheaper than what they'd seen at the time they booked the inside. Not that the balcony was now cheaper than an inside. I can't ever see that happening, but strange things do happen.

I did two B2B trips on Island this summer (Norway, then Iceland/Greenland). The menu in the MDR repeated on the leg somewhat, although not totally. Same with the buffet. I did not have a package. Just realize that if you eat in the MDR, you can order whatever you want. By this I mean if you just want a salad and an appetizer as your main? The waiter will bring you that. No app, just an entree? Same thing. You don't have to "clean your plate", no one will care. Want fruit for dessert? They'll bring you something. There's nothing wrong with eating in the buffet all the time, but you aren't committed to huge meals just by eating in the MDR.

Also, if the cruise is in December, you've probably made final payment. That might complicate things a bit, so I'd advise calling Princess.

It depends on the promo that resulted in you getting the OBC, but probably. Do a dummy booking and see what you'd get for a new booking and then call your PVP or TA, if you used one. You could also try putting in an upgrade bid for a balcony.