PescadoAmarillo

They hadn’t had those in years, long before COVID. The top 10 (I think) used to get a specialty dining dinner instead.

We had an excellent experience with (I think it’s called) My Time Dining on Royal Caribbean nearly 10 years ago. Regardless of when we showed up in the dining room, we would show them our ship card, and were then accompanied to a table for two in the same area with the same servers and headwaiter that we had every night, and addressed by name and asked about our day on the way there. Never a wait. I tried to figure out why it was so seamless and never could, and this was on the Allure running full.

So Princess wants to operate their business, but only the on board and reservation parts of their business. And the latter only when their system allows for it.

You’ve cut the heading off the chart, but I’m pretty sure this is CCL price per share, not revenue. They really had nowhere to go but up, and percentage increases on such a small number aren’t especially meaningful unless you’re a short term investor.

This is exactly what they have done. In fact, they have eliminated more benefits from their most traveled guests than any other single group. Milestones…gone. Captains Circle OBC…$100 per cruise gone. Top 3 MTG gifts…gone. The only MTG perk remaining is the MTG luncheon or cocktail party, so enjoy those while they last. That’s why I have to chuckle every time I read a “Princess needs a super elite category” thread. The writing has been on the wall for quite awhile about that. People who say they don’t cruise Princess for the loyalty benefits are the lucky ones. There soon won’t be any left.

The key thing to avoid noro is just don’t eat any food with your fingers. We were on a Code Red noro ship for three weeks (two cruises) over Christmas and New Years one year (800 kids on each!) and managed to avoid it. Personal precautions are much more effective against noro than anything spread by air.

We picked Princess last minute for our first cruises (B2B) because of itinerary. We stayed for three more cruises because of itineraries and self serve laundries. By then we were Platinum and stayed for the free internet and laundries. And when Elite status started being achieved by days or cruises, we had 12 cruises but nearly 200 days and that was the hook. We still cruised around quite a bit until we reached Elite, and since then we’ve been 90% Princess. I think the quest for still more unique itineraries combined with the too large ships will have us looking more elsewhere. Not a fan of multiple behemoth ships overrunning ports.

In our recent experience, once it goes to Not Available status, nothing further has become available.

This is a huge improvement. Massive.

Wow. We had booked that cruise just for Saipan and Guam but cancelled. After almost 1500 cruise nights I totally understand weather related itinerary changes but that one would have been a disappointment. And I agree; Captain Ravera is one of our favorites, for all the reasons you mention.

When we were last there, Australia charged a 1.1% surcharge on all credit card purchases (including ship on board account settlement). This is not the same as an international usage fee, which some credit cards charge (ours don’t).

I just checked with The One Who Would Know. He concurs with your recollection, but said he got the credit every cruise after that.

6. I just want the iced coffee I used to be able to get at Swirls on the Lido Deck without standing in a 30 minute line every day while these premium desserts are constructed.

They’d better beef up that MedallionNet.

I don’t know. It’s been going on for the entire time we’ve been cruising, so I assume that having the flexibility offsets the costs. When I used to travel a lot for business, I knew that a flight from RDU on American on a Friday afternoon would result in me being willingly bumped multiple times and collecting $800 to $1000 in travel vouchers for every bumped flight. It was so predictable that I counted on it funding lots of personal travel. I used to wonder about that too; since it was such a regular thing, surely American could have remedied that situation. But that went on for years.

Not land and sea (exactly) but we’ve done many cruises in Australia and New Zealand and I blogged about them here. You can click on the tabs at tHe top to take you directly to those cruising seasons, or use the labels on the right to check out the posts for specific ports. 2017-18: http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2017/10/season-8-exploring-wonders-down-under.html 2019-20: http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/2019/09/season-10-big-easy-down-under-style.html This one started with a transpacific cruise so you might want to skip past the first 30 days or so.

They overbook because they know there will be cancellations at the last minute. And then they start upgrading people for free or making move over offers to accommodate everyone.

They look very much like a 5 year old was given a cupcake all his own to decorate and loaded it up with as much candy as would fit, takes one bite and then sets it aside. Because who really eats stuff like that?

Nice to see a different sorbet nightly back on this menu. That’s been missing for awhile.

COVID may be over but the Ruby Princess hasn’t gotten the message. DH came home Sunday, and tested positive Monday morning. He’s fine, just had sniffles, and is already testing negative, but my susceptibility to getting quite sick totally disrupted our lives until today. My risk evaluation is not changing anytime soon.

But the terrine doesn’t state that it’s a vegetarian dish. That’s why I’m suspect about the source of the gelatin. I am pescatarian (salmon and shrimp only) with no dairy, and I’ve never had a problem finding something to eat in the dining room, but generally have to go off menu with the help of the Restaurant Manager.

Which ones are they? Unless you eat gelatin and dairy, I don’t see any. I’m sure the salad could be modified to exclude the shrimp, but other than that…

The overhang from the deck above is greatest on the Lido Deck and the deck right below it (varies by ship design). If you’re cruising Glacier Bay in an all day rain, you’ll be grateful for the protection.

We’ve done this from Australia, but it’s been three years ago or so. Just make sure you’re placing the call through the app and not simply dialing out like a regular phone call.

@TrixieBel It so good to hear some familiar names and faces are still on the Majestic. We adore Samsuri, have known him since the Pacific Princess. We last saw him on the Majestic in Alaska in 2021. Was this your guitar player? His name is Faustinus and we last saw him on the Majestic out of Sydney.