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Cruising isn't a democracy and it doesn't use taxpayer money. Cruising is privilege and you're free to come and go as you see your budget fits.

The response will always be negative from cruisers when it comes to what is being coined as "nickel and diming" regardless of whether or not the cruise line polls before or after, so why go through the effort?

The trick now is to book closer to sail date and abandon booking so far in advance. There will be minimal surprises of new charges/changes to amenties and passengers will be able to take advantage of the Drop and Go rates.

I still like the packages. The package allows you to be cognizant of how the money is allotted. If they were to build this into the price, in the future, they could arbitrarily raise prices and the passenger wouldn't know where the extra charges were going towards. Take Viking for example. Passengers have no idea how the cruise fare is being broken down. Yes, it includes all amenities, but I still don't see how it all adds up. Viking tends to be $350 to $450 per day in the lowest category, but can't believe that all that extra money the passenger is spending is going to tips/wifi/excursions/some drinks. Also, this idea would greatly slow down the Internet on the ship since everyone would then have the ability to use it on limited bandwidth.

At the time of Padgett’s appointing who else was in the running? Did the board have many people to choose from? Who’s to say that if Padgett wasn’t currently at the helm of Princess, the person that coulda/shoulda/woulda been at the helm of Princess wouldn’t be making the changes we’re seeing today?

Yes, USB ports are available in cabin. They are located by the beds and are wall outlets, not the kind built into the lamp.

Princess will only sell you a debark transfer from ship to airport on disembarkation day. It's up to you to find your way to your hotel and from your hotel to the airport the following morning. Exception is if you purchase a post-cruise stay from Princess in conjunction with your cruise and Princess will arrange for a transfer ship to hotel and hotel to airport (this portion usually being in the form of a taxi voucher in for hotels in the U.S.).

Lots of complaints about the info being given. Give Princess time. When RCCL started to charge for room service in 2017 and X in 2022, they took the same approach and had problems themselves. An arbitrary start date was chosen and amenities weren't grandfathered in for those that had booked in advance. It took a while for the website to reflect the changes across the board. I personally don't remember an e-mail being sent out to those that had booked cruises after the arbitrary date that was set. It was a surprise onboard unless you followed a forum or blog. There were hiccups on board where some orders were charged the RS fee and not. All was sorted out eventually and not without headache from Guest Services. My point is expect there to be hiccups when changes roll out. The cruise lines are taking a page from Bob Chapek's reign at Disney. Charge more or begin to charge for amenities and fewer will come. Fewer will come, but since the few that do come will be spending more, it makes up for the loss in actual people coming. Lots of underwear in a bunch over things they have no control over. It's a corporate decision based on the business needs and profitability. Variety is the spice of life. There are other cruise lines if Princess no longer suits your values/needs.

I'm pretty sure the cooks at Alfredo's took a dough ball and stretched it out more to achieve a bigger pizza and a thinner crust.

On all Royal Class ships, the World Fresh Marketplace (Horizon Court) is divided into 3 areas. The area by the Lido entrance is a quick serve options are and post-pandemic only open during breakfast/lunch; in your screenshot "The Bistro" labeled area. "The Bakery" is were the pastries are located during breakfast and desserts are located during lunch/dinner. The area by the aft entrances is the main buffet area where the theme area, carving stations, and a wider selection of hot/cold dishes are. One quirk of the Majestic is that there is no port side Lido pizza outlet. It's a noodle bar serving Asian noodle dishes. Pizza is a staple in the buffet because of this and I'm pretty sure that it's made Alfredo's.

There might have been a delay in refueling which meant that it missed the afternoon sweet spot for the low(er) tide. Captain is most likely waiting for the tide to drop again so the ship will be able to pass under the Lions Gate Bridge without hitting it.

I'm in the minority here, but price reductions are all the more reason to book guarantee rooms. I always book guarantee and usually shortly after final payment has passed. Since the restart, I've noticed that when you book a guarantee cabin and the cruise fare drops between final payment and embarkation, the algorithm automatically upgrades you and will assign you a cabin in a higher category if one is available. An example is when I went to Hawaii this January. I booked a BF in at the end of October after final payment for the sailing. I monitored the price of the cruise and after Thanksgiving, there was another price drop and mini suites became the same price of the fare that I paid. At the end of December I got my cabin assignment and I was upgraded to a mini suite with no effort on my part. This has happened two other times. To the Caribbean, I went from a IF to BW. To the Mexican Riviera, I went from BW to DC.

Elite can go to Guest Services to get tokens at no charge. I've done this several times.

@wallyj Thanks! I have friends who always purchase Plus/Premier on embarkation day. They don't think that they should have to insure their tips, Internet, drinks, and everything else that comes with the packages. If the discounted prices don't prevail on embarkation day, that leaves them with no choice but to purchase pre-cruise and pay the extra cost of insurance. I'm not of much help because we booked under the Plus rate from the get go.

Was told that Future Cruise doesn't make commission, but their sales are tracked and is used to judge their performance. Future Cruise/Go Princess has to meet a certain dollar amount quota of future cruises booked every voyage.

@wallyj You had mentioned in another post that the Plus/Premier packages were showing up at a discounted price (50% off, or there abouts) in your Cruise Personalizer after booking. Did you happen to notice if the discounted price prevailed if purchasing the packages once onboard on embarkation day?

There is one token dispenser that dispenses tokens for the the washers/dryers and laundry detergent/fabric softener sheets. The large tokens are are for the washer/dryers. and the small tokens are for detergent/fabric softener sheets. There is a separate dispenser that you feed the small tokens far the detergent/fabric softener sheets. One single use box of Tide powder detergent is $1.50. One box of Bounce fabric softener sheets, containing 2 sheets per box is $1.50. There is a slot for ALL and/or Sun laundry detergent but haven't seen these available since the restart. It's always Tide. Recommend brining your own detergent (pods or single use sachets)/fabric softener sheets because it's not always a guarantee that the ship can provision the single use variety and the machines can run out. Note that the washers don't have a fabric softener dispenser, so liquid fabric softener isn't recommended. You have to pay attention to the wash cycle and add the liquid fabric softener when the tub fills for the rinse cycle.

Not to be semantic, but Medallion and Medallion App are not synonymous or interchangeable with each other. The Medallion is the actual device. The Medallion App is the cruise line program used on phones/tablets. One can be used without the other. The Medallion is required use (unless you swap it for a cruise card) and allows guests to unlock their cabins and use portals (don't even have to use those). The Medallion App is not required use but allows for pre-arrival check-in, dining/excursion/spa reservations, and checking Journey View/Journey Account--all functions that don't require the Medallion and are optional use. It would be like saying an Apple AirTag is the same as the Apple Find My App. One doesn't work without the other, but they are not the same thing.

Let's give credit where credit is due. Quick processing and earlier boarding came about because of the App not the Medallion. It speeds things up when the guests can check themselves in via the App. Port agents just have to verify identity and fill in the blanks of anything missing, if needed. RC and X have had paperless app check-in allowing for shorter check-in times/earlier boarding even before the pandemic and they don't make use of the Medallion; they still use key cards.

Correct. I looks like the Android update went live a little earlier on 07/31/23.

Version 4.13 of the App went live late 08/01/23 and is available for download or update.

No view of the wake. View is either port or starboard like any other balcony on the side.

Premium Deluxe Balconies, Category D4, are the aft facing deluxe balconies on all Royal Class ships. They have the added loveseat but also feature larger balconies. On the Majestic and newer Royal Class ships, there were a few of these added to port and starboard aft of the Dolphin Deck; no aft view, but larger balconies.

All are waiting for the Medallion App update for August. Princess IT is most likely dragging their feet because only one ship, Sapphire Princess, goes live with the new check-in system on August 2. August 12 seems to be the date when it will take effect on the majority of the fleet.

The cruise ship terminal is in Kowloon, the Kai Tak district where the former airport was. As you have said, there is nothing touristy here. You have to go to Tsim Tsa Tsui area of Kowloon. When we stopped here on the Majestic Princess pre-pandemic, there were free shuttles to the Grand Waterfront Plaza. From there, we walked to and MTR station (can't remember name) and took it to East Tsim Tsa Tsui, no transfer required. From there we walked and took the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island. There's no direct MTR from that side of Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, which is why we took the Star Ferry.