Solara

Check out http://www.booking.com for hotels.

 

A few have stayed at this B&B - http://www.lunasimonehotel.com.

 

Premier Inn Victoria

Comfort Inn Victoria

Rubens at the Palace

We stayed at the Premier Inn a couple of years ago. Great location and only a short 3-4 block walk to Victoria Coach Station passing many shops, restaurants and pubs along the way. The Victoria Train Station is even closer and is like a mall with many shops and restaurants inside. The hotel is very clean, was recently renovated and has a nice buffet breakfast area. Plus at that time it was one of the lowest priced hotels in that area.The rooms are a little small compared to U.S. standards as are most hotels in the UK. Read the reviews in Trip Advisor.

I would highly recommend this hotel.

Any hotel recommendations by Victoria Station?

Thanks

Nice to see my cousin Franco doing the wine dinner. He's usually a permanent fixture at Alfredo's.

 

Question: There are those who drink only red wine and those who drink only white. Which white were they serving; Sauv Blanc or Pinot?

Hi Pia,

Dave's menu says Sauvignon Blanc, but I think that could change depending on the food. I agree, great to see Franco. Aren't you leaving any day now. Have a great cruise. I will be following along.

Donna

Yes. It's awesome. He tells all and shows all with great pictures. It's a Royal education. (refresher course for us.)

Would your friend's last name begin with a B? Does she live in Pennsylvania. per chance?;)

 

If so, yep!

Me too with the same friend;)

All pictures posted here have been taken with my iPhone 5.

 

Dave your pictures are fantastic. I guess I should start taking more with my iPhone 5 if they will come out like yours. ;)

Hi Donna' date='

 

Loved the picture of you in the video. We certainly had a wonderful time on this cruise. I would love to save it too. I guess we have to remember what it's called on YouTube. You might remember Mark was taking videos of me dancing with George or Nat, well you two are in a few of them. Fond memories.

 

Regards,

Eileen[/quote']

Hi Eileen,

 

That's so great you have videos of you dancing. What wonderful memories. Hope you are doing well?

 

Donna

The only complaint I've heard at all regarding the food on Royal Princess is concerning the quality in the main dining rooms. Apparently it is not very good. Everywhere I've eaten it's been quite good.

Dave, this is fabulous! Is there any way I can save a copy of this? It's such a wonderful memory of our cruise.

Donna

Thanks again for all the kind words everyone. This is Dave, checking in (as I do once in a while). Currently, I'm on Star Princess having switched over after my vacation. The Hawaii season is in full swing, and the Aloha Spirit is alive and well on our "new" ship. I'm on with Elua (Dave & Leialoha), we're just at the back end of the third cruise of the season and things are going great. We look forward to welcoming our friends back for the season, and to making new ones this year! I'm on through late February 2014 (as of now - our full, finalized schedules haven't been posted yet, but I was given an off-date of Feb. 18th), though that might change. I offered to extend, or to take a short break and come back to finish out the Hawaii season on Star. Haven't heard the final word yet. Come sail - live the Aloha Spirit with us! Hope to see you all out here soon! Dave Cole, Cruise Director, Star Princess

E411. But I would not hesitate to book any cabin in that general area. It appeared that none of them had obstructions, & we were far enough away from the Seawalk that you could not see onto our balcony.

Berni

We were in E415 on the TA. Great balcony too but no wifi in the cabin. Did you have that problem too?

Thanks for posting about the Super Tuscan Wine Tasting :) We plan to try it on our Spring TA.

Brian, We did it too & thought it was excellent!

Donna and Mike, How was your cruise?

Brian, It was a wonderful cruise. We loved it!

Re: in-cabin WiFi

 

There are a few cabins apparently that don't have it. Guess I'm one. No "Royal Princess" option shows on the WiFi list. I've found that if I go outside my cabin, check WiFi, the Royal shows up. I can select it, come inside and I then have WiFi. If I leave the WiFi on, it's there. If I turn my phone/iPad off to Airplane mode, I have to repeat the process. At least I've found a workaround.

 

.

Was just on the TA too. No wifi in cabin E415 either. I had to stand in the hallway outside my cabin to get the wifi. Pam I tried done same thing you did but signal was gone the second I entered the cabin.

The Transatlantic Meet and Greet has been changed to 10:30 to 11:30 still in the Vista Lounge. Hopefully everyone can get the word out.

Of course you can.....:):):)Quote]

Can't wait!! :D:D

Thanks for the snapshot of the aft view. My Dolphin aft looks might inviting. Can't wait till I step onto it on the 9th.....:):):)

 

Bob

Can I see too!;):D

Bon Voyage Pia! Glad the "Live" is up & running.

See you in 12 days!!:D:D:D

Donna, Glad to oblige :) Be sure to bring a power strip as there is only one 120V outlet at the desk :eek: There are two of the standard low capacity outlets in the bathroom and that is all. The TV is wall mounted and there is no outlet behind it. The TV is on a swivel mount so you can adjust it to see it from the bed or the sofa.

We did a B2B on the Golden in Alaska this year and I was able to take photos of the three different WS cabins and have posted the links below.

 

F307 - Standard Cabin (and F303, F305, F309 and F311)

Yes, it is in the same location, 6th & Pacific.... They don't have an exact date yet, but the hope is before Christmas. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks! Just hope they are open when we come in January.

Our cute wine shop, Off the Vine, is just about ready to re-open after a long journey of remodeling and expanding. The re-opening will make for a great start to 2013. Happy great New Year to Off the Vine. Cheers !

Thanks

Just wondering if anyone has had a winning bid recently on Priceline at the Crown Plaza in San Pedro? We are going to be there in January.

Thanks!

On the Sapphire Zumba was offered by the excise/gym staff not cruise staff.

Just back from Sapphire 3 days ago. The did have zumba, but it filled up early.

Pat

So when you say "it filled up," does that mean it was a sign-up-in-advance type thing at the gym? And was there, therefore, an upcharge? When I've done it (on the Island and Grand), it was managed like line dancing - just show up at the Lounge or (better) outside on Lido deck.

We were on the Sapphire to Hawaii in March. It was taught by Ryan an assistant cruise director. It was held either in Club Fusion or on the Lido deck depending on the weather. No charge & no sign up. Everyone who wanted to could come. No limit at all. Shepp it was managed exactly like line dancing. [/color][/b]

Just got off the Sapphire (Diamond's sister) and added a lot of new pictures to my website including E416.

Theo

Great new pictures of the Sapphire! Thanks again for all your work on this fantastic site.