MacMadame

The pool is also fleet-wide so you are punishing crew on ships you aren't even on.

Good to know. 🙂

8 for us. I hope we don't get bored with that menu!

That's the part I was not seeing. I'll check again.

Some people report getting to the port around 9:00 am so they can be first in line. Sitting in a lounge seems like it would be much more enjoyable than standing in line and people who have reviewed the process seem happy with it. I look at it like those lounges in the airport for people with loyalty status at an airline. It's much nicer to wait there than at the gate even if you are only there for 45 minutes.

I have the same issues. And one eye is much worse than the other. I've given up on binoculars and now have a monocular. It works great because I can adjust the focus for the eye I am using. I have this one, $75. https://www.rei.com/product/203791/nocs-provisions-zoom-tube-8-x-32-monocular-telescope

Maybe pick one up at the last port? (Assuming you can do that.)

My favorite vloggers are Tips for Travelers and Emma Cruises. However, never goes on Princess that much. The Let's Go! lady mentioned above seems to mostly travel on Princess but is not one I subscribe to for ... reasons. Princess has their own YouTube channel but it has a PR slant, not an informational slant.

I believe the people in the lounge board first. I like the idea of the lounge. It lets suite guests have a good place to hang out until the ship opens for pax.

Word to this. I've seen too many horror stories from people using the regular call center. How do you know if a cabin is accessible, btw? (I'm wondering if mine is. It does fit 4 people so I think there is a chance we'll be moved but if it's an accessible one, I'd want to move now so someone who needs it can get it.)

Good one! 😄

This has been explained several times. I know the law and I know about General Accepted Accounting Practices that govern how this money has to be allocated and spent or the publicly traded company gets in trouble. Why are you so adamant that Princess is ripping off its employees?

Mine are finally wiped too!

No, that's not my logic. My logic is that Princess says what the daily CA fee is and therefore, they are bound by it. Drinks, wifi, etc. are in a fungible pot of money called expenses. CA is not the same. There are rules about it and what it can be spent on. It's in its own account (similar to vacation/PTO for a company). Your company can't spend the money PTO money -- it's held in something similar to escrow. And Princess can't spend the CA for similar reasons.

This is a strawman argument. I said they had to put the full CA into the CA pot due to how accounting works. And that they could without giving up too much profit. I don't know why you are so determined to think Princess is only putting a pittance into the CA pot.

It's not remotely crazy. Everything else in the packages costs them a minimal amount. Putting in the amount they say they do leaves them with plenty of profit.

They will be wiped though. At least Princess has said they will. I guess we'll see.

Which is why they can't say that crew appreciation is $16/day and goes into a pool and then not put that money into the pool. However, Princess is headquartered in the US (Santa Clarita to be exact), so they pay US taxes and therefore the IRS absolutely is involved.

Or the brig. They do have one after all. 😉

I don't think they can do that legally. They need to follow GEA practices and, if they don't, the IRS will be all over them. Especially as they use CA to supplement salaries -- that they have to pay according to contracts. So where is that money coming from if they don't put CA from the packages into the pool?

Oh, I believe they have their own contract. I just think it's largely the same and includes getting money from the pool in the form of bonuses. I don't think Princess would put on their website that bar staff gets money from the pool if it's not true.

That happens at airports and hotels too. I hate it.

Bartenders work in the bar. How can they not be included?

We pack the night before. But dh does the laundry that morning so that all our clothes are clean when we start packing. And I've been working on the packing list for months. We don't have enough clothes to pack days before. We'd have nothing to wear in the meantime! 🤣

Yes. 😄 I didn't cruise again until my honeymoon and later our 10th anniversary.