MacMadame

And they get tips on top of that! Which is as it should be, IMO. It's very expensive to live here and $15.50/hr doesn't come close to cutting it. I have lived in the US for 66 years and have been to many Broadway plays and plays all over the country and I have never seen anyone tip the usher for handing them a program. I know many wait staff who have told me stories that directly contradict this. Many times the PITA customers are also the worst tippers. Also, the whole tipping a percentage of the bill is whack because different orders take different amounts of effort on the part of the waitstaff and that effort does not correspond to the price of the item.

That seems to be a consistent complaint I've been reading. Not just Princess, either. Not sure what is up with that. Word. Working with the apps pre-cruise has me wanting to fly down to FL and show them how to do it. 🤣 I hope it's not even more frustrating when we are actually on the ship. I think the newer ships have more of that stuff. The new Sun Princess seems to be pretty blinged out with go-carts and water slides and all that. I'm not into that so I don't know the details. But having enormous ships with a mini-amusement park on the top deck seems to be a trend with all the cruise lines. It makes me feel old. LOL

They are $15 each so $60 would be 4 meals. Are you counting both cabinmates? I do all my math with one person.

It would depend on if you plan to use the fitness classes (me - yes, dh - no) and take advantage of the 2 free casual dinings. And have other non-alcoholic drinks since almost everything we drink costs extra. Oh, and use the wifi. 😄

I thought Alfredo's was there as a popup on sea days? There is a pool in the Sanctuary (which is aft) but you have to pay for that. I assume you mean balcony cabins. There are definitely none of those on the Coral which disappointed me when I was booking. But they do have some ocean view aft cabins if people are interested in them. Same.

It's not the whole cover, just a stick-on circle. Kind of like a pop socket. This is another possibility. It also holds credit cards / id https://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Princess-Medallion-Accessories-Holder/dp/B0BWNTB65J/ref=sr_1_4?crid=29TVKCD7SGPK1&keywords=Cruise%2BOn%2BPrincess%2BMedallion%2BPhone%2BAccessories%2B[2%2BPack]%2BHolder%2Bfor%2BOcean%2BMedallion%2B(iPhone%2C%2BAndroid%2C%2B%26%2BAll%2BDevices)&qid=1704656178&sprefix=cruise%2Bon%2Bprincess%2Bmedallion%2Bphone%2Baccessories%2B2%2Bpack%2Bholder%2Bfor%2Bocean%2Bmedallion%2Biphone%2C%2Bandroid%2C%2B%26%2Ball%2Bdevices%2B%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-4&th=1

I am looking at a Canon R7 vs Canon R6 Mark II. Thoughts?

She's not doing the first leg. She's only doing the second and is worried that people doing both will reserve the Sanctuary for the second leg when they first board so there won't be spots available for people coming in for the second leg.

In that case.... 😉 Do you like the R6MII and what lenses did you use? (I'm going to buy a new camera and at least one lens for my Panama Canal trip next year.)

I used to have a 1.4x converter but sold it off when I sold my other lens. I'm trying to decide if I buy an EF to RF converter for that lens and, if so, I wouldn't want to also put a 1.4x on it. But I might sell the lens and get an RF lens and then I'd get whatever lens makes sense and not go with the converter. Also, your pictures are making me regret using my iPhone for most of my photography. LOL

Oh, that's one of the two cameras I've narrowed down my choice to. (I want an ILC for our Panama Canal cruise in 2025.) I'd ask you all sorts of questions but I don't want to derail your review thread. I have one here where I ask about what kind of camera to bring if you want to talk shop.

Reviving this thread to ask: How much telephoto do you think I'll need for wildlife seen during port excursions? I have the 70-200mm f/2.8 left over from my photography business but I was thinking I would need more like 300mm or 400mm but I see none of you are using lenses with that much reach.

I'm not surprised. Princess is very bad about updating the website and there are pages that contradict each other all over.

What camera is that?

All the ships have at least one casual dining place. It may not be a permanent location but a pop-up. The Caribbean Princess has four: Vines Wine Bar Steamers Seafood (a popup) The Salty Dog Gastropub Planks (a popup) This document lists all the dining options for all the ships dining-options.pdf

Absolutely. I keep reading that Princess (and other lines) needs to attract a younger demographic because us old farts are going to die off. Sure, are are getting older. But so are the 40-50 year olds. So when the 70-80 year old passengers die off, the 40-50 year olds will be 60-70 and will replace them. That said if a line can attract customers of all ages -- bringing in a younger demographic while not turning off the older demographic -- that is probably better. As long as they can do it without diluting what distinguishes them from the other lines, ofc. Doesn't it depend on their tastes though? I work in IT and some of my colleagues have adventurous tastes when it comes to food while others only eat three things. LOL Well, their TOP IT guys aren't working on the website or the app, right? 😉 (Kidding, I kid.) To the OP: You said this: The food overall was awful, even putrid, but the food at the buffet was just horrific. But then you said that you ate most of your meals at the buffet. Um, wasn't that a bit masochistic of you?

I wonder if Princess saw how popular Duffy is and said "Hey, let's get our own bear!" LOL

What if we don't have a return airport? (Our cruise ends in our local area; no flight needed.)

FYI: Duffy the Bear is a Disney character. And a lot of Millenials and many Japanese people just LOVE that bear. These are two highly desirable demographics so that explains why Princess might do this. I'm surprised Duffy was on a non-Disney ship though. Well that's the key, isn't it? I haven't been on a cruise since the 90s and it was a Disney cruise with a Disney price. But for this trip I'm planning with my husband, I picked Princess because it has the itinerary and the price point I was looking for. Princess is not a luxury line IMO but a value line. It provides pretty good value for the money from what I see. We'll see what my experience is but I'm not expecting it to match the luxury of those more expensive lines because I'm not paying the price of those luxury lines. All of those things have been complained about voraciously in this forum IME. 🤷‍♀️

I don't have enough clothes to last 3-4 weeks without doing some laundry.

This concerns me because our luggage has zipper pulls that snap into a TSA-approved lock. Would they just cut off the zipper pulls? Because that would suck. As for not having the key, why don't all the TSA agents inspecting luggage have a key? It seems dumb not to. (Rhetorical question; not expecting anyone here to know)

Oh, I forgot about that. I rented a Canon 100-400 L lens for the 2002 Olympics and it was great!

It was on an earnings call.

When I shut down my photography business, I sold off most of my specialty lenses via eBay. You'll get more money there than going through B&H/KEH ime. I'm not familiar with those lenses (I have Canon) so I can't speak to those lenses specifically though.

Okay, that made me laugh. I guess aerial acts were "in" in 2018. 🤣