janiebee

Hi talkorpi -- might you have a moment to try uploading the rest of your patter pics after St. Thomas? I'm going on the same itinerary in less than two months and am curious to see them. Thanks, if so!

Curious how early you've had to go to get a table in O'Malley's for the music. You didn't mention it so maybe it hasn't been that bad on your sailing. I've heard some reports of needing to get there even earlier than the Princess Live shows if you want to sit down, like 30-45 minutes early...

Thanks so much for this live report! Sailing 14 days on Enchanted in July with my best friend. Curious if you have ordered or seen others order a double of anything & how they counted that. For example, I've never been satisfied with only one measly measure of Bailey's on the rocks and am fully planning to order doubles every time. 😁 But I could see them not wanting to count a double as only one drink because of the pricier whiskeys and wines they offer. And while I don't imagine I could ever actually consume 15 drinks in a 24-hour period without becoming really ill (especially the set cocktail list I'm planning to enjoy, many of which do contain more than a 1-1.5 ounce shot in them), if they are counting what you're describing as 3, or even a substitution of a different type of liquor like one person mentioned later (which I would definitely ask to speak to the bar manager about, because that's extra-illogical), then I might have to start counting drinks on sea days, which is kind of annoying... though not anything to get overly worried about. I'm just curious, and grateful to know that I should ask the bartender first (and maybe check my drink count) whenever I might want to do anything "unusual" like this (if one can call an Irish Car Bomb unusual 🙄). Anyway, many thanks again!!

Talkorpi, thank you so much for doing this. I will be taking my first cruise since childhood (quite a few decades ago unfortunately) on the Enchanted in July, the back to back east and west Caribbean. So I am excited and nervous that I won’t enjoy it (or my BFF won’t enjoy it) for all the money that we are spending, etc. etc. etc. Following along with you and seeing the patters and reading about your experience has been really comforting. And is making me more excited to go do it myself! So I just wanted you to know that some of us out here are really following your posts avidly. 😁 So thanks again for taking time out of your own vacation to do this. It’s much appreciated. Also, if it’s not too much to ask 😬… I’m curious what you might have done in San Juan that you really liked. We have a long stop there also, of course. We were planning to snorkel at Escambron Beach in the morning, then go get cleaned up on the ship and head back out to walk around old San Juan. Any place you went that you would really recommend? Thanks again!

That is great news, thank you all so much. And I super appreciate the very specific info and any future confirmation as well. These boards are such an amazing source of information (and varied opinions!). There’s so much to dislike about the internet, but for this kind of information sharing, what did people do before?? Calling the cruise line, probably getting inaccurate answers. And then a lot of wheel-reinvention and learning through disappointment, I guess. So I’ve been very grateful for these CC boards, where 98% of the time I can find the answers I want in existing posts. As a newbie cruiser but also dedicated travel advance-planner (and gamer-out of possible outcomes), it’s been sooo helpful. Thank you all!

Greetings! Has anyone been on Enchanted on the Western Caribbean route this year (or last year, because it's probably handled the same way). I'll be on Enchanted in July and have been researching shore excursions from local providers. Some may not be do-able if the ship does not "fall back" to the local time before we get there. Ft. Lauderdale time is now (and will be in July) UTC -4. We'll be calling at Cozumel, Roatan, Belize City & Majahual. The internet says that Cozumel time (UTC -5) is/will be one hour behind Ft. Lauderdale time, and the other three ports are/will be two hours behind (UTC -6). Has anyone had any experience with how Enchanted Princess has handled the time differences at these ports? I've tried to research it but can't seem to land on any current information about it. Does the ship stay on Ft. Lauderdale time? And if it falls back, does it just fall back an hour starting in Cozumel, or does it then fall all the way back to UTC -6 before going on to the next 3 ports? Thanks!

I do understand that, for sure. I’m a good and respectful customer, having been a food and cocktail server many times in my life. I would never ask for anything much above bog standard unless it were very slow at that moment and I felt like the bartender was friendly and likely willing. And never anything really odd or troublesome to make. Just fun and easy combos of common ingredients that I’ve already seen on their liquor lists they may not normally put together. But I’d never ask if it’s busy or they didn’t seem interested in that sort of interaction. And yes, I get that there may be zero bartenders on a cruise ship who are. Just hoping I might find one if I play my cards right some afternoon or late night.

I like that plan. Thanks!

Very good advice, thanks! Based on the drink menus, I will probably start at Good Spirits and Take Five and see if I can't find a great bartender or three to start haunting... got a couple of favorite concoctions of my own I'd like to request if I can find a willing mixologist who isn't too busy. Assuming I find one, what's a normal-ish way to cash-tip them to show my extra appreciation, for those who do that? Leave them some $ every time I go there? Give it to them at the end of the whole voyage? How do people do that on top of the pre-paid gratuities (for those who choose to)? Seems like from message boards that some people do choose to cash tip for outstanding service. But I don't really want to walk around with a bunch of cash on the ship. Hoping to mostly just have my medallion and my phone to keep track of. Just curious what others might do (or have seen) in that regard with bartenders. Thanks!

Thanks! I am looking forward to exploring every bar (eventually…) to see what their unique offerings may be. Just have to work on my advance plan for some kind of minimal moderation though. 😬 I also love snorkeling, which they have in every port on our itinerary, and don’t want to miss any port days because I got a little too excited about the awesome cornucopia of booze. 😂

Thank you all! That gives me hope that my plan of nonstop extra-fancy drinks will work. 😊 I’m sure I was overthinking it (professional habit). As long as the bartender will tell me that something I’m ordering is going to cause an actual charge to my onboard account, I’ll be fine. I can just decide then if it’s worth it. I just don’t want to get to the end of the cruise (or forget to check my account often enough) and have racked up a bill that I didn’t intend to have. Much appreciated!

Hello all! I have an alcohol/package pricing question for all the cocktail drinkers out there. My BFF and I are first timers on Princess and relative newbs to cruising in general, heading out for 14 days on Enchanted in July. We have splashed out for Premier and are eager to party like it's 1989 😁. I am a cocktail person by preference (I like wine and beer but they don't like me much afterward...as much as clear spirits do, anyway) and am looking forward to trying the many options, with new combinations I've wondered about and higher-call spirits than I would normally spring for at home (I never normally order above the decent-quality call labels, and for sure not in a cocktail). Apparently I'm looking forward to it more than the food, based on how much time I've now spent eyeballing their drinks menus online! That Good Spirits menu! 🤩 So my question is this: does anyone know how Princess calculates the upcharge for ordering one of their cocktails with a better spirit than the one it's normally served with? There are a few things I'd like to order made with a bottle from the higher shelves, but if it's already maybe a $16 or $18 cocktail, can the high-call liquor just count as another whole drink on top of that, so it counts for 2 against my daily limit? I'd be fine with that -- my liver and other essential organs won't take 15 drinks a day no matter how much my taste buds might want it. Or do they just add a cost on top of the cocktail price so that you end up with an actual charge (the overage) on your account? Because I don't want to do that if it's going to cost more actual money -- I work for the government 😬 and already the Premier package is a splurge. So I thought someone on here might know. If it's going to cost more actual money, perhaps I'll curtail my mad decadent dreams of having every margarita made with Patron Platinum and every Bellini made with proper champagne and just save those for the solo experience they are best appreciated as anyway. Thanks!