Sox Fan Cruiser

Onboard!  And already loving the ship!!  And to my surprise, service is really good!  
 

Considering doing a “live-ish” cruise review but will see. 
 

(already started my suite experience research but not giving any hints yet!🤪)

2 hours ago, capriccio said:

In 2017 on the Royal Princess Kotor was a tender port.  According to the current Princess Excrusions Listing (https://www.princess.com/ports-excursions/kotor-montenegro-excursions) "Kotor is an anchorage port. Passengers transfer to shore via ship's tender."

The whole point of this thread is that we are no longer going to Kotor and instead going to Bar. Bar is a docked port.

It is a docked port. My private tour guide also said that Bar is a sad replacement for Kotor. We will just stay on the ship. If you look at videos on YouTube, it shows it being a 10 minute shuttle ride from the dock to the town. I’ll report back this week. 

They just told us yesterday and since we are getting on the ship tomorrow, we can’t book shore excursions at this time. It’s going to be a mad house for those trying to get excursions. We never book through the ship so we don’t care. We are working with our private tour guide to see if we can do something with her. 

I doubt they will tell us the real reason but we get on the ship tomorrow so we will see. We still port in Montenegro but we will be going to Bar instead of Kotor 

I just knew that Princess wouldn’t get the suites only experience right. They are a comfort, “welcome home” cruise line but have never been able to do the higher class service right. It’s being rolled out in exactly the way I expected Princess to do it. And I TOTALLY agree about that dumb roller glider and its location to the Sanctuary!  Look at the Grand Class ships. The outdoor part of the kids club is right above the aft adults only pool!
 

I’m going in with high hopes and low expectations.  But I’ll have a great cruise either way!  Rome is amazing!!!

3 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

With the new Medallion system and app-based check-in, I wonder how long Princess will choose to own and manage this type of off-site lounge.  It seems as if its purpose is to get Suite passengers out of the Ellis Island atmosphere that used to exist at the terminals.  But on my last three cruises, PES passengers were being processed onto the ship about as fast as humanly possible. On our last cruise, we barely made it into the PES waiting area with enough time to grab a glass of orange juice when we were being ushered onto the ship.  And non-PES passengers were getting on almost as quickly. (This was in Southampton).  Given the choice of waiting in this new Lounge where the FI/FO van departure system could cause a long wait as noted above, or simply heading to the terminal to be whisked right onto the ship, what advantage is there to the former?  If, by 11:00 one could be in the International Café or Good Spirits Bar or sitting poolside on the Lido Deck, what advantage is there to an off-site Lounge where one waits frustratingly for the van to return to pick them up?  Seems as if the team that developed this Lounge wasn't really in synch with the team that was developing the app-based check-in system and they were working to solve a problem that doesn't really exist any more.   

I agree with you!  
 

We got to the GO lounge at around 10am ish and didn’t get on the ship until almost 1.  Again they were working out the kinks at that point. 

4 hours ago, cindep said:

April 25 boarding Island Princess

I meant what time?  The take you to the ship in a first in/first out basis and only take small groups at a time. We waited a long time to head to the ship. But I think they have fixed that model and the van doesn’t sit in that huge line of cars anymore. 

21 minutes ago, cindep said:

We are flying into FLL. We have our email invitation to the GO Princess Lounge (full suite on Island Princess). We did not purchase ship transfers as we usually either taxi or Uber to the port. Do we need to get transportation FLL to Princess Headquarters? Starting to get excited as it has been a long time since our last suite experience. Do you still get the thermal suite?

Thank you in advance for the help!

Yes, you need to get to the Go Lounge on your own. Don’t know the answer about the thermal suite. 
 

When are you arriving at FLL?

And yes it is meant to be a quiet space. We were warned one time that they would kick us out if we didn’t quiet down. There were four of us and we were laughing a bit too loud for an extended period of time. Ooops!  🤪

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

Couldn't you just eat lunch there the first day and ask all of those questions then?

They used to let us use the gratis Specialty meal any time in the cruise rather than just the first night. Too bad that went away.

They have waved our specialty dining room meal on another day recently.  Not sure it actually went away if you mention it to the concierge. Not demand it but use sort of “ mention it”.🤪

And as a reminder, I won’t be answering live. I will get all the answers I can and will post when I get home.

Here's where are right now.  I honestly can't think of any other questions but if you have more, I'll take them.  I know that some of these have been answered already in other threads but i will still answers for myself to confirm them.

We leave for Rome on Wednesday night and board this ship on the 8th.

Signature Collection Questions

·       Overall experience

·       Embarkation experience (from Rome)

·       Sanctuary/Sun Deck

o   Overall experience

o   Aft view

o   Cost? 

o   Reserve Loungers? 

o   Shade?

o   Access to main area of Sanctuary? 

o   Sit in main area if Signature area is full? 

o   Food? 

o   Bar?

o   Price of cabanas?  Suites get first choice?  Reservation process.

o   Afternoon tea?

o   Kids?

·       Signature Restaurant

o   Menu

o   Different from Reserve Restaurant

o   Different from Main Dining Room

o   Breakfast

o   Different each day

o   Fresh squeezed orange juice

o   Noise from the Piazza

o   Mimosa’s for breakfast

o   Can we attend the Reserve restaurant

·       Signature Lounge

o   Overall experience

o   Bar Service

o   Concierge

o   Crowded?

o   Happy hours?

o   Entertainment

o   Food/Snacks

·       Misc

o   Aft elevators

o   Special Restaurant first night – book onboard (SOXFAN: If I try to book it on the app it is charging my credit card so I don’t want to do that.  I like to go to the suite dining room the first night to “report in”. But I will ask)

o   Access to Enclave

o   What restaurants are part of the first night program.

o   Balcony furniture?   Recline or don’t recline.

o   Reservations for the shows

o   Bathroom amenities

o    

NOTE:  I won’t be taking pictures of menus or food as I just like to enjoy my meal.  We don’t go to shows but we still ask the relevant questions above.

I know it’s a long way away but when will the 2026 British Isles cruise come out. (Yes, I have to have 2 years of cruises booked)

9 minutes ago, CatMom72 said:

Lol, as a fellow Bostonian, I’d have to agree that the lobster you get on a cruise (ANY cruise) is just sad compared to what you get in New England…especially for the price.  And while I agree prime rib is not “special,” I do love some tasty cow! 🤤

I knew I liked you!

Is prime rib that special?  As someone who doesn’t eat dead cow, it looks disgusting.  Raw and just a big slab of meat. Living in Boston, the fact that people get all ramped up about the lobster they serve on a ship is ridiculous too. 
 

If you enjoy this, then enjoy. 
 

But for me, this whole “prime rib trolly cart” in the Signature restaurant is a complete joke. 

Princess doesn’t wow anymore. This “game changer” will not be anything that WE consider special. 

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

I've yet to see a single shrimp cocktail photo, (or in person) served on a Princess ship that didn't look awful.  Soggy, overcooked, wilted, waterlogged messes.  

Good point!  🤪

The money didn't bother me and I was even willing to put on a tie (the horror!!) but the meal was the deal breaker for me.  I'm not paying $150 for salmon!!  And that picture of the shrimp dish looked absolutely awful!!

I'll give up my seat so someone else can enjoy this experience.

The big production shows are not ready yet but the word is "soon".  Not sure what "soon" is.  There are some other smaller shows starting to happen.  I'll let you know in TEN days!!  🙂

8 minutes ago, Jemnibabe02 said:

That is my biggest question as well.  Is this a set menu or are there choices like eating in the main dining room?  Do we show up in the diner, deck 8, first for dinner at the designated time or do we go to Spellbound for cocktails first?  Thanks for any info you find.

If you scroll back to post 59, you will see the menu. 

And suit and tie or dress pants a blazer, collared shirt and tie is the same outfit. It’s just if they are made by the same material or not. 

Salmon?  Prime rib? Um, no.  Not anything special.  Another Princess fail. If you are going to make dinner part of the “special experience” make it special. 
 

I did not care at all about the price and was willing to pay any amount. Dinner not special. Have to wear a tie. I’m not THAT into magic. Would rather sit on my balcony and watch the sea. Again, that’s what makes cruising great, so many different things for different people.

1 hour ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

Even the menu isn't that exciting.  I think we are going to pass.

And the "we" in my post is 5:00_Somewhere so I least we are consistent!  🙂

Even the menu isn't that exciting.  I think we are going to pass.