ravenjls

I am doing the exact same tour on a different date but we get in at 9 and the tour starts at 9:30.  

15 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

It exceeds the Premium Beverage Package. If you want it, there will be a supplemental charge. Starbucks will not make a martini for you. 

No I got that, if you reread my question I was asking if I substitute the plus liquor with the premium liquor could they make one without the upcharge.  I see from responses that the upcharge is for the starbucks espresso not just the licquor.

Can you do a coffee or espresso martini using liquors in the regular free at sea plan?  Tito's, Kahlua and Maloney's Irish cream plus coffee.  I hate to pay the extra 3.60 per drink when the alcohol in my package is acceptable.

I have always cruised NCL because their nightly entertainment (if you dont like one there was always another venue to go to).  For the past year we have been cruising Princess and find the cruise experience (from their keycard, to room service, to drinks included in package to be much better than NCL except for entertainment). We are cruising next week on the escape and will compare. NCL may no longer be our go to cruise line.

Maybe a dumb question, but can you get it to go?  I would like to use my latitude credit for lunch but the rest of my party would like the buffet.  Has anyone got a meal to go?

Bringing our 8 grandkids (and their parents) on an upcoming Escape cruise. They range in ages 10 to 2 years.  Do they need to carry their key card with them?  How about when they go into the kids club.  Any tips we should know to make their cruise better?  Thanks in advance

6 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

i don't follow how the entertainment options are more limited because you're traveling through antarctica. i get the food availability issues (temperature of cooked food, however, has nothing to with the ship's destination), but i don't see why somebody wouldn't choose antarctica if entertainment were important to them.

 

except for the food, everything on your six point list doesn't seem to have anything to do with the destination. as for the food, any modern cruise ship should have the ability to store three weeks of food and should have chefs who can alter the menu to account for the lack of fresh fruits and vegetables toward the end of the cruise.

I have nothing to base what you say is true or not true.  I just know that the same things the OP experienced during their cruise, I had a lot of the same on a different line.  

Except for the entertainers who are with you the whole cruise - the piano player, the house band and productions show cast...the comedians, ventriloquist, headliners are not employed for an entire 2+ weeks...they get on and off at different ports. On an Antarctic cruise there are ports the first couple days and the last couple days but a long stretch of sea days where they cant get on or off.  The ones we had on Princess said they were asked to come up with different shows during the cruise. I have no complaints on the entertainment, the variety of entertainment wasnt as diversified as the weekly cruises that Ive been on but I understand the reasons why.

So I am just back from a 16 day Antarctica cruise with Princess.  I am not trying to diminish your complaints but a lot of what you didnt like we had the exact same thing on Princess.  Still with every negative there were so many positives. It was a once in a lifetime cruise. When you are in the middle of the antarctic Im not sure where you expect them to replenish foods you just have to make due with what you have.  If food, entertainment, etc are very important in a cruise then I wouldnt choose Antarctica as a destination.  Just my opinion. You should try a different destination with NCL to really experience NCL.  Here are some examples I had with my Antarctic cruise (but I wouldnt trade it for anything) :

1.   Buffet lunch was very small, food was always lukewarm at best and not very tasty.

2.  Ship ran out of lettuce/leafy greens, mushrooms and other stuff to make main course dinners like scallops.  Fruit was old and mushy near the end.

3.  Limited entertainment during the day.  Mostly enrichment lectures and trivia.

4.  I personally didnt have a problem with dinner because I paid extra for a special dining room but those who showed up at the regular dining venues said they waited upwards of an hour or more to be seated.

5.  Embarkation was a cluster you know what.  Some waited 3 hrs before boarding in the sweltering heat.

6. Entertainment was ok.  I wouldnt say great but were good.

Love this review so far.....

16 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I don't see how it would work as one per person when each gets a set.

I totally agree with you that it should be 1 per person but I will have to find out next month on the Sapphire. I printed out 2 of them.

11 hours ago, Nora86 said:

Is it against the rules to ask where we might find coupons? We booked with a Princess Agent. 

This thread has a link to the coupons.  They are the same ones that were just sent to me from Princess. Check out post #61 where there is a link to PRINT.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2926368-coupon-books-2023/

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Why are you questioning this when it clearly states one coupon per person?

 

Cause clearly from the replies its 1 per stateroom not 1 per person.  I was hoping someone knew for sure as you could read it as 1 per person OR 1 per stateroom.  Even you got it wrong from the way it reads.

I received my digital coupon book for our upcoming cruise.  The $10 free play is the only coupon that interest me. Can someone clarify whether it is one per guest or one per stateroom.  Here is what it says:

Present Casino FREE PLAY offer to the Casino Host to redeem. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other casino promotion, discount or coupon. All FREE PLAY credit is required to be played through one time before guest may cash out. FREE PLAY may be used on a single voyage only, is not transferable and expires at the end of that voyage. Limit one per guest per stateroom. Subject to availability and change without notice. Must be 18 years of age or older to participate in onboard gaming.

14 minutes ago, trin880 said:

Where is Royal sailing right now? Lobster was offered one night for free during our sailing to Alaska at the end of August. For our fist sailing with Princess we were OK with food, for most of the time, except we felt it was occasionally oversalted. Now that we are sailing again in January, I see that menus are shared between the ships...I don't know, it feels boring to me, but we'll see, maybe I am wrong. 

Its in Australia.  The menu was different than what we had the month before on the Caribbean (New England).  The menu had a lot of local dishes but the food for us was very bland and very under whelming.  On the bright side we ate at Sabatinis and Crown Grill 2X each and both were wonderful.  We had read how bad the steaks were at grill and husband got the porterhouse and both times it was very good! I got the fish and/or lobster and each time they were cooked perfectly.  The best surprise was Alfredos. we had the plus package so we thought we would try it one day.  The apps were amazing.  The pizza very good (but since we each got one it was way too much for both of us) and the dessert was really good too.  

On 11/12/2023 at 9:24 PM, bvm49 said:

Just done a 35-night cruise on Coral Princess and thought the food was good. Our experience is 50+ cruises with 28 on Princess. But was disappointed that lobster wasn't offerred except if you paid extra for it (either on the bottom of the MDR menu or at the paid restaurant). The only thing offerred on the last formal night was king prawns which were nice. I did ask the waiter but was told no free lobster.

Brian

No free lobster on Royal last week either. Food was decent but nothing stood out as very good or outstanding. 

13 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Princess converts all OBC at 1:1.  It is unfortunate but been that way before Covid even.

if you know, So if I want to get $100 worth of chips in the casino and put it on my account will they charge my credit card AUD $100  if its 1 - 1?  Do I get ten $10 chips or is it something different? 

So is the casino played with AUD?  Im so confused.  If I put 1000 on my obc then do they charge AUD.  I usually use my obc in the casino but what should be 500 in USD is now 500 AUD on my booking.  

When I booked an Australian cruise I prepaid the plus package, some excursions and a few specialty dinners.  I paid the USD prices ($60 pp per day for plus, $35/$39 for specialty restaurants but AUD for my excursions.  All my OBC is in AUD (so its much less than USD).  If I had waited to book the plus package and the specialty restaurants once on board would they have charged me in AUD thus spending a lot less for these.  I feel like I am losing out with my obc since 100 AUD is worth 64 USD.  

wow...I am on an Antarctica cruise also and never that about getting a photo package. I thought those packages were just pics of you around the ship.

My 2 cents... since covid we have cruised a few times each on NCL, Royal, Princess and Celebrity  All are very similar.  I cannot recommend 1 line over another as I really believe it has more to do with the ship rather than the line.  We were on Anthem (Royal Caribbean) and had a fantastic cruise, so much so that we booked the Harmony for my whole family and that turned out to be the worst cruise we ever went on. Same line different ship. We love NCL Haven area on their newer ships. The private areas and food were absolutely the best.  But you do pay for that. All in all I would book for the ship and itinerary rather than the line.

9 hours ago, AZjohn said:

 

Can relate to both these posts🤣

 

As you both say, just keep trying it until it works and watch the videos on how to do it.
 

My photo took a couple of tries but my wife maybe a dozen attempts. Reading the passport chip took me a dozen times before it read it and my wife got hers to read the first try ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Cheers

I was fortunate that it only took a few tries for our Australian visas but oh my goodness trying to scan our passports for United Airlines nearly drove me crazy.  

Did you download the Australian ETA app?  If so:

After you have downloaded and opened the app on your mobile device, you need to:

• scan your passport to pre-fill your name, date of birth, passport number and other details
• take a photo of yourself
• answer some questions, including whether you have any criminal convictions, any prior names and contact details in Australia
• pay the service fee  AUD 20 
• submit the application.

Thank you...that worked!

I am in a penthouse suite on the royal princess.  I originally thought the enclave thermal spa was included until I read the fine print and noticed the royal princess is not.  When I went to book the thermal suite I selected myself and added it to cart.  When I went back to get my husband the pass it says he is reserved but it only shows my name when I go to pay not both of us.  I am so confused! (The price is 299 for a 13 day cruise if this helps).

I booked my first suite for a January cruise.  Can I pre book a reservation for your "free" first night dinner on the app without having to pay for it or do I have to wait until after I board?  Thanks!