fabby50

Thank you for doing this!  We are going to Kauai on 2/6 for a land vacation, so I am gathering all I can about Hawaii.  We have an NCL cruise set for next December, hopefully, things will have significantly improved by then, but I said that last year too!

36 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

Maybe these precautions will also lead to less norovirus breakouts on the ships.

Yep, that's what I think too.  Norovirus is something I haven't heard mentioned at all since COVID protocols took hold.  Several  years ago, we were on what was referred to as the "plague ship" when norovirus took hold.  We were off Santa Barbara on a coastal cruise and made headlines in their local paper.  They were debating not letting us off, but they did.  The locals were not at all happy to see us.

3 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I never cared to those containers preloaded with food. I still prefer to take as much as I wanted & not waste anything or simple have the crew serve the amount you would like. 

To each his own.  Loved all the mini stuff with combos I never would have though of like the little cheese plates, the salads, the small sandwiches, etc.  I didn't waste anything, ate everything I took and I'm sure they were smaller portions than my piggy self would have loaded my plate up with.

We were on the Grand on their first sailing after she was able to sail again.  I really liked the new buffet setup.  I liked all the mini containers of stuff - made it so much easier to try a variety of things and not overload your plate.  They also seemed to have come up with some more creative combos than I remember from before.  I got off the ship realizing that I preferred the buffet for lunch over other venues, something I have NEVER said before.

Thank you monitor, whoever you are 🙂

'Can't we just have a thread where the discussion is what the poster was posting about?  I know I'm fantasizing.

We cruise and go to all inclusive resorts.  We were on the Grand in September and had a great time.  It was shortie to see how cruising was going and ended up being her first voyage after restrictions were lifted (didn't plan that).  It was great.  We just returned from 17 nights at Sandals Grenada, that was wonderful!  The one thing I will say is that at the all inclusive we spent all our time outdoors except when we were in our room.  I felt extremely safe.  The opportunity to do that doesn't really happen on a cruise ship - we did spend a lot of time on our cruise walking the decks, but bars, restaurants, activities were mostly inside.  Heck, its not work, so I'll take either one.

There are tea pods and decaf pods too, haven't ever seen any flavors.  We bring the flavor drops.

the vaccination rate in our town is about 35 to 40%.  We are surrounded by non-mask wearing people when we go out.  I felt the safest I have felt since COVID started on our cruise.  Everyone was vaccinated, tested within 3 days and masks were worn except when outside (and some people wore them then) and when eating.  Handwashing stations before the buffet, sanitizer everywhere.  Cruises are also not very crowded right now so you get even more space.

I sure don't like the bidding process - I much preferred it when they'd call you, ask you if you wanted to upgrade for X amount of dollars and you either took it  or not.  We got an upgrade from a standard balcony to an owner's suite that way.  I will never bid.

30 minutes ago, BossyKat said:

I did the pasta class on the panorama we had a blast!  So did everyone in the class.  There are 10 2-person stations with all your ingredients.  The chef teaches in the front and he has 2 helpers who go around helping along with himself.  There is a ipad with the instructions if you want to read along.  We finished we all had lunch together. 

 

I hope this is more info that you wanted.  🙂

Thanks for the info.  That's the reason I signed up for the pasta class - from the opinions I've read, that seems to be everyone's favorite.  I really wanted to do the sushi one, but its not at a good time for us.

15 hours ago, pkt1976 said:

I’ve never had them so not sure how they are “supposed” to be. It was mostly the consistency of the eggs that did me in. I tried a veggie burger at lunch 😬,  that may end my “experience new foods” this cruise 😳😂

This reminded me of my first meal experience on Princess.  We went to the buffet for the boarding lunch and I got a veggie burger.  It was a cold patty made of leftover mashed potatoes and peas.  One of the worst things I've ever put in my mouth 🙂  If it wouldn't have been day one and the food experience gotten better after that, I would have probably never cruised Princess again.

I don't drink (gives me heartburn) but I order lots of different things at the bar.  I haven't been to one that won't make you a mocktail.  I like no-jitos (a mojito without the rum), Virgin Marys (Blood Mary, no vodka), and they seem to be able to make all frozen drinks without the rum - pina coladas, daquris of every flavor.  I also like club soda with various juices mixed in, like pineapple juice or Rose lime juice.  About every other bar also seems to have a coffee machine since they can make after dinner coffee drinks.

OK - this is making me hungry 🙂  Home made pasta - yum, yum, yum!

Apple pie is the only one I've heard anyone making (seen several posts).

My husband gets eggs benedict with scrambled eggs - much better in his opinion.

16 minutes ago, mmtska said:

Oh that makes sense with the pasta class! I’m leaning towards that now haha. 

on the barbeque class, my husband said they gave them a tour of the barbeque kitchen, they prepared a brisket, but since they take a long time to roast, they didn't get to eat what they prepared at the time.  We went to the Asian restaurant for dinner and they brought him his brisket, which he could barely eat because we had finished dinner 🙂  After the class, they had lunch at the barbeque place.  We're looking forward to making pasta - 

My husband took the barbeque class on the Panorama and we are signed up for the pasta class on our next trip.  He enjoyed it.  I thought the pasta class sounded fun and you prepare lunch, so it gives us a different dining experience for a sea day.  I understand with the pie class, you prepare your pie and they serve it in the dining room for dinner.  Not sure if its still this way, but it is making me skip the dessert classes because we don't usually eat in the dining room.  I was going to sign up for the sushi class, but the timing wasn't right for our trip.  I signed up for the teppanyaki lunch instead.

We are headed to Grenada next weekend and the entry requirements and country requirements are quite strict.  I am happy to comply - I feel I'm lucky to finally take this trip (cancelled last year) and their requirements/restrictions are helping to keep residents and visitors safe.  They've only had 15 cases in the last two weeks.  All of the Caribbean had a bad rise during the late summer - most decided to go ahead and have their carnivals and festivals.  Most have also said that was a mistake and they went back for awhile to heavy restrictions.  Barbados in not doing well at all right now.  I try to keep abreast of things in the Caribbean because before the pandemic, we would travel there one or two times a year.  There is a world map that shows bi-weekly reported cases easily found on the net.  This will be our first trip in over 2 years.

I don't drink, my husband does.  I would never buy the package as we both would have to get it.  It has been nice when its included.

I have heard more funny stories about people showing up for the Friends of Dorothy meetings.  Starting with women named Dorothy 🙂

We went on the Grand, Zumba every day in the main theater, not sure about line dancing.

4 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Just noticed there is no Sabatini's on Majestic. So we'll give Bistro and Harmony a try.

We are on her for our next Princess cruise.  Looking forward to trying both.  I have heard good things 🙂

10 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, the restaurants are not the same area of the ship.

I think that depends on which ship your are on, on the Grand, they are right next to each other.  The staff in the Crown Grill brought me a main dish from Sabatini's one night.  The staff, atmosphere, etc. in both are great, its just all up to your tastes and what food you prefer.  I am a sucker for the pasta dishes, the appetizers and the desserts in Sabatini's.

When we were on the Grand, NO FOOTBALL, college or pros.