GRAYTech

Exactly. Because of cheap Voom I now have to additional cruises per year all with RCCL.. I am in IT and can work remotely. I even have Web conferences sometimes.

I'm in IT as well. How was the speed on VOOM? Latency?

Did it work "everywhere", no dead spots while at sea etc?

Anything blocked? I would need access to a Cisco VPN.

...I would gladly pay $10 per day for reliable internet. I will be able to work from cruise -> more cruises

That's where I'm at. I'm self employed and have to arrange for someone to monitor Email while I'm away. If it is truly reliable 24/7 I can take Email and make some calls if needed and not have to arrange for someone to cover.

Was going to try Royal Caribbean just to have access to "Voom" but now I think I'd give Princess another try. Still arrange for someone the first cruise to test it out but if it works I might just make Elite after all.

Just boarded the Regal Princess out of Ft. Lauderdale yesterday. New internet plan....pay by the day, $10 per device per 24 hours. If Elite or Platinum, no charge. $10 per day no different than many hotels. Slight discount for weeklong use.

Thanks for the info. Can you run a speed test by chance and report back the results? Download, upload and ping times. Something like: https://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

I often wonder if the specialty restaurants have lost their WOW! factor simply because we are able to purchase for home use and in most restaurants the prime grade meat cuts, that were hard to come by years ago. In others words we have been spoiled land side...and it is impossible for the cruise lines to compete.....

I would generally agree but I feel my experience was just the opposite. Years ago the steak was noticeably better in the CG. Just comparing the meat quality in the CG over the years. Now I would put it on par with a Publix or other large chain store. The meat has gone down in quality over the years and I'm guessing it was to cut costs.

We ate at Outback last night. I split the New York strip with my DW and daughter had the Victoria filet. She didn't finish it so I re-heated the left-overs this morning with a couple of eggs and it was still better than the hot off the grill filet in the CG. So yes, Outback has much more than sirloin and I still give them the edge when it comes to meat quality and preparation. Funny too, the price is pretty much the same. If Outback can make $$$ and serve better beef I would think Princess could if they chose to do so.

I would agree, the filet is usually the best choice in the Crown Grill. Years ago the meal, including the meat, had a wow factor. You left the table thinking WOW that was GREAT. That has not been the case in recent years. Now it's more like a that was OK, or I really liked that one dessert. We probably would not book it if it weren't for the first night free with a suite. So yes it's the best place to get a steak on board but go in with realistic expectations.

IMHO Outback Steakhouse is better all around. Ironically we usually eat at an Outback the night before a cruise. It's next to the Embassy Suites in Fort Lauderdale. So I eat the meat at Outback and 24 hours later I eat the same cut in the CG. Outback wins every time. Years ago it may have been a tie.

... Now we are on a 10 day cruise so we have 4000 gloves times 10 days for a total of 40,000 gloves being used per cruise. That is a lot of gloves to be purchasing, storing and then the disposal problem.

Disposal isn't an issue, they would just toss them overboard with the rest of the trash. :rolleyes:

You don't suppose someone would create a new sign in only to toss in a vague negative post and watch the fireworks that follow?

...................keep posting so I can LMAO reading about the next absurd subject matter.

Reading this thread and enjoying my popcorn without butter, in my not so freshly laundered Elite T-Shirt, thirsty because I have exceeded the daily limit, hit my head looking for some berries and nursing some bruises from the ATD line earlier today. (If only I were on board)

I have always thought it funny that the more absurd the thread the longer the life it has.

When at Port Everglades we stay in a nearby hotel the night before. (Embassy for example) Eat the included breakfast and normal 11:00 check out, takes about 30 minutes to get your luggage down to the lobby, find an Uber or Taxi (forget about the hotel shuttle) and physically get to the port.

The line is usually fairly long (preferred or not) but it goes quickly for preferred once you hit the door, maybe 30 minutes to go through the line and check in.

Unless boarding is delayed you usually walk right on or wait a few minutes at most. The preferred boarding lounge is nothing special and we would rather spend our time having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel.

Walk to the cabin, load the safe and head to the MDR for lunch and a beer. So on board and eating in about an hour. Return to the cabin and unpack the luggage which is usually there by the time we finish with lunch.

We are doing this same thing but with only 4 people total soon. We will be in a suite while our friends in the balcony next to us. We planned on making a week of it and having all dinners except for the ROV dinner in our suite. So should we get the menus early and then earlier that day see the HW and place our order for dinner? I am not understanding the writing down the order and giving to HW part. I never thought of telling the ROV coordinator or even the HW upon boarding our thoughts of having all dinners in our suite but I will for sure make the note to do this to see if it can make things a bit easier on the staff knowing ahead of time.

Yes you get the menus during the day for that dinner.

With 4 of you I would just call the dine line. The suggestion to talk with the HW and provide him the list was for a larger dinner, perhaps as many as 10 or even 16. To do that over the phone would be a challenge.

You do what you want of course but we always do MDR traditional late. The waiters are a hoot, service has been outstanding. For a number of cruises we did dinner for 4 on the suite balcony and enjoyed it but liked the MDR and specialty too.

Have a great cruise!

We still don't have "Any Room Cabin" you get to sleep in a different room every night with a different steward to clean it. When we do, I'm sure those room stewards will turn theirs in too.

True but it seems your evidence is anecdotal at best. I have tipped at "anytime" breakfast and lunch and they seemed very appreciative to me as well.

I have tipped the "anytime" bartenders. The "anytime" waiters in Vines. The "anytime" waiters in the PES happy hour. Just about everything else but the MDR traditional staff and cabin steward are anytime anywhere. Are the cash tips from those areas pooled as well and with whom? (Not talking about the pooled auto grats)

I'm not looking for a kerfuffle here, trying to understand your logic. Do you tip with an envelope each night in anytime dining or do you wait until the end of the cruise to tip for the entire cruise and if so why?

I specifically stated MDR staff. Cabin stewards, "I heard," keep theirs.

True but why would they get to keep it and the MDR wait staff not? Why not the specialty restaurants? Gave the Crown Grill waiter $40 for the four of us, into his pocket it went.

I also gave a $50 to each of our MDR waiters the same way, folded $50, discrete handshake and a thank you. It went into their pockets. I know what you "heard" is they must turn it in. What I'm saying is I don't think there is a chance either of those 2 $50 bills went into an envelope for later determination by someone else who should benefit.

With respect to your question, the "rumor" that has been told to me is that MDR waitstaff who receive envelopes must write the guest name and cabin number on the envelope. [From my first cruise on Princess I was asked this.] Then the envelope is turned in and held for determination as to who gets it.

We leave the auto tips on for all the stated "equality" reasons but I can't imagine the cabin steward turned in the $100 bill I slipped him in the hallway outside my door with a handshake and a "...thank you, great job...".

We wanted to do the Hawaii loop in January but alas my fur baby (cat) is 16+ and not in great health. She needs lots of TLC, special feeding and love. At this point we won't leave the house for more than a quick overnight at our kids. And yes she knows when the bags come out and lets us know about it in the middle of the night.

Enjoy your cruise! Report back with the details and some photos if you can. We will get there at some point and would love to see/hear what you thought of it.

Also I would recommend talking with the Head Waiter in Club Class and selecting the menu in advance - don't try to order it all by calling room service. With this many people, it may be a better idea to plan on ordering appetizers, soup, entrées, and desert separately instead of having all the dishes delivered at the same time. Ask the Club Class Head Waiter for advice on how to do it.

This is great advice and I bet they will be willing to accommodate your needs without exception. Calling in for 4 people can be a challenge depending on who you get on the other end. Having the menu ahead of time means you can get everyone's order written down and handed to the Head Waiter. Easier for everyone involved.

We have done both a B2B on the same ship and on two different Princess ships and was never made aware of a "special" lunch for the B2B pax. In fact the one on the same ship it seemed like we were being punished. Forced to stand in a hot terminal for almost an hour while they located 2 missing B2B pax. No chairs so felt really bad for those with mobility issues. Was denied the restroom for almost 30 minutes because they would have "re-count". The next B2B we changed ships and boarded normally.

All of the "normal" stuff was available, MDR until 1:30 and so on. Horizon Court was open and being some of the first back on the ship it was less chaotic. I think it also helped that the pax that were there had done it all before. Like a well oiled machine instead of the masses that look like they had not eaten for days.

Was on the Crown in January and had the beef medallions in the MDR embarkation day. I think they are open until 1:30PM for lunch. No chaos like the buffet lines. It's actually something I really look forward to, the official start to the cruise.

OS has lots of space. If you get creative like you mentioned I see no issue with getting 16 to eat together. A vista might be a bit tight but the OS has the extra table and space. I'm sure you will but tip both the delivery folks and your steward to reflect the extra service provided.

We end up with stacks of plates with just 4 of us after breakfast. Can't imagine 4 times that. You might even want to "order" a cart to keep with the delivery so you can stack the empties on the cart after the meal.

When you return home and wonder what day it is because the bathroom rug doesn't have the day of the week embroidered on to it.

Similar thing happened at our workplace. About 10 years ago they made the smokers go into the restrooms to smoke because they were vented to the outside. If you had the misfortune of being on the pot you ended up smelling like the rest of them.

I smoke cigars and won't in in the lounge, it stinks. Go ashore and enjoy one on the beach. (Downwind to not be obnoxious to others)

...Also consider bringing a 6 or 9 ft. extension cord and a multi outlet power surge protector to use to charge your phone, camera, etc.MARAPRINCE

An extension cord is fine and a power strip is OK if it does not have a surge suppressor. A/C on a ship is different than land and using a surge suppressor can actually cause a fire, it's a prohibited item. Again, a power strip is fine so long as it does not contain a surge suppressor. I use an multi-outlet power cord. Plug it in behind the tv and the "outlets" reside just behind the TV.

https://www.amazon.com/Cablelera-Power-Extension-Splitter-ZWACPQAG-14/dp/B00FRODUR4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1509894993&sr=8-3&keywords=power+splitter

..Sometimes you get a great person that answers the phone and does ask about the little extras.

This is true and it's great when it happens. Seems more often than than not the person on the other end is not that great with English and it's a mystery if the order was received, what you might get and when.

Also if you like bacon with your eggs at breakfast, only request one order. The first time we ordered for the 3 of us we marked for 3 and there was enough bacon for 30 cabins :)

Yeah we got bit by the bacon bug too. Had to be at least a pound of bacon for the 4 of us. It was enough that the person loading the delivery cart had to say ... how can any one cabin eat this much bacon ...?

Be very specific when you order. If you want drawn butter with that lobster tail you need to say so. Salt for your eggs, cream for your coffee the list goes on.

They only bring what you tell them to. We didn't order the butter the first time around and by the time the butter arrived the lobster was cold. Still good though.

We went on a January 2017 cruise on the Crown Princess and these were the Verizon cruise ship rates at the time.

$2.99/minute voice

$20/mb data

$0.50/message sent

$0.05/message received

$0.25/MMS message sent (text with photo/video)

$0.25/MMS message received (text with photo/video)

This is SMS texting, not iMessage which uses data and would be VERY expense. For example one photo could easily be 2MB in size which would cost you $40 to send via iMessage. You don't even want to turn on your cellular data while on board. If you blow it once you will potentially have a huge bill.

Depends on your needs but as others have noted the $10/24hr Travel Pass from Verizon really worked well for me. Decent speed, could live with accessing texts and calls while in port. Of course as also noted, doesn't work with prepaid phones.

So for me airplane mode and turn back on Wifi to access the ships intranet and ships internet plans. Check our Email with the free minutes you get. When in port the travelpass late in one port and early in the next port and it's the same 24hrs so only one $10 charge.