GRAYTech

In the upscale restaurants waiters are given a commission on wines purchased.

Yags - Do you know this for a fact? I have cruised many years and never heard of any of the alcohol sales resulting in the crew member who "rang it up" getting a special commission. If so, shouldn't the same then also be true in the MDR? What about the person that sells you a wine package?

What about good scotch in the CG? We rang up 6 between us over dinner which easily would have equaled the cost of a bottle of wine.

Not arguing just trying to understand the logic behind a commission for a select few on wine alone, especially when the big drinkers are more likely to have the AIBP.

We found the steak on the Regal in 2016 to be no higher than "select" quality. I certainly don't expect "Prime", but for the upcharge I at least expected "choice"....

Do you have a history with CG? It sounds like you know your cut of meat and wonder if you feel the same as I and some others do that years ago the beef had that WOW factor, melt in your mouth filet. Now not so much. Did they really cost-cut the CG STEAKHOUSE and downgrade the cut of beef?

I have just recently had a better filet at Outback Steakhouse compared to CG. It was lunch for $10, a 6oz filet, fries and a beer. It was outstanding, service equal to CG. Wait staff friendly and attentive and I tipped 20% for a whopping $4.00 for the two of us.

Congrats on choosing Princess and in a suite!

 

I don't know why above post said no Diet Coke, I've always gotten canned Diet Coke with the mini bar exchange.

We were told no diet coke in cans available on our CB cruise in January. Maybe it was just a one time thing.

If the Window Suite is a "full" suite you will get the perks you noted.

Talk with the maitre d when you board to confirm your dinner preferences. You will get your choice of what you want with a full suite.

You can exchange the mini bar setup for more soda cans or coffee card. Sadly, Diet Coke will not be an option for you. You may want to bring some with you. You can bring water and soda on board without charge. Just limited to 1 750ml bottle of wine/champagne per adult without charge.

Take advantage of the first night specialty dining. You can choose either CG or Sabatinis. Take a look at the menu and decide. You do need to call the "dine" line to make a reservation which you should do "first thing" when you board as the "better" times fill up.

Free laundry, don't miss Sabatinis breakfast and ordering anything room service from the MDR.

Once you have sailed in a full suite you will likely never sail in anything less....

There is enough confirmation on this post and others that the wait staff at the Clown Grill has not interest in you if they cannot make additional commissions off of you....

I don't get it. I don't think the wait staff get any additional $$$ whether you order a drink or not, it all goes into the tip pool with all the rest. If you have the AIBP you have already tipped big time on the drinks you consume.

Unlike a land based restaurant when we tip at the end of the meal it's based solely on the quality of the service provided, not on what we consumed and therefore the bill total. For a table of 4 we have tipped, again based solely on the service provided, anywhere from $0 to $100 for the meal.

Only once was the server ever-absent (He got the $0). Normally they anticipate your every need. If things go a little slow a nod from the maitre 'd springs the server into action.

I will say on our last cruise the quality of the beef was more supermarket than chophouse. Good but no WOW factor. Sides and the rest were also so-so compared to previous visits. We only went the first night on this last cruise because the upcharge is waved for full suite pax.

....If we can't book a full suite, we would give the CC mini a go for some premium, just not sure what my pain point is.

We don't get to sail often so we usually go for a full suite but getting one is often a problem. Our favorite is a Vista suite on the grand class ships but you make an interesting point. If it's just the DW and I a CC mini might be a good compromise if we can't get the aft Vista. I'm always one to give something new a try and would be willing to try CC (at a "reasonable" price) and see if it was worth it. If not, won't be back.

...It does seem the price differences varies significantly. Perhaps $25 per person per day would be more reasonable.

Just for the heck of it I priced a 7 day on the Regal January 7th, 2018 Caribbean (a typical cruise for us) and the price difference between a mid ship mini and mid ship CC was $231/each or $33/pp/day.

In CC can you order room service from the MDR menu and do you get the Sabatinis (or whatever it's called now) breakfast or are those full suites only?

What makes the Sabatini's breakfast so special that many posters wax lyrically about. Is it the food, the ambience or the fact that it is limited top a small number of passengers and therefore a bit of an ego trip?

Not an ego trip for me anyway but the rest is true. The wait staff are an absolute hoot. On the CB in January one of the Maitre 'd was hilarious. He and the waiters give each other s***, even some of the pax join in the "fun".

The mimosas / champagne flows freely. Food cooked to order and "entertainment" provided. Like someone else said plan on spending an hour having a relaxing breakfast then maybe another 30 minutes on your balcony lounger taking a knap.

At work, I fell over a sign that said, "Always Alert, Nobody Hurt."

That is a pretty funny one. (y)

Where are you trying to get to -- has your time on the parking meter run out?

No but the time on my bladder has run out.

My DW falls in the theater almost every time if we try to leave before the house lights come up and that's with me hanging on to her in addition to the railings. I think Princess should bring the house lights up, to at least 75%, right when the show ends. Do we need to "see" the CD on stage or the stairs as we are all trying to exit in the dark?

Even average sized people find the showers uncomfortably small. My husband is a big guy and can't get his whole body in the shower.

Not sure this helps but I was 6ft, 250lbs at one point and was able to "use" the shower. The curtain will be on you and you bump into the walls but it works.

Because it's a curtain you aren't "contained" in any way so I think you will be able to make it work. The bathrooms all have other floor drains too so even if you get the floor wet the water has someplace to go. I haven't seen any handhelds in past Princess cruises but that doesn't mean they aren't there or could you request one? Maybe in an accessible room.

Please let us know how your cruise goes.

Club Fusion on the CB last January BOGO was from 3:00 to 4:00PM along with daily Trivia and/or Bingo. Never won but had fun doing it. Then it was back to the cabin to clean up for dinner and return to Club Fusion 5:00 - 7:00PM for the PES goodies and drink specials.

The kicked-up PES snacks were perfect to hold you over for late TD dinner at 8:15PM

We are adventreous diners, and always ask our waiter what he recommends for the evening. And we usually order it.

We learned this from a Princess MDR waiter a long time ago. We had a very picky 8 year old eater at the time and credit him with opening her culinary viewpoint.

He was very engaging, would start with the usual "... how is everyone tonight etc...." Then would say which entree's were "looking good" that evening and what he suggested for our 8 year old to order. If she didn't like it he could bring anything from the always available menu immediately. It worked, I don't think she ever rejected what he brought out. He also usually brought out an extra plate of something she may not be 100% on just so she/we could try it. I wish I could remember his name.

From then on we ask the waiter for their favorites, or what's looking good etc. They don't like to get into what's not so good, rather what they might order or what previous cruise pax liked the most. It seems at times, from some waiters, our interest and ordering what they recommended went along with really great service. Almost like they have a vested interest in making our meal a great experience.

Seems to me there were both types of chairs (arms on and not) in all dinning venues on our last CB Princess cruise. I have seen other pax swap chairs about when needed. As noted, the Maitre de can also get you seated appropriately.

If you have trouble negotiating a curb you may find the tendering process a bit of a challenge but there are always staff to hang onto when boarding.

You may not want to but if you ask the staff with whatever you need at the time I'm almost 100% sure they can accommodate your needs and will do so respectfully.

My wife caught her heel on the last stair of the staircase, fell to the ground and within seconds there were four crew members assisting her. Held her arms while escorting her to a nearby seating area and then did a quick exam of her foot and asked if we needed the ships doctor. 2 were photographers, 1 senior crew member and 1 looked to be kitchen staff. I think whomever you ask they will do their best to assist you with whatever your need might be at the time.

Lot's of varied opinions and experiences on Princess upscale dinning. Your open mindedness to give it another go is admirable. I'm sure you will but be sure to do just that, keep an open mind about the next meal there. If you go in expecting the worst it may head you in that direction.

The only other thing I would say from own experience is if a waiter, CG, MDR. Vines or even the buffet try to steer you away from anything on the menu it's likely because it's sub-par or at least, another option is better. Even at the CG we give the waiter an opportunity to recommend his/her favorite dish on the menu for that evening and order it. If you are willing/able to be flexible this usually yields a great meal and a very engaged wait staff.

The question I have is "what is normal service?" If you always tip extra, how do you know you are getting better service than if you didn't?

I thought that too and not trying to be snarky either. Doesn't matter if we are on board a ship or at a local eatery. The amount (and if) to tip comes down to the service. Is the waiter attentive, feels like they are meeting your every need or ... where the heck is the waiter with that beer I asked for 20 minutes ago? It's usually someplace in between and so is the tip.

Last Crown Grill meal we had the waiter was spot-on and the tip reflected it.

"Keener on some than others, but if I don't feel like spending time in a Port I have an extra sea day and stay onboard. "

You said it much better than I did. I try to live with my glass half full, just might be keener on ports other than Grand Turk.

If you dont like the stop, because it's too short or some other reason, either don't book the cruise or stay on the ship.

Indeed, there are many, many options to choose from. The glass half-full theory also applies. Make the best of it, enjoy the heck out of it and you will have a good time no matter what you do.

Although my glass may no longer be half full for Grand Turk.

Short but sweet. 5 hours was enough time to take a walkabout through town, visit a few shops and enjoy lunch at one of the open air restaurants. The local folks are some of the nicest people we have ever met.

Do they ask how much luggage you have? For heading to the ship, we are train withe friends and I know we will have a lot of luggage. Do they have vans that you can request? Thanks.

They don't ask, just judge how much luggage you have and if it will fit in a standard cab. If yes, request a normal Uber. If no you request an Uber XL. We had 4 people and 4 large bags and needed the Uber XL.

Standard Uber cars are just 4 door autos, Uber XL's are typically a SUV of some sort.

If the Uber guy had to wait 45 minutes on a normally 10 minute drive I would have tipped him more then $2.

I tried but he didn't want it. What he did was take a photo of my daughter's phone to show the discrepancy of what Uber charges and what the driver gets. (That's Uber's cut of course) He was going to run this case up the corporate ladder to show how unfair the pricing and system is to the drivers at times.

So yes, he deserved more but he didn't want the extra $10 I was going to give him.

I'd say give Uber or Lyft a try. We cruised with my 20-something daughter so she fired Uber up. It tells you how much ahead of time so you can decide. We requested an Uber XL (the bigger version) from another hotel a little further than Embassy, 4 of us with 4 large bags and a couple of smaller items.

$8 one way to the port for all 4 of us. There were 3 other couples waiting for some time for a cab and the Uber person showed up, we loaded and were off while they were still standing waiting.

The port was nuts the day sailed and we waited in the Uber for about 45 minutes to unload. Price was still the same, $8 and I gave him a $2 tip. Uber doesn't have a standby rate like a standard taxi does (who is charging via the meter).

I'm a computer guy and discounted using Uber because it would be too hard to figure out. I was wrong, it's actually easier than calling for a taxi. You know how much the ride will be and they tell you what kind of car/SUV is coming, how long it will take +/- about 30 seconds and the name of the driver.

No more taxi's for us. Uber was truly cheaper, better, faster than the hotel shuttles or taxis we have used in the past. You can even program in a midway stop say at Total Wine and More on your way to the port.

Going home we did Princess EZCheck and a taxi from the port to the FLL. It would have taken an Uber much longer to get into port and find us. There were at least 30 taxis in line waiting to go. We jumped in one and we were off.

The only thing I would find useful would be the upgraded shampoo but alas, doesn't sound like that's part of the package.

...The bathroom in the aft suite we had (D737) had only one sink with no shelves. We had to keep all our toothpaste, etc. in a plastic box on the counter next to the sink. Also, I thought the walk-in closet in the aft suite was cramped and awkward...

We love the aft Vista Suites but agree the lack of bathroom shelves and dumb layout of the closet space is, just dumb. They could easily add the bathroom shelves, at least one on each side would be nice.

This thread has me thinking more about a Window Suite next time.