derdejoh

Just one steakhouse -- The Crown Grill.

Yes, it has Scoops, and ice cream (hand-dipped or from the machine) is free.

So I'm sitting at home last night when I get a text from my mom: "Where do I go to make my final payment?"

I'm thinking: "Sigh, how many times am I going to have to walk you through this?" :rolleyes:

So I call her back and then go log in to walk her through the process (yet again). And voila -- new Personalizer! I had to laugh (and also apologize!). :D

I haven't really explored it much, but I am at least liking the appearance of the new design.

Seriously, they showed Captain Phillips on MUTS? When we saw that movie, my daughters (ages 24 and 18) said they weren't going on the cruise. We leave in 9 days!!! I bet they still go. Just won't be around the MUTS screen that night!

I had the same thought! I guess "Poseidon" was not available?

But in all seriousness, thank you caribill for a terrific review!

My wife and I are going on a cruise with my mother and stepdad, who will be staying in a different cabin. We are planning to take some shore excursions together. How can I make a reservation for the four of us? Whenever I log in to the Personalizer, I can only make a reservation for my wife and I (you have to select the specific passengers who are going on the excursion). I thought in years gone by you were able to pre-reserve a certain number of tickets, but now it seems to be limited to just the passengers in my cabin? The shore excursions brochure FAQs even say that if you are traveling with companions in other staterooms, the reservation should be made under one name -- but I can't figure out how to do that.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Honestly, it probably depends on the number of people in your party. Last year out of Galveston, and again this year for our upcoming one out of Houston, we stayed at a hotel near the airport. (Yes, I realize that has plusses and minuses.) But from a purely transportation standpoint, the Princess transfers are something like $24 per person; just take the hotel shuttle back to the airport to connect with Princess.

I could be wrong, but I think that is the way the itinerary looked last year. Maybe they just recycled the same image without actually updating it for this years cruises? I'm sure Princess would say that the picture is just an example and the order of the ports can change (for example, our upcoming cruise is Cozumel, Roatan, Belize -- which is different than either scenario you were shown).

I can't pull up the AU version of the 3 for Free deal, but the US version includes the following disclaimer: "This offer is capacity controlled and may not be combinable with any other public, group or past passenger offers..."

We usually just book online and a couple of times we've had to decide which was the better deal -- the past passenger rate or the current promotion (usually it is the past passenger rate). But it is frustrating that some people are apparently getting the deal, while others are not!

Ideally, there would be a hand washing station at the entrance to the dining venue, but that ain't gonna happen.

I would point out it depends upon which ship you are on and where you eat. We often have traditional dining and get stuck in the out-of-the-way dining room on Deck 6 in the back of the ship. As inconvenient as it is to get to dinner, they do have restrooms right inside the main entrance -- and we usually stop each night to wash our hands before dinner. Hardly anybody else does that so there is rarely a line.

I agree that it is not clear that once you have signed in your entry has been registered. That said, once you have uploaded the maximum of 5 pictures, it no longer gives you the option of uploading more pictures, so the system is apparently working, just not as transparently as it could be.

Okay, I'll play the role of the contrarian (but only a little bit)!

If you have the money to spend, then get a balcony and you'll be able to get some fantastic views from your stateroom. Otherwise, go with the obstructed view. You'll still be able to look out and see what is going on in general, and then you can head up on deck to get the sweeping views of the scenery. Certainly any view of Alaska is breathtaking, but as they say: "The grass is always greener," and no matter which side of the ship you are on, there is always going to be something more interesting on the other side. If you are in your cabin, too bad, maybe it will be there when the ship turns around and comes back (yes, the glacier is not going to move (at least not very quickly!), but the the pod of whales or other wildlife likely will be gone). But if you are up on deck, or standing at the bow of the ship, you can simply walk across to the other side to see what the naturalist is talking about.

Plus, it is Alaska. Depending upon the weather, you may be fine wearing your PJs out on the balcony, but you may also be bundling up to stay warm -- if you're going to be putting a jacket on anyway, you might as well be up on deck and seeing *everything* that Alaska has to offer.