DaisyRose

For our 2025 Sun cruise we have purchased the premier package for a number of reasons. I haven't heard anyone mention the "prizes" aspect of premier in this thread. I have read some say they didn't win anything the whole cruise, but I think it would be fun to hope to win something when you open your door! For health reasons I can only have 1 or 2 drinks a day, but they do have some mocktails that I plan to indulge in. For dear hubby, he likes whiskey and scotch, so the premier package will be an opportunity for him to have a few of the higher end brands that he would never buy at home. Since ours is a 7 night cruise, the total cost isn't too bad. And after about 30 Princess cruises, this may be our last, as age is catching up with us. So we are splurging on Premier for this cruise.

I have the premier package that includes milkshakes. Does anyone know if there is anywhere on the Sun Princess where you can get a milkshake? Thanks.

I am one who strongly agrees that Princess should open O'Malley's at lunch time. We really enjoy dinner in the dining room. We did purchase premier, and since it comes with 2 specialty dining dinners, that only leaves five nights for the main dining room on our 7 night cruise. I really don't want to give up a dining room dinner for the pub food in O'Malleys. I would love it for lunch, though. Due to covid and some other buffet tales I have heard, we avoid the buffet. So not a lot of choices for lunch. Please Princess, open O'Malley's for lunch.

My cruise is not for more than a year. I am disappointed that O'Malley's is only open for dinner, especially since I splurged for premier and have casual dining available to me. I find that the dining room and buffet are always so crowded at lunch time on sea days. Since it's only open for dinner, I would miss a nice dinner in the dining room for pub fare. If anyone on board feels the same way as I do, wishing O'Malley's was open for lunch on sea days, would you please mention that on your post cruise survey? If enough people mention it, maybe they will change it and open it for lunch on sea days. Thanks so much! And Thanks to Canadian Burger for a most wonderful Live From. I've enjoyed all your posts and pictures! Your pictures and commentary make me wish I was going on the ship tomorrow! Don't know if I can wait another year and a half!

Thank you for the responses. Looking forward to O'Malleys - have never been on a ship with this restaurant.

Which restaurants are considered "Casual" dining? Trying to decide if "Plus" is worthwhile for us. We are especially interested in Casual Dining on the new Sun Princess. Does anyone know if O'Malley's Irish Pub has food and if it would be considered casual dining? Thanks so much in advance.

Yes, I think you are right that our doctor would be OK with us going above the recommendations while on vacation. Last cruise, we told her I had about 3 drinks per day, and hubby had about 5 per day. She was not too upset, she just wanted us to get back on track. But because hubby and I have both had some recent health scares, we are trying to eat (and drink) healthier.

For health reasons, my doctor says females one drink a day, males 2. So as much as I enjoy more, I am trying to limit myself to those guidelines. Drink package does not make sense for us with only one or two drinks per day.

This does not take into account people with health issues who can not book far in advance because they don't know what the status of their treatments and illness will be in a year or two.

Thanks everyone for all your answers and suggestions; some good ideas there. I was wondering if you could also designate it for extra tips for the crew. Has anyone done that?

Does the ship have a small shop where you might be able to buy a few souvenirs?

Hello, I have gotten a price quote on a Uniworld River Cruise in Europe that is offering some onboard credit. Since river cruises are generally all inclusive, I am wondering if anyone can give me an idea of what I might be able to use onboard credit for. Thanks!

I currently have two Princess cruises booked, one with Plus50 and one with Standard fare. When looking at packages available for purchase, both of them offer me the New Plus for $64.99 plus 18% service charge for a total of $76.69 per person per day. The New Premier Package is offered to me for $84.99 plus 18% service charge for a total of $100.29 per person per day. This is the first I have heard or seen of this yet another increase in price! I don't think there will be many packages for me in the future; in fact, I don't think there will be many Princess cruises for me in the future.

Thank you both for the responses. It seems kind of strange, it appears that NY is the only state that does not allow the Cancel For Any Reason. This also explains why when I go to an independent insurance web site to purchase travel insurance cancel for any reason is never available.

Hello, Does anyone know why Princess Vacation Protection is not available to NY residents? When doing an online booking, it says not available to NY residents. Celebrity also says not available to NY residents during the booking process. I don't usually buy Princess insurance because of low medical and evacuation coverage, but for short nearby cruises I sometimes do. I wonder why this is not available for NY residents? Any thoughts?

I agree with kywildcatfanone's comments. One of the reasons Princess was my preferred brand was because they didn't reserve seats for those who could afford more expensive accommodations. Now they do. I can see how it would lead to problems. I can understand passengers being upset that they can't get a seat while a bunch of "reserved" seats remain open. I think the policy is that those that are entitled to reserved seats must be there by ten minutes before showtime, which would explain why the other guests were allowed to take those seats ten minutes before the show. I understand Princess wanting to give their higher paying guests some special privileges, but I also understand passengers that can't afford those higher priced accommodations being upset. I wish Princess would build the theatre larger, as most of the time the showroom is filled long before the show starts. I never mind when higher paying guests get special privileges when it doesn't effect me, but I do mind when those privileges take something away from me, like the availability of seats. I guess there really isn't a good solution. For me, it's either get there very early, or skip the show.

Thank you everyone for these answers, which help me a lot! I'll bring MC & V credit cards and a little cash.

Hello, I've read a number of threads, and I'm still a bit confused on payments and tipping in Brittish Isles, Scotland, and Ireland. I think I'm believing that almost everything can be paid with credit cards, especially restaurants and pubs, and that we generally won't tip in those places. It seems the only places that tips would be generally expected and appreciated would be tour guides and bus drivers. It seems even small purchases such as souvenirs or a few snacks can be made with credit cards. Do I have this right? Thanks in advance for your help!

I am thinking about booking a Belfast Excursion called St. Patrick Center, Down Cathedral, and Saul. It is a full day excursion but does not include lunch. There is a 45 minute stop for shopping and to grab some lunch on your own, it says in cafes or pubs. 45 minutes does not seem like enough time to get lunch. Has anyone taken this excursion, and if so, are places to grab a quick lunch? Thanks in advance for any answers you might be able to help me with.

Thank you all for the answers. I have gotten used to the International Cafe, and thinking of booking an Island Princess cruise. Was hoping there was somewhere besides dining room and buffet for a snack and coffee on the Island. I appreciate the responses.

I know that there is not an International Cafe on the Island Princess. Is there anywhere to get a coffee and a snack besides the dining rooms and the buffet?00

Yes they did ask if we have allergies before 360. You are probably right, it may have been Discovery and Enchanted. So much to remember, sorry if I erred. On this particular ship, the Elite cocktail hour was not crowded, at least for the first 45 minutes or so when we were there. Yes, this was a very enjoyable trip. And by the way, I discovered a new drink that I really liked, a Baked Alaska. It has vanilla vodka, raspberry, and creme de cocoa. Very nice!

This is a relatively short review of a great cruise on a beautiful ship. The crew was fantastic - every one that we encountered was pleasant, polite, and helpful. The ship was very clean, and there were many activities for those who wished to participate. A few guests wore masks, and a very few crew members wore masks. I think it's great that those who wished to did so without any issues. Our biggest complaint about the trip was the bag drop off. When we arrived at the port - around 10:45 - there was a 45 minute line just to drop off your bags. There was only one person taking them, and he was x-raying them all, so you had to just wait until you got to the front of the line, hand him your bag, and then he put it in the x-ray machine. Only 1 x-ray machine. I think this was the 3rd cruise of the season, so hopefully they will fix that, because I think a 45 minute wait just to drop off a bag is unacceptable. We had reserve dining, and it was wonderful. Never a wait to get in and seated, the wait staff were all pleasant and efficient. We never waited very long for our food. The choices were excellent, and yes one extra dish that was not on the menu for those in reserve dining. I felt that the menus were similar to pre-covid, but I did notice differences. Perhaps I just missed it, but I did not notice fried chicken or chili on the menus, which are two items I did always enjoy. On Italian night, they had eggplant parm, but it was different - it was listed as an entree and it came with something that I think was a type of pasta. Very disappointing is that they no longer serve lemoncello, something I always looked forward to. I specifically asked for it, and they did not have any. We had a few nice items from the International Cafe. We didn't go to the buffet very much, but I will say that we were a little disappointed in the warm food choices - I didn't think there was a lot of variety, and my husband looked for different types of seafood and did not find much. But the items we did get were very good. We ordered room service 3 times. Twice the order was correct. But once - my husband ordered a roast beef sandwich on rye bread with mustard and chocolate cake. He got a roast beef sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise and cheese cake. 3 errors! He has a sensitivity to many dairy or fatty foods, so he can't eat mayonnaise or cheese cake. So he wiped off the mayo and just took one taste of the cheese cake. I will say, though, that the orders got there quickly - less than 1/2 an hour. I am not a fan of the app. To check in, mine just kept buffering. My husbands did work, so I was checked in based on my husbands. We did not use it to order anything, but a few times when my husband tried to use it, his was buffering, too. Once the bags were dropped off, the check in was very fast. There were many, many movies on the stateroom TV to watch if you were tired and just wanted to relax a little in your room. We are elite, and went to the elite cocktail hour three nights. It was held in the Vista lounge, so no water views. But, the food choices were nice. They had a warm item every night we were there, and they were very good. Bar service was really good there, too. I liked that it started at 4:30. We could go there and have a drink and still get to the dining room around the time it opened. And, BRAVO to Princess - at 5:00 they had live entertainment in the elite lounge. One night it was a piano player, one night a duo on guitar and voice. That was a very pleasant surprise, and made us want to stay there even longer. We were in Alaska, and so, happily, Libby Riddles came on board in Juneau. For those who might not know, she was the first female to win the Iditarod mushing race in Alaska. She gave a very interesting talk, and sold some books and a few other souvenir type items. They also had Puppies in the Piazza in Skagway at 3:00. It was very crowded, so if you want to get a good viewing spot, get there early. There were only 2 puppies, and one didn't seem too happy to be there. He yelped a few times, and ran away a few times. But, his handler was good and calmed him down. They had a line for people who wanted to meet (hold or pet) the puppies. It was a picture opportunity with ship photographers taking pictures. I enjoyed the music in the piazza when various performers were there. Unfortunately, due to covid and my own risk factors, I did not go to any of the shows in the theater so I can't give you any information about those. My only complaint about the music was that Take 5, where they had some nice musicians playing, usually only started around 8:15. Being a senior, I am on an early schedule, so if I have dinner at 5, I'm done by 6:30 and 8:15 is a long time to wait to hear the music. I really wish they would have started the Take 5 music earlier. This was our fifth trip to Alaska, so we have done most of what we wanted to do already. We've seen the whales, bears, wolves, eagles, and a glacier up pretty close. We have recently become dog lovers, so we took excursions in Juneau and Skagway that involved the mushing dogs. In Juneau, Dog Sled Summer Camp and in Skagway, Musher's Camp and Dog Sled Experience. Both were very similar - a ride in a sled pulled by a team of dogs, a chance to hold an 8 week old puppy, and an instructional session about dog sledding. Both were great. In Juneau, the drive to get there was shorter but very bumpy. They had a photographer that took a picture of the sled ride - $20 for 1, or $30 for 2. In Skagway, the drive to get there was longer, but not as bumpy. They had a gift shop with mostly Alaska souvenirs, but some dog sledding souvenirs that I didn't see anywhere else. If you love dogs, this is an awesome experience. The main difference between the two excursions was professional pictures in Juneau shore excursion, and gift shop in the Skagway excursion. The scenery in Alaska was spectacular. We saw beautiful snow covered mountains, some glaciers, and chunks of ice in the water as we approached the main glacier. We saw one whale, sea lions and sea otters, and many eagles. Unfortunately, we could not go all the way in to the glacier, as there were too many ice chunks in the water, and the captain deemed it unsafe. We have seen them up close before, and when they calve the sight and sound is spectacular. We were disappointed, but we had seen it in the past. I did feel sorry for those who were in Alaska for the first time, as they really don't know what they missed. But safety must come first. This brings me to my suite. It was my first, and likely only, suite. It was really wonderful. We felt special and pampered. It was a penthouse suite with a wrap around deck that to us seemed like the ultimate in luxury. The bathroom was fantastic - a sink, shower, and tub in one part, and a door separating the toilet and a second sink in another part. You could enter the bathroom from either side, so one person could be in one part using shower/tub/sink while the other person could be in the other part with sink and toilet. The room was very spacious, with sliding doors to the deck from both the living room area and the bedroom area. A good amount of closet/drawer space. We got a couple of unexpected, very nice snacks. Suite passengers had a "concierge lounge" to use. There were snacks and beverages in here, as well as a concierge to help you with any questions or problems you might have. One night two, there was a cocktail party in which officers came, so a nice small gathering to meet them. On night 5 there was another Alaska-themed gathering, but we missed it because we had 360 reservations for that night. I was told that only the 6 Royal class ships have a concierge lounge (though all ships have a concierge). 360 - WOW! Available as a complimentary meal to suite guests only. They don't want us to tell too much and spoil the surprise for others. So I will just say it was very special. Movies on the walls, changing designs on the table, and many courses of food, some accompanied by drinks. If you are a picky eater - there are no choices, everyone gets the same thing. But there are so many courses that if there is something you don't like, just don't eat it. You will still go away fully stuffed! And the waitstaff presentation was also very special. I understand that 360 is currently only available on Discovery and Majestic. Sabatini's breakfast was one of the best perks of the suite. It was so wonderful! They will make anything you want if they have the food available. The servers are top notch. Pleasant, professional, friendly, and prompt. It was a very quiet restaurant for breakfast. So relaxing! We loved going there. I have only 1 disappointment with the suite - every morning the balcony floor was wet - I think perhaps from some cleaning that was done overnight. Sometimes there was so much water that it created puddles, and they lasted for a few hours. A few mornings even the cushions on our chairs were wet, so we brought towels outside to sit on. But otherwise, a fantastic suite. All in all, a wonderful cruise with a wonderful staff on a beautiful ship.

I was just on Discovery. The puppies were there at 3:00 in Skagway. There were only 2. One was not enjoying it. He yelped a few times and ran away a few times, but his handler was good and calmed him down. It was very crowded, so if you want a good spot, or if you want to get on line to pet them, get there early.00

Thanks for the responses. I suspected that paper boarding passes were not needed, but I was a bit nervous about showing up without one. Now I know I don't need a paper boarding pass. I appreciate the responses.