Familycruzer11

13 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

@Esprit - Peter, after having a fun discussion with our DD this morning at breakfast, with her doing a more in-depth search than I did, I just wanted to let you know you were right. They were definitely Barnacle Geese! 😁
 
My photo

 

 
Photos of Barnacle Geese

 

  
Photos of Bean Geese

 

 
The website I originally searched actually had both in the same picture with the caption saying Bean Goose. Needless to say I won’t be referring to that website again! Thanks for keeping me straight!  😁

Thank you @Ken the cruiser for confirming Barnacle Geese.  We saw them in Stockholm and added to my lifer list - so I started to wonder if I added the wrong bird. Glad to know for sure.  

Yes, the new app replaces them all.  I actually quite like the new app.  

Some of the birds we saw along the way (magpies are new to us..). Also Ultimate Tallin included the Marzipan shop.  Worth the tour to have the private guide speak about the history of the pharmacy, got to try some goodies and grind our own tea concoction.  Looking forward to seeing your photos!  You are in for a fabulous adventure both on and off the ship.  

On 7/13/2024 at 10:43 AM, Ken the cruiser said:

Thanks! We met Gian and Narendra at lunch today and hopefully will have them serving us there throughout the cruise! You have us interested in the medical pharmacy, as we haven’t booked a Tallinn excursion yet. I found a link to it. Was it part of a PCL excursion you went on or was it simply nearby the ship where you could walk from over to see it?

 

https://discover-estonia.com/town-hall-pharmacy-in-tallinn-estonia/
 

If you see Gian and Narendra please send regards from Michael (vegan -easy to remember. lol) and Adrienne from New York. 
 

the tour was “ultimate Tallin” (TLL-100) from PCL. It included the pharmacy among other sites and we loved it.  Turned out to be our favorite port (which is saying a lot) 

We love  Enchanted and will be sailing on her again in September up New England Coast.  May be corny, but one thing we like about Princess is catching an episode of the original Love Boat before retiring for the night.  Definitely a departure from “black hole” intellectual tv - but hey you’re on vacation. lol. 
 

As you explore activities on the app, you can select what you are interested in (as a favorite ) and then you can sort by favorites. It helped us figure out timing.  
 

The game shows in Princess Live are a lot of fun. Enjoy your cruise!!

@Ken the cruiseralways love your live from and reviews. You’ve put Antarctica on our bucket list. We are also interested in wildlife so especially enjoy those tips and photos.  We were on Sky for the Baltic cruise 6/1-6/15.  We feel it was our best cruise ever and that is saying a lot as we’ve loved every one of them. 
 

if you are in Reserve Dining, Gian Carlos and Narendra were outstanding.  Aaron Hawkins was a very entertaining CD. The entire crew of Sky were top notch. 
 

With the exception of Helsinki, we did different Princess tours than you have booked, so looking forward to  reading about your experience.  Recommend checking out the medieval pharmacy in Tallin if you’ve not seen it before. Fascinating. 
 

Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as we did and that you get the beautiful weather we were lucky to have too. 

1 hour ago, ninsim said:

does anybody have any up to date information re platinum and elite lounge on sky princess

 We disembarked Sky ten days ago.  The platinum and elite lounge was held in the Vista Lounge 5-7 nightly (except for Captains Circle Party).

14 minutes ago, 2 to Sea said:

About half the menu items have been bland and the other half fabulous.  I forgot to take a photo last night of the vegan menu- but the salad with sweet chili was amazing, the coconut Thai soup was like coconut water with a couple of chunks of tofu and no flavor, and the vegetable korma was a good spice.  You may need to get several items to find the good ones.  Granted, we like flavors of all kinds.  The buffet seems to always have a salad bar, and at least two vegan options and two vegetarian options next to each other.  There seems to be other options throughout, just not always labeled.  

Wow. I assumed same Vegan menu for the duration and didn’t expect them to even change it up. I know what you mean about varying flavors. We’ve seen it too. Still glad to see them moving in this direction. Thank you 

3 hours ago, MacMadame said:

Do they have the TRX equipment in the gym still?

Will defer to anyone on now.  I can check myself when we go on June 1 on Sky

Yoga Six, Pure Barre, Pilates, Stretch lab and a Spin class - used to have TRX but no more. Classes in the mornings (I've seen them be 7am, 8am, 9am - 30 min each, some ships later 8am, 9am, 10am,  depends on Port/Sea days.) Then again in the afternoon (usually 4pm, 5pm, 6pm) and they mix up the classes and timing.  Unlimited for premier.  Go to the fitness center and you can sign up for all the classes you want for the entire cruise (usually)  

Enjoying your 'live' - thank you for doing this.  We are on Enchanted in Sept and also doing W. Carribean in Jan, so appreciate the information (Cabana Beach House, check!).  My husband is vegan and I am like you - mostly vegetarian and occasional pescatarian.  I am pleased to see all your meal options.  Are they as good as they look?  

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Yes, the Fitness Center is now on Deck 6 and there are no windows.  Sucks!!!

 

The Dolphin Deck mini's are right above the water shuttle boats and "can" be noisy at times in the early morning hours.

 

Even though the Island Princess is now our least favorite ship in the fleet, we are booked in a Baja Deck Reserve Collection mini-suite for the March of 2026, 54-day voyage. 

 

We book our cruises based on the itineraries, not the ship.

Thank you.  We are on Dolphin and will see if we can move to Baja - there are still a couple left for our trip though our PCP is away until March 13th.

Would you happen to know if they have the fitness classes in the gym that come with Premier (Yoga, etc..)?

We are sailing on Island Princess in 2025.  For those of you who are on Island, or are familiar with her (since last refurbish) I have the following questions

1) Looks like the fitness center is all inside (no windows) and very small.   Do they still offer the fitness classes that come with Premier Package (is there space for them?)

2) I notice several midship Reserve Mini class suites available on Dolphin Deck, and very few on Caribe or Baja.  Any advantages/disadvantages over one or the other?  I know it's a drawing, but balcony seems bigger on Dolphin - why are there so many not taken?

TIA 

39 minutes ago, FLAlaska said:

It has a footnote noted.. 2

 

 

They are referring to the Thermal suite, not Enclave.. but maybe they will decide to change it.

Well spotted!  That was completely invisible to me!

Sorry, I cannot recall if this is already on your list - I noticed the description for an S9 Suite now says it includes access to Lotus Spa Thermal Suite.  I don't recall seeing that before.  Is it true?

6 minutes ago, CatMom72 said:

I also can’t fathom the rationale for putting the roller glider immediately adjacent to the Sanctuary on Sun. Call me crazy, but there’s something about having screaming children whizzing by overhead while I’m trying to relax that just not say “sanctuary” or “adults only” to m

VERY CURIOUS to hear reports about that when Park 19 is fully open!  That would be a truly epic fail.

2 hours ago, cr2000 said:

 

Agree, I think Princess has some work to do here. Logically the Suite Sun Deck should be for ANYONE regardless of age staying in a suite. That Sun Deck is clearly dedicated to Suite guests. It gets tricky with The Sanctuary, because now Princess is making it free to all Suite guests, and only selling passes if there is availability to non-Suite guests. In that sense, you have to question who "owns" that Sanctuary space (and is it even "The Sanctuary" anymore). Is it Suite guests that lay claim to it, or all guests on board? If it's the former, then you're back to excluding paying guests in a suite from utilizing space they paid for just because they brought family with them. How Princess plays this will certainly effect bookings, it all comes down to which direction generates the most $. On Royal and NCL, suite guests get their own private space - and their children are welcome to join them, will Princess take a different direction or move in the direction of the cruise industry?

Since it seems the Sanctuary is the only Adults Only space on Sun, I don't expect that to change. I agree when booking it should be made clear that the space is for 16+ when booking families.  There also seems to be plenty of other space throughout the ship for families, and kids.  It is not unreasonable for kids to want to be with other kids in the clubs, and parents can have some alone, adult time.  There are many other Suite perks (like concierge lounge, Signature restaurant,) that all family members can still enjoy. 

On 3/31/2024 at 4:56 PM, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

Special Restaurant first night – book onboard (SOXFAN: If I try to book it on the app it is charging my credit card so I don’t want to do that.  I like to go to the suite dining room the first night to “report in”. But I will ask)

We too like to 'report in' to the dining room, get our spot, our help, our dietary preferences..  Free specialty restaurant though -- and so many to choose from on Sun --  My plan is to still report in to Signature Dining room earlier in the day - introduce ourselves, let them know what time we expect to be there most days, etc . Will also be sure to have breakfast there..- and then still take advantage of the included Specialty Restaurant so as not to lose the perk - just some food for thought (lol),

Looking forward to hearing all about it when you return - thanks for doing this and enjoy your trip!

I've done Pilates for years, and my husband, never.  We both enjoyed the Pilates classes very much and as we had the Premier package, we did them (and other) gym classes each day.  If you are experienced, you know how to make it more challenging, and as mentioned above, there are modifications for beginners too.   We also had some bumpy sea days for extra challenge (and laughs)

Does anyone know when Europe/Mediterranean for 2026 may come out?

On 3/4/2024 at 4:13 PM, chamima said:

@Ombud- We're on for 39 days. Not much for my vegan husband! (who doesn't like cauliflower) ! 🥵

(Although if you read the ingredients of some of those mains they have to be vegan)

(We'll hopefully find a good HeadWaiter who can have things made for him as we've done in the past)

 

***

I noticed this as well - one Vegan main dish.  I am optimistic that the vegetarian dishes can be prepared vegan, especially if ordered in advance.  My husband is vegan and we typically have to choose his food day before.  Seems the Vegan menu will give more options.  Also noticed addition of vegan cheeses, plant based burgers.  It's come a very long way from our first cruise when he had to bring many cans of beans on board to feed himself - lol. 

I suspect you will find many higher end brands fall within the premier limit - and are some of the highest available brands on the ship.  Of course there are bottles of wine, champagne, etc that will be above what comes with the package, but you will be charged the difference of what your package covers ($20 for premier) and the cost of the higher brand + 18% of that price difference.  

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by what the premier will include.

Just now, TRLD said:

If that is the system then it really can be a free for all with a number of disappointed suite guests with poor locations over on the Sanctuary side. I expect that the rules for one cruise might not carry over to a future cruise until they actually see what works and then they lock in the process.

Exactly  - I am going in Jan 2025, so am eagerly awaiting more first-hand reports to see how things shake out. I do believe it will all work out and am really looking forward to our Sun Princess cruise - full steam ahead.

29 minutes ago, TRLD said:

The suite guarantees access, not a reserved chair. A lot probably depends upon if chair hogging is allowed just like it is on the rest of the ship.

This is where I think it gets even more muddy.  In the original post of this thread, OP states (from Sanctuary Manager) that Signature Suite access to loungers is first come, first served - and that  guest aquires their lounger - for the day.  As @CatMom72 is pointing out - in the traditional system - after racing upstairs to purchase guaranteed Sanctuary access, one receives their assigned lounger for the day(week as the case may be) to come and go as they please. 

That's the beauty of it in my opinion and a benefit of paying the premium price.  Now, for Signature class, we are basically paying the premium price up front with our cruise fare.  Yes, we have guaranteed access - and now seems we need to get up there early to get a good (or any?) lounger - and it also seems, from what OP posted - it is now yours for that day.    Therefore- that should not make me a chair hog, if I come and go as I please - as per usual - in the Sanctuary space.

1 hour ago, chamima said:

 

 

Great idea!

Are kids allowed in the Signature lounge?

Good question - I believe they are, but would defer to anyone who's been on the ship to say for sure