dave_k58

On 10/17/2022 at 8:04 AM, FLConnie said:

We join the 17th in Rome!  

us too

or phone app says greenline - group A   11am  - but on another post I saw boarding doesn't begin until 1pm.  I think the info on the phone is check - in - not boarding time.

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

 

I am starting this "Live" thread a little early as we will be leaving tomorrow for a week's stay in Tuscany before we board the ship. 

 

We are traveling with another couple and are flying from Los Angeles to Rome (FCO), non-stop, on Italia Transporto Aereo (ITA).  This is the former Alitalia Airline.  We booked Business Class via EZair at a fantastic price! 

 

We have had very good experiences flying Alitalia in the past, this will be our first time flying ITA since the reorganization. 

 

We are renting a mini-van (we have lots of luggage and cars in Europe tend to be much smaller) at FCO and are driving to an Agriturismo (working vineyard, winery, olive oil production, restaurant and accommodations), where we have rented apartments within a large Villa.  We have stayed at this location in the past and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We will be 10 miles south of Florence in the Chianti region.  From here we will base our daily trips throughout Tuscany.

 

The day prior to boarding the ship, we will drive back to FCO and spend a night at an airport hotel.  We have arranged private transportation to the ship in Civitavecchia. 

 

We have booked our 37 day cruise as an 11 day and 26 day back-to-back voyage.  The 26 day voyage could also be booked as an 11 day and 15 day back-to-back.  For us the 26 day voyage was more financially advantageous.

 

Our roll calls for these voyages have been the most active I have seen in a very long time.  As of today, there are over 4,300 posts on the three separate roll calls that cover the three legs of our voyage. 

 

I would like to acknowledge @Jilliebean28 for her unselfish commitment to maintaining an ever-changing and extremely lengthy Excel spreadsheet of activities and excursions.  There has been 35 updated versions of the spreadsheet!    

 

Not being a very prolific or witty "Live" poster, I encourage our fellow cruisers to contribute to this thread as we travel along.  Hopefully, this thread will help unite the three separate roll calls in one location.

 

We usually do not attend the shows, do not participate in games nor interact with the Cruise Director or his/her staff.  We do enjoy the Sanctuary, Vines, food and music venues (we enjoy dancing very much).  Hopefully, our fellow cruisers will fill in the gaps!

 

This is an extremely active itinerary and I'll try to answer as many questions as I possibly can. 

 

 

 

the reviews of ITA scared me off of EZ Air. Check to make sure it is former Italia- I don't think it is, although they have some of the planes

42 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I get it....we don't have storefront TAs here either....at least ours is not.

I don't think there is such thing anymore as a store front travel agency.  But I think all the cruiseline agents work from home also

15 hours ago, Outerdog said:

There seems to be a hyper focus on dining and orange juice as the primary benefits for club class. For me, club class happens to come with the cabin I want: forward facing mini suites on Royal Princess. 

We got a CC mini for a great price on the "Best Sale Ever" promotion - but most of the "perks" never materialized - like the priority boarding, canapes every afternoon. The special dining was fine - sometimes they had an extra item on the menu - sometimes not. 

23 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

Club class lounge????

I was wondering about that also.  Never saw or heard of it

In theory, I like the idea of traditional dining. It just seemed, though, that there were always tablemates who were late or no shows. This was not fair to either the people who did show up on time and the waiters. 

On 10/4/2022 at 4:46 PM, jennaja said:

We're sailing on the Royal Princess in a few weeks.  I paid for a category DD Deluxe Balcony cabin, and received an offer to bid for an upgrade.  My bid was accepted, and we are now assigned an MA Mini Suite #R407.

Is this a good upgrade?  Quiet?  Above or below something noisy?  Would the balcony have a shaded area?

I would have preferred a middle deck, middle/aft.  Not sure what to make of this "win".

Thoughts?

WE love the Riviera deck. I would say it was a good upgrade - but you didn't say how much you paid. 

On 10/4/2022 at 2:14 PM, Wishing on a star said:

To the original poster here.   I now that you said that spending time on your own balcony is a big thing.  Again, you can look for Premium Balcony cabins, or Premium Deluxe Balcony cabins (on Royal class newer ships)  to have a larger than standard balcony.   I am not readily aware of any 'Premium' cabin that does not have a larger than standard balcony.

(there are exceptions of some cabins with larger balconies that do not come with the Premium category upgrade).  

Fully go over deck plans!

 

I truly hate to continue to derail this valid and wonderful poster's thread here with confusion, disagreement, and argument.   But, there can be misleading stuff about this.  I have seen it said that 'Premium is based on a preferred location".    When they can be forward, aft, different decks, etc.   They have larger balconies...  and I am guessing from some recent info and photos that these that are the category 'premium' balconies are being furnished with a real table instead of the little side-table footstool.

 

Quoting my earlier question.....  Which should actually be another thread.

" I would love it somebody could give me an example of a stateroom that is 'premium' balcony that does NOT have a balcony that is larger than standard."   Without looking at every cabin, I have not seen any.

 

And, to note, this,  quoted below,  is not answering that question.

Quite the opposite.

"Here you go. Some examples of balcony cabins that are not 'premium' that have large balconies. There are other examples....."

 

From what I have seen,  the 'premium balcony',  or also 'Premium Deluxe Balcony ' (which 'deluxe' cabins are on the Royal class newer ships,) will have a larger balcony than standard balconies on that ship.

 

 

 

 

WE love Royal class ships ( but have never been on an Alaska cruise) .  We have had CC Minis, Minis and Deluxe Balcony. All had what I consider to be small balconies, and I don't think there was any difference in the size of the balcony and the class of cabin

We will have 3 "formal" nights on our next cruise. I will probably wear a tux on one of the nights. The other 2 I will wear at least a coat and tie. The longer cruises, especially the TA's, in my opinion tend to dress up a bit more. Maybe that is because there are more Europeans, maybe it is because we tend to be  older.

I 

On 10/1/2022 at 1:55 PM, Sea Hag said:

There certainly has been different, but it's a personal point of view about what's better. If you like the idea of some OBC and the $1 deposit, you've basically got nothing to lose by booking a cruise that you like. If a better deal, in your opinion, comes along then you can always switch over to that.

I would like to see another " Best Sale Ever" promotion

49 minutes ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

Shhhh!  Don’t tell anyone about those or everyone will want them. 😂

There's a youtube video about "princess vs celebrity" that was pretty interesting

20 hours ago, mammajamma2013 said:

Thanks. I was responding to the "Carnival doesn't have pax laundry facilites" remark; the only Carnival ship I've been on is Vista. I've been on five Princess ships, which all had laundry facilities, so can't speak on Carnival having more. 

Most carnival ships have pax laundry.  and they also have specials like - "fill the bag" for $14

On 10/1/2022 at 5:26 AM, Leo37 said:

Thanks. We were on Dolphin. The room itself was very typically Princess.

 

We've always had regular balconies before, and think the only real difference is a small but comfy sofa and coffee table and a slightly larger room to accommodate it. Slightly changes the layout near the balcony door. We booked the cruise while COVID was still more of a thing, and we thought we might want some more private space.

 

I think we'd go back to a regular balcony next time for a warm / sunny cruise. We used the sofa a bit, but preferred being on balcony or out and about on the ship. Maybe for cold weather cruise, we might think about it.

 

But stateroom steward great, and small grumbles about shower curtain and charging sockets aside, all very good.

 

Enjoy your transatlantic!

Thanks  Leo - we are on the Dolphin also. We got a CC Mini last time on our last TA in  the " Best Sale Ever" promotion.  It was nice, but not worth the difference it would have been on this cruise

On 9/30/2022 at 11:36 PM, jagoffee said:

Are you booked with the “Big Box” TA?

No - our TA is an Independent

On 10/1/2022 at 11:31 PM, Shelly97060 said:

You can go into your Personalizer  for this cruise to see if you can bid or ask your TA to check your booking. You will find the link by scrolling down the page.  Clicking on this box will take you to a place where you can check your eligibility. 

 

Thanks Shelley - the trouble is - I can't seem to find the 'Plan Your Voyage" page

We are booked on Nov 17 TA on the Regal.  Haven't got a single email about bidding. I went to the site that asked for the booking number and last name and said " ineligible at this time".  We're green lined, paid in full and everything else.  What gives?

On 9/29/2022 at 10:27 AM, JimmyVWine said:

Do you really think that a single penny of your $25/$29 upcharge goes to the servers?  😆

Yes I do

THanks for a great, informative, positive review.  We are on the Regal TA on Nov 17.  How was your deluxe balcony? What deck was it on? We usually do mini-suites. 

We're on the Regal Nov 17. We are Green Line - and chose the early time which showed 11am.  Someone else told me they read somewhere where that the earliest check in was 1pm

Our first cruise was in 2006 - there was no "anytime dining, or my way dining".  It was either early or late dining. It was ok - you ate at the same table with the same people the entire cruise and had the same wait staff. Sometimes you liked them - sometimes not. The problem was, some people would skip dining in the dining room some times - some would come late. It was not always easy for the other people at the table- let alone the wait staff. Sometimes, half the table wouldn't show up. 

WE have sailed on both.  When we take grandchildren - its definitely Carnival.   We have never observed drunken brawls.  Carnival Balcony cabins are bigger than Princess and all have sofas. I think the food is about the same, but Carnival has more included options. Most of the people and families are younger on Carnival. Princess passengers seem to me to be a bit more " refined". Lots of the  specialties on Carnival have free lunch service.   We love mini-suites, which Carnival doesn't have.  SEems to me - that prices on Carnival and Princess are getting closer and closer together. Wife and I prefer Princess, especially the longer cruises. I think the crew members are fantastic on both cruiselines. Carnival is muich easier to work with if you have to call them about something. Princess decor is not  tacky like some Carnival ships. 

here's the website for EZ CHeck

https://www.cruisewithafriend.com/pages/princess-ez-check-service-for-luggage-6574

22 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I do not remember if they were on the sheet.  Maybe ask someone sailing on your ship that is sailing right now to check for you?  Live threads or roll calls.

 

Or, inquire at GS when you get OB.

Thanks - I just found out that Southwest is participating in the program.