crimsonbird

The menu changes and the wonderful story changes.  I think we have to wait to get on board to check it out.

3 hours ago, gordylad said:

Celebrity edge is sailing the suez canal in 2023 and I was wondering if this would be a good experience? Any thoughts from cruisers who have done this particular trip appreciated.

We sailed on a RCCL ship about 6 years ago.  Started in Rome and ended in Dubai.  Went to Petra in Jordan...Israel, Abu Dhabi...just some highlights.  Watch the movie Laurence of Arabia.  The Suez is a giant ditch...unlike the Panama canal.  Do go.  The sights are marvelous.  

52 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Reinstated on the Infinity or on the Summit? Whichever, I am sad to hear that someone has the virus.

 

Yesterday we booked the Infinity for October 2022.😎 That will be out third cruise this year. Hopefully our precautions (luck?) will continue to see us virus free.

 

 Doug

Covid - is it the live poster on the Infinity??

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Have to agree with you.   When we were escorted off the ship with Covid they had a guy in front of us and in back of us in Hazmat suits spraying a fine mist.    I've seen them doing the same to rooms and hallways around the room after a passenger was escorted to isolation.

 

If really concerned we can also self sanitize touch surfaces in our room (especially the phone and remote) and hard surfaces.    We usually do that in Hotel, Airplanes and on the ship.

Yes.  We do that too. I always bring Lysol on board and spray surfaces and closets.  We have found some "oversights" in cabins over the years🤯.When cabin turnover has to be fast, it's almost understandable.  Also, there's different cleaning procedures for Covid...but sometimes the guest either doesn't know or isn't telling.  Oh well...we take our chances in this interesting time.  

42 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Do you really think they wouldn’t be disinfected between cruises?????🥹

Wouldn't bet on it.  

Heard there are some cases of Covid and that guests are being allowed to stay in their cabins.  Wonder if the cabins will be totally disinfected after the cruise.  Any more info on this?

12 hours ago, cruisestitch said:

An acquaintance on Infinity just tested positive yesterday. Was not moved to a different stateroom and is just staying in their original room for the duration of the cruise.

Did your acquaintance tell you if there were many other cases on the Infinity?   I'm curious because we're supposed to sail on her soon.  

9 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

How many guests on board?  Asked the person who scans your seapass when we got off the ship, 1,472 which is 68% passenger capacity

Any social distancing or mask wearing?  X doesn't require them for those who are vaxed but a small minority of passengers do wear them and practice social distancing; X hasn't ever really "encouraged" social distancing

Any Covid announcements?  Never a good idea to assume but I assume there's Covid on every ship, with that being said, missed every announcement so cannot report the confirmed number of cases, if any

Love the 68 percent.  Hope it stays that way thru August.  The terrible reviews may work keeping the numbers low.  

How many guests on board?  Any social distancing or mask wearing?  Any Covid announcements?  

23 minutes ago, rvlandandsea said:

Can you check the Le petit chef menu to see if it differs from the internet. Thanks. 

That would be great.  Love to know what night of the week they do the lobster.  

33 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

This is probably the coldest sailing I’ve ever been on, both public places and even the cabin which was far colder than the edge.  
 

This could change, they may be temporarily overcompensating due to previous AC issues. 

Omg...there's no happy medium.  On the Edge, guests were wearing layers of sweaters and coats.  It was a winter sailing...so they had clothing from traveling from the north.    It was nuts.  I hope this captain sees this post or 

moderates the temperature.  But now we are  forewarned.  Thank you. 

How is the temperature of the ship in the public areas?  Some of the ships are freezing cold...I recall the Edge.  It was like a fridge.  Helps to know when packing.  We sail the Infinity on August 6th.  

We board August 6th and appreciate you taking time to share your vacation.  We will be following along.  Of interest will be the quality of food in the main dining room.

I recall...from a previous cruise...French Caribbean and Side Car.  Both delish. Any other suggestions?  

Any suggestions for tasty alcoholic drinks or wine that are included in the classic package?  We sail soon and would welcome any input.  

Would have been fun and interesting to learn how was the entertainment....the food in the main dining room...??  

We are Elite plus and wondering if there will be any special activities as the week progresses.  Our balcony cabin is wheelchair accessible but in a central location.  Curious about the main dining room food and service...and the cleanliness of the cabins and ship.  

Do you know how many guests on board?  How is the food in the MDR?  Anyone eaten in the specialty restaurants?  Are people wearing masks in elevators and such?  Any info will be appreciated.   

How was dinner?  Keeping fingers crossed that it was good.  

On 6/15/2022 at 10:37 PM, Sam.Seattle said:

Here she is today!

 

Here is quote from the person taking the picture:  My daughter boarded the ship today! She is a lead vocalist in three shows on the Infinity. She toured the ship and says it’s beautiful! She also mentioned there were workers everywhere remodeling and painting and getting the ship ready for the first cruise out since covid!

such good news.  We have been on the Infinity at least 3 times...around south America and thru the canal.  We board again in August and were concerned about her condition.  Thanks for the positive feedback from your daughter.  

On 6/7/2022 at 9:21 PM, Kamloops50 said:

Cancel for any reason goes thru AON . I've used it a couple of times . in both cases submitted the documentation to AON. Cancel for Any reason is provided thru insurance bought thru Princess.

If you don't have insurance, and cancel....are the taxes refunded by Princess?  

12 hours ago, k9hndler said:

Below are some of the highlights and not so highlights of our recent Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess from Fort Lauderdale to Princess Cay, Saint Thomas, and Saint Kitt May 28-June 4

 

 

 

In this brave new world of cruising with Covid, depleted crews are the main story.

 

 

I’m hoping we all don’t have to settle for this kind of mixed cruise experience, but I feel we might.  Time will tell.

 

 

Here is the GOOD.

 

Check in for platinum and elite guests was fairly quick. Otherwise long LONG lines.

 

Itinerary St Kitts and St Thomas were good.  Princess Cay was Princess Cay. This Beach was VERY rocky and rough on feet probably from whatever storm came in recently and washed away the man-made sand. 

 

Meals, sides, and Deserts, especially in main dining room and Anchor Grill were great.

 

Comedian and Trivia games great.  Don Frieze who was our comedian did a very good job and did several shows.

 

Assigned Dinning 5:20 pm and Staff great for avoiding the lines. (More on lines later)

 

Scones and teatime good. They also offered tea and scones on Lido in afternoon. 

 

Cold Towels and drinks on pier when return.  Nice touch.

 

Cruise director Gary from NZ was good.

 

Medallion service. Good (and bad see below).

 

The variety, availability, and flavor of the hot food on Lido deck offerings are very good. Extended hours into the early evening and even late-night snacks. The staff on the Lido did a good job keeping the tables cleaned and getting drinks.

 

We had two teenage girls on the trip and they loved kids club, the pools, the gym, the endless food on the Lido deck the international Café, and especially the dining room meals.

 

My wife booked the sanctuary and enjoyed it thoroughly for the whole cruise. (Here’s the Bad) Unfortunately, the sanctuary is open to be booked for back to back cruisers first BEFORE general boarding, so it’s very hard to book any spots at all as a new cruiser.   Frustrating. My wife had to “Tip” her way in as it was completely booked, and we were on the ship and at sanctuary by 1pm.

 

Bad and very bad.

Cigarette Smoke from casino permeates the atrium area and elevators especially on deck 7,6,5. (HOW is this even a thing in 2022?)

 

Lines, Lines,  lines, everywhere the lines. Elevators, Pizza, Hotdogs, coffee in the morning at the international Cafe was often brutal slow, and even getting a seating at any time dinning was out and up the stairs. I recommend you get assigned dinning and early as possible. Our 5:20 fixed dinning became a blessing. 

 

Many of the lines are due to poor or slow management and logistics, or untrained or slow staff. (Example, only one person working at International cafe, and rather than take from the well-stocked and pretty display case, every item is retrieved from the kitchen which he must walk back to every order).

 

Overall Staff shortage and training. It seems obvious, returning from the Covid situation many of the more experienced and knowledgeable crewmembers did not come back to the Caribbean princess. 

 

Many of the staff were unknowledgeable, trained mediocre and some had  a hard time communicating in English. Some didn’t understand the basic layout of the ship and could not direct folks to where they wanted to go. 

 

Slow dinners everywhere. Possibly again to staff shortages, the wait staff have too many responsibilities, too many tables, and are scrambling to keep up. Make sure you give yourself at least 2-3  hours for an average dinner in the main dining rooms. The staff are trying very hard, but they’re overwhelmed.

 

Cabin service is once a day. I gave my guy another tip so we get two, and he was wonderful, But again he seemed to have an enormous number of cabins to take care of.

 

Medallion was second rate compared to other ships with limited services and access. I could not check my charges on the cabin TV.  Did not recognize us as we approached the door (especially with hands full), very limited access from cabin.

 

Medallion Internet was painfully slow and required rebooting often to get basic services. 

 

Disembarkation at each port, there was no water available for purchase, no maps, no/few beach towels, and the  shore excursion staff seemed to be oblivious and very little help.  Ditto on coming back. Long lines, only one gang way open, people standing in the hot sun, and security undermanned and overworked. Brutal.

 

Showers in our balcony cabin were old style  fixed on wall instead of hand help, and stall was tiny. Very tough for bigger folks.

 

General smell of sewage near rear stairwell on 12 and 11 for the entire cruise.

 

Stifling hot and humid in the central elevator banks. Above deck five it just gets worse and worse. We were on 12 and it was like a sauna most of the time in this atrium waiting A long time for elevators.

 

Mutts Movies. Dumpling? Sound of music? When Jungle Cruise becomes your premier movie for the week you are hurting folks.  What happened to ALMOST first run movies ?

 

Cabin Phones. Don’t pick it up and try to dial ANYWHERE. Desk, dinner reservation, excursions, just go down and wait in the long azz lines and don’t waste your time on a phone no one will answer, or answer and not understand you.

 

Ledo Buffet had the center sections devoted to many small individual sized servings in glasses and small bowls. Cold cuts, vegetable, potato salad,  olives, chips, cheese, fruit. They took up a lot of room, we’re never very cold, and not much were eaten. They often sat for a while and tasted like it. I guess it’s a COVID measure, but it wasn’t popular from what I saw.

 

 

Overall either burnt out crew or a lack of professionalism being shown by staff. We an got a Few eye rolls ( one from a female matre de!) at tea time, lots of sighs from some in service spots, lots of angry frustrated moments seen between the crew. Unheard of in the past with Princess.  

 

Some other small cost cutting measures that really annoy us. They replaced half-and-half with regular milk, you have to actually ask for half-and-half for your coffee and it takes forever to come. The brewed coffee drinks are often 3/4 full at best, I guess they’re “leaving room for milk” in the latte?!?

 

This captain was literally one of the most long-winded with his announcements of any captain in our 26 cruises. He made an announcement at the last dinner that my wife timed at 9 1/2 minutes. 9 1/2 minutes to tell us about a weather advisory. Often repeating the same information over and over again.

 

He was a better Ship captain then he was a public speaker thank God.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise but we definitely look forward to princess becoming princess again.

We cancelled the June 4th sailing on June 3rd...and I am so glad we did.  As older people....there is no way we could possibly endure some of the things you mention.  As you said so well...Princess needs to become Princess again.  

54 minutes ago, TracieABD said:

I definitely comes and goes. The researcher in me would love to know its origins… 

I am dealing with it by thinking of it as Cabbage Soup and using Vick’s when it becomes untenable. 

 

I do think they need to get to the source of it, though. I hope your people can convey that to the Princess people. 

We are on aloha this coming week.  5 cabins away from Sassy..near the elevators.  It's hard to believe that Princess would continue to subject guests to this odor...and perhaps more importantly, to the unhealthy source.  Keeping 🤞

3 minutes ago, TracieABD said:

 

Day 4

May 31, 2022

St. Thomas

 

Judy, Julie, and Meh!

 

Hi friends-

 

I keep getting more and more behind on the blog. I always say… the hardest part of blogging is blogging. But I keep trying. And managing my expectations.

 

We ate lunch in the Sanctuary. I had delicious gazpacho, pineapple/ cottage cheese, and the chicken Fattoush salad. Jon had the shrimp and white beans. We ate every single bit of it. Shoot, we didn’t even leave the shiny on the Bento box.

 

Eat. Swim, Nap. Eat. Swim. Nap. And then there is Afternoon Tea, with the scone pushers. I swear that I am absolutely powerless over those scones. And they come around tempting use for three to four laps. And they don’t always take no for an answer. It is tragic!

 

After all that food and sun, we had to nap. The ship did not sail until 10 pm, so we figured the dining room would be pretty empty. We did not get up and moving until after 6 pm, so we sat down for dinner at 6:45.

 

It is my favorite night of the cruise… TBGCS!!!!! For those of you who know- YOU KNOW! For those of you who might not have the gumption to don your thinking caps… TBGCS= Twice Baked Goat Cheese Soufflé! This may be one of my all time favorite foods EVER! I have written poems and songs about it. It is so stinking yummy. So along with charcuterie and chilled ginger carrot soup (I love it- many people- not so much), I had the TBGCS as my main. Dessert was salted Carmel pot du crème- which was good.

 

We played cards in the Atrium for an hour or so. So here is my petty complaint of the day… what is up with people removing their shoes and putting their bare feet up on the furniture. Not one. Not two. But three different- non related people. So weird. I am completely open to possible responses that offer an explanation for how this is ok.

 

We were really waiting around for the performance in the Princess Theater. We were scheduled to hear a soprano. If you know me or have read blogs in the past, I am a lover of opera… and I was so hoping for an operatic soprano- heck- best case scenario- a mezzo, even! Nope. The title of the one woman show was Judy, Julie, and Me. (As in Garland, Andrews, and said performer). Just not my thing. We made a fairly hasty exit and headed back to the room.

 

And that is it for our day. We were just done. Still another great day on a ship!

 

Any one want to hum along to Carmen?

 

Thank you for following along-

More later-

Loving your blog.  Thank you so much.  Does the sanctuary have a pool?  

Thank you for doing this..