Go-Bucks!

15 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

I've attended this numerous times now where it is held on a sea day in the MDR.  Especially on the Royal Class ships.  The hamburger is so good.  It's on another level from the lido deck burgers.

Hamburgers at Pub Lunch now?? 😲

2 hours ago, Pirateskigirl said:

Good Morning from Port Limon, Costa Rica.  Ruby is docking has I write this post. 
Here is today’s Patter too.  

So beautiful! Can't wait to be there in a few weeks!  🛳

I've cruised to both countries and, thankfully, was able to stop in Greenland and cruise its fjords...amazing! It was quite expensive; a very small buffet lunch was $40pp and a pair of thin gloves were also $40! 

My cruise stop in Iceland was canceled as our ship kept trying to get into the harbor but high winds prevented it.

I've been to Iceland 7 times and I really think a land trip is best. I always take Icelandair (to Europe too). It leaves from many US cities...check out their package deals! Easy to get around, amazing scenery, lovely people, English spoken everywhere, and don't miss the Blue Lagoon (as long as the lava spares it). I love staying at the Silica hotel there, but Reykjavik also has many nice places to stay.

I booked my next cruise (Dec 20-30) just 11 days ago and got the very last Caribe balcony cabin. Since then I've received 3 emails from Princess about bidding on an upgrade! Seems like they really want my cabin...but their upgrade prices are too high for me.

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Had it on the Caribbean Princess...but it seems to be only on longer cruises (more than 7 days).  Offered in the MDR on a sea day.  Not quite the same, but close.  I doubt short port intensive itineraries will see a Pub Lunch.

Good to know...mine will be for 10 days and I think 5 are sea days. I will miss it being in a more intimate venue but not having to wait will balance that out. I love all the pub lunch offerings!

Is Princess still offering the Pub Lunch, in particular, on the Ruby? Or is it gone or been changed to one more nickel-&-diming option? 

6 hours ago, Pirateskigirl said:

We will be heading up to Skywalkers for elite party & sunset.  

Are they having the platinum/elite get together (where they have appetizers) every night?

20 hours ago, At7Seas said:

 

For me this is not a once in a lifetime experience. 

Everyone's different; Oceania met all my criteria and was an experience I'll never forget. And that was important to me because I am just a middle income single person who saved for 30 yrs to take that journey and I'll never be able to afford it again. But my pictures and memories are precious since this was a once in a lifetime experience for me. 

I haven't cruised since this upgrade bidding system started so I have a question. I booked a Caribe balcony (larger balcony) in the aft area where I like to stay. I got an upgrade offer for 3 categories but I'm wondering if they would tell me where the cabin is located before I would accept their approved bid? Or does it work like a guarantee cabin and they just place you where they want? I'd rather just stay in my current cabin if the bidding is a pig-in-a-poke. 😄

I don't have a solution to your problem, but my TA used to credit my account with all the OBC pre-cruise but now they're adding half of it pre-cruise and the rest on embarkation day. I have the same issue as you because I can't book all the excursions I want until after boarding.

I took the 2-day/overnight ship excursion to Luxor with Oceania and it was totally first class!! Didn't cost much more than private ones.

On 8/22/2023 at 6:58 AM, SargassoPirate said:

It's really none of my business, but I'll butt in anyway.  Medicare does not cover you outside the US. Make sure you have a supplemental plan just in case.  

I have a Medicare Advantage Plan (Part C) with Aetna and it covers medical care outside of my state and outside of the USA. Regular Medicare or a Medicare Supplement plan do not.

I did the Oceania world cruise (161 days), then stayed on the ship for the next 3 cruises (another 31 days); total of 192 continuous days. It was amazing, especially being on a smallish ship. Highly recommend Oceania!

Your pharmacy can contact your insurance company to allow you to get a refill filled in advance (up to 90 days)...it's called a "vacation override." Of course, you still have to have enough refills on the prescription to allow that. If you don't, you'll have to ask your provider for a refill on the medication.

1 hour ago, Heidi13 said:

 

The number of sea days is entirely dependant on the itinerary and the cruise line. I have seen a number of Grand Voyages over the past 40 years that have just as many sea days as World Cruises. When a cruise crosses an ocean, regardless of whether it is classed as a World Cruise or Grand Voyage, it generally has more sea days

 

The type of cruise line has a huge impact in the ratio of sea days to port days on both World Cruises and Grand Voyages, with Premium/Luxury lines normally having a much higher percentage of port days. Since you mentioned 3-months for a World Cruise, I assume you refer to one of the mainstream mega ship cruise lines, since many Luxury/Premium lines take 4-months for a Grand Voyage and 6-months, or more, for a World Cruise.

 

Our 2015 World Cruise on Princess took 104 days and less than 40 were port days. In 2020, the Viking World Cruise lasted 245-days, having only 1 stretch of 8 sea days. Well over 60% were port days, which is better than most Grand Voyages that include an ocean transit.

 

When comparing Grand Voyages to World Cruises you also need to compare the total costs, specifically the included benefits. As an example, Viking did not provide any additional benefits to Grand Voyages, which can be 90+ days, but World Cruises receive a host of benefits worth many thousands of dollars, including considerable OBC, luggage shipping, Visa procurement, etc.

 

I certainly wouldn't consider World Cruises as uninspiring, but that is all up to individual expectations. Personally, I couldn't image booking a Caribbean cruise and even the Meddy, which has some great ports, but many of them are grossly overcrowded. Even back in the days when I worked an entire Australia cruise season, we went to most of the same islands every 2-weeks. Boring possibly, but certainly not uninspiring. I have seen many fabulous World Cruise itineraries from a variety of cruise lines, especially cruises based on smaller ships.

 

 

Agree, especially about costs. I took the 2019 Oceania world cruise and they included nearly everything into the fare and I also had tons of OBC. We had 60% port days and it was a lifelong bucket list trip fulfilled. No regrets choosing this cruiseline or itinerary. 

13 hours ago, reedprincess said:

The coffee card swap was a courtesy, not the perk.

The perk is the mini-bar, and nothing has changed there.

Allowing swaps is a courtesy.

As there's no New Grounds Coffee package, there's no swap available for it . But, out of courtesy, you can still swap like for like, all waters, all sodas, all for bottle of wine, etc. the perk itself remains the same as it's been for decades - 8 minis, 2 beers, 8 assorted non-alcoholic.  Whether the actual perk itself is "worth" it to you or not - only you know.. but the perk itself hasn't changed.. 

As you can see in my question, I wasn't asking about a "perk" of swapping out the minibar (I fully realize that the "perk" is the actual minibar), but was just asking if the swapping options included specialty coffees. Thanks to all those who answered my question! 

1 hour ago, sunviking90 said:

I don’t miss the bags. They were the flimsiest of the cruise line bags we have received and I don’t think we ever took them home with us.

I use my bags from several cruiselines to carry groceries home from Aldi.

21 hours ago, skynight said:

1 credit per person per voyage (not booking) number. Example: Two 7 day cruises booked as one 14 day booking will earn 2 credits. 

1 additional credit for solo in a cabin

2 credits for being in a full suite

3 credits for a solo being in a full suite.

One exception that I experienced...I booked a balcony as a solo (2 credits) but was upgraded to a full suite. I got all the suite perks but not the 3rd credit because they said that I hadn't paid for a suite. Fair enough...it was a marvelous experience and I'm already Elite.

Since I can no longer swap my minibar for a coffee package, I'm going to take my little French press, some coffee grounds and my tall insulated coffee cup. Will make cold brew just like I do at home. Will supplement occasionally with a Princess latte.

Maybe I can sell my liquor bottles to someone...just kidding! I'll just be buying my daily latte with my OBC. It seems weird that they still offer replacement with other liquor or wine...I would think those are more expensive than coffee.

I have not cruised since March, 2020 because of shutdowns and mandates...decided to wait till normalcy returned. Unfortunately I don't drink alcohol or soda pop so it seems like a waste to trade the minibar for water. Thx for the info!

Very happy with my Buckeyes this year!!  😊

I'm Elite, but haven't cruised since the pandemic started (got back from my last cruise the day before the port closed). I'm ready to book a cruise and looked at the Elite benefits on Princess.com to see if you can still trade the minibar setup for specialty coffees. It only said other liquors, wine, soda or water. Has anyone been able to get the coffees lately or know if they've done away with that option? TIA.

I was in 4021 on Insignia and I heard every conversation and TV show from the connecting cabin...it was very annoying and I will never have a connecting cabin again. 

47 minutes ago, JerseyGirlatHeart said:

 If you are a Diamond on Royal and book a Celebrity, you will get the Elite perks And your room card will state Elite.  But ... if you had 150 points with Royal and 0 points with Celebrity, you would still have 0 points Celebrity and would need to build 750 points with Celebrity before you would be an Elite PLUS.  It is confusing, google Reciprocity Royal Caribbean to Celebrity for a more in-depth explanation.

Thank you...this answer makes it clear and I'll let her know.

33 minutes ago, JerseyGirlatHeart said:

Points do not transfer, but status does ... I.e., Diamond=Elite.  Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean status tops out at Elite ... I.e, Diamond PLUS=Elite.

Not sure I understand your response. Don't credits determine status? So if they're a certain status on Royal, they don't start all over again on Celebrity, do they?