Boiler Cruiser

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport.

My wife and I were on the Royal Princess on a RT to Hawaii from San Francisco's Pier 27 last month (March, 2023). Disembarkation at Pier 27 went without much trouble or delay. Once off the ship, and having retrieved our luggage, that is when we had issues. The biggest issue for the Cruise Terminal at Pier 27 in San Francisco is that it is small compared to other cruise terminals, such as Port Everglade's Princess Terminal. That lack of size extends to the lack of road access to the terminal itself. The pier is quite small, so there is little room for a driveway for private vehicles, busses, and cabs arriving to pick up passengers. We, too, had a flight from SFO the next day, and chose to stay in a hotel at the airport. Because of the lack of driveway access, we had to wait in line for almost 40 minutes to get a cab. The driveway was a traffic jam, and even the cab drivers hate it. So, 2 things to take into consideration when planning your disembarkation at Pier 27 in San Francisco. Allow at least 40 minutes to stand in line waiting for a cab to the airport. And understand that the cab fare to the airport will be about US$80. That was what we spent.

Isn't each dining room open at different times for Anytime Dining? Aren't some not open to anytime dining except at certain times? Does anyone know what that schedule is on the Emerald?

This looks similar to what I saw on the Royal Princess last month. The only difference was that the seats that were set aside with the blue covers were closer to the front, some about 6-8 rows from the front of the stage, and others in the first row of the upper section, just behind the floor-level seats.

My wife and I bought the Princess Premier Package on our recent 15-day cruise to Hawaii. Before and during our cruise we heard much about the Premier Package, and I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts about it. Overall, it had many benefits for my wife and I, and, in the end, we saved a lot more money than the added cost of the Package. Medallion Class Experience When we first got on the ship, the Medallion app had issues on each of phones. Not the same issues, however. We went to the Internet Café, and the personnel there were very helpful, and got the app on each of our phones running like clockwork. We were advised that the tech’s in the Internet Café, were finding that many of the issues guests were having with their Medallion app when they first got on the ship happened because they did not update their app after their last cruise. Running the update on my wife’s phone was all she needed. So, before our next cruise, we will run an update of our app’s and I expect all will be well. Premier Beverage Package This is the part of the Premier Package that everyone is interested in and seems to talk about most. My wife and I appreciated having the Premier Beverage Package very much. She and I each drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day, not including the Café Mocha or Cappuccino we enjoy from time to time. We also drink a couple of beers with lunch, or a soda. Where the Premier Beverage Package really paid off for us was for liquor and wine. We enjoy a couple of drinks before dinner, and usually, we had a glass of wine with dinner. We also had a drink of two during the evening, as well. The Premier Beverage Package allowed us to get premium brands of bourbon, scotch and gin that we would not be able to get, even at home, otherwise. The $20 and under allowance per drink helped with this very much. This all worked for us, but if you are not a person who is looking to drink high-end cocktails, more than the average amount of coffee each day, specialty drinks from Good Spirits at Sea, the Premier Beverage Package may deserve a second thought. By the way, the bar waiters and those at the International Cage and in the restaurants, all knew were had the Premier Package, just from “reading” our medallions. Wifi The Wifi allowance with the Premier Package was well worth it. While we did not have 4 devices each, we did have 4 between us. Having Wifi available 24 hours a day, was a convenience that paid for itself handsomely. If you have more than 1 device each, or if you are a family traveling with kids, the Wifi portion will pay for itself. Crew Appreciation It goes without says, I think, that not having to pay the per diem gratuity out of pocket is a definite plus. 2 Specialty Meals We really enjoyed this feature. My wife and I enjoy going to the Crown Grill or Sabatini’s (especially now with the new menu), so having 2 included was very nice. By the way, on this last cruise (March, 2023), we learned that Sabatini’s had just rolled out it’s new menu. It was a very nice improvement over the prior menu…a nice variety of entrees and choices for salads, sides and desserts. The Photo Package To be honest, the Photo Package was not anything to get excited about. True, you were able to get 3 prints (we got 3 8x10’s), but the only plus was that we were able to download all the portrait photos of us taken on the cruise, which we will get printed ourselves (no need to wait for the photo staff to get around to doing it for us). Princess Prizes Princess Prizes was a bit of fun, but seemed gimmicky. For me, it was like someone bought a number of lottery tickets for me, with the same long odds of winning anything. Premium Desserts It was nice to be able to get a dish of ice cream, or an ice cream sundae at Gelato’s, but the so-called Premium desserts where oversized, over decorated (with sugary décor), and over the top. I saw one or two people get the big elaborate sundaes, but other than that, regular dishes of ice cream seemed most popular. Reserved Theater Seating In the “fine print”, they note that Reserved Theater Seating in the Princess Theater is only available for what they call production shows. Since on our 15 day cruise, there were only 3 shows that fell into this category, Reserved Theater Seating was not the perk that Princess makes it out to be, IMHO. Unlimited Juice Bar I felt taken in by this item on the Princess Premier Package. The juices offered were veggie juices and fruit/ grasses juices, which I would have only had an interest in if it were a dietary necessity. I was expecting some premium juices, such as papaya, guava, or some special fruit blends, but no such luck. I was very disappointed. Fitness Classes My wife and I did not participate in the fitness classes. Final Thought I do a spreadsheet budget for each cruise we go on. So, knowing what we usually would spend on liquor, beer, coffee and other drinks, as well as knowing what we would have spent on the crew gratuity and Wifi, this plan was ideal for us. On this cruise, we saved easily a few thousand dollars. Do your own calculations, and see if it is right for you.

No. Just show up no less than 15 minutes before the start of the show and you will find a section with special blue covers on the seats. Those seats, usually stage center and lower level, are for Premium Package holders.

There is a limited breakfast room service menu. You can place a request card outside your door and it will be delivered the next morning.

You just show up in the Princess Theater at least 15 minutes before showtime. You'll find seats with blue Princess logo covers on the seats they've set aside. Those are for Premier Package holders only. Less than 15 minutes before showtime, they are open to everyone.

I'm not sure if you can, but if it is like other on-board packages, if they let you, it will cost you a WHOLE LOT MORE to do so.

Not at all. What I said was "if you are not a person who is looking to drink high-end cocktails, more than the average amount of coffee each day, specialty drinks from Good Spirits at Sea", then the Premium Package will likely not be for you. The Premium Package will definitely cover drinks in Good Spirits at Sea that are $20 or less.

Yes, indeed. You can order a variety of food and drink. The Medallion App is great for ordering room service. My wife and I decided to have a "pizza and a movie" night, and so we ordered pizza. The app not only confirmed our order, but gave us an ETA of 30 minutes. The pizza arrived in approx. 30 minutes!

My wife and I bought the Princess Premier Package on our recent 15-day cruise to Hawaii on the Royal Princess. Before our cruise we heard much about the Premier Package, and I wanted to share my experiences and thoughts about it. Overall, it had many benefits for my wife and I, and, in the end, we saved a lot more money than the added cost of the Package. Here are my observations & experiences: MedallionClass Experience When we first got on the ship, the Medallion app had issues on each of phones. Not the same issues, however. We went to the Internet Café, and the personnel there were very helpful, and got the app on each of our phones running like clockwork. We were advised that the tech’s in the Internet Café, were finding that many of the issues guests were having with their Medallion app when they first got on the ship happened because they did not update their app after their last cruise. Running the update on my wife’s phone was all she needed. So, before our next cruise, we will run an update of our app’s and I expect all will be well. Premier Beverage Package This is the part of the Premier Package that everyone is interested in and seems to talk about most. My wife and I appreciated having the Premier Beverage Package very much. She and I each drink 4-5 cups of coffee a day, not including the Café Mocha or Cappuccino we enjoy from time to time. We also drink a couple of beers with lunch, or a soda. Where the Premier Beverage Package really paid off for us was for liquor and wine. We enjoy a couple of drinks before dinner, and usually, we had a glass of wine with dinner. We also had a drink of two during the evening, as well. The Premier Beverage Package allowed us to get premium brands of bourbon, scotch and gin that we would not be able to get, even at home, otherwise. The $20 and under allowance per drink helped with this very much. This all worked for us, but if you are not a person who is looking to drink high-end cocktails, more than the average amount of coffee each day, specialty drinks from Good Spirits at Sea, the Premier Beverage Package may deserve a second thought. By the way, the bar waiters and those at the International Cage and in the restaurants, all knew were had the Premier Package, just from “reading” our medallions. Wifi The Wifi allowance with the Premier Package was well worth it. While we did not have 4 devices each, we did have 4 between us. Having Wifi available 24 hours a day, was a convenience that paid for itself handsomely. If you have more than 1 device each, or if you are a family traveling with kids, the Wifi portion will pay for itself. Crew Appreciation It goes without saying, I think, that not having to pay the per diem gratuity out of pocket is a definite plus. 2 Specialty Meals We really enjoyed this feature. My wife and I enjoy going to the Crown Grill or Sabatini’s (especially now with the new menu), so having 2 included was very nice. By the way, on this last cruise (March, 2023), we learned that Sabatini’s had just rolled out it’s new menu. It was a very nice improvement over the prior menu…a nice variety of entrees and choices for salads, sides and desserts. The Photo Package To be honest, the Photo Package was not anything to get excited about. True, you were able to get 3 prints (we got 3 8x10’s), but the only plus was that we were able to download all the portrait photos of us taken on the cruise, which we will get printed ourselves (no need to wait for the photo staff to get around to doing it for us). Princess Prizes Princess Prizes was a bit of fun, but seemed gimmicky. For me, it was like someone bought a number of lottery tickets for me, with the same long odds of winning anything. Premium Desserts It was nice to be able to get a dish of ice cream, or an ice cream sundae at Gelato’s, but the so-called Premium desserts where oversized, over decorated (with sugary décor), and over the top. I saw one or two people get the big elaborate sundaes, but other than that, regular dishes of ice cream seemed most popular. Reserved Theater Seating In the “fine print”, they note that Reserved Theater Seating in the Princess Theater is only available for what they call production shows. Since on our 15 day cruise, there were only 3 shows that fell into this category, Reserved Theater Seating was not the perk that Princess makes it out to be, IMHO. Unlimited Juice Bar I felt taken in by the Unlimited Juice Bar on the Princess Premier Package. The juices offered were veggie juices and fruit/ grasses juices, which I would have only had an interest in if it were a dietary necessity. I was expecting some premium juices, such as papaya, guava, or some special fruit blends, but no such luck. I was very disappointed. Fitness Classes My wife and I did not participate in the fitness classes. Final Thought I do a spreadsheet budget for each cruise we go on. So, knowing what we usually would spend on liquor, beer, coffee and other drinks, as well as knowing what we would have spent on the crew gratuity and Wifi, this plan was ideal for us. On this cruise, we saved easily a few thousand dollars. Do your own calculations, and see if it is right for you.

I checked the Journey View on my Medallion app. I found no formal photography portraits or any other reference to formal nights.

I'm on the Royal Princess out of San Francisco. Are the formal nights on the same days?

Is there a way of knowing which days are formal nights? BTW, our cruise is 15 days round trip out of San Francisco.

My DW and I are on a 15 day cruise to Hawaii shortly. I can't remember how many formal nights there typically are on a 15 day cruise. Is 2? Is it 3? Thanks.

Good news! I called Princess and they fixed my app remotely so I could make reservations at the Crown Grill for my upcoming cruise on the Royal. By the way, when I made those reservations for the Crown Grill, they asked for my card number, but did not charge it. My plan is to check at the Purser's desk when I'm on the ship and make sure all is accounted for correctly.

What is the address for the web version of the Medallion App?

My Medallion App will not let me make Specialty Restaurant reservations for our upcoming cruise on the Royal Princess in March. It is not cooperating, and so far, my calls to Princess have not helped. If I cannot get the Medallion App to let me make restaurant reservations prior to my cruise, will I be able to make Specialty Restaurant reservations once I get on the ship?

My DW and I were on the Royal Princess for a Caribbean cruise pre-covid. We are taking the Royal to Hawaii next month, and looking forward to it (it's on my wife's bucket list). I'd be interested in hearing from those who were on the Royal Princess recently, what you though about the food. Has the menu changed much in the last 2 years? I remember the Horizon Court (especially the pastries) being quite good. How about the food in the dining rooms? For those who cruised to Hawaii, what about special Hawaiian food items? Thanks.

My DW and I are on the Royal Princess, going on the 15-day cruise to Hawaii out of San Francisco next month. What Hawaii-themed activities do they have on the Royal on this itinerary? What are your favorites? Do any encourage wearing Aloha shirts or other island apparel? We are looking forward to this cruise and ticking off one more item from our bucket list!