sunviking90

That would be nice, but much too complex as people often book cruises very far out. More that 2 weeks notice would have been nice though.

Maybe we can trade our mini bar for 2 meals at Alfredo’s 😀

Oh, that clears it up. We’ve only been to Alfredo’s on Royal Class ships and my go to was antipasto, salad, and veal ravioli, when I didn’t feel like pizza. I asked at Gigis on the Discovery for the pasta dish when I didn’t see it on the menu and was told they don’t have it.

Isn’t it the other way around? We have only been to Gigi’s once, but they didn’t have the pasta dishes that Alfredo’s has.

They are taking from Peter to give to Paul with a much better spin on it.

@LACruiser88 has posted the full report on another thread. Perhaps these should be combined.

I guess they will be re-opening Planks and Steamers then? It was closed last time we were in the Emerald Princess, and I haven’t heard it has reopened yet.

I wish you were right, but this: For those who prefer sailing on Princess Standard, the casual prix fixe dining will be $14.99 and individual selections will continue with ala carte pricing.“ makes me think we will have to pay.

I was wondering when they would finally start charging for Alfredo’s. We don’t get packages and that was one of our (few) attractions to Royal Class ships. Oh, well.

Congratulations! That is a nice deal for a larger cabin and much nicer balcony.

I agree. The cruise lines have all promoted their onboard coffee bars as the place to get specialty coffees, then they sell all inclusive packages, so more people will be ordering and more often. They need to staff them properly to meet the demand. We are strictly americano or occasionally latte people but I don’t begrudge people expecting to get what they’ve paid for.

While it is OPs first post, I find it a credible review, mostly disappointing but a few good points too. People have different patterns on cruises and interact with different crew, may patronize the Lido at busier times (hence the crumbs and mess, which I’ve often seen myself) and therefore have very different experiences. It’s possible the crew are getting burnt out in a very busy Alaska season, and Alaska is not a favorite of most crew anyway.

They were either trolling us or just realized how ridiculous the idea was in the first place.

Haha, my parents both emigrated from the UK. I guess they arrived here and thought, yup, feels like home, lol.

Yes, Cafe Caribe. Thanks for reminding me of the name. We always end up calling it the Lido. Too much time on HAL ships in the past I guess.

Crab Shack was offered on our Crown Princess cruise June 23 on 2 consecutive evenings. It was in the back part of the buffet, and there were signs at the entrance with a crew member to sign people up. We did not attend.

You should probably adjust your thread title in someway. It makes it sound like this is factual happening. I know I read it thought “What??!!” By “home port” do you mean year round? Halifax is lovely, but not in the winter. It can also be difficult to get to even for those of us who live in Canada. Vancouver would be a more logical choice with milder weather if ever a ship was homeported year round in Canada (pacific coastals heading south, Hawaii, etc) but then the secret of how cold, dark, wet and dreary it really is here would get out 😉. I’d rather let tourists think it’s always beautiful here!

Yes, you are too kind and helpful. OP hasn’t even thanked you for your efforts on his behalf.

Princess has just started the “white and gold” night with a party in the evening. The dress suggested is of course white and gold. We haven’t seen a lot of participation as far as dress, but I’m sure you’ll see more on a holiday cruise. I would say the lines are more similar than different. We have sailed more than 10 cruises on each. We haven’t sailed on Diamond Princess but we love her sister Sapphire Princess. She has a full wrap around promenade similar to the HAL ships. You’ll find dress code very similar. A few differences we notice: You will find staterooms smaller without a couch or a tub unless you are in a mini-suite. We really prefer HALs staterooms in this regard. Breakfast menu in the MDR is much smaller on Princess. We love HALs options especially Greek yogourt and berries. Berries are scarce on Princess ships for some reason. Buffet hours are much more extensive on Princess. You can pretty much go up there anytime from 6 am to 11 pm and find a wide variety of options. We find HALs Lido hours ridiculous with mid afternoon closures or next to nothing available (our experience on our last HAL cruise). We are not big buffet people, but we do like to go up and get a snack after being ashore. Princess does not have set early and main dining. It is all “open”. We like set times and waitstaff, so we make reservations in the medallion app as soon as possible at the same time every evening. We let the restaurant host know that we would like the same table daily, and they usually can accommodate. Princess has the medallions that you wear instead of key cards which open your stateroom door, etc. They also have the medallion app which you’ll use precruise to check in, etc, and can be used during the cruise for various things like ordering food, drinks, etc. We don’t bother using it to order anything as it seems just as easy to get things ourselves. While we used to really enjoy the speakers on HAL, we have found recently that Princess has been superior in the cultural enrichment area on our cruises. The speakers are usually very good, and there are many other cultural enrichment activities on the cruises to unique areas (Hawaii, Alaska, Japan, etc) These are the main differences we notice. Keep in mind that the Diamond is unique among Princess ships in that she has been customized in many ways for her Japanese/ Asian itineraries making her even more special. @Ken the cruiseris doing a really good trip report currently that can give more insight.

These are the windows. It depends on the length of the sailing. It is 5 days after final payment due date.

I think they will still do it. I’ve noticed when they have done this to me it is usually when the cruise price has gone down from when I booked. They “upgrade” to a category now at the rate I paid. I think they’re hoping to prevent people rebooking at the new lower price if they do this.

Yes, I see your point and I considered it for a brief moment but we’re non drinkers and generally have enough OBC from various sources to cover CA. I have also found cruise ship wifi too frustratingly slow to get anymore. We usually get Esims for in port use and take a tech break on the sea days.

I was on the Crown end of June/beginning of July. I was also told the plus and premier were at 50% off. We don’t do the packages, so I don’t know if that would have worked out to be true.

We were able to use a FCD for ours. Purchased onboard and applied immediately, so it sounds like it may depend on the ship and their understanding of the terms? As always with Princess, consistently inconsistent.

We are the same way. If we find a nice hike, or get ourselves somewhere on foot we’re doing it!