hllwdcruiser

We were delayed boarding. It was supposed to be 10:30 and it was closer to 11:30.  We did get to enjoy priority boarding due to our status. The line was long when we got to the port, but green line moved quickly and then we were ushered into the priority lounge. So priority boarding does still exist!

Enjoy your day tomorrow.
We are just beginning to think about packing. I'm determined to figure out how to pack light, but I have yet to succeed on any of our past trips. We are only onboard for 10 days and it's all in the tropics, it really shouldn't be this hard! However, this cool weather has made me contemplate adding a few sweaters to our ensemble.... I know Debbie understands my predicament!
Thanks for taking us with you on this fantastic journey. It's been so much fun reading along every day!

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

 Not having an adults only retreat area will keep me off these newer carnival style ships 

We have remained loyal to Princess because the passenger demographics suits us. We started sailing on them when we were still in our late forties, early fifties, but were happy to get away for a respite from the late teens/early twenties vibe (RCCL) since we still had those ages living with us at home. 
Now that we are grandparents, we value the peace and serenity of Princess even more. We almost exclusively use the adult only pools. We have never booked the Sanctuary because we are happy enough with our balcony for privacy.
Now it appears that only the "lucky" few will be able to enjoy an adults only pool. Even if we wanted to book the Sanctuary, we probably wouldn't be fast enough to get onboard to secure a place.
We are almost at that sweet place in our ages where we can start to look at longer cruises to more exotic locales. I hope Princess knows what it is doing because this new direction doesn't appeal to us at all.

Wow. Just wow. I suppose Princess doesn't really care if people have private excursions, but what a last minute mess for those who do. I wonder if Princess has to juggle some of their excursions because I am sure some of the vendors are booked with other lines on those different days. 

I know you probably don't want to think about returning, but the weather promises to be just perfect for you in Fort Lauderdale on Friday. We have a "cold" front coming through, lows in the 50's and 60's, highs in the 70's. "Winter" is always welcome and celebrated by those of us in SoFl!

Love the photos! I'm following along ~ we'l be sailing at the same time because we are boarding the Enchanted on Friday.

9 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

You would be surprised how many others in our group shared.... my guess is many others did the same. 

Unless it is blatantly abused, I don't think Princess really cares. They make so much money on these packages. We never sail with anyone so we haven't shared, but we have witnessed it occurring quite often, even in front of staff. We never come close to the 15 drink limit, but with coffee, bottled water and juices we make it work for us. Princess definitely makes bank on us!

So when I think about it, we will probably end up paying less out of pocket, but more out of OBC. Because we usually pay for SD with OBC, we are particularly generous with our cash tips, always at least 20%, but often more if we are giving tips to two waitstaff.
In SE Florida, when eating out near touristy areas, we need to be careful because gratuity is often added on to a check without any notification. We will then be presented with a hand held device which prompts us to add another 18 to 22 percent on top of the already added gratuity. I am sure that there are many unsuspecting folks who get caught in this gratuity trap (scam?). 
The thing is, when we see a gratuity already added to the check, we may add a couple of dollars more to bring it to 20%, but that's it. I don't see that this situation will be any different for us. 
However, I fear the biggest losers will be the servers who may or may not benefit from this additional charge.

47 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Thanks.  I see they have revamped the page and also removed the menus.  No way to look up the price and they don't tell guests the price on the webpage.  So, who knows, but it does sound they are now going to assess the dining fee and then add the gratuity on top so it is clearly visible.  I imagine virtually no one is going to be tipping extra.

I was able to see the Sabatini's menu by clicking on one of the links and it has the price as $35.
We certainly won't tip any extra if a gratuity is already added on top. I certainly hope the waiters get the "service charge" but somehow I doubt it.

I want to be where you are.
In the meanwhile I get to live vicariously through your Live. Thank you for taking the time to share this amazing adventure with all of us. 

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

The service was outstanding. 

It's was the main course that left us disappointed. We both ordered rack of veal and it was so tough my husband left a good portion of it on the bone. We should have spoken up & said something, but didn't.

Their grade of meat has gotten really bad in the Crown Grill, but the funny thing is that all our meals in the DR were excellent. 

After a couple of disappointing meals at CG, we decided to not waste our OBC on it again. We discovered Winemaker's and found it to be phenomenal and a far better value for the money. Last year, on the Enchanted, we had OBC to spare and decided to try Sabatini's for the first time in years. We were pleasantly surprised by how good it was. I doubt we'll ever give CG another chance.
I'm really hoping that the powers to be at Princess reverse their decision to "upgrade" the Winemaker's to the Caymus, offering it at over triple the cost. 

Is this effective immediately? We sail a week from today. These up-charges seem never-ending. Nothing we can do about it, but it is disappointing. 
If it is added to the 360 dinner we just booked, I think we will cancel. That would translate to an additional $54!

22 hours ago, memoak said:

Wait till your seventies. LOL

Exactly my point! I'm lying on a heating pad as I type.

1 hour ago, Kmkub said:

This was addressed on The Wake Show a few days ago by Jayson. They have no decorations on board. Decorating will be done during the first cruise out of Port Everglades.

I guess we'll get to see the decorating then! Thanks for checking.

I saw on another ship's Live that they started decorating for the holidays. Have you noticed this on the Enchanted yet?

We finally bought the plastic tag covers from Amazon, but used the clear packing tape method for years and it worked just fine. We folded per the instructions on the printed tag, and just covered them with clear packing tape before stapling.
I tend to run cold as well, but I often walk around the ship, go to dinner etc in sleeveless tops or dresses. I don't remember feeling cold at all. To give you perspective, I always feel cold in Florida restaurants due to their a/c and bring sweaters whenever we do out to eat. You may want to bring a cardigan or two on board just in case.
On the ship, I do get chilly out on the deck in the evening so I do bring a cozy sweatshirt to wear when we watch MUTS or when we take an evening stroll.
Folks do decorate their doors, but they are definitely not in the majority.
 

3 hours ago, MamaFej said:

I've also had trouble loosening the pursestrings. I have a thread over in the 55+ cruisers forum essentially about that, and someone in it recommended a book called Die With Zero by Bill Perkins.

Thanks for this. 
I know we are not alone in our frugality and conversely, we have friends who spend all their money the minute it comes in. We used to be so smug about them, but now I'm wondering who are the fools. 
We are both in our sixties and are still very active, but I know how much we've aged since our fifties. Muscles are cramping, bones are creaking, fatigue is a far too constant companion. What does the next decade hold for us?
An African Safari, the Galapagos, the arctic and even a simple transatlantic are on my bucket list. I know we won't end up doing all of them, but if not now, when? 
I will definitely download the book ~ thanks so much for the recommendation. 

3 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It takes a while, but after some time you'll know which posters opinions to trust. 

Absolutely ~ and in case you don't remember, I've told you before that you and I agree on more things than not! 

16 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's a terrible place to place a restaurant. At least they could have put up a clear partition to keep the volume down.

16 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We were saying the same thing while sitting there.  They could enclose the entire restaurant with glass walls and enter through glass doors.  🤷‍♂️

This seems like such a simple fix.
I believe the ambiance at Bistro is one of the reasons it was not a popular venue. Hopefully someone from Princess is reading this review and takes the suggestion seriously.
Edited to say ~ I just read a little further and it seems like the fix is already in motion at the next dry dock. Pity they didn't think of it before at the same time when they swapped out Catch. 

16 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We do not care for the location of the restaurant on Deck 7.  We had a table against the back wall, so we were not on display from the passing passengers. 

 

The music from the Piazza was mixing with the Italian music playing in the restaurant.  That was annoying.

I was wondering about this. We dined in Bistro last year and were not fans of the location. 
Glad to see all the positive reviews of Catch though!

11 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

We were invited last year on Discovery Princess.

 

Our kids loved it, we did too.

 

Would we pay for the experience?  Absolutely. 

 

We easily drop much more than $149 on concert or theatre tickets, so this is a meal and show all in one. 

Thanks so much for this - one more in the positive response column! Did you do the early or late seating? I'm leaning towards the early one just so our evening is free.

2 hours ago, teachtocruis said:

See! You are celebrating! What a testament to dedication from both of you! Go spend the money and have a fabulous time! Come and tell us what you thought. 

Thank you! Your comment made me smile. What a wonderful way to look at it. We definitely do need to celebrate, especially during these times. 

10 hours ago, XBGuy said:

I always chuckle at posts that ask, "Is <fill in the blank> 'worth it?'" or opine whether or not "<fill in the blank> is or is not 'worth it.'"

 

Here is the universal answer to that question.  Yes, it is worth it.

 

Presumably, the questioner has not experienced the subject event.  Is not one of the purposes of travel to expand your experience?  Well, this is what that means.  If you experience it and find the experience pleasant, or useful, then you have learned something.  That makes it worth it.  If you experience something and, for whatever reason, that you do not find it pleasant or useful, then you have learned something,  That makes it worth it.

 

We have not tried the 360 Experience.  For well-known reasons and for one personal reason we have not cruised since 2020.  We are, in fact, food and wine buffs.  To be honest, however, there are things about the 360 Experience that do not sound attractive to me at all.  That being said, when we return to cruising, we will be trying it at our first opportunity.  I am not going to rely on Cruise Critic reports to make the decision for me,

 

I think I understand your point.
The questioner, being me, asked the question because I know that most who have experienced 360 so far have not had to pay for it. I do believe that one has a different impression of something if one receives it for free as opposed to having to pay. I have not seen a lot, if any, feedback on this board from the latter, so thus, my query.
I find reviews helpful. Perhaps you do not. For example, I was recently perusing excursions for our upcoming cruise. One excursion had only one star reviews and in reading the comments, every single reviewer stated that the excursion was not worth the money spent. I'll take their word for it, perhaps you would not. I appreciate those who actually take the time to write reviews to forewarn us before we make the same mistake. 
The good news is the responses I have received on this board have mostly been positive. If they had been overwhelmingly negative, I may have considered canceling. 
By following the advice from so many on this board, we have turned ordinary vacations into unforgettable ones. I don't rely on Cruise Critic reports to make decisions for me, but I sure do value them!
 

6 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

We were invited last year on Discovery Princess.

 

Our kids loved it, we did too.

 

Would we pay for the experience?  Absolutely. 

 

We easily drop much more than $149 on concert or theatre tickets, so this is a meal and show all in one. 

Thank you! 
I don't know why, but I need these affirmations! 😊

11 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

To be brutally honest, I wouldn’t pay $149 pp for the ‘experience’.  But, I would also not pay $149 for one meal.  We’ve done the Winemakers Dinner a few times when it was $40 pp.  The meals and presentation were absolutely superb and we really enjoyed those dinners.  We were gifted a Super Tuscan dinner and it was also very good but it’s doubtful I would return to that one.  We’ve never done the Chef’s Table and it just sounds like way too much food.  
 

A friend of ours did get a reservation for the 360° Experience.  While she thought it was ok, she commented that she felt rushed.  She went to the early seating and they had to prepare the room to get ready for the second seating.  Plus, I understand the courses are coordinated with the surrounding 360° experience, so one would have to not dilly dally.  I guess at one point, they had projections of bees crawling on you.  It just doesn’t sound appealing to me.  While I only heard the personal opinion of my friend, I would probably only attend if the meal was comped.  Since we rarely book a suite, it’s doubtful that would happen.  
 

BTW, when we went to the winemakers and the super Tuscan dinners, the staff was always very good about altering the menu items for those that had special requests.  I don’t eat beef so was given the best Chilean sea bass I’ve ever had as a replacement for my main course,  

 

I agree 100% with you in regards to the Winemaker's Dinner. I think it was the best value on the ship by far.
I haven't been a fan of Crown Grill over the last several years and only just returned to Sabatini's last year. We went to Sabatini's on the Ruby back in 2009 - and that was when it was that multi, multi coursed meal. It was way too much food for us and we literally rolled out of the restaurant. However, we really enjoyed the new menu and will probably use up some of our OBC to dine there again.
I did book the early seating even though it is way too early for us. Since we had a choice I just thought it might be better so we could enjoy the shows in the evening. As you said, it has to be coordinated with the 360 experience so I don't see how it would make a difference.