SargassoPirate

Once I get on board, I'm good. No use fretting over things I cannot control. The bucket list item was a complete circumnavigation. I've already been to about half of the ports, so that wasn't the big draw. I'm confident the right choices will be made by those in control and that the ship will get back to Fort L on time. If not, we'll have interesting stories to share during cocktail hours.

I'll give it some thought. I sort of unplug from the world/wifi when I cruise. I mostly use my smartphone for a camera and to check in occasionally with SWMBO. Did you follow the 2023 running review?

Thanks for your observations, tml1230. I board the Island Princess on January 4 for 111 days. I followed a 2023 world cruise blog here on CC and have viewed many YouTube videos and am psyched. My only pre-cruise disappointments are the lack of a full promenade - I'll be wearing out the carpet on the aft crossover - and the lack of an International Cafe. But, I always manage to find a workaround for little issues and as long as I'm at sea, can find something to eat when I'm hungry, and can scare up a wee dram in the evening, all is good.

With the Medallion they can tell who is where on the ship. If a venue is too loud or the show blows and people vacate, they can tell. I have been on some ships where the racket in the Piazza was so loud and bled over to Guest Services that the person behind the desk couldn't hear my complaint about the noise and I had to write it down. That's an indication that it is indeed too loud. Coming soon, Princess introduces a Miracle Ear shop onboard.

I'm on a WC soon on another line. The way I look at is it's a long way off to get to the Red Sea. The situation can change a lot by then. Plus the ship has to get back to Fort Lauderdale at the end of April for the next sailings, so I'm along for the ride.

With several world cruises to set sail soon, is the Red Sea situation causing any anxiety? What say you?

There's a pushback or a workaround for every new nickel and dime change that the bean counters and suits come up with, but as long as people will line up to pay, there's no incentive for the company to change. I'm a very frugal cruiser and will take advantage of the things included, but as those disappear I can find other ways to enjoy being at sea.

I do two things when I find a venue such as the Piazza and the theater overamplified to the point it's uncomfortable - I vacate and complain. It amazes me that sheeple will just sit there in an environment that starts damaging their hearing after about 15 minutes of exposure to decibels approaching jet engines. Perhaps these would make a statement.

I retired over 20 years ago and I quit trying a rag around my neck then. I do dress up in the evenings on any cruise by donning a pair of black jeans and a black sport coat over a colored T shirt with a matching pocket square. The jacked weighs 19 ounces - so it doesn't push the bag over the weight limit. This passed muster with the maitre d on Cunard, and thus every other line. I actually pack less than I would with a stack of sort shirts.

Passenger cabins above, below, and across the corridor goes a long way to prevent entertainment and other noise from disturbing you

Having been to all of those ports, that is indeed a major change and I would be raising Cain with Princess, my warehouse TA, and the credit card company I used for the deposit. If nobody complains and makes a fuss, the suits will think they can pull things like this with impunity.

And Princess touts the Piazza as "inviting". It's anything but.

Except for the alcohol intake, same here. No prescription pharmaceuticals and all of my numbers are good. In my 70s and still ride my Harley and restore old cars. Having my wee dram before dinner right now. Life is good, isn't it?

Have you had a liver function test or an A1C test lately?

Zero to date and I'm in a solo steerage.

Destinations and the crew. I find workarounds for the annoyances.

My wee dram or two in the P&E lounge is drama free. Nobody asks if I can share my package with them and it wouldn't do any good since I cruise steerage. I wonder if those same folks would ask me to send my first class lunch or dinner meal back to them in coach?

And if we don't complain, nothing will change. When we vacated Crooners because of the din, I told them why.

I quit trying a rag around my neck when I retired. I wear my tux to lodge meetings and that's it. On formal or dress to impress or whatever they call dress up nights, I wear black jeans, a colored T with a matching pocket square in a black jacket. It passed maitre d muster on Cunard and looks better than about half of the "gentleman" in the MDR - especially those with their baseball caps on backwards. Funny thing is that the big excuse we hear for slovenly dress in the MDR is airline baggage fees, but my jacket weighs around 19 ounces, I wear my black jeans on the plane, my stack of four T shirts and pocket squares weigh very little, and I can wear the same combo with rotating colors every night of the cruise. Saves on packing the "smart casual" wear.

Would that be because the din from the Piazza ruined whatever atmosphere was in Crooners? We tried it one evening on the Regal before dinner and the screeching singer in the Piazza made us move elsewhere.

Our last cruise with Celebrityvwas on the Solstice and we found the decor modern, but the feeling conveyed is like you are sailing in an Ikea store - modern but uncomfortable and cold. Of course, there are always those who find a classic ship decor such as on the QM2 dated, when others see it as elegant. There's a berth for every taste.

My sentiments exactly. I keep putting the pencil to Plus versus Steerage, and cannot make it work for my cruising style of a wee dram of two in the evening and with SWMBO who doesn't drink at all. We/I are satisfied with the included food and drinks. More often than not, we cruise transpacifics or transatlantics as transportation there or back.

When SWMBO cruises with me, she insists on the MDR for dinner but she is flexible on the time, so practicing your "queue avoidance" we booked a 7:40 time on our most recent cruise. After we were seated the room started to empty out as time went on and it got more and more quiet. Overall, a more pleasant dining experience.

As I have sometimes opined, if Amazon's app worked as well as Princess, Bezos would be back selling books out of his garage.

My app is all FUBAR. I have two bookings. When I select the next cruise to manage my booking in the app, it shows a plus package that I didn't purchase, when I select print baggage tags, it's the tag from a previous cruise, my booked excursions are from a previous cruise, and my cabin preferences keep changing without my input. So far, my dining reservations are ok. This next cruise was booked almost two years ago.