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11 hours ago, Garmy44 said:

I am onboard now and was informed by staff the new menu starts Jan 14. Don’t get too excited I have experienced it last month on Symphony and was VERY disappointed!

I think last month they were still tweaking them...

What specifically were you disappointed with?

10 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Just realize that the grats will still be added to your account during the sailing - so financially, there's no diff between pre-paying and paying later if you pay the standard grats amount. 

The difference for us is OBC.  We usually have plenty of OBC from our TA, so would rather not pre-pay the gratuities and have them covered by the OBC.

I am glad Royal allows this... not all cruise lines do. 

Thank you all! 

I was surprised that the earliest I was offered was 11:30... I expected to be able to grab 10:30 (or even 11:00)... I did not think I was that late checking in!

I am glad to hear that I will receive special instructions for when to arrive with the Key.  How long before my cruise should I expect that email?

Good Morning,

The earliest time available when I checked in for my cruise was 11:30AM.  With the Key, am I correct that I can check-in earlier than that?  (Assuming they are paying attention to check-in times.)

Thanks!

Brad

Thank you everyone!   I see the reservations for the The Book are now available for upcoming sailing on Odyssey.

Does anyone have the menu for the back to back lunch on the Odyssey?  Do they offer this between all sailings or just some?

Thanks!

Brad

In November, there were reports of folks with December cruises being able to book shows online prior to their cruise.

Did online reservations ever open up for January cruises?

We sail in February, and just curious if we should keep checking.

Thanks!

Brad

14 hours ago, Bette And Bill said:

That is correct. The ship stayed on Eastern time the entire cruise.

Thanks!  So, are the times in the itinerary the port times or the ship times for the ports where it is different?

Thanks for the review Stealthdog!    Just to confirm, you stayed on ship time the whole time?  Which means ship time was different than the port time in Aruba and Curacao, right?

Brad

Thank you very much!

Does anyone have a copy of the key breakfast menu?

Since they are not selling the Surf package currently, any chance there will only be one package (speed) going forward and those who pre-purchased the surf package will get a "free" upgrade to the surf and stream when they get on board?

We have a Jr. Suite on our next cruise on the Odyssey of the Seas and are hoping to be lucky enough to be able to get reservations at Coastal Kitchen for a couple of nights.

In looking at the menus for CK in the app, besides the CK specific items, it shows the always available appetizers, entrees, and desserts and kids appetizers, entrees, and desserts from the MDR.  

Can anyone confirm the always available and kids items are in fact readily available in the CK and that they are prepared in the CK galley?  (I do not want to order them if someone has to run all the way to the MDR to get them!)

Thanks!

Brad

Curious if anyone has ever seen a special time for Bumper Cars on the Odyssey of the Seas (or other Quantum class ship) for those who purchase the Key?

1 hour ago, MissP22 said:

 even leaving the DR with smuggled desserts.

 

This brings up an interesting question:  some cruise lines have no problem with asking for your dessert to go from the MDR after eating, some do.   What is the policy/experience on Princess?

On 8/5/2022 at 1:52 AM, caribill said:

So, your cabin may be available if you are an early boarder or it may not.

How do you know if your cabin is ready?   I am used to lines where they wait till all cabins are ready and then open the fire doors and make an announcement.  Is it the same on Princess?

I am trying to provide the emergency contact phone number for relatives to reach us on the ship.   (Our cell phones will be in airplane mode while out at sea and we are not purchasing the internet package.)

I went to this link in the Princess FAQ:  https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/onboard/keeping-in-touch/

It has instructions for dialing internationally from outside the US and Canada, but not sure how from within the US/Canada.  There used to be a tollfree number you dialed and then gave them your credit card.   Does anyone know how to reach the Emerald Princess?

Thanks!

Brad

Another Emerald question:  Are they serving lunch in one of the MDRs on boarding day?

I know the answer on Princess is usually yes, even if they try to steer you elsewhere.  But I have also seen a few reports of folks saying this was no longer true on the ship they were on. (Ruby for one.)

Can anyone confirm one way or another on the Emerald out of Southampton this season?

Thanks!

Brad

17 minutes ago, Tiki_Koro said:

BA does not allow travelers to check luggage until 3 hours prior to the flight, so going through security earlier was not an option unless we were not checking any luggage.

I thought I remembered reading about the 3 hour restriction on checking luggage, but then I could not find it again on the BA website.  Are they really enforcing it with such long security lines?

Thanks for going ahead and reporting on your trip even though you could not do it "live".

On 2/19/2022 at 6:19 PM, Globaliser said:

 

The train to Windsor is basically a commuter trip. Turn up at Paddington, buy a (round-trip) ticket, get on the next train. On the way back, it's even easier because you already have a ticket. It really isn't worth over-planning this.

Getting closer to our trip.  Am I correct that this has gotten even easier since this route now accepts contactless payment so we don't even need to buy a ticket?    Looks like the price for the roundtrip (off peak) is the same if we buy a ticket or go contactless, but contactless is actually cheaper if you are only going one way.   Am I understanding that correctly?

Thank you all!   I did not realize that EZAIR waited till 30 days before (I thought it was 45.)

I am now less than 30 days and have been ticketed!

7 hours ago, junglejane said:

Onboard now. Sabatini’s is only open for dinner on two nights on our cruise: the nights we’re in Liverpool and Glasgow. 

Thanks for an update from onboard!   Do you know if they are still closing the Crown Grill the nights that Sabatini's is open?

I have seen a few people mention that they were still waiting for their ez-air flights to be ticketed.   Now I am one of them! 

My first flight leaves in just over 30 days.   There is no button for me to request early ticketing anymore -- which makes perfect sense because if they ticket it now it is no longer early, but on time or even late!

• What has been recent experience?  How many days before your flights were they ticketed?
• Would it help if I asked me TA to contact Princess/EZ-Air and "remind" them to pay the airline?

Fortunately, I am not in one of the situations where I need to be ticketed to choose seats or purchase an upgrade.  I would just feel better knowing the tickets are paid for!

Thanks!

Brad

On 6/30/2022 at 8:34 PM, Tiki_Koro said:

 

 

If you or anyone taking this cruise in the future have questions about something that I miss in my report, please don't hesitate to ask. I want this to be helpful, which is the main reason I chose to do this live rather than a post-trip report.

 

We are taking this cruise in August.  Really appreciate you taking the time to do a live review and looking forward to it!

Would appreciate it if you could include MDR menus and Patters.   I hope that is not too much trouble!

Thanks!

Brad

What kind of package did you book that provides transfers between Heathrow and London?  

I guess I assumed all Princess transfers were between the airport or London and Southampton on the day of the cruise.