Jilliebean28

We always book Sanctuary but really think that Sanctuary on the Royal class ships are so much better than Sanctuary on the Grand class ships.  The crew seemed to be so much more attentive and friendly on the Royal class and we liked the layout much more.

I always start my cruise off with a Dirty Banana.  After that it's quite boring....Tanqueray and tonic with lots of lime.

Hi all....we are US based and will will be flying to Sydney and the cruising from Sydney to New Zealand.  Post cruise we will be touring on our own around the North Island for a week.  We have cruise insurance thru Holland but are looking for insurance recommendations for what we should be doing for the land portion.  This is something we have not done before so any help is most appreciated!

Jill

On 2/5/2023 at 10:15 PM, DogLover said:

I nor my hubby are LOTR fans but in 2017 on our Sydney - Auckland cruise, we had a wonderful private guide and our tour included the WETA workshop in Wellington, NZ. It was incredible and highly recommended. 

 

 

This sounds wonderful!  Would you mind sharing the tour and guide info for me?  My daughter is a special effects makeup artist in LA and I think she would love to do this.  TIA!

Jill

We immediately split up....one goes to Sanctuary to book loungers for the trip while the other goes to make reservations for dinners at Sabatini's and CG.

Then we head to the cabin and drop off carryons then to Alfredo's for lunch.

After lunch we head to the cabin and hope that our luggage has arrived so we can get unpacked and organized.

Then we head to the Retreat bar for our first vacation cocktail!

4 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

The disembarkation was a breeze!  We had a meet time of 7:50 in the Wheelhouse.  They called our Pink 2 tags at 7:45 and by 8:00 we were curbside.

 

We are almost home!

 

Thank you all for following along! Until the next time (July 6th, Emerald Princess, 16 day Hawaii). 

 

 

 

 

🍷

Thanks so much for taking us all along through your Live report!  I'll definitely be following along for your next one!

Our first (and only) PVP was great for the first year.  He has since ghosted us.  We know he is still working in that roll but after multiple phone calls and emails to him have gone unreturned we will move on to a traditional travel agent.  

Thank you so much for bringing us all along with you on this cruise!  This "Live" report has been wonderful!

Jill

On 3/30/2023 at 3:50 PM, LACruiser88 said:

Uh oh, look at what we saw on our way back to our cabin from the luncheon!

 

 

Brings back terrible memories of my time in COVID jail last fall on the Med/TA cruise we were on with you!  Except my door also had a sign saying "RED ZONE DO NOT ENTER 

AUTHORIZED TEAMMATES ONLY" 

2 hours ago, jinpasco said:

We have been trying to add a card and keep getting " invalid number ". We tried on the app, on a laptop and on the desktop. Our TA tried. She even called Princess and they said it " must be the credit card company's fault". At this point may just leave it and let them do it at embarkation. Any idea on what we are doing wrong ? 

We had the same problem last week.  We called our credit card company and all was good on that end.  Eventually we had to add one card for my husband and a different one for me.  We are both now in the green lane. When we get on the ship we will have them switch me over to mu husbands card (as we have always used that card in the past).

On 3/16/2023 at 12:29 PM, LACruiser88 said:

In our experience, the service in  Sabatini's has always been way above the service we have received at the CG.  We also prefer the menu at Sabatini's.

Couldn't agree with you more!  We used to love CG but the last several times we have been there we felt both the service and food had gone downhill.  We have always loved Sabatinis!

On 3/10/2023 at 1:44 PM, Woobstr112G said:

Well I'll be spending the last two days of my cruise in the cabin. Darn luck.....

 

Bob

So sorry to hear that this was how you spent your last few days onboard.  Hope you are feeling bettr!

We stayed in the Sky Suite on Enchanted in March and did not notice any sound from pool area or MUTS.  It was wonderful!

On 12/9/2022 at 11:18 AM, DCThunder said:

I walked off Regal a week ago today feeling fine.  Sunday morning, I wasn't feeling so great any more so did a test Sunday afternoon and got the dreaded Double Lines.  Toughed it out on Monday and Tuesday, but finally went to an urgent care center on Wednesday. I had the body aches, serious fatigue (but difficulty sleeping), loss of appetite, and heavy cough, but only a mild fever.  The NP at urgent care wrote me a RX for Paxlovid and benzonatate which I've been taking faithfully. Today is the first day that I feel like I'm going to get over this WuFlu.

 

This was my seventh and last cruise of 2022.  While vaxxed and boosted, I seldom wore a mask, but did try to observe the social distancing recommendation as well as hand sanitizing.  For 2023 cruises, I doubt I'll do much different.

I was on the same cruise as you DCThunder and I got COVID a week and a half after boarding.  I was sent to COVID jail for 6 days (until I tested negative).  I was lucky in that my symptoms were no worse than a bad cold. 

20 hours ago, odyssyus said:

Meaning they have been selling the balcony dinner for this cruise but are not fulfilling the requests and are refunding the cost.  When I asked why, they recited the standard covid response. 

 

They then offered me room service from the MDR menu in lieu of the purchased balcony dinner.

 

Not a good look at all.

 

Not implying there is covid on board.  My apologies if it sounded that way.

Oh there is most certainly Covid onboard.  I was released from Covid jail on Sunday after 6 days in isolation.  

On 11/20/2022 at 4:12 PM, memoak said:

You should have been able to see the menus on your tv

Thanks and yes I realized that but on my TV I was unable to scroll to see the menu and they it still showed me as being in my original cabin not in my Covid cabin.  It was a disaster all around!  

I wish my Covid experience on the Regal was as positive as the OP’s.  I am currently on the Regal doing the Med and TA.  On November 12th I started with a sore throat.  Tested myself and DH and we were both negative.  Felt good until November 15th when I woke up with a horrible headache and cold symptoms.  Self tested as did DH - I was positive and he was negative.  Called medical and they came up and tested both us with the same results.

I was moved from our mini suite to a balcony cabin on the Emerald deck within an hour.  I was escorted to my cabin and told to order food from room service and call housekeeping for towels.  That was the extent of information I received.  There was not even a bottle of water in the room.  In the 6 days I was there (I tested negative and was released this morning) I was contacted once by medical after two days and was told they would call the next day to check on me (that never happened).  If I tried to order from the Medallion app it thought I was in my old cabin so that didn’t work; calling room service could take almost an hour; no menus at all for lunch and only got menus for breakfast and dinner after asking for them.  Had to ask how to get rid of my garbage.  

I would think that there should have been some kind of written instructions left in the cabins telling me what to expect.  I must say that two crew members in room service (Jesse and Mary) were the two bright spots in my days.

Princess should do better.

7 hours ago, a19shortie said:

Hi Jill,I too have been in Covid jail since Tuesday. Almost 3 years of not getting it and now missed all the parts of Italy I wanted to see. I think there are quite a few people sick and Princess is keeping it quiet. Hope you feel better soon.

Oh no!!  I have seen 3 others in quarantine from my cabin on the port side of Emerald deck.  Princess certainly needs to do a better job of telling those of us in isolation about what to expect.  My experience, sadly, has not been good which I hate to even say as we love Princess.

I hope you are feeling better and are set free soon!! 

17 minutes ago, vikidon said:

For those who didn’t list a room number on Jill’s amazing spreadsheets and are coming to the meet and greet and would like a postcard please let me know. I am in cabin L202. 
If you listed a cabin you should get one in your stateroom (not sure when)

Hi VIKIDON…..I hope to be out of COVID jail in time to make the M&G.  I have been “locked in” since Tuesday.  I’m so sad that after all of this planning I have already missed so many great ports.  

Jill

Well I can tell you all our experience in real time.  I started with a sore throat this past Saturday while on the Regal Princess on a Med and TA cruise.  I tested myself on Sunday morning (-) but also alerted medical.  They came up and tested both my self and my husband ….both negative.  On Tuesday I really wasn’t feeling well so I did a test myself which was positive.  Medical came and tested both of us….I was + and dh was -.  I was moved to a quarantine cabin almost immediately.  I have heard nothing further from Medical about anything!  My husband was only told (in passing) that he would need to be retested.

It has been very frustrating as when I arrived in the cabin I was just told to call to order food (no menus and not even a bottle of water in the cabin) and call housekeeping for clean towels.  That has been the extent of Princesses communication with me.  I would have thought there would have been some kind of handout about what to expect.  So far, very underwhelmed with how they are handling this.

14 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

@chrysalis  It would be nice to meet you guys.  Where do you hang out?  

 

We are usually in Vines, 5 to 7...

Mike and I will definitely be looking for you in Vines....absolutely our favorite place to be pre-dinner.  Thanks for your "live from" I am so enjoying following you!

Jill

17 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

 

I am starting this "Live" thread a little early as we will be leaving tomorrow for a week's stay in Tuscany before we board the ship. 

 

We are traveling with another couple and are flying from Los Angeles to Rome (FCO), non-stop, on Italia Transporto Aereo (ITA).  This is the former Alitalia Airline.  We booked Business Class via EZair at a fantastic price! 

 

We have had very good experiences flying Alitalia in the past, this will be our first time flying ITA since the reorganization. 

 

We are renting a mini-van (we have lots of luggage and cars in Europe tend to be much smaller) at FCO and are driving to an Agriturismo (working vineyard, winery, olive oil production, restaurant and accommodations), where we have rented apartments within a large Villa.  We have stayed at this location in the past and thoroughly enjoyed it.  We will be 10 miles south of Florence in the Chianti region.  From here we will base our daily trips throughout Tuscany.

 

The day prior to boarding the ship, we will drive back to FCO and spend a night at an airport hotel.  We have arranged private transportation to the ship in Civitavecchia. 

 

We have booked our 37 day cruise as an 11 day and 26 day back-to-back voyage.  The 26 day voyage could also be booked as an 11 day and 15 day back-to-back.  For us the 26 day voyage was more financially advantageous.

 

Our roll calls for these voyages have been the most active I have seen in a very long time.  As of today, there are over 4,300 posts on the three separate roll calls that cover the three legs of our voyage. 

 

I would like to acknowledge @Jilliebean28 for her unselfish commitment to maintaining an ever-changing and extremely lengthy Excel spreadsheet of activities and excursions.  There has been 35 updated versions of the spreadsheet!    

 

Not being a very prolific or witty "Live" poster, I encourage our fellow cruisers to contribute to this thread as we travel along.  Hopefully, this thread will help unite the three separate roll calls in one location.

 

We usually do not attend the shows, do not participate in games nor interact with the Cruise Director or his/her staff.  We do enjoy the Sanctuary, Vines, food and music venues (we enjoy dancing very much).  Hopefully, our fellow cruisers will fill in the gaps!

 

This is an extremely active itinerary and I'll try to answer as many questions as I possibly can. 

 

 

 

I am so excited to be following your "Live" thread and will be following it closely!  We, like you, enjoy Sanctuary (usually book this for our whole cruise in the Caribbean), Vines (every evening), and the various food and music venues so I am sure we will run into each other!  Not very interested in the shows but do enjoy trivia occasionally.

Thank you for your very kind words.....it really has been fun, and at times challenging, keeping the roll call spreadsheet.

I hope you have safe travels to and around Europe and look forward to meeting you soon!

Jill

2 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

We’re in S310 too!  It’s funny bc I saw the hot tub back there but somehow thought it was on the deck below. So there is open access to the hot tub from other decks?  It’s odd that Princess didn’t think to include a hot tub on the actual Sky Suite balcony.  Most of Celebrity’s top suites have them. 
Thank you very much for the info!  Much appreciated. 

You are going to love the suite and April the Suite Experience Manager!  Yes, the hot tub is open access but we hardly ever saw anyone in it.  We were always by ourselves in it at night.  Hope you have a wonderful time!

2 hours ago, CruiseNYC said:

I'm just catching up on the review here.  Sounds amazing.  We'll be in a Sky Suite on Enchanted this Fall.  Can you please tell me more about the Hot Tub and Pool on Deck 17?  I don't see it on the Deck plan.  

Thanks in advance!

We were in S310 (the sky suite) on the Enchanted in March and the hot tub was right outside the  back entrance to the  back part of our balcony.  We would go out at night and had the hot tub all to ourselves....it was wonderful!

We used to be die hard Crown Grill lovers but after the newer menu in Sabatini's we would eat there every night of our cruise.  Don't get me wrong.....both are really good but we LOVE Sabatini's!