spingal

On 3/7/2022 at 8:42 AM, SLO Dancers said:

Is there Zumba on board?  If so, is it inside or outside?  Thanks.

Yes.  It was outside on the top deck.

On 3/2/2022 at 12:24 PM, HOA55 said:

Buffets - can we touch the utensils yet? 

Nope.  They are still serving you.

16 hours ago, MargoK said:

Is there still Crooners Bar (with Piano) next to the Casino.   The Princess website deck plan has something else there but in the descriptions for entertainment it has Crooners.   Loved Crooners for its close access to the lower theatre.  Loved the lower theatre for the wheelchair 'parks' at the end of the aisle!    For once I could get close to the stage and see everything!

There isn’t a Crooners on the Majestic.  They have a VIP Casino Lounge next to casino.  It is a complete waste of space.  I only saw one or two people using it.  Most of the time it was empty.

14 hours ago, Cruising Juls said:

Are they serving breakfast in Sur La Mer on sea days? If so what is being served. Looked like something new. 

Bistro Sur La Mer only served dinner.  It was never busy when I went by it.  It is a strange layout because it is open to the walkway on deck 7.  So if there is something happening in the piazza then it is noisy.

12 hours ago, Ombud said:

Which musical (aka Broadway style) shows are they currently doing? 

We saw Encore and Sweet Soul Music.

2 hours ago, Mike45LC said:

If you have noticed, which entrance to which dining room is for Club Class?  Thanks in advance.

I will jump in and answer.  Club class is in Concerto Dining room; deck 6 port side.

13 hours ago, californiagirl said:

Days 4-5

 

Sorry to be MIA but it sounds like others helped answer questions.  Update on the dog.  He is much better and came home last night.  My husband said he was clingy but that could be from staying overnight at the vet hospital.  He is a big baby, the dog not my husband.  

 

Our weather has been spectacular!  Clear blue sky, warm but not too hot.  I have never been to Mazatlan.  It is a very developed city.  The cruise ship docks in an industrial port.  There is a shuttle that takes passengers to the port entry.  Yesterday I walked the blue line.  Not much except for restaurants at the square.  The walk was nice.  I noticed there was wheelchair accessible curbing…kind of.  The slope is very steep so the person pushing the wheelchair needs to be fairly strong.  

 

Today I walked to the beach from the ship.  Very, very easy to do. We were docked on the north side.  The Norwegian Bliss came about 2 hours after we arrived and docked to the southeast of us.  The Bliss was docked closer to the beach path.  There is a free shuttle that will take you from one terminal to the other.  I rented beach chairs and an umbrella for $20 US.  I did not haggle.  The few dollars I would have saved probably meant more to the man on the beach than me.  The beach was nice and the waves were very small.  Lots of families on the beach. The water was too cold for me.  Only a couple of people were in the water.  I felt very safe as a woman walking around by myself.  There were lots of people selling things on the beach.  They were not bothersome.  

 

Regarding the dining room.  Only the Allegro and Concerto are being used for passengers.  It does not matter whether or not you have a reservation, you are seated in order of moving to the front of the line.  I had a visit with the restaurant manager last night.  They tried to seat me at a terrible table when there were several quiet, nice tables unoccupied.  When I asked to be seated at one of those the host said to me those tables were for people who made a reservation on the medallion app.  I told him I made a reservation on the app.  He kept trying to tell me I had not.  At that point I asked to speak to the manager.  I was polite as I explained what had just occurred.  The manager was very nice and clarified.  He said he could see that I did in fact have a reservation but those tables were for people who were onboard multi-weeks and had requested the same table. I agreed they should have a perk like that. He said they hold those tables for 15 minutes after the reserved time and then release them if no one shows up.  When I told him that Princess was promising the moon to passengers he put his face in his hands and said yes.  He said he didn’t know what they would do when the ship is sailing at full capacity.  Even with a third dining room for passengers they will not be able to meet demand at peak times.  I think they will need to hold a hard line regarding those with reservations.  They also need to go back to the pager system for passengers without reservations.  

 

I just returned from dinner.  They gave me a lovely table tonight without asking.  (There must be a note by my name saying “Karen”.)   I had the same wait staff as last night and they were wonderful.  The goat cheese soufflé is one of my dishes onboard.  The menu is exactly the same as we had on Regal in November.

 

I have really enjoyed the Enclave.  I purchased it for $139 pre-cruise.  I believe this is less than if I waited to purchase it onboard.  I love the heated loungers.  Because of the Hollywood Conservatory I did not reserve a lounge in the Sanctuary.  I think I like the Conservatory better than the Sanctuary.  I can move freely between the pool and the lounge without needing to go in and out of the Sanctuary.  

Loving your review!  I board Saturday with 4 girlfriends!  I just tested NEGATIVE for Covid!  Yea!

 

I have a few questions…

 

What time are you heading to dining room?  We have really early reservations and I hope that helps!

 

I didn’t think the majestic had a sanctuary? Has that changed? 
 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!  Thanks!

13 hours ago, californiagirl said:

 

3 hours ago, californiagirl said:

I’m back from the pool and sitting eating my lunch in the buffet.  I’m happy to report there are more options available in the buffet than yesterday.  More open areas.  I had a piece of pizza and it was ok.  The crust is thicker than on Regal.  I may try Alfredo’s.  
 

The pool is warm!  Which is nice for the majority of passengers.  Everywhere else is chilly inside.  It may be me.  I’ve lost 20 lbs since Thanksgiving and find that I’m cold more often.  
 

Springal I paid more than double initially.  In January I read the thread about getting a refund after final payment.  I used the “chat” feature on the website.  The rep did not argue at all.  Within a few minutes she had done the refund.  Within 24 hours the money was back on my card.  I was shocked!  I told her I would be happy with onboard credit.  The $403 INCLUDED port charges and taxes.  The prices are reminiscent of immediately post-9/11.  I would definitely try the chat feature first.  I booked through a Princess PVP.  I’m not sure what would have happened if I had used a TA.  I hope you are successful!

Thank you so much!!!

Wow!  $403!  There are 5 of us going on the 2/26 sailing and we paid a lot more for our cruise.  I am contacting Princess tomorrow to ask them to re-fare us.

You used to be able to trade in the mini bar setup for a bottle of wine.

2 hours ago, ghgeckos said:

Glad to hear it’s not just me, I prefer to dine in a specialty restaurant on the first night. This error didn’t appear until I updated my app. 

I just checked the medallion app and my reservation is back! 

I had same problem!  I am a TA and called Princess yesterday.  It looks like I was the first to report it and they opened a problem report with the medallion team.  They are working on it but there isn’t an estimated for when it will be fixed.  The medallion app is so problematic!

12 hours ago, califsealion said:

Thanks for the photos!  That solo cabin looks great.  Do you have any interior photos from the rest of the ship?

Yes!  Here you go!

On 12/10/2021 at 6:46 PM, califsealion said:

If anyone has sailed on the new Endurance or Resolution, I'd love to hear about it!  The ships look amazing.  Especially, is it really smoother sailing?

 

Not planning any trips anytime soon, just living vicariously through other's trips.

The ship did seem to handle the Drake Passage well.  But I don’t have anything else to compare it to.

The ships are identical.  I just returned from an Antartica cruise on the Endurance.  The ship is gorgeous!  I had solo cabin 510.  Storage is great, bathroom wonderful and bed is comfortable.  You have a twin bed in the solo cabins.  The shower was the best I ever had on a cruise.

Here are some pictures of cabin…

I just got an email from Princess.  The April TA from Fort Lauderdale to Barcelona is cancelled.  😢😢

Just now, Ombud said:

My canceled April TA was 04/09/21 on the Sky Princess so I booked the 04/03/21 Enchanted Princess. See you onboard!! 

Good to hear.  I am nervous that they will keep the Enchanted Princess in Europe and our cruise will also be cancelled.  
 

So I hope we get a chance to meet!

On 9/9/2020 at 3:17 PM, Ombud said:

My April TA just got canceled.  

I am also booked on the 4/3 Enchanted Princess cruise.  I haven’t gotten any notice it is cancelled.

How did you learn it is cancelled?

Thank you.

2 hours ago, jp2746 said:

We were told that the CDC gave the orders on Saturday.  It was a bit of a mess, but I understand. They should have tested the guy on Friday to be sure.  Maybe even test all crew members the day before coming into port to be safe.  I know that will never happen since there are so many crew members, but it would probably keep this from happening again.  

Totally agree.  I am not sure why Princess didn’t do everything possible to test that single crew member on Friday.   

I was supposed to be on the 3/7 sailing of the Royal Princess.  As I reflect on what happened there is one thing I wish Princess had done differently.....

On Friday they were aware of the confirmed coronavirus cases on the Grand.  The CDC then discovered that a crew member from the Grand had been transferred to the Royal.  Princess told them they had been onboard for over two weeks with no sign of illness.  So the CDC released the ship to sail on Saturday.  If I were Jan Swartz I immediately would have figured out a way to test that crew member for the virus even thought the CDC cleared the ship.  Why risk it?  Well that didn’t happened and on Saturday everything changed.

The Carnival Panorama arrived into Long Beach port on Saturday with a sick passenger. The CDC would not let anybody disembark until that passenger was tested.  They then asked Princess to test the crew member. But there was not enough time to get them tested and get the results prior to sailing. So Princess canceled our cruise late Saturday afternoon.  That was a huge loss for Princess and they inconvenienced and disappointed an entire terminal full of people who had eagerly been waiting to board.  If they had taken the initiative to perform the test on their own on Friday then they could have given the results to the CDC.  The crew member tested negative so we would have sailed.

13 minutes ago, CruiseMomTX said:

Well so glad my mom just cancelled their cruise on the Royal Princess 3/14!  Luckily she got the health advisory email and texted me to ask if they should cancel, I told her absolutely.  

YEA!!!  Smart decision.

3 hours ago, CruiseMomTX said:

My parents are also supposed to be on the Royal sailing on the 14th and I'm hoping they cancel as my dad is not in great health.  Mom is hard headed and probably wont cancel.  Now wondering if it will still sail or be cancelled.  If there is crew that tested positive wouldn't they just need to quarantine the whole crew??  

Yikes.  This is just my opinion but I would not take my 80+ year-old parents on any cruise right now. I would be very concerned if your dad is not in great health. I wish you could convince your mother to cancel. If they go I hope they are safe.  
 

If the crew test positive I guarantee you they will not sail on Saturday.

22 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

The situation is insane since they already let off all the guests! Stands to reason that if the crew member is positive then there is a chance some of those guests must be too!!! It seems like CDC and Government are reacting after the fact rather than being proactive and establishing an actual plan/procedure! CDC already cleared the ship and then suddenly decided they had questions AFTER everyone left?

Yep. I am one of the unfortunate passengers who was supposed to sail yesterday.  I agree it didn’t make any sense.  Everyone from the previous cruise was gone when we arrived.  We were told the crew member had been on the Royal for over two weeks and showed no signs of illness at any point.  Who knows what is really happening?  What I find strange is that the Regal was able to get their two crewmembers tested today and get the results in the same day. Why didn’t Princess management test this crew member on Friday?   Earlier yesterday?

I am onboard.  There are three dining times for traditional dining...

Two early seatings....

DaVinci midship on deck 6 is at 5:15pm

Botticelli aft on deck 6 is at 5pm

One late seating....

Botticelli aft on deck 6 is at 7:30pm

3 hours ago, HBCcruiser said:

Winners of the Pub Crawl Joe and Amelia! Great fun with great peeps!! 

Love it!!!