Astro Flyer

Thanks Gloria…it might be another seaday in port for us on a less crowded ship. ☺️

Meredith…We decided not to book that 3 day cruise but periodically check to see if prices drop which the current fare is half the price of our 10 day cruise. Looking forward to seeing some of our cruise buddies there.

I’ll be interested about your opinion of Manzanillo which we’ll visit for the first time in April 2024 on Discovery which also includes a total solar eclipse at sea near Mazatlan.

Zero-Alcohol Drink Package $35.39 per person, per day Enjoy premium and specialty coffees and teas along with sodas, fresh juices and healthy smoothies (juice bar), bottled water, hot chocolate and “zero-proof” mocktails throughout your entire cruise with this new beverage package. It also features a 25% discount on large bottles of water when purchased in bars, dining room or specialty restaurants. https://book.princess.com/html/global/personalizer/ssv/beverages/zero-alcohol-package-disclaimer/index.html

This is their Passage Contract statement about bringing non-alcoholic drinks which prohibits them in bottles although enforcement may vary. Guests are also prohibited from bringing water, sodas and other non-alcoholic beverages on board that are packaged in bottles. A small quantity of non-alcoholic beverages (i.e., sparkling water, sodas, juice, milk) packaged in cans or cartons may be brought on board on embarkation day, only if carried on in Guests’ hand luggage (not in checked luggage). A small quantity is considered a maximum of 12 sealed, unopened cans/cartons of 12 ounces each or less per person. Guests will be asked to discard open beverages in plastic containers prior to boarding. All checked and carry-on luggage will be scanned and any prohibited items, including alcoholic/nonalcoholic beverages will be removed, confiscated, and discarded. If Your luggage is locked, the lock may be removed by security or, alternatively, the luggage will be held by security until You can be present for an inspection and any items in question further identified and/or surrendered. Carrier shall not be responsible for any loss, cost, disappointment or damage of any kind as a result of any luggage lock removal, alcoholic/nonalcoholic items, or other prohibited items removed and discarded in violation of the policy.

Oops…please excuse my typo that I did not catch before it was too late to correct…thanks. Our cruise is in September 2023 and sorry about creating any confusion for anyone. Our November 2024 is not included because as you wrote it’s only valid through April 2024.

Here was our experience when attempting to get the OLife Ultimate for our September 2024 cruise (non OLife) listed as included in this promotion. This is our first O booking & was made through our TA for an interior cabin booked with their 20th Anniversary promotion to receive SBC. She contacted O to inquire about how we could get this offer that based on the T&Cs is eligible for all categories of cabins (capacity controlled). She was told the offer is only for new bookings and by canceling & rebooking our cruise fare would nearly double in price. Even if we could have kept the same fare adding the 3 OLife Ultimate benefits still might not be cost effective for us. The SBC amount was the same for the 20th & Ultimate promotions and as I read it we’d receive the basic alcohol drink package (beer/wine at lunch & dinner, correct?) and the tours are basic ones which might not be of much interest to us on our CA coastal cruise with ports we’ve visited many times. We drive to the Port of LA and for us the onboard experience is our primary destination & we’re eagerly looking forward to our first O cruise experience. 😊 Thus we made no changes & hopefully the O agent my TA talked to provided accurate info, something our most frequently cruised line Princess agents too often provide misinformation.

The weather has also affected the shipment of our car from Maui to LA. The Pasha ship scheduled to stop here tomorrow in Maui after leaving Honolulu today is bypassing Kahului & is going directly to Hilo. Winds have been very strong here & obviously it’s unsafe for a car carrier to dock in Maui. Their next ship sailed from Long Beach & is only docking in HNL before returning to LGB…guess our car will go by barge to HNL. Some rough conditions between the West Coast & the Islands. 💨🌊

Yes…those coffee machines that use ground coffee to make filtered coffee are only in Royal-class buffets and also likely in dining room & room service galleys. Guess that better tasting free coffee isn’t enough to entice you to join me on a Royal-class ship sometime. 😉 The cost to install these machines is a major factor why Princess won’t provide a better cup of coffee which does not generate any income. On Celebrity the free coffee in the buffet & dining rooms is made from Italy’s Lavazza ground coffee. ☕️

That was a great cruise we sailed together…hope you’re enjoying your new location to reside which must be better than previously. Have a great cruise & welcome back to cruising! 😊

Good to know those machines are still producing tasty drinks. 😄

Checking a map of where Kusadasi is located in northwestern Turkey it’s a long distance from where the quake was centered in the southeast portion by Syria. Based on Google Maps the general quake area I’ve read about is about 700 miles away. You could do additional research to better narrow down the quake area’s distance from Kusadasi however based on my cursory research it wouldn’t affect Kusadasi. We greatly enjoyed a tour to Ephesus from Kusadasi during our cruise about a decade ago.

My iOS update added the “Onboard Packages” option which when selecting it takes me to the Cruise Personalizer to search for packages…not a great help.

As you wrote…it’s the profit margin…cheaper soda & no cans to recycle. When in college our school service group ran the concession stand selling sodas…the cup & the fountain soda cost the group about the same amount. I don’t like the soda dispensed through a bar gun which in my experience is much worse than from canned soda. And it’s likely a 12 Oz bar soda included in drink packages costs them a small fraction in comparison to a canned soda.

Sailed on Discovery’s first two cruises last Spring from LA & a certificate for the inaugural cruise was the only souvenir. Our cabin was warm so we reported it to GSD & our cabin steward and it only got hotter on a cool day getting up to 84° inside our balcony cabin with the drapes closed before lowering after dinner. All of our DMW reservations made immediately when available disappeared & no tables were available at our reserved time which has happened to us on other Princess ships. We wanted an inaugural season fridge magnet like we bought on Sky’s 3rd cruise…nope! I don’t recall any other inaugural souvenirs nor events when sailing from LA on Discovery only an hour from Princess HQ. The official dedication with VIPs was a couple of weeks after our cruise. We won’t sail another inaugural or early first season cruise & would wait for months although maybe never again as we have no interest in the Sun-class ships…they’re not for us.

Maybe it’s unavailable until they can increase the price on their website? Other things such as specialty dining & internet have recently increased in price.

Like you & Cruise Raider that’s what we had on the first night of Discovery’s inaugural cruise.

We did this last year & as I recall we had a few choices of red or white.

Tracie-Lynn…thanks for once again allowing us to vicariously join you on another fun cruise adventure & maybe one day we will all meet on a future cruise. Best of luck on walking the Camino & hopefully you will have great conditions. 😊

Yummy! 😋

Great recommendations & another option I consider is using airline miles. While I have not checked all airline policies the FF miles I use will allow cancelation & reinstatement back into my miles account without any fee. Some airlines might charge a fee to do this but that would likely be less than a paid fully refundable ticket. There are several options for each of us to determine which is best for each of us.

Checked our previously ordered April 2024 Medallion’s status that we made when booking the cruise in August 2022 and it currently has no shipping charge. Maybe they’ll grandfather existing orders? Although they have 14 months to add the shipping fee & if so they need to inform passengers who already ordered them & not to just automatically add shipping. Although based on previous app glitches, I’m skeptical if they’ll make such a notification. Apparently their marketing about the quick Medallion boarding experience is now only available to those who pay for shipping or pay for Plus or Premier…another step towards a multi class cruising experience.

We felt the same way about it but stuck it out until the end to see if it got any better for us…nope! The sound level was much too loud making the narration & lyrics difficult to clearly hear & the storyline of being in a video game wasn’t pleasing to us. It’s the only Princess production show we’ll never repeat…JMO.

Here’s info about their Aloha Spirit Program: Aloha Spirit Program benefits By opting for the Aloha Spirit Program, you can taste the local flavor and step back in history to see Hawaii as it was decades ago. Those who sign up will be able to enjoy an Aloha sail away deck party, engage in a hula session and view classic Hawaiian movies. The Aloha Spirit Program also gives you an opportunity to learn the native language through a series of lessons, which may helpful while you're on dry land, exploring the sites. If you want a taste of the local cuisine, the Aloha Spirit Program has you covered as well. Some Hawaiian-inspired dishes you may be able to try while on board include the grilled Ono steak with lime butter, grilled tiger shrimp kebabs, mango lime relish, seared yellowfin tuna on cucumber-fennel slaw and Kalua duck with plum wine sauce. Whether you have a big appetite or you simply want to immerse yourself in Hawaiian culture, the Aloha Spirit Program is the perfect way to do so. https://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/hawaii-cruises/hawaii-cruise-tips/cruise-preparation-and-tips/hawaii-cruise-lines-and-programs.html

It could almost fit on Lido deck! ☺️