Plato123

On 5/1/2024 at 1:31 PM, Water_Baby_ said:

 

Personally, I love Tuscan. But if there's a LCG on the ship, the weather is good, and I have to choose one, I'll go for the view from the top. 

 

We've never had a bad meal at Tuscan. 

I agree with you about the LCG, however Tuscan has normally been a disappointment for us.  We love the Reflection but other than the LCG we will stick to Luminae. Also having been in the Specialty dining restaurants many times I might try them more often if the menus changed more often and they dumped the Petit Chef and reinstated Qsine and revitalized Sushi on 5.   

We were recently on the Equinox and had a chance to have a bridge tour.  It was not our first, so when I was told no photos (still or video) were allowed I was not too disappointed. For others who had not been on a bridge tour before it was disappointing.

Interestingly, our printed invitation did say still photos were allowed, and security checked out my camera equipment just before the tour, but once we were on the bridge we were told that photos were no longer permitted, and this was a fleet wide decision. 

We normally eat in Luminae but several years ago we decided to try the MDR to see what thed service there was like. It was later in the cruise and we were seated at a table with several others who clearly looked at us as outsiders as we must have displaced a couple who they had regularly been dining with. We now stick to Luminae, but (on S class ships) occasionally will order off the MDR menu.

It seems that Elite Plus gets two bags each sailing not just one.

:

Our cruise is a month away and many excursions are already listed as sold out.  How likely is Celebrity to add additional capacity for excursions or would we be better off with a third party excursion?  More specifically we are interested in excursions in Ponto Delgada and Porto.

We have a large OBC and hoped to use it on excursions.

Boo for you but Yea for us as we board the Reflection tomorrow.

It is our favorite ship and we are looking forward to our cruise in a RS, even if it is only for six days.

1 hour ago, What A Market said:

Last day of cruise. Boo!!!

 

It’s a Sea Day!  Yay!

 

I really like having a sea day at end of cruise. 
 

 

We had that Champagne (M. Haslinger & Fils Brut Champagne) on our last Princess cruise too, and it makes me wonder if the producers are making it just for the cruise market.

All real Champagnes are fine but the low end ones, like this, lack character, so we often ask for a Spanish Cava instead, when in Luminae, as we find them to be a little bit more interesting.

We recently sailed on two Princess Cruises in real suites with the best beverage package and were pleased to have wine and food delivered to our suite as part of the room serve available using their app.

We always stay in suites on Celebrity but have never really used the included room service except for breakfast on the balcony on occasion.

I am curious as to what we can and cannot order from room service in suites on Celebrity.

Thanks..

We recently cruised on the Emerald.  It was our second Princess cruise and our 25th cruise overall. Earlier this year we cruised on the Royal.

We had a large aft suite and the Premier package on both cruises.

Most days we dined in the Reserve dining room, Da Vinci. Overall the food was good and the service was excellent. 

On both cruises we had dinner in a specialty restaurant on embarkation day and on each occasion we used the free bottle of wine coupon and saved the wine for the cabin. This time we received an Aussie shiraz.

On the Royal we dined in the Crown Grill a few times and it was terrible, so on the Emerald we dined in Sabatini's on embarkation and it was not great. My wife hates the smell of truffles and the arancini on the Emerald contained truffles.  Those on the Royal did not. She also ordered the veal marsala and the coating on the veal was very thick and doughy. 

We tried the Crown Grill two more times on the Royal and it did not improve.

We tried the Crown Grill on the Emerald and it was very good and exceeded our expectations based on our Royal experience. I ordered the Chilean sea bass and a ribeye.  Both were very good but the ribeye was just a bit too big a steak but cooked properly. My wife had a filet she said was very good. She also ordered the potato with marrow and it was excellent on the Emerald but not so on the Royal.  As I ordered two mains I was told there would be an additional charge which never did end up on our bill.

We tried Sabatini's on The Emerald a second time and it was better, but the experience was marred by the same annoying waiter we had the first time..

Sabatini's on the Royal was excellent both for dinner and breakfast, whereas the breakfasts on the Emerald were not as well prepared as on the Royal.  In addition we preferred the ambiance in Sabatini's on the Royal. On the Royal I ordered eggs florentine with a side of prosciutto and chunks of grana padano cheese, and they prepared it.  On the Emerald I ordered the same except for the cheese and they said it would be prepared for me the next morning.

We tried Slice on the Emerald and Alfredo’s on the Royal and preferred Alfredo’s.  We tried the premier desserts on the Emerald and won’t do that again.   It is odd that these concoctions are available in the Premier package but gelato is not.  We would have preferred the gelato which it seemed no one was opting to pay extra for.

We enjoyed Steamers on the Emerald and went there twice.  The second time we skipped the scallops ceviche and clam chowder, not because we did not enjoy them, but because we could not finish the main course if we had, as it was so much food.  We tried Planks once and it was good except for the brisket which tasted as if it had been sitting around on a steam table for too long.

The Salty Dog Gastropub was a bit of a disappointment.  My wife had the poutine and it was a few fries with a pile of sauce on it.  My SDB was fine but not something I would order again.

On the Emerald the wines offered in the Premier package were very good and the selection varied by venue quite a bit. Should you wish to try some of the excellent Italian wines available in Sabatini’s but do not plan to dine there, just go to the Adagio bar next door and they will have those wines available.  It is also a quiet bar most of the time.

We were very disappointed in the buffet on the Emerald. From soggy Buffalo wings (and no blue cheese sauce) to dried out fish there was not much that interested us.  In addition the black labels with micro grey print did not make it easy to read what the dishes were supposed to be.

One last comment applies to room service and, on occasion, the International Cafe.

When ordering coffee and tea for delivery to our suite I specified it was “to stay” not “to go” and most times the beverages were delivered in a to go cup.  The same applies to the International Cafe where they just assume you want it to go.  What a waste.

On 12/15/2023 at 7:54 AM, tml1230 said:

we never had much interest in the reserve (old club class) option .....UNTIL we tried it!  To us the instant seating and engaging staff makes for a wonderful experience! we don"t leave home without it!!

I agree, and my wife had a somewhat perverted pleasure watching the entrance to the Reserve dining room on the first day as non suite guests were turned away!

We were recently on the Emerald and often ate in The Reserve dining room.  Nelson from the Philippines was in charge and prepared the daily specials which were mainly pasta and often quite good.

Our waiter was Bright from India and his assistant was Catherine from the Philippines. Catherine liked to make up rules all the time.  Bright was able to snag some Louisiana hot sauce on occasion as it was otherwise hard to find on the ship.

Most meals were good and some very good, but avoid the fish tacos. The fish and chips were surprisingly good.  Lamb was served a few times and we enjoyed it.

If you like wine with your meal make sure to order it as early as possible, and if it is something you really like get a double as wine service can be very slow after you are first served.

FWIW, here is the wine list from Sabatini's from our 14 day Caribbean cruise last week on the Emerald.

In case you want any of these without dining at Sabatini's, the wines are available in the Adagio Bar next door.

We were on thee Royal earlier this year and asked our room attendant if they had the bags.  He said they did not but said they had lots of new unused  blue Princess laundry bags if we wanted some so we got some.

I think I recall reading that, if requested in advance, an Indian meal could be provided.  I know that we were offered an Indian meal in our Royal Suite on a Celebrity cruise, prepared by our Indian butler, but we reluctantly had to refuse as we expected our suite would smell of spices for the rest of the cruise.

Does any one know if special requests can be made for meals, such as an Indian meal, to be served in a MDR on Princess?

Camo or camouflage military style clothing is not allowed in: The Bahamas Jamaica Barbados Grenada St.Lucia Dominica

This includes back packs too, apparently.  I had not heard of this previously nor have I seen it posted here, and just noted an article about it in the Miami Herald

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Were you provided a Canada Post tracking number?  PCL should be sending that thru like they do for American guests who get a USPS tracking number.

No, just USPS.

Princess sent an email advising that the medallions had shipped to us here in Canada on November 4.  They arrived yesterday November 8 by Canada Post Express Post with the package sent from the Toronto, Canada area.  The USPS tracking link in the email did not work.

Happy to get them before our November 25 cruise.

The app was not working properly on my newer Lenovo android 12 tablet and seemed to want to "speak" the screen information, and it would not allow scrolling.  I uninstalled it and now I cannot even log in.  However the app is fine with an older Samsung tablet as well as a new Samsung tablet and phone as well.

There is a promotion for stays of two nights in Vancouver Hotels that could get you $250 in Mastecard gift cards: https://www.stayvancouverhotels.com/exclusive-offers.php

The downtown hotel we use before cruises is Le Soleil and it is among those eligible, but so are many others. The promotion runs to the end of February 2024.

On 10/17/2023 at 8:12 PM, EDDY0827 said:

You can customize your mini-bar to include items you like.

We will be in a suite with the premier package so booze is not an issue, but we hate to waste what is in the mini bar, and last cruise we just gave away the rum and vodka minis as we do not drink those.  We would prefer scotch and gin, so how exactly do you customize the mini bar?  Do you have to do it after you board or can you do it pre cruise?

5 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

If you are using one of those generic shuttles that pick up at several hotels in a zone and head to the port, I wouldn't count on it,  Although, you might get a driver would detour over there after dropping everyone else off at various piers before heading back for more.  I'd say an extra nice tip would be required. 

 

(We never use those shuttles over getting own transportation to the pier).

 

Based on your location, the shuttle is going to drop anyone off at the south piers and work his way up to pier 2.  It isn't much out of the way to exit up onto 17th and drop you at the Princess office.

Any chance you have the address for the Princess office in FLL? 

We will be in a suite on the Emerald out of FLL next month, and hope we get an invitation for this lounge. Prior to our cruise we will be staying at a hotel in the Dania Point area and would normally take a shuttle to the port.  Does any one know if these shuttles could drop us off at the lounge, or would a taxi/uber be better?

Try Le Soleil.  Very nice hotel and walkable to the cruise terminal.  Also try Joyeux Cafe on Howe street for a great Vietnamese breakfast pre cruise at a great price.

Earlier this year my wife had an accident in our cabin that gave us concern that she may have broken her foot.

We were in port but decided to contact the ships medical centre to have a look at her foot.

They were very professional and wheeled my wife into the medical centre from our cabin and did some X rays and concluded there was no breakage, just a bad sprain.  They put a compression bandage on her foot and loaned us a brand new walking stick.  She also got some pain meds.

Ship security came to our cabin and took a statement and pictures for their liability protection I imagine, but we had no complaint about the ship and cabin contributing to the accident.

Our bill was made available and we paid it using some of our remaining OBC.

We filed an insurance claim with the company that provides my post retirement travel medical coverage and after several months but no issues, we were completely reimbursed.

First time with an experience like this while cruising.

BTW, my wife was fine after a few days but we did stay off our feet a lot after that.