cruisequeen4ever

Wishing you smooth flights!

Enjoyed your review; thank you. It’s good to know about a firsthand experience with FreeNow and the current taxi situation in Barcelona. We never had trouble getting a taxi last time and assumed it would be the same this time. Hopefully the extenuating circumstances you described were just that and not the new norm there.

Ok, that’s good news! Our cruise is 2 days after yours.

🤞🤞🤞

Thank you for sharing your experience. Ours is in 18 days.

Ok, that’s good it hasn’t added a lot of time to pick it up.

Were those 3 cruises all in 2023? Ours in December of 2022 is the one I was talking about.

I sure hope they haven’t downgraded to USPS from FedEx. Our last Medallions shipped 18 days in advance and arrived 2 days later via FedEx. I know we can pick them up at the terminal, but I’m a planner who likes efficiency, so I like to have my Medallions in our wristbands on our wrists when we head to the port.

In the past, we’ve received our medallions a few weeks in advance where I didn’t really feel nervous about the timing. This time, I’m a bit on edge with the timing. This is for a Europe cruise, and so many of us go there early. I’d think Princess would recognize this. Also, you’d think now that passengers are paying for shipping, they could ship them out a month early to play it safe. How far out have you recent cruisers been receiving your Medallions?

That was a wonderful trip report; thank you! I appreciated the food allergy info too as some family will need it when they cruise.

I am soooooo excited for the rollglider and slides!! I am not, however, excited about the multitude of kids who will now be sailing on Princess.

Thank you! I agree that it’s cheaper and better to just take a taxi. My friend likes the transfers, though.

Does anyone have the current pricing for transfers from Port Everglades to FLL and MIA?

One can do everything right with hygiene and germ prevention, but if it is caught from food consumption, none of that helps. If the previous cruise had an outbreak, a crew member could inadvertently pass it on to incoming pax through food. Also, B2B pax can unwittingly continue the spread. Until a cruise is successful at fighting it, preventions are needed. As others said, 7% is only the reported group. You know that many others likely had it and stayed in their staterooms to ride it out. It’s quite possible they were able to hide it from their steward if they just skipped having him/her clean. We sailed on a Celebrity Europe cruise with a huge noro outbreak, and it never made it into the news because Celebrity didn’t have to report it while sailing in Europe. From pax reports on here, it continued for 2-3 more sailings before it settled down.

I’ve gotten the same 2 blank offer emails. I hope they fix it soon, and like you, I really hope the free balcony offers return at some point!!

Warning: Long post ahead… I have a bit of a unique perspective to offer you as someone who grew up in CA adoring sunny, warm weather (still do), was taken on an AK cruise as a young adult, coincidentally fell in love with an Alaskan in college, married him, moved to AK, and proceeded to take many AK cruises (among lots of warm weather cruises). When I was still in CA, that first AK cruise was exciting being that it was a cruise, but I dreaded being cold the whole time. We went the end of July, and I was wearing winter clothes the entire time. We did experience a lot of adventures, though, like rafting by a glacier, taking the tram to the top of Alyeska, doing a private salmon charter and having a huge whale jump like 100 ft behind our boat, driving to the Yukon, and exploring the cute port towns. Did I ever hope to return to AK after that? Nope, but the joke’s on me, since I now live here. Once I fell in love, I started to see the magic of Alaska. We saw sled dogs, snow mobiled, cheered on the dogs at the Iditarod starting point, and took in the majesty of the scenery. After living here for a while, we started doing an annual AK cruise because it’s a heck of a convenient cruise for us. I have to say that I’m still not tired of them even though we mainly cruise elsewhere now. The glaciers are gorgeous, sailing through water surrounded by mountains is amazing, and there are so many cool excursions in port. The Bering Sea Crab Fisherman’s Tour in Ketchikan is a super fun excursion, the White Pass Scenic Railway is a relaxing way to see the scenery out of Skagway. We’d typically go late May/early June, and we’d have days ranging from sunny and swimming in Juneau all the way to pouring rain and freezing in Skagway and everything inbetween. You can expect to experience the unexpected with weather in Alaska; forecasts are often wrong. Bring layers, and you’ll be prepared for it all. Having a balcony allows you to duck in and out of your room while viewing the stunning scenery. You can definitely just explore the towns on foot; they have adorable shops and yummy seafood restaurants. That’s mainly what we do now that we’ve done most activities. Though Alaska may not be your top pick, I do believe you will be able to find enjoyment in it if you dive in and experience it for what it’s worth. It may be a one and done, but I think you’ll have fun if you experience it to its fullest.

Having the generally same menu across the world is a pet peeve of my hubby because he loves to sample regional cuisine while abroad. There was a time Pre-pandemic when Princess announced a push toward providing more of that, but it didn’t result in much. You’ll probably see a few tweaks but nothing drastic.

Exciting! We’ll be on the last leg with you!

Thank you for sharing your journey with us. I’m sorry for your loss, and I think it’s wonderful you’re continuing to visit the special places you and your wife enjoyed together as well as build new memories solo and with your boys. Cheers to your future adventures!

That’s awesome!! Enjoy!

What I have found is that EZ-Air is best to save money and allow you to not pay until final payment, but it causes extra stress when a flight is canceled because you suddenly have to deal with a middleman. Dealing directly with the airline usually yields faster and better results. They generally won’t talk to you, though, if you book through EZ-Air. Good luck!

I enjoyed reading your comparison and thought I’d add my humble opinion in each category. Television - Princess- There’s no comparison to me; they have way more free movie and TV options. Internet - I can’t compare, since I didn’t pay for Internet on Celebrity. Embarkation / Disembarkation - “Even”- I agree. Entertainment - “Princess”- I agree. They have better shows. Pastries - Princess- hands down IMO!- Princess has the best tasting pastries, and the ones I’ve had on Celebrity have been bland. Coffee bar - Princess- Celebrity has good drinks, but Princess’s taste better IMO. I have to say Celebrity moved people through the line faster, though. Friendliness - Even- So many friendly, wonderful crew members on both. Cookies- Princess- Celebrity did have good cookies, but my favorites are on Princess. Overall food -Princess- Though my last Celebrity cruise was improved from the previous one in this area, it still didn’t compare to what we get on Princess. We were in an ordinary balcony. People in suites experience very different food on Celebrity. Desserts - Princess- Celebrity has good LOOKING desserts, but the flavor always lets me down. Cocktails - Princess- Sometimes Celebrity drinks have lacked flavor; other times, they’ve been great. I’ve never had a bad drink on Princess; they’re delicious. Beds - Princess- hands down IMO!! The Princess bed is a 10/10; the bed on Celebrity was a 5/10 and like a basic motel bed. Activities- Princess- Though activities are consistent and fun on both, Princess has a few more and like the OP said, BINGO! Bingo is a highlight of a cruise for me. Apps - Princess- The ability to order drinks to be delivered to you anywhere is simply awesome. Spa - “even”- I agree- I’ve had great experiences on both. Toiletries - Princess- I still use their tubes of lotion in my purse. Ice cream - “Celebrity - love the Gelato!”- I agree- Their gelato was amazing. Casino -Celebrity - They give free drinks to active players. Plus, they have kept some of the older slots games that are still fun. Dining Room Service - Even- I’ve had wonderful servers on both. It’s wonderful everyone can form their own opinion and choose their preferred cruise line. Cheers to cruising!

My in-laws loved Catch so much that they ate there most nights of their cruise! They had the whole lobster, seafood tower, oysters, surf and turf, calamari, crepes, a berry dessert, and I can’t remember what else.

They strive to meet you at the base of the escalators with a sign for Princess. If they’re not there, turn left, walk to the end, and they’ll have a station on the right. It’s a pretty seamless process.

We had this happen on a Europe cruise pre-pandemic. We still received priority tendering; we just had to wait in an Elite holding area right at the exit of the dining room. That way they’d put us at the start of whatever tender group was being called and file out. It’s not as wonderful as just joining the tender line like before, but it at least still gives us priority.