cruisequeen4ever

I too have noticed how much the crew now emphasize being mentioned in the survey, and this thread reinforces why. It’s not only for promotions, but apparently is also how they determine how much of the tips they get!

It’s my understanding that if you change ships even if it’s the same day you’re OK. It’s when you stay on the same ship that it’s an issue. I’m not an expert on it though.

Your assumptions are correct; that’s all I had to pay. Even drinks for free, sometimes if you were playing in the casino.

It’s a shame that each ship is so individual within the Princess fleet because some of the things that you had complaints about would have been solved by sailing on a royal class ship. For instance, the royal class ships have a Gelateria, and therefore the premium desserts use gelato instead of soft serve like the older ships use. On the royal class ships, there is an eggs Benedict station in the Buffet. 100% agree with you that they should not be asking for a 10; that is very unclassy. We have never been asked for a 10 on any of our Princess cruises.

We used a Athens Taxi Services (ATS) last week, and they could not have been better.

Thank you for the correction. Now that I think of it, I do remember seeing it will be in Europe in 2025.

As of last week, when I checked for it, it was not yet available to apply for.

If the alcoholic plus package costs $60 per person per day, then I think $35 per person per day would be reasonable for a non-alcoholic plus package. I think this package would gain some traction for those of us who don’t really drink alcohol but love the tropical nonalcoholic drinks, lattes, freshly squeezed orange juice, and bottles of water. Princess would be leading the way if they created this, because to my knowledge, the other cruise lines that offer a drink packages don’t offer one for non-alcoholic drinks that include gratuities and Internet. Think of all of the parents who would buy this for their teenagers. I too agree that it should not be based off of the $30 a day zero alcohol package because that price was out to lunch to begin with. I think they only did that because other cruise lines were charging a similar price. I used to always buy the nonalcoholic package known as the ultimate kids package (UKP) and then whatever boring name they called it after that. Originally, it was $8 per person per day and then eventually went up to $11 per person per day. It even included milkshakes. That was always my first purchase upon setting foot on the ship. I realize that did not include coffee, bottled water, or freshly squeezed orange juice, so I based my $35 per day pricing on the inclusion of all of that.

It was not offered on the Enchanted this month. Now that the Enchanted has O’Malley‘s Irish pub, they are able to charge for it instead of offering it for free.

If you have a lot of experience with Princess, I don’t recommend going with the Majestic because it is an odd bird compared to the others, but if you haven’t experienced Princess much, you wouldn’t notice the differences and would appreciate the indoor pool on the cold weather itinerary. The Sapphire Princess has an indoor pool, and so does the Grand, but they are both older ships. There’s nothing wrong with that, though, and they have their own special place in the fleet. That brings me to my personal favorite, the Royal. The Royal has lots of variety for food and entertainment, it’s newer, and it has beautiful decor, but it does not have an indoor pool. Since you only have one person under 18 traveling with you, I wouldn’t say that the ship will matter much in terms of teen entertainment. Happy planning!

That is a very good point! I would totally buy a nonalcoholic plus style package!

It can vary from ship to ship, and it has changed in recent years. The new way seems to be for elites to meet in a particular lounge to get their tickets, and then they are called before everyone else for the next available tender. I was skeptical because it used to be that we could just join the end of the line of the next tender, which was super convenient and easy, but we did the new way last week, and we were truly given priority tendering. Priority, tindering only works ship to shore, though. Unfortunately, there is no priority tendering on the way back, so be prepared for the typical long line.

🤣 I do think so. I can’t guarantee it of course, but that should be a good time. I believe the salmon start dieing off late August. Florida is my favorite state because I love the sun and warmth and cruising! Must have AC, though! We don’t have it in AK, so when it gets in the 70s, our homes get in the 80s, and there’s very little reprieve! Have fun planning!

So they created the Medallion system to wow people with the ability to have stuff delivered to them wherever they are for free, and now they’re suddenly going to charge for it?! What is going to make them stand out now that they’re gradually becoming more and more like the other mainstream lines? We fall right into Princess’s new target market age range. We have another 40 years of cruising potential, and we have loved the classic cruising experience Princess has long provided us with and don’t want that to be lost.

Thank you; it was fun reading this and seeing your pics!

That’s a good point. The prix fixe would need to give plenty of entree options to be worth it. For instance, what happens if the sushi roll you like isn’t included? Then it’s not a value, even with the Plus Package.

Yay, so happy you’ll be back at sea!

The new execs are really taking Princess away from its roots and making it just like the nickel and dimer lines. 😏 They tried charging $10 pp for Alfredo’s when it first debuted, and it failed, so they made it free. Charging for the new “prime” burger (that sucks btw) at Salty Dog when you used to be able to get a delicious basic cheeseburger for free is a total fail. Sure, the people who buy packages will be happy, but those who can’t drink alcohol or don’t drink enough to warrant the package are the ones who will be negatively affected.

I so enjoyed this! We live in Anchorage, so I was interested to see what you experienced. Kaladi Bros really is the best coffee here. Moose’s Tooth is the nationally famous local pizzeria. You really scored getting a Friends and Family discount at the Sheraton and Marriott as those hotels are sky high in the summer as are the other top downtown hotels. You did a great job hitting all the main spots on the Kenai Peninsula. I wouldn’t stay in Whittier as there aren’t any nice places to stay and not enough to do. I’m so sorry you took home a souvenir of Covid. 😔 Yay; enjoy your planning for next summer! You had a good idea to go later for the salmon. No 2 Alaska cruises are identical, so I’m sure you’ll have another exciting time. If you want some different ideas for land exploration, I suggest… 1) Drive north to Wasilla/Palmer to go to the Reindeer Farm where you can feed the reindeer and moose. 2) Stay at Alyeska in Girdwood if you go south again. Hike Winner Creek Trail next to the resort, and take the tram to the top of Alyeska. Eat at Double Musky or The Bake Shop. 3) In Anchorage, have lunch at 49th State Brewery or F Street. Both are stellar offerings of local food. Simon and Seaforts or Glacier Brewhouse are great for dinner. 4) In Anchorage, go to the zoo to see rescued Alaskan animals. 5) In Anchorage, tour the Alaska Native Heritage Museum for an engaging educational experience for your son. You can see what life is like for each tribe through outdoor exhibits. Thank you for sharing this year’s adventures, and happy planning of next year’s!

There were major crowds. We were thankful that we had done most of the major tourist sites already. For instance, the part of Rome we toured was calm and uncrowded. We made reservations for restaurants or arrived right when they opened to avoid waits. We pre-booked timed tickets for sites to avoid lines. They’re manageable; you just have to plan ahead and have a good attitude.

July was blazing hot. I had thought my husband would struggle, but I’d be fine. Oh no; we both felt it. There’s no AC in most places there, so there’s little to no respite. Late May/Early June was much better.

Though I didn’t run a speed test, I can say that the Enchanted had by far the best shipboard internet of any ship I’ve been on. I was able to pretty much do whatever I wanted. Some video calls cut out, though, and I should have but didn’t test out Zoom.

Pre-Pandemic, the Medallion was actually more advanced in respect to this. The bartender or waiter would see your picture on the screen and select you, so someone couldn’t order something unless they matched your identity. Now, they’ve regressed to the cabin # and name and only once in a while using the picture. I don’t know why.

We used to be able to exchange money in European cruises pre-pandemic, but this month’s cruise, we were not able to. There was no machine onboard like they used to have, and Guest Services was out of Euros.

An interesting read; thank you