vampiress

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

They are close captioned (at least on some ships). I have trouble hearing. even with hearing aids. If there's no closed caption, I don't go.

 

Also, maybe they could turn the music in the MDR OFF. It's noisy enough with the clatter of dishes, echoes in the room and people at large tables shouting in order to be heard.

there is music in the main dining room? not being snarky,  honestly i don't think i've ever noticed over the din of people talking and dishes. 

while i agree the texts they send out are misleading about boarding times. i do believe it is simply to try and space it out so there isn't a rush at security.  idk, they have hte check in and onboarding process very well designed from what i have experienced, i don't think they need to change a thing.  i get why they arbitrarily picked times for different floors, it has nothing to do with the floors or the rooms being ready, it is just a convenient way to parse out the people. 

i will continue to aim to not be first, but be on the boat in time to get dining room lunch. 

i do hate seeing people treat service employees poorly anywhere.  i wonder how worth it it is to report when we see that. 

i've yet to do anytime dining, so i can't comment on that.  i prefer traditional dining, i like knowing my waitstaff each night. it makes it seem more special. i remember my first cruise i was scared about it, but ended up liking it,  although i do prefer smaller or round tables.  some ships i have been on had long banquet tables, and its just impossible to have any conversations a those. i always feel like i'm in between 2 conversations and i can contribute nothing of meaning to either.

i've never had a problem finding a room i like after final payment, but i'm also not super picky. i've managed to get a decent balcony every time. but i'm also choosing last minute cruises on purpose and i'm generally flexible about it because i live near a port.  and if i leave out of florida, i have family there, so getting there a day or two early isn't an issue either. 

since the christmas stuff is out, there are inexpensive outlet extenders, just a cord with plugs on the end, no surge protection.  i picked one up a few years ago after christmas, and i bring that.  but recently i've just been traveling with my phone and ipad, so i'm usually ok with my usb hub which has 5 usb ports.

i'm a big fan of the crafting activities.  i've made cards, done quilling (paper craft with tiny strips of paper), napkin folding, ribbon lei making.

i bring my own coloring books and colored pencils

i like to read.

the trivia is usually fun

they cards were destined to go away once medallions rolled out anyway.  and even if medallions never became a thing, they were eventually going to be applied to your cruise card the way they are to the medallion.  the reason is not people selling, it is because it makes more sense,

• there is no dealing with customers crying about a lost punch card. 
• it makes sense to have it be per cruise and not never ending
  • it is easier to manage from their side
  • they likely make money if people don't use the punches
  • no fake cards
  • more consistent redemption experience

i suspect the coffee program will go away entirely as people stop buying it because its too hard to use the punches up on a cruise and people will migrate to the more expensive beverage package.

we all know the weight thing is wrong, because everyone gains weight on a cruise, lol! 

someone wanting attention on the internet. hilarious troll.  please do cause a scene and get disembarked.

your fake legal yelling will not accomplish anything as i'm sure some version of this was in the terms you agrteed to when getting your coffee card,

Princess Cruises may modify, amend or update these terms and conditions of our beverage packages / offers at any time with or without notice to guests. The terms and conditions as published on princess.com on the date of sailing will apply, in addition to the terms and conditions of the passage contract.

following along. i'm pondering it for my cruise.

what is silly, is in my personalizer, i see options for 7 day cruise and 5 day cruise.  it's a 5 day cruise.  so clearly they have some kinks to rule out, unless i can stay on board for 2 more days lol

i never had issue son my hawaii trip finding seats int he theater, but we did arrive 20-30 minutes early.  but the vista and explorer's lounge show were always hard to find seats.  i guess the shows in those venues were way more popular than the stage shows on that cruise.

3 hours ago, ksm77 said:

We did not buy the bed but we have purchased the pillows.  Love them!  We have them in King size and regular size.

 

i have had the worst luck with pillows but loved the ones on my last cruise.  i didn't look to see if they were down or fiberfill.  which did you end up getting?

my ta, one of the common one, surprised me by sending a packet with a print out of my itinerary, receipt, and some info about the ports, and luggage tags.  thanks TA, i needed by luggage tags 🙂

we were the only people in the pool and i only went in because i stuck my toe in and it was warm.

this is the adult pool, so it wasn't looking like lemonade.

the rear pool under the shopping cart was heated the one time i used it.  it was cold outside, but the water was very warm.  and i don't think it was just sun warmed.

to be fair, i've been on my phone the whole time before, i am super addicted to spider solitare. but it never occurred to me to look the answers up, i also don't generally pay for internet

seriously, cheating at boat trivia is super low

how weird.  no i have never seen that.  i wonder what enjoyment they can possibly get out of it.  the whole point, at least for me, it thehead scratching thinking of answers and the bad jokes

1 hour ago, pms4104 said:

I recognize that you are a huge OM cheerleader ... but when, if ever, will this program perform as promised and promoted?

 

After 5 years in development, and 2 years in the public eye ... and STILL problematic.

 

Maybe instead of working longer in OT, IT needs to work smarter. 

i work in technology.  the issues are in the grand scheme of things relatively minor.

they made some missteps at first trying to be too aggressive in roll out, i think they are doing much better now. pivoting to a new plan of action is the sign of good product management,  they realized it was more difficult than expected to roll out a new technology and slowed it to perfect it on the ships already installed.  it is a massive undertaking to train staff and change behaviors of passengers.  they have really made a highe campaign to help train staff and passengers.  think about when the iphone rolled out, no one felt it was important to have a smart phone, and now most people do.  its hard to see the benefits of a new technology at first.

also, when reading reviews on a new product, people are way more likely to post their frustrations than when everything works seamlessly.  take into account the types of cruise passengers using this new technology, older, less tech savvy, more resistant to tech.  this means you hear exponentially more about the "fails" than the success.

i'm so confused, do you travel to port or live local?  i'm just trying to figure out the logistics of why you would bring your own coffee maker when there is so many venues to acquire coffee on ship.  i do live local to my port, and probably pack in a way other people find impractical, but i'm really struggling to understand the need for in room coffee.

you will connect to the ship wifi just like you would at hotel.  you look for the ship's wifi in the wifi section of your phone, and then once you connect it will open a browser and have you log in.

the apps don't really have anything to do with the internet.  you would want the medallion class app, as this will give you access to the onboard ship functions like ordering drinks, finding your friends/family, and looking at the journey.

sometimes you can see some vague landish shapes in the distance, but nothing well defined. 

well, i live in los angeles, so most of my cruises tend to be purchased last minute, whenever i just can't stand normality and need a break.  but i totally realize not everyone has that luxury. 

correct.  you have to actively log in or out.  and you will want tot urn off push notifications and background sync for apps as your phone likely does a lot of syncing in the background that will use your minutes, like the weather app, email, social media app of choice.

9 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

Even for birthday decorations on the cabin doors?

Not sure. My dollar store has really cute self inflate Mylar balloons you could bring.  They have more specific birthday ones but these are the ones I had on hand. The pineapple one is small and the inflate straw doubles as a handle. The other two are quite big and for hanging 

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

Is it the helium or the balloon that is not 'environmentally friendly?' Anyway all I can say is what did not happen on my last cruise

both, there is a helium shortage.  https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/05/08/helium-shortage-balloons-parties-mri/1116242001/

and the latex from balloons are a not recyclable.

but to be very clear, those balloons did not have helium, or they wouldn't fall, they were just air filled. also because of the helium shortage, helium is very expensive.