vampiress

i can confirm a 5 night on the royal pre-cruise is 8.99 a day for 44.95 total

i've enjoyed food on every one of my cruises. i will say i sent more things back on some recent cruises, but i do think that is because i'm getting more adventurous and trying things i wouldn't try at home, and not all are winners.  yes some things were duds, but that's because i just didn't like the flavor profile rather than the food being prepared poorly. 

100% for tips, excursions, internet, drinks, specialty restaurants, and shops. 

i don't gamble so i'm unclear on casino. i do know you can buy casino credits in the ship personalizer

10 hours ago, bostonfred said:

We are veteran cruisers with multiple lines. We have heard consistent complaints in the past about buffet quality and selection before many sailings. With the exception of our one MSC cruise..it was terrible!!...most buffets are decent. Our previous two Princess sailings were acceptable. TheRuby was one of the better ones and Caribbean Princess middle of road. In recent years I think all lines are cutting costs in many ways to remain competitive in pricing. Sometimes we see it in the buffet. We enjoy the buffet to grab healthy lunch options and to keep a flexible schedule. How have recent cruisers found the buffet? Are there decent veggie, salad and fruit options ate lunch? Any salmon and almond milk at breakfast. Can we get fresh cooked eggs and omelets?..thanks😉😉 looking forward to our October sailing😎😎

salmon was always available, i made myself croissant with cream cheese and lox every day.  depending on which part of the line you are in, you might have to ask for it, the line at the aft, they had the salmon back behind with the omelette guys.

yes i know tradition is bagel, but i'm not a breakfast in the morning person and going to Hawaii, mornings were earlier and earlier, my stomach couldn't handle the weight of the bagel, but i do highly recommend their croissants as a substitute.

in fact, my mouth is watering just thinking of this option on my upcoming cruise 🙂

19 hours ago, geoherb said:

Another troublesome aspect of the design is that there's only one route from the front of the ship to the back, and a big bottleneck happens at Princess Live. On the Regal, at least you can walk from the front patio to the back when they're open.

can one avoid this bottleneck by going up 1 deck and them coming back down at the back? i think i'm really going to miss the promenade, we used to step outside and use that to go from front to back on the grand class, when everyone was making the halls busy.  i remember having to do that on a carnival ship that had horrible flow. 

they count as a punch.

i have tried the fusions.  i personally find them a bit sweet, and usually ask them to reduce the amount of syrup in them.  my favorite is the green tea pomegranate one.  although sometimes they were out of pomegranate, and they would make it with cranberry, which is also delicious.

that is fascinating, but that also doesn't seem to be a new thing.  i would have expected a new law or restriction in place to cause the sudden change.  i guess since it does seem that is voluntary, princess just decided to opt in.

11 minutes ago, BCCRUSINGCOUPLE said:

Totally agree I think a lot of these companies not all play the go green card to cut back on services to save the cash.


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i don't disagree.  there is definitely that aspect.  in general no business changes unless there is demand or financial savings.  i have no doubt this is a bit of both.  there is definitely money to be had catering to people who are environmentally minded.  i suspect some services will be cut, but i expect new services to replace them, and with that new opportunities for revenue. 

much ado about nothing.  switching to environmentally nicer alternatives will not ruin your cruising experience. they will still have some sort of water to sell you to take off ship. there will still be napkins and straws of a more environmentally friendly variety, but you might have to ask for them specifically now.  they will still have bags in the shops, they will either bring back the reusable bags in the rooms or switch to paper.  this is hardly the end of the world.

i wasn't looking on princess, i was looking for the laws, specifically the law that changed inthe past week or so causing people to last minute flight change.

i found this about the VSRP but it is just a kudos post for ongoing compliance, not a change in the speeds or distance for compliance

https://www.portoflosangeles.org/references/news_071219_vsrp

Quote

Ships voluntarily slow down to 12 knots as they approach or depart the San Pedro Bay port complex, generally at 20 nautical miles from Point Fermin. Since 2008, the Port of Los Angeles has offered incentives to shipping lines that achieve a 90 percent participation rate in the VSRP during a full calendar year. In 2009, the program was expanded to also include incentives for reducing speed at 40 nautical miles from Point Fermin.

Quote

fascinating.  i can't find anything on these speed changes. anyone able to find anything that isn't the above linked princess letters?  i'd really love to read about the speed change and what wildlife it is protecting.

also interesting, my royal cruise on 10/14 is still showing leaving at 4pm monday and getting back at 6:15am on saturday

You don’t need a card holder if you use the card the medallion snaps into, the card is made to with with lanyard clips. 

hodgepodge.  some interesting books. but i brought my own to read and one to leave. games too, but be aware soem pieces may be lost or mingled inthe other games

good plan, it doesn't hurt to go and see and drop off luggage.   

you probably can punch the card, but there is an antenna inside you have to avoid so they don't.  if you look on amazon, the pouched to hold a key card that attach to a lanyard are very inexpensive.

i've played the ship games and with out fail there is something missing.  so keep that in mind.

they already track your every move, there are cameras and software to do that.  this might be slightly more accurate, but they already know who is looking at pictures and buying and how long you wait in line at places, they do headcounts at activities, they know who gets off the ship and for how long. they know what you buy.

what exactly do you find more intrusive about this?

1 hour ago, geomac53 said:

My wife brought 24 cans of diet pop, we checked with princess to make sure I was told no problem but should be in carry on. Do not put in luggage unless you want to do laundry when you get on board trust me, had to do this once but never again.

oh wow that is not great.  i've put my sparkling water in a suitcase, but i usually use a smaller roller that just has the water in it, and then i use that suitcase for whatever doesn't fit in the original suitcase onthe way home.  of course i am using sparkling water, so not sticky even if it does leak.

i'm very confused, the website is clearly not down as you just posted to it, and i can't speak for the whole month, but i've been coming here daily for several weeks in preparation for my upcoming cruise, and every couple of days before that.

also how is this related to princess?  ti seems like a generic criticism to cruise critic.  did you perhaps forget to make a left turn at Albuquerque?

always get the cheese plate with dessert. 

1 hour ago, Scg1955 said:

I just received an email that we can’t board until 2 p.m. and that, if we arrive at the terminal prior to 2 p.m. they will take our luggage but we will be turned away and asked to come back later. I have never cruised with Princess before - we are boarding in Fort Lauderdale but the cruise starts in Spain and then swaps out passengers in FL before leaving for the Panama Canal portion of the trip. Princess says that the delay is due to “immigration formalities” and a “US Coast Guard Drill”. Friends of ours think it’s for a thorough customs search. Has anyone ever been turned away from the terminal when they arrive earlier than stipulated? Thanks for any comments!

my last cruise had that and weirdly i heard from other passengers that wasn't the case and it really was normal boarding

i also was complete and show an order pending for our medallions, but the travel document is red exclamation point, yet when i go in to look the documents and pictures are there.

I haven't been on the island, and all of my cruising has embarked from US ports, but i really do love the crafting the cruise directors do.  i've had napkin folding, quilling, lei making(this was on a Hawaii cruise of course), card making.  i always find them enjoyable little diversions and aim togo to as many as i can on every cruise.   i'm not very good at any craft or art, but i do enjoy the attempt and i find the sessions very relaxing.

my price was for the royal, and for 1 device, and it is a medallion cruise.

2 hours ago, laktex said:

 

I think you will find tonic water is different to sparkling water.

no one was disputing that fact. in fact i personally think tonic tastes like poison, but i understand i am in a minority