paradiselivin1

We were on last month. No issues to report. New beds in our favorite cabin ~ life was good. IMHO, most of the showers are small but manageable. And yes, it was a bummer to lose a bit of time due to the engine problems, but we knew in advance. Take the cruise ~ can't imagine you'd be disappointed. BTW, I think you should count your blessings not to be saddled with the "Medallion". I've read about so many issues with that setup....

If I have Wi-Fi access, I simply use What's App or Viber to call or text people in another country or to call home when travelling. I was in Canada for several months this past summer and paid Verizon$25/month for unlimited calling which made it easy which was great because I was on the phone quite a bit.

Yes, communications in the US is extremely pricey from cell phones, internet, cable....you name it.

While overnights in the Caribbean don’t particularly interest me, we had overnights on a couple of our more recent Europe cruises in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Antwerp and absolutely loved them. Especially in Northern Europe with such long days in the summer, you can pack quite a bit of sightseeing into two days!]

 

Agree. I look forward to an overnight in those ports. I was sad that they stopped the overnights in Rio after this year. I was told by a young lady at the Future Cruise desk that people weren't interested and getting the visa was too difficult....what?? This year they're there for Carnival for a few days. Thought that would be a great way to go....sorry to see that they dropped that option and will be looking for a different cruise line to satisfy that need....

We are lucky enough to drive to most of our ports when cruising from FL. Doesn't much matter as we typically only go with a "carry-on" bag & a back-pack each. Plenty of room for clothes including for formal nights. Only problem we face is when we are on extended trips out of the country and need totally different clothes. We put our empty back-packs in our roller bag and stick them under the beds. Plenty of room. Happy cruising!

Never had a long wait on recent cruise. I like going to the IC because they are the usual place (seemingly) to get the specialty drinks so I think they do a better job (typically).. Never waited more than a minute or two and it was over the Thanksgiving holiday.

This happened to my DH about a year ago. He got a notice in the cabin stating he is permanently Elite, and it mentioned "keeping it on the down low".

Now, he gambles (slots) in the casino, a lot and he loses a lot. Last cruise he lost $2500. :o

They want him coming back and back and back again so I'm positive that's why they did it, in his case.

Maybe it was based on money spent over the life of your cruises. On the plus side, at least you get to different places in between your husband's forays to the casino.... If that's what it takes to get to elite, I guess it will take me a few more cruises....

Along this same question, If 2 people book with a FCC do each of them get the obc or is the obc split between both people?

 

I travel with a friend (not related). If we both book with a FCC in a balcony cabin, will we each get a $100 obc (14 day cruise) or is the obc of $100 split between the two of us ($50 pp).

 

Or in the case of the OP, do the husband and wife both get the obc or is it one obc per cabin?

OBC is per FCC. You each get the applicable amount based on type of cabin.

What I hate is when Princess sends an e-blast with cruises on "sale" with the starting prices for each category and you start looking for a cabin in a particular category and all of the prices are HIGHER than reflected in the e-mail. I get that it may be a teaser rate for a few cabins in that category but it's still a wee bit frustrating when you get psyched for a cruise based on the rates shown in the e-mail.

Good to see. Wish there was one for PR, too!

They destroyed the promenade and shrunk the balconies. That was a game changer for me.

Agree!:mad:

We had a $600 OBC on our last cruise that we used to pay gratuities, several trips to specialty restaurants, tours, etc. Despite our best efforts to spend it all, we had a balance of $38.62 clearly marked as refundable on the bottom of our statement left the last day of the cruise. We received a check in the mail three weeks later. We did NOT purchase OBC nor are we Vets. We were given most of the OBC when the price of the cruise tanked and we fought for OBC rather than upgrading to a suite for $99/pp. Sounds like you'll be seeing a check. You didn't "blow it". We didn't have to do anything to get a refund. Good luck.

That would be crowded compared to our cruise. I never saw more than two tables occupied at the same time.

Same for both Planks & Steamers in early December. We didn't bother with a reservation at Steamers the 2nd time we went. Only two other tables occupied each time we went. Even Crown Grille wasn't full when we went. It was great as usual but at $29/pp PLUS tip, it's starting to get out of hand. Princess...are you listening????

Wait. It's worth it to make Platinum so take whatever's available. Does it really matter where you are on the ship if you simply want to get back and make Platinum status on the ride??

We did a 10 day cruise in December. Yes, the issues are still there which makes the ship move a little more slowly. I see people posting and saying that you wouldn't notice a difference, however, it significantly shortens the time in some of the ports which is a bit distressing. It didn't ruin our trip by any means & I will say that I still prefer this class of ship over the new ones with their tiny cabins. Go and enjoy ~ you already know what to expect as your schedule reflects the changes due to slowdown. Interesting to see others mention about medical evacuations which seem to be the norm now. We cruised in November and December and both cruises involved medical evacuations....

We were on in December -A747 all the way back on starboard stern. Worked very well for us for the 10 days we were on. I had an issue once but we always used it in the cabin and was fine for general e-mail, web surfing, etc.

We were just on last month. I had a duvet but also a separate top sheet. Worked well for me. New beds were wonderful!

I guess everyone's experience is different. We just did two different 10 days cruises. One on the Royal and one on the Crown. It can be next to impossible to get a table for 2 from 5:30 to about 7-7:15. Yes, there is a dedicate MDR for anytime dining but they wouldn't accept reservations during "prime time" and we were often sent off with the "beepers" even when we agreed to share a table. The second cruise was not during a holiday period which I thought would be the only time we'd have trouble. We opted for the (ever-increasing) "pay restaurants" three out of our 10 nights. No issue getting into those.....

Hope it's done before we get on in June. DH has back surgery scheduled for two weeks from now:eek: Caribbean had new mattresses in December. Was great.

I have had multiple e-mails with this company but I consistently get back auto computer generated responses that don't address my questions. I did have specific requests as they advertise customized tours. That one e-mail resulted in a person generated response that steered me back to their standard tour, because my request was not best use of time. I appreciated the advice but I still can't get an accurate 2018 quote for the tour, perhaps it is due to the Holidays and they have not yet adjusted pricing?

I don't get the feel that they really customize a tour.

Disagree. I sent them an e-mail yesterday asking for a bit of a modification and I got a very detailed response including pricing and options for the change I had requested. I received a response in less than 24 hours. I heard from Sharon and can't understand why you would have continued problems.

I agree with Rigby. Easy to get from downtown to Bk'lyn. Have stayed all over the city and have been happy everywhere. Do try and catch a show. Broadway or off-Broadway. Tons to choose from & you can get discounted tickets at three different locations. Enjoy - NYC one of my favorite places.

We are leaving for Iceland in a couple of weeks, and will be going on the same circumnavigation tour as you did last year. In the materials sent to us from Iceland Pro Cruises, they said to bring waterproof walking/hiking boots and that low walking shoes are not suitable. I have low waterproof hiking shoes. Was there an actual need for above the ankle boots?

dinaleah; look at our rollcall for the cruise leaving on July 9th. Someone who is currently on board posted great information including the need for boots in her opinion.

So I've searched and searched over these forums for information regarding the fitness center. I am specifically looking for info on the Brilliance. I've been to the one on the Oasis although it's been a few years. Do they offer a variety of classes (spin, yoga?). Is there an area to do your own thing (like a boot camp style workout)? I take it they have the usual: cross trainers, treadmills, ellipticals, weight machines, free weights. Do they have things like jump ropes, bosu, exercise balls, medicine balls?

There were classes early in the day starting at 7A.M. last week. Stretch early followed by abs? I did see several spinning classes as well. The gym was never crowded (even on sea days) and we were always able to find an open tread mill, bike or elliptical. Did not see medicine balls, jump ropes, etc. anywhere.

Just off the Brilliance on Thursday. Two bottles of wine per stateroom and no water or soda allowed. You can find all of that information on their website. Parking across from Pier 3 was $15/day & we paid in advance. You get a coin to insert in the gate on the way out which makes it a quick exit. There was a juggler on board that was more of a comedian & we like his show. the other shows were ok & you should be able to make the earlier ones with your late dining time.

We've never done my time dining. We like to be flexible, and don't eat in the MDR every night. So I like the idea to try it out. My question is, do we just show up when we're ready, or do we make reservations each night? Any drawbacks to it? I actually feel stupid asking since we've cruised so much. Just always done the early dining, and not show up once in a while.

 

Thanks for your input!

Just of the Brilliance of the Seas and "My Time Dining" was a nightmare for our small group of 8. We did not know that you could book in advance online prior to the cruise. We had an extremely hard time getting seating even when we offered to cut our group in half (or smaller) if necessary. This ship only has one MDR so there wasn't much flexibility. On other ships (cruise lines), I generally do anytime dining with no issue...

I did this a year ago with a group of about a dozen women. Our ship got in a bit later than others so our time here was a bit more limited and the shops were closed by the time we finished eating. They do almost all of the work for you as the prep work is done and you simply put the meals together. I don't think I would want to be chopping much after drinking... I still have my recipe "card" and swear I will make the dish for my husband. Just need the tamarind sauce. Maybe I can find some next week when I stop there again. BTW, our "chef" was not only fun but easy on the eyes. You'll enjoy it ~ don't think twice. Worth every penny!:D