pppatpc2

I agree with all of these comments.  We have always got the best deal through Ez air and sometimes fly into one of their cities and take a separate flight to get to the cruise departure city in order to visit a landlocked city not available on cruises.  We generally love ez air.  One word of caution, last summer we flew on Eurowings Discover which was listed as an offshoot of United.  It was not worth it,  we had to pay for a glass of wine on an international flight and the seats had no room.  I am 5 feet at best and I had about 2 inches of clearance between my knees and the seat in front of me.  When the person in front of me put their seatback, I could not get out to go to the washroom.  Only silver lining is because I had status on United, we did not have to pay for bags.  Never again.

They had a show with traditional Greek dancers the night of the Pireas port (Athens).  They were very good and the show was well attended.

Did the 28day last November on the Crown.  If you have seen the movie Moana, that is the cartoon version of Moorea.  Like a fairytale.  We took a tour on a private company starting with a V and it is one of my top 3 tours of all time, maybe number 1.  We took a small outrigger boat with about 12 people.  Swam with sharks and rays, went snorkeling, barbecue lunch on a motu.

When contemplating this trip, keep in mind that (although we had an inside cabin) with the Princess plus package the trip cost about as much as a round trip airfare to Tahiti.  Plus that airfare included two stops and took over 24 hours.

2 hours ago, mike&elena said:

We haven't been to Iceland or Tahiti.  Our most recent 'long' cruise was 20 days on the Diamond last year to Central America.  More recently, we've taken the Emerald to Alaska and along the California Coast.  You'll probably recognize Mike because he's 6'3".  See you soon!

Mike & Elena

Tell him to look down for me, I might crack 5 feet on a good day.😂 Verymuch looking forward to meeting you and for this trip.  On the Tahiti cruise our CD was Olivia Guthrie and I see she is on theEnchanted.  She is delightful and very hard working.  BTW we have a wonderful private tour out of Livorno to Cinque Terre.  If you are interested I can send you the details or you can look at it on the roll call.

See you soon!

1 hour ago, mike&elena said:

 

We like your style!  We'll be on the 22-day Enchanted cruise this month too and we look forward to joining you in Take Five.  It appears that the daily Elite and Platinum reception will be held there.

 

Mike & Elena 

 

 

 

I recognize the names.  Were you on the Iceland/ Greenland voyage last year or the 28 day Tahiti?  See you guys in Take 5, so glad to hear they are not ditching it.

We are on the Enchanted 10/22 and we’re greatly looking forward to Take 5.  We truly enjoyed listening to jazz in the Bayou Steakhouse bar on the Island and were planning on frequenting this venue often on our 22 day voyage.  Will be be greatly disappointed if not there.  We also spoke to some musicians on the Caribbean who said it was their favorite venue to play.  Princess, if you are listening,  remember your target audience.  We are Elite on Princess because it is one of the last cruise ships that recognizes the desire for elegance.

21 hours ago, princesscruise2020 said:

We are having the same situation as Musky! I have 2 bookings. Both are 50 plus when we bought in September 2022 under LOVE BOAT PROMOTION INCLUDING wifi, crew appreciation and Plus Beverage.  I open the medallion app under PACKAGES: One reservation is showing 60+juice bar (wifi, crew, appreciation, plus beverage, premium dessert, fitness class, causal dining, medallion shipping, ocean ready delivery, and room service delivery) The other one is showing PLUS (only has wifi, crew appreciation and plus beverage).  It’s so strange that both reservations show different benefits for the same plus 50 packages. I will go to  customer services desk to codify the components of the past package that I bought. Therefore, I will not get the price on the statements. 

When I look at the app it shows no packages, although on the website under travel summary they show. Any suggestions?

17 hours ago, susanb0424 said:

So the Palm is at the back of the ship, so that is the best??  

 

The Palm is at the back.  I believe in the app you choose a time and you can pick from private or shared table, if not, you can just request on the first night and they will accomodate you.

5 hours ago, Crystaltipps67 said:

I am so glad I discovered the Atomic Pomm in Take Five on Sky Princess early on in our recent cruise. It's a keeper for me - green chilli vodka, pomegranate juice and lime. Delicious!! 

I have to try that. We will be cruising on a ship with Take 5 for the first time in October, and am interested in any other suggestions of their specialty cocktails.

In return, I am going to add my suggestions:

DH is very fond of the 24K (rocks, no salt), Chairman of the Board, and Pirat and Gulden Draak Belgian beers.

My favorites are an afternoon Aperol Spritz accompanying a good book in Crooners, Chocolate Mint Martini after dinner (not creamy), Espresso martini, and my secret menu addition - the Crouching Tiger Martini (vodka, lychee liquor, raspberry purée).  
 

Us wine drinkers need to keep filling out the surveys to get rid of the “generic” wine offerings.

1 hour ago, fpsphil said:

Our favorite bartender has been in Take 5 the entire cruise so we are always going for her suggestions

How is the Take Five?  We have not been to one yet and are really looking forward to it.  Do they have

specialty cocktails?

After almost 250 days at sea, I finally got it through my head, if you want the best dining experience, choose the rear dining room.  The most experienced waiters are in that dining room and you will get the best service.  
 

We were on the Caribbean in April and had Agustin and he was terrific, as was the assistant waiter Greggy.  

14 hours ago, Bridgestone66 said:

One last request from future cruiser in m107.  Patter doesn’t have menus for the main dining does it?    I guess it will post on the app soon.  Curious so I can plan specialty dining around good nights.  Thanks again I appreciate all the info and pictures.  We will be there soon

 

MDR menus can be seen on the app for every night once you board.  You will go to the Dine My Way section - View or book daily reservation and there is a box to click with each nights menu. You have to have a reservation in the MDR to see their menu.  If you have a specialty reservation, it will show you that menu.

Bon Voyage!!

Thanks!  We will be on Oct 21 for the 22 day RT Barcelona.  Would love info on the new restaurants and also, if you have time, the Take 5 jazz club and what kind of wines are being served with the Plus package now. 

BTW - do you know if my husband and I each had a separate account, can we each get 5?  Timing is short so we can't wait the extra month.

Thanks for all this.  Just dove in with the rest of you!  10% baby.

Does anybody know if Gary Golding will still be on the Enchanted in October?

On 1/28/2023 at 12:11 PM, PrincessArlena'sDad said:

Well, if the above schedule is still accurate, Enchanted is scheduled for dry dock this spring march 29-April 15, and princess.com shows no cruises for those dates on enchanted, so I’d say that schedule is  still accurate.

 

If so, then a dry dock in 2024 seems very unlikely.  

 

Now, why there is no schedule yet for enchanted, or emerald also, is a question I would like to know, also.  Trying to decide between a cruise and land vacation for that summer, and need to know schedules and prices!

Does anybody know what they are doing to the Enchanted in dry dock?

We were on this cruise with you, thanks for the great memories!  We were the obnoxious couple that won the twist contest In the piazza on the last formal night.  These were all bucket list stops for us as well, although we have been to Cobh several times.  If you ever get back there, try to go to Kelly’s pub, on the street that fronts the port just down the street.  Sometimes the performers from the ship go down there, especially in the afternoon.  
 

Happy Holidays!

7 minutes ago, traveling1969 said:

A Visit From St Nicholas

(With Apologies to Clement Clarke Moore)

 

T'was the night before Christmas, when all through the ship,

not a creature was stirring, no drinks left to sip.

The stockings were hung on the balconies with glee

in hopes that St Nicholas would find us at sea.

 

The cruisers were snuggled all warm in their bunks.

The guys with their sweeties, the girls with their hunks.

And Joyce in her jammies and I in the buff

had just taken bonine as the seas were quite rough.

 

When somewhere above there resounded a roar

I sprang from my bed and fell flat on the floor.

Away to the slider I stumbled and lurched,

went out to the balcony and searched and searched.

 

The moon on the waves cast an eerie bright light

so it looked more like noon, instead of midnight.

When what apparition appeared on the seas

but a bright red tender pulled by 8 red jet skis.

 

And atop the tender, with a whip in his hand,

was a bearded jolly elf so plump and so tanned.

And they sped o'er the wavetops onward they came

he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

 

On Regal, on Royal, on Golden and Grand,

on Diamond, on Coral, on Emerald and Island.

On up to the Lido, and it's MUTS screen so tall

now dash away, dash away, dash away all.

 

As zephyrs, and breezes and hurricanes blew

they arose to the sky, on the updrafts they flew.

So up to the sky bridge in search of a flue

went the vessels with Santa and all of his crew.

 

And above we could hear them, it sounded so cool

as the tender and jet skies did donuts in the pool.

As it grew quiet, we heard a faint sound

and there was St Nicholas as we turned around.

 

He was dressed in a wet suit with flippers and all

he was almost as wide as he truly was tall.

He had a case of wine under each arm

with Pinots and Malbecs to help us stay warm.

 

His eyes were all bloodshot but oh, how they twinkled.

His hands they looked frozen, so red and so wrinkled.

He opened his mouth and let go with a yell

"Hey let's open this wine, I'm about cold as hell"

 

He pulled out a pipe and some green stuff and said

"No, I'll save this for later, I've a long night ahead".

He looked like a sausage packed tight; he was stout

but his belly was pooching as his spanx it gave out.

 

With a wink of his eye and a twist of his head

he opened and poured us a large glass of red.

After that he was silent and set to his task,

filled our stockings with wine and put some in his flask.

 

Then he jumped off the balcony but went up not down

and the mist began swirling around and around.

His minions were waiting, to the tender he flew

and they headed to the next ship to give them their due.

 

But we heard him exclaim as he sailed out of sight

"Happy Cruising to all and to all a good night".

 

Merry Christmas

Thanks for amusing us on a Sunday afternoon!  May 2023 bring peace and happiness to all, Merry Christmas!

Just now, wowzz said:

I thought the gratuity was 18 % ?

My bad. Typo.

9 hours ago, suzyed said:

I have to admit there was a red blend on the "plus" wine list that wasn't half bad.  But most times we ordered from the regular wine list and paid the small upcharge.

 

You may be thinking of the Nikiari Bourdeaux blend which was our go-to wine on our last cruise, at a one dollar upcharge.  More like this would be perfectly acceptable.  It did make our stateroom account comical with $1.13 charges (dollar plus gratuity) appearing quite frequently.  The most annoying thing was we were also charged tax in the Hawaiian islands.

4 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Speaking of the quality of wines, we did a blind taste test of wines at Pirate Manor several years ago.  Whites, blush, and reds.  She Who Must Be Obeyed did the pours and was the only one who knew what was what.  

 

Low and behold, the budget wines won out across the board.  Even our wine snob friends were flummoxed and somewhat embarrassed that their palates betrayed them. But it was quite a fun party.

 

I am reminded of the words of our town wino "wine is not wine unless you drink it from a brown paper bag behind the store where you bought it"

There are budget wines 😀 and there are budget wines 😝.  The ones Princess is serving are of the 😝 category.  I’d be perfectly happy with 3 buck chuck.  If the wineries can supply the entire Publix chain so that they can sell Petit Petite for $8.50 a bottle on the BOGO, I think wineries like Sterling, Chateau Ste Michelle, or even Bogle could arrange something with Princess. Not my first choices, but better than what the current offerings are.

We spoke to one of the Food and Beverage officers who indicated that they are working on it.  Keep filling out those surveys!  (She said naively)

6 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I mentioned this while OB. I don’t think we will get Bora Bora back because they substituted another day in Papeete.  However, not an even substitute, because originally, Bora Bora was 2 days. 
 

Pago Pago was substituted for a sea day. That definitely should be refunded.

I called OB, twice, because we have always received port fee credits on the actual day the port was missed on our folio, or the following day.

 

I was told my GS employees, including an officer at GS, it would be refunded back on our CC used to purchase the cruise.

Hmmm

 

I received my credit for the transfers today (to my original payment method) but not port charges.

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

 

The most I have carried on for a cruise is two cases and that was for our longest voyage to-date - 60 nights around South America.  Don't recall if I bought any additional in ports, but perhaps a small amount.  If we were a bottle-a-day folks, IDK how I would manage 5 cases.  LOL.  Anyway, it is often possible to supplement the initial haul with additional bottles at port stops. 

 

But it can be a burden to get a significant amount onto the ship.  And with 5 cases, I'd need to bring a wine cooler as well.  😉

 

I remember the “good old days” when you could slap a luggage tag on a box from Total Wine in Fort Lauderdale. 😏. Hopefully they don’t eliminate the ability to bring on wine from the ports.