CruiserN1

27 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I have seen this issue with friends last year.  I won't be able to give you the specific reason, but there is something wrong with your data, such that there is some piece of bad/missing data, a mismatch between POLAR and Princess App, or perhaps your record indicates a small dollar amount owing by some oddity.  It might require someone from the Princess App (OCEAN) IT team to go through your data field-by-field to find an anomaly.  Basically, it doesn't think you qualify to be booked for dining.

 

Are either of you Platinum or Elite CC Member Level?

Nope, just gold. Ugh, might just wait and book onboard. We have a reserve collection minisuite so I think we have access to preferred reservations for specialty dining.

6 minutes ago, t&atravel said:

@CruiserN1Explore dining options only works onboard.  To book SD select “view or book individual daily reservations”, pick the day for your SD, the. “Add reservation”, select travel party then the time and SD restaurant you want.

Thank you for your help. I tried your approach and no matter which day I pick, when I select both my husband and myself as guests it says "Sorry, we could not find any reservations at this time. Please check back later." 

However, if I select just my husband as the guest, it offers me tables at Crown Grill or Sabatini's without a problem and specifies it's a private table. Presumably if they have a table for 1 person, it could accommodate both of us (unless there's chair shortage and they are down to the last one).

Oddly, if I select myself but not my husband as the guest, the "sorry" message appears again. Apparently only my husband is invited to dine at the CG. I promise I'll take a shower and dress nicely and be on my best manners if it helps.

Trying to reserve Crown Grill for a cruise coming up July 14. When I go to "Explore dining options" the window pops up saying that these options will appear closer to my cruise date. When exactly do specialty dining reservations open in advance of the cruise?

All of the cruise line corporations took on massive loans to make it through the COVID shutdown. Now they have to pay those back while also turning a profit for shareholders so that their stock prices can rebound. The executives need that to happen because so much of their compensation is stock options. So they have to find a way to generate more revenue, whether by cutting expenses (crew numbers, food, etc.), charging more, or finding extras that people will pay for that are highly profitable.

As long as they are sailing relatively full while making cutbacks and increasing revenue from passengers, the cruise experience will not be what it was pre-COVID. We all get to decide if the value proposition is good enough that we want to sail anyway.

Thanks so much Coral for your trip report. We sail the same itinerary in mid-July and it's so helpful to see the menus and read about your experiences. We didn't schedule an excursion for Victoria but I think we will check out the gardens after seeing your pics.

I would be devastated if I were on this cruise. It's one we've looked at as one we'd like to do in the future. I wish there was a way to know how often ports are missed on a cruise itinerary (kind of like airline cancelation/delay rates) so we have that information before booking.

2 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

@Coral, What was the name of the whale watching company in Juneau that you used?  Just curious as one of my Alaska trips is in June (we booked this late) and our favorite whale watching vendor (Jayleen's Alaska) was already booked so we decided to go with a company that someone had mentioned on CC. 

 

Harv and Marv in Juneau is excellent 

 

 

On 5/9/2023 at 6:39 PM, bobmcm said:

If you aren't into deep water snorkeling- might do some easy beach snorkeling... but want to see all the birds and land features of the Galapagos, does a Galapagos cruise make sense?

Thinking about either Silverseas Origin or the similar new Celebrity ship. They all seem to have lots of walking and boat tours at each island. Is that worth it?  

My husband is a non-swimmer and he still loved the trip (we were on Celebrity Xpedition, great ship and crew). There are short and long walk options most days and also some days there is a Zodiac cruise where you can see aquatic life without getting wet. 

That said, I did every snorkeling option and it was like snorkeling in an aquarium. I have never seen so many different kinds of fish and so many large fish anywhere else. We even saw manta rays, sharks (the shy kind) and stingrays. The snorkeling wasn't strenuous if you are comfortable in deep water. The water is very cold but they provide wetsuits.

The iced tea made from concentrate is kind of nasty tasting. If you're used to fresh brewed you will not enjoy it.

My experience is that in the Caribbean ports they want to get you out and back in plenty of time for sailaway. Most excursion providers have an AM and PM departure and the cruise lines typically book the AM slots. You can always book on your own and see if you can find a tour operator that has a late morning start. The ports of call boards on CC have a lot of recommendations for private or independent group tours. If you check those out you might find something that works better for you than the ship's excursions.

That chile rellano is beyond pathetic. I have never seen one that small! It's my husband's favorite Mexican dish so I will be sure to tell him NOT to order it when we're cruising Alaska this summer.

Sailing this itinerary in July. Looking forward to following along on your journey!

Thanks for the TR. I am enjoying following your trip.

Kayaking in Sitka is phenomal, if you make it back there. Last trip the guide brought up these incredible sea stars and placed them on the bow of his kayak for us to see. Incredible experience.

1 hour ago, 555 said:

That's the one.

Do you know if it would it be included in the mocktail selections?

Just tell the bartender what you want and they can make a mocktail version of it for you. They are very accommodating.

Some of those who boarded after you likely wanted to book the Sanctuary and couldn't. Is it unfair that you got to board before them? Maybe, maybe not, but as every parent has said to every child, life isn't fair. 

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Not sure what year your CT was, but I have always read and understood there is a non-alcohol option for CT and also comes at a lower price.  Did you ask for that ahead of time?

Yes, I told the maitre'd that I didn't drink wine but he didn't offer to lower the price. We really wanted to do it so we didn't push it because we thought it might affect whether or not we were among the chosen for the dinner.

It's been years since we've done CT, but the two times we did we were asked about allergies when we inquired about the dinner. They didn't come right out and say it, but the impression I got was that if you had food allergies that would require a change in the menu you would not be "selected" to attend. This could have changed, just our experience. I'm unable to drink wine (sulfite allergy) and was able to attend and just not drink any (no price adjustement, however).

Mine showed the $10 charge when I went to order them a week before final payment. I didn't order, wasn't worth it to me. Then after final payment I went back to see about accessories and the $10 shipping fee was gone (I didn't add accessories to the order either time).

I had also noticed before final payment that under "packages and prizes" my Plus package wasn't listed. After final payment it was listed. So it might be that the free shipping included in Plus is not applied until after final payment.

Interesting. I hope they bring more variety in itineraries. We don't like the western Caribbean ports and thus don't really look at Galveston departures even though it's a 3 hour drive for us.

Seems like "guarantee" cabins in every category have always been less expensive than choosing a specific cabin.

I ordered this from Etsy. Cheaper than Amazon and lots of fun colors. I like that it fits on my existing smartwatch and that it's sized for the Princess medallion. Two with shipping and tax were about $15.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1380683206/cruise-medallion-watch-band-holder?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=princess+medallion+holder&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&bes=1&organic_search_click=1

We've cruised both lines multiple times, but not on any of the newest Celebrity ships. Princess feels like a better value than Celebrity, but for us it comes down to the itinerary. We've also done HAL (because of itinerary) and probably wouldn't choose them again, just too old of a demographic for us. I haven't felt there are major differences between Princess and Celebrity.

Cuts have been made at all cruise lines because COVID forced them to take on so much debt and their shareholders are putting on pressure for them to regain real profitability. We've looked at Oceania but the cost difference is such that it's either an oceanview cabin on Oceania or a club-class mini-suite on Princess/aqua class on Celebrity. We do so enjoy the privacy of our cabin and the balcony to watch the ocean that at this point in our lives we aren't choosing Oceania.

We've done the CT twice, once in 2011 on a cruise to Alaska and the second time in 2015 on a Caribbean cruise.

The first experience was magical and the best meal we have ever (and I believe will ever) have. The executive chef and the maitre'd were clearly friends and their rapport made us feel like we were their friends also. The other diners were personable and we all meshed quickly. The menu was unique to the chef and he prepared many more courses than I've seen on menus since then. The pastry chef brought out a beautiful sugar sculpture with dessert, which was served with limoncello the chef had made himself. A different wine was served with each course. We staggered back to our cabin and collapsed into bed, stuffed and more than a little tipsy. 

The second time was fine. The chef and maitre'd paid us a visit, but didn't stick around. The chef was clearly executing a menu someone else had dictated. There were fewer wines and nothing special or magical happened. Still a great meal, but not memorable.

Our third Princess cruise is coming up in July. DH asked me yesterday about doing the CT again. I told him that I think it will once again pale in comparison to that first one and that we should treasure that memory rather than trying to find a way to experience it again. He agreed it was likely a one-time experience.

That is an interesting itinerary. Too bad it's so late in the season. 

12 minutes ago, Cruise Starter said:

You may have better luck with the online version of the Ocean Ready. The Android App is particularly unstable and difficult to use.  My son had better luck with the online version.

 

Below is the link to the Ocean Ready webpage.
 

https://oceanready-personalinfo-ui.prod.ocean.com/

Thanks for posting these links. I was able to reserve Specialty Dining through the web page when I couldn't on the app.