pjrockman

9 hours ago, dides said:

 

You're right! They do seem a bit tight on space compared to the rooms in the old Grand class suites.

 

Sandra

Thanks for the pics, Sandra.

Sky Suites should be interesting.  Initially, they had the balcony smaller with the deck plan showing doors and what appeared to be public access in the middle by two doors.  Then, they announced that the balconies would be in excess of 1000 sq. Ft. To be the largest at sea, and the diagram and pics added that area in the middle to lounge and watch MUTS.  Now, the pics are showing the doors again.  Here are 3 pics to try to explain.  Wonder which way it will be?

We will see.  I will post the screenshot of former Plan showing those doors when I find it.

Thanks, again.  Safe Journeys, Paul

5 hours ago, john_galt said:

It's from the Princess Instagram account. I'm just glad to get ANY video prior to Princess taking possession. 

Agree.  Thanks for the video.

Safe Journeys, Paul

Faxed mine in on Friday for December and January cruises at 6:01 p.m. ET and got email with new Booking Confirmation showing the credit for both of them at 6:48 p.m. ET.

47 minutes beats my former record of 58 minutes.

Safe Journeys, Paul

Our one and only move over offer was from our 10 day New Year Eve cruise on the Royal or Regal two years ago.  We had a Club Class mini suite.  We enjoy NYE cruises to the Caribbean.  The offer came about 10 days before the cruise and it was for a full refund credit and a CC Mini on the same itinerary after February.  We are semi-flexible with SWA flexible changeable  air arrangements.  We always hoped we would get an offer and it had a value of about $4k....but when we were actually faced with the offer, our overwhelming ‘ready to cruise now’ desire kicked in!!

So, we turned it down and never looked back!!  Many would say we were stupid at that amount, but sometimes ya just need to get on a Ship instead of waiting another 2 or 3 months!

Safe Journeys, Paul

Susan,

The aft Penthouse Suites are also partially covered on Decks 9 (Dolphin) and 11 (Baja).  They offer larger balconies and are partially covered for some privacy.  The other balconies on the Royal Class aft Penthouses are mostly open above.  It appears the Sky is the same in this respect.

The two aft suites on each of these two decks are usually the first Aft Penthouses to be reserved.

Safe Journeys, Paul

Prayers to the Region.

God Bless.  Paul

Two of our favorite and most useful Suite Amenities (to us) are the Concierge Lounge (on Royal Class), and the available room service breakfast on disembarkation day.

As mentioned, the Concierge Lounge provides an Espresso Machine and pastries in the morning and nice little tea sandwiches and veggies and sweets in the afternoon and evening.  Plus, the Concierge will do everything for you that you used to run around the ship and spend time on the Dine Line for when you first embark.  This includes your specialty dining reservations (including your free one that they will change from the normally required first day), Spa items, room service request for mini-bar, etc.  Also, at the end, the Concierge will print your boarding passes if you give them your airline and flight number.  Personally, we always tip them at the end of the cruise because of their time saving helpfulness.

The last day full room service breakfast makes the last morning much more relaxed and allows you to enjoy your breakfast on an otherwise hectic morning.

We don’t get too excited about breakfast in Sabatini's, since the menu is limited.  But, if we do use it, it is because of the personalized, relaxed service on some mornings.  Also, as others have mentioned, with a day’s notice, the Maitre D will try to accommodate special requests like a crab omelette or (small) steak and eggs.  

Just my 2 cents worth on our favorite Suite Amenities.  

Actually, one of our other favorites are the delivered dinner menus, if you ask, so that you have an early look to decide if you want to eat at a specialty restaurant instead of the MDR on any given day.

Safe Journeys, Paul

Just to add a bit to the earlier responses:

I have used the area 5 times out of 8 Royal/Regal Cruises.  The cost varies by each cruise. Passes must be purchased for the length of the cruise.  The pass cannot be pre-purchased and they are usually quantity controlled, so should be purchased early if interested.  Prices have ranged from $18 per day to $31 per day.  The cruses that I didn’t purchase were the ones when it was over $23 per day, which was my individual price breakpoint.  There also is a discount for a couples’ pair of passes.  If the single was $20 per day, the 2 person rate was around $30 per day.

In addition to the amenities already described, there are three sauna rooms: Dry; Steam; and, my preferred, kind of a pseudo Hammam Turkish Bath with a combination steam room and slate bed to lay on which is about the size of a king size bed.  You can purchase bath scrub to use in there.  They used to give a small container with a scrub sponge to use.  Hopefully they still give it for free.  It is communal.  I say that, because I have gone in the outer room when the steam was sometimes so thick, that you think you are alone as you walk into the dimly lit ‘bed’ room.  Just make sure you look closely before you lay down!!

Hope that helps.  Safe Journeys, Paul

On 8/24/2019 at 5:54 PM, Astro Flyer said:

 

Those would be for La Mer on the portside and on the starboard side for Alfredo’s Pizzeria.

 

So, the nice Public sitting area on center Promenade Deck (Royal/Regal) turns into ‘semi-public/private’ dining area on the Sky?  Interesting.

Safe Journeys, Paul

10 hours ago, smelmel said:

Found this on Etsy - Surprise Cruise Trip Tickets - $5 https://www.etsy.com/listing/703882693/cruise-surprise-trip-tickets-carnival?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=Princess+cruises&ref=sr_gallery-1-10&organic_search_click=1

 

while looking at the magnets - which are really cute!

Thanks!  I didn’t know if I could say ‘Etsy’.  But, as you can see that’s where the magnets and other cruise ideas are!

Safe Journeys, Paul

We get a Cruise Door or Refrigerator Magnet from Bonni/Cruise DesignsBB for each cruise.  She’s online.  She can do most any design.  Last one, was a picture of the Royal Princess with our names and cruise and ship.  I won’t include that one since I don’t know where the pic of the Royal came from, but attached are two other designs that we had for our door.  She has them for birthdays and anniversaries.

hope that helps.  DW loves them.  Safe Journeys.  Paul

1 hour ago, cruises42 said:

How do you use it? I can't figure out how to find out what ships are in the ports we are going to.

At the home page, there are three different search tabs at top.  Hit Departure Port, or Ports of Call or Cruise Ships.  I use Departure Port for the date of my cruise, it will list the ships in Port that day.  Then under each ship, it lists itinerary, where you can hit the port for each port day of your itinerary and it will take you to those ports and show you the ships for each of those days and ports.

Regarding NYC: Generally, Princess and Cunard go out of Red Hook; Carnival and Norwegian go out of Manhattan; and, X and RCL go out of Bayonne (Liberty) NJ.  Exceptions to every rule.  We went out of Manhattan once on Princess and came back into Manhattan once on Princess after the Super Storm Sandy Cruise after docking in Boston for 5 days.

Others can correct, but I think Disney goes out of Manhattan and I’m not sure which one HAL uses.

Safe Journeys, Paul

My go to site is:  cruisetimetables dot com.   I find it the most reliable.  Hope I’m allowed to share it here.  Guess I’ll find out shortly.

Safe Journeys, Paul

2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Not tough at all. After 8/31/19 it is not valid anymore. 

Yup, simple as the dress code...elite tendering tickets...specialty dinner for suites only on the first day...reserving theater seats...vacant ‘held’ deck chairs after 30 minutes...bathing suits in public areas other than pool decks...who is included in the picture package...kids in adult only areas... Folks please feel free to add all of the simple policies and rules that are dependent on who is doing the enforcing.  Never asked what should happen, only said it will be interesting to hear what happens.

Safe Journeys, Paul

The question will be more fun after 8/31/19.  The new policy is very clear, but more discussed on CC then in other places.  Will be curious how it will actually be handled after August for those that haven’t cruised in awhile and who don’t follow CC.  It will be tough for Baristas when confronted with this situation.

You know how Princess rules and policies are followed by different ships and different crews....

I’m sure we will hear about it here first!

Safe Journeys, Paul

1 hour ago, SDWalt said:

 

Beware it only covers those in your cabin, so it you have friends or family in other cabins those photos are not included.

Some of the price increase has to do with the problems created when they changed the policy mid-stream.  Originally with the package, you got all pics as long as someone from a ‘paid package’ cabin was in the picture.  Last year, they changed the policy, at least on some ships, that in order to get the pic, everyone in the picture had to be from a ‘paid package’ cabin.

Now, with the increase, the policy is back to just someone from the ‘paid package ‘ cabin has to be in the picture to be included.

See Attached Excerpt.

Safe Journeys, Paul

2 hours ago, Sea Hag said:

 

I'm not so sure about the no additional discounts part. My PVP has twice refared for me at a lower price that what I saw on the website, prompting my email to her. Was a pleasant surprise each time.

Ditto.  I got a fantastic deal that wasn’t showing up online for a Suite upgrade.  My PCP gets back to me incredibly fast.  She and I barely speak and she just does what I want and then I get a revised booking reservation.  I send her an email to check into something, if she finds that she got a better deal by comparing what I have, she just takes care of it without calling.  She’s not been wrong yet with her instinct on what I would prefer.

Sure, like most, I do the initial work and then email, then she takes care of it.  I don’t have to get into finding my CCN or FCD or Casino Discount or dining preference, etc; she takes care of every from my initial email and my account, and then bam, I receive my favorite email in the world from Reservations@princesscruises.com and it’s always correct.  

No complaints here.  I had a great one for years and she went on an extended leave.  So, I got a replacement assigned to me and she was like some of the ones that are described in this thread.  That lasted 2 reservations, and both were problematic (no return emails or calls or reductions (as a matter of fact, I started waiting for off hours to get the Helpdesk which were more helpful then my replacement PCP)).  So, On one call with the helpdesk, we were just chatting about it and she said she was going to speak with her supervisor and get back to me.  She called me back with a new PCP.  Since then it has been great again.  As such, I would recommend asking for a supervisor to assign you a new PCP if you are unhappy.  There should be no reason for Princess to ignore that request if you are unsatisfied.

Safe Journeys, Paul

4 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Those darn timeshares never seem to move during the week. 

I’m happy to see prices rising, it should drive some folks away from the Princess brand to brands they want to afford. After years of stagnate pricing and somewhat declining standards aboard ship this money hopefully will be used to improve the Princess brand experience.  —- I know.... Dreamer. 

 

 

Agree.  And maybe some of the standards/amenities/decorum that we originally chose Princess for will return.  Sorry, but one of my biggest pet peeves is some who choose to be in the dining area and elevators in swimsuits....sometimes even wet.  I’m not talking about kids, either.  Just my personal opinion, but that really does remind me of a different cruise line.

This isn’t meant to be elitist in any way, just an acknowledgement that there are a variety of cruise lines for many different types of cruisers.  After trying the different ones, we chose Princess because of the particular types of atmosphere, amenities, decor and decorum.

I am merely agreeing with neverbeenhere in his observation that the recent stagnant, even decreasing, prices on Princess have contributed to the changing standards.

Safe Journeys, Paul

It is hard to beat the prices, especially with the Flexible Fares.  We did experience one quirk on one flight.  We had booked Econ Plus through EZ Air from Dulles (IAD) to LAX on United.  When First Class became available at a great price, United wouldn’t let us upgrade (we offered the difference).  They said that it was the type of ticket Princess buys.  They said to wait until at the airport to try to pay for an upgrade if offered.  Sure enough, we checked in and at the Gate they said there were 4 First Class available at $100 per seat upgrade charge.  We took two, but nothing they did would allow them to upgrade our Princess tix.  The very nice Gate person even called 2 other people to try to get it to override the refusal.  No go!  The phone people said the same thing that the initial United person told me: it’s the type of ticket that was purchased.  We aren’t United Gold or anything, so maybe that would have made a difference.  They had a name for the type of ticket..Like F Class, or something like that.  Someone familiar with airline ticket lingo may know more than I do and may weigh in.

Safe Journeys, Paul

Edit: Correct, they didn’t say Princess, they said the travel agency that Princess uses.  I was just calling it Princess.  But it was a Princess EZ Air ticket purchased through Personalizer.

4 hours ago, Potstech said:

Paranoia strikes again, Nobody's right and everybody's wrong as the song goes.

Nobody’s right ‘if’ everybody’s wrong.  Buffalo Springfield.

12 minutes ago, jangor said:

 

 

We had an experience on one cruise where my husband used the wrong code to open the safe and the safe locked us out.  We had to call security and prove who we were and  at first they said that they could not override the code, but then a supervisor came and again we presented ID and he opened it.  Not really sure how a stranger with lost medallion could get into safe.  Is safe code on medallion?

We also pushed an inadvertent button when setting the Safe once on Princess.  It took like 45 minutes to resolve.  Housekeeping called supervisor who had to come to Cabin, after supervisor verified, called security officer who also came.  After each of those verified our identity, they then called another supervisor in security or housekeeping, who asked to speak to me to again verify my identity.  Then security officer read code number and cabin number to phone person, he wrote a number down that the phone person gave him and he entered it on my safe and it opened the safe.  We were first embarrassed that we caused all that trouble, then thankful, then impressed that there was such a system of checks and balances to access an onboard safe.  From that point forward, we had no hesitation of putting everything in the safe!

This was only a couple of years ago and it was the four digital number Safe that Princess currently uses.

Hope that is interesting.  Safe Journeys, Paul

4 hours ago, Triptkr said:

As entertaining as this has been, I'm surprised that my 'issue' with the Medallion hasn't been brought up on this thread.  We were just on the Crown Princess which has the Medallion fully installed and were NOT thrilled with the 'locking' aspect of the Medallion.  When we'd leave the room it would take forever for the door to lock.  By 'forever' I mean probably 30 seconds.  

 

And yes, I know that often the hallways are deserted but sometimes they're not and it's very obvious when your door is locked and unlocked by the screen.  Has anyone else noticed how long it's taken for the Medallion to lock your door when you leave?  

We, like most, did what one would do on their first Medallion Cruise.  We shut the door and stood there (like Luddites) to make sure it locked.  It took awhile.  Then, we figured it was staying open because we were still there and in range and ‘it’ didn’t want to lock us out while we were standing there.  Sure enough, when we just walked away after making sure the door was indeed shut, it locked after we took about 4 steps.  So, while we are confident that the timing can be adjusted, our experience suggests that it is based on range with a longer fail safe locking action if you are just standing there.  To make a longer story a bit shorter, it worked efficiently and quickly when we closed the door and headed down the hall.  We loved that aspect, along with the whole experience of the Medallion.

Safe Journeys to all and always be aware of the Lurkers...  Paul

10 minutes ago, rugerdog said:

On Princess in February, I had purchased a blended coffee beverage to take with me as I went ashore.  I was told at the check out that I had to dump it.  When I inquired as to why, I was told that it was because of the garbage.  The coffee cup was a Princess coffee cup, and if the cup found its way into the ocean, Princess would be fined.  I asked if I would bring coffee in my own travel mug, and they said that would be fine.

Sounds logical.  That would have actually make sense if they said that to us.  

Thanks, Paul

Love the Pro-Collagen Groom with Shave.  Neither DW nor I recommend the pedicures.  It’s not the higher price, it is the lack of attention.  Tried several times on different Princess Ships with same result.  Not much attention to the massage portion of the pedicure.

The Pro-Collagen Groom and Shave is obviously a recommendation for a man, but I like them so much, I schedule three on a 10 day, and two on a 7 day.  Definitely on the morning of the Formal Nights.  I don’t even bring a razor anymore.  It’s about an hour long, and the attention to detail is different with each Barber, which has always been a lady on all the ships that I have been on.  Some spend more time on the shave portion, some more on the massage aspect, and some more on the facial aspect.  On our European Cruise last October, I had one done on the day before we disembarked in Rome and it was so good, a waiter commented on how nice my beard was groomed.  No kidding.

Obviously, I enjoy it and I think most men would if they try it once and don’t mind the rather high price tag ($95ish on sea days, $86ish on Port Days) and a bit of pampering.

I know your question was geared more for the ladies, but hope this helps if your SO is a male.

Safe Journeys, Paul

6 hours ago, janina said:

I think this is a great ideal:)  I always order my pasta as an appetizer to get the smaller size.

After an appetizer, I order the pasta dish in an appetizer size and then the main.  However, as others have said, it depends on the serving team on the size of the pasta.  Sometimes they bring the full size....and happily, I eat it.  I do think Princess’ pasta selection is diverse and delicious.

Mangia! Paul 

1 minute ago, JimmyVWine said:

I still have as a souvenir a name card placed on our door from our stateroom on the QE2 from 1976. 

Are you sure it’s yours? Or did you take someone else’s and assumed their identity all these years....