JimmyVWine

I'm not aware of any recent change that disallows this. If you don't want any of the inclusions in the Packages, you don't buy a Package, and instead buy things a la carte. Everything offered in the Packages is available for individual purchase except, I think, the ability to get reserved seating in the theater. If you want pyrotechnic Special Desserts, you can buy them. If you want to go to Sabatini's, you can go and pay the stated fee. If you want internet, you can go to the Internet Lounge and sign up. And if you do it on board, they do not charge you double what you should pay and then immediately credit your account with OBC. They just charge you the Elite price. The title of the thread says that we can disagree. But I'm not so sure I am disagreeing with your premise as much as I am just not understanding it. You wonder why you cannot just spend your money on the things you want, and you can. You might pay more, but the math is up to you.

They were (are, and repainted??) owned by Mears. The Magical Express Service to WDW and PE was a cooperative arrangement with Mears that Disney ended. The promo with Carmen's name on it pasted into the post above certainly does look like a transportation/parking "breakthrough." I will leave it to the Floridians like our Host to determine if this is a game changer or a diaper changer.

Agree. So refer back to the website closer to departure date. We also sailed out of and returned to the Mayflower Terminal on our cruise, but the Queen Mary 2 was having some work done and was hogging one of the closer berths. @MrsK : You may already know this but if you do use the Ocean Terminal, it is walkable from the waterfront area of Southampton. But the Mayflower Terminal is decidedly NOT. You would want to arrange for transportation to/from that terminal if by any chance you happen to be using it.

Schedule says Ocean Terminal, #46. https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

Yes. The Travel Summary shows all of the wonderful (and useless) things that I get with my Premier Package, listed at MSRP prices to make me feel really good about the fact that I am only paying $80 per day.

With the new Medallion system and app-based check-in, I wonder how long Princess will choose to own and manage this type of off-site lounge. It seems as if its purpose is to get Suite passengers out of the Ellis Island atmosphere that used to exist at the terminals. But on my last three cruises, PES passengers were being processed onto the ship about as fast as humanly possible. On our last cruise, we barely made it into the PES waiting area with enough time to grab a glass of orange juice when we were being ushered onto the ship. And non-PES passengers were getting on almost as quickly. (This was in Southampton). Given the choice of waiting in this new Lounge where the FI/FO van departure system could cause a long wait as noted above, or simply heading to the terminal to be whisked right onto the ship, what advantage is there to the former? If, by 11:00 one could be in the International Café or Good Spirits Bar or sitting poolside on the Lido Deck, what advantage is there to an off-site Lounge where one waits frustratingly for the van to return to pick them up? Seems as if the team that developed this Lounge wasn't really in synch with the team that was developing the app-based check-in system and they were working to solve a problem that doesn't really exist any more.

I'll make sure to look for the pins on my next cruise. I haven't seen an MDR staff member with a pin in a long time.

I was reading through this thread thinking along the same lines and then landed on your post. This makes the most sense. The MDR galleys are not set up at all for one-off special orders. It just isn't the way the brigade operates. I can't even imagine what it would look like for a cook to step out of line to assemble special ingredients, pans, utensils and burner space. I assume that the special food comes from the crew mess or the buffet. I suppose it could be made to order in the buffet galley where all the ingredients are present and accounted for. But more likely it is ladled out of an already existing hotel pan.

Are you sure about this? There is a difference between "the crew member in the dining room who knows the most about wine" and a "sommelier." I haven't seen a real sommelier on a Princess ship in at least 8 years. But of course, I am not on all ships at all times, so maybe there has been a change.

When Princess first rolled them out, I was a skeptic. "Packages only help the cruise line and never benefit the customer" said I. But I have come to believe that even at current pricing, Princess' packages are a win-win (assuming that one partakes in alcohol to even a modest degree.)

It's the 10 page rule rearing its ugly head again. Nothing on topic or helpful is ever posted after page 10 (except on Trip Reports and Live Threads.)

Is this a common sense suggestion, or did you find a specific prohibition published by Princess somewhere? From a common sense prospective, I could see why a cruise line would prohibit them (as DCL clearly has done.) Pools are small and if lots of people used them, the pools would turn into noodle soup.

Except for the fact that Oregon Law exempts cruise ships from its enforcement purview. (1) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission may not require the owners, operators and employees of a cruise ship to have a license or permit issued under the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of possessing, transporting, storing, selling or serving alcoholic beverages that are described in subsection (3) of this section. (2) The provisions of ORS 471.740 (Exclusive right of commission to handle certain liquors) do not apply to alcoholic beverages that are described in subsection (3) of this section. (3) The provisions of this section apply only to alcoholic beverages that are served aboard a cruise ship and that are served solely for the purpose of onboard consumption by a cruise ship’s passengers, guests, officers and employees.

The operative word being "through". It has a different meaning than "remain".

Probably not. Most cruises that you have been on have been "Sold Out" by the time they throw lines. They just might not be sold out months in advance. So the total number of people on the ship shouldn't be changing. Just the timing by which people know that capacity has been reached. There are restrictions as to how many people are allowed on any given ship for safety reasons. So a sailing that sells our as a result of a last minute "Drop and Go" sale will have the same number of guests as a sailing that sells out a year ahead of time. Capacity is capacity.

Silly question. The Princess Policies clearly states: "Guests under the age of 18 will not be permitted in the Casino." So someone who is 18 (or 19, or 20) CAN sit at the Casino Bar. People who are under 18 cannot get into the Casino in the first instance, so it is metaphysically impossible for them to get to the bar.

Of course any establishment owner can implement whatever lawful restrictions they want. Princess, being the establishment owner, has chosen to allow all of its paying guests to enjoy the piano stylings of its onboard entertainers performing at Crooners or the Wheelhouse while sitting at tables or stools. This is hardly a novel, groundbreaking or controversial allowance. Out of curiosity, other than 20 inch rise in altitude, what is the difference between a bar stool and the seat at the table that is 2 feet away from the stool? Is there some sort of mysticism that is escaping me that makes one suitable only for people who are 21, but not for people who are 20 years and 364 days old? Is there some concern that proximity to a bartender is dangerous to a 17 year-old? Or that the person sitting at the next stool poses a greater danger than people who are seated at tables? My supposition is that Princess believes that its Public Venues (which is how it describes all the places you mention) are safe environments for all guests and that the ship is not replete with scofflaws, scoundrels, miscreants and ne'er-do-wells who hang out on bar stools intending to do harm to minors. My experience reflects that supposition.

While it says that the list is not exhaustive, pool noodles are not on the list of prohibited items. Archery equipment and catapults are on the list (not making that up). But pool noodles are not. https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise#prohibited-items

While I couldn't find any information on the Princess site, I found some interesting information on generic sites that provide information on cruising including several articles with titles such as "Surprising Items That You Cannot Bring On A Cruise Ship" and most of those articles included pool noodles on that list. And Disney Cruise Lines lists pool noodles specifically as a prohibited item. So I wouldn't be too sure. Might want to use the Chat feature on the Princess website to confirm. (I suggest Chat because no matter if you call or chat, the person you connect with won't know the answer and might need to inquire up the chain. When that happens, it is easier to be using Chat than being on hold on the phone.) The other option might be: "Better to do and ask for forgiveness than ask and be denied permission."

What an odd thing to say. No one, ever, anywhere has implemented such a rule. I have bar stools in my house. All are welcome to sit there. Even my cats. I've been to countless restaurants where we (and by that I mean my whole family) have been asked to wait at the bar (on stools or otherwise) until our table is ready. Of course, if the venue itself has an age restriction just to get in, that would not happen as the minor would never get past the front door. But if the venue lets minors in, it doesn't restrict where they can sit. Never, ever have I been told: "You are welcome to wait in the lounge and we will come get you when your table is ready. But do NOT sit at the bar. Those stools are just for adults." Now you're just making stuff up. On a Princess ship, when a minor has a No Alcohol Package and wants to get a soft drink or a mocktail, they go to a bar to get it. There is absolutely no rule (nor should there be) that the guest cannot then sit at that bar to drink it. If I had a dollar for every mocktail my kid sipped at the Mermaid Bar, or any of the other pool bars on Princess ships, I could pay for 10 more cruises.

It just depends if we can land on the proper definition of what a "child" is. The age to be able to drink alcohol on the ship is 21. But it would be pretty extreme to have a rule that 20 year-olds cannot enjoy the entertainment at Crooners, Skywalkers or the Wheelhouse after 10:00. Maybe there is a certain age range where most people could agree that minors are welcome if accompanied by an adult. Maybe 13-17. And beyond that, no rule. My daughter loved all of the venues I listed above when she was 14, but she was with us in the evenings when she visited them.

Given the average age and countries of origin of the crew, I doubt that many have seen that movie. Asking one of them to hold the brownie between their knees might invoke a rather odd reaction! A bit of movie trivia. The young woman sitting across from Jack in that scene is Toni Basil, the singer of the "Hey Mickey, He's So Fine" song.

The benefits are waning, but there is still value. First, the FCC is used to satisfy the entirety of your deposit. So if a deposit might otherwise cost $500, your $100 FCC is used to hold your reservation. Now, you will still owe the full balance of the cost of the cruise so you aren't getting $400 off the price. You are just committing less money up front. So if the total is $4,000 with a deposit of $500, others will put down $500 and owe $3,500 but you would put down your FCC and owe $3,900. Second, when using an FCC, you get a certain portion of that back in On Board Credit, depending on what level cabin you book. It used to be that the OBC was up to a dollar-for-dollar return, so a $100 FCC would be used to hold your reservation AND you would get that full amount back in OBC. So the FCC was essentially free money. Princess has since reduced the amount of the OBC. I think it is as low as $25. I actually haven't purchased an FCC since before COVID so I am not completely sure of what the value of OBC is any more, but I know it is less than before. Still, it is more than $0.

Funny how so many people are missing this point!