CoffeHound

Loud, party music, kinda goes with the evening chic vibe :D

 

I'm 46. I found the vibe on Reflection very low key. I have no idea who the CD was. A party vibe isn't the reason I cruise or how I select a ship, but for me, it would be nice. But then, I suppose I am the new target audience.

 

Hmmmm... I don't know Queen, I am the same age as you (but maybe more of a fuddy duddy already:D) and I felt like I was maybe a decade or two older than who they wanted on my last X cruise.

I did the clubbing thing in my twenties, but then again I was pretty poor back then and certainly did not have the means to vacation three or four times a year as I do now. I'm not really sure who Celebrity is trying to attract??

I have several friends who never would have cruised if it weren't for me saying how wonderful it was with Celebrity. I think they are cutting off their nose to spite their face by alienating their current loyal customer base in the hopes that their new desired demographic will magically fill the void.

I was always taught that it costs more to get a new customer than to keep an old one, but maybe with the new math that isn't true anymore!

Is it really that difficult to provide a variety of styles and volumes? I think that is all people really want.

What a JOKE!!!! How can this be dressier than Smart Casual? Another term of confusion! LOL

 

Originally Posted by Celebrity Cruises

While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire.

 

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

•A cocktail dress

•Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top

 

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

•Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater

•Optional sport coat or blazer

The only real differences I see are allowing designer jeans and doing away with the jacket requirement,

This still requires changing for dinner in most cases as what most passengers where during the day or on shore, even if country club chic, does not meet the criteria for what I think of as "clubbing attire" which is what I think X is going for.

While I'm happy for the guys that they do not have to bring a jacket, us girls will still need cute shoes and multiple choices of outfits!

I know that dressing up is going out of style because they do not even enforce dress codes in most of the restaurants in Las Vegas anymore. Last time we were there and spending $$$$ to eat in a high end place the woman at the table next to us was wearing a cotton tank top, daisy duke cut offs and rubber flip flops.

I'm all for cancelling full on black tie formal attire but I'm hoping the Princess PAX will maintain a little more decorum than what happens in Vegas!

I think this more about X's desire to attract a younger hipper demographic by trying to emulate the Miami club scene on board. Their entertainment has already moved in the direction of DJ's and uber high volume music and more than a few people who have asked to have the volume turned down or asked for a little more diversity in the types of music have been told that that is how Miami wants it and if you don't like it find another cruise line.

I think this is their way of saying "dress like you are going to the club" in the hopes that it will attract the younger crowd who thinks of "formal night" as stuffy. I don't really see this as getting rid of formal night but rather rephrasing it in a manner to make it more appealing to the younger crowd.

I don't think it represents much of a change in that those who want to dress up still will and those who want to flaunt the rules and refuse to make any effort will still do so.

I had my card with me, but I didn't need to show it. In fact, the customs agent simply looked up my passport number on a database.

 

@chamima. I'm not familiar with Princess procedures for disembarkation. I've never been held up in any sort of upstairs terminal area before being allowed down escalators? I don't know if you're referring to being held up by ship personnel or by customs people? I would assume that your effectiveness in dealing with anyone before you get to actual customs lines would be dependent upon the knowledge of that individual. And I would also assume that you'd need documentation for that type of person, like the GE card itself.

 

I've just gotten into the habit of carrying my GE card, as well as my passport, whenever I go out of the country.

I do not think this is unique to Princess as it happened to us on a Celebrity Cruise. They told us the customs hall at the bottom of the escalators was "full" and they were holding everyone at the end of the gangway and only sending people down in groups of 20 when Customs was "ready".

I think they were just trying to keep the line from backing up onto the escalator which would have been very dangerous.

Total wait time was almost two hours, all standing. Not fun.

Count me in for getting global entry. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it will become permanent.

Here is a link to the menu on the Princess site for those who would like to see it larger:

 

http://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/specialty-restaurants/the-salty-dog-gastropub/salty-dog-menu.pdf

 

It looks pretty good to me :)

Thank you! I tried everything and could not read from those tiny pictures!

Since Princess does not have cream soda, and one must bring it onboard it raises a question...

 

is it strange (or even frowned upon) to bring a can or cans of cream soda or any self brought beverage into say skywalkers, crooners, etc and mixing your own?

I'm wondering about this too as I would rather bring my own diet tonic water that does not have aspartame as well as a few cream sodas. Zevia is my preferred brand which of course they do not have.

It has been a while since my last X cruise, but unless it has changed, it is an either or type of thing.

If there are "too many" elite and above on the cruise, they give each elite and above 3 vouchers per evening for drinks. For a while they were good for just about any drink at any bar, but now it seems they are only good at some bars for the listed cocktails that would have been available during the elite event.

If there are fewer elites on board and the ship feels they can all "fit" in the sky lounge (or wherever the event will be held) they have the event, and no one gets vouchers.

I guess this is really a case of one man's trash being another's treasure. I prefer the vouchers because most of the time not everyone I am traveling with is elite and I like the freedom of being able to have a drink with them.

On my last couple of Celebrity cruises they were not using vouchers and the elite cocktail hour was a madhouse. I did not find it very relaxing.

Having the vouchers spreads people out over more of the ship and at least for me, makes it easier for me to get a fresh drink when I want it.

I wish there was a way for each person to get their preference.

There are 12 brands of spirits available for room service bottles, and I suspect that's why Princess sells these brands for less than half of what other cruise lines charge. If you want to have every high-end brand, or even to double or triple the offerings, you're no longer going to get the great price.

 

I'm perfectly happy with Jim Beam. If you feel that 12-year-old Glenlivet is important, then you can buy it at the bar. I'd rather sit on my balcony with Jim Beam than sit in an inside room with Glenlivet.

 

Jim

If only pants weren't required for the journey, it wouldn't be so bad.

Maybe next time I'll choose my cabin based on proximity to a bar and no one will notice:eek:

I'm wondering if there is a hint in the phrase "same number of berths" in OP. Maybe they had multiple cabins booked and the TOTAL price difference was $1400? I know that's not the technical definition of the word. But yeah I'm pretty sure the Connie December trips have been dirt cheap for a while, at least since summer.

Do they maybe have 4 persons booked in the cabin? (is that possible with an inside??) If so, could they move the third and fourth to a second cabin? Do the cancellation penalties apply to third and fourth passengers or only if you cancel the entire cabin?

Fireball and crème soda on the rocks, yummy.

I will definitely have to try this now so I can figure out how much cream soda I need to bring with me on my next cruise! Or do they have cream soda on princess and I just missed it???

Do you just order Fireball Straight up or do you order cocktails? If so what? I've never had it but am always up for a new cocktail to try.

That's not good to hear. Did it happen on more than one day and with more than one waiter? Some waiters are not as up-to-speed as others. Also, how recent was your cruise? We ate in the MDR twice for breakfast on our cruise in August on the Ruby and both times I had no problem getting my omelet done "my way". Let us know if your December cruise works out better.

It was one day with one waiter, and I think it might have been a communication problem in that he wasn't understanding what we were asking for. We decided to try other venues/options for breakfast after that.

It was the short Vancouver to SF cruise on the Grand this September. It was our first Princess cruise but also our first cruise that was that short so I am still having a bit of difficulty separating those two variables out to decide what I think.

We decided that to be fair we needed a longer cruise on Princess so we are going to Mexico for New Year's. 10 days with the AIBP most likely will result in a good review!

Could you order a ham, cheese, mushroom, spinach omelet? I go to a local diner for Sunday breakfast, and their menu has a section called Build Your Own omelet; they probably have 10 or 12 selections. I like that idea.

My sister and I are both vegetarian. She wanted cheese added to the mushroom and spinach... nope, OK so how about a ham & cheese hold the Ham... nope . We tried various combinations but never cracked the code:D

Mushroom and spinach it was..

Or other omelet ingredients. I always ask for onion, mushrooms, green pepper, cheese and tomatoes (and occasionally spinach) in mine. BTW, if you want something on the side, like bacon or hash browns, make sure the waiter understands that these are side items. Otherwise you might find them in your omelet (ask me how I know.....:D).

 

Also, a hint on the Eggs Benedict. Ask for the sauce on the side. Otherwise it will be a dry, brown coating on top of the eggs.

We had zero luck with this on our recent cruise on the Grand. The menu said Ham & Cheese or Mushroom and spinach omelet, and that was the ONLY order the waiter would take. I'm glad to hear it was maybe a one time problem because it pretty much put us off eating in the MDR for breakfast. The MDR service on that cruise was the most unfriendly, unhelpful we have ever experienced.

We're hoping for a more cheerful, happy crew this coming December when we go to the Mexico.

I wish this were true for me. The last time we arrived in Fort Lauderdale, there was one (1) immigration officer for the entire ship. The cruise director asked passengers to wait on the ship. He would tell us later when to disembark.

Were we on the same cruise or does Fort Lauderdale cruise terminal just stink:p

Our cruise director didn't even bother to tell anyone to wait on the ship. Instead we all got to stand in line for 2 hours

We also try to watch the ship sail away knowing that the next time it returns, we will either be watching it from the pier sideline or from our hotel room.

I love this! (and yes I'm going to steal it:D)

This is so much better than my tradition of working 40 extra hours to clear off my desk (I swear my clients can smell it when I am going on vacation) and then packing and unpacking multiple times because I really believe every time that, this time I am going to pack light. It hasn't happened yet, but it could right?

right now it is

1) departure port (San Francisco preferred but will consider LA, Seattle, Vancouver)

2) time of year/timing of cruise i.e. how many days off (don't you just hate when your job cuts into your leisure time?)

3) Itinerary

This is pretty much what I am using for my "normal" vacation time that I am planning in the near future. Right now I am trying to decide on my next "big" vacation (longer and farther away) like Australia or the black sea, and for that, Itinerary, cruise line and price (somewhat)

I find it easier dealing with just a carry on and maybe a tote bag than having a large case to wheel around. It also means I can use the stairs rather than lifts. Besides, imagine what chaos it would be around the ship if everyone did it.

 

Phil

Yep, chaos when everyone does it. I was recently on a short 4 day cruise on the Grand where there was no luggage handling service unless you had a Princess Transfer. 2000 people and all of their luggage do not fit in the elevators with ease, and it appeared that there were a lot of people who had packed for extended land vacations after the short cruise! Those massive 30 inch suitcases (wheels or not) weren't going to be carried up or down the stairs by anyone. It was a god awful mess.

I'm liking this change posted for Diamond and I hope it applies to ALL ships now:

 

The Casino and Casino Bar are non-smoking areas onboard with the exception of designated slot machines where guests are permitted to smoke only while playing at those machines. All table games are non-smoking.

 

Now that cuts down a lot on where smoking could occur in the casino. Maybe one day it will be gone completely.

 

There isn't enough enforcement of people just coming in to smoke and not play.

On our short cruise from Vancouver BC to SF on the Grand in September it didn't really help much. There was a large contingent of gamblers/smokers who seemed to be in the casino from morning til night and the promised "at least one non-smoking evening in the casino" never materialized. There were a couple of times where the smoke in the passenger services area outside the casino was also very heavy. I look forward to the day when Princess bans it completely from the casino because I just think that the current HVAC system is inadequate to remove the second hand smoke from inside areas.

I guess the bright side is I spent way less time in the casino and thus came home with a lot more money than I would have!

We Are Platinum on Princess. That get`s us a $5.oo drink of their choice in their Elite Happy Hour. X benefits beats Princess hand down !

I am Elite on X and well nothing, OK gold, on Princess. I was really starting to believe I was missing something because everyone talks about how Princess has "the best" perks for their high level members. Don't get me wrong, I think they offer some good things, but after reading through the list, I didn't really see anything that I thought was more appealing than what X offers to loyal cruisers.

I feel so much better now that I know someone who has really has a chance to compare agrees with me :)

Circumstances at the moment just make it really hard for me and my family to go on cruises that require long flights and extra days off work. Thank you to Cle-Guy for the heads up on the release of the new cruise schedule. I should pay more attention to these things so I can jump on the few west coast possibilities with X!

After many years of strict loyalty to X, I (my whole family really), finally took a cruise on Princess because we really, really wanted a west coast itinerary. I have to admit that we had a good time, and that we now have several more cruises booked with Princess, but I also have to say that I would absolutely rather be sailing with X.

I believe that some other posters have hit it on the head when they've said the secret to making it profitable for X is to mix up the itineraries. Our last coastal on X I think was full, but I do remember being shocked at how low the prices got after final payment. I don't think they would have had to hold such a fire sale if the itinerary hadn't been exactly the same as almost every other coastal cruise they did that season.

For now, I will continue to sail Princess as the allure of a quick get away that doesn't require so much flight time trumps my overall preference for X, but if X ever comes back to the west coast in any consistent fashion, I'd be more than happy to spend my money with them.

Just off the Grand Princess. No receipts for drinks, but the shops still give receipts. We also used they machines where you swipe the card, and print statement as many times are you wish. They still deliver the final statement to the cabin.

I don't feel the need to get receipts (especially if we have the AIBP), but I do like to check the charges frequently to make sure if there is an error I catch it early and have time to correct it before the last night.

I truly wish that there was a way to just look at all of the charges on the screen and then just print it out if needed. I felt bad wasting paper to just spend 1 minute looking at the print out, seeing everything was OK and then putting it in the trash.

Is reviewing the bill on the TV in your stateroom being implemented as part of the new on demand TV system that Princess is adding to the fleet?

I'm with ya' there.

 

I ask the same question every time this comes up here...why would you? Are you going hunting, or going to war?.

 

Then, I believe I found an answer. Google "Mama June wedding dress" for a dandy example of "nice camoflauge", which I actully read referred to in one post.

Gah!:eek: How many times has my browser warned me that it is dangerous to follow unfamiliar links but do I listen?

I should have known better when you put "nice camouflage" in quotes.

A cautionary tale about LA traffic...

or California drivers in general... you be the judge