Squire5000

On 8/24/2023 at 2:04 PM, Veinless said:

I saw! It'll be our first Princess cruise so I'm hoping the MDR is comparable to Celebrity's.

Dream on😂

3 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I am convinced the whole RCL Group is looking for new ways to nickel and dime their way to bigger profits.

Agree.  It may be time to look at other cruise lines, e.g., Oceania  Seabourn etc.  While the the upfront cost is higher, at least you don’t have to put up with crap like this

3 hours ago, HicksRA said:

Out of curiosity, I was looking at the President’s cruise next year. Outrageous prices. $4770 pp for a JS. $10k for 7 days in a JS? And that’s not including airfare.  Maybe there are people dumb enough to pay these prices, but I’m not one of them. 

You have correctly demonstrated why cruise lines will, with outrageous pricing, contribute to their own demise 

We haven’t been on RCL for years.  We are Diamond but the amusement park at sea turns us off.  However, our grandchildren want to go on RCL next year so we’ll probably accommodate them. Nevertheles, I’ll be d****d if I’ll pay for a slice of pizza.

We have about given on on the mainstream cruise lines and have just returned from a Seabourn cruise and are booked on an Oceania next year.  They’re more expensive but the food is better, the service is better, the items included in the cost, drinks, gratuities, internet , etc., make those lines more attractive to us aging boomers

1 hour ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

These are port bookings that give an indication of where ships may be deployed. Royal won’t officially release the sailings until around November or December of this year.

Thank you for this info.  We plan on taking our daughter, son-in-law and the grandkids on a RCL cruise in August 2025

On 7/14/2023 at 4:53 PM, Jumping Cruiser said:

St Maarten, Caribbean - Port Schedule (Correct as of 14/07/23)

A handful of ships booked throughout Summer 2025, which include: Wonder, Liberty, Icon, Rhapsody and Oasis, with both Jewel and Harmony appearing as we get towards autumn. However, I can’t help but wonder if Harmony could be a placeholder for ‘Icon 2’ similar to how it was for Icon OTS, as bookings start to appear around the time we expect her to debut. Although, would they really have Icon and Icon 2 sailing to the same ports in the Caribbean?

 

May 2025:

1st May - Vision OTS
1st May - Wonder OTS

5th May - Symphony OTS

5th May - Liberty OTS

6th May - Icon OTS

7th May - Oasis OTS

14th May - Wonder OTS

27th May - Rhapsody OTS

28th May - Wonder OTS

 

June 2025:

2nd June - Liberty OTS

3rd June - Icon OTS

4th June - Oasis OTS

11th June - Rhapsody OTS

12th June - Wonder OTS

18th June - Rhapsody OTS

25th June - Rhapsody OTS

26th June - Wonder OTS

30th June - Liberty OTS

 

July 2025:

3rd July - Oasis OTS

9th July - Rhapsody OTS

15th July - Icon OTS

16th July - Rhapsody OTS

23rd July - Rhapsody OTS

28th July - Liberty OTS

30th July - Oasis OTS

August 2025:

6th August - Rhapsody OTS

7th August - Harmony OTS

13th August - Rhapsody OTS

20th August - Rhapsody OTS

25th August - Liberty OTS

26th August - Icon OTS

27th August - Oasis OTS

28th August - Harmony OTS

 

September 2025:

3rd September - Rhapsody OTS

6th September - Jewel OTS

10th September - Rhapsody OTS

17th September - Rhapsody OTS

18th September - Harmony OTS

24th September - Oasis OTS

 

October 2025:

1st October - Rhapsody OTS

7th October - Icon OTS

8th October - Rhapsody OTS

9th October - Harmony OTS

15th October - Rhapsody OTS

22nd October - Oasis OTS

29th October - Rhapsody OTS

30th October - Harmony OTS

 

November 2025:

9th November - Odyssey OTS

This shows the Wonder of the Seas in August 2025 is not available.  Is that because it’s a charter or something else.  Also the RCL websites does not show booking availability for the summer.  Any idea when that segment will be released.

Thanks

Does anyone know When bookings open for 2024 Caribbean season?  Thx

There was a thread in this a while back on this topic,  but I can’t find.  Does anyone know the date?

Thanks

The subject topic says it all.  From trying to communicate with people you can’t understand or understand you; to people who can’t make a simple reservation, charge your credit card and than cancel the reservation and the charge at the same time; to getting a customer service representative on the phone who has kids screaming in the background and claims she can’t hear you, perhaps because of the kids, and terminates your call, that today is Princess customer service.

I fully understand that finding competent help can be difficult to hire these days, especially with whatI imagine are not high paying jobs.  Notwithstanding    those issues, the customer service representative is the face of Princess, one who we turn to to make reservations, solve a problem, etc.  When a company fails, as Princess has, to realize this critical element of how a company is perceived by it’s customers, actual and potential, those people will quickly turn to a competitor.

We just went through the latest iteration of the Princess Circle magazine.  There was an article regarding the speciality restaurants and the suggestion that they would be an ideal setting to teach children the benefits of a gourmet meal.  To encourage parents to consider this option, reduced prices for participating families is being offered.  
 

We look forward to the specialty restaurants not because the food is outstanding, which it is mediocre at best when compared to the specialty restaurants of times past.  We go for these restaurants to take a break from the hustle and bustle that occurs in the main dining room, the buffet, etc.  Introducing young children to the mix will surely impact the dining atmosphere that we seek.  As an aside, we have an 11 year old grandson.  He’s well behaved but he is too young for “fine dining”.

Any thoughts?

Europe 2024

Thank you

Any thoughts when the Europe 2024 sailings will be open for bookings?

15 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

A big yes to having all passengers and crew vaccinated 

4 hours ago, Grego said:

Hopefully the answer is yes.  We have our completed vaccination card packed right inside our passports ready for the May 15th voyage on the CB.

great idea!

If this is how cruising will be going forward , count us out!

On 2/6/2021 at 4:30 PM, antsp said:

We have decided not to go on a cruise until mask/face coverings are not required 

my question is would you sail on a cruise were you had to wear a mask/face covering

 

YES or No answers please

I would give a qualified yes to your question.  My fear is that the cruise lines would be hard pressed to enforce wearing a mask basing this statement on the cruise lines inability to enforce existing prohibitions.  I am referring to saving seats in deck areas, theaters and other venues, etc.  They seem to turn the other cheek in an effort not to offend anyone.  I cannot help but picture a scenario where a passenger refuses to wear a mask or finds some loophole in the carrier's protocol which could lead to a confrontation.  I question  the cruise line disembarking the culprit(s) at the next port or confining that person(s) to a stateroom for the entire voyage.  I just don't see it happening when social media and news videos are rampant with people who just don't socially distance or were masks notwithstanding ordinances mandating such behavior.  

So, if the cruise lines can enforce 100% compliance with mask mandates, my answer would be a probable yes.  If they can't,  pigs will fly before I get on another cruise ship.

9 hours ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

I’m sure Carnival Corp, Princess and Fincantieri are doing everything they can to deliver Discovery on time. That said, we are still in a time of immense uncertainty. The ship yard could be closed again by the Italian government, suppliers could deliver essential items late due to reductions in workforce. There are a TON of variables at play and I think it is too early to be demanding answers of Princess that they are simply unable to give at this time. I think end of Q2 or early Q3 is the appropriate time to expect a more conclusive status on delivery. 

Well said!

On 11/4/2020 at 9:50 PM, suzyed said:

We're doing land tour too before our sailing.  Do you think they would just cancel the land portion and then adjust the price for just the cruise? Why do you think the land tour might not occur?

Canceling the land portion by Princess is always an option which would result in a cruise only cost.  As to why I think they might cancel the land portion:

 o. Italy has always been a hot spot of COVID.  Right now, Italy has imposed new restrictions on restaurants, bars, etc. We want to go out and explore.  If Princess tours were to eliminate this option not only would they have a tough time enforcing this restriction, who wants to spend their free time in a hotel room

o. Italy has been one of the hot spots of COVID since it began.  You always would run this risk.  This  alone would make  a land tour unlikely.

o. Other stops on the cruise portion might be severely restricted.  This cruise is  the last "must cruise" we want to take as we crossed all other destinations off our list over the years.    

On 11/1/2020 at 8:52 PM, suzyed said:

Fingers crossed!! We are due to board in Rome on the 24th for the TA.  Doing a 6 day land tour before hand...hope it goes!!

We're doing the land tour in late October before sailing for 14 days.  Doubt that the land tour will occur.   We were scheduled to do it this year and we saw how that turned out.  Without the land tour, we'll probably cancel the trip.  Additionally, I notice that some of the ports we were scheduled to visit apparently have been dropped from Enchanted Princess sailings in 2021.  

20 hours ago, Tak8 said:

That November launch may not be accurate.  With the pandemic, the build is or at least was behind schedule.  Most hopeful early Discovery passengers, myself included,  are looking for updates on the build.  

Same here.  With COVID outbreaks rising in Europe, I doubt that the ship will be ready as original scheduled.

CANCEL!!!!

Nope!!!!

19 minutes ago, mek said:

Just not worth going through all of that for me just to go on a cruise.  If it works for some people, fine with me, but I won't be back on a ship until things are back to "normal."  If that means I don't cruise for a while or never, then so be it.

Agree

20 hours ago, skynight said:

We cancelled our February 2021 cruises. Even if they sail I don't believe it will be the cruise experience we enjoy. We booked February 2022 in hopes we can go. 2021 will be a gap year for us.

Same here 

21 hours ago, Outerdog said:

 

 

I guess I'm still surprised after all these months that anyone would be willing to cruise with the typical Covid precautions you mention.  Those precautions coupled with the ship-sponsored "bubble excursions" ashore which seem like they may be required for some time sounds like a completely terrible experience. Not only does all of this sound inconvenient  and not very much fun, I do not hold out any hope that passengers at-large can be reasonably expected to change their habits and reliably comply with whatever the established Covid protocols end up being.

 

I'm not putting up with all that crap. Established, proven, required vaccine, or no cruise for me. And with all the anti-vax nut jobs running around, even then it will likely be a no-go for me. You already have people faking Covid tests results. A fake medical record shouldn't be too difficult. We'll have to see how these angles shake out, too.

In agreement 100%