marne-c

Happily following this thread. Thank you, @JoePDX! My wife and I will be on a TA itinerary in 2024 on Sirena, departing from Miami. --Marne P.S. Here's to a return of stickiness!

I can give my experience, from Sapphire in February. We reserved a Specialty Restaurant dinner in Sterling Steakhouse with our co-travelling couple, who were linked in the MedallionClass app. Before the cruise, I called Princess and asked to have the other couple's dinner charged to my account. I soon saw a charge to my credit card for $50 from Princess. But after the shared meal on the ship, our friends' dinner was charged to their account, producing some volume of tears and anguish. I went to Guest Services, who said the $50 credit went to my shipboard account, was not allocated to a restaurant dinner, and anyway was short by about $10 for a Specialty Restaurant dinner-for-two. About 20 minutes, which included handing the Guest Services rep a $10 bill in cash, all was squared away. I was able to photograph a corrected billing for my friends' account to show her, drying the tears and mending the rended garments. My procedure obviously did NOT work. Perhaps a conversation with the Maitre D' on entering the Specialty Restaurant with your daughter would be the best plan. --Marne

My wife and I (and a couple of our friends) just disembarked Sapphire in Santiago after a 14-day cruise starting in Buenos Aires. Our cabins were on Caribe deck. We had no cabin issues (save, perhaps, for a slowish drain on our balcony). The ship looked great, and the staff were wonderful. Wine service was somewhat limited. We also sailed on Sky last summer. Again, no problems and wonderful voyage. We're booked again on Sky this summer, and on Sapphire next January. --Marne

I heard nothing and did not wake up. But then, I've been notorious for decades for not hearing or waking up when the fire department came to our house with lights and sirens at 3am, and proceeded to extinguish with ladders and hoses the fire in our front yard from an exploded and flaming electric utility transformer. My wife, who definitely is a light sleeper, also heard nothing and did not wake up. (She woke up when the fire truck was inbound but still blocks away...) --Marne

For us, 16 cruises and 135 days on Princess, out of 41 total cruises. We've never seen this either. --Marne

@ilovebananas: In January 2022, Rideshare area is just outside the terminal’s luggage claim exit, across the driveway to the small island in the traffic way. Uber / Lyft drivers will accept any destination you enter. —My

While I cannot vouch for its veracity, you should check this Oceania Forum thread: Big-Big Internet News --Marne

I remember something about "Guaranteed Low Price" when booking on-board. So if the price for your cabin drops before sailing you (after a call to Princess or your TA) get that lower price. But I sail on different lines. And I read about booking offers here on CC. And I'm old. So I may have mis-attributed this offer to on-board Princess bookings. Have I? --Marne

Good note, @LHT28! My wife and I are on the Marina pre-and post-Turkey , so my TA wouldn't have noted the air-arrival scenario. I'm sorry for the incomplete information. --Marne

From my TA: There are no visa requirements for U.S. passport holders for your upcoming voyage on the Oceania Marina from Athens to Lisbon (Booking 3245421). Below is the info regarding cruise transit from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, found online here.

A REALLY great book, You have good taste indeed. --Marne

Thanks, all, for the sad verification. And @memoak, I will indeed be seeing the Restaurant Manager at Sabatini’s soon after boarding to sign up for a Chef’s Table dinner, should one be offered. —Marne

On our past few Princess sailings, my wife and I have been on Royal-class ships. We've enjoyed the Concierge Lounge, and in particular the services of the Concierge. We'll be sailing soon on the Sapphire. I've looked at the deck plans online, and can't find a Concierge Lounge. Does the Sapphire (or any Grand-class ship) not have one? --Marne

My wife and I are on the Navigator now, which means we're in the Atlantic somewhere east of Surinam and heading for the Amazon River. This is our Nth cruise, our third post-COVID, and our first ever on RSSC. It's TERRIFIC! We are more than delighted. In general, RSSC has exceeded our expectations, but fulfilled our hopes. We’ve booked one future cruise onboard and purchased FCCs for another. The attitude of on-board staff is wonderful. The food is very good, at times sensational. The ShoreEx team is well organized, and our tours have been very good. The "Signature Orchestra" is exceptionally talented. Yes, there is (serious) motion on the ship. We knew in advance that there would be. And we have NO PROBLEMS with the ship motion due to sea conditions. Actually, we rather like it. For many pax though, it is not so fun. The ship is very well cared-for, inside and out. It's not brand new, but it shines. For us, all good. Enjoy your cruise, @Techno123. It looks like you'll board as we disembark. --Marne

Thanks everyone for their responses, especially @Moosemarty and @Pcardadfor the helpful details. —Marne

We indeed are addressed by name. Thanks for the quick answers! --Marne

Thank you, @labonnevie and especially @AJCM for your detailed response! --Marne

My wife and I are on our first Regent cruise, on the Navigator. We're loving it, enough that we've booked a specific future cruise AND bought FCCs. A newbie question: Why, when we arrive at the Compass Rose desk or sit down in La Veranda or at a Pool Grill table, are we asked for our suite numbers? Are they keeping track? Do they treat people differently based on suite category? Now, we're being treated VERY well! No complaints at all. But we've booked a lower category of suite for our future cruise, and I'm wondering if that will be noted somehow on board. --Marne

My wife and I, RSSC newbies on the Navigator, just bought Future Cruise Certificates. On our previous sailings on other lines, FCC's like these always were a good deal. We've used them to purchase and re-schedule cruises often. We occasionally returned them for full credit without issue. True on Regent too? --Marne

My wife and I, now on the Navigator on our first RSSC cruise, are about to book a round-trip Tokyo itinerary on the Explorer. For folks who have cruised on Regent to or from Japan, what hotels has Regent booked you into in Tokyo? And for anyone who has taken a Regent pre- or post-cruise land tour in Tokyo, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Many thanks in advance! --Marne

Thanks, @papaflamingo!! --Marne

No Sunday Gala Brunches on Navigator? (Asked by an RSSC newbie who'll board in four days...) --Marne

@Kwaj girl and @Portolan: Thanks for the prompt replies! And yes, it seems to be waaaay too late to request a wine, Gewürztraminer or otherwise, for our upcoming cruise. I'm a RSSC newbie, and our cruise from Miami next Thursday on Navigator will be our first. At 25 nights, it should provide a good introduction to the line. --Marne

@Portolan First, I concur that a good dry Gewurtz is sensational! Second, how do I make a wine request in advance of my sailing? (Our ship will depart in a week, so I may have missed the window on this.) --Marne