paddingtonbear

8 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

I drink tea and flavored tap water (bring my own little packets). DH drinks coffee, water, milk and 1 or 2 dirty bananas/cruise.

Thanks. I wasn’t sure about the tap water on a cruise but I’ve looked it up and it’s great so I’ll follow your lead when I need to. 

2 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

I wish Princess would just get over the whole Love Boat thing. It really does detract from the cruise experience.

There were thousands of customer who love it enough to go on a love boat themed cruise earlier this year with the original “crew”. 
Live and let live! 

7 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

The mini-bar became useless to us when they took away the ability to exchange for coffee cards. We don't drink alcohol or bottled water or soda.

We bring home the tiny bottles and offer them to friends.

What do you drink on a cruise? Only coffee?  I have to drink 2 litres of water a day and can't drink tea or coffee. 

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

maybe...

*Airline-assessed baggage fees will be applied to your onboard account when applicable as per your airline's rules.

There is no way my airline would miss out on raking in their cash haul from overweight baggage! 🤣

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

The medallions are the same size as an Airtag?

Yes.

Jus tbe a bit careful buying from Amazon because some of the holders only expose about 1cm (1/2 inch) diameter of the medallion and look clunky.  Read the reviews and look carefully at the pictures. 

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

I hope dessert was enjoyed LOL

Yes, sorry I was off topic but it just goes to show that there are sensible people around the world in restaurant-land that think outside the box to keep the customer happy. 

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

They will allow you to split a casual meal. We have done that on our last 3 cruises 

It's interesting because some people haven't been allowed to split a casual meal on some ships.  It all depends on the crew at the time I think.  Fabulous idea though!

On 8/24/2024 at 1:00 AM, Boku said:

My point was to ask the chef to cut the steak in half, that way you get the steak you want, the size you want, and no wastage.

I was in Spain recently (not on a cruise) and I wanted a paella but they only made them for 2 people.  The waiter asked me to wait a bit and see if anyone else wanted the same.  About 10 mins later he asked if I wanted to share with a woman at another table.  Everybody was happy!

2 hours ago, Need-a-vacation said:

 

Wife "clips it on"?  How is that?

 

I love this thread because I was wondering how people manage the medallions. I've never used a Princess Medallion so I have no idea what to expect for size, weight, handleability, etc.  

 

I'm surprised how many keep them in their pockets -- I can't imagine trusting something so important to the lame pockets found in most women's casual wear.  I can slip a card in the back pocket of jeans and not worry about it falling out or being broken when sitting in a seat.  Not sure about a medallion?

The medallions fit in any airpod holder.  (But, interestingly, airpods don't fit in princess holders!)

I have the same concerns as you.  

I don't want to use a lanyard.  DH will wear a watch type holder.  But I have to wear my apple watch to count my steps and 2 watches will look silly.

I was thinking of one of these pictured below but I am not sure I will have belt loops on all my clothes and although it has a quick release catch I think it will be a pain to pay for things with it. 

Maybe I wll buy a simple leather or more decorative necklace and attach it to that. A little less lanyardy. 

On 8/23/2024 at 4:08 PM, Esprit said:

Here’s a picture of one I had last week.

Can't remember its name! It was one of five to choose from all with Italian titles.

I did manage to eat it all but couldn’t scrape off the frozen chocolate 😩

Pretty sure I could get through one of those - especially if I shared it with DH. I can't have the cookie (not GF) but I could have the marshmallow. 

16 hours ago, Stosh68 said:

 

Let me search the internet for a story about how one Australian did something so I can make vast inferences about the entire population.

On 8/7/2024 at 7:41 AM, Jennifer T said:

I would love to know about gluten-free dinner choices. I see they have lots of bread items, but would love to see a menu(s) with dinner choices, so I don't end up with plain fish or chicken and oil/vinegar salad for 12 days.

I think it's a good idea to discuss your dietary requirements with the head waiter in the MDR you are going to and he will do a work around of the menu so you don't end up with plain chicken etc. 

10 hours ago, dweeb said:

What do think of the new layout and presentation of the Patter?  I like the new look.

I like the new look too.  But, I've only seen it when people have posted copies on their live threads.  I am so pleased they didn't stop the paper patters.  I like to highlight what I want to see/do.

I've read some people have booked speciality dining every night of their cruise.  While others say they prefer the food, and time taken to be served, in the MDR. 

Each to their own. 

$10pp fee sounds good and it should go some way towards stopping no shows. 

I've just resigned myself to not dining in SD as we will not have Premier.

I read on here that they are reserving some seats for those onboard.  So people not on cruise critic or not in the know have a chance at getting some seats in SD. 

Maybe Premier package gets priority? I don't know. 

2 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

One of the events on the schedule for our cruise next week is a liquor tasting. I reminded DH that we have the package and he can taste anything he wants.

I told DH the same as he doesn't recognise any of the red wines on the lists.  But he's like 2 cruises a year and was brought up to eat or drink everything he is given.  So I told him to get a tasting size amount in his glass.  He can have 15 of those a day - he won't get drunk and he'll be able to sample all the wines on a 10 day cruise!

Maybe 12 a day as he has to have 3 cups of expresso a day.

I wonder if Princess makes the sundaes so large so we don't go back for more? If they were tiny  I would have more than one for sure...

There have been reports that some Casual dining and SD venues on ships let you share the Plus offers.  You just have to ask each venue on each ship as it is not consistent. 

2 hours ago, Nikita4 said:

We booked a cruise on the Majestic Princess in December 2024 with Premier. There are not a lot of casual restaurants and on my booking ist marked unlimited speciality dining, so we receive not only 2 speciality dinings? We can eat all day in a speciality restaurant? Or how it works?

You will have to book SD though. Plus package get 2 x speciality dining too. Not sure how all these people are going to be accommodated. 

Thank you for the update on changes to the Majestic after the refit in March. We’ll be on her after then. So pleased the crew are great and that you’re enjoying your cruise. 
 

We will also be in a DB. Are there powerpoints on both sides of the bed? 
 

Some people are susceptible to seas sickness on a cruise especially if they experience rough weather. Aft and forward cabins will exaggerate the movement of the ship. 

S3 doesn’t have a desk next to the bed.,its opposite the foot of the bed. There are usb ports at the bedside tables. There are lamps on the bedside tables but I don’t know if there are Power Points.

There is a YouTube on this cabin type but it doesn’t show power points near the bed. I’d take a cord or borrow one from guest services. 
 

3 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Remember who Jim Fixx was?  A long distance runner in great shape who died of a heart attack at 52.  

 

We're all gonna die and only the man upstairs knows when.  If I happen to go on a cruise with my DW because I'm on drink #10 after enjoying a meal at the Crown Grill, I'll die a happy man.

Good on you. Enjoy life! 
 

A friend died of cancer at 60. Her one wish was that she’d eaten more lemon tarts and not been so hellbent on healthy eating all her life. 
 

Sure moderation in all things but abstinence isn’t great either. 

12 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

It would be a good question for whenever they have Q&A session with the hotel director present.

Ha ha! He/she wouldn’t tell you they are running understaffed!

I guess they might say “due to illness some cruises have a few staff unavailable” or some such obsfucation!  

I think the inside info from regular experienced cruisers is more reliable. It why these boards are so good and helpful. 

57 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Yes, there’s been much discussion around here about how to do that, especially since we’re flying out several days early.  But they can be re-frozen if thawed as long as they are kept cold. Just have to get them through security in a block of ice and then I can keep them in an insulated water bottle packed with ice until we board the ship. 

DH has medicine that has to be refrigerated (not frozen) 24/7. The doctor gave (free!!!) a tiny insulated bag for travelling with 2 freezable blocks that fit the bag perfectly with insulated baffles in between so the medicine doesn’t freeze. It gets accepted as medical equipment (so not included in passenger weight allowance). It has a subtle medical name on top and we breeze thru airports with it so they must know them. 
 

if you aren’t seeing your specialist before your cruise maybe ring the medication manufacturer and see if they give them away or sell them. 
 

it won’t solve your problem onboard the cruise though. 
 

4 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Yes. Just because someone doesn't have a dedicate staff of 10 in the dining room, doesn't mean the resources weren't reallocated somewhere else. In years gone by, I would often see some staff standing around with very little to nothing to do. It was very poor resource management.

I guess. But experienced cruisers who know a few of the staff have commented that some ships don’t have their full complement of staff since the restart. And it’s noticeable. 
 

9 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Like they are now?

Ther have been quite a few posts lately about understaffed ships since the restart.