paddingtonbear

53 minutes ago, memoak said:

Suites have nothing to do with specialty dining except for embarkation night dining and reserve minis have never had anything to do with SD. Can you explain your post

Cruising mark post #379 said if the new premier package works (SD dining is available and usable etc) he would consider it instead of a reserve mini as the price differential is better and maybe the inclusions would suit him better.

i thought that he probably won’t be alone in that decision. But subsequent posts about Sanctuary cabins are very valid. 
 

it will be interesting to see how it works. I don’t think every premier guest will want SD dining BUT going on the reservation debarked there seems to be enough who do to overwhelm the venues. 

9 minutes ago, cruising.mark.uk said:

It seems to me that it would make sense for them to do this / increase staffing levels in SD to increase the number of covers they can put through each SD venue per evening and also limit the number of new Premier packages they sell so as not to overwhelm capacity.  

 

I'm sure I've read on here before that the number of Premier packages is capacity controlled and varies by ship and by cruise.  If so, that should mitigate concerns many are expressing about the capacity of SD and whether it will be accessible in future to non-Premier package cruisers.  No doubt all will become clearer over the next few weeks as they start implementing the new Package in practice.

 

And (as I've just written on another thread) my initial impression is that the new Premier will be a no brainer for us on many cruises if they get the SD to work, because the price differential between Plus and the new Premier is very much less than the price differential between a standard mini suite and a Reserve mini suite or suite.  So, the new package will deliver us the upgraded dining at a time of our choosing that was our reason for booking Reserve, plus other benefits, at a much reduced additional cost.

Well they’ve shot themselves in the foot there! Making reserve suites less desirable!

16 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

Can you share which balcony/deck you chose and why? Also do you know if port or starboard is best for the Princess cruise? We are booking this weekend! 

They say going south on this cruise the starboard side will give you a good view of the land (afternoon sun) If you just want to see ocean going south go the port side.  (Morning sun).

All the midship balconies had gone when we booked in May. We went very close to mid ship but a little aft. Could have gone a little forward but didn’t.  Going far forward or far aft can make susceptible people sea sick in rough seas.  
 

We went Baja deck - cabins above and below - quieter. Can’t be seen from the sea walk not near the smoking area.  We looked at B503 (not right on the stairs which can be noisy but great access to stairs and lifts) but went with B507 or B509 or B511 - a deluxe balcony as it has a couch and was not very much more. 
 

Some people like the head of the bed to be forward others like it aft.  If you look at room videos on you tube you can work out which cabins have which. They alternate.

Yes, I’m a tad fussy 🤣 and I overthink things but I’m happy that way!! 

 

3 minutes ago, 555 said:

In the future you better make sure to cancel that late reservation or pay their fine for not showing. 

What? There’s a fine for not showing at a SD restaurant? 

8 hours ago, Sprocket said:

I think Princess is trying to address one of the biggest complaints passengers had when booking longer cruises with the Premium Package.  Only 2 specialty dinners no matter how long the cruise was, unless it was a B2B with different booking numbers. We do at least 30 days in December this year we are on the Emerald for 12 days with Plus then the Sun for 21 days (14+7) days with Premium. I have already booked the 4 included SD's now just need to decide if its worth it to us to upgrade, we are Canadian and the exchange rate is not great but its definitely an attractive upgrade.

 

We are in our 70's and always have the Plus package at a minimum,  thanks to the casino offers I receive.

That would have been a sensible upgrade - 2 specialty dinners per 7 days, not per cruise. 

Maybe no one is prepared to pay for the specialty restaurants so Princess is happy to have the seats filled?

1 hour ago, Esprit said:

Currently on Sun Princess. We have booked Tradional dining for 7.30 pm every night just prior to the cruise.

If you don’t show up within 15 minutes for table is given to someone else.

There are always people queuing to come in either deck 6 or deck 7 MDR’s and they always get seated relatively quickly.

If you dine at 7:30 each night how do you manage to watch any of the shows?  Or don't they interest you?

49 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

• Unlimited MedallionNet Max Wi-Fi: Prioritized access to the highest quality and highest performance bandwidth available anywhere in the world

 

Not sure what "prioritized access" means.

 

Will passengers not purchasing the Premier package end up with slower Internet?

P.com where "P introduces next level connectivity" says prioritized access to Max wifi is for both Plus and Premier guest. 

I am hoping "prioritized access" is selling lingo? 

Maybe it means if there is a bandwidth problem it will go to "max wifi" and not standard wifi.

5 hours ago, MacMadame said:

We are in the same boat. We have Plus which saves us money -- how much depending on what we drink and how it is charged (like if DH orders a refill of his soda in the MDR, is that a 2nd drink?) 

The only limit is 15 alcoholic drinks so a soda doesn’t count towards the limit.

18 minutes ago, MsSoCalCruiser said:

Again, the status hasn’t helped at all when attempting to book SD reservations. Status only helps with the MDR reservations. I hope that Princess isn’t intentionally selling an unlimited product that they know they cannot provide. If that’s the case it won’t go over well at all. 

I think elite have access to MDR and SD early booking (from P.com):
 

“Elite and Platinum guests will have access to reservations for the main dining room and specialty restaurants as part of Dine My Way ( no full payment required) at the time of booking.”

Everyone else has to wait until 90 days before departure to book. 
 

not my underlining but can’t change it. 
 

I agree about selling a limited resource (SD) to hundreds of people who won’t get access. 

17 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

Each charter had a theme - for example, the 80s - and the charter was priced high enough so that if you weren't attracted to the theme, you weren't going to get on this cruise.  So, all the passengers were similar to me in that we liked whatever the theme was - horrifying as that may be to some of you. 😮  We all liked the same things and understood where we were coming from when we drank (or didn't drink, as the case may be).

Oh I get that. Sounds great.

We went hiking in France with a tour group from the UK and we wondered if we’d fit in. Everyone was the same as us all linked by hiking. 
it was a fabulous holiday. 

3 hours ago, susancruzs said:

Maybe I should post this after I get back from Emerald Oct. 17th cruise.  I haven't cruised since 2019, but have taken 32, most over 7 days, never liked short cruises, over half with Princess.

 

I'm in my upper 70s, travel alone, don't need specialty dining, trying Plus because I like special coffees, wine at lunch, dinner, Margaritas, drink a lot of water.  I know I can purchase water ahead of time, and coffee card is gone.  With prices for a glass of wine, coffees, trying Plus this cruise.

 

Where is Princess headed for those of us not in suites, reserve dining, meal charge venues, everything I read seems to be catering to a passenger different from me?  Yes, I know they are in business to make money, took my 1st Princess cruise in '86 so I've seen the changes, I get it.  I'm glad they brought back TD, I'm a set in my ways early diner.

 

There are many cabins that aren't suites, people that don't need or care to pay for extras, where is this all going, what direction is Princess headed, away from their loyal base or not?

 

 

I think the Emerald will be lovely. I think it’s the Royal class and bigger ships where people seem to go for bigger is better, more noise, more everything that will be the turn off for me. . 
 

I was so looking forward to the Emerald on the New England cruise but in 2025 it’s only the Majestic. We won’t be booking another Princess cruise until there is a grand class ship doing the itinerary we want. 

2 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I've been on a few charter cruises (not on Princess) where there was an alcohol package included in the price for everyone.  I noticed some well-lit folks at most times of the day, but they were all my peeps thanks to the charter's theme, so it was all good. 🥳

 

And I've been on other charter cruises where the alcohol package was very popular.  It was the same story there - we were united by the theme, and so everything was fine. 🙃

What do you mean “united by the theme”? 

1 minute ago, CalTexCruiser said:

What about for those who want Specialty Dining every night, but can get in on a small number of nights?

 

Princess should add a disclaimer:  subject to availability.
 

 Then unlimited Specialty Dining becomes all the Specialty Dining You Might Get Unless We Are Full

And there will be so many people who have no idea that they have to prebook. There will be a lot of angry people for P to deal with. 

2 minutes ago, dog said:

I have had two cruises with drunks at my table. They were awful.

 

i get table for 2 now.

That would have been so upsetting to worry each night who your table companions were.  DH likes to socialize. 

49 minutes ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Oh Princess, what have you done? AND did you hire more CSRs to deal with all these calls and problems you created for yourself?  I bet not!  Because let's be real, you did this to yourself! 🤣

 

I foresee more changes coming.

 

Is it just me or is Princess incrementally alienating their base demographic.  For instance, the Sun Princess Park 19 being scrapped after the big changeover to Sanctuary Class.  Big money grabs left and right is what it looks like.  A little disappointing.  Just thinking out loud here.

I can’t really work out Princesses thinking here.
Is it just a money grab? 

I guess those with Plus Packages can forget trying speciality dining venues as they will be booked out. So Princess tha disappointed a large group of people. Did princess have trouble filling them at $45pp (including gratuities)? 

Will this mean less crowds in the MDR? That would be a good thing I guess. Was that a concern? 

My main concern with the new premier package is drunk people on board. That’s really not an experience I enjoy. I can’t understand why they needed to bring in unlimited drinks? Is that a huge draw for people? 

Are all the cruises for Norway in 2026 released yet?

So it is only the Sky Princess that is doing the Midnight Sun and Summer Solstice cruise?

In 2025 the Emerald and the Caribbean Princess both do it as well. 

Don't want to go to Iceland on the Majestic. 

14 hours ago, Beachiekeen said:

Yes the 9/29 is the one we are looking at and will most likely choose. We are deciding this weekend. I’m sending her this, the Celebrity one, a Norwegian 7-day and a 9-day Holland America Montreal to NY. But the Princess one is by far the best itinerary IMO. I know she wants to see Saint John and the Princess cruise is the only one of these choices that stops there. 

That is the cruise we're doing in 2025.  I liked the itinerary and the direction (following the fall colours down the coast).  But, make sure you book after discussing it this weekend as there aren't many good cabins left of the type I like - balconies.  

If you are doing a southbound cruise with princess for fall colours the last one is Sept 29 2025. 

Unless you want to do a Quebec to Fort Lauderdale.  There isn't that much choice. You just have to go with the itinerary they offer. 

10 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I'm missing some obvious thing here.  How would having 100 or more additional customers not be of any value?

Because if the cruise lines constantly offer cheap last minute offers people will wait for those. The pay early and get a great rate model means Princess has the ship full and passengers happy with what they paid.
The last minute cruise sites aren’t known by everyone (so more discreet for Princess) and those deals aren’t as good as they used to be and inventory is down. 
 

this might just be a post covid thing where everyone is desperate to travel, who knows? 

22 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

I am sorry you are having a problem with such an expensive device.

I ran a polysomnographic lab for a time. The AirMini came out about the time I retired, but there are some things you can try to address the noise and humidity on this model. I hope one or more of these suggestions will help:

https://youtu.be/vUOZceun4fc?feature=shared

DH loves his Airmini because it works well, it saves weight (even including the battery) and saves space as the carry case for the mini is much smaller than his Airsense one. 
 

19 hours ago, timbom said:

I think we will give up as we do not want to be stuck on the ship for three days while everyone else is ashore

I agree with everyone else it’s lovely when the moajoity of passengers are ashore. You won’t be alone, though, lots of people don’t go ashore at ports, let alone tender ports which are, inherently, a hassle. 

I use a TA and get a reminder. But they want payment 7 days before it’s due as Bpay takes 3-5 days to clear and credit card isn’t instant either. 

saguenayguidedtours.com/new-page/saguenay-shore-excursions/

I am sorry but I haven't been to this port so don't know excatly what it is like but this link may help some other tours. 

Thank you very much for sharing your trip with us. Travel safe!

12 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I heard two things about those with Princess excursions:

 

1) They would get the lowest numbers or letters in order to get cleared and off the ship ASAP, and

2) Some excursions that were especially early were allowed to depart and told to go through this when they came back

 

I don't think private excursions were taken into account at all.

 

There seemed to be very little wiggle room about getting a different group number other than going to Guest Services and pleading your case. I didn't try this, because I had no need to. I didn't hear of anyone who tried this, though my circle of information is small.

 

I'm sorry for the circular answer. It's the best I can do.

Thank you very much.  That's exactly what I needed to know.  🙂