GrammySpo

Well unfortunately I won’t be doing any live posts on this cruise because of a family health emergency (cancelled this morning), I eagerly await posts regarding this cruise. This cruise had been booked for a long time and I really wanted to walk among the penguins. Maybe another time. Enjoy cruisers!

Looking forward to this cruise. Traveling with friends who are celebrating retirement. It’s fun to follow along on a Live feed and hear other people’s perspectives. I may even post here and there. 

Similar question so adding on to your question. Looking to get a private tour guide for the day that can provide highlights in the morning and then check out some breweries in the area. This requires a guide with a car. Have found lots of walking guides, but not driving ones. Good luck to both of us.

Will be joining this ship in a few weeks. At this time who is the cruise director? Do they offer the Chef’s dinner or Winemakers dinner? Thank you for doing this live Wondering what my new “Crooner” option will be since that spot isn’t available on this ship.

59 minutes ago, alpha whiskey said:

So, million dollar question...based on this experience would you sail Princess again?

We were on Sky in April, which was a little haphazard in some areas.

We are on Enchanted in a few weeks and hoping for improvement.

I did this once and because I had already paid for the cruise, the extra person paid me personally for her part. I think there were some additional fees had to be paid for port fees, etc. but the base fare was paid to me.

5 hours ago, latserrof said:

The first is so that Princess has more cabins and sanctuary/cabanas to sell.  The second is so that passengers will stay inside and spend money.

I was told that because the bigger ships require more life boats, this took up space on the promenade deck. 

16 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Heads up. I am shutting down my blog for several days. You might be able to guess why. While what we are going through would make for interesting reading, I’m not yet ready to share. In fact, I’m feeling slightly ambushed and highly irritated. If things change, I’ll be back. Thanks for all the support. 

I look forward to your return to your daily blogging. Always enjoy and live vicariously through you until I’m on a cruise of my own. 

On 3/12/2022 at 10:38 AM, Radbooks said:

I haven't been there, but I watched the video of the train. I think it's a 70 minute loop through the town... it doesn't appear to go out of town for 70 minutes. I know it's not a hop on, hop off bus, but it reminds me of one of those where if you stay on for the whole loop it's like 60 minutes or something.

Have to say it—Go Zags!

1 hour ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I just retired after teaching 20 years at the college and the student surveys were definitely not treated like that. The written comments were typed up and data was summarized in graphs.  We had a meeting with our dean and two peers who served as our review committee.  They were taken very seriously. 
 

I imagine Princess takes our written comments seriously. I do not give every question a 10 by any means. I’ve also never had a crew member beg me for a good rating. Never over 146 days on 20 cruises. They’ve only politely asked me to remember to fill out the survey. 

I always do the surveys as well, and have actually seen a couple of my suggestions implemented, although probably not because I said so, but others must have also commented. I have heard from crew members that they appreciated my comments and it means a lot in their perks (time off, etc.). Course those times have changed as that was prepandemic.

I visited with the most traveled passenger the morning before departing the ship. He has over 1100 days at sea, and has 3 more booked (so far) and is 92 years young! He was staying on for the Hawaii portion so guessing he will be most traveled passenger again. That’s so awesome!

On 1/14/2022 at 2:05 PM, jwattle said:

We usually adjust up for great service; the promise to do that or to remove it it they do the sales pitch will give 

19 hours ago, Turbopaws said:

For those on board now, Have they done the "Yes/No" game show? It's a lot of fun but harder than you might think if you haven't done it.😁

They haven’t done it yet, but they did it on the Grand a few weeks ago.

On 1/8/2022 at 3:33 PM, gsdpidge said:

My wife and I are on the 31st cruise. Are they offering a Chef's table? If so which day was/is it scheduled?

Signed up for the chefs table tge first day and got a letter a couple days later they were unable to do one because of technical difficulties. Not sure what that is about but always live doing the Chef’s table.

This is the first time I’ve ever been on a live thread from the actual cruise. I’ve followed many threads especially when cruising was starting up again. It sounded like the cruise line was doing a great job in setting up a safe environment, cruisers seemed to agree, so here I am! I agree as well. I certainly feel safer on a cruise ship than in my own city. I agree that crew is phenomenal, food has been very good as well. None of this is a surprise to me as an active cruiser. Just looking forward for the weather to warm up.

The roll call meet and greet was today and it’s always nice to meet people in person. Great place to exchange information and pick up a tip or two. The big one I’ve learned so far was to inquire about the airline paying for transportation between airports. I was scheduled to fly into San Francisco but all flights were cancelled so flew into San Jose. It was suggested that the airlines would provide transportation to our scheduled destination and they did! They provided a voucher for Lyft between the San Jose airport and the San Francisco airport. That was a great relief as I really didn’t know how we were going to get to San Francisco after our flights were cancelled. 

14 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

We just added this cruise this morning, when other travel plans fell through. But we had checked late yesterday and, because we are in transit guests on the current Majestic Princess cruise, we did not need the  testing that new guests are going through, which I took as a  reassurance that things are doing well on board. 

Yay, another week if vicarious cruising via your blog. 

6 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

Please let me know if you all can see her video 

Yes, crazy weather for you guys. 

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Here it is. I thought I had uploaded it already, but, frankly, between Majestic Princess WiFi issues causing Cruise Critic issues, and the fact that photos from one device aren’t syncing to my other device via iCloud, photo management coupled with the Premium Beverage Pacjage has become a challenge. 🥂

I just have to let you know how much I love your blogs and have been following them for years. I was very excited to see that you were cruising again and got to read your blog so I can continue to live vicariously through you. In Addition your information has been very helpful for some of my own cruises. I sure hope G says yes to 9 more with Princess. Thank you. 

2 hours ago, Georgiane said:

I have never done the Chef's table, I think my husband would love it! But I have been hesitant because I am vegetarian - not sure if they can include vegetarian meals in the dinner...Anyone know?

I’m sure it’s possible. They meet with you prior to the dinner to address allergies, or other issues. At the dinners there provide an alternative food options.

On 1/8/2020 at 6:04 PM, ceilidh1 said:

Looking forward to following your adventures. Lucky you - you get to cruise the full journey with Matt O as cruise director. He is, hands down, the best (in my opinion). I usually only book sailings that he is on these days!

 

Have an amazing trip!

I’m following this thread because of MattO. Have done 10 cruises with him and not sure when I’ll be able to cruise with him again. My schedule and his schedule are a problem. Enjoy your cruise.

I have been a promoter of solo prices for Princess for a couple of years asking for consideration in my closing surveys where they ask if they could do anything to improve the experience. Someone somewhere pointed out that when you book a double occupancy hotel room they don’t offer lower prices for solo travelers. I don’t like paying double but this did make sense to me.

I have observed the quiet caution of a bartender to a patron if they were close to the magic 15, followed up by the offer to purchase another one if they did indeed have the 15th.

On 4/2/2019 at 3:54 PM, san diego sue said:

The Secret Silk show is being reworked and it wasn't on our march 23rd cruise. I spoke to one of the dancers and she said it would be back in about a month. The current cast is leaving the ship mid April so maybe the new cast coming on will have the new reworked version. It is a fairy tale. We saw it twice in November . I didn't hear anything offensive in the songs.

I saw it twic as well last fall and didn’t hear anything offensive either.

So many thoughts come to mind I don’t know where to begin. I am cruising solo but not by choice. My husband passed 2 years ago. Initially it was hard because everywhere you go there are couples. However, most everyone are very nice and compassionate and I have met and made friends on every cruise. The following is my experience only. You may see it differently.

In the beginning I thought I wanted shared dining so I wouldn’t have to eat alone. That was ok, but I have since learned the freedom to dine whenever and wherever works best for me. Sometimes shared dining, sometimes, buffet, sometimes not at all. Depends on what is happening on the ship.

Initially the ship excursions seemed safest, but since I have an aversion to the big buses, I have switched to private excursions and you have a great chance to meet and get to know people on your excursion. I recommend it.

I participate in all sorts of things, games, shows, dining, etc. and am not afraid to meet new people from all over the world and learn about their experiences. I have attended the solo meet and greets on cruise ships but they have not been very interesting to me. Having said that I met a couple on the last cruise that had been married for 4 years after meeting in a cruise. 

I feel as a solo traveler that this is a safe way to see the world and I do it often. Doing it alone gives you the opportunity to do it the way you want. You can get up when you want, participate (or not) if you want, and go to bed when you want. I have found that the crew is also very nice to solo travelers. They must realize you need some special attention.

Bottom line. It’s not ideal, but it’s still a great way to travel. I still find myself crying when things happen that remind me of my husband but that’s going to happen anywhere. I hope you enjoy your cruise and are able to do many more.

44 minutes ago, skynight said:

There is never a totally fair way. Booking after the ship leaves port will only add to further confusion, lines, pushing and shoving, etc. Imagine people rushing from the muster drills up & up 8 or 9 decks of stairs to the Sanctuary to get in line.

Also, sometimes bookings are made by passengers already on board from b2b's. Believe it is probably best the way it is.

I heard the Chef's table is done by lottery, and all those that put in are notified a few days later. 

The chefs table is not a lottery but rather they wait until they get enough people to fill the table before they notify you. I have been on cruises where they don’t get enough signups, and other cruises where they have been able to do several chefs tables. It depends on the number of people, the itinerary, and the chef.