jasbo49

You're probably going to have to wait until this ship actually sails. As you may know, this is a new ship whose maiden voyage was scrubbed.

Jim

I've never seen anyone get sick on a whale-watching cruise.

However, I was disturbed that the captain on our Princess tour in Cabo was aggressively chasing whales.

In Hawaii, he'd have been arrested. Made me angry.

Jim

I'm pretty sure the port fees will be refunded. And if gratuities are prepaid they too will be refunded.

Jim

I agree that trays would make life easier for cruisers. My guess is the reason we don't have them is money.

It costs cruise lines more to provide them and yet more money to have cruisers shlep on a bunch of food that goes half-uneaten. 

Obviously, ship is the correct term. But how can people so bent on correctness refer to cruising the Caribbean on a 3,000-passenger vessel as "sailing"?

Jim

3 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

There are no shows to reserve on brilliance.  You will pay the 7.95 unless you are in a suite.  Suites don't pay it.

Thanks, TS. My apologies to the OP for diverting attention from your question. In general, I think you will enjoy Princess.  What ship are you looking at?

Jim

Jim

5 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

What ship are you going on?

We're on Brilliance -- to Alaska.

Jim

We are long-time Princess cruisers about to take our first Royal Caribbean cruise since 2000.

I'm concerned as I look at CC's Royal Caribbean forum that people have to reserve shows in the theater and pay a $7.95 service charge for room service. 

You will face neither of these obstacles on Princess.

And their access to Glacier Bay is a deal maker.

Jim

40 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

We have not heard any mention of covid since boarding on Oct 26th.

We were on board from Oct. 15-26. Was not aware of any covid at all. Not saying there wasn't a case or 12, but it was apparently not an issue.

Jim

I have not heard of the choir being resurrected after covid. But I sure hope it will be. I found it to be a lot of fun.

Jim

Chairman of the Board remains in the Crooners menu, at least on Regal this week and last.

Thing is, I'm not really sure it's a martini. It's certainly not served in a traditional martini glass.

Jim

L11 gives us a good crash course above, especially in regard to sizes. I know there are adults who play and like sopranos (small ukes) and concerts (medium), but I can’t properly place my fingers on frets so small. So I play tenors.

A lot of the cheap stuff on Amazon is just junk. You might find yourself spending as much to have it “set up,” (make it playable) as you paid to buy it.

For something like $129, you can get a Kala KA-T, a laminated tenor that could keep you happy for quite a while. I must admit I’ve bought several since my KA-T, but it’s still a useful instrument.

If you want advice on brands, sizes and more, check out the forums at ukulele underground.com

Meantime, I’d love to cruise with the Elia crew some day.

Jim

2 hours ago, justafem said:

Baked Alaska is always the featured dessert the last night on every cruise, not just Alaskans. 

 

We call the American night, 'back to reality meatloaf'.  Always always the last night.  And avoid anything called taurine, ewww. 

Remember what we’ve been told about “always” and “never”? We got off the Regal this morning. No baked Alaska, no meatloaf. 
 

Jim

I think this is something Norwegian used to do. Never heard of it on Princess. 

Jim

Confusion is no fun, but suites are. Congrats!

Jim

Another benefit of Club Class dining is that with faster service (if you want it) you can get out and enjoy your evening sooner.

Several times we've told our waiter we were trying to make a certain showtime at the theater and he helped us by keeping the courses moving. Nice bonus.

Jim

We sail in five days but have nothing showing under this. I really don't expect anything until we board on Saturday. 

Jim

It's nice that you have so much time in Barcelona. We have just one night there before boarding on the 15th.

Have fun.

Jim

Don't want to be picky, but your title and your question refer to disembarkation. That means leaving the ship. By your context, I think you mean embarkation, boarding the cruise. 

If it helps, every cruise I've started or ended in NYC has been in Brooklyn.

Jim

18 minutes ago, Kay S said:

Are they still doing Princess choir?  I think the masks were a problem.  Do they still do "Sweet Caroline" ad nauseum? 

Hey, I'm talking old days here. I haven't been on a cruise since 2019. But I wanted to point out that Princess Choir was one of my highlights.

And, no, I've never been a Neil Diamond fan. But when Caroline is on the list, then Caroline we'll sing.

Jim

Please be more specific  Sinks where? We have sailed both ships and they are virtually identical. 

Are you referring to the buffet entry? Both ships should have wash-up areas. At the MDR entries, I don't think any Princess ship has them.

P.S. I'm sorry I didn't take note that your thread title specified buffet.

Jim

Bhawks9, you don't say what kind of cruises you like to take. And it makes a big difference as to what you might be "missing."

If it's mostly one-week sailings with lots of ports (Caribbean, Mexico, etc.) my main suggestion would be to explore all the live music options on board. I've been bummed out more than once when I discovered on the last day or two that there was a great musical act I didn't discover till then.

If you're taking longer cruises, you'll find there are a lot more entertainment/activity options. Enrichment talks and port talks that are not shopping oriented are high on our list. On any cruise that offers music classes or Princess Choir, that's where I gravitate. 

Jim

2 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

I had OJ in Sabatini's and didn't care for it...too bitter.

This seems to vary. When they have good, sweet oranges to squeeze you get good, sweet OJ. Sometimes the fruit is a bit bitter, so the juice is too.

Jim

5 hours ago, geomapper said:

Just wondering, from anyone with experience, how close to embarkation day are you able to change from a standard booking to Princess Plus?  Our cruise leaves at the end of November but we’re still weighing some external factors that will influence our decision. 

I can't answer you question, but I'm sure you can get an answer by using the chat feature on thr Princess website.

Jim

1 hour ago, tcdcruiser said:

As an option to CC consider the cost of specialty dining every night vs the upgrade cost of CC.

To each his own, but I've never understood this line of thinking. Since Sabatini's doesn't appeal to us, we'd be staring at the same Crown Grill menu night after night.

I'd rather eat in Club Class every night than specialty dining. While I like the service and quick seating in CC, I wouldn't go more than $100 pp for that upgrade. 

Jim