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loge23

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Everything posted by loge23

  1. What a misleading title for a thread! Clearly, it should have read "an Alaskan cruisetour" at the very least. I can't comment on the Alaskan cruisetours as we haven't experienced any - we did book one once but cancelled it after we received the itinerary which had us getting up and out at dark-thirty AM most mornings - we're not early risers. We're not crazy about the Alaskan cruises anyway. But back to the cruisetours. We took a Princess cruisetour in Spain fairly recently and it was one of the best trips we ever took! The hotels weren't the Ritz, but all of them were fine, business-class hotels. We had several included meals - all were in wonderful restaurants and we all had a wonderful time. The provided coach was huge, very comfortable, and very clean. There were no "dark-thirty" wake-up calls. Our guide, an independent guide that Princess hired for the tour, was excellent. So, do feel free to book a Princess cruisetour!
  2. We're also booked on a Cabana Mini Reserve on 9 for Oct. We've been watching just about every vid we can on You Tube, here, and FB. There is one on FB which is pretty good of room #9244. There's that anteroom which has glass doors that can be open or closed - when open it's open to the common deck. But there's no place to just openly watch the sea go by while enjoying your AM coffee or PM champagne. The edge is a high glass partition so the best you can do is look through the glass. There's also the prospect of your neighboring guests drifting by your cabana - so basically, no balcony like we're used to on conventional minis. Pretty odd design, imo.
  3. Some folks mentioned Captain Tuvo. He's with MSC now. We were on the Seascape in Oct and he was the Captain. Same schtick, but fun!
  4. There are so many very good Burgundy's at very affordable price. No reason why a company as large as Carnival/Princess couldn't buy an entire run from a winery. Instead they list a $20-$25 (retail in a local wine shop) Burgundy as a ultra-premium at $60+ by the bottle. The domestics are almost all butter bombs. A shame really, considering that the Princess wine offerings were once highly regarded by the wine industry.
  5. We've been trying out other more inclusive lines to mixed success. We just were on an 11 day Oceania in a PH1 cabin - that was $1100 a day with no extra fees. We were just quoted for a Deluxe Balcony Yacht Club suite on MSC for a TA: $708/per day. Then we priced a TA on the Sun for 2025: Reserve class (not Cabana) Mini-suite with the Premium package: $670/day - tax included on all quotes. So, a pretty inclusive set-up there. Now each has their little points of differentiation, and my spouse really prefers the bigger ships (thinks the small ships are "boring"). But it does seem that Princess offers some value there. There may be some differences with on-board credits a well which I did not factor in these quotes. Also, she likes the fact that Princess offers pre/post cruise packages (not all do) and has the Princess Air program which is great for one-way flights abroad. So there's that! Happy Cruising!
  6. I don't think that there is a Vines on the Sun. The geniuses in the Front Office have been removing the popular venue from all the new ships. I'll never forget Jan Schwatrz's answer during the Covid shutdown You Tube videos as to what was her favorite venue on Princess. You guessed it: The Vines! Apparently, that was the kiss of death for the Vines!
  7. We had a PH1 on 7 aft on the Vista. No adjoining cabin noise was noticed but the ship itself can be noisy - lots of creaking and everything shakes when it is docking on those early AM arrivals.
  8. The standard WiFi is abysmal - pre-21st century dial-up abysmal. You will need their extra-fee service for Zoom or even to view an embedded video. The WiFi onboard (also on the 1/31 -2/11 cruise) was easily the worst of any we have experienced in recent cruises.
  9. Correct, we had the Monopole on the Regatta in July, but last week on the Vista it was all Montaudon. Fortunately, we brought two Veuve Clicquots aboard for my big b-day!
  10. Almost forgot! Also available is a Champagne Montaudon and Prosecco!
  11. On our recent Vista cruise, we felt that the by-the-glass wine selection during lunch and dinner was very good. Among the whites: a very nice Spanish Albarino and a reasonable white Burgundy (Chardonnay), also an Italian Pinot Grigio. There were some domestics as well and a Reisling that we did not try. Among the reds: An off-the-menu Bordeaux Superiore (Chateau de Parenchere) which was delicious, a nice Burgundy (Pinot Noir) beautiful cherry-red color and fruity taste, a most popular Wente Cabernet (we found that flat and too sweet), and a nice Cote de Rhone, among others. Maybe best of all was a delicious dessert Sauterne - Chateau des Ormes - a perfect coda to a great meal! All of these wines are presented professionally by a dedicated wine steward and served in proper stemware. So, maybe not, as EJL2023 stated, "premium" wines, but a well-curated let's say "value" selection. As for cocktails, there are two Happy Hours (2 for 1) at 5-6 and 10:30-11:30 pm. Complimentary open bar at the Captain's Party also. Also as noted, bring whatever you want on board for cabin consumption. Above all, enjoy your cruise!
  12. Could care less - we were amazed how they found us so quickly! We really liked the number system for the table and the more controlled servings at the Terrace Cafe. On the topic of Waves - the food was really, really good there. That Wagyu surf & turf burger is outstanding and delivered exactly as ordered twice. Also the Reuben was delish!
  13. Just off the Vista: Our gratuity payments showed up on our account (via the in-cabin TV) on the 3rd day out.
  14. Just off of the Vista. We don't care for lying in the sun (we usually get enough in FL) so we don't look for loungers at the pool unless they in the shade. That said, we didn't have any issues with finding a spot for our belongings while we used the pool and hot tubs - the only acceptable time (along with getting a drink at the pool bar) to hold on to a chair. I did notice however, many more unoccupied loungers with belongings on them than there were people in the pool or tubs. Leslie the CD did announce, with gusto, several pleas for folks to not hog the chairs. If everyone would comply with vacating the chairs when they went for lunch or activities there would always be ample chairs available for when they returned - just not the one they were in!
  15. Hope you enjoy Tahiti! Saw your pix on Twitter and it brought back wonderful memories of our Feb. '20 cruise right before the world shut down. It's truly a magical place - the locals are awesome people.
  16. Well done, Connie from Bristol! Enjoying your excellent recount of your journey. Happy Cruisin to you and Mr.CT!
  17. Too funny! If you can't get anyone's attention for refill, simply walk away with the glass - you'll have a server almost immediately!
  18. Chair hogging is one of the most annoying aspects of cruising - I think most would agree. Remove the stuff, put it somewhere fairly close, and when (if) the offenders return simply act as if the chair was empty when you found it. "I know nothing!" - like Sgt. Schultz!
  19. Thanks for posting this Raphael! We can all hope that this hire works out well for Princess - lord knows they need new blood. I'm a bit skeptical on that note - Mr. Berra, while accomplished, is really just another industry retread at this point. Not sure about poaching a guy from the Country Club sector, but whatever. As for the "Love Boat" tie-in, well he did mention the Love Boat in his remarks. There are plenty of creative ways to extend that part of Princess history instead of tossing it out with the pillow chocolates. Hopefully, Mr. Berra really does understand and appreciate the legacy and restore and enhance the Princess brand.
  20. Too bad about your cruise, but your review reads like an outlier of sorts and I usually toss out outliers be it either overly favorable or otherwise. Lots of Celebrity comparisons in the thread. On other boards, notably on Oceania and MSC Yacht Club posts, there are many posters who have abandoned Celebrity for the same deficiencies mentioned in the lead review. We have cruised with Celebrity and have enjoyed our trips, but close friends - Celebrity loyalists (formally) - have also thrown in the proverbial towel with Celebrity. Their Reserve Class was wonderful, but apparently that have priced themselves out of line with competitors for high-end cruising like the Yacht Club or smaller ship lines. Every line has it's issues. That said, we do acknowledge that Princess isn't what it used to be. Their Front Office has deeply mismanaged the brand, imo. Their product seems to be always in flux - basically throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks. Their once-vaunted wine program has deteriorated significantly, for example; and the cuts across the board have been noticable. There has been a shift in cruising. Family cruising is strong and passenger consists have been trending younger. Older couple cruising, resistant to change and tired of crowds, have been migrating to the more exclusive luxe lines. Holland seems to navigated this shift well; Princess, maybe not so much. Still, Princess offers a wide choice of itineraries - possibly the best in the business. Their ships run the gamut from the Coral/Island class, to the Grand class ships, to the Royal class, to the present Sun (due soon) class - reflecting the peripatetic direction of their Marketing. It's change for the sake of change but it rarely provokes either an enhancement of the core values of the brand nor enough excitement to attract whatever new demographic they are targeting. Staffing issues have been noted. Every line is fishing from the same pond here and the fishing - like the service - just ain't what it used be - too many hooks, not enough fish. It also should be noted that these "fish" are actually human beings and as such, regardless of where they come from, are able to choose the situation that's best for them. Food, a lightning rod for cruise criticism, can rarely be considered a primary factor in choosing a cruise due to its' subjectivity. We've had really excellent meals onboard cruise ships and we've had OK meals. We have never had a putrid meal. Guess we're just lucky. Food costs soared during the recent inflationary spike and stair-stepped higher even after the easing. Cruise lines, like any other shoppers, reacted in kind. Good cruise lines adjusted. That's where Princess seems to struggle: with balancing costs and service. What do they want to be? How do they want to differentiate their line? And that's where the mismanagement really shows. As I've mentioned before in other posts, we're not "loyal" to any commercial service or brand. We like what we like and will keep purchasing something that delivers for us, but we "ship" around. We appreciate perks, but they're not enough to sway us especially since other lines will sometimes match or exceed these perks in their offerings. We understand that what we pay - how much we pay - is clearly correlated to what we get. We enjoy Princess because we're familiar with them, comfortable even. We're booked on two upcoming Princess cruises (as well as a competitor). But if our expectations are left on the pier, then we'll get comfortable somewhere else. For example, our recent cruise on MSC's Seascape Yacht Club was superb - easy 5 stars - but some aspects of our familiarity with Princess were missed; likewise the Reserve on the Celebrity Edge. The Viking Ocean cruise we took delivered fine service and great dining but was a crashing bore most evenings - same with Oceania, and we are most certainly not "party animals"! The point is differentiation. And on that point, we hope Princess's management suite gets a much-needed makeover, but cruisers should have no expectation of "an epic disappointment". Happy Cruising!
  21. Have a great cruise! Looking forward to your impressions of Explora.
  22. I realize that the late arrival will probably negatively impact many passengers' travel plans home; but just once would I love to arrive back in port after a good night's sleep, breakfast, and chill time! Not being an early riser, I really dread the dark-thirty back to port days!
  23. Tough stretch of dismal weather in Florida this week. The muck should be clearing out of South Florida this evening/night, and hopefully the seas will quiet down a bit for your arrival. Sunday looks much clearer and drier. Enjoy the cruise while you still can and safe travels home!
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