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It's sad what has happened to the Princess wine program - once recognized by the Wine Spectator for excellence. Having a Petrus available doesn't quite cut it, guys. Do you have to ask for a proper glass if you order a Petrus??! Princess has inexplicably gone to generic varietal names in many venues for the Plus selection: Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir for reds; Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc for white. I made the mistake of ordering the Pinot Noir in Alfredo's on a recent Regal cruise. The "wine" could have been bottled and sold as cough syrup. I asked for a replacement of the Cab which was acceptable if not remarkable. The young server, whom I'm sure knows as much about wine as she did about good service, argued that "that's the way Pinot Noir should taste"! Live and learn, sweetie. Anyway, there are good selections, you just have to ask - if you're lucky they will bring you a photo-copied version (yes, they do that now) of the wine list in the MDR - which does offer a few more properly identified wines by the glass. Also available are what seems to be a revolving selection at certain venues, like Crooner's for example, which stocked several off-list decent wines. If your ship doesn't have a "Vines" - and it appears that even the existing Vines are slowly being eliminated - then you have to search around for good quaffs. Even at the Vines, there are a few off-list alternatives, including a reasonable Penley Cab (Australian) that fits into the Plus category. They also had a pretty good Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc at the Vines for Plus shoppers. They still have the Vall Llach Embruix priorat at the Vines though - $14 a glass now, but a worthy $2+ upgrade from Plus. Cheers!

Covid was present but minimal. We did know of at least two cases of isolation on Emerald deck. There was a minor sinus cold going around, with negative tests.

Agree - it was a great cruise overall and did much to allay some skepticism I had about the brand. You mentioned the staff - they were amazing and did a great job, particularly under trying circumstances as they were noticeably short-staffed. The kitchen off the Symphony DR had to be closed down because they couldn't adequately staff it! That meant that the hard-working servers in the Symphony had to go up to the Concerto kitchen on 6, by stairs, for everything. Try walking down a flight a stairs with ten plates on a tray! Another thing we noticed about the staff: primarily Philippine, but many were challenged with the English language, both in speaking and understanding. Never noticed that before to this extent on previous cruises. But I don't fault them - they were too good to us!

Makes sense, I suppose. But seriously, who would want a balcony dinner in these conditions?! Very chilly and windy out there after the sun goes down at 5pm.

Hi LAers! Hope you had a chance to pick up something nice to drink at our last French port. We found a couple of good Champagnes and a decent Margaux for the last leg. See you at the Vines!

Quick note about the onboard experience, a topic of great interest on these boards: We haven't had a bad meal yet! Actually, we've had several excellent ones!

Better? Yes. Notably so? Meh. There are still good wines at the Plus level at the Vines, and some other bars - you have to ask. In the MDR and other venues they egregiously list the plus wines by type: i.e.: Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Merlot. No idea what they're pouring there, but avoid the Pinot Noir unless you have a bad cough and are out of cough syrup. The Cab is passable in a pinch. Keep in mind that the "premier" wines are still available for the difference of the $12 limit of plus. That option, for us, greatly outweighs the upfront cost of the premier package. The wines, so far, seem to be in good stock. As the LACruisers stated, buy in town wherever possible - no problem carrying onboard. In Dubrovnik, don't miss the D'Vino wine bar, just off the Strada. Anita is a fantastic host, very knowledgeable about her robust collection of Croatian wines. Very limited production - get them here! Cheers, all!

Sounds familiar - I'll check. Yes, Symphony is a ATD venue - by default I guess. The waiters there will go to the Vines for you. Earlier today I tasted three reds that fit into the plus package. One was an Italian Cabernet, one a malbec (substitute for the out of stock menu one), and a Napa cab off the menu. All were decent, including the Napa which was surprising dry, not sweet. Welcome aboard for the crossing!

We brought a half case in Provence during our Toulon port call, walked right on. I guess the staff is aware somewhat of the wine situation in the MDR. We were told at our first night in Allegro (the hidden DR on 6 aft) that the waiters will schlep over to the Vines if you eat at Symphony to get you a better glass of wine. So we bagged all our reservations and started going to the Symphony. That's worked out well. Of course, we start at the Vines and bring in our first glass. As our friends the LACruisers posted, the Vines still offers a reasonable selection for Plus packages. There's a nice Burgundy, but our fave - the Umbruix, a priorat from Catalona, will incur a $2 plus tip surcharge - worth it imo. One peeve I want to share: at the first night's dinner I asked for the wine list to see what was available. The waiter brought me a photo-copied paper version stapled together. Really Princess? In a DR during dinner service? Sad. It is what it is, folks.

Hi there Steeler36. I know from your posts that you are a keen observer of the Princess wine program. We just boarded the Regal and, after a perusal of the DR wine list, noticed that the bottle prices have risen sharply. One caught my eye: we purchased a bottle of the Martin Codex Albarino for 12.5 euro in a small bodega in Madrid. On board, same bottle: $49! For an albarino! Other wines were equally ridiculous. Guess we'll buy on shore and pay the corkage in the DR!

Ditto to the previous post. Some of the premium restaurants will offer "better" wines (if they have them in stock, big if) but the curious absence of The Vines on the new ships is a big minus to the line.

Lovely pix! Thanks for taking us along - we start in Madrid on Sunday. See you onboard!

I read recently on this board that the Elite 10% discount in the shops is no longer given, since Princess sold off the shops to an independent vendor. Can anyone confirm this?

The refi is being tauted by corporate as saving the company over $100 million in interest, so your take is correct. Still, significant headwinds for the line. We can't forget Porter's Five Forces model when assessing the viability of this business. Not only is Carnival facing a debt crisis, but they are also still in a fiercely competitive industry. Yes, some of the big competitors are also "underwater" financially, but not as severe as Carnival - and let's face it, the industry will survive with or without some of the current players. We're seeing new players too - Virgin being one example. There have been numerous reports of stock-outs on some of Carnival-brand ships. Are some suppliers getting nervous? Demographical changes are also a factor, particularly for Carnival subs like Holland and Princess. Is there enough differentiation between these lines or is brand consolidation a possibility? They're actively promoting a younger vibe, but have they attracted a younger consist? Are they losing their traditional customers to the smaller ship firms (Oceania, Viking Ocean, Regent etc.)? Are the ships just too big and are there just too many of them? All these factors are issues for this company going forward.

Carnival is borrowing more money to pay off the existing debt, basically. That they were apparently asked (or forced) to hock 12 of their vessels is an ominous sign. This is sort of like a hamster's wheel finance equivalent - lots of action here, fun to watch, event the markets are engaged (stock modestly up today), but the hamster isn't getting anything but a good workout. Another analogy would look like the Carnival brass throwing as much as possible overboard to keep the ship from sinking in the hope that the breach in the hull will magically repair itself. Financiers are along for the ride - they'll take a flyer on the company figuring out the most favorable outcomes to limit the losses. But it's difficult to see a return to positive cash flow with the current debt load.

Safe travels to all! We leave on the 29th, flying from Miami to Madrid for a week running through Spain. We'll board on 11/6 as well in Barcelona. Cheers!

If you have some onboard credits or extra cash you may want to just upgrade your drink to the Premier level and pay the difference. You pay the difference (usually a few dollars, plus tip) from the $12 allowance. That is, of course, if the ship has better wines in stock which unfortunately isn't a sure thing these days.

Sounds great so far - looking forward to reading about your onboard experience. Have a great cruise!

Big question is: are suppliers holding up orders over payment issues?

Take a look at the marketing, including the ridiculous dating contest show; Princess wants a younger demographic and they are not shy about letting their former demographic know that. They will find that their longer cruises, a Princess main draw for many seniors, will go wanting for bookings if they alienate the senior crowd.

As of Sept. 1, Truist estimates that Carnival holds $35 billion in debt, Royal Caribbean has $25 billion and Norwegian owes $14 billion. Respectively, the companies’ values in the stock market are about $11.01 billion, $11.18 billion and $5.61 billion. (from CNBC, 9/23/22)

As an ongoing concern, Carnival is clearly in rough waters. The bottoming out of the company's market value may have opened up opportunities for a takeover, or the shedding of some of their brands. Time will tell. On an operational note, the company's ability to attract favorable terms for financing will most certainly be affected. This may cause some concern for their stake-holders, like suppliers for example. Then, there's all that debt service. At $7/share, the company is looking quite top-heavy. Look out below! The CEO commented that the line will have to pare down the discounting - with a recession looming, this may be quite difficult, especially competitively against stronger firms (to be fair, all cruise stocks are tanking right now). The trick will be not alienating their customer base with cutbacks, while maintaining the rising future cruise deposits, and not losing suppliers that may be integral to the brand. A lot of sleepless nights ahead for the Front Office crowd.

Well done, Leo! Excellent review - just the facts. I agree about the outlets and USB ports in the rooms - it's kind of silly when one uses a CPAP machine how they have to rig the extension cord across the room!

Good job, Pontac! Loved the pix. That Batailley must have been wonderful - always just a little bit better when one is enjoying a Bordeaux in its' native habitat. Odd that many onboard were not wine aficionados. On our Forseti cruise a few years ago, the ship was probably at least 80% full with wine fans. Many had joined us on the Loire valley pre-cruise tour, so by the time we boarded we had already bonded. As you know, the wines onboard were appropriate for the place - none better than your icon pix. We didn't make the Cognac trip either - too much coach we thought at the time, but everyone who did go were very happy with the tour. Maybe next time. Happy cruising and good living to you and Mrs. P!

Yum!