TXRed

23 minutes ago, bemis12 said:

On the next page is a thread named “Attire Expectations”. That is the last place where the proper dress question was last fought to a draw. You should read thru that thread to save another big angry discussion.

 

will leave the coffee question to another......

thank you sooooooooooooooooo much...I found the answer re: jeans and didn't have to say a word!!

I have spend nearly an hour trying to find answers to my questions....ugh! So I am going to ask and accept the tongue lashings that may come.

I was told men and women could wear NICE jeans in the main dining room on regular nights.  But haven't been able to confirm it. And on the 

formal nights men could wear a nice shirt, tie and trousers. Jacket not required. Again I haven't been able to confirm this. 

Coffee, I was told is not too good unless you buy a coffee card. Last cruise I took a french coffee press and just got a carafe of hot water from room service. However friends bought the coffee card and also got pastries and gelato. 

Is there anyplace on the Star to get decent coffee without purchasing the coffee card? If you don't buy the coffee card do you have to pay for the pastries and the gelato?  Thanks for any replies, even the ones from those who will tell me to use the search feature😜

One more thing....who ever designed this new format...gggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

On the Royal in June the TD Maitre D was informed that I have an 'issue' with black pepper (throat gets tight) so we picked out the following days dinner each evening. One night I told him I was going to go to Alfredo's the next day. So he helped me set up an appointment time. Boy was I surprised when I got there! Their maitre d came out and welcomed me sitting me at a table. Then he brought me a beautiful plate of antipasto. He followed that with a salad. Then a wonderful minestrone so good that i repeated it the following night. He followed that with a smaller than normal pizza which was great because I was the only one there. I'm a solo and the pizza was so much better than on the horizon deck, actually as good as I get for my local hole-in-the-wall pizzeria back home. He followed that with vegetarian lasagna and a nice glass of red wine. By this time I time I am overly stuffed and wondering why I went to Sabatini earlier on the cruise since I got everything in Alfredo's. So I got up to leave and he comes over quickly and says my tiramisu and triple long black (after dinner coffee of choice which is what I always got in the main dining room) would be out in just a few moments, would I like to wait? The food was delicious.

 

I understand that sabatini's is wonderful and a great bargain for $29. Alfredo's is a better bargain for free

You were treated like Royalty. And everything sounds yummy..I must go look at the menu...and it's all included in your cruise price!! thanks for your reply. I have no dub my son will want to visit Alfredo's for sure!

My wife and I used the coffee card quite a bit. The International Cafe was one of our favorite hangouts on the Ruby last August and I would get a cup of brewed coffee along with a specialty drink for my wife. We did not use all the specialty coffee credit but the brewed coffee and specialty teas were worth the expense for us.

Thank you for your reply. Since I am the main coffee drinker I think the coffee credit might not be the best option for me.

There will be 2 formal nights. My DH and I are fine with the free, regular coffee. The brewed at the Intl. Cafe is better, though. The Coffee Card gives you the equivalent of a discount on each drink, so if you plan on ordering large froufrou drinks, it’s a good value. If you plan on order one regular drip coffee a day, it might not be. Also, to make it worth it, you need to use all 15 punches during your cruise because it’s now a use it or lose it card. Crown Grill is definitely worth it. Check out the menu for Sabatinis to decide; we used to love it but aren’t as enthralled by it anymore. I haven’t tried Crab Shack.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Neither my husband nor myself are into frou-frou drinks. I am probably the one in our family who drinks the coffee most. So think will stick with the french press and bring my own blend. I have checked out both menus. I checked the menus for both ..I think we might try both...I will hae to check out the Crab Shack. Thanks for your reply and your information.

The regular coffee in the buffet is made from a syrup. It was god awful 7 years ago when we last sailed and I was shocked to see they still serve it. Even Royal Caribbean has real coffee in the buffet. If you like coffee, yes the coffee card is worth it. Im getting one for our Crown sailing in November. Better yet, get an AeroPress and make your own coffee with hot water. Its a french press without the mess. I may bring mine along with ground coffee.

Thanks for your reply....I will bring my French Press. I use it at home often and will check out the AeroPress...thanks for the suggestion!!

Lived !

How can you tell?

I'm still trying to talk the wife into taking a drive trip there someday. :)

Oh I hope you are able to convince her...she will not regret it...from Galveston to the Hill Country...Texas has something for everyone.

When we were on the Ruby in January, there was a man who wore a kilt on formal night.

Oh how neat!! On one cruise we were on there was a group of ppl from India that wore traditional clothing on formal nights. They looked very regal.

Another question....we chose anytime dining...simply because we have never tried it and thought it would be a good option for us... when we are on vacation we prefer not to have to be on a schedule if we don't have to. Any comments on the pros or cons of anytime dining? Personally I love having the same waiter every meal but am looking forward to not having to eat at a specific time.

No, no discounts. Sometimes through the travel agents there will be a 2 for 1 specialty restaurant coupon in a coupon book left in the cabin. But I have not seen that in awhile.

The specialty restaurants are usually pretty full anyway.

Thanks...darn it...I think my travel agent hates me...LOL...

Sounds nice at home for a local bar or restaurant but I'm not sure I'd like to haul a pair of boots to the ship.

I suspect you have never lived in Texas ... a man and his boots...they just go together

We have one just like that ;p. In fact, he was the one that told us about the pub lunch - day, time and place :cool:.

Sometimes they are a blessing :halo:and other times a curse:evilsmile:

Worth keeping an eye on your patter for, a nice change

We certainly will...my son is a very detailed person and will read everything fully...LOL, trust me on that one ...but we love him anyway ♥

The speciality restaurants might share the same menus but the standard and quality differs from ship to ship. We've always found it's best to wait a few days and ask around to see what those who've already been have to say about their experience. Same goes for the standard of the pub lunch regardless of where it is served.

X often offers 30-50% off the specialty restaurants on departure evening...does Princess do this??

Although many people love to dress up for the formal nights, Princess is very lenient in what they allow to be worn in the DR's.

Simple dressy casual is all that's really required if you so choose.

We have sailed RCCL out of Galveston several times and there was always an argument about 'Texas' dressing for 'formal' nights. The last couple we were on many males were in nicely pressed jeans, boots and hats....and we loved it!

I was on a Princess cruise to Alaska 9 years ago, and they did a really great job there. I haven't sailed Celebrity, but have sailed a lot of different lines, and found that the mainstream lines are more similar than different, so I think this will really work out well for you.

 

Oh, and please book your excursions independently - Alaska is very small, and it is easy to get to your independent excursions. The excursions are quite expensive due to the limited tour season and need to import everything (including labor). My signature line describes our excursions, and my favorites were the Bering Sea tour (where you learn about crab fishing), a helicopter to a dogsled through Temsco, and hiking after taking the Mt. Roberts tramway. Have a great trip!

We actually booked a cruise to Alaska several years ago but cancelled when I became ill. So it's all new again... will check our your recommendations and thank you very much

The pub lunches were offered a couple of times during the cruise in The Crown Grill - no extra charge. There were different menus for both days e.g. fish & chips, ploughman’s lunch, scotch egg salad, battered shrimps (my boys thought this would be like scampi back home but it was slightly different). The desserts were bread & butter pudding and sherry trifle (our teens, 18 & 16 years, were miffed as they couldn’t have this due to being minors - we’d previously never heard of being denied food because of a small alcohol content :confused:). It was a nice change for lunch on a sea day.

The pub lunches sound very interesting..ad I love bread pudding♥

We have done Alaska on both lines. In my opinion' date=' Princess did it better. It also had fewer upcharge items and what it had was less costly. For instance, afternoon tea is not nearly as fancy on Princess, but it is free. You can also get scones at the buffet if that's all you want. On Celebrity it was $25.

 

Formal night is a loose term. Any amount of "dress up" will be fine and the term applies only to the main dining rooms. If you don't want to dress up at all, this is a good night to do specialty dining. "Worth it" is a personal thing--we got it included in our cruise booking package, so it was a no brainer. The food was very good in the Crown Grill.

 

Coffee package--includes unlimited fresh brewed coffee or premium tea bags for the person purchasing the card AND 15 specialty coffees and/or teas (think Starbucks) which can be shared. Again, "worth it" is up to you. You can purchase any of these items separately if you opt to not get the card. The tea is $1.25 + 15% gratuity if not on the card, specialty drinks are in the $3-5 range. Package, including grats is $36.

 

Princess has not gone to the "ship within a ship" concept that Celebrity and NCL have. They do have Club Class dining but that is a small area of the main dining room and has one or two non-menu items each night. They get the same menu as the regular dining area. We had Club Class included on our last cruise. While it is very nice, it is nothing like the totally separate restaurants on some lines, and thus doesn't have the issue of those lines skimping on the regular people!

 

Princess web site is FAR easier to use than Celebrity.[/quote']

 

I do love scones and afternoon tea. Usually can't get the guys to do formal nights...but I think a dress shirt and tie will be doable for them. I checked Princess website and it is more user friendly. Thanks for your reply and information.

Welcome to Princess... From a Celebrity Elite Plus...

Thanks! We are pretty easy going travelers. We love to cruises. It's been a couple more yrs than we would have like since we cruised. We are very excited to be able to do so again.

Dear OP, why did you switch from Celebrity to Princess?

We are surprising our son and DIL with this cruise for their Christmas gift. X left on Friday and we would have to fly in to Seattle on Thursday...meaning my son would be taking 2 works days off . Princess sails on Sunday. So he would not have to take extra days off. We can fly in on Saturday and still be able to go to Pike's Market. That's the only reason.

Welcome to Princess ! Everything that Thrak said above is accurate.

 

You will love how well Princess does Alaska ! They have wonderful guest speakers and talks about the scenery, geography, glaciers, wildlife, and culture. It is an amazing journey, and you really will "come back new." Have fun ! - EBC

Thanks....we are excited!

We’re regular X cruisers that have just returned from a Princess Alaskan sailing. We found that the formal night was far more dressier on Princess than Chic night on X - think what X used to be before Chic was introduced. Didn’t see one person in shorts in the MDR like I have recently on X.

 

The specialty restaurants were virtually half the price of X’s. If you have the Sip ‘n Sail promo the special coffees are included in the package. If not, you can either buy a virtual coffee card or pay as you go. All drinks, on the whole, were less expensive than any on X. I didn’t find one that wasn’t included in my beverage package.

 

 

Their website is also a breeze compared to X’s. You can actually see everything that applies to your reservation - even any OBC!

 

 

You are unable to prebook Anytime Dining like you can on X. I can’t speak for your ship, but we were unimpressed with the buffet on The Grand (far too small for the size of ship and the choice wasn’t great). We did like the afternoon tea each day in the MDR (no extra charge) and also the pub lunches offered in the Crown Grill a couple of times during the sailing.

 

 

Oh, and the internet packages are far reasonable to purchase.

Thank you for your reply. A friend just recommended I take my french press and just get hot water....that's an idea! Will you elaborate on the pub lunches? Again thanks for your reply.

Or you can pay by the cup if you do not have the coffee package.

Thank you for your reply. I think I might just get the coffee credit...

TX Red ... You will be fine wearing the same sort of clothes on Princes you are use to wearing for all occasions on Celebrity. (y)

Thank you...That's great for us.

My thoughts in red above. May is the perfect time for an Alaska cruise, I just did two back to back this year.

Thank you for your reply...I think I was going to type Celebrity and got interrupted....thus the C instead of X

All the replies are pretty consistent ...