Weluv2cruise2007 Posted December 14, 2016 #101 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Geocruiser and us missed winning trivia by one point! After that I talked to the Photo Manager. He knew about the special $49 package price on the Royal, but said they were testing it on just the one ship. Apparently they are going to test various different packages (10-photo packages, for example) on different ships to see what gets the most traction. He also offered some insight into how photos will work on the Majestic: your photos will show up on your smartphone, and you can order them from your phone. There is no photo gallery. Finally!!! I have been thinking about this for a long time...seeing the incredible volume of pictures which get tossed in the garbage after every cruise was sickening...and Princess could obviously stand to earn some points in the environmentally friendly department! It makes no sense to print thousands and thousands of pictures and then toss them out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weluv2cruise2007 Posted December 14, 2016 #102 Share Posted December 14, 2016 It will be interesting to see how that works out. Only a guess, but I think sales will go down unless a person has the all inclusive photo package. o I do not think the facial recognition software is yet good enough to actually show you every photo you are in (it certainly was not very good when we were on the Royal Princess and used their kiosks.) o Not everyone has a smart phone (including me). o Unless the software to show/purchase photos is extremely simple to use (and available for a number of languages), passengers will just skip trying to use it. o Comparing two photos I expect to be harder on a smart phone that holding a print of each. I also wonder what protection there will be to stop passengers from just saving a copy of a photo on the smart phone. This is how it works at Disney. You have a photo card which you hand to any photographer taking your picture and your pic is available for viewing within moments of it being taken. I can't remember if it is even possible to download, but I imagine you could screenshoot it, but they are watermarked. Understanding not everyone has a smartphone/iPad they will have to offer kiosks or accessibility in the internet cafe. All in all I think it is a wonderful initiative and makes my environmentally friendly heart happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 14, 2016 Author #103 Share Posted December 14, 2016 It makes no sense to print thousands and thousands of pictures and then toss them out! I had a conversation with the photo manager, as I work for Kodak (Fuji supplies the paper to most cruise ships.) The unsold prints are recycled to recover the silver. The actual cost of materials for one print is only 10 cents, so they don't need to sell a huge volume to make money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 14, 2016 Author #104 Share Posted December 14, 2016 St. Thomas Due to strong headwinds and currents, we were an hour late docking at Havensite. No problem for me, as my snorkelling tour isn't until 12:30. I did a private booking on the Fury to Turtle Cove with Captain Mike. I'll post pics from my GoPro later today. It's nice having AT&T data so I don't use up ship minutes today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 14, 2016 Author #105 Share Posted December 14, 2016 The Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Epic, and the Regal, all lined up. Waiting for our charter at the Fat Turtle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gotta cruise again Posted December 14, 2016 #106 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Really enjoying your review, CanadianBurger!! I did notice that the dinner menus no longer seem to have the items listed by course. There are appetizers and main dishes only; used to have the appetizer, soup/salad, pasta, then main course (or similar type listing of courses). I didn't notice this last August so I'm wondering if this is a rather new change...maybe to discourage folks from ordering an item from each course (like 4 items) and now only ordering 2 (appetizer and main). That could get people through with their dinner more quickly and with fewer numbers of wait-staff nowadays, makes things easier/faster for them too. Thoughts?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare geoherb Posted December 14, 2016 #107 Share Posted December 14, 2016 I'm enjoying your review, especially the photos. I noticed that your Italian night menu is different from what we had last week on the Caribbean Princess. I did not recognize most of the items. For instance, I had the prosciutto and melon appetizer. I don't remember everything else--just that the items were different. Having the menu arranged like this did not stop us from ordering what we wanted last week. DH frequently ordered an appetizer, soup, salad, and main dish. Others at our table would order two appetizers and a salad and a main dish. Our waiters were happy to bring us whatever we ordered. We were fortunate to have excellent waiters at dinner (second seating traditional). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shutterbug12 Posted December 14, 2016 #108 Share Posted December 14, 2016 I was wondering the same thing about the reorganized menu. I'm glad to hear that we can order our favorites as usual on cruise next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candycrusher Posted December 14, 2016 #109 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Since leaving St Thomas late, 10pm....would you suggest the Ultimate Balcony Dining that night? We booked an aft owners suite and really want to do the UBD and want to pick the perfect night for it. Ty. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare azbirdmom Posted December 14, 2016 #110 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Check Alfredo's at lunch on a sea day. One of the chefs was making spaghetti carbonara in the middle of the dining area and it was excellent. And we love the veal ravioli too. I agree that the MDR Italian menu on the Royal and Regal was different than what we have had on other Princess ships. The chicken dish on other ships does not have ham, and the eggplant parmesan appetizer (my favorite) isn't the same recipe either. I noticed differences on other nights as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 14, 2016 Author #111 Share Posted December 14, 2016 would you suggest the Ultimate Balcony Dining that night? We booked an aft owners suite and really want to do the UBD and want to pick the perfect night for it. Ty. That would probably be an ideal night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlorenceItaly Posted December 14, 2016 #112 Share Posted December 14, 2016 Really enjoying the LIVE report. THANK YOU! We board on Sunday, so excited! Marie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #113 Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) Had a fantastic outing on the Fury with Captain Mike. Loved being under sail with my feet over the deck. I highly recommend this if you're looking for a fun excursion in St. Thomas. The sea turtles were amazing. And yes, the AppleWatch series 2 can be worn while snorkelling! Edited December 15, 2016 by CanadianBurger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #114 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Had to go to Alfredo's when I got back on the ship for the veal ravioli again. I was famished after snorkelling! We went to see Nathan Foley's show in the Princess Theatre before dinner. Great musical performance, and he really engaged the crowd. MDR Dinner, which was open seating tonight, but we got our usual table and wait staff. I had the Curtis Stone Pork Belly last September on the Ruby and didn't like it, but I thought I would give it another chance. I'm glad I did, as it was excellent and very flavourful. Oddly, the presentation was completely different from what it looked like on the Ruby, which I thought was strange given that it's a Curtis Stone dish. I also had the Turf (no Surf), and it too was excellent. Finally remembered the dessert menu: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #115 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Wanted to take a look at the Brazilian Night offerings in Horizon Court, and I couldn't resist grabbing a few pieces of meat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #116 Share Posted December 15, 2016 It's The Love Boat Disco Dance Party for sailaway tonight. Unfortunately the skies opened about 20 minutes in... We retreated to our balcony to watch St. Thomas fade into the distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shredie Posted December 15, 2016 #117 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Love the buffet pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #118 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Tomorrow's Patter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted December 15, 2016 #119 Share Posted December 15, 2016 This is how it works at Disney. You have a photo card which you hand to any photographer taking your picture and your pic is available for viewing within moments of it being taken. If you have a group picture taken does everyone in the picture hand over their photo cards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caribill Posted December 15, 2016 #120 Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) The Norwegian Gem, Norwegian Epic, and the Regal, all lined up. Your picture gives the perfect answer to the oft asked question "shoild I book a cabin on port or starboard for the best view when in port?" (By the way, the third ship from the left does not look like the Regal to me.) Edited December 15, 2016 by caribill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairn Mom Posted December 15, 2016 #121 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Great review CanadianBurger. I love seeing the pictures and reading the menus. You are keeping me on my diet. I know I have to be at least 5 lbs. lighter by February,so I can afford to gain it back on my cruise-lol. ENJOY!!!! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #122 Share Posted December 15, 2016 (By the way, the third ship from the left does not look like the Regal to me.) Good eyes! You can only see about the first 10 feet of the Regal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #123 Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) This is our third visit to St. Maarten, so we decided to spend a relaxing day aboard ship, lounging by the Retreat Pool. Until it started raining... Edited December 15, 2016 by CanadianBurger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #124 Share Posted December 15, 2016 Here are some pics from last year's St. Maarten visit, when we went planespotting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CanadianBurger Posted December 15, 2016 Author #125 Share Posted December 15, 2016 (edited) I'll take some requests today if there's something specific on the Regal someone wants a pic of. No promises, but I'll do my best. The rainclouds have moved on, so we're back in the sun. Edited December 15, 2016 by CanadianBurger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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