Live from the Caribbean Princess: Panama Canal - Apr 26 to May 14 - SF to FTL

[PacnGoNow]

11 minutes ago, ktembwr said:

I think what is being related is that less passengers mean less gratutities are collected, thus less income...  Singles would pay one gratuity versus multiple......  We enjoy less crowds, but the crew feels it out of their pockets.

I agree.  My steward said they are paid according to passenger loads. So, they are so grateful for a near full ship.

 

He told us one day, he was so grateful for us sailing again, because without us, he would not be able to make a living.

He thanked us several times.

So sweet.

[voljeep]

may have been answered in the 14 pages previously ...

 

is the UBD ( ultimate balcony dinner ) available to be booked again?

[Ken the cruiser]

Today's astronomy lecture was about Cruising to the Red Planet. I have to say one of many great perks in this cruise with 19 sea days is we get one of these cool lectures every sea day! 😁

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PacnGoNow]

15 minutes ago, voljeep said:

may have been answered in the 14 pages previously ...

 

is the UBD ( ultimate balcony dinner ) available to be booked again?

I asked and they said maybe….

after the ships are full again.

 

It should be under celebrations on the cruise personalizer.

If you’re able to book it, let me know.

I keep checking on my cruises.

 

[Ken the cruiser]

21 minutes ago, voljeep said:

may have been answered in the 14 pages previously ...

 

is the UBD ( ultimate balcony dinner ) available to be booked again?

No idea and FWIW it has not been addressed in the last 14 pages. But maybe someone on board reading this thread may have the answer to your question. As we don’t do room service, I wouldn’t personally know.

 

Update: thanks @PacnGoNowfor answering the question! 😁

Edited May 4, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

30 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

I agree.  My steward said they are paid according to passenger loads. So, they are so grateful for a near full ship.

 

He told us one day, he was so grateful for us sailing again, because without us, he would not be able to make a living.

He thanked us several times.

So sweet.

I remember talking with a Celebrity buffet crew member on the Apex back in November who was paid a flat salary as she was hired just to clear tables up in the Oceanview Cafe. She said when cruising first started back up, she was actually making more money than the MDR and specialty restaurant servers were making as the ships were only 25-40% full. However, once they started filling up over 50-60%, they started making more than her again. As others have said, it’s all about capacity and how many gratuity $$$ are being collected. For example on this cruise, it’s only 50% full. However, on the next 2 legs, there will be an additional 1000-1100 passengers at last count.

[GonzoWCS]

Ken,

  I forgot to ask this question early in your trip.  Have you read "Path Between the Seas"?  I id when we took the Island Princess through the Panama Canal.  Also the lectures were all about the building of the canal and he used that book as one of his references.  Great read.

 

Cheers

[Seacruise]

2 hours ago, ktembwr said:

I think what is being related is that less passengers mean less gratutities are collected, thus less income...  Singles would pay one gratuity versus multiple......  We enjoy less crowds, but the crew feels it out of their pockets.

That is true to a point. Let me put it to you this way if the tip is $4.00 a day pp on the old system and that is what he gets the steward is only getting roughly $2.25 a day now because he only services the cabin once a day. So my question is what is happening to the other $1.75?

So they are felling it with less cabins but working for less money they do get when they have cabins.

Now have I made it clear?

[Ken the cruiser]

This afternoon we heard about some famous pirates presented in an Enrichment lecture by Kerry.
 

Afterwards we went for our 2 mile walk around the promenade and saw a bunch of small dolphins swimming on both sides of the ship for a good 5-10 minutes!! 😁
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[GonzoWCS]

33 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

This afternoon we heard about some famous pirates presented in an Enrichment lecture by Kerry.
 

Afterwards we went for our 2 mile walk around the promenade and saw a bunch of small dolphins swimming on both sides of the ship for a good 5-10 minutes!! 😁
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luvs me some Pirates.  Arrrrr

 

Cheers

[GonzoWCS]

41 minutes ago, Seacruise said:

That is true to a point. Let me put it to you this way if the tip is $4.00 a day pp on the old system and that is what he gets the steward is only getting roughly $2.25 a day now because he only services the cabin once a day. So my question is what is happening to the other $1.75?

So they are felling it with less cabins but working for less money they do get when they have cabins.

Now have I made it clear?

You are doing so much math I think you are due for a cruise.....

 

Cheers

[Ken the cruiser]

A couple of observations. First, our steward does a deep cleaning in the morning and then at turn down, he cleans the bathroom again, tidies up around the cabin to include rolling the balcony towels back up then placing them back on the lounge chairs, as well as turning down the bed. Now, he only has 8 aft-facing vista suites on 4 decks to take care of, but he’s doing an outstanding job and is always very friendly when we see him, which is not very often.

 

The other observation is regarding formal night attire. On this cruise, and maybe it’s different than others, we saw a few men wearing polo shirts as well as short sleeve shirts with no tie. For me I wore a long sleeve shirt with a tie, but no coat. But, don’t get me wrong, quite a few men did come to CC dining in tuxes, suit coats with or without a tie, or wearing a sport coat. But I didn’t see any jeans or shorts. Of course, as my DW would say, all the women were dressed appropriately, regardless of what they were wearing. 😂 BTW I’m not judging anyone. I just find it interesting what is posted on the website when compared to what is actually acceptable when you show up for dinner on formal night. 

Edited May 4, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[azbirdmom]

21 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Of course, as my DW would say, all the women were dressed appropriately, regardless of what they were wearing. 😂 BTW I’m not judging anyone. I just find it interesting what is posted on the website when compared to what is actually acceptable when you show up for dinner on formal night. 

 

Actually depending on who is doing the posting you'll find the definition of acceptable to vary widely.  And your wife is a smart woman!

[c-boy]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

A couple of observations. First, our steward does a deep cleaning in the morning and then at turn down, he cleans the bathroom again, tidies up around the cabin to include rolling the balcony towels back up then placing them back on the lounge chairs, as well as turning down the bed. Now, he only has 8 aft-facing vista suites on 4 decks to take care of, but he’s doing an outstanding job and is always very friendly when we see him, which is not very often.

 

The other observation is regarding formal night attire. On this cruise, and maybe it’s different than others, we saw a few men wearing polo shirts as well as short sleeve shirts with no tie. For me I wore a long sleeve shirt with a tie, but no coat. But, don’t get me wrong, quite a few men did come to CC dining in tuxes, suit coats with or without a tie, or wearing a sport coat. But I didn’t see any jeans or shorts. Of course, as my DW would say, all the women were dressed appropriately, regardless of what they were wearing. 😂 BTW I’m not judging anyone. I just find it interesting what is posted on the website when compared to what is actually acceptable when you show up for dinner on formal night. 

it's all about itinerary and attitude 

[Ken the cruiser]

This evening in the main theater was the production singers and dancers performing in Broadway Ballroom. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

But the highlight of the evening in our minds was the Liars Club Game Show in the Explorers Lounge where once again the CD, Gary, and his hilarious team provided another great show!!

 

 

 

 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Thursday, May 5, Princess Patter, sea day

 

 

[Denali2003]

My husband & I were on the Regal Princess in Dec 2021.  The ship holds 3,600 passengers and there was only 1,200 on board.  I personally liked that there was not a lot of passengers.  The crew was amazing!  We had great service everywhere!  At the end of the cruise we gave tips to several crew members in different areas.  Everyone was very friendly.

 

Formal night:  I wear a dress, semi-formal and my husband wears a Tux.

 

We are booked on the Caribbean Princess for the May 14th & 21st sailings.  We will be wearing a mask at all times, except for eating & drinking.  Both on & off the ship.

 

KEN:  WOW, you have a lot of cruising days.  Have you done world cruises?

[PacnGoNow]

13 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

A couple of observations. First, our steward does a deep cleaning in the morning and then at turn down, he cleans the bathroom again, tidies up around the cabin to include rolling the balcony towels back up then placing them back on the lounge chairs, as well as turning down the bed. Now, he only has 8 aft-facing vista suites on 4 decks to take care of, but he’s doing an outstanding job and is always very friendly when we see him, which is not very often.

 

The other observation is regarding formal night attire. On this cruise, and maybe it’s different than others, we saw a few men wearing polo shirts as well as short sleeve shirts with no tie. For me I wore a long sleeve shirt with a tie, but no coat. But, don’t get me wrong, quite a few men did come to CC dining in tuxes, suit coats with or without a tie, or wearing a sport coat. But I didn’t see any jeans or shorts. Of course, as my DW would say, all the women were dressed appropriately, regardless of what they were wearing. 😂 BTW I’m not judging anyone. I just find it interesting what is posted on the website when compared to what is actually acceptable when you show up for dinner on formal night. 

How are you and your DW keeping covid free?  You seem to be attending a lot of venues and enjoying yourself. 
Just interested….

[Ken the cruiser]

We found out a few tidbits today.

 

1. If you have questions about the workings of your Medallion Class app, you need to go to the Ocean Front desk next to the Fusion rather than to the Internet Cafe.

 

2. If you are booked in the same cabin on multiple bookings like we are, you cannot use your cabin number, even if you are onboard, when choosing the Quick Access method to log onto your account. You have to use your booking number. As a side note, make sure you enter the correct booking number like we weren’t. 😂

 

3. If you want to see the combined entries in your Shipboard Account on the app and you are not #1 on the booking, you have to go to Guest Services to have them change you to #1.

 

Also, but I learned this trick awhile back. If you type a bunch of stuff in like I just did, and then click on Submit Reply and it simply disappears. No worries. Just recycle the page and then “tap” on the new message area, which is now blank, with your finger or click on it with your mouse, where you previously entered your posting, and it should reappear. This also works (usually), if you get out of CC and then reopen it.

[RMS Olympic]

Well it’s time to empty out my tip jar in preparation for the cruise.

I keep a big jar on the kitchen counter to put change in after coming back from the store. It’s amazing how much I collect between cruises😝.

It becomes part of my cruise where I can tip crew without having to think about it from a trip budget perspective.

I figure if I can say thank you, show appreciation or make someone’s day.....it makes me feel good inside.

The only downside is when other passengers criticize me for my actions.....

oh well, it’s a personal thing and it makes me feel good....along with a lemon drop martini🤓

 

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

How are you and your DW keeping covid free?  You seem to be attending a lot of venues and enjoying yourself. 
Just interested….

Some folks have asked what our strategy has been to avoid getting sick while on one of the 10 cruises, to include this one on the CB, we’ve been on since cruising started back up (see below). So, here it is in a “large nutshell”.😂

 

In essence we treat moving around the ship like a game. Hey, what can I say, we're on a cruise and having fun is what it's all about, right? 

 

Dining: On our first visit to our dining room, my DW makes sure the hostess and/or maitre 'd know that if at all possible we would like an empty table next to us while dining and are also very willing to sit at the most undesirable table they have. But, in order to be able to do that, we always try to come when the dining room, especially in the evening, first opens. It's amazing how accommodating they can be when you don't care what (non-window) table you sit at.

 

Elevators: We're in our late 60s and are still able to use the stairs whenever feasible. But if we have to walk up 4+ flights of stairs, especially after a meal, we'll take the elevator with our masks on. Now, if either unmasked or 3 or more passengers decide to enter the elevator on an in-between floor, we get off there and walk up the rest of the way. 

 

Main theater: When we first board and are exploring the ship, we head to the main theater and develop a strategy as to where we will sit using knowledge from past cruises if possible. On a Celebrity ship, the theaters have 3-4 levels and have a U-shaped design, so it's pretty easy to developmultiple out-of-the-way seating options. Now, on a Princess ship, their theater seating takes a little more creative thinking. But, of course, that's all part of the game to make adjustments when necessary. On the CB we basically found 8 locations where other passengers weren’t sitting directly behind us.

 

Downtime: We always get a balcony and try to determine which cabin location will produce the most shade during the cruise, especially in the afternoon. Hanging out with a bunch of people near the pool is just not something we would do. Of course, we’ve already made an exception to this rule on the first port day when they were playing a Journey concert movie by the pool. 😂

 

Excursions: If at all possible we sit in the back of the tour bus while most folks like to sit more towards the front and, of course, we wear our mask at all times while on the bus.

 

Reducing stress by walking in underutilized spaces: When we first get on the ship, we also check out where the entrances to the promenade walkways are and use them, when necessary, in a crowded situation whenwe need to get from one end of the ship to another. If not an option, we will use the nearby stairs, walk up a flight or two, and then walk through a cabin hallway to get to the other end of the ship.

 

Personal Hygiene: We wash our hands whenever feasible without going into any public bathroom. That is a big no no! But we also wash our hands once we get back to the cabin. As far as hand sanitizers go, we use them whenever we go into a theater or dining room as well as when we leave those areas. We also sanitize coming back onto the ship or basically anywhere our hands may have touched something. Heck, my DW makes me sanitize even if I just touch the elevator button. 😂 BTW we use our triple-layered "washable" Celebrity cloth masks as they have done a good job for us and they're comfortable. And you guessed it, we'll probably be wearing them on the upcoming Princess and NCL cruises unless we're issued ones by the cruise line.

 

But, most importantly, we treat it like a game as we've enjoyed not getting sick on/or after a cruise for many years now. Of course, we also have no desire to mess up our cruise by getting quarantined, either by getting C19 or being traced, as we usually are on B2B cruises that are at least 2-3+ weeks long.

 

The bottom line is that it's up to YOU to keep yourself safe rather than to worry about the variety of personalities that will be on the ship cruising with you and what they will do.

[PacnGoNow]

29 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Some folks have asked what our strategy has been to avoid getting sick while on one of the 10 cruises, to include this one on the CB, we’ve been on since cruising started back up (see below). So, here it is in a “large nutshell”.😂

 

In essence we treat moving around the ship like a game. Hey, what can I say, we're on a cruise and having fun is what it's all about, right? 

 

Dining: On our first visit to our dining room, my DW makes sure the hostess and/or maitre 'd know that if at all possible we would like an empty table next to us while dining and are also very willing to sit at the most undesirable table they have. But, in order to be able to do that, we always try to come when the dining room, especially in the evening, first opens. It's amazing how accommodating they can be when you don't care what (non-window) table you sit at.

 

Elevators: We're in our late 60s and are still able to use the stairs whenever feasible. But if we have to walk up 4+ flights of stairs, especially after a meal, we'll take the elevator with our masks on. Now, if either unmasked or 3 or more passengers decide to enter the elevator on an in-between floor, we get off there and walk up the rest of the way. 

 

Main theater: When we first board and are exploring the ship, we head to the main theater and develop a strategy as to where we will sit using knowledge from past cruises if possible. On a Celebrity ship, the theaters have 3-4 levels and have a U-shaped design, so it's pretty easy to developmultiple out-of-the-way seating options. Now, on a Princess ship, their theater seating takes a little more creative thinking. But, of course, that's all part of the game to make adjustments when necessary. On the CB we basically found 8 locations where other passengers weren’t sitting directly behind us.

 

Downtime: We always get a balcony and try to determine which cabin location will produce the most shade during the cruise, especially in the afternoon. Hanging out with a bunch of people near the pool is just not something we would do. Of course, we’ve already made an exception to this rule on the first port day when they were playing a Journey concert movie by the pool. 😂

 

Excursions: If at all possible we sit in the back of the tour bus while most folks like to sit more towards the front and, of course, we wear our mask at all times while on the bus.

 

Reducing stress by walking in underutilized spaces: When we first get on the ship, we also check out where the entrances to the promenade walkways are and use them, when necessary, in a crowded situation whenwe need to get from one end of the ship to another. If not an option, we will use the nearby stairs, walk up a flight or two, and then walk through a cabin hallway to get to the other end of the ship.

 

Personal Hygiene: We wash our hands whenever feasible without going into any public bathroom. That is a big no no! But we also wash our hands once we get back to the cabin. As far as hand sanitizers go, we use them whenever we go into a theater or dining room as well as when we leave those areas. We also sanitize coming back onto the ship or basically anywhere our hands may have touched something. Heck, my DW makes me sanitize even if I just touch the elevator button. 😂 BTW we use our triple-layered "washable" Celebrity cloth masks as they have done a good job for us and they're comfortable. And you guessed it, we'll probably be wearing them on the upcoming Princess and NCL cruises unless we're issued ones by the cruise line.

 

But, most importantly, we treat it like a game as we've enjoyed not getting sick on/or after a cruise for many years now. Of course, we also have no desire to mess up our cruise by getting quarantined, either by getting C19 or being traced, as we usually are on B2B cruises that are at least 2-3+ weeks long.

 

The bottom line is that it's up to YOU to keep yourself safe rather than to worry about the variety of personalities that will be on the ship cruising with you and what they will do.

Absolutely true!  Thank you for the very informative response. 
Stay positive and test negative.

 

[GonzoWCS]

42 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

Some folks have asked what our strategy has been to avoid getting sick while on one of the 10 cruises, to include this one on the CB, we’ve been on since cruising started back up (see below). So, here it is in a “large nutshell”.😂

 

In essence we treat moving around the ship like a game. Hey, what can I say, we're on a cruise and having fun is what it's all about, right? 

 

Dining: On our first visit to our dining room, my DW makes sure the hostess and/or maitre 'd know that if at all possible we would like an empty table next to us while dining and are also very willing to sit at the most undesirable table they have. But, in order to be able to do that, we always try to come when the dining room, especially in the evening, first opens. It's amazing how accommodating they can be when you don't care what (non-window) table you sit at.

 

Elevators: We're in our late 60s and are still able to use the stairs whenever feasible. But if we have to walk up 4+ flights of stairs, especially after a meal, we'll take the elevator with our masks on. Now, if either unmasked or 3 or more passengers decide to enter the elevator on an in-between floor, we get off there and walk up the rest of the way. 

 

Main theater: When we first board and are exploring the ship, we head to the main theater and develop a strategy as to where we will sit using knowledge from past cruises if possible. On a Celebrity ship, the theaters have 3-4 levels and have a U-shaped design, so it's pretty easy to developmultiple out-of-the-way seating options. Now, on a Princess ship, their theater seating takes a little more creative thinking. But, of course, that's all part of the game to make adjustments when necessary. On the CB we basically found 8 locations where other passengers weren’t sitting directly behind us.

 

Downtime: We always get a balcony and try to determine which cabin location will produce the most shade during the cruise, especially in the afternoon. Hanging out with a bunch of people near the pool is just not something we would do. Of course, we’ve already made an exception to this rule on the first port day when they were playing a Journey concert movie by the pool. 😂

 

Excursions: If at all possible we sit in the back of the tour bus while most folks like to sit more towards the front and, of course, we wear our mask at all times while on the bus.

 

Reducing stress by walking in underutilized spaces: When we first get on the ship, we also check out where the entrances to the promenade walkways are and use them, when necessary, in a crowded situation whenwe need to get from one end of the ship to another. If not an option, we will use the nearby stairs, walk up a flight or two, and then walk through a cabin hallway to get to the other end of the ship.

 

Personal Hygiene: We wash our hands whenever feasible without going into any public bathroom. That is a big no no! But we also wash our hands once we get back to the cabin. As far as hand sanitizers go, we use them whenever we go into a theater or dining room as well as when we leave those areas. We also sanitize coming back onto the ship or basically anywhere our hands may have touched something. Heck, my DW makes me sanitize even if I just touch the elevator button. 😂 BTW we use our triple-layered "washable" Celebrity cloth masks as they have done a good job for us and they're comfortable. And you guessed it, we'll probably be wearing them on the upcoming Princess and NCL cruises unless we're issued ones by the cruise line.

 

But, most importantly, we treat it like a game as we've enjoyed not getting sick on/or after a cruise for many years now. Of course, we also have no desire to mess up our cruise by getting quarantined, either by getting C19 or being traced, as we usually are on B2B cruises that are at least 2-3+ weeks long.

 

The bottom line is that it's up to YOU to keep yourself safe rather than to worry about the variety of personalities that will be on the ship cruising with you and what they will do.

Our first two (2) experiences Enchanted in November 2021 and Sky December/January 2022 are almost in lock step with you here Ken.  Mitigating the threat is what it has been about for Us.  Great synopsis of prudent steps here.

 

Thanks for all you do to inform folks!

 

Cheers

[Denali2003]

@KenTheCruiser You mentioned that you go to the dining room when they open for dinner.  Do you know what the "crowd" is like around 7:30pm?  We would also like a table for 2 away from other passengers (you mentioned asking for an empty table next to you).  We will be on the May 14th sailing and it is 90% capacity.

[jagoffee]

19 hours ago, Seacruise said:

That is true to a point. Let me put it to you this way if the tip is $4.00 a day pp on the old system and that is what he gets the steward is only getting roughly $2.25 a day now because he only services the cabin once a day. So my question is what is happening to the other $1.75?

So they are felling it with less cabins but working for less money they do get when they have cabins.

Now have I made it clear?

The short answer is your cabin steward gets the $1.75 for a total of $4.00 for you.  Most likely, they do not get the gratuity based on hours worked but by person.  They visit your cabin more than once a day.

If they normally service 40 people in 20 cabins, but only have 20 people in 10 cabins, their share of the gratuities is likely much less.  Perhaps Princess gives them some extra compensation in an attempt to help a little.  
 

The Steward also make a lot of money from the additional gratuities from passengers and they have less opportunities for the extra gratuities due to the lower passenger counts.

 

 

This is why during these times, I have become an even more generous tipper.  (Cruises and restaurants).  I try to make up some of the difference as I appreciate the fact that they are providing a service to us during these very difficult times.  

 

I believe I clearly understand your question and I hope  my answer is clear.