First Princess cruise-Aft Penthouse- Casino comped and loads of questions. Help Pls !!

[Luckybee]

So my home casino had a deal going where I could choose a suite with any of H.A/Princess or Carnival. I chose a 7 day Caribbean cruise with Princess for April .Although dh and I have cruised (a few times only) with the Paul Gauguin and with Royal I have a ton of questions regarding princ3ss. I will be travelling solo as dh can no longer travel because of his health issues .

 

First does anyone know if you are on a comped cruise whether you get the suite perks like first night specialty dining, 360 etc, ? Can you book those things in advance and if so how ? Ive booked other specialty nights but the first night shows up with a cost attached, amd 360 doesnt show up at all?

 

I am trying to decide whether to add princess plus/premium ?Given the cost of internet/tips/drinks/specialty dining/casual dining etc. I think its close price wise either way for me (I'm not a big drinker but do like good quality Chardonnay and am not seeing many options on the menus, so I expect I will bring a few bottles on board for the room even with the knowlede that I'll pay a corkage fee). Is there any service advantage/disadvantae to paying as I go? 

 

I've already booked 3 nights of specialty dining and if I change to premier I presume I can simply cancel 2 of them to let the package pay for 2 nights but will I be able to book those in advance as well? I want to make certain I get the times that I want and wouldnt be thrilled getting what "they would book for me".

 

I plan on doing alternative/specialty dining most if not all nights. . I'm basing that decision on my previous cruise on Royal where we were very unhappy with main dining and chose to do specialty dining for the remainder of the cruise (being honest I admit I am pretty particular and fussy and am a bit of a foodie) is food on princess better than Royal/same/gawd forbid worse? Should I leave 1 night/more for club dining ?

 

Lastly does anyone know whether the balcony for Dolphin 727 has enough of an uncovered balcony for sunbathing on the lounger or should I try to get a cabana in the sanctuary for sea days ? 

 

Thanks in advance for any help 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cheetosrevil]

Congratulations on the penthouse suite comp...very nice. Seems your questions can be answered via a search, some are subjective to your preferences and then input from those with experience at the level you're inquiring about. Have a great cruise.

[kiwi57]

What ship are you sailing on?  I have been in D727 on a few Royal class ships.  The balcony is excellent; largest on the ship I think.  It has a bit of cover, depending on the time of day and the direction of the ship. Often, sunbathing should be no problem; you might have to move your lounger around a bit, which is no problem as I feel that balcony is big enough for 15 or 20 loungers. 🙂  You do get all the same suite perks with the casino comped cruise.  Priority embarkation, special dinner seating, etc. as noted on the website.  The 360 experience is only on the Enchanted and Discovery.  Suites will be getting an automatic invitation, and besides some casino perks, it was not open to the public until it finished the beta testing.  When I was on the Enchanted two weeks ago, they were rolling out the 360 to the public at the end of my cruise (Oct. 14th), for a price of $150 each.  It was a very cool experience, and delicious.  A small group of about 20 people, in the round with immersion effects, videos and multiple courses.  Honestly, I think that The Catch by Rudy was better for me (Dover sole was amazing) since I don't drink and there was a specialty cocktail pairing with every dish at the 360.

 

[cheetosrevil]

4 minutes ago, kiwi57 said:

What ship are you sailing on?  I have been in D727 on a few Royal class ships.  The balcony is excellent; largest on the ship I think.  It has a bit of cover, depending on the time of day and the direction of the ship. Often, sunbathing should be no problem; you might have to move your lounger around a bit, which is no problem as I feel that balcony is big enough for 15 or 20 loungers. 🙂  You do get all the same suite perks with the casino comped cruise.  Priority embarkation, special dinner seating, etc. as noted on the website.  The 360 experience is only on the Enchanted and Discovery.  Suites will be getting an automatic invitation, and besides some casino perks, it was not open to the public until it finished the beta testing.  When I was on the Enchanted two weeks ago, they were rolling out the 360 to the public at the end of my cruise (Oct. 14th), for a price of $150 each.  It was a very cool experience, and delicious.  A small group of about 20 people, in the round with immersion effects, videos and multiple courses.  Honestly, I think that The Catch by Rudy was better for me (Dover sole was amazing) since I don't drink and there was a specialty cocktail pairing with every dish at the 360.

 

Re: the 360 cocktail pairing, on the Discovery it was strictly wine and not the best IMO. Although, I have heard from others that they like the choices. Again, subjective to taste.

[Luckybee]

cheetorevil....I had already searched (and searched and searched finding a great deal of contadictory info and no info whatsoever on some of my questions)

 

Thanks Kiwi....yes it is on the Enchanted Princess and I appreciate the comments about the balcony. I had looked at 726 on a video I had found but it was hard to determine if the balcony was shaded or not in that video.

 

Good to know that a comped cruise gets all the benefits as well :)

 

I've already booked each of Catch, Sabatini's and Crown Grill so now I know to do the 360 experience too !

Edited October 26, 2023 by Luckybee

[azbirdmom]

3 hours ago, Luckybee said:

So my home casino had a deal going where I could choose a suite with any of H.A/Princess or Carnival. I chose a 7 day Caribbean cruise with Princess for April .Although dh and I have cruised (a few times only) with the Paul Gauguin and with Royal I have a ton of questions regarding princ3ss. I will be travelling solo as dh can no longer travel because of his health issues .   Wow, getting a comped full suite is a rarity.  Congratulations!

 

First does anyone know if you are on a comped cruise whether you get the suite perks like first night specialty dining, 360 etc, ? Can you book those things in advance and if so how ? Ive booked other specialty nights but the first night shows up with a cost attached, amd 360 doesnt show up at all?  What ship are you on?  If you are on the Discovery or Enchanted you will be able to dine at 360.  It doesn't show up, they will contact you.  Those are the only ships with 360.  You can reserve your first night specialty dining when you are onboard.  If you are on a Royal Class ship you can go to the Suite Concierge lounge and they will take care of it for you.  Otherwise you can call the dine line.

 

I am trying to decide whether to add princess plus/premium ?Given the cost of internet/tips/drinks/specialty dining/casual dining etc. I think its close price wise either way for me (I'm not a big drinker but do like good quality Chardonnay and am not seeing many options on the menus, so I expect I will bring a few bottles on board for the room even with the knowlede that I'll pay a corkage fee). Is there any service advantage/disadvantae to paying as I go?   Will you be using WiFi?  How many drinks will you have?  If yes to WiFi and if you're having a couple of drinks it's probably worth it to buy the Plus package.  If you are on a Royal class ship there will also be a happy hour in the Suite Concierge lounge each night for two hours with free drinks.  Also if you like espresso there is a machine in the lounge and you'll get bottled water.  Factor that into your equation.

 

I've already booked 3 nights of specialty dining and if I change to premier I presume I can simply cancel 2 of them to let the package pay for 2 nights but will I be able to book those in advance as well? I want to make certain I get the times that I want and wouldnt be thrilled getting what "they would book for me".  The suite concierge should be able to sort this out for you if you have prebooked and paid for them.  It would result in a credit to your onboard account which you could use in the casino or if  you don't go to the casino at all it would be refundable if you paid $$ for it.

 

I plan on doing alternative/specialty dining most if not all nights. . I'm basing that decision on my previous cruise on Royal where we were very unhappy with main dining and chose to do specialty dining for the remainder of the cruise (being honest I admit I am pretty particular and fussy and am a bit of a foodie) is food on princess better than Royal/same/gawd forbid worse? Should I leave 1 night/more for club dining ?  Club / Reserve Class dining is basically the same menu as what other diners get except there is a special dish each night.  It's fine for us but if you are a foodie you may be disappointed, it really does depend.  By the way you'll also get suite breakfast which will be in either Crown Grill or Sabatini's depending on the ship.  Mimosas are included and they do have a nice menu.  But if you want something not on the menu just ask them.

 

Lastly does anyone know whether the balcony for Dolphin 727 has enough of an uncovered balcony for sunbathing on the lounger or should I try to get a cabana in the sanctuary for sea days ?  If that is on a Royal Class ship you will have a huge wraparound balcony.  There's some covered  but a lot uncovered.  No need to spring for the sanctuary unless you want to be among others or have ready access to a pool.

 

Thanks in advance for any help 

 

See responses above in red

Edited October 26, 2023 by azbirdmom

[cheetosrevil]

1 hour ago, Luckybee said:

cheetorevil....I had already searched (and searched and searched finding a great deal of contadictory info and no info whatsoever on some of my questions)

 

Thanks Kiwi....yes it is on the Enchanted Princess and I appreciate the comments about the balcony. I had looked at 726 on a video I had found but it was hard to determine if the balcony was shaded or not in that video.

 

Good to know that a comped cruise gets all the benefits as well 🙂

 

I've already booked each of Catch, Sabatini's and Crown Grill so now I know to do the 360 experience too !

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by cheetosrevil

[Cruisintimer]

Congrats on the sweet deal you received.  If you are a foodie I would go with the premier package.  Whatever you decide have a fantastic cruise!  

  

[emairs]

Here are a couple of photos of the balcony of Enchanted Dolphin 728, which is the same as 727.. This balcony is the largest of the aft suites. There is lots of uncovered space for sunbathing!

[Fa-Li]

We adored our aft penthouse on Enchanted so much that we've booked it again.  Such a fabulous experience.  As to dining, keep in mind you will be in Reserve not MDR.  So you may not need to pay for much specialty.  The Reserve dining experience was excellent and the breakfast in Sabatini's is one of the best perks of suite bookings.  

 

Also be sure to pop up to the concierge lounge for snacks all day and drinks during happy hour.  The staff there is excellent and will do anything to make your cruise a good one.  If you find you are still wondering about anything when you board, just go ask the concierge and you will be given info and advice.  

 

You should get a call before your cruise about 360 (it's a California number so watch for it) but if you need to change the date/time or you haven't heard anything, the concierge can help with this as well.  

[Luckybee]

Thanks everyone for the advice !