LIVE: Sailing Solo on Sapphire! Cheeky Little Coastal Sep 24-28

[ceilidh1]

Raspberry Baileys Martini 

[PescadoAmarillo]

43 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

It’s no secret that I fell out of love with Princess for a little while. I didn’t like the direction they were going with all the revenue generation and the constant pushing of packages and add ins (I understand it, I just didn’t like it). I have to say, this short sailing has put Princess right back into my heart! Sometimes shorter sailings have poor service, no activities, and just feel disappointing. This one has been amazing! The staff are knocking it out of the park, the food and service has been great and, apart from some minor gripes (misinformation about Crab Shack being the main one) I have zero complaints!!! Well done Princess!

It’s the ship. I love that ship. 

[startedwithamouse]

1 minute ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

It’s the ship. I love that ship. 

Same

[VibeGuy]

4 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

It’s the ship. I love that ship. 

Totally.  Best design and consistently excellent management.   Now that they’ve abandoned the pretense of having a steakhouse, even better than before.  

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, VibeGuy said:

Totally.  Best design and consistently excellent management.   Now that they’ve abandoned the pretense of having a steakhouse, even better than before.  

I’ve really enjoyed the new Brazilian place - ate there twice and quite impressed!

[VibeGuy]

I much prefer my Brazillian experience in the aft of the Lido than in the spa. 

[ceilidh1]

2 minutes ago, VibeGuy said:

I much prefer my Brazillian experience in the aft of the Lido than in the spa. 

I literally just laughed out loud. Which caused several people at trivia to give me a stern look!

[ceilidh1]

I stopped by Good Spirits and gave my two faves (Johms and Ariel) a $40 tip and a bag of treats. They deserve it! They have been so great! I also tipped my Stuart (he is on a 9 month contract and won’t be home until December 😭) and waiting on Alastair to hand off my mini bar and more treats! I’ve accomplished a lot today!

[purpleally]

7 hours ago, 1950aeiou said:

 

Hi Ceilidhi, I just signed-on to Cruise Critic and this is my first post. I have been following this Live thread on Princess and would like to write one for our next cruise. I have enjoyed it, but have a few questions to clear-up a few things.

1. You started writing a week+ ahead of getting on the ship. You had several pages and 100+ posts before getting on the ship. I thought Live was when you are actually on the ship. Is that still considered Live?

2.  How did you score a tour of a HAL ship and lunch? Not sure why it is on the Princess Live thread?

Thank you.

Part of the fun of a cruise is the pre planning. So, yes, ABSOLUTELY,this is still considered a Live 

[VibeGuy]

12 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

I literally just laughed out loud. Which caused several people at trivia to give me a stern look!

I once organized a conspiracy to have “Deep Throat” become the most popular answer to one category in Majority Rules for weeks at a time - the disapproving glares of the uptight are my oxygen, as my late and notoriously uptight mother took a lifetime to learn. 

[ceilidh1]

Let’s remember that I have taken time on my paid cruise to post and report and provide information for anyone that is interested in hearing about it. I do not appreciate being accused of doing anything “nefarious “. I have NO problem telling you all how/why I’ve been able to do things that some passengers can’t do. However, I am respectful of the CC rules so I do not discuss that aspect of my life BUT remember that nothing in this life is free or easy. I have earned everything that I’ve been able to do and see. Be kind. Or move along.

[ceilidh1]

Chocolate Mint Martini 

[talkorpi]

2 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Chocolate Mint Martini 

Uhh I think you might be sitting right in front of me! 😂

[startedwithamouse]

4 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Chocolate Mint Martini 

Are you taking requests? Toasted almond martini please. 

[azbirdmom]

On 9/26/2024 at 11:22 AM, ceilidh1 said:

Update on Crab Shack (which I’m seriously not happy about). I specifically asked if it was specialty dining when I did the $80 to $90 upgrade. I was told yes. The Princess website lists it as specialty dining. Apparently it’s not. It’s a “special event “ and not included. Seriously?

And the same person told you that by upgrading to the new Premier you'd get the faster WiFi too, right?  It's the same WiFi for both packages.  It's always helpful when the onboard "salespeople" can actually describe what is and isn't in each package.  Oh and I had the same problem you did with the Princess prizes saying I had to buy up to get that the last time I had Premier.  I was told I have it in the system but it's another feature (ahem glitch) in the app.

 

[ceilidh1]

9 minutes ago, talkorpi said:

Uhh I think you might be sitting right in front of me! 😂

You at trivia? I only came to drop stuff to Alastair…now I’m stuck drinking Martinis!

[ceilidh1]

3 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

And the same person told you that by upgrading to the new Premier you'd get the faster WiFi too, right?  It's the same WiFi for both packages.  It's always helpful when the onboard "salespeople" can actually describe what is and isn't in each package.  Oh and I had the same problem you did with the Princess prizes saying I had to buy up to get that the last time I had Premier.  I was told I have it in the system but it's another feature (ahem glitch) in the app.

 

The wifi thing apparently IS different (can’t say I’ve noticed). If you upgrade to $90 premium the wifi says “max” and is supposedly fast enough for streaming. It was glitchy initially, but that’s because I wasn’t in airplane mode (doh)

[talkorpi]

1 minute ago, ceilidh1 said:

You at trivia? I only came to drop stuff to Alastair…now I’m stuck drinking Martinis!

Yea! I’m behind the person behind you 😂 and I also want to ask Alastair how he likes being part of the CD staff because every cruise I take I am more and more tempted to quit my office job and be a CD…

[ceilidh1]

Top right says M-Net Max

[ceilidh1]

1 minute ago, talkorpi said:

Yea! I’m behind the person behind you 😂 and I also want to ask Alastair how he likes being part of the CD staff because every cruise I take I am more and more tempted to quit my office job and be a CD…

My dream job. Not sure my kids would be happy if I was off on a ship for 4 months at a time

[azbirdmom]

5 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

The wifi thing apparently IS different (can’t say I’ve noticed). If you upgrade to $90 premium the wifi says “max” and is supposedly fast enough for streaming. It was glitchy initially, but that’s because I wasn’t in airplane mode (doh)

It's max for both as shown in the screen shot I posted as well as in the marketing blast they did this summer announcing the better WiFi.  Basically they are saying you get crappy WiFi if you don't buy a package but just buy the WiFi.

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2024/08/medallionnet-max-enhanced-connectivity-elevates-princess-cruises

Edited 3 hours ago by azbirdmom

[YVRteacher]

5 hours ago, OttawaJohn said:

 

Funny story.  On our first cruise, for some reason, we thought there was a fee for the MDR.  So we ate ALL meals in the buffet.  We were halfway through our second cruise before we noticed MDR was complimentary 🙂 

Same with us! We thought the MDR was specialty dining😂

[ceilidh1]

16 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

It's max for both as shown in the screen shot I posted as well as in the marketing blast they did this summer announcing the better WiFi.  Basically they are saying you get crappy WiFi if you don't buy a package but just buy the WiFi.

 

https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2024/08/medallionnet-max-enhanced-connectivity-elevates-princess-cruises

DOH!!!! 

[ceilidh1]

Finally met @talkorpi ! Enjoy the last evening on the ship and safe travels home tomorrow!

[ceilidh1]

Milky Way