CRLess

On the Premier package you can ask for a double of any of the non-top shelf liquors and it only counts as one drink. I'm a Beefeater guy and got doubles on our voyage on the Ruby last month with no upcharge.

Get to the port early and board the ship as early as possible, then go straight upstairs to the Sanctuary. The Panama Canal cruises are very rarely done as B2B cruises, so there is less pressure for the seats up there.

We too, were on this voyage and, in fact, had the Sanctuary chairs right next to Sulialto and her hubby. This was our fifth time on the Ruby, but our first time on a Gem Class ship in 5-6 cruises. We love the Royal class of ships and thought we would be disappointed going back to an "older" ship. Needless to say, those fears were quickly put to rest once we boarded. We thought the ship was in great condition and the staff was wonderful. We had the same room we normally book on Gem class ships (E730 or E731), a mini suite with a covered and GIANT balcony (about twice the size of a normal mini suite balcony on that class of ship). We booked the Sanctuary for the entire cruise. There was a few days we did not use it due to the wind, and we were not charged for those days. Having it for the Panama Canal day was a treat, with a breakfast spread and unlimited Mimosas, plus nobody standing in your way. With that said, we were in the Sanctuary for our passage through the locks up the 85ft to Gatun Lake, but stayed on our balcony for the trip back down to sea level. In my opinion, being lower on the ship (deck 8 in our case) really puts into perspective how much the ship is traveling up/down through the locks. We ate in Sabatinis on the first night and had a great meal and service. We did Crown Grill on our anniversary and were surprised with a bottle of Proseco and a cake for dessert from our dear friend who is a DRO on another ship currently. The Crown Grill is always a winner with us! We also did the Salty Dog Bistro one night, but gave it a "Meh" rating. We always book the Premier package as we like our good wines. On a prior cruise on the Enchanted, we only did the Plus package, and our upcharge charges on our wines each night, far exceed the difference in cost, at least from our experience. As for our room...we had new carpet and everything was in tip top shape...except for the couch. The cushions were shall we say "tired". We declared the couch unusable. If you sat down, you slid forward. The front of the cushions had nothing for padding. Something new we experienced was the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast. We were surprised with this as a gift from my Uncle and Aunt for our Anniversary. Room service called us to arrange for it, and we decided to have it on our port morning in Costa Rica, to avoid all the wind as the ship was moving. The food arrived hot, and the Bloody Marys and Mimosas were a great touch. I logged some quality hours in the casino playing Black Jack and came out ahead for the week, so hopefully the casino department will reach out to me with some great deals to try to get their money back. If anyone has any specific questions about our experience, feel free to ask. Not trying to hijack this thread, but wanted to add to what Sulialto already said...don't be afraid to sail on the older ships!

This is NOT a Live From thread...he got COVID symptoms after he got home

He most certainly is the best in the fleet! We too have sailed with him three times. Those boarding the Regal tomorrow and for the next several months are lucky...he flew into IAH today.

Norris, Hope you and Carol are feeling better. Selfishly, we need you to speedy this review up before we board in 2 weeks. Can't wait too long to make adjustments to our plans, based on your good or bad experiences.

I do what I can!

Hmmm 😉

As good as your Chef's Table experience looks, nothing will beat our experience with you guys with Neville as our host at the WineMakers Dinner last year!

Norris....reporting for duty! Look forward to following along (although I have seen many of the pics via a certain social media site).

I'm also told that Bistro Sur La Mar is going to be changed to a seafood restaurant.

You are missing my point completely. First of all, I don't begrudge anyone that pays to play, so to speak. The whole point of my thread is that our Elite benefits have been minimized (meaning our loyalty to the cruise line) by them now offering an up-charge experience to anyone that wants to pay more, to experience many of the Elite benefits we have had in the past, simply makes our loyalty worth less. Plain and simple. I get that many of you on this thread don't drink, have no problem sending your laundry out, exchange your mini bar set up for coffee cards, and enjoy the 10% discount on shore excursions. That's great. You do you I am simply trying to relay my experience as to how my wife and I cruise. We enjoy our cocktails and wine, always leave our crew appreciation (tips) on our account, and use unlimited internet on our devices. So the Princess Plus is what works for us...sort of. Before I get into that, I need to add that we also always tip our room steward and "people that made a difference" above and beyond (Sanctuary, dining room, specialty restaurants, etc) the "crew appreciation" amount. So getting back to my comment on the Princess Plus above...my wife and I enjoy our wines before dinner every night. On the cruise we just got off on the Enchanted, we had the Princess Plus, and paid extra for our wines/drinks that exceeded what the Plus package allowed. The math at the end said that we should get the Princess Premier going forward. For the way we cruise (which is different than many of the Elites obviously), please explain how my personal elite benefits (loyalty) have not been eroded by the addition of the Plus/Premier. I ask again, what am I getting, as a loyal Princess cruiser, that any first time cruiser with Princess Premier gets, that I don't as an Elite?

We have sent laundry using the Elite benefit in the past and have been disappointed in the condition that our items have been returned. On our Enchanted voyage, we did our own laundry twice in the laundry on our floor. So we are in the "do your own laundry" crowd, so the Elite benefit of free laundry is another benefit not used.

Just got back a week or so ago from a wonderful cruise on the Enchanted. My wife and I were discussing how we would each fill out our surveys, and we both came to the same conclusion....if you purchase the Princess Plus, what benefit do you receive by being a loyal customer that achieved Elite status? With Princess Plus, internet is included, drinks are included, so the mini bar set up is meaningless. The Platinum/Elite/Suite lounge doesn't really provide any true benefit...you can get appetizers at the buffet. Princess has eliminated the "spa" related toiletries in your stateroom (not that we ever cared about that), the bonus loyalty OBC was eliminated with the pandemic, so the only true benefits Elite members get right now is the 10% off in the shop, and priority boarding/tenders. Did I miss anything? I guess what I am questioning is that a first time cruiser can essentially have almost the same cruise benefits by purchasing the Princess Plus package that loyal Princess passengers have. Has Princess abandoned those of us that are loyal to the brand? With the advent of the Princess Plus and Premium, there needs to be some sort of trade-off to the cost of the "all in" packages for loyal passengers. I think Princess needs to take a hard look at their loyalty programs and evaluate what true benefits their most loyal passengers should have as a benefit.

Spot on! We just got off the Enchanted last weekend. We had the Princess Plus package, so the Elite Mini bar set up was meaningless to us. I had them swap all the sodas for water, and all the alcohol for Beefeater (my go-to). Being on the Marina deck forward, I would run up to The Mix bar every night to grab a large glass of ice, and a glass of tonic water and limes to have a Gin & Tonic in the room while getting ready for dinner. I could have just as easily gotten the Beefeater and Tonic at the bar for no extra cost. Bottom line, the Elite set up is of no value to me having the drink package.