jmelnick

Definitely more noise than a non-connecting room. It really depends on the neighbors. Once, we had neighbors who loved to keep their balcony door open. This caused loud whistling from the connecting door. We ended up putting a rolled up towel by the door to cut down the wind noise.

No USB ports this past October.

Flavor Teller food tour. The best!

Good idea, but we used an independent TA.

Sailing on Sunday. Still haven't gotten "the call". Oh well. Just as long as we get on board, all will be well.

I don't think Princess provides these on any ships. Anytime I've seen people playing, it looked like they brought their own sets.

To add to the above, which I totally agree with, since you're in Reserved Class they'll probably ask you to cancel your MDR reservation as it's not really needed. You don't have to, but they'll ask. I had that happen when they started with this system several years ago.

This is what the port recommends: https://sfport.com/maritime/cruise#tab-12453-pane-2 It's as good as anything else in the area. There really isn't anything close. We've found the best thing to do is to drop off luggage and other passengers and then go park the car and walk back. It's maybe a 5 - 10 minute walk. Just do the reverse when you get back.

About the salt. I believe it's coming from 2 things: 1. Yes, they use a large amount of salt in their cooking. 2. I read somewhere on CC that after the reverse osmosis step, they add back some minerals for taste. Some salt is probably part of the mix. Have you ever drank distilled water? Yuch!

Yes, of course they are.

I had looked at doing this for our cruise in March. I didn't think that the timing would work out. All the tours I looked at would have looked like they would have gotten back just as the ship was departing. Didn't seem worth the risk.

Free drinks during happy hour? When did they start this? I've always had to pay or put it on the drink package.

I've never had it work on any ship when at sea. It does work pretty well in most parts of the world. Check with the Fi website to see which countries they support.

If you're a drinker, then a package might be worthwhile. Look at Princess Plus. We find it to be a good value. Includes 15 alcoholic beverages up to $15 (you pay the difference if the drink is over that), wifi, and tips. With a suite, you do get a mini-bar setup. A few beers, a few sodas, 6 or 8 mini-bottles of liquor. You can swap out for things you line - alcohol for alcohol, soda for soda... The best tip is to be sure to take advantage of the Suite Breakfast in either the Crown Grill or Sabatinis - it depends on the ship. A Relaxed, pampered breakfast is a nice way to start the day. Can't go wrong with starting the day with mimosas! Also get a complementary specialty dining the first night. You need to wait until you board to reserve it. If you do it before hand, you'll need to pay upfront and then get refunded once on board. There's a lounge that the setup in the evening for Suite, and well traveled guests. Nothing special. Most folks seem to dislike the canapes.

All shorties.