Mike45LC

Dec 2022: Solstice. Craps: $10 minimum. Double odds. Field pays double on 2 and on 12.

Dec 2022, Solstice: Craps: $10 minimum. Double odds. Field pays double on 2 and 12. Table NOT empty.

The hideous orange color makes it look like a construction site elevator, marring the looks of the Edge. As the others have said, you cannot be on it while it is moving. So, most of the time it is just a bar. I do agree that it is a comfortable tender embarkation/disembarkation platform.

Every princess cruise we take out of Los Angeles, I drop the luggage off at the luggage checkin area and wait until I give it to a porter, with the car at the curb. At the end of the cruise, my wife waits with the luggage, and I drive the car in the parking lot to where she is waiting, and we load the car up. What I would suggest is that your chauffeur/friends wait in the vicinity of the pier, until you are off the ship, through customs/immigration, and that you call them on their cell phone when it is time to come get you. If they want to sit curbside for five minutes or 10 minutes or whatever for you to get there, that will probably be a problem.

Don’t all cruise ships trawl for fresh seafood while cruising? And have a small herd of beef grazing on the miniature golf course on the Sports Deck?

How late the tenders run is up to each Captain. Not even each cruise line. I just checked my old files and in January of this year, the last tender back to the ship was supposed to be 11:30 p.m., and tender service was scheduled to resume at 7:00 am. So not late partying in Cabo's bars unless you were going to spend the night ashore.

This was not my experience at all, and was one of my gripes against Celebrity. We were on a Mediterranean cruise on the Edge, and our excursions tended to return us to the ship around three or four in the afternoon. At that hour, the buffet was completely closed, and the only dining venue that was open was the mast grill or pizza slices. The buffet was also closed in the late evening and overnight.

Every evening, live music is performed in multiple venues.

J: The ship‘s tenders arrive in the marina, which is full of restaurants, bars, and shops. I always take a “water taxi“ or “glass bottom boat“ ride from the marina out to the arch, but I have never heard of taking a water taxi “to downtown.“ I will walk or take a taxi or a pedicab to places like the giggling marlin or Cabo Wabo.

I think it was called "Michael's Club." I joined for $10 in 1990 after I loved my first cruise.

My first cruise was the Meridian, Dec 1990. Passengers were greeted by a ship's officer at the boarding ramp, who turned us over to a crew member to escort us to our cabin. White glove service in the dining room. My, how times have changed. I did the Meridian again, then tried the Horizon before I did the Zenith.

Don't overlook the name, Cruise CRITIC. Some people think that means only critical posts are allowed. I'm glad things worked so well for you. And may your cruise cuisine be to your liking!

When I had a BtoB with a cabin change, I packed up everything from the closet, rolled the suitcase to the new cabin and unloaded into the new closet. I then went back to the first cabin and packed everything from the dressers. ... I did a careful move keeping everything in the same location, so that the new cabin was still set up the same way. Several trips between the cabins, but with empty hallways. I didn't get off the ship (also in Ft. Lauderdale) at all, and I did not want or receive any help from the crew. Being on an almost empty ship, except for a couple of dozen in-transit passengers, was a delight!

When they call me Sir Michael, I correct them: Archangel Michael.

@katmigordon, if your feelings are so strong, think about a legal name change. In several states in the US, that is reasonably simple. Then, your drivers license, passport, bank records, etc. won’t have your emotionally distressing name.

Panorama was $10 last month (August 2023). It did NOT change at all during our cruise.

Coming back from Europe, we missed our connecting flight, and had to wait for many hours for the next flight! It was brutal. I hope you have a better flights! Enjoy the cruise. It should be fabulous.

@Veinless, don't forget afternoon tea in one of the Main Dining Rooms. Check it out on a sea day.

I have never noticed any breakfast foods not listed on the Main Dining Room breakfast menu. But I guess I am a very plain breakfast diner! I avoid the MDR for breakfast because it is far too leisurely for me. I go grab what I want at the buffet, eat and move along.

One more point: Of the several thousand people on the ship, how many of them will you ever see again after you get off the ship? Only your family, right? So don't stress!

Many years ago, I stopped packing my tuxedo for cruises. On a seven day Mex Riv Princess cruise, there will be two formal nights. I will wear a sports coat, dress shirt, slacks, tie; many people will be much more informal. Please don't wear shorts or t-shirts or wife-beaters to dinner on formal night! I don't like seeing jeans, but some people will wear them. The other five nights, Princess calls "smart casual" or some such, I will wear a polo shirt and slacks. I think the "rules" are no shorts or t-shirts. Just wear something nice. Now that I don't pack a tux, I don't need patent leather shoes. I typically bring only two pairs of shoes -- water sandals and my daily dress shoes. My wife, on the other hand, brings one suitcase of shoes, another of purses, ... But we drive, don't fly, so we don't pay a fortune in luggage fees. @Outerdog is right, anything nice looking is sufficient, and DON'T STRESS OVER IT!

@Supersamthe1man, I personally like this change whereby Princess allows us to order (for a charge) steaks and lobster from the Crowne Grill when dining in the Main Dining Room. I get to eat from the MDR menu for free, and my wife enjoys the lobster or steak that she wants. This cuts down on the number of times that SheWhoMustBeObeyed wants us to go to the Specialty Restaurants, which I don't particularly enjoy. @Waltd, I understand that there is now a surcharge for a second (or maybe third) lobster tail on what some people refer to as "lobster night" (when lobster is on the MDR menus as an included meal), but my wife and I simply both ordered one, and I had "mine" separately plated so my food was not contaminated by what was really her second lobster tail. Because I don't eat lobster, this was an easy work-around for us.

"I realize I am going to get a lot of advice to: go on our own and/or look into a Viator or other non ship tour operator and save money etc." Here it comes: Book some excursions with Viatour and if something opens up with Celebrity, you can cancel the Viator excursion in that port. Verify this, but I think Viator allows cancellations until 24 hours in advance. You said that you've used Viator in the past. I know that my experiences with Viator have been good, although I got grief on this Forum for saying so, such as: "Viator is just a broker, a booking site, they are not tour operators, you need to book directly with the tour operator." I used Viator and had no problems --- they spoke English, they booked the excursions we wanted, and everything went smoothly. And I booked all of my cruise excursions with one company, instead of half-a-dozen. (One excursion was terrible, but I don't blame Viator for that.) In each port, we got back to the ship on time with no stress. [Warning: If your tour gets you back to the ship mid-afternoon, Celebrity tends to have no food venues open except the pizza and hot dogs. I was very disappointed about this when I did not care for the food offered [if any] on the excursion. In this regard, Princess is better.] I hope you get wonderful excursions!

I have never heard of Princess DOWNgrading a guaranty cabin. And with the way that we love to complain on this forum, even for very trivial things, if it had happened, we would have heard about it!! Relax and you will have a lovely cabin!

While on a European cruise, we visited several casinos in the ports of call. As I reported, they used Euros. Weren't those "casinos on a European cruise"? And didn't I point out the distinction?