SiliconCruiser

Coat with shorts ... don't tempt me 😄 Besides with all that weight on top, I might topple over 😄

Big box is staffed up now. They answer the phone promptly. They're also easier to get a refund online if you can't reach them. Yes, they stopped offering refundable OBC because many people were not getting the refunds since the cruise company is upside down financially. The store gift cards are not a big deal, at least you'll get a fair price for the merchandise that you purchase (compare that to anything that you would use OBC for.) Besides you're gonna spend that money at big box anyway, you may as well get something worthy rather than getting scammed on an overpriced excursion that you could get onshore for less. Even before Covid, I was glad that 'big box' had switched over to Shop Cards.

Only from Guest Services, but it was also that way pre-Covid. It's as if they are trained to spew out a set number of lies. Stewards and restaurant staff work their butts off. Tip appropriately.

Shorts are acceptable in the MDRs on the first and last nights of the cruise. But I don't remember if I ever wore shorts into the MDRs on Mexico or Hawaiian cruises.

Wait, are you referring to Alina from the Ukraine, whose role is a Buffet Steward? I don't remember seeing her in the buffet, but she remembered us, but we always saw her in Da Vinci for lunch and Michelangelo for dinner and she took exceptional care of us, having made her own designation for a table for us (a table for 4 that she had converted to a table for two.) She would regularly divert the directions of other staffers to take special care of us. I just don't think we tipped her enough. She was one of the people that I made a special note of in our post-trip comments.

That was not my experience. Even in Europe, I was definitely in the minority wearing actual formal wear. That being said, I did get thrown out of the MDR when I absentmindedly wore shorts (I'm old, I remember exactly how I got to the kitchen, I just can't remember why I went there.) When I ran into the same young lady on the same ship later in the year in the Caribbean, she remembered me and I teased her about throwing me out of the MDR. She became very apologetic, before I stopped her and told her that I was just teasing her.

I once had a call answered in 45 minutes. Generally I hung up at the 2 hour mark. Found that the Chat option was more responsive (it's almost hidden at the bottom of the web page,) and I was more likely to get an accurate answer rather than one that the phone agent was making up on the fly (I can usually tell by the manner of their speech that they're just making up an answer.)

The dress code in Europe is the same as it is on any Princess cruise anywhere in the world. We were on a Baltic cruise in the summer of 2019. I brought and wore my tux, but I was very much in the minority. I think I saw more formal wear on a Hawaiian cruise at the end of the previous year.

I think we did several times. She was handing out plates and utensils. Every time my wife approached in her wheelchair, she would drop everything to help my wife and call out for a replacement for her station. I did have a problem with her though ... she would get my wife seated and was off getting something for my wife and I had no clue as to where either one of them were. Then would get back to the buffet and saw me standing there, so she told me where she had seated my wife ... (she was kinda quick.)

I found none of the complaints about the food or food portions on the FB groups to be valid. There was little difference from the pre-Covid days, except that the desserts were inconsistent. As a matter of fact, the cycle has even changed much, some of the menus were predictable and correlated to the number of the cruise day; the Formal night menus seem unchanged from pre-Covid days. They used to have a set group of desserts as "Princess Favorites" and then a group that changed each day. This time most of the dessert items were consistent.

Didn't see it on the 7/9-19 trip. As a matter of fact, never saw Caribe opened for food service, though people were in the seating area as overflow from Horizon.

I've noticed that many of the TAs, including 'big box' now only post fares based on the Princess Plus price. At no point do they even suggest that you can book at the Princess Standard price. I called 'big box' yesterday to book a couple of additional cruise to create a b2b2b2b cruise and inquired if I could book at the Princess Standard price. They did not hesitate. The same was the case for a TA that is often found onboard West Coast Princess cruises, and they too stated that booking at Princess Standard was no problem (they even suggested it.)

Just got off an Alaskan cruise on the Ruby a few days ago. I think I counted a total of about 4 tuxedos (one may have just been a dark suit with a bow tie.) Granted the Alaskan Inner Passage tends to be the least formal of any of the venues. But the definition of "formal" may also be relative to the local demographic as well. On my last three cruises, two Caribbean and one Alaskan, I left my tux at home. On the Alaskan cruise, I brought a tie, but never used it.

Okay here's another viewpoint ... Halfway through our cruise I caught a bug. I went and tested myself, because we brought along kits. I tested positive, but after observing what I had seen over the past couple of days, I decided to just continue on (since my symptoms didn't seem so bad.) Since most people were unmasked and really didn't seem to care, and there were many who seemed indignant about precautionary exercises to protect themselves, I figure I'd just continue as business as usual rather causing myself a great inconvenience from being quarantined. Besides many of those people were in mobility devices, and seemed rather indigent at the idea of wearing masks,. I just figured "no harm, no foul". Okay, I did catch some sniffles, but I tested negative. But I thought I'd pass this scenario along, because I'm sure it is the attitude of many on-board. God forbid if they should have an outbreak of Norovirus and they really decide to implement hygiene measures ...

Gee ... that's the same menu we had for night 3 on the last trip ... 🤣

Yes, they'll deliver a carafe of hot water. And tea bags if desired. You're on your own for chocolate mix. It is customary to tip a dollar or two for room service, but the choice is up to you.

There is a lot of confusion because a lot of TAs are only listing Princess Plus fares (more of a cut for the TA) rather than the Princess basic fares. And vice-versa.

That's the exact same menu that we had on 7/9 on the Ruby! What a surprise!

I have never been asked to discard anything after the embarkation port. I've never been asked to discard anything at the embarkation port either, but I'm wise to their manipulative games, although I've never seen anyone else to have been asked to discard anything either.

Yup, I've ordered the Beef Wellington and the lobster tail a la carte many a time without issue. Only once was I refused this option, and it was also a cruise where we were mistreated by much of the wait staff and stewards. I once called the steward on her pager and her response, in broken English, was "I'm on my break". And to top it off we were subjected to leaking sewage throughout the aft section of the ship on multiple floors. It was and is the only time where I pulled the gratuities. The only good part was that a Guest Services supervisor offered us some compensation, but was quite clear that it was all she was authorized to offer and subtly mentioned that there was more that could be offered if the matter was escalated to corporate. We were soon contacted by corporate after we got home and was quickly offered twice the amount.

I made the mistake of booking a cruise directly with Princess and it was a total nightmare. (It's been 2.5 years since our last cruise and I've grown rusty and forgetful.) Unfortunately the booking was one of those drop & go ones, and I couldn't get it transferred to a real TA. We made another booking while on the cruise but all of it started to come back and I asked all of the pertinent questions and the cruise was far out enough that transferring it to another agent is going to be a breeze. You do not want to have Princess as the booking agent, unless you never want to hear from them again and will never be able to reach them.

I have seen much stronger responses to Norovirus. The ship virtually goes into lockdown, and they are far more stringent about hand washing and the use of sanitizers. I think I may have posted this elsewhere on this site, but I was reminded by one of the destination specialists (who was a retired pharmacist,) that hand sanitizers contain alcohol which is effective at killing bacteria, but washing your hands with soap and water, is effective at killing viruses. This information was provided relative to Norovirus. This information refreshed information that I had received in high school. Alcohol for bacteria, soap and water for viruses. Covid is a virus.

It's been my experience that any encounter with Guest Services is met with lies. They will tell you anything to get you to move away from the counter. It's hard to believe that there are "no available rooms" when ships are not sailing at capacity, unless the OP needed a special room, like an ADA room. On a recent Alaskan cruise (got home yesterday,) the ship was only at about 60-65% capacity (given the count that was provided at the Captain's Circle cocktail party.) I note the ADA rooms, because I have never seen so many mobility devices on a cruise as I saw on this one; most were rented scooters, and I'm sure they did not all get ADA cabins since there aren't that many on the ship. (most of the rental scooters will fold and fit into a regular cabin.) But I did see quite a few people in manual wheelchairs (will also fold and fit into a standard cabin), and also quite a few motorized wheelchairs (mostly full-sized, 335# types) that do require an ADA cabin, and my wife's partially collapsible motorized chair that will not fit in a standard cabin if you want to move around in it.

We got off a bit before your boarded. By the time you boarded you probably found that your only choice was the buffet, or burgers, or pizza. The later you board, the worse it is going to get. It is currently 5PM, and if it is like our trip, you haven't left the pier. Some people told me that they waited for 4 hours to board. A dining time of 5PM should let you avoid crowds in any dining room. Botacelli is difficult to access being at the back of ship and can only be accessed by the rear elevators. Consider DaVinci or Michelangelo. DaVinci and Botacelli share the same kitchen. The same food is served in all of the MDRs, except perhaps (at least someone claimed it to be so) an extra choice in Club Class dining. Going under the bridge is overrated, especially if you live in the City or are a native. Just enjoy the trip and roll with the punches. Some claim that the portions and the quality of the food has diminished; I didn't see any difference in the portions, but the beef seemed a little tougher than before. My doctor would be so proud of me that I chose the seafood offerings so many times 😁. If you are dining at the same time each night you will probably be assigned a table with the same waiter and junior waiter each night. They will get to know your preferences and attend to them without your asking after a few nights. Be nice to them and they'll take care of you. If you choose to, slip them a gratuity every so often (and you should if their service is above expectations) and they'll be appreciative, though they'll treat you attentively even if you don't. If you bought the Wi-Fi package, you should be able to access this response.