SiliconCruiser

11 hours ago, Stampgizmo said:

We are cruising on the ruby in December. As we haven’t cruised princess in a while, I’m wondering if they’re stilll formal nights??

 

Um ... we were on a b2b2b followed with an Alaskan cruise on another Princess ship.  There were six formal nights in total.  I did pack a tie, but I only used it once.  But I did use the same blazer on each of the formal nights.

On 3/24/2023 at 1:30 PM, Coffeeluvr05 said:

No, the first leg is SF to Vancouver and then the second leg is Vancouver to Seattle.  Is that still a violation?

Yes.

On 3/24/2023 at 12:39 PM, Coffeeluvr05 said:

By the way, if it matters, this would be a cruise from SF to Vancouver and then Vancouver to Seattle.  

We tried that as a part of a b2b2b2b on the Royal.  They canceled out the YVR-SEA portion as a PVSA violation.

On 5/15/2023 at 11:43 AM, Thrak said:

 

The scotch is the worst of the mini bottles they provide. It's truly abysmal. I love scotch but Dewar's white label is not good at all.

Dewar's is also the 'complimentary' Scotch that is served on most international flights as well.  And there are people that do drink it on a regular basis, though it may not be something of your preference.

When we book a cruise with a future cruise consultant, they usually book a FCC before booking the cruise and apply it immediately to the new booking.

I actually did observe some crew removing belongings from "reserved" lounge chairs on the Crown last week.  My inquisitive nature had to wonder why people were 'reserving' lounge chairs on an Alaskan Cruise when the temperatures were in the 40's and 50's.

3 hours ago, FairSkySmoothSeas said:

For those who have gone Up North to Alaska…I plan to wear a dark suit and tie for Formal Nights, but I was wondering if a flannel shirt is OK to wear in lieu of a polo shirt during casual nights. It being Alaska and all. Something like a Black Watch Plaid I’m thinking. Thoughts? 

Yes, a plaid flannel shirt is acceptable on any night including Formal Nights.

Went up there one afternoon, (actually more like stumbled upon it.)  So I thought I'd go in to see what they had.  Skywalker's was all but deserted and there weren't a lot of takers for their offerings (nothing appealed to me.)  No one was checking anything at the door, I'm sure they would have welcomed anyone.

On 5/14/2023 at 3:20 PM, tjcletzgo said:

I usually order both the formal night dinner of lobster and beef Wellington. Will there be an up charge for this???

They did not have the Beef Wellington or the lobster tail separately on the menu, only the surf & turf combo.  This was on the second formal night, same night as the Captain's Circle Party.

1 hour ago, stevenr597 said:

We have Club Class.  What we have been doing is going to the First Show, making sure we get to the theatre at least 30 minutes before the show.  When then go to the dining room for dinner.  Being Club Class there is no wait. 

After dinner we head for the Piano Bar, have several drinks.  

 

If you go to the first 7:30 show, it will let out at 8:15.  You are not likely to have to wait in any of the dining rooms at that hour, not sure what Club Class may have to do with it.

On the Crown, the self-service washers and dryers are free.  You only need tokens if you need soap or dryer sheets.

Forget about what boarding time you requested, just board as early as you can.  Drop your carry-ons in your cabin and then go to the 6th floor mid-ship dining room for lunch.  I recommend the beef tenderloin, but have whatever suits your fancy. If for some reason you can't drop your carry-ons in your cabin, just take them to the MDR.

On 5/16/2023 at 12:59 PM, lion1956 said:

We leave in a few days for a 7 day California Coast cruise with Princess and with stops in San Francisco, San Diego and Ensenada Mexico, I know this question has been discussed multiple times but on this type of cruise, with less formal destinations than Europe or Alaska is it necessary to wear a suit or sportcoat or will a dress shirt and pants suffice.  I should tell you that we booked 2 specialty restaurants.  I have worn suits all my life and I now enjoy not wearing them at all.  What are your thoughts?

Having just gotten off a couple of those, I did not see a single tuxedo, a few suits, some shirts with ties, and some shorts.  I used to wear a tuxedo, but now I will sometimes bring a tie (not necessarily wear it, but I bring one along.)  I think I need to find a nice pair of black shorts and wear it with my tuxedo vest and an open collar formal shirt with my bow time hung around like you see in the after parties from the Oscars.  Maybe I'll bring the jacket just for effects.  But yes, I am an old person, but I'm not bound by the fashion police that occupy social media.

On 5/16/2023 at 9:24 AM, toofewcruises said:

Actually, you're not supposed to bring anyone who isn't platinum or above. The PES lounge yes, not the Captain Circle party. They check your invitation at the door

On our last 4 cruises in the last month, they did not check anything at the door.  We forgot our invitation at one of the parties and thus lost out on the opportunity of winning a bottle of bubbly (fancier than the ones that you win at the other functions, these actually had foil around the neck of the bottle, must cost more than $3 each. 😁)  But for the most part, they didn't even check the medallions for color.  Should've brought our newbie friends, but it would have been a waste of time since they don't drink.

Free drinks no snacks, and they weren't really checking medallions at the door on the 3 cruises that we took, that had a a Captain Circle party over the past month.  On the last one, they didn't even take the invitations for the drawing, names were chosen from this Elite/Platinum list.

I finally went to one when we were on the Crown.  Not well attended, and pretty much confirmed that it was just a venue to sell drinks.  Overall, I was not impressed by the food offerings.

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

 

I don't want their crappy wine and I don't want 12 bottles of water.

I want 12 bottle\s of cheap Scotch.  Better than no Scotch at all (or having to pay for it.)  But realistically, I just bring my own on board  (web site quoters have at it.)

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I will confirm on our 2nd formal night.

 

I assume you were on the last cruise?

 

BTW - they have put Fettuccine Alfredo back on the menu every night (I have not seen lasagna) and there is a NY Strip steak every night in the dining room on the Princess favorites.

Yes, May 5-12 on the Crown.  Was not the case on the Royal when we did a b2b2b from 4/16-5/3.  The menus on the Alaska leg were marked as "Alaska nnnn" in the lower right hand corner, so they may have a different set of menus for this venue.

1 hour ago, Coral said:

There is a lobster tail upsell on the menu. I don't eat lobster tail so I can't comment on quality:

 

Not that one.

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

 

In the future, you will have to pay extra for any extra servings of the above items, if the OP's insight is correct.

 

Your presumption is correct.

51 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Do that many people really order 2 surf and turf?  I know the lobster, yes, it’s a baby one. 

That's probably why the Lobster is no longer offered separately.  On a side note, when we were in Vancouver, we ventured into the new Chinatown (Richmond) and witnessed a table of 5 who had ordered a whole King Crab.  The waitress told us that it was $88.88 per pound (CAD), but Chinese immigrants will probably recognize the significance of the "8"s.  
 

9 minutes ago, GonzoWCS said:

Yeah back in the day and all....

 

Cheers

And your point is ... ?  Seems to me that it hasn't changed.

Yes, but your electronic devices will only sync when you're near a port call, unless you pay for wi-fi.

We sailed on the Island a few years back.  Worst cruise experience we have ever had.  Nothing but lies from 'guess' services, cabin steward that didn't want to be bothered, rude waiters who thought it would be fun to play with my wife's wheelchair, and less than cooperative hotel manager when we complained of the sewage that was leaking into the floors of several decks (they finally figure out how to shut off the flow and left the access door open to show everyone of their ingenuity.) 
Good part was that we did find a cooperative Guest Services supervisor who 'suggested' some actions including refusing any compensation offer that was made from the ship.
The long and short of it is that it is the only time that I was driven to remove the gratuities.
Corporate did double the compensation offer from the ship (only applicable to a future cruise) but it was hardly adequate for the level of abuse we had been subjected to.  

Maybe they have an excess of blue on white stickers for the medallions and they're trying to get rid of them?