peternina

3 hours ago, Eleanor Rigby 14 said:

Thank you for sharing these Princess secrets, very helpful for upcoming cruises. 
 

I’m someone who really enjoys going to formal teas, especially in London when I visit a friend. Although I enjoyed a very recent afternoon tea at 3pm in a Sky Princess Dining Room, there was no clotted cream, just whipped cream which was fine. No big deal.There was no lemon curd which I kind of missed actually. We were not offered any choice of tea, everyone got the same tea and unfortunately it was not hot enough. Scones, tea sandwiches and little desserts were all good though. (It’s just that the desserts were served to us first, then the scones then the tea sandwiches!) I wonder if there would be cruisers like me who would be willing to pay for a Fortnum and Mason quality afternoon tea with lemon curd, clotted cream, strawberry preserves, choices of teas along with tea sandwiches with Coronation Chicken? 
 

Please let me know if you hear of a secret breakfast menu that serves creamed chipped beef on toast (SOS), pork roll (some may know it as Taylor Ham), and Philadelphia scrapple. Or a secret lunch menu with Italian hoagies, soft pretzels with mustard, and cheesesteaks. I will be the first to sign up.😊 Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t mind a cruise ship serving me New Orleans style chicory coffee and freshly made beignets with chocolate sauce to dip them in. Just sayin’.

I LOVE IT, ONE OF THE BEST POSTS I HAVE SEEN AS 15 CC MEMBER.  WHERE CAN I GET WHOLE BELLY FRIED CLAMS CLAMS!

On 5/2/2022 at 1:43 PM, Killin Time said:

They didn’t tell those of us who were on the ship but one side of deck 12 was blocked off and that’s where they keep people quarantined. So my guess is that there were cases. 

I CAME HOME  WITH covid on April30th.  No sypmtons til midnight Saturday.

The Canadian government has announced that beginning April 1, fully vaccinated travelers will no longer need to provide a negative COVID-19 test to enter Canada.

Princess requirement for cruises to Canada?

I love the R ships.  After you complete this cruise you will know all about the R Ships.  I have been on 5 of them.

They ride well on rough seas, I have done two trans atlantics  (T/A's) on them.  Breakfast on the  outdoor buffet area is a cruise highlight EVERYDAY.  Small is wonderful, everything they have have on a big ship is here but smaller.  (and better)

Enjoy, you will love the ship and become a fan.  Azamara has 3, Princess 1, and Oceania has 3.  (I think)

Exactly.  RCCL did what they should do.

I was pleased to see the "mature" responses to the OP.  Most replies appear to be from experienced cruisers who understood the ships position to do the right thing.  And that was to do what was was best for the passenger.

I am sorry to see newspapers picked up the "thrown off" and ran with that rather than doing 5 minutes of research on how the medical staff on cruise ships handle such problems. What do "urgent care centers" do if they can not treat a case?  Throw the people out into the street? Or merely tell them they can not make them better and to go to a hospital.

I believe a VETERANS discount does not exist in the Oceania world.

I have 214 days and nights on Princess.  My last cruise ended two weeks ago,  a 14 dayer to South America was delightful.  BUT.

The decline in food QUALITY has very slowly deteriorated over the past ten years.  In addition subtle changes in my favorite recipes have been killers.  Who decided to change the Escargot in butter and garlic to something that resembles dog food? 

(Whoops, a little bit harsh)

We do not cruise to eat, nor do I want to get my moneys worth in food.  I believe the service is the same, always professional and caring.  The Horizon Court provides enough choices that I will not starve to death.  And excellent service.

Nonetheless I can not offer suggestions to improve the quality of the food without increasing the cost of food.  Thus the paradox.

The best cruise ships ever made.  Hopefully you fall in love with her....then you forever be a fan of "The R Ships."  You will know what the R is and the history and where the other five are now.  We know where they are....if you fall in love you will know too!!!! ENJOY. 

We did Canary Islands on another line and the trip was wonderful.   Each island was wonderful.

1 hour ago, floridalover5623 said:

Even the pre-packaged ones we get at home in the grocery store are better than what Princess serves. 

I agree...there had to be a better frozen bagel.  At least with a little flavor.  (However, I have been complaining about the Princess Syrup Coffee for years with no respose.)

Let us not forget ONE THING. If Princess did not use the coffee syrup in dining rooms and buffet and used real coffee all of this would be moot.. They have served this crap coffee for decades and for the life of me I do not understand why have they not changed? No one in the hospitality business would say lets serve crappy watery coffee so we can charge money for people that hate crappy coffee to have good coffee.

Now I am angry.

Lets look at the basic fact that "regular" Princess coffee is the worst on the 7 seas. Everyone agrees that the concentrated coffee is crap. Years ago Princess agreed and started this coffee card program for folks that like plain old fashioned coffee who would be stupid enough to pay extra. I am one of the stupid ones who really likes Real COFFEE AND WAS WILL WILLING TO PAY for it.

I am "elite" but this nonsense is really really bad. Let me bring up something that I have noticed on my last couple of Princess cruises. I THINK that Princess has turned the coffee at the International Cafe to a franchise holder. The food section has not changed but the crew that is working the coffee bar section has been aggressive in enforcing the coffee rules. Think about it, does anyone think that may the issue?

Regular coffee drinkers like myself have ALWAYS given a nice gratuity to the wonderful servers at the IC, I hope this change does not effect their livelyhood.

The basic fact that the concentrate sucks and Princess knows that it sucks, sucks.

After 6 t/a's I found that there is not enough time to do nothing.

How easy/difficult is it to get from a hotel near Piazzale Roma to San Basilio pier? Can you take a cab?

Personally I would take a vaporetto. The San Basilio stop is a minute walk to the gate to the pier where you have to go thru security.

I honestly do not know if cars can get to the dock.

Question about Trans Atlantic comment. What is 1off?

GREAT news to hear everything went well on this trip. My thoughts are that I can post the same wonderful comments on Mondays upcoming cruise. Travel safe.

Anthem is now heading south off the coast of Atlantic City on its way to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

At 7:37 AM on Saturday March 3rd.

Need I say more?

Page three, today's Newark Star Ledger.

"Storm-damaged cruise ship is deemed nearly seaworthy."

Can you imagine getting on American Airlines flight 45 and the announcement was, "We are now boarding flight 45, the aircraft is deemed nearly flight worthy.Have a nice day."

Let us get the facts correct.

MUCH, very MUCH to my surprise Global Entry is OPEN at Port Everglades.(Princess) Global Entry line is to far left side and there is a sign.

Dismbarked Saturday Oct 18, 2015.

I too was on the Emerald T/A in this discussion. (Elite, also)

Someone earlier used the adverb "slipping." That summarizes what is (going) wrong with Princess.

We all hope that Princess does not slip AND fall, we like her too much.

I love your reviews of the cruise. I am going on July 20, (20 days away) and I am vicariously cruising with you. Hopefully my trip will be as much fun. KEEP IT UP.

Yes, the new cruise terminal is being constructed in Havana Harbor.

"One item no one has mentioned yet is that Cuba rivals Thailand as a major destination for sex tourism."

I did see evidence of the above quoted reference.

COMMENT: As you can see the topic of Cuba opens a huge can of worms, every topic comes into play, with many points of view. The Cuban citizens appear to cope. Please go visit, make your own observations. Make your own predictions about the future of the island, at this point in time, no one has any idea what might or might not happen, the book is not written.

Cuba is very interesting. There are no simple answers. If you go, you will find what most of the other posters have said to be true. The future is complex, answers to the future of American tourism will depend on dozens of factors coming into place. For the Cuban people I wish them the best.

I will answer only one question on this post. I drove by the future cruiseship port several times, the cruise terminal building is under construction and channels are being dredged.

I was recently on the May 7-15 Star Princess Mexican Rivera cruise out of San Fransisco. My husband and I had 27.00 dollars left on our OBC and planned to do a little shopping after the show. By the time the show was over the stores we're closed. So if you can't spend money on yourself the next best thing would be the staff. We went to the front desk and was able to transfer the 27.00 into the gratuities pool for the staff. Was it a lot of money, no. Did I know this was even possible, no. Did it help the staff a little, yes.

Did it make me feel good, YES!

I tried this on Azamara and they said "NO." In the small print they prohibit the practice. Just check whatever cruise line you might be on for specifics. I am thrilled that Princess allows this practice.