2 cruises a year

Love it. It is easier to get forgiveness, than permission.

Beat me to it. My door decorations have saved me from trying to enter the wrong room more than once. (Seriously, I've knocked on the right door, wrong deck before. Luckily no one was home. I finally figured it out) 😉

This is a fairly common "fire" safety issue. Just more fuel if there happens to be a fire. Christmas trees in public spaces have some pretty strict regulations. Also, and I know that I'll get a lot of blow-back on this, but lights, and cheap paper decorations are possible fire hazards. I'm as disappointed as everyone else, I had battery operated lights and non-flammable magnetic door decorations for every holiday.

It really depends on how that 9 sq. feet happens. One example, in my opinion, an extra foot along a 9 foot wall would be nice.

Who is the piano player in Crooners? I pretty much live them all, easy listening and up tempo.

Perfect for saving your lounge chair while you go back to your cabin for a nap, 😁

I don't think that the tour guide cares if you are nervous, he wants cash. He is nervous that your credit card will be rejected.

Even some $50 dollar bills for the in between $100 amounts as you suggested. It is easier to round up to the $50, as a little extra tip rather than trying to get change.

Do you mean as in "I never drink anything stronger than Pop. But Pop drank just about anything"😁

@BamaVol, affordability is relative and cruising is about priorities. Like @skynight, we've been cruising for over 20 years. I was " Union, Blue Collar", paid well, but not a millionaire by any means. (another sign of my age, to me a millionaire is tops, a multi-millionaire exceptional, now we have multi-billionaires) Our cars are 14 and 20 years old, we didn't move into a bigger house (mortgage) every time I got a raise. not a lot of fancy clothes, We've lived comfortably, don't feel like we've sacrificed, and since retirement have been able to take re-positioning cruises from ports all around the world back to the U.S. for a short flight home. Laundry and priority tendering are also our favorite perks. We are happy with those. (ps: this "new category" subject comes up regularly, I personally don't think it will ever happen) We don't have any fancy tangible things to show off, but the memories, experiences and fun we've had were the best choice for us.

I resemble that remark!

I prefer the Crown Plaza, they have indoor parking.

Just one more note. Since the FCD was not applied as usual, no FCD onboard credit was applied either. Not a game changer to me, but worth noting.

Check into this, this is from my memory from a few years ago. I could not use FCD's on a couple of longer cruises (true, I do remember this), but my TA was able to use them for some sort of discount on the cruise fare. As I recall, it was significant. The FCD's were "sold" back to Princess, the $100 each was credited back to my credit card and I no longer had the FCD's. Good luck and let us know what you find.

You can't go wrong with FCD's. The plusses are many. The worst case scenario is that you don't use it, you get your money back and all you lose is what ever money that you MIGHT have made investing it. If you do use it, the least you get far out weighs what you could have received investing it.

It is hit or miss these days. Probably more miss than hit. I always ask. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

This has been debated ad infinitum, Snopes has an interesting conversation about it. While a lot say Mark Twain never said it, to my knowledge, no one has ever been able to verify who said it. It does fit Mark Twain's wit, and he spent a lot of time in San Francisco.

Windbreaker is the secret, especially for out on deck. I live in San Francisco, (yes actually San Francisco) and my favorite is a Coaches Jacket. It is a light, lined nylon jacket with a hood. It won't be 30 degrees, but even 50-60 degrees (typical temp. in San Francisco and on the way to Hawaii) will feel like 30 with a breeze. A windbreaker will keep you comfortable.

Great story! Good for you.

I do have to comment about the staff taking care of your scooter for you, they LOVE it. They have way too much fun driving around. (I mean this in a good way, we have fun seeing them "play" a little bit) My wife also parks her scooter at Crooners. When we are ready to leave, the bartenders can't wait to "bring her scooter around".

If you travel a lot, look into the Luggie. It is a travel scooter, so it is compact and light. My wife has one and it is perfect on a cruise ship. It is narrow and fits between the walls and room service carts with out having to move them around.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines! Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover!” Mark Twain

They are the holds that you are familiar with, but yes, odd amounts. The first time that this happened to me, I asked at the Pursers Desk. Luckily I got someone that knew what the charges were and was able to explain it to me. They are just credit holds to make sure the card is still good. They will drop off shortly.

@Steelers36I wouldn't hold my breath for the 360 to change. When was the last time you saw a new Production Show in the Princess Theater?

That is McDonalds claim to fame. Their burger tastes the same everywhere in the world. It is also boring. I haven't been to a McDonalds in decades.