gjkov

Thanks steelers36. You’re always very helpful!

This will be our 2nd Princess Cruise, this time on Grand. In August we were on Sapphire and the internet was still packages of minutes. In my personalizer there are 3 different “levels” of internet access. Two questions (at the risk of going a little off topic)....

I assume this ship doesn’t have Medallion Net?

What is your experience with the difference between the levels? We will generally be doing email, social media, hubby reading the news, etc. But I might have to download some small work files and enjoy sending or posting some photos.

Thanks for any help from the more experienced Princess folks among us here! I’m in agreement with SDCruiser13. We’ve also been trying out different lines and they all do things a little differently.

Just off Sapphire a couple weeks ago. Complimentary coffee in buffet and dining rooms was not very good. I can believe it is from concentrate and not brewed.

If you want unlimited coffee you have to purchase the Premier Coffee and Soda package. The New Grounds Coffee Package is for any 15 coffee beverages plus unlimited brewed coffee and premium tea. The brewed coffee was only a slight step above the coffee in the dining venues, but if you ordered an Americano it was quite good! Of course Americanos count as part of your 15, not unlimited.

We just got our custom air for May 2020 and have business (or first class) on all legs, including the domestic legs. We’ve most often gotten a Delta flights through Regent, but also United.

But is it 12 midnight on the 7th (end of the day) or at 12:01am (first minute of the day)?

I know this information is somewhere in the boards, but I can’t seem to find it. 

What time (of day) do shore excursion reservations open? I have always just waited until sometime in the opening day to book, but wondering what is the actual time (Central time US)?

We’ve also had no problem with husband’s Cpap on the ships. Convenient outlet right next to the bed and no adapter needed. We asked our TA to request distilled water and it was waiting in our cabin on arrival.

We’ve really enjoyed your commentary and photos. And appreciate the fair and balanced review. Thanks for sharing! 

Safe travels to you two. I’m sure Gucci will be thrilled to have you home! 

On 4/28/2019 at 10:00 PM, Travelcat2 said:

Your comments are very interesting to me as a we found the F2 suites on Explorer spacious and open while the equivalent suites on Mariner were so claustrophobic that my DH went ballistic when he saw the suite and didn't speak to me for a day which never happens.  We still laugh about that day (we were fortunately able to move to a PH suite the next day

TC you are spoiled 😀 And C suites on Mariner are PH.

We love Mariner and find the E and D suites (we like Concierge benefits) to be perfectly acceptable size wise. But like many others prefer the shower only to tub/shower.

Can we expect the same kind of weather and seas for the same itinerary in November?

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

From Princess' website: 

Princess MedallionClass™

Now on Caribbean Princess® & Regal Princess®, and coming soon to Royal Princess® (4/13/19), Crown Princess® (7/24/19), Sky Princess® (10/27/19) and Enchanted Princess℠ (6/19/20).

 

Web Page

https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/ocean-medallion/

 

Thanks Daniel!

We have our first Princess Cruises coming up this year. How do we know if our trips use the Ocean Medallion?

On 3/5/2019 at 3:06 PM, ronrick1943 said:

Showed it to Gucci and nope, my she wouldn't like it at all not soft enough .

Spoiled dogs indeed...there’s no better kind! Here’s our Milo enjoying an escape from MN winter at the gulf coast. Off topic I know....

The only Regent cruise port I see is Tirana. It is the capital and largest city in Albania. I’ve never been there by cruise ship, but just to visit our daughter who spent two years in Albania with the Peace Corp. The capital city was only beginning to be transformed in the early 1990’s, but from contacts she still has there, we understand it’s become quite vibrant. Tirana is not on the coast, but about an hour from the port of Durres. And my understanding is the roads have improved greatly over the last 15 years!

The National History Museum would be a great place to visit to understand the turbulent history of the country. There’s also a rich archeological history in Durres, so if you don’t want to travel far, that might be an interesting choice. I also see there’s possibly an excursion to the town of Kruja. We weren’t there, but the small towns surrounding the capital are generally full of delightful and interesting people. And tourism is a very important part of the recovering economy of the country.

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and advice! We’ve booked the French Balcony cabin closest to mid ship on the Violin Deck (325), while our friends have the BA cabin next door. So we’ll be able to see and experience them both.

Has anyone stayed in both C (French Balcony) and BB (Outside Balcony) cabins? While subjective do you believe the extra space of a BB cabin is worthwhile? Does the stated square footage include the outdoor balcony?

Violin vs Cello deck? Location on the deck? Port or Starboard?

We’ll be doing a Christmas Market cruise on the Danube, our first on a river ship. So any information or guidance about cabin selection is greatly appreciated.

Judy

At the risk of comparing anything on a non-luxury line on the Regent boards, we sailed for the first time on a Holland America this fall and they had a great venue, Lincoln Center Stage. A wonderful quintet played a variety of classical music which we enjoyed every night after dinner. They also had jazz, blues, rock and roll, sing along piano bar, solo piano for easy listening as well as the main stage shows. There was something for everyone! We enjoyed the musical offerings on Regent, but would very much enjoy if classical music was an option.

On 12/8/2018 at 10:45 AM, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Are you guys saying that Illy coffee is used throughout the ship?  Is this true of the other ships as well?

 

And saying that Illy coffee is the best in the world is just, sorry, sIlly!  There are lots of wonderful coffees on the planet, and in my experience, none of them make it onto a cruise ship.  I'm not a huge coffee freak, but dislike dark roasts, but also dislike weak, watery coffee which seems the norm in the restaurants, at least. 

 

Onboard ship I tend to drink tea, or an occasional cappuccino

I agree with this wholeheartedly! There are so many wonderful coffees and everyone should drink what they enjoy in the way they enjoy it.

We enjoy many coffees from around the world, but current favorite is a medium roast from Kenya. In Kenya nearly all coffee beans go through a double fermentation process. Makes a very smooth brew. 

Great photos Jackie!

You have to go to neighboring capital city St. Paul for good Mexican food. Minneapolis is pretty ho hum for Mexican, though many other awesome restaurants! I don’t think you’ll find any good Mexican at the airport. But if you’re in concourse E, pick up pastries at The Salty Tart. 

I don’t know what airline you’re flying, but the Delta lounges aren’t bad at MSP. Certainly much better than they used to be. And I’ve heard good things about the Escape Lounge for AmEx Platinum folks, though I can’t speak from personal experience about that one. There’s still some construction happening, but there’s been some other very nice changes to the airport in general over the last year. I was favorably impressed when there last in October. 

Enjoy your last last couple days!

Love the Country Fair photos. So much fun!

Regarding turkey...Jackie I agree about making a whole bird and not just the breast. We have both white and dark meat lovers in our family, so not really an option anyway. But flavor wise it makes a huge difference! And if you really want flavorful poultry, roast any whole bird breast side down. You won’t get a “bring to the table to carve” quality, but much more most and delicious meat.

Too bad you won’t have more time in Minneapolis you could enjoy some good Mexican food. We have a large Latino population in MN. And as a result, any number of wonderfully authentic Mercados and Taquerias. 

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

On 11/19/2018 at 4:02 PM, Travelcat2 said:

 

'Z and TB,

 

For better or worse, we are flying home right after this cruise.  Since our flight is on the Monday after Thanksgiving, it is fortunate that we even got flights.  Unfortunately, we are stopping in Minneapolis which may or may not be snowed in.

 

I really tried to post a video of the Captain and CD when they were going through maps that showed why we are doing what we are doing.  I was not successful in posting a video but will keep trying.

 

Dennis and I truly love the Voyager but are over the top excited to be on Explorer in February for Dennis' very special birthday (with that you two were there).l  

 

Z, did you learn anything about Olga about still being on Regent?  It seems that she has been off the ships for longer than normal.

 

Jackie

I’m just catching up. Thanks for sharing your journey with us! 

We live just West of Minneapolis and while it’s pretty chilly, there’s no snow on the ground and outlook is no snow before you stop in our fine city (or at least the airport). 

Hope the seas have calmed and you enjoy smooth sailing the rest of your trip.

As I pulled a laundry mark tag off a T-shirt that I missed on the ship I thought I’d like to add a thought to my review about the laundry service on Zuiderdam. It was wonderful and at $77 for unlimited laundry the entire, was an incredible bargain! I sent out laundry nearly everyday and it was always returned by the next day (a couple times later the same day). But I told DH to not get too used to such beautifully pressed shirts because that would not continue beyond the ship. Knowing what I do now, I would certainly scale back my incessant overpacking. 

On 11/1/2018 at 7:56 AM, Sharle said:

we check and carry 1 bag with a change of clothes and essentials just in case

We do the same. But with enough in the carry on for several days, just in case. We’ve been very fortunate to have never had luggage problems (knock on wood) in 40+ years of travel, but you never know. I always breathe a sigh of relief to see our checked bags, do a little happy dance inside and go shopping for some souvenirs.

Having been in both a junior suite on RC and just off a Signature suite on HAL I can tell you they are very similar. I would rate the Signature suite just a bit nicer, perhaps slightly bigger. The bathroom is bigger, with double sinks and both individual shower and tub with shower. The suite was very comfortable and well appointed. There is not a walk in closet in the Signature suites, but three large reach in closets, two with full hanging space and one with shelves. 6 fairly narrow drawers in the vanity and two nice size drawers in the desk.

Because I need to still do some work when traveling, we purchased the premium package for $189 for our recent (October) 11 night cruise. DH and I shared the package, which meant only one of us could be online at a time, but that worked well for us. We rarely experienced any problems with the speed or connectivity. Occasionally during “high usage” mid day times on sea days. It was certainly slower than our service at home, but that’s to be expected with any satellite service. I was able to email, upload and download documents with minimal issue. DH did some video streaming and reported it acceptable as well. 

Beyond that we found the complimentary HAL app to be very nice! It has a chat feature to allow you to communicate with your travel companions (or anyone onboard) without internet access. Also access to a few internet sites, link to dining (times, menus, etc), and “What’s Happening” which was basically a digital version of the daily schedule. I found myself using this feature often.