marybeshaw

My wife and I did the balcony dinner on our fifteenth anniversary cruise, and it was one of the highlights of the trip.

What was it like? Sounds awesome!

We will also be on the Ruby, also in June. Here is my list of things to do when on board:

1. Start on ship-sponsored embarkation treasure hunt
   
2. Get thermal suite sticker at spa (if interested) and check on drawing
   
3. Sign up for ultimate ship tour at passenger services (if interested)
   
4. Eat lunch at whichever main dining room is open
   
5. Take kids to check out teen room
   
6. Explore the ship
   
7. Check on escape room signups / maybe in patter
   
8. Take a deep breath and knit a little
   

Maybe not everyone wants to do everything, but i don’t want to forget some of them.

We already made our crown grill reservation, and scheduled my fun lotus spa things.

We aren’t interested in the ultimate balcony dinner or chef’s table this time. But you could add those to your list.

I also found a cool treasure hunt printable online. I might print out a few for my group, or make something similar but more personalized.

https://princesspinkygirl.com/cruise-ship-scavenger-hunt-free-printable/

My wife and I will be cruising to AK, again, the end of April, We will be dining in the Grill as soon as we can get in. I truly hope thay have the "Alaska" insert, again, and I truly hope they have the oysters. If so, I'll try to read the fine print to see what kind they are.

Alaska insert? We are going on our first cruise, and to Alaska, in June. We have been on the fence about the crown grille. But an Alaskan insert might tip the scale in its favor.

What types of dishes are on the insert?

The perk thing has become a marketing ploy, and one newer player (MSC) has taken very smart advantage of the situation. MSC is actually a huge Italian company with very deep pockets. Unlike all the US cruise lines (mostly owned by RCI or CCL)....MSC is privately held and seem to be thinking long term rather then just making a few extra dollars today (they have 10 new ships under construction or option). MSC is just beginning to tap the Caribbean market and will soon have their 2nd large ship cruising out of Florida. But in order to get around all this perk hype....MSC has a "match" program will they will give you equal status with their line....based on your status with any other line (or hotel chain). For example, we simply e-mailed them proof that we are 5 Star Mariners (HAL) and within two weeks were granted "Black" status with MSC...which is their highest past passenger level. With that line, the past status gets you a 5% discount (off any cruise) for starters and a bunch of other perks once aboard. In a sense it makes a mockery out of all this past cruiser stuff.

 

Hank

Okay, that is pretty cool. If you have good status with another line, they can “steal” your business with a status match. That is some savvy marketing!

The perks are the least logically significant reason for sticking with one line over others.

If the perks aren’t a significant reason, what do you think are significant reasons for sticking with one line?

After sailing many cruise lines in the mass market and premium areas we wanted to try a luxury line and we picked Crystal Cruises. We loved it so much we took other cruises with them but also tried another Luxury Line. Overtime Crystal did become our go to line. However, there have been times that we sailed other lines because they offered the itinerary that we wanted in the time frames we wanted. This included sailing a third luxury line a couple of times, a sailing back on Celebrity and sailing the Queen Mary 2 to return from a trip by sea (took the crossing from Southampton to Brooklyn, NYC) to avoid the flight back to the USA.

Interesting. After sailing with some luxury lines you went to Celebrity? Crystal seems like such a nice line, and the other luxury lines seem awesome too. I had heard that once you go luxury it is hard to “go back” to mainstream lines. It makes me want to try Disney and Celebrity before going near a luxury line, even though the luxury lines look so nice. We can go on luxury cruises once our kids leave the house, and cut the number of travelers in half :)

We are going on our first cruise in June, to Alaska on Princess. Princess seems nice, but we chose it because my parents are coming with us and they like Princess a lot.

First, we must determine if we like cruising. Then, we will decide what comes next.

Loyalty to one line pays off in perks, but how do we know we won’t enjoy other cruise lines better? On the one hand, I think we should do our next several cruises on different lines, so we can try them all out. On the other hand, if you know you like a particular cruise line, should you stick with it?

Our kids are in high school, and we think we might want to try Disney before they graduate. But past that, I am not sure. I am a total foodie, which may make my preferences different than my parents’.

How do you choose?

I can see why, from a cruise line perspective, they would be more willing to discount the cost of social media: posting to FB or Instagram is “free” advertising for them (although their cruisers would even be paying for the privilege). Email doesn’t give them the same reward, but it also usually uses less bandwidth than social media.

Hotels have been charging up to $15/day per room for years, but that covers multiple devices and all guests in the room, and hotel loyalty programs often waive that fee.

In the end, how much does passenger loyalty matter to Princess? Do they just care if their ships are full... and as long as their ships don’t empty out, they will be okay with the change? We will find out...

For me, personally, streaming and google searching matter most. But I know I am not willing to pay $120/day for my family of four to be able to do that on our cruise next summer.

Mythbusters, the Discovery Channel show, did an episode in seasickness that is interesting to watch. Either Season 3, Episode 20 or Season 4, Episode 4 (I did a google search and they both came up). They try all sorts of remedies, and see which ones work.

Their results: Ginger pills work best.

I get super travel sick and use the transderm-scop on airplanes, at Yellowstone, etc., but I am worried it won't be enough either, so I am hoping combining the patch with the ginger pills will work when we go on our first cruise next June.

You shouldn't blame the ship on your sisters sea sickness. All ships are fitted with the same stabilizers and go out of Seattle through the same open waters to get too Alaska. It might have been because she had bad luck with her meds, had the wrong cabin location or simply was in the front of the ship too much the first day. That is when you will be out in open water more and it will have the most up and down movement up there. Ask if they have ginger ale to drink also if you feel a little woosy. Have a great cruise.

Oh, it wasn't just seasickness. They lost her luggage and she was in a cabin with a bad, bad sewage smell. It was a whole lot of things. It wasn't Alaska, though. I just figure I will try other cruise lines :) I feel like I made progress just planning a cruise at all, since I always said I wouldn't ever go on one. I feel like such an adventurer!

Thanks for the good wishes! We are looking forward to our cruise! I do like that the Alaska cruises in the inside passage have a reputation for calmer seas.

We wanted to go to Alaska too, and ended up booking the Ruby Princess Glacier Bay cruise the first week in June 2018. It is our first cruise, too. We chose Princess mainly so we can go with some seasoned cruisers who love Princess, but to be honest I love that itinerary. People say Glacier Bay is best for the first cruise, and other itineraries are better for your second or third time.

We are foodies too, and will probably splurge for a nicer restaurant one day. Their normal food is supposed to be really good, too, especially in the main dining room.

I really wish we could go on a more luxury cruise line, like Crystal or Silversea, but don't want to spend that much on our first cruise, when we don't even know if we like cruising. Our biggest concern is seasickness. I get seasick, so I will probably combine ginger pills with a travel patch.

My sister had such a bad experience on Norwegian that we wouldn't consider them. I don't know much enough about Holland America to compare it with Princess, though.