AtlantaCruiser72

Princess ships with covered/indoor pools: Coral, Island, Grand, Diamond, Sapphire and Majestic. All but Majestic have a sliding glass “magradome” roof that can be opened. Majestic roof is fixed an cannot be opened. The remainder of the fleet, including Caribbean Princess, all pools are open air.

Sky also has LaCucina - located port side of Pool deck on opposite side of ship from Garden Cafe and just forward of the Local

@Jennsails Thanks for the detailed follow up! Glad to hear overall such positive feedback. Sky cabins being teeny-eenie has long been a known issue. I personally think her pluses outweigh her minuses.

Quick 2 questions: 1. Was there any live music in Sugarcane mojito bar? If so what type (loved the Latin music in that venue on Encore) 2. What were the operating hours of the Local? Is it still only open in the evenings? It was my go-to breakfast and lunch spot on Escape, Epic and Encore

Given the recent deployment announcement for the Americas, which would have been the PERFECT time to announce the Sphere Class debut, I personally feel construction is behind and she will now debut in Europe sometime in Q2 of 2024, just when is anyone's guess though. I now expect an announcement concurrent with, or just before, the 2024 summer Europe season is released later this year/early next year.

Drydocks are primarily for the required/routine inspection and maintenance of the hull, thrusters, stabilizers, propellers, etc. They also do major engine/powerplant/mechanical maintenance work that cannot be done whilst in service. Any hotel side work (replacement of carpets, fabrics, etc) is simply a by-product of this down time. I would not expect any significant changes to her interior arrangements or décor.

But would you dear taxpayer, be willing to see you taxes go up significantly to actually cover those increased salaries? The answer to that for DECADES has been a resounding NO as evidenced at the ballot box. The staffing issue is more than just salaries. Employees need merchant marine licenses, special training etc. all of this takes time. You can’t hire today and start the employee next week. You are looking at 30-60 days before staff are actually on ship and working. Then there is attrition, which is VERY high for the POA historically as most American workers find that adjusting to shipboard life and work conditions is not for them. It is not unheard of for staff on POA to go ashore on day leave and just not return, ever. Even pre-Covid NCL has faced immense difficulties staffing this vessel, and even more so now. The entire situation is chaotic and unpredictable.

There is a $50pp deposit promo starting on 8/16 running through the 31st

That the is price with gratuity. $49 x 1.2 (20% gratuity) = $58.80.

The Enchanted is currently sailing in the Mediterranean and is provisioning in Civitavecchia. Therefore wines will reflect the local suppliers offerings. There is still a global supply chain issue and many wines and liquors have also faced production issues due to the shutdown. The selection will most likely change when she returns to port Everglades in late November for her Caribbean season.

Same with whites by the glass. The ship most likely is provisioning in Civitavecchia and has reliable supply of Italian wines as a result. Of note - Crown Royal is noticeably absent from all menus, mostly likely due to ongoing labor issues at the distillery and resulting shortages

I think originally they miscalculated double occupancy somehow w/ some studio rooms being counted as doubles maybe? Unless they reduced # of staterooms being made available to passengers to increase crew size/more single occupancy crew quarters?

This Clown 🤡 may move the magnets around on the door, but would never move to another door, though I'm sure some other Clowns would

Want to know the most fun thing about magnetic door decorations??? Rearranging them in the middle of the night to annoy the occupants of said decorated cabin - move them to bottom, sides, turn them upside down, etc

I was being a bit tongue in cheek as the federal and/or state taxes in the US on prize winnings are so high. There are multiple cases of prize winners having to sell or reject game show prize winnings as they cannot pay the tax. That said I’d feel any prizes won would be for on-ship items like dining, spa, onboard credits, etc (which are tax free) or a “grand prize” of a free cruise maybe (which would be subject to federal and/or state tax).

Bigger question is if it is duty free or if you have to pay taxes on it (which in the US can be up to 50% of value of the gift)

Are they residents of a different state, or also past guests of Princess (or another Carnival Corp brand)? They could be getting a regional/state of residence discount, or a private sale fare, or a casino discount (not comp) - any of which you may not qualify for and which could also be being triggered by past sailings with Carnival and/or Holland America. More and more targeted pricing is creeping into the marketplace across all the Carnival Corp brands, and it is no longer a level playing field unfortunately. I have even seen cases where a husband and wife with EXACTLY the same cruising histories will qualify for different past guest/private sale/casino offers.

For now this as close you are going to get on any line, let alone Princess. https://www.princess.com/search-cruise/details/?voyageCode=M253 I have to think that if the demand existed that there would be options on multiple lines

The August 9/10 dates are for the fall 2023 to spring 2024 Americas cruises only. If they hold true to years past then somewhere around US Thanksgiving in late Nov or Early December of this year. Usually Alaska released at about the same time.

Based on that I expect Sphere to launch in the Mediterranean in late Spring/early Summer 2024 which would be about a 6 month delay.

Others beat me to the punch hence why I didn’t post anything earlier. The only “surprise” was basing the Regal out of Galveston. I was anticipating either the Caribbean, Emerald or Ruby.

I am wondering EXACTLY that as well. I also have a sneaking suspicion it could go to another Carnival Corp brand like P&O UK, Costa or AIDA

The truly Posh use their pinkie 😂 To the OP - I am sorry you had such a poor experience. Staffing issues aside this is a management problem. A good F&B manager would make sure that even a limited offering was kept fresh and hot and would have proactively offered guests with meal plans some sort of an “I’m sorry” in recompense. They KNOW what the offering should be and that guests have pre-purchased meals of specific types. This is bad management 101 as a case study.

To be clear this is not an episodic scripted series with a regular cast and rotating guest stars like the original or the 90s reboot. It is a “reality” dating competition series akin to the god awful “love island” or “ batchelor/batchelorette” series

Both letters appear identical to me as well. Maybe it’s that darned time-warp I’ve been doing again!