WarEagle76

And for those who decide not to pack formal clothing for their cruise (for whatever reason), there are a number of alternate dining options available on formal nights.

Here is what we experienced on the last 2 cruises in a Full Suite with CC dining. In addition , on both we were given on our cruise card Anytime Dining , even though we were confirmed for early traditional dining both times. With that said here is what I posted about a month ago regarding CC dining:

 

We have done the CC twice. We were in a full suite both times. So far our experience is this: I was really surprised @ how different it was on the 2 different ships we were on. The 1st time on the Star it was not good. We love the Star, but their Club Class was very lacking. There was usually a wait (people were burning mad about it) . The area was just too small. Even thou they knew the time people seemed to want to eat (around 5:45 every night) they did nothing about it. They needed extra staff. It was very obvious, but nothing changed over 15 nights. The wait staff was very unfriendly & sometimes rude. Was it their culture or because they were so obviously over worked??. The only extra entree every night was a Cesar salad done by the ma’tre d. It was good by the way.

Then 5 months later on the Emerald it was just the opposite. There was never a wait for a table for 2. Or if you wanted to sit with others. The staff was very friendly, and they seemed to genuinely care about us. And not just us everyone . After about 2 nights they called us by name. They had what I would call a real extra entree. A few nights it was filet mignon steak, steak Diane, lamb, different shrimp dishes , or even lobster newberg. The food was excellent. And every night was a special dessert. They treated everyone like VIP’s.

What a big difference in the 2 ships. It was down right shocking.

So if you get the experience we had on the Emerald, I would say it’s worth all of $70.00 a day extra.

Our next cruise is on the Star in September, hopefully they have improved their CC.

Lucky for us our two experiences were very similar - last year on Ruby and last month on Crown and both were exceptional. Hoping for the same next year on Sapphire.

Does CC breakfast include espresso coffee drinks like Sabatini's does? We will be in a window suite for the CB 10 day, and might like some variety for breakfast dining.

No, it doesn’t, but we just used the coffee card we purchased to get one while having breakfast in CC if we wanted it.

Is it open for breakfast every day?

 

 

In reading the FAQ on the Princess WEB site for CC benefits, it's says open for breakfast & lunch on sea days.

Breakfast every day. Believe I recall opens earlier and closes earlier on port days vs. sea days. Lunch on embarkation day and sea days but not port days.

Lovely photos, making me even more excited about our cruise in a few weeks from now. Sorry it's not a Christmas Market cruise, but it was nice to get some more ideas re possible souvenirs for us and gifts for family!

Not sure of where you are cruising but if in any of these cities, this store is a must. Believe most are open year round.

https://store-7tqzhr7u3z.mybigcommerce.com/international-locations/

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Here’s the link for others to access.

https://createbloomgrow.com/

We’ve taken two Chrisrmas market cruises then went back on our own for week independently using Germany’s great rail system which turned out to be very easy to do. If you enjoy the holiday season, you can’t beat the Christmas market cruises.

After two experiences with Club Class dining (most recently last month), we won’t be cruising on Princess without it. It’s nice that there are choices for everyone.

We departed on Crown from Terminal E on May 8th. Here is a link to the schedule.

http://www.portdebarcelona.cat/en/web/port-del-ciudada/consulta-cruceros

This is the card we received in Crown Princess a few weeks ago. The ship and expiration date were stamped on the back of the card.

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We went into Kotor on May 16, on the next cruise with no issues.

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We often find great local maps when getting off at ports inside the cruise terminal. Even if we’ve found some maps prior to the cruise, many times those inside the cruise terminal are better (and larger and easier to read which unfortunately is becoming more important!).

We stayed at the Marriott Waterfront 10 years ago on an independent trip. Here are a couple of pictures we took from the ferry. If you look at the second picture, if using the dock pictured, it’s right across the street (hotel is building with green windows). From the hotel, we also easily walked (uphill going) to Pike Place Market.

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As it has been the better part of a decade since Princess has has a ship in the NE US/Canada in the summer. And I believe the northbound repo cruises were from San Juan to New York, so the most recent one dates back to when Princess last had ships based there.

We’ve done it both ways, booked our own (Paris-pre) and used Viking (Cologne-post, Lucerne-post). Our decision making revolves around our familiarity with the area and the complexities involved. When we booked the Lucerne extension, we also booked Viking’s “Pearls of Switzerland” optional tour on day 2. While a long day it was a great tour and figuring we’d never return to that area, wanted to soak in as much of the region as possible and felt it was well worth it.

For the extra cash tips in the Club Class dining room, we prefer to do the math and distribute ourselves with a warm “thank you” vs. using a third party intermediary.

If you go the the Crown Grill every night, they will have table for you any time you want, reservations are only necessary the first night. They have held the same table for us every night.

Interesting. We’ve been able to walk up to Crown Grill and be seated once without a reservation but have also been turned away on two separate occasions and wouldn’t want to eat at the Crown Grill every night. Also, it would not necessarily cost you less as is the case on our upcoming cruise. If you are not a fan of Club Class or don’t see the value, then you aren’t going to book it and I understand that. The flexibility it provides fits our style of cruising and combined with the mini cabin location makes it a winner for us, and from the comments in the numerous threads on this subject, many others, too.

Depending upon how you like to cruise, in addition to cabin location, the idea that you can dine at any time without a wait and have the same servers for all your meals (which we did on Ruby last year), appeals to some cruisers. It makes scheduling your day, especially on port intensive days with long hours ashore, much more pleasurable. Regarding the “I can eat at Crown Grill or Sabatini’s every night for less” argument, the problem is you have to reserve a time, thus you are stuck to a schedule. So for those who like flexibility, they will choose to book this option for an extra amount per diem, or in some cases get it for the price of a regular mini during a sale. For what it’s worth, we are elite and have found value in the offering.

We started mostly on ocean cruises (mainly on Princess), then started mixing in river cruises. Recently have been mixing in more land based tours and Independent travel as well. We wanted to go to Cuba and went on Oceania in December and had a wonderful cruise and would sail on Oceania again with right itinerary and price. Many will say Oceania is much more expensive, but we booked a Concierge balcony and with what was included (versus paying for it separately), it really wasn’t that much more expensive than a comparable Princess cruise in a Club Class mini, and the food was outstanding. We also want to try Viking Ocean but haven’t been able to match up itineraries and dates. Should get easier with all of the new ships Viking has on order.

In December they barely glanced at us as we went through customs and immigration in Miami upon returning on a cruise that stopped in Havana. It was about 10 minutes from when we stepped off ship and into a cab.

1. Moderators, could we please have a sticky for Club Class versus a post every other day discussing it?
   
2. The claim of “I can do specialty dining for less” misses the major benefit of Club Class in that you need a reservation for specialty dining and you don’t for Club Class. For those who like flexibility in their dining times with no wait, Club Class is the answer. On port intensive itineraries with long days onshore, we find it invaluable.
   
3. The price varies and is definitely a consideration. However it can vary widely from a lot to very little, or as in our case next month, the same price as a regular mini. As a traveler you need to decide whether or not it’s worth it to you.
   

When we got back to Miami, customs not only didn't check anyone or their luggage, they didn't even ask about what we brought back! There are rules about the number of cigars and rum, but it didn't seem like they cared. I was ready to tell them (just had 1 liter of rum and 5 cigars for a son-in-law) but they just told me to go through.

Ditto for us on the cruise after yours.

and a bottle of Gosling Black Seal rum which is made in Bermuda. While standing in line she met a local customs official who told her to also get a bottle of ginger beer to go with it for an excellent drink.

A Dark ‘n’ Stormy!

We did this cruise in 2016 and had been to Heidelberg on a previous Viking cruise. We stayed onboard on what turned out to be a perfect sunny day and enjoyed sailing to Speyer with just the crew and a few other passengers. Once we docked in Speyer, we walked about five minutes to the Tedhnik museum (mentioned above) which is an awesome place if you like planes, vintage vehicles and all things mechanical. It’s a huge place and we spent about three hours there, then walked around Speyer itself (about a 15 minute walk through a lovely park) on our own. Here is a link to the Technik museum in case you change your mind.

https://speyer.technik-museum.de/en/

You're correct, and I'm wrong.

 

I've looked at the daily info sheets for my last trip in 2016 and they say at 7pm a Smorgasbord is served in the Acquavit lounge.

 

We mostly had both breakfast and lunch in the lounge but never went there for dinner. Must have a look upstairs next month

Both of our experiences involved ordering from menus (albeit limited) with table service versus a buffet or “smorgasbord”. Will look forward to hearing from you after your cruise next month to hear how it’s being handled now.

Acquavit lounge only offered alternatives at breakfast and lunch on our cruises in past.

 

There was always vegetarian options at every meal. One dish was so good, thought we are not vegetarians, we have recreated it at home and frequently enjoy it.

Since when? We’ve always been able to dine in the evening at The Aquavit Terrace with a limited menu on the new long ships. Has this been changed?