Me by the Sea

On 5/24/2022 at 9:37 AM, deliver42 said:

Why is it that Carnival Corp. ships seem to have more propulsion problems than anyone else, and they are always on the same ships? The Vista now also has propulsion problems for the 2nd or 3rd time.

The issue is not with Princess but with the ship builder Fincantieri.  This ship was a lemon since she was launched. A year does not go by but we hear of another 

Fincantieri built ship with major problems. 

48 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

On Discovery read that deck 9 (Dolphin) was for quarantine cabins but also saw several deck 15 (Marina) cabins with the little tables outside their doors.

 

If you were exposed, while waiting for your test results, you are allowed to isolate in your cabin, hence the tables.

10 hours ago, bmc alabama said:

If you go out of New Orleans and are not in the main (Julia St) terminal, this can happen as well.  Happened to us on RCCL in 2015 (Serenade).  Took about 3 hours to get on the ship...

Princess does not go out of New Orleans!

On 12/23/2021 at 8:03 PM, srice said:

 

That is definitely the correct address to use. 

Hi,

sent an email to them this week and outlook returned it, stating they did not accept the email.

Ship.      MAJESTIC PRINCESS

Class.     Royal

Deck.        MARINA

Stateroom # M428

Category.  Mini suite

Port/Starboard/Bow/Stern. Port

Connects With Cabin # 426

Accessible no

Quiet. Occ noise from those walking above, but quiet at night. No one was in the adjoining cabin, so unsure of the connecting door.

Balcony Size 8’ wide. It is slanted, so 4’ deep at the narrowest part and 7’ deep at the part under the sky walk bar.

View balcony is covered by the entrance to the sky walk bar.

Privacy Issues the last two floor windows of the sky walk bar can see the balcony, if they squat down to look. You can see their feet. The part of the balcony that sticks out allows other balconies to see you.

Wind Balcony faces aft so it is protected from the wind.

Soot not an issue

Problems none on my sailing, but the boat was only at 40% capacity.

Comments I liked this cabin with a deeper balcony than the majority of cabins onboard. The part that juts out allowed me to chat with folks on other balconies which was fun.

Dinner on formal night (no steak or lobster on this cruise.) I had the lamb. The second picture is the duck. Both are close up photos - use the ramekin and tomato for size comparison.

Room service pizza

Close up of the surf and turf on the final night.

Cruise Critic get together

This was a fun little cruise.  Pictures of the ship do not do it justice. The Atrium is breathtakingly beautiful! 
 

Embarkation was super fast. Within a half hour of getting out of the car, I was onboard the ship.  Crew members welcome you as you enter the ship, which is super nice.  From there you can find your way to your cabin, or stop for a bite of lunch. I booked a mini-suite. 

The cabin measured:

8’ wide by 20’ long (from the closet wall to the balcony door.)

The bathroom measured 5’x5’. The tub was a little over 1’ deep.

The balcony was an angled one and was 8’ wide by 4’ deep at the narrowest point to 7’ deep at the widest point.  

The closet entrance was 2’ wide and the hanging rod was 5’ long.

As a real Christmas lover, I decorated the cabin for the holiday.  The cabin door sign was a hit with others onboard.

The food was hit and miss. Best breakfast was at the buffet (after the first few days.) Best lunch was at Alfredos and best dinner was in the main dining room.  The first night, I tried the buffet and it left a lot to be desired. Gave up after a couple of bites.  (It did improve as the cruise went on.)

 Room service  pizza was small (8”) but tasted ok. The room service sandwich I ordered was more mayonnaise than anything else. One bite and I was done.  The main dining room portions were small, so you needed to start with a hot soup, or hold up the table while you asked for a second helping. The surf and turf was a small (~2 oz) piece of beef with 2 pieces of shrimp and one piece of broccoli, one slice of carrot, a few potatoes cubes and squash pieces.  Overall the scale told the tale. I lost 3 pounds on a 4 night cruise - a cruising first for me. 
 

Entertainment was very good and the costumes were spectacular. The entertainers are very good and the shows are excellent.  There is usually a musician in the Atrium and it is a lovely way to enjoy your beverage of choice and take a break from other activities.

On 5/16/2016 at 12:45 PM, Jilliebean28 said:

We are contemplating booking one of these but have concerns about their location. Has anyone ever cruised in one of these suites? Thoughts??

This is a glorified mini suite!  There is no walk in shower. Half the balcony is obstructed by another deck! Shame on Princess for passing this off as an S5 class suite. It is a mini suite on other ships.

1 hour ago, lenquixote66 said:

There is no such thing as a forever post in CC

Oh, remember that folks screen print and keep them as photos.  They can show up in the most unexpected places!  Such as below 🤣

2 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

That’s quite a story.  Rehabilitated from a presumed glutton to just blatantly wasteful.

Please remember that an online post is forever. Write posts that you would like your friends, employers, relatives to read and be proud of you for writing it.  Not embarrassed because it is less than nice. 

50 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

some behaviors, even personal behaviors do have a stigma and for good reason. wanton gluttony should be made fun of if not sneered at.

I’m confused as to why you feel you know someone’s being a glutton?  Let me share an experience with you.

  I once had a patient who lost 200 lbs. She was still obese, but on the way down the scale.  To celebrate her birthday her husband had a party at Golden Corral.  She went up and filled her plate with a wide variety of foods. To the casual bystander, it looked excessive. What those judging her did not know was that once in the room set aside for her party, she would have one or two bites of each item to taste them, and then stop eatIng that item. Her plate had a lot of food on it when it was cleared. 
 

What was particularly CRUEL was on the way out, She received a few nasty, snide comments from a couple who had been behind her at one food station. This was her birthday and we were celebrating a personal triumph for her.  It was completely wrecked by a pair of sanctimonious judgmental hypocrites!  Please don’t join their ranks.

Think of her story before you decide to pass judgement on another human being. 

1 hour ago, clo said:

Looks like the govt. has spoken up about self-serve generally.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2020/07/13/welcome-to-the-new-buffet-which-isnt-a-buffet-anymore/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most

First, thank you for sharing that.  
 

The  Washington Post article links to an FDA statement which is from April.  (Old news recycled as new news. Gotta love the WP!). I’m not commenting on the validity, just the timelines of it.

On 7/11/2020 at 7:15 PM, evandbob said:

A buffet can be the place where you hear overweight and diabetic cruisers chat about the lack of personal responsibility in society today as they overload their plates with all kinds of food their doctors recommend they should avoid.

“as they overload their plates wiTh all kinds off food their doctors recommend they should avoid”

That is judgemental in my opinion.  Again - why does it matter to you?  
 

The only nerve you hit was the one about criticizing another cruiser.  They paid their money. They can eat what they want in my book.
 

 If I’m their provider, I will turn a very blind eye to what is on their plates.  It’s their vacation. 

1 hour ago, evandbob said:

A buffet can be the place where you hear overweight and diabetic cruisers chat about the lack of personal responsibility in society today as they overload their plates with all kinds of food their doctors recommend they should avoid.

WOW!  That’s quite a post.  Why would you even care what another person says, does, eats?  It’s their vacation and they can eat what they want — without (a self-appointed) member of the pantry police overseeing their choices. 

33 minutes ago, clo said:

So will you be okay with that same outcome when the food is served to you rather than your serving yourself? I have the sense that's going to be a done deal pretty much everywhere.

It’s 6 of one, half dozen of another. It does not matter if I put the food on my plate, or a server hands me the portion on the plate.  Why does it make a difference and why are folks knickers in a twist about this?  

1 hour ago, MSUjohn said:

 

in this case, I am strictly talking about land based buffets (think golden corral) being extended to sea.

 

 

yes "status signaling" is a thing weather it is material or social.

Personally, I LOVE buffets! (My waistline might not!)  Take what you want, and try things you might not normally have at home.  If you don’t like the taste, just put it to the side and go back up and get something else to try.  Whoopie! 
 

Who cares what narrow minded people think?   If they feel they are “so important” then that’s fine with me - I’ll still do what I want, when I want, and how I want to do it.  Their approval is neither solicited nor considered in my decision making process. Life is way too short, to worry about people who have braces on their brains. 

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I will ask once more, has anyone seen any study that shows self serve buffets contribute in any way to the spread of Covid 19?

 

Now, I can see where ships with outbreaks of noro have switched to this and would agree that it is a good idea as a preventative for noro,  but I still see no ties to the present virus which seems to be transmitted by airborne particles. 

.

i just went and did a search at the National Library of Medicine (pubmed) which publishes abstracts and studies of global research studies.  There are no Covid specific studies regarding self- served food.

There were two studies regarding virus transmission via self-served food venues and it was a surprise.  Patrons did not spread the virus. FOOD PREPARERS SPREAD THE DISEASE BY CONTAMINATING THE FOOD!  That was a huge surprise to me.  So thank-you Ontheweb for your post.

.

I recently came across battery led finger lights - meant to be a child's toy.  Use a white one at night for bathroom trips.

Wow this thread has taken on a life of its own!  I would like to offer two suggestions that I’m doing now.  
 

1) Hat with a built in oversized face Shield.  Baseball style cap for gents. For ladies I’ve tried both the cloth hat(not so good) and the straw hat (works great!) the brim keeps the face shield away from your mouth and nose, so you can eat comfortably with it on. The faceshield extends from ear to ear and down under your chin/jaw line. Both available from Amazon.

2) the Kooty Key eliminates the need for multiple pairs of gloves. I keep mine in a plastic snack bag and pull it out to open doors, throw locks, press elevator buttons etc. Also on Amazon.

Both are coming on my next cruise!

Thank you!

I saw on Princesses website that if they cancel your cruise this year, they will process an fcc to your Captain’s Circle Account.  Isn’t the Capt. Circle a loyalty program where you accrue points resulting in onboard perks like free laundry or internet? How can you access a future cruise credit from it?   I’d appreciate hearing from someone whose cruise was cancelled and received the credit, - to hopefully explain it.  Thanks!