TheMichael

In all fairness, this may not be the best place to look for "regular folks" traveling in inside staterooms, by the mere fact that CC is kind of a bastion of longtime/hardcore cruisers - for many, cruising is not an occasional treat, it's their primary leisure activity. Inside cabins aren't steerage. They're maintained to the same extent as the rest of the ship, they're just smaller and don't have windows. You can still get room service and have it cleaned every day. The bed is probably even similar to one you'd sleep on in a suite. There is zero shame in eating in the MDR or even the buffet - to most people's tastes the food can be really tasty (and you can send back anything that isn't, and try something else). The entertainment offered is the same for all passengers, as are excursions. Anyone can pay for spa services, but shipboard services are always more expensive for what you get than the average range on land. Luxury is what you make it - there are plenty of places to get away from the hordes on a ship, if that's what you wish, no special lounge required. And there are plenty of places on a ship to stand and watch the waves with the wind in your hair and a drink in your hand. There will always be a market for the Yacht Club, just like there's a market for Rolls Royces and Four Seasons hotels and Gucci and Chanel. I get it, but I have no desire for any of that, and wouldn't even if I won the lottery. My one "luxury" is the cheapest cabin I can get that has natural light of any kind. The GF and I realized recently that we hardly ever used a balcony when we've had one, so it's usually an oceanview. As such, there are certainly times I've felt like a bit of an outcast here - never been in more than a regular old balcony, eat in a specialty restaurant maybe twice per cruise at most, and enjoy just sitting at one of the bars people-watching (oh, the people-watching on a ship!). But on the ship itself, I've made friends and fun acquaintances (the opposite of "social outcast"), had more than my fill of great food and drink, and have seen sights and places I'll always remember. That's what life is about, whether you're in the bowels of the ship or in the seagoing equivalent of a penthouse.

$50 sounds more than fair for the inconvenience of having to be brought a second appetizer (complaining about encountering pot smokers should get you a tidy $0). I don't see the problem, those are things I'd just expect to mention so they can fix them, not in hopes of extorting a significant reward. Glad you're happier on Virgin (looking forward to trying it myself, have heard good things except for bed quality, which might be a dealbreaker if true). Personally though, leaving a cruise line that I was otherwise happy with for just those two things would effectively be cutting off my nose to spite my face.

Starbucks in specific has actually worked to change that (one of the positive things they've done - don't get me started on how they kneecapped their loyalty program). It used to be that I couldn't use a Starbucks card at an airport or grocery store or Vegas casino, but now they all take it and can even redeem rewards. And as said, the Princess FCD program is still great. Last cruise, we bought ours on the TV in our stateroom. 😀

Oh, the drama!

One day, I'm going to compile an anthology of "cruise thing happened/significant compensation must surely come of this" instances. Also, you can tell the Americans in the thread because they're the ones more concerned with lawsuits than how this would happen or updates on the people involved.

And it's all of those things (plus rent on a prime location, advertising, etc.) that make your city's "prime" steakhouse or upscale bistro so much more expensive than the 50-year-old hole-in-the-wall that nevertheless makes some tasty food. Speaking of which, you know what they say about averages: Take a bar full of bus drivers, add Bill Gates, and the average patron's net worth is hundreds of millions of dollars. The better meals on a ship cost much more than $15, while the deck pizza or mystery chicken at the buffet...

Weather is by far not the only reason - there could be: - Port issues (damage to a pier, striking dockworkers, bridge collapse in harbor) - Decision by the country/locality to reduce or not allow cruise ships (Bar Harbor and San Juan del Sur are two I can think of offhand) - Civil unrest or other unsafe public situations (Labadee) - Issues with the ship that cause it to miss its "window" For example, our recent Emerald Princess cruise from LA to Ft. Lauderdale through the Panama Canal had to miss San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, because authorities had banned cruise ships (and looking at past news stories, they have only allowed a small number since 2000). I see in CruiseMapper that port visits are scheduled again later this year, but that might also be tentative.

If there's one thing you find out from a cruise food thread, it's that everyone not only has different tastes, but also have different ideas of how things work. 😀 The bottom line for the OP is that it doesn't matter one iota whether it's the same kitchen if it's different food. On some ships the main galley serves more than one venue; on other ships it doesn't (in fact, on many ships you can see the buffet kitchen at work preparing various items). People "believe" grills don't get cleaned when they actually do (and that a flat-top grill that cooks both beef and chicken makes the beef somehow taste like chicken - I'd like to know how they believe that bit of chemistry works). People "believe" specialty dining isn't "worth it" - what even middling land-based steakhouse will serve you appy and soup/salad for $39 these days, much less the rest of the meal?. The one thing I'd both strongly agree and strongly disagree on is whether to eat some meals at the ports instead. Some ports have some amazing local food. If I was on a cruise around Japan I'd probably never eat on the ship at all. 😀 But in many ports, unless you know the area or have a trusted recommendation (not Yelp), the food can be bland, pedestrian, and downright disappointing enough to make you realize that "ship food" isn't so bad after all.

Comped balcony vs. comped obstructed balcony is not exactly a cruise-ruining difference, and if you think that’s bad, you should see how other lines move passengers around. As I said, taking a comp offer has virtually no downside if it turns out to have been in error. That point still stands. Anyone who gambles should understand the concept of +EV. And EV applies to pretty much every aspect of life. An “error offer” is the definition of +EV.

What is this concept of "over-consuming espresso" of which you speak? 😀 I think my recent cruise on the Emerald topped out at about 10 shots one day - always doubles. (At home my normal consumption is a full pot of strong, home-brewed coffee, so not far off.) My behavior always changes on vacation, whether on a ship or a plane/road trip. I drink a bit more, eat a bit more, and somehow both relax more AND adventure more. That's why they call it "vacation." Now, I'm not staying in 5-star hotels or drinking top-shelf, but I don't need those to enjoy myself, while I do enjoy trying a variety of food and getting an occasional slight buzz if I'm not driving.

The positive is, if you book and it turns out to be an error, in the end the worst that can happen is they let you know, then you contact them and get your deposit back. To me that's an incredibly reasonable gamble.

"Error prices" happen all the time, and no, companies in the US are not bound to honor them. (Not a lawyer but for decades have followed "deal" websites that find/discuss error prices.)

Looks like O'Malley's took the place of the Salty Dog Gastropub - maybe an Irish Pub might hold up better to being right behind the bandstand than the Salty Dog did. We spent a meal having our eardrums assaulted by the "party band" there not long ago.

Just got off the Solar Eclipse/Panama Canal cruise a couple of weeks ago. Really, I loved the ship: - The configuration of the Explorers Lounge beats any Princess Live I've seen hands down. - Same with the Wheelhouse/Salty Dog Gastropub setup. - Ditto for the Lotus pool, which is so much more relaxed than the "party" adults-only pools on other ships. In fact, there are many places you can get away from "the hordes" if you want. - It's got the wrap-around promenade (newer ships don't) - excellent for an evening walk. - Two separated main pools mean you aren't forced to watch the movie or listen to the band. - The pop-up casual restaurants (Planks/Steamers) were awesome. - There's nothing like Skywalker's Nightclub (late night lounge/dancing) on the more modern ships. - You can tell it's older here and there but it didn't seem neglected. - The Captain was awesome. (Sadly, he's since been "called up" to the Sky Princess.) It seemed overall to be a more relaxed ship than the newer ones. Whether that was an effect of the cruise length/itinerary or its usual vibe, I'm not sure, but I really liked that. There are a few cons, though not enough to deter me from booking it again in an instant: - The Sanctuary was disappointing (mostly covered, service almost nonexistent) - we actually found the Lotus pool area to be completely sufficient for relaxing deck time, padded chairs and everything (and it's free!), so we cancelled the rest of our Sanctuary visits after the first one. - The rooms are on the small side (I'm not sure how someone over 200 lbs would deal with the tiny shower in our oceanview room). - No running track (what they call their jogging track is the equivalent of jogging the perimeter of a basketball court, and it's super narrow, so if there's anyone also walking on it, good luck) - International Cafe has the worst setup (three-sided counter, so there will often be three lines with just one person serving) - fortunately the coffee counter is clearly separated and staffed. - Buffet is small (good variety, but small). - No Gigi's/Alfredo's (but they do have the deck pizza). - The layout at Club Fusion is unfortunately conducive to people gathering around the far edges to TALK REALLY LOUD during a comedy or quieter music show. - I missed the more open Lido deck "back bars" on the Discovery and Regal. I could make two long lists like this for any ship, but IMO the positives far outweighed the negatives for the Emerald, while (for example) I'm not sure I'd want to sail on the Regal again.

What I'm seeing in this thread is that different people have different math. The package is the package, and for some people it absolutely doesn't pencil out. Some folks are used to minimizing expenditures on vacation, so they'll drink only the "included" fluids and food. Others do not need nor want WiFi. Others remove the gratuity (the less said about that, the better). Others like to keep a buzz on when on holiday, or don't feel they've had the full experience without gourmet dining. Personally, I'm gonna have 5-6 shots of espresso per day and at least a couple of drinks, need WiFi for monitoring things back home and fielding occasional work questions, and enjoy trying out the range of dining on the ship. Every single variation uses "the math." AKA "you do you." And since the price of the packages is not outrageous, it really does allow people to lower their costs when they are really not going to use that stuff. The only "gotchas" tend to be people who don't get the package, but then give in to their weaknesses (whether drinks, dining, or Instagram) after setting sail. And again, only you can determine that.

I think the responses understood your question. The advice they gave was that there's not much in the way of "special deals" booking a specific cruise while onboard vs. waiting for an email offer, the only advantage is in making the FCD so you get the OBC when you do book. (There's no time limit on when the cruise sails, only on when you book it.) For example, when we sailed on the Emerald recently, the Future Cruise rep told us the best "deal" he could do is 35% off. We got off the ship to find an email offer for that PLUS a room upgrade, so we'd have likely had a worse deal if we'd booked onboard.

Again, not a huge wine drinker, but at home I can usually look for the cheapest Sangiovese in the store and I'm 100% satisfied. And the beautiful thing about having 15 drinks to "spend" per day is, you can spend the first day or two trying all of the wines that fit within the package, pour out the ones you hate, and re-order the ones you like!

On those occasions when the GF ordered wine under the Plus package on our Princess trips, it's been at worst drinkable and at best "yummy" and worthy of re-requesting next time we popped in. Since I mainly drink red and I've been to numerous land-based local bistros/trattorias where "wine glass" is a flexible term, I'm not fazed as long as it's made of glass. But I understand that some cruisers are looking for a "sophisticated" experience.

We were on Emerald (Discovery was doing Mexican Riviera, and they don't have the pop-ups). Got off at Ft. Lauderdale so you could get on 😀

I'm sorry you had that experience - we LOOOOOVED Planks on the Eclipse/Panama Canal cruise. We got 4 of the 5 entrees between us, everything was spot-on (pulled chicken a bit dry, but without sauce it's gonna be). I would love to have had some of the wonderfully spicy sides that land-based BBQ spots serve, but it's a cruise, so I just added extra pepper or hot sauce to everything and (chef's kiss)! Same with Steamers - fantastic value. And the service staff for the pop-ups was awesome.

The title of this thread needs to be changed to "APP Fail." The Medallion is used when you're ordering yourself at the bar. That is, unless they have updated medallions that work like Star Trek TNG communicators, which would be so cool...

I think they stopped allowing people to walk around and choose a table when the ships started getting full and the ranks of the elites grew exponentially. Allowing hundreds of people to take a stroll around the MDRs and barter over table location would be even more insane than the current process at the Sanctuary, in which you can spend hours waiting your turn for selection, followed by being informed that limited least-wanted seating is available only for certain dates and times. Personally, we book random available times once we're on board, then walk up when we actually want to eat (of course avoiding the 5-to-6 hour completely). Least possible stress.

There might just be a business idea in manufacturing "cruise size" walkers, if no one is already doing that.

I've travelled on three Princess ships in the past 18 months (including Discovery), and all have been the most comfortable beds on any of the cruise lines I've been on - and more comfortable than a pretty reasonable number of the many hotels I've stayed at in the past several years. IMO, they ARE "the good mattresses." As some people have said, maybe you got the disadvantage of "temporary" mattresses during the shakedown period. New ships gonna new ship.

Cruise line changes tend to apply to sailings that begin on or after the designated date. Not likely to be half-and-half on your cruise!