Snaefell3

Princess marketing is moving toward "modern families" demographics. Just recently P tried to make Military OBC and Shareholder OBC non-combinable. They found they aren't there …yet.

AIUI, O's new ships go through the big 2016 locks, and only the 'R'-class ships (which have had their cardreader locks to the Spa Terrace removed) go through the "interesting" 1914 canal locks. Either way, keep the $25.

Me, too (check post #5), but let's give the OP the full story.

O keeps filling them, so it seems enough added value for enough people, though.

> Expanded lunch and dinner room service menu from The Grand Dining Room. You can order room service from that day's GDR (lunch and?) dinner menu during GDR hours, but AIUI as a single delivery, not course-by-course. The other problem when in Concierge is finding a suitable place for 2 to eat at the same time. > Complimentary laundry service – up to 3 bags per stateroom The kicker is the 3-day turnaround. > Exclusive card-only access to private Concierge Lounge But only on Riviera, Marina, Vista, and eventually Allura. The 'R'-class ships don't have one. > Complimentary welcome bottle of Champagne $1.98 stuff > Priority online specialty restaurant reservations If you *must* have 2top, 6:30pm slots rather than 8top 8:30pm, this can give you better chance -- more important on 7-day voyages than 14 (more days = more slots = less competition) > Unlimited access to the Aquamar Spa Terrace AIUI, the cardkey access on the 'R'-class ships has been removed. Open to all

A snark from back when we sailed Princess Cruises: "Call three times and average the answers, especially the yes/no ones"

It appears the description of Shareholder Shipboard Credit on your "Manage My Cruise" webpage depends upon what some clerk happened to type in when they entered your SSBC credit into O's computers. Try process of elimination: ask your TA if they've arraigned that $250 SBC. Oh! More process of elimination: if your cruise isn't 15+ days, the $250 isn't SSBC. 😉

Is this a fair rephrase? We call it a "library", but it's valuable because of it's ancillary services rather than its book-lending function or its reference section stuffed with sometimes decade-old material. In any event, more and more pax treat shipboard libraries as book-decorated lounges rather than places to borrow books, and use internet-at-sea for better and fresher port-of-call information.

Glad to hear if true. A lot of folks still like fiction in dead-tree format and reference material from last year. My 2¢: Libraries, ashore and afloat, are getting a lot less vital because of internet, browsers, and ebooks, so IMNSHO can go the way of buggy whips, encyclopedias, and landlines. My first ebooks were in 1999, when I stopped defining "disembarkation day" as "2 chapters before my borrowed whodunit's reveal". 🤔

After checking Currents from Regatta, March '23: Nope 😞

Nope. 😞

Based upon what was done with Regatta cabins, it might consist of USB (don't remember if 'A' or 'C'), 110v Type 'B', and (I think) 220v Type 'L' sockets each side of the bed. USB, 110v Type 'B', and 220v Type 'F' sockets by the table. Keyword: might. You're on your own for the suites. 😉

::stocks up on popcorn:: 🙄

My 2¢: The "reinspiration" ships are O's R-class ships, which entered service with Renaissance Cruises between 1998 and 2001 and likely have a limited future with O. Fresh paint, carpet, etc, but limited/no steelwork-level changes. For example, Regatta was a delight last March, but hadn't gotten the promised rainfall showerheads because O wouldn't rework the deckheads when they discovered the required piping wouldn't fit.

...and who's dining. I'll take Lobster Roll and ...even an Ember Cheeseburger over Escargot or anything topped with Foie Gras.

I'd phrase it as "they *are* looking forward to no cruise pax". "They" being certain folks-with-an-agenda, not the tourist industry folks in Flåm. (Which is as close to discussing politics in the GDR or on CC as I'll get) "It's a feature, not a bug"

If you go to a cruise's description on O's website https://www.oceaniacruises.com/northern-fjords-cruises/hamburg-to-oslo-SIR240731/?sr=%2Fnorthern-fjords-cruises and click on a port name, it will take you to the list of excursions for that port. "Tour Description ▼" will give some details, and then "More▼" will add more.

Red Ginger is "oriental fusion", for various definitions of "oriental" and "fusion" 😉 Here's the "sample menu": https://www.oceaniacruises.com/sites/default/files/2023-10/red-ginger.pdf if you want a better idea.

My take: It isn't that Ember is bad (the reviews of the ribeye are all "outstanding") it's that the [censored] are indignant that their haute French food is gone.

Normally, yep. To the point where maître d's are often roaming the ship on Day #1 for 2top customers at 6:30. If @oskidunker is seeing a new trend on Vista, glad I've got 4x sea-day 6:30 2tops in March.

4top at 6:30 only on the 1st & last days even though your cruise is longer than a week. That sounds atypical. And nothing acceptable from Ember or Red Ginger? Weird.

Interesting data point. Glad you got your 6:30 4tops, but surprised it had to be 1st & last. Short voyage (fewer slots)? If so, don't be surprised if once on board, you find that the specialties will actually open at 6:00pm. Anyways, bon appétit and bon voyage!

...but would quickly put them back on to avoid frostbite? 😉

::blushes:: So... The original question stands.

Yeah, frozen/thawed but inquiring minds want know what is the shelf life on fresh lobster?