singelsethc

Wow - Catherine, you are brave.............

 

Totally get where you are coming from though. Our kids are grown and luckily they haven't moved back home yet............so we too like some peace and quiet and thus always book longer cruises with sea days - that usually keeps the families with small kids away.

 

Also the Royal and Regal have the Retreat adults only area which may help..

lol about bravery. I'm curious about that retreat. It looks gorgeous on Regal. I also like that it'll be less windy with the cabanas.

Port Everglades is not many, more low key but like others have said, 11 is good. At least then you're not too early, but more on time to beat the lines and make preparations. We usually do 11 or 11:30, and just eat on the ship when we get onboard. If you did want to eat beforehand, it's up to you when you arrive at the terminal. But your bags are getting there later too, and you'll probably be waiting longer for them too.

I'm not much of a morning person but I find when traveling, it's better to anticipate and be prepared, than deal with the alternative. I think if you wanted to bring a snack and eat in the terminal they won't mind. I know I've brought water and coffee in and they don't care.

I'm sorry..I hope I don't make anyone upset about this post. I just want to know if Princess has become more friendly to kids. We're currently booked on Regal for nov 2015, and I noticed there's some new clubs and things which maybe will draw more families. We like Princess because we're a couple and hoping for some peace and adult time, as our last cruise was not. Not really concerned about it but just want to check..if there's certain times of year we should book that would be more suited to us. we travel about the same time every year, but somehow this time there was a teacher conference and there was more kids onboard. We're going out of Port Everglades, Nov 3d.

sorry you had problems. Port everglades is always slower it seems. Miami is great, in my experience, with speed and everything. perhaps port everglades is more of a cargo terminal?

as far as alcohol I will assume the reason is that bringing onboard hurts their sales

honestly the way I see it this is one of the hiccups that goes along with Princess, which I'm fine to bear with and are truly minor compared to the champagne waterfall, and other wonderful things that can't be found on Royal or another line

all I've really got to say is anything is better than Carnival. as far as cruising I think it depends on what you're looking for. Obviously you like Carnival you've done it more.

Me personally we are a couple so I prefer the "small ship" feeling of Princess, and the style suits me more. I can do without people barfing on elevators, and the general "I'm on vacation" crudeness

we were recommended SAS Transportation from NCL. I didn't handle the booking so can't be sure if this is what you're talking about, but this service was good. They were waiting for us at the airport when we landed, and were very efficient. The driver was friendly and gave us a little tour, was engaging and lighthearted. Small hiccup initially when he dropped us off a little early for our hotel. We had to walk about a block and a half with our luggage, but no biggie. It was early afternoon, at night maybe it'd be a problem. He just misjudged where that hotel was. Going in we stayed in Miami, on way back we used them from port of Miami to Fort Lauderdale airport. Strangely they were picking us up to the side where the other vans were "waiting". This is like their area to be in interim times. This was to the side but somewhat jumbled, as we're manuvering between vehicles and stuff. Don't know why he didn't come to the drop off area, but it was probably a timing issue. Other than that they were fine, the van was clean and looked well maintained, not falling apart and not a meat locker like some other commuters were. Which is welcome. I hate being in a sardine can with a bunch of sweaty people. I can tell you the vehicle was in better operating condition than the cabbies and their shuttles, and they were a great price.

I ate at Teppanyaki because I'm a vegetarian, and it's just an extra experience. As far as the food, it was good but I can make the same thing at home. From my overall experience onboard, it seemed the specialty places were better. Sugarcanes the mojito bar drinks were better quality. But for me eating at "Le Bistro" when everyone is Filipino and doesn't really know French cuisine, wasn't worth it. Teppanyaki's was ok, and didn't impress us to do others onboard. Like others have said, more of a 'show' than an overall experience. honestly I thought the specialty joints on Carnival were more of the five star experience. Maybe b/c Norwegian is freestyle it's overall more casual I don't know. For me I didn't do it because when I eat in the specialty restaurant, I'd like something authentic and unique, and that is more special. Menu matters of course too.

i just got off Getaway and stayed on 10th floor. There was one of those end balconies, it would seem like it's bigger but it looked about the same, also bear in mind because of the way it's situated people could see on your balcony easier.

I was wondering about this too

mine went down too..thanks!

we didn't have any onboard credit for ours though. we're going to have ours done through costco, seems better wholesale. we've never done it before, but they give you an onboard credit too.

welcome back! we loved the Ruby class so much we sailed on Ruby twice, and Crown is the sister ship. It's a great ship and you'll love it. who are you sailing with?

Do you mean that they offered to mark your booking upgrade? This means virtuously nothing in terms of big upgrades or did they offer a specific upgrade? The initial post seemed confusing in regards to this...

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ok..the agent was going to mark it as an auto-upgrade if something comes available. we're on Caribe midship now. we were booking direct with Princess

 

If not, not anyone know if the mini-bar in the room could be emptied out and a gallon of milk be kept in there? Is it big enough for 1 gallon or perhaps 2 1/2 gallons?

well I was just on the Getaway and it was big enough for a pint, maybe two but not much more than that

related to buffet..I found Princess had the most for me to eat. I'm vegetarian lacto-ovo and they had lots of things even small dishes like seaweed and quinoa, interesting little things like that which is part of reason why we're returning on Regal next yr.

do they still identify everything with V for folks like me, and have plenty of options there.

what's the breakfast like?

I've heard the terrace pool is tiny on Regal, which we're going on. we were on Ruby and Crown, and I believe this was adults only. I liked it a lot as a quiet adult area, and my husband enjoyed a cigar outside of Adagio's very little wind. perhaps that's not going to fly with the new policies, but I'm wondering what's available on Regal.

nothing against families or grandkids, but having that peaceful area was sooo nice. I'd been on Royal Caribbean and there was a kid unattended (of course) in jacuzzi and his parents too drunk to take him to bathroom so he just decided to go right there. after that the adult area seems so much nicer lol

We are a couple, no kids and hoping for some more quiet moments

we called Princess the other day and reserved for 11/08/2015 sailing next yr on Regal. they offered us an upgrade and I'm curious about the suites onboard. we have a balcony cabin but I feel we hardly used it on our last sailing.

Closer to nov I want to check with them about rooms. do you get access to the Adults retreat area with a mini-suite or above. is upgrade just for the room itself, or what is the benefit to doing one?

I fail to think it's just you're going to get some weird obstructed view thing.

interesting question..can't say for sure. I just got off Getaway. to me I would think of the coffee bar or something.

ship seemed pretty family friendly. bringing on in Miami I don't think they'd have a problem, but I would personally inquire first. I know if you were in Haiti or something and bought it offshore they wouldn't want it onboard.

I totally agree about labeling the vegetarian options on the buffet. A simple "V" on the display card would solve a lot of confusion.

 

A lot of people don't know this, but If you ask one of the Maitre'ds or food service officers that are always in the buffet area, they can make you a batch of anything you want on the buffet without meat. So, if the vegetables you see have bacon in them, or the stir fry has meat, they will make you a fresh plate without it. We sailed on the Getaway two weeks ago as well, and a friend of mine was having the same issues as you were. She spoke with the head of food service at the meet and greet and this is what he told her to do. It worked, but if does take a little while to prepare the items, so it may not be a quick in/quick out buffet experience.

 

You should never have to go hungry on a cruise because of dietary restrictions, you just need to ask one of the higher ups (not a general buffet worker) and they will accommodate you every time.

 

Hope this helps for your next cruise.

it does. this was actually my first time on Norwegian, I wasnt prepared. we've done Royal and other cruised quite a bit, but it was mostly on ships where eating in buffet wasn't an issue, and items were marked with that "V". green beans doesn't really help if they decided to garnish it with bacon bits, it just seemed unnecessary and going without then someone like me could have had it. it just became frustrating. I've done both dining room and buffet, and buffet is convenient and always more to eat, so we go there. And have more time for evening activities

Vegetarian or vegan? You need to talk with the right people. They can manage to help but they need to know you are there.

You wouldn't eat the 'burger' patty because the cook used utensils that touched other food? Well darn, that does make it real tough to accommodate your special needs. It is difficult to believe that they are being sneaky as they are doing their jobs but it isn't difficult to believe that they might get a bit frustrated.

I'm not trying to make things harder for them, and since I did tell them I was a vegetarian I don't see how it's a sabotage. this isn't rocket science. they should know better. if I wanted to eat the grease and fat from the hamburger why not just order the burger..which is essentially what's happening if they put the spatula on hamburger and then flip my veggie burger. if that's such an inconvenience and frustration for him, then so be it. but it IS his job.

I find the best person to ask on the buffet is an East Indian on the line, they understand:D

thanks I didn't know..but then I guess that makes the most sense

I am not the OP but the reason is that the grill was "contaminated" with the fat and juice of the meat.

exactly this.

well what is problem is not that he was cooking other things while he's preparing mine, it was that he's using same spatula for everything, so the grease from hamburger is all over my veggie burger. I've had veggie burger many other places without any problems, they make accomodation and prepare it separately. on princess they used a pan to keep it off the grill. I brought issue up to supervisor at that station and he told guy and he was supposedly going to make me another one, but he decided to put hot dogs all over the side grill that he had just put my veggie patty on, so I wasn't going to do that. the supervisor was working other areas. it was the spatula, and what seemed a lack of protocol for how it was to be prepared and general situation.

we've done Crown and Ruby now we've booked for Regal on Nov 8th for next year. hopefully they have not changed the things we love. ship looks gorgeous. I am a vegetarian and thought the options were best, they appeal to a more diversified palatte. I can't deal with chicken fingers or mac n cheese, and if I have to eat mac n cheese ona cruise ship why did I pay for it?

just got home from NCL on the Getaway..hated it.

we actually didn't enjoy our first Princess cruise either, weirdly. We came into Ruby's maiden season their first year out, and there were hiccups. Second time great, everything was on track and best service we'd had on a cruise line. Princess has a lot to offer..and my suggestion would be give it another try. If, after a couple gelatos and pleasant evenings at MUTS, and the champagne reception doesn't make you feel absolutely pampered, then maybe try Royal Caribbean or something again.

they did know I was vegetarian. actually I've eaten in dining room before, but we like variety upstairs and that style seems to work for us. more options.

lacto-ovo, yes. well as far as dairy options, there was. but there was more potato and pasta items instead of vegetable. I ask if I'm not sure, but I just felt pissed off that they made it so hard. I think you're probably right that dining room is best choice, but I just can't help but feel annoyed that it has to be like that. Ive cruised and aside from yes Carnival and this, it was always indicated. This was my first cruise on NCL, so it was a trial by fire

Just returned from the Getaway yesterday. You will definitely need reservations for Burn the Floor. Legally Blonde was horrible and there wasn't a full show. We left 25 min into it and a mass exodus followed. Was terrible show.

 

 

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i was disappointed with legally blonde too. the star didn't seem much like elle woods to me and even my boyfriend commented that story was changed. as with a lot of shows I've seen, thought it could have been better. I guess they don't have a lot of time to put these things together? it seemed overly silly