fabby50

8 hours ago, licram said:

Can you get a regular cruise card to open the door and scan in and out from the ship? I’m old school not tech savvy.

No, there are no cards anymore.  The Medallion takes the place of it.  There are two things:  the Medallion which is equivalent to the old card and the Medallion APP.  As said above, once you get in your cabin, you can use the television to do the things the Medallion APP does.

I prefer Sabatini's, the menu is more varied and it seems more relaxed.

We have taken this cruise twice, and have it scheduled again for this December.  We also have a timeshare and trade it for week long trips to the islands.  You can't go wrong either way and we love the islands, especially Kauai.  Advantages to us of the cruise:  if you still work, its a great way to see several islands in a short amount of time, you don't waste time sitting in the various island's airports waiting to island hop if your time is limited, cruising the Napali coast is beautiful, there may or not be volcano action, one trip there was, one trip their wasn't, if you are not into renting a car, the ship's shore excursions are an easy (though pricy) way to get see stuff, if I sat here long enough, I'm sure I could come up with more items.  My suggestion - go a day or two early to check out Honolulu and all it has to offer, then take the cruise to get an overview of the islands, figure out which one you'd like to go back to first for a land trip, and then do that 🙂

I can sometimes be an incredibly long meal, I've even almost had a tantrum a time or two.  It just depends on how the staff is doing that night and who the restaurant manager on the floor is.  Never had a bad meal though!

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Pre-Covid shutdown, both Princess and HAL continued to provide chocolates on the bed each eveving.

Haven't been on HAL in quite a long time, maybe we just had negligent stewards on our last several Princess cruises.  I know none of our Carnival, Royal, NCL or Princess cruises have had them.  Going next month, I guess we'll see (plus hopefully I'll remember our Dove dark chocolate Promises, yummy, yummy).

9 hours ago, caribill said:

I am not sure who you ask, but can you find out if the stopping of providing chocolates on the pillows at night is temporary due to Covid precautions or is it a permanent cutback in passenger amenities?

 

Jave a great cruise!

I haven't seen pillow chocolates on any cruise line in years - several years before COVID.  I take our own little bag when I remember, or you could always order chocolate cake from room service.

We had a dog with Addison's.  The medication worked wonders, it was expensive, but our dog with it lived to be 18!  We called her our "billion dollar dog" (she was a rescue and found the right people to live with).

On our last cruise, they had the bread pudding and the fruit crisps - they were over by the breads.  We LOVE the new buffet set up - I hope they continue it, loved the small portions in the creative containers.  I guess we'll find out the end of April on our Majestic cruise.

We are also getting ready to book air, and have decide that we're going to Hawaii regardless.  If our cruise is cancelled, I'll get my $$ back and book a ritzy hotel instead 🙂  We already have a day before and two days after booked and I'd would just extend one or the other or both.

13 minutes ago, KLM3164 said:

Is this on the television? I haven’t heard about a sleep program.

Its on the app, along with some games and other stuff.

Thank you for doing this!  We are going to Kauai on 2/6 for a land vacation, so I am gathering all I can about Hawaii.  We have an NCL cruise set for next December, hopefully, things will have significantly improved by then, but I said that last year too!

36 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

Maybe these precautions will also lead to less norovirus breakouts on the ships.

Yep, that's what I think too.  Norovirus is something I haven't heard mentioned at all since COVID protocols took hold.  Several  years ago, we were on what was referred to as the "plague ship" when norovirus took hold.  We were off Santa Barbara on a coastal cruise and made headlines in their local paper.  They were debating not letting us off, but they did.  The locals were not at all happy to see us.

3 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I never cared to those containers preloaded with food. I still prefer to take as much as I wanted & not waste anything or simple have the crew serve the amount you would like. 

To each his own.  Loved all the mini stuff with combos I never would have though of like the little cheese plates, the salads, the small sandwiches, etc.  I didn't waste anything, ate everything I took and I'm sure they were smaller portions than my piggy self would have loaded my plate up with.

We were on the Grand on their first sailing after she was able to sail again.  I really liked the new buffet setup.  I liked all the mini containers of stuff - made it so much easier to try a variety of things and not overload your plate.  They also seemed to have come up with some more creative combos than I remember from before.  I got off the ship realizing that I preferred the buffet for lunch over other venues, something I have NEVER said before.

Thank you monitor, whoever you are 🙂

'Can't we just have a thread where the discussion is what the poster was posting about?  I know I'm fantasizing.

We cruise and go to all inclusive resorts.  We were on the Grand in September and had a great time.  It was shortie to see how cruising was going and ended up being her first voyage after restrictions were lifted (didn't plan that).  It was great.  We just returned from 17 nights at Sandals Grenada, that was wonderful!  The one thing I will say is that at the all inclusive we spent all our time outdoors except when we were in our room.  I felt extremely safe.  The opportunity to do that doesn't really happen on a cruise ship - we did spend a lot of time on our cruise walking the decks, but bars, restaurants, activities were mostly inside.  Heck, its not work, so I'll take either one.

There are tea pods and decaf pods too, haven't ever seen any flavors.  We bring the flavor drops.

the vaccination rate in our town is about 35 to 40%.  We are surrounded by non-mask wearing people when we go out.  I felt the safest I have felt since COVID started on our cruise.  Everyone was vaccinated, tested within 3 days and masks were worn except when outside (and some people wore them then) and when eating.  Handwashing stations before the buffet, sanitizer everywhere.  Cruises are also not very crowded right now so you get even more space.

I sure don't like the bidding process - I much preferred it when they'd call you, ask you if you wanted to upgrade for X amount of dollars and you either took it  or not.  We got an upgrade from a standard balcony to an owner's suite that way.  I will never bid.

30 minutes ago, BossyKat said:

I did the pasta class on the panorama we had a blast!  So did everyone in the class.  There are 10 2-person stations with all your ingredients.  The chef teaches in the front and he has 2 helpers who go around helping along with himself.  There is a ipad with the instructions if you want to read along.  We finished we all had lunch together. 

 

I hope this is more info that you wanted.  🙂

Thanks for the info.  That's the reason I signed up for the pasta class - from the opinions I've read, that seems to be everyone's favorite.  I really wanted to do the sushi one, but its not at a good time for us.

15 hours ago, pkt1976 said:

I’ve never had them so not sure how they are “supposed” to be. It was mostly the consistency of the eggs that did me in. I tried a veggie burger at lunch 😬,  that may end my “experience new foods” this cruise 😳😂

This reminded me of my first meal experience on Princess.  We went to the buffet for the boarding lunch and I got a veggie burger.  It was a cold patty made of leftover mashed potatoes and peas.  One of the worst things I've ever put in my mouth 🙂  If it wouldn't have been day one and the food experience gotten better after that, I would have probably never cruised Princess again.

I don't drink (gives me heartburn) but I order lots of different things at the bar.  I haven't been to one that won't make you a mocktail.  I like no-jitos (a mojito without the rum), Virgin Marys (Blood Mary, no vodka), and they seem to be able to make all frozen drinks without the rum - pina coladas, daquris of every flavor.  I also like club soda with various juices mixed in, like pineapple juice or Rose lime juice.  About every other bar also seems to have a coffee machine since they can make after dinner coffee drinks.

OK - this is making me hungry 🙂  Home made pasta - yum, yum, yum!

Apple pie is the only one I've heard anyone making (seen several posts).