kywildcatfanone

You are known for cherry picking someone's comments and ignoring the whole, so this is no surprise. As you have been told before, cruise critic is for discussing everyone's opinions and experiences and they should be respected.

Black Friday means nothing to most retail businesses anymore. Most do like Princess, and follow the Kohls model. Mark something up 40%, list it for 50% off, and make a ton of profit on it. Most all princess sales are exactly the same, they just word stuff different. Book the cruise you want at a price you are willing to pay, then watch it and you may or may not see a price change before sailing.

If the cabin has outlets by the bed, I bring a European to US Adapter, then a short non surge power strip. Plug in one on each side, and have all the power and USB I need on the bedside table. Never had an issue doing this. I have brought extension cords, as I prefer my cords over the ones provided by the ship. Those are almost impossible to clean well when you get them, especially if they have tape all over them and are sticky.

Yes, it's just regular OBC. Use it for whatever you like.

Ship will likely start boarding between 11 and 11:30. That's pretty normal. Could be slightly earlier or later defending on circumstances

Elite benefit have been cut, including the free minutes. You now have to pay for any internet.

Should have went with the fitness classes. If all you drink is water and coffee I would avoid the packages. Not sure but would guess mocktail mix has lots of sugar in it. But I haven't had one in a long time.

Packages aren't for being healthier. it's one reason we don't get them 🙂

I've said many time a $30-35 a day non alcoholic AI would help people who don't drink a lot of alcohol.

Why is cruise line support so bad?

My TA said she was told most sailings were 75-80% with a plus or premier package. She said Princess told them that on a call maybe 6 months ago.

Actually it has, as referenced in your post. If you change anything with a loyalty benefit, you change the overall benefit, even if it's just the items included with the benefit. The reason is, different people value the options in a different way. Lots of complaints I remember when they removed Strip Steak from the anytime menu years ago in the MDR. You still had dinner, but if you couldn't get the meal you wanted that you could previously, you might not enjoy your dinner as much. Benefit is in the eye of the beholder. For someone like me, I valued the ability to trade the mini bar for coffee because I preferred the coffee to the other options. I do still have the overall perk, but it is worth far less to me than it was before as I don't value water or soda in the same way.

There are options when you order your medallion for things like a wrist bracelet, etc. You can also buy them on Amazon. If you haven't ordered yet for your cruise you will see the options princess offers that you can order

Yes, we take European to US adapters and a non surge protection outlet with usb. Powers everything we need.

I guess I hadn't thought about this, but now I guess there is no priority check in for loyalty anymore, it's whether or not you pay extra or buy packages. Another benefit lost it seems. Is that true?

🤣

Where was their cabin? What deck?

We have done 2 cruises on Celebrity and 28 on Princess. Beyond will be a bit smaller and less people. Food and service will be relatively equal. I would choose based upon itinerary and cost. Celebrity will likely be higher.

I typically only remember seeing actual trash cans out on upper decks around pool areas. Maybe there are ones down by IC.

I complain a lot about the cutbacks. I also fully understand that cruise lines lost a lot of revenue being shut down for over a year. It cuts both ways. I will remain loyal to them if they remain loyal to me. Prices have to go up, everything is. Don't cut loyalty benefits as part of your cost increases/cutting. You should want to keep loyal customers who were loyal before the shutdown to be loyal after. I think the prevalent thought amond cruise line execs after the pandemic ended and ships started really sailing full again that more people are cruising after lockdowns and therefore they can afford to be less loyal to previous customers. That might work for a while, but with the US economy suffering and getting worse, biting the loyal hand might come back to be an issue for them. It also might not. Only time will tell.

Yeah. They should have them and ask if you want one or not. Seems simple enough.

Just checked a March cruise, and it's higher with this promo than what I booked, lol.

Haven't seen them give those out for years now.

On our last cruise, not on Princess, we had our taxi driver stop at the Publix near the port, and I bought 2 12 packs of their water. I was surprised it was almost $6/pack. A 12 pack here at home is about $2. I guess being near the port, and a vacation location is why, but in the future if I think I need to buy water for a cruise on Princess, I will pay the $7 they are currently charging. I won't be surprised that it will go up soon, but at least for today, that is a good deal compared to buying it 500 yards from the ship. 🙂

I've said before, a non alcoholic AI for $30 and I would buy it.