suzyluvs2cruise

On 11/1/2023 at 6:28 PM, kiwimum said:

From what I have read from the notice from our CVP, going forward using Stockperks is the way Carnival Corporate is going to handle Stockholders fleet and world wide.  
www.stockperks.com/carnivalcorp

In looking at the Stockperks website it says "The benefit is available on sailings through July 31, 2024. Applications to receive this benefit should be made at least three weeks prior to cruise departure date."

Does anyone know if the shareholder benefit is changing after July 31, 2024. 

32 minutes ago, cruiseypop said:

Oh what a wonderful day in Mazatlan.  Mazatlan is one of my favorite ports.  The people here are so nice and friendly.  And unlike some ports that are very sales agressive, Mazatlan feels less touristy than other ports and more city like with locals enjoying their day working, shopping, eating, etc.

 

I visited one of my favorite housewares store "Michaels Gallery".  There are all kinds of handmade mexican items here.  I purchased a new butter dish for about $8.  Which I think is almost a steal.  Shh, don't tell anyone.  They also have placements, knick knacks, other pottery much is stamped Mexico.  Also the staff is so friendly and nice.  I also purchased a silver desk ornament/paper weight.  It was a bit pricey, I got the last one so don't all rush at once to find another!

 

We took a taxi both ways into the centro and back.  It's a bit pricey at $10 each way, but we knew we wanted to walk a lot around the centro old town.  Michaels Gallery is in the historic centro.  We just tell the taxi to take us to the cathedral or big church it is in the center of the historic centro.  There are also touristy things like dancers and musicians too.  If you are up for walking you can follow "the blue line"  A blue line painted on the street from the cruise ship all the way to the historic centro.  It's about a 20-30 minute walk each way.  The walk can be nice too, houses, a few shops along the way to see.

 

Love the butter dish. Walking along the "Blue Line" is very safe and when we've done it there are Police/security ever couple of blocks. 

4 hours ago, cruiseypop said:

Our first port was Cabo San Lucas.  Tendering reminds me how much I don't like this port.  I'm sure if they could build a dock they would.  It just seems odd after all these year (cruise lines have been tendering here since the 1970's or earlier) they would have a dock by now.  It was very choppy and the whole process seems to take forever. One cool thing was the fisherman coming back in to port like to feed the sea lions and the sea lions have been happily trained to jump right onto the swim platform at the back of the boat.  Note to self: I will forever skip this port in the future.  Unless you like fishing, there isn't much to do here.  We walked all the way to the mall, about a mile or so and saw a life size Huichol beaded Rhinocerous!  That actually was worth it. The evening dinner was at Bistro Sur La Mer - first time for this.  The staff were excellent as always, but the menu was just ok.  My filet mignon was perfect though and delicious.  They are in the process of changing this over to The Catch by Rudy or something named like this.  Ironic, a quick survery of other diners confirmed very few people ordered any seafood.  Perhaps seafood is not as popular many think?

Here's the menu for "The Catch" by Rudi.....

3 hours ago, KillerSnake said:

Please share how you paid for them using On Board Credit from thee App.

The reservations I had were complimentary due to having the Premium Package. 

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Since we do not use Google Play (on our laptops) there is no way to install the Princess app on anything other than Apple or Android devices.

 

I should add that even the Princess folks (who answer their phones) were unable to make reservations using our included specialty dining.  As I posted last week, those Princess "experts" elevated the issue (which in Princess speak means nothing will ever get fixed).  Such is life/

 

Hank

I didn't have to install anything on my desktop. What I did was log into My Account, chose my cruise and where it says Check In with the Medallion App it gave me an option to "Try Our Web Version".  That's how I was able to get into the booking. Once there I went to "Dine My Way"  and reserved the dining. 

I have the App installed on both my and my husband's phone and was able to do this. What I do have trouble with is logging in to the Princess website. Gotta love technology. 
 

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Same issue plus we cannot even book our free (included) meals (Premium Package) prior to boarding.  One option is to simply book and pay for the meal (it will immediately charge your credit card) and than seek reimbursement once aboard.  Good luck with that!

 

We even called Princess about booking our included alternative meals (from the Premium Package) and the Princess rep was unable to book the reservation without it charging our credit card.  She did put in a request to fix the situation, but that likely went into the ether or the sea.

 

Hank

I was able to book our included Specialty dining using the web version of the APP for our Feb '24 Discovery Princess cruise. 

On 10/12/2023 at 10:39 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

I appreciate you saying this as we are new to Regent.  We've booked a 10 night cruise out of Venice for 2025 and one of the reasons we selected this option was for the advertised business class airfare inclusion.  I did a mock booking of airfare for travel in 2023 to get a rough idea of the cost of flights over seas knowing that in 2025, it will likely cost more.  The cost to book business class on our own via Delta was more than the cruise fare!  So we opted for the included air with Regent.  It is my understanding that we can pay a deviation fee once the air itinerary has been determined by Regent and that fee will allow us to make changes that may likely result in an up charge....unless of course, we like the itinerary that is provided.  Am I understanding this correctly?

see below from Regent Website   Flight Information

What you're doing is a S2S (side to side) cruise. Princess may offer transport between the 2 berths in Southampton. Ask at Guest Services if this is provided. 

1 hour ago, New2cruise2022 said:

We won’t be on until the end of February. So I’ll look forward to watching your next live. 

We're on the Feb 24 cruise. Is that the one you're doing? It's our 1st time on Princess in several years so lots to learn. Thanks @Cruise Raider for your thread and help. 

3 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We have been under the Marina deck right under the skywalk and was never bothered by none looking down onto our balcony.  

Thank you! and thanks for the information about the wine. All sounds great!

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

As for the premier wines, they had some great options.  These were our favs that were included n the package.  

Champagne:  Cattier 

Blush:  Whispering Angel 

Red:  Seghesio Zin, Parodoux Cab, Grirgch Hills Merlot 

White:  Hartford Chardonnay (they may be out now as this was my favorite 😂 ), Staggs Leap Chardonnay, Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 

 

They had some wines only by the bottle such as Rombauer.  We had it by the glass included in the premier package just as recently as July.  
There was a glass of Caymus cab my DH had that was about $9 over the premier package limit.  A bottle of it with the 25% discount was $120.  One of our friends splurged on it for our Crown Grill meal.  
 

I am partial to California wines but I’m sure there are many more international wines that were very good.  
 

Just one note is that the Discovery is the only Princess ship that we’ve been on that uses all nice stemware for their wines.  A good wine deserves a good glass.  It does t have to be a Reidel, although many were, but something with thin rim and the right shape makes the wine so much better.  

Our favorite bar to get great wines was at the Salty Dog bar on deck 5.  

Thank you! and agree about the wine glasses. They do make a difference. I'd already scoped out that for a bit more $ we could have a glass of Caymus. That's the wine that got me drinking reds. 

Curious about the Sea/Sky Walk and what deck you wouldn't choose for your cabin because of it. Can others up there see into your balcony on Riviera deck?  

On 10/27/2023 at 3:49 PM, Cruise Raider said:

Our lunch at the Ocean Terrace .. our waiter, Percio, now knows exactly what we love.  Spicy California vegetable rolls and and spicy California rolls with edamame.  
He even knows to bring a fork as I seem to be so uncoordinated.  I swear .. this is so good, I won’t be changing my order. 

We're on Discovery in Feb in Reserv Mini-Suite with Premier. We haven't sailed on Princess in several years so all they're offering now will be new to us. I'd love to eat in Ocean Terrace but my DH can't do fish/seafood. Do you know if they have any other options? Would also love to hear more about the Premier wines onboard? Is there anywhere one can see the menus for the Specialty and Casual Dining options? 
I'm enjoying your informative thread! 

We stayed in the Mayflower Park Hotel. It's a short walk from the Westlake Light Rail Station stop to the hotel. Pike Market is 4 blocks down Pine Street

On 11/1/2023 at 5:02 PM, Ocean Boy said:

You can when you initially make the reservation. In the past you could make many changes yourself to an existing reservation, even change your cabin. RCI has evolved backwards taking away many self serve options.

Maybe it's going to get better?

 Royal Caribbean Partners to Elevate Guest Experience

16 hours ago, PompeySailor said:

Sky link wifi 

Priority embark and disembark 

Suite area on embarkation day 

CK (without having to plead)

Suite lounge 11-11 beer and wine

Suite deck

Etc etc 

 

and maybe two bottles of water 💦

 

Cost up price for two internet packages and two drinks packages 

That should be a good baseline for cost difference and whether it is worth it 😉

 

SL on Quantum class does not offer any complimentary drinks 11-11 and no bar on Suite Sun Deck 

On 10/14/2023 at 8:53 PM, wolfcathorse said:

 

Adventure OTS - Capt Erik Standahl (started rotation 10-7-23)

Adventure OTS - Capt Jaret Barry

Allure OTS - Capt Tobias Oster (started rotation 9-10-23)

Allure OTS - Capt Shawn McDuff

Anthem OTS - Capt Srecko Ban (started rotation 10-1-23)

Anthem OTS - Capt Toni Calne

Brilliance OTS - Capt Juan Luis Caranti (started rotation 10-1-23)

Brilliance OTS - Capt Pero Sutalo

Enchantment OTS - Capt Kenneth Moeller (started rotation 9-17-23)

Enchantment OTS - Capt Daniel Budzelewski

Explorer OTS - Capt Toni Tomljanovic (started rotation 8-19-23)

Explorer OTS - Capt Frank Martinsen

Freedom OTS - Capt tbd (started rotation 10-6-23)

Freedom OTS - Capt tbd

Grandeur OTS - Capt Antun Regjo (started rotation 9-9-23)

Grandeur OTS - Capt Pehr Pehrsson

Harmony OTS - Capt Marshall Bartlett (started rotation 9-24-23)

Harmony OTS - Capt James McDonald

Independence OTS - Capt Iv Vidos (started rotation 8-27-23)

Independence OTS - Capt Gus Andersson

Jewel OTS - Capt Trond Holm (started rotation 8-20-23)

Jewel OTS - Capt Michael Lindberg

Liberty OTS - Capt Dustin Catelsky (started rotation 10-20-23)

Liberty OTS - Capt Malvin Bardnes

Mariner OTS - Capt Panos Panagopoulos  (started rotation 9-2-23)

Mariner OTS - Capt tbd

Navigator OTS - Capt Johan Hill (started rotation 9-22-23)

Navigator OTS - Capt James Nazar

Oasis OTS - Capt Ante Cavala (started rotation 9-24-23)

Oasis OTS - Capt Göran Peterson

Odyssey OTS - Capt Sindre Borsheim (started rotation 9-17-23)

Odyssey OTS - Capt Per Kristopherson

Ovation OTS - Capt Espen Been (started rotation 8-25-23)

Ovation OTS - Capt Sverre Ryan

Quantum OTS - Capt Francesco Suma (started rotation 9-17-23)

Quantum OTS - Capt Arild Hansen

Radiance OTS - Capt Marek Slaby (started rotation 10-7-23)

Radiance OTS - Capt Rumen Yovchev

Rhapsody OTS - Capt tbd (started rotation 9-16-23)

Rhapsody OTS - Capt Mathias Sebom

Serenade OTS - Capt Kjell Nordmo (started rotation 9-10-23)

Serenade OTS - Capt Stig Nilsen

Spectrum OTS - Capt Flemming Nielsen (started rotation 9-2-23)

Spectrum OTS - Capt Huimin Wu

Symphony OTS - Capt Rick Sullivan (started rotation 9-10-23)

Symphony OTS - Capt Angel Oviol

Vision OTS - Capt Ole-Johan Gronhaug (started rotation 8-14-23)

Vision OTS - Capt Diego Lombardic

Voyager OTS - Capt Carl Graucob (started rotation 8-20-23)

Voyager OTS - Capt Thordur Thorssen

Wonder OTS - Capt Rob Hempstead (started rotation 10-8-23)

Wonder OTS - Capt Trym Selvag

Icon #1 OTS - Capt Johnny Faevelen (started rotation 10-1-23)

Icon #1 OTS - Capt Henrik Loy

ANTHEM - currently onboard - Capt Srecko Ban started rotation Oct 15. 

22 hours ago, RD64 said:

Because apparently everybody on every cruise on every cruise line booked these cruises just so they could go to Israel - and are now trying to cancel with full refunds - you can be guaranteed that all the cruise lines will be changing their Passage Contract to ensure that all passengers will be aware of - and agreeing to - the fact that no itinerary or port is guaranteed.

The Cruise Contract for RCI currently says the cruise line can change the ports/itinerary. I'd think the other crise line contracts say the same. No refunds offered either. I'd think they only way a cruiser could cancel and get any $ back is if they had cancel for any reason insurance. As said in a previous post you agree to the terms of the Cruise Contract when you're checking in so, even if you didn't read it, you're bound by what it says. 

44 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

2 have been canceled so far.

 

Travel Alert

Last Updated October 7, 2023 - 5:30 PM ET

 

Rhapsody of the Seas: Monday, October 9, 2023 AND Friday, October 13, 2023 sailing from Haifa

We’ve been closely monitoring the geopolitical situation in Israel. With your safety and well-being in mind, and in conjunction with our Global Security Department, we've decided that we must cancel our October 9, 2023 and October 13, 2023 Rhapsody of the Seas sailings.

We know how much time and effort go into planning your cruise, and we’re truly sorry for this disappointing news. Below, is information about next steps and options available to you.

Compensation

• A 100% refund, including taxes and fees, pre-paid packages and gratuities, amenities, shore excursions, any flights purchased through Royal Caribbean, and pre-purchased Royal Caribbean Travel Protection.
• You’ll receive the refund to your payment on file within 14 business days. Please note, some banking institutions may take longer.
• If you used a Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, we’ll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we’ll reinstate your original certificate.

Flights

• If you booked directly with Air2Sea, it will be automatically refunded to you.
• However, if you booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. And again, we apologize for this cancellation and any inconvenience caused by this.

These are cancelled because they EMBARK in Israel. 

7 minutes ago, iuki said:

I would let RCI cancel.  UAL, AA, & Delta are canceling all flights to Israel.

Cruise will not be cancelled. Ports for cruises scheduled to visit Israel are being changed. 

9 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Living here, and seeing the situation right now, sadly, it would not be resolved in the next couple of weeks...

 

I feel for all who had the Holy Land on their bucket list 😢

I was thinking of you as we see the situation in Israel. Stay safe.....

On 10/2/2023 at 3:17 AM, LilBlackDress said:

That is how the Halibut is prepared... 
I have had it 3 times and it was fantastic each time. But like I said above, I fell in love with the Branzino 


 

 

I would have preferred the Branzino but it wasn't offered when we were on Wonder. 

On 9/30/2023 at 7:37 AM, Ourusualbeach said:

I think you will be fine.  The main course the Halibut was very good.  The rest are small dishes and the majority of them would be fine. 

We dined in Wonderland on Wonder in May and this was how my Halibut was served. Sadly it didn't look or taste good. Curious if what you had was prepared and looked the same. 

Crown and Anchor History

2 hours ago, WyKnott said:

This is how I quickly reached Diamond way before the double points promo during Covid. I did a lot of weekend Mexico cruises back in the late 80s, early 90s. When they changed the point system to the current one, all those 3 day cruises were counted as 7 day. 😎

And we did longer cruises and they also counted as 1 point. Some gained and some lost during the conversion. 

29 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I think the advantage would be that you would receive points for cruising either line.

 

As to source, for those of you asking, there was a recent Captain's Club webinar where the question was brought up and the CEO of Celebrity said something may occur in the future... paraphrasing as I don't remember her exact words.

Link to webinar is in post #84