johnritt

We booked late and got a late check in time.  It didn't matter.  We grabbed a taxi from the airport and boarded the ship as fast as we could walk.  Best boarding system we have ever experienced anywhere.

We tipped for deliveries to our room or unusual locations for us.  That was our personal preference.  Loved the medallion and the service.

It is not self service on the Sky as of 3/12.

It worked very well though.

Just off of the Sky  (3/5-3/12)

Smoking in Churchills.  Saw smokers playing the slots in the casino.but didn't see any at the table games.

Deck 17 aft had both cigar and cigarette smokers.

Never saw a smoking section on 7.  I'm not saying it wasn't there but I never saw it.

Princess Plus is one reason we're trying Princess this time. I like the idea that the crew gets paid and that passengers can't take advantage of low fares and then treat the crew like indentured servants for a week.  What i was trying to figure out is what I should do if I have all of these different things delivered to all of these different places. I'm comfortable with how I handle room service, favorite bartender, good waiters, coffee shop crew, dining and speciality dining.  They work their butts off and have always been friendly and kind.  It just seems like the service on Princess may be more intense in the areas where I'm not used to that level of service.  So I was checking.

Hi Everyone,

This is our first time on Princess as well as our first time using Princess Plus and the medallion. On previous cruises and cruise lines, we've always tipped for things like room service and  the like.  As medallion seems like ship wide room service on steroids, is it common or expected to leave cash when using medallion or is this figured in with the Princess Plus package?I don't want to screw the crew but the idea of keeping cash with me all the time is a pain.  Any insights would be helpful.  Thanks.

I believe that the SXM Festival starts on Wed., March 9th, which happens to be our day in port here.  Does the island go nuts and will transportation be a problem?

I don't want to grab a cab out if I can't grab a cab back.  It sounds like fun if I was whole lot younger.

I found several day pass hotels in Ft. Lauderdale as well as a Holiday Inn Express day hotel stay too  So now, no matter what, we won't have to sleep on the floor at the Ft. Lauderdale airport.  Thanks everyone.

I hope all is getting better and that masks will be optional when we sail on March 5th.  But I'm still taking a bunch of them and expect to wear them in halls, elevators, and crowded areas anyway.  I knew that masks were required when I booked the cruise so masking is not a no go for me.  If it was, I wouldn't have booked a cruise.

I think that bagstogo was at the airport and the lines there last time were impossible to get through.  I remember waiting for 2 hours and not seeing the line move at all.  

Worst comes to worst, I can rent a car for about $75.00 but I'm going to keep looking for a day pass that is closer than  Miami or Miami Beach.It's a pain to rent a car for 8 hours, but it's less painful than sitting on an airport floor all day.

Thanks everyone.  EZ Check sounds great and I'll check out the Everglades tour too.  Last time we were in the Ft. Lauderdale airport we felt like we were a small part of a huge mob just sitting on our suitcases for hours and standing in line for Starbucks.  A sad end to a nice cruise.

Hi everyone,

This is our first Princess cruise and our first cruise in a several years.  I have a couple of questions that I'm not sure of.  

1.   About what time can we get into our cabin on embarkation day?  Do we need to tote around a real carry on when boarding.

2..  We are in boarding group C (booked cruise late).  We re flying Princess air (Southwest actually) and land in Ft Lauderdale at 9:45 AM. With luggage and a cab I'm guessing we will get to the ship about 1/2 hour early, if all goes well.  Is that a big deal?

3.  Does the Ft Lauderdale airport still get overwhelmed on Saturdays?  Our flight home doesn't leave until 7:00 PM and we are hoping to check in or store luggage early and go run around for the day.  Not possible last time.

Thanks for any information you may have.

I keep waffling.  This will be our really big trip (first in quite a while) and I keep thinking that we could fit in a balcony ABC cruise next year, too if we cheap out the trans Atlantic cruise, and skip looking at waves for 10 or 11 days while in the middle of the Atlantic. All in all, it's not a bad problem to have.

Thanks for all of the information.

I called Celebrity and found out that I ca reserve a shower chair for whatever class of cabin  I book, which solves my problem.

Now I have to decide whether a balcony cabin is worth it when crossing the Atlantic in October.  The inside cabin is soooo cheap ($3,100 v. $4,500).  I'll keep reading, I guess.

$

Hi everyone,

My wife and I are booked on the Silhouette for a trans Atlantic cruise from England to Miami this October.

I use a cane for mobility and am having some questions about the Silhouette's showers.  I need a grab rail in a shower but don't need anything special anywhere else.  As near as I can tell, balcony cabins have a sort of vertical grab bar but inside cabins do not. Is this right? I can book an ADA inside cabin but no balcony ADA cabins are available and I really only need something to grab onto in the shower.

Any insights would be appreciated.

Thanks,

John

When younger and poorer,  we aways cruised in the fall.  Why?  Because cruising was much cheaper in the fall and we could afford it.  We sailed the older ships too because they were cheaper.  I've even sailed on the spirit in hurricane season and remember liking the ship.  It's not huge but it's no rowboat either.

We always knew we could run into weather and took the discount and rolled the dice and usually got lucky.

These guys rolled the dice and lost.  

My wife and I just booked an inside cabin for Feb. 2020 to see what these changes are like.  The four perk package made it a good enough value to see if the solstice class ships are worth sailing without paying Aquaclass money to find out.

Michaels club, I don't care.  We haven't had access to that area of the ship since our first reflection cruise when it was a mostly empty craft beer bar.  And didn't miss it.

I worry about losing the top deck to suites who from what I have read here, rarely use it.  Is it just going to jam up the rest of the ship when suite passengers run up there, get cooked to medium well, and go somewhere else?  I will miss that deck for coming into or leaving port, views, and the quietness that deck offered

I'll blow a little bit on an inside cabin to find out.  But there are too many other vacation options out there to pay a lot of money of limited access and availability of space.

It"s why I won't sail the Edge.  If I can't even look out the bow of a ship, I won't sail on it.  And if they screwed up the Solstice class public areas too, I won't sail on those again either.

Thank you just thought i may have opened a can of worms didnt want to annoy!

nah, some just like to argue. If it wasn't dress it would be tips or beverage packages or chair hogs or children or babies or something else.

Lots o' hot buttons for all.

Wear what you like and think is appropriate and have fun. Your fellow passengers won't, as a rule, care what you wear as long as you don't expose your too much of your undies on purpose.

Have a nice cruise.

Thanks for the review. My kids are hopping on this cruise today and it's nice to get a feel of what they are going to experience, and it seems like they will have a nice one.

They should have both.

EDEN is the replacement space for the forward observation lounge on EDGE in the same way the 270 Lounge replaces the Viking Crown Lounge on Royal Caribbean’s Quantum class vessels.

Eden will be nice when leaving port. When entering, not so much.

what i really want to know is did anyone leave a show early?

lol

The passengers on this sailing deserve a full refund, not another cruise. If I was them I wouldn't ever sail with them again - and I certainly won't sail NCL in future myself.

I tend to respectfully disagree on this one. An extremely discounted cruise (Taxes, port charges and gratuities are still charged, I believe) perhaps gets some of these cruisers back. I expect that many of them will have settled down within 5 years and give NCL another try and NCL is smart to try for that.

I would guess that that chosen cruise won't be a cruise near a scheduled dry dock though. I know that I never have and never will sail NCL or any other line on a ship that is nearing dry dock time.

I was supposed to be on the Norway 2 weeks after she blew up and was dicked around by NCL on canceling the cruise for so long that it screwed up a family reunion. Finally got a refund and 50% off coupon for the trouble and thought it was pitiful. But ended up about a year later finding a great deal on the Majesty, booked the cheapest inside, smuggled, and had a great cruise for almost nothing. Brought me back to NCL. Think what could be had for a full cruise credit. With a little planning, you could hook'em hard and have a great time.

If NCL had done this last week and gotten ahead of this storm, I believe they would have been praised for their actions and for doing the right thing.

Now it appears that they are doing the right thing because and only because they were found out and caught in the public eye ripping off their passengers.

As near as I can tell, they have done the right thing for the wrong reason.

I only hope that the cost of this will stop them from doing it again because I don't think they cared about their passengers on this cruise but only cared about the publicity those passengers were able to shine on NCL's abhorrent actions.

We are on The Jewel arriving in Singapore in October this year prior to her going into dry dock for reburishment. I hope we don't have the same experience!!!

Why would they treat you any differently than they have treated this group?

They obviously don't mind giving you a lousy cruise if they can save a few bucks and a little time in dry dock.

They're a lot of other ships and dates out there and you have time to look around.