dmwnc1959

That’s beginning to come more and more to light. And I’m very much looking forward to seeing what they’re changing during the drydock. I’ve actually sent off an email to Princess Cruises Customer Relations to see if they can please (I did a little groveling and begging) give more details (or point me in the right direction as to who can tell me) what’s going to happen during that 3-week period. I’m really hoping they add to or enhance the casual dining options.

Here’s a screenshot from a YouTube video of the promenade deck chairs @valantine80 mentioned aren’t padded. @arxcards If possible next time you are on the ship can you please grab a couple pictures of the wooden slat chairs and loungers etc. that are all on the promenade deck. As of now I’m booked on her for 16-nights for a Panama Canal cruise and was very much looking forward to those chairs. 😁

I’m thinking that with her small size, in more-or-less a niche market of being able to transit the original Panama Canal locks and go on extended world voyages, Princess Cruises will keep her around for another 5 years. With the 3-week drydock this fall it may be a testament that they appreciate her value and size to their cruising market. They would more than likely sell off Grand Princess before they’d sell Coral Princess.

Was hoping you could confirm the type of chairs/loungers on wider parts of the Promenade Deck, if they are just regular wooden sitting chairs or the steamer-type padded loungers? Also, there have been some reports that on sea days they are currently offering a pop-up casual dining option (Alfredo’s and Salty Dog Gastropub). Any other new casual dining choices? I have the Princess Premier package and trying to figure out if the ‘unlimited’ is worth it. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!

I think if the Norwegian Jade had padded steamer chairs on the promenade deck I’d have already cancelled my Coral Princess booking. But I keep visualizing myself sitting on those amazing looking chairs for days and days just staring out from the teak, sheltered, wide promenade deck at the open ocean watching the sunrises and sunsets, and using the app ordering from the Ocean Now delivery. I know that’s just a little thing, and one amenity out of the many, but it’s just a dream I keep seeing in my mind’s eye ever since I booked that cruise. These screenshots from my favorite Coral Princess ship tour on YouTube by ‘Visit With Us (Rich and Helen)’…

It will be very interesting to see what happens during her 3-week drydock period in Sept-Oct, and then after she’s back stateside resuming Panama Canal transits mid-November. I do wish Princess Cruises would come out and tell us what they’re going to be doing other than just ‘normal maintenance and upkeep’. I have half a mind to write them and beg for information. My final payment is due early October and I’ll have to quite literally ‘jump ship’ for Norwegian Jade (which at this point is very highly likely) if there’s no new casual dining expansion on Coral Princess.

Good stuff here! 🤣

Isn't it actually in the NCL written contract where we can do this. They don’t need to explain themselves. Just like it’s NCL policy that sharing drink packages is not allowed.

You may have missed this from the OP: “Sure the 3rd person can buy and pay for those drinks à la carte. And most probably for everybody's peace of mind (including mine) and for preventing NCL going bankrupt because of my sharing (or stealing as many want to call it) that 3rd will end up doing so.” That’s not to say that once they get on board they’ll just wheely-dealy all they want and do whatever they want. Which is most likely the case.

PAGE 7

Didn’t say I actually READ all six pages - I’m not that desperate, I skipped a crap load of this drivel. It doesn’t matter where the next poster is from, it’s still against NCL’s rules, and that’s the one fact that’s indisputable. And how can you go away if we keep replying. “And now I officially call this a dead horse from my side.” 🤣

After SIX pages, yes. Maybe we can all put this behind us until the next time someone asks the same question. I give it a week. 😎

Oh, bless your little heart. A confession, silly and ridiculous as it may be. It’s still a confession.

Let’s look at a scenario where two cabins of people are traveling together: ‘Cabin A’ gets the drink package and ‘Cabin B’ doesn’t, but the first cabin ‘shares’ their drink package with their friends or family members in the other cabin. That was the point I was trying to make. It’s still feasible, even in the US, where when everyone in the same cabin has to have the package it can be abused. It’s still stealing regardless of how others twist their words, and it’s still against the NCL’s rules.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding, and really don’t want to get into semantics: sharing is letting someone have a drink from your own beverage; letting someone obtain an entire beverage they aren’t really entitled to isn’t really sharing, it’s stealing. Yes, stealing is free, sharing your beverage is also free. For the sake of argument let’s say this happens thousands of times a day across the 19 ships in NCL’s fleet. Regardless if any 3rd person wants to or not, or can afford it or not, it doesn’t justify what’s being suggested. I still don’t understand why the third person can’t buy their own single drinks à la carte. I’d like to hear that reason from the OP. This thread has basically turned into five pages of trying to show cause for and justify stealing.

This may have been asked and answered - reading through five pages of really long posts is tedious at best - but why can’t your friend buy their own drinks on a single glass by glass charge? Aren’t drinks on NCL available for a charge without having the package? Buy one glass of wine this time, a cocktail the next time. Buying their own?

Which type of ship were you on? Maybe one of the larger Norwegian Breakaway or Breakaway-Plus, or one of the smaller Gem-class ships? The transit time for ships of different sizes from the bridge up the two different channels to each respective set of locks (old vs new) is different, as is the time to fill the locks and then transit between the locks. Of course each transit is different based on traffic, but you can determine actual transit time averages. 😁

That must be the difference between going through the new locks (Norwegian Bliss) and the old locks (Norwegian Gem). I’ve been monitoring detailed movements (using Marine Traffic and the Panama Canal live cams) and noting the times of cruise ships going through the Panama Canal (both SB and NB) for about the last six months. And I’ve actually been watching them on the live cams going to the Panama Canal for at least the last 15 years. Of course transit times do very depending on traffic, especially now since they are cross-flooding the old locks to save on water. I just watched the Norwegian Gem go through on Feb. 10th and took screen shots every time it reloaded. From 6:03am when it first showed people on the bow until 8:29am when it stopped and settled into the second lock (before it started filling). It then begin to exit into the third lock at 8:48am:

Those are some really amazing pictures, absolutely gorgeous, and exactly what I want (whether it’s 9 miles away or closer). Alaska is so amazing and diverse, can’t wait to get back. 🥰

@wolfie11 @Coral that sucks not starting until later, but I completely understand the precautions that need to be taken. Nonetheless, it’ll be interesting to see how close Norwegian Jade gets, if at all. I wonder if they skip Hubbard Glacier would they make for College Fjord? I’m sure they don’t have advanced scouting to see which glacier areas are impassible.

This magazine is like an amazing time capsule with the Cruise Calendar in the back, a who’s who of the cruise industry’s most modern, largest, and loved ships from that era. And most are all gone now.

I’d have to say my favorite was Galaxy. There was just a something about her. Spent 12-nights cruising from LA-Alaska ending in Vancouver, got upgraded to a SkySuite. My last two were on Mercury from Baltimore and Millennium from Miami. These ships were the perfect size.

The combination of the Panama Canal, two really great stops on Mexico’s Pacific coast, three more on the US west coast, and ALASKA really does check off a LOT of boxes! The SF-FLL itinerary on Coral Princess has three stops where I’d never even get off the ship, not that that’s a bad thing. But I am worried that spending 12 days out of 15 on the ship would be monotonous.

My last Princess cruise was 14-nights on Royal Princess, so needless to say I’m spoiled for options when comparing that to Coral Princess. I’m hoping against hope that the upcoming dry dock does something - ANYTHING - to improve the IC or add/expand the casual dining options.

Google searched and found them on a FB video. It would be interesting to see if they offer this in late April, and if so how close they can get. https://www.facebook.com/AllenMarineTours/videos/471535963701163/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v 😁