STEVENJAN

2 hours ago, symui said:

 

I was on the Sapphire last Dec/Jan in South America and the ports in Chile and Argentina have a very good selection of wine.  I would tour the port etc during the day and pickup a few bottles on the way back to the ship.  Usually no corkage fee charged when boarding but even when they do I'm still ahead $ wise with much better wine than is generally available on the ship.

 

Be sure to bring a credit card with NO foreign transaction fees.  Every place I went to gladly accepted CC for wine purchases - and just about everything else.

I thought they confiscated any alcohol you bring on board at the ports. 

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

No and factor in that they tend to do 6 pours per bottle so you can factor that in the when determining costs. 

 

FWIW Kim Crawford Chardonnay is A$18 per glass. 6×18=A$108+18%. For a A$22 bottle. 

 

BUT my bottles tend to be a lot more (I just used KC as an example as it was the one I took to our roll call wine sharing event). I usually carryon 3+ and am prepared to pay corkage 

 

We are going to be on the 51 day around South America and was thinking of more than 10 bottles. Seems like a lot to carry-on but worth it. 

Is there a limit on how many bottles of wine we can bring on? I know it is one per person but we want to bring on more for an extended cruise. We didn't book the plus this time  ($6500.00) We are willing to pay the $20.00 corkage fee. No problem. We drink White Zinfandel and Riesling.  For a bottle on board they are like $40.00 each. I pay $5.00+ for a bottle from Winco and the local grocery. so $25.00 would be okay.  We take a glass to dinner and that is enough. We can drink a glass in the room or on the balcony. 

On 1/7/2024 at 11:19 PM, Therese S. said:

 

Thank you everyone for your responses and especially to PescadoAmarillo for your long detailed list.  I have printed it out as a reminder.  All the help and tips have convinced me not to worry, so I went ahead and booked the 54 day RT from LA to Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand on the Island Princess.  Just typing out the ports makes me excited!  IP is not my favorite ship, but you book the ship that goes where you want to go!  I have two years to plan, where to board the cats, son will check on house once a week and get mail.  I also plan to set up all remaining bills on direct pay from checking account.  I will leave the decision of turning off water, water heater, etc to the husband.  We're now on board with maybe flying since it's such a short flight, but I'm gonna need some anxiety pills to get onboard or perhaps Amtrak.  Just know that I dont want to drive and leave my car unattended for so long.  Thank you again and happy cruising

 

https://www.amtraktrains.com/threads/how-does-one-get-to-the-san-pedro-cruise-terminal-from-the-amtrak-lax-station

6 hours ago, lor74 said:

Nothing with a heating element

https://www.princess.com/en-us/faq/pre-cruise#prohibited-items

 

NCL has the same policy but they supply kettles to rooms. At least for cruises originating from England and others. 

2 hours ago, lor74 said:

Was very sad but not surprised to discover the coffee swap was no longer available 🥺.  Thankfully the free Lavazza coffee being offered now is much better than the old sludge!

 

on the Sky….that we were just on, I swapped each week for a mix of liquor, soda and water…..give me 2 of these, 4 of those, 8 of those……

What about a kettle? On NCL we were able to get a coffee pot. Which we were very surprised by. I know when sailing around the British isles they supply a kettle. 

11 minutes ago, KreinKrunker said:

You can get the same table every night, but let the Head Waiter know that's what you want the first night.

Thank you.

14 hours ago, HotRoot said:

On the Discovery we booked a table for 2 at 6:20 in the same dining room each night prior to the cruise.  We did not verbally request the same table each night.  We never sat at a repeat table and only had a repeat waiter one time.  We had breakfast in the MDR every morning within 15 minutes of it opening.  Again, always at a table for two.  Never a repeat table or waiter.  And never at a table in the sections we sat in at night.  We had no complaints about any of the tables nor any of the waitstaff.  Most breakfasts we would get a window table.  We never did at night.  We expect the same thing to happen on the Majestic.

We sailed on Royal Princess and had the same table every night. Go figure. Might be different now. IDK. 

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

You will not have an assigned table unless you make a request to DR Host or DR Mgr and they confirm they can block you in to one.

I went to the Medallion and booked our dining time and location. Private table//6:20 Concerto DR.   Don't know what table but it will be assigned. 

On 1/31/2024 at 7:47 PM, Steelers36 said:

To be clear, the DR's are walk-UP.  If you do not have a pre-arranged table, you do not walk-IN.  Only those in Reserve Dining usually walk right in and those who have pre-arranged set table/time with same waiters each night.

That is true for the first night but we have booked dining for the same time each night and should have an assigned table. After that we will walk to our assigned table. So, our concern is waiting in the corridor or stairway or not being able to get out of the elevator because of the waiting crowd. thx for your input. 

12 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

No, you’ll have stairs and lifts right at the entrance.  It’s AFT.

 

Here’s the deck plans.

 

https://www.princess.com/deckPlans.do?shipCode=MJ

 

I picked Concerto. Hoping it is good.. We have been on Majestic but, I don't remember the layout. We have been on many cruises since we were on Majestic. It was 2021.  We have been on 10 different ships since then. 

4 hours ago, KreinKrunker said:

It's exactly what you said you didn't like.  As PacnGoNow said "pick a mid-ship dining room".

Thanks

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Pick a midship MDR.  The Aft MDR could be more crowded, right off the elevator and up the stairs.

 

I picked the Allegro but, not sure if it is a straight in walk to the dining. Thx.

4 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

All of the MDR's are now "walk-in."  You may have to wait in a line to be seated.

THX, It isn't a "walk in" if you have to go down stairs or take an elevator to go down to the dining room. It is very bothersome to have to wait on the stairs or stairwell. We like to go straight in on that floor to go into the dining room. It is always a wait of course but, it is a bother if you have to wait on the stairs or you can't get out of the elevator because of the crowd. 

Which dining rooms are walk in? We don't like having to wait around in the stairway to get into the dining room. It is crowded and uncomfortable. We don't like getting off the elevator into a massive crowd trying to get into the dining room. 

I can access our booking. 

1 minute ago, Sea Hag said:

It was a very successful plate of pineapple. 🤣

YES

2 minutes ago, Sea Hag said:

You can always ask. I've been successful in getting a plate of pineapple at breakfast, but that's as far as I've gone with off-menu items.

Oh, I'll ask. I was just hoping for successful experiences.  

Can you order Off-menu with CC? We have it on Grand this Friday for 10 days. If they don't have anything that appeals to us can we order a wedge salad for instance or steak frite as an entre?

8 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Which ship are you sailing? Is that price per person or total for the cabin? Are you interested in using the Thermal suite at all? 

that is the total. I don't even know what the Thermal suite is. 

On 11/17/2021 at 5:04 PM, daydreamer16 said:

Just received an email from Celebrity about my January cruise, in Aqua on the Silhouette. They were offering in room fitness amenities as well as amenities from their partner, goop. Is this new? Our last cruise was January,2020 on the Reflection in Aqua, but never was offered any of this?

My question is: Is it worth $350.00 to upgrade from Concierge Class to Aqua class. What are the benefits that are worth the upgrade and upcharge?  BTW that was offered to us when we got the Black Friday promotion for an $800.00 +$200 OBC difference in total price. Is the Blu dining room that much better?? We exercise by walking on deck. Also, we are first timers on Celebrity. Also, Elite on Princess and Platinum on Norwegian. 

21 hours ago, Lwhitley said:

I know with the medalion we don't need boarding passes, but how do we mark our luggage?

Go to your booking. Click on the check in. Go to Print travel summary. Luggage tags are available there.

On 9/11/2020 at 1:59 PM, D. B. said:

One Point that I need to make about We Senior Cruisers is not shared by the Youngsters....

 While I think about my 5 Cruises that have been Canceled this year (All by the Cruise Lines) I am also trying to be Safe in my daily life as I do not want to become another victim of the Covid 19 virus.

 BUT at the same time I am Losing a YEAR of my life. If I were 25 that may be a Small percentage of the Time I have left on this Earth BUT as someone getting close to 80 that could be 10%, 20% or..?...% of the time I have left.

 So I Hope things like a Vaccine or anything else that will let me get back to going on a Cruise will be Very Welcome.

I am with you regarding age and pre-existing conditions. We have had 9 cruises cancelled and we have enough FCC to pay for a 50 day South America cruise January 2022. We are willing to wear a mask, social distance and get the Moderna vaccine. We don't do flu shots because they are just too inefficient. 95% success is a winner. Covid is unlikely to strike but its death rate is higher than the flu. We wear our masks, stay home but, we still travel and stay away from people. We respect other people's concern and stay away. We have had all of our Princess cruises for 2021 cancelled. So, we will wait until we see Ships sail from San Pedro or Long beach before we book again locally.

I just booked 7/17/2021 RT LA. Sun Princess. Last Stop Prince Rupert.

On 3/12/2018 at 8:54 AM, rmurray847 said:

 

Holy smokes...per the dictionary: condescension is "an attitude of patronizing superiority; disdain". Excellent demonstration of this in your post. Must be nice to have this feeling of superiority.

The more people tend to condescend the more ignorant they appear. They think food comes from packages and not the country folk that produce it.