MSBerliner

The pub lunch was missing, except for the one item as mentioned, on the Ruby's Feb 1-8, 2019 Mexican Riviera cruise.

We prefer the lovely design and decor of the current, so called "older" Princess ships (Ruby etc.).  It is warm and comforting. And, yes we would prefer a hand-held shower to a fixed shower head.  We would also prefer a much better menu for the main dining room (where did Hungarian goulash go to?) We would also prefer Princess bring back the pub lunch in the Crown Grill at least twice per week, not just stick fish and chips in the Horizon court buffet once per trip!  All cruise lines could assure that whomever gives announcements over the PA system can speak clear, understandable English!!!!!

We sailed on the HAL Westerdam from Seward, Alaska to Vancouver B. C. last August.  The ship was lovely in some aspects, but austere in others.  I'm comparing her to Princess' Grand class ships.  Overall we're anxiously awaiting our next Princess cruise on the Ruby, to the Mexican Riveriera.  We've sailed several time with Princess on several ships and much prefer them, although we do not dislike Holland-America.

We're looking forward to our Mexico cruise, Feb 2-9 2019 leaving/returning Los Angles.  What in the world should our cruise wardrobe be?  Long pants and long sleeves, or shorts and t-shirts?  We would prefer to dress appropriately for the trip to LA, then pack one type of clothing for the cruise. Experienced cruisers please help.  MANY THANKS!

:confused:What actually is the difference between the category SS and category SY signature suites on the Westerdam? Yes, they are on different decks, but otherwise? Many thanks to those who have expert knowledge.:)

We recall being stunned by the night sky during our Atlantic crossing many, many years ago (our student days). Can you please tell us where the best place on ship (Westerdam) is to see the stars after darkness has fallen. Sailing to Alaska the end of August. Many thanks.

Experienced cruisers, a cabin question please. Our guaranteed cabin is a signature suite, category SZ. I notice that there are only two of these indicated on the Westerdam's deck plan. How do these cabins differ from all the other signature suites?

Does Holland America still provide a daily newspaper each morning with the daily flyer about things to do that day? Much easier to find out what happened in the world by scanning the daily printed news rather than sitting in front of a TV waiting for a news broadcast.

Yes, it's been a few years since we cruised to Alaska on HAL. Many thanks for your help.

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:confused: We haven't sailed Holland America for many years, we have sailed Princess several times. From scanning these discussions I seem to detect a difference between HAL's Gala night and the Princess Formal night. Am I correct? What is the HAL Gala night and what is the dress code? Many thanks (we're really looking forward to our upcoming Alaska voyage on the Westerdam). By the way, how many Gala nights can we expect on a one week cruise? :)

Soon we'll fly to Anchorage, Alaska to visit for a few days, then use HAL's bus transfer to Seward to board the Westerdam. Has anyone recently traveled from their hotel in Anchorage to a HAL ship in Seward? Does the bus pick one up from the hotel, must we assemble in the Eagan Center, or must we take a cab to the airport to meet the bus?

Your recent experience will be much appreciated. Many thanks. :)

IMHO it's best to visit this route in early October, before all the leaves have gone "bye -bye". Remember how far North it is. Later also = colder.

About popcorn, I'm surprised that I never see it served at any of the ship's bars! Only MUTS. Seems like a nice thing to do to encourage guests to linger with lager.

The Explorer's Lounge.

The ONE thing they could do almost immediately is to begin serving FIRST CLASS COFFEE! The Germans, Swiss, Austrians and even the Americans (Starbucks) serve first class coffee. Even more, almost any US cafeteria with coffee brewed in large urns serves coffee 10x better than ANY cruise line! That's what the ONE thing is.

I am not Thrak, but the answer should be "yes."

How does Princess award cruise credits? We've earned one credit per cruise completed, even though several were 14/15 days long. Thanks in advance.

Wow! My iMac with Safari is now working just fine with the Princess website. Princess' technical department fixed it! MANY thanks to all at Princess.

Also problems with my iMac using Safari, but Firefox seems to work! This has been going on for at least three days.

You may find the article "The Evolution of Cruise Ship Design -", http://www.latecruisenews.com, June 7 2014 of interest. It leads to the items I mentioned in my previous post. It cites the Carnival Magic also.

Please Google "cruise ship design". You may find the article I did that spoke of engineering changes below decks, and outward changes that passengers will notice. An example for this discussion are the newish Carnival ships, e. g. the Carnival Magic. Please notice the WRAPAROUND PROMENADE!!!!! And the TWO DECK promenade! Totallly different than the Royal class.

Oh, oh the first line of my previous post was supposed to be a quote from another person's comment in reply to my original post. Sorrrrrry.

That's where the tracking sensors that "see" the medallion come in, they'll be able to tell where you're sitting.

Wow! I've just read that the medallion is not like RFID and cannot be read from a distance? The theatre is rather large, as I recall.

Then, how will the waiter find me in a large room?

And then -- if I wish to receive a drink as soon as I arrive in the theater after dinner the waiter and I must know WHERE I will be seated. Does this mean we will then be required to select a seat in advance? Must I then arrive at a predetermined time? ???????

Thrak, we've seen the northern lights one time, forty years ago or so, in Iowa! A greenish flashing "net". Then we've seen them again in Alaska, but this time flashing white light.

Colo. cruiser thanks for the practical tip. We will try that on our next cruise to Hawaii next March.

Have you ever been in a totally dark environment on a clear night and could see billions of stars? We have been twice - once on the top deck of a passenger liner in 1955 and once high in the Rockies. Everywhere else is there is too much light interference.

Has anyone had this experience on the top deck of a Grand class ship? Princess brags about Discovery experiences seeing the stars, but we've never encountered this on board.

If possible, where can one go on top of a ship to see the stars? Really see the heavens at night?

Reading through all threads in this forum I've sometimes seen a comment indicating that Princess ships DO NOT serve lunch in the main dining room on port days.

We're scheduled for a 14 day cruise from Quebec to Fort Lauderdale. The itinerary includes 11 port days and 3 sea days.

Does this mean that we will only be offered three served lunches in the main dining room?