RNRcruisers

I'm surprised to hear that. We cruised on the Regal last January and found the food quite good.

Thank you for your response. We were hoping for the Palm, thinking we might be more likely to have the same table every night there. Not sure that is true anyway.

I will be following with interest! We will be a group of 8 on this cruise in February. When I booked our dinner reservations all that was available was the Coral starting at 7:00. Was that the case for you?

Not sure how you got that I am monitoring anything from my comment. My observation was that plenty of people dress up.

Agree. I sometimes think the non-formal-dressers want everyone to think that is the norm so it BECOMES the norm 😝. I see plenty of people dressed up on formal nights, maybe not too many in tuxes and formal gowns but lots of sparkly dresses and men in suits.

Ooh I wonder if they will have Alfredo's on the Caribbean in February? That would be awesome! We loved it on the Regal.

I don't THINK I have had it. Had some of the symptoms in September, after returning home from a trip to London, but tested negative. I still think it's possible that it was a false negative. Of me, DH and our three kids none of us have had it. Maybe some sort of record! 😁

This is the first I've heard of the Plus package going up again. I like the beverage package and prepaid gratuities. I really liked them at $40 a day, can handle $50 a day but $60 makes me think hard about it. I'm not sure I drink the extra $10 a day which is all that is valuable to me. Not happy.

Does Caribbean Princess have the usb ports by the bed? That is about all we would need.

I didn't like the arrangement of those tables even before Covid - now they just make no sense.

I am relieved to see Covid is being handled well for you. Maybe Princess will learn to do this for all their ships... We are supposed to sail in February and I am nervous about it. We went last January without problems but the ship was half empty and precautions were being taken, as opposed to now. Love your attitude and I am enjoying your posts 😁

These weren't top end restaurants but I get that it might be different in a touristy area. Just surprised me.

Interesting - when we were in London I was surprised that most of our restaurant and pub checks had a gratuity added on. I had been led to believe that tipping wasn't the norm in the UK but in our experience it is. When we started cruising you brought cash on board for the tips and then distributed it at the end. I never liked that, it felt uncomfortable. I much prefer that auto tip for convenience. However, I don't tip extra unless we have received above and beyond service. DH and I are pretty easy, we don't ask for much and are low maintenance. I do feel like the culture is trying to guilt us into tipping more but I just ignore it 😝

Love the pictures of Genoa! Adding to my list of places to visit!

Good to know! That does take up a part of my quart size bag.

I tried to do carry-on for our 10 day London trip but failed and ended up checking a bag. The toiletries are the hardest part for me (that quart bag is small!) but also the uncertain weather just made it too hard to fit it all in. For a cruise, I want to pack what I want and not be limited 😀 I do keep it to one checked though.

That is crazy. I can understand why you were upset. I guess they don't make you sign for a charge any more?

Oh my goodness, what a terrible thing to happen. I am happy that Princess handled it so well but would hope no one ever has to go through this. So sorry for your loss.

I have checked out the Virgin website and didn't feel it was for us but could always change my mind. The Points Guy review doesn't lead me to believe that I will but never say never. I like the kids-free aspect but the pricing was higher than we are used to. I also don't particularly like the idea of "raunchy" entertainment. Sorry, I guess maybe as a 60 year old I am not their target market 🙂 I'll be following with interest.

Oh wow, what a fabulous trip! I'll be following!

We also prefer older ships. Our first Princess cruise was on Star and we really enjoyed it. The promenade deck, at least of some sort, is a requirement for us. I am on a ship to be at sea, not a mall or amusement park. In fact, our least favorite ship was also our newest (not Princess).

We, a group of 4, used Uber both ways. Very efficient and cost about 60 pounds each way. We considered the tube but with luggage it was nice to be dropped off and picked up at the hotel door.

Yes they are small but they do have two chairs (not loungers) and a side table. In case the OP thinks they are literally only walk out.

That's too bad, not a good start to a vacation. In my experience, things like this can happen on any line so I wouldn't write one off right away. It also seems like the port staff are not very helpful or friendly (also not just on Princess) which is such an odd difference from staff on board. We used Alaska Cruise Transportation and it worked great. Not sure how easy a last minute booking would be though, for someone is the same situation as you were.

Ugh I hate this so much. Why did Princess mess with traditional dining? We were able to have the same table and server on our cruise in January but had to ask, almost beg, and there was no guarantee. I don't want to have to do that. We are bringing new cruisers with us next February and I want them to be able to experience TD. So frustrating.