JeffT237

We were also on this sailing, yes the walls are metal for your hooks.

My planner has been down all day, it allowed me access earlier for a couple of minutes then kicked me off. Wonder of the Seas in March.

I think e-mailing the CEO and the executive team as previously suggested is the best way. I've also found that the regular customer service line is inconsistent and probably not your best option. I had a recent issue on another cruise line and it's all about getting to the right person before we had our issue resolved to our satisfaction. It can be frustrating, it just takes time. Ours was not injury related and was handled by myself and eventually someone from management in customer service department post cruise. Without knowing all of the details, which I'd caution you to share anyways, it's hard to give any advice beyond that. If it is a situation where a lawyer is consulted I guarantee you communication will improve, and both sides would probably be interested in any details that are posted here or any other social media platform. Be prepared for the comments coming your way, again without the details CC members are going to throw out all kinds of advice and opinions. This is the consequence of posting on a forum like this. Some will be concerned, some will think this is a frivolous money grab and some will feel insulted that you're being critical of their favorite cruise line. Best wishes to your grandmother and hope you can resolve this.

Crown Grill on the Discovery in October, we also got the small soft round loaf of cheese bread, it was delicious, as was the entire meal and we had great service.

The saying "train like your life depends on it because it does" is exactly what your'e talking about, passengers need to realize these drills and exercises are for the crew as much as they are required for the passengers. I've never worked on a ship however I spent a career doing emergency work. We trained for many things we rarely or never encountered, but we were always well prepared. If an actual emergency at sea ever took place the weak link would be the passengers, a well trained crew is the answer to that. As much as I've enjoyed the convenience of the eMuster drill I'd have no problem if they go back to the physical one.

To those who have done a Northbound Grand class from Vancouver, if departure is 4:30pm and typical sunset in July is 9:15pm, how far into the inside passage will you get before it's too dark to enjoy? Also at sunrise are you now completely out of the inside passage, or if I'm making sense have you completely cleared Vancouver Island? Thanks.

Current price for our March Wonder cruise is $29.99 pp per day plus 18% gratuity

I think everyone should make their own decisions to cruise or travel or how to live their life based on their own situation. My wife has been immunocompromised for 30 years. We take the necessary precautions to travel based on her health and the advice of her health care team. She also does a great job of managing her health and she knows she is ultimately responsible for herself, not what others are doing or not doing. She isn't careless with her health and safety but she wants to live her life as well. She has not let her condition get in the way of living her life, and we've been fortunate to be able to frequently travel to many wonderful places. We will have our 3rd cruise since the start up soon. She has always felt she doesn't want to miss out on all that life has to offer because of her potential risks. I feel this sentiment about those who have health conditions and cruising comes from the place of concern, but trust me those who have these conditions have been dealing with the risks long before Covid and will be dealing with them long after.

For our upcoming March cruise on the Wonder the current price is $77.99 pp per day +18% gratuity. I have seen it as low as $72.99 pp per day.

I'm aware, I heard they sold out in the first couple of days. That's crazy, my post was just an attempt at humor, the price for that cruise especially as a solo in a suite is way out of my range.

That's not allowed on Cruise Critic, you must cruise and make your cruise choices based on the way others cruise. Enjoy making Diamond, sounds like a fun way to achieve it! If I book a JS suite as a solo on the Ultimate World Cruise with my existing points I'd make Pinnacle on July 18th 2024 in Portagul! Just sayin'

That's going to happen regardless of the event. Noro, Covid, fights, mechanical failures, deaths etc. That's what the media does. Not sure if you've seen the documentary "Hell of a cruise" on Peacock it primarily tells the story of the Diamond Princess passengers experience in the early days of the pandemic. Not a Royal ship, but critical of the industry as a whole. Most passengers at the end of the film state they'll continue to cruise. We will as well, despite the best efforts of some in the media. March will be our 3rd cruise in 10 months, we will be on the Wonder, can't wait!

We were on the October 15th Discovery, it was the first cruise that the crew were not required to mask. Best guess from both passengers and crew was maybe 5%.

We kind of forgot about the Winemaker's dinner until the last day, is this done by calling the Dine line and putting in a request as well?

We actually were able to get to our stateroom on the Discovery at about 11:45 and called the Dine line right away and they answered. We said that we had no dietary restrictions. I just wonder how the selection process works, I feel like we were one of the first to be put on the list. That’s why I speculated loyalty and suite guests have priority, but I have no idea. We also inquired with our dining staff the first night, and with guest relations the next day, they both just advised to call the dine line.

We were on the Crown in May and inquired about the Chef's Table as soon as we got on board, we were advised by the dining staff that there would not be one. Reading reviews and talking to passengers on board it sounds like it is not always offered on every ship or sailing. But from what I gather you call the dine line and express your interest and they'll advise from there. My understanding is there is no way to reserve pre-cruise. Perhaps full suite guests and Elites get preference? Not sure if that helps, I'm just speculating. We just returned from the Discovery and were one of the first to board, we immediately called the dine line and they stated again no guarantees of a Chef's Table, asked us some food allergy questions and advised us of the cost and put us on a list. We never received an invite and we know they had at least 2 nights that had the Chef's Table. Maybe someone who's had personal experience with the Chef's Table can advise. I'd love to try it on a future cruise, especially a Lumiere experience.

I don't think you'll regret giving Princess a try. I see in your signature your up next on the Discovery, we just sailed her and had a wonderful cruise. We met many friendly passengers and crew. The ship is new and we really enjoyed all that it offered. This was our second Princess cruise, our next Caribbean cruise in March is on RCI, and yes we have sailed Carnival multiple times. You'll fit in fine. Keep in mind as I'm sure you know this already, CC for the most part is a message board where people can offer their opinions and are protected by a level of anonymity. It's not like you're going to find fellow Princess passengers on the Discovery saying a lot about how they really feel about other cruise line passengers to their face. It's easier to come here and render these opinions and drive up your post count at the same time!

We did our first Alaska and Princess cruise last May due to the itinerary that included Glacier Bay. Glacier Bay was the highlight for our cruise as well.

Oops. edit is already disabled, obviously I meant "Crew Members"! My bad

I've often heard the "above and beyond" argument made as to why or how someone tips or gives additional tips. In all of our cruises we've never really received poor service. Maybe some was slightly better than others, but despite how we tip we've always received great & friendly service. It makes me wonder what other passengers are expecting, I'm interested in what some of the responses will be. I realize how busy most of these screw members are so if my water glass at the MDR isn't constantly filled, or my drink preference isn't automatically waiting for me at my favorite bar or a crew member doesn't address me by name on ship of thousands of passengers I don't equate this to poor service. I agree, and I'll also add from the days of the cash tip in envelopes to the auto gratuities I've always been more than satisfied with the service. Across 3 lines it has always been wonderful.

The Salty Dog Gastro Pub was open on the Discovery on our October Discovery cruise. When we were on the Crown in May it was also closed, it was just the Wheelhouse bar, not sure if after dry dock they converted it to another venue.

I've never understood this either. Advising through ones real experiences as to the difference in brands is helpful to this community. Or any other review site. I visited the Princess board often before our first Princess cruise in May for information. Discussing the differences in ship decor, food, amenities, service, entertainment and itineraries etc is great and helpful. But making generalizations about people or your perceptions of people I think is a bit uncalled for. It probably says more about you than the people you judge. I know I'm not solving this issue, just adding my opinion to the discussion.

On the Discovery last month we found plenty of staff available, and going to the bar, flagging down a server or ordering from the app was quick and efficient. For us it depended on the venue on how we ordered, we mostly enjoyed our pool days at the retreat and having the bar close by made it easier to just walk up and get a drink. I will say ordering from a hot tub on the main pool deck through the app while watching the Chiefs Bills game was pretty awesome. When we did utilize the app it worked well for us.

We just sailed on the Discovery in October on the California Coastal itinerary. We really liked the ship, the service was great as well as the food. We don't typically eat at the buffet but we has a few lunches and breakfasts there and thought the quality was good. We typically sail on cruise lines newer ships and the Discovery did not disappoint. We have not sailed this route however and keep in mind it's other cruisers opinions, many seem to not favor the Royal class ships for Alaska. The reason I'm told is they are too big to do the true inside passage which is east of Vancouver Island. Another common complaint I hear for the Royal class ships is the lack of a wrap around promenade deck and other viewing areas for Alaska. After sailing the Discovery I could see the argument. My personal opinion only, as much as I enjoyed the Discovery on the CA Coastal I probably would not sail it to Alaska. There is another itinerary map on the Princess web site that specifically shows the route of the Royal class ships out of Vancouver that indicate they go west of Vancouver Island. Our next Alaska cruise we're planning for 2024 we are looking at only ships on princess and other lines that travel the true inside passage. This does limit us to older smaller ships but the trade off for the scenery is what is important to us. We did sail the Crown to Alaska last May and Princess did have the rangers on board, an Alaska specific dining menu as well as the puppies in the Piazza program. We did not attend any lectures but they were scheduled. As far as a comparison we found Princess and RCI to be very similar as far as food, service, staff, fellow passengers etc. We prefer the entertainment on RCI over Princess but not sure it really makes a difference on an Alaskan cruise. We really liked the Princess Plus program, great value for everything you get as opposed to RCI's prices for beverage package, wifi, etc. Also I liked how Princess has set pricing for add ons as opposed to RCI's dynamic pricing. Hope that helps, enjoy!

I've read many threads over the years that are very critical of Carnival cruise passengers, or at least the perception of those who cruise Carnival. We've taken several cruises on Carnival, RCI and our last recent 2 cruises were with Princess. We are not loyal to any brand at this point, maybe some day we will be. What exactly is it about Carnival passengers that elicits so much criticism? I hear things like "unrefined" "uncivilized" "Walmart of the Seas" "trailer park trash" or "I've seen some Carnival passengers in port. I'm glad I'm not on their cruise". What exactly is it? People post and make these general statements but what is it you mean? If what you see on YouTube or other social media is your barometer to judge an entire group of people, brand or industry I'd say you probably need to expand your horizon just a bit. You can find anything you want on YouTube and it's easy to assign that to the behavior of just about anything, I've found most of the time it's the exception, not the rule. I'm not calling out anyone poster in particular, as these opinions have always existed and exist on other boards. Our first cruise on Princess was in May on the Crown, it's been documented many times on CC the Crown issues, which led to some of the most rude and abusive behavior towards the crew and other passengers I have ever seen on a cruise. I'm glad I didn't let our first bad Princess experience as well as some of the rude Princess passengers ruin our experience at the time as well as leaving me biased against the brand. We just returned from the Discovery and had an awesome time on a great ship and met many friendly Princess passengers, and in conversation some have even sailed Carnival. Imagine that?