RoperDK

We were long time Carnival cruisers and then moved over to Royal. We have been happy with them until pricing went sky high so we are looking elsewhere. We have been on 2 Princess cruises several years ago. One an Alaskan cruise on Coral and one an Eastern Caribbean on Regal. We had a B2B Alaska that was cancelled because of Covid. We always cruise in at least a mini-suite. I have some questions, if you don't mind. 1. Are all deposits refundable? Does that also include the Plus package and casino offers? 2. When are final payments typically due for cruises? We won't be doing anything exotic. 3. Can TA's still refund part of their compensation back to lower your total cruise price? If so, will Princess reps also do this? 4. Any restrictions on casino offers? On Royal you have to pay the full amount at time of booking even though the cruise may be a year out. Any other info on booking requirements is much appreciated.

I grew up in South Florida and enjoyed the days when fish and shrimp (stone crabs, too) were fresh off the boat. It is hard to find nowadays. We still go to Dixie Crossroads as a tradition. It is a throwback to old Florida as are the look of a lot of the motels in the Titusville area. Such fond memories. We recently tried Shilohs and really enjoyed it. I would definitely go there again. A plus is that they offer more than just seafood.

We found the Mason Jar bar to be very crowded when the band was playing. Either go early to find a good seat or do what we did and enjoy the band when they did an afternoon set one day. It was easy to get seating then and really only got full once people heard the music.

I can't imagine how this storyline from the movie would be incorporated into a stage musical. I would assume they would concentrate on the songs and dancing. It is one of my favorite movies from back in the day due to the songs and dancing. Once onboard you could ask if the show was appropriate for your niece. They would have to disclose that the show was not appropriate for younger ages. It was an intense part of the story, yet it didn't contribute to the main story in any way.

That's great, but did you have to be there to get the towels or would they put them in your room for you? I'm not a big fan of needing something and then having to wait for it. I can plan ahead for later in the day, but don't want to hang around and miss something going on around the ship. Especially since I was used to already getting those things before the cutbacks.

Does terminal 5 have a suite waiting area?

I'm interested in this, too. I am also interested in the suite lounge and suite restaurant. Will the restaurant offer upgraded food options or just be an additional space to serve MDR food. Will the suite lounge offer snacks and drinks all day or just be a quiet private space? I am more interested in a Celebrity Retreat or Royal Sky Class level experience. I would have expected more details by now. The ship is cruising next year.

Oh, so you were the one that booked the Royal Suite on our cruise. I was hoping to get our Royal Up from a Grand Suite to the Royal Suite for this cruise. 😁 I know it is frustrating when you try a new cruise line. Since you are in the Royal Suite your concierge will take extra good care of you. The concierge will email all of the suite guests about a week ahead of the cruise and introduce themselves and detail suite benefits and ask you if you have any questions or concerns. Unless you are part of a large group, dining set up is easily changed by the concierge. Suites can board whenever they want. Your boarding pass with say "suite" so they know you are allowed to be flexible. Documents and luggage tags become available approx. a month out. You should be notified by e-mail and/or app notification when they are available. Someone has already posted the link to the travel protection program. We cruised on the Mariner last year in a suite and enjoyed ourselves so much that we booked this cruise, also. The ship is older and doesn't have the private suite restaurant, but we really enjoyed the suite lounge with free drinks and evening snacks while watching the sunset. There is a good roll call group on the social media platform that can't be named. They are very helpful and will answer your questions. Hope you do enjoy your cruise and hope to meet you in the suite lounge!

We've done it several times. Lobster night is also rack of lamb night. I usually get lamb with a side of lobster. I've also received an entree main as an app. I'll get just the scallops part of the main as an app. I also request extra veggies at times, too. I try not to upset the applecart too much by asking for things that aren't already on the menu. Just mild variations. I've never had a problem.

We always look at specialty dining options online. Go to the planner for your cruise and you can look up the different options. It is true that specialty lunch options are usually only available on sea days. If you click on reserve you can see what days and times are available. You don't have to actually make the reservation. We don't do Izumi, so sorry can't answer about that. We always do Chops lunch.

Lol, my bad. I am directionally challenged. 😁

They converted the Jazz on 5 locations to a totally non-smoking casino venue. The main casino area still has a smoking and non-smoking side. As everyone knows, it is still smoky on the non-smoking side but you won't have anyone lighting up right next to you.

I have used special needs at sea before. Scootaround is just fine, also. Cost depends on port on embarkation, round trip or not, and length of cruise. My 7 day cruises out of Port Canaveral were about $200 for a regular size scooter. It was a lifesaver for me before my hip replacement and definitely worth the money. May I add that I enjoy the helpfulness of the Royal boards. I posted a simple scooter question on another cruise line board recently and I was told to "go check out the handicap forum". 🙄

Thanks. I am familiar with the handicap board. I was revisiting Princess because they still have refundable deposits. The grass is always greener effect, I guess. We were intrigued by the Sun, but it looks suspiciously like the Carnival Mardi Gras and after 2 sailings on the Mardi Gras, we decided it wasn't to our liking.

Follow up question since the Sun Princess details aren't out there yet. On Royal and Grand class ships do regular size rented scooters fit through the door? I can't imagine that all of the scooters I see on the ships are booked in the scarce number of handicapped cabins available.

We are booked on the Brilliance in Jan 2025 out of NOLA. What terminal does Royal use? Is the parking deck right there? I seem to remember that Royal has an odd set up in NOLA.

I haven't cruised with Princess in several years. Sometimes I rent a regular size scooter. Since the Sun Princess is based on the Excel class footprint (Carnival Mardi Gras), will a regular scooter fit through a cabin door? They don't on the Mardi Gras! We usually cruise in a mini-suite. I tried to find cabin door measurements and couldn't. Thanks.

Just confirming that a full suite gets double loyalty points? That is what RCCL does and we really enjoy that perk. It would tip the scales to a full suite for us!

We cruise in suites and still get twice a day servicing. We request morning cleaning and an evening spruce up. On our last cruise we found that we really didn't need evening service for most nights after all. However, there were a couple of days that we had afternoon room service and needed room service trays removed or took a shower after being in port and needed fresh towels. I do feel that the cabins aren't as clean as they used to be. No proof, but it just doesn't seem the same. Not sure I have a point to this post except to say that we aren't cruising as much as we used to because frankly cruising isn't as enjoyable as it used to be for us.

I've been looking at the new menus on Carnival, too. If they turn out to be consistently well prepared then they will be addressing an ongoing Carnival complaint. Will Royal up their game to match them or decide to keep on the same track they are on now? Time will tell.

If your Mom feels better in a wheelchair, then you can rent a folding chair through Special Needs. She would have to be able to get out of the wheelchair so it could be folded and pushed through tighter areas. I did that once after a foot injury. My husband pushed me around, but it did wear on him. The pushing handles were at an angle that would eventually hurt his back. Prior to my hip replacement, I had to rent a scooter a couple of times. What a life changer! It took a while to build up my confidence, but I could enjoy the cruise without pain or bothering someone else. Good luck.

I am watching changes to Carnival that seem to be going after the more "upscale" Royal target group. After 26 Carnival cruises we had pretty much moved to Royal. However, after recent cutbacks we are again wondering. Princess is still more formal and targeted to adults. I don't see a big change there. We have a Retreat Celebrity cruise booked, but still can't commit to the sedate atmosphere. I have heard good things about Princess and Carnival recently. I have heard more complaints about Royal and Celebrity. Carnival is revamping its MDR menu and it is quite impressive. Perhaps they are making a move. Time will tell.

Are you booking an Excel suite? Those are the ones with the access to Loft 19. We have been on Mardi Gras twice in an OT suite. The OS suites are not very desirable to us due to the location and not being covered. While we wanted to like the Mardi Gras, it just seemed to miss the mark for us. I haven't cruised on Vista, but we have 26 Carnival cruises under our belt on most classes of ships. Royal is our go to now. Particularly Oasis class. We have been disappointed on Royal's cut backs recently and looking to give Carnival another chance.

We love the Spirit class Vista suites. I guess they didn't redo much in the cabin. They removed the jacuzzi tub and replaced it with a regular tub. I'm sure that makes for easier maintenance. I am too "old" for a tub anymore, lol. I would have preferred a nice upgraded shower. You just can't beat the view from those aft cabins.

I have to say that I believe the door hangar situation is more about cost cutting and staffing issues than bad kid behavior. There are rowdy kids on Royal, too. Their room service excels compared to Carnival. Royal has free continental selections just like Carnival, but they also have cooked eggs, BACON, sausage, and pancakes. Lunch and dinner have burgers, salmon, salad, and pasta choices. The charges are not a la carte, but all you want for a $8 delivery fee. How many people (like us), just skip room service and go up to lido instead. We actually get coffee and a plate and bring it back to our cabin to enjoy on the balcony. It saves Carnival the trouble of picking up the hangars, delivering the tray, and then picking it up later. That's a saving for them. I just wish they would say that they are trying to save money instead of blaming pranksters. Carnival has many positive points, but room service isn't one of them IMHO.