8dimsum

My take away about Australia's accepting current brokerage statements no earlier than 3 months prior to sailing and not later than 14 days, may have to do with 1) personnel  in the office to oversee requests, 2)keeping within the guidelines that the stocks are still current; and 3) the Carnival corporation board votes to continue the benefit.

Well we'll miss the cut off # again for the MTP luncheon. --  We enjoyed our 60 day Circle the Pacific and were too busy to take this grand voyage.  Bon Voyage to All!

The Elite amenity "gold" mesh bag has been showing up with less and less items. The standard cabins no longer get slippers.

MDR's fettucini Alfredo no longer is nested in a parmesan cracker.  The ice cream no longer has a sugar wafer propped up between the two scoops.

The Suite breakfast's eggs benedict  were haphazardly plated:  olive garnish y/n.  Oh yes the paper-thin Canadian bacon!  so thin to be close to tasteless.

Do remember to factor in the $$ for tips and taxes, and the OBC vanishes. --Still worthwhile to take a long b2b cruise.

Happy to read your enthusiasm!  I have been away from RCCL, too busy cruising on 2 other lines that have west coast sailings.--  May have to rethink another RCCL cruise to up status to Diamond.

B2Bs not too many fellow cruisers will be doing same and will not know you are repeating "outfits".  Accessories are a fun way to change out basic outfits.  --We now only take one large suitcase per person & a smallish carryon for the long cruises on Princess.  Long gone are the days of 2 suitcases for 7 days!

1 hour ago, geoherb said:

On the Island this summer, they were out of Courvoisier and doubled up on the whiskey. I traded it in for gin, so it didn't matter. 

same for the Grand in March and later in August.

The bags were nice to drop off for the homeless population.  Friends would also set them up for overnite guests.

Another example of downgrading the experience.  --Miss the slippers that were gratis for all.

TA notification that Princess is offering a $$/pp upgrade for our next cruise:  inside to a balcony -- not a deal because we are on a B2B 4 + 3 day cruise.  Will wait and see if  Princess will comp us with an upgrade.

Tried the Ernesto burger in the MD while on the Grand :  not wowed, the meat patty was not juicy but not quite hockey puck solid. 

I will get a preliminary bill print out from customer service or the printout kiosk to see in print what OBC our cabin has.  We use the same cc and the print out has OBC  under my name and OBC under DH's name.

Later in the cruise I will get another bill printout for an update as to how much has been deducted from the OBC and what remains unspent or what charges to be posted on the cc.  Of course the final bill will also show the "merging " of  both accounts and the deduction of the OBCs.     

I kept some of the old plastic shampoo/conditioner "Lotus Spa" for travel sized use.  Of course the baggies that seal are a must to double bag the recycled bottles of ____________ that you don't want leaking in your suitcase.

Just off the Grand:  did not see such a flyer.  hmm.  Bought more FCC and did not book.  oh well.

An Arnold Palmer!

Just came across this thread.  We just completed a Hong Kong to Tokyo + Tokyo to San Francisco (B2B) 5/9- 6/17, 2019 on the Crystal Symphony.  One flight to HK!  Stayed in the Marco Polo Hong Kong hotel that is adjacent to the Ocean Terminal Pier.   Smooth transfer to the ship. ---Missed the extreme heat and HK demonstrations.

We have boarded the Grand many times for West Coast ports and the UK presentation has her listed for future European sailings.  Sad.  --  We have had the pleasure of sailing in the Med with the Grand when it first was launched...memories. 

I enjoy bringing small needlepoint projects and a couple balls of yarn to knit up a shawl that I  would either use or have a gift ready for giving.  --I might buy a small journal to jot thoughts or observations (some folks might want to bring coloring books) or drawings of places/people.  

Stewards may not know are care about what Elite travelers amenities are offerred. - Good point to speak to  the Circle Hostess re bag.

On 6/27/2019 at 10:04 PM, rocklinmom said:

I’m on the Crown right now and didn’t even get the Elite yellow goodie bag in our bathroom. Our steward didn’t seem to know what it was. I do miss it, we liked the hair conditioner and emery board especially. 

 Politely ask him to refer to his supervisor for the Elite Bag.  I have learned to ask.  On a recent cruise I needed DH's black shoes polished... ugh, a product was used but wasn't "polished".

which airline dropped the notification ball?

17 minutes ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Are you going to hang your medallion on a thick good chain like those PAXs from Vegas or the mobsters from New Y ork and Chicago?

well maybe it is time to visit the "inch of gold" vender to get a personalized length of chain!

We were also on the 60 day Circle the Pacific and had booked as  one long cruise.  If you recall,  Princess billed our onboard charges first for segment 1 and then for segment 2 by cruise end.  We got 2 cruise credits.   As  an Elite: a mini-bar/ segment, internet minutes for segment 1 and if you had used minutes and had leftovers= carryover minutes to add to segment 2's internet minutes. 

$1400pp drop in price is significant!  X 2=$2,800/cabin.   And you have the  princess insurance:   I would cancel and rebook using a good TA.

 DH's shoes are much large than mine:  I plastic bag each shoe and will stuff my smaller shoe into his.  A  sock ball can also be tucked into my shoe to protect its shape.  The bags keep the shoes individually clean: easier to pack and keep the suitcase clean, too.