sloopsailor

Where we live we pay most utilities on a monthly basis. Because months have different number of days, the bill will be different depending on whether it is a 28 day, 30 day or 31 day billing cycle. If we need to make two payments to cover a longer trip, we over pay to cover any fluctuations in the second bill due to those billing cycles. The few dollar difference overpaid will be applied to the next monthly bill. I had one experience with auto payments and it did not end well. I have avoided them since. Once burned, forever learned. But I'm a bit of a control freak and prefer to verify the bill is accurate before making a payment through my bank's online banking feature, so there is that aspect of it as well.

I'm not so sure that it's not exactly a bid deal. Have you seen the outrage from some in the US over having to pay a measly $10 to get the Medallion device mailed if they wanted it before arriving? The way some people go on, it's like the most outrageous thing they have ever had to endure. And that is only $10 total, which includes everyone in that cabin.

It's actually more like after purchasing a plane ticket for $500 and a month later they raise the price for the flight to $600, no way are they going to tell people they can't have the flight that they purchased if they don't pay an additional $100. There are laws to protect consumers from predatory cost increases called "Bait And Switch" laws. That happened in our local community a few years ago when a high demand holiday event was sold for a published $50 price. Two weeks before the event, the company was taken over by new owners who demanded an additional $15 for entrance into the event. They were served with a class action lawsuit a few weeks later and had to refund every ticker purchaser who paid the additional fee, as well as the full price of the tickets of people who didn't attend due to the extortion pricing. The company was also forced to pay the county a six digit fine for their bait and switch nonsense.

I do all my bill paying through online banking. So I am not the troglodyte I may appear to be. 😁

I avoid automatic payment. Too easy to get complacent and miss billing errors. Much better to manage them personally. But what do I know - I have only been paying my own bills for 55 years.

I always find it disturbing how some people on these discussions, as this one has demonstrated so effectively, feel that their opinions are so important that they must be dispensed while at the same time criticizing the opinions of others that they don't agree with to the point that they report those opinions to have them removed. SMH.

Sounds like the propaganda we are repeatedly told doesn't match the reality.

A golden rule that might be useful: Read all the complaints. Then randomly throw away 95% of them. You will then closer to knowing whether something is actually good or not.

No cruise line is dumb enough to pre-publish the MDR menus in advance. That would be a disaster in the making. If any of the menus didn't match what was pre-published people would be irate and swamp the customer service desk complaining about not getting what they had been promised and demand some kind of credit for their pain and suffering. One thing that this thread has proved is how inflexible and unreasonable many people are and how quickly they will complain about even the most inconsequential things.

They are still available at the customer service desk.

I know. But according to what people are saying, Princess allows only as CARRYON luggage. We put ours as CHECKED luggage. It was delivered to our room with our luggage, which is contrary to what Princess apparently requires, according to several comments here.

On our Alaska cruise out of San Francisco on Grand 5 years ago I brought a 12 pack of my favorite cola, an inexpensive store brand for only $4. I placed a luggage tag on it and gave it to the porter and it showed up in our stateroom with the luggage. Not sure if that will work today, but we plan to do the same thing on our next Princess cruise on Royal, again out of San Francisco. I figured if it gets discarded for checking it in rather than carrying it on, the monetary loss will be practically insignificant.

As others have said, wander around. The full transit will take approximately 8 hours, so there is plenty of time to see things from different perspectives. (All photos taken on Celebrity Millennium, March 2009. Weather was warm but not too hot): 1st photo: From inside the forward lounge 2nd photo: From the helipad 3rd photo: On the top deck mid ships 4th photo: From our balcony 5th photo: People on the promenade deck - they actually could touch the walls of the lock

They only list 40 or so people, but there are often several busses for the same excursion. We booked our excursions early and the number did not change after our booking was confirmed, indicating that there are more availability than the initial number of people listed. Also, they typically leave a portion of the bookings unreserved so people can book them once on board. One other note: the parks department limits how many people can visit the Pearl Harbor sites on any given day. That means that these excursions sell out early. especially during the busy tourist season.

Well, it is less painful than pulling out your own fingernails. But it's about the same level of satisfaction in the end, though.

They actually do. They have a basic menu planned, but adjust it as needed depending on a variety of reasons, one of which is certain provisions not arriving on time. For instance, much of the buffet menus on embarkation day is based on provisions that arrive in the morning. Several semi truck loads are delivered by contracted suppliers during the morning and early afternoon based on orders placed by the head chef before the ship arrives at the end of the previous cruise. If something is rejected and needs to be replaced - and that happens more often that you might think - or is delayed, then items originally planned have to be deleted and something is chosen to replace it. Same with the dining rooms. Some of the menu items take several hours to prepare, and if something arrives just before they depart, the menu has to be adjusted accordingly. I have watched every cruise ship show on TV and online that I can find - I love seeing how a cruise ship operates like a swiss watch behind the scenes - and these situations I described are a popular topic to include in the episodes. Mighty Cruise Ships and Mighty Ships on Smithsonian Channel are great series to watch for these behind the scenes details. Season 3 Episode 3 was about Regal Princess. Season 4 Episode 4 was about Diamond Princess. Good stuff!

Got it! Thanks. I had already registered and didn't even remember that I did that!! Old age, I guess. 🙂 And I scored 1,515 points in the process. Not sure what that will get me, but I'll find out eventually.

The last time I cruised on Princess was to Alaska in 2017. There was a parade of chefs and servers, but not a loud, noisy celebration with wild napkin twirling. I wouldn't call it an "American Night" event. I don't remember red, white and blue uniforms. And it was during last TD seating since it was still available at the time. Ironically, they did not serve the baked Alaska desert on that cruise. Perhaps because by the end of that cruise everyone already had their fill of Alaska? 😇

Where are these gift cards located on the AARP site? I can't find them.

Also never seen this on every Princess cruise I have been on. And it seems to be a dying thing on some other cruise lines as well. I never did like the twirling of napkins tradition. Who wants other table's mouth crumbs being flung onto their table?

Gigi's is only on Enchanted Princess and Discovery Princess. The other four Royal class ships have Alfredo's.

Actually, no they don't. Menus are printed each day and are based on what is currently available in the food storerooms. At different ports they often take on local provisions that are then included on menus over the next few days. They have a guideline as to what is targeted for menus, but availability will dictate what the menus actually are each night. Menus can vary by cruise depending on what provisions they have available.

Oh, so sorry you got Jillted!

Nah! I can't help myself. I am a sucker for reading about other people's pain. Such trivia makes my life seem like a sappy Hallmark movie in comparison. 😂🤪

I don't mind the "live and let live" idea. What I do mind is the constant complaining about how they have to live their lives. 😇