SantaFeFan

The OP needs to adhere to the "When In Rome" idea. If he cruises on a ship where gratuities are the norm, then it is irresponsible to remove them due to his own selfishness. Responsible travelers don't force their own culture on the places they visit. They accept those "foreign" cultural norms as part of the experience of traveling.

When logging into your cruise booking on the website, go this page and click on the "Try our web version" shown at the right middle in the image below. Then click on "Dine My Way" under the "Suggested" section on the page that will open up. There you can make all your dining reservations, selecting dining rooms, times and size of table. I can make or cancel reservations there. Our cruise is in a little less than four months. _______________________________________________________________________________________________

Same here and I'm on Google Chrome

We have always booked specialty dining based on any events we may be celebrating or the itinerary. Nothing "impossible" about it. Advice based on hyperbole is never good advice.

The last line is good advice. When going ashore we leave our passports in the safe unless we are required to have it on our person, which is not common. Having a copy is good in case something happens while off the ship, such as an injury requiring hospitalization

Two over dressed to make an impression. Two going to the buffet to avoid being judged for what they wear. Two going to the pool grill because they don't want to deal with all the drama.

Long Sleeve.

I keep hearing that myth about Platinum and Elite. We aren't either and we made our dining reservations 4 months ago for a cruise that departs 3 months from now. So much for telling people that they have to be big shots to make those reservations early. 😁

It depends on when you board. If you board before around 1:00pm, you will typically not have access to your room. After 1:00 and your chances are much better.

This was when TD was still offered - well before COVID. No app yet. We chose what we had been familiar with for decades, early traditional dining. Now, after several mediocre shared table experiences over the years, we are fully in favor of the Dine My Way format. No more sharing tables with unlikable people, such as the four ultra religious people who wanted us to stop our conversations with our friends when they prayed (we didn't - it's our vacation too!), asked us not to order alcoholic beverages because their religion forbade it (not gonna happen at my table), and other wise completely ignored us as the sinning heathens they believed us to be. 👿

Not only dining room decor, but different perspectives on that decor, plus the benefit of seeing new faces and interacting with more of the staff. Seeing the same dining room from different locations provides an interesting and satisfying aspect to dining - the views are unique from every location. We get bored going to the same table in the same location with the same people surrounding us, every night, night after night, especially on longer cruises. And this is especially pronounced when that table is in a bad location. On our last Grand Princess cruise we sat at a table for eight with four other people in Da Vinci. That table was located in a corner of the room. It became a race to be the first ones there to grab the best seats, the ones where the view wasn't two blank walls. The other four people were always at the front of the line when the doors opened, so we would end up with the bad seats every time. We eventually asked to be moved, and we did end up at a better location. For the rest of the cruise, the people at that first table would scowl at us anytime we crossed paths, probably because they thought that we didn't like them and were insulted. 😀

That's what we do. Instead of the same table and waiters every night, we prefer to try all the dining rooms and different locations in each, and to meet more of the great dining staff. We prefer variety so that each dining is a new adventure rather than repeating the same experience over and over and over again.

That sounds about right. Similar duration on our Grand cruise to Alaska.

Not true on our Baltic and Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity several years ago, each 14 night cruises. Most people did not dress up as you described. Not sure what you saw, but that certainly didn't happen on our European cruises.

EVERY web site you visit is subject to being tracked. Nothing different with Princess. At least Princess is reaching out to you to provide a service rather than just mining your information to sell to third parties for profit.

Agree with you on the full promenade deck. On all the Grand class ships I have been on, they were very much under utilized. At any given time, perhaps only about 40 people were using the entire promenade as my wife and I walked the full length a couple of times during our cruises. Too much real estate with too few people using it. It's no wonder they have been eliminated on virtually every cruise line's new ships.

Thank you!

How did the process work? I am thinking about doing what you did, but the thought of thousands of dollars of gift cards that are refused for some reason worries me. Could you walk us step by step if it isn't too much trouble? We have our final payment in a little less than four weeks though a Travel Agent, not directly with Princess. Thanks in advance for any assist!!!

Not sure about UK submissions, but many people have reported that the OBC posted within hours or a day or two. I saw that mine posted the next morning after a late afternoon submission.

Correct. That is the accepted practice. The barman will add about half the price of a pint as his tip. I think that Wozz is living in the past. There is information published at visitbritian.com about current norms: https://www.visitbritain.com/us/en/plan-your-trip/money/tipping# Some highlights from this article that visitors will encounter: - If nothing is added to you dining bill and you are happy with the service you've received, a tip of around 10-15 per cent is standard. Many restaurants automatically add a service charge to the bill, so do check before leaving a tip. - In Britain it is quite normal to tip taxi drivers and it's customary to round the total fare up to the nearest pound. - If a porter takes luggage to your room for you, it is customary to tip them approximately £2

You can also wait until you are onboard and look at the different options available for purchase. You may find something after boarding that you like better.

Yes, we are quite familiar with your disdain of us Americans. Do you have to turn every discussion into an "Americans are wrong" thread?

In defense of all mothers out there, no restaurant dish is ever as good as what mom made.

All the Grand Class and Crown sub-class have wraparound promenade decks. The Ruby Princess was built in 2008, the Emerald in 2007, the Crown in 2006, and the Caribbean, Sapphire and Diamond, in 2004.

That's not "dressing up". That's wearing the uniform of a physician. Completely different situation. Just as a police officer wearing his police uniform while on duty is not considered "dressing up".