Wishing on a star

Had one lobster tail at Crown Grill, pre pandemic. and it was a small, tough, tasteless waste of time. If I ever try that again, I will definitely expect better! And have them take it and change my order. But, to be fair, I felt like that experience was just not good over-all. Maybe because of the lady who seemed to be running it.

Just don't forget your Medallion in your cabin, and then order something while you are at a bar, the pool, deck, etc. The order will show to go to your cabin!!

It might be great to give Princess a try!!! Medallion is the system where you get the medallion and it is your room key, your way to do business and purchase online, and even order drinks and food to where you are sitting thru the linked APP. Took them a long time to get this up and working well, but it is a respectable system now! You put in your order on the APP, and the medallion has a location feature that shows where you are. The staff gets the order, along with the location and the thumbnail photo they snapped as you board, and your order finds you. You can make and change dining reservations. Princess dining is called Dine My Way, DMW. And do most all business onboard just by picking up your phone using the App.

Would love to see a quick rundown describing Princess, Discovery for example, as compared to Mardi Gras! We do like the Piazza concept, the Sanctuary. How would Mardi Gras be for us.

Yes, we will have to see how this all comes out in the end. I am wondering about the large round circular area that is forward of the huge glassed in 'Piazza'. On deck seven and eight. Since this new Piazza is more open, I am thinking that this could be the additional dining offerings and food-court type area. And, did they not mention a Crooner's planned? The aft of these decks show that curved staircase. And a multi-level dining room is mentioned. So, I wonder if this would be the new, single, huge MDR. I don't know if I like dining in such a huge open multi=level dining room. Would it be like sitting in the middle of the Mall of America!

I am thinking that the Flexible thing is key. Do they still offer both flexible and non-flexible? Would probably be Delta. I am thinking that you can lock in your seats and Booking number. then you have your actual reservation. Once you have your booking number and the seats, then you can simply go to Delta and upgrade with your points if that is available. If that is still how it works, with the Flexible option, then it would probably cost more to lock in your flight booking. So, using points to upgrade might, or might not, save much.

Can anybody give me a Dummy's 101 on using EZ-Air and then being able to use points to upgrade? Is that doable or recommended?

Did a quick check, and I think it looks like you can choose either Emerald or Caribbean. Of the two... I am one who would choose the newer Royal class ship.

If I am remembering and guessing correctly, theme nights now at the Buffett are pretty loosely themed. Yes, there will dishes of that theme, but really a lot of all kinds of other various and standard offerings. I don't know if they still do the thing called Mongolian Barbecue, but that was very popular as well. Choose the meat or seafood of your liking, and the veggies etc, and it is stir-fry grilled up to order. I wonder if they still do that!

I am not familiar with which ships might be doing these Northeast itineraries. And, I am risking getting some blowback here! I would choose a larger newer Royal Class ship over Emerald. The buffet, especially will be bigger and hopefully better. For a while there, the Emerald was getting some mixed reviews. One plus for those Gem Class. (like Emerald, Ruby..) are the larger balconies offered on deck 10 Caribe deck. The balconies on the Royal Class ships are, well, small. Few larger 'premium' balconies to be had. Ohhhh, I am remembering now... it has been several years ago when I sailed Ruby... the Adagio aft bar on Emerald and sister ships is very nice. Adagio does not exist on the newer ships.

As far as the Buffett and entertainment. You will find that the Buffet is much larger and many say better food on the larger newer ships. You would be happy with the Buffett. You can, of course check out menus for the dining rooms, and maybe you will see some choices that are worth checking out the dining room and being served. Princess is not a more formal cruise line. Just the opposite lately. You will be comfortable dining as long as you look 'nice'. No shorts on Dress to Impress nights, ratty cloths, etc. No problem there. The shows will vary by ship. It has been a while since we sailed. On the last sailing we saw the Broadway dance type of review (forget the exact name right now). and Bravo. They have newer shows now, a Rock Opera is one of these. Shows will not be lacking. But whether they meet the standard of the shows you are used to, I could not tell. There are often guest entertainers/singers who will play in the Theater. The music venues are Vista Lounge, the Piazza, where many ships have the Crooner's piano player bar, and light entertainment at the bar at the Crown Grill. They will, of course, have the Ship's Band, and other smaller single/duo/trios onboard as well. These will alternate with Crooner's hroughout the evening in the Piazza. It is also possible that there is popular band/presentation in the Piazza one night during the Cruise. Pre pandemic, we have seen a classic rock review, Beatlemaniacs, that kind of thing. I noticed a recent video on Youtube of the enterntainment in the Piazza on Regal Princess. I have enjoyed that house band, and there was a smaller (Latin?) band with a female lead singer who seemed very good.

Well, nobody can decide how much Princess would be for you except for you! I will say that Princess will have the most traditional North American type of feel than most other lines. Especially lines like MSC. As far as the truly eye-catching and awe inspiring, swarovsky crystal kind of thing, maybe the newest announced Princess ship, Sphere class Sun Princess. Which will not sail until 2024 and is not planned for NY sailings. Is princess a good choice for ME, as compared to MSC and most others, yes. You can continue to look at videos and read reviews and look for live-from postings here. That should give you a good feel for Princess!

Princess does Alaska well!!! It sounds like you are wanting to do a back to back, both Northbound and Southbound. If you haven't done Glacier Bay, most will say to make sure you get this. Which of course, that is what these itineraries do. The ship can make a difference too, according to your preferences. The Majestic has the enclosed pool and large front viewing area that probably works well for cooler weather cruises. We did Southbound on Coral Princess a few years ago. From Whittier we also did the 27 Glacier Tour. Touring these waters and glaciers on a smaller boat is wonderful. If we ever cruise Alaska again, I want to choose an itinerary that allows for the small boat tour up into Tracy Arm Fjord or Endicott Arm - whichever the cruise ends up visiting. If you want to get out and view the bears during the Sallmon Run, you will want to go mid to late Summer. The Salmon run is relatively short in duration. Those are the first basics that come to mind. I am sure many will give their recommendations. The more details you ask, the more info you might get!

The new SEARCH feature here is NOT good!!! But I did manage to find one comment that 2024 might be released by end of the month, or early Oct.

When are the new Europe sailings usually announced. I really have no idea! Are they not usually announced more than a year in advance?

They only have the first three inaugural sailings. But they seem a lot different than the sailings for now thru 2023. I might actually prefer the new itineraries? I wonder if anyone might try to guess if these 10 day itineraries might be the usual repeats, or if they are one time unique offerings. Especially since they are in Feb, before the usual Spring-thru-Fall Mediterranean cruising season starts. And, not sure how scheduling 10 day sailings might work out. Wish I know if these would ever be offered later in the season. February could be pretty chilly and wet!

Just to be sure, I thought that the delivery pizza was from be Alfredo's/Gigi's on ships that have them. Seems like I have heard that more than once, that it seemed better than the pool deck pizza counter.

I don't know of any ship, any where, that would board on embarkation day so very early that alcohol could not be sold.

On my first cruise, I didn't have a balcony cabin, an exclusive upscale private deck area, etc. We didn't do extra uncharge dining. Any of that. Many of us here didn't. I can still do that today. It is what it is. if people remember smaller less crowded cruise ships with Lobter, etc... I think it is human nature to remember things thru rose colored glasses. You can still have that today. But, like everything else in this world, it is simply going to cost more. You just simply are not gonna get that on CCL base level fares. Doesn't mean it has been taken away.

I am not thinking that many sanctuary bungalow people are regular posters here. Any reviews and info might be better than none! Everybody has their own experience and priorities! We are only trying to help. And, also, remember that the actual experience and service might not be super consistant. If crowds and kids are your biggest priority, and you are on a cruise during a busy family travel time, I would really consider this. That exclusive aspect of the Sanctuary Bungalows would be the biggest consistent factor.

If you have not seen this, here is a video which has a good tour of a Sanctuary Bungalow, arriving at the Bungalow at like 15 minutes in. You can see the thermostatic controlled AC, table and chairs, mini-fridge, etc. It looks like staff had not yet brought the snacks and drinks to the bungalow.

Back to the new Sphere Sun Princess. Are these first sailings supposed to released to be booked (non Elite) ? I am not seeing this ship on the website Find A Cruise. Don't know if you have to call?

Mara, again, those reviews, on the Princess excursion page, of the cruise personalizer, do mention things like the description of the bungalow and the service. I think you cam rest assured that all of the basics mentioned on the standard bungalows ARE there in the Sanctuary bungalows.

Have you pulled up the rental excursion in your cruise personalizer. There are a few reviews there. Some mention great service.

Yes, all the basics that might not be mentioned again for the Sanctuary Bungalows are there. I have read one review where the level of 'service' was spotty. So, I think that this can be something that is always consistent. one person mentioned how the afternoon staff seemed to decide to pack up and want to leave early. Could be excellent, but could be, not as excellent?