Shippy

There are people that will always tip & those that never do. I am fortunate to be able to tip so I always do & I have taught my children the same. I also carry a few extra dollars in my pocket for those in other positions, like for someone that might be stationed in the bathrooms. It is a personal choice & makes me feel good to do so. BUT....if you are not comfortable tipping....don't !

I agree....... lots of mozzarella, please :O)

I do not think they do cakes anymore. We got a dish of chocolate mousse.

Up your bid ! Do NOT do Alaska without a balcony !

We went at the beginning of the year. Complementary as we had a suite. I was so incredible that we are going again in August and PAYING for it. We did just received the invite as we are again in a suite. It is no longer complementary but they send out the invite because the seating is so limited. We already booked because we like early dining.

EVERY cruise line will have good reviews and BAD reviews. A lot of it is really subjective to your expectations. We have also found that the category cabin you stay in makes a BIG difference. We now stay in a Penthouse. You cannot compare that experience to someone in a Balcony. Once you are in a suite, there are other perks besides just a bigger cabin. That applies to all ships.

Although I know it does not seem fair.... The last few cruises we have stayed in a Penthouse. Room service very fast. Perhaps orders from suites jump ahead in the preparing of room service

When discussing Princess....remember that if you are in a Penthouse, there is a world of difference from lower categories When people ask me which cruise line I like best, I say it depends on the category. You cannot compare a balcony with a mini suite on another line. We now only stay in the Penthouse on Princess. We have cruised all the other cruise lines. Silversea, Crystal, etc. they are great but smaller ships. We like a bigger casino, showroom, etc. So we stay with other cruise lines. If you like smaller ships, they are great :O) .

A lot of other cruise lines have NO self service laundry so I am happy with any. One nice thing I have found is that on our last few cruises, they have left the laundry open 24 hrs. Great for me. I am an insomniac so I never have any trouble getting a machine :O)

Once we had a lot of things stolen by the TSA at the Miami airport. We did not know that until after we had gotten home by San Francisco. Not reimbursed even after months of communications with different TSA offices. Finally we were contacted by someone in Washington DC. He sympathized with us but could do nothing but give some advice. Do NOT check your bags in the areas outside of the main airport building....which we had done. He said that goes through a different area with more opportunity for theft. And NEVER have a cruise tag on the bag whether coming or going to a cruise. He said that alerts people to the fact you might have nicer things packed for the trip there or nice souvenirs on the way back. I had asked to have the cameras at the baggage area to be checked but they said that thousands of bags go through each day & they are only checked for national security. I had bought a lot of miniature perfumes. They actually took the bottles & left the boxes....I guess better to fit in their pockets !. I said I would send the boxes to have finger printed & they say they wear gloves ! .....you cannot win, just be cautious !

We did it before when it was comped for suites....but was so fantastic...we are actually paying full price to go again next month.

I think the fact he had the 'Premium' package was the reason for the dessert. We only get the 'Plus package'

I hate all the waste. It is impossible to eat the chocolate & candies on the outside of the glass. I asked for my sundae to be put in a plain glass. They said they are all decorated ahead of time & put in the freezer until used. Such a waste !

depends on the ship. On one I was told any gelato item so I would get the banana split or frangelico sundae. Next cruise I ordered the sundae & they said they would have to charge me. Only the desserts on the advertisement were covered AND vanilla gelato used only, no substitutions. After I checked at the guest services & they agreed...advertised only.

After reading your post, I did a youtube to see what you were talking about in regards to the closet. Kind of a shocker.....seems less than half a closet ! glad you mentioned that !

It is about how much money YOU RUN THROUGH THE MACHINE. SO......put in $20.00, lose it in 5 minutes, no points Put in $20.00 and play for an hour....lots of points. There are some machines I feel I will never really win on but keep giving me play. I love those machines because they give me lots of points. I think about an average of 1,000 points a day for a balcony or better cabin. If I do not play one day, I just play more the next. It is very reasonable to upgrade. I have been given a mini suite & was able to upgrade to a suite for about $200. The last day of the cruise, an offer will be delivered to your cabin. You will get lots of email offers later but usually none as good as that one. If you feel you have played a lot and a casino host has not approached you by midweek, go introduce yourself & see if you have had enough play for a complementary specialty dining.

We went last year. It was free because they gave it complementary if you were in a suite. I think you are really paying for the experience…the fabulous food and wine are the extras. The technology was incredible. You have to constantly look everywhere. The walls really tell a story but if you look down, your tablecloth has changed….but did it really? Many other visual surprises. I heard it cost a million dollars for that room. They say the wines are $500.00 a bottle and not available anywhere else on the ship. I am not usually a wine drinker but these were fabulous. I was really happy that we went but felt no need to go again. Well here we are, a year later and…I just booked it again for our cruise in August. And yes, we are paying for it this time !

We had a Penthouse & never paid $5. for room service. We get up very early, before the breakfast service with the tag on the door starts. I called down at about 5:30 every morning for coffee & pastry & was never charged.

We love Dungeness crab. But just like Alaska, Our crab seasons have either been drastically reduced or cancelled the last few years.....California.

Hope you have a suite lounge. The concierge is there & can answer anything. I found them to be a great help. The lounge was great for socializing & occasionally they had some live music in the evening. Simple, like violinists. I am an insomniac. Our cabin was right across the hall from the lounge. They showed me which frig the milk was kept in. So, at about 2am every morning, I just crossed the hall in my pajamas & robe & got some fresh milk & cookies :O)

as long as you have a certain category, there should not be a problem. We made a mistake once of booking a 'run of the ship' guarantee. The assumption was that you could get ANY type of cabin...wow... Unfortunately, we did not get our cabin assignment until we were at the port. The cabin had port holes & was located over the anchor, so every time they dropped anchor, the noise was quite incredible. Every ship has some undesirable cabins & they have to go to someone !

To bad they did not get more info on the bus. Do not know how far the hotel is from the airport, they might have to go back to the airport if the bus goes from there. The bus trip is several hours. Kind of late but if they could manage it, I would have them cancel the bus & take the train. Very interesting & comfortable. Mini suite gets no special boarding. A wheelchair might.

When you book, you will be expected to pay in full no matter how far out the cruise. In your case , the $49. pp plus tax & port plus $100. each non refundable deposit. If you go, the deposit will become onboard credit. If you cancel, your port & tax will be refunded so you only stand to lose your $49.pp plus the deposit. You might consider asking how much to upgrade to a higher class cabin if you are interested. What the casino charges for an upgrade is usually a lot less than other bookings.

I tend to feel that people who have to ask.....do not want to pay it & probably will not.. just an old persons thought.... Nothing new...in the OLD days, you were given a bunch of envelopes to put money in & hand out the last night. Amazing how some people skipped out of the dining room dinner that night & some actually handed out empty envelopes to look to everyone like they were kind & generous. I think that is actually why they started automatically including the gratuities.

Live by San Francisco . Cruise is a little over 2 months away. Always had them shipped before with no problem.