Wanderfully

I would just do yourselves a favor and call the Riverside Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. Ask for their pricing on airport shuttle and Port Everglades shuttle. And then whatever they say, book a room there! The basic classic room is perfectly fine. You will have as much fun there as your cruise itself. The location is perfect, the bar is great, the pool on the New River is wonderful as is the riverside walk. It also has a water taxi stop so you can take the taxi on a tour around Fort Lauderdale waters. We have stayed there on every one of our cruises. 

Interesting question Indykid. What other cruise lines have changed to Medallion type service instead of key cards? 

I realize of course they all have apps. But how many switched away from key cards and which lines?

Well, from the length of time I've been a member of CruiseCritic and the small number of posts, I'm sure most can tell I use this site for information gathering not for interaction. But to clarify for those of you that asked specifically, I could care less about being tracked and have no pacemaker ( although I may have one by my next cruise lol) 

I don't like the Medallion system because I'm saddened and disappointed that the Marketing Dept hoodwinked the executives at Princess into thinking this was a good idea. 

I'm deeply saddened that Princess and its employees ( IT, Guest Services, Call Centers and TAs have spent countless hours, and many many dollars on the Medallion itself and the Medallion app ( now Princess app because Marketing surely wants to distance itself from the word Medallion) trying to fix all the problems that have so frustrated and yes, angered, even the loyalist among us.

And all that time and money could have been spent on better pay for the crew, and enhancements to the Princess product.

Goodness knows how much more has to be spent in the future trying to burnish the Princess name.

In the 8 cruises before now, I never had trouble finding anyone on the ship in my party. And if I did, it was probably fun. We discussed our day in the morning and made dates and never looked at phones.  (3:50 at Club Fusion for Bingo.. 2:30 at the Terrace bar after Trivia)  

The technology that allows the crew to see our name I feel is condescending. What used to be a fun interaction, a smile directed at a crew member with our drink request, a smile returned and some banter is now reduced to a crew member having to add an extra layer of servitude. ( smile and greet the customer by name, memorize what they like so they don't even have to talk you, your customer needs to feel special because ....because?  I don't know why,,,are we all that needy?) ........Maybe we just need to talk and interact with people a bit more and we'd all feel happy and special.

You may think I'm a luddite, preachy, old fashioned, this is the wave of the future and you may be right.....but I'll tell you, I hope its working for you because that is not what I'm reading on these boards or anywhere else in life. And at my age, I've learned that keeping it simple, not wasting time trying to keep frustration at bay and keeping things people to people on a even level as much as you can makes me a lot happier

These are just my feelings, not right or wrong. I love Princess and not using the Medallion is a way I can withdraw support from what I feel was a damaging decision.

Actually, never mind!  I just saw a similar question posed last Thursday at 7:23 with an answer from EM who said that you can ask for a key card if you want one. Thank you for such a clear response also SXC22. 

Thank you sable. Just to clarify, you asked for and received a key card and did not have to get a Medallion. 

Is it still possible to take my paperwork and passport, show up at the port at 1pm and get a key card and start my relaxing vacation on Princess? 

My last cruise was in 2018 and I have nothing I need to reserve and have no packages of any kind. Since I've only cruised with Princess 8 times, I'm not loyal enough for anything so not concerned about tiers or colors.

We have booked a cruise to the eastern Caribbean on NCL next year and would love suggestions on your favorite Caribbean restaurants.

We watch our cruise pennies and find we can save money, help the island economies and perhaps score a seaside table in a port in mid afternoon.

We don't plan to do it in every port but with the price of one Speciality dinner on the ship,  ( if you're not in the Haven or a suite ) we can enjoy 2 lovely full lunches in port and eat a light supper on the ship.

We had a wonderful lunch on Bonaire off a side street in a pretty, shaded courtyard. Always wished I could remember the name of the place.

Do you favorites you'd share for a delicious Caribbean meal? 

Thank you all for your help!  MoulinVert, thank you also for describing what to look for in documents. I'll check the ID. Me site. We're using a new TA as ours retired and last time, for a Princess cruise, we just took the DD214 to the TA.

Olden times lol.

Great!  Thank you

Under Norwegian, it says military discount for veterans up to 10%. Can anyone verify if you normally receive the full 10% off your cruise fare?  I do understand it may not apply to port fees and taxes, but am trying to decide between HAL and Norwegian and $300 off the fare is substantial and may be deciding factor.

Thanks for any insight

Great cruise so far......several cabins on Caribe deck balconies beginning C402 and upwards to least 500-600's on all have new mattresses .....steward said towards the back, not yet, but very soon..we are a large group all on the port side...not sure on starboard..but why one and not the other :) plenty of butter, all lights on in the overhead lighting on the Piazza ( that one is for Bimmer) No signs of any illnesses, crew has been lovely, food plentiful and delicious, ship in great shape....they will probably update our stateroom carpeting soon, but it is clean and oh my, the mattress more than makes up for it.....upcoming cruisers have so much to look forward to !

Mario, not sure when you are going to be on the Crown, but we will be sailing on her next Friday 2/23. We have several rooms on the Caribe deck and I update you on all the mattresses

Just checking the Port Aruba webcam under " Arrivals" for the list of cruise ships arriving for the next monthWhy do all the larger cruise ships have their own cruise line serving as their port agent except for the Crown Princess. Both times the Crown is there in February, Armada Port Agency is their agent.

Up, up and Away.......5th Dimension :)

Anyone off the most recent sailing of the Crown that could update us on Crown ...Caribe deck mattresses?

Norris, I was so disappointed that I had just finished Season 2 of "The Crown" and wouldn't have that extra something to look forward to in the evening and then I see your name and ABC cruise pop up!!

I enjoyed reading your previous review, (reading one for the first time) ....beautifully framed pictures, entertaining commentary ( with humor and song) and an upbeat outlook on life. Will be delightful reading at the end of a long day .. Thank you!

Thanks for this update. I knew Mini suites on Dolphin should all have new mattresses by now but hoped premium balconies on Caribe would have them also as we are in C402 in February. But guess not :(

Thanks for the update! Very interested if any rooms other than the suites are being updated yet. We're in a Caribe balcony in February

That's why Cruise Critic is so much fun to read. It just illuminates how different people react to situations. geocruiser, We were on the Crown on that cruise after you in February 2012 to Aruba! One of the best we ever took! Two days at sea and were supposed to dock in Aruba and at 8 0'clock that morning, the Captain says we are returning to Fort Lauderdale. 5 days at sea, free, no one in our party sick ( but we wash our hands alot, don't overeat at the Horizon court, have fixed dinner in MDR ) and only thing we noticed different was no self service in dining room

We were reimbursed fully for the cruise ( not FCC) ALL our $$$ received back, 25% future cruise credit AND Princess called for everyone and made all our return flight reservations for us and delivered them to our cabins the day before

Guess where we are booked February 2018? Crown to Aruba !! But I suppose we can't be lucky enough to have it happen twice!!

I guess we can all agree that cruise lines have contracts that pretty much remove them from bearing any responsibility for cruise changes, delays etc. And we can agree that trip insurance is a good thing to have.

But what the issue seems to be is if they talk the talk, then they should walk the walk

If they SAY they care about passenger safety first, and their passengers in general, then they should show it. Keep them safe and do the right thing

We were on a cruise a few years ago to the ABC islands. The day we were supposed to dock, after 2 days of cruising, the captain came on at 8AM and said we were turning around and heading back to Ft Lauderdale. Norovirus was so bad amongst passengers and the crew that the cruise was compromised. We received a full refund to our credit card, 25% off another cruise if taken within 2 or 3 years AND the cruise line rescheduled everyone's airline tickets FOR them. Also 5 days cruising around the Caribbean for $0 ( we didnt get sick)

Did they have to do that? Was it in the contract? I don't think so. Was it a small ship? Nope, 3000 passengers.

But I'll tell you this, that bought my loyalty.

And I hope RCCL does the right thing here by its passengers and everyone can stay as safe as possible and out of harm's way

Does anyone recently sailing know if Caribe deck ( C402) has new bedding yet?