mtnesterz

Since you wrote that this is your first Princess cruise in, "awhile," know that onboard spending is done with the Medallion. Sure, some people carry some paper money around, but most leave wallets in their safe. AFAIK, RCI still uses cruise cards so more people would carry around a wallet. I suspect that's part of it. As you mention and I agree, I find it refreshing to be on vacation and not to have tip jars or software, expecting tips.

For the most part, we have little interest in those functions considered Medallion Class. But have to say, to us the wall panels are the best, most consistently working function under the Medallion umbrella. We've even got locked out of our cabin, but the panels, flawless. Easy to find one another if you attend different games, sports, talks... then meet up. Try it!

Princess also does not generate revenue hosting trivia, the games in the Piazza or showing movies in the lounges, theater and MUTS, or hosted sports on deck. All of these mentioned require more staff time than keeping books in order in a library, yet they are still provided for passenger's entertainment for a variety of tastes.

https://akcruise.org/port-schedule/ There is a news item currently on CC about limiting tourism in Juneau that may interest you too.

Mostly, on Royal Class ships, including Regal, you are looking down at the top of a lifeboat/tender. You are not impeded looking straight out, but you cannot look straight down to the water. Look at post #79 in this thread. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1734762-royalregal-obstructed-view-balconies-on-emerald-deck/page/4/

Looks like your first question is covered. Now for the second. As long as you keep whatever you plug in at less than the 20 VoltAmps (Watts) you read posted on the wall outlet, you're GTG. A shaver designed for use in North America uses 5 to 15 watts at 120 volts. An LED nightlight probably uses only .5 to 1 watt. An old tiny incandescent bulb 4 to 7 watts. All are within acceptable.

Also a function of the treated soft water aboard. You need less shampoo with soft water to get the same cleaning results. So then you need more conditioner.

Having been burglarized while on a cruise, I am wary of having things delivered to the house that are inscribed with the date I will be away on vacation. If it doesn't arrive before you leave, have a friend or trusted neighbor pick up your mail daily.

Before retiring, I dealt with CPAP/APAP issues quite often at work. Only familiar with the card types though, time passes, technology moves on. You might find your answers on an apnea forum where other users would know your specific device. You didn't state which brand or model you have, but appears several threads about brands and models here. https://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-CPAP-Machine-Reviews

While I wasn't able to find the schedule, ships dock for service twice in five years and the last for the Emerald was April 11, 2022. That would make it 3 years to the month. Both beginning and ending are the same location, Italy. Makes sense.

There was a study out of Canada not long ago that showed that after a period of adjustment, there is no diminished revenue in non-smoking casinos. Agree with the poster about the Enchanted, worst for casino smell, which, BTW, is just one reason we too will be on a different line our next cruise.

There are three sailings of this itinerary. Two in October of this year, one you mention in April, '25. That is the only one with port, sea day switch. We were also interested in this. The problem is that the week of April 12 is the week before Easter. Mostly, schools will be out, and this is only a 7 nighter. Potential for lots of kids. Something to consider.

No, the other thing is we've been onboard twice when there was a man overboard. Most recently on the Emerald to Hawaii last year. The Medallion was mentioned as being left in his cabin because people asked why he couldn't be located, just by having it. The other time going over the side was deliberate and a (crew) identifier was left onboard. My point of mentioning is that one, it brings everybody down, please nobody do that, ask for help. And people have to bring whatever would transmit and in my limited experience, they don't.

This was questioned when it first came out as a possible safety feature. Can't find it now, I read something at the time, something like 20 or 30 yards of range at best. Could a person be located if wearing one? Not really. Triggering anything just getting dropped into the sea by itself? No, go get another at Passenger Services.

The post after this has all the ships numbers. Just know it's $10/minute.

If this "creeps you out," you are not the first to mention it on CC. Personally, I think this anxiety is unwarranted. You can request a card. You could alternatively keep your Medallion in an RFID pouch, metal foil tea ball or wrap it in metal foil. Any one of which creates a Faraday cage and cannot be scanned. It also creates an additional step when you approach your cabin door to unlock it.

As to quiet places, someone might post their experience in the Double Down Bar. On the Enchanted, this area is called Take 5 and is a quiet pleasant place to sit and hang out with a view. But as the Double Down, I don't know. You don't have any Skywalkers, Seaview Bar or Adagio as on the smaller, better Princess ships and you won't have a library. If you book, looks like you'll be on one of the last sailings to enjoy the Majestic's distinctiveness. Others post in May, the ship will lose the noodle bar, Harmony and the dual language signage. Funny, the Sabatini menu is in Italian and English and no one is bothered. Signage in Chinese and English and people are offput. Go figure. Remember, if you haven't done a TA before, you lose an hour's sleep every few days going west to east. It adds up.

#1 Yes to finding your cabin mate. I don't know about a Bluetooth device. A mislaid Medallion? Have your cabinmate use a wall panel to locate cabin mates, in this case your Medallion. The wall panel may tell you it's in your cabin, for example, but not exactly where it is. #2 No. The Medallion carries only a code, like a car license plate, that connects to your account. No personal data. You cannot change it. I have found Medallions on the ship. Turned them in to Passenger services. No, I did not run up a bar tab first.

It is interesting reading how P&OAU came to be and how they sourced their ships. P&OAU fleet often came from Princess, by transferring still servicable older ships. The change then for Princess will be that ships, while still profitable to operate, will stay with the fleet longer, resulting in a generally older fleet.

Just to be thorough, if you buy a package, you "buy" the gratuity so that is not removable. If you go Standard, then it accrues daily. So if that is your preference, then it would make sense to "opt-out," earlier rather than later at Passenger Services, where you can also ask for envelopes if they are not already out on the PS desk.

We were in Princess Cays and St. Thomas in April, other ports I don't know. I don't know how much you know about Princess Cays, but it is a Private Beach area, so maybe 50yards from the dock is the beach. Buffet lunch, with burgers, chicken and dogs complementary. If you bought one of the packages, alcoholic drinks get scanned to your Medallion's daily allotment. St. Thomas, you dock at some shops. No beach that I could see within walking distance. Clearly a tourist area and food is expensive. Outside the shopping area, across the street, is a Chinese restaurant called China King. Our steward said he likes to eat there.

In 2016, we did the Explorer version of an Alaska Cruisetour instead of Connoisseur. (No meals included on the land portion.) Big mistake. A hamburger in the lodge was $25, breakfast buffet was $19...eight years ago. You know what's happened to prices since then. If I were to make one last post on CC to help someone, it would be to advise them to pay the extra for the food and tours your get with the Connoisseur. Won't kid you, this vacation is going to hurt your wallet, but it will be amazing. YOLO!

428 and 433 views are there, not a pix for 436. Both are very nice IMHO. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/ov.php?ship=Enchanted-Princess&cabins=E401-E445

Reminder to myself to read the original post better.

Cruise lines try to accomodate many different tastes. We just disembarked the Enchanted on a Caribbean itinerary this month and can agree that this sailing, we wanted for more things of interest. A Panama Canal or Alaskan itinerary with enrichment lectures, history and nature talks and excursions would be more to our tastes. Those on this past cruise who like to max out their drinks allowance and get sunburned seemed to be the happiest. It's which itinerary you choose, is my point. So I would ask you back, what do you want a cruise to be? Why do we like Princess? One-and-done with RCI. My takeaway was that nobody had the authority to do anything about anything, but had to acceed to some higher authority for approval and maybe something got done maybe not. On Princess, if you have a concern, just about anyone will make it their business to address it even in some small way. Comparing to Celebrity, on both cruises with them, disembarkation was a total mess, like they had to reinvent the wheel. This above all is why we don't sail X anymore. I hope for everyone concerned this has improved. Disembarkation on Princess has always been a well oiled machine. Must say though, food is better on X. Number one reason we sail Princess. Los Angeles is their main port and we're close. From Naples, you've got Tampa, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, you've got options we don't.