Be in the Know Before You Go on Enchanted Princess

You’ve booked your trip and paid for it too. 

Now what? Do online check-in! With Princess, the process begins as soon as you’ve made final payment. Here are details and tips from our recent cruise on the Enchanted Princess: 

For smoother, faster boarding 

Download the Princess app and do online check-in right away. Consider having the medallion (Princess’ version of the sea card) shipped to your home. If you have the Premier package, shipping is free; without the package, it costs $10*. You can order the medallion on the app at the same time you do online check-in.

The medallions typically arrive 7-20 days before the trip; ours came 7 days before. If you want to know if it’s been shipped, you can call Princess.

Once you order the medallion, you will be assigned to the "green lane,” teeing you up for faster boarding. At the terminal, agents manning kiosks check your passport and boarding pass. Then, you scan your medallion, and that’s it! It took us about five minutes.

The Enchanted Princess' stunning piazza, the hub of it all.

For better medallion management 

Lanyards and clip 

Check out the options for holding the medallion during your cruise. Amazon has a slew of choices, from watchbands to key chains. AirTag holders work too. 

There’s also a shop on the ship with many options, including bracelets and necklaces. 

The medallions are shipped with free lanyards, but note that the holder portion is a thin plastic frame. In just one day on our trip, we saw two people lose their medallions because they popped out of the holder. If you have Premier, the medallions also come with a blue plastic clip. 

Musing's Top Tip: I used a different solution for the medallion holder, which worked really well. I bought a keychain and retractable badge holder from Amazon. I mounted the medallion in the keychain and connected it to the badge holder. I hooked the badge holder to the zipper of my little purse, leaving the medallion safely inside (see photo right). When I needed to show the medallion, I pulled it out of my purse with the badge holder cord.

My spouse used the same technique, adding an extra keychain piece that he used to loop it through his belt, and keep his medallion in his shorts pocket.

For hassle-free specialty dining 

The Premier package includes two dinners, but if you make reservations in the app, you will get charged, and then will need to visit Guest Relations onboard to have it credited. You can avoid this hassle by calling Princess from home and asking them to make reservations for you, which they do without charging.

Sabatini's, the Italian specialty restaurant off the piazza.

You’ll want to make reservations as soon as possible, as they fill up fast. For example, when we visited the Crown Grill on embarkation day, the restaurant was already completely booked for the whole trip. 

For quicker MDR dining 

You can book your main dining room meals before the trip on the app. We made reservations for every night, even if we weren’t sure we were going to eat there.

Note on formal nights: If you want to enjoy both formal nights and specialty restaurants, pay close special attention to your itinerary. For seven-day Caribbean trips, in general, if you have a port on day 2 (first full day of the cruise), the formal night will be on day 3. If you have a sea day on day 2, the formal night will be on day 2. (This can vary, though, depending on the length of your trip and part of the world). 

Musing's Top Tip: For a faster meal, tell the waiter you have a show to catch. We did this one night and were out of there in only 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

Communication from Princess

One week before the cruise, your boarding pass will show up in the app. You’ll only receive a few emails from Princess between final payment and boarding. Some are informational/educational, highlighting dining options and entertainment. The last one, “Last Minute Must-Dos,” comes a few days before the trip and provides reminders on what you need to bring for check-in and details about the departure port. 

Musing's Top Tip: To really be in the know before you go, consider joining the Princess Facebook site. I got some great ideas and advice from previous cruisers. Hope these tips helped. 

By the way, we loved the Enchanted Princess. Stay tuned for a ship review coming soon! 

* Available only to guests from U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico

Be in the Know Before You Go on Wonder of the Seas

A fellow on YouTube recently complained that when he boarded Wonder of
the Seas, he went to the ticket booth, only to find that all the shows were sold out. Yikes! How did this happen? Clearly, a lot of people knew something he didn't.

Read on for important tips on what you should do and what to expect in the lead up to your Royal Caribbean cruise.

Once You Book

·     

Save on eat, drink and surf packages – If you’re looking to buy a package, know you’ll have plenty of opportunity to get it at a discount before your trip.  Royal Caribbean will barrage you will promo emails—ours started four months before the trip—even before we made final payment.

About a Month Before Your Cruise

·        Download Royal Caribbean’s app. Then, when you do online check-in, (available beginning about 45 days before the trip), you’ll get a digital boarding pass called the “SetSail Pass.”

Main dining room on Wonder of the Seas

Check out the app periodically; the closer you get to the trip, the more stuff you’ll see for your cruise, such as activities, menus and even loyalty club events.

Print luggage tags – You’ll get a “Guest Ticket Booklet” PDF via email, with the luggage tags on some of the pages. You can print the tags in black and white, but Royal Caribbean prefers color. We loaded the booklet onto a thumb drive, took it to a local Office Depot and for a few dollars, printed the luggage tags in color on the self-service printer.

       Sign up for shows now – In the “Manage My Cruise” section of Royal Caribbean’s website, you can make reservations for the date and time you prefer. The longer you wait, the fewer choices you will have. 

      Dine your way – You can also make reservations for the main dining room if you’re on My Time. It’s a good idea to do this, especially for formal nights, to reduce the wait at the MDR doors.

·    

Keeping track – Your booked shows and meals will be listed in the Calendar section  of  the app. Also, consider making a paper  chart and mounting it on the cabin wall with a magnet. It’s a good way for you and your  roommate to see your schedule at a  glance. I list for each day what port we’re in, where we’re eating and what show we’re seeing.

Before Leaving Home

·       Print your boarding pass – While you’ll show the SetSail pass on your phone at the port, it’s a good idea to also bring a paper copy, just in case the wifi in the terminal is down, you left your phone in your suitcase, you run out of battery juice, you dropped it in the toilet…

·        Ban the banned stuff – Double check that your carryon doesn’t include banned stuff. My spouse forgot he had a Swiss army knife in his toiletries bag and it was taken from him.

If something does slip by you, you’ll get it back at the end of the trip. A table was set up outside the cruise terminal in Port Canaveral on disembarkation day. Your possession will have plenty of company—our knife was nearly obscured by a vast collection of irons, steamers and power strips.

Musing’s Top Tip: If you’re doing a specialty restaurant, do it on the first night. Chops Grille was nearly empty, the service was attentive and it was just plain lovely. It was the opposite experience a few days later!

Better Bring an Unlimited Appetite for this Dining Package

We were intrigued. Royal Caribbean’s new Unlimited Dining Package certainly brought savings over dining in specialty restaurants at their regular price.

And at the specialty restaurants, the food is better, the service is better. And there’s lots of choice.

 

Intimate and gracious 150 Central Park

What’s not to like?

So we sprung for it. Should you? Consider this:

The broader your food taste, the better. You’re going to be in these restaurants every night of your trip. It helps if you want to eat in many of them. Or if you only like a few, that there’s enough variety on the menu for you.

You need to make reservations. But. Sometimes, we couldn’t get the time we wanted. So we chanced it, and showed up at the restaurant without a reservation, and almost each time, we got in.

Lunch may be wishful thinking. The Unlimited Dining Package allows you to eat lunch in the specialty restaurants on sea days for no extra cost. But after the big meal the night before, and a big meal on the evening ahead, somehow, we didn’t feel much like doing a specialty lunch. And never did.

Good for the adventurous. Since you can order multiple dishes, you can afford to experiment. I tried something at Giovanni’s that I would never have tried otherwise—Tonno Crudo, or raw Ahi tuna with garlic chips and a sweet-ish citrusy flavor. I fell so deeply in love that I did the unthinkable (for me)—I had two.

 

Ahhhhh...i Tuna Crudo, a Giovanni's appetizer

Better bring an appetite. But the biggest challenge? It was a lot of food. The specialty meals are big. And you’re going to be doing it every night. After a few days, I started cutting down on the courses. And I never thought I’d say this: I got tired of filet mignon.

 

Filet mignon at Chops Grille

If you’re a big eater, and really enjoy the specialty restaurant food and service, the Unlimited Dining Package may be perfect to you.

For my part, I wish doggie bags were an option. I could sure use some of that filet mignon now…

Musing’s Top Tip: The price for the Unlimited Dining Package went down by $20 a few weeks before our trip. Watch the promotional emails from Royal Caribbean as your cruise gets closer.

Perhaps You’ve Noticed

We’ve been cruising for 13 years. If you’ve cruised as long as we have—or even longer—you’ve seen quite a bit of change.

Like most changes over time, some are for the better and some, well, aren’t. Here are a few changes that come immediately to mind:

Formal farewell. Nearly gone are tuxes and gowns. Some folks don’t bother to dress up at all. And the waiters have ditched their formal wear too.

Different MDR. Our first cruise was on Celebrity’s Constellation and we felt like hillbillies, befuddled at the elaborate place settings. Dinners were five courses, wait times were shorter and waiters even had time to talk to us.

 

Main dining room on Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas

More dollars for dining. Specialty restaurants have become all the rage. It may come at a cost, but there are so many more alternatives to the food-for-all-tastes main dining room, and some of them are really exciting.

 

Izumi on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas

Loyal cruisers exploding. On any given Royal Caribbean ship these days, it’s typical to find hundreds of Diamond Club members. Proof that once you cruise, you’re hooked.

Tech follows us onboard—and off. It’s not just Internet cafes anymore. Technology is everywhere and doing everything—from turning on lights to helping us track our travel companions to serving us drinks. Our faces will even speed the dreaded Disembarkation with Royal Caribbean and U.S. Customs’ new facial recognition.

 

A taste of technology on Harmony of the Seas

Room service perk pooping out. Nearly every mass market line is charging for something delivered by room service.

Extravaganzas extinct. We still swoon over our videos of Celebrity’s unparalleled, off-the-charts Midnight Buffet. Its luau under the stars with parading waiters carrying fruit carvings and doling out samples of guava, mango and papaya. Holland America’s amazing chocolate dessert display.

 

Waiters paraded with fruit carvings, then let you sample tropical fruits of the Caribbean--
on Celebrity, 13 years ago

Cruise ship as amusement park. The cruise lines are outdoing each other with thrill rides, from giant slides to bumper cars to roller coasters. What’s next, a ferris wheel?

 

The Ultimate Abyss on the Amusement Park of the Seas (aka Harmony)

The great cruise smoke out. Smokers have been relegated to one or two areas per ship. One trend with many, many supporters.

All this in 13 years. Wonder what the upcoming years will bring. Any predictions?

Classic Cruising: Review of the Royal Princess

That Princess picked Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, to christen the Royal Princess in 2013

reflects what the cruise line delivers—a classic cruise experience.

 

You won’t find zip-lines, go-karts or tattoo parlors on this ship. But what you will find are excellent shows, varied food, elegant décor and a laid back, relaxing vibe that helps you, says Princess, “come back new.”

Eating

The MDR. The main dining room food was, well, main dining room food. The Norman Love desserts were a standout, but the rest was a mixed bag.

The buffet. Horizon Court was truly the most expansive I’ve seen on a cruise ship. There were very good roasts, many vegetable choices, multiple salad bars, and premium foods like mussels, calamari, shrimp and salmon, a big variety of cheeses (brie! Gorgonzola! Goat cheese! Edam! Stilton!), terrific fresh rolls and focaccia, smoked fish, prosciutto and quiches, as well as a few Asian dishes, for foodies like me. There were also typical buffet foods, from fried chicken to meatloaf to lasagna.

Theme nights were fun—German, Italian, Brazilian and American. While not everything is terrific, it’s hard to imagine not finding something to like.

The specialty restaurants. At Crown Grill, the service matched the food—both were outstanding. The 8 ounce filet mignon was fork tender and flavorful, and the molten chocolate cake was deliciously decadent. My travel companion had the sampler plate—four mini versions of their desserts—and I was jealous.

The nibbling. There’s also a 24-hour International Café with good quality sandwiches, quiches and desserts, and pizza thought to be the best at sea.

Watching

The shows. Princess has upped its game significantly on its production shows and two in particular were terrific. “Encore” had a romantic, old-world set with tunes both familiar and new, with a bit of opera thrown in. But the best was “The Secret Silk,” which featured a sweet story, amazingly elaborate and colorful costumes, constantly changing interesting sets with an Asian theme and unique puppetry. All showcased Broadway quality singers.

The movies. Movies Under the Stars (MUTS) is like a drive-in without the car (but with better audio!). This trip, they were showing “Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again,” among others. Snuggle up under their red plaid blanket on a padded lounger, load up on free popcorn and you’ve got yourself a different way to do the night.

The fountains. While some complain that the fountains take up precious pool space, they are fun to watch. The water spurts out every which way, in color and to music, with the movie screen doing something or other in the background.

Playing

The Royal Princess has some great activities, such as an inexpensive wine tasting ($9.50), interesting lecture by a ship officer on navigation (here’s a tidbit: life boat capacity on the ship well exceeds the capacity of passengers plus crew), galley tour and behind-the-scenes event by the production show staff. These last two events were offered free—there’s often a charge on other cruise lines.

You’ll also find the usual cruise events—game shows, contests, bingo, ice sculpture demo, karaoke, dance lessons—as well as the spa, casino, etc.

And then…Princess’ mini-suite can cost not much more than a balcony if you time your trip right…Horizon Court buffet is well staffed with waiters who will bring beverages such as orange juice, coffee and water to your table…The buffet is open with a full dinner until 11 p.m.…the balloon drop on the second formal night in the ship's stunning piazza was a colorful and lively party combining bopping to music with balloon popping…music around the ship varied from steel drums to solo guitar…there was a wedding chapel tailor-made for vow renewals…

In fact, there’s quite a lot to like about Princess. And it’s why we find ourselves on the line again and again.

Musing's Top Tip: For more quips and tips, visit us on Facebook and Instagram!

The Truth About the Food

Let’s face it. A big part of cruising is the food. The joy of eating what you want, when you want. No muss! No fuss! No cooking! No clean up!

But to get this privilege, we have to bend on quality. And settle for quantity instead. Some food for thought when next you dine on the mass market sea:

If you’re feeding an army, how good can it be? If you ever go on a galley tour, you’ll hear how many eggs cruisers consume, how many pounds of potatoes and all the rest. You can’t help but be impressed with the vast quantities of stuff we ingest. In short, when they’re cranking out so many meals, they’re not likely to lovingly and artfully prepare and plate your food.

Ready to load onto your main dining room salad

Forget medium well. Our waiter on Celebrity once told us we have two choices for our Beef Wellington: rare or well done. You can generally get accommodation for special health needs, but want food made to order? Go to a specialty restaurant.

They take shortcuts. Wouldn’t you, with thousands of hungry mouths to feed? On one galley tour, I witnessed a crew member emptying a bag of frozen fries into hot oil.

The galley tour on the Caribbean Princess had some surprises

Some of the best food is at the buffets. Since the main dining room has to cater to average tastes, the food can’t be too seasoned or spicy. What you end up with is bland. But since the buffet offers so many choices, they can include some really different stuff. I’ve had a few dishes that were so terrific on Royal Caribbean, I tried to recreate them (unsuccessfully) at home.

An eye-popping chocolate-lover's dream--in Harmony of the Seas' Windjammer buffet

Want fine dining? You’ll have to pay for it. We resisted the specialty restaurants for years. After all, we reasoned, we’re already paying to be fed in the cost of the cruise. But in the end, our hunger for better food forced us to open our wallets. And what we found is that not only is the food much better, but so is the service.

Melt-in-your-mouth squash soup at Harmony of the Seas' 150 Central Park

The little spot that could—and does. Think Oasis class’ Park Café. Celebrity’s Aqua Spa Café. Princess’ International Café. These alternatives deliver great bang for no extra bucks.

Goodies awaiting your appetite at Regal Princess' International Cafe

In the end, no matter whether we find ourselves served by waiters or serving ourselves, dining dressed up or dressed down, we’re going to be well fed. Few are the folks who can claim they lost weight on a cruise!

Photos by R James Photography

Ah, Shipboard Credit!

That wad of money burning a hole in our cargo shorts’ pocket! How do you get some? And what do you do with it once you get it? Oh, the possibilities!

Let’s start with:

How can you get some

Watch the cruise line promotions. These come via email if you sign up on their websites. Don’t feel like filling up your inbox? Stop by their site from time to time—the sales are often blazoned across their homepage (Princess) or can be found under a menu category such as Deals (Royal Caribbean).

Be a member of the military. Princess will thank you by giving you credit for current or past service. You’ll need to send proof of eligibility, such as a military verification certificate. (Retired military requirement is a minimum of 20 years of service.)

Become an owner. Royal Caribbean (RCI) will give you credit for being a shareholder (you need at least 100 shares). Note there’s a form you need to send along with proof of ownership (proxy card or broker statement).

Ask your travel agent. They’re often willing to give you onboard credit, but you usually have to ask. My line goes like this: “Is there any shipboard credit available with this cruise?”

Booking onboard. If you book a cruise while you’re already on one, its’ more than likely shipboard credit will be thrown in as an extra inducement for your commitment.

Get credit two ways. Sign up for a RCI Visa® credit card and they throw in onboard credit of $100.

Refer a friend. Royal Caribbean will give Crown & Anchor loyalty club members $25 onboard credit for each stateroom your friends book on your cruise. They have to be first-time cruisers to qualify. Register for the credit by logging into Crown & Anchor on RCI’s website and selecting Bring a Friend.

How much is it?

The amounts usually vary by the length of your trip; generally $25-75 per person during promotions for a seven-day cruise.

The fun part

How are you going to spend it? Practically any way you choose! Consider:

Getting slathered and soothed in the ship’s spa…

Dining à la deux with a specialty meal…

Keeping up with the scores with Internet service…

Having someone else do your laundry (boring!)…

Getting Labadoozied at RCI’s Haitian Labadee…

Enjoying your java with something a bit stronger…

Posing in your finest and having it framed… 

Getting the DVD that’s way better than what you did with your smartphone…

Learning to shake not stir or steer the ship…

Parasailing over the sea or scuba diving underneath it…

Drinking when the sun comes up and when it goes down…

Ordering a celebration package to do up your stateroom in style…

Buying some trinkets in the ship store for the folks you left behind…

Or bringing some home just for you!

The best part

You have to use it—or you lose it!

Menu Driven: Doing the Specialty Dining Package on Allure of the Seas

After 20 Caribbean cruises, including three on Oasis class, we felt we’d done it all—and eaten it all.

So on our recent Allure of the Seas trip, we set out to find something new to do, driven by our longing for appealing food. The answer came in a package—a specialty dining package.

Why go specialty? For desserts like this from 150 Central Park

You might ask:

Why go specialty at all? In short, the food’s better than the main dining room (MDR). Way better. So is the service. And the ambience.

Is it right for me? Specialty dining is especially great for:

•          Veteran cruisers hungry to spice up their next trip
•          Foodies in search of better quality
•          Romantics looking for more intimate dining
•          Celebrants who want to commemorate an event

Why package it up? If you dine out one time, you pay top dollar. Chops Grille is now $49 a person. A dining package brings the price per meal down a lot. On Oasis class, you can get a three-, four- or five-night package. We did the five night at $115 a person, which brought the per meal price to $23.

How the package works:

Signing up

You can do it with your travel agent, or with Royal Caribbean on the phone or online before you leave or once you’re on the ship. Note: You’ll set a time for each meal, but you’re not locked in to it.

Plan your shows first. The cruise line won’t let you select a dining time that’s within two hours of your show. (Fyi, several of our meals went a full two hours.)

Chops Grille for steak on the Allure's Central Park

Making your dining choices

Once onboard, it’s like on land. There's actually quite a lot of flexibility. You choose where you want to eat on what day, in any of the restaurants and as many times as you want. You can even change the time if they have openings. (We were able to get just about any time, any place on any day.)  

You can make reservations on the same day you’re dining or in advance. They can be made at any restaurant in person, by phone or your stateroom TV. Note: One of your meals must be on night 1 or 2 of the trip.

A little bit of Italy at Giovanni's Table

There's even some flexibility with the menu. At Chops, diners next to us loaded up on multiple appetizers. At 150 Central Park, though there was no ice cream on the menu, the waiter brought us some from Chops.

Few more tidbits

•          Tips – They’re included in your overall trip gratuities
•          Drinks – What cost extra in the MDR cost extra in the restaurant
•          Dress – “Smart casual” (although diners tend to get more dressed up)

What’s the food really like?

Note first that taste is a subjective thing, and that quality can vary by who’s doing the cooking and by what you choose. That being said, here was my experience:

Chops Grille – The onion soup was very good. The 9 oz. filet mignon was cooked just right, and we were offered a choice of three flavorful sauces, as well as a number of potato and veggie side dish options. The “liquid center chocolate cake” was a small satisfying delicate cake, sort of like a sponge cake, but with deep chocolate flavor, and a mellow chocolate sauce poured over it with a scoop of ice cream and caramelized bananas on the side.

 

The filet mignon was hearty and tasty at Chops Grille

Giovanni’s Table – The osso buco was wonderful with a great taste and fork-tender. The filet mignon rivaled the one at Chops, and the meaty lasagna was also quite good. Desserts are typical Italian restaurant fare—tiramisu, cannelloni—as well as a few others. (If you’re a chocoholic, you’ll need to get dessert somewhere else.)

 

150 Central Park: intimate, romantic with stellar service too

150 Central Park – The food is continental-meets-nouvelle cuisine, but more continental than nouvelle. The squash soup was so velvety and sweet that I wanted to lick the bowl. The lobster gnocchi and short rib were also great, but the pièce de résistance was the chocolate bourbon tart. The fudgy inside was topped with spiced pecans, cranberry chutney and whipped cream, creating a bittersweet/sweet/spicy explosion of flavors. The place was also library-quiet and uber romantic, with its plush high back chairs and couches.

 

Smooth as silk, sweet as squash at 150 Central Park

Other specialty restaurants on Allure: Samba Grill (Brazilian steak house) Izumi (hibachi and sushi) and Sabor (Mexican).

The bottom line

If you want an overall better dining experience at the cost of—say, one excursion—consider a specialty dining package. It “beefed” up our cruise and will most likely do the same for you. 

Musing’s Top Tips: If you're thinking about a specialty dining package on an Oasis class cruise, check out Musing About Cruising's YouTube video to help you decide if it's right for you. Just click below and play:

Here’s another: For more easy planning and keeping track of your busy schedule, before leaving home, make a chart with separate columns for the shows, and where you’re dining and when. Also factor in the days in port and the hours you'll be there.

Note: All restaurant menus and prices are subject to change.