Therese S.

Thank you everyone for your responses and especially to PescadoAmarillo for your long detailed list. I have printed it out as a reminder. All the help and tips have convinced me not to worry, so I went ahead and booked the 54 day RT from LA to Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand on the Island Princess. Just typing out the ports makes me excited! IP is not my favorite ship, but you book the ship that goes where you want to go! I have two years to plan, where to board the cats, son will check on house once a week and get mail. I also plan to set up all remaining bills on direct pay from checking account. I will leave the decision of turning off water, water heater, etc to the husband. We're now on board with maybe flying since it's such a short flight, but I'm gonna need some anxiety pills to get onboard or perhaps Amtrak. Just know that I dont want to drive and leave my car unattended for so long. Thank you again and happy cruising

I also dislike the Island P for the same reasons you mention. Was on her once before they added all the cabins and once after. We were upgraded to an oceanview on the fiesta deck aft section (the added cabins) area and really not happy with it. The cabin shook so much the full length mirror came off the wall. I also said never again on the Island, but just booked her for the 54 day RT LA to Hawaii, Tahiti, Australia, New Zealand. I read elsewhere that the Island is going in for refurbishment in 2024. Sure hope they add an international cafe.

Ive been having the same problem logging on all day and get the same message.

Unfortunately I don't fly, that's the main reason we are interested in the LA round trip. I'm going to look into how Amtrak works and renting a car one way.

Thank you, I would never thought of turning the water off

We are booked on the Grand for 33 days next year sailing to Hawaii and the Soiuth Pacific. I love the Grand especially the pool in the aft. Ive been trying to figure out what to do with our pets, paying bills, worried about the house for so long , and more important paying for that many days of parking as we plan to drive to San Pedro. Well now we’re seriously considering cancelling this cruise and taking the even longer 54 day on the Island Princess to the South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia cruise in 2026, thats adding on 21 more days Whew. Now my head spins just thinking about how to handle things at home. The parking cost for that many days could pay for another cruise! I think this is a once in a lifetime chance for us to see ports we probably would never think about visiting. We have taken a 28 day before and it was difficult for our son to watch our pets, check on the house for that long with working, etc. So how do you long many days cruisers handle life that goes on at home? Do you drive to the port and pay for daily parking? We love sea days so those don't bother me its just being away from home for so long. Has anyone taken Amtrak from Sacramento area to San Pedro?

Thank you for this information. I was wondering where the folks who purchase the plus and premier plans were getting their morning coffee. The international cafe is so popular with Princess cruisers I’m surprised they haven’t found a location to establish a full IC. I don’t purchase either plan, but do enjoy a coupe of lattes per day. Does this location also serve morning donuts and afternoon soups and sandwiches?

I agree, the IC is one of my favorite venues provided by Princess. Seems like they could find an area to add one. We’re thinking about booking the 54 day Hawaii/South Pacific/New Zealand/Austrailia cruise in April 2026. Was so disappointed to see its on the Island. We’ve been on her twice, once before remodeling and once after. Not only did they add all the cabins where the theater/lounge was they took out the sanctuary pool. They added all those cabins but no international cafe, bad decision! Where do people get coffee without having to go to the buffet?

We also drink a lot of water and pre-purchase multiples of the package of 12. I used to always get swollen ankles and fingers whenever we cruised, Once I started purchasing our own water the problem has gone away. I’m always reminded that the water on the ship is fine to drink, but feel there’s too much sodium in it.

The coffee package is the item I miss the most, and on long trips I would buy two! I was not impressed by the Lavazza brew in the buffet. Still bitter A latte in the IC was $4 plus 18% tips total $4.72 per cup. Not a bad deal. Oh and still miss the free internet minutes! I need a package for daily tips, internet and coffee. That I would buy

I'm one of those people that hates to pay for things I used to get for free. But in the case of paying $10 for the medallion we went the easy route this time and paid for shipping. Carrying on two bottles of wine, a six pack of sodas, husband carrying on his Cpap and diet tonic water it was worth it to us to breeze though the line and straight to our cabin to unload. I was really surprised at how long the lines were for those picking up their medallions at the port. Reminded me of the old days of waiting for your cruise card. After security screening and because we were green lane with our medallion we were onboard very quickly. If Princess raises the shipping fee in the future I will have to rethink it.

You’re right.,,got on board yesterday no QR code needed. Green lane and medallion is all you need. We walked right on, biggest line/wait for us was the security area scanning bags. Was very surprised at how crowded it was for those that either were in the blue lane or preferred to pick up their medallion at the port. It was packed! Reminded me of past years when we all stood in Disney type lines to get our cruise card.

I'm in the green lane...my ipad shows the QR code but my Iphone does not and nothing I do seems to bring it up. Is the QR code really necessary to board?

Thank you everyone for your help and tips. I'm very new to Uber. We've been to the San Pedro cruise port multiple times but always boarding for the start of a cruise, never a port stop. Its always seems so crazy and hectic. Still hoping we clear the waitlist

We are doing the 7 day CA Coastal from SF on the Crown and have been wait-listed for two months now for an excursion to the Getty Center in LA. In case we dont clear the wait list when we board on Sunday, I'm trying to make a backup plan. Questions - Are Uber's allowed into the LA San Pedro Cruise port? When using the Uber app to get an estimate of cost, two addresses for the cruise port pop up- one listed as 100 Swinford St San Pedro, the other 425 S Palos Verdes St San Pedro. Which is the correct address for Uber pickup? Any suggestions for the best place to wait? Should we go out onto the street or stay at the terminal? Thank you

Welcome back and thank you for your posts. We board the Crown next Sunday. So what is this Princess Bangle bracelet you mentioned in a previous post? Is it worth standing in line for? Cost?

It is Dravuni..thank you for the tip.

We did the Hawaii/Tahiti 28 day round trip from LA in March 2019, still my top cruise. Snorkeling in Bora Bora and Moorea was amazing and we’re going back next year for the 33 day on the Grand which includes two new ports of Fiji and Raitiea. After doing 28 days, adding on another 5 days for 3 additional ports is easy.

Last week I purchased internet for my upcoming cruise through the Princess app at $7.50 per day for those that are platinum or higher. Look for MedallionNet on the app

Thank you all for your help on this. I learned something today. I always thought control P was the same as print screen. When attempting to use Control P to print screen it wasn't picking up the item Crew Appreciation Pre Payment has been paid that I wanted to print. After looking my keyboard over... lo and behold there's a print screen button Duh! Oh the things we forget when we retire!

For my last 3 cruises we had enough onboard credit to cover most of the daily tips so we didn't prepay in advance. We have a 7 day cruise coming up and this time no onboard credits, so today I prepaid the gratuities through my Princess account. Shouldn't I get an email as proof of payment? I like to have all my documents in order of any prepaid items such as excursions, water, soda, alcohol etc just in case of any hiccups. I have verified the charge hit our VISA today and I'm still waiting for an email receipt that I can print as proof and take with me. I never leave anything to chance and like to be prepared. Do you normally get an email receipt from Princess when you prepay the gratuities?

Do you remember what movies were playing in Movies Under the Stars?

Thank you so much for your detailed answer, I understand how it works now. We are looking at booking a drop and Go rate for a 7day cruise and choosing the bare bottom rate this time, princess books your room, but states deposit is non-refundable. We’re taking a chance on what room we’ll end up in, but never cruise without insurance no matter how close to home we are. Once husband broke his ankle 3 weeks before cruise he needed surgery and screws to stabilize it. Had no insurance, husband says we’re going no matter what, he spent most of the trip in the cabin on pain pills.

Good to hear your refund was posted so quickly. If I book a cruise with a non-refundable deposit but have Princess Platinum insurance, then have to cancel for an approved reason, would I get all money back including deposit? OR If I use cancel using “Cancel for Any reason”. Would I get all money back including deposit as a FCC? Tried to use Live chat this morning but gave up after a while.

We are booked on this awesome 33 day Hawaii/Tahiti/Fiji itinerary and have no concerns with the Grand Princess age or condition. We sailed a similar itinerary on the Star Princess in 2019 just before it was sold. We were on the Grand in 2016 and honestly I dont really see much difference between all of the Princess ships Ive been on. Here on the West Coast we normally get the older ships so guess that's what I'm used to. Recently sailed on the Ruby and after a while they look pretty much the same. What I look for is the size, (dont want too big) a walk around promenade and a pool in the aft. That back pool becomes my balcony when booking inside cabins. The price for this 33 day itinerary is very reasonable when compared to the 32 day Hawaii/Tahiti. I would say if the ship is the only thing holding you back go ahead and book it, can always cancel if something better comes along.