LaraTiara

One month and 12 days is just 9 days of layered clothing repeated for us - well mix and match so we didn't get tired of any one outfit. We've traveled 4 months in Great Britain/Europe/Africa (weather covered all 4 seasons) with a backpack and a small carry on each (the small wheeled IKEA suitcase) with no problems. Didn't carry formal clothes, carried our jackets (which had a zip out lighter jacket) or tied them on to the backpacks when not wearing them - that was one of the biggest problems - had to make sure they stayed attached during train changes. And, when we bought souvenirs, we shipped some home and then left a few clothes behind to make room for the others.

 

 

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That's great, and many of us have done that as travelers and backpackers. Yet cruising into formal night attire -if that's part of one's cruise vacation- requires a bit of fashion strategy..

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Welcoming CC port authorities here!

Below are the excursion ports, aside from Brooklyn, on the 7-day RT NYC on Regal.

Any advice from fellow cruisers who have rented a car - or for that matter those who could envision renting a car in these ports -

Newport RI

Boston

Bar Harbor

Saint John

Halifax

We wonder if navigating our own "autumn color tours" might be feasible, rather than booking tours. We have rented cars on port days abroad, why not New England.

Thanks. ⚓️

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$2-5 - depending if it's just coffee or a little more they've carried for us. I generally bring a stack of dollar bills along for this purpose.

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Thanks for sharing your cruise review - especially loved your photos of the Hampshire countryside. It's England just showing off, I realise. Nice eye you have though [emoji2]

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I agree with SKNight's comments above about the advantages of the Crown and that class of smaller ship, and also wanted to mention the Promenade Deck 7, which we love for walking and sitting.

It seems to depend upon which type of cruiser you are - which segment are you as you book - if you are motivated by itinerary, ships, deals, service, or season..

We are motivated by itinerary and we were pressed to choose, we prefer the Crown class ships to Royal/Regal larger ship. We were just on both and have no complaints.

(Either way, we cruised with friends on another line last month and what we saw aboard there made Crown GLEAM, so there's no jumping ship for us..).

Finally - we have cruised once over NYE, and there was a ballon drop in the piazza. [emoji324]

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Here was our experience with this situation on Royal last month. It coincides with what has been stated above in the policy.

We went to CG without a reservation on the first formal night, but I had a prepaid reservation for a forthcoming night later on. Later the next day we decided to cancel the prepaid if it was possible, over 24 hours prior to the booking, and were credited back to our stateroom account.

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Yes Mocktails. There's a massive spreadsheet with a mocktail drink list here on CC. There are nearly a dozen you can order, not just the Nojito and classic virgins.

The soda-only package is obsolete, I believe..

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You will be fine with 12:30 out of FLL - but this does depend upon you disembarking at the suggested time.

And also - are you TSA pre check? May be worth it to apply online and interview, and become pre check. That'll save you time at the airport.

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Love this thread and the detailed packing ideas mentioned. This is how we pack to travel and cruise also, and depending upon location and climate of ports, it can be a challenge... formal night always takes up most of my space, it seems - and shoes.

Oh those shoes!! For me it's a pair of birks, fancy blingy flip flops, fancy flats, running shoes for the gym, and formal heels - and I rarely end up wearing the heels [emoji79]

SUCH ship problems [emoji44]

But in the end, I'm with all of you light packers - it's truly worth it to travel with only a small carry on roller Board and a hand bag... Never an issue with lost luggage, no slowing down in transit at bag claim or enroute, etc etc...

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It's like the cruise card, except it's waterproof and can be worn as a bracelet. It's a keycard as stated.

Soon enough Carnival Corp will roll out digital technology related to our smart phones. That technology will then link your individualized onboard purchasing metrics with your identity.

Not yet, but it's coming. Even now, major Hotel chains have room keys that can be accessed by smart phones. Carnival Corp who owns 55% of the industry market share will roll this out.

The younger market will love it.

For now, it's an improved cruise card. We have to crawl into the 21st century before we can walk and run.

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Princess did not allow disembarkation at a tender port. Without Puerto Madryn as a stop on that cruise, it was Ushuaia, Montevideo, or Buenos Aires. You could always see if Princess policy has changed.

 

 

 

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Thanks for this helpful information. Good to know.

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Thank you both for these replies, they're insightful.

DH is Concierge Key with Amer Air so changes with any ticket are not an issue for him, and I found that PUQ has an inbound itinerary that maximizes our cruise time together. That was why I opted for Chile, not an Argentina disembarkation. But those two ports will probably be the best options, as I had walked through this scenario with PCL and those were the ports we came up with also.

We don't really see it as him leaving the trip early - we see it as him taking as much time possible (11 days) to join my parents on a trip they'd like to take with us. We probably aren't very practical, since they didn't offer to pay. ...!! But we did want to cruise with them [emoji307]

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Questions for those who have sailed around the Cape. What's been your experience in getting to all ports? Which month did you sail? Did you hear or see anyone leave ship early?

Traveling the 14-day BA to Santiago in March with parents (retired) and DH (not retired). Will probably shorten husband's journey (possible to process through PCL), and he will disembark at PUQ to return to USA. It's the last non-tender.

Will he make it to shore to catch a plane is my question, I suppose [emoji2] I realize none of you can predict the weather, but I'm curious to hear any similar Cape experiences, good bad or otherwise! All replies are welcome. Thanks!

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We thought Liam was the best Crooner entertainer we have heard, yet. Cheery and talented - not scripted nor snoozy.

We were on late March also, and we went to crooners each night. He had said he'd just boarded. He played a variety of Irish requests, country, and covers for the usual - Elton/Joel/Eagles/Denver/Adele/Coldplay... sold CDs and took requests.

I've watched on previous cruises pianists turn down eager women who had song requests. Not Liam. He was engaged with the crowd each night. They loved him. Standing ovation the final night should say it all.

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We have taken 3 Christmas cruises. The timing with the kids' differing school holidays and their study abroad/summer work & school schedules is what dictates the Christmas getaway planning. They were in high school and university and it was the best option.

Anyway, the ships are decorated beautifully and we all enjoyed watching the multi-generational groups on board. We sailed Crown, Emerald, and Caribbean respectively and all were filled with seasonal entertainment and activities the entire cruise.

The ships are all at capacity at that time of year.

But having said that, our repetition on these sailings is because we all enjoy them. Hope you do too! ⚓️

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I had a pedicure in the salon, but I thought it was less than what was posted, maybe $79 USD. Not sure, sorry. But I don't think it was over $100USD. That's not even sane.

Like the others, it's something I prefer to do back at home, before setting sail. I needed to do it because we had been away awhile and I hadn't done it before we vacationed due to work, but I won't do it that way twice. It took up too much time (for my liking). I prefer to use sailing time doing other pastimes.

If you're in a desperate toenail situation on board (which it sounds like the OP is not), one can alternatively buy a bottle of OPI polish in the Duty Free and just paint toes themselves as a solution..

My college girls did that, instead of spending port time planted in a salon. ⚓️

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I am looking at a 5 day Crown Princess next March to Grand Turk and Amber cove. I would be booking a club class mini-suite. It is comparable to a couple of other cruises I am considering' date=' but the Crown reviews are usually bad. How is the Crown looking recently? And are there any drydocks scheduled?[/quote']

 

 

Rock'n Robin - we sailed this exact itinerary just in March, on Crown. We had a mini suite also.

She was fantastic, our time on board was relaxing and although I can't speak for drydocks or what she'll look like next March, she was luxurious and lovely only recently.

Enjoy!! ⚓️

 

 

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I have not cruised from Japan, but did spend 10 days in Tokyo and Kyoto and it was amazing! Beautiful country! It is worth spending extra time pre or post cruise. Enjoy!:D

Thanks, this is very good to hear. [emoji2]

Grateful we can do it - or at least book it for March 2019 and hope for the best, right!⚓️

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Thanks for the input, much appreciated. I thought that we would want to tour Tokyo on surrounding days.

So I booked it.

I know, it's crazy (to some) to do so far in advance, but it is what works best for us.

Thanks again everyone. ⚓️

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Hi fellow cruisers -

Any recommendations for the embarkation port in Japan (or Taiwan)? Please explain how you reached your decision, if you could.

Researching a spring 2019 8-day on Diamond.

Thanks in advance!

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Great review! I haven't been on CC in ages, maybe 4 cruises back, but just thought I'd jump on today to see if any cruisers wrote a review of our recent little cruise, and clearly I hit a jackpot with the giggles and grins from your thread. Thanks for sharing, M/M Winks.

Was also on this short cruise with y'all. I reunited with childhood friends, persuaded them to cruise on PCL as they're also loyal Royals.. Have fuzzy alcohol-induced memories of Princess Theatre, Vines and Crooners as we utilized the AIBP. I went easy comparatively, and was never toes-down, but still....!!

Weather didn't cooperate much for us that week, did it? Yet any day at sea beats a day off from work!! Even a faux port..! A terrific time on board, I did think the Princess dancers' 2 shows were brilliant.

Happy cruising - hope to sea y'all around. ⚓️

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We're in Group 1, just boarded!!! [emoji322][emoji322][emoji322][emoji568][emoji572]️

Wish84, thank you for a further explanation...Appreciated!! [emoji106]

If you pre-order the liquor, the tip will be included. They put the slip in your stateroom and you have to call room service to get the alcohol. This is so that they can be sure your are old enough to receive it. I have always had prompt service when I called. I tip the crew member a few dollars for bringing it. In most US ports you will be charged sales tax for that area.

 

 

 

The once BOGO is gone now and it is BOGO for $1. Only difference of course is that $1. It usually is in a lounge such as Fusion or Wheelhouse etc from 3 to 4 pm and skywalkers from 11 to 12. Great deal for the pax. Warning though the afternoon happy hour can be extremely crowded making it hard to even get in let alone order.

 

 

 

If you sail out of Texas be aware that due to Texas liquor laws (regressive IMO), the beer/wine/liquor available will be extremely limited and they may not be able to deliver your purchase until you are in international waters (several hours). This is because Texas only allows the ship to sell alcohol that was bought in Texas. Since that is expensive for the ship, they choose to not buy a lot of it for a few hours sales. Any pax debarking from the ship in Texas and carrying liquor purchased from the ship or port of call, will be required to pay Texas liquor tax which for hard liquor I believe is $3/bottle. This does not make any difference whether you are a Texas resident or a UK resident. Everyone pays the tax. Like I said earlier, very regressive and anti-tourist IMO.

Just wanted to mention an explanation about Texas liquor tax. Many counties in southern states are still dry or semi-dry counties, with strict limitations on alcohol sales. Texas is no exception. The county we live in only began selling alcohol less than 10 years ago, and hard liquor just in the past 18 months. And yes, we live outside one of the major cities. I realize this is different than other parts of the U.S. and other countries, but while you are a guest in our fine state, please keep in mind that we have a chance to vote and make changes.

So if you can vote on alcohol taxation and sales in Texas, great. If not, please enjoy your visit. But I wholeheartedly disagree with the comment that we are regressive and anti-tourist. For many reasons unrelated to the beer thread [emoji3]

Hi All!

From the CC browsing, I see there are a variety of ways to celebrate embarkation day. We usually have a bottle of champagne and chill the remainder for the next day...

What are your favorite ways to celebrate a sail away?