sue2go

12 minutes ago, LaRue1975 said:

It is not easy to find the place to cancel online but I’ll try and break it down:

Log in and go to your cruise planner.

Scroll down and click on Booking order and details.

Scroll down and click on View Balance Details.

Scroll down and click on View Cancellation Information.

Click on Cancel Booking.

 

You almost need a GPS system to find it, good luck! 

 

Thank you so much!  Just forwarded this information to her - hope she is able to get it to work.  

My neighbor is trying desperately to get someone on the phone to cancel her upcoming cruise.  She says there is no place online to cancel (she booked directly thru Carnival).  Any tips for her to get in touch with someone other than the number on the website or information on how to cancel online?  Thanks in advance. 

Thanks all for the great advice - we will get one at the pool the day before (and use 1 card), as our excursion is at 9:30.  Looking forward to our kayak adventure in St. Croix!

If you are going on a RCI excursion that says to bring a towel from the ship will they check one out to us at the meeting spot or do we have to do that before we meet?  Thanks in advance!

I need a fan also, and bought this one.  I took it on a road trip and the batteries lasted about a week running it all night.  

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001B16VT6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

11 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Thank you.  I really think it was just that one day that was a problem.

 

Roy

OOOPS - so sorry I got your name a bit wrong.  Thank you ROY!  🙂

Ray - thank you SO much for taking time to share your cruise with us.  It's a great read and we can't wait to board in January.  You  mentioned internet issues once, but has it mostly been "ok enough" for you?  

Hope you have some wonderful weather and relaxing sea days!

Sue

Following your travels - we are doing this cruise in Jan.... can't wait to hear more!  Thank you for doing a live!

This is giving me all the chuckles this morning! And I read the comments to my husband who "let" me read it to him - HAHAHAHA!

I have never had an internet package, however for our Jan cruise I did get a sip and surf package. Sip because I love me some seltzer, and surf because I will have a new grandchild just before we sail! My daughter is due Dec 31, so I NEED to stay in touch! Sorry, Grandma will be wired this cruise.

We fall into that older demographic (63 & 71 though young at heart) and will be sailing her in January. Since it is just the 2 of us, and we don't mind waiting for a bit or being seated with others sounds like we will be just fine going with the flow. And if there's a backlog that looks to be a long wait we'll hit the windjammer! Thanks again for the info.

Thanks all - we don't mind sharing, and are happy to wait a bit... just want to have the freedom to show up when it's convenient and enjoy dinner. Thanks for the reassurance!

We are not frequent cruisers - have cruised on Celebrity, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. Will be on our second RCI cruise in Jan. out of Baltimore on Grandeur. We have signed up for MTD, and expect to not make reservations - show up when we want to have dinner and hope that we can be seated in a reasonable amount of time (say 20 min or so). Are we foolish not to make reservations? It seems contrary to MTD to make reservations to me....

Hi Anna - I'd love to chat too - did you sign up for the meet and mingle? Maybe we can connect there. See you in Jan! And I'll keep watching for a soda and surf package, but if I can't find a mix I'll just prepurchase the surf and stream closer to the sail date.

So... I've never purchased an internet package before, but I JUST found out my daughter is pregnant and is due about 2 weeks before our cruise. So the price of our cruise just went up because I want to be in touch this time! I'm only seeing one internet package for our sailing - but it's way early yet. I've heard about internet + soda which isn't shown. It's too early to buy anyway because it's early... but should I expect to see the best prices and perhaps a package combined with soda closer to sailing (Grandeur of the Seas Jan 12)? Best to purchase pre-cruise? Thanks for any feedback you can provide.

Signed excited expectant Grandma! :hearteyes:

Thanks for your review. sounds like you had a great time.

We will be on the Coral in April and have booked the Embera Indian excursion. I am a little concerned now that you mention that is not where they took you. Can you give a few details about your excursion? did you still ride in canoes? How long was the excursion? Thanks.

We had booked the excursion long before our cruise. When we got into our cabin there was a sheet of information saying that due to the low water levels the tour operator had informed them they would be going to an alternate village. Yes, we still rode in canoes, and I would still do the excursion again - I really did enjoy it. However the canoe ride was shorter. The excursion was still about the same amount of time - a long bus ride through the country to the Chagras Park, where we had an opportunity to use the rest rooms before going to meet the canoes. Then to the village, where we were met by Emberra people who assisted folks up the hill while others played traditional instruments. Then the talk about their life and history, lunch of plantains and tilapia, a dance demonstration, and the opportunity to walk around and to purchase some of their wares. It was really the same, just closer and I had read not quite as "authentic" as the other village. We were given the opportunity to rebook if we chose to do something else but we still went and were not sorry we did. It was a good excursion. You just won't know until close to time to go if the water level permits going further into the forest to the originally scheduled village. The main complaint I had was with the lack of ability to communicate effectively in English on the guide's part.

Thanks so much for the review! It's encouraging to see such positive comments about the Island. Can you tell us where you were able to use your card for brewed coffee? We sail on her in May and can't wait!!

La Patisserie on deck 5 - opens at 6 am. Nice folks there. I understand you can also get brewed at bars... but when we were at bars we were not drinking coffee so I can't confirm that. Also may be able to get it in the Horizon Court, but we would go grab a cup and take it with us to breakfast. Enjoy your cruise!!

Thanks to all here at CC for their tips and help in my planning for our Panama Canal cruise on the Island Princess! Here's a quick review.

We arrived in San Pedro the day before our cruise and stayed at the Crowne Plaza which was perfect for us. Lunch and dinner were at San Pedro Brewing Co which we loved, and breakfast at Grinders before boarding.

Embarkation - quick and well organized. Arrived at noon, on the ship and in our balcony stateroom (B527) at 1:30.

Cabin - B527. Very comfortable! Loved the location, close to midship. Met our steward (Sammung) who took great care of us. Requested a top sheet, but did not have to ask for extra pillows (had 4 already) or to have our balcony opened to join our friends next door, as it had not yet been closed from the previous cruise. Loved having that to visit while sitting on our balcony.

Ship - having never sailed her we didn't have the pre-change shock many have expressed. We found her to be in great shape. We enjoyed walking the 7th deck and were not upset to have to cut thru to complete the loop due to the new cabins. Racked up many steps there.

Anytime Dining - our group of 4 arrived at various times and with the exception of the second night never had to wait to be seated. That night, an hour with a beeper before a table was ready. Most often we said we would sit with others and enjoyed meeting new friends. Toward the end of the cruise, we opted to be seated at a table for 4 more often (tiring of making similar small talk night after night) and again no problem.

Ditching formal - we didn't do formal nights and never felt out of place. One night we dined at the Bayou (nice dinner but almost nobody there at 6:30), one night in the Horizon Court, and one night pizza and salad in our cabin via room service.

Activities on board - LOVED zumba. LOVED Movies under the stars. Attended several shows and enjoyed them - mostly the song and dance stuff. One comedy show was only OK for me - laughed at about half of it. On the Bayou was WONDERFUL! Really a great show - done in the Princess Theater very well. Attended a few talks - good. LOVED Pop Choir. If you are inclined JUST DO IT. We had so much fun and did 2 performances - one Sound of Music and one pop tunes.

Crowding? Never had problems but showed up early to shows (30 min or so). Never had a problem getting a lounge chair on 14 or 15. Horizon court could be crowded at peak times and the theater did get full.

Ultimate Balcony Dinner - AMAZING! Food was great, service was stellar, and it was well worth the $$. Booked via room service for the night we were in Panama before the canal day. Good choice for us.

Coffee report - got the coffee card and was happy we did for the brewed. Husband enjoyed a few specialty teas and coffees as well, but for me it was worth the price just for the brewed coffee. Did have the other in the Horizon Court a couple of times - not awful, not great.

Soda card - I love club soda, so preordered a soda only card and it was honored despite disappearing before the cruise for purchase. When our friends asked about it instead of soda and more, they were told it could be purchased by going to the service desk on deck 5. I was able to take my own (larger) Tervis tumbler and they would happily fill it for me.

Guatemala - did Antiqua on your own. Picked up a local guide - $10 per person for a 6 person tour upon getting off the bus. Many available - just pick one. Happy we did, showed us a lot and took the worry of finding our way around away. Showed us things we would not have seen wandering on our own.

Costa Rica - did Princess's POAS volcano. Favorite excursion, favorite port! It was clear, we had a great view and a wonderful guide. Loved lunch (strawberry juice was to die for) and Sarchi was fun too.

Panama - Emberra Village via Princess. Had to do Parara Puru due to low water levels which I knew was not "as authentic" but we decided to stick with it. Guide was not good for this one. English was so poor that at first I thought he was not speaking English. His mic was not working properly, cutting in and out. Once we go to the village and were being given info in Spanish by the Emberra representative, the guide was so poor at translating the Emberra fellow said (in perfect English) OK I'm going to help him out and proceeded to tell us the info in (again) perfect English! However we did enjoy this visit, just not exactly what I was hoping for. Still very nice.

The Canal - amazing, long day, glad we did the full transit. Each lock to me had it's own distinct personality. So glad we did this.

Colombia - did Princess Fort & old town. It was OK, but with 3 ships in town it was packed, we didn't always hear our guide and almost lost her once. Spent 20 of our 30 min time in the shopping area in line for a bathroom. Just OK for us.

Aruba - did Trikes Aruba. So. Much. Fun. Saw a lot of the island and had a great time doing it. Nice folks too.

Disembarkation. Not good. We had made our own arrangements so requested a later time to allow those with flights to catch to get the earlier times. We got off an hour and a half after our scheduled time, no information on the reason for the delay, no access to the close in women's room (due to security reasons) and the one that was available one deck up had 2 potties and one was out of order. Not pretty.

Staff - almost all were absolutely great. We did meet a couple here and there who were not but that was very much the exception. Good job treating guests well (and please remember you are a guest - not a boss - and treat the staff with appreciation and respect!)

All in all we were happy with food quality, facilities, activities and would happily cruise Princess again. We are not big cruisers, going about every 5 or 6 years.

So boarding in 5 days, in San Pedro, our first Princess cruise. No email directing us when to board, only the 12:30 - 3 time frame on the luggage tags and itinerary. So I guess we'll just show up and see what happens about noonish? All part of the not receiving emails problem I read about I suppose...

We look forward to meeting you at the M&G Liz!

Thanks for the comforting feedback on anytime. I don't consider 20 or so minutes too long to wait to be seated - especially over a cocktail - and could certainly show up at 6:45 or so (actually would PREFER that time). We board on Feb. 18 and when I return I will post a review here including our experience with anytime.

Thanks for the replies. We really don't want to have fixed, so we'll stick with anytime and be patient - or eat late - or hit the buffet. Glad to hear there are places to grab a glass of wine and hang out while we wait.

We will be embarking on our first Princess cruise and have opted for anytime dining on the Island. I read some people saying how bad the lines are and others don't seem to be that bothered. We don't mind waiting with a beeper for a half hour or so if need be once in a while. Is there a place to grab a glass of wine while sitting and waiting for the beeper to beep?

I plan to Uber for the first time when out in LA for a cruise next month. My daughter sent me an invitation to join, and by accepting that I get $15 off my first ride, and she gets $15 when I use it. There are also other incentives out there to get you to try Uber. With the offer my daughter sent me I had to get that and accept before we signed up for Uber for it to work.

Besides your food choices, decide in advance not to use the elevators... that will give you plenty of extra steps!