loriva

Interesting the different definitions of "port heavy." We really only have four ports in our 8-night cruise. I don't count Quebec City as the ship does not arrive until 2000 hours the night before disembarkation. So that day to me is a "sea" (really river) day. We also do not arrive in Halifax until 1900 hours (and then leave early at 1500 hours the next day) so those days also have substantial time on board. Given Crystal's reputation for enrichment, our offerings look light for so much time sailing. I will go with an open mind, however, and hope to be delighted.

Thanks, Keith. Mr. Eason shows up under the "Entertainment on this Ship" area on that sailing. No magician is listed on our NYC-QC sailing in early October, so I guess that means we are out of luck. Take care,

When you say the "hotel desk" does that mean Reception? Or the Hotel Manager of Serenity? Many thanks,

We were initially scheduled to sail Splendor out of Trieste in October 2023. They changed us to Fusina several months before we sailed. So, watch for possible changes. Sailing out of Fusina is exactly as @Hambagahledescribes.

Hi Karen. We're Elite on Princess who made the escape to Regent in 2021. (Although we do have a booking in December on the CB just to see what it's like sailing from a port a 30-minute drive from our home.) I hope you'll have as wonderful an experience as we have found on Regent. Since making the switch, we have tended to do our research some months before we cruise. Then we are ready to contact our Regent TA at the 30-day mark before our cruise. We receive the full booking onboard benefits from him and then transfer the booking to our big box TA. Based on advice from these boards we take the booking onboard OBC for the CURRENT cruise rather than have it be applied to the newly booked one. As others have said, this uses the value at current prices not future, where it may be devalued. (The wine lunches are our favorite way to spend it. Or you could try the Culinary Arts Kitchen.)

Thank you, Patty. Will be interesting to see what Crystal does for the NYC-QC (and reverse) sailings in September and October. We only have one official "sea" (really St. Lawrence River) day, but two days where we do not put into port until 1900 hours or afterwards. I would consider the latter two as sea days as well, bringing us to a total of three, but we'll see. Thanks to all for your responses and take care,

Thanks again, Keith, for your information and posting. Something I do not see in the Reflections (and perhaps it never appears) is the magic show. Is that still being offered? Enjoy the rest of your time at home,

Inquiring minds want to know--did you find what you were looking for in dining pre-cruise? Any you would recommend?

What is the reason for waiting until Day 3? Do drinks purchased before then stay on your folio or be folded into the package price? (I guess that is more a question of whether the $20 upcharge is retroactive to the day you board?)

We flew a partner airline (ANA) from Tokyo to ORD as one of our legs returning from our Sydney to Singapore sailings on Explorer in January. We were refused entry to the Polaris lounge in ORD eventhough our ANA was codeshared with UAL. The agent said we would have had access had we been on UAL into Chicago--but not when on a partner airline. It might depend on whether UAL has its own flight on the itinerary or not. (We had passes to the normal United Club from one of our credit cards and had to use that instead.)

Depending on your definition of "recently..." We did this on the Caribbean Princess two years ago (August 2022). We asked the Head Waiter in the Coral dining room the day before, he asked us what we liked (meat or all vegetable, spicy or not, etc.) and we had it served the next day. Many of the cooks are Indian, so no problem at all--or at least did not used to be a problem. We did it just for the two of us, but have heard of people planning it for their trivia teams or others they have met. The more people you have at a table, the more different dishes you can get to share.

Realize that this thread was started over a year ago but hope this is one of the things that will be addressed during the dry dock of the Caribbean Princess in October.

The Chancery Rosewood is scheduled to be opened next year. https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/the-chancery-rosewood The USG initially wanted to move the eagle (although it does not fit with the architecture of the new embassy) but the old embassy is a Grade II listed building so limited in the amount of change can be done to its exterior and the eagle was deemed integral to the building. (And it was also part of the name of the pub located in the basement of the old embassy, the Regal Eagle.)

Did the person who told you this say what was to be done during the dry dock?

There used to be a wonderful Italian restaurant on the west side of North Audley Street between Grosvenor Square and Oxford Street, but I'm not seeing it on the map anymore so it may be no more (even the Starbucks at North Audley and Grosvenor appears to be gone.) If you haven't already, you should also check out the food hall in the basement of Marks and Spencer at the corner of Audley and Oxford. Lots of cool British products to discover and a wide selection of ready-to-eat food. You could always gather supplies for a picnic in Grosvenor Square. (The big building on the western end of the square used to be the U.S. Embassy.) Our locals were a bit north of your hotel--in the Marylebone area, not Mayfair. The Volunteer and the Allsop Arms. Also went to The Grazing Goat, a gastropub, which is closer to your hotel.

@scubacruiserx2 noted in her review that crew on the CB confirmed a dry dock occurring in October before its TA. Anyone on board now or recently have any details on what Princess is planning to do during this?

A question related to TAs. Has anyone heard anything about whether Crystal will be added to AmEx Platinum's Cruise Privilege Program in the near future? OC was, but not NC to date.

There was one on Explorer in January of this year. Held in the atrium on the same level as the MDR.

Is it possible to upgrade to four devices prior to boarding? We have the Plus package and whenever I hit the "upgrade" button on the Princess app for internet it just tells me I have the Plus package and won't let me do anything else. We are past final payment and all "ready to sail" steps completed, but no change. If we cannot upgrade prior to boarding, can we do it once we go online once we board? (Like one selected a package based on loyalty status in the old days?) Or does one have to visit the Internet cafe?

If Princess cancels the excursion--because they are finding pax are not making it due to the extended CBP immigration processing--you will get a refund in refundable OBC. If not used before the end of your cruise, Princess will send you a check in 3-4 weeks. If you miss the excursion due to delays in CBP processing, you will be sorry out of luck. You might want to ask at the shorex desk early in the cruise if those on excursions are given priority places in line for the CBP processing to ensure they are able to make their excursions--similar to being first for tender tickets. If not, you could cancel before the deadline and would also obtain a refund. (All this presumes, you booked the excursion with a credit card, not using non-refundable OBC.)

Your TA should ask Regent. The worst they can say is no--and maybe give you the new offer or something in between. Asking will not change your current reservation, so why not give it a try?

For anyone who has used this service, how far in advance of your cruise do you need to book? Thinking of one-way after the cruise to avoid having to lug big cases to hotels and onto two trains. (Although pricing it out on the website, it is less expensive to have pick-up from our first hotel than from the ship.)

How far in advance do you need to book this service before a cruise? Thinking of one-way following a cruise and before going on a land adventure.

Which hotel did you end up at? Would you recommend it?

Not sure they are sold out. I don't think the dates are posted yet. Looks like they are only showing availability through the end of May. Try looking again in a month or two to see if additional dates are available to book.