Kellyansapansa

6 hours ago, Ellipooh said:

I wonder how widespread the issue of erroneous charges actually is? I’m hoping the experiences described on this thread are magnified by the filter that only those affected are likely to post. 
 

While I do regularly check my account, I don’t relish the idea of repeatedly having to stand in line at Guest Services. 

We only have 39 cruise days accrued across 4 separate cruises with Princess but we have never had a single error appear on our folio, and I check it religiously. Also, I believe you can now use crew chat within the Medallion App to have these issues resolved rather than having to visit Guest Services. 😊

My two favourite items are the little single serve chocolate mousses and the crumbles. I also love the cupcakes but they seem to be available in the buffet more often than the International Cafe. 😊

2 minutes ago, antsp said:

Amazing, hardly worth the bother, just collect at the port and wait an extra 40 seconds

I meant the skipping check-in bit. We're from Australia so we always have to pick up our medallions at the port. I agree, it has been no bother at all. 😊

4 hours ago, Sprocket said:

 The way I read it is if you are green and already have your medallion you can skip check in altogether and go straight onboard.

That sounds amazing, but seems unlikely. 🤔

2 hours ago, SimplyMarvie said:

 

 

I think the Suica cards are refundable, so I'm planning on doing that one. The "Welcome" Suica with the cherry blossoms apparently is zero deposit and refundable. Will report back on how that works,  but agree with your main point -- you definitely want a stored value card for trains and vending machines.

Yes, Suica cards are refundable. You can even get a personalised Suica card with your name on it which is a cute souvenir. You can do it all through the self service machines. If you Google 'Suica machine instructions in English' you will find plenty of step by step guides. Print one of these off and take it with you because the machines can be a bit confusing. And yes, you can only use cash to top up the card.

On 7/11/2023 at 6:06 PM, Cascade1 said:

Yes, I doubt that Ruby Princess will ever come back to Australia. I was just hoping that maybe someone from Sydney might be taking a cruise 'overseas' on her in the next few months.

You could try posting in the roll calls for her upcoming cruises. You might find an Aussie that way. 😊

On 7/11/2023 at 11:08 AM, Californian said:

What are the hours when bathing suits are required and what hours when it’s nude?

We last cruised on Diamond in 2017 so things could have changed. But it used to be that clothing was optional at all times for the indoor sections, ie - there were no defined hours for nude or clothed bathing. And the two sides of Izumi contain different bathing experiences - each day would alternate so men and women could experience both sides. The outdoor pool required bathing suits and was open to all genders. 😊

4 hours ago, Ombud said:

If Japan has uber maybe I'll just do that -- who knows, maybe another roll call member will share the ride!

I believe Uber is reasonably new in Japan and is only available in the larger cities at this point in time. 😊

14 minutes ago, Yaya_in_Oz said:

I also wrote at trip report for my cruise on the Coral in Jan/Feb. 

That's a lovely review. We really enjoyed the Coral too, she is well laid out and definitely doesn't feel crowded.

5 hours ago, possum52 said:

4. PNG Excursions - any we must do? PNG currency - do we need to purchase? 

We cruised from Brisbane to PNG on Coral Princess earlier this year and loved the experience.

In Alotau we simply walked into the main street, had a look at the small market on the foreshore and visited the local supermarket. We're visiting this port again next year and plan to do the Lik Lik Festival this time.

We skipped Kiriwina Island due to weather and had two days in Rabaul instead.

On the first day we booked a private tour. You can read about that here: 

 On the second day we walked into town and wandered around the market.

Conflict Island was our favourite port and it was absolutely stunning. We took our own snorkel gear and spent several hours exploring the main lagoon, as well as wandering around the island.

You will definitely need to take Kina with you for Alotau, Kiriwina Island and Rabaul. We found it difficult to source Kina in Adelaide prior to the trip, but easily picked some up at Brisbane Airport when we arrived. 

Conflict Island is cashless.

2 hours ago, J13C85 said:

On our Grand Princess Cruise in 2018 I discovered the Cherry Blossom Garden (loved it but I swear every bartender on that ship prepared it differently, even had one bartender serve it as a frozen drink, good Lord that one was good) On our last cruise in November none of the bartenders had ever heard of it (sigh). On said cruise, I fell in love with the "Dirty Banana".  If you like frozen drinks (and I do), the BBC (bananas, baleys & colada) and the Miami Vice (half strawberry daiquiri/half pina colada and when done right one vertical side of the glass is red and the other is white) are good cocktails.

 

DW discovered the Milky Way Martini (not a frozen drink and filled with what she calls "chocolatey goodness"). On the non alcoholic side, she enjoyed the Americano Latte.

 

The Cherry Blossom Garden was my favourite too! I'm so sad it's not around any more. 😭

The Pina Colada and Baileys Raspberry Martini are my new favourite drinks. 

The Airport Limousine Bus is an excellent option to get you from Haneda Airport to your accommodation in Tokyo. It is very efficient and reliable and you can pre-book or buy a ticket when you arrive.

https://webservice.limousinebus.co.jp/web/en/

2 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Adelaide has a great Cabaret Festival, which is just finishing for this year (7-22/6/24).  They also have the best original agricultural show, the Royal Adelaide Show. (2/9-10/9/23).  We used to combine a visit to the show with a visit to Kangaroo Island, prior to the fires.  They also have the Adelaide Festival (1-17/3/24). I think Adelaide has the best annual festivals. 

We sure do! We also have WOMAdelaide from 8th to 11th March 2024. 😊

I know most international visitors stick to the eastern seaboard, but the Adelaide Fringe is the second largest arts festival in the world and will run from 16th February to 17th March 2024 if that's something that would be of interest to you. 😊

16 hours ago, jwattle said:

The vow renewal is also more than doubled in price from before, but looks like it includes more, depending on "State room goodies" 

Yes, I was disappointed when I first saw the price increase but I'm now thinking it might still be reasonable value. We're considering this for a cruise in September 2024 so hopefully we will find out more about the inclusions before then. 😊

2 hours ago, jnprsn said:

Are there any restrictions on tattoos? I know most onsen are still very traditional about their attitude to them but the sento are often more accepting.

we're book on a Japanese itinerary if that changes the rules.

There were no restrictions on tattoos in the Izumi Bathhouse when we were last on Diamond in 2017. I'd be very surprised if that has changed.

4 hours ago, shiny1 said:

I checked again about the cost and was told the $250.00 vows renewal, which they said was a group price, is no longer available. We did the $250.00 renewal awhile back and it was private, not in a group. 
Sounds like now it’s the cost of a wedding ceremony! We’ll pass on spending $1,598.00!! 
Thinking of getting the Anniversary Package but can’t find how to book that on the website? If anyone knows let me know. 
 

There's a Honeymoon Package listed under Onboard Services > Celebration Packages in the Cruise Personalizer. 

Well that's disappointing. The old vow renewal package was exactly what we wanted and we thought it was a reasonable price. These packages are far beyond what we are willing to pay so we'll be giving it a miss.

We're planning to book the vow renewal package on our September 2024 sailing on Diamond Princess. I know the package was listed as an option about a month ago because I checked the pricing and put it into my budget spreadsheet. But I have just had another look and it's no longer listed as an option under Onboard Services. It's also not showing on our November 2023 sailing on Grand Princess. I wonder if they are revamping the vow renewal packages? 🤔

52 minutes ago, theloo said:

Were they listed in the app?  How else do you learn about them?

Yes, the app had lots of additional events that were not included in the paper event listing.

18 hours ago, krufrank said:

It is unusual, to stay the least, to only have ONE trivia event per day. We've traveled on this exact ship and sailing before and I can honestly say they had multiple trivia nights (especially on sea days) - up to FOUR a night.  Maybe customer feedback has been they are getting tired of trivia?? I dunno. Thanks for sharing!

We were on Coral in February and not all trivia sessions were included on the notice formerly known as the Patter. There were so many different activities they wouldn't all fit on the 2 page Princess Event Listings flyer, so it was really just a highlights listing.

2 minutes ago, starvenger said:

 

I can't see how it wouldn't, tbh. Everything is digital now - no need to purchase or develop rolls of film or print pictures to entice people. 

But they still need to employ photographers to take the photos and staff to run the photo gallery so they need to generate revenue at a level that is profitable.

1 hour ago, Nightowl11 said:

Well that sucks.  We don’t drink, therefore we are prevented on buying all our photos unless we pay $800 each?  (10 day cruise). 

Yes, we used to love getting all the photos too. I imagine the all inclusive photo package provided Princess with very little profit, so I'm not surprised they no longer offer it.

7 hours ago, Nightowl11 said:

If there only is the 5 or 10 physical photo package, does it come with only those 5 or 10 digital downloads or do you get them all?  How can you get all of the digital downloads for all our pictures?  Is the only way to get them is to purchase the Princess Premier package? I am sure with several family members, we will be taking over 100 on a 14 day since everyone takes solos and groups and then just sisters and then just brothers and then just the boys or just the girls and then just the moms with the kids and the dads with the kids, just the cousins, etc.  Sometimes we have different shore excursions so we leave the ship at different times, so there are multiple port pictures too. 

When you purchase the 5 or 10 photo package, you only receive those 5 or 10 images as a digital download. The only way to get all images as digital downloads is to purchase the Premier Package.

On 5/28/2023 at 1:28 PM, Jean C said:

Sorry, another question - do you know the current costs for using washing machine and then dryer? Also, are costs charged to cruise folio, or will they need coins? Thanks 😊

We were on the Coral in February and it was $4 per washer (2 tokens), $4 per dryer (2 tokens) and $2 for washing powder (1 token). There is a token dispenser in each laundry - you simply choose how many tokens you want, tap your medallion and the cost is charged to your account. 😊