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I am interested getting the package for my upcoming cruise.  Is the price to buy it on the ship the same as buying it pre-cruise? if I buy it onboard, I figure part of it would come out of my OBCs,

I know that I have have to take the test before I leave the US.  But I also have to take the Day 2 test in England.  That is the one that I was hoping to take at Heathrow.  Any thoughts on when to schedule it, given a flight that is due in at 7:05.  The testing is in the arrivals area--I assume its before passport control/customs.

I am arriving at Heathrow on Sept 27th before a Princess Cruise on Sept 30th.  I am on Delta Airlines, which is located in Terminal 2.  I am fully vaccinated in the USA (Moderna), so I only have to do the day 2 test.  I am looking at scheduling the test in the Heathrow Terminal 2 Arrivals area.  If my flight is due in at 7:05 AM, what would you suggest as a good time to schedule the test?

3 hours ago, caribill said:

It is supposed to be $40/person.day

If always get the Princess Plus.  I booked a deluxe balcony as a solo on the Aug 15 Majestic cruise to Alaska.  I priced it myself before calling my travel agent, and it did not let me see a Princess Plus option.  My travel agent was able to get the pricing with the Princess Plus.  The additional cost with the Princess Plus was $1,000.  I asked my agent to double check with Princess and they confirmed.  I later took an upgrade offer to a mini-suite, and asked my agent to check again.  This time Princess came back with an additional cost of $2,000 (for one person)--no thanks.  My prior experience is the price is $40/day/person.  Not sure if Princess has changed it's pricing model, or if this was a glitch.  We'll see.

I'll just bring 3 bottles of my favorite wines on board.  That should cover 6 dinners.  If they charge corkage, it's fine.

I got a great deal on my cabin, so all is good.

Thanks for all the info.  I'll just wait and see until final payment is due.  Keeping my fingers crossed.  

At worst, I will have to add this cruise to all the other trips I have had cancelled.  I am far more fortunate than the many that have lost their livelihood, their loved ones, or their lives during the last year and a half.

2 hours ago, flossie009 said:

The present rules for entering the UK from the USA (Amber) is that you must self isolate for 10 days at a notified address in the UK.

If you take an additional test on day 5 which is negative then you can cease quarantine.

This BBC "explainer" is useful: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52544307

 

It is possible/probable that the rules will be relaxed within the next couple of months. Those with proof of full vaccination coming from "amber list" countries may not have to self isolate and/or the USA might be added to the "green list"

 

 

Like @Reina del Mar I also hope that entry into the USA for those from the UK is allowed soon. At present we cannot enter the USA, period!!

 

Hopefully there will be a change.  I was only planning on spending 3 days before the cruise, and I don't want to spend that time (or longer) in quarantine.  I suspect that Princess will do whatever it can to make the cruise doable to Americans.  They may have to delay are final payment, to allow changes to occur.

Fingers crossed.

What I read seemed to indicate that you do not have to quarantine unless you are from a red country.  If you are from a green or amber country, you don't need to quarantine if you have a negative test.  Unless the rules change, the other hoops that are required make me reluctant to commit/make my final payment.

I am booked on The Regal Princess on Sept 30, 2021.  Round trip from Southampton (to Spain and France).  Just looked at requirements for US citizens travelling to England.  US is considered an amber country.  Kind of a pain in the butt.  As of now, we need proof of a negative COVID test taken within 3 days of our flight leaving US.  We also need to show proof of pre-scheduled tests (to be done in England) to be taken on days 2 and 8 of the trip.  It's very confusing as to how this will actually work, when:

• I am in England for 3 days pre-cruise, 
• I will be on the cruise on day 8,
• I will the be reentering England after the cruise, but only to go to Heathrow and catch my flight home.

It appears that I have to schedule a test for day 8, even though I won't be in England then.  I assume I'd need to get a test (negative) within 3 days of reentering England (I assume that Princess would need to do that).  Not sure if I'd need to have tests scheduled for days 2 and 8 after the ship returns to England.  If these rules are still in place 88 days from now, the cruise may be British citizens only.

Any thoughts?

We are flying into SeaTac on Delta on the Sunday our ship sails--arriving about 8:30 AM. Probably taking Princess transfer. Would like to get some wine to take on board. Either at the airport or within walking distance of the port. Anyone aware of a place to buy wine at either airport or walking distance form port.

I recently got back from a land tour of Turkey. I had also spent about 5 days in Istanbul previously (before taking a cruise). A few thoughts:

Take a balloon ride in Capadoccia, we went with Kapadokya Balloons

The Sulamanye (sp?) Mosque was great

As of the end of February, the Archeological Museum was open

The Bosphorus cruise was very nice

If you are looking for somewhere to eat in Istanbul, I strongly recommend Giritli. When we were there (early March), we ate inside a very nice house--in the summer they have outdoor seating. It's a seafood restaurant with a fixed price menu--about 25 different mezes, a choice of 3 fish entrees, desert, all the wine/beer/raki you can drink, and a shot of homemade carnelian cherry liquor (fabulous). It was very enjoyable meal. About $65 US/person.

Here is the trip advisor link http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293974-d919972-Reviews-Giritli_Restaurant-Istanbul.html

Yes, they will fill up the table with others who want to attend, just like chefs table. You do not have to have the entire group - they will fill up!

That's what I had hoped. Thanx.

How does the winemakers dinner work if there are only 3 of you? Will Princess accumulate additional people, like they do for Chef's Table? Do you have to get a large enough group together on your own? What are the options?

The opportunity to go to Antarctica was one of the reasons my wife and I booked our SoM cruise for next February (it was listed as a possible excursion at the time we booked, but as you've pointed out, its not currently available on the personalizer). There's still time, and if anyone who's taken it (or the Torres excursion) could chime in as to when, if ever, it became available (ie how may days out), that would be helpful.

 

If its not offered, its certainly not a deal breaker, and I get that things are fluid and contracts can't always be worked out, but I get a bit of a bait n switch feeling seeing it offered initially for the 2014 voyages when we booked, not having it show up on the personalizer (yet), but showing it again as a possibility for 2015.

For our cruise, the Antarctica excursion showed up on cruise personalizer about mid-June (2012)--for a 2/25/13 cruise.

I see an Antarctica excursion for $2,999 and a Paine National Park excursion for $919 showing on the 01/17/15 Andes and Straight of Magellan cruise from Punta Arenas. To have time for the Antarctica excursion you need to be in port for at least 13 hours and only the four Andes and Straight of Magellan cruises are in Punta Arenas that long.

 

We were on a cruise on the Star that did not have the stop on Chacabuco, Chile and a 4 day/3 night excursion was offered to Patagonia and the National Park from Punta Arenas to Puerto Montt. High winds delayed our departure from Ushuaia by over 6 hours and the next day's stop in Punta Arenas was canceled along with the tours. If you are on a cruise in SA you must expect the unexpected.

Our cruise (Star Princess 2/25/13) was scheduled to be in Punta Arenas from 7 to 7 (12 hours). Both the Antarctica and Paine National Park excursions were offered--and both went.

I checked my posts from last year, and our excursions (including the Antarctica one) became available in mid-July--for a Feb 25th cruise

Could you tell me a little more about the available Antartica excursion, I am taking this trip as well next Feb and am so excited there may be this excursion, I didn't know about it.

Our group contained about 25 passengers. Since the Princess website says they need 38 participants, I was concerned that it may not go due to lack of participation. By the time we added in the Princess shore excursion staff that was going, our guides, and representatives of the airline; it seems like we had up to 40 people.

You take a bus from the ship to the Punta Arenas airport, and board a plane (holds about 120 passengers). They provide breakfast, give you a briefing, and give you a chance to buy/address postcards. I believe the postcards were $3 each with postage. If you address them, they will be mailed/postmarked from the Chilean research station. It took about 2-3 months for my postcards to arrive.

We landed at a Chilean research station on King George Island (in the South Shetland Islands). There are a total of 8 research stations on King George Island. They tend to congregate around the Chilean station, because it has a landing strip. A Brazilian Hercules transport (large plane) landed shortly after we arrived and left shortly before our return flight.

We visited the Chilean and Russian stations, and took zodiacs to another island that is a penguin reserve. Since they limit the number of people that can visit the penguin reserve at one time, we were divided into 2 groups. Our group got a tour of the Chilean/Russian stations first, and the penguin reserve second--the other group did it in reverse order.

After about 4 hours on the ground, we boarded our plane for the return trip. We were served food and drinks and had some great conversation. The flight back took us much longer than the flight there, so we were late getting back to the ship--they held it for us.

The cost was $3000 each. It does appear that it goes less than 50% of the time. They told us that it was only the 2nd time during the season that the excursion went. Not sure how many cruise lines do this excursion (Princess, HAL, ?), but 2 times a year seems like a pretty low percentage.

Don't go expecting to see the majestic, snow covered landscapes that you might associate with Antarctica. You are visiting a research station, and they are not going to put landing strips on the 90% of Antarctica that is covered with snow/ice/glaciers. You will be on part of the other 10% of Antarctica.

Based on the other comments here, it is possible they are no longer offering it:

 

a) Few sign up because of the expense

b) Does not go much of the time

c) May start, but have to turn around before getting there.

 

The time we were on a cruise that had this, it was cancelled after being in the air and Princess did not want to give any refunds. Refunds were finally given, but after that a condition was added that if the flight takes off, there would be no refund. I do not know if that condition still exists.

 

(I do not see this excursion listed at all in the shore excursion part of learn about Princess.)

All I know is that it was offered (and went) on our cruise. Ours was the last trip around the horn/straights of Magellan for the 2012/13 season.

I don't see any information on it either. However, I don't see any excursion listed for Torres del Paine National Park either. That was another pricey excursion (involving a flight) that was available on our cruise. In fact, that was the alternative in the event we couldn't get into Antarctica. Princess' website lists Torres del Paine National Park as a point of interest for Punta Arenas excursions, but doesn't list any excursions that go there.

I don't have an interest in speculating. All I know is that it was offered on Princess' last cruise to stop at Punta Arenas. Hopefully, they will continue to offer it to those that are willing to spend the money and take the risk. I'm certainly glad they offered it on our cruise, and I'm pretty sure that everyone that took the excursion with me was too.

It doesnt seem that Princess is offering the Antartic excursion on this trip...or at least they havent posted one as of this date. Do you know the name of the private tour that goes there?

Ours wasn't posted until closer to our sailing date. I checked periodically, because I was really interested in the excursion. You can call Princess and ask them when it would be posted.

I'm almost certain it can't be done with a private tour. They had to hold the ship for our excursion to get back. I think it was coordinated through the airlines (DAP Antarctic Airways). You can check online through them.

Just curious, was your side trip to Antarctica the expensive one where you are flown to one of the research camps? We did the So.Amer,/Antarctica cruise on the Star in 2010 and lots of folks (wanting to step foot on the continent) paid BIG BUCKS for such an excursion. Unfortunately, 30 minutes out from their destination, the weather turned, and they had to forego the trip. There was much disappointment.

 

Well if that's what you did, congratulations! I'm sure it was wonderful.

 

I also thought that that was the best cruise ever.

 

Judy

That was the excursion we were on. Seems like it goes less than 50% of the time. As soon as we got of the ship our guide said that we had the go ahead. It was a great excursion. Pricey, but worth it. As I recall, it was only the second time the excursion got to Antartica last season (and they do excursions for other cruise lines besides Princess).

We didn't have a lot of people signed up for the excursion (fewer than the minimum participation listed on the Princess excursion description). Thank goodness they went anyway.

I did this cruise on the Star Princess this past Feb/Mar. One of my favorite cruises. Hope your weather is as good as ours was. We made all of our scheduled stops (Falklands included). Clear sunny days the whole way, except for some overcast or rain in Puerto Madryn and Puerto Montt. There may also have been some rain in Punta Arenas, but some of us missed it because we were in Antarctica. Took the Princess Antarctic excursion and absolutely loved it. About 41 degrees in Antarctica when we were there. Antarctica was the only Princess excursion I took, but the private ones I took were very good.

Puerto Madryn--Peninsula Valdes

Falklands--Patrick Watts to Volunteer Point. Interesting off-road trip, and lots of King and Gentoo penguins.

Cape Horn--clear and sunny.

Ushuaia--Lake Country and Tierra del Fuego

Punta Arenas--Antarctica, highlight of the trip for me.

Puerto Montt--2/3 of our group left our meeting place early, and ended up starting the excursion early. Left 5 of us behind. Kinda sucked, but didn't ruin a great trip.

The glacier viewing (Amalia Glacier and Glacier Alley) was outstanding--nice weather.

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The price for the 5 bottle premium wine package works out to about $45/bottle. Yet, if I look at the wines that are included, the normal (unpackaged) price/bottle appears to be $45 or less. If so, what is the advantage of buying the package, rather than just ordering the bottles individually?

I understand that Celebrity allows you to bring on 2 bottles/stateroom at embarkation. Do the allow you to bring on wine at port stops?

The wine packages are not pre-selected: Passengers choose their wine bottles from the full Princess wine list. If you want a higher-priced wine than those offered in the price range for which you paid, you will be credited that amount and pay the full price for the more expensive bottle of your choice. To the best of my knowledge of the program, no wines are off-limits as long as you want to pay the difference in price.

 

Cheers!

Chris

I certainly hope this is true. As I recall, a few of the wines I like most are between $45 and $50. I'm much more inclined to get the package if I can still buy those wines--and pay the additional amount. Prior posts on CC have indicated that you can't use the package on wines above the price limit.

Awww congrats on your 10th year anniversary! My 6th year anniversary is coming up on January 28th! It's hard to believe I am 30 years old and going on 6 years already! We'll be one of those couples that will be in the running for "who has been married the longest" on the cruise ship if we both make it that long. lol. I have to make it to age 74 to have a 50 year anniversary! Whoa! :-)

 

Yeah I'd really appreciate the info on if the menu is the same! Thanks a bunch! And I hope you enjoy it!!

I don't even want to think about a 50th anniversary--I'd be 101. I'm curmudeonly enough at 61--can't imagine myself being tolerable for that much longer.

You're sailing her before me? Are you doing her Mediterranean itinerary? I am doing her first full U.S. one!

 

You can let me know if the menu is the same but if it's different, I want the suspense.

 

Everyone at our table opened their rolled up menu and read it, including Latanya. I opted not to because I wanted the surprise of what was coming to the table next and not knowing when it would be over! :-)

We are on the Med itinerary (her 3rd sailing June 27th). Celebrating our tenth anniversary with my 3 daughters--two of which will join us for the Chef's Table. I will try to remember (actually I'll note it in my calendar) to post whether the menu is the same--but no more than that--on this thread.