Carolyn&Phil

Please see below.   Does anyone have any information as to the cause, when it will re-open, etc?

We booked a cruise, specifically to see Monterey again.  Fingers Crossed.

2023 (Please Note All Cruise Ship Visits Suspended Until Further Notice)

March 14, Tuesday - SMS8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Discovery Princess

March 27, Monday - SMS8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.Discovery Princess

March 28, Tues - Inter8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.Solstice

April 11, Tuesday - SMS8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.Discovery Princess

Any suggestions on parking or a hotel with cruise parking?  We're going in September, so have lots of time to get information and/or reservations.  Thanks

Try to rent a golf cart and drive around.  They rent them several places, and the price is about the same.  One thing, they require a cash deposit (not a credit card).  Make a reservation in advanced.  Check to see which is closest to the pier.  If mobility is an issue, the driver could walk to the rental place, then drive and pick-up the rest of the group.  Maps are available, and easy to use.  we enjoyed it very much!  Fun and different than any other excursion.

How do I use my onboard credit to pay for reserved shore excursions?  The credit is in my name and I want to use it for both my wife and my excursions.  I  tried to reserve an excursion and it shows that I have to pay for wife's using a credit card.  Is this the only way?  Thanks in advance.

Why don't they have bourbon in the Elite mini-bar set up? Is it available in the mini bottles?

Interesting...........and confusing.. Anyone else have comments? Thanks.:)

Thank you, Christine, so much for the quick reply. All our questions have been answered by you. Thanks again.

You will love Alaska. We've been there 4 times, including a land tour with Princess. We went to McKinley, Denali, and Fairbanks on the land portion. We were pleasantly surprised at the prices of food in the Princess Lodges. If we can answer any questions for you, please ask.

Thanks again!

We are going to book this cruise/land tour Monday. We took the land tour in Alaska several years ago, and loved it. Princess did an excellent job of everything. No worries.

Questions for the Washington DC land tour: Do they give you luggage tags the first day that say "meet me at the ship", "be in my hotel room tonight",etc?

Christine, I believe you said that most days started fairly early, "luggage outside your door by 7 a.m." Does that mean that after 7 you can have breakfast, then start the day like at 8 or so? Just wondering.

Are all admissions included? I ask this, because in Alaska there were "extra" tours offered as well as the package.

Thanks in advance for any information. We are very excited about this trip!

Off the Royal last week. The dinner menu has very limited "always available" and does NOT include salmon, steak, and other items. Three Curtis Stone options are always available. I noticed that this week-end on the Crown 3 day cruise they have the old menu that had all the old "always available" items.

I really hope they go back to the old menu. Salmon is a favorite, and not available. Darn.

We received notice from Princess regarding boarding time. It doesn't say "suggested" as the e-mail has said in the past. Any idea why they are not boarding until 1 pm?

Also, looking at the LA Harbor website, I think we will return to berth 46 - after departing from berth 93. That will be a pain.

Thanks everyone for the great information! Much appreciated.

On another subject, how do I get rid of that Emerald trip on my signature? We've had six cruises since.

Is it possible to drop off luggage and some people and join them after parking the car? Do they wait to get into line, or what?

Never driven ourselves to this port before. Thanks in advance.

Thanks everyone for your input. :)

Wondering if taxi are available to take us from the ship to San Francisco airport. What is the approximate cost, or would a car service be a better option? There are 4 of us. Flight is 2 pm so no need to rush. Thanks for any advice.

We just returned from the Royal Princess September 27th cruise from Red Hook (NY). We arrived at the terminal at 10:50 and were assigned a number and escorted to the Plat/Elite waiting area. We were given a piece of paper at 12:15 that said that the cabins would not be ready upon boarding. The Coast Guard was doing an inspection of the ship ( just returned from a Transatlantic). Well, at 1:10 they opened the doors and everyone rushed to get on board. A real mess - dangerous to say the least, with lots of walkers, scooters, wheel chairs and the rest of us all trying to get onboard.

Dropped of carry on in the cabin (not ready yet) and went to buffet. Cold foods were out, but very limited hot items available. 30 minutes later hot food arrived. Again, we were told, sorry, it was because of the Coast Guard inspection.

Our cabin was not completed until after muster drill, which was delayed 15 minutes.

I know this is an exception, but it was very poorly handled by Princess. Yes, the shoreside folks are not Princess personnel, but they (Princess) are in control.

It took from Saturday (boarding) until Tuesday (Boston) for the ship's supplies to be distributed to the various locations. Example, our wine was fine on Saturday, then not available again until Tuesday. Head waiter blamed it on the Coast Guard inspection. They also had only one brand of Scotch in the dining room on Sunday and Monday!

Everything improved from there and it was a great cruise, even with the bumps in the road.

Thanks, I was concerned about the delays because of the TA. We'll probably get there around 11:30 and hope for the best.

Thanks everyone for your replies. Pam, we hope you have a wonderful cruise, and just wish we could meet you in person! You gave us wonderful guidance in finding Val.

We are sailing on the Royal Princess on September 27th. I just printed the boarding pass and it shows check in 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Is this normal times for Brooklyn, or is it because the ship is coming into the US from a TA?

Just want to board as soon as possible and start the cruise!

We are sailing on the Royal on September 27th. I just printed the boarding pass and it shows check in 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM. Is this normal times for Brooklyn, or is it because the ship is coming into the US from a TA?

Just want to board as soon as possible and start the cruise!

Thank you. This is most helpful.

Taylor95 - We will be staying at Embassy Suites, Secaucus for several days prior to a cruise out of Brooklyn Red Hook Terminal. Where did you find out the information on MLS and how did you contact them for a quote?

Appreciate your help!:)

Now I'm really confused. My maps don't show any islands between Gatun Lake and the Culebra Cut, only islands in Gatun Lake itself.

Sorry, it's been 10 years and a coffee break since we did the complete transit. At that time we spent hours sitting on our balcony looking at the animals; birds, monkeys, and the dense foliage. It was tiny islands out of red volcanic rock topped with rainforest from which we saw and heard the above. It really was lovely and this is why we wanted to show it to our friends.:)

I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder. We were on this same excursion with you, and while I agree with all the details you mention our reaction was completely different.

 

We knew from research on CC and elsewhere that we would not be getting a tour of Gatun Lake [which I assume is where you expected to see the "beautiful islands with flora and fauna"]. You tender directly to the Gatun Yacht Club [no yachts, this is also pretty widely publicized], then board a bus for the ride to the Culebra Cut. From there you sail the entire canal to the Pacific.

 

What do you see? (1) The Culebra Cut, which was probably the most difficult engineering aspect of the canal's construction. (2) The Pacific locks, which are similar to the Atlantic locks BUT you are on a much smaller vessel so the experience of going through them is quite different. (3) The Pacific Ocean -- on the same day you were in the Atlantic Ocean!

 

This particular day's excursion was probably the best possible experience of this itinerary. Coral Princess was the only ship doing a partial transit, so the ferry was not filled (only 300 passengers out of 400 capacity) and there were lots of empty seats to allow moving around. The weather was great: no rain (except on the bus ride back), heat and humidity quite manageable. There was plenty of food and drink. The commentary onboard was helpful. And we were very lucky to arrive at the first lock just as a large ship had gone through, so we had no wait and shared the locks with a sailboat (for an even greater size comparison to the Coral Princess going through the Atlantic locks). Because of the lucky lock timing, we even got back to the ship well ahead of schedule.

 

Overall it exceeded my expectations and I was very glad I ignored all the negative comments about this excursion.

 

If we do this itinerary again, we would consider the Embera Indians excursion. That seems to include more flora and fauna, plus the native culture. The passengers who did it seemed very happy with the experience.

 

But for this first time to the Panama Canal my bucket list required sailing through to the Pacific, and I'm very glad I did.

The flora and fauna I referred to is NOT in Gatun Lake, but in the many miles between Gatun Lake and the Calebra Cut. Sorry.

We were on this Princess shore excursion on January 24,2014. Since we were traveling with another couple who had not experienced the complete transit of the canal, we hoped this would be an excursion that showed the beautiful islands with flora and fauna before going through the cut and the locks on the Pacific side.

After leaving the ship via tender, we had over an hour bus ride to get to the ferry. The driver had difficulty shifting gears, and the guide could not be heard in the back half of the bus.

Once we got to the ferry, as stated by other poster above, everything was smooth and fine. The buffet was adequate and there was plenty of water and soda during the entire time on board the ferry.

The return bus ride was interesting in Panama City, however, repetitive for most of the trip, as you travel the same route.

If you are hoping to see all the beauty of the canal from the ferry, you won't see it. I don't think there are any shore excursions offered that would show that. It is unfortunate.

The Pacific locks are similar to the Caribbean locks, so, you could say if you have seen one, you have seen them all.

We were in Aruba on January 27th on the Coral Princess. We used Bully for a three hour tour. He was fantastic! Highly recommend him.