HaveDogWillTravel

We heard of one married couple who are being put on two different flights, one to Oakland and one to SFO, and then they will meet up again after being shuttled separately to their hotel.

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Thanks for the post. We are new to cruising and one of the reasons I chose Princess to start this journey on is that I liked how they responded to these problems. I feel that problems are bound to occur and the mark of good customer relations is how well the company treats its clients without being compelled to do so. Princess has seemed to shine in this department.

However, I would refuse to take a separate flight than my husband home. Did this couple agree to this because it did not bother them? I certainly hope they had a choice.

Thanks again for your input.

When you print out your extra boarding pass, it shows X-seat for so and so on the ticket. Both of us are of normal weight but some airlines allow you to just buy an extra seat when booking online (Jet Blue) while others don't charge you any extra but they book the extra seat for you (Delta). Not a lot of people do this as it always surprises somebody when they ask about the empty seat and we make note that we purchased it. You can and sometimes have to buy the extra seat if you are overweight ... so why not buy it if it is about $150 or even less for sheer comfort. Nobody has to take that middle seat and it is great to have room to stretch out.

Hi Cruise Raider,

This is amazing news to me! I have been paying enormous amounts for first class tickets. I really wish we had talked about this on the cruise we shared last December to the Mexican Riviera. I am totally trying this on our next flight. Mucho Gracias

We had great success with laundry service on the Island Princess. Yes we took photos. Never had anything lost or hurt. Never got anyone else's things. I did not sent any delicates or expensive things down though. Pants, shirts, PJ's sock undies and such.

We really liked that they also will polish your shoes.

We do have 4 port days out of an 8 day cruise so that factors in. I'm still on the fence and I'm leaning towards great record keeping. Compare what we actually drink on this next cruise to the AIBP. It's all in the math. I'm guessing it's close and what a great experiment to undertake.

As a mathematician, I agree totally. And hard as I tried I simply got tired of keeping track:)

All great info. Has really made me re-think whether we should do the AIBP or not.

 

One fear is over-consumption. Do you always feel like you need to get "your money's worth" or at some point you got your money's and it's really no different ?

I have two specialty coffees in the morning, 2-3 liters of bottled water a day, 2 glasses of red wine with my Alfredo's Pizza lunch, a virgin slushy or two by the pool in the afternoon, 1 or 2 glass of wine around dinner time, specialty coffee with jameson's or kailua with dessert and then one more night cap on the balcony.

Maybe that says a little too much about my tolerance for booze. I don't feel like I am drinking anymore than I would if I were paying per drink. That is just how much I like to drink when I am on vacation and don't have to drive. I never get drunk but sometimes I do feel pretty happy:)

That said, if you have a very port intensive itinerary and will be spending most days entirely off the boat then the package may not be worth it. The package works because you are taking all day (17 hours or so) to drink that amount.

Aft balconies are almost always free of wind while under sail. You can order room service and have wonderful meals out there. We were on the Aloha deck of the Island in an aft suite and loved it. No noise or vibration issues.

The balcony of the mini suite we had on the port side for one of our cruises was so windy we hardly ever used it. If the balcony door was open and you tried to open the stateroom door it created a huge wind tunnel that was horrible.

This is not a problem in an aft facing room. And then there's the wake views. If you like them then that seals the deal. But there are so few aft balcony rooms that if you do decide the aft is not for you......well more for me:D

AIBP also gets you specialty coffees. I like to get a caramel macchiato at the International Cafe and walk next door to the bar for a shot of Jameson's. The bartender pours it right into the coffee and it is really delicious.

I also will get a double shot of Makers Mark and a shot of cointreau with a cherry to take up to my room at some point during the day. I keep them in the fridge and then I have my night cap on the balcony with out having to go back downstairs.

I have never had a problem with them serving me and my husband drinks in fairly rapid succession in order to get "one to go" for later. I think if you and your cabin mate both have the AIBP then it's obvious you are not scamming the system.

I personally love the package for the convenience, it also includes the tips.

HaveDogWillTravel, great tips! Thanks so much.

 

I'll be sure to bringing the Princess suite perks page, don't want to miss anything. :)

 

Good tip about making sure we tell them we are in a suite when we book the free specialty dining. Not sure if I would have done that - thanks for that reminder.

 

For breakfast in Sabatini's do we just show up with our room card?

 

And, I was wondering if I could get my champagne plain with OJ on the side - sounds like I can!

 

For dh, who shouldn't have too much OJ. Will they let him order a Bloody Mary instead of the mimosa?

You should both always have your room card with you. You can get it hole punched at the customer service desk (there's a special line for suite guests). I keep it hooked to a wristlet or beach bag if I am up at the pool.

They may ask for your card at first but you will be surprised at how quickly they all remember your name and suite number! Breakfast in Sabatini's needs no reservation. It is usually not crowded as it only serves suite guests. Suite guests have a special breakfast menu for room service (which is very good) so many use that instead of going out. I do like the decadence of having champagne (sparkling wine really) for breakfast though.

I highly recommend the all inclusive beverage package. It is so wonderful not getting hit with an unknown bill for specialty coffees, teas, bottled water, virgin (or not) slushy fruity drinks by the pool and of course very good quality wine, champagne and cocktails (all free including tips with the package). They serve high quality vodka, gin, bourbon and liqueurs..... just be sure to ask for it by brand so they don't pour the house brand. The card gives you anything priced at $10 or less which is 95% of the menu. I have photos of the menus from last May if you are interested. Plus if there is a bottle of wine you would like in the MDR you get it for 40% off.

I have found in restaurants you can order any beverage you want and they will find someone to go to the bar and bring it to you. You would have to pay for the bloody mary if you don't have the card.

If I do this quite a bit (order drinks they must run out of the dining room for) I will always give an extra tip at the end of my cruise to my waiter (who I am hoping shares it with the lower level person who actually runs the errand).

While it is true Princess does not have personal butlers (I simply would not want one personally) they have all the suite perks I find to be most valuable.

And I always order my OJ and champagne in separate glasses at breakfast in sabatinis. You can have a bottomless glass of champagne.

It's really getting close now!

 

Couple of suite questions...

 

1. Will there be an umbrella in the suite? (I usually bring a small travel umbrella with me.)

 

2. Do we have to go by the spa on the first day to get passes for the thermal suite?

 

3. This 13-nighter is 2 btb cruises booked as 1.

Will we get a mini bar set-up on each leg?

 

4. What about the free specialty dinner on night 1 - do we get it on each leg or just on the 1st one?

 

Thanks in advance.

Yes the suites have umbrellas

You go to the thermal spa whenever you feel like it. No need to rush there on your first day. On our Alaska cruise it was so nice to have this free unlimited access.

Sorry haven't done b2b

I agree with all the previous posts and would add a few things.

Print the pages on the princess website that list your perks. If you do not receive them automatically just ask for them.

For example, when we embarked out of SF last May no one realized that full suite passengers used the priority line.

Make your free specialty dining reservation as soon as you board for that evening. Just go to the restaurant of your choice. Be sure to tell them you are a suite passenger.

Our room steward has had trouble in the past getting us the MDR menus in a timely fashion. As we use this almost daily it was a bit frustrating. Just keep politely asking moving up the management chain as needed. No need to pay for UBE dinner you get the white table cloth and all the MDR food you want. Order each course separately if you want. Food is delivered surprisingly quickly to suites in my experience.

You will have a beautiful fresh fruit basket upon arrival and you can have it replenished with your favorites whenever you wish. You can also order canapés and afternoon tea service.

Make sure you mark your laundry Next Day. And watch your room account to make sure you aren't charged. Any errors are quickly adjusted. Use Princess at Sea app on your phone to keep track of your ship account, ship activities and to message friends. No need for wi if it's free just download the ap before embarkation.

Vista aft suites are the best experience and bang for the buck on the open seas.

First Princess cruise. We're diamond guests on Carnival but have decided to move onto Princess because the Carnival itineraries are horrible.

 

14 day Christmas/New Years cruise for 2017, anything we should know?

 

Did we pick a good room?

 

Any help for a "not so newby" would be appreciated.

You've selected one of the best rooms. We've sailed aft suites on other princess ships and have loved them. We have B752, the aft port balcony on the Circle Caribbean Holiday 2017 cruise on the Caribbean Princess. It will be our first time in a balcony room and not a full suite. But since it's a holiday trip the suites were just insanely expensive. Normally suites on princess are a really great value compared to other lines in terms of square footage.

In pricing other lines I've usually found I get the most sq ft for my money on princess. Private space is my number one priority.

At just under 280 sq ft the room size should be fine. I will seriously miss the Suite bathroom though. Balcony rooms have only a notoriously small shower stall. A comedian on our last cruise suggested you soap the walls and spin to get clean. :D

I will go into it having low expectations of the bathroom. But those aft views will be amazing! And that's what it's all about for me.

You will love it. Happy sailing

My husband and I are looking forward to a westbound TA on QM2 June 3, 2018.

We were thinking of flying over 2 weeks early and visiting England and Scotland. Of course London is a must, but I have also heard lovely things about Edinburgh. We tend to prefer to minimize the number of hotel changes. We also like locally run small boutique accommodations. Would anyone happen to have suggestions about where to stay in London or Edinburgh?

We'd like to see some castles as we don't have them in America and just loved the Chateaus in Loire Valley when we were there. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you share.

No. Far too early. Like I just put in the other 2018 thread, if we change our minds, we lose our deposit or pay an admin fee if change to another cruise.

 

Still thinking about 2017 cruises.

Is it different for Americans than those from the UK? I can cancel my June 3, 2018 TA on QM2 up until Feb 2, 2018 and get back my full deposit. I can rebook at the lower fares when they come out up until then as well with no fee.

Thank you so much for taking the time to post this.

I took my first cruise just this past December on the Grand (10 days -Mexican Riviera) and loved it. My husband could not go due to work but he came on board for the Bon Voyage Luncheon when we embarked in SF. So while he has a sense of the Princess ships, he hasn't sailed one.

I took advantage of the future cruise credits while on board and booked a 7 day Alaska cruise on the Island (May 11 2016 Vancouver to Whittier) and a 15 day Panama cruise on the Island as well (Jan 4 2017 LA to Ft Lauderdale). Both cruises are in Aloha deck aft suites, the first in A 727 and the second in A 729.

As you may know, there are a lot of naysayers out there regarding the aft suites and I was getting a bit nervous. Our suites are pretty much right above where you stayed in B741 so if you did not have excessive noise or vibration then I am sure we will not either. I can't thank you enough for putting my mind to ease on that.

I was in an aft cabin on the Grand in Dec so have some idea of what the aft is like.

I can not wait to show my husband all your photos and insights so he can start getting excited about our upcoming cruises on the Island.

A726 is large. Definitely 617 sq ft.

Thanks!

The deck plans have conflicting information about the square footage of A726 and A727. If you hover over the room you get 470 sq ft including balcony in the pop up window. If you click on it you get a pop up that says 617 sq ft including balcony. Would some one who is in the room confirm the size please? Thanks

The TA who booked me is a cruise specialist, so I took her advice (which has been excellent in the past), which I assume is based on experience. At least I have a chance on the starboard side ;)

Thanks CatsRKool. I just switched over to the other side.

Hello Macky2-we are in A727 in Feb for the Panama Canal transit, so presume that's before you go. I will report back here when we return from that. And Mina thanks again for the snaps!!!

CatsRKool

We are in that cabin for Feb 2017 Panama. Let me know how you like the cruise! Any tips for a newbie would be greatly appreciated.

We are currently in a726. It is wonderful. Indeed at least 600 sq ft and the balcony wraps fully around with the aft section large enough for a lounger and a table and chairs. There is minimal vibration. Less than we usually experience in aft cabins. Will post pics on our return home in mid oct. If you can get this cabin, grab it.

I just reserved A726 for a Feb 2017 Panama Canal cruise to celebrate my 60th. I am so glad this forum exists. Thank you for taking the time to make this post. Any other information regarding the ship would be greatly appreciated.

For the Panama cruise going East to West does it matter what side of the ship you are on?

I am going on my first cruise this Dec on the Grand Princess, I am hoping I like aft cabins (I have an aft on a Mexico trip). It's a bit unnerving to spend this kind of money not knowing. Live life large I say! I've noticed the best suites get booked fairly quickly.