WoodstockGirl

Yes to all things mentioned above; just reiterating that having your friends' booking number is key.

We are new here.  We are looking at a couple of the RC Christmas-New Years 2023 cruises to take the family on... 7 adults, 2 kids.

Are there certain times of the year, or particular sales, that cycle around on RC that we should stay alert for as a good time to book? 

I have an official "Shore Excursion Summary"  acknowledgement email from Princess sent back in November with our booking number and all pertinent facts and details related to the excursions we had just booked. It shows our status for both excursions: one is "booked" with cost, and the other one is "wait-listed".  But now our travel summary only shows the wait-listed one.

I'm printing out the earlier email and taking it with me. Just hope we can still get on it. All the excursions on this sailing have been sold out for awhile.

Last November we booked our 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise that begins Jan 18th, 2023, including excursions.  We were able to get one excursion "confirmed" and on another we were/are wait-listed. When we recently printed out our official Travel Summary from the Princess website - giving all the official "everythings" related to the cruise - it only listed our "wait-listed" excursion and not the one we are confirmed on. This seems odd - right? Was it dropped? Is it "there", but not listed?  It shows every detail about the "wait-listed" one - time starts, time ends, cost, etc.  But nothing for the confirmed one.

We'll check with the excursion desk when we board (sigh... a line I don't like standing in). Just wondered if anyone here has experienced this before. Or am I missing something...?

When any of them show up to play some of the various music-themed trivia games, they always know all the answers, and they always win!

Just sayin'

I know there is a pickleball court on the Enchanted Princess. Does anyone know about paddles and balls being available? How do you get those? Or do we bring our own.....? (Hope that's not the answer)

WG

I understand there are various "kinds" of massages. Does anyone have a favorite?

WG

Am soon to sail on the Enchanted.

What is your favorite spa treatment? Is it very expensive --- (and is there a way to get a discount besides booking on embarkation day?) I guess I'm thinking about the world of massages, but will take any recommendation.

WG

On 11/17/2022 at 10:43 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we have and we do. DS is 11 and he loves cruising no matter what line.

 

My BFF (late 40s like me) with 13 and 15 yo kids has been cruising with Princess exclusively for the past several years. They have tried RCI and Celebrity and didn't like it.

What is it about RCI and Celebrity that your kids don't like?

We were on this roll call - Enchanted Princess. A truly lovely ship. 

The Princess Live theater is different here than on our previous sailing on the Sky Princess.  No rows of seats like in a theater (the Sky Princess), but more like seating in one of the clubs; tables, booth and chair seating. The glass wall separating the Princess Live from the walk-through area is gone also. Now it is seamless between the PL and the walk-by area.

I did not enjoy the evening menu offerings in the DR as much as I have on previous cruises. Are the menus different from ship to ship, or do they just change the offerings across the fleet from time to time? 

Truly and thoroughly enjoyed the Cruise Director staff on this one. I'd repeat the cruise just to be with them!

5 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

You don’t download the OceanCompass. It is part of the MedallionClass App.

 

If she signs into the App…

move down about 5 categories and

you’ll see OceanCompass.

 

It is available to use on the ship.

 

 

 

Yes... that makes perfect sense, and it's true on my Medallion App. But, it is not on hers. She only has Play Ocean, Ocean Ready, and Ocean Pay, and then nothing after those headings. 

We can't find OceanCompass app at the Apple App Store.

I already have the app on my iphone. I've had it for enough years that I can't remember if I downloaded it from Apple or from somewhere else... like, from within the Medallion App?

My friend is going on her first cruise with me. She is through all the personalization info on the Medallion app (she is "ocean ready"), and her Medallion is ordered. However, when she goes to download OceanCompass from Apple, it doesn't seem to be available there.   Also - it does not show up in the string of "extra apps" in her Medallion app (like it does in mine).

Does she have to wait to get onboard to download OceanCompass? 

I bought a BinexNow Covid-19 Ag Card Home Test in January for a cruise I was taking in January. Didn't use it then, but now I want to use it at the end of Oct for a cruising into Canada.

On the box it says "For use under An Emergency Use Authorization only".

Is this test still valid??  Are we still in an Emergency Use Authorization situation?

I emailed Abbot Lab, but not holding my breath about hearing back from them.

When looking at deck plans - dragging them on top of each other and aligning them to their exact fit on top of each other (exactly match the steps of the stairways) you can see what the obstruction is outside each cabin.

On some ships (like the Regal) an obstructed balcony can just mean that when you look down from your balcony you are looking at a promenade deck instead of the ocean. (E437, E438, and along there; some have slightly extended balconys, too). Nothing blocking straight our your balcony, only when you look down. 

Also, when looking at the deck diagrams notice the teensy little boat diagrams are different for the different size lifeboats - bigger and smaller; tenders and lifeboats (not sure which is which). One is more of an obstruction than the other.

All to say that balcony obstructions vary greatly from cabin to cabin.

I have a video showing our 180 degree view from Sky Princess obstructed balcony E515. I just can't successfully get it into my computer and into this message. Sigh. Sorry.

I am about to embark on a "Girlfriend Cruise" on the Enchanted Princess. We 3 "girls" will be in an obstructed deluxe balcony cabin.  We'll have two twins and... the sofa as our 3rd bed. How uncomfortable is that? Does the bottom slide out/pull out from the back of the sofa; or does it flip out like old fashioned sofa beds did with the dreaded bars? Is it a smaller sleeping space than a twin?

Thanks for your input

WG

We've had the opportunity to experience several Sundays at sea, and always look for a Christian Sunday service on the schedule. Every time Princess offered a general ("non-denominational") service.

Twice an officer from the crew led songs (traditional Christian) and readings from a written program.  No sermon or teaching, per se, but the readings were good and appropriate. One time a passenger led - it wasn't spontaneous, it was obviously planned to be him - which I wondered how that happened.  He was enthusiastic, but long-winded and a bit too particularly slanted towards his own denomination for a general Christian gathering.  We recently were on the Regal for a Sunday at sea. A "non denominational" service was scheduled. We went - and although there was a crew member there to man the sound board for the microphone and piano music, no one led. It was only after we went back to our room that we realized that although the time was set aside, and support was provided, it was "no host" service. If we'd realized it at the time, we would've offered some little something. It was like mtnesterz mentioned above - like the daily unhosted bible studies offered - instead of what we'd experienced in the past for Sunday service.  Next time we will be more prepared for that to be the case and be prepared to lead general singing and such. Song sheets are always provided. 

Would be interested in hearing back what turns out to be your experience.

Yes, those times are generally typical.

3 hours ago, Sir Frances Drake said:

unfortunately its not just Princess

Nile river boat MS River Anuket docks in the city of Luxor in southern Egypt Saturday, March 7, 2020. The ship, carrying some 100 mostly foreign tourists is under quarantine after 12 people tested positive for the new coronavirus. The passengers have been confined to the ship while they await testing by Egyptian health authorities.

Thank you. This helpful information.

8 minutes ago, CarelessAndConfused said:

That she’s curious, just like me.  I’ve been wondering the same thing since the Grand situation came about.

 

Yes; thank you for seeing the heart of my curiosity.... that I am curious. 

I just think it's a bit curious - interesting to note -  that it's been a Princess ship both times that have had actual outbreaks onboard, and that have had onboard quarantines, and testings. Why is this not happening on other ships?  Or is this happening on other ships, but being handled differently? OR is it not being reported in the media? OR is it not being reported in the media that I read and/or listen to? 

If it is happening on other ships, in other locations, I would like to hear about it, too.  

I didn't think it a "media conspiracy" when I said the media ... I only meant to reflect a couple of the answers that had been given by previous posters in response to my question. Neither did I think they were being conspiracy minded when they pointed out to me that our media isn't as European focused, and that different media report different things.

Just clarifying.....

31 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Posts are referencing 2 different things.

1 being denied docking at a port because the port authorities are paranoid.

2 being held up because there are actual cases onboard. 

Yes, you're right.  Even I didn't realize that I was merging the two in the way I asked the original question.

The heart of my question was more to do with the quarantine situation......

Are other ships - other cruise lines - being held in place (off shore, or in ports) because of outbreaks, and/or for testing results,, and/or for quarantine. Both the ships that have been held in quarantine and received the media attention were Princess. 

Some here say "just the luck of the draw". 

Too bad it's been Princess both times that has been so unlucky.  

So... it sounds like it is the media's focus.

I wonder if the other ships some of you mention here are also hunkering down off the coasts of *wherever*, and are awaiting test results, and living in quarantine. 

2 hours ago, Kenswing said:

Luck of the draw.  Sooner or later it will affect other lines.. 

 

Did you already forget the Westerdam?

I mentioned Westerdam in my original post.

Why are only Princess cruises being caught in the "you can't dock here" situation? First the Diamond, now the Grand?  Not Celebrity, not HAL, not RC... etc.

Are there other ships in the same situation, but our news media aren't telling us?

Or is it Princess's itineraries being different in some way?

Or should my question be, "why are the Princess pax being identified as having C-virus and not the other cruise line pax"?  I know about the Westerdarm, and maybe another one(?) in Feb, but now Princess is in this situation again. 

What is happening with Princess that is different....? 

Or is it the media not reporting any others, only Princess? 

Just curious....

I clicked on this post because I couldn't resist seeing what would be posted under the subject title:

"The Night the Ladies Went Out at Sea -- An Emerald Review"

LOL! My misread! But so very fun!

We were on the Sky Jan18-23. At that time you did need to have the "ocean compass" downloaded on your phone, not just the medallion class app.  But, I've picked up hints from other postings here that possibly the capabilities of the [once] separate ocean compass app has been integrated into the medallion class app.....? Just a head's up.