eagletwo

On 7/16/2021 at 9:56 AM, alyssamma said:

I guess the cruise lines disagree with you 🙂 As mentioned, I've known people who have done this - both in the Caribbean and for Alaska cruises that stop at Canada. I found the above article plus several others that this.

 

From Carnival's website about Martinique:

 

• For cruises that visit Martinique, guests going ashore are required to carry a valid, unexpired passport. .

There are some countries that require all passengers to  have a valid passport no matter if you plan on staying on the ship.  Most Caribbean ports, Mexico and Canada will allow you to use a certified birth certificate.

 

That being said, if you don't have a valid passport and you need to return to the US, even if you need emergency evacuation, the Passport card and your birth certificate do not work to board a plane right away until you go through many hoops/getting in touch with the local US Embassy.  I'm in the private air charter business and we deal with this weekly.  US Customs is very strict and all passengers have to be cleared before departure and have a negative COVID-19 test before they board our plane.  We submit our manifest to Customs 2 hours before departure and they run the checks for proper documentation. 

 

Spend the few extra dollars and get a passport.  Also think about travel insurance.  An ad hoc last minute emergency airlift from Aruba to Miami can cost over $25,000+ and must be paid up front.  I have a high limit on my Am Ex, but not enough to cover the air ambulance plus any other medical costs. 

 

I feel everyone's pain.  I do a little part-time travel agent work and we just booked a cruise last night for my wife and I on the Divina for September 16th, paid in full.  The MSC agent site will not let me print e-tickets until we get under 60 days before sailing.  Will update in a few days if we are successful. The website is challenging at times and I have spent many times over an hour on the phone trying to get answers for clients, so if you have a TA, give them a break when they take days to answer your questions.    

We were on the last sailing on the Meraviglia last March, 2020. Our Yacht Club experience was awesome. Yeah, Arthur made eating in the YC restaurant special. The food was not 5 star, but it was very good and the entire YC staff were just great.  Never crowded anywhere in The YC areas. Being escorted to the Cirque du Soleil by the Butler was nice as was being escorted off the ship for your excursions. The Private island with the Yacht Club area was phenomenal. Food was very good. Yacht Club beach could use a lot of sand to cover the dredged rock mixture on the beach. Bring water shoes. 

As a YC guest, we were treated very well on the entire ship. Never a problem getting a drink anywhere. I did like the YC band that could override some of the elevators to take you straight up to the YC floor. "Snob" maybe, but this is a perk for YC guests. 

Wife and I have cruised Carnival twice (interesting), and Princess 6 times, from an inside cabin, mini-suite, Club Class mini-suite, full suite and and Owners Suite.  MSC YC was the best so far. After the Yacht Club, you will not want to book a regular cabin on MSC. It does cost more, but dang, not much more than our Princess Club Class mini and there is no butler.

We are booked on the Enchanted Princess November 30th. If it cancels and we rebook, $2,000 more unless Princess honors the current rate. 

So sorry E731 is not available.  We have had this cabin twice and the extra long balcony and the last cabin on the starboard side is so awesome.

Not sure what you are referring to.  Princess plans to start cruising from Alaska in July, but still may have a few challenges.  If the CDC gives the ok, Princess will start cruising in July/August.

On 1/24/2021 at 3:50 PM, puppymama1 said:

We are booked in E731 on crown for next year on a British isles cruise... I picked that cabin because of the larger covered balcony but am thinking about changing that now!

Not sure if E731 on the Crown is the same as on the Caribbean Princess, but we have had E731 on the CB twice.  Loved the larger covered balcony.  Vibration usually is limited to docking maneuvers coming into or leaving port.  My wife and I will always book E731 on the CB if available.  We had the family suite on the Crown in 2018 on the port side. Same vibrations coming in and out of port.  This suite is all the way up front.  You can see the photos of the couple having a Balcony Dinner on the Princess website. (FYI, when under sail, you can't enjoy the balcony due to the 20 plus knots of wind) 

We were on Deck 18.  Loved it.  Not sure there is a bad YC deck?

We were on the last MSC ship to dock in Miami on March 15th, 2020, Meraviglia.  The crew in the YC did not know what they were going to do as far as getting home or staying on the ship.  The YC staff could not have been more gracious or accommodating on the last day.  Breakfast served in YC was good as the rest of the cruise.  When we were ready to leave the ship, we were escorted directly to the Customs area.  US Customs was clearing passengers off the ship so fast we were in our car by 9:00 am. 

24 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Lucky you!  You must have been on one of her final cruises before cruising shut down.

 

Was Arthur and Luis still the Maitre d's in the YC Restaurant?  Great and friendly service from both gentlemen.  Watching Arthur "do his thing" during dinner was an entertainment delight for me.  He seemed to really love his job!

Yes, we were on the last sailing, docked on March 15th.  Arthur was so awesome! You are right, watching Arthur during service was a delight. He treated everyone in the dinning room as if they were his only customer and his staff was also top notch!

Our March 2020 sailing on the Meraviglia YC was one of our best cruises ever.  We have sailed on Princess in inside cabins, mini-suites, full suites and Owners Suites.  The Butler service on MSC was awesome from check-in, to the YC area on board. The Concierge desk would handle onboard reservation for dinning or shore excursions to airline flight changes. YC drinks were included including all over the ship.  Food in the YC was good to excellent as was the service. We enjoyed being escorted to the Cirque du Soleil and seated in the front row. Escorted off the ship at every port for excursions.  Ocean Cay was the best private island with the YC experience. Golf cart to and from the YC Club House, good food and drinks.  Your ship Butlers also work the YC Club area on the island.  Just wish the private beach would have a better sand base instead of the hard rock/sand combination they dredged from the surrounding area. 

We love Princess, but for the price of a full suite vs MSC YC, Princess needs to up their game a bit.  We do have a cruise booked on the Enchanted Princess for 2021 in Club Class.  Still love Princess.

On 1/1/2021 at 6:51 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Good questions.

 

 

Never made a reservation for a main Theater show as a YC guest.  Always was admitted; never was questioned by a staff member at the Theater's entrance I recall a separate YC "lane";  always had plenty of YC seating in the Theater; this was aboard Meraviglia.  I did, of course, make a reservation for the Cirque show.  And, I did utilize the services of a Butler for escort and seating at that Theater.  The YC seating area was excellent!  I was in the second row on an aisle from the stage.  

 

Drink prices?  Never was charged for any beverage that I ordered out of YC nor in the YC.  Outside of YC, the bartenders made very generous pours when they realized that you were a YC guest.   

Totally agree.  Our cruise on the Meraviglia in March 2020 was awesome as we were in the YC. Anywhere we ordered a drink outside YC was "free" and the bartenders served our drinks with a smile. Being escorted to the Cirque show and seated in the front row was very nice.  The YC experience overall was worth the money.  We really enjoyed the private island and the YC experience.    

We were in the Yacht Club on the Meraviglia in March 2020.  Ocean Cay was awesome.  I have to agree, the Cabanas were way over priced.  We were impressed with the food , bar service and the free umbrellas on the beach.  MSC could have done a better job providing smooth sand instead of the rough crushed stone on the beach. Better yet, having the beach area to the left of he Club House to Yacht Club guests.  Smooth sand, clear water and no wind.  

Sailed once on Diamond Princess, once on Crown Princess and three times on Caribbean Princess. Don't go to shows, so crowded theater is not a problem, but I see other lines have similar issues. You can't have a 3000 passenger ship and expect to seat everyone in a 900 seat theater. We love the CB and will sail on her again  Medallion Class ship is wonderful. Also, if it's in your budget, Club Class dining is wonderful. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a table  Service was better than any of the specialty restaurants. 

Once you try the Yacht Club, you will be spoiled. After 6 cruises on Princess, 2 on Carnival and 1 on MSC, YC was over the top. If you are worried about it being too fancy, just ask for help. If you feel you might be intimidated in the YC, just do want you feel is right  Heck, you will never the 200+ people in the YC again, so have fun, treat the staff well and enjoy being pampered. 

We sailed in the YC , Meraviglia this past March. Shorts, jeans, bathrobes were allowed in the dining room for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, shorts, jeans and casual clothes were worn. Elegant night, some folks really dressed up, but most came in nice resort casual. Never saw anyone turned away for being "under dressed".

The YC experience for us was one of the best cruises we have ever taken. Do your research, learn what to expect and just go with the flow. Treat your Butler and the assistant well and they will try to make your cruise special. Same with the staff in the lounge and pool area. A smile and thank you go a long way. 

1 hour ago, getting older slowly said:

It really comes down to your expectations.... fine dining... not in MDR.... 

Specialty restaurants.. have had some great dinners there......

 

If you like good hotel food.... that is where i would place the MDR food.... but sometimes it is better or worse depending on the dish......

 

Also the thing to remember you are being waited on , no cooking, no cleaning up... makes it taste better.....

 

Enjoy....... but remember food is such a subjective thing......

 

In 100 odd days on princess   most of food has been pretty good ( and have never sent a meal back ) lol

 

Cheers Don 

Best response I have seen in a long time. Don is right, I don't have to cook and someone is waiting on me. The MDR is usually good and we have been spoiled the three times in Club Class. Same food for the most part, just outstanding service  

We have sailed on the Caribbean Princess three times. Two of the cruises were in E731. The last mini suite on the aft starboard side. Balcony is covered and is extended.  If you don't care about Club Class dining, best mini on the ship for our money.

We have been to both on the Sunshine. Both restaurants are very good for the $15 pp upcharge. I love the bone in pork chop at Cucina and the pork belly at JiJi.  Depends if you like Italian or Asian food.

Come on, it's called Marketing. We receive a marketing email almost daily. Since the wife spends a "little" in the casino, she receives some awesome deals. Even before the shutdown of the cruise industry,  we both received at least two marketing emails each week.

I don't know why Holland America has not cancelled May sailings to Alaska. 

We were on the Meraviglia at Ocean Cay on March 14th. The ship backed into the port to dock and the starboard side of the ship is tied to the dock. Great time on Ocean Cay. 

We just left Ocean Cay today on the Meraviglia. First, YC is awesome! Just make sure you bring everything you might need with you the first time to the YC area on Ocean Cay. 

We are pretty savvy on what we need for a beach day. Well, today we did not have our stuff together. Forgot: water shoes (lots of small rocks at the beach area), personal straws, large hat to wear while in the water. 

It is a long ride from the ship to the YC area. Took me about an hour round trip to get the items we forgot. 

I would not pay the $399 for a YC  cabana. They are nice, but I will take the included umbrella and loungers. Same waiters come by to take your drink order. Food at the YC restaurant was very good. 

We departed early this evening  to get dock space in Miami tomorrow. Light House show was great. Sad to be leaving this ship. YC has been worth every penny!

14 hours ago, jl88 said:

We were asked to trade two balcony cabins for the family suite on our March 2019 LA to HI round trip.  They offered us $3000 refundable OBC and full suite benefits if we would make the switch. We took the deal and were quite pleased.  We felt pampered.  We were escorted from check-in to our cabin with the escort insisting on carrying our carry on bags. Crown Grill daily breakfast and CC dining in particular were excellent.  We also received 1 mini bar set-up (it was the first princess cruise for all of us), laundry, and 2 "cruise credits" each.  We enjoyed the over sized balcony with a view to the wings of the bridge above and forward.  The balcony also has a wider angle view - we could see forward as well as to the side of the ship - great for viewing whales in Maui and Kauai.

Enjoy!

We received a similar offer a few years ago on the Crown.  We liked the two cabins/two bathrooms and the suite benefits but the balcony was not really usable most sea days.  With the ship going 20-22 knots and the wind coming across the deck at over 25 mph, it was a bit much.  We found out why the deck furniture was metal when around 3 am one morning the wind was so strong we were awaken by the chairs being blown all over the balcony and banging into the railing.  Only way we would stay in this type cabin again would be $XXXX of refundable OBC.  I think Princess shows this type of balcony on some of their advertising, a couple having diner on the balcony while at sea.  We smile every time we see the photo.

Thank you for your honest review. We are looking forward to our cruise on March 8th.