joeyjeremiah

St. Thomas Scuba and snorkel. We did a tour with them in December. They picked us up outside the cruise port. We went to one beach (I don't recall the name) and snorkelled there and then went to Brewers Bay to snorkel. Our guide was great. It was a very enjoyable tour.

It is every sea day in dining room. If you are in the sanctuary it is every day.

I did a 20 day B2B on the enchanted over Christmas and New Years. 1) Yes, unlike celebrity boarding is a general window and not specific times. Suites and Platinum/Elite have priority boarding so when the ship starts embarkation they will be the first to board. Everybody else boards in the order of arrival. Last cruise we were travelling with guests who didn't have priority so we didn't use our status to get priority boarding so we could board together and we were onboard just after 11:00 am. However our shuttle dropped us off at 9:45 am so we were in line for awhile before boarding they started processing people at 10:30. So if you want to be one of the first onboard you can be even without status however if this isn't important I would suggest arriving at 11:30 or so where there should be less of a wait and you can still get onboard early enough. This is all assuming there aren't any immigration delays which can delay embarkation. 2) Reserve your table for 2 in the app for the time you want. Once you get onboard speak to the maitre d and request same table with same waiter for every night. I had 6:00 pm reserved and he told me he couldn't guarantee it for that time that I could go earlier or later if I wanted same table and waiter. However he ended up moving us after the first night to a different section and seated us at the same table with the same waiter every night of our cruise. We did let them know when we had other dinner plans though so they didn't think we just didn't show up. So you may need to be a little flexible but they are very accommodating. At 8:00 pm you shouldn't have an issue. 3) Yes, you can only make dinner reservations after you are paid in full (so if you pay early you can reserve early). Specialty dining can get busy but you should still be able to book what you want, you might have to be a bit flexible with times. You will have no issue getting s dining room reservation. Once onboard you can always see about changing dining reservations but there can be waitlists for specialty dining. Crown Grill was completely booked our entire cruise so if you didn't book in advance you weren't getting in. 4) There will be more kids in August but not as many as you see on RCI or NCL. As for loungers if you don't mind being away from the pool a bit (1 deck up) there are often lounge chairs available even if you arrive later in the day. The adults only pool area is smaller, pool is pretty shallow, loungers are hit and miss in this area. 5) Yes there are a reasonable amount of tables outside so you should be able to find one. Keep in mind thought some of these are on the aft deck and the smoking area is deck 17 aft so depending on how many people are there and the wind the smoke can waft down. We preferred to eat inside near the window. 6) A lot of the musicians rotate throughout different venues on the ships. So you will need to watch the daily patter and just check out the various band and venues and see what you like best. But often we saw people dancing in the piazza, this seemed to be a favourite for the dancers. I'm sure you will have a great cruise.

You will need to discuss this with your TA. In theory yes, you can just downgrade to the plus and save the $20 per person per day. This isn't always the case though as if you were booked under a promo that had the premier as part of the pricing structure not an add on then in order to change it, it may be necessary to reprice the entire cruise which may end up costing you more (so you might as well keep what you have). So you will have to speak with your TA to see if you can change it.

A friend of mine is taking their first cruise. It is booked on the Joy. Travelling with 2 teen daughters. Any tips and tricks? What is the current embarkation process in Miami. I've cruised before but not on NCL so thought some of you might have some good suggestions I can pass along.

I was at this hotel a few weeks ago and they had wine for sale in the hotel. I wasn't looking for any so can't comment on pricing or selection but it might be an option.

I sent mine to Princess. Got a response back that it was received and could take 21 days. Later on I got another email saying I had to use stockperks app. I uploaded my redacted statement and waited for them to approved it. I was running out of time as my cruise date was approaching so I emailed hello@stockperks.com and they got back to me approved my statement and got my credit applied but I was 10 days out from my cruise. But basically you use the app to prove you have the stock and then once that is verified you can submit your booking numbers to get your credit.

click on the print at home option. on the pdf it states" Please present coupons at time of purchase. All offers are limited to one use per stateroom per voyage. coupons have no cash or onboard credit value. Cannot be used with any other discount for the same product or service. Coupons expire December 31, 2023." so the pdf clearly states one per stateroom. or if you click view now on page 2 it says the same thing. I wonder how sticky they are about expiry date as I have a book for my 10 day cruise leaving Dec 28th.

You said your cruise isn't until late 2024. Why not keep the celebrity cruise and book the princess one with the refundable deposit. It will give you more time to weigh out the pros and cons of both and then once you get closer to final payment cancel the one you don't want.

Just wondering if Princess has a health questionnaire or something similar that needs to be completed prior to boarding. All the other check-in information is completed but even before covid I remember having to do health questionnaires prior to boarding but am not seeing one in the app. Just want to make sure I am not missing anything.

I am doing 2 10 day B2B cruises that were booked as 2 separate cruises so 2 booking numbers but in the same cabin for both. On the app it is linking them as one trip. My question is each booking has some OBC. Do I need to use the credit for the cruise it is assigned to or can I combine them together and use all of it on one leg?

It is unlikely that they will be able to accommodate you but I would speak to the Maitre d' on the first night to see what they can do. Otherwise since the tradition is important have a backup plan as you may need to visit the buffet or another venue to find the dish. Otherwise is there a commercially packaged non perishable item that would work that you could bring with you? It may not be the same but neither is cruising at Christmas do it would still keep your tradition going. Otherwise depending on your itinerary if you are in port maybe you could find something there at lunch time? But more than likely I would say you may need to look at other options to keep your tradition in lieu of having an off menu dish prepared for your family.

I know for my upcoming summit cruise the bar menus are no longer in the app. They had been there but were all pulled out and haven't reappeared yet.

Depending on how many you are wanting to bring reach out to the medical/special request department and they should be able to note it on your booking.

Are there still irons in the self serve laundromat?

Your friends are incorrect. I am sure they mean well and just want all of you to have a great vacation. To package or to not is really up to you. And as others have said for this you really need to do the math. Look at the price of wifi, the price of the gratuities, the price for any beverages you would most likely purchase throughout the day (water, wine, specialty tea, etc), then any of the inclusions that you would use (specialty dining, photo pkg, casual dining cover charge, ocean now delivery fee, fitness classes, desserts, etc). Since the pkg includes things that not everybody will use. If what you would spend is close to the pkg price then the pkg is probably worth it as it gives you the opportunity to try some of the things that you may not think you'd use. But if what you would spend is quite a bit cheaper than the pkg price then the pkg most likely doesn't make sense for you to purchase. As for specialty dining. Once booked you can link your booking number with your friends booking number in the app. Once you have paid in full then you are able to make dining reservations, this includes specialty dining reservations. So if your friends have premier and you have standard then you can go into your app and make a dining reservation for your entire party. When you finalize the reservation it will deduct their dining credit from the total and have you pay for your specialty dining with a credit card. Otherwise you can wait until you get onboard and make the reservation, however the availability may be more limited as more people are booking in advance especially those with the premier pkg.

As many others have stated Yes, your grandchildren can join you in the lounges. There is no restriction there. I'm not sure if they aren't allowed or just not recommended to sit at the bar itself. Otherwise they are not allowed in the casino (unless just passing through) and unless something has changed not allowed in the nightclub venue when it turns into a night club.

A good TA's job isn't necessarily to provide you perks although yes everybody likes getting perks. You don't go to a restaurant and say this meal cost you $5 to make and you are charging me $35 you should give me some of that profit back. You are paying for the knowledge and experience of the chef and the atmosphere of the restaurant and professionalism of the server. A good TA is somebody that you build a relationship with who looks out for your best interests., They will get you the best price available (this shouldn't come out of their personal pockets), advocate for you if anything goes wrong, help navigate you through the requirements and make recommendations to suit what you are looking for from their knowledge and experience. They spend the hours on hold with the cruiseline to get things booked or changed for you so you don't have to. They stay up to date on policies and changes, just look on any of the board on here there is a lot of confusion on cruise policies especially when something changes. They monitor your payment schedule to make sure you don't miss it and have your cruise cancelled. Yes, many TA's now charge fees. This is becoming much more common in the industry. They should be upfront about what the fees are and what they cover. If you don't like it you can go elsewhere. I like to think of it this way. I can research myself on how to change the oil in my car. Watch youtube videos go out and buy the stuff. I may even be able to do it successfully, however it will take me a whole lot longer to get it done then bringing it to my mechanic. And my time is valuable. And what happens when something doesn't goes as planned, having a professional around makes these situations a lot easier to deal with instead of trying to navigate in a sea of misinformation yourself. I don't question what my mechanic charges me. I've built a relationship with him and trust his recommendations. I don't sit there to see if it really took 2 hours or only an hour and a half to do the repair. A good TA is a professional. So find somebody that you can work with and develop a relationship with them like you do a mechanic, hair dresser etc. I think we've all had a bad haircut at some point in time that has taught us the lesson that money isn't everything paying for experience is worth it sometimes too.

On my 5 night it was min $100 per person bid to concierge so I would book it for that price

I know many cruise lines have a tropical party or a white night or something similar. Anything I should be expecting on a 5 day Caribbean cruise?

It's been awhile since I cruised on Princess. I know they used to do an "island night" tropical deck party. Anybody know what the current themes might be on a 10 day Caribbean cruise?

Yes I booked a guarantee inside on the Summit for November this year and just put in my move up bids. So you can bid from an inside guarantee.

If you are that concerned that your TA didn't properly process the payment you may want to look at using a different TA. I am a TA myself in Canada and would imagine things would be similar in Australia. I receive a guest copy of an invoice direct from celebrity. Personally I do not send this to my clients as there are legal invoice requirements I need to follow with my invoicing that the celebrity one doesn't meet so I just send my agency invoice to clients to make sure I am compliant and don't see the need for duplicate paperwork however if anybody was to ever ask me for a copy of course I would send it. Otherwise you can call celebrity and inquire on the balance of your cruise, they should be able to confirm that your TA did send the payment to celebrity. If you just made the payment through your TA and it was direct debit, keep in mind it may take a little bit of time for that to be sent from your TA to celebrity this isn't as instant as credit card payments. But ultimately as long as you have the payment confirmation from your TA saying paid in full with your reservation number stated then you are good, otherwise it would be considered fraudulent.

6 months is always a recommendation and sometimes a requirement. It would depend on a few different things a) the requirements of the country you are entering in this case the US (for Canadians only need to be valid up to intended departure date) b) policy of the cruiseline, if the cruiseline has a 6 months passport validity requirement, I would either make sure my passport is valid for 6 months or get a written exemption from the cruiseline c) policy of the airline. Sometimes the airlines have different requirements so if you are flying into the US for your cruise you will also need to check airlines policies on passport validity So can you cruise with less than 6 months on your passport, most likely, is it risky? yes because you are dealing with travel provider policies in addition to border control requirements. So ultimately it is up to you if you are comfortable with that level of risk for your cruise.

I highly recommend booking with an experienced TA as they will help you determine what documentation you need for your trip. For your Caribbean cruise all you need is your valid Canadian passport and to make sure you meet the entry requirements for whichever country you are departing from.