Kunjaqueen

Following since we just booked a Nov 2022 cruise on Panorama. Like the OP I've been on Princess and Holland but never Carnival. I decided to go with Carnival for the price and the fact we're going with 2 other families. 

We splurged and went with the Havana rooms so we have rooms 6474, 6478 and 6480.  Our reservations are linked - what else do we need/want to know?

On 2/13/2020 at 7:35 PM, backforty said:

What 100% safe options are there for a woman and young child to do at Princess Cays? (not a booked excursion)

1. Is there a decent beach within a 5 minute walk from dock? If so , how do you get there? Is it free? 

2. If not, what are my other (safe) options that would occupy a young child for the day and not cost much? 

 1 - there are beaches all over the Island - you walk, it's not far from one end to the other.

2 - there is a childrens play area and some kind of child care on the island.  My kids are older so we didn't use either.

We were at Princess Cays December 2018 so this is based on that time.

1) do you request a specific cabana or are you assigned one

Assigned one - though they're all together (unless you go for the adults ones)

2) when do you find out which cabana you have on board or on the island

On the island when they take you over to them

3) can any one recommend a cabana that is close to a beach that's not too rocky

THey're all in the same place - the beach close isn't too bad and there are steps to the sand.

4) how far from the tender drop off are the cabana's

Maybe a 10 minute slow walk?  They'll give you a ride on a golf cart!

3 minutes ago, bjgill17 said:

 

Is June 29 th rock and roll festival weekend. ?

No - there's a pride parade downtown that weekend though that may snarl traffic around 11.

https://www.events12.com/seattle/june/

What weekend in June?  The Seattle Rock n roll marathon happens in June and that will significantly impact traffic that is already gnarly.

It's 35 minutes to SEATAC with zero traffic.  THere's likely to be some so plan on at least an hour of travel time.  Then our TSA isn't the fastest so you really do need at least 2 hours to get through (unless you are Pre-Checked or first etc.).  I wouldn't take a flight any earlier than 12:30.

*** I live in WA 😄 ***

The armory has valet, car to door, transportation.  Why not just park there and get transported?  Thats what we're doing (albeit without the scooter).

Try American airlines Seattle to Miami. It’s ususlly cheaper than a

Alaska out of SEA and Miami is an easy trip to the port!

Don't wait in line for the Airline to help at the terminal, call the Airline customer service from your cell phone 😄. The desk agents don't have the same level of authority anyway but customer service can help.

We dealt with this in December. Our flight SEA to SFO was delayed by 3 hours.  We were destined to miss our connection in SFO and there weren't other flights out of SFO to get us to FLL in time to make departure in Florida.  We weren't the only ones with this dilemma on our flight.  The others waited in line and got routed to a different flight to SFO - they still likely didn't make the connection.  I called Alaska Airlines and explained the situation but asked if they could get us to somewhere in Florida - didn't have to be FLL.  Alaska was amazing and  they rerouted us (a family of 6) to MIA on American via a direct flight; we actually landed earlier than we would have.  We then called Princess and let them know what was going on.   They put us on a transfer from MIA to the port instead of FLL.

Was it ideal?  Nope and next year we're hoping to be able to fly in a day earlier - schedules didn't allow it this time.

Did we know if we'd have bags in FL? Nope but FL has Ubers and Walmarts so we would have been ok until our bags caught up.  Really my goal was to get to FL in time to make the boat!


 

Can't speak for Australia - I think you all have a way different vacation schedule than the US but we just got off the Christmas cruise to the Caribbean - there were plenty of kids on board for that one (17 December - 27 December).  All our kids found someone their age.

We're flying out of SEA on Sunday, 16 December red eye to FLL (Alaska).  Coming back late on the 27th!

Shuttle is scheduled to pick us up around 3:30 I believe.  

I'm super excited as are the kids.  They've got a cruise countdown going on instead of an Advent calendar 😄. 

We're actually in Lacey, just over the Thurston County line - what about you?

Olympia here, you on the Holiday cruise too?

No!  Thats whats even cooler!  SEA is an Alaska hub which helps!

If you can adjust flights it may be a good thing to check prices today if you're flying around Christmas.

I just scored round 6 trip flights, SEA to FLL for less than $250 each in December!

I used Princess EZ air but it was a huge price drop from the original flights!

They said no. Need an 18 yo in each room :(

Try again with a different agent. On our next cruise (Christmas) I have my kids in one room and the spouse and I are in the other. The rooms are linked and noted as such. We had to book through princess but the rep knew how when we explained what we wanted.

has anyone done the turtle/snorkel excursion to Buck Island St.Thomas recently ? Any turtles?

We went April 4th. Saw turtles, Rays and Barracuda!

Boarding today and not sure about princess boarding policy. New to the cruise line and wondered what time you can actually get on the ship, compared to when they suggest you arrive. Thanks

 

 

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They’re still disembarking till at least 9:30 (we just left) but we were onboard by 12:30 last week!

We are sailing on the Ruby Princess April 7th, 2018. I was looking to book a "Exclusive Beach Resort Getaway" while in Puerto Vallarta. The Princess site does not show what resort thay they take you to so I called and was put on hold while the girl called th excursion desk. Well, guess what? They will not tell you where you are going! I was told it was because of the resort security. I say bull. Has anyone had this happen to them? Fork over your money then maybe we will let you know where you are going.

I'm willing to bet its las calentas.

Sam,

My heart goes out to you and your family. I actually met your brother a few times at our local run group and he was a friend to one of my coworkers. He was a good man and will be missed.

Cat

I think so. The Chef was from Romania, very suave, debonair and personable and I think that was his name.

Thats Razvan. We sailed in early November - that man was amazing and truly made club class the experience it was!

We flew princess air SEA-LAX on Alaska for $220RT. I couldn't find the same flight cheaper even with being an Alaska frequent flyer. There are tons of flights in the am so I personally flew day of, your comfort level may vary with an older traveler.

I'm doing it again next year!

We got off the Emerald Princess last Sunday after a 28 day cruise where we and another couple had booked two full suites and anytime dining. We took advantage of the suite perk of a free dinner on embarkation day in a specialty restaurant. Every other evening except formal nights we ate at the Club Class section on the starboard side of the deck six amidships dining room. We told the Club Class section head waiter that we had packed no formal wear. He told us we could dine there on formal nights in smart casual attire. We still ate at the Crown Grill on formal nights as we wanted to celebrate the other couple's 50th anniversary one night and our 51st on another night.

We found the Club Class to be just as has been described. The young lady at the entrance took our room numbers the first evening and knew us on sight every other night. The food was fantastic-especially the special items not on the menu that the head waiter told us about. Loved the Lobster Thermadore special.

We also ate the suite breakfast in the Crown Grill every morning except one where we had an early excursion. The suite breakfast is in the Crown Grill since the Sabatini's restaurant was taken over by the Curtis Stone Share restaurant. The suite breakfast opens at 7:30 every morning no matter whether it is a port day or sea day. We found the staff to be quite enjoyable and very talkative. The manager/head waiter was very entertaining as he would try so hard to get the four of us to take multiple pastries from his tray. After the first morning we never had to order coffee or Memosas----they automatically brought them to our table and left a pot of coffee at the table. We never had to pour our own as they came around so often and refilled our cups. We loved the menu items but also could order items not on the menu such as pancakes and ham/bacon/cheddar cheese omelets. I can't imagine that INDYGIRL would have had the same opinion of their experience had they eaten there more than once.

Our experience the week after you was similar. Once we'd been once, the wait staff knew our name and preferences - to the extend that the head waiter realized I was vegetarian and told me the best meals to eat off the menu. I miss that dining experience!

Is the shopping located near the port or do you need to take a cab?

Theres shopping right inside the port terminal if you choose to go that option - it was expensive though. Take a taxi to the Golden Zone and look around there.

Be nice to her. We're going to Mexico on Emerald in 4 weeks!!!:D

We submitted my husbands passport 3 weeks ago - we got it back in 2.5 weeks. The site said "6-8 weeks".

I don't think it's as bad as they let on.

WA State schools go back after Labor Day for the most part - my kids first day is the 6th.