travelin.sisters

options of things to see/do in San Pedro will vary depending on what day you are here...there is a nice little aquarium at Cabrillo Beach (not fancy like the one in Long Beach but also not expensive), the Iowa is well worth seeing & I enjoy walking from there along the waterfront promenade. The restaurants that have been mentioned are good choices if you want to go further there are other options but definitely some nice choices within walking distance...if you will be here on Friday or the weekend there are some other options for things to do 

One thing to note about using a walker on the ship...when the cleaning carts are in the hallway it can be difficult to fit through with the walker...the stewards will move them if they are there but sometimes they are not right there ...I spent an entire Panama canal cruise moving carts for my sister to get around so we bought a rollator type folding walker with a seat (it folds so the sides come together & it gets narrower but still provides support if she needs it, she also has a seat available if she needs to sit while waiting in line etc.

15 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We frequently write letters of commendation for specific crew members and mail them to the corporate office. 

 

We almost always receive a return thank you letter from corporate. 

 

We also frequently hear back from the crew member that they received a copy of our letter and that they received special recognition.

could you share the address you use to send these letters please?

if anyone in your group has mobility issues (wheelchair, walker, trouble with stairs) I would avoid the Allegro as the elevators can get very congested & you have to use the aft elevators or stairs to get there. Otherwise sometimes that back dining room can be less crowded because of that same reason, so it would be what works for your group. Otherwise the menus & meals will be the same in any dining room.

You can also change your reservations once you are on the ship or just for a night or two you are not locked into the reservations you make before cruiseing

3 hours ago, beach_fever_4ever said:

Are you allowed to bring plastic bottles of water onboard? 

actually the passage contract says you can't (only beverages in cans & wine)...some people have been able to but the official answer is no...you can buy 12 bottles for about $7 pre cruise & it will be delivered to your cabin

8 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

A big ooooops on my part. In my earlier morning post I reported that today was our last full sea day before arriving in Ensenada. I also lamented about loosing an hour tonight (which we are). Well I didn’t just go one hour ahead, I went a whole day ahead. What a big dummy I feel like as A little while ago, while at dinner, I was reminded that we have one more full sea day before we reach Ensenada. I feel like a big dummy…..

 

Bob

Bob, I believe that on a cruise one can move sea days around at will as long as you don't miss any important dinner reservations, hair appointments & are ready (sadly) to get off the ship for the next people to get on...& it is always better to discover you have an extra day left than to suddenly realize you are closer to disembarkation than you thought...or blame it on the cold medicine

39 minutes ago, Pepes Pal said:

Hey there "Traveling.sisters", you are my neighbors here in San Pedro! 😉 Fun living here, isn't it?

Judy

makes cruising easy, that's for sure

11 hours ago, milogurd said:

 

they still haven't fixed that?

I prefer the buffet for breakfast...I look forward to the made to order omelets but we will go to the MDR at least once a cruise so my sissy can have eggs benedict (not on the menu for breakfast but on the lunch/brunck menu & they will make them for you if you ask)

6 hours ago, cruisinfamily7609 said:

We are traveling with my 80-year old mother in February on NCL. It has been nearly 20 years since I last left out of San Pedro terminal - are there baggage handlers or porters? I’m sure there’s got to be, but I also remember having the option to take our luggage on board ourselves when we cruised this last summer on Carnival so I thought I’d better ask and be prepared! 
 

My mom uses a walker, so it sounds like maybe having a wheelchair would be the best option for her. Is it pretty easy to request one or do I have to somehow reserve it in advance? Once she’s on the ship I think she’ll be okay with just her walker since she can take her time. 

• lots of porters for your baggage.

• it is easy to get a wheelchair (although our TA always notes the need on our booking) on Princess & I imagine every cruise line, you will have one wc & pusher to get you through check in & then will transfer to a seat to wait for a wc & pusher from the ship to take you onboard.

• if you can afford it or her insurance will provide it, a wheeled walker with a seat that folds in (so skinnier where the wheels get closer together but still provides support...like a rollator) is very helpful, my 2 80 y/o family members each have one mostly for cruising...if provides a seat when you have to wait in line for anything & is easier to get down the hallways & through the cabin door (we got one after I spent a 19 day Panama Canal cruise moving cleaning carts so my sissy could get down the hallway every time she wanted to leave the cabin or return...she literally could not go anywhere alone because the walker would not fit between the cart & the wall (maybe this is only a Princess issue I don't know but it has been worth the price for her to not feel trapped & so dependent) 

we usually aim to get there about 10-10.30

2 hours ago, TN-Mountains said:

Thank you all for the advice.  I finally found the link in the App that allows me to add the other booking number.  I suppose it was there all along, but sometimes you need someone to point it out!  😉  Glad to hear I don't need to plan in advance (beyond meals) for the kids' activities.  The cruise is their Christmas present; I don't want to ruin the surprise by asking for their input!!  As for shore excursions, we will be doing San Diego on our own since hubby used to live there.  I'm still researching Ensenada. 

 

If we are cruising Dec 19th-23rd, will there be holiday activities beyond Christmas decorations?  

we are on that cruise too, I have never done a holiday cruise with Princess, but would expect some types of Christmas themed activities...there may be things listed in the journey view on the app about a week out.

Just now, trbarton said:

Thanks.  Your ships tour was on your own?  Princess use to have a ships tour that took you to places, like the engine room, the bridge where you couldn’t go to on your own. 
 

Tom😀

just my own exploring...I don't believe they have restarted the ships tours, at least I have not seen one offered on the cruises I have been on since the restart

50 minutes ago, trbarton said:

Does your link take us directly to the live with the ships tour?  I tried it but it just took me to the beginning of your thread. 

yeah, it ended up being a long thread...I gave you the pages & post #s for the various decks in answer to your question over on that thread, so hopefully that will be helpful

List of my posts in this LIVE:

Page 1 

• Introduction~post 1

• Pre-cruise: packing~post 10

Page 2

• Pre-cruise:  booking & trip prep~post 29

• Pre-cruise: last day stuff & weather~ post 44

Page 3

• Embarkation Day~March 2: good morning, looking forward to boarding~post 62

• Embarkation Day~March 2: boarding & first impressions~post 67

• Embarkation. Day~March 2: exploring the Crown Princess~Star (19), Sky (18) & Sport (17) decks aft~post 69

• Embarkation Day~March 2: exploring the Crown Princess~Sun Deck (16) with Sports & Sky Decks midship & forward~post 70

• Embarkation Day~March 2: exploring the Crown Princess~Lido Deck (15)~post 75

Page 4

• Embarkation Day~March 2: back to the cabin~Aloha Deck (12)~post 78

• Embarkation Day~March 2:  the papers & the patter~post 89

Page 5

• Embarkation Day~March 2: DaVinci dinner~post 104

• Embarkation Day~March 2: wrap up & random thoughts~post 114

Page 6

• Sea Day~March 3: good (very early) morning~post 142

• Sea Day~March 3: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 147

• Sea Day~March 3: mid-morning adventures~post 148

• Sea Day~March 3: lunch & a (mostly) lazy afternoon~post 149

• Sea Day~March 3: DaVinci dinner~post 150

Page 7

• Sea Day~March 3: wrap up & random thoughts~post 151

• Sea Day~March 4: a (not so early) morning & DaVinci breakfast~post 167

• Sea Day~March 4 buffet lunch & afternoon adventures~post 172

• Sea Day~March 4: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 173

• Sea Day~March 4: DaVinci dinner & evening~post 175

Page 8

• Sea Day~March 4: wrap up & random thoughts~post 176

Page 9

• Sea Day~March 5: another relaxing day & Salty Dog Grill lunch~post 204

• Sea Day~March 5: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 205

• Sea Day~March 5: formal night, DaVinci dinner & a show~post 206

• Sea Day~March 5: wrap up & random thoughts~post 208

• Sea Day~March 6: another beautiful morning~post 216

• Sea Day~March 6: pub lunch & elite tea, oh my!~post 221

• Sea Day~March 6: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 224

• Sea Day~March 6: DaVinci dinner~post 225

Page 10

• Sea Day~March 6: wrap up & random thoughts~post 226

• Honolulu~March 7: good morning, Honolulu~post 228

• Honolulu~March 7: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 229

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~getting there~post 230

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~getting in~post 231

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~islands of Polynesia~post 233

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~exploring the islands of Polynesia~post 239

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~spending time in Samoa~post 240

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~enjoying the beauty~post 241

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~Gateway Buffet~post 249

Page 11

• Honolulu~March 7: Polynesian Cultural Center~Ha Breath of Life show, maps & flyers, thoughts~post 252

• Honolulu~March 7: onboard the Crown~post 253

• Honolulu~March 7: exploring the Crown Princess~Gala Deck (4)~post 254

• Honolulu~March 7: wrap up & random thoughts~post 261

• Not Kauai; More Honolulu~March 8: adventures in Honolulu~post 263 

• Not Kauai; More Honolulu~March 8: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 266

• Not Kauai; More Honolulu~March 8: leaving for Maui~post 271

• Not Kauai; More Honolulu~March 8: DaVinci dinner & a show~post 273

Page 12

• Not Kauai; More Honolulu~March 8: wrap up & random thoughts~post 276

• …& Not Maui~March 9: early morning sail in & whales~post 280

• …& Not Maui~March 9: patters, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 281

• …& Not Maui~March 9: unexpected day at sea~post 285

• …& Not Maui~March 9: DaVinci dinner~post 286

• …& Not Maui~March 9: wrap up & random thoughts~post 292

• Hilo~March 10: early morning, internet info, disembarkation in Hilo~post 296

Page 13

• Hilo~March 10: Hilo historic downtown walking tour (part 1)~post 301

• Hilo~March 10: Hilo historic downtown walking tour (part 2)~post 307

• Hilo~March 10: Kalakaua Park~post 310

• Hilo~March 10: Mokupapapa Discovery Center~post 311

• Hilo~March 10: Pacific Tsunami Museum~post 313

• Hilo~March 10: around Hilo~post 314

• Hilo~March 10: shopping & Farmers Market~post 315

• Hilo~March 10: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 316

• Hilo~March 10: sail-away~post 319

• Hilo~March 10: DaVinci dinner~post 320

• Hilo~March 10: wrap up & random thoughts~post 321

Page 14

• Sea Day~March 11: another day at sea~post 331

• Sea Day~March 11: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 332

• Sea Day~March 11: formal night & DaVinci dinner~post 333

• Sea Day~March 11: wrap up & random thoughts~post 334

• Sea Day~March 12: more moments at sea~post 339

• Sea Day~March 12: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 340

• Sea Day~March 12: DaVinci dinner & a show~post 341

• Sea Day~March 12: wrap up & random thoughts~post 342

Page 15

• Sea Day~March 13: a day of surprises~post 354

• Sea Day~March 13: DaVinci lunch~post 356

• Sea Day~March 13: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 357

• Sea Day~March 13: Sabatini’s~post 359

• Sea Day~March 13: evening entertainment~post 360

• Sea Day~March 13: wrap up & random thoughts~post 361

• Sea Day~March 14: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 364

• Sea Day~March 14: formal night, captain's circle cocktail party, DaVinci dinner & a show~post 372

• Sea Day~March 14: wrap up & random thoughts~post 373

• Sea Day~March 15: one last day at sea~post 374 

• Sea Day~March 15: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 375

Page 16

• Sea Day~March 15: DaVinci dinner~post 376

• Sea Day~March 15: wrap up & random thoughts~post 378

Page 17

• Ensenada~March 16: staying onboard in port~post 403

• Ensenada~March 16: patter, weather, progress & photo of the day~post 404

• Ensenada~March 16: exploring the Crown Princess~Plaza (5) deck~post 405

• Ensenada~March 16: exploring the Crown Princess~Fiesta (6) deck~post 406

• Ensenada~March 16: exploring the Crown Princess~Promenade (7) deck~post 407

• Ensenada~March 16: DaVinci dinner~post 408

• Ensenada~March 16:  wrap up & random thoughts~post 409

• Return Home~March 17: one last morning on the Crown~post 412

• Return Home~March 17: disembarkation~post 417

Page 18

• Back Home~Things to Think About: back to real life~post 429

• Back Home~Things to Think About: the joys of Hawai’ian cruises~post 430

• Back Home~Things to Think About: the Crown Princess~post 431

• Back Home~Things to Think About: food & dining~post 432

• Back Home~Things to Think About: Hawai’ian Ambassadors~post 433

35 minutes ago, trbarton said:

What day was your ships tour?

 

Tom😀

I always try to go from one end of the ship to the other & top to bottom the first day while the rest of my people relax & get settled...but I am guessing you mean where do you find it in all the hundreds of posts. so: 

March 2 page 3 posts 69, 70 & 75 & page 4 post 78

& then I finished the rest at the end

March 16 page 17 posts 405-407

also Sabatini's dinner was page 15 post 359.

I will repost the whole index incase there is something else you might be interested in...

you just need the reservation number(s) of the other cabins to make reservations for everyone in the app...you can still change once you are onboard either by cancelling for that day or telling the dining room staff the night before that you will be doing something else the next night so if you get on the ship & decide that you want to be more flexible you still can be

you didn't say where you live, which will make a difference in how you feel about the weather...on our last Hawai'i cruise the people from CA were bundled up until we got a few days out, but the people from places where there is snow & actual cold weather were sunbathing by the pool from the first day to the last.

Someone said the tenders ran all night, but on our last stop in Cabo they did not run the whole time. 

Take advantage of your refrigerator, you can either bring food back from the buffet or International Cafe (which is open 42/7) or order room service. For the last morning, we always go to breakfast before we have to be out of our cabins & then come back & pick up the last of our stuff, so we don't have to schlep everything to breakfast

have some photos taken by the ships photographers, I am pretty sure you get the digital files & some prints with your package & Princess has really good photographers they will have different backdrops around the ship each evening where you can pose 

have a wonderful trip & make some great memories with your little ones

6 hours ago, memoak said:

On the Crown they did lunch one day. Same menu full price. I would not want a heavy dinner meal at lunch time  That is a $35 lunch per person

 

but if they just do it one or two days, it allows for those who don't like a heavy meal at night...I actually prefer going out for a later lunchtime "dinner" & then a light snack at dinner time. Growing up this was our Sunday meal plan "dinner" after church & then "supper" which was just a light meal in the evening...so this could be a nice way for different people to enjoy the specialty restaurants 

10 hours ago, Woobstr112G said:

 

One of the coolest things I’ve ever seen (never have seen it before). A rainbow going all the way down to the water…..

 

Bob

looks so magical!

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Asking for sweet tea on a cruise ship? You might as well ask for iced tea in England. 🙂

 

this makes me laugh because back in the day my friend asked for iced tea in Hong Kong when it was still a British colony & she got the whole milk & sugar tea creation in a glass with ice cubes (that is before the day of things like iced lattes etc) she was shocked & a little horrified 

you have gotten a lot of really good info so I will just add a couple of things:

they have tea on sea days but Mrs Fan might not consider it "high tea" it is enjoyable but not fancy like on some ships...in a corner of one of the dining rooms, usually shared tables, they will have tea, some little sandwiches & desserts & scones which will be brought around on trays

we cruised the Crown to Hawai'i in March & I did a "live" with a ship tour, lots of photos, dinner at Sabatinis, daily schedules & thoughts about the condition of the ship, If you are interested, the link is in my signature.

this was my cake on our last cruise...if they don't give you a card for it, it might show up on your birthday with singing (the actual lit candle depends on the ship, some yes some no), I would imagine that if you told them that night when you get there they would also be able to do it even if you haven't signed up before...you can add a birthday or other celebration in the app (go to personal info & documents, then scroll down to the suggested section & there is add a celebration, you can pick the type of celebration & a date...it doesn't have to be on your birthday--I celebrated my May birthday in March)...the door screen & the medallion screens will wish you a happy birthday as you pass by them & there might be a sign (no more balloons) on your door...other than that it just depends, I have gotten on various cruises: $40 spa credit, nothing, & our last cruise a beautiful bouquet that the room steward brought 

9 hours ago, sabookkeeper said:

Does anyone know how much it would cost for me to upgrade from 1 device to the multi device plan?  Also, since we have the plus package, will both of us have to upgrade or can I just upgrade my plan?

 

I don't 100% KNOW the answers to your questions, because sometimes what was true before is not true the next time, but I have upgraded to a for only one person in a cabin. I did it on the app before boarding so I would suggest you go to the app & see what it says the cost will be, but generally a one device plan is $15/day & 4 is $40 so you would pay the difference or $25/day.

5 hours ago, RFGuru said:

Is it cheaper to pre-purchase Internet before sailing or buy it on the embarkation day special? 

it is no longer discounted before sailing, so you can wait to purchase it onboard...I do not believe they have an embarkation day special any longer either...you can purchase at a daily rate as well if you don't need it every day