Muffinz

ok thanks for that - I thought if we completed all our paperwork on the app, we'd be good to go and just have to pick up our medallion at the port? I remember for our first cruise (on Solstice) we had to provide credit cards and get our photo taken at the cruise port terminal, but we can do this all on the app and I've done most of it already I don't know what time embarkation starts as the cruise is still 9 months away.... but Princess will probably send out the embarkation info well before the cruise sail date this is our first ever Princess cruise - so no loyalty perks or anything unfortunately

We are on Crown Princess from Sydney (Australia) in December and we are in the process of finalising flights / hotel pre cruise - we're getting very excited! Last night we were talking about embarkation day and wife said she doesn't want to queue for an hour (give or take) waiting to board the ship and she wants to get to the Cruise terminal in Sydney about 1pm to 'avoid' the queues.... I said that by 1pm I intend to be on the ship having something to eat / drink and relaxing... and I suggested getting to the cruise terminal about 11am-11:30am, but she is dead against this and said in the morning there will be big queues with everyone trying to get on the ship at the same time and she thinks that by about 1pm the queues would have 'died down' I said that if we have all our details correct we should be in the 'green line' and boarding should be easier than it was in 2018 when we boarded Celebrity Solstice in Sydney (that took about 60 minutes). Wife doesn't like standing for long periods of time as she has a dodgy knee, but I said it doesn't matter what time we get to the cruise terminal there will be queues, as Crown Princess holds over 3000 passengers. I'd just prefer to board early so we can relax, unpack our luggage and spend the afternoon exploring the ship. what are other peoples thoughts on an early or later embarkation?

We did this when we booked our cruise for Dec 2024 - just incase they give us a stateroom in a noisy location or something

Yes - I had a look at EZ air and they bought up the same flights we've already looked at, and they were more expensive than booking direct with the airlines

thanks for that - it's good to know but I think for this time we will opt for a later flight in the afternoon

thanks - I don't know anything about EZ air.... I assume they are flights organised by Princess on the regular carriers that fly between Sydney and Auckland? is that $29 per person or couple because if it is per couple than that would work out cheaper than the train

Unfortunately We've only been able to get a certain amount of time off work and we're both going back to work on 27 December..... anyway if we did stay overnight in Sydney we'd have to fork out about $400-$500 AUD for a nights accommodation... We're already staying in Sydney 2 nights before the cruise (hotel yet to be decided) I think we're probably going to get the 1:45pm flight back to Auckland just to be safe

thanks - the cruise is Sydney to Sydney (around South Australia) so customs won't be an issue But yes.... being delayed could cause a problem I'd prefer a later flight myself, but they are on the smaller A321 planes, and last time we flew international on one of those planes it rattled like buggery for most of the flight.... and really put us off... but we might just have to suck it up

We're on a Princess cruise that docks / disembarks in Sydney on 26 December 2024 at 0630 We've managed to get a really good airfare going to Sydney from Auckland 2 days before the cruise starts and we are now debating which return flight to get. The flights at the best times (later in the day) are on the smaller A321NEO planes (both Air NZ & Qantas), and we'd prefer to fly on a larger 777 or similar There is an Air NZ flight that leaves Sydney at 11:45am on a 777-300ER, but would this flight be too risky to make? Passengers can apparently 'self disembark' the cruise ship with their own luggage at 0630, so if we did this and got to the Circular Quay Train station at say 7am, then we'd probably be at the Airport by around 8am and have plenty of time to make that flight. The only problem could be if there are any issues with the ship docking or if it arrives late into Sydney..... We're in 2 minds about this - part of me wants to book the earlier flight, so we can get back to Auckland earlier.... but part of me doesn't want to risk it

thanks for posting this - we have the plus package on our cruise in December so we can go to Salty Dog Gastropub and get 1 of those small plates each and that will count as 1 casual meal each?

a Lanyard will work fine for us... no need to splurge for medallion accessories on our only cruise to date (celebrity) we had a lanyard with our card on it and we just hung it up on a metal hook in our stateroom and every time we left the room we took it with us.... but it's good to know you can use the app on board without needing wifi

We've got the plus packace on our December cruise... for us it worked out more beneficial than not having the package and that's why we chose it plain and simple some people don't drink much alcohol or speciality coffees like flat whites, or don't use wifi, so if you're one of those people then the package is not going to be beneficial to you

I think the solution here is to order 2 drinks using your medallion.... then when you order the next 2 drinks use your hubby's medallion? of course the easiest is for Princess to do put 1 drink on each medallion... but if they don't then try the above

thanks for the replies.... how others are dressed is not really of a concern to me.... if they are happy wearing a basketball singlet and shorts / flip flops, then good on them We will dress how we want to - depends on how warm / chilly it is in the evenings... but I am tempted to take my old Santa costume 😁

so are you saying it's up to the passengers to know the cost of each drink? we have the plus package on our Crown cruise in December and the last thing we want is to find out we've been charged extra for a drink(s) Surely the barperson serving you should be able to tell if you have a plus or premier package and if you order a drink that's abuve the plus package $$ limit they should tell you also I assume the 15 drinks a day applies to each person - e.g.wife and I both have the plus package, so we could get 15 drinks each?

Thanks for the replies - I wasn't aware of any 'dress to impress' night, but will look out for that. On our celebrity cruise in 2018 they had 2 formal nights, but like some of the replies here some did dress up and some didn't sad to hear though that Princess allows 'under dressed' people in the MDR.... I treat it like I'm going to a really nice restaurant and dress accordingly (smart casual)

Forgive me if this topic has been discussed before on here, but do Princess have 'formal' nights on their cruises? (ours is 12 days) We need to know if we should pack our glad rags Also the last sea day of the cruise will be Christmas day - do princess do anything special for Christmas, such as Christmas themed menus or something? thanks in advance

We just booked our first Princess cruise on Crown and elected not to be 'upgraded' should the opportunity arise, because the Princess rep on the phone said if they upgrade you, you don't get a choice of what cabin or what deck / location.... and the Princess rep said if we accept an upgrade then we just have to take whatever stateroom they upgrade us to So we chose to just keep our booked stateroom

ok thanks for that - I'll have to look at the menus for The Salty Dog Grill closer to the time Wife is looking forward to the specialty deserts... they look calorific!

ok with the dining, we will mainly use the MDR / Buffet / International cafe and the grill out by the pools that does burgers / taco's...etc (forgot the name sorry) but according to this (below) we're entitled to 2 casual dining meals per cruise - is this 2 casual meals per person (we both have the plus package) per cruise? and apart from the Salty Dog, is there anywhere else we get 'casual dining' on Crown? thanks in advance

thanks for the replies @skynight we are just regular passengers with a balcony stateroom - but we do have the Princess Plus plan @cnice515 thanks - they look good, but we both wear fit-bits and I don't really want to wear something on my other wrist also does anyone know the latest time when we can disembark the ship in Sydney? reason asking if we're looking at airfares and have found one that leaves later in the day so we don't have to worry about racing to the airport Could we self disembark at say 10-11am, or do we have to be off the ship at a certain time?

ok thanks for clearing that up 🙂

Ha ha.... cruise is in December - We'll pack closer to the time 🙂

thanks - what I meant is one of the 3 main dining rooms is apparently set up for suite guests breakfasts, but I can't remember which one

Ok, so we’ve booked our first Princess cruise for December 2024 (South Australia) on Crown Princess I’ll probably have 101 questions leading up to the cruise, so I’ll try not to ask them all at once. But some that come to mind are. 1) What time are the nightly shows in the theatre on Crown Princess and how long are they usually? I understand they might differ, depending on where the ship is cruising and what season it is. We will make dinner reservations depending on the times of the shows. 2) Do the medallions fit on a standard lanyard, or do Princess provide something when you pick them up in port? We’re not interested in buying any medallion accessories if a standard lanyard will do the trick. 3) On debarkation day does Princess allow you to self-debark with your suitcase, or do you have to pack it up the night before and leave it out for collection? 4) Are the Main Dining Rooms open for breakfast, lunch and dinner all days of the cruise or just sea days for breakfast / lunch? I understand 1 of them is open only for elite / suite guests for breakfast? 5) Are the pools on Crown Princess heated? I see come say Princess pools are solar heated some say they’re not Thanks in advance