flamomo

There's one in a couple of months on the Pacific Princess. We're boarding in Venice, spending the night there, and sailing the following day on a 29 day VCE to FLL itinerary.

In reviewing the cruise atlas for 2020- May, 2021, the Pacific Princess is scheduled thru May 2021.

Was just on the Grand 2 weeks ago, was in C 239, and had foot stools on the balcony.

I always bring my cabin mate, if not qualified to attend on her own, with me to that function, but never someone, even a family member, that is in another cabin. 

Since it is supposedly specifically limited to those who have paid a lot more for their accommodations than the rest of us have and are in a suite, or have earned the right to be there by earning Platinum or Elite status thru many cruises, I consider bringing other passengers who are not sharing my cabin, to be unqualified to attend.

We did  LA to FLL earlier this year and no "shots" were required. In fact, they were never mentioned anywhere.

It's not which one I prefer, but which one is more effective. And it's NOT hand sanitizer.

Good old-fashioned handwashing with soap and water, plus a healthy amount of scrubbing, and thorough rinsing, is the way to go.

Leave the sanitizer for situations where soap and water is not available.

I would grab the opportunity to visit the Orkney Islands. That was one of my highlights of the British Isles cruise. We did the excursion to Skara Brae, which was an intriguing historical site.

I just got home from an AK cruise on the Grand Princess, and was surprised to learn the starting time for  the S-E-P Lounge was changed to 4:30, and ended at 6:30. That worked well for us because we prefer to go to dinner between 5:30 and 6:00, as it has always been 5-7  for the 7 years I have been qualified to attend.

Maybe once you get onboard your cruise your times will be changed too.

I'd guess it might be 8 or so, once the early Princess excursion folks get off.

I have always done excursions so was not concerned about what time I could get off if just going ashore instead.

22 hours ago, chipmaster said:

 

How much is the princess transfer?  Do the math, if you are more than a couple people a private water taxi might be worth it for the xperience and also cost, I think they can take up to 6 people and luggage

We are doing another cruise out of Venice later this year and will be using a Princess transfer this time. The charge is $34 each.

If that happens, it is not Princess' doing.

But if it happens, and you have booked flexible flights, and you can find other flights on EZAir that better suit your needs/preferences, you can cancel and rebook ….  if it's prior to the 45 day cut off point. It pays to watch your booking closely.

I have done the bus that runs from the airport to the Piazzale Roma, the transportation hub in Venice, which was fine and inexpensive. But when you get off the bus, you will have to gather your luggage and schlep it across cobblestone-like walking surface to the People Mover and up the escalator or Elevator or stairs to the "train" (an elevated tram). The cost for the ride a couple of years ago was 1.5 Euro one way. Tickets are purchased from a machine in the P-Mover building.

 When we got off the tram, Princess had a bus waiting to deliver us to the gangway, for those who didn't want to walk there, which, as we found out later, can be a pretty good hike, depending on where the ship is docked. They also provided a truck for luggage, and we didn't see it again till it was delivered to our cabin.

We're going again later this year and have opted for a Princess transfer from the airport instead. Should mean less schlepping for us!!

We did the Seine River cruise a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it. No rushing around trying to squeeze in as many places as possible. Relaxing on the boat as it leisurely cruises up and down the river, and enjoying the great meal, complete with French wines, was perfect for us. 

Calypso Cove shop onboard also can punch a hole in your cruise card. The one drawback is that the shop (as well as the casino) doesn't open till at least an hour after the ship sails. I prefer going to the Passenger Services desk shortly after boarding to get mine done.

We're booked in B310 on the Island on a cruise for next year. I'm not quite sure what to expect to see in terms of viewing angles from the balcony.

It's on the aft corner of the forward bump-out and appears as though it's curved, and it looks, on the diagram, as if there is a view aftward, as well as straight out at the sea.

Can anyone enlighten me? Or does anyone have a photo of the corner balconies on the bump-outs?

I've done it 5 times thus far, and am considering doing it again on my next cruise. IMO, it's worth every penny because it is so much more than just having dinner.

The menu is not always the same, supposedly determined by the exec chef. I've had the surf and turf one 3 times, and the other two were sort of a meat lovers menu ….. 3 different meats on the entrée … beef, veal and (I think) lamb. 

I've cruised on the Pacific a number of time because I love this little ship!! On full-day port days there are often a number of empty seats in the dining room, perhaps because some late returners may have eaten on shore,  are tired, or opted not to bother with changing clothes to go to the DR, so chose the buffet or room service.

There definitely seemed to be some leeway on those days allowing for late arrivals for first seating, and we were always able to sit at our usual table when we were late returning.

On the occasional day when all-aboard time was well into the evening, it was open seating for all.

Except for the convenience of the Princess transfer from hotel to pier, in my experience, the "Princess hotels" are way overpriced, since the price is per person staying in the room. Essentially that means for a couple you are paying double, where if you booked it on your own, the nightly rate would be for 2 persons, and likely less than the Princess cost for two.

I can book my own accommodations and pay for a cab to the pier for significantly less than the Princess plan.

I have been on most of the ships in the Princess fleet, and have never seen a jigsaw puzzle for sale in the Calypso shops onboard.

I have often seem jigsaw puzzles available for loan in the ship's libraries. Occasionally I have seen one in progress on a table in the library that someone has started and left for any passerby to help assemble.

A suggestion: In the interest of conserving minutes when emailing so they will last the length of a cruise, especially on long cruises, I go online and retrieve my emails and then get off the internet. I compose my emails and responses to email off line, then sign on again and copy and paste what I have written to email(s) and send. I have never run out of my free minutes, even on 30+ day cruises.

In my case, having a need to be able to personally maintain control of as many aspects of my travel arrangements as possible, making my bookings myself directly with the cruise line is the only way to go. I've tried using a TA a couple of times, but hate having to waste time going thru a 3rd party in order to get an issue re: the booking resolved or get an answer to a question or request refaring when the price drops, when I can just pick up the phone and call the cruise line and take care of it right now. In fact, both times a TA was involved, I did all the prep work on the details and then just had the TA finalize the booking with the cruise line. 

 Sometimes they go down and sometimes they go up. It's like booking on any other airline or flight booking website. Supply and demand.

Usually the flights I book thru EZAir stay pretty much the same , occasionally they get lower and I cancel and rebook if the timing of the flights work as well as the ones I originally booked. Occasionally they go up a bunch and I am so glad I booked mine early.

For example, the ones we have booked for a cruise departing from Venice later this year have almost doubled since I booked ours. I always try to book mine as soon as they became available and then watch them closely and hope for the best.

Whatever I am paying for EZAir flights always turns out to be way less than if I had booked them thru other sources.

I always use them for checked luggage, no matter where I am flying into or out of. Never been an issue.

I have cruised on most of the ships in the Princess fleet, with the exception of the newest "mega-ships" (which I have avoided so far), and feel that the Pacific Princess is by far the most enjoyable, and classiest, of all the ones I've cruised on.

That's not to say that I have not thoroughly enjoyed every cruise AND every ship, but I just far prefer the Pacific for the ambiance and the smaller number of pax, the feeling of really mattering to all of the crew and staff that I encounter, the opportunity to get to know crew and staff members, seeing the faces of the same passengers every day so we get to feel almost like a family  for the length of the cruise.

We have another 29 day cruise on the Pacific coming up in a few months, and can't wait to get back to our home-away-from-home.

Take a look at the Pacific Princess …… lovely little ship with only 670 passengers. I've cruised on her several times before and have a 29 day Venice to Ft Lauderdale booked for later this year. The main reason for booking that one, besides the great itinerary, was the fact that it is on THAT particular ship.

About the only time there's a line is the short one waiting to go to our tables at dinnertime. And many of the people in that line are chit-chatting with fellow passengers and having a great time. No major lines when getting on and off the ship in ports, even when there is tendering. Elevators are usually empty when the door opens at the floor where you are waiting for it. Usually if there are any kids on the ship, it's one or two …. not herds!

To me, pricing seems to be moderate, pretty much in line with the other ships in the Princess fleet.

 I feel that free grats and OBC have the most value toward offsetting the total cost of a cruise.

For example, on a 29 day cruise we have booked, we have free grats (worth $400+ per person) plus $500 of OBC apiece.

On another one that is booked, a 16 day, we each have $600 in OBC.

Additionally, my cruise buddy and I each have 100 shares of CCL, and take turns using the OBC benefit.

And we book using FCCs so we pick up some more there.

Fortunately, I also get $75 of Loyalty OBC every cruise, until I reach the next level when it will go to $100 per cruise.

 Neither of us drink much alcohol, so the drink package would be a waste for us.