Poulsbo Cruisers

As long as I can sit an look at the Ocean, that's fine...I'm on vacation....

I agree. There seems to be a lot of complaining about this issue. If there's room for me to sit and have my coffee or a beer, I'm a happy camper (cruiser). These ships are beautiful. Princess doesn't seem to have any trouble selling them out. But, everyone has different things they focus on. If this is a primary issue, then there are other ships with larger balconies.

We were on the Regal last year and really loved it. We did not hesitate to book a cruise on the Royal (sister ship) for next year.

I've been watching the cruise prices for several weeks for a 2017 Mediterranean cruise. A basic balcony cabin is only $100 cheaper than yesterday and the same price as under sip and sail. However, this same price now applies to higher category balcony cabins, which my wife and I figure saves us at least $200 per cabin for the area of the ship we want. With the tips and OBC, this is a great deal for us. We aren't heavy drinkers. We jumped on this deal.

E731 is our favorite cabin on the Crown. We've had this cabin twice.

I did a search for 3 for free and was able to find the fare charts here: https://book.princess.com/BookingSystem/goToUrl.do?srcURL=marketing/pc/promotional/promotions/index.jsp

 

Two of our booked cruises are the same as for the Sip and Sail and one we are watching is a couple hundred $$ higher. Guessing that these are pre-Captain's Circle discount so probably $100 less when you log in on or after 9/6?

I hope these prices are correct. A balcony cabin on the cruise I'm considering began at $2599 last week, but currently is showing $2699. This chart puts it back at $2599. I wonder why Princess would raise the fares for one week between promotions. Wouldn't everyone just rebook next week?

I've been waiting to book a September 2017 Mediterranean cruise to take advantage of the three for free promotion. Today the prices went up in all categories for this cruise by $100 pp. Nothing is really free anymore. That $200 increase pays for the $200 obc being offered. :eek:

Apparently some of the Celebrity IT people have been employed by Princess. I was trying to book the Oct 0217 repo cruise NY to Fort Lauderdale. It only shows the the lowest price in each category. It won't let me book or maybe I can't figure it out. I don't know. Also when I reset the search it shows the number of itineraries but it won't let me click on view results. I have to back all the way out and search from the beginning. The only way for me to see all of the prices is if I go to the website that alerts you to changes in cruise fares. I like to have all of the facts such as location and price before I call a TA or Princess to book. I'm using Safari. Furthermore, I'm really getting sick of the B.S. sale pricing that has been going on with all of the cruise lines. The websites are probably malfunctioning because the prices don't compute.

Funny! These were my thoughts also. Celebrity has the worst website imaginable. I was hoping that Princess wasn't trying to copy them.

I have two browsers on my iPad. Using Safari, the website has not changed as others have noted. Using Chrome, it has changed. Strange.

However, the price of the cruise I'm looking at went up on both. :eek:

Do not get your hopes up.

 

Princess (and RCCL and Carnival and....) are trying to maintain pricing levels to convince passengers that booking early will be the best deal they can get. This seems to be successful as Carnival Corp (which includes Princess) and RCCL report that future bookings are up and with higher pricing compared to last year.

 

So with a 7-day cruise that has (per person) $75 OBC and $90.65 gratuities ($7 more in a mini suite or full suite), the actual cost of the cruise is lowered by $165.65/person with no change in basic pricing other than getting a higher price cabin at a lower price cabin price, usually a difference of less than $50/person.

 

So instead of having sales with pricing going down and then up after the sale, basic pricing stays about the same and the amenities bring the actual cost of the cruise down.

We've been holding off on booking a 2017 Mediterranean cruise until this promotion kicks in. I just noticed that the prices increased $100 pp in the last couple of days. I guess there is no free lunch.

Yes, seems Princess is twigging with their site ... and I'm seeing some indication of price hikes in prep for the new 3 for Free promo. Conflict in pricing by $100 on same web page. Using Chrome, all looks as usual ... but with the Opera or generic android browser, I see the changes you mention, including some elements borrowed from HAL. The changes become apparent once you start clicking thru the Cruise Details and beyond area.

 

This can't be good!

I also noticed the price hikes. I've been looking at the Princess site several times a week. I'm just waiting for the Three for Free promotion to book. The site has definitely changed regardless of what others are noticing. And the price of the cruise I'm looking at has gone up $100 pp. I guess someone has to pay for the upcoming promotion.

It appears that Princess has changed its website and not for the better IMHO. To see the prices, other than inside cabin, one must select book this cruise. I don't know why Princess is changing something that wasn't a problem. Sorry if this has already been discussed.

We arrived a little before noon last year and got right on. Even though we had priority boarding, it wasn't really needed. It was a very quick process for everyone.

One think that Princess definitely does better is their website. It's more user friendly, easier to navigate and much easier to use for booking a cruise and selecting a cabin. After many years on Princess my DW and I are looking at a Celebrity cruise. Their website is enough to make me reconsider.

We've done both. Didn't know if we would like the Baltic, but it turned out to be a great experience. Went to Copenhagen a few days early. Great city. We used a private tour company in St. Petersburg. It was half the price of Princess, smaller group (16 people) and we saw more. The private company took care of the visas and provided head sets. Extremely knowledgeable guide. The Baltic is truly a must do for anyone's bucket list.

We had D730 last year on our Baltic cruise. We really enjoyed it.

Thanks for your review. We did this exact same cruise on the Regal last year (July 7). We only had rain in Oslo. This review brings back many fond memories. We loved the cruise and the ship.

On the Emerald D735 is an aft premium balcony - same as B754.

Both balconies are fully covered.

Must have had a senior moment.

D735 is a mini suite. I would definitely choose that if you want a larger cabin and bathroom. However, the balcony is not covered and people from higher decks can look down onto your deck.

We always print our own tags and use these luggage tag protectors. They work great and stay attached.

https://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Holder-Steel-Loops/dp/B017BVFA00/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467144457&sr=8-1&keywords=cruise+luggage+tag+holder

After many years sailing with Princess, my DW and I are considering a Celebrity cruise again as they have an itinerary that looks interesting. While I believe the cruise experience will be similar between the two lines, the Celebrity website leaves a lot to be desired. It's much easier to use the Princess website when looking at booking options, cabin availability/location, and prices. Maybe Celebrity needs to hire an IT person from Princess.

We were on the Regal for a Baltic cruise last July. We had a premium deluxe balcony cabin (D730). We loved it and never had a problem with soot. We would book it again.

When we were on the Regal this past summer, there were many great locations for formal night pictures. And it wasn't just the first night but both formal nights.

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My DW and I are primarily Princess cruisers. We have started looking at other lines to take advantage of itineraries that are different from Princess. Celebrity offers an itinerary that looks interesting. We sailed Celebrity many years ago and were assigned Captains Circle numbers. Using the Celebrity website I was able to get my wife's number, but not mine. That is not my issue.

My issue deals with contacting Celebrity in an attempt to get my number. I have sent two separate emails regarding this issue. I gave them my wife's number, our current and former addresses, the date of the cruise, etc. I would expect something in return. Even just an acknowledgment that they received my email and are working on it. But, nothing has come back. I'm not used to this. I have always received an immediate response from Princess? Is this normal with Celebrity? Our one cruise with Celebrity was wonderful and I hope this customer experience isn't an indication of a lesser product.

P.S. While I'm ranting, I must say that Celebrity has the worst website of any cruise line I have visited.

We just returned from our Regal cruise. Loved the ship. We had an aft deluxe balcony (D730). We were initially concerned because of all the horror stories we read here regarding soot. We never noticed soot. I rubbed my hands on the table in the morning and there was no soot. I'd book this cabin again if I had the opportunity.

This begs the question: What would you have had to pay initially to upgrade to a mini? Some of these upsells aren't good deals. We were recently on the Regal for 11 days. Several days prior to the cruise we were offered an upgrade to a mini for $199 pp. However, when we originally booked the cruise we could have selected the mini for only $200 more than the deluxe balcony. Princess started raising the price of the minis about a month out, then tried to make it seem that the upsell was a great deal.