Poulsbo Cruisers

I’m sure everyone’s opinions may differ when it comes to these subjective areas of cruising. We were a little disappointed in our Viking Ocean cruise. I love good food and I had some really good meals on Viking, but also had many that were just okay. The specialty restaurants were very good. I was disappointed in the buffet primarily because it didn’t have the variety I was expecting. My wife and I didn’t like the included excursions. I would recommend booking your own or booking the optional excursions. Some were okay, but some were a waste of time. We paid a lot to take a Viking optional excursion to Granada and the Alhambra. My brother-in-law and his wife couldn’t get on the tour so booked a private excursion for less money. They saw more and were in a smaller group. We loved the ship and it had the best service imaginable. We loved the lack of kids, no casino and no upselling. I’m happy we tried Viking, but came to the conclusion that our cruise with them didn’t justify the extra cost. Your experience may differ. I wish you a great cruise.

My wife and I always get our euros at an ATM when we get to Europe, usually at the airport. Just opt for the option to have your bank make the conversion. This is always the easiest and best way to get foreign currency.

Excellent review. We are platinum with Princess and took our first Viking Ocean cruise last year from Bergen to Barcelona. Beautiful ships and impeccable service. But, the entertainment and technology was not up to Princess standards. The internet service was from the dark ages. And the included excursions were sorely lacking. We loved the no kids policy, the no upselling policy and no casino. But, after the cruise ended we had to ask ourselves if the substantial increase in price was worth it. And while we really enjoyed our Viking experience and we can understand their loyal fan base, we will not be booking with them again.

We always cruise the Med in May or September. The weather is very nice, the historic sites aren’t as crowded and there are fewer kids.

We were on our first Viking cruise last year. My advice is to not book a Viking Ocean cruise due to the included excursions. We did not find these excursions to be anything to write home about. I’ll provide an example of our free excursion in Amsterdam. It was a canal tour. We boarded a canal tour boat that was better suited for a dinner cruise. It had tables, which forced some people to face backwards. The tour guide didn’t seem to understand this as she would point out things on the right or the left, but we didn’t know whose right or left or the boat’s right or left. The tour lasted a couple hours and we were returned to the ship. It was just two months prior that we were in Amsterdam with an Avalon Waterways cruise. Their included tour was also a canal tour, but it was much more enjoyable. It was a nice tour boat and we saw much more. Then we offloaded in the city for an informative walking tour. There were buses available for those that didn’t want to do the walking tour. If we were to book with Viking again, we would just arrange our own excursions.

Why wouldn’t Viking demand payment 12 months or more in advance? They obviously have no problem filling their ships. As long as people don’t mind giving their money interest free to Viking they will continue the policy. I’m sure they have studied this issue and have determined that the demographic that sails with Viking has the means to pay in advance without complaining or impacting bookings.

If your most important issue is location, then you shouldn’t upgrade. For my DW and me, we would never sail in a Princess regular balcony cabin as they have no seating and location is less of a concern for us. Everyone has to decide which are their must haves then book and/or upgrade accordingly.

We did a private tour several years ago. There were about 12 of us in a nice van. We found this tour on the roll call for our cruise. Someone else had made the arrangements and we were able to join the tour. It was very nice. Sorry, but I can’t remember the name of the company. I would suggest checking with your roll call.

We have stopped buying foreign currency a long time ago. For one thing, it’s much easier to just use credit cards everywhere. In some countries, the merchants want you to use credit cards and actually make it easy to use Apple Pay, etc. For the little foreign currency we do need, we just hit the first ATM we find after getting off the plane. Just be sure to opt for your bank to make the conversion.

I don’t blame you for feeling this way. You had a BA guarantee. Princess owed you a cabin in that category or higher, not two categories lower. I don’t understand why some responders can’t seem to understand that and why they are trying to say you are mistaken. I know you are frustrated and I understand why. But, I would keep pestering Princess until they give you what you paid for.

Our cruise was in February 2022. Cruise lines were just getting back up to speed after the pandemic. There were only 950 passengers on board. The buffet was very lacking and the meals in the dining room were not up to normal Princess standards. Our room steward informed us that we had to pick either having our room serviced during the day or in the evening. We thought it was a staffing issue, but the ship was only 1/3 full and we would often see our steward doing make work tasks. We are trying to give Princess the benefit of the doubt on this poor experience as they were still dealing with the Covid fallout. I’m confident that you will have a better experience.

We are platinum cruisers with Princess. In February 2022 we took a 10 day Panama Canal cruise on the Emerald Princess. If that had been our first Princess cruise, we would never have made it to gold status. It just about caused us to give up on Princess altogether. Then we decided that we’ve had so many great cruises with Princess that we shouldn’t judge them on that one terrible experience. You may decide to give up on Princess, but I’m sure you would find a completely different experience on one of their other ships.

I’m a boomer and I don’t worry about what others choose to wear on formal nights. Dressing up isn’t my thing. There are cruise lines that are much more upscale than Princess that don’t insist on having formal nights. This past September we sailed on Viking Ocean and there were no formal nights. I agree with another poster, where are the formal night aficionados going to go if they leave Princess because the formal night rules aren’t enforced?

We sail primarily with Princess. I will point out that even though the cabins have great layouts, they tend to be on the small side. If you choose a Royal class ship be sure to pick a deluxe balcony so you have a place to sit other than on the bed.

This probably isn’t a negative for many people

We are platinum with Princess and are looking to do Alaska in 2025. We are also weighing our options as to Princess or HAL. Both lines have been doing Alaska longer than others so we are not concerned with which one has more experience. They are both very experienced in Alaska. Even though we are loyal to Princess we are leaning towards HAL. The reason for us comes down to ship size and cabin size. HAL ships are 1000 passengers smaller and their standard veranda cabins are larger. With Princess you must go with a deluxe balcony, on those ships that offer them, if you want a small sofa to sit on. And the newer Princess ships have very small standard balconies. HAL can’t seem to get rid of the moniker that the ships are for old people. I believe you will find that both lines have similar demographics. Of course now that I’m 70+ maybe I don’t notice the old people. 😂😂

Unless you request “do not upgrade” at the time of your booking, Princess assumes you are open to having your cabin upgraded.

It’s not the wearing; it’s the packing and bringing

This topic has been discussed ad nauseam on this board. My wife and I have sailed with Princess more than any other cruise line. To our dismay, Princess still has formal nights. My wife and I don’t do formal, but it doesn’t stop us from enjoying Princess. We chose to eat at a specialty restaurant on formal nights or we go to the MDR dressed as we do on the other evenings. I don’t believe you will feel out of place by not dressing formally. If you do, just stay out of the MDR on formal nights

True, but she was out of service for a long time during the pandemic shortly after her launch. But, glad to hear she’s being freshened up.

We recently booked the Sky for next year. I’m surprised to read in your post about the ship going into dry dock so soon. Where was the Bistro located that is being removed and do you know if anything is replacing it?

We booked and sailed on a 21-day Mediterranean cruise several years ago. It combined a 10-day and 11-day itinerary. We received two credits for it. As others have stated, if your 21-day cruise could be booked as three separate 7-day itineraries, then you would get 3 credits.

Someone has no sense of humor. This was clever and very funny.

The OP is on the Caribbean Princess. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the balcony categories are only for location on that ship. I don’t believe you can get a couch unless you go with a mini suite.

If the balcony and cabin size are important, then go with the older ships. Princess has small standard balconies to begin with and the small balcony doesn’t help. We love the Royal class ships, but have only sailed on them with a deluxe aft facing balcony, deluxe forward facing balcony or a suite. We are Princess fans, but have never understood why one must book a mini suite to get the same sized balcony cabin that comes standard with every other cruise line. What are they using the extra space for?