symui

2 hours ago, STEVENJAN said:

We are going to be on the 51 day around South America and was thinking of more than 10 bottles. Seems like a lot to carry-on but worth it. 

I was on the Sapphire last Dec/Jan in South America and the ports in Chile and Argentina have a very good selection of wine.  I would tour the port etc during the day and pickup a few bottles on the way back to the ship.  Usually no corkage fee charged when boarding but even when they do I'm still ahead $ wise with much better wine than is generally available on the ship.

Be sure to bring a credit card with NO foreign transaction fees.  Every place I went to gladly accepted CC for wine purchases - and just about everything else.

Contact a travel agent, they probably can book it for you.  It's possible the cruise is sold out but more likely something else is going on. 

Unfortunately princess.com has been in continual state of decline the last 2 years in fact is the buggiest most unreliable website I have ever seen.  I have a good CVP with Princess, without her I probably would not sail on Princess.

That said, just off a two week cruise on the Discovery and it was one of the best cruises for us.  IMO, the onboard experience at Princess is very good for the price point. 

On 4/14/2024 at 1:11 PM, Retired & love to cruise said:

Hi Syumi, We will be on the Sapphire for the 17 day Antarctica Buenos Aires RT cruise in December 2024.  I have been trying to find out if there is poker on those itineraries.  We want to play poker on those sea days.  What Sapphire itinerary were you on that didn't have poker? Was it a South America itinerary?  Appreciate any information.  Thanks much. Lucinda

We were on the Dec / Jan Antarctica B2B also on for an 11 day Alaska trip on the Sapphire in April 2023.  No Poker or Baccarat tables on either cruse.  

I would NOT count on a Poker table for your cruise but there is a chance they will add it by then. It is odd they don't have it on that ship as most Princess ships have an electronic Poker table. 

54 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

This is a new promo I just got in an email. Anyone else?

I received the same offer just after 11am this morning.

-Rick

6 hours ago, Zach1213 said:

Both are great choices.

Agree, IMO both are world class destinations. 

If you prefer touring and vacationing some of the great cities in the world Tokyo is one of my favorites and this trip would be a great choice.   I enjoyed my business trips to Tokyo so I booked a two week land based trip to Tokyo and other parts of Japan.  I could spend a month or more and be perfectly happy and never run out of interesting things to do. 

If you prefer scenic beauty and nature the Sydney, NZ trip is one of the best.   DW and some friends did this trip in 2019 and loved it.   Sydney is a beautiful city and the sail out is one of the best in the world.  The southern Fiords in NZ are amazingly beautiful and the port stops heading north towards Auckland are some of my personal favorites.  Tahiti and particularly Moorea are stunning is their own right and also have one of the best sail in / sail outs in the world.  Sailing north out of Moorea toward Hawaii is one of the most beautiful sights I have seen and will be etched in my mind forever. 

If I had to pick one it would be the SYD-YVR trans pacific since I enjoy scenic beauty and nature more than cities.  

Let us know what you prefer and what you decide. 

Wow, this is great.  Many thanks !!

18 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

enjoyed the Super Tuscan Wine Pairing Dinner in Sabatinis

Thanks for posting - timely as DW and about a dozen friends are boarding on Sunday. 

How is the wine selection at other venues and availability on the Plus or Premier packages.   Any Caymus,  Rombauer, Ferrari Carano?  Other favorites etc?

Thanks again and enjoy the remainder of your cruise. 

The Emerald is headed to Hawaii from LA right now.   Use a ship locator website to get the coordinates when the ship is 3 days out from LA. 

I would guesstimate that the ship will pass through a partial eclipse with about 25% of the sun obscured by the moon - so worth a look with eclipse glasses.  Duration with be about ~1.5 hours from first contact at 16:30 (UT), to max at 17:15 (UT) ending at 18:00 (UT). Double check the ship time on day 3 vs (UT).  I would use the website below to match up the coordinates and help with the time conversion.  There are many sites available but this is the one I use for eclipses. 

http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2024_GoogleMapFull.html?Lat=20.13909&Lng=-152.02051&Zoom=7&LC=1

Enjoy the partial eclipse and your time in Hawaii. 

I have always used OBC at the casino (tables) most recently on December and January cruises.   I check my folio daily and see the debits from the casino hit my cabin account using the OBC.  

Just now, eroller said:

There is space available on the first sailing if anyone wants to jump onboard quick.  Some of the top suites.  

I just saw that, 3 Sky and 6 Owner suites.  Also provides an upgrade path for existing cabins.   

Folks get your upgrade bids in quick if you have not already. 

Agree most Princess ship have a electronic poker table but not all.  Just off the Sapphire, no electronic poker or tournaments, also no Baccarat table.  

Aside from that - the ship and the crew were great and we enjoyed the cruise

I use Uber or Lyft to Pier 27 on a regular basis and find the service reliable, never missed a cruise or had an issue.  Your can get pricing with the Uber and or Lyft app for different sized vehicles and compare that against other services. 

I boarded at San Pedro on 12/1/23 without a medallion.  All you really need is your passport but we always bring a hard copy and screenshot of the travel summary as some agents can find your reservation faster if you have it handy.  

On 9/3/2023 at 1:39 PM, sailaway2joy said:

When checking our safe prior to disembarking our last cruise, I found a $100 free play chip under the plastic liner. It must have been left by a previous cruiser. Since I don’t normally visit the casino, is this something I can use on a future cruise?  

Yes, take it to the cashier and have them exchange it for $5 free play chips if you want to play the tables. If you want to play slots have them apply the $100 free play chip to your casino account and you will have $100 free play when you log into a slot machine. 

Nice find.  Let us know how it works out for you. 

1 hour ago, KLM3164 said:

I’m curious about the $200 deposit. Has anybody been able to reserve the 22 day cruise on the Ruby for a $200 deposit? When I tried to book it this morning it was showing as an $800 deposit. TIA.

Yes, I'm booked on the 22 day on the Ruby.  My CVP applied the promo to my hold yesterday and now I'm fully deposited and booked. 

I too saw the $800 deposit when I put my cabin on hold.  Emailed my CVP and she told me about promo and applied it, then I paid the $200 with the cruise persionalizer and received my booking confirmation. 

Folks might want to check with their CVP to apply the promo.   TA's might or might not have access to the promo?  My recommendation is to ask. 

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

Is that promo available tmrw? TIA

That's the impression it got but don't know for sure.

Something to ask about before paying the deposit. 

HTH,

Rick

I agree, call and get another CVP. 

Next cruise - go to the meet and great and ask for CVP  recommendations. Thats what I did 100+ sea days ago and have been happy ever since.  My only concern is my CVP might change jobs.  If so, I have received several recommendations for good CVP's from friends at the meet and greet - just in case I need them. 

27 minutes ago, Pylon said:

The representative promised to look into the matter and get back to me. 

Thanks for the update and inquiring about the electronic poker table on the Sapphire. 

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

All Princess ships have had electronic poker tables for Texas Hold 'Em

Most not all. 

Was on the Sapphire in May and there was no Baccarat or electronic poker table, yet every other Princess ship I've been on had both.   That said the Sapphire is my favorite Princess ship so I just spent less time in the casino. 

As for the Royal they have a great location for the electronic poker table.  It's on the non-smoking side of the casino, forward section of the casino, very nice. 

I've been on two Alaska cruises since the restart and usually the casino opened 45 min to one hour after leaving Alaskan ports which surprised me since according to the map it would appear we were still in Alaskan waters.  The nights I wanted to play I stopped by the casino after the ship left port and asked the staff who were setting up when they were opening as if varied slightly based on the port location etc. 

Yes, agree with the others, simple and easy to pickup at the pier. 

We used to have them mailed to our house before the cruise but now that Padgett charges extra to ship we pick them up at the pier and have had zero problems at the Ports of San Francisco and Vancouver. 

Good Morning Skagway