karatemom2

1 hour ago, mokiemokiemokie said:

Looking at 2025 we are considering a Mediterranean cruise. Princess has the itinerary that intrigues us the most and we would be on the Sun Princess.  At the time our kids will be 14.

 

Are the teen clubs free?  Can the kids come and go without parents signing them in or out?  Are they well attended or ghost towns?

 

Also, any room advice for a family of 4?  Are we limited to suites?  Mini suites?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

What an amazing trip that will be for your lucky teens! And the Sun Princess appears to be a ship that really offers a lot of amenities for families. 
 

We have been cruising Princess with our kids since they were very young, all through their teen years and into adulthood. We are cruising mostly without them now that they are independent adults and I miss them!

The kids clubs on Princess are free - included in the cost if your fare. Teens can come and go from the club as they please during open hours, no need for a parent to sign them in or out. They usually have a lot of fun social activities for the teens and our kids always made friends onboard. If you are traveling during school breaks you can count on plenty of kids onboard so they will not be lonely. 
 

As far as room advice, maybe someone who has been on the Sun will weigh in regarding the rooms. We cruised with our kids in every kind of configuration from all of us in an inside, ocean view, balcony, or mini suite or suite to booking two rooms - either side by side or across the hall. Budget and your own space and privacy requirements may dictate your decision. But we always had a great time even when we were all cozied up together in an inside room. 

I went ahead and booked and paid for it last night and had the confirmation sent to my work email so DH won’t see it. It was nice to find that they let you select for whom it is being purchased as a gift and write a short message. I’m wondering if there will be a card waiting in our stateroom when we arrive?   
 

I am ok with no photographer - I imagine they would charge for the photo anyway. I had to buy the photograph from our 360 dinner, which I didn’t mind because it was a really nice family photo, but after so many cruises we don’t usually do the whole photo thing anymore. I will probably follow@Astro Flyer’s idea and just ask our waiter to take a picture with my phone. 

Thanks so much for these helpful replies and photos! I’m definitely going to book it and see if I can keep it a surprise - at least until he gets onboard. He never really looks at our travel summary so I don’t think he will catch it if I reserve it in advance. I’m really excited - fingers crossed for a nice evening. I know the fjord will offer fairly protected cruising for a couple of hours when we sail away so it should work perfectly. 

I am considering surprising DH with the UBD on our upcoming Norwegian Fjords cruise. We have done the breakfast a few times on our scenic cruising days in Alaska a thoroughly enjoyed it. 

We are leaving Olden at 4 pm the day before his birthday and will have a long scenic trip out of the fjord that evening so I thought that might be the perfect night to do it. We have a forward facing balcony, so lots of room to spare. 
 

I would love to hear from those of you who have done it - what should I know, did you enjoy it, any special insights? I’ve watched a couple of videos and it looks lovely but just trying to wrap my head around how the service works in practice since the breakfast is quite different as they just set up the whole thing in one stop and leave as opposed to coming back and forth. It would be great to get a sense of how you found the actual experience and the food. 

Just now, Itchy&Scratchy said:

ours looks like a desert.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it will start filling up soon!!

Here is just a sample of one day - Day 2 of our cruise which is the first sea day. One thing I noted which is new to us is seeing a production show - Rock Opera- scheduled at 4 pm. We have never seen a show scheduled prior to dinner, but it’s a nice option and they are able to offer it at 3 times this way - at  4, 8, and 10 pm. 

Just now, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we are on Enchanted next month, and there is NOTHING scheduled on the app.

 
Interesting. I was actually quite surprised how detailed our daily schedule already is for our Sky cruise at just over 60 days out. It is really nice to have such a good preview. I wonder if the level of detail and information varies from ship to ship depending on the Entertainment Director. Maybe some are just more proactive in getting the information loaded. 

Just now, reedprincess said:

Nope.

Guest entertainers change weekly.

The production shows will be the same week to week - those haven't changed in years! 

Your app will have some things showing up in advance, but not the guest entertainers, etc. 

Otherwise, nope. 

 

That’s not necessarily the case. We are on the Sky departing June 15 and the entertainment schedule is already very well laid out even beyond production shows. It is showing a couple of comedians, hypnotist, and guest singers listed by name with dates and times for their performances. 

Check the Journey View on your Princess Medallion app. They usually start populating the schedule several weeks prior to your cruise. It’s already showing a lot of the daily schedule for our upcoming summer cruise on the Sky, including the production shows - dates and times. 

3 minutes ago, F355c5 said:

How do you get back in the room?

 
Your room steward can open your door for you. If he is not around you can always go to Guest Services so they can send him to open your door. 

1 hour ago, worldtraveller said:

No free photo in March; they took them but you had to pay if you wanted a copy

 
Same for is in January. There was a charge for the photo. For the price, it would be nice if they did include it, but we went ahead and bought it because it was such a nice New Year’s Eve photo of the whole family. 

53 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

I just remembered an incident onboard on recent cruise- we noticed in folio in app that we were charged with amount to Lotus Spa - we took it to customer service who directed us to the Spa and they checked record - someone else (name seen, not us) had given our cabin number. It was no problem to get it reversed but how could it happen anyway, aren't they supposed to bill it via the medallion which would obviously not bring up our details? I would hate to think someone could buy something onboard by just giving a cabin number with no checks.

Interesting situation. The spa should be checking your medallion when you check in, but I could see this happening. Someone could make a reservation and give a false room number at a spa promotion sign up event when staff are standing away from desk with clipboards. Then when the person checks on they could just say they forgot their medallion in their room. Would be pretty diabolical but a dishonest person might be able to pull it off. And without the actual medallion info to identify the person after the fact, they might not be able to figure it out. Glad you got it cleared up!!

11 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

One of the last crew shows I saw had CD David Cole.  This WAS, by far, the best entertainment on the ship.  What a glorious memory on the last night.  Too bad it was only one show...too bad it has gone by the wayside.  And the best part for Princess...was it cost them little to nothing.

David Cole was a brilliant cruise director. He made our Hawaii trips so memorable. What a gem!

5 minutes ago, sharon_pei said:

Am i understanding it right that for those who stay in interior cabins, we would need to choose between going out to the deck to see glaciers vs staying indoor at 'visitor center' to learn from the park rangers? I can see why balcony cabins have a huge advantage here now. 

The visitor center is set up on deck outside and the announcements are broadcast via the overhead so that you can hear them in most areas around the ship even when you are outside on deck. Many people on the Grand Class ships take up residence on the promenade deck and you can hear the narration there.

We had one very good experience with EZ Air for our British Isles cruise, with an LAX to Heathrow flight. However, we had a truly nightmare experience when we booked through them for an LAX to Vancouver flight for an Alaska cruise. We were able to work it out, but when I say we literally spent hours on the phone and had to speak to multiple people, it is no exaggeration. 

We are now pretty set on booking our airfare using points which is what we did for our cruise this summer, so I doubt we would use EZ Air again. However, the rates do tend to be good and when it works well it's great. You really have to stay on top of it though and be prepared to invest the time to fix problems when things go awry.

I'm very sorry about your health problems and no negative comments here. Just the facts. It's a hard no I'm afraid. You may want to read the following article:

https://people.com/woman-receives-lifetime-ban-carnival-cruises-after-bringing-cbd-gummies-8404491

4 minutes ago, 555 said:

It's good to hear that the BI cruises isn't much different than the rest of the world. At least Princess is consistent in that effect. 

Perhaps it was just our experience, but I did note that on our two Southampton cruises this past couple of years, overall people did seem to dress up more on formal nights. Many more men in tuxes and women in very sparkly gowns and cocktail dresses then I have seen on our US departures. We will see if that holds true again on our cruise out of Southampton this summer.

Sounds like you missed the cut off to receive it as a suite perk, but I would still encourage you to consider it as a birthday gift to yourself. 
 

We splurged and purchased it for our family of 5 on our New Year’s cruise on Discovery. We go to the theatre a lot and I just equated it to what we might spend on tickets for a show, because it really is an experience - not just a meal. 
 

I can say we all found it exceptional from beginning to end - the food, wine, presentation, it’s all very special. I felt it was worth the investment for a one time special evening.   
 

2 hours ago, oaktreerb said:

Glacier Bay is cold and you may have rain.  The ship will sit in view of the glacier and turn port to starboard so everyone can see.  The ship will stop near Gustavus to disembark the pilots on the way out.  I sit out on the balcony in Glacier Bay with gloves, hat, and a cozy blanket.  I can’t imagine dining out there.  Is there a romantic restaurant onboard that offers scenic window seating?  Glacier Bay in summer is nothing like the Norwegian Fjords temperature wise.  It’s like sitting in an icebox.  OK, I see you @Acorn27 are from Minnesota.  Your perspective will differ from mine!  Enjoy your amazing Alaska cruise!

 
This is not always the case. We have been to Glacier Bay at least 10 times over the past 20 years at all different times from May through August. Only once, on our very first visit was it so rainy and cold that it was pretty miserable being outside.
 

Most other trips have been cool, but lovely, maybe a cloud or a sprinkle but nothing uncomfortable. One year in July it was so hot people were admiring the scenery from poolside in bathing suits. You just never know. We have done the Ultimate Balcony breakfast twice in Glacier Bay and thoroughly enjoyed every second on our balcony. We generally spend the entire day outside looking at the scenery and searching for wildlife. 
 

Photo below was our last visit in May of ‘22 and we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. We can’t wait for our next visit this coming September!

53 minutes ago, Zeke Eak said:

I’m currently on the Discovery. Tomorrow is the last night of the cruise. I know everyone has different opinions about how to dress in the MDR. I try to follow the dress to impress policy. I have heard the official policy is more lenient on the first night of the cruise because people may not be able to get to their bags. 
 

With the understanding that I do try to dress according to the policy, is it appropriate to be lax and dress in shorts on the final night since my bags will all be packed and in the hall?

 

This is not intended to be a general dress code discussion. Just wondering if the last night is considered different. 
 

Thanks in advance 

Your question is probably phrased wrong. “Is it appropriate?” Not really - and that’s not a dress code debate, just a straightforward answer based on the suggested dress code set forth by Princess which specifically says - Shorts and swimwear are not allowed in the restaurant

However, I think you know that. Your question really is can I get away with it and the answer is probably yes. Princess doesn’t seem to be enforcing any dress code restrictions these days.

That being said, you have until 10 or 11 pm to put your bags out. Would it be that hard to wear pants and change into shorts after dinner and then put your bags out?
 

Glacier Bay is an exceptional choice for that. We typically do the Ultimate Balcony Breakfast on days we arrive early. We are doing a Norwegian Fjords cruise this summer and I’ve booked the Ultimate Balcony Dinner for one of scenic fjord cruising evenings that happens to coincide with my husband’s birthday. 

5 minutes ago, sharon_pei said:

May i ask if one needs to worry about bear risk in any of these recommended places? We are planning to hit most of these and want to be conservative, but the fact that one can't bring bear spray back to cruise ship is a bothering us. 

No, I would not be particularly concerned about bears in any of these locations. Actually, the only place we have ever seen a bear in Juneau is at Mendenhall Glacier.

Many times places like the ones you mention here are very easy to do on your own, often not only more cost effective, but a more satisfying experience.

In Halifax, we rented a car and drove to Peggy's Cove for the morning and then visited the Titanic Cemetery and Museum in the afternoon. In Newport, we booked a private tour to Rose Island Lighthouse for the morning, ate lunch in town, and then did a tour at The Breakers in the afternoon. All of this was arranged on our own as opposed to booking a ship tour.

It’s been a couple of years since we took what used to be called the Casino VIP cruises, now Casino Hearts cruises. But we recently got a great offer for one that fit our Fall vacation window and interest as we were already thinking about heading back to Alaska this year, so we booked it.

We have found these cruises a lot of fun in the past with all the special perks – I even won $1000 dollars in one of the drawings on one, which really chafed the DH because I’m not the gambler and was only showing up at the casino for the drawings. 🤭

Are they still doing the drawings, special gifts, welcome cocktail party, and other special perks? And how easy or difficult is it to get your free drinks in the casino now that most no longer have operational bars? We will be on the Ruby.

Would love to hear some recent experiences.

1 minute ago, di234 said:

Hi, going on a New England Cruise in October. Just got an email that they are having a sale on excursions. But when I go to book excursions they are the same price as before. Near the price it says price affects discount. I know the cruise lines all play this game, my question is do you think after the sale, the prices will go up? I’ll book now just in case. Thanks for your opinions.

Seems like a little game Princess has been playing recently - raise the excursion price and then put them on "sale" - in the end basically they cost about the same as the original price. It's standard mind manipulation you see so often in retail marketing to make the consumer feel like they are getting a deal.

That being said, if there is an excursion you really want to take, you should definitely book it now. Experience shows that the prices will generally only go up from this point, especially as the cruise date draws closer. Excursions for our Norway cruise this summer have gone up substantially. So regardless of whether it is a real "sale" or not, best to book now and make sure you have the excursions you want locked in at likely the best price you are going to get.