karatemom2

We also did the Royal Tea on the Royal Princess a couple of years ago. You were seated in the upper circular section of the Piazza near the International cafe where they had reserved tables for the service. You were provided a choice of the loose specialty teas displayed in the unit near the coffee counter. It also came with a glass of champagne and assortment of tea sandwiches, scones and sweets including a meringue trifle dessert. Honestly, I was not impressed and would never pay to do it again. The loose teas were fine, champagne was the cheap version, the food was subpar compared to other nice teas I have enjoyed elsewhere, and scones appeared the same as the ones at free tea. The trifle was an overly sweet mess. I much prefer the regular free afternoon tea in the dining room with the nice setting and lovely piano music playing. While you can’t get a specialty tea, you can order a separate pot of hot water with any of their standard teabag selections so you do have choices. And while the sandwiches can be a bit boring overall the selection of goodies is much better and you can pick what you want and the scones are served warm. This opposed to predetermined selections just sitting on a tiered server brought to your table in a noisy public venue is much nicer in my estimation.

Loved every second of our British Isles cruise last year capped off by our last day in Le Havre touring Normandy. We also used Overlord Tours and I can’t say enough great things about them. Our guide was amazing. He had a true passion for WWII history and was a wealth of knowledge. It was an experience I will always remember and somewhere I hope to return one day.

We are considering taking the inaugural cruise on the Sun Princess next February. We have never done a maiden voyage and are wondering about the experience. For those who have done inaugural cruises with Princess, can you share your thoughts? Was it extra special and memorable? Were there extra perks or activities? Would you do it again? What are the pros and cons based on your experience?

Thanks everyone - I spoke to a Princess representative today and she confirmed that it is definitely something they can do. She made a note and then told me to have them notify Guest Services when they board so it’s logged and planned for so they can account for them leaving a day early. She said it’s likely they won’t be the only ones. They are so thrilled to get to spend the night in Florence!!

My daughter and her fiance, soon to be husband, are going to be honeymooning on the Enchanted Princess. Their cruise ends in Rome, with the last port day being Livorno for Florence/Pisa. Because their time is so limited their, they are wondering if they could perhaps disembark at that port, stay the night in Florence and then proceed to Rome via train the next day where they will be spending a few more nights before flying home. I remember on our British Isles cruise last year a number of passenger disembarking on our last port day in Le Havre to proceed on to Paris instead of going back to Southampton so this would be a similar situation. Has anyone done this and if so, how do you make arrangements with Princess? Thanks for any advice!

We will be docking in Livorno on our Princess cruise at 7 am and given that we are just coming from Marseille the day before my guess is that we will have timely arrival and should be able to get off the ship promptly when the all clear is called. We plan to get a taxi to Pisa and then take the train from Pisa to Florence. Will there be taxis waiting at the dock to take passengers as early as 7 am when the ship arrives? I have heard they prefer to take people who are doing longer trips like this to Pisa, so we are hoping we can find an eager driver ready to whisk us away as soon as we disembark.

Glacier Bay Not even close!

Thanks for all helpful replies! I think we will go ahead and take a chance and purchase the train tickets and presume that they will be able to leave the ship plenty early in the morning given the overnight stay.

@BirdTravels yes, that is what we assumed when we booked, but when has called to ask about transfers, the customer service person has indicated otherwise. But I think they just see that the cruises are technically B2B and are making incorrect assumptions. I don't think they really know what they are talking about. But that still leads to my other questions about getting off the ship very early on disembarkation day and the possibility of an NCL transfer to Seattle. Their preference would be to catch the 6:35 a.m. train as the next one isn't until later that evening and gets to Seattle quite late.

So many great ones and great memories, but if I had to narrow it down I would pick our very first ever Christmas/New Years cruise with our kids - it was on the Diamond Princess, a 15 day roundtrip LA to Hawaii. It was the last time Princess did 5 ports in Hawaii and included Kona, so we got a really amazing itinerary and the whole Christmas celebration with all the decorations, entertainment and happy families traveling together was just special and magical. We did again for the next few years on the Golden, and they were all amazing, but that first one on the Diamond was extra special. And, tied would be our 12 day roundtrip Alaska cruise out of Vancouver on the Royal last May. Not only was it a spectacular cruise and itinerary, but we had the awesome forward balcony cabins which provided such beautiful scenic views and wildlife watching, and the icing on the cake was that our daughter and her boyfriend got engaged on the trip and the entertainment crew was so wonderful to them and our whole family. We felt like we were celebrating the entire time and people all around the ship were congratulating them - it was lovely and something they will always remember!

Hoping some here might be able to offer some information since we can't seem to get an answer from NCL. My husband, my son and his friend are traveling on the NCL Bliss that goes from LA to Vancouver on April 9. It overnights in Vancouver from 4/13 to 4/14 and then departs for Seattle where it starts its 7 day Alaska roundtrips on Sat April 15. My husband and crew are booked on that voyage as well - so technically a B2B, but they have this strange one day break between cruises. At first, the NCL rep told him that they would likely be allowed to stay on the ship since they were on the subsequent cruise and thus considered B2B, but she wasn't sure. We still can't get a firm answer - yes or no. So, they have a hotel in Seattle booked for the night before, just in case, but now are trying to establish the best way to get from Vancouver to Seattle if they can't stay on the ship. There is an Amtrak train that departs at 6:35 am that they would like to take if possible - the ship is overnighting in Vancouver so does anyone know if they can walk off the ship in early morning? They are in the port at the dock all night and people should be able to get on and off the ship anytime I would think? Also, if available they would consider booking a transfer through NCL. Has anyone transferred from Vancouver to Seattle using an NCL transfer? It would be great if we could get these answers from customer service at NCL, but unfortunately we can't seem to find anyone who can give us any solid information.

We will be on the five night Discovery cruise to Cabo in February and overnighting in a tender port is a first for us. Do the tenders stop running at some point in the evening on the first night and then pick up again in the morning? I know some people opt to spend the night in town, but we will prefer to return to the ship. I would imagine they suspend tender operations at some point - anyone have any idea how late they are usually taking people back and forth on these overnight stays?

Here's a vendor you might want to check out: https://lacitytours.com/layover-tours/ They offer tours with pick up at San Pedro port and drop off at LAX.

My adult daughter has shared a room with us and used the sofa bed several times. One thing she did to make it more comfortable was ask the Steward for an extra comforter that she put over the mattress. He would actually put the sheet over it for her when he made the bed. She found it very comfy with the little bit of extra padding.

I invested in the nice gold bracelet for mine this last cruise and it was so much nicer then wearing a lanyard around my neck which makes me feel like I'm at work. I figured that as a frequent Princess cruiser it was a worthwhile purchase that I will use again. It held my medallion very well and looked nice and was very convenient!

I wouldn't anticipate at this point they would be adding many more. Most of these ports are very easy to do on your own and a lot of people probably book private excursions or make their own plans for the day, so perhaps they just don't offer as many options on these Coastal cruises as it might be hard to fill them. I would encourage you to take a look at Tripadvisor for each port and you might get some great ideas for more cost effective tours or activities that you can schedule on your own. These are great ports - lots to do that is easily accessible without booking through Princess!

My DH plays craps so not as easily tracked as slots, but they pay close attention and log his chip buys and playing time at the table. He generally gets to know the casino host each trip and we usually net some perks during the cruise like free dinners in the specialty restaurants, treats delivered to our stateroom and champagne. He generally leaves with an offer for an upcoming trip or the come randomly when we get home. There doesn’t seem to be any formula, although I’m sure on the casino end they have some kind of basic criteria. If you play the table games just make sure they are tracking your dollars and time.

We were so fortunate with weather. It seems Europe and UK in general is having a warmer than average summer. Our four days in London were really warm. We got a splash of rain on embarkation day when we went to Windsor Castle but it was very minor and a great excuse to buy one of their cute umbrellas. Most of our port days were high 60s to mid 70s and no rain. Our only slightly less than perfect day was Edinburgh. It was pretty windy and delayed tendering. It rained lightly and by the time we got back on the ship it was cold and very windy. Now of course your mileage may vary - I think every tour guide we had pointed out that in the UK you can experience all four seasons in one day (not kidding, heard that almost every tour, haha!). But we had beautiful weather and I would book in late August again for a future cruise.

I agree. My DH gets tons of Casino offers and we take advantage of them when it makes sense for us and our vacation timeline and interests - but I wouldn't book just to get the credit. You will find if they offered you that free play money this time, you will likely get it again at some point in the future with another offer. We just did our British Isles cruise and our cabin was next to nothing as we got a free inside for the trip and just upgraded to a balcony for a nominal cost. And he got a nice amount of free play chips on top of that. That wasn't from one of our exit offers - just one that came in the mail. They show up every couple of months. So, don't stress. If this offer doesn't work for your there will be another one at some point. Plus, you can book any cruise you want now with the Casino discount and sometimes when you do, they will add free play to those cruises as well.

Not the OP, but per your question Princess does appear to provide kettles on British Isles cruises out of Southampton. We just were on the Emerald and had one in our cabin. We never made use of it, but it was a nice touch considering the very large number of Brits on the ship. I have never seen one on any of our other Princess cruises. It must just be for those cruises based in the UK.

The MDR is open but bar services are super limited on the last day and a request like that will put a lot of stress on the server who may have to go a long way to fetch it for you. I would suggest checking out an open bar up by the buffet or in the atrium and getting it yourself and take it to the dining room with you.

We used: Belfast - Odyssey tour: Giants Causeway and Titanic Museum Liverpool - Busy Bus: North Wales tour Glasgow - Discover Scotland: Loch Lomond, Trossachs, Stirling Castle tour

This is not true. We just returned from a British Isles cruise and enjoyed very scenic cruising from our balcony. We were often quite close to the coast, especially on departing and arriving into ports. We saw incredible scenery, castles, cathedrals, lighthouses along with some stunning sunrises and sunsets. We got fantastic views of the White Cliffs of Dover from our balcony on our sea day traveling from Edinburgh to Le Havre. I would recommend the Starboard side - we chose it as it is the land facing side most of the time. And bring good binoculars. Here are some photos from our balcony view. The first was White Cliffs of Dover at twilight.

We recently used Justin Chauffers for a transfer from LHR to our hotel in London and were exceptionally pleased with the service. Our driver was promptly waiting for us as we exited holding a sign with our name as well as texting us as we were clearing customs. The Mercedes sedan was very comfortable and the price was reasonable such a high end level of service.

That last photo was actually in Bayeux. They were both just charming and picturesque towns. It was hard to take it all in!