2pbears

I called Princess when our son and grandsons joined us for the BVE and was told that a photo ID (drivers license) for our son would suffice and for the grandsons, since they did not have a photo ID, a certified or original birth certificate.

I really can't answer that question but we booked our 2018 Fall Coastal cruise in August, 2017 so I am sure they will be available more than a year in advance of the sail date.

Thank you everyone for your input! I really appreciate it! NOW, I've complicated things by throwing the Mediterranean into the mix! :o:confused:

Quite frankly, the Caribbean kind of leaves us cold as we are not swimmers, divers or beach people. But when you throw in the Mediterranean I vote YES on that.

14 cruises (1 in a suite) and 85 days. We just retired a couple of years ago so were limited to shorter cruises for work reasons. Now, we have all the time in the world and are enjoying it!

If our luggage is manageable we take BART. In nice weather it is an easy walk from the BART station to Pier 27. Otherwise, Uber or Lyft would be our next choice.

The only situation where we would pay additional for a mini over a Caribe balcony would be for a cold weather cruise where we would want comfortable seating inside the cabin. Other than that, we are out on the balcony whenever we are in the room. The larger bathroom is nice but the two TV's are not even a factor for us. I would have made the same decision you did (unless, of course, you are cruising to Iceland):eek:

Cruise insurance only comes into play after your primary care insurance. What ever your primary cars insurance DOESN'T cover, your cruise insurance should cover.

I had this experience two years ago and it's a real pain. However, after speaking with my primary (medicare), and secondary (blue cross), blue cross covered the entire bill, $1,290.00, the cruise insurance was not involved for me. However, I would never sail without the cruise insurance just in case

Not entirely true. I realize that the Princess travel coverage is a secondary policy but there are travel policies out there that pay as "primary" and these are the policies that we always purchase when we cruise. On our last cruise DH had to visit the medical center (I think the charge was in the area of $150) and we simply filed a claim with our travel insurance carrier. No need to go through Medicare or our Supplement.

Thank you for all the responses.

 

I think I’ll try this for plan A.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I think that is a good decision. Before we purchased our reusable luggage tag holders we used to pack a very small Tot stapler but the luggage tag holders are an easy option.

According to the Princess website this is a ten hour tour and five of those ten hours are spent in the motor coach. That will leave five hours to tour Versailles which I do not believe is nearly enough to do it justice. Personally I would not consider any tour to Paris from Le Havre simply because of the driving time to get there. There are so many other options closer to where you dock that would really maximize your time in port.

I saw these somewhere online and the price was right so I picked up a set. I uploaded a photo from our last cruise, hit pay now and voila... 6 weeks later these arrived.

When my DW saw it she said "I hope you like flying alone"....! My response was..."but....but...this will save your garments from being flung around the tarmac when the zipper fails".

 

In hindsight I did not think this all the way through. If anyone is curious I paid roughly 60 bucks for all three from these guys. https://www.forudesigns.com/basics/Household/Luggage_Cover

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm afraid I have to side with your wife on this one. ;p

I once did three weeks in Italy with just a carry on bag. But, that said, it was a land trip which is quite different than a cruise. On a cruise you have the added challenge of dressing for dinner every evening. I'm not sure I would want to try just a carry on for a cruise but that's just a personal choice. If you are OK with wearing the same clothes several times during the course of the cruise and limiting shoes to one or two pair, then I think it could be done. How long is the cruise?

TA was able to get me 6050 (V2) at the guarantee price, Thanks for convincing me that Deck 6 doesn't suck.

Deck 6 definitely does not suck. We were in 6067 for our last cruise on the Quest and we really enjoyed the location. We could easily pop down the stairs to Mosaic for coffee in the morning or to Discoveries for dinner and we found ourselves taking the stairs much more than normal because it was so easy. No noise issues whatsoever. I think you will enjoy your stateroom location.

I have never tried the veggie burgers on Princess, however, I do recall that when we were cruising with friends several years ago one of them ordered the veggie burger and described it as "different than any veggie burger she had ever eaten". And I don't think she meant that in a good way. :o

DW and I like the 24 carat gold margaritas. I also drink classic daiquiris which are easy to explain to the bartenders who usually don’t know how to make them. (The only potential problem is lack of fresh lime juice.) I’ll also drink a rum old fashioned now and then.

 

 

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Ditto on the 24 carat gold margaritas at Crooners. Basically it's a blended margarita with a floater of Grand Marnier. YUM!!!!

We were on the Grand recently and had the Sip and Sail package so we chose to order our normal drinks rather than the drink of the day. DH did try the Floradora one evening and he was not impressed.

We were on the Grand in October and found that if we went to dinner at 7:30 or 7:45 when the Da Vinci DR was opening up to ATD we could walk right and and pretty much pick our table.

We were on the Grand in October and didn't noticed that the internet service was any slower than what we have previously experienced on Princess. They had streamlined the log in process which helped a lot IMHO. Of course, it's not fast like at home but we found it to be very useable.

A couple questions about pool!!

 

1. Is the water heated? Going to be in Alaska end of May/beginning of June

 

I don't think so. We were on the Grand (sister ship to the Star) in October. Grandsons wanted to swim but the water was too cold for even the kids to get in. They opted for the spa, which is right there next to the pool.

My guess is that the OP made his post to air his feelings about cruising and after seeing everyone attack him asking for more details in hopes of changing his mind he decided to check out. Three months after the fact, IMHO the OP is long gone from this conversation.

Absolutely book the tour! We were in Sonoma County last week and had a wonderful time. We will be at an event at a Silverado Trail winery next weekend and expect to enjoy that as well. The devastation is disturbing but much of the area was untouched by the disaster. They are encouraging tourism as they rely on it for their livelihood.

Why would it be a waste of money? You'd get the full cost of the BVE back as a credit on a future cruise so you'd end up paying that money out one way or the other!

 

Tom

That's true. But as I recall, there is a very short window to book a cruise using that credit (90 days I believe).

Thanks for the info, what identification did the children use?

The children will need an original birth certificate or a certified birth certificate. A photocopy that is not certified with the raised seal will not be acceptable.

Are you able to book this if you are sailing on that voyage? My cousins and I are taking our first Princess cruise and this sounds like a relaxing way to learn about the ship on embarkation day.

I'm not sure why you would want to pay an additional $39 pp if you were already booked for the cruise. The only advantage would be boarding slightly earlier than you normally would and the ship tour, which you can easily do on your own using the ship map they give you when you board. IMHO it would be a waste of money.

 

The last 4 years I have been recovering from pancreatic cancer and celebrating my 4th year since my surgery on Sunday. Totally been looking forward to this. I am not sure I can wait till Tuesday! hahaha

A HUGE congratulations to you. You go on this cruise and enjoy every last minute of it! You deserve it after what you have been through.

Taking this cruise next June. Wish I could see the pix.

Ditto. Was thinking I was the only one who couldn't view the pics.