sonomaphil

You're lucky here in Aus they only sell it on 8 day+ cruises, certainly not 3 dayers.

We heard for the guys at Vines that the previous cruise to our 3 nighter was a one nighter from Seattle to Vancouver on a Saturday to Sunday and they don't sell the package on one night cruises. The Princess web site mistakenly had the package available all along. I heard it was a heck of a party. :D

It seems to me that the OP booked a GTY and then didn't get an upgrade to their perfect dream cabin and now are upset. I'm sure they saw all the glowing reports here about the wonderful upgrades people have gotten and had a false sense of security/entitlement.

The vast majority don't get wonderful upgrades, they get what they paid for or small bonuses like moving down one deck.

 

It would be pretty much like any other public place. :rolleyes:

 

And that's why I think it was designed this way! :D

Here's the link for the app in iTunes

 

https://appsto.re/us/HrJF5.i[/

 

I just typed in Princess Cruise line. Then it popped right up. Used it on the

Golden worked great. Could keep up with the patter and my onboard account. Only thing was when texting you don't have a ring tone to let you know you have a text.

 

I think the no ringtone is by design. Could you imagine a cruise where the ringtones go off all over the place?

Back in May on the Golden we had the All Inclusive drink package and had to sign for each drink. Last week on the Crown we had the All Inclusive and only signed once or twice, once in the MDR and I think once at Vines. Never got a receipt. Never wanted one.

Thanks so much to all of you for responding! I think we are now leaning towards the Caribe deck. So do ALL of the balconies on the Caribe deck have the larger, uncovered portion, or is that only part of the Caribe deck? This is for Emerald.

All Caribe deck balconies are like this except the two fully aft which are totally covered.

Hi all,

 

We just got back from our 7 Night Western Caribbean on the Valor.

 

We are not new to the "Crusing Scene" and pretty much know what to expect when you go into port however I can honestly say that Belize was by far one of the worst ports we have experienced. What a huge (with a capital H) disappointment!!

 

My advice for this port is to stay on the ship. We still had a fantastic time over all but to me, this is a waste of time stopping at Belize!

 

Sorry [emoji17]

With all due respect, you say nothing of use in this post. What didn't you like? What did you expect? What were you looking to do? What did you do in port? Where did you go in port?

Did you message with other passengers whilst onboard -- which is

the primary purpose of the app?

Yes, worked fine. It was useful as I was wondering around the ships while my wife was getting ready.

There is no indication on your phone of having a message like a text message notification, I think that might be by design. We'd just check our phones every so often.

We used Messenger for the first time this week. Worked well for us on the Crown. You do not need the so called "app".

Just connect to the ships free wi-fi and go to the site (ships name).princess.com in your browser of choice. Insert your ships name such as crown.princess.com or ruby.princess.com Create an account and you are on.

All the "app" does is take you to your ships site, nothing more. You don't even need the "app" to log in. You can also check your account, have the Patter at your fingertips and much more on this. Highly recommended.

We were on the same repo. You obviously boarded early as we did, minimal issues. Family members with no status arrived at 1:00pm to begin check-in. It took them almost 2 1/2 hours to board. We will definitely not cruise out of Vancouver again with 3 ships in port. This was our second cruise this year with the same issues on embarkation.

 

Crew and service on board where great. Minimal upgrades but definitely an upgrade in progress. Will be back on in mid-October for Pacific cruise.

You're right, we were on early. I guess we have just gotten used to getting to Canada Place early. I do think the sit down system this year is better than the old stand in line system. A few years ago I remember standing a in a line that went outside and snaked around Canada Place.

Fresh off the ship, some quick hits about the 3 day repo coastal cruise Vancouver to LA. 9/20-9/23 2015 on Crown Princess. Just sea days on this one, no ports.

--The Crown seems in fine shape. Most of the ship seemed freshly painted, we smelled varnish all over and there seemed to be new carpet in many areas including Skywalkers and on the stairs. As a matter of fact the forward stairs carpet looks more like the browns I've seen in pictures from the Royal/Regal rather than the green teals. It does contrast in areas where the new carpet is not in yet.

--This is the second straight repo we have purchased the All-Inclusive Beverage Package. I can see where beer and mixed drink drinker may have trouble getting value out of the package but as we are wine drinkers it's a no brainer. We like to spend time in Vines and since most wines are $7 to $10 it's an easy decision to make. Factor in waters for the room, $3.50 for a big bottle, cappuccinos at $3.50 and coffees for $1.75 plus our new favorite the Raspberry Pomegranate Splash (with soda please) at $4.50 it's easy to get to $49 a day. And don't forget the shakes at $2.50 by the pool, they are included too.

--Speaking of Vines, Jude and Allan were great! Actually I don't think I've ever had a bad experience at Vines with any servers, they have all been great. This Vines is different in the bar is in back covering windows on Desk 5. The newer (I guess) design is for a bar out front and what creates a sort of entry way into Vines. The bar in front is a much better design as it seems to prevent people from just taking a seat in Vines from Piazza/IC overflow.

--Main dining room food was good, and here's a shout out to some of the best Prime Rib I've had on all Princess ships. Fresh, cooked perfectly and a good size piece. On the other had the final night American landfall menu can be missed. Meatloaf, the "Tom Turkey" plate and some not so memorable apps. Back in May on the Golden 3 day repo they did the 50th anniversary menu, wish we had that again.

--Buffet was the buffet. We had breakfast there each day and one or two lunches. One breakfast we British style which I enjoy. My wife loves the fruit tarts!

--Entertainment in the Piazza was really only music, no acrobats or anything. We didn't mind that at all but you could tell the musicians really don't draw crowds.

--Some areas of the ship were warm, some cold. Very uneven.

--Embarkation in Vancouver is actually pleasant now. Nicer than standing in long zig-zaging lines. It was confusing back in May when they switched to this system but they have it down now. Three ships in port was no issue.

--Disembarkation was fine in LA, small delay nothing major.

--This cruise makes us Elite. Hate us if you like but this cruise makes 15 total with 61 sea days. 6 seven day cruises, 4 three day cruises, 2 two day crises and 3 one day cruises. We'll have Princess do some laundry on the Caribbean Princess in November to celebrate. 7 days, Western Caribbean by the way from Houston.

We bought the package for the first time on our cruise last May and will buy it again this Sunday for our 3 day cruise from VAN-LA. We do like our wine so we make out very well with this package. When you include the cappuccinos, brewed coffee, water for the room and even shakes at Scoops it's a no-brainer for us.

What we liked was not having to think about it. No having to think "Oh, that's another $7." We found that we sample more. We never got cappuccinos after dinner, now we do. We never had a shake before on board, they are actually pretty good!

I've booked two cruises with these casino deals and sales, a three day coastal and a seven day Caribbean. I just went back through all my old cruises and these two bookings are the cheapest seven day and the cheapest three day cruises I've ever had. Nice discounts!

No captain has ever danced in a show on any of my cruises! I watched the Love Boat religiously and that's what I expect! And where the heck is Vicki? :rolleyes:

That's our experience too. No big problem getting a table for 2 in AD, just a short wait during peak times.

Totally our experience also.

Never had TD and never will. We are on the ship to relax and it's not like we have to be anywhere at any time. Never had any huge delay in getting a table for 2 in AD.

Nominee for post of the week.

No binoculars...I seem to remember umbrellas on one cruise but I may be wrong. Basically expect a Princess bag for shopping, soap and toilet paper! Oh, and a pen and paper.

Actually if Princess would run their anytime like Celebrity, they'd have less complaining. Princess allows for traditional diners to go back and forth willy nilly. This causes seating during peak hours much worse than if the assigned dinner styles were held to. Service suffers too when more people are showing up than staff can handle. Meanwhile tables sit empty many nights in the tradtional. Makes no sense..ESPECIALLY on Regal and Royal with so many options for dining. A fixed diner can choose one of those or be allowed to fill in the earlier or later anytime hours.

It isn't rocket science.;)

I do agree that Princess should be checking cards at the door of the Anytime Dining rooms and turning away Traditional guests. You picked Traditional so you must eat at your time in your dining room not creating longer waits for the people following the rules. I'd be turned away at the Traditional dining room door, same should happen in reverse.

One day Seattle to Vancouver in September to be Elite for our November 7 day!

huh? What's your rationale for that presumption? :rolleyes:

Working in the restaurant industry for 20 years. :rolleyes:

I would never again get traditional dining. I am never on a set schedule while on a cruise and do not feel that I have to eat and see a show every night to get my moneys worth. We eat when we feel like it and if there is a wait we get a glass of wine and people watch in the Piazza.

It always seems to me that people who complain about anytime dining are people who never go out to eat on land except Mothers Day.

Just off the Golden today. Yes, the Horizon court looks good, done in grey and white washed. New tables, carpet, the works. Most public areas seem to have new carpet.

Really couldn't see anything done in the cabins, except it looked like new telephones. Normal wear and tear in our cabin, C743, last balcony cabin before fully aft. No idea what the other posters means about any sewage smell nor were we told to use a public bathroom. We smelled nothing and had no issues.

Picky issue that is on all Princess ships. The map channel, that's what we call it, comes in very blurry on the flat screen TV's. I believe the software is the same as on our first cruise 9 years ago but needs to be updated to HD or something.

We had a great time hanging in Vines for the trip. If you are on board go see Juan and Cynthia. Lots of fun. We purchased the all you can drink package for $49 per person per day. Princess may have lost money on us that first evening. :o

Our disembarkation was at 10:AM and we left the ship at 10:05. Love the new SF terminal.

The new boarding procedure in Vancouver was weird at first but went smoothly. No more lines that wrap for miles, you go inside a big conference room in the Pan Pacific hotel to wait sitting down. We arrived about 11:45 AM and it took about 15 minutes in line to reach the conference room where you were given a number and then wait to be called. From there we waited about an hour and 10 minutes to be sent down three flights of stairs to do security and check in. The stairs are where the flaw occurs. Given the average ago of cruisers to Alaska, I see a law suit waiting to happen.

Just off the Golden repo today, Vancouver to San Francisco 3 day, and there was escargot on the last night. No formal nights and it was not a French themed dinner. I had them for my appetizer course and my soup course. For my salad course I had the Fettuccine Alfredo. Yes, I do have my favorites. :p Dinner was a NY Steak with peppercorn sauce. Didn't finish that after all the starters!

The answer is....both. You can move up in status by completing cruises or total number of days. Your one day cruise counts as one day and one cruise. A seven day cruise counts as one cruise and seven days.

Why would you not get off??? Victoria is such a beautiful city. Just wander around, it's not that far of a walk to the Empress and the Legislative building.

Last week we went to Jam Cafe for breakfast and walked back to the ship leisurely from there. We saw an Irish games parade along the way. Look up Jam Cafe....you won't be disappointed.