Russ Lomas

I have seen them run the belly flop contest there in the past as well.  They had a Bon Jovi cover band (Slippery When Wet) concert there on the Oasis in March due to popular demand (not enough room in the Music Hall where they were packing the place each show).

We did the surprise cruise for the kids and the looks on their faces were priceless.  They knew they were going on a cruise, but we told them a different ship (small old one) that happened to be leaving from the same port, and when they got to the port they found out which ship they were really going on.

You may even want to tell them you rented a house in Florida for a few days and keep the cruise a total surprise til you pull up to the port. 

7 hours ago, CruisePierPressure said:

I am SO sorry! I have been overwhelmed with choices. They are calling it a Western itinerary and not Southern. I wanted Southern....so I think I had that in my head (actual Southern). I am very sorry. 

Anyways....I am choosing Harmony's itinerary. I would much rather hang out with a sloth than go down waterslides. My twins will not be missing out. 😆 Thank you everyone! 

I think you are making a smart decision.  Unless you really wanted to pay an extra $150 per person to take the kids to the waterpark in Coco Cay, the Harmony itinerary is better in my opinion.  We avoid any cruises that stop in Nassau and Jamaica, otherwise we just stay on the ship those days.  We feel much safer on the 3 stops you have picked on the Western Caribbean sailing.

Look into Victor Bodden tours (booked privately) for an amazing time in Roatan.  Do not miss the sloths and ask to do that as early in the morning as possible (they are more "lively" then).  Also be sure to go to West Bay in Roatan and be sure to snorkel to the far left of the beach beyond the roped off area on the beach.  Hands down the best snorkeling we have done from shore.  They also offer a reasonable option to add a dolphin swim if that is something you wish to try.  The poster above who called Roatan a slum must have been there years ago.  It has changed in the 20 years we have been visiting.

So much to do in Cozumel.  Yes, you are not docking in town, but there are great beach clubs that are fun to visit for the day and so many other choices to do there.

Costa Maya may not be the best for the kids.  Take a cab to the strip for about $3 or $4 each and it is a nice day on the beach.  Seaweed can be bad at times.  If you just stay at the port, there is a very Disneyesque port area with tons of shops, a pool, bars, etc. if you choose not to leave the port area.  There used to be a good waterpark here but it closed when Covid hit and never reopened.

We have never sailed from Texas before, but have 2 booked in the next year and a half from there.  Enjoy!

On 5/17/2023 at 8:40 AM, nbsjcruiser said:

Others are providing good info on checking in and sales and so on. I did want to comment on the differences between the two lines. Like you, we were dedicated RCI cruisers and are currently Diamond level. A few years ago we decided to try Princess again (we had cruised once before) and the difference was noticeable. Food was better, service top notch and there weren't screaming kids running all over the place. We found Princess more to our liking (we're in our late 50's/early 60's) than RCI. Anyway, we're now 3 cruises away from Elite status which comes with some nice perks. Free bar set up for each of us, free laundry, first off the boat at tender spots and so on.

 

Last year we picked up a 4 day cruise on the Liberty of the Seas because some family members were going on it so we thought we'd join them. The food in the MDR was not as good as I remember it - certainly not in the same league as Princess. Service was hectic and rushed and people dressed anyway they wanted to, even on the evenings that were supposed to be fancy nights. The whole experience seemed down-level to me and for the money they want, certainly not worth it.

 

Princess has made the decision to up their game with food and service and it shows. You won't be disappointed with the Regal (we've been on it 3 times) and I'm willing to bet you won't look back once you've tried Princess.

We have the Regal booked for March and the Harmony of the Seas for the following March in 2025 (prices were actually still reasonable - about half price what they are asking for March 2024).  If we really enjoy the Princess cruise, it will not be our last one with them (I used to work on the Sun Princess 25 years ago, so I assume things have changed a lot since then).  I always find great deals on cruises and Princess was always double what I paid with RCCL, but now the trend has reversed.

We, too, are Diamond with RCCL.  Love the Diamond perks, and now will have to start amassing status points with Princess.  I am more active, and enjoy all the activities on RCCL (in my mid 50's), but tore my rotator cuff doing the Flowrider (I ride a lot and try tricks I should not be doing at my age...lesson learned).  We will see how I do without the Flowrider for an entire week on a cruise.  Time to relax, and some reading may be what the doctor ordered.

If you cruised RCCL on the Liberty last year PRIOR to January 1, 2023, then that was before the massive overhaul of the MDR menus.  Sad to say, they are greatly inferior now to what you would have experienced on the Liberty (service is so much quicker, almost rushed).  Dining in the MDR always seemed "special" with everyone dressed up a bit, at least a collared shirt and slacks.  Now it is more like going to a McDonald's in a Walmart for dinner (in terms of dress attire) on RCCL.

2 hours ago, caribill said:

And if you book the standard fare at a great sale price, upgrading to the Plus package could cost much more than $60/day.

I booked the standard fare at a great price, but when I log into my account, it offers me the chance to upgrade for $1134 Canadian dollars for Plus for 2 people (converts to $60 US each with the exchange rate).

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

With the Princess App you input all of the necessary information and become “Cruise Ready” and you can do this as far in advance as you like. When you achieve this “Ready” state, your app home page will display a QR code. It is sort of like checking in, but on the day of you board you still need to go through a line and have your QR code scanned and passport checked with an agent who will be using an iPad. It is really fast. As far as boarding times are concerned, about a month before your cruise you can choose a boarding time but since the introduction of this process Princess has never enforced it. You can show up whenever you want. 
 

As for the $60 package, before the “Plus” Package was introduced, Princess used to run sales where they included the prior “Beverage Package” and Gratuities as part of the fare. Sometimes the base fare would increase to offset these “freebies” but sometimes they really were free. But since they introduced the Plus and Premier Packages, Princess has yet to run a sale where these have been given away or even discounted. But one can hope. 
 

Incidentally, I was playing around with some pricing on RCCL today just to see where they were coming in compared to Princess and I could not believe what I was seeing. One cruise I looked at was $13,000 for two people in an outside balcony cabin whereas on Princess I would expect to pay around $4,500 for a similar Caribbean itinerary. Granted that was for Icon, the new shiny toy. But still…

Thanks for the info.  You answered my questions on when you can preselect a boarding time (RCCL has been "enforcing" it by putting people in different queues for different boarding times.  When the 10:30 queue is empty, they immediately let the 11:00 queue board, and so on.

As for the Plus Package.  We will purchase it, but I am told it is the same price when you board the ship, so we might as well wait until we board since we have OBC that can be applied to the price.

I just priced our interior refundable deposit cabin in a preselected room on the Regal Princess ($1568 Canadian all in for 2 people).  The exact same sailing date to the exact same ports on the Harmony of the Seas is $4021 Canadian.  We love RCCL, but we could cruise on the Regal for $2700 for Princess plus (including all those great perks) for $1300 less than RCCL with no perks.

We love RCCL and cruise them frequently with family and friends.  Well, RCCL has got really greedy with their current pricing and the quality of their service (MDR and cabin cleaning) is going downhill with the cutbacks (pay more, get less).  Time for a change.  We booked the Regal Princess for March and have had a few other families cancel their RCCL cruises to come try Princess with us for a first time.

Question 1 - On RCCL, you can check in for the cruise about 50 days prior to boarding, complete your check in, including picking a check in time for your arrival at the port.  How does this work with Princess?  Do you prebook boarding times?  If so, is it done through the app?  When can you pick your time if so?

Question 2 - RCCL often has "sales" throughout the year (though most of them are smoke and mirror games offering a higher % off after raising the initial asking price).  One sale they often have though that is real sale is on Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Beverage packages, excursions, specialty dining can all be purchased for less than they usually sell it for.  Looking online I only see the Princess Black Friday deals as deals on cruises themselves.  Does the $60 per day for Princess Plus ever get reduced or is it always the exact same price?

Thanks for all your help in advance.  I worked for Princess 25 years ago, so I look forward to trying them as a passenger.

On 5/8/2023 at 9:46 AM, MissP22 said:

They're back alright, with price increases to boot and elimination of some perks along with a reduction in food quality. 

We usually cruise with RCCL, but they were asking triple the price for the same week with the same ports.  We jumped ship (literally) to try Princess to see how it compares.  If Princess has increased prices, I certainly did not notice it with the great rate we received.

As for the perks, as a first time Princess passenger, I sadly will get no loyalty perks, but I do understand people's frustrations when perks are reduced since we have seen this with other lines we cruise on.

I am not going to be the best to compare the cruise lines, as we have not yet sailed Princess as passengers (I worked for them 26 years ago).  We have done a dozen cruises with RCCL and love them and one with Celebrity and enjoyed it, but found the activities on the ship lacking in the daytime.

I know exactly where you are coming from with thinking about trying a Princess cruise.  We always cruise the same week each year, and RCCL prices and Celebrity prices are through the roof now.  Princess was VERY reasonable.  We looked at the Harmony out of Galveston, but they wanted almost triple the price as they did for the Regal Princess the same week, so we booked the Regal for that week.  I will miss the activities and shows that RCCL offers, but am excited to try what appears to be a much more upscale dining experience in the MDR (most people say it is comparable to Celebrity).  An earlier poster here said the food on his Princess cruise had very few choices and was not good.  I am guessing he has not cruised with RCCL in 2023 since they have cut their MDR menu in half and Princess' menus look incredible next to RCCL's current menus.

As for the Princess Plus package, that seals the deal for us because you can get the Princess Plus package (great if you intend to drink) for about 2/3 of what you pay for the same on RCCL, BUT Princess throws in your daily gratuities, internet, and some other perks.  Factor this in, and RCCL is about 4 times the cost for the same week to cruise.  We have had several families cancel their RCCL cruises for the same week and will be sailing with us on Princess that week instead to try something different.

We love RCCL and have 4 upcoming cruises booked with them (including one in March 2025 on the Harmony out of Galveston, which was about half of what they wanted for March 2024 for the same cruise).  We booked them when prices were much more reasonable.  We hope to continue to book with RCCL, but we are excited to try a different cruise line for comparison (plus the money we save will pay for another cruise).

10 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Forget all the previous stuff above.  There is a simple solution available now that Princess allows purchase of the cruise fare packages upon embarkation.  Saves on trip insurance cost and you can use any OBC to off-set the cost. 

 

You are perfectly fine to book one parent and one child in each of two cabins.  Once you get on board, visit guest services and make the swap you desire (age is not a factor).  At the same time, add on the Plus or Premier Fare package for the same price as you would pay pre-cruise and there is no issue since now you and spouse are aligned in the same cabin.  If you so choose you can leave the teens with no package or there is a non-alcoholic drink package (not a cruise fare package) that you could consider adding on.  Subtract out the Crew Appreciation cost and see if the difference make sense.

 

I would also upgrade one parent's MedallionNet included in the Plus package from 1-device to 4-devices and no need to purchase separate MedallionNet packages for the teens.

 

Thanks for the input.  I go on vacation to disconnect from the world, so I have no use for the internet for the week.  The kids can use the adults' internet.  We just go on the last day of the cruise to check in for our flights home.

I know you can unofficially put the kids in a cabin next door to the parents once checking in.  Does Guest Services permit you to do this on Princess once you board officially (like they do on RCCL)?  Is the price of the Princess Plus the same as pre-cruise?  On RCCL, the package prices go way up when you board the ship.

4 hours ago, Novicecruiser74 said:

I have 2 cabins for an upcoming Alaska cruise, with one parent, one kid in one room, and one parent, two kids in the other. I called Princess, and they were able to give me the Princess Premium just for the 2 adults and to split between the rooms, so that I only paid for 2 total. 

If that is the case, then we will consider it.  If they force us to take it for all 4 of us (including the kids), the answer will be a hard no.  

6 hours ago, voljeep said:

PLUS for your wife only? or for both of you?

Both of us.  Not worth it for the kids since they would drink only non-alcoholic drinks and only a couple of them each day (if like their past cruises).

We usually cruise with RCCL and have always been permitted to have our twin daughters in the cabin next door to us (RCCL will even officially let you book a balcony cabin across the hall from the kids in an inside cabin).  I was told by a Princess phone representative that this is not permitted with Princess cruise lines.  From what I read online, you have to book with one adult and one teenager in each cabin on paper.  I read that if the two children are at least 16, you can book the cabin next to the adult cabin for them.  Our twins will be 3 weeks short of their 16th birthday when we plan to cruise Princess for the 1st time (the week we have to cruise because it is their March Break week off school and our week off work).

Has anyone been able to do this before with Princess?  I know that once on board, the two individuals can always just flip cabins, but I was hoping to book the Princess Plus package for my wife and I but did not wish to do so for the 2 kids.  

1 hour ago, live2beontheseas said:

Entertainment:

The aqua show was cancelled for our sailing which was a bummer and they tried to fill the void with a “variety” show of musician, ventriloquist and the high-wire part from the aqua show.

 

Food:

That leaves us with the Windjammer, which was pretty bad in comparison to the Symphony.  There are several stations that are missing on the Oasis, like the nightly ice cream and show cooking stations.

 

There was little variety. 

Too bad you did not get to see the aqua show.  It was by far the best show on Oasis.  Amazing mix of 80s music to back a great show.  We saw it a few times.  Be sure to check it out if you sail on the Oasis again.

I, too, was very disappointed in the Windjammer offerings.  Variety was very poor compared to previous sailings on multiple different ships.  I was disappointed all the special stations that are on other ships like Odyssey and Symphony were absent on the Oasis.

14 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

It could be new that you can no longer use vouchers for the milk shakes. I just saw it posted today as NEW. 

 

Just because you could before doesnt mean going forward you can. Who knows if its ship specific but that letter says JR excluded. Nothing to do with being smart or dumb.

We had that exact same letter in our cabin on the Oasis in March.  Each adult Diamond member had the same paper explicitly saying they could not use the vouchers in JR.  Our kids' letters about their Diamond benefits had no such stipulation.  We went to JR and they said there was no problem for the kids to use their vouchers in JR.  We never asked if we could use our vouchers there since the letter we received in our cabin was very specific that you could not.  I have heard of people on different ships getting different answers.  All I can say is that on Oasis a few weeks ago, kids could use Diamond vouchers in JR for shakes and you could also get shakes with the Refreshment package.  (the same applied to smoothies at the Spa, but adults COULD use their Diamond vouchers there for smoothies.

3 hours ago, mandream said:

 

Not disagreeing or complaining.  Just commenting in response to all the posts above where people were able to use their vouchers.

 

If I can't afford the milkshake, I probably shouldn't be on the cruise.

My kids are Diamond members and get 4 free drinks per day.  They like JRs shakes.  Why would I be dumb enough to pay for their shakes when they are able to get up to 4 per day per kids with their vouchers?  Maybe I am missing something in your comment?

2 hours ago, ace1zoe2 said:

Hubby just boarded Adventure today and on the D+ onboard benefits it now says 5 drinks daily up to $14 (excludes Starbucks and Johnny Rocket milkshakes). First time we've seen that. He was just on Adventure a few weeks ago and was able to use a voucher a couple of days to get a free shake.

 

I was going to mention the exact same thing.  We got that on our Oasis cruise last March as well.  Our kids, who are Diamond members, were permitted to use their Diamond vouchers for shakes at JRs, but not those 21 and older.  Just had my kids use one of their vouchers occasionally to get me a shake (I paid for their Diamond status, so it is the least they could do)

4 minutes ago, mailmama said:

I'm on the Allure in a couple of weeks and realized I had not scheduled dining times. When I went to the website, it says My time dining is sold out. Do not call but check here (website) for availability. Never heard of this before! Anyone have an answer? My time is free so why sold out?

Happens all the time.  Only so many spaces allocated for MTD (or each fixed seating for that matter).  If you use a travel agent, ask them to watch for you to see if they open more MTD spots prior to the cruise to switch you over.  Otherwise, head straight to the MDR when you board and see if they could accommodate switching you.

On 4/26/2023 at 5:22 PM, Pratique said:

EDIT to add: I think I figured it out, since we were rebooking so many things during the pandemic some of the bookings that were originally 10+ nights ended up being changed to 7 nights but the $900 deposit was already in. That probably explains the discrepancies.

I think you figured it out.  That sounds totally plausible.

6 hours ago, steveru621 said:

 

OMG, we have been charged $900 at the Next Cruise desk when booking a suite.  That was the policy 5 years ago because people were abusing deposits.

2 hours ago, Pratique said:

I was paying $500 deposits on 7 night suites up through 2018. Then it went to $900.

I was curious, so I just went on the RCCL website and put in a 7-day Harmony cruise in a grand suite.  RCCL is asking me to put down a $500 deposit, not $900, so I am guessing those who are quoting $900 is for a longer cruise.  We had to put down the $900 deposit for a 15-day cruise we recently booked in an interior cabin.

On 4/24/2023 at 8:01 AM, gumshoe958 said:

Why does it not surprise me that Royal’s IT can be hacked by a 12-year-old?

That is what happens when a company outsources its IT to a foreign country who employs a bunch of 10-year-olds.  Those 12-year-olds are much more savvy. 😉

3 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Just booked another cruise taking advantage of TA group space on WOS.  Royal website price for the same thing refundable was $1600 more than what I paid.  Plus I got $200 OBC.  I'm practically cruising for free 🙂 

People who insist on booking directly with the cruise line have no clue how much money they could potentially save by booking under a TA group rate and get it with a refundable deposit (or they just like to throw away money).  The golden rule is get a good trustworthy travel agent and do not book directly with cruise lines, they will not offer you any extra perks over booking with a TA and prices will never be less than a TA offers it for.  Enjoy your savings.

2 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Would have loved to do that pne but it too long for us

We feel the exact same way. Would have lived to stayed on to do the 9 days with you but it is too long away leaving 4 daughters at home without us. 

4 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I booked the 9 night Norway.  Just haven't told Vikki.

Guess we can wave to you in Copenhagen as we disembark and you embark. 

With the info provided, Odyssey without a doubt.  I would say Oasis, but to save $1000, go to inferior ports, and get one less day...Odyssey is the best bet.  Aruba and Curacao are must see islands and Coco Cay is amazing.  Did that exact sailing March break 2022 on the Odyssey.