Cruise Raider

Maybe some recent cruisers will be kind enough to answer some questions I have about the Crown Princess .. Does the Crown have those motion lights in the hallway between the bathroom and closet? Are there USB ports on the bedside lamps? Are there any other casual meal venues available other than at the GastroPub and Vines? Is the charcuterie board the only food available at Vines? Are there any pop up venues for casual dining meals? Thanks in advance!

For that many passengers, you’d have to order 2 Uber X, maybe even 2 Uber XL or one of each. Perhaps a larger Uber Black would work. We have had great luck when ordering a limo from Major Limo. We also live in the Bay Area and the cost is under $200 plus tip. That was about one year ago, though.

we usually take an earlier flight but wow, this worked out so well. But yes, we would have been through in no time at all if they had t made us wait for the blue line to die down. That was rather annoying. I would say, so much for getting the medallion mailed out. I’m sure it works out better at other ports.

Our boarding in San Pedro was a bit different than @PacnGoNow’s. We waited to get through security and then another line to allow us to go through check in. We took a later flight so we got to the port around 1:00 PM. The blue line was crazy long but the green line allowed us to go right through. We weren’t allowed to go right through the green line until they allowed the blue line to die down a bit. That was uncalled for, IMO and a bit irritating. Nonetheless, we got onboard, dropped off our luggage and let the fun begin!

We aren’t there yet, but are working on it. We keep seeing the same people those invites and never can seem to catch up. It’s hard on the sailings from SF. we keep trying, though!

Thank you Wally … you always make sense. I will let the others try to figure out what I was trying to explain.

I will try to explain it one more time … if we get 4 specialty dinners with a B2B with the Premier package, doesn’t it make sense that you get 4 casual dining meals with the Plus package on a B2B?

Now I see what you meant … I thought you were referring to the Plus Packgae when you said “Plus you get .. unlimited casual dining”, thus the screen print. Anyway, to clarify, I meant that if we get 4 specialty dining with the premier, one should also presume that you would also get 4 casual dinners with the plus. Hopefully, that makes more sense.

Not a problem .. just came back to post them but just happy you got what you needed.

I don’t believe so …

We’ve done a few B2B’s since the new dining restrictions have taken place. Granted, we’ve booked our segments at different times so they’ve had different booking numbers (I think the might get different booking numbers anyway as they have separate voyage numbers) but in the app, they show as one single cruise. Regardless, we’ve gotten the premier package on these B2B sailings and gotten 2 specialty dinners for each segment. If you can purchase or upgrade the package separately on the Princess website, you should be given the package inclusions separately as well.

I used to love the WineMakers dinner when offered for $40 pp. Aside from the Catch by Rudi, one time, it was the best meal I’ve ever had on a cruise. But then, my DH can’t eat that late and I just can’t eat that much food in one sitting. When it went up to $130 pp or thereabouts, I gave up on the idea altogether. I wouldn’t even do the 360° experience, as for that cost, I can upgrade to the premier package and not only get 2 specialty meals pp, but also unlimited casual meals, nicer wine, photos, etc.

Some friends went a few days ago on the Discovery and with wine, it was $150. They said enjoyed it. Worth the cost? I wouldn’t think so.

We just disembarked the Discovery a couple of days ago and the cruise was sold out. There were tenders from both the port and ship being used. We anchored pretty much on time, which was 2PM. There were people still waiting to be called at about 3:45 PM, so they probably got onshore by 4:15 PM. I’m not sure how much longer the process of calling people by number took, as we weren’t really paying attention after that. If you are really anxious to get off in early and don’t have priority status, you may want to book one of the first excursions. We only had an hour to spend in Newport one as we had no status at the time. We no longer tender unless it’s a port we really have to experience because it is a long arduous process.

Good info!

A few more comments about the new app .. I noticed that the app was not allowing me to bookmark anything towards the end of the cruise. There was no location listed for the events, which is why I believe the new app didn’t have anyway to allow us to put it on our schedule. I don’t believe I mentioned this previously and it slipped my mind until I was trying to bookmark some events for my next cruise in the new app. I wanted to mention this is my post cruise survey and they no longer ask about the app where it was previously included.

I do have them written down somewhere. I will look for you and post it. None of them sounded that interesting to me but your mileage may vary.

I only used the new app on my cruise that just ended yesterday. Some new features I really like. Overall, it worked pretty well, still with a few glitches, and I also had the old app to fall back on. It’ll all get worked out but you may only have the current cruise showing instead of all of them listed under your profile. You can always log in using your booking number to enter info in for a future cruise. But, yes .. that is an unnecessary pain.

Just ate at the Catch twice on my early January cruise! It was spectacular!

That’s exactly what I was told just a few days ago. I cannot be sure this is how it will be later this year but that’s what they are doing at this very moment. A few months ago, I was given a complimentary upgrade from an inside to a balcony cabin but the cruise was not full. There was another cabin in the same category I liked a bit more and they moved me to it without question.

I see that now. Just for reference, to move from one cabin to another in the same category once the bid has been accepted, is no longer allowed. We bid from a BD to a premier balcony just recently and ‘won’ the upgrade. We were just notified of our new cabin. In speaking with my cruise planner, I was told that Polar has now been updated to disallow a move within the same category once that bid has been accepted. Maybe it can be overridden by someone up the chain but, think they are now discouraging that practice to the point of not even allowing it. Good thing I was happy with any cabin in the premium cabin category. By recently, I mean it was just in the last couple of days. Even my cruise planner was surprised it couldn’t be done.

You may be able to do that now but they’ve cracked down on that lately. The categories they used to be able to change it to is not for an ID to an IB but another cabin in ID, if there are any. I wouldn’t count on it happening. This cruise may make your first impression on cruising so, it could be the difference from loving it to not liking it at all.

If it’s your first cruise, there are many things to consider, especially when it comes to cabin choice. As for the bid up process, the answer is no, you won’t be able to move to another cabin in that category if there are any other choices. So, again, pick your cabin carefully. They are filling their ships now so there may be no other cabins open to move into if you don’t like your cabin assignment. Do you get sea sick? Forward cabins and on a higher deck are much more likely to have you experiencing the rough waters. Are you sensitive to noise when you’re trying to sleep? Some cabins are right near the tenders, the anchor, above a showroom or theater, under the pool deck over a galley, etc. Are you sensitive to the smell of cigarette smoke? Some cabins are right above the outdoor smoking section. How about food smells? There are food vents that used near the aft that may not smell so great after awhile. All of these would be considerations to take into account. A well located inside cabin might actually be nicer than a poorly located balcony cabin if any of these issues would have a negative impact on your overall enjoyment. But one more question, could you live in a closet for 10 days if you get sick and have to be confined to your inside cabin? My advice is to pay for the most expensive cabin you can afford and not worry about the bidding process. You can be assigned to the worst cabins on the ship with a guarantee or a bid. Unless you’d be happy with any and every single cabin in the guarantee cabin category you book or bid on, just don’t do it. Pick a cabin out yourself!

You are most welcome! We take a white noise machine and it even bothered him through that and that was with the balcony door closed. So, he was happy when they at least turned it down. he also likes to sit out on the balcony and hear the ocean and that sound alone. The room service coffee isn’t even worth getting. Even in the piazza, one of the waiters obviously had it made via the room service coffee machines. It was more like a latte and a cappuccino. As for the deck plans, I haven’t found where you can view other ship’s deck plans. I use it for when I am in the future cruise office and booking a different ship than the one I’m currently sailing on. I have been able to view all the different decks, though. And when at home, I can see any ship I wish. I may be missing something.

Yes, you can set a time for your order via the app.