joyoftravelling

Just heard the Canadian Government is chartering a plane to bring Canadians home where they will undergo 14 days quarantine at Cornwall,Ont. They will be screened prior to leaving Japan, if they have symptoms will be transferred to Japanese health system.

“This decision was taken because of the extraordinary circumstances faced by passengers on the Diamond Princess and to lighten the burden on the Japanese health-care system. We are working closely with Carnival Cruise Lines and the Government of Japan to assist in this evacuation” .

The source of this information is Global-TV and Global Affairs Canada.

New to HAL but not to cruising; we are taking a 3-day cruise in Sept to try it out.

I read boarding can begin around 11:30 am but cabin might not be ready until 1:00 pm. Are you able to access your cabin to drop off luggage? It is just a 3-day cruise so will only have carry-on bags and don't want to check them to be delivered later.

We have open dining and prefer a table for two; is it necessary to make a rsv or can we walk up at any time and be seated at a table for two? I know we might have wait a bit.

Anyone familiar with 3-day cruises, states there is one formal night; are they kidding?

We too were on the cruise just before drydock. While Lido and Sun decks were closed off at midnight on the last night, I doubt this impacted many folk. After all, it is the last night and most of us have packed up and are snoozing away.

 

For the few smokers who had their spot near the Tradewinds Bar closed off, the Players Bar and deck 7 areas were still available.

 

Yes, the HC was closed that morning but ALL dining rooms were open until 10AM for a sit-down breakfast. We went and while the menu didn't have the French Toast :(, it was still very nice.

 

The casino is getting a major makeover. Most machines are being changed to ones more attractive to the Asian market. They are also adding a VIP / High Roller area.

 

The photo gallery is also getting a makeover.

 

A very nice thing was since there were no passengers coming on board, the time for vacating cabins was pushed back to 10AM rather than the normal 8AM time. This greatly reduced the number of folk waiting in public areas for their disembarkation group.

 

We did have a bit of fun during the last day at sea. There was a slight swell causing a small bit of movement on the ship. Around deck 10 on the forward stairs there was some creaking of the ship. Sounded to us like a tired ship whining and saying "I need pampering. Someone clean my hull and paint it, polish my propellers and change my carpets. Oh yeah, do some reconstruction in some areas too..."

 

Never during the actual cruise did we see any drydock activity other than one or two contractor folk scoping out the work and that did not negatively impact our holiday. I paid special attention to this because of the many negative comments here on CC. Turns out for this cruise, they did not apply.

 

Well done Princess!

I agree, well done! We were a bit concerned on hearing the Horizon Court would be closed on the final morning and the waiters at dinner the night before were concerned that breakfast service might be slow. But with all the dinning rooms open it was a breeze, even had a table for two. Sabatini's was open for Suite passengers. The only drawback is that folks who have never tried the dinning room for breakfast before may now abandon the HC and flock to the dinning room for breakfast.

Oh, yes there was lots of creaking in our cabin.

Also just off the Golden. We saw tons of stuff to be loaded onto to the ship,many rolls of carpet, two cranes in use to load. One lifting shipping containers onto the Lido deck and we saw lots of who may have been the tradesmen for the refit boarding. We also heard that the Horizon Court was going to be completely redone.

If you over purchase OBC (I suppose it could happen) is it possible to get a refund? I did read here that it was possible but read somewhere else that 'use it or lose it' just like to confirm. Today I purchased OBC at the 10% conversion. What about shore excursions, will they be billed in CDN or US if you pre-pay?

Cheers, Debbie

We generally do Anytime Dining, and specifying a table for two is no problem. The Maitre'd usually asks if we will share, but it's no big deal to say No. They adapt.

Wouldn't it be nice if once the Maitre d' recognizes you that they wouldn't ask if it is okay to share? We did a 20 day b2b and it was the same every night. It is no big to deal to say no but do they have ask regardless?

I find it awkward getting out from the bench seat, worried I'll knock over some one's glass of wine or have my rear in their face. We did have one of our glasses knocked over once when a person exited the table next to us and it was immediately replaced. Cheers.

It's a new line of chocolates that Princess will be offering. Cheers.

We always ask the cabin steward for extra bars of soap at the same time we ask for extra hangers. Any trip over 7 days we bring our own shampoo and conditioner. Only completed 2 Elite cruises and the bathroom amenities appeared over a period of a few days, took awhile to get the complete set. Dumb question but ... what is the purpose of the linen spray? Cheers.

I heard a rumor that those eligible for the MTP event were given a complimentary specialty dinner...do you know if there's any truth to that rumor on the 3/4 day itineraries?

On our 7 day cruise in June to Alaska on the Pacific Princess there were so few Platinum & Elite passengers that they gave us a complimentary specialty dinner instead of the MTP lunch. A very nice treat, we chose the Sterling dinning room and since we are not big steak eaters have never gone before ... but really enjoyed the meal and will likely go again.

Here is the picture (I hope) from the webcam.

Cheers, Jot

Here is the Pacific Princess at Canada Place, an absolutely gorgeous day in Vancouver! We sail at the end of June.

I hope this works:

http://www.visioncritical.com/the-view-from-here

Cheers, Jot

My TA was told by the Princess rep the free champagne offer applies only to sailings departing 2014. We booked today for a 2015 departure and were told no bubbly. I don't see anything in the fine print about 2014 sailings only. Should I go back to Princess and ask for it again?