Liz54

Call again.

Thanks for the Clarification! Will be great to be able to walk up and down for the public areas.

Now another question. Late Traditional dining looks like it is still available only via the Aft. Am I correct?

Staff in vines are interested and knowledgeable about wine. Therefore they are delighted to see what you brought, but you may have to share!;)

In nine princess cruises I have always been among the first few groups to board and the room has always been ready.

Hmm? Good point. On land water bottles would be recycled.

In Canada on 30% of plastic gets recycled, in the US 8%. Not very good numbers. Best to take a reusable container and drink tap water. My post is the tip of the iceberg in terms of water use policy, then the energy use in trucking cases around....Not much good about bottled water.

Please do some research on the environmental impact of bottled water. The pacific has a plastic "Island" the size of the US. Made of plastic garbage. Your water bottle will be somewhere - there or in the dump - for generations. Ask yourself it you need it badly enough to leave the clean up to your grand children.

Google - The Pacific Gyre.

Hope you are right. Would love to be able to use them to go down to the public venues rather than waiting for the elevators. But they don't show on the deck plans. Maybe someone else will chime in!

One clarification Norris, if you can! We are on Emerald Deck on the Royal in February. I understand the designers skipped the central stairs on both the Regal and the Royal initially. Then I think they opened them up again. However in the deck plans it appears they only opened them on the public floors. So from Deck 8 Midships we will have to either use the elevators or walk to the fore or aft stairwells. Have I got that right ?

I travel with my sister and we have completed 9 cruises. 8 on Princess and 1 on HAL. They have never made this error with us. I agree this is a problem as you described. Princess needs to up their game.

There was a chocolate & peanut butter mousse that was pretty good!

I'd like to piggy back this...got wait listed months ago for Carnival Glory. Travel Agent said there's not much he can do...Can I the e-mail address for the Maitre'd?

 

 

I'll be traveling with 8 adults and my 15 month old. Any suggestions? Should we try to get 2 tables, or a big one? Or even split the dining time if someone needs to take care of the baby while some of us eat? I can post this question on a more relevant sub if needed.

 

 

Thanks!

Not a great travel agent.

We have had our alcohol delivered on a back to back which was fun! Mistakes happen:cool:

We love our wine and usually do 10 day cruises, so get the wine package. We are not very discriminating and so are content with most dry reds. The decision on the wine card is a no brainer if you are not really fussy about types of wine. Those who are knowledgeable and have strong preferences often carry on and pay the corkage. We carry on one bottle each and then buy the card.

We had tea on HAL and it was very similar with individual tiered plates of sweet and savories, and tea in individual pots. Much nicer than the Princess dining room one. No Charge. I expect we would do this "Royal" version! We do late traditional so tea works well for us!

Knowing whats for dinner without looking at the menu! Worse, knowing what you are going to choose!

I solo-ed at the on the 9th of the month on the Carnival Imagination. I have been thinking about cruising for a few years and was near a port (Long Beach) for a wedding so I decided to take a 4 day to decide if I even like cruising. I rented a suite with a balcony, it was pricey but I have been traveling alone for years. I enjoyed the experience, enjoyed cruising and had fun and relaxed. I booked this through Costco and received a $200 cash card when I returned.

 

I just booked a cruise to Alaska next year on Saturday on Royal Caribbean as they had the 150% solo supplement (buy 1 get 1 at 50 off) and I also received a senior discount.. I was really just doing research when I saw the 2 day offer and took advantage. When I tested it on Costco Travel they didn't have the BOGO offer, but latter they did so I booked direct with RC.

 

 

 

A-

If you book direct and then see a travel agency with a better price or better perks, you can usually transfer the booking as long as you are before final payment.

We have booked E437 on the Royal. It is adjacent to the panoramic lifts deck8, and therefore just above the door to the promenade deck - deck 7. Is that likely to be slamming all day and night? Cabin is obstructed, but not much, we hear. If anyone has experience of this cabin, would love to hear about it!

I am also a bulldog and a control freak. I book with Princess well out - at least a year,- and watch. Then I switch to a TA with a better rate or great perks. The TA I used for my upcoming cruise has got me two big price reductions and added free grats despite the fact that it said "new bookings only". This guy may become my forever TA!

Everyone is a comedian here!

I have not done it but many people have really enjoyed it. Just walk in anytime. Definitely no waits. They have a list at the door. You cannot bring guests. Sounds like there is a "special" every night. Sometimes table side, sometimes not. If you do a search you might find more, but hopefully those who have done it will respond here.

In 12Princess cruises, I've never seen this!

I've seen this too!

Your blog review is fantastic! Many thanks!

Except, as noted, for those cruise lines that require a passport for all cruises, regardless of the actual legal requirements.

 

Yes, OP, is on Princess, and probably won't be required to have one, but the generic "If you're American and on a "closed loop" cruise (start and end in the same American port), then no...no passport is needed at all to cruise" response isn't accurate for everyone.

Agree. I remember the discussion about Saint Martin planning to require passports. Any and all Countries including small Caribbean Islands can, at any time, decide they will require passports. Unlikely that they would do it without lots of notice, but it is within their rights to do so.

Thanks!

Smoking definitely not for the faint of heart. Will bring hockey protection!

Hello Norris,

We have booked on the Royal. Our Cabin is on Emerald deck just opposite the panoramic elevators. I understand if I go down one flight to Deck 7, there is a smoking area. There is an exit on 7 to promenade adjacent to the elevators. Assume smoking is to the right - towards stern/aft ? Can you clarify?

We are in E347 Which I believe is starboard side.

Just wondering how far a hike for those early morning and last at night quick trips!

Also wondering if we will have incessant slamming of that door to the promenade deck all night long!!:(

In my experience there are signs saying no cigar smoking, but

Princess only responds to complaints, so you would only be asked not to if there was a complaint.

Unlikely to have a complaint from a cigarette smoker.. Best way to avoid complaints would be not to leave big stinky cigar buts in the ashtrays in smoking areas! These are irritating to cigarette smokers. The smell of fresh cigars being smoked is fine by lots of us!

I took my 10 year old on a cruise one January. We were traveling with my very disabled older brother. Because it was January there were only 3 kids on the ship. The three kids met at the kids club the first evening and we were told no programming. The other 2 were siblings and the girl was much younger. (maybe 7?) We met the other boy's parents and established ground rules. The sister ended up spending some times with the boys and other with her parents. The boys were inseparable for the whole cruise. They swam, shot baskets on the top deck, and snacked. We saw them as they traversed from one spot to another and we had then touching base throughout the day. I was comfortable with that because the boys were quiet and well behaved kids. We often saw them before they saw us and were able to observe what they were doing. I was comfortable because there was a buddy system. Would not have liked just one kid wandering, nor would I have approved of a bigger group.