Lady Arwen

Exactly why I always suggest to people to have a Princess CVP or trusted travel agent acting on your behalf. You do not need to spend hours on the phone. And, it costs nothing to have the professionals do the leg work.

The bottles themselves are half size and filled and sealed. They don’t give you a half opened bottle.

Good advice, because you just never know when crossing the Atlantic. Be prepared for the best and the worst and don’t be disappointed, you are still on a cruise!

Southampton, England will be quite cool/cold rainy. The closer you get to Portugal and Spain it will start to warm up considerably. Crossing the Atlantic in November will most like be quite chilly until you get to Bermuda, where it will be mild to cool. The rest of the trip to Ft. Lauderdale will really start to warm up nicely. It could be a bumpy ride across the Atlantic or you may get lucky and experience calm seas. Would I cross the Atlantic in November? Probably not, but some people feel differently.

Please count on an 8-9:00 am transfer, unless something holds them up. You will not get a 10.00 am transfer under normal circumstances. We just want you to be prepared and not get your hopes up.

Exactly what I thought, too. The OP should prepare for an 8-9 am transfer. After 10.00 is almost impossible.

You will need to disembark by 9:00 am, or earlier, since the crew needs time to get ready for another load of passengers anxiously awaiting to get onboard. We are also disembarking in Southampton to LHR in two weeks and using the Princess transfer. We expect to be on our bus sometime after 9:00 am, which would most likely be the last shuttle. You can have a long leisurely breakfast if you eat by 6-7 am. Be forewarned, the buffet will be packed by 6 am!

Both Viking and Oceania are much more expensive than Princess, even with a package. Much more. Viking requires payment in full at time of booking, even if it’s more than one year away.

Honestly, I just can’t take all the calculations and spread sheets and group meetings and debates and seventeen different opinions. If I’m paying over $10,000 for a cruise, why would I be so overly concerned about spending a few hundred more for something that really enhances my experience. You either want it or you don’t.

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Great job, very professional. We choose Plus this way: “Honey, you still want a couple of glasses of wine with dinner and probably three specialty coffees and some Perrier and maybe a couple of sodas and fresh juice and some cocktails in the casino?” “Yes, dear I do!” “Okay, Plus it is!” Done deal for us. lol ,

Thank you for correcting me! I guess folks should be a bit happier that it’s actually lower than previously reported. As always, you’re on top of things!

Thank you! So much misinformation being passed around and after a while everyone believes it’s gospel. An entire pizza, enough for two people, is $12.00. Or, get pizza on Lido deck for free. I don’t like these changes either, but let’s keep it real.

Canada here and yes we got the email.

Drink package prices actually increase in price and often quite quickly after the last increase. I would not wait to purchase, just in case there’s another increase around the corner and many members here are predicting that very thing. Sorry, not to have better news!

Just received ours five minutes ago. We have Plus, so Alfredo’s will offer us two complimentary dinners, etc, etc. Exactly what we expected.

Grand is a really nice ship. Yes, a bit older, but certainly lots of life left in her. Wishing you and your family a fabulous cruise!

Agree with you 100%. We tried NCL three times over the years and then we were done. We even preferred Carnival to NCL, it was that disappointing.

We much prefer the Celebrity experience, too. However, there are times that Princess will offer an itinerary that is much less expensive than Celebrity. Our British Isles sailing in three weeks gave us a mini suite at less than half the price of a Celebrity balcony. We do have two booked on Celebrity Ascent and Beyond and one on HAL Rotterdam. We’ll see after these cruises if we decide to return to Princess. Celebrity Edge class ships are a world apart from any Princess ship, IMHO.

Completely understand, but you really have to keep trying. Sometimes the first one just isn’t a good fit. Don’t give up!

We have a very reliable Princess CVP who takes care of bookings, itinerary changes, fare reductions, telephone calls, etc., etc. We never have to wait on hold or speak to an offshore rep. I don’t understand why so many people just go it alone and get themselves so stressed out. Or, use a trusted TA to do the legwork for you. This is your vacation and you don’t need any added frustration.

Most people in the Blue Lane will be like us Canadians and Brits who have applied their info to the app, but need to pick up the Medallion at the port. Very few people will have to have someone help them fill out everything on the app at the terminal. If so, I don’t think an extra 5-10 minute wait in line will be an issue for most of us.

We’re Canadian (Well, I am. My DH is a Brit living in Canada) so no pre shipping of the Medallion for us either. Once you enter the terminal you can retrieve your Medallion and the rest should happen quite fast as long as you have provided all your necessary information on the app beforehand. We have priority boarding, but expect it to take a bit longer than usual. Not a big deal for us. We’ve learned long ago to pack our patience when cruising. We board in three weeks and spending three days in Southampton prior to the cruise.

You can’t pre reserve the same table and waiters. Do this the first night in the MDR. Ask the Dining Room Manager (maître d) or the person at the podium located at the entrance. You can, however, book the same dining times for each evening in the app. You have to reserve each night separately for your desired dining time. All this being said, it seems oftentimes this information, from the app to the ship, does not always happen. You might have to start all over once onboard. You can also request table size and table location on the app and if you prefer a faster or slower pace of dining, Again, maybe this will happen or maybe not. Princess will try to accommodate your wishes. Unfortunately, there really is no magic “Traditional Dining” choice. Good luck!

You are so right!