mjmalino

On 12/5/2021 at 5:26 PM, John99 said:

Memorable places after 30 years of cruising.

Scotland - Edinburgh Castle & the Royal Military Tattoo (must purchase tickets early)

France - Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre (not enough time) & city of Paris 

Dublin - Trinity College & the Book of Kells expect long lines

London - Buckingham Place Private Tour (“A Royal Day Out” ticket - 3 sites visited)

London - Lion King’s theatrical performance

Ireland - Blarney Castle, Kinsale & Cohn Tour (private tour)

 

Stockholm - Vasa Museum (take ferry from port dock – easy to do)

Stockholm - Old Town plus Changing of the Royal Guard at noon (walk able from port)

Gamla Stan (Old Town) is a small island of narrow streets and building dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries.

 

Sweden Archipelago Islands with over 28,000 islands & inlets leading to Stockholm

Tallinn (Estonia) - Old Town with many medieval streets and spires 

Copenhagen – Storget Street and Amagertorv Square with many street performers

Copenhagen – Tivoli Gardens

 

St. Petersburg Russia - Summer Place of Peter the Great (tour)

St. Petersburg Russia - Church on the Savior of the Spilled Blood (tour)

St. Petersburg Russia – huge Hermitage Museum (rivals Paris Louvre Museum (tour)

 

Greece - Acropolis & Parthenon (dedicated to Athena)

Greek Islands – Santorini

Istanbul - Blue Mosque (take your shoes off to enter)

Istanbul - Hagia Sophia

Istanbul - Grand Bazaar (easy to get lost in the lambrith of the aisles & walkways)

 

Panama Canal - full transit

Vatican City Tour - Rome

Coliseum Tour - Rome

Barcelona - Famila Sangrada

 

Alaska - Denali National Park

Alaska - White Pass & Yukon Railroad

Alaska - White water rafting 

 

Quebec Old Town - Canada

Canada & New England cruise in the fall

 

Asia and Fare East cruises are on our bucket list plus many more.

 

I agree with a lot of them, but I would add in Greece the Temple of Poseidon on the Sounion Coast. The drive out there is beautiful!

On 12/5/2021 at 1:23 PM, mom says said:

I'd have to say that by far our favorite port stops have been in Asia. Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam especially. But also Japan.Fabulous cultures and histories to explore. And the food! Oh, the food!

We just booked Asia for March 2023...beginning in Singapore and ending in Tokyo.

On 12/5/2021 at 3:29 PM, Tedferg said:

We loved Baltic, highlight was St Petersburg, we used spb-tours.com and were very pleased. Used them for Berlin tour also.

We loved the Baltic as well. We used Alla-tours for St. Petersburg, Copenhagen and Helsinki and they were fantastic.

I believe they are the same ones, just make sure that they have not expired.

3 minutes ago, Thrak said:

I just keep watching and wondering... We're booked for a 12 day Alaska cruise in May. We live in the US but the cruise leaves from Vancouver and also ends in Vancouver.  I wonder what hoops we will need to jump through.

At this point I wouldn't even venture to guess what hoops you will need go to through in May. It seems like as soon as we get used to 1 set of rules they change them.

We tend to park at www.parkngo.com. You can book them through a parking consolidator, or directly from their website. If you book with them directly it is a bit cheaper. They have a shuttle and during covid, the mention that, upon request, will run the shuttle just for your party (they have several that run continuously during embarktion/debarkation.

I cannot speak for Celebrity, but we started cruising when we were in our mid 30's and our kids were 8 and 9. We all love Princess. As was mentioned, the longer the cruise the older the demographics and the itinerary and time of year will dictate demographics as well. For instance, we have done Caribbean cruises in June, July and January. The June and July there were a good number of kids, the January one (right after the holiday) barely any kids.

We boarded the Sky January 5, 2020, and will board her again December 28, 2021. She is a beautiful ship, so enjoy!

Princess is not really known for their towel animals, so it won't be much to miss.

1) You can have one devise per person, at a time, so you can switch between multiple devises all you want.

2) If you choose a drink over $13 you pay the difference plus the gratuities on the difference.

3) I did most, if not all, of the check-in with my phone for both my husband and myself.  I can't remember if I was able to do it all from my account, or if I logged myself out and logged in as him to complete it,

I found this on onesource regarding NYE:

"There’s even special holiday programming on stateroom TVs, including a fireplace channel. Guests sailing over New Year’s will ring in 2022 with a festive countdown party and a Champagne toast!"

58 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

But where will they sail.....as counties continue to close their borders it could be a problem for the cruise lines....it really does not seem like things are getting any better after a year and a half of living with Covid....hope Princess survives but cruises to nowhere will not be that popular in the long run.....

I am hoping that there will be countries that will allow cruisers in, even if it is with a "bubble" excurison requirement.

The way I am looking at it is this, the cruise lines sailed through Delta right after they started sailing again. I think  they will keep their protocols in place for the foreseeable future, and I think, that as long as the passengers/crew adhere to them they will keep the cases to a minimum and the ships will continue to sail no matter what Covid sends our way. Frankly, I think that if we stop living every time a new variant comes around we will never do anything.

23 hours ago, amanda384 said:

Why would someone not want to be addressed by their first name? I rather like mine.

Actually, I have no issue being addressed by my first name, the issue is that my first name is Mary Jo and most people who don't know me address me as Mary, which I don't like. If they want to shorten it, call me MJ

25 minutes ago, Eddie1 said:

Has anyone been to St. Thomas on a cruise lately? What are the restrictions on entrance of cruisers to walk around downtown?

We leave on Dec 12, what can we expect?

 

Thanks

This is from the Princess website:

The ability for fully vaccinated guests to go ashore in ports of call is controlled by the governments of the ports we visit, based on their specific COVID-19 protocols and requirements. These are subject to change. All ports allow fully vaccinated guests to go ashore with Princess shore excursions. Some ports may also allow tours sold by port-authorized third-party operators or independent tours and exploration. Please be aware that in select ports you may be required to take a shore excursion provided by Princess to go ashore.

We recommend that you always carry your proof of vaccination and your negative COVID-19 test results from embarkation when going ashore. Currently, only Princess shore excursions are permitted in:

• Bridgetown, Barbados
• Roseau, Dominica
• Basseterre, St. Kitts
• Castries, St. Lucia

So, if things stay as they are, you should be able to go ashore on your own in St. Thomas.

6 minutes ago, bob10173 said:

I understand there are 4 islands in the Caribbean where in order to go ashore, you need to go ashore on a Princess shore excursion including St Kitts which is one of the Princess ports of call. Anyone ran into this? The others are Barbados, St Lucia and Dominica according to the Princess website.

I have seen that as well as we will be in Dominica next month (early Jan, actually). Given the ever changing covid regulations we are only doing ship sponsored excursions so that we don't find ourselves scrambling to find something last minute if another island requires it as well.

On 11/23/2021 at 4:21 PM, C & C Love to Cruise said:

Is there a link where I could order them from?  

https://store.optum.com/shop/category/tests-and-devices/covid-19-home-tests/

https://www.emed.com/products/covid-at-home-testkit-six-pack?hsLang=en

We ordered ours from emed as they offer a 6 pack of tests for $150 (there are 4 of us and we wanted to have a couple extra, just in case.

There are 4 of us traveling, and we bought a 6 pack of home tests from e-med for $150. They are medically supervised so they are accepted by Princess.

23 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Thank you.

You are welcome, however, I should add that if you are past final payment I do not believe that  re-faring cannot be done through Polar...if it can be done 

18 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

 

 

Separate question, can TA re-fare or change cabin location easily through Polar or do they have to call Princess. I do not want to ask TA to sit on the phone for hours for a trivial change.

Yes, a TA cab re-fare or change cabin location through Polar.

My husband uses the lanyards that come with the medallions. The kids and I have the sports bands.

I have done it since we started getting our kids their own cabin. During the online check-in process, when you add a credit card for onboard purchases, you can add yours to their booking. 

When you book your first cruise with Princess, whether it be through a TA, by calling Princess, or via the website, when you receive your confirmation your Captain's Circle Number will be listed where it says "Member Number"

As was mentioned, it is 330 days from the end of the cruise because the airlines (usually) release their schedules 330 days in advance of the flight's departure.