derdejoh

Hi Everyone!

 

I have several random questions I was hoping you could answer....

 

4.) We want to take advantage of the specialty dining. What are your thoughts of eating in the Crown Dining Room the first night and Sabatini's on the last night, or vise versa, on the last night?

 

A couple of considerations... We have traditional dining and enjoy meeting our table mates and waitstaff on the first night so we usually book a specialty restaurant for sometime during the middle of the cruise. Similarly, we would avoid the last night of the cruise because we like chatting with our table mates and staff about the cruise and saying goodbye. Also, I'm guessing Victoria will be your final stop on the last night of your cruise, so you may not want to be tied down to a specialty restaurant that night. (Of course, if you are not planning on going ashore, then this would not be a consideration.)

 

6.) My son is a sushi freak and I know they serve sushi in vines with the purchase of a beverage. Is this a bar that a teenager will be allowed to dine in?

 

Can't answer about Vines specifically since neither of us are drinkers, but there was a sushi buffet one day (I believe it was at lunch) just outside of the Horizon Court. The time and place was listed in the Patter.

 

That's it for now....I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions as we get even closer! :D

 

Thanks!

 

Marieze

We really enjoyed our recent Alaska trip -- hope you have a blast!

Did the book have multiple maps? From the photo it doesn't look like that would be the route a Seattle sailing would take?

If I recall correctly (my mom had the book, not me) the Cartwright book only had one main map, but it charted routes for various types of cruises (i.e. roundtrip from Seattle, Vancouver to Anchorage, etc.). In the picture that AryMay posted you can see their highlighted route, but another (lighter pink dashed line) marking a route that a different type of cruise would take. There was definitely a Seattle roundtrip route charted out.

We were happy with our recent Seattle Express experience -- $12 pp from the pier to the airport (but definitely get a reservation!). You may also ask Seattle Express or Shuttle Express about reserving a private shuttle -- in the past we were able to reserve a private van through Shuttle Express for about the same price as the shared service (I think the break even point several years ago when we did this was around 7 people).

I don't know about the Star specifically, but on our recent Golden cruise they showed movies in the Princess Theater on a couple of afternoons (most evenings were the standard production shows, comedian, etc.). They did also have movies on MUTS but we were not interested in bundling up to watch a movie so I'm not sure how easy it is to get extra blankets.

We've done Hobby twice, but mainly because we try to fly Southwest. As for transfers, for just the two of us, Princess seemed to be one of the cheaper options (and we have not experienced any problems with Princess transfers to/from HOU).

Thanks, Mike. We usually fly Southwest. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope they participate in the program.

Yes, it was offered for Southwest on our recent Golden trip out of Seattle.

I am new to Princess, will be driving to the ship, and plan to use carry-on luggage only. If I decide not to leave the ship early, will I be able to go to the Lido and relax over breakfast and/or coffee while those who have to catch flights disembark first? Or does Princess require that all disembarking PAX wait at a preassigned spot (lounge or whatever) until their # is called?

 

Thanks in advance!

When we've had later flights we've often lounged around on the Lido Deck, just sitting, reading a book, and trying to squeeze every last moment out of our vacation. The buffet will be open so you can grab some food and just sit back and relax. But do realize that most passenger services are closed and I'm not sure how long the buffet will be open (but it should definitely be open until at least 8 am when you are expected to vacate your cabin).

I will be considering that although I believe Princess reads this forum for a number of reasons. I posted here because I had always assumed a basic level of care (as advertised) while cruising and have now seen that could have been erroneous. It apparently did not happen in this situation and yes, I wanted to share this in case it is relevant to other cruisers.

I'm not going to comment on the actual situation you experienced, and I do hope the patients are doing well. But I'm curious about your comment about an advertised level of care. In fact, I'm not sure there is any legal obligation on behalf of Princess at all to provide any medical care (although the fact that they do so is a great service). As noted in the passage contract:

"12. HEALTH, MEDICAL CARE AND OTHER PERSONAL SERVICES. Due to the nature of travel by sea and the ports visited, the availability of medical care may be limited or delayed and emergency medical evacuation may not be possible from every location to which the ship sails. All health, medical or other personal services in connection with Your Cruise are provided solely for the convenience and benefit of Passengers who may be charged for such services."

I'm not saying the availability of medical services on Princess is right or wrong, but do agree that everybody should be informed of the cruise lines legal obligations and perhaps we cruisers need to adjust our expectations?

I'm with OP about enjoying a leisurely dinner and chatting with tablemates. But to answer your question, I think some people just have different priorities. Some want to run off and see one of the early shows (the later shows can sometimes be more crowded). Others want to hurry up to catch a movie on MUTS. Others just might not like eating with other people but got stuck at a larger table than they would have preferred. I also think a lot of folks just aren't used to a 1.5-2 hour dining experience.

No crew show on the CB this March, but the "cooking" demonstration was sort of turned into the crew show -- representatives from the different dining rooms singing, comedy skits, etc.

I hope that's not true! We're so excited to be back on Princess this summer and were hopeful we'd be able to sail them again next year.

Unfortunately, I think so. If you flip through the Princess website, the only ships not already publicly scheduled for Summer 2015 are the Sapphire and the Sun (both of which have been sailing in Asia). We, too, had been hoping to sail Princess in the Caribbean next summer.

Glad to see that some progress is hopefully being made. I'm guessing it must be quite a mess to work to accommodate the 5000 or so passengers (between the two sailings). We'll all keep our fingers crossed for you and the other affected passengers!

Of course you would want to confirm, but I think the Princess insurance includes a cancel for any reason *future cruise credit* (75% credit for the non-refundable portion with the basic insurance and 100% credit for platinum level insurance). I would think you could then apply that credit to your upcoming cruise on the Island.

With the basic coverage, you'll need to do the math... Is getting about 81% of the cruise fare back (25% refund plus future cruise credit from insurance of 75% of 75%) worth the savings and a mini-suite to you? If you have the platinum level protection, then you should be all good (25% refund plus 75% future cruise credit).

(Edited to correct my math!)

Plus, it seems surprising that they'd cut short the cruise in front of yours (which, at least according to the Princess website, is not scheduled to arrive in Santiago until 20 December).

Worse case scenario, I think you may be left with disembarking your first cruise early to get to Santiago in time or arriving as scheduled (now late!) and catching a flight to catch up with the Golden at its next port (neither of which are ideal).

"We refuse to participate in their scheme." -- But as has been pointed out, by handing your steward (or whoever) a cash tip, you are necessarily participating in the "scheme." The only way to avoid this system as it currently exists is to never tip anybody.

As for those people who say they don't care/shouldn't know how the crew are compensated -- that it is between the crew and Princess -- I guess to each their own. But I think that an important part of being an informed consumer is understanding the product you are buying, how it was produced, and whether it was provided in a way you find acceptable. Plenty of people won't shop at a particular store because of the way the employees are treated there. Others always look for "Fair Trade" items, seeking an assurance that the people who made the products were treated fairly. And lots of companies have faced a backlash from consumers for paying employees in foreign countries a substandard wage (at least by Western standards).

IMHO, I think it is a good thing to actually understand Princess's tipping system, the good and the bad. Now we all can make an informed decision about whether we like the system, want to advocate for change from Princess, or take our vacation money elsewhere. And for that we should all thank the OP for gathering this information.

According to Google Maps the Post Office (located in a taxidermy shop) is just three blocks from the cruise dock.

 

US Post Office, 422 Mission St, Ketchikan, AK 99901 Google maps picture: https://www.google.com/maps/@55.341695,-131.644933,3a,75y,190.8h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sIoi-ehpxoFazupdFdpujig!2e0

I do hope that one is still there, because we have used it in the past as well! However, it is not listed on the USPS website and I thought I had read an article that it closed a year or more ago?

I know in the past there was a USPS contractor in downtown Ketchikan near the cruise piers, but in searching the internet it sounds like that location has closed. It seems like the USPS keeps promising to find a new contract location soon. So, does anybody have the latest scuttlebutt? Will there be a mail facility within walking distance of the piers in Ketchikan this summer? We'll be there the first part of June and Ketchikan is our last US port so I was hoping to lighten our suitcases some by shipping stuff home using a flat rate box.

If I recall correctly, the bill doesn't even have a place to leave an extra tip, so if you are thinking about tipping extra you should probably bring cash. (I think that would especially be true for suite passengers who are dining for free -- they might not actually see a bill).

I think Princess has also gotten into the habit of having some holiday sales like so many other retailers -- Memorial Day, Labor Day, Black Friday, etc. -- so you may keep an eye out around those holidays.

I'm very interested in this product, but perhaps a dumb question. Give me some ideas on where/how you would anchor it, both in a hotel room and a ship stateroom. I'm trying to envision where, since a bed leg could be easily lifted to remove this pack. Just not "seeing" where to secure it. Perhaps to the back of an anchored TV? Help. :o

As has been said, I think the point is to delay opportunistic thieves, so attaching it to anything that will slow them down will probably do the trick. Absent other good places, I've even looped a laptop lock through a couple of desk drawer handles in the past -- I figured somebody walking down the hallway with a laptop attached to two desk drawers might draw some attention.

I have seen articles where airlines do a similar thing and travel professionals suggest checking prices using multiple browsers. I think it can be a function of your saved cookies (which are browser specific). For example, if you have visited the Princess site a bunch of times looking at a specific cruise they might start creeping up the prices because clearly you are very interested. Or maybe you also visited a Royal Caribbean site on one of the browsers which Princess is detecting so is trying to offer a more competitive price. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if Princess is taking the same factors into consideration that the airlines do.

But I'm glad your TA was able to get you the lower price.

(As for the price information now being down, the Personalizer is as well with a message saying they are doing maintenance, so I don't know if they are just fixing the pricing or doing broader maintenance on the whole site.)

It's also handy if others are traveling with you in other cabins. I created a wish list of suggested excursions for my mother and then you can use the link to share the list (by e-mail). You can also share a list of excursions you have already reserved.

As said above, to each their own. There is no "benefit" provided by Princess for purchasing OBC.

I think some people do it for budgeting purposes (maybe they can afford $25/month leading up to the cruise so each month they'll purchase a $25 OBC) while others simply want to avoid the shock of a huge bill at the end of the cruise.

Good luck convincing your college student to get up at 4:00 am -- while on vacation -- to do classwork! :D More likely he'll be staying up after Skywalkers closes to do some work before heading to bed.

Depending upon your ports of call and what excursions you have planned, finding internet access in port may be your best option. You can deposit him at a Starbucks or some other cafe with free and/or cheap internet while you go off and do some shopping. ;)

Haven't seen the survey, but. Rhetorical question, why would Princess have to ask what you spent on a cruise? Seems with a little programing they can extract exact amounts sorted any way they wish from their folio records. If you can look back so they they.

The answers were not specific to Princess. "Have you taken a cruise in the last year? If so, which cruise line? For your most recent cruise, how much did you spend?," etc.

I completed the survey without any technical issues.