compozer

Kriz. Were these items topped daily, 2x daily or only when you requested etc?

I was very disappointed on the Royal at Christmas. I miss the eucalyptus scents - loved it - steward would always give me a few to take home and it reminded me of being on the ship. Maybe too many people were taking some home. We won't use their shampoo - left my hair limp and not really clean. I usually wash it daily because I'm in the water but did try to go two days and it looked terrible. So we will be bringing our own from now on - also conditioner. The lotion was just so-so but the container is a little larger which is a plus. Again, not worth taking a couple home.

Our son was along and in the past, they have left three of most of the things but not this time and I did ask twice for a couple things - never got the them. Would have been nice to get three slippers so we all could have used them for the few times we went out on our sooty balcony.

We have always had the basket stuffed every time the steward was in and more in the shower and tub (even on the nightstand) but they were not very generous this time. I don't even think the sewing kit was in it.

Kind of like the fruit basket - it was gone on the third day and never returned.

Blue Island Divers are excellent and they allow snorkling off their boat.

Yes, they are excellent. Killian is such a neat guy. Can't wait to go back.

They allowed my husband to ride along - he doesn't snorkel. I believe they charged him only $20.

 

On a better note, we passengers collected over $9,200 to give to his family! In The Philippines, that may be of some help.

That is really nice!!

As they say

Believe half of what you read on the internet.

thanks for your post.

The only negative thing I found was that they are sooo much more than the minis.

YES - twice the price. Starting to think twice about that - is it really worth it?

I am to the point that the only perk that is worth anything is the larger cabin and on a month long cruise it is to us. The nightly canapés are the same every night and are also served at every party - am so sick of them. Please give us something else. The concierge lounge on the Royal has a nice snack area with a few other snacks but at Christmas, people were giving their cards to all their family and friends so the pickings were very slim. I agree with sunviking - elites get the same perks except Sabitini's. There is another thread about this and of course after a few people stated this same thing, they got slammed by a few people (that is the reason I have stopped commenting about suites - especially our Royal OS where the soot and diesel smell got to be too much - there was no way I was going to mention any of the other issues with that OS). Anyway - I just looked and those posts are gone - good for CC.

Can you tell us how The Royal's OS compared to OS's on other Princess ships?

thanks

I guess I'm in the minority on this one, I just don't get what is so special about Sabatini's for breakfast. I have never walked out of there saying that is the best breakfast on the ship.

There are so many options for breakfast don't get stuck on "I have to eat there because I'm in a suite".

I'm starting to think the same thing. Only made it for breakfast twice on our last cruise. Excursion were early and I'm not getting up a hour early just to eat. I really am starting to rethink staying in suites - perks on the Royal aren't like they use to be. Get most of them as elite. More I think - not worth 4 X as much as an inside.

Great info. I think we may purchase one BUT if there is already one on the windshield can we put duct tape over it on the outside so it does not communicate with the toll booths? Hate to end up paying twice.

I think Illinois uses the EZ pass and we don't use their toll ways that much but plan to purchase one next summer so we have it if we decided to take a road trip.

If you're picking up the car at the port, they'll figure it out. And charge you. It's not because you're coming from a cruise, it's the fee they charge for picking up at the port, either because they pay a fee to the state or the port authority, or it's a shuttle fee. They're not picking on you because you're a cruiser.

 

Check the fees for picking up at airports. Those are REAL fees.

I kind of figured that might be why. It is cheaper than taking a taxi to the rental desk at the hotel so I guess it is a good thing.

We have always used a taxi to get to port so lets say we have a friend who drops us off at the ship, does every vehicle have to pay a fee to get in?

Another question:

Alligator Alley is a toll way and we plan to use it to go over and back from the gulf coast. IS it part of the Sunpass system? I think it is time I get a map and do some more research.

Thanks

I just booked with Hertz for our upcoming post cruise trip and noticed a statement saying they would charge you something like $25 PER day for some pass - not familiar with the toll ways down there.if you used it once.

We haven't driven down there for 8 years and I hope to find some kind of a map so I stay off those toll roads. We are heading to the gulf coast and back.

I looked at my confirmation sheet and can't believe all the extra fee they charge these days.

They asked where we were coming from and I said a cruise. I noticed a $3.95 port charge on it. I'll say my house next time.

Make sure you have everything in writing.

in the future you can simply enter your contact info directly into the person's smart phone.

That is only if you carry your phone around with you.

We have this happen so many times. I should put business cards in my DH's pants. Or I should carry a small purse but never have and probably never will.

Kind of like, after every cruise accident, I say I should start carrying a small flashlight in the evening - probably will never happen.

Good luck in getting in contact with them

thanks Andy

What is with bringing up all the old posts. You are just making a statement. Are you trying to up your posts or what??

They are asking $350 per night 1/31 and 2/1.

It's time to thin the heard. If you fall overboard, you don't deserve to be rescued.

Love It!!!

Do you have a local dive shop? Many will have one day snorkeling classes which are wonderful to help newcomers feel comfortable on their first try. It is great for children. Have you ever been on an excursion when kids get scared or sick and scream and yell and then the parents demand that the boat take them back to shore?

Check it out.

Didn't see or hear anything about it two weeks ago when we were there. We are heading back in three weeks and have no concerns

If you haven't purchased your BCD yet, I'd recommend the Cressi travel. It is so much lighter than the one my son has. It has weight pockets which I really like. I have a bad back so as soon as I get out of the water (shore dives) I take them out. It folds up really nice.

Not sure what to say about a boat or shore dive. I have only been diving 1 1/2 years. I did 34 dives this summer - my son pushed me to go with him and then get the advanced SSI. My first boat dive was a bad experience. It was very rough - nothing like Lake Michigan but my stomach was bothering me and we had two other boats and those people stepped onto the dive boat and went in the water from it. I ended up being the last of eight to go in and I was feeling sick by the time I got in the water. Not sure if I used it as an excuse but my mask was leaking and I even tried going down a second time. Someone talked that there was a wall and a 100 foot drop and I think I had a feeling I might sink down there. I finally said, "I think I will just forget it this time and not hold you up". It had been a year since I did my open water and had done 16 dives but I really think I was more scared than anything. Two weeks later we went back to the same spot and I loved the dive. Had no problems. Everyone said that if you don't feel comfortable, don't do the dive. So maybe a few more dives might help.

There was a couple with us that were on their first boat dive and they loved it. Email some of the shops in the ports and maybe they could plan a shore dive for you. Or call one of them. Killian was such a neat guy - he seemed like he would do what ever he could to help people.

Will you be comfortable 65 feet down? If not, the beach one may only be 10 to 12 feet. The other thing might be to do as many dives as you can before you go - can't remember if it said where you were from.

Good luck,

Sandy

We brought our own equipment. I don't remember which one but one of the boats used the same equipment as our local dive shop. In St Martin, Anne asked to look over our equipment and tested it on shore. She even noticed that one of my hoses was showing moisture droplets (can't remember what it is called) and brought it to our attention. She did say it would be ok to use but we should have it checked. I had only used the regs twice and the shop replaced it when we returned.

The crew took care of everything for us on both dives - put our equipment together and changed tanks.

In ST Thomas, there was a couple with us that did their PADI open water and they wee so impressed with the team for helping them. Lots of people do it that way - classroom back home and open water test on vacation but it is so much more expensive.

The seas were really rough and my stomach was bothering me - only other time in the past was during our open water test in four foot waves on Lake Michigan. I had some Bonnie and ginger tablets with me. I took a couple ginger ones and it helped. I think from now on I will take them before we get on the boat.

Let me know if you have any other questions

Enjoy

Thank you! I hate that I didn't get the opportunity to meet your son. Underwater photography has always been an interest of mine. I am actually taking classes to get my scuba certification this semester!

Good for you! You will LOVE diving. I have heard of more people lately doing it thru their college - that is really neat. We got our PADI certification 1 1/2 years ago in Lake Michigan after doing a Christmas cruise and seeing so many divers below us while snorkeling. We did numerous SSI specialties this summer and got our advanced certification. My son has done many more and is working on his Dive Master certification and also wants to go on to be an instructor. Almost all of my 30 dives this summer in the lakes was like a night dive (poor visibility) so we both were very excited and thankful that we had the opportunity to dive during our cruise.

You need to get your sister to join you. It is nice to have a relative as a buddy. I know he always has my back and I have his. At 65, sometimes I think I am a little old to do this but I love it. All my friends think I am nuts but I don't care.

It is another world down there and you have to have the right equipment to capture the perfect pictures.

St Thomas:

Blue Island Divers - Talked to Kilian

http://blueislanddivers.com/01_diving/CruiseShips.html

They picked us up right in front of the ship. Great guys. My husband stayed on board and had a great time talking to Kilian when my son and I were diving.

St Martin:

Dive Adventures

Anne - dive master

http://www.stmaartendive.com/

We had to get a taxi and met them at Divi Resort. I think we paid $10 for taxi. They have another location and we had to wait for the boat to come from over there. We walked out to a small boat which transferred us to the dive boat. It was very nice of them to drop us off just off the side of the ship - wish they could have picked us up there.

Anne was great.

We were suppose to do a wreck dive but there already was a boat at that location. Very rough out but the crew was great helping us get ready, checking everything and getting us in and out of the boat. There were four or five other dive boast out that day.

The site at Divi Resort is just a location that they use. Their shop is further away so they just pick people up there.

I would recommend both of them

Just returned at Christmas. We were unhappy that we could not book a scuba trip in Princess Cays - so we signed up for the ship's advanced snorkeling trip. We went up the coast a few miles. It was not the best but any time you can spend under water is better than being on the beach. We used lava core suits and I was glad we did.

I am not at home so I will get the info later but we did two dives at both other stops. Was very pleased with both dives.

Thrak,

Probably the same company but not the same info she gave me.

I am sure there are many different scams out there.

Yes, we are on the DO NOT CALL LIST. I don't really think it does any good. Only three people have my husband's cell number and he gets odd calls all the time. Haven't answered one in two years.

I did do some googling and like I said, figured it out as soon as I woke up. I would never give out any information especially my cc over the phone. I main reason I mentioned it here was to let others know. I would have hung up right away if it wasn't that I just wrote that letter to Princess.

hpeabody,

yes it does but I hung up before she got to the port charges.

Here is another report on it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lessons-from-my-free-cruise/

This is the number from my caller id:

510 201-5674

And I figured the Hilton one was because we just booked several hotels with them.

I still can't believe all the people that fall for them.