ltlqtgrl

Thank you all very much!!!

Hello!  I have what may be a very silly question.  Is there a way to see the ship’s location using the stateroom TV or medallion app?  I was on a ship a few weeks ago and couldn’t find a map showing the location anywhere.  If not, is there an app or website anyone can recommend to track the ship while sailing?  I tried using google maps, but as soon as I turned on airplane mode it would stop updating my location.  Headed to Alaska in July and would love to see where the ship is while sailing.  Thank you!

I just got back from the Discovery Princess a couple weeks ago with my 6 & 8 year olds.  They had a great time in the kids club.  I'll link another thread that I shared some information about our trip.  Also, I didn't see a toy library, but they did offer to let us take a couple games/books that my kids expressed interest in for the day/night.  

6 hours ago, MandL82 said:

Hi @ltlqtgrl

 

Thank you for you in-depth response, this was so helpful.

Can I ask were you on a drinks package/ Princess Plus

We have heard that on a package /PP you each have order indervidually your one drink, otherwise you are charged for these "additional" drinks.

Think makes life tricky as our DD is still learning to read so would need assistance, it would be great if all of us can use one device to order as this will make things so much easier.

Thank you again

I'm glad to be able to help!   We all had the soda package for the cruise.  My understanding of Plus is that alcoholic beverages are supposed to be ordered one at a time with a maximum of 15 per day.  However, all other beverages are unlimited.  Also, when you are on the medallion it should recognize everyone in your travel party.  When you are on the app, it will tell you "included in drink package" and it will tell you what the total is without the package and then deduct it to show a zero balance.  

Hello!  I just got off the Discovery Princess on Sunday with my 6 and 8 year olds.  I will tell you – they had SO much fun in the kids club and were always mad when I picked them up early.  However, try to save room in your luggage because they did so many crafts/activities and got items to bring home (there was t-shirt coloring, hat decorating and they were each sent off with a small backpack and 2 stuffed animals each in addition to multiple crafts…. they also had 2 Easter egg hunts since we embarked on Easter).  I’ll try to answer some of your questions based on what happened on the Discovery…

-During sea days, the kids club closed for lunch and dinner.  It was open 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10.  They will give you a schedule of all events for the week on the first day and you can choose what you want her to participate in.  I will say that I picked my 6 year old up about 9-9:30 most nights and she was the first one to leave the room (and also the oldest many times).  Her bedtime is 7:30 normally, but she was so excited by everything going on that she had no trouble staying up later for the week.  She did also sleep in a bit more than normal (normally awake by 5, but slept until 7-7:30 at least).  There is no dedicated nap area at the kids club.  During Port days, they are opened a little differently.  However, they still close 5-7 and I was told they are only keeping kids during lunch if the parents are on a Princess excursion during that time.  You also need to let them know the day before.

-In the 3-7 year old rooms you are required to sign-in and sign-out the kids (they just scan your medallion).  They also gave me a pager every time I dropped her off and I returned it when picking her up.  They do a great job with the kids and I was never notified. 

-My kids LOVED being able to order mocktails (and soda) throughout the trip.  You can order via the medallion app for everyone at the same time and they will deliver to your location.  I had no trouble ordering drinks for both kids and myself at the same time (and room service food).  There was no trouble ordering multiple non-alcoholic drinks at any bar or dining venue either.  The only one that I had to call room service for was if they wanted milk in the evening.  There was no trouble getting it, but it was not an option on the medallion app.

-I did not see any booster seats in the dining room when we were there.  However, they will bring a kids menu and crayons each night.  They will also bring out the entire meal for the kids first (excluding desert) and pace the adult meal like normal.  Also, if she wants something not on the menu just ask and they will do their best to accommodate.  My daughter asked for soft rolls the first night (the typical bread has a harder crust) and they were waiting on the table every night after.  She also asked for grilled cheese one night and the head waiter came over to say it would not be a problem, it would just take a couple extra minutes.  Also, if she likes ice cream, have her order a volcano!   

-We had a deluxe balcony with the sofa bed as well.  There was no curtain to separate the areas.  Also, if you want to use the balcony, you have to climb over the sofa bed until it’s made into a sofa again.  I’m not really sure about attaching a sheet – the magnetic hooks may work that were suggested previously.

I’m sure you will all have a wonderful time.  As others have said, the crew love kids and many will go out of their way to make the trip extra special for them. 

Please let me know if you have any other questions I can help with.

I finished a live chat with Princess yesterday to determine if my kids (under age 12) were considered fully vaccinated or up to date.  They are following the CDC definition of up to date, which specifically states that "getting a second booster does is not necessary to be considered up to date at this time".  

Here is the website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html?s_cid=11747:cdc up to date vaccine:sem.ga:p:RG:GM:gen:PTN:FY22

Thank you for doing this! Hope everyone has a great inaugural cruise!  I'll be boarding in a few weeks and am looking forward to reading along! 

Thanks for the suggestions on the trolley/light rail/bus I'll have to look up the maps for them so that we can look into it!!

I haven't seen an Uber with car seats, and I'm not sure I would trust unknown car seats regardless.  The bubblebums aren't too bad and are pretty packable for a last resort if needed.  Fortunately my kids are pretty good about walking, but they are still on the young side and unpredictable things happen so I try to be prepared.

On 3/2/2022 at 8:11 PM, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

All very walkable.  SB isn't much near the tender port for kids.  If there's an excursion in SB of interest I would book it.  

In San Diego you could walk to the New Children's Museum  https://thinkplaycreate.org/  

SF maybe go out to Alcatraz if you think your kids might be interested in the history.  

 

Thank you very much for the suggestions!!

I'm thinking to bring small travel carseats and then we can always call an uber to get back to the ship if the kids get too tired from walking too. 

Looking at maps, B50 is where the Lane Victory is currently located.  They will likely need to move the Lane Victory.  It also appears that B50 might utilize the same "parking lot" as B46:

Thank you very much for the information!!  

I was really hoping to visit the Exploratorium, but it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and our ship is visiting on a Tuesday unfortunately. 

Thank you again for the other ideas, I really appreciate it!!

Hi everyone – I’ll be taking my kids, ages 6 & 8, on a California costal cruise in April for their spring break.  We don’t have any excursions currently planned.  I was wondering how walkable the ports are with younger kids?  I was thinking to go to the aquarium in San Francisco – would it be walkable from the cruise terminal?  Anyone have suggestions for things to walk to in the other ports or that kids would really enjoy?  Thank you very much for any input!!

On 2/11/2022 at 8:01 AM, chamima said:

 

If you happen to run into a housekeeping supervisor named Gheorge send him a huge hug from Allan and Karen. (He'll know) He is really special person and is always on the rollouts of the new ships.

On 2/12/2022 at 3:03 PM, pklein9747 said:

We're taking our 3 grandkids on the Caribbean Princess at the end of June.  It would be great if you could post your experiences at the kid's club so we know what to expect.  Thanks!

We will definitely keep an eye out!!

And yes, I will absolutely share our experiences once we return!! 

I don't think there have been any cruises out of B46 yet this year.  However, if you're on the April 17th cruise (which is what I'm on), it looks like we will leave out of B46 and return to B92

Thank you so much for sharing your experience @chamima!!  I'm anticipating there won't be many kids on their cruise either as they have a late spring break.  They have been very excited watching the Discovery's progress on social media with me.  They also love crafts and will be very excited about that.  We've planned for the masks - we live in LA County which is still under mask mandate indoor and outdoor so they are used to having to wear a mask for the day too.

@woostergirl I signed my kids up already in the cruise personalizer just in case.  We are headed to Alaska in July and are hoping things will be a little closer to normal then. 

Hello!

I'll be taking my kids (ages 6 and 8 ) on their first cruise during their Spring Break (April 17 - Discovery Princess California Costal).  Has anyone recently taken their kids on a cruise and used the kids club?  If so, is there anything different/new we should expect?  The kids are really excited to finally get on their cruise after the last 3 we booked were cancelled.  Any other tips or tricks for cruising with kids on Princess/Royal class ships?

Thank you!!

35 minutes ago, scrunchie99 said:

I thought I could not get a refund on my credit card for most of my fare because most of it was paid for with gift card. Anyone else get a refund on a credit card for gift card payments? I'm wondering if this is the norm, or an anomaly. 

I was wondering the same thing... I figured that I had paid with a gift card so was likely better to take Option 1.... but I haven't filled out the form yet...

On 3/9/2020 at 8:42 PM, wl2cruise said:

Looks like Monterey California has cancelled Royal Princess calls for March and April

 

https://monterey.org/Services/Harbor-and-Marina/Cruise-Ship-Tall-Ship-Visits

Thanks for sharing this.  I'm currently scheduled for the Royal on April 11th with my two young kids (4 and 6) and have been very torn about going or cancelling (mostly concerned about the possibility of a quarantine with the kids)... Monterey was one of the reasons we were going to go, but between this and the news reporting that they are trying to restrict cruise travel along California we may have to cancel... 

On 1/31/2020 at 2:58 PM, ATSEAMYLIFE said:

I haven't been to the SF aquarium so can't speak personally.  However, I have family who have done both the SF and Monterey.  They rate the Monterey much better than SF.  It would be a shame to miss the Monterey aquarium and keep in mind Monterey for the most part is an "adult" town.  By that I mean bars, restaurants, golf courses, etc; so not a lot hands on stuff for kids.  

 

I don't know why I forgot the SF Exploratorium just down the street at Pier 15.  It's the perfect place for kids your age to burn off energy.  Lots of hands on stuff for them to do.  We took our kids there when it was at the old location and now they take their kids to the current location. 

 

If you still want to do the Museum of Ice Cream you can take the cable car.  It's a few blocks up Bay Street from the pier to catch the Powell/Mason car and get off at Powell & Post then walk a few blocks to MIC.   

Thank you!  I have reserved the Monterey aquarium through the ship so that I don't have to worry about transportation with the kids.  We would have done both aquariums... however, thank you so much for the recommendation for the Exploratorium!!  I was able to look it up and it looks perfect and very close to walk to!!  

On 2/1/2020 at 1:07 PM, cabin4three said:

Princess are great with children. Ours had first cruise when about 14 months old and eldest is 13 this summer and looking forward to this year's cruise.

last summer on Sapphire Princess we had no problems at all, waiters would bring whatever the kids wanted, often things that weren't on the menu , eldest would try something new but waiters would bring him a plain burger without  us having to ask if he saw he wasn't enjoying his food.

when they were younger the staff in the buffet would carry the plates or test for us and set up a high chair. In the dinning room they will bring the children food quickly, if they have same thing most days you won't need to ask!

Last summer the children menu included spaghetti and meatballs, burger, chicken, but you can ask for any of the adult items without the sauce or mix and match items.

we never have any worry that out family will be hungry and we are fussy!! A meat eater, a veggie, a low-carb, a sugar free, plus two with allergies! Never had a problem.

You can ask to see the menu for the following evening and if there isn't anything you want then you can ask for something else.

Thank you very much!  Everyone has be so reassuring about the staff and it has helped to ease my mind =).

The last cruise I took was when I was pregnant (and finally have one booked taking the kids for April!).... I had a great time.  As others mentioned, the restrictions on drinking and certain foods you would have anywhere.  The only other thing was that my OB had asked me to avoid hot tubs and since it was a little cool for the pool I spent a lot of time relaxing pool-side instead.  Have a great time being able to relax and enjoy with your family!!

12 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

This is what we got from the Sky Princess December 2019.

2019 Sky Princess - Tree House page 1.pdf 3.69 MB · 8 downloads 2019 Sky Princess - Tree House page 2.pdf 3.23 MB · 4 downloads 2019 Sky Princess - Tree House page 3.pdf 3.01 MB · 1 download 2019 Sky Princess - Tree House page 4.pdf 2.78 MB · 0 downloads

Thank you so much!!  This helps a lot to see what types of activities they have!

On 1/29/2020 at 3:50 PM, Bertaef said:

I also would recommend aquarium by the bay in San Francisco it is right next door to where we dock in San Francisco.  

Perfect - thank you!!  I was hoping to find something close that we could walk to and visit in San Francisco.

On 1/27/2020 at 9:00 AM, OneSixtyToOne said:

Besides the Zoo, Balboa Park features dozens of attractions. One hidden gem is the San Diego Model Railroad Museum. It’s 32,000 sq ft of model trains and has some of the largest model railroad exhibits in the world. Kids get in free.

https://www.sdmrm.org/permanent-exhibit

 

Thank you!  I will check that out!

On 1/28/2020 at 12:56 PM, Essiesmom said:

Concerning cereal boxes...You might go to the Princess board here and ask if they still have boxes of cereal.  People who have sailed recently, maybe in the last 6 months.  I just got off a Carnival ship on Sunday and apparently one of the cost saving/environment saving measures is that cereal no longer comes in boxes.  It is in those tall cylinders that you put a bowl under and twist...  EM

Thank you!  I will see if I can find out.