Aussie Gal

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Should all be released. Dont you want to know the covid history of a ship before you book or embark? I do !

 

We are on board and everyone we have seen around the ship are wearing masks whether in the passage ways, in the lifts, at Trivia or those waiting in the queue to go into the dining rooms.

I believe that the cabins used for those with Covid last week were on Deck 5 and all of those were taken off the ship on Sunday. Hopefully this week we won't have any cases.

Jennie

8 minutes ago, NSWP said:

You can sleep at home, lol.   Likewise pax who insist on solo dining or tables for two, you can do that at home too.  Highlight of cruising is a big table of 6 or 8 in the MDR. fun and frivolity every night.  Pity Princess got rid of traditional fixed early/late dining.  Lining up trying to get a table in ADT does not appeal.  Yes I know, you can ring up and book a table, but not the same.

Each to their own. After sharing many tables over the years when we first started cruising, we came to the conclusion that we preferred to eat on our own. That is why we prefer Club Class as you have tables for two but you can chat to those either side if you feel like it. We have made many friends this way since Club Class was first introduced. 

Jennie

The desserts sound divine. I hope we will have similar on our 7 day cruise.

Just now, arxcards said:

I wonder if this was just in comparison to the buffet or MDR. Generally, International cafe has a lot less options than those, and mostly just for a small meal/snack with your coffee

That is why we like the IC. We only want a snack at lunch time. After a delicious breakfast we just want something light to tide us over until dinner. We do want to return home weighing not too much over our normal weight!!

Jennie

Irene,  you mentioned that there isn't the same variety of food in the International Cafe.  We love having lunch there so I am wondering if they still have the various little rolls or sandwiches that have been on all the Princess ships.  I particularly like the Tuna mixture but they also have roast beef and other varieties. 

We are boarding I think when you are disembarking on the 3rd July.   We too have a Vista Suite and ours on this voyage is on Caribe.  When we do the round Australia in April, we have the same cabin number only on Dolphin deck.

Jennie

1 hour ago, kenexx said:

I can see you from the lift lobby at the Pullman Hotel at the airport!  See you soon Coral. 

We will be staying at the Pullmsn in 13 days time so we are also wondering as well. what the food and accommodation isl like.  Thanks.

Jennie

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

I guess I will see them on a couple of cruises later in the year. They would be a great couple to have in your trivia group, and they must be winging it on the insurance front.

 

Even if I won powerball, that doesn't appeal to me - repeating the same ports, daily activities and meals for over a year. I might also be inclined to put on a couple of kilos.

Even though I love cruising I also love our land trips. I like the mixture of trips here in Australia, to Bali, Phuket etc interspersed with cruising. Also being on the one ship for 2 years would be extremely boring, I like to have a change of ships and cruise lines.. They are really.using the ship as their home. I couldn't leave our family or our friends for that amount of time either. As we will be on the Coral for a couple of cruises, I am sure we will see them around the ship.

2 minutes ago, possum52 said:

Jennie, stay up there, don't come back to Melbourne. It is so miserable, raining on and off, although not quite as cold today.

We are watching the footy and haven't seen it so wet at the MCG!  if we had worked it better we could have spent another few days up here and then driven to Brisbane.   We need to return to get out "glad rags" for the cruise. We booked the cruise in March whereas we booked up here a year or so ago.

We will be in a Vista Suite on Caribe Deck on the 3rd July Voyage for 7 days.  Thanks for confirming that we will be eating in the Bayou Cafe on the first night as I booked that just in case it was gratis though I am disappointed that they have moved some of the Creole dishes off the menu as apparently that is one of the specialities in that restaurant. 

We love Club Class and are looking forward to our lunch there on boarding day. Also, I am glad to hear that we can still get the coffee cards if we decide to change one of our two fridge setups.  

Have a wonderful cruise and I hope that your changeover in 3 days time runs smoothly.  

At the moment we are up in Main Beach and loving the wonderful weather. We move to Mooloolaba for a week on Sunday and then we fly back to Melbourne for 6 days before flying to Brisbane for our cruise. We are hoping this glorious weather lasts for the next few weeks.

Jennie

6 hours ago, ToxM said:

Not travelled in an R interconnecting cabin, but I can report that on an O ship the door is opposite the bed, and next to the next door TV and as such it was very noisy for us. Would not do a guarantee again for that reason. 

Thanks for that.  We have put our name down to be changed if a cabin becomes available. We were so lucky to clear the waitlist and get this cabin but I have told our Rep that we would prefer a cabin that wasn't interconnecting if possible.

Jennie

38 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Jenny 

I checked again & the connecting door is up behind the sofa  so maybe if you want to share the cabin next door they replace the sofa  but if not you still have the sofa

I guess just ask to keep the sofa  in place  ahead of time

Hi Lyn, thanks for confirming where the connecting door is hiding.  We certainly want the sofa.  When we were on Azamara Quest quite a few years ago, we were given an interconnecting cabin down on Deck 6 - I took a guarantee for the first and last time - and the sofa could not be put into the cabin as it was too big to fit through the doorway.  Apparently all the furniture had been put in from the outside somehow, so we ended up with two chairs from the dining room!!  As it too was an ex "R" ship, you would know those dining room chairs.  Certainly not as comfortable as a sofa to watch the TV!

Jennie

Thanks. I have watched it a number of times but cannot actually see the door. I am hoping that if it is on the side where the closets are situated, that it doesn't take any space from them. 

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

search on youtube  for Insignia 7022  which if the other side  but looks like connecting door is near the entrance of the cabin

Thanks so much for your valuable information. I do appreciate hearing about the cabin as I have tried to find a photo of a cabin with the interconnecting door.  I am not worried about noise as I know it involves 2 doors, it is only if we find we do not have a settee to sit on.  I did see from photos of normal balcony cabins that the bed and the settee in the cabins are on the same side so therefore the interconnecting door must be on the blank wall between the last of the cupboards and the desk near the window.  If that is so, then we will be fine. 

Jennie

We have been on a waitlist for the past few months for a cruise on the Regatta this coming November from Singapore to Sydney. 

We were thrilled when we found we had cleared the waitlist yesterday but when we saw that our cabin is an interconnecting cabin, our happiness was short lived.

The cabin number is 7027 on Deck 7 on the Regatta, a ship we have cruised on before. Back in 2017 we had a PH which was very roomy and spacious.  The ship is completely waitlisted and therefore the fares are quite high so that is why we decided on booking a Concierge cabin instead. 

Has anyone stayed in an interconnecting cabin on any of the old "R" ships of Oceania and if so, was the cabin made smaller because of the door into the next cabin? Many years ago we had an interconnecting cabin on Azamara and we missed out on having the sofa due to where the door was situated. We are hoping that this isn't the case with our cabin.  If the waitlist empties and we want to make a change, our Rep mentioned that we could miss out on our benefits plus a cancellation penalty could apply.  We have already moved our booking from the Marina in November which was a Transatlantic to the U.S. which would have been too hard for us in this Covid world. We have already lost quite a few extras in that move so we do not want to lose anymore.  

Jennie

1 minute ago, cruisingxpert said:

EU protocols are different than  what is required for departure from US ports so you are okay for Europe departures..

 

For all other Vessels departing from a non U.S. port: • Any U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), or World Health Organization (WHO) authorized single brand vaccination protocol 2 weeks after receipt of the final dose. Including J&J Janssen, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford (also known as Covishield and Vaxzervria). These vaccines are listed as examples. Refer to FDA, EMA or WHO websites for full approved current list. • A mixed vaccination protocol of only AstraZeneca Vaxzevria, PfizerBioNTech or Moderna combinations with a minimum interval of 28 days

Thanks for your prompt reply.  Of course by the time we depart Rome next year, we will have both had a top up and we will ask for Pfizer next time as we are receiving more supplies each month now. I have one question though and that is when we arrive in Miami, will we be allowed to disembark, have a couple of days in Miami and then fly home.  

Jennie

Does that mean that if we are doing a Transatlantic next year from Rome to Miami, that we wouldn't be allowed to board because a) I have had the two doses of Astra Zenica and b) my DH has had one dose of Astra Zenica and one of Pfizer?

As the ruling here at the moment is that anyone over 60 years has to have Astra Zenica unless like in my DH's case had a reaction, then that that means any Australians that have only had the Astra Zenica which was all that we were able to have at the time, cannot visit the U.S.? 

We had some of ours returned today.  We received the $100 FCD plus the $25 goodwill which I have had our Planner use as a deposit on a cruise that we booked yesterday.  We are still owed the OBC and the actual cruise is still on my Personaliser.  I guess that will disappear when we have received everything that is owing. 

We were booked on the cruise from Sydney to Tokyo.  An earlier cancelled cruise on the Pacific from Tahiti to Sydney which was in early December only took 6 weeks before all our credits were restored.

Jennie 

53 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

I created it for our family when we went. I did not want all that work to be lost in that two day period, so sharing it makes it more worthwhile. Make sure to go to the pigeon park, I loved that!

We definitely will do that.   Thanks once again.   

Jennie

4 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

@briternik and @Aussie Gal

 

It is amazing that I happen to come in to cruise critic today, but I’m glad I did because I saw your requests and got you added a few moments ago. We’ve had a lot of cruises canceled, this last one would’ve been April, so we are so hoping we cruise in November (the next one out). I hope all your cruises are also on go and that you enjoy San Juan! 

Thank you for being so generous with all of your hard work.  Even though it is nearly 2 years away, we cannot wait to be on a ship at sea.

Jennie

27 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

It's not my map. i just jumped in to answer your question about the currency in Puerto Rico.

 

If you happen to also be visiting the USVI... St. Thomas, St. Croix and St John...the US dollar is the official currency as the USVI is also part of the US>

 

FYI, I don't know where else in the Caribbean you'll be going, but acceptance of US dollars is almost universal there even where it's not the official currency because visitors to the Caribbean are overwhelmingly Americans.

We are coming from Europe on a Transatlantic and other than visiting Antigua the day before that is the only other island we will be seeing in the Caribbean.  Over the years, we have visited a few other islands before though and I think we used U.S. dollars then as they were widely accepted. 

Jennie

13 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

Yes, US dollars. 

Thanks for your prompt reply.  I am looking forward to sharing your map and following it when we finally get to San Juan.  

Jennie

Would you mind adding me also to the list.  We are not cruising until November, 2022 which is a long way off. Have just paid our deposit today and have already started my research.  We are from Australia and I do have a question which I am sure everyone else takes for granted. Do you use U.S. dollars in Puerto Rico?   I am sure you do as it is a country that belongs to the U.S.  

My email is:  jennielynton@gmail.com     Thanks in advance.  We will be in port from 10am to 8pm so we would like to see as much as we can and of course have lunch at good restaurant. 

Jennie

Thanks for your posting of Club Class on the Pacific.  We are booked on her for March, 2022, a long way off but that is due to the dreaded Corona Virus.

We love Club Class and since it was first offered way back in 2017 on the Emerald Princess we have always booked either a mini Club Class suite or a full suite. 

I know that the Pacific Princess Club Class is different as the dining room is so much smaller and there isn't any Anytime Dining. We love the small ships and have been on them many times, so we thought that the Club Class would be in that small section on the left as you walk into the dining room. 

Your post has helped us with many of our questions.  We have been booked in for 7.15pm dining. I am not sure if that is late dining or perhaps we will be allowed to dine at that time anyhow.  Whatever, it will be a wonderful 24 days from Sydney to Tokyo and we are so looking forward to it after this horrible year of not being able to go anywhere. I know it is a long way off but time does go by very quickly.

Jennie

We last visited the Jurong Bird Park back in 1978 so I think it may be time to revisit it again as it looks so different to what we saw all those years ago.  We will keep it up our sleeves for the next time we spend a few days in that lovely city.  

Thanks to you Ellie, I booked the Crowne Plaza for one night in the new area yesterday.  We are hoping to be there in June next year all being well.  We will drop our cases into our room, after our flight back from Phuket,  and then go and explore Jewel or else get up very early next morning and visit it before our flight back to Melbourne.  We always take the day flight home which leaves Singapore around 11am and arrives back at around 8pm.  We prefer to fly during the day than at night.

Jennie

Here are the photos of the mini suite on the side of the ship. As you can see there are two rooms, one with the lounge and one with the bedroom.  Same bathroom though with the door leading from the lounge area into the toilet and wash basin and the door from the bedroom leading into the spa bath and separate shower. 

Jennie