skynight

2) It takes some time to tender all passengers to the pier in Cabo. I looked up your itinerary. The ship arrives at noon, remains overnight and then sails the next day at 1pm. Shuttles operate overnight. After arrival passengers going ashore will be asked to report to a meeting area, usually a DR, to receive a shuttle ticket. The entire group must be there. One person can not get tickets for the entire group. If you wish to be ashore soon after arrival then show up early to to the ticket location. It's basically first come, first ashore. At some point during the afternoon there will be an announcement that tickets are no longer required and you just report directly to the tender pontoon on deck 4. I recommend a folding stroller. To board the shuttle you are required to step across the gap between the ship and the shuttle boat. Many times both are in motion, up & down, side to side. Crew are there to assist. The stroller will be folded and placed on the shuttle. I don't know if a non-foldable stroller can be loaded. Guess it depends on how small it is. The port is a marina area. There is a "U" shaped walk around the marina lagoon lined with restaurants, shops and such. Lots of passengers will have their evening meal on shore along with the liquid refreshments. There are a number of excursions. It will be whale season. Whale watching should be a popular excursion. There are some nice beaches at hotels. If you select a Princess excursion you will receive instructions on where to meet. It's usually on the ship. If on the ship you will not require shuttle tickets. 4) You are requested to leave your cabin no later than 8am. Disembarkation will begin around 7/7:30am with self walk off where passengers wheel their own luggage. You have to request self walk off. If you do not want self walk off then you will have a meeting location and time at a location on the ship, again usually a DR. On disembarkation day breakfast is served in the DR between 6am and 8am. Times are basically the same in the buffet. There will also be doughnuts and Danish at the International Cafe. You can walk there and get some. In the past I have brought some food from the buffet the day before and had breakfast in the cabin. There is a fridge in each cabin. I'm not certain if room service breakfast is offered on disembarkation day. 3) Hot and sunny. Sea conditions vary a lot. I have experienced choppy seas northbound on the way back to L.A. when the ship is sailing against the current. Be prepared with sea sick meds. 1) Specialty restaurants like the Crown Grill. Children 3 to 12 are $19.50, Children under 3 are no charge. It is similar at other specialty restaurants. For casual dining restaurants I do not see any child pricing. There is a la carte pricing. At a place like GiGi's pizza the children may be able to share with you. There is no charge pizza by the Lido pool as well a the grill with fries, burgers, dogs, ice cream and lots of other selections. Hope this answers some of your concerns.

Chef's Table is held in Botticelli. Starboard side of Da Vinci is used for reserve class. All DRs have the same menus. Decor is not really different. I have read that if you wish to be able to get the same table and waiters each evening there is a better chance in Botticelli.

It's the crossing the equator event. There is a traditional ceremony, initiation for those that are crossing the equator for the first time by sea. Princess selects about a half dozen passenger volunteers to represent all passengers that have never crossed the equator by sea. First time crew members may also be involved. The ceremony is a kind of scripted event with crew members playing different parts. Those being initiated will be asked to do things like kiss a fish, get stuff like pudding, whipped cream and spaghetti dumped over their heads, as well as some other skits. In the photo you can notice a women in a bathing suit and two men sitting on the left. It appears that they have been anointed with some pudding and other gooey stuff.

The lower photo on post 33 appears to be the crossing the equator event. If you wish to participate as a passenger volunteer on the first day by notifying the CD or maybe passenger services. There are a limited number of passengers that represent all passengers. There may also be some representative crew members that have never crossed the equator

I haven't read through all the postings. For what it's worth. Re-booked four west coast 2025 cruises today. Costs between 23% to 28% lower from when initially booked in June. OBC remained the same.

You are permitted at embarkation to carry on 12 cans of soda per person. Usually you can also carry on additional soda at ports of call.

You have to receive advance written permission from Princess home office regarding both cruises. I really don't see any regulation issues, but I'm not an expert on UK and EU regulations. I assume once on board with the written permission you can speak with the hotel management staff to make the arrangements. You may be able to leave some of your belongings in your cabin. I have read here that people do disembark in Le Harve when it is the final stop before Southampton. I have never read about embarking in Le Harve, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

For those with the standard fare. $14.99 is a one time per voyage and covers Ocean Now orders via the smart device or the TV. If you call on the phone there is a $5 delivery fee each time. Breakfast hang tag orders remain no charge. From the FAQ's "Guests may call for room service delivery or order through OceanNow® in the Princess® MedallionClass® app at any time of the day or night. Guests with the latest Princess Plus and Princess Premier packages enjoy OceanNow® and room service delivery with no charge. Otherwise, a one-time access fee of $14.99 USD per person per voyage will apply for OceanNow® delivery and a $5 USD room service fee will apply for each order placed by stateroom phone. To order, guests can press the "Room Service" button on their stateroom phone, or order through OceanNow®."

You receive instructions in your cabin. Be sure to fully read and follow the instructions exactly for turn around day. You will have two choices: a) Exit the ship anytime after disembarkation has begun up to the final call around 9:30. Take your passport, medallion, and intransit card with you. Return to the ship anytime after embarkation has begun, around 11:00am or so. With the intransit card you will get right on the ship. You will have to go through immigration on exit and security when you return. b) Stay on the ship and report NO LATER THAN THE TIME INDICATED to the location indicated in the directions, usually the theater. Bring your passport and medallion, with you. If you stay on the ship you must report, NO EXCEPTIONS. If even one passenger has not reported than everyone sits or stands and waits. A staff member will guide you off the ship, through immigration, and back on the ship. Occasionally immigration will come onto the ship, but the process is the same. A staff member will guide you past immigration. Expect a large number of passengers going through this mandatory procedure. Maybe 500 or more. Best to arrive early at the meeting location. If you are staying in the same cabin your cabin steward will prepare your cabin just like any other day. Nothing is removed. We normally advise the cabin steward to schedule our cabin last to provide more time to get cabins ready for the new passengers. Just a courtesy. If you are changing cabins your cabin steward will arrange for the move. Keep as much on hangers as possible. Pack other items in your luggage.

Wild, very wild guesses. Cruisers that take one week cruises, a high percentage. Experienced cruisers that know how they tend to spend their funds, probably a lower number, but still fairly high. Only Princess knows and I don't believe they will publish that information anytime soon if ever. Princess does not have an annual report. This information may or may not be included in the Carnival Corp stockholder's report.

You appear older. You should enjoy Princess. It's a different vibe. Princess has the Hawaiian ambassador program. This includes ukulele instruction for beginners or those with some experience & hula sessions with a combined show at the end of the cruise. There are also Hawaiian craft sessions for a fee and Hawaiian entertainment. I think you really have to decide if you wish to sail ion this cruise. I am already booked on the Ruby in January 2025. I don't know where you saw the $898 fare, but that seems very low for a 16 night cruise. I would look into that further. It sounds like the lowest category inside cabin with no port charges added. Personally I booked a balcony cabin. This would be especially important if confined to your cabin for illness on this longer cruise. Is the plus fare worth it? You have to do the math. Without the plus fare you will have to pay $16/pp/day for crew appreciation(gratuities), wifi Which I think is $10 or $15/day for one device, a one time charge of $15 per person to use the Ocean Now app, a $5/call for room service, $15 each for casual meals, if you want them at the Salty Dog Gastropub and Vines. Note, don't confuse the Salty Dog Gastropub in the Wheelhouse Bar with the Salty Dog Grill by the pool. The Grill is no charge. You will also have to pay for all your drinks including alcoholic cocktails, specialty coffees and teas, sodas, and so on. Regular coffee and teas are available at no charge all day and evening in the buffet and in the DRs. There is also no charge for breakfast room service ordered by the hang tag which would be in your cabin each evening.

Yes, I have sailed on this voyage. You have to really enjoy sea days. There are 23 of them. Twice there will be 5 days in a row, on the way to Hawaii and then from Hawaii to American Samoa. There are 4 sea days from Fiji to Tahiti. On the return from Moorea there are 8 sea days in a row. Sapphire will be a nice ship for this trip with it's wide 360 promenade, traditional lounges, nice lido deck indoor and outdoor pools. Prepare for heat and very strong sun. Much of the time you are in the tropics, crossing the equator twice. There will be a crossing the equator event. You will also be crossing the date line twice losing a day west bound and then gaining it back, repeating the same day, east bound. Unfortunately large ships are no longer permitted to anchor in Bora Bora. It is a really nice island and very expensive. There is nothing to do in Moorea, no town unless you take a trip. There is no shopping area and one small store down the street. Believe there is one hotel that offers a beach day. We took an organized tour. I remember visiting a vanilla farm. Vanilla is grown in screened in gardens and requires hand pollination of each flower. Moorea is a very short few hour sailing from Papeete. Moorea is visible across the channel from the Papeete port. Locals commute to Papeete each day on the ferry. In America Samoa there were lots of vendors on the dock. The NPS had a table there. We were off the ship early and signed up for a National Park tour by the park service. It filled quickly. I was aware of it since I was there on another cruise. There were also local busses that ran around the island. Think very small. You can probably find photos on line of these small busses. Because this is a long cruise the demographic will be older people with free time. Expect more than half to be elite loyalty level, seasoned Princess customers. The roll call for the cruise we took was very active. We joined a few private trips. Summary. I enjoyed this cruise. It's one not many take. The ports are not standard cruise ports like you find in the Baja or the Caribbean. They have limited ship visits throughout the year.

Believe the OP is on the 15 day Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. It's a single voyage. I never experienced Princess' DR menus repeating on long single voyages as they do on b2bs. It will not be two 7 day menus back to back. Some menu items probably will repeat. Between the DR, casual dining, specialty dining and the large World Fresh Marketplace there will be lots of options.

Yes, I remember the same things at Uluru and the buffet breakfast.

Many years ago we took this Princess tour and stayed at Sails in the Desert which is beautiful hotel. I remember having breakfast, but not dinner. I really can't remember where we had dinner. Maybe at the hotel, or there was a small shopping area near the hotel where food was available, but not sit down dinners. We may have ate there. During the entire tour I think we only had one dinner included. It was a a meal that included local dishes, kangaroo, croc, barramundi, things like that. We kind of stayed flexible. There were 39 in our group. Some of us got together and planned on the spot. I remember in Port Douglas we took the short walk into town and dinned at a nice open air restaurant/pub style place.

Differences from a week long cruise. Demographic, more seasoned cruises with more time off. Usually older. More of an international mix. Colder weather, pack layered clothing. Usually choppier seas in the Atlantic than in the relatively clam Caribbean. Carry sea sick meds you may require them. Not much sitting around the pools during the day. Not much live deck music. Usually informational/educational lectures. More sea days. Daytime activities probably will include trivia, bingo(cost), open casino on sea days, maybe line and ballroom dancing sessions, the annoying art sales. Watch out for advertised 'activities' which are really sales pitches. These are usually run by the spa or the shops on board. Evening shows each night. Lounges with live musicians, Crooner's, Take Five, Crown Grill Bar will be very popular. As you approach warmer waters there may be a deck party. Fewer passengers that consume more alcohol than they can handle. I started out doing 7 day cruises. Once I retired and experienced longer cruises I really didn't go back. There is lots to see out there besides the Caribbean.

"One note: I might be wrong, but WIFI with PLUS only covers one device per cabin???" One device at a time per person, not per cabin.

It's one x 750ml bottle/pp, not per cabin. You could try. The worst that could happen is you will be charged the $20 corkage for the second bottle. Yes, you will receive a full mini bar. I would suggest a visit to the Captain's Circle desk on the first leg to confirm that records have you as elite for the 2nd leg of the voyage. You can inform the cabin steward, but they are not the ones responsible to mini bar delivery. It's room service. They get their list of mini bar deliveries from the ship's records. As a reminder, don't forget the comp. laundry on the 2nd leg.

Early on I read that all bedding and carpets were being changed. If correct, that would be lots of containers of new and old supplies on and off.

2(a) Let's separate plus and premier fares from beverage packages. The plus and premier fares include a beverage package, basically 15 alcoholic beverages per day and unlimited non alcoholic beverages with some exceptions, unlimited wifi, daily crew appreciation (gratuities), casual dining meals, access to Ocean Now & room service and other things. See web site below. The cost is US$60pp/day plus, US$80 pp/day premier over the standard fare. If the first person in the cabin selects one of these fares the 2nd person must also select it. US$15 covers maybe 90% of the alcoholic beverages on board. Doing the math you will find that 2 to 3 alcoholic beverages per person per day is the break even point. It depends on how many non alcoholic beverages such as specialty coffees you consume and how much of the other benefits you would use if paying directly for them. 2(b) If you were to purchase the stand alone beverage package, the same ones that are included within the plus and premier fares, the cost would be US$76.69 per day for the plus package and US$100.28 per day for the premier package. The daily cost is more than the inclusive plus and premier fares. The stand alone packages are individual. One person in the cabin can purchase and the other not purchase. There is very little justification to purchase the stand alone package(s). https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=Princess+cruises+deluxe+balcony+photos&type=E210US105G0#id=3&vid=cbedfde51ba11ff42acacf3bb73430e5&action=click

Unless you booked a non refundable deposit then all is returned if cancelled before final payment. If after final payment then refund & penalties are according to the charts in the passage contract which depend on the number of days prior to the sailing and other factors. If booked through a T.A. some T.A.s have a cancellation fee.

Yes. The Majestic Princess IS a Royal Class ship. Some info on a Princess Deluxe Balcony cabin on other Royal Class ships which will be the same as the Majestic. https://www.insider.com/princess-cruises-deluxe-balcony-room-sky-princess-photo-tour-2023-2#i-opted-for-a-233-square-foot-deluxe-balcony-stateroom-and-paid-extra-to-choose-its-location-2 https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&ei=UTF-8&p=Princess+cruises+deluxe+balcony+photos&type=E210US105G0#id=3&vid=cbedfde51ba11ff42acacf3bb73430e5&action=click

Always been there. It is the aft section of the Horizon Ct. The serving area which only operates during certain hours had selections not available in the the main area, such as made to order omelets, special lunch & dessert items. Anticipate the entire buffet area will undergo some changes.

You say you don't want self walk off. I have found that it is less stressful, easier to process through immigration/Customs, with no crowds to pick up luggage in the terminal. If you have no issues walking then I would consider the early walk off wheeling your own luggage. You should be leaving the ship by 7:30 or so with early walk off. If you choose regular disembarkation you will be waiting in one of the DRs or maybe another lounge for your turn to disembark. Passengers are requested to leave their cabins no later than 8am.

Whoever told you was incorrect. Stand alone beverage package. either plus or premier, can be purchased by one individual in the cabin and not the other. Packages that include the beverage package, wifi, crew incentive, casual dining, and other things require both in the cabin to purchase. Princess needs to change the naming of these fares and packages.