capriccio

I live 12 mile north of Port Everglades and will not go anywhere near Fort Lauderdale beach during March.  The traffic along A1A (the beach is on one side of the road and hotels, restaurants and bars are on the other) is horrific in large part due to the number of clueless jaywalkers trying to get to and from the beach.  The first (and only) year we made the mistake of driving down there I couldn't believe that portions of the beach were standing room only in the mid-afternoon.

All that said, if you can swing the price of Lago Mar (right on the south end of the beach) or Pelican Grand (on the north end of the beach) you would have a wonderful beach vacation.  They are too expensive for students and secluded from the spring break madness.  Another alternative would be the Sonesta which is across the street from the beach at the north end.  There aren't any surrounding hotels nearby so that part of the beach is less crowded. 

On 5/1/2024 at 8:02 PM, HALrunner said:

I'm asking about the PVSA specifically, but wasn't sure if I would get any bites without including the term Jones Act. So glad to see it must be a hot topic if others are getting popcorn! 

 

Honestly, I'm asking for a high school student's assignment. He just thought I might know because we cruise frequently. When I think of PVSA, I think of the annoying port stop in Ensenada on Hawaii cruises. But I'm guessing it has more to do with foreign flagged ships, taxes, foreign worker wages/visa issues, etc than just adding a foreign port to an otherwise domestic itinerary?

I'm eager to learn and operating under the assumption the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked. 😉🤞 🫣 🍿

I hope your high school student appreciates all the primary source material contributed on this thread and provides appropriate footnotes in his assignment. 

For specific unique events on an Alaska itinerary check out the North to Alaska program:  https://www.princess.com/en-us/cruise-destinations/alaska-cruises/north-to-alaska-cruise-activities

Every Alaska cruise has a full time naturalist on board that gives lectures in the theater and provides commentary from the bridge (for example, in the case of wildlife sightings).  If your itinerary includes Glacier Bay, National Park Rangers board for the day and provide commentary.

This is all in addition to the daily free events on board.  To get an idea of the extent of them take a look at any Patter posted for this season (I realize it has just begun but postings should be available soon).

Some additional information would help people make recommendations:

• How many passengers?
• When are your traveling?
• Budget (in dollars)?
• What time do you arrive in FLL?  Hotels are cheaper in Fort Lauderdale than Miami so if arriving late in the day with no Miami specific plans for the late afternoon and evening, you could save money by getting a hotel in Fort Lauderdale and traveling directly to Port Miami the next day.

15 minutes ago, FLAlaska said:

I know some people have said theyve had issues but I have not at all. I love it. Ive had food delivered to cabin & pool decks, drinks to various places including Princess Live, always worked to unlock my door as I walked up to it. I love the medallion.

Our experience is similar.  We used it on two cruises last year (28 days and 7 days) and throughout the ship.  I can remember 2 times when we didn't receive our food orders.  We assumed they were delivered to someone else since the app read delivered.  They were quickly corrected.  Considering that we were using the delivery system multiple times a day I thought that was very good.

12 hours ago, beltsbear said:

Yes, loyalty on celebrity got us a free bag of laundry each 7 days after just five cruises.  That’s not gonna happen till maybe our 12 cruise on princess. 

Unlimited free laundry happens with elite status (after 15 cruises or 150 days cruising on Princess).  That can be a significant perk especially if you take long cruises.

That information is on the port's official website:  https://www.porttb.com/cruise-schedules

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Suites have large showers with glass doors on Princess

And the new Sun Princess has shower glass doors in all cabins (finally!).

Don't miss the Tattoo.  It is a great experience!

https://www.edinburghfestivalcity.com/festivals/the-royal-edinburgh-military-tattoo

https://www.edintattoo.co.uk/

26 minutes ago, nhraformula00 said:

Valutrips.com for Hyatt Place se 10th st, just off of 17 th. st. May- Nov rooms are 109 a night and 119 a night depending on day of the week. We are staying there this coming May 18, 19, 30, 31 for our 10 day Princess cruise. Have used VT many times in the past for great discounts.

But @blue_wateris cruising next April which will still be high season especially if the cruise dates are just before or after Easter.  Value Trips will publish their rates and black out dates for 2025 sometime late in 2024.  OP - if you book something refundable soon you can keep an eye out for the 2025 VT prices.  

1 hour ago, MacMadame said:

Don't you think they'll put the Signature dining into a bigger space with this change?

Where?  The current suites dining room and adjacent kitchen were designed for the suite passengers from the very beginning.

1 hour ago, JillK said:

 

Thanks for posting the above pic - Hubby and I are travelling next March on the Sun with our sons who will be 13 & 15 at time of sailing.

 

Can you advise on how you managed this space with the reduction in room service?

 

In the old days (the last time we sailed four in a cabin in 2018) they would put away the bed from the ceiling and convert the lower bed into a couch in the morning and reverse the process the evening.

 

The only time we have sailed with an additional (third) berth since the reduction to one room service daily (on Carnival) it meant that the couch remained a bed for the entire cruise so we lost that space to use during the day. Didn't bother me as this was my hubby's cabin with our sons and I was in a second cabin with my daughter... but I have heard tales that this was a bone of contention in the "boys" cabin the entire week.

 

I'm looking for a good strategy to make our stateroom functional with four adult sized people sharing the space and likely not having access to a couch or other seating in cabin for 14 days.

 

Thanks!

On our two Princess cruises in 2023 we had twice a day service by our steward.  Hopefully someone will chime in if that has changed since last summer.

25 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

Have some time to kill so -

Current offerings on Ocean Now App onboard Majestic Princess.

 

Hot Food

Hot dog

Veggie Burger

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Beef Burger

Above all complimentary

Steak Frites 7 oz. filet - $19

Spaghetti Bolognesse - $12

 

Appetizer

Fruit Plate - Complimentary

Hummus Dip & Veggies - $4.99

Shrimp Cocktail - $12

Maki Shrimp Roll - $12

Cheese Plate - $4.99

Loaded Cheese Fries - Complimentary

Maki Spicy tuna Roll - $12

Maki California Roll - $12

Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato - $4.99

 

Sides

French Fries - Complimentary

 

Greens and Soups - All complimentary

Chicken Noodle Soup

Mixed Green Salad

Three Bean Chili

Caesar Salad

Chef's Salad

Greek Salad

 

Sandwiches - All complimentary

Club

Peanut Butter & Jelly

Princess Egg Muffin

Turkey

Vegetarian

Tuna Salad

 

Sweets

Key Lime Pie verrine

Chocolate Cake

New York Cheesecake

Above Complimentary

Chocolate Chip Cookies - $4.99

Ice Cream - Various Flavors - $6

 

Kids - All complimentary

Cheese Quesadilla

Chicken Fingers

Grilled Cheese

 

Crown Grill - 13 items costing from $5 to $19

 

Pizza - Only served from 11 am to 11 pm

Pepperoni, Vegetarian, Margherita - $8.50 each

 

The Catch - 24 items costing from $5 to $280

And that is it for food items.

Thank you so much.  This was very kind of you!  Hope you are enjoying your cruise.

2 minutes ago, HotRoot said:

These menus do not match what is currently on board.  First, pizzas now cost $8.50.  There is no guacamole and chips.  I did not look any further than that.

As I said they were dated last year.  Perhaps you could be so kind to post screen prints of the current menus?  

20 minutes ago, dog said:

I have an s9 booked, as well. My Travel Summary was updated with: Sanctuary Club Indicator, just now.

Nothing more.

I feel your pain!  No change with our summary either.

@ngetway when do you sail?  We don't sail until early January.

15 minutes ago, Knickearth said:

on a different issue - my NY friends cannot buy Princess coverage.  It isn’t allowed in NY.  Anyone know why?

From a post on the Cruise Critic Travel Insurance board (https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/499-cruisetravel-insurance/😞

New York does not allow Cancel for Any Reason insurance because the state regulators do not consider it to be insurance. It does not protect against a risk, only the choice of the policyholder.

I would suggest consulting a third party insurer.  We have used the Trip Insurance Store (www.tripinsurancestore.com) for years.  Steve (the owner) and his staff are very knowledgeable and will work with your friends.

2 minutes ago, LittleTinker said:

Seems to be some confusion.

 

As far as I know you can order breakfast from your room every morning and there is no delivery charge.

 

As I understand it, there is no delivery charge for breakfast ordered with the door tag as discussed earlier.

Some of us were elaborating on when a room service charge is incurred (basically for anything else if you don't have Ocean Now) since poster @OTrail is a first time Princess cruiser.

4 hours ago, icat2000 said:

Some cruises in Australia sell out very quickly. If you could post some dates I could also check too to see if its a glitch or it is sold out. 

Mini suites for our 2023 Round Australia cruise sold out within 2 hours of opening for elites in the US.  For the next 2 years only an occasional cabin would be available.

@jennmaybeAre your itineraries legs on longer cruises?  Sometimes they restrict the number of cabins sold for each leg.

6 hours ago, LittleTinker said:

But cant you have this anyway without paying extra?

Pretty sure you can have room service breakfast in with the standard cruise package?

 

You can but you have to pay extra since the delivery charge isn't included in the standard package.  Get Ocean Now for a one time fee of $14.99 per person to cover delivery anywhere on the ship.

Here's the food and drink menus from last year to give you an idea (items may have changed and prices - for those that are extra - may have also):

https://profcruise.com/princess-oceannow-food-delivery-menu/

https://profcruise.com/princess-oceannow-beverage-menu/

Since your friends will have a car to transport you to downtown, take a look at the hotels in Dania Beach just south of the airport.  Further west and therefore less expensive is Plantation and most of the major chains have hotels there.

1 hour ago, vjmatty said:

So in other words, two “Sanctuary Class” dining rooms formerly known as Reserve and Signature? As long as the menus are the same hopefully it won’t matter which one is assigned. 

But if I remember correctly the Suite dining was advertised to be unique menus (not a single special dish as in reserve dining) and the current suite dining is offering a special breakfast menu similar to that offered in the designated specialty restaurant for suite passenger breakfasts on other Princess ships.  We booked a suite expecting different menus not the same.

11 minutes ago, techsearch said:

 And the plot thickens - I read everything you did and decided that the Premiere was NOT included. And then I logged into my Princess account and went to the summary page and then see the ‘options for upgrades’ and then I click on “learn more” next to Bev Packages and then a screen pops up and says - you have already purchased the Premier Package. Goodness. 

Ours still says ‘you have Plus.’

3 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Does your Travel Summary now state Premier package?

 

I purchased Plus with my Penthouse Suite and it is still Plus.  Absolutely no refund to me.

 

 

Same with us (an S9 with Plus).

14 minutes ago, justjan2 said:

With Chase Sapphire Preferred, if the cruise line offers travel insurance, then the Chase Sapphire card cannot be used for insurance.

I had never heard that so I googled it.  According to https://upgradedpoints.com/credit-cards/reviews/chase-sapphire-preferred-card/travel-insurance-faq/

Does Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Travel Insurance Cover Cruises?

This part is a bit confusing, but yes. Chase’s benefits guide for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card states explicitly that cruise lines aren’t included in the definition of a “common carrier.” However, cruise lines are included in the definition of a “travel supplier.”

Why does this matter? Many of the trip cancellation and trip interruption benefits only apply to travel with a common carrier, which doesn’t include cruise lines. However, some benefits do apply to cruises. These include stolen luggage benefits or even canceling a trip if delays mean you’ll miss at least 20% of the trip or that you’ll miss the departure of your cruise ship.

The travel accident and injury benefits also apply while you’re cruising, but it’s worth noting that returning late to your cruise ship, only to find it’s left for the next island without you, isn’t a covered expense. You’ll be on your own for the costs of catching up to your ship.

46 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Sure nothing is absolute with Princess, but generally, the line with res is different than the line without res.

That has been our experience also in three cruises on three different Princess ships (Enchanted, Coral and Caribbean) post Covid including two in 2023.