reedprincess

We've been on Seaside, sister ship to Seaview - fab ship. She's beautiful. And has the outdoor seating / promenade area for buffet or just lounging on 8.. great addition over Preziosa - and the thermal suite is much much better with hydro pool, salt room, mixed gender, etc. If you're into that sort of thing, the Sea class is wonderful. One other thing - items purchased in advance are definitely cheaper than aboard.. ie spa treatments are approximately 15-30% less expensive, and no automatic gratuity added on, unlike purchasing aboard at full price plus the 15% gratuity.. photo package is a decent deal, etc.. You'd likely enjoy it - the mix of cultures is fantastic - to us... And I'm always amazed at the cruise staff and how hard they work compared to other lines, and being multilingual I'm at least 3 languages each. It's impressive... Same for the theater shows - full singers and dancers two to three times a night, every single night whereas you get one or two production shows a week on X or Princess! Open minds and realistic expectations go a long way. Enjoy, whatever you choose!!

Unfortunately - no more free wings on Divina.. ☹️ They now charge. And pricing is similar to Seaside - it's cheaper to buy to orders of 6 than one of 12! Lol..

I'll add a couple things.. There is a very diverse demographic aboard, and North American is generally half or less than half, even when sailing from Florida. announcements are in 5-7 languages, entertainment is more visual and musical as shows with themes don't translate across the cultures, and - you have multiple different cultures mingling in tight spaces - not every culture waits in order for elevators or buffet lines, gives way on the same side of the stairs or walkways, etc. Service aboard is continental style, not NA style. You want a drink, flag the waiter. Need something else at dinner, flag the waiter. They will get to know your preferences, same as any other line - but they won't he at your table every 10 minutes checking on you. Some people don't like that style of service, we happen to really enjoy not being intruded 9m when enjoying our meal... Food is more continental, portions are accurate not super sized, there is Always Available beef, chicken, salmon, all that good stuff. Pastas, risottos, gelato, all outstanding. Beef, not a strong point in the MDR but Butcher's Cut blows Crown Grill out of the water.. Lobster one night on 7 night or longer cruises (usually), etc. Trivia, bingo, pool games, music by the pool, dance classes (real ones with straight up professional dancers), all the standard cruise stuff . More smaller intimate lounges with different styles of music rather than 2 or 3 bigger ones... Stunning ships. Comfy beds. Smallish staterooms, but perfectly adequate. Shore side customer service is dismal. Use a TA if at all possible as they can handle it for you instead of you getting frustrated by it.. onboard, very very good.. Drinks packages are very reasonable and unlimited. Variety is the spice of life!

We cruise MSC often, and Princess often also. (Black in MSC - earned it, not my matching and Elite on Princess). Personally, we love MSC - a lot! Stunning ships, great food, very lively atmosphere, different entertainment, etc from the mainstream US lines. We just completed another 7 nights on Divina 2 weeks ago, and will be on Regal in 13 days.... We've done Bella, Aurea and Yacht Club - all have been wonderful. The trick is to understand what your Experience includes - many people book the basic cheap rates (Bella) and don't realize that it doesn't include some of the things you may be used to on more mainstream lines, ie you don't get to choose your room location, you don't get to choose anytime dining, room service is not included (extra charge both delivery and food), etc. And then they get ticked off that it's not like the line their used to! Each step up the Experience ladder adds more benefits and inclusions. Yacht Club is great, but not a must IMO. We're perfectly happy in "steerage" and have had just as enjoyable a time.. Of the ships, Preziosa is a favorite, and Fantasia... I'd skip Armonia.. haven't tried Musica yet If the budget stretches, Aurea will give you everything you're familiar with on Princess, ie included room service, anytime dining plus some extras like dedicated Aurea only deck, etc. Worth checking.. Enjoy!

Ruins, hikes, rainforest, zip line, horseback riding, ATV, Segway, aerial tram, food tours, rum distillery, arts and crafts, botanical gardens, and so much more. Beaches are barely on part of what we have on offer. Pigeon Island Natural Park may interest you, Lushan Country Life, Voila Food Tour, sailing with Jus Sail, whale watching, aerial tram and rainforest hike, etc..

That's because, it is being worked on. Final info won't be ready yet as they're still taking bookings for the cruise itself sans the charter group itself, and the charter group is still taking bookings. There won't be a final answer until much closer to sailing. If the entire group is scheduled to dine together at a specific time, it'll almost certainly be Allegro, aft .. However, I strongly doubt that'll be the case with such a large group on a line that doesn't do traditional dining anyways...

Yes they are. Email is not the best way to contact in St Lucia usually. Calling works best.

Lunch only. And nope. It's only Yacht Club guests, they know who's gonna be there, etc.

OP say s right in their post - went at 6:30, seated immediately, took 15 minutes to see their waiter, etc.

What about them was horrible for you? Too hard? Too soft? What?

My guess would be the aft deck 6 dining room on any Grand or Royal class ship. . It would be the easiest one to close off for a private charter group. On Island or Coral, that's tougher as there's only the two dining rooms.. On Sapphire or Diamond, likely the aft dining room, as it's larger than the other 4, and easy to close off for private event.. Assuming this is an actual intact group that's expected to be dining same time, essentially.. If the group isn't expected to dine altogether, then it'll be wherever you choose in the app or walk-up when you're ready. However, and I mean this sincerely, absolutely no one here knows. The ship will be working with your group coordinator to arrange all that - why not ask them? Although, it's very possible it hasn't been arranged as yet.. And, this is pure curiosity - why does it matter? If you're all eating as a group in the MDR, does it make any difference to know that know versus when you board? The reservation would be set already.. it's not like you'd be able to then change the entire group reservation if you didn't like the dining room for some reason.. Good luck and enjoy..

You can click on the OPs name and see all their posts, in case you want to keep up on Part 1, 2 or 3 without having to scroll through all the various Princess threads..

Haven't heard that he's gone out of business, but lots of things are still in flux recovering from Covid protocols and restrictions. Also check John Avril at Island Life SLU, Explore St Lucia with Francis Junior, Real St Lucia Experience, Island Man Taxi and Tours with Kurt, Lerris Marius with Marius Taxi, Mark at Rising Sun, Serenity Vacations, Barefoot Holidays, Solar Taxi and Tours, etc..

20-30 of varying heights and depths, uneven but well maintained. The staff will help you, basically carry you, in and out of the boat if needed.. but can appreciate not wanting to try it if unsure. Good luck with your research..

Serenity Vacations Explore St Lucia Island Man Taxi and Tours Real St Lucia Experience Frank's Tours Barefoot Holidays Solar Tours ane Travel Marius Taxi Rising Sun Taxi Island Routes And so forth There will also be plenty of taxi and tour guides at the port offering tours. Any trio down to Soufriere will include view points, etc. If you have mobility problems, the mud baths may be a challenge, you do have to walk a fair few uneven stairs, over uneven terrain, etc.

Princess does not have a delivery charge for room service. It's included, for everyone. The only charges with room service are for any of the items that have a charge, ie steak frites, pizza, sushi, etc.

Hopefully your friend's flight is able to land. Loads and loads of cancellations and delays at FLL and MIA today... By Saturday, no problems, long long gone out of the area. Currently just heavy rains and some storm surge in the Ft Lauderdale area. Not too much wind as yet Princess Cay is relatively south of the main impact areas in the Bahamas, whatever damages it may sustain will be cleaned up and repaired by the weekend..

On our recent Divina cruise, 8 and 9pm. 5 or so minutes long. Starboard side..

The rums for the "rum tasting" this past week on Divina were Pyrat, Santa Theresa, Zacapa, Appleton, and one other that I can't remember. Lovely setup with some different chocolate or other small bites to enhance the rum flavors. All better than average but nothing over the top or extra special or any well aged rums.. it's set up nicely on a trolley with white linens, etc. Nice addition, but nothing we haven't drunk plenty of already.. and a bit of a laugh when we knew more about a couple of the rums than the server holding the tasting .. 😉

You can do it all yourself. The advantages, for us, of using a travel agent are several - First and foremost, we have an advocate 8n case things go awry. For example, on our cruises last winter, we caught covid aboard and we're due FCC for the nights aboard we were in quarantine. The FCC's we're issued, I have the confirmation emails with details, etc - however when I went to use them, they had disappeared. Contacted my TA, she spent the hours on the phone with Princess tracking down what happened and got everything sorted out - and shot me an email with the updated. No TA - I'd have had to spend those hours on the phone trying to find the right department, pricing over and over the FCC's, submitting whatever docs, etc. Nope - not for me. Let the TA handle it. I have a handful of examples from travels in the last two years - we'll basically always use a TA for booking our cruises for the foreseeable future, particularly given the minefield that travel currently is.. Secondly - that commission is built into the price already. Might as well get it out of corporate hands and into the local community to circulate. She gets the commission rather than it staying with Princess. To us, that makes a difference. Thirdly - access to deals and group bookings I as an individual do not have access to. Fourthly - I circle back to having an advocate, someone who has access to different phone lines, information, resources, etc that I don't. I used to book directly, spend hours researching, comparing, etc - with the changes in travel and such, I vastly prefer having someone in my corner. YMMV. Do what's best for you..

The Platinum, Elite and Suite lounge is nothing like RCCL's lounge for upper level Crown and Anchor guests It is a 2 hour setup in one of the ship lounges with some appetizers and a small discount off the normal drink price for a selection of cocktails. The food is "free" while you pay for the drinks. Yes, your beverage package works at the event, should you have one.. It's not a separate lounge, no free drinks, nothing like that. You'll get a card in your room with location and times, along with the lineup of what each night's appetizer will be There is no longer a happy hour aboard Princess. That went by the wayside pre-covid. Drink prices are less expensive than RCCl. Average around $9-12 for the vast vast vast majority. Drink menus have been posted thousands of times. Here's but one recent one: https://profcruise.com/princess-bar-and-drink-menus-2022/ If you're considering either the Plus or Premier beverage package - take a good hard look at buying into the Plus or Premier bundled fare instead, as it's less expensive than buying the beverage package on its 9en, and includes wifi access and crew appreciation (service charge/gratuity) also.. Enjoy.

Yes, there's a charge to fine st the specialty restaurants, including sushi and yes, including forbYC guests. In Miami, sure - you can ask to be the last group out, shouldn't be an issue. You'll be out of your cabin by 8, 8:30am and waiting around the Top Sail lounge or elsewhere til time to go, usually all off by 9:30/10am. If memory services, on other sailings in YC, breakfast was all done by 9 or so in the restaurant... There's no real late departures ws the ship has to be zeroed by US CBP before boarding can begin.. Loungers may or may not be available. It varies, depends on size of balcony, butler, availability, etc. That's a wait and see, and even then, hit or miss..

Thanks for this. We got our text/email Wed that Divina would be at C this Friday, 28th.. Hopefully, I can convince our Uber driver to follow bus/taxi lane to get us to the YC tent. Otherwise, we'll walk ourselves over to where we need to be . Adventure time.. lol..

You mean the standard Blue Hawaiian cocktail - rum, blue Curacao, pineapple juice and coconut cream? It is tasty! Book the cruise anyways, just to verify!

When we arrived early to Anchorage for our land tour (2 days early, BTW), we couldn't pick up anything or get anything for our tour until the actual first day of the tour. The desk was at the hotel listed as the start of the tour, where we were booked into by the land tour portion.. So, even though we were there two days early and staying at the same hotel as where the land tour would begin, we couldn't get anything on our tour til the actual day it was supposed to begin... I suspect it will be similar in Fairbanks. Doesn't hurt to ask on arrival though ..