NavyVeteran

I learned this lesson several years ago. I believe in the following policy: If you find something you think you want and it is available with a refundable deposit, book it and then do the research later. If it doesn't have a refundable deposit, you can still usually put it on hold for three days with no deposit. Just because something is available now doesn't mean it will be available tomorrow - or even an hour from now.

The menu says that "If you have Princess Premier or Princess Plus, these desserts (original or with alcohol) are included in your package." My question is whether or not the shot of alcohol counts against the 15-drink limit. It appears it should not, since it is not a drink and we have a separate limit for these desserts. Since these desserts are unlimited for Premier, I assume I could have several with alcohol in addition to my 15 alcoholic drinks.😀

You definitely should watch the video, especially if you haven't cruised with Princess for a while. However, they don't make you watch it. They make you play it on your tv or your app, but no one is checking to make sure you're watching.

You should always cancel if you change your mind. You can cancel that evening a couple of hours before dinner. Otherwise, they may be saving a table and making someone else wait.

OP has paid for the shuttle and it is not refundable, since it was included in the pre-cruise hotel package. There is no reason to do anything in advance. Wait until you get to the hotel and ask the Princess representative what time the shuttle will leave. Also ask the front desk how much a taxi would cost. Then decide.

This isn't necessarily a benefit. DW has mobility issues and has trouble with shower in tub. The (small) walk-in shower on balcony and below is much better for her than the shower in tub.

In addition to selling out, it is not unusual for Princess to increase the price of some excursions. Princess has had a 10% off sale on shore excursions on some cruises in the past. However, that is not a reason to wait. Go ahead and book. If the sale price is less than what you booked, you can always cancel and rebook. It's been awhile since I've seen this (pre-pandemic). They had a 10% off sale on excursions on one of my cruises. The price had gone up more than 10% on several of my excursions, so I was better off staying with what I had. On one or two excursions, the price hadn't changed, so I cancelled and rebooked with the 10% off. I don't remember seeing a sale on specialty dining. Sometimes they have had cruise sales that included specialty dining. I've never booked a spa, so I can't comment on that.

The problem is some people abuse the system, and then the rules to prevent the abuse also affect the rest of us. One example is the 15-drink limit for alcoholic beverages. Princess didn't make that rule because some people were drinking more than 15. There wouldn't be enough people doing that to affect the bottom line. They made the rule because some people were sharing their drinks.

I disagree. If I use my package to purchase a drink, should I also be able to share it with anyone? If I can share by prix fixe food with someone else, then why should any of my friends buy the package? I can order as many meals as I want (if I have Premier) and share them with everyone on the ship.

Most wines by the glass are included. You will find a better selection at Vines, and you can carry your wine into the MDR. The menus will have a price. You will have to calculate the upcharge yourself. If the price is $20 or less, than there is no upcharge. If the price is more than $20, you will pay the difference between the price and $20 plus 18% service charge on the difference. For example, if the price is $22, you will pay $2.36.

Did you mention this problem to a head waiter in the dining room? He may have been able to arrange something better for the next night. It's usually a lot more productive to point out problems like this while you're still on the ship and to give them an opportunity to fix them.

An exit row seat would probably not be an option for the person mentioned in the earlier post. Depending on her physical condition, she probably doesn't qualify for an exit row. However, the tour guide should be able to give her an aisle seat if she needs one because of a disability.

Look at your Travel Summary. (You should always print a copy of your Travel Summary and take it with you.) After FLIGHTS and before ITINERARY, there will be a statement "Your ship begins boarding at [time] on [date] and sets sail at [time] on [date]. Sometimes they will start boarding before that - it depends on the port and the itinerary. Lunch is usually served in the Main Dining Room (MDR) until 1:30 pm. That just means you need to be there and in the door before 1:30 pm - you don't need to be finished eating by then. It will usually be served in one of the midship dining rooms. Many of the crew will direct you to the buffet; ignore them. The MDR is a much calmer way to start your cruise. As stated by others, if you want the Sanctuary, you need to go there as quickly as possible. Personally, I never go there, but to each their own. Drop your carry-ons in your cabin as soon as it's ready. Complete the muster drill. If you're not familiar with the ship, you may want to walk around and get familiar with it.

This wasn't the real Pacific Princess (The Love Boat). Her last season with Princess was in 2002.

Since my cruise on the original Pacific Princess was my fourth Princess cruise, I didn't expect the huge Hollywood stateroom. However, Gavin MacLeod did great us at the pier when we returned to New York at the end of the cruise.

I sailed on the original Pacific Princess in 2002. My cabin was nothing like the ones on the sound stages. It had two single beds that could not be pushed together, but they called it "The Love Boat".🙂

In my opinion, the tour was worth $150, even without the swag. Princess has many shore excursions that a shorter and less interesting for more money. If you don't think it's worth it, then you don't need to book it. Personally, I don't think the Chef's Table Lumiere is worth the cost, even though I enjoyed the normal Chef's Table on an earlier cruise. But I don't object to others paying for it if they think it's worth it.

Is your walker one of the small collapsible ones? Can you DH easily carry the walker up and down steps when needed? If so, you shouldn't have a problem on Princess tenders.

I don't think your experience with Princess in Alaska is relevant to a cruise tour in Australia. In Alaska, Princess runs their tours and has been doing it for years. Princess owns their own lodges and their own rail cars. In Australia, Princess contracts the tour to a third party.

You can use the FCD as a $100 payment towards the cruise. However, you won't get the OBC associated with it. To get the OBC, you have to use the FCD as your deposit.

How mobility impaired are you? It makes a difference in a tender port. Also, do you have someone traveling with you who can help you? (I'm not asking for you to answer these questions online. I'm just asking the questions that you need to know the answer to in order to look at your options.) If you use a cane or collapsible walker, no problem. The crew will help you on and off the tender. They will take the collapsible walker on the tender. If you use a collapsible wheelchair, Princess will take it on the tender. They will also help you on and off the tender. You would need to be able to walk a short distance without the wheelchair. If you are wheelchair confined, then you probably can't take the tender. if you have a motorized wheelchair or scooter, they probably won't be able to put it on the tender. My wife uses a cane and has no problems on a tender.

It makes a difference where you live. Do you live in the United States? If so, and you book with a refundable deposit, you can either refare or cancel and rebook it the price goes down. You can also cancel and rebook after you purchase your FCD if the fare hasn't gone up. Unfortunately, our friends in some other countries don't have this opportunity.

The tour was quite intensive. It involved a lot of areas of the ship and a lot of ship's personnel. They can't give very many of them, so they have to limit them somehow. In my opinion, charging is one of the fairer ways to decide who gets to go.

They may not be able to order it for your cabin, but you can. You can order it for four and join them, or you can order it for two and leave them along with it. If you want to pay for it, fine. If they are paying for it, they can go to Guest Services and pay for the item on your folio. If you want to give them access to your balcony when you're not there, you can go to Guest Services and ask for them to have access. As long as someone from your cabin is there to authorize it, they can provide the access.

Welcome to Princess. You cannot pick what night to go to the Chef's Table. The ship will schedule it. If you want to go to the Chef's Table, you need to request it first thing after you get on the ship. In my opinion, format nights are not the best ones to go to specialty restaurants. Princess usually has their fancier meals (lobstar, surf & turf, etc.) on formal nights. I would recommend looking at the MDR menus before deciding. I don't know when they will be available on the app, but they will certainly all be available when you're onboard. If they're not all on the app, ask a head waiter in the MDR, and he can show them to you. The MDR has more variety than the specialty restaurants, since it has a different menu each night. The specialty restaurants. I recommend you try the MDR and both specialty restaurants and then decide what you want to do for the rest of the cruse. Since you said you have two specialty restaurant dinners, I suspect you have booked the Premier Fare, including alcoholic beverages up to $20 each. If you drink wine with dinner, I recommend you go to Vines Wine Bar on Deck 5 before dinner. They have a better selection of wine than the MDR or the specialty restaurants. Have a glass of wine before dinner, and then take another one to go to and carry it in to dinner with you. They will pour it into a different glass to carry out, since they have special glasses in Vines that you can't take elsewhere. If you are eating in the Michelangelo Dining Room on Deck 5, then it's a short walk from Vines to the dining room.