IECalCruiser

Med cruises are more formal than Caribbean cruises. Caribbean mostly has U.S. passengers while European cruises will also draw passengers from Europe. There were sone tuxes, but mostly suits. I wore a blue blazer and tan pants and sort of looked out of place.

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We have done an itinerary that included La Paz and Loretto twice. The first was the inaugural 10 day cruise on the Grand out of San Francisco and the second was the 14 day 50th Anniversary Cruise out of San Pedro.

Loretto is a tender port but a fairly short ride. Locals provide guides to make sure you get to the main town. Both times there were several groups of dancers and a Mariachi band performing in the main square.

The dock for La Paz is at an industrial port about a 45 minute ride from town. The first cruise we rode the shuttle into town. La Paz has a larger population than Cabo. DW had a shopping opportunity at a very nice jewelry store. Time was short as sailaway was at 1:00p.m. and the wait for the return shuttle was long and in the sun over half the time. Second time we just stayed at the port. There are many craft stalls and a bar set up. DW got to practice her bartering skills and that stop was much less expensive.

For us, PV is a stop for coffee with free internet at the Starbucks in the mall and at Walmart for anything else we might need.

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Usually there’s a 220 outlet under the bed. Hopefully someone will give you the info.

 

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Here is a photo on the Caribbean Princess, same on the Regal, and the Royal.

 

 

Howard

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Noon till 1:30

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Do you have to purchase for the whole cruise?

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no, you don't have to pack up, but you will have to go thru US Customs and Immigration. Instructions will be sent to you a few days before the end of the first 10 days.

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As kennicott posted, the Pacific docked at Marittima, not San Basilio, on our cruise in November of 2016.

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We were able to change to a later night on the Pacific but that might have been because we wanted to eat at Sabatini’s. Only one of the specialty restaurants is open each night and the first night that Sabatini’s was open was the third night of the cruise when we went.

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Do they ever offer this at a discounted price? $59.99 pp per day is a little steep for someone like us who may indulge in just 2 or 3 (and the odd 4:D) drinks a day when we are on holiday.

 

 

 

How many drinks would you have to 'force yourself' to drink in order for the package to be worthwhile?

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When you buy a soda you get a 12 oz. can for $2.30 which includes gratuity. Mocktails are $6.33 which also includes gratuity. These prices were from last November. Have no idea what juices cost.

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While some people like Starbucks, others think it is much too bitter. I’m not a real coffee drinker but the occasional cup after dinner in the MDR works fine for me and my daily coffee drinking DW.

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OP: if you decide to move and don't want bunk beds hanging on your walls (head/shoulder/back bangers), the only cabins in that area that are for 2 pax only are the last 3 on each side (port & starboard).

 

We spent 43 days back there on the Crown (more days on other ships). It's our favorite area for a cabin.

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Hi

 

I would stay on that deck and move to the back. Reason, you would be close to a huge deck , which is a plus when you are in an inside. Just my thought!

 

Reader

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Just off the top of my head (I know I'm missing some ports), I can add San Francisco (as a stop, not embarkation), Seattle, Naples, and Toulon to the list.

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The Crown had the Trident Grill converted to the Salty Dog Grill, Prego Pizzeria converted to Slice Pizzeria, and Scoops Ice Cream converted to Coffee and Cones. However, the Horizon Court was not converted to the World Fresh Marketplace and Cafe Caribe was not converted to Planks BBQ and Steamers. My “un”educated guess is that will be the same for the Ruby. She will probably get the new antennas for the improved WiFi and wiring for Ocean Medallion.

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This simply isn't true. (I note that you used the term "cruise lines" plural, so perhaps you are addressing this generically. My comments apply to Princess specifically.) I have brought wine on board in St. Maarten, Mexico, St. Thomas, Montenegro, Rhodes, and other non-winery ports. And I have done so openly, never once hiding the fact that I had a bottle of wine in my possession. While the hard liquor bottles have been tagged and collected, the wine has always passed right through.

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Looks like I might need to change my answer. Over many cruises through the end of 2014 the MDR was open from 7:00-9:00 on port days and 7:30-9:30 on sea days. However, after checking our Patters, on our 2015 and 2016 cruises on the Pacific the MDR was open from 7:30-9:30 every day and last year on the Ruby the MDR was open from 7:00-9:00 every day. Our upcoming cruise on the Golden will have 9 port days and 18 sea days and it will be interesting to see what the MDR breakfast hours are.

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As others have posted, you get twice as many free additional minutes if you purchase in advance as you get if you purchase on embarkation day. Any later and you get no free minutes.

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Once implemented, it’ll be interesting to learn if prices will also increase.

 

My RCI experience has been that I had to get a wine package to reduce their higher prices to the Princess non-package prices. I’ve read that prices for alcoholic drinks on Celebrity are more expensive than on Princess.

 

Last year’s wine list changes came with increased prices so it wouldn’t surprise me if their enhanced beverage menus had a higher price. The PBP increased the maximum price to $12 which might be more common with their new enhanced drink options.

On our upcoming 28 day cruise we will be bringing 18-24 bottles from our cellar and gladly pay the $15 corkage to drink good wines in the MDR.

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The problem was caused by Princess staff not always putting the ship number and voyage date on the back of the coffee cards when exchanged for the mini-bar. The terms on the back of the card before the last “New Grounds” cards stated “Complementary coffee and tea only applicable to voyage of purchase.” It also stated “Unused specialty coffees redeemable on next voyage.” There was no verbiage stating that the punches never expired.

I have no sympathy for those who exchanged the mini-Bar for coffee cards and sold them on eBay. I would think that with at least 14 months advanced notice, most people who actually bought coffee cards will have an opportunity to use up any cards with remaining punches as they should not have more than one card.

As stated in the terms of the new coffee package, Princess really needs to come up with packages varying by cruise length. Perhaps with 7, 14, 21 and 28 specialty coffees. Another option could be to switch the coffee package to a per day price like the soda package but I don’t know what that price would be.

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Here's a question, when you receive a receipt, (like when you order soda/water at dinner) and there's a line for "gratuity" and you write in an amount, does that go to the server or to the infamous pool? thanks.

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How do you insure that it doesn’t go to just the headwaiter? They are all so fabulous, don’t want to short change anyone. Last time I didn’t tip extra, and felt cruddy about it.

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Or if its a purchase in cabin sometimes there is an additional gratuity line on the slip you sign from RS.

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What about the suite breakfast? Do you leave an extra tip for that? If so, how do you handle it?

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