westendgirl

I believe the 'Sunday Brunch' reference in the email was just to get our attention. When we were on the Pacific Princess in Dec. (50th Ann. Throwback Cruise), they had Sunday Brunch on a sea day. We were told it was usually only provided on World Cruises. It was quite a spread but I don't think it would work on large ships. It was buffet style, set up in the main dining room. I savored it because it was probably the closest I'll come to a world cruise!

Victoria, it's so great to have you back 'onboard'!! We all knew how busy you were with your architecture studies but were very anxious to read the rest of your review. As usual, stunning! Hope you're going someplace exotic for Spring Break so there will be another blog! As long as you keep travelling, we'll keep reading. :D

Actually Barry would be one of the younger passengers on a Princess cruise....NEWS FLASH....Princess cruisers are not exactly the hip, cool and slick crowd of the cruising world!!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

But we like to think we are! :D

When we visited Viet Nam in the fall of 2013, the Diamond charged us $25 for the visa. I thought this was fair since they did all the heavy lifting and we didn't need to do anything pre-cruise. A service charge for doing so is fair. HOWEVER, the onboard fee is now $45 even though the actual cost of said visa has gone down to $5. 900% is a little exorbitant for a service charge wouldn't you say?

OP has notified Princess' corporate office of the change (in the event they weren't aware) and they have plenty of time to amend the charges by next month's departure date. Fingers crossed.

Always remember the crew in your prayers. Their life is not easy. They are away from their homes and family's for months at a time. They work really hard and live in conditions most of us could not put up with. And for everyone of us who makes an effort to be polite dealing with them, there are idiots who think they can treat the crew anyway they want.

How true! I always try to take 30 seconds to compliment the guy scrubbing brass lines on the stairway, or the lady cleaning the public restroom, or the crew member doing the constant scraping and painting on deck. Many of the crew have very monotonous, thankless duties. I was very saddened to learn of this death; I heard about it earlier when it was posted by a crew member who is a f b friend. Prayers for this person's family.

I might not be able to rely on a TA or cruise line for accurate visa information, but I would believe a statement from Princess that says Princess will not let you board the ship in Singapore without a Chinese visa in your passport.

 

Being correct about the need for the visa means nothing if Princess because of a lack of knowledge on their part will not let you board the ship.

Precisely, Caribill. Well stated!

We're also victims of the China visa regulations change. We were told by Princess that we must obtain the visas or be denied boarding in Singapore. (We have travelled to China in the past and expected that.)

We were given the same party line by Princess Customer Relations when I called after their change in regulations announcement: 'The decision was made not to offer any compensation to those who had already obtained their visas.' Princess should have known about the change in regulations early on for the reasons that the OP stated. This is certainly one time that the early bird did not get the worm! I did not ask for nor expect that all our visa expenses be refunded; however, even a token onboard credit for their lack of proactiveness (is that a word?) would have been greatly appreciated.

I'm curious how the other cruise lines have handled this. We are still looking forward to an amazing cruise and hope that this is the only hiccup, but spending hundreds of dollars needlessly leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.

This is not a good week! Pescado Amarillo withdrawal AND Downton Abbey withdrawal. Safe travels back to not-so-nice weather and please spend your land excursion coming up with something adventurous for next Fall. We will all miss you terribly.

Our travel companion for our upcoming cruise has been on the phone with several visa agencies about the China Visa. Here is the ONLY legitimate information she has been able to obtain. If you arrive by ship into Shanghai but then depart by air, you DO NEED a visa. If you are flying in and flying out, or sailing in and sailing out, you would not.

Thanks for the update Nancy! Glad that the money spent was not for naught.

Sorry to bother you WestendGirl. EmmaK8 listed you as a friend on the sight and we are trying to get a responce from them. Are you in contact with her?

Yes, and I will pass along your message.

"It must be a wonderful thing to have so many people interested in your whereabouts!"

My dear, you have thousands! :D

A Walk in the Woods (last month) on the Emerald.

And try to be on deck for sail-away. The lights of the Singapore skyline are magical in the evening! Enjoy your cruise and don't let this delay concern you.

So excited for you and G that your Broncos won! I thought about you the entire time we watched the game. You will be smiling for days! :D

Welcome Back to Princess Victoria!! Always enjoy your reviews tremendously and am curious to read your impressions of the Pacific. We were just on her in December right before your voyage (for the '50th Anniversary Love Boat Throwback Cruise') and are booked on her again in November for 29 days. We're almost 3 times your age but your comments are consistently cogent and insightful, and your photos are definitely 3 times better than mine! I love to cruise with you through younger eyes. Keep it coming LMM

The Royal Albatross Colony is amazing!!

Happy New Year! I've fired up my cruise blog again for the second part of our winter at sea. I've also added almost 200 photos to my posts since September (a whole other sport using high speed wifi at home!), if you're interested.

 

I hope you'll cruise along with us!

 

http://pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/

Happy New Year J & G!! See you Monday on the Emerald!

No, we won't be on the next cruise. We are definitely going home!!

Are you going home for Christmas?? Don't think you've mentioned that on your blog! tee-hee-hee :D Have a VERY Merry Christmas J & G!

Janet

Have been on all but two of her ships and think that each exhibits Princess style cruising in its own unique way. It would depend if you are looking for a small ship experience, (Pacific), want to cruise big, shiny and new (Royal or Regal), or somewhere in between. Research is key and these boards are a great help. To us, the essence of Princess style is what we feel every time we embark: that we are home again!

Welcome Back Where You Belong. Hope you Come Back New! ;)

Just wanted to thank you for another enlightening and entertaining review! You don't know me and to my knowledge, we've never sailed together; however, we have a mutual friend: Florence! Realize that I'm a little late to the party but we just returned from a 'land cruise' in Hawaii and it took me a bit to get caught up.

We had never visited the Maritimes before and cruised there in September on the Caribbean. VERY impressed with the region and the denizens and look forward to going back soon. Very much anticipating your next adventure with DH & Flo! Thanks for taking the time to post your review.

Richard and I are also very much looking forward to this cruise. Can't wait for all the 'surprises' and seeing so many of the CruiseCritic 'regulars'!!

Angela was a deputy CD when we were on the Ruby in October. She did a fantastic job. Very friendly, approachable, energetic, lots of fun. She will do a marvelous job as a CD. Her fiance, Dave, usually is on the cruise staff with her. They make a great pair.

Agreed! We were on the Emerald T/A with Angela and Dave in the spring and they are a terrific team!

We love to catch up with movies on sea days, as do many in our age demographic. But the lack of printed TV guides is maddening! You may catch a few minutes of a movie and want to watch it later in its entirety, but when?? If you take the 15-20 minutes to scroll down the Guide channel on the TV, it's not listed! There must be cut-backs to keep cruise prices at today's reasonable prices, but why this one? I'd cheerfully pay a few extra dollars to know what I'm watching and when I might see it again. With all the negatives about the Royal class ships, 'on-demand TV' was one of the best features and I hope it goes fleet-wide. And btw, we'd much rather watch a movie in the Princess Theater than on MUTS. Very few were shown this past TA.

 

Yes and when I returned to the ship for lunch, the bar manager saw me and said they are already sold out. Damn.

 

As for the 50th- CD Sammi has mentioned Donny Most and the Love Boat cast but that's all I've heard so far. I'm sure it will be fun and very different. It might be shocking to see some of those folks in their 60s, 70s and 80s.

 

We're on that cruise in a few weeks and it should be very interesting! :D Sammi is so much fun - I can just imagine her being a hoot on the Pacific.