Louby-Lou

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

there is no such thing as a TEEN plus package. It costs the same for everyone. $60 pppd.

 

Thanks for that, it's interesting to know as we will be taking a couple of teens next year! Easy to make a decision now!

How much does a teen's plus package cost?  I assume you have done your costings, ie daily gratuity charges, wi-fi connection, drinks and room service charges (which are now not 'free') for each teen.

Maybe the easy answer is for none of you to have the plus package and just pay as you go!

14 hours ago, carolina cruisin said:

Returned from an Australia/SE Asia cruise - Jan 13-Feb 21.  Loved the ship.  We actually liked the decor better than the Splendor - "more subdued".  Perhaps the best service we have experienced.  Have another Explorer cruise booked for Sept 2024.  Go for it.

We've just been on Explorer - Japan.  How tastes differ! We disliked the decor - everywhere is too dark.  Coffee Connection is too dark, as is the Observation Lounge.  We preferred our room (Penthouse) on Voyager - more open, brighter and a nicer bathroom and walk-in wardrobe.  Compass Rose was very noisy, especially when seated where the ceiling is lower.

It's a good job we're not all the same!

Regarding DO Premium balconies, I've just done some dummy bookings on the UK Princess website and they do not show Signature benefits.

We've been in Reserve mini-suites a few times and have never been able to book a table either on-line or onboard.

It will be interesting to hear from someone currently onboard in a DO to see what they are getting!

45 minutes ago, GMIAC said:

What's the big allure of bathrobes? I don't even wear a bathrobe at home!  

Is there an allure?

P & O has some great Caribbean itineraries but we wouldn't want a fly-cruise as we prefer to make our own flight arrangements.  If this were possible it would ease the pressure on the charter flights. Does anyone know the reason P & O doesn't allow this?

8 hours ago, tim_london0 said:

what really annoys me is cruise line who give priority in selection of dining to passengers who have paid for the drinks package.  Just why should people who have no interest in "drinking the night away" get treated as second class citizens for this particular service

 

 

Which cruise lines do that?

1 hour ago, cruzsnooze said:

Hopefully we follow suit and charge Europeans 

You already do and have done so for several years.  All UK and EU citizens need an ESTA to travel to the US which is obtained before travel and involves photos and finger printing on arrival.

Maybe the UK should charge US citizens?

If you are using Saga transport you will need to check that it is OK for 2 large cases and an overnight bag, as their 'allowance' is for 1 case per person.  If you are on shared transport with maybe 3 other passengers, this could cause a problem.  When we contacted Saga to ask if we could take 1 small holdall in addition to our cases we were told to check with the driver when he contacted us to arrange a pick-up but, of course, this would have been too late to re-arrange our packing!

We had a similar experience in 2016.  We were booked on the Connoisseur land / cruise tour which included the Tundra Wilderness tour.  About 6 weeks before Princess UK phoned to say the tour had been cancelled and we were now on the Natural History tour.  We were not happy - my first port of call was the CC roll call where I found that no-one else had been contacted.  Long story short - we had a refund for the missed tour and booked with Denali park direct for a longer tour on the same day.  That wasn't all!!  We organised our own flights and pre-cruise stay in Fairbanks so arrived at the Lodge at the start of the package to be told that we hadn't paid for the cruise - only the land tour (can you even do that?).  After an hour of arguing / phone calls they finally agreed that we had indeed paid!  Our welcome package had been sent to the airport although we had informed Princess of our travel arrangements.  When we met the guide, he told us that the Tundra Wilderness tour had not been cancelled and we were still on it!  We went with the one we had booked direct and were collected at the Wilderness Lodge (inappropriately named - neither in the wilderness nor our idea of a lodge)! As it was a longer tour we were not back in time for the dinner and show that night!

At the end of the week long tour we so wished we had hired a car and done our own tour!

Just back from Regal - robes in the room.  I'm a UK size 14 and they were way too big for me!

9 hours ago, Btimmer said:

We're visiting the Titanic museum today as part of a Titanic walk.

 

We don't have any Princess shore excursions yet booked, but I will make inquiries of the shorex staff.  If you don't see an answer, please remind me again.

 

 Thanks for following along.

Pleased you're enjoying your time in Southampton.

We're just waiting for our taxi to take us from home to Southampton.  Maybe bump into you onboard.

Hoping for a good cruise.

On 5/20/2023 at 7:46 AM, janecambridge said:

  Stupid layout to have expensive suites under a gym. 

If the noise is that bad then NO accommodation should be under the gym regardless of how much is paid.

All the ducks we've seen have been knitted.

If anyone has cruised on Princess it is likely there were ducks onboard and they didn't even know!

wowzz - are you on Sky Princess' July trip to the Baltic?  We may be on that too, just getting some prices.

wowzz - thankyou for taking the time to post - have really enjoyed following you.

Could you confirm that the kettle/tea/coffee making facility is still in all the staterooms - I did hear a rumour that this had been discontinued.

Many thanks.

We've seen dogs on cruises from the US but never from the UK.  I checked P & O's website for the Assistance Dog Policy from the UK and I'm not surprised we haven't seen any dogs!

For anyone who's interested:

https://www.pocruises.com/accessibility/life-onboard/assistance-dogs

Last year it was in the Symphony dining room, port side. It was very good!

21 hours ago, Josy1953 said:

To get the internet you have to let them run another cable from the one that they are installing in the street to your house.  My niece has it but they have had to have their drive relaid she says that her teenagers like it because apparently playing games on their Ipads is much better now.  I suppose it depends what you use your internet for.  We use ours for googling, doing on-line shopping etc. but nothing that requires super quick access.

If the contractors are called City Fibre - they are part of BT.  They are working their way around Leicestershire - causing chaos along the way.  They have been along every road in our village.  They don't connect to the individual properties but to the BT installations - street boxes, underground chambers and telegraph poles.  We weren't given any advance warning of the work and haven't received any marketing info as to the cost, etc.

Time will tell!

My point is that you do not know who you are mixing with - in a cinema, restaurant, sporting events with no choice but you do have a choice whether you cruise or not.  

15 hours ago, memoak said:

You really want unvaccinated people all over your cruise ?  I don’t 

You probably encounter unvaccinated people every day without your knowledge.  Going on a cruise with the possibility of unvaccinated guests is your choice.

3 hours ago, Coffeeluvr05 said:

Baked potatoes are available in the MDR.  Two ladies sitting next to us ordered them on our recent sailing on the Majestic at the end of February.  I always forget that it is ok to ask for things not on the menu and was thinking "darn it, I should have ordered one!" but we had finished our dinner at that point.

Yes, I got them in the DR but not in the buffet.  Back in the day, the ones in the DR were good-sized Idaho potatoes but the ones on Regal were really small!

32 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I've noticed many cutbacks in food for the buffet and DR. Missing are prime rib, the cowboy steak was less than 1/4 inch thick. The selections for the Platinum/Elite lounge have been pathetic.  It's not worth taking the time to go any more.

Not to mention there are less production shows than past years.

We noticed the same on Regal in September.  I miss the 'always available' steak in the DR and was surprised that baked potatoes are no longer available in the buffet (I like one at lunchtime with salad).  When I asked for one in the buffet I was told (by one of the chefs) that they don't do them but 'it would be a good idea'. I pointed out that this was the first Princess ship I had been on that didn't have them and the chef just shrugged his shoulders and walked off!

Sorry, I know this will have been asked before but I have tried to search and get hundreds of results.

Simple question (I hope) - We need to cancel a cruise for July 2022 and will get a FFC.  Can this be used towards a cruise already booked for May 2022 but not yet fully paid.

Many thanks.

On 2/8/2022 at 9:15 AM, Windsurfboy said:

I hope if necessary  they organise an alternative intinerary,  even if it is more based on eastern med. Would be disappointed. If cancelled and replaced by shorter cruises, especially as for some strange logic not allowing  back to back cruises.

There are currently 37 back-to-backers on SoA in Norway who were on the previous Canary Islands cruise.