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I called Princess yesterday at 11:00 (8:00 AM in California). The phone was answered in about ten minutes. The agent could not fix the problem with my Captain's Circle account. At 11:45 she transferred me to another department where I remained on hold until 1:08 at which time I hung up without having been connected with the department. I have waited as long as three hours on line with no one answering the phone. I am sick of listening to the headbanging music played on line. This a horrible way to treat passengers. 

The closest airport for us is Harrisburg (MDT). However, very few airlines fly from there so most of our travel is from Philadelphia. I usually do a booking on the Princess site and then change it to the big box store which gives me additional perks. They do not show as much availability online as Princess. If you contact them they can send you the form (email) that you complete and fax to Princess to change agents. It happens very quickly. When you book on Princess there is a place to say where you want to return to if need be.

My account shows Washington DC as my home airport. When I look for flights I simply type in PHL instead. Sometimes I also need to change the return airport, too. It is very easy. I have already changed my next cruise flights at least five times.

I have called the big box store to request a form from them to transfer my reservation. They will email you a request form on which you fill out your Princess booking number and date of the cruise, then you can fax it to Princess. In a day or two the new agent's will show up on your cruise personalizer. Then call the Big Box and let them know that they are now your agent and they will contact Princess and transfer your reservation to their account. You will not lose any of the perks that you got from Princess. You may get additional perks from them. You have a limited time to transfer after you make your reservation - I think it is about 60 days.

Does anyone know when the transatlantic and European cruises for 2023 will be published?

Back when Star Wars first came out, we drove across Canada and our young sons wanted to talk to the truckers on the 401. One trucker asked who they were and the answer was R2D2. We told them we were driving the white Ford LTD car. It has stuck for many, many years.

You can arrive anytime before the ships sails but allow for the muster drill. We have done this cruise six  times and are scheduled to go in Oct next year. My husband writes port guides as a hobby and has extensive info about all the ports  from Quebec to New York. For people wondering about weather,  I strongly advise that you include some warm cl thing with a head covering and gloves. The weather can be anywhere from hot to snowy at this time of year.  We have also missed ports because of hurricanes twice. This time we are sailing all the way to Ft Lauderdale. Charleston and Sete Iles will be new. We go for the chowder not the fall color as we live in a forest and Tom is still trying to get rid of leaves from last year. Another hint - plan to get out of Sydney. The Bra dor area and the Cabot Trail are gorgeous. His blog is www.Tomsportguides.com. They are very highly detailed and are FREE.

Yes.  

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

Seven days? Really?? Take the 28 day Hawaii/South Pacific cruise. 18 of those 28 days are sea days. Somehow we had no problem filling them. Relax. Go outside and watch the ocean go by. You might be amazed at what crosses your view.

Happy to hear this as we will be on this tour starting Tuesday.  I love sea days.

Sorry. You can only swap full bar setups for coffee cards.

We have been there twice. The first time we rented a car to see the countryside. The second time we stayed in town, visited the cathedral and enjoy a local pub. See tomsportguides.com for ideas for the day.

It is one of the best investments you can make.

We are thinking about booking the 13 day Canada & Colonial America cruise on the Caribbean Princess that leaves out of Quebec on Oct 24 and returns to Fort Lauderdale on Nov 6, 2019. I have found a few comments on the net that the seas can be pretty rough this time of year along with the weather being quite cold, windy, and wet. Any thoughts on a Canadian cruise this late in the season and should we consider going in late September or early to mid October instead?

We have done variations of this Canada New England cruise six times. Except for Hurricane Sandy during which we were diverted to Newfoundland we have never had bad weather. It has at times been cool and even snowed in Quebec we found the cruises very comfortable. Try it, you'll like it. If you are looking for color you will probably see more of it in early to mid October.

We were on the Island several years ago when it sailed to Italy prior to dry dock. The Vista Lounge was closed as they were removing the electrical system. The cruise was fine - one of the best in fact.

Look at Tomsportguides.com. He has info on all of the Canadian and New England ports with driving guides for Canada. The best color tour we have done is from Sydney along the Cabot Trail. Color is much better if you go inland in October. Color seems best in early October - lots of maples at that time. Except for Boston, most of the New England ports are very convenient to the ship. Hertz is across the street in Halifax and there is a car rental about a block from the ship in St. John. Enjoy and please plan to have some chowder.

We find that the very loud music for the line dancing and zumba is extremely annoying!!

We recently canceled a cruise because our son was admitted to intensive care. We were on the Royal arriving into FLL on Friday morning and planned to continue on it to Europe for another twenty-five days. At 3am we decided to cancel while on the ship. Within a day

Princess refunded our taxes, transfers, and prepaid tips. I had already booked a later cruise and requested that the balanced be given as a credit although I could have asked for cash as the illness of a close relative was a legitimate reason for canceling with money returned. We were extremely impressed with how both Princess and their insurance company Aon handled this.

Always, always, always buy cruise insurance!!!

That really doesn't sound legal. Can anybody verify this?

I had to cancel my April 22 transatlantic cruise on the morning of the cruise. I had prepaid gratuities before the recent price increase. The money was back on my credit card the next day. They also immediately refunded my port taxes and transfer payments.

We debarked the Royal on Friday and did not receive the log BUT butter was always on the table at every meal. I also would be happy if they dispensed with all the onboard ads for things like the art auction, spa, and shopping and the daily cards for fruit and breakfast. They are immediately trashed. The log is sometimes useful for high and low temps and wind speed reference.

We were in E615 last year for a TA crossing on the Royal. This year we will be next door in E617 FOR 32 days. The view is partially blocked by a stanchion and by the rear of a life boat when you look to the side but the center is clear of any obstructions. Since the cruise was mostly sea days, we enjoyed the extra space.

I didn't notice any noise. We like it because there is a sofa and the room is larger than a standard balcony and it is close to the stairs.

We stayed in E617 on the Royal which is a deluxe obstructed view on our April transatlantic crossing. It is located between two lifeboats or tenders. We were able to see quite well and since it was mostly sea days it didn't matter that it was somewhat obstructed. I like this category because the room has a loveseat unlike regular balcony rooms which only has two chairs. We chose E510 for next year.

It looks like a tough decision. We have done Med cruises numerous times and my choice would be the one on Princess because of Istanbul. Santorini is a beautiful place especially if you drive around the island. However you will find Mykonos to be delightful, too. My husband writes port guides tomsportguides.com which has lots of info on almost all of these ports. Reading them may help you decide. They all have lots of pictures. I found Istanbul to be one of the most interesting places I have ever visited. Good luck on your decision making.

The gelato at the International Cafe and "Once Upon a Dream" in the theater. The molten chocolate dessert in the Crown Grill.

Are you saying that you DON'T receive all of these things? We love Princess and will soon be on our nineteen cruise with them.

I just upgraded from an oceanview cabin to a balcony on the Ruby transatlantic that sails on April 27. Last week we upgraded from a balcony to a minisuite on the Royal on April 20. They were happy to sell me an upgrade with no penalties or fees. My TA called and they rebooked in about two minutes with the initial booking confirmation number. I think the problem arises when you want a price reduction after final payment. In my case Princess had released many unsold cabins at a higher category and slightly higher price.