alaskagirl2010

Thanks for all the input. I finally got the 3rd party order form to work by playing with the available options. There must be some kind of computer glitch, but it accepted her email address and allowed me to order the package. 

Mission accomplished. 

It would be great if I could access her personalizer, but she’s not in my cabin. I don’t know her log in information like you have for your son. I could ask her to order it and pay her back, but that kind of defeats the purpose of arranging a birthday surprise, doncha think. 

1 minute ago, Colo Cruiser said:

https://book.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer/thirdPartyGifting/searchLanding.page

1 minute ago, Colo Cruiser said:

https://book.princess.com/cruisepersonalizer/thirdPartyGifting/searchLanding.page

When I used the form, I got a message to call the celebration desk to arrange it. That’s exactly who I called and they said NO because she used a TA. I didn’t get it as I wanted to order it and pay for it to be delivered to her cabin.  I guess I’ll call back and see if I get a different answer from someone else. 

My travel mate is in another cabin. I called to pay for one as a surprise for her and was told I couldn’t do that. I know I could use the personalized if it was my own room. 

Does anyone have experience with arranging a birthday decoration package for a friend or family member traveling in a different cabin?

Does anyone know if I can purchase the decoration package on board. I’m trying to order one for a traveling companion but couldn’t do it through Princess as she booked with a TA. 

Thank you for posting the cabin photos. They are exactly what I was looking for. I was on the fence about the type of Pacific cabin to book and your post helped me decide.

My faith has been restored as Princess has apologized and addressed the issues in an email to all effected passengers. There is a separate long thread about the LeHavre embark/disembark problems. As I have always found the customer service to be very good in the past, the experience was disconcerting.

So I was very glad to receive the email. Yes, I understand some would say it could have been handled better and sooner. But I’m giving them kudos for the good will response.

Becky: Thanks for posting. If you have a few minutes, could you tell us more about your experience in LeHavre...Was there anyone there from Princess to help the stranded embarking passengers to find alternative arrangements? Was the dismal customer service in Southampton at the ferry terminal or trying to board the Royal Princess? Any stories from other embarking passengers, for instance those who went to CDG to fly to the UK? Thanks in advance. Tom

Tom,

We arrived at Le Havre after, I believe, many passengers had made the afternoon Le Havre ferry crossing so I don’t know who was available at that time. When we arrived about 4:30ish, we were met by several port agents. It was chaos and very tense as it was clear numerous passengers had no clue what had occurred.

We had received an email around 7 a.m. It advised us to make our own travel plans at CDG or go to Le Havre for assistance with ferry reservations. The port agents made the reservations for us and we paid for the tickets at the ferry terminal. We had to book cabins for 4 so it was necessary to group up with strangers. It would have been helpful if the email had listed ferry locations and times. Le Havre has a ferry but we missed that one. We had to go back to Rouen for the overnight ferry to Portsmouth. A bus was arranged, for about 40 of us, to take us to the ferry. However, had we known, we could have gone there directly ourselves as we were traveling in Normandy prior to the cruise.

Upon arrival at Portsmouth, we were met by a Princess Rep for the transfer to Southampton. After getting on the transfer bus, we found that 1 of the passengers was still on board with a medical emergency. We had to wait to find out if they had to go to the hospital. We waited so long that ferry employees were getting off work and going home. Finally, it was determined that the passenger needed hospitalization so we headed out into an absolute nightmare of a traffic jam. We could have walked to Southampton faster. I began to wonder if something was trying to tell me not to take the cruise.

No special arrangements were made for us. It was as if no one at the terminal had any idea that passengers would be arriving outside of the normal embarkation time as they made there way from France to England. As we’d been met, I expected they knew we were coming. First, they couldn’t find anyone to handle our luggage, then we were told to just go sit and wait until boarding began. Eventually, about 10:30 a.m., we were allowed to board early. Except for the initial letter saying Le Havre had to be missed due to weather, we never heard another word about it.

Independent passengers who went to CDG had it much worse. The EZair folks traveled by prop plane to England. I spoke to people who had to arrange flights to other cities like Oslo Norway which had long layovers to finally make it to Heathrow where they had to find their own way to Southampton. Numerous folks did transfer from Paris to take the Chunnel pooling their resources together to hire multiple vans to get Southampton. Princess Reps were at CDG but basically everyone was just going from airline to airline trying to find a flight. One couple thought they had tickets only to find when they got to the gate that the tickets were standby and of no use. They had to start all over again.

Like I said, this had been a learning experience for me. If I had known, I would have been proactive and just researched my own options and acted accordingly. I was under the mistaken assumption that Princess had a responsibility to get me to my embarkation point.

Being one of the Le Havre embarkation passengers, it certainly was a learning experience. I usually travel with insurance and this is the first time I have ever filed a claim. It was surprisingly easy for this situation.

I do sympathize with those passengers who found themselves suddenly incurring unexpected travel expenses with no insurance back up.

After reading the contract and finding that, except for mechanical failure, a cruise company has no financial obligation, I would suggest travelers always purchase insurance.

I never expected that a ship would not pick me up at an embarkation port and I would have pay to get myself to the next port in another country no less.

It was amazing talking to fellow Independent passengers and hearing about the different ways they got to Southampton. Our day was very long and very inconvenient but the overnight ferry was nothing compared to passengers who went to CDG airport to make alternate plans. The port agents at Le Havre worked very hard to get us ferry reservations. My disappointment was our arrival at Southampton and the dismal level of customer service we received there.

Anyway, lesson learned. Hopefully, this will never happen to anyone else again.

Here is some unsolicited advice about cruising while sick.

Do not go on a cruise sick. Truly, it's no fun to be on a cruise while sick. When I'm sick, I want to be home in my own bed. It's tough to find chicken soup on the ship. Princess Cruises doesn't stock diet ginger ale. If you don't have access to shore, the gift shop only stocks minor remedies like travel packs of aspirin and DayQuil.

Buy travel insurance when you book, use it and stay at home with the sniffles or "allergies." Because once you're on board it'll turn into a sore throat and runny nose and you'll pass it to the person on the elevator or buffet line or tour bus. Pretty soon you'll see sick people everywhere you look. And what you'll hear at night is sick people coughing non-stop through the cabin walls.

If you're well when you board, practice intensive hygiene. Wipe down all the surfaces in your cabin with something like Clorox wipes as soon as you get into your cabin. Wash your hands every chance you get. Keep your hands away from your face. Try not to touch railings or elevator buttons. But even so, you might be sick because other passengers don't care about you. (I can attest to that - you can't stop that sick person from sitting next to you on a tour bus.)

If you get sick or (ignoring me) came aboard sick - stay in your room.

You look like hell anyway. Nobody wants to see that.

Don't sleep it off in a public area. I know you want out of the room but be kind to the other passengers.

Don't go on an excursion sick - write it off. I know you paid good money but your head will hurt, you won't be able hear because your ears are blocked, and you won't be able to smell the flowers anyway. And you guessed it, the people on the bus will start out well but surprise surprise they'll be infected by the end.

Don't go to any show sick, we've all heard the poor comedian, singer, instrumentalist contending with the sycopated rhythm of the audience collecting coughing out their lungs. Stay in, you didn't pay for the performance. Google the performer and watch them on YouTube.

The medical center is not a treat. You really don't want to go there. But you face the fact that you're really sick and shuffle down to the medical center. What do you find there? A large crowd of passengers who are already there sick with the exact same thing you have. Several hours later you shuffle back to your room with some standard remedies, cough syrup, uncoated Tylenol, throat lozenges. But what you really want is to just be home.

I probably can't convince you to heed my advice, but I wish I could.

I never could get the kindle wifi to work by itself over the ship's wifi. If you have an iPhone, you can use the hot spot to link your kindle to wifi. That's assuming you purchase an Internet package. Then you can download books.

On my last sailing, I found that tapas and sushi were available after 5. I preferred to order a panini or cheese and crackers (if available) from the IC and have that with my wine. I saw a couple picking up chocolate from the chocolate shop and pairing that with red wine.

It's not only EZ Air, it's all of them irregardless how you book it. I usually book independently, spending significant time getting exactly what I want, and 90% of the time the booking changes. Just yesterday, a non-stop flight I booked (because it was non-stop) changed to 2 flights with a lay over. All you are getting when you book is a seat to get you there. How they get you there is totally in the airline's control.

As other posters mentioned, it's very important to keep an eye on your flight arrangements.

The train ride between Anchorage and Seward is stunningly beautiful. Vehicle passengers traveling the Seward Highway do not see all of what train passenger see. For example, Spencer Glacier and the Gorge. If you have the time and opportunity, travel by train.

Thanks everyone for the quick responses. You have given much to think about.

Any suggestions on how I can tour Victoria after I disembark in Vancouver. I know it's a different city but I would like to know if anyone has arranged a tour after their cruise.

It always amazes me that someone would ask for this type of information on a forum.

Simply Google your question and you will find the "real" answer. Not the answer you are hoping to hear, the real answer. Here is the link for Mexico.

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/mexico.html

You've made a significant investment in a cruise. Do you really want your vacation plans destroyed by not having proper documentation? Use the express service and renew.

And if you are there on a weekend, there is a great craft market across the street.

The craft market is a few blocks from the Cook. It's across from the Hilton.

When they sent me the pic, I thought it was debris falling from the sky. But they said it flew flat and they watched it as it flew along the coastline until it was out of sight.

I've tried to upload a picture that my friends took in December off the coast of WA it sounds like what you saw.

It must just be Apple then as I can't book a cabin on my IPad or IMac.

It's not working for me either

The only outbound tunnel earlier than 7 am is 6 am. The tunnel opens inbound at 5:30 am.

The OP could try it as they have it planned, if something unforeseen occurs they could use a smartphone, assuming they have one, to reschedule the flight. There is a only a few places on the drive back with poor cellular reception.

Good to know and very good suggestion.

I would like to know if the karaoke song list has twist and shout.

Figured I could count on the folks on the boards for an answer.

Maybe someone currently sailing knows.

Thanks.