nini

6 hours ago, MarcsSharon said:

We were on the week before you and agree entirely with your review. I feel like Princess turned it up a notch.

Also was very disappointed with the ,”Smoking Lounge/Casino”. Worst smoke filled experience ever. Princess needs to open a lounge for smokers and let everyone enjoy the casino.

 

Sadly, Princess is closing the "Churchill's" smoking lounges and transforming them into arcades.

It is refreshing to hear positive things about the Emerald. We sailed the Emerald in Spring 2022. Of course, we were "sliding" off of covid, which "may" have contributed to the crankiness of many crew members. We had never seen so many negative and frowning crew members before on a Princess ship. A crew member (waitstaff) actually snapped at us while we were seated in the buffet area. We had just asked a question and wow........ This was not the Princess we loved.

Not all crew was like this of course, but the down mood was palpable.

It was quite a positive contrast on the Sky last June! And yes, Explorer's Lounge is MUCH better than "Princess Live" on the Sky... for sure.

On 4/16/2024 at 5:20 PM, afto said:

Just catching up with this thread now. Wondering how easy it is to find the Princess bus at Victoria Coach Station. Staying at a London hotel and thinking it will be easier to take a taxi to Victoria Coach Station and transfer from there than go back out to Heathrow (on Heathrow Express) and connect with Princess there. Also, I am assuming the shuttle would take us directly to the ship in Southampton, with no further taxi required at that end. Trying to minimize the amount of walking. Any details would be very helpful.

When we stayed in London in 2022, a cab drove us to Victoria Station on boarding day. A princess rep was there and we took the coach/ bus to the ship. I would recommend it. And it costs much less than a private car. The coach was $118.00 for two people and a private car would have been at least $200.00

@cr8tiv1 I am glad for your positive experience. It can be stressful dealing with flights. We have found that British Airways can be a real pain to deal with and also demonstrates the positive points of making full payment more than 45 days ahead.

Recently, we waited and wondered why we could not select our seats, because we had no problem doing that with British Airways in the past. They have become quite difficult to deal with and by the time our final payment was made, there were just a few seats open in Premium Economy and they were not next to each other.

Long story.......... our TA was able to talk with BA and they did a bit of juggling; now we are across the aisle from each other.

Just be aware that there may already be a private "Meet & Greet" reserved for Take5. Have an alternate plan.

At least it has a larger /angled balcony.

53 minutes ago, njkruzer said:

I wonder if it's because of the Jubilee Year celebrations.  Haven't done anything about this cruise yet (4 cruises to deal with first) but was wondering if it was the right time to go to Rome.

Yes, that is what @wannavacay had suggested.

23 hours ago, wannavacay said:

We noticed prices are much higher (& lots of hotels already showing sold out) for same room in 2025 than today & thinking it has to do with it being Jubilee year. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thank you so much for the "heads Up"! I just checked our preferred hotel for April 2025 and No Vacancy!!! And the same for some others.

18 hours ago, Homeport5 said:

In reading the website it looked like you could purchase an additional bag allowance for 10 pounds if necessary.

Yes, that option is helpful.

@Nemanoxer You are to be commended for trying a new cruise line. We have cruised with Princess 8 times and Celebrity twice. After the last Celebrity cruise, we will not return. Is Princess perfect? No.

In what I have been reading about the new Sun, it does not appear that it would present to us the Princess that we know and really like. It is "a horse of a different color"... not bad, just different, and will probably will create quite a following.

Just know, that you may also prefer some of the older Princess ships versus the new Sun.

We will be on the Sky for the 2nd time this June and really enjoyed our time on it last June.

Happy Cruising!

We were going to take the National Express from LHR to Southampton the day before the cruise. However, after reading the luggage size allowances, it does not look like it is possible. We usually take a larger bag and then 2 "Carry-Ons". But the Carry-Ons are a bit larger than the stated maximum measurements.

So, it looks like a cab??? Ugh... quite a bit more in fees.

Comments on your experience? TIA

10 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Discovery has a white composite material railing which as I recall the author said was the same type of material on Sun but had a simulated wood appearance instead of white.

I understand, however, we have never been on any Princess ship with anything other than the wood. I appreciate your post. Even the Sky, last June, had the wood.

Sapphire! Many love the Coral, but we were not a fan. We booked it because it was for the old locks through the Panama Canal. We love the style and features of the Sapphire,

4 minutes ago, dickinson said:

Then I am probably wrong 😉. Thanks for correcting me.  As I think about it, I picture crew members varnishing railings up on deck.

No problem. I remember seeing the railings in varying states of condition and smelling the varnish.

On 3/9/2024 at 11:24 AM, dickinson said:

I think the balcony railings on all ships are something other than wood.  Wood burns fast in a fire whereas composite and plastic don't.  They probably melt.

All of the Princess ships we have been on have had wood railings.

On 3/4/2024 at 8:00 AM, upwarduk said:

Isn’t there sugar in fruit ?

There is both fresh fruit and canned fruit offered. I would bet that the canned fruit has sugar but you also ask.

3 minutes ago, jwattle said:

No, but sometimes, when a subject comes up, y'all seem to take joy in outdoing each other at insulting it.

I am sorry you seem to have singled me out- I guess I am part of the famous "they" now.

I thought that we are supposed to share our thoughts on CC. Call me incorrect.

29 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Ours were delightful in November, with Amaretto. We shared them like two high schoolers on a date in the old days 🥰, so keep on hating...we'll keep on loving.

I never said the word hate... that is a very strong word. Preference is more accurate; especially when one's body has a gene that turns your body into a cholesterol factory, regardless of medications or herbs, etc.

7 minutes ago, luvseaside said:

I saw on TV that’s it’s a special booked event , like Chefs table 

I have seen other posts that the Caymus Winemaker's Dinner is $140.00

51 minutes ago, ltthib said:

Sorry should have been more specific. Train is probably not a good idea as we'll probably have a bit of luggage. We're flying Delta out of Heathrow so whichever terminal that would be. Was thinking more along the lines of Taxi or van/ car service.

Thanks

Also sorry for the duplicate post

Many people use Blackberry Cars. We used them once to get from LHR to our London Hotel. They are mentioned often on the "Old" thread for these transfers.

2 hours ago, jwattle said:

 

One of the "fun" things about Cruise Critic is how people love to pile on and outdo each other with the haterade when there is something that is disliked, like the Princess Premium sundaes.

Oh boy... My stomach turns just looking at it.😕

12 minutes ago, wallyj said:

Glad to hear the A/C is back. I hope because it was not a quick fix, information regarding possible compensation has to been co ordinated with Corporate once fixed, so hopefully you will report back if any compensation is being offered.

When the Grand was 5 hours late departing in Vancouver, BC the Captain very quickly gave each person (not cabin) $125.00 in OBC. Because of the late departure, we would be missing a port.

7 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

We used Overlord and joined other couples for a Private tour, this might be an option of regularly scheduled tours are full.

That is also a great idea!

Lovely review. Maybe we will be on the Discovery someday. I think you may have sold me on the Sanctuary (if I can run up there fast enough).

10 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

Wow!  That was generous. 

 That is what we thought. It was either $125.00 or $150.00. The Captain and about 8 Officers also attended our CC Meet & Greet.