RGEDad

Just back from a cruise on Princess from pier 27. Had an absolute worst time getting to the actual terminal due to the (IMHO) mishandling of traffic into the terminal. In all of my years of cruising I have never seen mis-planned traffic management in the port area such as at this terminal. Traffic was backed up for an hour while traffic crept into the terminal one car at a time. I was in an Uber and spend nearly an hour in the stopped traffic getting into the port. There is a totally unused open area right next to the drop-off that was totally clear of cars and unused for passenger drop-off. My Uber bill had a $33 charge for traffic time waiting. 

In getting off the ship I elected to use the Princess Bus to the airport. That went quite well as the bus was waiting for us once out of the terminal. When departing I noted the exact same traffic back-upon the road leading into the terminal from the taxis and Ubers trying to get in to pick-up passengers. 

Not sure what to do about getting into the port as even the busses were held up in the traffic jam. Possibly get out across the street and walk across with your luggage. But in leaving the port I would recommend some sort of bus (like the Princess bus) as they are there waiting in the lot prior to the traffic back-up.
 

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

I meant buy the FCD on board BEFORE you talk to the Future Cruise Desk about booking something.  The FCDs process in a day or so and then they're in your account. 

Ahhh - Now i understand - Thank You

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

buy a Future Cruise Credit BEFORE you book.  You can use that for the deposit and get some OBC besides

OK - But it appears one can only buy Future Cruise Deposits (FCD) while on a cruise...

Found the following on the Princess web site: You can purchase a Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) on board as part of our Future Cruise Deposit Program.

Or at least I was unable to fine anyplace on the Princess web site that I can send them cash for FCD.

But thank you for the indication there might be an advantage to waiting to book on-board with the possibility of better fares.

Currently have a 7 day cruise booked for Feb 4,2024 on the Regal Princess.

Cogitating a April 4,2024 cruise on the Crown Princess.

Is there any significant advantage to waiting to book the cruise to the forthcoming cruise, or should I just book it now.

Have not cruised Princess for 14 years but some companies have significant deals/bennies for booking on a current cruise.

For those that really like Trans-Atlantic Cruising - I found two cruises  that almost connect - Miami  to Rome (22 Days) - then 3 Days - Rome to Fort Lauderdale (18 Days), 

There - MSC Magnifica Miami (Nov 9) to Rome (Nov 30) - 5 stops in Caribbean then 5 stops Portugal & Spain, Rome on 30 Nov. Very Low fare, and 50% Solo Supplement  (MSC Only).

Back - Island Princess Rome (Dec 4) to Fort Lauderdale (Dec 22) - 4 stops Italy, Spain, Morocco, then Tenerife, & Cape Verde, 7 days at sea to Fort Lauderdale

40 days of cruising, Plus a couple of days in Rome...and no intercontinental Air. 

Got to get you thinking...Did me

In 2018 My wife and I were booked on a 14 night TA from Miami to Rome. We intended to stay 5-7 nights in Rome then fly back.  I found a cruise ship transiting the Mediterranean , stopping at Barcelona and headed for the USA, I also found an overnight ferry from Rome to Barcelona getting there the day before the ship docked in Barcelona. I dearly wanted to get on that ship for the return voyage but back then I was a working fool and had to get back to pay the bills. I also did not think the boss would be too happy with me taking like 5-6 weeks off work. I really, really should have just done it. Now that I am retired, I am looking for just such another opportunity.

Thank you - I just found it for my forthcoming cruise - Thank You

I was wondering how that worked with Princess (Have not cruise Princess in some number of years.

What I found interesting was that it gives the start of boarding time, and the sail time...but not until much later in the document (in the fine print) does it state that if you do not check in by 90 minutes before sail time you will be denied boarding...

On second reading, that 90 minute limitation is only for: "Guests with incomplete immigration information..."

What I was seeing is the following:

• Wi-Fi (1 device per guest) $15 USD/Day - PreCruise $9.99 /Day
•  - unlimited MedallionNet package

I have been having real issues with Princess computer systems. 
I was online (Apple Browser - Safari) and was unable to complete a reservation - It would kick me off once I had entered in the travelers information. I tried over several days. I finally called Princess and made the reservation over the phone. The Operator who took my reservation said they have been having issues and are installing "New Software".

I am also having issues now with the Princess App on my iPhone where is it not recognizing my log-in & password (I "assume" it is the same name & PW as the on-line version.). I am able to sign in using my booking number 

I am using a freshly installed Princess App.
 

I just signed up for a Caribbean cruise for early February. We will not be using the Plus package as neither of us drink (very often) but we both want/need/require/can't-live-without WiFi. I have not been able to find where to purchase the WiFi package pre-cruise. I know it is significantly less expensive to get it pre-cruise than on-board. Any Hints??

I know on HAL it was in the drinks area (very odd) so I looked in all the areas on Princess - but alas - to no avail.

Thank you both for the information - I appreciate it. I was on one cruise some years ago and the front desk was out of extension cords. Luckily  maintenance guy overheard the discussion and brought me a cord from the maintenance shop. Since then I have always brought my own cords. DCL is the first line I have been on that lists extension cords as prohibited. 

I am an experienced cruiser, but new to DCL and the Disney Wonder I am now booked on. I noted on the DCL Prohibited Items list that Extension Cords are prohibited. I use a CPAP and always need to make sure I can reach the AC outlet which is typically on the opposite side of the cabin from the bed. I am in a Balcony cabin on Deck 6 for our cruise. There appear to be AC outlets at the Desk, but I have been unable to see if there are outlets next to the beds.

6 hours ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

Going to Key West in February and looking for a golf cart rental near the port

We were going there last year (Also on the Dream) - but had to cancel the cruise. But I had booked a cart at: 

https://www.arcimotokeywest.com/pricing/

A 4 - Seater is like $120 for 5 hours

When I had to cancel - they were very prompt to refund my deposit, or cancel - I cannot recall if there was a deposit - but they were very responsive. 

They will deliver and pick-up at the ship.

6 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

There is a great picture of Breakaway/Getaway B6 and M6 cabins on the visual aids tab of the link I copied below.  I bookmarked this years ago

This is a fantastic listing and just what I was looking for - but are there lists like this for other ships??

NCL and / or other lines??

Hope springs eternal...

A good place to start for Points/miles/bonus offers information is 

https://thepointsguy.com

If you subscribe you get almost daily emails on various Credit Card items, and valuations between the various CC.

I am not associated with them in any way.

On 5/23/2022 at 10:30 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Our experience at ports where there is a separate line for GE, that the card gets you into the GE line, as there is no visible evidence you have GE on your passport. It was that way at Port Everglades before Covid. It also helped getting into "known traveler" security lines for the same reason, again, pre Covid.

We have our GE card envelope taped to the back cover of our passport. Only once did a custom/immigration officer say we should not have anything in our passport. I politely said thank you for the information - I did not know. I somehow keep forgetting to actually remove them and store/carry them separately - shame on me. 

18 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

could only see RCI. Does the Dawn have free steam rooms?

Some previous user had set some filters so you could only see free RLC - inconsiderate of your fellow cruisers to leave it like that (especially as there is a pop-up that says one is changing something that really should not be changed.)

I have removed the filters - and you can now see the Dawn

Unfortunately - In one portion for the Dawn it shows the steam room is Free, but there are annotations that says it is not free. So not much help for you there.

On 6/14/2022 at 9:07 PM, jkrislc said:

I just make sure to select the option to make the document available offline so that data isn't required to bring it up.

Where is this option to Make the document off-line.

I was recently at a foreign airport and when i went to the cruise travel page, it would not come up. Dealing with all the papers, and luggage, and stuff, I used an alternative to get the images needed by the flight check-in. Luckily I had the images still in my iPhone photos - But I was surprised when the page I wanted did not come up/resident on my phone. Would like to make sure that does not happen again. I think the images were placed on the pages on my Mac while in the hotel the day before (doing theCOVID tests), cannot recall if I had linked my phone to the hotel WiFi that night previous but that MIGHT have been the reason it was not loaded on my phone.

1 hour ago, HealthCraig said:

Does anyone know if any of the NCL ships have separate steam room/sauna facilities for men and women.

Here is a link to an open source/ user updatable spreadsheet that lists the Steam/Sauna configurations for each ship / each line.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ROCmeNSYj_VwCYs3IUjWbrcEomFeqOrvIDUnXG6GLTg/edit#gid=836403675

If there are any updates - please make them on the spreadsheet so others can see the most accurate data...

I also keep the documents in multiple forms. I keep the original electronic emails if that is how the documents came (ie test result). PDFs of all stored in a OneNote document with all other Trip Information, and Photos of identification and Vaccination documents. Since DW worked for many years in contracts...Paper documents of all. 

More importantly - While embarking/checking in...I handle all the luggage/coats/handbags/stuff - She handles the processing / checking paperwork stuff. We have a "Security Bag" (cross my body/difficult to steal/open/pick-pocket) that the documents/valuables/phones are kept in so she can get to that easily. 

She focuses on doing the paperwork, I play mule and get the stuff there.

We have taken a number of TA and TP cruises. Mostly on HAL. We have grown to love the long periods of sea days and the relaxed atmosphere on the ship. Lots of time to decompress from the stresses of the work world. Now that we have retired, we still love TA cruises. 

Only interesting (Weather wise) was a cruise from Southhampton to Boston to Fort Lauderdale. there were three Hurricanes roaming around the Atlantic that the captain had to dodge around. Even getting out to Southhampton was not assured given the increasing winds at the port. Even before we left the dock the captain announced a change to a much more southerly course, and the expectation of some expected movement of the ship.  We love to go to bed with the rocking of the ship.

2 hours ago, Josie201 said:

I know generally speaking we’ll be sailing into the sunsets, and we generally prefer aft facing balconies … so I think we might need to book a more standard balcony but wondering about port vs starboard to enjoy afternoon and early evening sun.

Well - If you are west-bound, and north of the equator, you will have more sun throughout the day on the port (left) side. 

I supposed if you have a TA the is direct from say Southhampton to Miami you might catch the sunset on the starboard (right) side, but most of the day you would be in shade. 

On one cruise from Southhampton to Boston, then to Fort Lauderdale we had a Starboard balcony. We did not see the sun until we headed south out of Boston. Of course, the captain was dodging three hurricanes so that may have impacted any solar opportunities. 

Traveling with G-Kids (4 & 8 ) in late June (along with the parental units) on the Bliss. I see we can now drop the 8 YO at Splash Academy, but not the 4 YO who would normally be in the Splash Academy as she is too old for the Guppies. Really hope the Splash Academy gets extended to 4-12 before we embark.

I used Verifly on a recent American Airlines return from Rome to DFW. It was useless. The gate agent still wanted to see all the documents. I suspect it was just used to ensure the traveler had the documents prior to getting to the check-in line.

8 hours ago, cruiser3775 said:

One thing I can't see an answer to is whether a port or starboard cabin is better?  I guess it depends on where the ship is going to some extent, but are there other factors? 

Unless you are going Trans-Atlantic (TA), or Trans-Pacific (TP) it really does not matter.

For TA & TP you just need to figure the ship direction, and decide if you want the sun side, or the shade side. If the ship is on some sort of circle route - you get 1/2 sun side & 1/2 shade side. 

If you want a particular view when you are in port/approaching port - there is no guarantee, or even a hint, which direction the ship will be docked. That decision is up to the port Master or the Captain. Some captains tell you the day/evening before in their standard announcements - some do not.

If you look at the map of the cruise, and there is a particular stretch of coastline you want to see - you might select a particular side but for the most part, the ship will stay well away from land - people get upset if the ship bumps into the land. If there is a "Cruising" shown in the itinerary, then the ship will be typically going slowly through an area with views on both sides (like many Alaskan cruises getting into see the Glaciers). On the 4 Alaskan cruises I have been on the captain has brought the ship as close as he feels comfortable to the glacier and then spins the ship so all the balcony gets a good look.

I have not been to GSC on NCL, but we have been to other cruise line islands. We travel with a Nesto beach tent (https://www.neso.com/collections/tents) that we put up ourselves. We grab a couple of lounge chairs and pull them under. 

It all folds into a bag 19" long, and better than any supplied umbrella in terms of sun coverage for two people. We have the mid-size which is about right. We do go to less crowed areas as it does take up some beach space - not an  entirely bad thing.