ksm77

We are going on the Island in July for 21 days. We have not cruised on this ship before but have cruised on the Coral several times.  The Coral is a similar layout.  Two things I will miss will be the International Cafe & Vines wine bar.  I am sure we will make do.

It is true that many do not dress up.  The truth is about 50% still dress up.  It is not technically formal as in evening gown & tux.  We will be on a cruise on the Sky over New Years.  On the dress up nights I will wear cocktail dress & husband will wear a coat & tie because that is what we like to do.  We will be with 2 other couples who will do the same.  I enjoy dressing up I don’t care what others do, it is what I want to do.  I do feel that some people want everyone to think no one dresses up but as I said many still do.  Do what you want.  Not really sure why Princess is still doing this since they do not enforce any dress code.  I read a review of someone on the Sky Princess this week.  They said the only enforcement of the dress code on “formal nights” was no shorts in the dining room.  So why have it?

We will be on the Sky for 11 days during New Years.  I really hate to hear that the MDR is not up to par.  That is my husband’s favorite part of the cruise.  We don’t care to eat in the buffet at night, but maybe we will this cruise.  We are planning to eat in one of specialty restaurants at least one night.  It may be that we try them all this trip.

10 hours ago, gottagocit said:

 

I get this. I really do. And I see this purists response pretty often on these boards. And that’s okay. 

 

However I find it fascinating that no one considers a visit to Glacier Bay National Park during an Alaskan cruise to be a “drive by” even though most know you can opt to kayak or take small boats into the park from the tiny nearby town of Gustavus and camp or otherwise go ashore. In this case it isn’t a requirement that one tramps ashore and further impacts wildlife or the land environment in some way before being the visit can be considered legitimate?

 

Same for the fjords of Norway or New Zealand. Believe me I’ve asked many times not once did someone refer to those destinations in that way. Lol. 

 

Oh and anyone who has cruised down the Nile knows it’s simply an amazing experience and doesn’t require that you wad into the waters from the river bank to qualify as having been there although most of the boats do stop 2-3 places between Luxor and Aswan for temple site visits. 

 

Just food for thought. 

Totally agree with you.  We will be doing this cruise on the Coral in January.  We looked into doing the landing type cruise, with the difference in price I am ok with doing the "drive by" cruise.  I never thought I would even get close to Antarctica must less get to see it up close.  I am so happy to get to see these amazing sites. 

On 9/24/2019 at 10:59 PM, Thrak said:

 

Is the pillow choice an Elite perk or were you in a suite? My wife would love to have a feather pillow when cruising. That's what she uses at home.

It is part of the new bedding.  We were in a balcony cabin.

On 9/17/2019 at 7:53 PM, vampiress said:

i have had the worst luck with pillows but loved the ones on my last cruise.  i didn't look to see if they were down or fiberfill.  which did you end up getting?

We bought a set of both.  Princess has put one of each on the beds for 2 people.  One pillow is feathers & one is fiberfill.

We did not buy the bed but we have purchased the pillows.  Love them!  We have them in King size and regular size.

My DH & I did this Princess tour in July 2017.  We enjoyed it very much.  We loved seeing the Hermitage it is amazing.  We also liked the 3 hr time period  of being on our own.  We don't care for the large group tours.  Most people will recommend that you do one of the tours that pack everything in a day.  That is just not what we enjoy, we have done those but at the end of the day sometimes I feel like I really didn't enjoy it, because we ran from one thing to another.  It is hard to pack everything into one day.  On the tour you are looking at it gives you one of the main attractions in St. Petersburg plus time on your own in the heart of the city.  We enjoyed walking in this area, seeing the church of the blood, and we were able to enjoy lunch on our own.  I think with a 6 year old you might enjoy some time away from the group to do your own thing.  Trying to fit everything into one day with a 6 year old would be stressful to me.  

Sorry to tell you all this but you can get a refund after final payment "sometimes".  This is my story.  We booked the 28 day South Pacific cruise leaving LA on 3/30/2019.  We booked this cruise over 2 years ago.  At that time we booked a balcony cabin at $6,034.00 per person that included the drink package.  I watched the price go down several times before the final payment but with the drink package included, it was still  a good deal at the price we booked to began with.  Then after final payment the price dropped crazy.  They were selling the Mini suite for less than what we payed for our balcony.  I called and tried to upgrade our balcony for a Mini.  They would not do that but they did drop my balcony to the price it was selling for at that time $3,687.00.  I did have to give up the drink package but that was a no brainer.  We received a refund for the difference.  I am not sure why they gave us a refund but they did.  Our friends that are traveling with us also received the same refund. So don't be afraid to try.  In the past I had never tried to get a refund after final payment,  but it was such a drastic difference I thought it was worth a try.  I have been given OBC, wine, and specialty dining, after final payment for a price drop but this is the first time I have gotten a refund.  So never say never.  I will not be expecting this in the future but I will try if it happens again.

It has been our experience that the time of " late TD of 7:15" varies by ship.  It does not always mean 7:15.  On our cruise in November on the Crown it said late TD 7:15 on our travel Doc. but the MD changed the time to 8:00pm.  On our Regal cruise in Feb. our doc. said late 7:15,  MD charged it to 7:45.  If you want to eat at 7:15 you may be better off in Anytime.  We are fine with it being changed to a later time, but if you want to eat at 7:15 that may not be the case, it is totally in the hands of the MD.  On our cruise on the Crown we asked our waiter about the "new" dining times.  He said they had been told nothing about the changes.  I asked our Captain's Circle person.  She said many times these decisions are made by main office but there seems to be a disconnect between them and the ships staff.   She also said that many times when they try a new policy it doesn't always work on "ship" time.  She said it is almost impossible for the dining staff to turn around the TD dining room in 2 hours.  That is why it is left up to the MD, he knows his staff if they can make it work in real time.  We are leaving on the Star for a 28 day cruise 3/30.  It says on our Travel summary 7:15.  It will be interesting to see what the late TD will be.

On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 5:50 PM, pianoman4sq said:

     On the 15 Day Hawaii Cruise, would it be appropriate to where a Hawaiian Shirt w/Lei or Shells and nice slacks for a man on one of the Formal Nights?  Would they let you into the MDR?  Just curious.

 

Thanks,

 

Ed

Crown Princess  Alaska RT from Seattle June 2015

Crown Princess Alaska RT from Vancouver May 2016

As others have said you can if you want too.  You will not be asked to leave.  I do think you should know you will be in the minority.  We are leaving on a 28 day Princess cruise to the South Pacific March 30th.  This will be our 21st cruise on Princess,  38th over all.  On Princess most of the men who go into the DR on formal night have on jacket & tie.  Most people who say different are not correct, at least on our Princess cruises, our last was 11/18 Crown Princess transatlantic.  We cruise with a group of 4 couples all our guys wear coat & tie. On this last cruise by far most all men were in jackets some in Tux. On longer cruises people dress up more that is our experience anyway.  You will see a few without but not the majority.  In the Caribbean you will see a few more without jackets.  

On ‎12‎/‎12‎/‎2018 at 8:48 AM, claudiniusmaximus said:

Hi

 

Yes we did that princess excursion in June. Got picked up from the ship

around 9 if memory serves then straight to a guided tour in the Hermitage. The guide then drove us to a department store gift shop off Nevsky Prospekt near the Church of the Bleeding Heart. That was about 12.30. 

 

Then we had i think 3 hours free to wander wander around by ourselves and we met back outside the gift shop to be taken back to the ship for around 4ish. We visited the church, wandered up and down Nevsky Prospekt a bit, found somewhere for lunch  etc. Was nice to be able to do that. 

We also did this tour in July of 2017.  This is exactly what we did, we really enjoyed the free time to shop a little we found a very nice sidewalk café for lunch.  The Hermitage was amazing we really enjoyed touring it but we also enjoying having some free time away from the group.  This was a perfect day for us. 

We cruised out of LA to Mexico in Feb. many years ago.  It was cold on all sea days coming and going.  Only warm days we had on that cruise was our stops in Mexico.  I don't know if that is the norm, but we have never wanted to do another cruise to Mexico from California.

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 2:30 AM, caribill said:

 

I do not think there are actually new times for dining when you are on the ship. What is new is what is listed in the personalizer. In the past the times on ship rarely were what was listed in the personalizer. I have no reason to believe the times now listed in the personalizer are accurate either.

 

People may be happy/unhappy with what they see with the changes shown in the personalizer, but may be unhappy once on board and see the actual times differ from what the personalizer listed.

My sister & her DH were on the Crown Princess in September they had the new times for Dinner.  The times were changed they had 8:15 was changed to 7:15.

My Sister an her DH were on the Crown in September.  They had requested the 8:15 seating.  When they picked up their cards, on the card was 7:15.  She thought it was a mistake.  She went to customer service and was told, that is the new late seating dinner time.  It seems odd they have changed it this much.  I would be ok with late seating at 7:45 but 7:15 does not give us anytime for Happy Hour.  We don't really sit and drink after dinner.  We usually go to the show then bed.  I guess Princess will loose some $$ from us on before dinner drinks???  What about the elite cocktail hour?  Will it start at 4:00?  People doing early dinner will completely miss it if they keep it the same time.  Maybe they will just do away with it.  Princess is sure making some odd changes. 

My main issue is that there are no guarantees of landings. So you pay the huge amount and you may not be able to land.

 

I had a friend who did a Princess cruise 10 years ago and enjoyed the viewing. I thought if I went, I would want the landings. 10 years later, I haven't done either and am booked on one of Princess's sailings for "sail by". I think it would be good enough for me.

We are booked on the Coral Princess January 20/20. I never dreamed I would even be anywhere near Antarctica in my life. I agree if we had unlimited funds I am sure I would enjoy going on a landing cruise. We priced this for myself & DH it would be $40-$50,000 to do that cruise. We can visit a lot of places for those$$. I am really looking forward to "viewing" Antarctica.

All high tables with high chairs.

You can request to be seated in one of the soft leather Wheelhouse Bar chairs or sofas, with no traditional height dining table, just side tables and in some places low coffee tables, tables intended for drinks. No booths.

That is the way it was 7/17 Baltic Cruise. I did not see any seating for the Salty Dog that wasn't at bar type tables. I am not saying you can't sit in the Wheelhouse bar to eat but it is separate from the Salty Dog Pub. One night the Wheelhouse was crowded we went to the "bar" after a show. There were 6 of us. We asked if we could sit in the Salty Dog and get a drink, were told no that was the restaurant. There were empty tables everywhere. We started to leave and saw one of the bar staff that had been waiting on us at the Wheelhouse, he said he would get us a seat. He talked to someone and we ended up being able to sit down at the Salty Dog and get a drink. The only difference in the 2 areas is the height of the tables & chairs. It is still one big room. Another problem for us was if we had decided to eat in the Salty Dog one night it would have been very hard to have a conversation with other people at the table because the music in the Wheelhouse side was very laud.

We have done Rome as a port of call twice. Both times we used the ships transportation to and from. It worked great for us. It will take about 90 minutes by bus that the cruise lines provide. It is more expensive but worth it to us. We knew right where to meet up with our bus driver we were not worried about something happening that would cause a delay and make us miss the ship. On both of our experiences we left the ship at 7:30 am was in Rome by 9:00 am. We had to meet our driver by 4:30 pm back on ship by 6:00. Ship left around 6:30 - 7:00 pm. We had spent a week in Rome a couple of years before these trips so we knew our way around. I think you would need to do a lot of research for what you want to try to see. You will be let out in a central location. The first time we were dropped near the Trevi Fountain. They picked us up at Piazza del Papolo. The next time we were dropped off & picked up at St Peters. If we had not had some knowledge of Rome I think we would have spent much of our time trying to find our way around. Whatever you decide Rome is amazing.

It would help to know their age. If over 21 they will have a meet & greet for singles, some kind of pub crawl. There is a dance party with a DJ at 11:00 pm in Club Six every night. There will also be shows in the Princess Theater every night. There will be game type shows in Princess Live. Movies under the stars during the day as well as at night.

My wife and I did this cruise the first time they offered it a couple of years ago on the Sapphire. It is basically the same cruise except with the overnight in Bora Bora.

 

My reply is probably what you don't want to read. But if this your first time in non Hawaiian ports I would recommend this cruise with reservations (unless you are not interested in the ports.). If this is your first trip to the South Pacific I truly believe you need to spend more time than a couple of hours in these ports especially Tahiti. The Samoas are some of my favorite places. You could probably do them in a day but spending a couple of days there is even better.

 

Also I think there are like 18 sea days out of the 29 day cruise. So you are spending over half your fare on sea days. There are 8 straight sea days coming back. I like sea days but after 8 straight, for the first and only time, I wanted to get. off the ship after the cruise was over.

 

I had been to the South Pacific before. SO for me it was a great cruise (aside for sea days 6, 7 and 8 coming back to LA). I was frustrated not staying in these ports longer but I knew that would be a problem when I purchased the cruise. My wife loved this cruise. She had never been to the South Pacific before. I don't think she knew what she was missing.

 

So, yes, take this cruise if you don't mind spending over half your money on sea days, have no problems with 8 straight sea days and you realize you are not spending nearly enough time in. the ports. But also it is a great adventure sailing the South Pacific.

 

Yes I would like to do it again someday. (After another land trip!)

We have this cruise booked for 3/30/19. We are looking forward to all the sea days. We would never pay the cost to fly & stay on these islands. For us this is a great way to spend a wonderful relaxing trip and get a taste of these places that other wise we would never see. In pricing just a 7 day trip to Tahiti for us $4000 airfare $2500 hotel stay. For us cruising to places like Tahiti & Bora Bora, make our travel budget stretch to get the most for our money.

I guess that depends on you. What is important to you when you travel. If comfort is a big factor than pack for that. If fashion is your thing pack for that. Most people now seem to pack as little as possible nothing wrong with that. We did a 28 day transatlantic and I packed clothes for 2 weeks worth then did laundry. We are doing a transatlantic in November on the Crown it is 14 days. We will be sending a week in Italy before the cruise. Part of my cruise experience is being able to dress like I like to dress so, I will take more than most people. I dress every night on the cruise not formal but nice. I know people will say you don't have to. That is true, it is part of my enjoyment of my trip. That said, we are elite so we do get the free laundry which is nice. I will pack 7 nights worth of outfits that can be changed with different tops & bottoms plus my formal nights clothes. I take about 8 days of day time outfits. Three pair of dress shoes, 2 pair of tieks, 1 pair of walking shoes, I will be wearing boots on the plane. I have a cross body hand bag & 1 evening bag. All this along with hair products, meds, & other items. I will have 1 large piece of luggage & 1 carryon, with a large tote bag. I don't know if this will help you but it works for me.

The Royal & Regal are the only ships that offer the Winemaker's Dinner. It is well worth the cost. I would highly recommend it. I have done it twice on the Regal.

I've never read that or heard that, and every RCI cruise I am on they push Chops in the MDR. Once they started w Chops in MDR it wasn't long before Chops menu got dumbed down and then also now carries items at extra charge, and food that USED to be in the MDR vanished.

 

The "nominal" fee for a steak or other items is likely going to be 70% in the MDR compared to just going to the restaurant; you aren't getting the special appetizers, sides, or desserts, the atmosphere, or service.

 

This absolutely leads to downgrades in baseline offerings and opens the door to further upcharge items. I don't like it on RCI, Carnival, NCL, and now it has moved to MSC. Princess is next.

 

Anyone want to take bets when new ships will be launched without MDR's at all, or significantly smaller ones that come with a package? Base = buffet dining; midlevel package = dining room; uplevel package = individual themed restaurants.

 

2023???

I believe you are right. The new NCL ship has 13 upcharge restaurants with only 3 venues where you can get food at no extra charge. They are moving away from a MDR. This is where mainstream cruising is headed. For myself & DH we will soon have to make a decision to keep cruising Princess or upgrade to a different more all included style cruiseline. We have loved cruising, to us it is the best vacation you can have. Just as everything does cruising is changing. I am kinda sad but it is the way it is. We are very blessed to be able to cruise 2-3 times a year. With all the changes coming we will have to decide if we can except the changes or move to a different cruise style where we only get to cruise once a year or possibly every other year or leave cruising altogether. Once the experience becomes something you do not enjoy it may be time for a change.

My sister & her DH are on this cruise. I know she was really disappointed in missing Santorini. It was one of the reasons they picked this cruise. It is disappointing to miss a place you are looking forward to seeing. The Captain has to be responsible for all souls on board and the ship. I would rather have a Captain error on the side of caution than put people in harms way. A few years ago we were supposed to visit Toulon, it would have been our first visit to the South of France. The Captain made the call it was to windy to dock. It appeared perfectly calm to us. We know nothing about ocean wind conditions. We found out later that day a large ferry trying to dock in Toulon was blown into the side of coast guard ship while trying to dock. Luckily no one was hurt but there was a large hole in the side of the ferry. So I am glad the Captain made the call he did. Since my sister & BIL are on this ship I am glad the Crown's captain made the call he did.

Hope the rest of your cruise goes well.

We eat in the specialty restaurants if they come as a perk or we are traveling with friends who want to go. The last few times we have gone to the Crown Grill, I did not think it was that much better than the MDR. In fact my steak was not that good and service was very slow. It took 2 1/2 hrs to get through dinner for 6 people. We are going on the Crown transatlantic in November unless our friends, we are traveling with want to go we will not eat there. I would rather spend the $60 on wine than CG. For us to spend extra money on upcharge restaurants they need be way above the MDR not just a little better. Having said all that. I think in the future the upcharge restaurants will be pushed more & more by the main stream cruise lines. I have not cruised on RC or NCL in years but from what I have read & talking with family members who cruise on these lines, the upcharge restaurants are about the only places to really get a good meal. I was just reading the new NCL ship will have 13 upcharge restaurants. It will only have 3 other areas where food is no charge. They are also charging $7.95 delivery charge for room service. How long will it be before we start seeing this kind of thing on Princess?