Reina del Mar

Don”t get too excited- Elite benefits have been drastically cut back in recent times. You get the same embarkation and disembarkation lounge as Platinum. Same half price wi fi if not taking Plus/Premier package. Same lounge for evening drinks/ snacks if you want to attend. We had one mini bar set up on a 26 day cruise. Laundry is free, but not express, you would have that in a suite anyway and it would be express. Priority water shuttles if not docking in port. Opportunity to order canapés on formal nights…nothing exciting to choose from in my opinion. 10% reduction on shop purchases and shore excursions. Enjoy if you manage it !

Be aware there are different types of package- Classic Soda Package. $17.69. Per person per day including service charge (18%) Zero Alcohol Drink Package. $35.39 pppd including service charge (18%) The staff selling it on the first day must have been on commission on our cruise as they kept telling us we wanted the zero alcohol package and wouldn’t sell us the classic till we showed them what we wanted on Princess website !!!

On the Classic Soda Package, we were served cans of Coke Zero and Sprite Zero on our Australian cruise. Didn’t see Diet Dr Pepper. A variety of Mocktails was available..bottled water was not.

We did a 26 day cruise, which could have been booked in multiple segments. We booked it as one Round Australia cruise and only had one mini bar set up. Asked the steward to swap for what we would use and he’d brought our preferences before we set sail.

Disembarked 26th March…still no sign of folio being sent by email…thank goodness I printed out folio half an hour prior to disembarkation…just in case !!! Received Credit Card bill yesterday and seems to show the same amount as the copy I printed on last day. Usually receive email of folio, together with survey whilst waiting to disembark. …another ‘upgrade’ !!!!

Yes I appreciate that- but there certainly is for Darwin! Maybe extended port hours to allow for transfers although that would obviously cost more to sail faster and better organisation for port disembarkation - so many people complained at having to wait till 1 pm for a shuttle when docked at 9 am- we were fortunate to have priority disembarkation but not everyone did! Also poor information from port information talks for Adelaide and Melbourne where Port of Adelaide and Port of Melbourne were recommended was not helpful!. Free shuttles were helpful but when their air con doesn’t work it is not comfortable.- Having said all that, we did enjoy our cruise.

Thank you for that information..had no idea it was offered for King’s Coronation. Shame it is not an annual ‘sale’ !!!

Thank you for your comment!

This is correct for cruises booked and paid for in Australia. For those of us booking elsewhere, gratuities are added daily on the standard package and included with Plus and Premier packages if paid in GBP or US dollars.

Used the AUD25 shuttle. Seemed fine but no one checked tickets on either outward or return journey…whether everyone had paid, I have no idea. Disappointing this dock is so far from town. 25 dollars this time and 28 dollars from previous dock, so probably a little closer.

We did Princess’ circumnavigation of Australia for 26 days on 29th February 2024. Enjoyed our time on board the Coral Princess. However, it seems that Princess is now using industrial ports, quite a way outside the towns they purport to be visiting. In most cases shuttle buses were provided without cost, but the organisation for shuttles was poor and time on land curtailed.

In UK, the plus package was on offer at half price, last year. Does anyone have any insider knowledge as to whether this might happen this year, please ??? Many thanks.

This is not correct…available as ‘favourites’ in Australia…March 2024.

I enjoy the International Café on Princess, but it is overtaken by Royal Caribbean’s equivalent which offers ‘included’ tea and coffee for those on Standard Packages.

We had steak, as well as fish and chips on the ‘Favourites’ Menu, on our recent Coral Princess cruise.

Coral Princess 29th Feb-26th March 2024. Steak on favourites menu every night- more than edible.

It’s kind and considerate to others to set an alarm on your phone to make sure you are back by the time your wash or dry has finished. Or just take a book and sit there. I have seen many an angry passenger waiting for someone to empty their machine, and others removing clothes and moving them, to have access to machines.

We try not to send out daily…every four/five days on our recent 26 night cruise. Separated colours and whites in different bags. We took photos of everything we were sending and wrote on the bag that we wanted a cool wash to avoid shrinkage. Took two/ three days as many elites on that cruise.

Thanks for all your answers. Have returned from our 26 night cruise with pre and post cruise stays making 35 nights. I struggled to cut down on shoes and took eight pairs. However, I tried hard to avoid wearing all of them, as an experiment, and managed to use only five pairs. A lot more than many would take, but a target for me in the future. Many thanks.

Thank you, this is what we thought..have not previously requested a kettle for Caribbean cruise, but after realising how much we enjoyed having one on the Australian cruise, thought I’d ask if anyone had managed to acquire one. As you said, asking the steward costs nothing. Thanks again.

We disembarked Coral Princess, after a 26 night cruise around Australia, on 26th March. Still waiting for final folio…so glad I printed out a paper copy from the Folio Machine, on our last morning. Hope it syncs with credit card bill !!!!

We have just returned from a ‘Round Australia’ cruise where we were able to request a kettle for our balcony cabin. We know we can use Room Service, International Cafe or take a thermos flask and grab some coffee from the buffet. For us, a kettle is most convenient for early morning and late evening coffee. Please can anyone advise whether this is possible on Caribbean cruises…Enchanted Princess especially. ? Many thanks.

No way to order robes pre cruise for us in UK..at least I have never managed to find a box to tick! On meeting the steward, we give him/her a list of things we would appreciate..ice, wine glasses, robes, bar soap, paper Patters, no ‘Junk mail Effy/ Art Auction’ etc. All requests swiftly sorted. Robes on our last two cruises seem to be made of a different fabric..more like old fashioned crimplene, so don’t shrink. We tip cash when steward has gone over and above..which has been always on our 25+ cruises.

Definitely a charge earlier this month(March 2024).sent to your cruise folio..AUD 25 pp. No one checked tour tickets in either direction though.

Yes, as I mentioned in the original post, we have boarded just showing our passports..BUT..and this is the big but…we are NOT able to have medallions mailed to UK and I certainly do not want to face ISSUES, having flown half way around the World to Australia. We have boarded in Fort Lauderdale and San Antonio (South America) just showing passports….but I am a worrier…if Princess tell me I need QR codes for both of us, that is what I will have to travel. We now have a QR code each..just in case !!!!