JordanF

Same thing happened to me. We booked a 2026 cruise in January 2024. The app let me make MDR reservations for every night. Now, when I look, it will not allow me to make dining reservations until I pay in full as I am not Platinum, Elite or in a full suite or Club Class mini suite. However, my reservations that I made in January are still there.

There should be no difference. But, I was on a charter once (Buckeye Cruise for Cancer). We supplied our own entertainment, so I suppose the regulars got a break. The only other big difference was that there were no drink packages--all drinks a la carte (I think the cruise sponsors got a cut?)--so there were pop up bars all over the place. It was super easy to but a drink (too easy? :)). Besides those things, it was pretty much like any cruise.

Yep--maybe not as controversial atopic as dining room dress codes... I have been to Mexico on cruises many times and have never had or used any Mexican money. Everything has been US dollars or credit cards. It has never been a problem for us.

The OP is one cool customer! I think you can make the early flight unless something goes wrong. For myself, I would just spend too much of my valuable cruise time worrying about this--so for MY peace of mind, I would not do it. I acknowledge that this is more about what's in my head, but hey, it's my vacation. So, for example, last year we had a cruise arriving to Fort Lauderdale in the morning with a choice of a 10:30 am flight or a 6:30 pm flight (all the same day). I chose 6:30, we did the excursion to see the alligators, and still had a long afternoon at the airport. I would do it that way again. But, since the OP has got the early flights in the past and is cool with that--I say go for it!

Here's a thing about the music machine museum in Germany. I looked at that and thought it would be a waste of time, but I went anyway, and really liked it, and still look back on it fondly. Obviously, Rebel54 felt the opposite. This is my point--you never really know until you see it--sometimes you will be happy, sometimes not so much. (Also, I was not thrilled at the water puppets, but my wife loved them. Go figure.)

We have been on a few river cruises, including one with Avalon. The included tours are usually pretty good, and typically include "time on your own," either where you walk back on your own or the bus is scheduled for later on--depending upon the situation. I second the point made above--you can always bail on your tour--we have done this on occasion. Have a great trip!

Thanks for the review. We are taking a similar itinerary in late February-early March 2026. While the dates don't line up perfectly, I am curious as to how warm it was on the sea days. Warm enough to lay out? Comfortable on the balcony? Thanks!

Budapest! A great, interesting and delightful city. Passau is nice, buy way smaller.

Wow--I just read a news story about NCL passengers who took a private excursion, got back late, and were stranded on an African island. Best advertisement for ship excursions ever! https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/cruise-passengers-including-pregnant-woman-32488918

All of the people selling things on the ship are under pressure to meet sales quotas and/or earn commissions (for example--the workers in the spa are under intense pressure to sell product, in case you haven't noticed!). There is nothing wrong with this, but for example, we were sold a future cruise (not on Princess) once with statements made to us about it that did not prove to be fully accurate, but which did help convince us to buy (it all worked out in the end, but still...). So I agree with the other posters, better to book when you have the time and separation and lack of any pressure.

I recently signed up for a cruise in February 2026. I downloaded the app just to see. It let me make MDR reservations, which I did for each night. Recently, there is a pop-up in the dining section that tells me that I cannot make dining reservations until final payment unless I am Platinum or Elite Captains Circle, or are full suite or club mini suite (I am not any of these). But--my previously made reservations remain. I was also able to purchase a thermal suite pass for my wife (paid in full) from the spa. I have not been able to book shore excursions, but I think it may just be too early for them to be on sale (two years out!). Finally, I have been able to complete the check-in area (except for my credit card which expires in 2025). So it seems that the way to go is to keep checking and trying?

Thanks for the updates. We are taking this cruise in a future year, and I have been wondering if it was warm enough to lay out during the sea days? Thanks!

How far in advance of the cruise to Princess Excursions become available?

We prefer balcony cabins, but have cruised four times with interior cabins primarily for financial reasons (Alaska, Baltic, Canada and Caribbean). We loved each of these cruises. While they were not 30 days long, we never tired of our cabin or felt deprived. One advantage--you may sleep later as there is no light coming in.

Sorry about the injury! If Princess billed you for any of the medical costs, the first step is to get reimbursed by some sort of insurance (trip, Medicare Supplement or Medicare Advantage, group insurance, etc...). Beyond that--a little speculation by me is that they will not want to engage you about compensation as it is probably already in some sort of claims area. You could probably find a lawyer to look at your case. Again--speculation, but I think the likelihood of recovery will have something to do with this question: Did the loose handrail contribute to the fall? if it did, you may have a claim. If not, it is likely more uphill for you.

Like a lot of people on this site, I always plan for some sort of flight problem. So for ocean cruises, we always arrive at least a day early since it is sometimes difficult to catch up to the ship. While we typically build in some site seeing before boarding a river cruise, the reality is that if you miss a river cruise departure, you can likely take a taxi to the next stop. Not great, but less severe. Of course, flights mostly go on time, or close enough. Just often enough to encourage complacency and then--wham! We were delayed 36 hours getting to Copenhagen for a Baltic cruise once--fortunately, we had planned 3 days in Copenhagen, so it worked out. But it sticks with you.

Get a new passport by travelling to a passport office. The problem is that there is a good chance that Princess won't let you board, and all the arguing about this country's rules and that country's rules won't help.

Yep--it depends! For us, it depends mainly of price and also how much say we have in the flights. Like most of the previous posters, I like to have control over flights. Gate 1 will let you book pretty much any airfare through them, at the same price as the airline, and will include the transfers if you do. So since it does not cost us money, we get total control as to which flights, and then included transfers--we will use them. On the other hand, we often ocean cruise out of Florida, and almost always just book our own flights (always arriving at least a day ahead as well). Another example, my sister is going on a Viking river cruise this November and it includes free airfare. Needless to say, she is booking that flight through Viking.

We are big fans of Gate 1, but are not too loyal when it comes to cruises, river or ocean. We usually pick based upon where we want to go, when we want to go, price, and decent reviews. We have been on the Yangtze with Gate 1, the Nile with Grand Circle, the Rhine with Avalon and the Danube with Gate 1. All were excellent, and for the actual cruise part, kind of similar. A nice room that gets cleaned all the time, decent food with a decent variety, in Europe some sort of drink at dinner, a little bit of entertainment after dinner, etc... On the other hand, we have friends where the wife has celiac disease, and is always very concerned about gluten, They have found that Uniworld is very careful about that, and prefer to stick with that line so they do not have to ever worry (even if other lines would also be careful, they like the peace of mind). So our system works for us, theirs for them. Most of us are not all that young, so if you have the health, money, inclination and time, the most important thing is to just go.

This thread made me curious. We booked a cruise for 2026 (not a typo) on February 5, 2024, so just about 6 weeks ago. I just checked the price for the cabin next door (same category), and the total cruise would be $740 more if I booked today.

One interesting thing is that it is not a lawsuit, but rather a "mass arbitration," no doubt because we all agreed to arbitrate any claims when we signed up for our cruises. It shows that you agree to pay 40% of your recovery if you sign up, and will owe nothing if they recover nothing. Since I just signed up for a cruise on Princess.com, I appear to qualify, but have opted not to join at this time. My decision is based on my minimal outrage at the alleged violation and my general love of cruising. But, if the cruise lines are doing this, they really should not have. While it is true that these things only enrich the lawyers, it is one of the few deterrents to this type of alleged wrongdoing where the individual damages are so small that they are not worth pursuing on an individual basis. So pick your poison--unfettered small-scale corporate wrongdoing or ambitious lawyering. The hope is that the market discourages lawyers from pursuing actions lacking in merit since they bear the financial risk of doing so.

We ate at Menza, at the recommendation of another guest on our tour. It was excellent and affordable. What especially worked for us is that I like beef and my wife is a vegetarian. We both left happy.

I read it as an extra course option. Maybe I had it wrong? I any event, I figured I'd do fine in the food department without it.

Full disclosure--we have not done this. However, we recently booked on the Emerald and after much consideration, booked a regular balcony room. Some considerations were 1. money; 2. the reserve mini suites on this ship were all fully exposed balconies--and I prefer shaded balconies; 3. an extra course at dinner will just make me gain even more weight as there is plenty of free food available all day anyway; 4. I was sorely tempted by the "no wait" dining aspect, but decided the price difference between a regular balcony and the reserve mini suite was worth a little waiting (mine is a 16 day cruise, so it added up!). This is just to say that I was tempted, but went the other way.

I just signed up for my third Princess cruise, to take place in 2026 (Emerald Princess to Hawaii). Our last Princess cruise was in 2006! So I have been reading the comments on these Boards and also reading the reviews in the Review section to catch up (BTW, we loved both of our earlier Princess Cruises--just used other lines like Celebrity and RCCL for various reasons). The commenters here are generally pretty satisfied with Princess, while many of the reviews are negative? I suppose it is just different people, but it is an interesting dichotomy. Any thoughts?