nukesubsailor

If you put bottled water in a checked piece of luggage, you probably will be called by the ship security personnel to come to the "naughty room" and open the luggage so they can see that the bottles do not contain a contraband item.

I don't know what type of cabin you will be in but I know that bedding is changed every day when you stay in a Princess penthouse suite.  That was the case in our cruise on the Royal Princess early this month.

46 minutes ago, Hazegreyunderway said:

Hi all,

Were taking the Grand to Hawaii in November, and typically we book our own hotel.  DW and I were discussing if Princess had any agreements with hotels for passengers as it might be a better deal through Princess, instead of booking separately.

 

Thanks

Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel

Situated atop Nob Hill, this hotel has one of San Francisco’s most prestigious addresses. It boasts fantastic views from every guest room and is minutes away from the city’s best.

1 night from $259
Additional nights from $139

1 hour ago, pms4104 said:

Second, even seated at the windows, furthest from the non-CC dining area, the venue was very LOUD.   When I commented to our server about the noise level, the reply was "It's the clientelle this sailing."  Thought that to be offensive and not at all appropriate.  CC needs a separate venue, not just a section of the MDR.

 

 

If the noise was not caused by the passengers in the dining area, what was the cause?  One of our favorite things about the Sapphire Princess is the fact that they have a wall separating the two halves of the amidships dining rooms.  The smaller area makes for a quieter dining experience.

I agree that a separate venue for Club Class would be nice but that would be hard to arrange on any ship designed before Club Class dining was begun.

11 minutes ago, Triptkr said:

I would love to hear from those of you who know from your personal experience what the benefits are for having a full suite when sailing with Princess?  I'm not talking about having more space, I'm asking about things like having the upgraded bathrobes, one complimentary mini-bar set up...stuff like that.  I already know about the pdf file on the Princess web site that lists all the benefits but I swear when reading here on CC, a lot of people have listed things that were not on that list.    

 

Thanks in advance!

We have stayed in full suites many times.  Believe the list of benefits on the Princess web site.

6 hours ago, lstone19 said:

 

The comment you replied to was about tides, not winds. While wind cannot be predicted far in advance, tides are known well out beyond the length of published cruise ship schedules. There is no excuse for last minute schedule changes due to tides.

The width of a channel that has a safe depth at high tide will have a narrower safe width at low tide.  A channel that may be safely sailed through at a low tide level when there is no wind can become unsafe in a high cross wind.    I don't care if you know what the tide will be a century in advance, if the winds pick up before your passage you do indeed have a reason for a last minute schedule change.  You have to always consider wind conditions along with tides.

20 hours ago, Colorado Coasty said:

We have enjoyed Club Class dining several times. I busted my ass for over 50 years to be able to enjoy my retirement. If I want to pop for a suite or a club class mini that is my prerogative just as it is somebody else's to say they wouldn't waste the money.

My sentiments exactly!  I drove used cars when I could not afford a new car but at no time did I resent those who could afford a new car.  While I envied their ability to afford a new car, I never resorted to class warfare comments about them.

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Tides are known years in advance.

 

Why does Princess wait until the day before a scheduled port to figure out what the tides will be?

Winds are impossible to predict far in advance.  These huge ships are vulnerable to winds blowing them where they do not want to be.  We once were unable to dock in Victory while aboard the Golden Princess due to winds making it difficult to approach the dock safely.  Another time on a Caribbean cruise we were unable to make the scheduled stop in Antigua because high winds made entering the narrow channel into the harbor too risky.  

I recall seeing some news article in the past about some Alaskan port having a dock damaged by a ship unable to adequately control the speed at which it approached the dock.

We just got home from our second Princess 15 day Connoisseur Escorted cruise/tour.  It was fabulous with good weather and an outstanding tour director, Denali Deb Whalen.

Our first such tour was in 2014 and we had a great tour director then named Jack Curtiss.

I highly recommend taking this tour and if you get either of these tour directors you will really enjoy the land tour.  They both are very knowledgeable about Alaska and just plain fun to be with.  Even long motor coach rides between lodges were fun as the tour directors educated us on the areas we were traveling through.  They even handed out high quality candies and water.

It was on our first tour that we learned the difference between a bus and a motor coach and never to insult a motor coach by calling it a bus.  A bus has no toilet.

The 3 day land tour/7 day cruise was our first Alaskan cruise/tour.  Since then we have taken two Connoisseur cruise tours that were 8 days on land and then the 7 day cruise.  I would very highly recommend taking the longest Connoisseur tour even if it means putting off the vacation until you have the funds and time off to take it.

58 minutes ago, nukesubsailor said:

Last May I tried to book a specific penthouse suite on the Enchanted Princess for two back-to-back 14 day cruises.  Princess said if I wanted that cabin for the 28 days, I had to book it as four 7 day cruises.

If Princess thinks they saved money on the onboard credits by making me book four 7 day cruises rather than two 14 day cruises, then they need to do better research.  While they saved $200 on the veteran and shareholders credits they will pay $200 more in loyalty credits.  Since I never was given the chance to compare the fares for 7 versus 14 day cruises at the time, I don't know if there was any difference in the totals.   The Princess web site still shows N/A when I try to see prices for any of the 14 penthouse suites in the mid aft section of the ship.  That is the section where my travel agent did book a suite for the four 7-day cruises.  Makes no sense to me.

The two extra dishes served in Club Class dining are not always just pasta.  Sometimes one  is an appetizer or salad.  Sometimes one will be a special desert.  The entre choices have all been great.  I especially like the lobster thermidor.

I would not give any weight to the opinion of those who have not tried Club Class dining.  It is up to you and you alone if you want to spend the extra money for less likelihood of waiting for a table and having the option of two extra items on your menu.

Last May I tried to book a specific penthouse suite on the Enchanted Princess for two back-to-back 14 day cruises.  Princess said if I wanted that cabin for the 28 days, I had to book it as four 7 day cruises.

In your blog photo of the specialty coffee part of the International Café, your caption says that since you are Elite level you got your specialty coffee for free.  Is this some new benefit?  I have been at the Elite level for some years now and I have always been charged for my specialty coffees.

Try to book it.  If it is in violation of the Passenger Vessel Services Act, (PVSA), Princess will not allow you to book it.

10 minutes ago, railman said:

We have a booking on the Caribbean Princess in December which we booked in April.  We booked C506 a mid aft (B2) balcony just aft of mid ship.  Princess just “Upgraded” us to D722 (MD) mini suite all the way in the back.  This cabin is opposite the self service laundry.  It’s certainly not what we consider an upgrade.

 

At the moment our TA is fighting with Princess to get our old cabin back.

We have had cabins opposite a laundry several times and we were never bothered by noise from the laundry.  We have also stayed in balcony cabins and mini-suites.  The small sofa and shower/tub in the mini-suite were certainly upgrades in our opinion.  While a cabin at the rear of the ship means a longer walk to many venues, it does have a slight advantage in that the wait for an elevator is generally shorter than at the midship elevators.

I hope you can get your original cabin back if that is what you want but, if unsuccessful, you may find the aft mini-suite to be not as bad as you thought.  Also, ask your travel agent to always mark future cruise bookings as "no upgrade".  

3 hours ago, simonpjd said:

So last day on Coral. Vancouver. Princess have arranged transfer from ship to airport, but our flight is not until 9 that night.

What alternative is there to sitting in the airport all day. This must happen all the time so what do you happy Princess customers do.

No need to worry about sitting all day at the Vancouver airport.  Airport management deems having shops and massage parlors more important than having adequate seating at the gates.

52 minutes ago, Pstcrik said:

Finally someone who understands that Princess Promo's are scams.  If you add up what the so called freebee's cost you will find out that you are paying considerably more than normal pricing.  I wouldn't wait 8 days before sailaway but certainly within 30 to 35  days works most of the time.

I have found that not to be true is some specific cases such as when I wanted a specific suite or a specific cruise tour date.  I saved hundreds of dollars by booking under the launch savings and then re-faring under both the Sip & Sail and 3 for Free promos.  Suites often sell out well before 30 days of sailing.  Land tour part of cruise tours fill up before the ship part.

Each person's specific situation as to cabin preference, sailing date, itinerary, need for air travel must be considered in determining the most economical time to book a cruise.

The only food we don't care for on the Royal Princess is the so-called taco meat they have at lunch in the buffet.  Being from Texas, we like good tacos.  

I think your kids will enjoy the cruise.  They could be home working at a burger joint to help pay for their college.

Spring break is a great time to cruise with kids.  That is why I never again will book a cruise during spring break.

The things about kids that upset the average Princess cruiser are:

Taking up seats in the bars.  Playing on the stairs or elevators.  Hogging the dance floor.  Running.  Trying to use the adult pool area.  Talking loudly. Littering.  And the worst sin they can do is that stupid dance called The Floss.  That is the biggest dork alert known to mankind.

We spent 28 days on the Caribbean Princess early this year.  We ate in Club Class dining on 26 evenings.  I wore a dress shirt with tie, dress slacks and dress shoes.  We were never denied entry.

58 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

Ok. I just called the princess credit card and they said that they just recently had a computer system update and that may have caused the issue with all the amazing missing transactions that are $1,000 and higher. She said give it 24-48 hours and hopefully it will readjust itself. If not they'll just get another call for me again.

Welcome to the "been lied to" club.  My list still shows a couple of transactions for between $1000 and $1999.

5 hours ago, voljeep said:

 

so, how do you "know" for sure which setup you will have ... before boarding ?

 

does it depend on what 'type' of cruisetour ? - on your own vrs connoisseur

On our 2014 connoisseur tour we were in a domed car that had the booths just like you find in a restaurant.

4 hours ago, chuckles60 said:

thoughts on booking excursions thought Princess or outside company/vendor

Someone on a cruise ship posted a video on Facebook that they took as the ship left the pier.  The video showed people running down the pier screaming at the ship to return as their private tour bus had broken down and made them late.  I believe the port was somewhere in China.

I will book my excursions with Princess.

I know that the new luxury beds are being installed on Princess ships.  Does anyone know if the Princess lodges will get them?