datone

Thank you for this. As someone who is waiting to take their first Silversea cruise later this year, it was good to see the range of activities available on board.

So we have booked our first Silversea cruise and I am so excited. We usually cruise Princess and love to dress up - well me anyway but my husband is happy to go along with the dress code. For formal nights he usually wears black suit trousers, shirt and tie, and a plain light coloured suit jacket. From reading this thread have I got it right that you really need to wear both dark trousers and a dark jacket for formal night?

Why - what are they going to give you that a vaccinated person can't?

People have always gotten ill on cruise ships from many different things. If someone is airlifted off a ship or even ends up dying doesn't mean it is from Covid. So many old and unhealthy people on cruise ships all the time. Maybe these are the ones who should take boosters etc. But is it really fair to make healthy people with no underlying conditions take jabs all the time when they are not at real risk of being seriously ill or dying from Covid - even if they are unvaccinated.

We had an inside sideways on Sapphire Princess and loved it. Was under the pool deck but we never had any issues with noise. It is the only type of inside where we will have a Queen bed rather than twin beds.

If I try to book the same Hawaiian Islands cruise here in Australia we have a choice of 2 prices and the guarantee is cheaper. However, I looked at the cancellation policy for both types of fares and they are exactly the same. We are able to get our deposit back for either one as long as we cancel before 29 May.

No - you are not alone. Not going to buy any packages either. Don't drink a lot of alcohol, only drink the odd diet soda which they don't have on board so just not worth it for me.

The snark is real. On our last Princess cruise we boarded on the 26th January. The next day we came back to our cabin just before lunchtime to find a letter stating that we should visit the Guest Services Desk as there was an issue with our credit card. So off we go to Guest Services to find out that our credit card wasn't valid as the expiry date was Feb 2023 and they wanted another credit card which we didn't have. After trying to patiently explain that it was good to the end of February 2023 we asked to speak to a supervisor. He was the most rudest person I have ever come across on Princess. Actually told me that he had already spoken to us about this the night before. I don't know how this was possible when that would have been the 26th and the letter was dated and received on the 27th. I said no you haven't and he was most insistent I had already spoken to him as he remembered my name? I actually ended up saying to him "are you calling me a liar" and he virtually implied I was lying as he was adamant I had spoken with him the night before. I certainly would have remembered doing so. No need for the rudeness and smirking. In fact - put a damper on the whole cruise. He then told me if I didn't have another credit card we couldn't put anything on our onboard account as the card wasn't valid. He then came up with the solution that I should put my card in the money machine they had on board, withdraw some cash and put that on my account. So he's asking me to use my card in their machine, which he says is not valid, and get cash out! Didn't make sense at all. Gave up trying to solve the issue, got some cash out at the first port, and put some on my card. It was their loss - our onboard bill was only $54. Had wine and soda so just drank that in public places including taking my own wine to the dining room. I know you are not supposed to do that and the first time I have, but I was just so fed up with the whole thing. If Princess treat me like crap I'm not going to stick to the rules.

If I take another Princess cruise, and it's a big if at the moment, I will bring wine, diet soda and coffee sachets onboard. Not going to give them the satisfaction of buying a coffee package. And as for my complimentary mini bar, I'll bring the alcohol home. Don't know what I'll do with them, but not leaving them for Princess. Might sound petty but think Princess are being petty over this and don't realise how they are alienating their loyal customers.

As a person who cannot get to sleep during the day, I envy those who can. Even if I am really tired I end up just lying there without getting to sleep. Annoys me that I can't.

I've already made the decision not to cruise Princess next time. I never ever thought I would say this but the loss of Elite perks has really annoyed me. The free internet is gone for a start. I know you get a 50% discount but buying it for the whole cruise works out quite expensive. The very least they could have done is allow you to buy a package of so many minutes to use for the whole cruise so that way you can just spend 10 minutes a day or so checking emails. I don't go on a cruise to spend the day on the web. Last cruise there was no priority boarding, and their so-called priority tendering was calling only 20 numbers at a time. The nightly chocolates are gone, the tote bags are gone, the elite toiletries are no more and the OBC for 20+ cruises is gone too. Just small things but at least you felt they appreciated your loyalty. I don't really care about the free laundry which is one of the few remaining perks left. And now that you cannot exchange your mini bar for coffee cards is very disappointing and the final straw, as I don't drink alcohol or soda. The entertainment on our last cruise was poor, and I am at the stage of feeling it's all too familiar and craving for something different. So it's off to Royal I go next month to see what they are like. Whilst Princess had been my first choice, I am now going to consider other lines because the advantages to stay with Princess are slowly disappearing.

So If I'm reading this right you can't swap your minibar for the coffee cards any more. I know Princess have to recoup all the money they lost during the shut down but taking away elite perks is starting to annoy me. Went on a Princess cruise last month and there was no priority boarding and certainly no priority tendering - they only called 20 elite numbers when a tender was available. The free internet is gone and not worth me paying for it by the day when I only want to check emails etc. for 10 - 15 minutes a day. At least they should let you buy a package of say 60 or 100 minutes that can be used anytime on the cruise. No tote bag, no elite toiletries and other cuts such as nightly chocolate are gone. Don't drink alcohol or soda so am not pleased if the swap for coffee card is no longer available. Coupled with the worst entertainment we have ever had on our recent Princess cruise, for the first time ever, I'm not in a rush to go back to them. I never ever thought I would say that and have always talked Princess up. I'm actually going on Royal next month as don't have a compelling reason to stay loyal to Princess any more.

I have seen you tube videos of balcony cabin layouts for Quantum showing some with the couch near the balcony and some with the bed. Is there any way of finding out which layout a particular cabin is? I am in 9300 just in case anyone has stayed in this cabin and can let me know. Thanks.

I understand that if you test positive for Covid within a few days prior to your cruise, you can get a FCC to the value of what you paid. What I am wondering is what proof you need to show them as they require a verified positive test result in a form approved by them. Obviously if you test positive at home it will be a RAT test. Is this sufficient or do you need to go and get a verified PCR test somewhere as if you have Covid you really don't want to be going anywhere knowing you could pass it on. Has anyone been in this situation and can let me know what RCL actually require as proof. Thank you.

Just got off Coral Princess cruise to PNG yesterday. Masks were still required to be worn indoors, i.e. bars, theatres, etc. Still signs at these venues saying they were sip and cover but to be honest saw relatively few people doing this. Once they sat down and got a drink mask tended to stay off. Only saw 1 table outside a door in our section (Plaza port side) though did hear about others from the various people we sat with at dinner. Everyone was required to take a RAT test on Day 3. I cruised with a vaccination exemption and had read on the Princess website that I could be subject to additional protocols, but this did not happen. To be honest, and some people won't like me saying this, but I think the vaccination requirement needs to be dropped next season - if you are not boosted, and many are not, it could be close to 2 years since you were jabbed so rather pointless to still insist on it.

Wouldn't of thought passengers would have been happy with this ban. Good that they changed their mind otherwise might have had a revolt on their hands. You probably wouldn't pay to go on an Australia Day cruise unless you wanted to celebrate the day. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/po-cruise-boss-overturns-ban-on-australian-flag-on-short-cruises/news-story/34e0b1bc5252cabafa0bb5367cdccdf6?fbclid=IwAR20bVNipUKnJmFAubz6w_G-E5Q98-qJUQ82FzXTKA6qbv81WKnJPaCUf3E

yes i read that, do they enforce it though? You will have to show proof of vaccination at boarding. The only way to cruise at the moment is to have an exemption as they allow 5% of passengers to be unvaccinated.

Definitely use a credit card to pay for our cruises. Always pay it off in full each month so never any interest charges. Big advantage for us is free comprehensive international travel insurance for the both of us up to age 80 covering unlimited medical, cancellation, lost luggage, rental car excess etc.

Can anyone advise if you have to purchase internet for the whole cruise and pay a daily rate, or is it possible to just purchase a set amount of minutes to be used during the voyage? I only want to use it for 10 minutes every second day or so to check emails and probably only need about an hour's worth for the whole voyage.

We have a joint share account and are looking at buying some Carnival Shares. The shares would therefore be in both names. Do you both have to cruise to get the shareholder OBC or will you still get it if only one of you cruises. Thanks.

Well it was a big flop here in Australia. https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/channel-10-reality-show-the-real-love-boat-suffers-low-ratings-in-premiere-week/news-story/2485c0718d7611b7899c7d18195c2d20

As we cruise Princess a lot I am aware of the shareholder OBC but when the shares were around US $30 - $40 it just wasn't worthwhile. Now that they are trading under US $7 it will cost less than A $1100 to buy the minimum 100 shares to get the OBC. As you can receive this on Princess, Carnival, Holland America, Cunard, Seaborn, Costa and P and O Cruises (both UK and Aus), it almost seems a no-brainer if you cruise regularly as the shares could virtually pay for themselves within a couple of years and it's all a plus after that. For instance a 14 night cruise is $250 OBC (AUD if cruising in Australia and USD if cruising overseas). Obviously there is the concern that the shares have dropped this low and will they go any lower? But then part of me thinks that with cruising gradually returning to pre-Covid conditions, and profitability hopefully increasing, the price should start to go back up. To buy or not to buy.

Watched it for about 15 minutes. What a load of absolute drivel. Surprised Princess wants to be associated with a mindless dating show.

Just wondering if some experienced Alaska cruisers could help me out with some information on Alaska cruises. My husband and I will be coming from Australia and want to do an Alaskan cruise. I have seen an itinerary we like which is a Vancouver round trip for 11 nights on Sapphire Princess on 29 April 2023. There are 5 ports and 2 days of scenic cruising with what seems to be ample time in each port. This is the only date for this itinerary so cannot do it later in the season. Is this too early for an Alaskan cruise? We like the size of the Sapphire and have been on this ship before and prefer it to Majestic Princess. The other option we are considering is a 10-night round trip from San Francisco on Ruby Princess on 6 June 2023 which has 4 ports and 1 day of scenic cruising. The benefit of this is that we could break up the long trip and have a few days in SF previously which we have never been to. Part of me thinks if we are coming all the way from Australia we should see as much as possible so maybe the SF cruise is not the best option. I have also looked at the 7 night one way trips between Vancouver and Anchorage (Whittier). Is Anchorage a must and do we miss anything by not going there? We also want to go to Las Vegas for a few days after the cruise (again to break up the long flight home) so thought it might be easier to get from Vancouver to LV rather than Anchorage to LV or have I got this wrong? And then there is the cruise tours. We were considering them too but have read that there are issues getting all the way into Denali which may not be fixed before next season so are they still worth doing? I know I have asked a lot of questions but it is really confusing deciding what to do so any help or advice is much appreciated.