paddingtonbear

Thank you very much for that rundown.  It was very helpful.

Hi, I haven’t been on Cruise Critic for ages but we have done two cruises - on the Star Princess (4300 passengers) and the Royal Princess (3080 passengers).  They are both big ships but we weren’t bothered by the passenger numbers but neither cruise had very many children.

We are looking at a New England cruise either on Emerald Princess (3080 passengers) or the Majestic Princess (3560 passengers) or HAL - Zuiderdam (1964 passengers) and the Volendam (1432 passengers).  Are any of these ships streets ahead of the others? We are in our 60s. 

Other than the ship size the main differences are the ports.  We really like nature and quiet places so we’d be looking for walks and things like that rather than cities.  To help us decide on one cruise over the other can you please tell me if any of these are must see ports or if are any not so memorable: Saguenay, Portland, Rockland, Bar Harbour or St Johns.

Thank you very much for your help.  I know I over think things but we will only be doing this once and we are trying to make the most of the trip.

We did a 10 day British Isles cruise on the Royal and were impressed. The buffet was well organised and excellent. Great food selection no matter what time you went. We ended up having breakfast, lunch and a few dinners there.

I was so worried the ship would be too big but it was big enough to hide the people it seemed! Lots of places to go and sit quietly. Lots of entertainment choices and lots of food choices.

Only one problem with crowds and that was at a tender port that made disembarking and embarking slow but we got to meet some nice people in the line so it worked out well.

Glacier Bay.

Also, if you can, go to Juneau for whale watching with Marv and Harv.

Absolutely sensational 8 people on the boat and we got close to so many whales, seals and eagles it was incredible.

In my experience the ships internet is slow. Really really slow. The premium package allows streaming so it is probably going to be quicker. Thinking about how much you are going to need to use it will determine your choice.

The Surf package would probably be fine but I’d probably go for the premium because although I don’t stream I don’t like sitting there waiting for pages to load and email to download.

While you can accomplish this if ALL your ID is stolen' date=' the more you can provide, the easier and better it will be. A photocopy of your passport, either on paper or stored in your phone will facilitate things. Sounds dumb, but get a digital copy, e-mail it to yourself, and store it under a file like "Stuff to save" or "2018 trip." It will be there if you ever need to pull it up.[/quote']

 

We always take a photo of documents with our phone but emailing it is a great idea just in case you lose your phone as you would still have access to it.

 

Thank you.

Looking forward to your reports.

Have a fantastic trip.

Princess and MSC are 2 very different types of cruises. I have sailed twice on both. In my opinion the only things MSC do better are that their rooms are larger and they have a very reasonable all inclusive drinks package. Princess is only in English and very American, with a lot of Americans on board. On MSC everything is announced in 5 languages (though English is the first) and it is very European, with people from all over the world. English speakers are the minority. Service is good on both lines.

 

By the way, I enjoy every cruise I go on.:D:D:D

Thank you for your thoughts.

I’ve been in a few overnight European ferries so think I know what you mean.

I’ve enjoyed every cruise I’ve been on too!

We have sailed with Princess twice and really enjoyed the Star and the Royal.

We are looking at doing a Venice to Greece cruise and were wondering if anyone had done an MSC cruise and could compare them to Princess for me?

We are doing a chilkoot tour in July- friends are doing the dog sled we are on the same tour but not doing the dog sled but still get to see the puppies. You get a better lunch (included) on this tour. We get to see the south end of Bennett lake I think!

The lake Bennett one sounds great but not worth the extra $$ if the weather is poor. You eat your lunch (included) on your lap in the train in this one.

Most say train up (leaves early) and leisurely bus back for better wildlife viewing time.

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The Royal and regal are large and crowded. The buffet is to big to look at everything first and then go back and get what you want and then find a seat. I prefer a small ship. There are as many opinions as there people. I would not sail on the Regal (same as the Royal) again, didn't care for it. YMMV.

I was amazed at how uncrowded and open the ship was when we had a full ship. I don't like crowds and would happily sail the Royal again. We were on the British isles cruise. The buffet is fantastically laid out and well worth walking around it entirely to see all the selections.

The staff were great.

The navigation is a little difficult. The problem is that only the forward stairs seem to go all the way top to bottom. Other stairs stop on different levels. Even the forward stairs require walking through club 6 (which was often reserved) or the casino. No other way to access the forward stairs on that level.

I really wanted to use the stairs and often did if the lifts were crowded but sometimes, as I got used to the layout of the ship I realised the lift was the way to go because it took you all the way top to bottom and you land centrally.

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I see what you mean. I guess it's just a shock, having paid for the cruise and then being hit with another $1,000+ just for drinks! Thanks for those prices, it's good information to have.

 

However taking into account that this cruise has so many days in port, I still don't think it will be worth it. We'll be on excursions every day we're in port, so we're only going to be drinking on board in the evenings and on the 3 "at sea" days. I'm hoping I'll have time to buy bottled water at the ports so I don't have to pay the high prices for it on board (and maybe the odd bottle of Prosecco as an aperitif on the balcony before dinner...). I'm thinking of taking some Tang or one of those little bottles of concentrated cordial to flavour the ship water.

 

On my only previous cruise (on RC), the fruit juice with breakfast was free and I used to have several glasses to "stock up" for the day. Do you know if it's free on Princess?

 

It's such a shame Princess don't have a wine package. RC had one on our last cruise and it was perfect - the ability to drink half or three-quarters of a bottle then keep the rest for the following night was ideal. We're mainly wine drinkers so we didn't drink much else - RC always had one cocktail on special every day and we had that, plus maybe one or two G&T's or bourbon & cokes in the evening.

 

Apart from that, we're Australians and our taste in coffee is very different from Americans, so I doubt we'll be buying any specialty coffees.

Princess have several wine packages. The coffee card gets you good espresso coffee at the international cafe. I suggest if you don't like instant or syrup coffee you but the coffee card. DH thought it was gods and he's very fussy.

There is also a beverage card about $8 a day which gives you yummy unlimited mocktails (and milkshakes- on some ships).

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Great itinerary. We will be getting off the day you board, so we will just miss you.

 

We were on the Royal Princess in February and March. We had a wonderful time. Getting around the ship requires patience. It takes awhile to learn the layout.

Yes it does! Lovely ship though and I think it's going into dry dock for central stairs before the OP sails.

Have a fantastic trip. They are great ports. I hope the unrest in Turkey is over by the time you depart.

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I saw some pictures. It looks wonderful. One thing I love on the Pacific Princess is the aft dining deck, so I will be all over this thing on the Regal. Really, I may be spending the entire three-week cruise in the buffet at this rate. ;)

 

 

 

Another thing I wondered, is there that self-serve beverage station (coffee, tea, etc.) as on the other ships?

On the Royal:

There is self serve orange juice etc. the coffee is made and served behind the counter. Also waiters will bring you drinks including alcohol or coffee (they asked us not the other way around!)

There is a bar right out the door for drinks before you go in for quicker service.

We ended up doing a tour of both areas every time we were there because they had different things every meal everyday. It is a great place to be especially by a window on a cold day. Food with a beautiful view.

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The soda and more package is great though. The mocktails were wonderful.

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If it's a big table it's a good idea to specify if you want whatever you order (your choice entirely) as a starter or a main. They generally bring the starters, wait for everyone to finish, bring the mains, wait for everyone to finish etc.

We had a couple on our table who had two of each and we all had to watch as the consumed them all.

Made a long drawn out dinner. We ended up asking for a table with no more than six.

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I would definitely have the pregnant one talk with her OB-GYN about putting even just feet into the jacuzzi. That might raise her temperature. I would doubt if a pediatrician would be okay with a child that young doing the same.

I agree with this too. The baby and pregnant mother could be at risk.

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They don't have them on the Royal.

Trying to locate friends we had to ask passenger service (they wouldn't give us their cabin number) to leave them a message to get back to us.

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The Captain Hook is the name often used to refer to the hotel

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"Catastrophic" was just a wee bit over-dramatic. If the ship had tried to make the port in bad weather and it or a tender capsized and sank, that would have been catastrophic. Missing the port, not so much.

 

 

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We did the British Isles on Royal Princess last year. There were three tender ports and it was made very clear on the boards that they are often missed, especially Guernsey.

I looked into Busy Bus and almost booked until I read their refund policy.

All of the other independent tour operators we looked at in all three ports had the policy that if the ship didn't dock there was no charge.

I agree that the letter and subsequent newspaper story reflects very badly on the bus company.

The captain has ultimate say in the safety of the ship. He predicts the

weather and tide for the day. I think there would have been a lot of unhappy passengers if they had made a loud announcement at 4am.

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Been there , done that, just declare and they will tell if it needs to be thrown away. That's why I stated to always tell them when asked.

The problem with this is they can't "ask" every passenger. They hope everyone will do the right thing. They catch and prosecute when they can.

The amount of damage I one piece of tainted fruit or food can do to a nations agricultural industry is unbelievable.

It's a great pity people don't respect country laws that are there for a very good reason.

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Oddly enough, on the one cruise where I wasn't drinking any alcohol and purchased the Unlimited Soda & More package (previously the Ultimate Kid's Package) I completely forgot I could get milkshakes. D'Oh! What a freaking idiot!!

 

While I really enjoyed the virgin Bloody Mary, the Nojito, etc. I really wish I had remembered that I could have gotten a shake.

 

Sooooo... To the OP: If you purchase the Unlimited Soda & More Package (or the All Inclusive Beverage Package) please, please, please have a milkshake for me! :D

I was so looking forward to the milkshakes as part of that package but the Royal and Regal don't have milkshakes. So sad. The mock tails were good though.

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We use one checked luggage and two carry-on's for all Cruises. We carry 6 days of clothing plus what we are wearing. Tux and shoes are rented aboard for Formal night. We stay in PH Suites so laundry is free and we are spoiled. Most ships have some laundry rooms and Change operated machines. Yes, you can bring your own laundry dry soap, no liquids. There is really no need to bring 10 changes of clothes for a 7 day cruise.

 

YMMV

We took laundry liquid in little sealed pouches - as they are sold. No problem.

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Midship stairs for passenger use are being added to The Royal in her dry dock later in the year:)

Very very sensible. I am not fussy but I do see what people mean about the lack of central stairs!!

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The horizon court and horizon buffet (right next to one another but with different decor) have different food. Take the time to tour both to get the best selection. We had breakfast and lunch there everyday and the selection is huge and varied.

We had anytime dining at got to the dining room at 6:45 or so every night and had no trouble getting a table. We were flexible - anything from a table for two to eight. We found a bigger table took too long as some people has 2 starters and 2 mains and 2 desserts and the whole table had to wait for them.

Coincidentally we usually ended up I. The same dining section and the head waiter there was great.

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