Funkat

Last minute decision to take a cruise this fall.

We are trying to decide on either the 15 night Norway & Atlantic Passage on the Royal Princess or the 14 night British Isles & Norway Passage on the Regal.

Itinerary on the Norway & Atlantic Passage 9/10/18

Rotterham, Netherlands

Hambuirg, Germany

Bergen, Norway

Belfast, Northern Ireland

St. Johns Newfoundland

New York

Itinerary on the Norway & British Isles 9/8/18

Aartus, Denmark

Kristiansand, Norway

Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland

Dublin, Ireland

Dobh (Cobb), Ireland

Halifax, Nova Scotia

New York

Would appreciate any input from those that have been to these areas. Thanks.

What was the onboard currency for that cruise?

The onboard currency was AUD but when we purchased the FCC, our credit card was charged $100 US for each FCC purchased.

This is a two ship day. Taxi's shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks.

I would like to thank everybody for this thread. I had faxed my CCL information last week and had not seen it in cruise personalizer so decided to fax it again yesterday morning. By noon it was entered. Now the big disappointment is that OBC for it along with military and FCC will be in AUD since the ship is sailing from Sydney. Just hope they allow me to buy FCC in AUD while I am aboard for 32 days :-)

Good luck with getting them to charge you in AUD for the FCC. We were on the 3/30/18 Sun from Sydney and our FCC purchased onboard was charged in US dollars.

Nervous Nellie, that's me! We generally book all of our excursions through the ship. One time in St. Thomas, our excursion was cancelled due to rough water and we took a taxi to Coki Beach. It was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was nervous about getting back to the ship on time! We have met some wonderful crew members (working for the excursion) along the way, who went out of their way to make sure we had a good time :)

lol. My DH is a Nervous Nellie but somehow he is OK with me booking our excursions privately since he knows that I do a lot of research before booking. Heaven help me if we ever miss the ship. lol

Gurnsey. Did not dock, bad weather

Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Kirkwall (Orkney islands), Inverness, Edinburgh and LaHarve. We contracted outside tours for Cork, Belfast, Glasgow, Orkney islands, Inverness. We did not spend a large amount of time in the cities, out into the country side , beautiful.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks. We usually do independent tours and prefer to see the countryside rather than stay in the cities. We are trying to decide where we want to cruise next. This itinerary (or similar) is toward the top of our interest. Good to hear from those that have done it.

You can still purchase the Princess xfer to the ship. You just have to return to the airport the day of the cruise to catch the bus.

Yeah, thanks. That doesn't sound like something that we would want to do at all.

I agree with some of the other posts. Your decision on whether to book a ship excursion or a private excursion depends on you and the circumstances.

If you're a "Nervous Nellie", book everything through the ship. You won't have to worry about getting back to the ship on time. But you will also deal with being part of a larger group for a less personalized tour at a much higher cost.

If you want a better tour for less money, check out the CC port threads for each port for recommendations. Research these and compare details & prices to what's offered by the ship. Also, check out Viator or search Goggle "cruise ship excursions" for the port.

We usually book independently (after much research) because we not only save $$$$ but also tend to get a much better tour compared to what the ship offers. But sometimes there are time restraints or available OBC that make booking a ship excursion the best alternative.

BTW, how was this itinerary? What ports did you visit? We are trying to decide on our next cruise. Figure it will be Europe, but not sure of which ports.

1. Flew all night from Atlanta GA to London Heathrow. Let me cut to the chase, the passport line was over 2 1/2 hours. My husband and I each had a backpack and a few items on our shoulders. Heathrow was very aware of the problem and did nothing about any sort of relief. The passport agent was very nice and chatty, informed us this backup was always a problem when overnite flights arrive at the airport. The solution to everyone in line was obvious, get more agents during busy times.

2. We retrieved our luggage and was directed to the area where cruise personnel waited. A wonderful Princess Cruise rep asked me if they could take our luggage. I wanted to kiss her. Not every cruise line represented at the airport made this offer.... THIS IS IMPORTANT. If you are taking a princess cruise and flying into an airport that requires transportation to the port sign up for the princess cruise transport. The next time we saw our luggage was in our state room. After a long flight, standing in line, the over and above Princess organization was a beautiful way to start our cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Wow! That's nice to know. Will try to remember that if we ever fly into Heathrow.

As for the Princess transfers, we have used them from the port to the airport but are unable to use them from the airport as we always fly in at least a few days before we board the ship. However, if we ever decide to fly in the day of, we will definitely use the transfer. Thanks for the info.

Can I submit the request through email instead of fax or mail in? If so, anyone knows the email address?

 

Thank you.

I've used "Faxzero" to submit mine in the past. It's free and you send the form from your computer (like an email) but it's sent to the fax number. Was easy and I received a receipt back when the send was delivered. My onboard credit was applied within a few hours.

You will likely find it easier to pickup a random taxi that trying to find a pre-booked one.

 

The terminal in Vancouver is downtown. If there is a long line up for taxi just go upstairs there should be more taxi near the entry to the lobby for the Pan Pacific hotel or across the street at one of the Fair mount hotels.

^Agree. If the cab queue isn't long, sure, just jump in one down on cruise level. Otherwise head up the ramp or elevators and check the front entrance areas of the PP, Fairmont Waterfront (directly across the street) or Pacific Rim (2 blocks down, same side as Waterfront) in that order.

 

Of course, if your hotel is walkable for your definition of the term (nice flat wide sidewalks are everywhere downtown, very few slopes deserving of the name) it would probably be quicker simply to walk to your hotel! Google Maps does have accurate info on locations and walking routes of all the hotels...

Thank you both for the great information.

Party of 4 disembarking the Coral Princess at Canada Place on Wed., June 20. Should there be plenty of available taxi's for transfer to hotel? Or should arrangements be made in advance?

Any suggestions? Thanks

Thanks, Jim. I'll answer my own question!

 

The 375-ml bottles were NOT on the Regal room service menu in March. I did preorder because I didn't want to take any chances, and had no problem getting what I ordered for the room. I did ask and got no answer on why the 375-ml bottles were no longer on the room service menu (at least on the Regal). Wine was still on the room service menu. I'm not sure about beer. Spirits definitely were not :(

I wonder whether that is Regal specific? I have been told by Princess that I can purchase the 375s through room service on our upcoming Sapphire cruise.

We were on the Sun last month and I was able to order a couple of 375ml bottles of Crown from room service after boarding. Each time the charge was $25AU plus a $2 room service gratuity that was automatically added even though I tipped the delivery person. The spirits were not on the room service menu, but all I had to do was call to order. They delivered promptly with a bucket of ice.

 

They used to long ago, maybe it was15 years ago? All you had to do was print your boarding pass with the green "preferred" top and carry it so the port staff could see it. When spotted, they escorted us to the front of the line where the preferred line split off without question or delay.

 

It was really nice to get out of the cab, drop off our bags, walk into the building and onto the ship usually in 15 minutes or less. No longer the case. It's still pretty quick depending on the length of the line but the preferred waiting lounge is a joke. Sure coffee / water and some pastries on a table but the room was hot and stuffy last time. It was also filled with cranky elites who didn't want to be inconvenienced in any way.

 

There was a funny moment though - when they started to board the person started with the side that had come in last. You should have seen the canes in the air and grumblings of "...we were here first!..." As though a couple more minutes was really going to matter while the other pax walked out and onto the ship.

 

 

It is different in Australia , first stop after dropping off luggage is to go to priority deck get cruise card, general very quick, then to security, where you are in a different area where you wait for a few minutes before being lead in the front of the line to go through security, then on board, best time is 15 minutes from getting out of the car to standing in our suite.

 

It is the only way to travel, only 191 days till our time in a suite

 

Cheers Don

 

In Sydney last month, we not only had the priority check in & security check but also had an escort waiting to show us to our suite. First Class!!

We will be arriving 5 days before our cruise. Would we be crazy to send laundry out embarkment day?

We did exactly that. We filled that laundry bag and left it for our steward that first evening.

Just a FYI, don't be alarmed by a huge laundry charge added to your onboard account. Seems they add the charge to your account, then credit it back to you the next day. Even though, I hand washed our intimates, we had a $80+ charge for that first batch of laundry (from the 5 days we spent in Sydney before the cruise). I added the total charges for our 13 day cruise and they would have amounted to over $400 for the 2 of us.

Thank you everybody for the suggestions. We will have umbrellas and raincoats and expect to have a wonderful visit!

lol We never leave home without our rain ponchos.

Yes, we also have been bombarded with emails for Caribbean cruise deals from a few lines. Actually got the same email from Princess twice today for Caribbean deals. Seems like we get at least one daily from Princess, Carnival, and Celebrity, plus numerous others on a less frequent basis. It also seems that we have gotten on the email lists for online agencies that send almost daily emails.

Thanks so much for posting the wonderful pictures.

We leave for Sydney in a week and will have 4 full days to explore before we hop on the Sun Princess for New Zealand. Seeing your pics just adds to the excitement!! My only regret is that I didn't research further before planning our flights. I wish we had more time in the lovely Sydney area.

Yes, it was!

Thank you once more to everyone. I really appreciate everyone's comments and I promise that when I return home I will let you know what ultimately happened - just in case you're curious! I know that I sometimes follow threads regarding situations and am forever left wondering how it was resolved!!

 

Camelia

Yes, please come back and let us know what happened.

We had a fantastic cruise last year. I have cards for Opal - Sydney's public transportation, which may have about 35 Aus$ left on it, and Myki card (Melbourne), which has some value but I don't remember how much. A friend told me it took over 6 months to get reimbursed, which was a hassle.

 

If anyone wants these cards email me at goingplaces@juno.com. I will respond to the first person who responds with my snail mail address. You can send me a self addressed stamped envelope, and I will send you my cards that still have some value.

 

If you don't hear from me it means someone else emailed me first.

I just sent you an email. Thanks.

Hi no we are on Sea Princess 24th March - and hooray we have just been allocated a cabin!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Great news! I hope it's a great cabin!

Hi. We sailed on the Sun in October for 28 days. We had a wonderful cruise. The staff were very nice, the ship was clean and the food was fine. It wasn’t the best food we’ve had but I still managed to gain weight, so I must have eaten enough.

Our cruise around Australia was the best holiday we’ve ever been on! We met really nice people and had an amazing time! Enjoy your holiday!

Thanks for the encouraging words. We are so looking forward to this trip.

Well, first off we weren't full suite, we were mini-suite as I noted in my OP. Never could figure out why we got half a case of water to begin with, complimentary. Maybe had something to do with the cruise package we purchased. Not sure.

 

 

However, I offered to buy a full case pre-order, which they didn’t provide. If they wanted to give me another half case for free that was fine. Perhaps, I wasn’t clear in my post here, later on I ordered a full case which I wanted to pay for, I did not ask for an additional complimentary half case then, as you suggest I might have, or did I ask for a free one to begin the voyage either. I made it very clear I was willing to pay all along. But not $2.00 per bottle. Wow, Regent is looking better again, for our next adventure on the high seas.

 

I was not suggesting that you were asking for additional complimentary water. I merely stated that they should have still filled your order to purchase the case even though you received some complimentary.