ozmonkeyboy

Just a question that I haven't seen answered anywhere since the Diamond Princess has come out of its dry dock.

It appears that Princess has substantially reduced the size of the kids club areas with the building of the Japanese Bath House. Previously on the Diamond, my kids have loved the kids club areas and activities.

Can anyone advise how these areas look now, and any comments as to their thoughts on how the kids club is now?

Thanks.

The above is incorrect. :o

 

I got my Octobers mixed. The Dawn Princess cruise 23 October 15, a 2 night cruise from Sydney - Melbourne has been cancelled and replaced with a 6 night cruise to Tasmania, Sydney - Sydney.

 

Princess has offered me a alternate cruise on the Golden Princess. A 2 night Sydney to Melbourne departing 28 October 15 with the sweetener (?) of $30 OBC a cabin. No increase in the original price. From my understanding, bookings open 20 May 14 for the 2015-16 cruises.;)

Thanks for the clarification.

I have been watching this cruise and it is still available for purchase now.

Yes plenty of cabins still showing as available......

Guess we'll know more tomorrow.

I received a call from Princess today advising that for "Operational Reasons", the 4-7 October cruise by Dawn to Tasmania is cancelled. I wonder if any other Dawn cruises are being cancelled. I was offered a move to a Diamond Princess cruise later in the month with $30 OBC. They stated that this was a "heads up" call and I would receive an email tomorrow with all the details.

That's disappointing. I am also currently booked on this cruise, have not heard anything as yet.

If its a charter, then yes, unfortunately it can happen.....:(

I received a welcome home email yesterday from Princess after purchasing 2 FCC's whilst on-board my last cruise two weeks ago.

The email did however state the following;

 

"Free onboard spending money is in the form of an onboard credit. Offer applies only to guests who did not make a Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) while on board the ship, do not have an existing future booking, and varies according to category booked and sailing duration as noted in the chart above"

 

 

Guess the email was sent incorrectly to me....

Sorry should have also clarified that I have several future cruise bookings with Princess, hence my confusion with Princess sending this email to me.

None the less, better to purchase on-board during a cruise.

They only send the Welcome Home email to those who haven't purchased FCC's while on board. So you'll have to wait till your next cruise to get more.

I received a welcome home email yesterday from Princess after purchasing 2 FCC's whilst on-board my last cruise two weeks ago.

The email did however state the following;

"Free onboard spending money is in the form of an onboard credit. Offer applies only to guests who did not make a Future Cruise Deposit (FCD) while on board the ship, do not have an existing future booking, and varies according to category booked and sailing duration as noted in the chart above"

Guess the email was sent incorrectly to me....

Princess had to counter its competitor's movements in the Australian market by offering a newer and larger ship. The smaller sun class ships are getting tired and with RCL and X bringing larger and newer ships into the Australian market, Princess's loyalty is being tested.

The Australian cruise market is still going as strong as ever, so such a move by Princess is a no-brainer. Speaking with princess members on recent Australian cruises, the overwhelming thoughts were that the market needed a newer ship to keep pace with its increased competition.

It will now be interesting to see if some of the North American perks currently aboard the ship also find their way to the southern hemisphere whilst cruising our waters, given that they are changing the currency on-board to $AUD.

I disembarked off the Dawn Princess today in Sydney and can advise that the ship was using complete sanitation procedures from Melbourne to Sydney.

Melbourne embarkment (2 days ago) was delayed for four hours until 4pm after a sanitation scrub down, Horizon court food was served totally by Princess staff and other staff were constantly around the ship wiping down public handrails/areas.

There were multiple sicknesses onboard, but I was told that these were moreso from sea sickness than virus-related. The ride from Melbourne to Sydney was quite a rough ride, as the seas showed some of their might.

Not a great start for the round Australia trip from Melbourne, hopefully the weather can begin to behave and also staff/passengers can contain any further outbreaks.

On last cruise, these were approx.;

Soda package = $5/day

Ultimate Kids Package = $8/day

http://www.princess.com/learn/onboard/gifts_services/cellars_culinarydelights/princess_cellars/index.jsp (towards bottom of page, although these are US prices, the Australian ones are very similar)

Thank you for the prompt replies. Don't exactly like the prices but the NZ 14 day itinerary RT Sydney is just what we have been looking for. Unfortunately it is over the Xmas holidays so I don't expect to see any break in those prices. But I guess we can place our deposits and hope for a 'miracle'. :D We are also thinking about the 28 day Australian cruise in Nov. (Most likely our only trip to that part of the world and want to see as much as we can.)

We travelled on the Diamond Princess Aust/NZ Xmas cruise last year and it was very close to being sold out at final payment due date, and then sold out not longer thereafter. The chances of a price drop are very slim due to the popularity of this particular cruise - being both a Xmas and NY cruise.

In my opinion, the 2014 itinerary is even better than last years Xmas cruise (being round trip from Sydney), but the price is definitely steeper as well.

If you are happy to travel later in January on the normal Aust/NZ 12 day one way itineraries, the prices will be much more reasonable. As always, just depends on what itinerary appeals most and the time you wish to take the cruise.:)