Gold_Coaster

Have found very little difference in movement on the large vessels, fore ,aft or midships ,Love them all. Enjoy whatever choice you make.

Letting them know is probably a very good way of ensuring a very thorough inspection, if not putting at risk her chances of actually being allowed to board. Why does she think she's special, or immune from the rules?When this is done by computer from the other side of the Atlantic, how do you think they pick out the "obvious people", whoever they may be?

 

Indeed, who are the "obvious people" anyway?

Each of these times that she has been picked at random,(never me) not at the counters, but just walking out of lifts or off escalators (top of escalator in Rome) , Your comment who are the obvious people to check, well just in recent months over 300 young men in Australia have been stopped & refused passage out of our Airports while trying to join Isis.I presume most Airports have the same problems. I find it a waste of specialized staffs time to pick out at random & pat down a 70 year old woman who is on her way to or from a cruise Ship.

Yes, Very annoying , my wife "continually" gets special checking and pulled aside and never once in my lifetime have I (Male) been checked. The last time she'd had enough and let them know,of course that didnt deter them from a full inspection in a special room. It is quite clear they have to get numbers,and also its quite obvious they are too scared to pick out the "obvious people" who Should be really checked...We are off to Barcelona in 10 days so we'll see what happens. (Her last inspection was at Rome)

Princess has announced "today" that they are cancelling their Emerald Princess call into Tunis on June 11th and replacing with Valletta ,Malta. They had already cancelled there earlier calls,but were considering their options on June 11th till now. Even though it is a disappointment to miss Tunis, Malta should be a popular choice as a replacement.

Have just been advised by Princess that they are cancelling the June 1st. stop at Tunis on Emerald Princess, but at the moment are still planning to "keep" the call into Tunis for the Emerald on June 11th. They will advise if that changes and will monitor the situation.

Yes I would like to see them overnight in Malta if Tunis is to be removed.

 

I first started school there many, many years ago when my father was stationed in Malta with the British Navy. It will be interesting to see the changes which I have been told are many.

It's a very Historical Place and so beautiful, if Princess do miss Tunis,it would be very exciting for you because of your early years there. Hope they do.

Princess cruises first call into Tunis this year is on June 1st, We are booked on this cruise on the Emerald Princess. To date we have not been told of any cancellation but we are sadly expecting it to be when Princess considers the risks.

 

Oddly the tours for Tunis were only posted two days ago, so we think this was a port that was likely to be cancelled even before this sad tragedy.

We are on the "Emerald" departing Barcelona on June 6,and Tunis is on the Itinery for June 11. Have not heard of any change yet, But A good suitable change could be to Malta,which would not be too far out of the way. Even though we have been there before ,what a wonderful replacement it would be, if they do change?

Just wondering, are there any regular cruisers here who are able to compare Dawn Princess and Rhapsody of the seas.

I have a sister in law who has been on Rhapsody a few years back and we are all off on Dawn Princess in a couple of months. I have been on Sun Princess but never a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

A friend told my sister in law that The Rhapsody beats the Princess line hands down for quality of the ship, food and entertainment.

 

Is that how most other people have found it?

Hi, My daughter is on the "Rhapsody" at present on a 10 dayer from Sydney,It is her first time on a Royal Ship,but has been on a number of others, Her most recent cruise was on the Sea Princess. She sent us a text today, that read: "Royal the same standards but prefer the Sea princess layout."

That is just one opinion from a regular cruiser,so hope it helps. Have a great cruise ,whatever ship you chose.

Hi David , Please add: * Feb. 2016. Star Princess- Beunos Aires to LA. 31 days. Thankyou. Gold_Coaster

Can you even begin to imagine the physical and/or emotional pain that it takes before a person decides to end their own life?

 

However, perhaps we need to wait till we know what has actually happened before se start speculating.

It seems to be an opinion here that he jumped, well I must point out another possible scenairo, my husband who is well over 6 feet once tripped over one of the spread out chairs on our balcony and felt as if he was almost going over and luckily grabbed the railing to stop himself.We had never thought of that happening before that incident,but can now see that can happen to a very tall person. We now make certain that any chairs etc. are not in that position.

Hi all,

I'm about to write a Dear Princess letter suggesting an itinerary that embarks Ft Lauderdale and disembarks in San Francisco. I need more points to include in my argument.

 

My own main reason is that I don't enjoy air travel lately - too crowded. But if I were to end a Panama Canal cruise at home (SF Bay Area), the decompress time would compensate. A 30 minute drive is so much better than a flight from cross country or from elsewhere after a relaxing cruise.

 

Ive come up with the following

 

- It's a great appeal to the SF and the Northern Calif market (covers my reasoning).

- Good to other surrounding markets to end in SF. Good end point to visit area after.

- Great appeal to the Fort Lauderdale market to see beautiful SF and surrounding, ie Napa, Tahoe, etc....

- I've seen Celebrity, SilverSea and Cunard offer this and the ships appear to be full and/or completely booked.

- New SF terminal.

 

I need some more points and support. What are your thoughts? Let me know. Thanks! -Peter

In May /June this year we were on the Island Princess from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver and the Island stopped in San Francisco for the day,and what a beautiful place, Am not certain if it was a designated section as we booked right thru. but she did stop there ,Princess may have allowed some to have that as a section. Cant wait to call in there again .

we just booked our first balcony room my question is how windy does it get a friend told us we would not be able to use balcony while ship is underway. one reason we got the room was for sitting out on balcony while between the islands in Alaska.

Go the "Balcony", especially on an Alaskan Cruise,we used our balcony every day & night on our 14 days there,wouldn't consider anything else. Just enjoy it.

I notice Caribe Deck Balcony's mentioned frequently as a favorite balcony location.

Besides Caribe,can you please tell me your preference of balcony location and why? I am currently booked midship on the Baja deck inside. (IA)

There are MANY balcony's left on my sailing. Maybe I just might consider getting one if I am called for an upsell or maybe even an upgrade. A girl can dream and let me tell you, I am dreaming a lot!

T-68 days and counting!

It's just a matter of choice,we have had both but just love the Caribe deck Balconies as they are so big, The Caribe balcony is half covered which we found quite good for shelter from Sun & rain and also plenty of cover for Privacy, much better than the Minis on the deck directly below, who have no privacy whatsoever. Both Baja & Caribe Deck Balconies are good choices. Best of luck with your choice.

I'm not sure people read the OP before they respond. I said that the TA ultimately was responsible. I simply said that Princess ought to be more considerate of their customers. Yes they have the right to change cabins. Does that make it right? In my opinion NO. In my situation it was a comedy of errors. If my original TA had not left the firm she would have informed me immediately. She has done so in the past. Unfortunately it didn't happen. If Princess had a practice of letting the customer know they are switching them before it's done it would be a better policy in my opinion and there would be less angry customers. They need to treat their customers with more consideration. Sometimes people simply ought to do the right thing...not do things simply because they can!

The problems you have had with a Travel Agent seems to be a very common Problem,Since we have given up on dealing with them, and now do all our Bookings ourselves direct,eg. Airlines,Hotels,tours and Cruise Lines direct ,we have never since had a Problem.We now feel we are back in control,not controlled by any incompetent TA's. Also as others have mentioned, dont forget to state "NO UPGRADES" Enjoy your chosen Cabin.

My wife and I will be sailing on the Island Princess for its May 22, 2015 Grand Mediterranean Venice to Barcelona 12 day itinerary. We will be celebrating our 30th anniversary during the voyage. We're booked into Baja 229 mini-suite (can't afford a suite, but hoping for an upsell). We've only cruised on a couple of 3-5 day trips before, and its been at least 10 years since we sailed with Princess. I"m asking for any insights, suggestions, warnings, recommendations, etc.

 

I know this will be the first sailing coming off its drydock; should I have any concerns, anything to watch out for. Our actual anniversary date is during an at sea day. I was thinking of doing spa day with massages and then the Ultimate Balcony dining for that evening. I saw their Anniversary and their Vow renewal packages. Does anyone have any experience with these, ie are they worth it, or are they too corny?

 

We have first seating for dinner, the idea being that if we're running late in port, it would probably be easier to switch to a later time than an earlier time. Are the specialty restaurants, Sabatini's and Bayou Cafe worthwhile, and if so, worthwhile for a second go round, or a second go round for the UBD.

 

Is the Sanctuary on this type of trip with only 3 at sea days worthwhile?

 

We will be In Venice for a few days prior and Barcelona for a few days after, so I'm not too concerned about timing regarding embarkation or disembarkation times. However, what is the likelihood that all the specialty restaurant reservations or Sanctuary reservations are gone by the time we board if it is later in the day?

 

We are not the privileged platinum or elite cruisers, but may want to take advantage of the ship laundry as compared to DIY in the laundry rooms. For the common folk, what kind of turn around can be expected?

 

I know, we''ll have other questions, but the last for now is any thoughts on the Princess Port Excursions offered, or are some ports better for DIY.

 

Thanks to the community

 

Ed and Julie

Hi, have a wonderful cruise, we were on the Island in June this year for 34 days and it is now our favourite Ship, and it was in great condition then ,so any improvements after dry dock will be a bonus.We were in Mini B228 for 14 days which is the exact position as yours but on the Port side, A Very Quiet area and Covered,We were also in C226 Mini for 20 days ,but not as quiet as B228 , both an easy walk up to the Horizon Court.Also they have one of the best Walking tracks too. In regard to Seating, after trying them all we liked the Anytime Dining as we are anytime eaters. We also tried the Specialty Restaurants and found them overhyped and not worth the money. Have not been on the Coral yet but they say she is also a beautiful Ship. The Atrium on the Island is the most beautiful of all the Princess Ships we have been on. We are now Just looking to find another Itinery that suits so we can go on her OR the Coral again. Brenda & Geoff

Food and drink time on Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles earlier this year the cabin crew didn't just ask passengers to bring the seat to the upright position " THEY TOLD THEM" never seen so many seat backs come forward so fast..... bravo :D:p:D:D

Yes, well done Hawaiian, Still think they are one of the best!!

If there were no drink packages - it would still happen - brain dead - enough said :mad: An old North of England saying: beer in - wit out.

The only thing worse, that makes me shudder with shame & embarrassment is that "Ozzy,Ozzy.Ozzy" chant from some Illiterate Fools.

There is nothing wrong with Princess at the moment and I continue to book and sail with them.

 

Sea Princess issues were just lousy customer service and someone in their "bean counter" department really needs to be fired over that incident. It is unacceptable to leave a ship in service for so long in a semi broken down state and let the passengers itineraries suffer. That was just poor form on Princess part.

 

Personally I would never contemplate booking a ship like Sea Princess, Sun Princess or Dawn Princess for a longer voyage so the ship is out of the question for me booking in the first place. With Princess the only ships I would personally sail on are the Golden Princess, Star Princess, Diamond Princess, Sapphire Princess, Coral Princess and Island Princess.

The Emerald would have to get a vote too? The Coral & Island always seem to be near the top of everyones favourites list, their good reputation is well deserved.

Another option is Emirates (via Dubai) - Longer flights but great service and also the option of a split return for your flight back from LA (rather than 2 one way fares).

Yes, That is also another interesting option, Thanks.

The smartest way is virtually the only way :

 

Fly Air New Zealand in daylight Brisbane to Auckland to connect with

Lan Chile departing Auckland each evening to Santiago in Chile, there onward connection with LAN to Rio de Janiero .

Thanks Kuldalai , Uncle Les and Aus Traveller, for your good advice & information,seems the way to go, I can start planning our flights from now on. Really looking forward to this cruise , have only done from the Panama north to LA. in June 2014 (Island P.) so from BA to Panama will be new & exciting. Thanks Brenda.

Hi, We are doing a 31 dayer Feb.2016, Buenos Aires to LA. And wish to go to Rio first for a few days before we join Ship in BA. Would appreciate any advise on the best way to fly Brisbane to Rio. I know its a bit early , but knowing the best direction how to get there ,we then may be able to plan other tours. All advices appreciated. Brenda.

My best was either my first [which got us hooked].

 

My last [because it was the most recent]

 

Or the next [because I can't wait]

 

But as with most things the first is always special.

Summed up perfectly!!, We have loved them all.

Must mention the wonderful Sailaways from 2 Scottish Ports, Greenock & Kirkwall, we just love those Bagpipes and the friendliness of the people.

If the reported 1 to 2 foot swell on Coast Watch is a guide, Moolooaba could be missed frequently on future visits.:(

Are you sure its a 1 to 2 "FEET" swell ?, I sail out of there regularly in my yacht and a 1 to 2 METRE swell sometimes may be a problem in a small boat depending on the wind direction, I could not see a 1 to 2 "feet" swell effecting any large ship. (Unless there are Large waves on top of the swell).

A really Lovely Ship, did Australia / NZ cruise last November and enjoyed every moment. And she has one of the best walking tracks of them all. Have a great cruise.