counsdr

They have a nightly event for elite, platinum & suite passengers from 5:00 to 7:00. Each night has different hors d'oeuvres and there are $6 drink specials (6 types of drinks). It can get very crowded & on cruises like our Royal Princess TA not many didn't qualify with well over half of the passengers eligible. ;)

Thanks Astro Flyer!

Two points for Royal!

Cheryl

I thought Princess had an exclusive lounge for members of a certain Level like RCCL and X do. We go in every evening from 5-8 for cocktails, wine and hors d'oeuvres. No charge.

Cheryl

We're just doing a short 5 night cruise. I usually save my good bottle from home to sip on the balcony. The person I'm traveling with is equal to my diamond, so as far as I understand, we get to go to a lounge for free wine. As long as it's not "La Terrible" as on RCCL, I'll drink their wine! On RCCL, I also carry my glass of wine or Cosmo into the MDR is that allowed?

Thanks for all your help!

Cheryl

Thanks Pam we're on the CB in a mini suite! I wonder if that's the same set up?

Cheryl

Thanks Astro Flyer!!

Thank you both for these most informative lists!

This will be my first time on Princess. Will the wait staff keep ones open bottle of wine and have it on the table for one the next night or do I have to take the bottle back to my cabin?

On RCCL they cork an keep the bottle for me.

Thanks,

Cheryl

No door on the closet on CB?

Thanks for sharing your review. We will be on the Caribbean Princess in 5 months and I love to see pictures and hear about her!

 

Question regarding the aft pool. How hard was it to get a lounger during the day? We are ardent non-chair-hogs and refuse to play the game of save-a-lounger, but of course we still want to be able to enjoy the aft pool in a lounger. Were staff removing towels and items left by chair-hogs?

Hi Doreen!

We're on the September 20th sailing also! I started our roll call, so please join us there!

Right now I'm looking for suggestions of where to stay and whether to do snooze and park with the hotel or do an offsite parking place.

This will be my first Princess Cruise!

Cheryl

We stayed at the Radisson last year. The breakfast is an additional $10pp. The best part of the hotel is the sleep number beds. The rooms were old, dirty and dated. The corridors are outside which I don't like. Their park and shuttle was very good!

I'll stay at Residence or Country Inn this year!

Cheryl

We stayed at the Radisson last year and it was dated as well as it had outside room corridors. I did not like the breakfast, but it was restaurant style and offered an omelet station. We used the park&cruise with breakfast package. We drove over to grills for an early dinner and to watch the ships sail away. This year I'm looking at the Residence Inn as my family is joining me and I want a 2 bedroom suite. I don't understand why the hotels at this port are so much more expensive!

Cheryl

I drive in the day before as I'd rather be there early and park my car there with the hotel's Park and Cruise program. They then shuttle us to the pier.

Cheryl

Has anyone stayed at the Spring Hill before and what are your thoughts? Can a car be left there during the cruise?

Thanks,

Cheryl

Antsnanny, I lived in Hackettstown for 35 years! We were practically neighbors! I have family in Greenpond!!!!

I am sure you're medical group will be fine. Good luck!

I was on a cruise last year that had a group of over 1000 rock and rollers. There were several other groups ranging from 100-250 in number. The smaller groups were fine and no problem, however the ship and main venues were overtaken by this 1000+ group. Our reservations for the ice show were cancelled so they could have their proms, the theater cancelled evening shows or scheduled them at alternate times, so they could have their concerts, the bars and cafés were so crowded I felt sorry for the wait staff and anyone else who might like to get a slice of pizza etc, only late seating and late time slots for MTD were available, our Welcome back RCCL party and Meet&Mingle party were scheduled at the same time 10 AM on sea day because this group was using the space for the Welcome back party every night. That meant we had to choose which party to attend. That might not seem like a big deal, but I felt cheated. When I questioned the desk about it, they would just shrug and say they had an extremely large group to accommodate. They represented over 50% of the ship. Had I known in advance, I would have said no thank you to this cruise. I would just like the opportunity to make the choice to cruise or not with an enormous group.

For this coming year I've tried to do research to find out if there are any 500+ groups on board so I could choose a different cruise.

We stayed at Radisson in February and it is old and tired. I don't think any of them by the pier are positioned for or tall enough to see the ships in the harbor. Radisson, Country Inn and residence Inn are all in a row and have the park and cruise pkg.

I'll probably use Country Inn this year.

Cheryl

We stayed at the Radisson in February. I don't think I would stay there again. We got the port shuttle, park and breakfast package. Breakfast was an additional $20 for the two of us. Cost of breakfast in the hotel without the package was $10 pp. I wasn't impressed with breakfast, though they did have an omelet station.

IMHO the hotel was rusty. The rooms were on outside corridors and they were dark and worn. The parking and shuttle were great!

This March I may use Country Inn even though it's more expensive.

Good luck!

Cheryl

Thanks Meg!!!

Cute picture of Smudge!

Someone on CC suggested it's better to park at the pier.

I definitely want to stay somewhere I'll get hotel points!

Cheryl

Thanks Lois, I appreciate that.

Thanks for that input. When we sail out of Pt Canaveral we do the cruise and park at the Radisson. It's always been safe and convenient and much less expensive than at the port.

Cheryl

Hi! We're driving down to FLL and looking to find a hotel that does a cruise package so we can leave our car at the hotel. Does anyone have any ideas for us?

Thanks,

Cheryl

Read the review from usckatia from her January 24th cruise. It has all the daily kids programs, etc. It's on about page 4 of this thread right now.

Cheryl

We'll be driving down to FLL and looking for a hotel that has a park and cruise option. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Cheryl

There is a hair dryer in the desk/bureau draw, but it's not very strong. If you need to use it a lot, either bring your own, or be patient.

Cheryl

I'm just off FOS from balcony cabin 9690. The balcony railing is 3.5-4 foot high I would guess. Below the wooden railing is plexiglass. We had our sliding door open a lot and the AC still worked. The only problem was trying to open the cabin door with the balcony door open!!!

Evie, so glad to see you made it home safely! We enjoyed meeting you and wish we could have gotten together more.

I'm glad you had a good time on the cruise. For me, it was my worst cruise ever. The huge group of 900+ was the main reason for me not liking the cruise. Events had to be changed and adjusted because they needed the ice rink or other venues that the ship normally used.

I was upset that the time of the Loyalty Cruisers party had to be changed from an evening cocktail party to a morning meeting that just so happened to interfere with our Meet and Mingle Party. Those of us who were entitled to attend both couldn't as they were at the same time! Poor planning by Royal Caribbean.

I will still be loyal to Royal, but I will always try to find out before booking if there is a massive group sailing at the same time!

I didn't travel with any children or grandchildren, but would be happy to answer any questions.

Cheryl