cruisinsince75

3 hours ago, dog said:

Just saw $400 OBC & $99 deposit in Instagram .

my Sky cruise went up by $500, per cabin &  I can get $400 OBC.

Same for my Regal cruise that I just booked yesterday.  Yesterday $1964.  Today $2199 with $200 per person shipboard credit.  Some sale! 🤪

Cruisemapper is showing the ships speed at 21.1 knots.  Don't know how accurate the info is, but it appears to be a good sign.

On 5/15/2024 at 9:44 AM, suzyed said:

OK, this is from the horse's mouth AFTER I had already booked a B2B on Discovery LA>Vancouver>Alaska>Seattle online:
 

Good Afternoon,

 

These back-to-back voyages violate what is called the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). PVSA prohibits ships from embarking in one US port and disembarking in a different US port. The only exception to this rule would allow passengers to be transported between two U.S. ports if the cruise itinerary includes a port call at a "distant foreign port". Distant foreign ports do not include Canada, Mexico, Central America, Bermuda and most Caribbean islands. South America and the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) do qualify as distant foreign ports. 

 

Unfortunately Princess.com only views reservations as their own individual voyages and does not take the guest’s back-to-back voyages as a whole into consideration. However our reservation system does run reports weekly to identify reservations that would violate the PVSA and advises us to notify the guest.

 

We understand you’ve already opted to cancel both bookings, but still wanted to provide this insight for future reference.

 

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,

 

Guest Services

 

 

Princess Cruises

24305 Town Center Drive,

Santa Clarita, CA 91355

Thank you for posting this.  It makes sense now on why Repo or Panama Canal cruises stop have a stop in the ABC islands or South America (Columbia).

On 5/14/2024 at 7:42 PM, eclue said:

They need to abolish the PVSA  - it is outdated and serves no purpose today. I have had two trips ruined because of it.

 

I totally agree!

Bring back the two R-Class ships.  Pacific Princess and the Ocean (Tahitian) Princess and give them a sliding glass cover over the pool.  Adults only!  Call them the Virgin Princess and Viking Princess.  😆   

Wish all the best for those both coming and going.  Does anyone know if the Sapphire uses an Azipod propulsion system?  That was the problem with the Radiance of the Seas earlier this month in Vancouver.  Seems to be only on RCL and Celebrity.

4 minutes ago, Cabunit said:

Although it isn't foolproof, a way to get an idea of what side the bed is on in a cabin that is on the outside of the ship is to use the fire door locations on the deck plans.  The two rules are:

1.  Bathrooms are in pairs - back to back.

2.  Bathrooms don't back against fire walls (where the fire doors are).

 

So the first cabin aft of a fire wall will have the bathroom to the aft of the door.  The second cabin will have the bathroom forward of the door.  By working aft in pairs you can get a good guess as to where the bathroom is located and, therefore, where the bed is located.

 

There are exceptions to this, so pictures will help to confirm.

 

Cheers!

Thanks!  I checked it out and our stateroom has the door on the right, which matched what we had already seen off the pictures.  

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

I have found that in most suites the side of the bed closest to the bathroom is also where the desk is with the electrical outlets. Therefore I bring an extension cord

Yes, I should have said stateroom instead of suite.  We are in a MS on our upcoming Regal cruise and unfortunately the desk is on the opposite wall with no outlet on or behind the nightstand.  

8 hours ago, BDevilCruiser said:

Helps that I’m a side sleeper typically facing the machine.

 

 

 

Me too!  Always lay on my left side facing the machine.  Because my wife wants to be on the side closest to the bathroom, I choose staterooms where the bed is positioned on the left wall as you enter.  Unfortunately, Princess deck plans don't show what side the door is on, so I look for pictures of the suite I am looking to book.

On 5/4/2024 at 4:15 PM, phabric said:

I saw the Eclipse on April 8, 2024, just outside of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 

Same here in Dallas.  Looks like an interesting cruise.  Our 55th anniversary is the day after the eclipse, so anxious to see the pricing.

6 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

We were on Regal in January and they had the Nolan Ryan beef.  We ate at the CG one night and it was very good.  We had the surf and turf, so filets with the upcharge for lobster.  We enjoyed it a lot and the couple at the table next to us remarked on our meals and said they looked so good they were making another reservation to come back later in the week and have what we were having 🙂  

 

Having said that we are getting ready to cruise to Alaska in 3 weeks on Sapphire and haven't made any specialty dining reservations.  We usually do CG and Sabatini's (in this case would be Sterling Steakhouse on Sapphire) but decided with the busy port days and higher prices for specialty dining, we're skipping it this time.  Honestly for the pricing I think the Ultimate Balcony Dining is the way to go now as you get more for your money vs specialty dining.

Thanks Paula!  Enjoy your Alaska cruise!

3 hours ago, cr01s13r3 said:

Across many lines, including specialty restaurants, I've never had a steak at sea that rivaled the quality I regularly get on land. The closest was at the now-defunct The Grill by Thomas Keller. I think part of the problem is that ships can't use open flame to cook due to fire and safety regulations. And if they're using induction or radiant heated flat grill/griddle, I guess they can't get as hot as in a land-based commercial kitchen. So you can't really get a steak cooked in the same manner as you would at a steakhouse, either grilled above an open flame or cooked or finished in a salamander or intensely hot broiler.

I am disappointed that Seabourn did away with the Grill by TK, but after our last experience there, I noticed it had slipped dramatically. 

I can get steakhouse quality at home, but I have to cheat a bit  to accomplish it.  I sous vide the steak first for at least one hour at 130 degrees F, then finish off searing in a cast iron skillet 30-45 second on each side while basting with butter.  Rest 5 minutes and serve.  Now I'm hungry!!! 🤪

13 hours ago, suzyed said:

I feel like it varies from ship to ship and one visit to another.  We always enjoy the steakhouse but last fall when we went to CG on the Regal it was the BEST meal ever! Everything was perfectly cooked, the service was stellar and I even aded the lobster tail to my meal....soooo good!! 
Looking forward to the Bayou Cafe on the Coral in June and also trying Rudi's for the first time and oh yeah, the 360 Experience!  

We are on the Regal this coming Fall.  Do you recall if the beef was from Nolan Ryan's ranch?  I know they announced it in December for sailings out of Galveston. https://www.princess.com/en-us/news/news-releases/2023/12/princess-cruises-brings-the-ranch-to-the-high-seas-with-goodstock-by-nolan-ryan

3 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

Yes, you are right.  We always book our specialty restaurants prior to our cruise to ensure a reservation.  With Premier we get two included and the rest we pay for when we make the reservations.  For our upcoming on Enchanted we have Crown Grill first night, three at the Catch, two at Sabatini’s and back to Crown Grill.  All reserved and paid for.  Works well for us.

Same here!

We are in a MS on our upcoming Regal cruise.  I'm going to try writing in Eggs Benedict.  If that doesn't work, the next time write in poached egg, bacon, and english muffins with 🤪a side of hollandaise sauce.

57 minutes ago, villageidit said:

I didn't find any of these threads until after I booked and joined the roll call for the Emerald cruise.

We were booked on Celebrity on a TA crossing years back.  The way I found out there was a problem was on the Roll Call.  We all posted our stateroom #'s on the roll call and someone posted the same exact cabin # as us. 😮 We were originally booked on a 7 night Caribbean cruise, but the ships schedule changed and was to leave Barcelona now on the same day our cruise was to begin.  They offered our deposit back, or keep the booking and take the 14 day crossing for what we paid for the 7 day Caribbean.  Then they offered the folks that were originally  booked on the TA for two weeks earlier, a refund or, transfer to the new one with an OBC and a future cruise credit.  What a mess.  We were refunded our deposit and given a future cruise credit that we never got to use.  

41 minutes ago, telecheck said:

 

True, I frequently receive comped or heavily discounted cruises also. For instance, today, upon signing into my Princess account, I noticed the $99 16-day Iceland/Greenland and $49 Alaska with Glacier Bay cruises. Are these deals too good to be true? I'm starting to doubt because I can't determine if they're legitimate or just a system glitch. There's no indication that they're casino deals either. While I'm tempted by the Iceland/Greenland cruise, I'm hesitant to book it now. I don't want to receive an email days later claiming it was an error, making it a hassle to cancel. When I booked the Barcelona cruise last Wednesday, I even called Princess, and they confirmed my booking was valid. We all know what happened afterward.

 

 

I'm not seeing those when I log in.  Worst that can happen is find out it was a mistake and they refund you the deposit.

On 4/30/2024 at 3:03 AM, Ombud said:

No and factor in that they tend to do 6 pours per bottle so you can factor that in the when determining costs. 

 

FWIW Kim Crawford Chardonnay is A$18 per glass. 6×18=A$108+18%. For a A$22 bottle. 

 

BUT my bottles tend to be a lot more (I just used KC as an example as it was the one I took to our roll call wine sharing event). I usually carryon 3+ and am prepared to pay corkage 

 

If they are squeezing 6 glasses out of a 750 mil (25.36 oz) that is some serious nickel and diming.  Guess I'm a lush.  At home it only gets me 4. 

17 hours ago, artvlay said:

I was told not to use ATMs in an airport as they charge higher fees and exchange rates.

Is this correct?

In Europe ATMs are called Bancomats.  At airports use one only from an actual Bank and not one attached to a currency exchange.  Use your debit card and not a credit card.  The exchange rate will be calculated by your bank and you will pay a small foreign transaction fee (generally 1-3%).  

At stores and restaurants, I always use my credit card that has no foreign transaction fees

19 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

Get a CVP if you don't use a travel agent. Book another cruise before the expiration using the FCDs. Then when the booking you want is available, ask the CVP to cancel the old booking and transfer the FCD to the new one. This has worked in the past, but I haven't tried it recently - so no guarantees.

That was exactly what I was going suggest.  I have also done that in the past, but not recently.

19 hours ago, mustgo said:

Thanks for your answer. Seriously thinking about giving up cruising. We have had a good run

Both my wife and I require the use of scooters.  The ones we have are made by Travelscoot,  www.travelscoot.com  The width is only 21.5" and fits through all standard size stateroom doors.  It is also collapsible and lightweight.  Might be an option for you to consider.  

We have booked an accessible mini-suite on the Regal for November because my wife had a stroke.  She is able to walk just fine, but cannot bend her leg in order to get into a bathtub/shower combo.  

We found out that our MA mini stateroom was more expensive than a standard mini MB, but weren't charged the additional, because there are no MB staterooms that are accessible.

17 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

The cruise terminal in Barcelona where Princess ships dock is the Adossat Quay Cruise Terminal where there are five terminals - A, B, C, D and E. The Adossat Quay Terminal is about 2km from the end of Las Ramblas. There is a port shuttle for a cost that goes from near the end of Las Ramblas to the terminals at Adossat or you can get a taxi there. Either check which terminal your ship is leaving from or you will be able to see the ships once you get to the Quay and you can tell your taxi driver that you want to stop at the Princess ship.

 

The World Trade Centre Terminal at the foot of Las Ramblas is only for small ships and Princess ships are too large to dock there.

 

We stayed at the Eurostar Gran Marina at the WTC twice.  1st time was for our Royal Caribbean cruise that departed from Adossat.  2nd time was on Silversea that departed from the WTC South Terminal.  That was really nice to be able to walk from our hotel room directly to the terminal.  Also, there is a port shuttle to take you to Arossat from the WTC.  

Here is a map of the port

https://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/transport/cruise-port/map-of-barcelona-port.html

1 hour ago, antsp said:

90210

And for phone number 867-5309. 🤪

1 minute ago, skynight said:

Normally if you have a late Princess bus transfer that is on the way the ship will adjust the sailing time to allow for this. I have seen it many times. 

This cruise was on HAL.  Not sure why they didn't in this case.