senior lady

On 12/21/2023 at 5:45 AM, sweep2907 said:

I totally agree and always one person's opinion can be different from another. Food a massive improvement on Britannia 2022 and not had one bad meal so far. Britannia was so bad we ended up eating in speciality dining 10 nights in the two weeks which shouldn't have to be the case.

 

However the downside to great food this cruise is pretty miserable waiting staff. I always try have laugh and interact with them but most simply not in the mood for it and not experienced this unfriendliness in all my years with P&O. Not all of them of course as some have been lovely but too few. 

sounds like the food has improved since my cruise in Sept.   It was awful.

4 hours ago, thornegirl said:

Bit similar on Aurora, beach house cesar salad no croutons and no Parmesan cheese.  Told by the manager “that’s how beach house does it”. Also eggs Benedict in MDR the sauce was the consistency of single cream! Horrible. 

 

Horrible food on the Azura!!

On 9/25/2023 at 4:34 AM, Bill Y said:

We had not come across celebration nights before this year, one of more formal nights were named as celebration nights, before they used to have black and white nights etc. As others have said P&O no longer appear to push the boat out for formal night menus whether this applies to the two smaller ships we will find out next year.

On the Azura formal night menus were the same old boring food.   I was so disappointed in the food in buffet and also MDR.    First cruise that I never gained any weight and I  think I actually lost some.

On 9/4/2023 at 3:21 AM, FangedRose said:

Depends on availability, you would have to ask on board. If you want to choose dining preference you need to pay select fare (even then it is not guaranteed, but I've always got what I requested).

I just got off the Azura and we just showed up at the restaurant on deck 5 between 6:30-7 and never had to wait.

20 hours ago, jp2746 said:

I saw on another site that Movies Under the Stars will go to closed captioning and they will only give headsets to Plus and Premier guests.  It could have been a joke but after all of this it isn't too crazy.  Has anyone heard that this will be the case?  I can deal with everything else (although I think it is wrong to change things for poeple who are already booked and paid in full), but this would be really uncool.  Our son doesn't care for the shows, but LOVED watching football by the pool at night.  He also loved going back to the room and staying up late ordering room service while he watches movies.  I will pay the extra for this experience, but if they take away movies and football and I have to read the screen that will be my breaking point.  

How can close captioning only be for plus or premier?  close captioning is on the screen for all to see.

6 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

The money goes first to Princess who deducts an adm fee. The money we pay as Americans supplements the fleet wide areas such as OZ and New Zealand who don't tip. The money does not go to the crew on the ship who serviced you. Onboard revenue includes shop keepers, cruise director and their staff (think revenue Bingo) and shore excursions , photo's and on and on............most everything is revenue generating

The store workers are hired by a outside company.  They are paid a wage.  The cruise director and his staff.  shore excursions, photo dept  are also paid a wage and aren't part of the  daily gravities 

On 7/28/2023 at 11:37 AM, SB05 said:

We also get coffee only very early in the am and from what I am reading, we will now be charged $5.00

if you order it off the door hanging card that you put out the night before.... it's still free

On 7/26/2023 at 8:59 PM, Carla3 said:

I’m trying to fully understand the benefits of the new future cruise package. Here’s my offer. For $7000 I get $6000 FFC plus $300 OBC plus $750 hotel credit. $6000 plus $300 plus $750 = $7050. So the first part is only really a $50 value. The second part of the package is 1 week stay certificate plus 2x 2 day certificates to be used at “highly rated hotel throughout the world”. I’m trying to find out the fine print on the “certificate” stays. Doesn’t seem realistic I could book a 5 star Honolulu hotel that’s $900 a night (7 x$900 = $6300) for “free” as an example. How is Princess or whoever the third party is making any money? My suspicion is the “stay certificate” is a time share property that’s hoping to reel you in

This is a 3rd party marketing firm.  Just like selling timeshares.  It's not a good deal, and has lots of exclusions and hard to book.   

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

I checked off Standard without really thinking much about it.  I don't see us changing.  It comes down to drinks for the most part.  

 

We get Elite mini-bar which gives us 10 beers and 10 Perrier (after swapping).  We get the starter water package for ~$7 (last price I knew).  I BYOW and accept that I can be charged $20/bottle after the first two.

 

CA is $16/pp for us.  Medallion Net is $15 total (we get 50% off).  $47 per day in "fixed costs" versus $120 for Plus, leaves $73/day to spend on beverages and such.

 

I have never used the Ocean Now feature other than back when you got first drink free.  Long gone.  Also, in the rare occasion I might order a bar drink, my drink isn't on their menu and they don't (or didn't) have a custom order option to type in your own drink.  So, useless to me.  I just go to the bar and get what I want.  

 

We have never ordered room service that I can recall. 

 

I will accept that PCL is now going to charge us a nominal fee to eat at Alfredo's/Gigi's - not dissimilar to O'Malley's, Salty Dog.  We typically go to Alfredo's on a Sea Day for lunch and share a pizza and perhaps one other item.  So, we won't be spending $30 for two full meals anyway. 

 

That means Standard wins the day still for us.  If PCL removes that, well then we have to reconsider.

 

 

I see your from Canada.   The remember everything is US on the ships.  So the $16 SC now becomes $20. The WiFi at 50% off becomes almost the regular price.   With my calculations all I need to drink per day to break even is 3 drinks.   It's so nice not getting a bill at the end of the cruise!!

11 hours ago, nini said:

Well, we did. A restaurant was very rude and the stores in in our last stop pretended they did not speak English to avoid a sale. We knew they spoke English with other customers.

what a silly statement to make.

1 hour ago, KarmaCruisers said:

They’re still blue; the pattern is just reverse (instead of blue background with White Sea Witch; it’s a white background with a blue sea witch)

that's what I've seen the last few times

1 minute ago, KarmaCruisers said:

That can’t be right; because I’ve seen different color sea witch’s on them (blue, red, and black)

I was on a Princess cruise to Alaska in May and was told that white were new cruisers and I just did a "ship tour" in Vancouver last Sat and again all new cruisers had white medallions.  Maybe just North America??? 

12 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

POOP!

we may NOT be able to kiss the stone!

the bus leaves at 1; and they said from where we’re at in line is “about 2 hours”

were going to stick it out until noon, and see if we’ve made it to the sign that says “one hour from here”; if not we’ll unfortunately have to turn back.

On another note..DAMN there’s hella Suite guests on our ship! We’ve seen a TON of the “white” medallions (most with Blue Sea Witch!) I can’t even imagine that cost..daaamn our BB was $4400 on SALE (casino offer for 35% off)

White medallions are new cruisers

On 6/26/2023 at 7:07 AM, kttraveler said:

The military hospital would require a different bus (71) or a long walk from the 91/92 bus. It sounds like it is worth the visit though.

The glass Chapel and German military hospital are totally worth it.   Highly recommend them

On 6/25/2023 at 12:51 AM, KarmaCruisers said:

Wakey wakey!

we literally passed out last night at 6pm, and slept all the way until 7am this morning! Haha

got up and around and grabbed some breakfast from McDonalds across the street…yeah I know what you’re saying..you travel all the way across the world, and get MCDONALDS for breakfast!?

YES! Because they have things we don’t! 
we got a breakfast sandwich on a REGULAR burger bun and it had Egg/Bacon/Sausage/Ham/Cheese WITH the “brown sauce” (tastes like the HP steaksauce) It was good AF!

After breakfast we took the Picadilly Line Tube up to Kings Cross; to see “Platform 9.75”.

Now we’re back in the room relaxing for a few until we have to leave out of here at 9:30; to head toward Victoria Station, to catch National Express.

im attaching a picture of an interesting flavor of crisps that I bought.

The UK has some wild flavour crisps

On 6/23/2023 at 5:46 PM, tgsul09 said:

Has anyone done the Cruisetour in Ireland before the cruise?

I had friend book the Cruisetour and they absolutely loved it.   They have used Princess Cruise Tours twice now.  first one was in Australia 

2 hours ago, RedIguana said:

Better off purchasing the full "plus package", not just the plus beverage package. It will include grats and wifi, and a few other perks that may or may not be useful.  And the price as of now is $60 a day per person, regardless of pre-purchase or onboard. Only way you might see an increase is in insurance cost if through the cruise line. I am not sure if the package part is refundable if cancelled and you have purchased insurance through an outside agency. Pre-purchasing through an on-line TA or other TA may give you additional perks or onboard credit due to the increased cost pre-cruise.. Benefit to purchasing onboard is being able to use OBC.

Uber was operating in Vancouver when I was there early this month. No information on Lyft.

Uber and Lyft are readily available in Vancouver and surrounding areas

17 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

Be sure to have a valid passport if you are driving over the border.  

 

It will be "cheaper" to purchase the plus beverage package on day one.  If pre-purchased, it will cost you extra (maybe insurance, taxes, fees???).

 

Canada Place (where the ship docks) is in a highly populated area and parking may cost a premium.

if you add the Princess Plus or Premier pkg to your booking  the only extra cost is the pkg price.

18 hours ago, CruisinMissMolly said:

That is wonderful to know!  Thank you, LibertyBella!

Just to confirm...  We would drive to the Canadian border and park our car in Vancouver, Canada?  Will Princess give me the information needed to find the cruise parking terminal?  I haven't had much luck getting information from Princess customer service so I'm a bit nervous.

If your going to park your car at the cruiseship terminal, book in advance as it can fill up.  It's also expensive.

19 hours ago, CruisinMissMolly said:

Hello!

I just have two questions...

1.  Can I purchase a cruise that starts and ends in Vancouver, Canada if I live in Oregon?

2.  On a "Drop and Go" last minute deal, I tried to sign up but it didn't say anything about drink packages, WIFI, or crew appreciation. Does that mean that last minute deals don't include those amenities? 

Thank you for your help!!!  

you can book any cruise.  The Drop & Go" deals are just the regular pricing

On 6/26/2023 at 4:25 AM, Red Ray said:

Strangely enough, I do realise that but I don't want to, and there are too many vegetarian & vegan options on the menu in relation to the percentage of people who choose to follow these diets. (I exclude gluten free as that is not a lifestyle choice).

just pick something else.   I always order a extra portion of veggies at dinner

On 6/16/2023 at 7:00 AM, cruising.mark.uk said:

Having recently extolled the benefits of getting shareholder OBC by owning Carnival plc shares and also receiving military OBC at the same level, I see that there is a new thread on the Princess board today saying that wef 29 Jun 23 it will no longer be possible to combine the two benefits.  I wonder if the other Carnival plc lines will follow suit?  Has anyone heard similar rumours about P&O?  If so, that will be very disappointing for those who are entitled to both (giving $500 / £300 OBC on a 14 day cruise on Princess, HAL and P&O, something from which my wife and I have benefitted many many times over the last 20 years).   I know this is something of a first-world problem, but who would turn down free money if it was available?

 

The unanswered question on the other thread at the moment seems to be whether it will be possible for one person in the cabin to have shareholder OBC and the other to have military OBC.  That would be great, but if this is a cost-saving measure, I suspect it is too obvious a loophole to survive.

Transfer the shares to your wife's name and then you can still claim both

14 hours ago, new2cruise said:

We're flying in from US to YVR.  We'll go through customs there, so will we have to go through customs again at the port?  We don't have a GOES card.

 

We're staying at the Auberge Hotel on W. Hastings.  Thought we'd just walk down to the port - Is this a good idea?    We're not Elite/Platinum or Suite, so it will take us longer, I'm sure

yes, you will go through US customs again at the port right after going through security

On 2/21/2023 at 6:44 AM, Will&Hel said:

Good info JB but unfortunately US residents cannot book direct with P&O nor use a UK TA agent they have to use a P&O agent in the USA at P&O Americas  

I live in Canada and was able to book a cruise through a UK travel agent.  Leaving Sept 7 / 23 on the Azura.

You can not start and finish in a US port without visiting a foreign port.   That's why the Hawaii cruises stop in Ensenada and the Seattle cruises stop in Victoria BC