Toto2Kansas

The good thing about the extra charge items is that you can take them or leave them. If they were all included in the cruise fare, then every passenger would be paying extra for services and items that didn't even interest them.

When you cruise, it is totally up to you what extra you spend onboard. We have had shipboard charges (after deducting the OBC we have received) under $100 at the end of the cruise on some sailings, and in excess of $2000 on others. This depends on the length of the cruise and what we decide to partake in that is considered extra onboard.

Not sure why some people get so hung up on ice cream! Plenty of free, creamy home made ice cream on Princess as stated above. Carnival does have free frozen ice milk......

I have to agree here. Do some people like to eat ice cream for breakfast or something? Not sure why it would be needed 24/7 onboard a ship. But some really do seem to be really hung up on the fact it is not available all of the time. This falls into the category of quantity vs quality in my book. Frozen ice milk is not something that would be tempting to us at all, especially when comparing it to real homemade ice cream served onboard Princess ships. :confused: :confused:

A few years ago friends found wine at a store in Papeete. They bought a couple of bottles and brought one to a cocktail party at our cabin. OMG, not sure what had happened to that wine, but it ended up in the sink. These friends were big wine drinkers and they actually gagged when they tried it.

I would recommend purchasing your wine onboard the ship. What they had purchased was quite expensive and it was horrible.

I have never seen this form. Interesting.

 

Pia

Pia, On any of your bookings, go to the 'special requests' section and look under 'medical conditions'. There is a form to click on for anyone needing to report special medical conditions before they sail. It can be found on any and all passenger bookings in this section.

What a lot of work you put into that aft beam/vent/obstruction deck plan. Thanks so much, it really does make a picture worth a thousand words.

Thanks for taking the time! I am also a visual person and that really puts it into perspective.

Sandy, just and idea for DD. Since I am sure the little one will be in bed long before they are they might put the youngster to bed in the regular bed in the evening. That way they can enjoy the balcony, sitting area and also have a TV fs they need one to enjoy while the child is sleeping.

Then just transfer the child to the sofa bed when they are ready to go to bed that evening, and lock the balcony door tight for safety sake. They might even ask the cabin steward if there would be some sort of bar they could use to put in the slat just in case the little tike gets up early and decides to try and open the door while they are sleeping, as a little bit of an added safety feature.

This way, they can still enjoy the area of their mini suite like the sofa and balcony, without disturbing the child.

Just a thought!

Unfortunately, it seems that you are getting a lot of inaccurate responses to your post. I was in a Princess mini-suite on the Ocean Princess that has a curtain in place to close off the sleeping area from the sitting area (thus no need for duct tape, etc.) That particular ship was transferred to P&O and was renamed the Oceana in 2002. But it was a Sun Class ship and fortunately, Princess has 3 others that they still operate (i.e., the Sun, Dawn, and Sea). If one want to find out more about how these mini-suites are arranged, head over to the Princess website.

The mini suites on the Sun Class ships are arranged more like the full suites on the Grand Class ships. Yes, there is a great curtain to section off the sleeping area from the sitting area on these. But the Grand Class ships have a totally different mini suite layout of one long room not divided. And almost no way to have any type of curtain to section them off.

There is absolutely no comparison between the minis on the Sun Class and the minis on the larger class of ships in the fleet.

This is the layout of the larger ships mini suites:

And the Sun Class ships layout of the mini:

I am ROFL here. Duct Tape, sheets, I am invisioning the Beverly Hillibillies here. (sorry, could not resist). :)

One of the rules is it is not to be discussed.

Your friend could loose their status. :)

I think I have read this before, that the friends and family discount is kind of a hush hush thing that was not widely known, and they wanted it kept that way.

Check out the deck plans and you should be able to see just how obstructed your view might be. Some staterooms aren't as bad as others and the view can be semi obstructed to almost totally obstructed.

Just an idea but you might post your cabin number and possibly someone else has had that actual cabin in the past and can give you some first hand info since not all have the same type of obstructed view in the same category. ;)

Trust me, not talking to a rep in person is not going to increase your chances of an upgrade in any way.

Just pick up the phone and call them and make you final payment. If the upgrade fairy visits, great, but with ships selling out well in advance anymore, just don't ever count on receiving one.

Best of luck though.

There is always an area that has platters of cheese, as said, even at breakfast. And crackers are always around.

I'll have to try it with Rum as well... What size rum did you use?

I bought a half pint of Rum, and put four Tahiti Vanilla Beans in it. It worked perfectly.

I make my own vanilla... its very simple.. Buy two good vanilla beans (usually from a food store (like cooksware)). I buy Madagascar beans. Cut the two beans into 4 pieces.... Add them to a small size vodka (Smirnoff works well (plastic bottle). (not the tiny bottles on the plane but I think the 85ml or 75ml bottles).(sorry not at home so I dont know the size of the bottle) Let them set for at least 5 weeks and you have the best vanilla extract!

I did that with our vanilla beans brought from Tahiti, only I put them in Rum. Yummmmmmmmmmmm, and it gives the best flavor when added to anything.

We always stock up on pure vanilla when visiting mexico. Once you use it, you will never even think of adding immitation vanilla to anything again. And as said, it is very inexpensive.

If you are booked in a suite. Do they do your laundry for free? How does that work

In a full suite (minis do not count here) your laundry and drycleaning slips are stamped 'Complimentary'. Just make sure and check 'express service' or it will take a couple of days to get your cleaning and laundry back.

Just place the items in the cloth laundry bags (they should be hanging on a hanger in the closet) and either give them to your room steward early, for same day service, or leave them in your cabin when you go to breakfast and he will pick them up then. Usually, if you leave them in the bag for the room steward, the clothing will be returned the following evening right before dinner.

I have seen most Princess cruises offer this when the cruise is 10 days or longer. But if I am not mistaken, the price went up to just under $20 now for the laundry bag special.

FYI-When it comes to beaches in Papeete, there really aren't any to speak of that we have ever seen in 5 cruises and pre-night stays there. Most hotels have nice pools, but little access to a beach.

Other islands have some great beaches, but not Papeete.

Did you book Princess air or independently? Reason for asking is that Princess normally takes the early arriving passengers to the Sheraton to await the bus transfer when they can embark the ship. They do not supply a room but everyone waits in the lobby for the bus. And OH MY did most of them look tired. :(

Also, keep in mind, it can take a couple of hours to get through immigration in Tahiti, at least that is what it took for us. They weren't too speedy and really took their time about it.

I am glad Carnival WON. This is just my opinion, but RCI has turn Celebrity into RCI Jr. IMHO, had RCI won Princess would be a lot different from what it is today.

I do not agree one bit with this. With Carnival winning, it seemed to give Princess more of a 'Carnival' flare and there are way too many changes from what Princess used to be like to what it is today. I think the Princess lovers out there (especially this Princess lover) would have been far happier if it would have gone to RCI. IMHO of coarse.

Yes they do with P&O.

 

If we go on Princess we are matched on our 2nd cruise with them and all of our P&O cruises count.

 

It does work the other way around but P&O Portunus club does not give the benefits of Princess.

 

Remember up until Carnival, Princess was part of P&O.:)

 

I think we also swap points with Cunard and Ocean Village.

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

 

:cool:

Dai

I thought that is pretty much what I said. Princess will not match status. P&O cruises count towards your captains circle status, but you do not get the status with any other line??????????????? Like you said, if you cruise on P&O, you do not get the same status you get with Princess even though you can combine sailings on both lines.

You can try, but you will be wasting your efforts. Cruise lines, at least Princess, does not status match.

I'm sorry - i must have been in a dark mood yesterday. I read some of the comments and took them as if they were questioning why I expect more from a mini suite cabin. I reread things today and I feel bad for my comment yesterday. Thanks for all the info. I am better informed now.

Sometimes the typed word shows so little expression and can be misunderstood. Happens to almost everyone sooner or later. No problem!

Their are NOT any special perks when you book a mini-suite. Yes. you do get fruit but it is not replenished unless you ask. @ T.V's what a joke they are side by side so if you want to watch 1 program and your suite mate another forget it you cannot hear what you are trying to watch. This was our experience on the Sapphire Princess and we will NEVER cruise with them again.:p

I am a bit confused here. Fruit is provided to everyone's cabin, unless I missed something. All you have to do is to fill out the card telling what type you would like. I never realized this is just a 'perk' for mini suites and above?????????????????????????

The same with robes (even though that wasn't mentioned in your post), if you request them and they aren't already in your cabin, they will bring them for you. Even though I have heard people say they are only available to minis and above, that just isn't the case on Princess ships.

As for the two TV's, Well heck, if my DH turns the TV up loud in the other room, I would be hard pressed to watch something else in this room which is three rooms away? No where did I ever read where the TV's were to watch two different shows at the same time. Just that you can watch them in one room or the other. I must have missed that one also.

Even though they are close together, we have never had a problem watching two different things at the same time in a mini suite on a Grand Class ship. I just felt kind of silly being that close and having two TV's on at the same time in the past.

Champagne is hit or miss, depending on your cabin steward. We have had it delivered the moment we enter a cabin, and other times had to ask our steward for it. It all depends on how good of room steward you have.

Gosh, if that is your major gripe (the fruit and TV's), I can only imagine how your cruise went. I won't even ask! :( With access to this board and the internet, finding out what perks come with which cabin category is as easy as complaining about what you did or didn't receive on a message board because your research wasn't done properly.

We have a mini-suite on the Crown this summer. I know that the mini is a bit longer than a regular balcony cabin. Are they wider too?

 

Wendy

Actually, I don't think they are much wider than a regular balcony cabin, but the extra length and sitting area make up for it. It gives enough space for the larger bathroom with full sized tub and shower and the extra room for the sofa and chair and tables. Definitely very comfotable, and having the sitting area closest to the balcony is nice, it keeps the light off the bedroom area when you are trying to sleep in.