1st time cruiser, needs some info

[commonsue]

We're going on our first cruise in August, a Med cruise from Southampton, so no flying involved. Friends of ours booked the cruise and they chose the Grand Princess which was recommended by an agent in London. Looking at customer reviews complaining about drinks prices which I've heard are redicuously high on Princess cruises. Also I understand debit cards are not accepted. Is this because it's an American ship?

If anyone can give us some info about the G.P, I would be very grateful

 

Commonsue

[uppitycats]

We're going on our first cruise in August, a Med cruise from Southampton, so no flying involved. Friends of ours booked the cruise and they chose the Grand Princess which was recommended by an agent in London. Looking at customer reviews complaining about drinks prices which I've heard are redicuously high on Princess cruises. Also I understand debit cards are not accepted. Is this because it's an American ship?

If anyone can give us some info about the G.P, I would be very grateful

 

Commonsue

 

I think drink prices are pretty much the same on all Princess lines. Drink prices on cruise ships are all "ridiculously high"....part of the cost of cruising (and why you'll find all kinds of threads here about folks smuggling liquor on board...)

 

US debit cards are accepted...but there is a "hold" placed on them, and if the holder of the card exceed the "hold", they'll be called to the purser's desk to put down additional cash. I don't know about a British debit card, though.

[AF-1]

Why not take a look at Independence of the Seas; I believe you will find the price of a beer to be about the same on Princess, Royal, Disney, etc. It is best to use a credit card while on the cruise; like the person already stated; debit cards have a hold put on them.

[BalconyGal]

I love the Grand, have sailed her twice. As far as I know Princess has competitive drink prices, slightly lower than Royal Caribbean I just read yesterday. In fact, Princess has implemented a $2.99 drinks happy hour from 8 pm to closing on many of their ships. I'm sure the grand would be included as well.

 

I can't say about the debit cards. However I do know a lot of UK residents buy onboard credit in advance depending on the exchange rate. You may want to ask your TA about that.

[jocap]

CommonSue....it's because there's a big difference between lines sailing from Southampton that you've heard this. The main ships of US lines from there- Princess, RCI and Celebrity, appear to charge prices on drink similar to the Ritz hotel, and also add a tip of 15%. The main British managed lines, P&O and Fred Olsen etc, charge pub prices, and no tip. There again, it's been said that the amount of spirits in a glass on RCI is larger than on P&O, which are the usual measure. We found the cheapest bottle of wine on a US ship we were on was $27 plus 15%; the cheapest on P&O was a straight £14.

If you add up the original prices of each cruise, you'll probably find that they even out in the long run!

Jo.