Questions from a first time cruiser

[canadiansue]

Thanks in advance for the time and patience to answer my questions. We are looking into a 14 day cruise on the Grand in Feb, 2011, 5 couples in our 50s.

I saw a thread about coffee cards....is coffee not free on the ship?

Are we allowed to bring any drinks at all on board?

Is water free?

Where do we find out the 'rules' and prices for these cards?

Is it safe to buy our cruise from an internet site...or better from an agency?

 

Thanks!

[BballinQT24]

I can answer a couple of your questions.

 

Coffee is free on the ship, however it is the syrup kind that some people don't like. The coffee card you can buy includes a certain number of punches for specialty coffees, as well as unlimited brewed coffee. They also sell the brewed coffee by the glass without getting the card.

 

You can bring drinks onboard. Pretty much any non alcoholic drink and also they allow you to carry on wine or champagne. Just no hard liquor.

 

Water is free. You can also buy bottled water if you wish.

 

In regards to whether you should book online or through an agency, I'm not sure. Personally we always book through a Travel Agent that we know, so I'm not sure which sites are reputable for booking.

[paul929207]

Coffee is free at the buffet (24 hours per day) and in all restaurants. It is made from syrup, and not brewed. Some people don't like it. With the coffee card, you get 15 specialty coffees (lattes, etc) and unlimited brewed coffee. It is $24 plus 15% tip.

[uppitycats]

Thanks in advance for the time and patience to answer my questions. We are looking into a 14 day cruise on the Grand in Feb, 2011, 5 couples in our 50s.

I saw a thread about coffee cards....is coffee not free on the ship? Regular coffee is free, and available at meals, at the buffet, and through room service. The coffee card is for speciality coffees, like lattes, cappechino (sp?), other such coffee drinks. Those are extra, and if you drink a lot of those, the coffee card is a savings.

Are we allowed to bring any drinks at all on board? You can bring on soft drinks, and wine and champagne. There is a limit though..I think it's 2 bottles of wine/champagne, and a "reasonable amount" of soft drinks, but you'd have to check your cruise line web page for details. No hard liquor, though, and no beer.

Is water free? Tap water is free and available throughout the ship. There is a charge for bottled water, or you can bring bottled water. Generally though, ship water is very pure. I usually just bring a couple of empty bottles and keep one chilling in the room, while using the other.

Where do we find out the 'rules' and prices for these cards? This should be on your cruise line web site.

Is it safe to buy our cruise from an internet site...or better from an agency? If you're never cruised before, it would help to at least talk to a "real live" travel agent. There are a lot of things about cruising that can be really confusing to a first-timer..or second- or third-timer, for that matter. Like all the variations of cabins..cabins right next to each other can sell for different prices because of what appear to be insignificant differences. Cabins on different decks right above or below each other can sell for different prices.. and so on.

You can talk to an agent for free..there may only be a charge if you actually book, and sometimes that is waived if you also book air fare. Or you can talk, and then take that information and book on line.

I personally like to have a real live person/agent back me up. When things go wrong, it's not always easy to find the web site and the individual you talked to, to help set it straight!

 

Thanks!

 

Have a great cruise!

[Pam in CA]

Coffee is free on the ship, however it is the syrup kind that some people don't like. The coffee card you can buy includes a certain number of punches for specialty coffees, as well as unlimited brewed coffee. They also sell the brewed coffee by the glass without getting the card.

Actually, most people think the free coffee is just fine on the ship. It's made from concentrate and most of the time, is quite drinkable. There's a review posted today by someone who bought two coffee cards thinking the regular coffee would be awu, based on some people's comments on CCl. They thought it was pretty good and now they have two coffee cards with almost all of the punches left. I wouldn't want to encourage someone new to cruising or Princess to buy something they may not want or need so my advice to the OP is to try the coffee, decide for yourself whether you like it or not, before purchasing a coffee card.

 

The water from the tap is mostly distilled and is as pure or purer than what you can buy in a bottle. I bring a water bottle and just fill it from the tap for my tours.

[cruz guy]

We think the free coffee is just fine and get the coffee card for speciality coffees such as lattes. Each coffee card has 15 punches and can be shared. Once the punches are gone...its done with. Soda cards are for unlimited soda dduring the cruise are are for only 1 person and cannot be shared or carried over for future cruises. Soda cards are great for people who really drink alot of soda. For someone who doesn't drink much soda, it likely wouldn't be worth is.

 

The water from the tap is purified and tastes just fine as does the water in the buffet. If you want bottled water there would be a charge. We bring plastic waters bottles, the refillable type and just fill them up either from the tap in our room or use a glass at the buffet to fill them. The room steward will supply ice in the room water bucket.

 

A reasonable amout of soda is fine. I will occasionally bring some for our room frig. 2 bottles of wine are allowed.

[itzmered]

There are some really good online agents that specialize in cruises only. You can usually get a much better price through them than you can through the cruise line itself. They also usually offer some sort of on board credit or special that they have going on at the time.

[Shifra]

If you are a first time cruiser, I agree with a previous poster that you should go to a local travel agent. After learning a bit more you can compare prices at internet agencies, which may offer lower prices. Important questions to ask are if they charge for cancellation or booking changes. Some may charge nothing, some charge as high as $100.

[bucky7680]

I have cruised several times. I use an online T/A who competed for my bussines. I sugest that you use a local T/A at first because you will have lots of questions and even if you do not get the best price the education you recieve from a local T/A will more than make up the cost if you do not get the best deal out there. The online T/A can answer questions also but you will alk to someone different each time you call.